by John Tigges
“Oh, my God, look!” Stacey screamed, pointing to Nicole.
Myles turned, dropping her hand when he realized that she was horizontally floating in midair, next to him. Leaning away, he stared, too frightened to reach out and touch her, to try to bring her down to the floor, to help her. Slowly, deliberately turning counter-clockwise, Nicole’s feet pointed to the north, to the west, to the south, to the east before she began gyrating at right angles to the floor. Her hair brushing the carpeting, she straightened and floated to the ceiling where she turned another 360 degrees. Then slowly, she wafted back to the floor, standing upright at the last minute next to Myles.
Books flew off the shelves in all directions before setting up a formation and attacking Stacey. Ducking behind the overturned couch, she screamed, swinging wildly at her attackers.
“De … de … demon?” Stangood cried shakily. “Get … get … out … of …”
“Welcome, Reverend Eddie John Stangood! Welcome!”
The voice boomed hollowly, echoing loudly, growing with each word until the windows shook. The stereo turned on, playing a John Phillips Sousa march, while the TV set displayed an early morning cartoon show.
Stangood stood frozen in the middle of the living room. Color drained from his round, pudgy face and a wet spot blossomed in the front of his white pants at the base of the zipper, expanding and growing in an even larger circle as his bladder emptied.
“You do good work, you fucking phoney! Keep up the effort? You win more souls for me than you ever will for your God. Your god is money! You charlatan!”
The voice grew even louder and Stangood was buffeted about the head, his whole body reacting as it jostled from side to side as he was backhanded by the entity’s unseen hands.
“But … I worship Gee-zus! Gee-zus will save me. Gee-zus is my savior. He will drive you back to hey-ell. Gee-zus, help me!” Stangood’s voice barely whispered the words and when he saw clouds of steam ejecting from his mouth as he uttered the prayer, his face paled more.
Myles and Nicole watched, open-mouthed. What were they truly up against? Apparently Stangood would not be of much use to them. He needed an audience to put on his religious show. They needed a man of God who had the necessary weapons to fight something like this. Myles recalled his own childhood and the holy water that the priests had used on occasion. And the crucifix. Why didn’t Stangood have something like that? At least Myles would feel as if they had some sort of armament on their side.
Stacey stood, yelling. “Get out, Eddie John. Let’s get out of here.” Half-running, half-stumbling, she made her way toward the door, throwing it back. She dashed into the hall and didn’t stop running until she reached the main floor. Reverend Eddie John Stangood, the only direct line to salvation, followed her and Nicole and Myles were in pursuit of him. As Myles plunged into the hall, the door slammed loudly, punctuated by a high-pitched laugh flooding the hall. The sound of the maniacal glee seemed to follow them to the first floor.
Once outside, Stangood and Stacey stood near their car. Myles and Nicole clutched each other some twenty feet away.
“I can’t hardly wait until the neighbors call the cops,” Myles said sarcastically.
Everyone looked up at the apartment building’s front wall, expecting to see lights going on in each apartment. But the only thing out of the ordinary were the lights in Nicole’s apartment, flashing on and off repeatedly. The sound of music continued from the stereo and voices boomed from the TV through the closed windows, but no one turned on lights in any of the adjoining apartments.
Myles walked over to the other couple, Nicole’s hand tightly encased in his. “Well, Reverend?”
Stangood, swept the cloak around him in an effort to cover the yellowish stain, the tentacles of which streamed down both pant legs. Turning his back to them, Stacey stepped out, blocking Nicole and Myles.
“Reverend Eddie John doesn’t want to speak to you.”
“What?” Nicole and Myles cried together.
“He feels you purposely set this whole thing up just to embarrass him and he doesn’t want anything more to do with you.” She turned to Nicole. “I’m sorry, Nicole. Really I am. Why did you do such a thing?”
“Why … why did I … we … do such a thing?” Her anger mounted with each word.
Stacey nodded, a pained expression dominating her inanimate features.
“You really think we staged this whole thing just to make your Reverend Eddie John Stangood piss in his pants?” Nicole gasped the words out, unable to control her laughter that quashed her anger.
Stacey nodded.
Despite the serious aspects of what had happened upstairs, Nicole suddenly found it immensely funny that this pompous little ass would think that someone would want to embarrass him. She giggled uncontrollably.
“Laugh! Laugh, you whore!” Stangood screamed, turning around to shake a finger at Nicole and Myles. “Gee-zus does not let things like this go unpunished. Gee-zus will protect me. Gee-zus will heal me. Gee-zus will condemn you to everlasting hey ‘ell’s fire unless you both repent and repent now. This instant. Gee-zus help them. Gee-zus give me the power to convince them to stop this chicanery.”
Myles took Nicole’s hand, leading her away.
Chicanery? That seemed to be his trump card, not theirs. How did Stangood think they could rig up some of the things that happened just a few minutes ago? He looked up. Lights were on in two of the apartments and he could see people peering out. Stangood’s ravings must have awakened them although why they hadn’t awakened earlier escaped him.
