It was at that moment that Principal Anderson grabbed him by the arm. “Come with me, Damon! This time you’ve gone way too far!”
Damon jerked his arm, but couldn’t shake off the grip.
Other teachers grabbed Scott and Dusty and took them towards the school too. With tears running down his dirty cheeks, Wall frantically started picking up the torn pictures. Ralph got up to help him and knew immediately why Wall was so devastated. The pictures were of him and his baby sister, Erin, who had passed away before her first birthday. In one of the pictures, she was holding the pink bunny that now laid in pieces on the ground. Wall sat there in the dirt clutching the remains of the bunny and photos. He had already lost his baby sister and now he had lost the mementoes of her as well. Ralph sat down next to him and put his arm around his shoulder. The tears ran down his cheeks under his huge glasses. There was nothing to say. He just sat there and mourned with him.
In the background, they could hear Damon laughing as he was being dragged into the school. James stood there brokenhearted for Wall. How could someone simply be so evil? For the rest of the afternoon, the kids at school had their Halloween parties before it was time to go home. Wall had gone off with a teacher after recess and didn’t return in the afternoon. Ralph and James assumed that he just went home. How could he spend the afternoon here?
Even thought they were dressed like knights they didn’t feel very valiant.
“You know, James,” Ralph said, “we did what we could, but I wish we could have done more.”
“I agree,” James said. “Maybe we should take Karate or something. That way we can protect other people better.”
“That’s a good idea,” Ralph said as his eyes brightened. “We’ll have to ask my Dad tonight!”
They walked into the classroom together and enjoyed the games with their classmates. They had no idea that everything would change that evening and they had no idea who Damon Marshall would become.
2
The morning sun pierced through the slats of the blinds on Josh’s window and all four of the guys woke up at the same time. Mark instantly looked over at Jordan. “Did you dream about the school kids?” He asked.
“Yes,” Jordan replied.
“Was that Convert and Ralph as little kids?” Trent interjected.
“Yeah, I believe it was,” Josh added. “As a matter of fact, I think it was the day that Convert talked about. The day that Ralph died.”
“Who was that Damon Marshall kid?” Mark said. “He was worse that Clayton is.”
“I think we’ve seen him before too,” Jordan said.
“We have?” Josh said. “Where?”
“That can’t be Drago can it?” Trent said wide-eyed.
“I think it is. I think Damon came back,” Jordan replied.
Mark stood up and grabbed a piece of cold pizza. “So what do we do now?”
Jordan got up and looked out the window. No one was there. “We need to talk to Convert as soon as possible.”
Fourth Quarter
Darkest Before Dawn
Sunday, October 25th - Saturday, October 31st
1
When the residents of Galesburg thought back to the time of the great fire, they often forgot about the wonderful week of weather that led up to it. Most of the farmers were able to bring in the rest of their crops due to the unseasonably warm weather and lack of rain. The remaining leaves on the trees were brilliant with color and it seemed as if everyone took some time in the day to be outside and enjoy a rare time in Illinois where it wasn’t freezing cold at the end of October.
Even though the murder of Jack McKenzie had only happened a little over a week ago, the people of the town seemed to almost forget it had even happened. The only other unusual occurrence had been the bomb that took out an old couple’s house, but no one really put the two occurrences together. Emma had diligently tried to follow up on both events, but she often found dead ends and a surprising lack of interest. The competing newspaper had moved on to other things, the most important of which was the booming success of Clayton Stoneking and the Galesburg Fire football team. Emma felt deep down that there was something to the lack of interest and information. It was as if things were being kept hidden from the people and a fog of apathy had descended over everyone. The Hamill’s would no longer speak to her and didn’t even show up to church on Sunday. She knew someone had gotten to them even if she had no concrete evidence of it. Convert believed it too.
