3
Erik and his family had hastily packed some clothes and supplies and followed Pastor Mark to the church.
“This place may offer some sanctuary,” Mark said. “A demon would be uncomfortable here, in a holy place, I think.”
Erik nodded but he wasn’t sure how much good holiness would do right now. He didn’t think he could stop this thing just by waving a crucifix at it. Perhaps if they could conjure up an army of angels of their own….
The church was fairly large for a small town, and had several classrooms, and a fellowship hall with a kitchen in the basement. The place was very secure and doubled as a shelter in case of an emergency. Erik guessed that this situation qualified.
The pastor’s residence was attached to the back, a small, one bedroom unit with a garage.
“I think we should all stay here for now,” Mark said.
Erik turned on the television in one of the classrooms to catch a glimpse of the morning news. What he saw shocked and horrified him. The news footage was showing what was left of the State Police barracks, which had been incinerated early this morning. The authorities were claiming it was a possible terrorist attack, and had mobilized the National Guard. There was also mention of an attack in the woods during the night where, they claimed, the F.B.I. had first encountered the terrorist group and had been outgunned.
“How else would they explain it?” Mark said. “Nobody’d buy it if they called it what it was.”
“People will believe anything except the truth,” Erik said. “Do you think it was after Dovecrest?”
“Definitely. And by the looks of it, I’d say it got him. We’re on our own, my friend.”
4
What was left of Seti could no longer be called human, yet it had human thoughts and feelings. The pain was so intense that he could barely think, barely remember, and not even hope to fight back. The thing had taken him over completely-no, not completely. That would be merciful. There was just enough of him left to suffer and to regret.
This thing had not turned out the way he had hoped. No life of luxury and pleasure for him now-just eternal suffering and damnation. For the first time in his life he could understand the meaning of hell. He was probably dead. His body was gone. That much was obvious. All that remained was his head and face and brain perched atop this demon’s neck like a demonic version of a Siamese twin. He felt nothing below the neck and only the agony of burning above it. Yet, by some perverse miracle, his flesh did not burn. It only felt as if it were constantly on fire. He was probably immortal now, he suspected. Be careful what you wish for….
Even his screams of agony were dwarfed by the sounds of the demon’s internal furnace, which never seemed to run out of hellish fuel. He could feel his screams vibrating in his throat, but couldn’t hear them. It was as if he shrieked into a vacuum.
The demon itself no longer paid any attention to him. He could experience its thoughts, such as they were. Mostly the thing emanated raw hatred and raw evil beyond anything that Seti could ever have imagined. He was experienced in the art of evil and violence. But his feeble hatred was nothing compared to the all-consuming evil of this mind, where it was built into the very fabric of its existence. Seti no longer tried to communicate with the beast. His suffering was all that it required of him now.
He had seen the destruction of the SWAT team in the woods, but his suddenly being engulfed in the flames and lava of the monster made the memory very sketchy. He couldn’t really see, but could only experience what occurred around him, all through a very thick layer of pain. He’d seen the Police Barracks go up in flames, and that had almost pleased him, if it were possible to be pleased in this condition. And he’d seen the Indian, the one the demon hated, as he’d escaped into the woods. He hadn’t bothered to tell his tormenter about that. It was his one small victory-and his one miniscule hope.
5
By noontime, the tiny town of Chepachet Rhode Island was on every news station in the country. From what Erik and Mark could tell, the demon had disappeared, at least for the moment. Or, at any rate, the authorities couldn’t find it.
“Maybe it’s gone back to where it came from,” Erik said.
“No. I don’t think so. It’s probably back at its altar stone gaining strength. As if it needs to.”
“Maybe it needs sleep, like we do.”
“Either that or it’s moving on to someplace bigger, where it can do more damage. It’s hard to say. All we can do is pray at this point.”
Erik nodded. But he didn’t think prayer alone would bring an end to this. After all, God helps those who help themselves.
“Dovecrest knew more about this thing than anyone. Do you think we could find anything at his place?”
The pastor shrugged. “It’s worth a try. Do you think the thing will go there?”
Erik thought for a moment. “Not if it already killed Dovecrest. What would it want at his cabin? We could make it over there in just a couple of minutes, check it out, and be back within the hour.”
“What about Vickie and Todd?” the pastor asked.
“I think they’ll be ok here. They’re as safe here as anywhere, I guess. And the church staff is around. They won’t be alone.”
The pastor nodded. “All right, then. Let’s make this quick.”
Todd was in the secretary’s office playing with her computer. Erik told Vickie where he was going and that he’d be right back.
“I’d rather you didn’t leave,” she said.
“I’m not doing any good here. I feel like I’ve got to do something.”
“You men are all alike,” she said. “Just hurry back. We need you here, too.”
He kissed her and then he and Mark got into the pastor’s car and headed down route 102. Dovecrest’s place was only a half a mile away and the roads were deserted. They pulled up at the Indian’s cabin minutes later.
Nothing had been disturbed since the last time he’d been here, Erik noted. It was obvious that Dovecrest hadn’t been back since his arrest, and even the police had left the place alone. It was as quiet, as if nothing had happened.
“All right, where do we start?” Mark said.
“I’d say with the file cabinet and the bookshelf. He mentioned something about old manuscripts.”
“Who’s to say they’re in English?” Mark replied.
“Good point. But we have to try. I’ll start with the files.”
Erik opened the large metal file cabinet while Mark started looking through the book shelves. The files were in completely random order, mostly things about tribal laws and legal documents. None of it made any sense to him. Then he found some things on the history of the tribe, with minutes from previous tribal councils. Maybe there would be a clue in one of these documents. He spilled the file folders out onto the floor and sat down, surrounding himself with the material.
“I’ve got a couple of old books on local history,” Mark said. “Maybe some of this will help.”
“There might be something here, but there’s just so much of it.”
“Maybe we should put it all together in a big trash bag and take it back to the church.”
Someone suddenly stepped out of the shadows and into the room. His approach was as silent as a cat walking on foam.
“You won’t find anything useful in there,” he said.
Erik and Mark both jumped back, startled. It was Dovecrest.
