Rememberers

by C. Edward Baldwin

  Josh took the envelope, running his fingers on the raised congressional seal.

  “I want to see her,” Cleaver said. “Can you tell her that?”

  “Yes, I'll tell her,” Josh said.

  Cleaver escorted them to the door. “Is there anything else I can do?”

  “Nothing I can think of at the moment,” Josh said. “But you might want to consider getting new furniture for that upstairs bedroom and maybe ditching that picture on the dresser.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  “Something's not right,” Seth said. “She's got to be on that base. That's guy's freaking lying!” They were on I-95, heading back toward Lumberton. The Taurus's speed was only forty-five mph, the interstate minimum. Kallie's grandmother was expecting to see her grandbaby. They were in no rush to get to Ms. Hunt's house without Kallie in tow.

  Josh's cell phone chimed. He answered it. After listening for a few moments, he said, “It had your congressional seal as well?” He received his answer. Then he said, “No sir, I have no idea…yes sir, I will….goodbye.” He ended the call and looked over at Seth. “A man presented a sealed envelope just like the one the congressman had given us. The guards released Kallie to him.”

  “What?” Seth asked. “Who?”

  “I have a good idea. But we have to get back to Bengate.”

  “What about Ms. Hunt?”

  “If who I think has Kallie, then we don't have any time to waste.”

  Seth hit the gas, pushing the Taurus up to seventy. “You think it's this Swag character, don't you?”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “You've been reading that Book of Origins like it's a predictor of the future. It didn't say anything about this? We're spinning our wheels here while this Swag guy's been steps ahead of us.”

  “I believe Swag was originally a Rememberer who's now demon-possessed. Madame Isabel was or is a Rememberer, though I believe strongly, it's was. Anyway, she and Swag would have generally remembered the same events. But now that Swag's demon-possessed, the demon within him also saw the same events and can alter them to his liking. Unfortunately, seeing is faster than reading.”

  “He was able to beat us to the punch because he now controls the machine?” Seth said. “Well you'd better flip on that light and get back to reading that book.”

  “Oh, so now you believe?” Josh taunted.

  “We don't have time for pettiness. Just read the book and find out where we need to go.”

  “It's not going to be as easy as that. The book is no longer going to do us any good. In case you haven't realized it, we've gone off script. In the previous life-cycle, the Swag-demon doesn't get Kallie at Fort Bragg. We do. Now, I'm afraid we're moving in uncharted territory.”

  They got into Bengate at 10:15 p.m. They drove to Josh's apartment where they both availed themselves of the facilities and Josh retrieved his forty-five handgun. The gun was licensed, but Josh had never had occasion to use it for anything other than target shooting.

  “You know how to use that thing?” Seth asked.

  “Very much so,” Josh said.

  “You don't look like the gun-toting type.”

  “Why, is it because I'm a liberal? Understand, most liberals aren't against guns. They're against fools with guns.”

  “Will you be able use that thing to shoot Swag if it came to that?”

  Josh started to say something, but hesitated, and then said, “Let's hope it doesn't come to it. Now let's boogie over to New Vibe.”

  Bennett had just exited his vehicle, heading to his niece's apartment, when he saw Kallie's boyfriend Seth driving a Taurus into the apartment complex. Bennett had been away eating lunch when the word had come down to release Kallie Hunt. No one had consulted him. He hadn't even been given fair warning that she would be allowed to walk. But that's how it was sometimes. Crap always flowed down hill. It was the rule of government physics. He'd had no idea who'd picked her up or where they'd taken her. He drove to Bengate as fast as he could and went by her house; but she wasn't there. He parked his car alongside the curb outside her house and waited for a while to see if she'd show. She didn't and he couldn't wait any longer. Her neighbors were getting restless and it wouldn't have been long before one of them called the police. The order releasing Kallie had included a “no harassment” warning written expressly for him. And he didn't need any higher up to know that he'd blatantly disobeyed a freshly given directive. But Kallie Hunt had answers to some serious questions. He was certain that she'd been just about ready to provide those answers when someone in brass pulled the rug out from under him.