The announcement of Aaron’s suspension came with great shock when it was given on Sunday morning at Truth Community Church. The parents of Jordan, Josh, Trent, and Mark, were outraged by the notion as well as the youth leaders who worked with Aaron. It was very clear that a division had arisen between those who believed Clayton’s story and those who didn’t. Charles Stratton stood unfazed. He knew he had the support he needed and quite honestly knew he could intimidate anyone who disagreed. Part of the reason he took joy in suspending Aaron was because Aaron didn’t cower to him like the other leaders did. In his mind, Aaron got what he deserved because he didn’t know his place.
The guys were heartbroken over the announcement. They loved Aaron as their youth pastor. They knew they were safe with him and they knew this had happened only because he had stuck up for them. They had hoped to see him so that they could figure out when they could talk to Convert, but now it seemed that everything was up in disarray.
On the day after his date with Emma, Aaron had ended up telling Convert and Marie about everything that happened. Convert was furious and wanted to call Stratton right then and there, but Marie’s cool head, of course, calmed him down. Instead of outrage, she went to prayer. Eventually, she convinced Aaron to look at it as a vacation because she was sure God would work things out. Instead of being alone, he should get out and enjoy the great weather with those he enjoyed spending time with.
Aaron took the advice to heart. He continued to see Emma and was captivated by her with every conversation. They went out to lunch a few times and took some nice walks in the evening. They spent their time talking about everything. Aaron also went on regular prayer walks with Convert and Marie. They walked the city streets praying for the people of Galesburg. Convert and Aaron even went fishing a couple of times at Lake Storey. They spent their time talking and reminiscing about Jack. His unsolved murder weighed heavy on them. They knew something was coming and yet there was only silence. Convert still had his strength, which had been really handy getting the boat in the water, but Aaron hadn’t had any special thoughts of knowledge pop up all week. Neither had Emma.
As for the guys, their first day back to school since Clayton jumped them, was actually uneventful. That Monday they walked in together prepared for the worst, but no one paid them any special attention, especially Clayton. Everyone was far more concerned with the upcoming playoff game happening on Halloween night. Everywhere Clayton went, he received high-fives and adulation. He was so caught up in everybody’s worship that he didn’t even bother with the former friends he had left behind. The guys met this with much relief and by the middle of the week they were able to let their guard down and be themselves. They still stayed away from Clayton, but they weren’t afraid of another beat down.
Everyone in school was caught up in the hype. Everyone except the shadows. Jordan noticed that there were twelve now and they went everywhere together. The only time they split up was during class, but would immediately join back up afterward. When school got out they would walk everywhere in two single file lines. Eric led one line of six while Lance led the other one. At any other time everyone would have noticed this, but during this time of football frenzy everything else just didn’t matter. Like Emma and Convert, Jordan felt as if a dullness to everything had come upon the people of Galesburg and it made him very uneasy.
Due to the controversy at church, youth group had been canceled for Wednesday. The guys had yet to
speak to Aaron, but knew they needed to. Quite honestly, they didn’t know what to say or what mood Aaron would be in. Eventually on Wednesday night, Jordan got the nerve up to call him and was relieved to hear Aaron sound like he always did. They talked about the events of the past week and Jordan expressed how thankful he was that Aaron stuck up for him. He also told him that there was another dream and they really needed to talk to Convert. The fact that they dreamed again really excited Aaron and he said he would talk to Convert as soon as possible. The dream could possibly be the break they were looking for.
For the city, the week before Halloween was the calm before the storm. The storm they didn’t know was coming. No one anticipated the destruction that was ahead. It was only later, after they looked back, that they realized how it happened. By then, however, it was too late. The plan had unfolded and everything had changed.
2
At 4:00, on Friday afternoon, the guys had made their way from school to the McKenzie’s house where they would finally see Aaron again and get to meet with Convert. They were both excited and nervous to be there. They were excited to hopefully be able to figure out everything that had been going on, but they were also nervous about what those answers might be.
Marie opened the front door and welcomed them as they made their way inside. The scent of fresh baked cookies and hot chocolate greeted them as they walked through the living room into the dining room. Sitting at the table were Aaron, Convert, and a woman they didn’t know. They immediately noticed, besides the fact that she was beautiful, that she was sitting fairly close to Aaron.
