by Willow Rose
"I want you so bad," he said under his breath.
He found the zipper in my winter jacket and opened it, and then his hands found their way to my breasts underneath my sweater. I closed my eyes and enjoyed his touches. It was a strange situation but it felt good.
"Do you want to go inside?" he asked.
"We can't," I moaned. "Someone might wake up and hear us. The cabin is small and not very soundproof."
Sune kissed me again. His hands were touching me. Then he fumbled with my pants and managed to pull them down to my knees. I opened his. I touched him gently and led him to me. He entered me with a small shriek of pleasure. I closed my eyes and let him ride me.
We were both almost at our climax when suddenly the silence in the forest was broken by a terrible scream. It felt like glass shattering inside of me. The sound of it caused me to shiver. It was ghastly and gruesome at the same time. Birds took off from treetops, dogs started barking. Sune froze and stared at me. We both went completely stiff. Never in my life had I heard this kind of screaming. Sune pulled out and put on his pants. The screaming continued. It was horrifying and I felt waves of chills all over my body.
"Where is that coming from?" Sune asked.
I got up and walked into the yard. I looked around and tried to detect where the sound could come from, but seemed to echo off all the trees in the forest and sounded like it came from more than one direction.
"I don't know," I said and looked at him. His eyes were filled with as much terror as I imagined mine to be. "Do you think we should do something?"
Sune sighed. "How? We don't even know where it is coming from?"
"Maybe someone needs our help?" I asked.
Sune nodded. I looked at the cabin and thought I saw something move inside the living room. The curtain was pulled and Julie was looking out at us.
"It woke up the kids," I said and started running back.
I opened the door and hugged Julie. "What is the awful noise, Mommy?" she asked while holding her ears. Her hair was messed and her eyes hardly open.
"We don't know sweetie. It'll probably stop soon. We need to get you back to bed," I said.
"But I can't sleep with this noise!" she exclaimed angrily. "It's so loud. It hurts my ears."
"I know," I said. "I have an idea. I brought some earplugs in case Sune was snoring too badly. You can have them."
I went to my purse and found the earplugs. Julie looked at me with her big blue eyes as I returned. She was shaking. I felt her arm. It was freezing cold.
"I'm scared Mommy," she said. "Who is screaming like that?"
I stroke her gently on her cheek. "I don't know sweetie. But I'm sure it'll stop soon."
"Can you come sleep with me?" she asked.
I sighed deeply, since I really wanted to spend the evening with Sune. But her eyes convinced me otherwise and the screaming had kind of destroyed the moment along with my mood.
"Okay. I will. Here," I said and pressed in the first earplug, then the second in the other ear.
Then I grabbed her around her shoulders and looked in her eyes. "Better?"
She looked at me like she didn't understand. I knew then that they were working as intended. She could see that I was talking but not hear me. They weren't ordinary earplugs, these I had gotten from the army when I was in Iraq. Julie wasn't going to hear a thing all night.
"I'm going to sleep with Julie," I said to Sune.
He looked disappointed at me. I shrugged. "It's too eerie to be in the mood for anything anyway," I said and pointed at the outside from where the screaming hadn't stopped, only increased in intensity and depth.
He nodded. Then he stroked me gently across my cheek. "I know. It's just so rare we get to ... you know."
"I do know. A rain check?"
He smiled then kissed my forehead. I scowled in Julie's direction. We hadn't yet kissed in front of the kids. They knew we were seeing each other, we had told them that much, but somehow I think they had the idea that we were just good friends. We were never affectionate physically in front of them. Maybe that was a mistake but I feared Julie's reaction. I had no idea how much she knew or how she would react. So I guess I kind of postponed it, which annoyed Sune greatly. He wanted to be able to kiss me whenever he felt like it and he was certain that Tobias didn't care at all. Maybe I was just being overly protective; I thought as I climbed into Julie's bed and held her tight while Sune called the police.
