Echoes of Tomorrow Season One: Episode Eight (Echoes of Tomorrow: Season One Book 8)

by Douglas Wayne

  Al approached the group cautiously. “We don’t have time to discuss this, so I’m going to call the shots. Tyler and Matt, you two go through the hallway and get back to the truck. I don’t have to tell you what will happen if you don’t make it back in front in a reasonable time.”

  The two men nodded.

  “But how will they get back inside,” Davis protested. “It’s not like they can just walk in through the front door.”

  “We’ll have to create a diversion,” Matt said as he pulled out his gun. “These things might be useful after all.”

  The plan was far from ideal, but it was a start. He knew from his time in the military that no plan survived first contact, so he expected this plan would have to change on the fly. As long as he could get the others to sign off on it, he would do what it took to get back inside.

  The priest broke into another coughing fit, spraying a mist of blood into the air, speckling the back half of the stage. “Might want to hurry. Not sure how much longer I can hold on.”

  Great, Tyler thought to himself. All the fun of an espionage mission with the added threat of a timer. The longer they sat there, the more interesting the scenario got.

  Davis paced the floor, mouthing unsaid words as he walked into a circle. The man was a loose cannon, his uncertainty about the situation was going to ruin what little planning they’d done. Tyler wished he had a way to subdue the man without setting off any more flags than they already were, but knew it wasn’t likely. Thankfully, Al spoke up with a solution.

  “Davis, I need you here with us. We already had a shortage of men able to shoot, making you our only defense if the demon turns on anyone else.”

  “What about me?” Nelson asked, entering the conversation. “I was the finest marksman on my unit back in Korea. Give me a gun and I’ll make sure the son of a bitch doesn’t hurt anyone else.”

  “Easy, Nelson. You’re eighty-one years old,” Al said.

  “Eighty-two,” Nelson corrected. “I’d be willing to bet I’m a better shot than any man in this room.”

  “I say give him a gun,” Tyler said with a grin. “He’s risking his life by being here. Having someone else who can shoot with a gun isn’t a bad idea.”

  Al nodded, then looked over at Davis, who’d resumed his circling path.

  “I don’t know. Why don’t we give Winston a gun. You found a gun by the kid last night, didn’t you?” Davis said, staring at Tyler. “He probably knows how to shoot. More people with guns, right?”

  “The kid isn’t up for it. Shouldn’t have had a gun in the first place.” Winston hadn’t said more than two words since he’d eaten the night before. Most of his time had been spent around Al, who watched him like a hawk. Nobody was willing to risk letting the kid out of their sights until they knew full well he wasn’t going to be a problem.

  “The kid will be with me,” Al said. “He doesn’t need to see any more of this shit than he already has. What we need is for you to pull your head back in the game and cover the group long enough for Tyler to get back. Think you can handle that?”

  “Yeah,” he said, reluctantly. “But I don’t like it.”

  “I’m not asking you to like it. I don’t like being stuck here any more than you. But as long as we can all work together for the next twenty minutes, there’s a chance all of us will get out of here in one piece.”

  While Al went over what the men inside would do, Tyler took a moment to check in on Marcy. Laying on the floor, she looked worse than ever, sending a twinge of guilt through his chest.

  “How you holding up?” he asked, trying hard to keep a straight face. He didn’t want her to see how much he’d been worried about her, fearing she’d try to stop him before he left.

  “Other than the headache, not too bad.” With Judy’s help, she sat up as high as she could, her gaze meeting his. “Looks like we found another one of the bastards.”

  “Three too many,” he said with a chuckle. “Becoming a real demon magnet.”

  “One of us is.” She smiled. “Take care of yourself out there and be quick. He isn’t going to like it when he notices you are gone.”

  Tyler nodded. “You take care too.”

  Outside Ralph’s scream came to an abrupt end. Matt ran towards the side door with Tyler close behind. They slipped through the door quickly, the door shutting a split second before the front door opened and the demon stepped inside.

  Chapter Three

  “That was close,” Matt said, leading the way at a jog.

  “Too close,” Tyler agreed. “Didn’t think Davis was ever going to let us go.”

  “I know. If we didn’t need him to protect the others, I would’ve knocked his dumb ass out.”

  Tyler suspected Matt liked Davis even less than he did. From what he’d seen of Davis, he was capable with a gun and quick to react, but he had a tendency of deliberating much longer than was necessary to do the damn job in the first place. Tyler knew if Davis had had his way, the demon would have come back in before he came up with an acceptable solution.

  Other than a pinpoint of light a few hundred feet back, the hallway was dark. As the duo ran, they kept to the center of the hall, figuring they wouldn’t have to dodge any decorations of furniture lining the hall. With the lights off, the building had an odd, haunted vibe to it that freaked Tyler out, making him wish he’d spent more time reading and less time watching late night television while out on the road.

  As they approached the door on the other end of the hall, the amount of light filtering through the window increased, making it easier to see the closer they got. The trip across the hall took them a little over a minute, leaving them winded, but no worse for the wear. This was the easy part of the trip, it would be much more difficult from here.

