The fall ended. He was standing inside a cave covered in human skeletons. The children of Marble were gone and he was alone. Tortured groans and the sounds of chains being dragged across the floor filled the air. He’d been transported straight to hell.
A purring black cat was rubbing against him. The cat crossed the cave, and jumped onto a throne of skulls. Before his eyes, it grew to human size, and became a man dressed in a long black robe. It was no ordinary man, but a towering figure with snakelike fingers that moved with a life of their own. One half of his face was handsome, the other half burned beyond recognition.
The wicked one.
“Are you ready?” his unearthly host asked.
“Do I have a choice?” Peter replied.
A demonic laugh that made Peter’s hair stand on end came out of his mouth.
“Of course you have a choice,” the wicked one replied. “Become one of us, and you will be sent back to earth with powers beyond any mortal’s comprehension. Refuse, and you will die a thousand deaths. Those are your choices.”
Peter had never felt more afraid. Being a devil’s disciple was not the life he wanted. But what other choice did he have? As he wrestled with his decision, Milly’s words came back to him. No matter what evil spirit infested his body, he could always choose to be good. That option was always there, no matter what horrible transformation he underwent.
“I choose to be one of you,” he said.
“Very good. Step forward, and give me your hand.”
Peter approached the throne and stuck out his hand. His host clasped it. His flesh was cold and slimy, and felt like a reptile’s.
“Repeat after me,” his host said. “Darkness, take my hand and give me the power to destroy whoever stands in my way.”
“Darkness, take my hand and give me the power to destroy whoever stands in my way.”
“And rule the world as I see fit.”
“And rule the world as I see fit.”
“This is my destiny, forever and ever.”
Peter choked on the words. This was
“You tricked me. And my parents,” he whispered.
“Yes, I did. Now, say it or die a thousand deaths!” his host thundered.
“This is my destiny, forever and ever.”
“Very good. You are now one of us.”
The wicked one’s snakelike fingers ran up Peter’s forearm, and sank their deadly fangs into his flesh. As their poison entered his body, Peter’s head felt like it might explode.
He screamed.
His world changed again. He was back inside the theater wrestling with Wolfe. He had survived his encounter with the wicked one. But he had paid a terrible price.
Wolfe still had his hands around his throat. Peter pried back the dead man’s fingers, breaking each of them with a sickening snap. Making a fist, he struck Wolfe squarely in the jaw. The blow resonated, and sent the dead man staggering backward.
“Way to go,” Snoop called out.
“Yeah, Peter,” his girlfriend exclaimed.
Peter nearly told his friends to shut up. They’d been nothing but trouble lately, and the thought of getting rid of them ran through his mind. He’d break their bodies like sticks and toss them in the river, and no one would suspect a thing. Just thinking about it filled him with euphoria.
What on earth was he thinking? He loved Liza, and Snoop was his closest friend. Yet the thought of killing them would not go away.
“Peter, he’s getting away!” Liza exclaimed.
Wolfe had grabbed the knapsack and was walking stiff-legged across the stage. If he got outside and released the nerve agent, half the city would perish.
“Let him,” he heard himself say.
“What did you say?” Liza asked.
“I said let him.”
His girlfriend pulled herself off the floor and rushed toward him. “Why are you talking like that? What’s come over you?”
“Do I sound different to you?” Peter asked.
“Yes. Your voice has changed. And your eyes look weird.”
“How do I sound?”
“You sound evil, Peter, and it’s scaring the crap out of me.”
Milly’s words again rang in his ears. Being good or evil was a choice. It sounded easy, only the evil had kidnapped his soul, and would not release it.
“Maybe I am evil,” he replied.
He expected her to run away. Instead, his girlfriend wrapped her arms around his waist and gazed longingly into his eyes. “No, you’re not. You’re the most wonderful boy I’ve ever met. Now, please do this for me.”
“Why should I,” he heard himself say.
“Because I love you, that’s why.”
“You do?”
“Yes.”
He read her thoughts. Despite the nightmare he’d put her through, Liza still loved him. It was the only thing he’d ever wanted, and he pushed the demon back into the farthest reaches of his soul. It was like pushing a boulder, and took all his strength.
“I’ll do anything for you,” he said.
“Good. Then stop him.”
“Hey! He’s going up to the roof,” Snoop called out.
The wooden stairway that led to the roof was located beside the stage. Snoop was chasing Wolfe up the creaky steps by the time they reached him. Soon the three of them were standing on the theater’s flat roof with its view of the gloomy Hudson.
“There he is,” Snoop said.
Wolfe stood on the other side of the roof next to the building’s ventilation system. He’d removed the bomblet from the knapsack, and held it above the system’s powerful fans. If the nerve agent touched the fans, it would be distributed into the air, and spread across the city.
“Stay here,” Peter said.
“Be careful,” Liza said.
Peter sprinted across the roof. He needed a distraction, something to take Wolfe’s mind off his deadly mission. Garrison had said that they’d found a girlfriend’s snapshot in Wolfe’s wallet. What was her name? Rona. No, it was Rita.
“Don’t you want to see Rita?” Peter shouted.
Wolfe’s head turned slightly, his face filled with pain. It was the first expression he’d shown.
Peter kept coming toward him. “Don’t you?”
The pain in Wolfe’s eyes grew more intense.
“I can take you to her,” Peter said.
“She’s here?” Wolfe asked.
“She’s downstairs waiting for you.”
