by Tim Miller
“Is it all over?”
“Hell yes. You kicked its ass.”
“My head feels like shit.”
“Well, your face looks like you lost a bar fight, but you won this. Shit, you beat a demon! What was that at the end? How’d you do it?”
“I don’t know. This tattoo, it sort of guided me, if that makes any sense.”
“I guess so. Does that mean you can’t die either?”
“Could be. Though I’m pretty sure that thing could have killed me.”
They stood as Summer helped her up, wrapping the blanket around Regina. They walked through town with Summer keeping an arm around her to keep her steady. Looking around, most of the fires had burned themselves out. It looked like a war zone. All the buildings were reduced to ashes. Cars and vehicles were blackened shells of their former selves. Charred corpses were strewn about the streets as they made their way through.
Regina looked away as they walked past the carnage. Something she couldn’t hide from was the smell. The town reeked of burnt flesh, smoke, and sulfur. She finally allowed herself to cry for Angela, and Summer cried with her. They walked in silence the rest of the way home, taking turns wiping each other’s tears as they went along.
She was amazed to find their home was one of the few still intact. They walked up the steps and through the front door. Once inside, they sat on the couch together for a while before they finally spoke.
“I can’t believe Angela’s gone,” Regina said. “I don’t know why she did that.”
“Because she loved you. She knew only you could defeat that thing. Plus she’s not gone. You have her heart. She’ll always be a part of you.”
The thought made Regina smile. She hadn’t looked at it that way.
“What do you think happened to Merle?” Regina said.
“I don’t really give a shit. Maybe he went home, or left town. That dude is seriously fucked up.”
“The biggest loud mouths usually are.”
“You want to get cleaned up?” Summer asked.
“Not yet. I just want to sit here for a little bit.”
“Ok. I’m going to take a shower,” Summer said. She stood and headed up stairs. After she left, Regina looked down at herself, and moved the blanket. She ran her fingertips along the heart tattoo. By looking at it, you’d think it had been there for years. Its color was slightly faded, but Regina knew what power it held. As she closed the blanket back up, she could have sworn she heard Angela speaking to her.
Everything will be ok. You’ve got this, the voice said. She wasn’t sure if it was real, or if she imagined it. She was fairly sure it wasn’t imagined. She sat back taking comfort in knowing she would never be alone no matter what she faced.
Chapter 26
Merle stood in front of the mirror and adjusted his tie. Walking to his desk, he hooked his headset to his ear and walked through the door and into the hall. Music boomed from the worship center as the band played. He wasn’t even sure what song they were playing, of the “contemporary” church songs; they all pretty much sounded the same to him. Once the worship pastor finished leading the songs he gave Merle the kind of introduction you’d expect of a game show host.
Merle ran through the door and onto the stage. There were thousands of people in his new church. He was now far, far away from Dark Rock, Texas. He was in a place where no one knew his name or face. His name now was Carlton Hollar. His sermons were still hellfire and brimstone, with a touch of motivational speaking. It was a slight twist over his past messages. He still held his beliefs, but his purpose was different now.
As far as the world was concerned, Merle Bannerman was dead. Their house had burned down and both cars were later found destroyed. Gladys was still suffering worse torment than he could possibly imagine. It made him sad to think about it, so he tried not to. He’d remarried since moving away. His new wife, Brittany, was around half his age at twenty-five years old. Oddly she bore a striking resemblance to Regina the witch.
Since making his “deal with the devil” if that is what you’d call it, life had actually been pretty good. He landed this new gig at a large church. The pay was great with bonuses thrown in. His urges for other men had subsided. He hadn’t had sex with a man since leaving Dark Rock. Brittany was beautiful and she absolutely adored him. Plus her father owned several local businesses. Her dad wasn’t too keen on him at first or the age difference. Especially since Merle was almost the same age as her dad. But he was very conservative and loved the idea of her daughter marrying a preacher. Life was good. Mostly.
These things came with a cost. That had been the hard part at first. His new position allowed him greater opportunity to pay that cost. The emotional toll had been tough at first, but it was getting easier. His sermons were better than ever now. He jumped up and down, spoke with great passion. Worked up a sweat and from week to week he’d get the crowd fired up, angry, happy, and crying all in the span of forty five minutes.