Outside of the windows I could still hear the screams shattering the night. I realized now that this kind of scream wasn't normal, this kind of screaming was filled with suffering and anguish to a point where it was almost inhuman.
These were the screams of someone dying.
CHAPTER 4
THE PRIEST WAS screaming from the top of his lungs. The pain, the agony inside of him was unbearable. His screams attracted his church members, some of them his closest friends through many years. Now they were looking at him with despair and helplessness. He was lying on the floor his body curled up, shaking in pain. He was throbbing, sobbing trying hard to speak to them but no words left his mouth, only screams and vomit every now and then. His skin felt like it was boiling underneath. His blood was raging through his veins.
Oh the pain. This excruciating pain was eating him from the inside. Were they just going to stand there and look at him? He heard them talk amongst themselves, discuss what to do, but no one dared to touch him. No one wanted to come too close. Another wave of pain rushed over his body and caused him to throw up. As he did, a clump of hair fell off and landed on the wooden planks. He sat up on his knees and touched his head. Then he pulled another clump of hair out without even feeling it. Then he pulled even more out and to his astonishment threw it on the floor. He was drooling when another wave of pain rolled in over him and he screamed in anguish. His skin was bubbling, sizzling and when he touched it, lumps of skin just fell right off. He threw up again and felt how he was urinating at the same time and realized that he was lying in his own excrement.
A woman, Isabella, the one he had trusted as his right hand, his apprentice, the one who was supposed to take over for him once the good Lord had taken him home, kneeled in front of him. Her eyes were terrified. In her hand she was holding his book and she was reading phrases from it, phrases he had written and told them to repeat again and again. The people surrounding her hummed and chanted while she mumbled the words in Latin.
The Priest screamed his suffering out as another wave of pain rolled over him. It felt like something was eating him up from the inside, devouring his internal organs one by one. It was burning, so badly burning.
"The ..." he managed to stutter just before another pain forced him to fall to the floor again. He was trembling like he was having a seizure. Then more vomit. Now his head started to hurt. He held it in agony. Was it going to explode? It felt like something was pressing from the inside, trying to get out. The Priest screamed while holding on to it and tossing his body around while strange voices filled his mind and drowned his thoughts.
The people watching started yelling. "Go demon! Leave this body immediately! Leave the Priest now. I command thee in the name of the Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Leave this body and this place."
The Priest crumbled up while moaning and groaning. Then another pain from his stomach hit him like had he been shot by an arrow or punched by someone. He screamed again this time louder than ever, causing Isabella to stagger backwards in fear. He roared out in pain and screamed at her. She threw herself backwards. Others grabbed her and pulled her away from the Priest.
Then he went quiet for just a second. He gasped for breath, got up on all fours and lifted his head. He stared at the people surrounding him. When they saw his face they jumped and drew backwards holding on to each other as if they were staring directly at the devil. A gasp, someone cried, others cursed the devil and tried to cast him out of the Priest. Then he opened his mouth.
"The ... The ... girl," he stuttered half choked. Drool
ran down his chin and neck, blood was coming out of his nose and eyes, running down his face. Then he threw up again. This time only blood came up. His body was shaking, trembling, and his arms and legs could no longer hold him up. He fell with his face flat in his own bloody vomit and excrement.
"The ... girl," he whispered as life slowly oozed out of him.
But no one heard the last words the Priest spoke. They were drowned in Latin phrases and commandments telling the devil to leave this body now.
The last thing the Priest saw was his own crucifix lying on the floor in front of him, smeared in blood.
Then the good Lord finally had mercy on him and took him home.
CHAPTER 5
WHEN THE SCREAMING finally stopped I found it hard to fall asleep. The eerie feeling inside wouldn't go away. As the morning approached hours later I finally managed to get a couple of hours of sleep before Julie woke me up. Her eyes looked tired. I helped her pull out the earplugs. She smiled then kissed me.
