Ghost Walk

returned.

The night returned—but the darkness was gone.

So was Adam Senft. Not a trace of either remained.

Still kneeling, Levi leaned forward and pressed his face into the ground. Twigs and stones dug at his flesh, but he didn’t care. Then, as tears rolled down his face, Levi slowly climbed to his feet and walked toward the gateway. He could feel its energies in the distance, pulling to him like a magnet.

Sobbing, he begged God and his father and Adam Senft for forgiveness.

And just like always, nobody answered.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Maria and Ken followed Levi’s voice. It echoed across the forest—strange words that had very few consonants. They left the trail and, after a short walk, they found him at a circle of standing stones, putting rocks covered with sigils into holes.

And crying.

Tears streamed down Levi’s dirty face. His face and hands were scratched and bloody. His eyes were red. His hat had fallen from his head. The brim was bent. Maria handed it to him while Ken helped him up. Levi thanked her, and put the hat back on his head.

Maria glanced around at the burned-out wasteland.

“This was LeHorn’s Hollow, wasn’t it?”

Levi nodded. “Part of it.”

“Where’s Adam?” she asked.

Levi didn’t respond. Instead, he placed the bloody palm of his right hand against each standing stone, leaving red handprints on them. Using his index finger, he drew symbols with the blood.

“There,” he said. “This gate is sealed and can be opened by none, except for the Gatekeeper. The entity has been bound and banished.”

He slowly walked toward the trail. Maria jumped in front of him.

“Hey! Not so fast, Levi. Where is Adam?”

“Gone.”

“What do you mean, gone? Did the darkness kill him?”

“No.” Levi shook his head. “I did.”

Maria stared, stunned. “W-what are you implying, Levi?”

“I’m not implying anything. I’m telling you. To bind and banish an entity as strong as the one we faced, a sacrifice is required. Adam was that sacrifice.”

“You…sacrificed him?”

Levi nodded. Then he brushed past her and continued through the woods, heading toward the trail. After a moment, they followed him. Levi remained silent, refusing to answer their questions.

Eventually, they reached the Ghost Walk. The path seemed normal again. There was no blue glow, no sparks of energy. The lines of lime were just that—lime. But neither were there any dead bodies. Maria and Ken had heard people screaming, heard the slaughter taking place in the woods. But the trail was swept clean. They were gone, just like Adam. Even the bloodstains were missing.

Upon reaching the exit, Levi stepped out into the field, mumbling to himself. His head hung low and his feet dragged wearily. Maria and Ken ran after him.

“Levi…”

He didn’t turn around.

“Levi!” Maria shouted. “Goddamn it, look at me!”

Sighing, he turned. “Please don’t take that name in vain, Maria. I’ve asked you before.”

“You…” She shook with rage. “You killed an innocent man.”

“Adam Senft was far from innocent. You said so yourself.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“Doesn’t it? Look around us. Is the night closing in on us?

Is the darkness breeding? No, it’s not. I’ve rid us of the threat—sealed the gate and saved this planet and everyone on it, including you. Billions of lives versus the life of one damned soul. Are you telling me the sacrifice wasn’t worth it? That one man’s life is more valuable than the lives of everyone on Earth?”

Ken cleared his throat. “Sounds like Wrath of Khan to me. I didn’t know Amish people watched Star Trek.”

Levi regarded him coldly. Then he turned back to Maria.

“I did what I had to do, Maria. I did what the Lord required of me. I’m a soldier. He asked me to do it, so that none of you would have to. I get to live with that. I get to suffer so that you won’t. That’s my ghost. I’ve freed you of yours.”

“What kind of a God would ask you to do such a thing?”