This particular sermon was telling folks how much God wants them to prosper. The more they give to the Lord, the great and more abundantly the Lord will bless them. It wasn’t one of his favorite topics, but it was a good one to give when donations slowed down. There was always a boost in the offerings after he gave sermons on prosperity.
As he wrapped things up, he left off with one last announcement.
“Don’t forget, I will be personally leading Bible study for the youth tonight at eight. Have them meet in the park and dress warmly. We’ll be outside, close to God and nature!” he explained. The crowd applauded as he concluded the sermon. As with every week, he made sure to be outside by the door to greet every person as they left. It was a weekly ritual the previous pastor never bothered with. The members seemed to love it however. Just another way he’d found to endear himself to his new community.
He spent the remainder of the day preparing for the evening’s festivities. Part of that preparation included a long nap. This was the first of this type of Bible studies he’d planned since arriving at the new church. Depending on how it went, he may continue with them.
Finally the evening rolled around. He sat at the park waiting for the kids to arrive. The first ones showed up a few minutes before eight. The kids ranged in ages from fourteen to seventeen years old.
“Hey guys!” he called out. “I’m so happy to see all of you. Just hang tight and we’ll get started soon.”
The kids gathered around. Some tossed a football as they waited. A few more kids finally arrived as the sun sat behind the trees.
“Let’s go guys! Right back here!” he said as he pointed to a trail in front of the woods. The kids headed down the trail as he grabbed his backpack. They walked a ways as the trail wound around while the night grew dark.
“How much further, Pastor Carlton?”
“Not far now. See up just ahead?” He pointed to a bonfire almost a hundred yards ahead in a clearing. Several of the kids grew excited and ran toward the bonfire. The rest continued to walk along.
“That’s it guys. Just head up there and have a seat around the fire!” He watched as they all got settled. Some kids threw rocks and sticks into the fire. He didn’t mind. Remaining on the trail, he opened his backpack. Digging through it, he found the long, black robe. He took it out and pulled it over his head. At the bottom of the bag was a garbage bag. Removing the garbage bag, he took out the goat skin mask. He’d had it custom made before moving here. It was made of real goatskin, and still had the horns on top. It was so well done, it even creeped him out. He wasn’t sure why he needed all this. It was part of the instructions he’d been given.
Pulling the mask over his head, he dug the large knife out of the bag and tossed the backpack aside. Everything was perfect. That’s right; blood was the price he must pay for his new life. It was to be either his own or the blood of innocents. Since he was a self-centered narcissist, he opted for the blood of the innocent. Tonight, blood would flow. Once he was in his ceremonial dress, he took the knife and walked toward
the bonfire.
The End
The Panic Beats happen to be a real band that plays some badass punk rock. If you like really sick music you can check them out here:
http://thepanicbeats.bandcamp.com/
You can check out their music videos for their songs “Chop Chop”” and “Stalker” both of which feature my cover model, Haley Jay Madison here:
http://vimeo.com/user18681227/videos
Sneak Peek at Tim Miller’s Upcoming Book:
Chapter 1
Clarence Ringo stood in front of the mirror and stretched. It was just after eight in the morning. He was ready for the day. There were things to do and preparations to be made for his film. Shirtless he stood looking at his reflection, flexing as he admired the definition in his muscles that wasn’t actually there. While others saw a pot belly and man boobs, he saw finely chiseled pecs and abs. Sucking in his gut and sticking his chest out, he growled into the mirror.
“You are the world’s greatest film director,” he said as he pointed at his reflection. “You are fucking unstoppable. You are goddamn indestructible!” He changed poses a few times, flexing and twisting around. Though he hadn’t been to the gym in months, he was extremely impressed with his physique. After a few moments of flexing, he finally walked over and got dressed.
So much to do today. His film, “Zombie Reign” was about to come true. It had to come true. Nothing could stop him now. Once he was dressed, he grabbed a soda from the fridge and a bag of cheese balls before he sat on the couch. The TV was already turned on as he flipped open his laptop, munching away on cheese balls. His cell phone went off text to him. Wiping the cheese crumbs off his fingers he grabbed the phone and answered it.
“Hello?” he said.
“Clarence? Whatcha doin’ babe?” Lisa said. They had been dating for six months and he made her his executive producer on “Zombie Reign.”
