by Justin Sloan
“When Tess prayed, did she really kill them?” Nora asked. “I mean, they disappeared and everything, but I didn’t think it was possible to kill a demon.”
“Why not?” Rohan asked. “You and I can die.”
“But not angels, demons, or anything in the afterlife,” Nora said. “According to everything I’ve read, they’re beyond life and death. They can only be banished, but not killed.”
“Regardless of whether they can be killed or not,” Rohan said, inspecting her, “How are you feeling now?”
Nora finished a bag of chips. “A little better. I’m just so tired, and I have a headache.”
Rohan opened one of the cabinets and found a first aid kit. Giving her some pain reliever, he brushed his hand against her temple.
“Now you know how I felt,” Rohan said, smirking.
Beverly and Tess, who were rummaging through the food, sat down next to them.
“I don’t care what they say,” Tess said, “I never thought I’d be happy to see a bag of chips during the apocalypse.”
“And tea,” Beverly said, cradling a mug of steaming tea. “There’s always time for tea.”
“What next?” Tess whispered. She glanced around. “These people took us in and all, but they’re not the friendliest.”
“We rest for a bit,” Rohan said. “Tomorrow, we get moving again. We’re a little closer to your parents now, right, Tess?”
“I’m recognizing some of these places we’ve passed. I’m sure we’re not too far now.”
“Good,” Rohan said. “In the meantime, let’s rest, and hope no demons interrupt our sleep.”
A tall man stepped forward, eyeing them suspiciously. Finally, he said, “I saw what you did out there.”
“We don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rohan said.
“No, it’s not like that. I’m not accusing you of anything.” The man took off his trucker hat, folding it nervously. “Thing is, there was another with powers just like yours, not too long ago.”
“With powers like us?” Nora asked. “You’re certain?”
The man nodded, then put his hat on again. “But thing is, she took on the demon all by herself, but in a different way. Just banished it long enough for her to make her escape.”
“Where did she go?” Rohan asked. He looked to Nora and said with his voice thick with worry, “We’ll need all the help we can get.”
“Don’t know,” the man said. “But she was heading north. She said something about heading north. No sense rushing out of here in your state though… best rest the night.”
Chapter 9: Attack
Early the next morning Rohan woke to footsteps crunching in the gravel, slow and measured.
The windows were boarded up, but he knew someone was out there.
A hand grabbed him gently and he nearly jumped up in alarm, but calmed when he saw that it was Nora.
“You hear that?” he whispered.
“I did,” she said. She glanced over to Tess and Beverly, who were both still sleeping. “Okay, so… allies or enemies?” she asked.
CRASH! WHACK!
One of the boarded windows shattered and the board landed across the floor. Then, a fierce shriek sounded as a man and woman jumped into the room, their eyes glowing. Their skin was pale and they had the telltale glow of the possessed.
“Dammit!” Rohan shouted as he leaped for the defense.
The man ran for him, but Rohan took a metal chair and struck him with it.
Tess rubbed her eyes as she sat up, apparently not sure if this was a dream or was really happening.
“Oh my god!” she said as she looked up again.
Nora punched the woman just before she sunk her teeth into Tess. Tess scurried up with a sleeping bag still around her waist, and she dragged Beverly into the corner, waking her in the process.
The man circled back and ran for Rohan again. Barely able to process this all, Rohan was tackled to the floor. He struggled there, wrestling with the man’s freakishly strong grip, but then knocked him sideways with a punch that sent one of the man’s teeth flying.
The man stood, stumbling back, and Rohan went in for another punch. Next he took the possessed man into a run and launched him out of the window, the shards of the broken glass cutting the possessed man on the way out.
Rohan turned towards Nora. The woman had Nora in her grasp and bared her teeth.
“Rohan, help!” Rohan ran for Nora but the cocking of a shotgun caused him to pause.
The woman heard it too and stopped.
Nora broke free from her grasp just as Lorna entered, pumping the woman with multiple shots.
The man was attempting to climb back through the window, and fell in. But as he recovered, Lorna shot him too. Soon they both lay on the floor in pools of blood.
“You both okay?” Lorna asked.
Before anyone could answer, the bodies flailed and twisted and then came back to life, their broken, bloody limbs dangling from their sides.
“This is just getting ridiculous,” Rohan said, and before the words were done, the two had jumped for Lorna.
Rohan reached deep inside himself and tried to latch onto the spirits inside the possessed. Bright light washed over the room.
When it dissipated, something had hold of the souls… but it wasn’t him.
He glanced at Nora. Her hands were empty.
It was Lorna. She held the two souls at arm’s length, and her eyes widened. Then she flung them with all her power, and the souls screamed as they rocketed out of the window.
For a long moment, everyone just stood there, staring.
“You’re a necromancer,” Rohan said.
Lorna nodded, but gave a shrug. “If that’s what you call it.”
“You’re the one the guy told us about last night,” Nora said.
“We had to say something to get you to leave. Everything was fine until you came. Our location is blown now.”
“How about sticking together?” Rohan asked. “Did that ever cross your mind?”
“We have to survive,” Lorna said. “If this power will help me protect the ones I love, then so be it.”