  “I say we head around the back,” Matt said. “Unless he leaves the others alone to look for us, there’s less of a chance of getting caught.”

  “Sounds fine to me,” Tyler said. Going around back had the added benefit of being a slightly shorter run though the difference was negligible.

  Matt led the way, leaving Tyler to once again cover the rear. Out in the open, they approached the truck at a full out sprint, neither man wanting to be gone a minute longer than necessary. Both knew it was just a matter of time until the demon came in and found them missing, and when he did there was no telling what he would do.

  As they reached the main congregation area of the church, they stayed close to the wall, wanting to cast as small a profile as possible. They rounded the side of the building, sliding between it and a metal barn as they noticed the cars behind.

  Matt stopped abruptly, causing Tyler to crash into him, nearly sending both men to the ground.

  “What’s going on?” Tyler asked.

  Matt turned around, finger on his lips letting Tyler know to be quiet.

  Seeing Ralph’s bloody battered body walking around tine small parking lot, told Tyler why.

  * * *

  Blood and gore covered the demons body, staining his once cleaned suit. He had a look of glee on his face as he strolled through the group as if he wanted everyone to know he had enjoyed killing their friend.

  Most of the group turned their heads as he passed, not wanting the reminder of the act thrown in their faces, though some stared at the demon, mouth agape in horror, hoping they weren’t next.

  As the demon got close, Al stepped in front of Winston and covered his eyes. “You don’t need to see this, boy.”

  “I’ve seen it before,” Winston said, trying to break his head free. “It’s just blood and guts.”

  Al sighed and pulled his hands free. If the kid was intent on seeing the gore, he wasn’t going to stop him. He’d only wanted to preserve his innocence for a little while longer, but had the nagging suspicion that innocence was long gone. While Tyler had trusted the kid, Al hadn’t felt so sure. But regardless of what his gut tried to tell him, he wasn’t about to leave the boy on his own. His chance of surviving on his own was so
slim it was practically zero. He figured, perhaps he and his people would be able to convert him to a functioning member of the group. One who would do what he had to in order to pitch in and earn his keep. It may take a month, or perhaps even two, but he felt the kid would eventually come around.

  The demon, sensing Al’s desire to shield the boy, slowed his pace as he passed. The smirk on his face widening as he passed which had Al nearly fuming.

  Al wanted to take his knife and drive it right into the skull of the asshole has he walked by. Not just because of the way he looked at the boy. Everything felt wrong about the man. From the bat he flaunted down to every out of place hair on the top of his head, and that was without thinking about his powers. The way he’d been able to toss the preacher across the room had sent a fright through him. For the first time in his life he felt like things were out of his control.

  As the demon passed, he wondered if Tyler would be able to make it to the trucks and back without being seen. So far the demon hadn’t noticed that he and Matt were missing, but knew it was a matter of time until he did. He didn’t want to think about what the demon would do once he figured it out.

  After walking past everyone in the group, the demon made his way to the stage. Stepping onto the raised platform he walked around the pulpit and stopped close to the priest.

  “Tell me, preacher, why would our father leave you down here with the rabble? I would have expected all of your kind to have been taken with the others.”

  The priest’s gaze met the demons and he forced a smile on his blood speckled lips. “The lord works in mysterious ways.”

  Hearing the words made the demon smile. He stood there for a moment, studying the preacher’s face, as if contemplating what to say next. “Yet you find yourself here, crucified in your own church in front of your last congregation.”

  The preacher coughed and more blood dripped from his dried and cracking lips. He stood there in contemplative silence, his mind more focused on the pain than the question. But the demon had only mentioned the same things he’d been thinking since the others went away. He had done everything God had asked from the start. He’d given up everything he loved in life to start the church two decades ago.

  The last few years had seen a steady increase in members as the church continued to grow. Had things not ended the way they had, he was a year or two away from needing to upgrade the building, ideally having a company come in and pave a parking lot to allow for even more. But with the pain, those thoughts felt like a distant memory. He was no longer worried about the direction the church was headed. Instead, his focus was on doing what it took to help these people survive. No matter what happened he couldn’t allow the demon to make it off the church grounds alive.

  “Maybe he wanted me here at this very moment. Wanted me to see exactly what I’ve been working to protect my people from all these years.”

  The smile left the demon’s lips. For the first time since he entered the church he had an air of compassion about him. He stood there, studying the preacher’s harrowed expression, wondering how one man could take this level of suffering. His skin had long since lost its color, looking more a sickly white than the lightly tanned he’d been when he arrived. By his guess, he figured the preacher wouldn’t last much longer.

  “Tell you what, preacher.” The demon held the aluminum bat to the preacher’s chest. “Say the word and I’ll end your suffering.”

  The faintest hint of a smile formed at the edge of the preacher’s mouth. “As unexpected as your offer is, I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.”

  “You can’t believe he’ll care about that now, preacher. Besides, you won’t be taking your life.” He held the bat up to the preacher’s nose as if to emphasize his point.

  “I think it’s best if I let things take their own course.”