  He'd decided to ride over to his niece's apartment on the off chance that Kallie Hunt's boyfriend would come cruising into the complex with the kid from that memory project thing that Kallie Hunt had participated in. Of course, in actuality, it wasn't the off chance he'd hoped for or had even anticipated, but a gift from the gods. He deftly pulled behind the Taurus as it high-tailed it out of the complex parking lot, with Kallie’s two friends and a forty-five handgun in tow (he'd seen Josh pull it from his waistband, carefully placing it on the floorboard of the Taurus), and heading to only God knew where.

  * * *

  It was her wedding day, or rather night.

  She'd never dreamt she'd buy her wedding gown off the rack. Heck, she hadn't even considered it as a possibility when as a starry-eyed little girl she'd lain in her bed at night as most girls usually did at some point in time and dreamt of such things. But there she'd been earlier that day, after having been released from military custody, at a cozy shop called Gowns-N-Things in St. Paul. The small town was located about seventeen miles north of Lumberton. She selected her dress from amongst a circular collection of many dresses. All of the dresses looked mostly the same, changing only in size—small, medium, or large. A gown off the rack? There was something ungodly about it. Weren't measurements needed? Alterations? Fittings? Maybe gowns off the rack were the latest trend, she thought, the prices of weddings being what they were. Of course, none of it mattered now. She was getting married, tonight. It was all so fast, yet it seemed so wickedly right. The timing was perfect. And she had no doubt that Johnny Swag was the man for her. She felt so alive with tumultuous passion whenever she was near him. Her feelings of lust and wanting felt so bad that they felt so good. And to top it off, he knew her. He knew her better than she knew herself. She'd heard of couples who could finish each other's sentences. What would those sick couples say about a man who could start hers? Yes, she'd convinced herself, marrying Swag was the right thing to do. It was destined.

  * * *

  McCarthy spent the entire afternoon preparing the sanctuary, robotically going about his duties. The smell had been the hardest thing to tackle and he wasn't sure how successful he'd been in getting rid of it, as his nose had grown somewhat accustomed to the horrendous smell that had nearly floored him when he'd first entered the church. There wasn't anything he could do about the busted out window panes. But he'd swept up most of the pages torn from the Bibles and hymnals, vacuumed up a lot of the black dirt spilled from the knocked over pots and plants, and he'd gathered up most of the wood from the severely damaged pews, placing them off to the side in a pile. There were still a good amount of stray leaves and petals sprinkled here and there, but for the most part, the place looked better suited to host a wedding, particularly if one's goal was to get married in a ransacked greenhouse. After he'd done all he could think to do, he hurried back to Swag's pastoral chambers to change into his ceremonial attire.

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  The old woman told her she looked beautiful and Kallie wanted to believe her. It was, after all, her wedding night, and she wanted to be beautiful. In fact, she needed to feel beautiful. She was in a room at the back of the church, the one the choir used to change into their robes. The old woman was a senior member of the church. Johnny had called in some members of the congregation to assist in the wedding ceremony and to serve as witnesses to the most glorious event.
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  The woman brushed Kallie's hair away from her eyes. “I do believe you're the most beautiful of all the brides I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot. I'm ninety-one years old.”

  “Thank you,” Kallie said softly. “I only wish my mother and grandmother were here to see me.”

  “Are they passed on?” the woman asked.

  “My mother has. But my grandmother doesn't even know I'm getting married. She should be here. I should call her.”

  The woman continued brushing her hair. “There isn't time now, child. And you shouldn't worry. This is your night. It's your wedding night.”

  “Yes,” Kallie said, “it is.”

  * * *

  They were fifteen minutes away from the church. Seth was gripping the steering wheel so hard that his veins bulged out the back of his hands. He looked anxiously over at Josh. “You're sure there's nothing in that book we can use?”

  “No, I'm not sure. There could be something related to it. All I know is that the scene we're riding up on is not in the book. I don't even know what we're riding into.”