"The screaming stopped," she exclaimed.
I nodded, and then put my head back on the pillow. "I'll just take half an hour more," I grumbled.
Julie shook me. "No Mommy, we have to get up. I'm hungry. Tobias is awake too," she said and pointed at Tobias lying in the bed next to ours.
His eyes were open and he looked at Julie with a huge smile. "Let's go downstairs," Julie said and jumped out of the bed.
I put the cover over my head. "I'll be down later," I growled.
I heard them leave the room then walk downstairs. My dad was awake; I could hear him say a singing “Good morning” to the kids. Apparently he hadn't been awake like I had. I turned onto my side and tried to fall asleep again. It was after all vacation so I was allowed to treat myself. But much to my surprise I couldn't fall asleep even if I felt like I needed it so badly. The screams had somehow burned themselves into my brain and wouldn't leave again. I kept hearing them over and over again and it gave me the chills.
The door to the bedroom opened and I felt someone crawl into my bed. I opened my eyes and stared into those of Sune. He was smiling. His Mohawk was messed up and lay flat on top of his head. I touched his face gently.
Sune crept under the covers to me and held me tight.
"I can't stop thinking about those screams," I said.
He kissed my neck. "Me either," he said. "I keep wondering what it was. What could make a person scream like that?"
"Pain," I said. "Excruciating pain. Unbearable pain."
Sune lifted his head and stared at me. "What are you thinking?"
I shook my head. "I have no idea what it might have been. All I know is that it was something serious. Something awful."
I turned and grabbed his face between my hands. Then I pulled him closer and kissed him for a long time. Feeling him, drinking from his lips.
"Well a good morning to you too," he said with a huge white smile when I let go of him.
"Do you want to get some breakfast?" I asked.
"I'm starving," he exclaimed and patted his stomach. He hadn't put on a shirt yet. I loved to look at him. He was very tall and well-built. He leaned over and kissed me once again. Then he got up from the bed. "Are you coming?" he asked.
"I'll take a shower first."
Once I came down after my shower I couldn't find any of them in the kitchen. They were all sitting in the living room by the TV watching something. It was the News, the 24-hour news channel. They had breaking news to report. I crept up behind Sune and hugged him from behind.
"What's going on?" I asked.
Dad looked at me. "The screaming last night ..."
"So you did hear it," I said. "I thought you slept through it all."
"No it kept me up all night. Haven't closed an eye since it started. Once it was over I thought I might as well get up. Couldn't fall asleep again."
"It was Anders Granlund, better known as the Priest," Sune said. "You know, the leader of that sect."
"The Way?" I asked.
"Yes. You know their camp is located pretty close to here," Dad said.
"Yes. We drove past the entrance yesterday on our way here," I said. "Was it him? What happened?"
Sune shook his head. "He died last night. They believe it might be some sort of strange disease. He fell ill during the night. Then he had sort of a seizure. Could have been an allergic reaction or something. He was throwing up and had diarrhea for hours apparently before he died."
"A disease?" Julie asked with frightened eyes. "What if we get it?"
"They don't know if it is a disease yet. You heard what Sune said. It might have been an allergic reaction," I said to calm her down.
"But when will we know?"
I saw anxiousness in her eyes. I walked to her and hugged her gently. "They'll find out soon and then they'll tell us we don't need to be afraid." I looked at Sune. "Has anyone else fallen ill in the camp?" I asked.
"Not to their knowledge," Sune said.
"There you go," I said. "It's nothing to be afraid of. They keep to themselves up there and don't have much contact with people around them so even if they do have some virus up there - which I don't think they do - it's highly unlikely it will spread."
Julie looked at me with a smile. "Now turn that thing off," I said to Dad who held the remote. "You're scaring the kids. Plus we need to get something to eat."