“Listen,” Rohan said. “The only way we survive this is if we band together and go after these demons.”
“You’re crazy!” Lorna said.
“Maybe, but there are demons out there who are causing all this, and they’re winning.”
Lorna frowned. “I’m not a hero. I’m just…a social worker.”
“Are there others that you know of?” Nora asked.
“All of us have the power,” Lorna said.
“Why did you want us to leave?” Rohan asked.
“We thought maybe all of this would end, that it would pass.”
Nora scoffed. “It’s not passing. Without your help, it’s only going to get worse.”
“But we’re just trying to survive,” Lorna said. “We didn’t ask for this power “
“Neither did we,” Nora said, “but it’s our chance to make a difference.”
Lorna looked at them both for a moment, pursing her lips. Then she shouted “Everyone! It’s time to fight!”
The others crowded fearfully into the room, many drowsy, still trying to figure out what was happening.
“Rohan is right,” Lorna said. “We have to stand up for what we believe in.”
“But Lorna,” one of the men said, “it’s—”
Lorna held up a hand. “Do you ever want to see your family again?”
The man, whose eyes were soft and scared, paused. Then he nodded.
“Good to have you on our side,” Rohan said. “We’re gonna need it.”
Tess tapped Rohan on the shoulder. “Um, yeah, I think you’re right.”
She pointed behind him, and already he saw fear in the others’ eyes.
A booming laugh tore across the area.
“Yes, you are going to need all the help you can get,” a demon said as it descended outside, souls swirling around
it.
“You guys know what to do,” Rohan said. He hoped they did.
“We’ll try our best,” Lorna said.
Everyone rushed outside as the demon laughed again. It pointed a scraggly claw at Rohan. Energy began to rush toward him, hot, burning.
“Now!” Rohan yelled.
All at once, everyone held up their hands, summoning spirits from the area into their hands.
The demon roared and began to swipe the air with his sickle.
A blast struck Rohan, knocking him back. In spite of the pain, he kept his hands up. He grimaced as he flung several souls at the demon. The souls wrapped around the beast like thick ropes and he pulled with all his might.
Nora roped the demon with her souls.
“Do what we’re doing,” Nora said.
Soon, the others cast their soul ropes around the demon. Tess began to pray as everyone pulled their ropes, tightening them around the demon. The demon screamed as the souls scalded his red skin.
“Keep pulling!” Rohan yelled.
The demon screamed again. But all the ropes glowed in the dark night, and Tess kept praying. The demon let out one final scream—and it dissipated in white smoke.
The souls unwound themselves from their ropes and flew away into the sky, leaving them all in a dark room.
Rohan panted. “We did it.”
The other necromancers cheered.
Lorna was incredulous. “We did do it,” she said. “I’m stunned.”
“Told you guys it was worth it,” Rohan said. “Now you can sleep tonight knowing that you contributed a small part to saving the world.”
Lorna blushed.
“So, can we count on you?” Rohan looked at each of them, beaming with pride at finding his army.
After a long silence, one that made Rohan shift on his feet awkwardly, Lorna said, “This… it’s just not us.”
“But, you all have the power,” Rohan said, shaking his head, trying to make sense of this. “The world needs you.”
“The world needs you,” she said. “Our families need us, and we’re not about to abandon them.”
“If we lose, they lose. They all lose!” Rohan said.
“I’m sorry,” Lorna said, and she turned her back to him.
Rohan stared in shock. “Do you all feel this way?”
The others stared back, emptiness in their eyes. No will to fight, in spite of what they’d just accomplished.
“They won’t help us.” Nora nudged Rohan. “We really should be going.”
Rohan shook his head, but finally accepted it and turned to go.
“Wait,” Lorna said.
He turned around, hopeful, but she stood there with her hand outstretched, offering him a set of keys. “You need a vehicle, it’s yours.”
“Thank you,” he said, and took the keys. When they exited to the parking lot and pressed the unlock button a sedan in the middle of the parking lot unlocked. He turned with one last wave. Then the four of them piled into the car and took off.
Chapter 10: Shenandoah At Last
Sun flittered through the thick canopy of leaves that sheltered the hilly roads. As the trees grew sparse, Tess pointed out an old barn off in the distance and, soon after the trees gave out to a broad field, Rohan turned down a side road. He was glad she’d woken up, since the last thing he wanted was to have to wake her and piss her off.
The way he figured it, there had to be a reason certain people were being possessed while others weren’t, and he imagined it was all about their emotional state. If they were incredibly sad or angry or whatever, BAM! Possessed.
The road was bumpy but pleasant. For nearly twenty minutes, they hadn’t seen a single spirit—no violence, no piles of cars smashed into each other, and no blood. Even the car they were in now was pristine and blood free, which was a major relief.
“I used to go apple picking out here,” Tess said quietly so as to not wake the others.
“Didn’t even know that was a thing,” Rohan said.
“Apples? You do know they grow on trees, right?”
He rolled his eyes at her in the mirror.
“Who’d you go with?”
“Huh?”
“Apple picking. Who’d you go with?”
