CHAPTER XIII
Jessi and the team of officers stand inside of the stairwell, holding the door fighting to prevent a swarm of possessed from entering. The crazed people beat and bang on the door, desperately trying to get to the stairs. The weight and force of the officers are no match for the hundreds outside. Jessie knew this was it.
“Ok fellas,” she said as she stepped back and pulled her weapon from the holster. “It’s time to go out blazing. No guts, no glory, right?”
One officer nodded in response and pulled his weapon. The others followed. Suddenly the banging stopped. The stairwell fell quiet. Each officer looked at each other with confusion. Jessi slowly walks to the door. She ushers the two, holding it to back off. She twists the handle and pulls the door open. The site of bodies lying on the lobby floor was horrifying and relieving at the same time. They all walked out, stepping over bodies as they made their way through the lobby. These were now just people waking from the state that overtook their bodies just a moment ago. Most were groggy, but some were alert but confused. Jessi holstered her weapon and walked outside. The site was closest to the end of an apocalypse that she could have imagined—a quiet burning.
“He did it.” She whispers to herself.
Dontae’ wipes the blood from Rochelle’s face. She was gone. Once again, he’d failed to save someone who’d depended on him. His heart ached more than he thought possible. He gently lies her down and looks around at the death and destruction. He needed to get out of here. He takes a candle from one of the walls and heads out the door looking back one last time at Rochelle.
After descending the stairs, he opens the stairwell door to see officers helping people outside and into ambulances and squad cars. He goes out the door to see Jessi, lost in thought, leaning on the back of a patrol car. He walks over and takes a seat on the trunk. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.
“I guess I'll go try to talk to my dead grandmother now.” She said, glaring into the distance.
Dontae’ smirked, giving her a silent nod.
“What the hell happened up there?” She asks.
“Rochelle is dead. So is her sister.”
“Sister?”
“The one up there. That was her sister.”
Jessi looks around, not that surprised.
“I would have believed she was a pixy after this shit.”
Jessi stammers in frustration. “Man, this was fucked up. I can’t even wrap my head around what the fuck just happened. The world won’t be the same after this shit?”
“I just hope people see what I see. The devil is real.”
“Where the fuck - oops.” She makes the cross on her chest and forehead. “Where was God during this mess?”
“God is within rookie.”
“Hell, we needed him without – I mean, Out- In- You know what I mean.” She stammers.
“Something is still out there,” Dontae’ admits. “It’s hiding in the shadows waiting for another turn.”
“Next time we can skip the bullshit and shoot a motherfucker in the face.” She quips.
“And how do you know who to shoot in the face rookie?”
“I told you when I saw those paintings that that fucker was evil. We should have got him then.”
Dontae’ laughs. “You have no idea.”
“So what do we do?” Jessi asked.
“Keep fighting. I don’t think Baphomet will return as long as I know his weakness.”
“Who is Baphomet? And what’s his weakness?
“I’m not sure of who, but his weakness is belief. As long as people believe there is a God, he will stay in the shadows.”
“That’s easy. There will always be people that believe in God.”
“Don’t be so sure. Look around. This is the world Jessi. This was all created by a song. One simple song. How many people do you think fell for it?”
They both fall silent, looking out at the city still reigning from the night’s chaos. The full moon highlighted burning buildings in the distance. People wandered the streets in a state of confusion as police sirens echoed through the night. No, it wasn’t over, but for now, they were up one.
Ω
The T.V. played a commercial for a new smartphone as Joe sat in the cold cafeteria of Parks Warbell’s Homeless Shelter. He had been watching for a while as he had become accustomed to keeping up with current events. He loved the feeling of knowing what was going on in the world around him. The commercial was over, and the anchor that he liked, Rachel Gonzales, was back on. He hoped, but was in serious doubt, that their paths would ever collide. He was a guy sleeping where he could, and she was a fantastic T.V. Personality. During her broadcast, she said something that highly piqued his interest.
“The Drug Cozitradol, or COZ, for short, is being blamed for the recent zombie-like state of various people around the Globe. COZ is a hallucinogen that was mistakenly added to multiple brands of bottled water. The water companies are claiming not guilty in a class-action suit filed on Tuesday. The CDC confirms that all water is now safe to drink. In other news, the blackout that was reported worldwide was pinned down to a terrorist group known as Lotus. Speculation that they used Quest to infect millions of computers to carry out their plan has been debunked. Roland Walsh, CEO of Quest, has yet to come forward about the incident. However, Quest is offering rewards of up to ten thousand dollars to anyone with video from the night of the blackout in hopes of identifying any perpetrators.
Joe sat back in his chair for a second in thought. He then resumed eating his soup of the day.
END
Afterword
I hoped you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Let's continue this journey together and finish strong. Until next time, thank you