Dad prepared a huge meal for breakfast. But none of us ate that much. I kept thinking about the Priest and what could have possibly made him scream like this. I found my purse and retrieved my phone. I sighed and held it for a while in my hand almost like I was feeling its weight. Then I turned it on. I knew I never should have. Twenty-five voicemail messages. All from my editor Jens-Ole. I knew what they were about but listened to one anyway.
"I know you must have heard about the death of the sect leader by now. You're in the area. Call me."
I looked at my family sitting around the breakfast table. Then I sighed and called him back.
"Where the hell have you been?!" he exclaimed.
"On vacation. Where do you think?"
"I know. But you're the only one right now who is close to the scene. Could you look into the story about the Priest?"
"I'm here with my family. I'm supposed to relax, doctor's orders remember?" I said.
"If I say please?"
I sighed again. Sune looked at me. Our eyes locked. He knew what was going on. I knew he had brought his camera as well. Just in case. This was that kind of case. I was intrigued enough to look into this story.
"Just one article about the Priest, his death and the place up there and then I'll let you off the hook," Jens-Ole pleaded.
"You know they'll never let us in," I said.
"I know. Take some pictures from the outside and then talk to the locals about them. Could you do that? Please?"
I exhaled. "Okay. But just the one article."
"I promise. Cross my heart and all that," Jens-Ole said. "I'll leave you alone the rest of your vacation."
"Yeah right," I said with a smile. Then I hung up.
Sune approached me. "Let me guess. Jens-Ole?" He whispered.
I nodded. "Just one story," I said.
Sune sighed deeply and shook his head. "I thought we were here so you could relax."
"I know. But aren't you intrigued? Just a little bit?"
"Of course I am. But we are just doing a portrait thing right?" he asked.
"Yes," I assured him. "Just the story about the Priest seen from the eyes of the locals and then pictures from the place, probably just be the fence and the 'keep away' signs."
Sune looked at the children. They had found a video-game and plugged it into the TV. They would hardly notice we weren't there once that thing had started.
"Okay," he said. "I'll grab my camera."
CHAPTER 6
AS EXPECTED THE place outside the camp was swamped with people when we arrived. TV cameras, journalists, photographers swarmed around the fence, peeking in, waiting for
the sect members to show themselves and maybe give a comment. Just a picture of someone walking behind the fence would make the front page.
I greeted the few that I knew from earlier in my career, then joined them waiting. Sune started taking pictures of the fence, the signs telling people to stay away and that this was a private property. He had a way of making himself almost invisible, able to sneak around unseen and take the best photos. He would never just stand in a crowd to get the same picture as everyone else. I studied him as he slowly moved further and further away from the crowd and into the forest while following the fence. I knew he was trying to get closer somehow and maybe be able to zoom in close on the camp through the trees. Maybe he would catch a glimpse of someone in there, maybe one of the young persons that the sect was suspected of brainwashing. While Sune disappeared I wondered what it was like to live like that, in a camp with people telling you what to think and what to do. I could vividly imagine how it would be appealing to young people with many problems. Kids were so fragile at that age, so easy to manipulate. That they exploited their weaknesses made me sick to my stomach.
Before we left the house I researched a bit on what had been written over the years about the sect. And I didn't like what I had seen one bit. On more than one occasion they had been investigated by the police, but never charged with anything. The media reported that their leader the Priest was simply too smart to get caught doing anything illegal. One person who had managed to get out after five years in the camp had in the one and only interview he had ever made ten years ago, told that the Priest deliberately targeted young people who had run away from home or were living in the streets. He lured them to the camp with promises of a better life. Then he used them for labor, cultivating the fields on the estate, caring for the sheep and cooking and cleaning. They weren't to have any contact with the world outside and were told to never contact their families again. They told them that they didn't know what was good for them; they would never understand or accept their new way of living. The other sect members were their family now. The Priest would tell them how to think, what to think and what not to think. That was the difficult part for me. The brainwashing part. They were so impressionable at that young age.