Off in the distance he could hear the wail of a siren. “We’ve got to get out of here, Nicole. Come on.”
“Why?”
“Listen. A siren. Cops are coming.”
“We haven’t done anything wrong.”
“I know that but we can be arrested for disturbing the peace. I don’t want that to happen. Not for something like this. We’ve got to get help of some sort. Someplace.”
“But what about my apartment? What will happen?”
“Why are you worried about that all of a sudden?”
“The book is up there. If the cops go in …”
“I don’t think they’ll notice that little book. Besides, I think we should get rid of it.”
“I suppose you’re right. I should have thrown it away a long time ago.”
“Come on. The siren’s getting closer. The cops will break in if they have to and turn off the stereo and lights. Tomorrow, we can act surprised if they contact us and ask questions. If we aren’t here and no one other than Gee-zus’s sword over there knows, we can bluff our way through. Somebody broke in and did it. We weren’t anywhere near at the time.”
Nicole got in the passenger’s side while Myles went to the driver’s. Reverend Eddie John Stangood’s white Cadillac roared by and in seconds, Myles pulled into the street. He turned the first corner they came to, just as a squad car rounded another two blocks away.
7:30 A.M.
The sun drew a pencil line of gold across the bottom of the overcast eastern sky as Nicole and Myles made their way to the motel room they had rented. Unlocking the door, he hesitated for an instant before stepping in to turn on the light.
“What’s the matter?” She looked at him furtively but still could not control her genuine concern.
“Nothing,” he said, quickly adding, “that’s not true. I was thinking what happened the last time we walked through a door.”
“You mean at the apartment. A little while ago?”
He nodded- “If it weren’t so goddamned serious and frightening, I would have laughed my ass off at Stangood. Whatever it is that’s hanging around sure scared the be-Geezus out of God’s right hand, didn’t it?”
“I guess when I laughed, I was more hysterical than appreciating the humor of the situation.” She moved closer to him and he took her in his arms. “Myles, what are we going to do? No one will help us.”
“It sure seems that way. Firs
t Gorkland and then that Lutheran, Meissen. Why we thought that Stangood could help is beyond me.”
“He is a minister, isn’t he?”
“He’s a phony. A real modern day marvel! One of the bible-thumping evangelists who are going to save the world, most especially your own individual neck and soul. And all for a small price. Of money, naturally.” He pushed her back and threw himself on the bed, half-sitting, half-lying down.
His bitterness grated on Nicole. Most of the time, Myles was calm and laid back, almost passive in the things that went on around him. But he had been through an experience that most people seldom, if ever, face. He had been touched by the filthy evil that had caressed her in the shower. And no one would believe him or her about the things that had been going on. Weren’t priests and preachers and even evangelists supposed to be ministers of God? Of Jesus? What were ordinary people expected to do under such circumstances? Run and hide their faces? Nicole and Myles were doing just that by being in the motel room. But there had to be more they could do—more that someone could do.
“Myles, I know you don’t want to talk about it, but I think we have to.” She dropped into one of the chairs.
He looked at her when she stopped talking.
What was she going to bring up? “I don’t understand,” he said, turning to face her from his position on the bed.
She sat forward in the chair next to the round table positioned under the hanging lamp. “About what happened. About your being touched.”
“Oh,” he said quietly. “What about it?”
“I think we had better get our stories together in the event we have to tell someone.”
“Like who do you suggest?”
She shrugged. “What did the … hands feel like?”
“Rough. Very rough, as if they belonged to someone who did heavy, manual labor. Very calloused. Hardened skin. Am I making myself clear?”
Nodding, she said, “That’s exactly the way I’d describe them.”
“All right,” he said, “our descriptions tally. Now what do we do?”
Tears created by the stinging reality of his question rose until they poured out. “There’s got to be something we can do.”
“Did you ever see The Exorcist or read the book?”
She shook her head.
“Any of the scary books? See any of the movies about possession?”
She shook her head again. “Just Kiss Not the Child.”
“I’ve seen The Exorcist and it was awful.”
Wiping her eyes, she said, “Is that what you think is happening? That I’m possessed? Or that you are? Or that …”
He held up his hand for her to stop. “I don’t think you are, but I’m no expert. What I was going to say was that in the movie and in the book, too, they used holy water and a crucifix. I think if I remember correctly, they’re supposed to have devastating effects on the devil.”
“My God! Myles, what if I am possessed? What happens to me?”
Jumping from the bed, he crossed to her, falling to his knees in front of the chair. He held out his arms and she leaned forward until he could embrace her. “You’re not possessed. I think you probably started something with that rite you performed but I don’t think you’re possessed.”
“How can I tell?”
“Well, the little girl in the movie had open sores on her face and talked in a deep, rough voice and did all sorts of weird things like floating …” He stopped.
After a long minute went by, she said, “What’s the matter?”
“You … you were floating in midair tonight and you did it once before. Remember?”