  “Very well.” The demon frowned. He turned around, fuming at the preacher’s sudden defiance. While his offer had been sincere, he couldn’t help but feel like the preacher had been insolent with his response. He was the stronger one. The one with all the power, yet he’d been showed up by the man still pinned to the cross. The realization irritated him the more he thought on it. He didn’t wish any ill will on the preacher, yet he couldn’t allow the others to think he could be ignored.

  “I’m sorry I made you the offer,” the demon said, looking over his shoulder. “I should’ve just done things my way from the start.”

  * * *

  “How is he still alive?” Matt asked at little more than a whisper, hand covering a mouth agape at the sight of the man before him.

  Tyler didn’t have an answer. Not one that made any sense. He’d seen men suffer horrific injuries in war, but usually wounds like that incapacitated the victim. Yet even as his intestines trailed behind Ralph, threatening to trip him as he strolled through the parking lot, the injuries didn’t look to be phasing him. On top of the spilled intestines, Ralph looked to have a broken arm and a dislocated shoulder, each more than enough of a wound to sideline most people.

  “Not sure, but I’m sure the demon had something to do with it.”

  Ralph stopped abruptly, head jerking side to side as if he’d heard the words. Tyler and Matt froze, each pursing their lips to avoid making any noise.

  Ralph sniffed the air then turned around, noticing Tyler and Matt huddling on the ground. “Interficiatur non relinquebant,” he said, voice not wavering like it had before the demon had taken him outside.

  “What the hell did he say?” Matt asked as he took a few steps back, putting space between him and the demon.

  “Can’t be good.” Tyler searched for something to use as a weapon, in case his instincts were right. The last thing he could afford was to shoot the gun now before either of them had a chance to get the water. They needed to find a way around him and to the truck and in a hurry.

  “Keep him occupied,” Matt said, disappearing around the back of the metal shack.

  Great, Tyler thought. What am I supposed to do now? The church grounds had been kept up well, leaving few things for him to grab. He figured there was probably a nice cache of tools inside the shed, but he didn’t have a way in.

  Ralph sauntered forward, his eyes focused intently on Tyler as he backed away. Tyler knew, this wasn’t the same man who he’d met the night before. It had less to do with the extent of his injuries and more to do with the fact that he was still somehow alive. Though certainly the odd language didn’t help.

  His back was to the chest high iron fence that surrounded a small graveyard. He stood there in disbelief, mind froze at the shambling monstrosity heading his way.

  Matt came around the front side of the shed holding a long-handled shovel above his head. He ran at a full sprint, legs pumping hard, allowing him to cover more ground.

  Once a few steps away, Ralph lunged for Tyler, broken forearm dangling wildly as his upper arm moved to grab. Tyler dodged the move at the last second, made it another step before tripping over a small wooden stake in the dirt. He hit the ground hard, sending jolts of pain through his body, tensing his already tight muscles even more.

  Ralph was on him seconds later, his good arm wrapped around Tyler’s neck, fingers wiggling for purchase around his tender throat.

  An intense fear paralyzed Tyler, the level of which he’d never faced before. As Ralph moved his head close, mouth chomping incessantly, he understood why people died so easily in zombie movies. His mind had enough trouble processing how to handle one and they had to deal with hundreds.

  In a last ditch effort, Tyler moved his arms in front of him, trying to keep Ralph’s mangled jaw away. Ralph countered by moving his arm to pull one of Tyler’s away, his exposed radius threatening to impale him with one sudden move.

  Then Matt arrived, bringing the metal blade of the shovel down on Ralph’s head with every thing he had. An explosion of blood and bone sent bits of brain raining down on Tyler. He moved his head to the side, trying to keep any of it from getting in his mouth. Matt moved
in and tossed the limp corpse off to the side, but left the shovel where it was, in case removing it would allow him to move.

  “You OK?” Matt said, offering a hand.

  “Think so.”

  “Good. Let’s get that water so we can kill that fucker.”

  Chapter Four

  Marcy led the crowd, screaming for the demon to stop. The demon had beat on the preacher, treating him like a human pinata for the last ten minutes breaking more than half his ribs in the process. Blood oozed from every orifice as the preacher struggled to stay alive.

  She needed to find a way to get him to stop, otherwise Tyler’s run to get the water would be for nothing as nobody else had the ability to bless water.

  “Enough,” Al shouted, getting to his feet. “Does beating on a poor defenseless man get you off?”

  Judy stood up, trying to grab Al’s arm before he did something stupid, but he shrugged her away to get close. He wasn’t afraid of what stood in front of him. In his eyes, the demon was nothing more than a man. A flesh bag containing a mix of blood, bones and the organs vital to life. He suspected, like any other human being he would bleed when cut. And a man who could bleed was a man who could die.

  The demon took one last jab at the preacher before turning around. With a delighted smile, he twisted the bat in his hands, preparing himself for the old man heading his way.

  “Finally. One of you has enough balls to take me on.” He flashed a wide, toothy grin, his white teeth a stark contrast to the preacher’s blood dripping from his face.

  Al saw the delight in his eyes and became suddenly afraid. He’d stared down some of the nastiest things the jungles of Vietnam had to offer, yet something about this man truly frightened him. He slowed his approach as he got close, not wanting to get in too close too fast.