  “Are you even sure they're at the church?”

  “No,” Josh said and looked out the passenger side window. “I have no idea where they are. I'm going on gut now. So, just get there.”

  Meanwhile at the church, it was a strange sight to behold. Father Frank McCarthy in full priestly regalia, standing stiffly at the altar, with a thick book of ceremonial rituals open in his hands. Swag stood next to him, awaiting his bride to march down the aisle to him. About twenty or so other exiled spirits residing in the bodies of his former congregants would bear witness to the event, perhaps the most spectacular one of all existence, the marriage of fallen angels.

  Kallie entered the sanctuary from the north entrance. Two sullen faced preteen girls paced in front of her, dropping dead white and red roses in her path. Loud screeching music blasted from the walls, sounding as if untalented adolescents were behind them playing musical instruments for the very first time.

  McCarthy read from the ceremonial book. “What the Dark Father brings together let no being cut asunder.”

  The witnesses murmured in unison. “Yes, old dark one. Yes master, receive your bride.”

  McCarthy continued. “Let all here witness a promise finally fulfilled.”

  The witnesses chorused, “Yes, old dark one. Yes master, receive your bride.”

  McCarthy cleared his throat. “Two beings falsely cast out from Heaven will join together in Earthly bond, and then together claim their rightful thrones in Heaven.”

  “Yes, old dark one. Yes master, receive your bride.”

  * * *

  The Taurus pulled into New Vibe's parking lot. Seth and Josh had just opened their respective doors when a blue sedan pulled in roughly behind the Taurus.

  Bennett got out of the sedan. “Hold it right there, fellas, and tell me what's going on.”

  Seth said, “Listen, mister. I don't know what your problem is or what you want. But we're kind of in a hurry.”

  Bennett pulled out his identification. Then, looking at Josh, he said, “I need to know what you're planning to do with that gun.”

  Josh backed up cautiously. “Be careful, Seth. I know him, but he could be possessed.”

  “Holy crap,” Seth said. “Swag is still a step ahead of us. What should we do?”

  Bennett looked curiously from one to the other. “What are you two talking about? Who's Swag?”

  Josh looked anxiously at the church. He didn't know what was supposed to happen, but he had a sense that time was running short. “Your boss, or should I say your master,” Josh said.

  Bennett followed Josh's gaze to the church, and then noticed the sign. “Reverend Johnny Swag. Wait a minute, you two are planning to kill a preacher?”

  “He's no preacher,” Seth said. “He's a demon.”

  “Seth!” Josh shouted.

  “We don't have time to be out here lolly-gagging,” Seth said. “Either shoot that son of a bitch or tell him what's going on.”

  “Yes, one of you had better tell me what's going on,” Bennett said.

  “Listen,” Josh said. “We don't have a whole lot of time. Swag is demon-possessed and he picked up our friend today from Fort Bragg. He's dangerous and we don't know what he's planning to do with her. But whatever it is, it's going down right now while we're out here shooting the crap with you.”

  Bennett said, “Kallie Hunt's inside this church?”

  “Yes!” Seth said. “Now can we go?”

  “Yes,” Bennett said, turning toward the church. “Let's go.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  McCarthy cleared his throat again. “If there's any being here who objects to the joining of these two, speak now or forever…”

  “I object!” Seth shouted. He'd run into the sanctuary. Josh was dead on his heels and Bennett was close behind him.

  A collective hiss rose angrily from the congregation. Josh waved the forty-five wildly from side to side. Bennett grabbed the arm of the hand holding the gun. “What are you doing?”

  Josh snatched back from him. “I don't know how effective this thing will be. But I suggest you get your hand off me and pull out yours. This ain't Kate and William's wedding. Look around!”

  Bennett, still holding tight to Josh's arm, looked all around him. The place looked out of sorts. The windows were smashed. Pews were askew. Some were even damaged, a couple completely. Their remains piled in a heap against the wall. The place looked storm-ravaged. A hint of something foul-smelling bandied about the air. Then, after staring into the lifeless eyes of a few of the congregants sitting in the pews, he shuddered. “My God….”