She slowly shook her head as the truth of his statement sunk home. “I … I don’t remember actually flying around. Should I? Maybe because I don’t remember means that I’m not possessed. Say that I’m not, Myles.” Deep sobs racked her body and he held her tightly.
“I truly don’t believe you’re possessed, Nicole. I truly don’t. But we do have to get some questions answered and answered damned soon. Or we have to be better equipped to fight whatever it is that’s doing all of this stuff.”
“Bet … ter equip … ped?” Her sobs grew in their intensity.
Holding her face in his hands, he stared deeply into her teary eyes. “I think we had better get some holy water and a crucifix. Maybe a little religion wouldn’t hurt either.”
“How … can that … help?”
“First of all, I don’t mean the good old fashioned evangelical kind that the Reverend Eddie John Stangood puts out. I mean organized. Maybe I’ll go back to the Catholic Church.”
“What about … Gork …”
“Father Gorkland?” he finished for her.
She nodded, dabbing at her eyes.
“The man’s human. He’s going to have personal prejudices and likes and dislikes. So he can’t see you and me living together and is blind to everything else where we’re concerned. He’s not the only priest around. Besides, maybe we should do something about our marital status anyway.” He smiled gently.
Her eyes widened. Was he proposing? Were they going to be married? “What’s … what’s our … first … step?”
“First thing we’ll do when we get up is go to a religious goods store and buy a crucifix. Then, we’ll find a priest who will bless it and get some holy water from him.”
She looked at him, tilting her head.
“We won’t necessarily tell him about our problem or what the crucifix and holy water are for. At least not right away. If we feel he likes us and we like him, maybe he’ll be the one we unload our story on—again.”
A look of relief crossed Nicole’s face and she bravely forced a smile.
“I think we should at least lie down for a while and get some rest. It’s been a long night.” Standing, he held out his hand for her and she took it, allowing him to lead her to bed.
They both lay back, fully clothed, on top of the covers, staring at the ceiling. Reaching out, he took her hand in his, silently vowing to himself that somehow they would drive the demon who was in their lives back to hell. He knew they could beat the devil.
7:57 A.M.
Gray daylight seeped through the curtain of the apartment’s living room. The TV, stereo, turntable and lights waited patiently, neither playing nor blinking. The furniture had been righted and everything had been straightened. The soft drumming of impatient fingers sounded through the rooms in accompaniment to the whispered words, “Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!”
PART FOUR
“You Are Mine Forever”
Saturday, December 6, 1986
16
Saturday, December 6, 1986 9:00 A.M.
To bolster their sagging physical condition, Nicole and Myles had several cups of coffee at the motel’s dining room before going to the nearest religious goods store. After a wait of twenty minutes, the manager arrived, unlocking the door just at the hour of nine. They waited several minutes and then left Myles’ car, hurrying to the store’s entrance through the brisk morning air.
“What are we going to get other than a crucifix?” Nicole asked. For the first time since the weird happenings had begun, she felt as if she and Myles might gain the upper hand. But what if all this, like everything else they’d tried, was for nothing? Then what? Could they look forward to spending their lives together? Could they expect strange happenings forever?
“Let’s look around but I don’t think it’s too great an idea to ask for something to drive a devil out. He’d probably call the boys in the white coats.”
Nicole nodded, opening the door. The warmth of the store embraced them, which they welcomed. Without realizing it, they had been chilled waiting in the car without the heater running. She visibly shuddered, relaxing a bit in the heat.
“Good morning,” the man said as he approached them. “May I help you?”
“Yes,” Myles said, taking the initiative. “We’d like to look at some crucifixes.”
“Right this way,” he said, gesturing for them
to follow. He went to the far side of the store, pointing to a glass counter that had the symbols of Christ’s death displayed on several shelves. Behind the glass stand, more bare crosses and cruciforms adorned the wall. “Is there any one style or mode that you’re looking for?”
“Not really,” Myles offered absently, stepping closer to the counter. What would they need? As far as he could remember, a cross was a cross. Did it matter what the crucifix looked like when it came to driving the devil away? “Why don’t you let us look these over? If we have any questions, we’ll call you.”
“Very well,” the man said. “I’ll be over at the cash register.” He turned, walking away.
“What do we need?” Nicole asked as soon as the man was out of earshot.
“Just a crucifix. I don’t think there’s any one type that’s preferred. See anything you like?” His voice carried a hint of humor which he suppressed, refusing to make light of the situation.
“I like that one there,” Nicole said, pointing to a silver one, which displayed the Crucifixion in modern design. The thin beams of the cross were barely big enough to support the slender, stylized figure of Christ.
“Okay,” he said. “I can’t see anything wrong with it.”
“Is there anything else we could get?” She looked at him, her eyes pleading for something that would virtually guarantee their ultimate success.
“Other than holy water, I can’t think of anything.”
“Do they carry it here?” she asked.
“That you get in a church or from a priest.”
Her look of understanding seemed like a little girl’s, trusting and calm, as if being given a lesson in some facet of life. Before she could react he bent and kissed her mouth.