“Oh,” she smiled. “My mom at first, and then my dad, once he saw how much joy it brought me. We’d come out every year and sometimes do the apple thing, or pumpkins in October, but we’d always get a warm cup of apple cider and a slice of pie.”
Her eyes moved to the field and the farm disappearing in the distance. Rohan thought back on this quaint bed and breakfast he’d stayed at with Senna once, before she’d passed on. He knew what it could mean to share a nice slice of pie with someone you love.
“It’s the little things, isn’t it?” he said.
She nodded, and he noticed her eyes glistening.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Of course. It’s just, well, you’ll see. My dad isn’t the same man he once was.”
A yawn came from beside Rohan, and he took Nora’s hand and kissed it as she woke.
“Where are we?” she asked, but then sat up with excitement. “Oooh, did I miss any of the Civil War stuff?”
“What?” Rohan asked.
“I read all about this place,” she said, eyes flashing as she looked at the surrounding hills. “It’s just that when you’re a single woman it’s a bit harder to come out this way by yourself. And I’ve always wanted to see the old Civil War sights.”
“Sorry, but I’m not sure we’ll have much time for sightseeing,” Rohan said.
She hit him playfully. “You think I don’t know that? I was just saying, if we get a chance to see them is all. I used to play this game, had demons and whatnot in it, and they’re taking over the world. At one point they get holed up in this old Civil War museum, and I thought that was so cool.”
Rohan stared at her, wondering if she realized how much she had pretty much described their situation—minus the holed up part, for the moment.
“Watch the road!” Beverly said, and Nora took the wheel to steady it before the car went into a ditch.
“You know it’s real love when a man almost crashes a car for you,” Tess said with a playful laugh.
Rohan just cleared his throat nervously and focused back on the road. Sleep was threatening to take over, but he didn’t have time for that.
He tried to remember when the last time was that he’d gotten a real, full night’s sleep. Yeah, no luck.
“While you’re pulling over anyway,” Beverly said with a hint of urgency in her voice.
“What now?” Rohan said, glancing in the mirror to see if they were being followed or something.
“Just… I gotta pee.”
No one said anything for a moment, and then finally Tess started laughing, and then Nora, and then Rohan and they were all laughing together. He agreed that it was a good time to go—while they weren’t being attacked by demons.
The ladies went first while Rohan stood watch at the car, and then he went. He imagined a lot of people were forgetting to take a piss or eat or even sleep at a time like this, but damn, it felt good now that he could finally just stand there, relieving himself.
“Any day,” Nora said playfully.
“Yeah,” Beverly added. “Couldn’t you have walked farther from the car? Sounds like the damn Niagara Falls over there.”
He zipped up and faked a laugh. “So funny. You three had each other, but I’m out here all alone. What am I gonna do if I’m trying to pee and a possessed snake comes at me or something, huh?”
They stared at him blankly.
“Oh, whatever,” he said, getting back in the car. “This is why I’m glad I only had the one older sister. Girls ganging up on me.”
They laughed at that, and hurried to follow him into the car.
“My parents will cook up the best meal you ever had,” Tess said when they’d pulled back on the road and were making good progress. “I pr
omise you that.”
It wasn’t long before they pulled up to the large white house that Tess said was her parents’ place. It was a single story ranch on several acres of land. The house had a dark green trim and large windows that seemed to provide plenty of sunlight, and best of all, it wasn’t torn down by lunatics or set ablaze by spirits. Not that they could see anyway.
“Mom?” Tess called, stepping out of the car. “Dad?”
No answer, so she ran up to the door and tried it. Locked. She rang the buzzer, but no answer.
She motioned for them to follow, and said she knew where they kept the key in the back. Only, as soon as they came around the back of the house, Rohan heard the click of a pistol and turned to see an old man with a blue denim shirt and a fluff of white hair on his head, with a pistol aimed right at him.
This man looked like the type who knew how to use a gun too. His face was lined with the type of wrinkles that accompanied lots of frowning, and his skin was leathered from too much wind and sun.
“Who’s this, Tess?” the man asked.
“Pa, this is Beverly, Nora, and Ro—”
“Nathan,” Rohan said, earning him a suspicious glare from Tess’s dad.
“Right, Nathan,” Tess said, with a look that showed she wasn’t one-hundred percent on board with lying to her father.
“Will you put that thing away!” an old woman said. Rohan guessed she was Tess’s mother, by the way she wrapped her arms around Tess and frowned at the old man.
The idea of someone pointing a gun at him after everything else he’d been through made him want to punch the old man right in the throat, but when the pistol was lowered and Tess’s dad invited them in, he couldn’t argue.
***
Tess did her best to fill them in on what was going on outside, though her father just kept shaking his head in disbelief. She left out the parts that said too much about Rohan and Nora having strange powers.
“What’s the plan now then?” her father asked. “We have enough supplies out back to get us through the winter, we could hole up and—”
“No, this isn’t a storm you can wait out.” Rohan paced the room, looking at each of them in turn. He wasn’t sure where they all stood, but the moment he’d arrived here it had started to hit him hard—this was his mess to clean up. Get his sister and Tess to safety, and then figure out a plan with Nora.