  McCarthy stopped reading and looked toward the objection.

  “Continue,” Swag commanded him.

  McCarthy's body shifted nervously. He seemed at a loss as to what to do next.

  “The book!” Swag shouted. “Finish reading the passage.”

  McCarthy cleared his throat once again and shuffled his shoulders as if trying to regain his composure. “If anyone…”

  “You've read that,” Swag said angrily. “Skip down to…” and he said, “now do you Kali…”

  “Uh, yes, yes, of course,” McCarthy said. He turned to Kali. “Do you, Kali, take Lucifer, to have and to hold for all of existence? To…”

  “Kallie!” Seth shouted, interrupting McCarthy again. He ran toward the front of the church. One of the congregants, a rather large fellow, started to rise, obviously intending to impede Seth's trek to the altar. Josh spotted him and shot his gun into the air. It struck the ceiling, causing plaster to flutter down upon the congregation like dirty snow, startling the bruiser long enough for Seth to scoot past him.

  After Seth called out to her, Kallie froze where she stood, her mouth agape.

  She was facing away from him as he approached the altar. He spoke to her back. “I love you, Kallie.”

  When she finally turned around, it was as if Seth was seeing her for the very first time. She was standing there in her white wedding gown, pulsing with unimaginable energy. She was the most beautiful creature he'd ever laid eyes upon. And in that one instant, standing at the front of the defiled church, amongst heathens and dead flowers, knocked over potted plants and trees, in that one instant, in a place eerily symbolic of the Garden after the Fall of Man, his eyes were opened. “Eve.” The name, one he hadn't uttered consciously in eons, rolled with pleasurable awareness off his lips.

  Tears streamed down Kallie/Kali/Eve's face and her face glowed suddenly with her own renewed recognition. “Adam.”

  They ran to each other. Their two bodies and life forces collided and meshed, casting potent rainbow light throughout the church. The light curbed in front of McCarthy, slapping him violently across his face and knocking him against the front of the choir stand and ultimately back to his original senses. Within moments, he shook off his mind's fogginess and slowly regained a consciousness he hadn't had since his initial viewing of Swag's video.<
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  All of this took place in a matter of seconds with Swag watching it all in utter disbelief and disgust. He'd waited an eternity for his revised moment and had been willing to give Kali her third chance at fulfillment. And she, after having betrayed him twice already—once in Heaven and then again in Eden—chose to betray him, yet a third time. She was the quintessential tease, refusing to go the distance. But this would be her last time deceiving him. Kali, he'd decided, would have to be destroyed.

  Swag hissed at her. Kallie/Kali/Eve let go of Seth/Adam and turned around. “Lucifer,” she said with absolute clarity. “This will be the last time you deceive me.”

  “Funny,” Swag/Lucifer said. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

  He swiped at her face, drawing first blood.

  She rubbed her cheek, wiping the blood with her fingers. She tasted it. She opened her mouth and let out the high-pitched scream that only demons could hear. The unclean spirits in the congregation, motionless during the recent fracas started trembling noisily as if they'd never heard anything so awful in all of their existence. Kallie, who'd quickly become an old hand at demonic destruction, leapt at Lucifer.

  Lucifer stumbled back, his eyes flaming bright red with anger and hatred.

  Kallie/Kali/Eve landed in front of him, stepping forward softly. “Johnny, are you in there? I can help you, but you must push him out. Can you hear me? You must push him out. “

  Lucifer smiled. “Ah, it's the young preacher you seek? I can assure you that he's been a most kind host since London. But, I'm afraid he will no longer be joining us in this Earthly realm. But if it's any consolation to you, I can report that he went kindly into that good night, and didn't put up nearly half the struggle as your little fat Professor Sampson.”

  Kallie/Kali/Eve swung out, scraping her fingernails across Lucifer's face, drawing blood. “I've defeated you before and I will again.” She opened her mouth, letting loose her high-pitched squeal.