“Hey! Oh just working. You?”
“You work so hard. You need to take a break. Did you get any sleep last night?”
“Maybe an hour or two,” he said.
“Wow. Don’t do that to yourself. I worry about you.”
“It’s so sweet how you worry about me.”
“Of course I do. So what time is the casting call? I thought it was this morning.”
“No, it’s at noon. I had to move it.”
“Oh ok. Same place?”
“No, they said they had a meeting there. I found a conference room downtown they said we could use.”
“Oh great.”
“Just one favor though. Could you float me $300.00?”
“For what?”
“It’s, uh to rent the conference room. Its three hundred for the day.”
“Jesus, Clarence!”
“I know, I’m sorry. I’ll pay you back once we get our money.”
“Okay,” she sighed. “When do you need it?”
“Just bring it at noon.”
“Ok babe. Any word when we get paid?”
“Not yet. The investor was supposed to call me this week to schedule a meeting. I think she’ll give me a check then.”
“Oh, that’ll be great. You’ve waited so long.”
“Yeah, it’s been a long haul, but we’re almost there. Not much longer now. We just need to fill a few more roles and this will be a go.”
“Sometimes I just can’t believe it.”
“Oh believe it, our lives are about to change. See you at noon.” He said as he hung up and tossed the phone onto the couch. Lisa was a great lady, when she wasn’t bugging him about money. He was happy to have her though, she took care of everything for him. That way he didn’t have to bother with all the leg work. This was his vision after all, he needed to be planning, strategizing and realizing this dream. He turned the sound back on the TV when his mom came walking into the room.
“Clarence. Are you going to be able to help me with rent this month?” She asked.
“Oh yeah! Yeah, definitely.”
“That’s what you said last month. I can’t keep paying for both of us.”
“I know mom. I told you I’ll pay you back, as soon as I get the money from the movie.”
She rolled her eyes.
“God, I’m so sick of hearing about this movie. You’re forty-two years old! Where’s the movie?”
“I know, mom. Didn’t you teach me to never give up on your dreams? These things take time.”
“I did, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a job while you chase them.”
“This is my job!”
She looked at the TV and the bag of cheeseballs and shook her head.
“Ok. Just try to at least help me out this month if you want any more cheeseballs.”
“I will. I promise,” he said as she walked out. Once she left he looked at the time. It was almost eleven. Fuck. He got up and put the cheeseballs away and headed to his car. Well it was his mom’s car, but it may as well be his since he drove it all the time. She had retired from a local insurance company after working there for thirty-five years. She had planned on moving to Florida when she retired, but he talked her into staying in Texas. He wanted here to watch his dreams come true.
As he drove, he thought about all the great things he’d do with his fame and fortune. There had been people along the way who told him he was full of shit. He had no time for such losers. Part of why he was recasting was having to fire so many after the last shoot.
Several were complaining about not being paid and having to do their own stunts. One flat out refused. Just who did that asshole think he was? I’m the director. You work for me! He thought. But that was part of the film business, not that he’d actually made any films. These actors all have egos and sometimes need put in their place. If that didn’t work, they were out. But today would be a good day. He just got a new assistant director who is excited for this project. It would be great to get some fresh faces to work with.
As he pulled up to the conference center, there was a line of people already lined up around the corner. A smile crossed his face as he took in the crowd. This was going to be a great day.
Also by Tim Miller
The Hand of God
Revenge of the Three
Dark Exorcist
Dark Exorcist 2
Blood Slayer
Family Night
Hell Texas
Night of Vengeance
Bloody Bank Heist
The Country Club
Road to Darkness
Dead to Writes (April Almighty Book 1)
Welcome to Happytown (April Almighty Book 2)
About the Author
Tim began writing at a very young age. As a teenager he would write short stories of horror to entertain himself and his friends. Not knowing at the time this would one day lead to his dream of becoming a published author. Tim has studied various religions and psychology as evident in the "Hand of God" books and "Dark Exorcist."
From there, Tim began to venture into the realm of splatterpunk and extreme horror, which kicks the gore factor into overdrive. With the release of "Family Night" Tim has been off to the races. He has released several bestselling titles that are sure to turn your stomach.
You can follow Tim on his website at http://timmiller.org and on Twitter @TimMiller2011