“Pastor Aaron!” Mark said as he ran over to him and gave him a hug while he was still in his chair. “We missed you. It’s total garbage what happened to you. My mom was so mad when she heard about what happened. We’re going to fight with you!”
“Thanks, Mark,” Aaron said as he stood up. “There’s a lot to figure out.”
“Are you coming back?”
“I’ll be honest with you guys. I’m not sure what’s going to happen.”
All four of them looked at Aaron deflated. “Really?” Trent said. “Aren’t you going to fight back?”
“I’ll stand for what’s right,” Aaron replied. “You can be sure of that. Clayton’s influence runs deep, though, and I don’t want to split the church.”
“If that splits the church, then it deserves it!” Jordan said indignantly. Convert couldn’t help but smile at his passion. He could relate.
“Look guys,” Aaron said. “There will come a time when we can discuss this more, but I honestly think we have more important things to talk about.”
“Like the dreams?” Josh said.
“Yes.”
Jordan held his hand out to Convert. “It’s good to see you again,” Jordan said. “Thanks for meeting with us.”
“Don’t crush his hand!” Mark said smiling.
“So you guys have seen the video too?” Convert said grinning.
“Oh yeah!” Trent said. “It was awesome!”
“Yeah!” Mark said cutting in. “It was like you were the Hulk or Hercules! How did you do that stuff to the van? Was it an adrenaline surge?”
“I believe it was more than adrenaline,” Convert replied.
Josh slowly held his hand out to Emma, “Hello,” he said as he tried not to blush. “My name is Josh. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Hi, Josh!” Emma said as she firmly shook his hand. “My name is Emma Ironside and it’s nice to meet you as well.”
“Sorry guys,” Aaron said. “I should have introduced Emma sooner. She is joining us tonight because she has a connection with all of the strange stuff happening like we do. I don’t know if you know this, but she is a reporter for the Galesburg Ledger. She goes to Convert’s church and we grew up together.”
“Are you his girlfriend?” Mark blurted out to her.
“Mark!” Jordan said. “You don’t ask things like that.”
Mark turned sheepish. “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
Emma laughed. “No problem, Mark. I’m not embarrassed at all. I’m proud to be his girlfriend.” She squeezed Aaron’s hand as she said it.
“Yeah, Pastor Aaron!” Trent said laughing. “We never knew you had a girlfriend! She’s even named after a Transformer! That’s even more awesome!”
“Transformer?” Convert said.
“Yeah, those big robots that transform into vehicles,” Trent replied. “There’s one named Ironside.”
“Actually the Transformer’s name is Ironhide, but nice try anyway,” she said with a smirk.
“Wow, Trent!” Mark said. “She knows Transformers better than you!”
Marie brought in some mugs of hot chocolate, which the guys quickly snatched up along with some cookies. Marie always made it a point to make her house a home and the boys could sense that in every way. “Thank you, Mrs. McKenzie,” Jordan said.
“You’re very welcome,” she said as she sat down at the table. It was good to see their energy and the air of innocence about them. She looked up at Convert. “Did you want anything else?”
“No, thank you,” he said. “You did great as always.”
Aaron leaned forward. It was time to get to some answers. “So guys, you said you wanted to talk to Convert about some dreams you had. Was there something about him in them?”
“Just the second one,” Mark said with half a cookie in his mouth.
“I think it would be easiest to start from the beginning,” Jordan said. “Is that ok?”
“Absolutely,” Convert said. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you guys for over a week now too. Aaron told me about your trip to the barn and who you met. Is it ok if I ask you guys a couple questions first?”
“Sure,” Jordan said.
“So on Saturday after the youth event, you guys decided to go and check out the barn?”
“Yes,” Josh replied. “After we heard your story we felt like all the rumors about it were wrong and we wanted to check it out.”
“It was my fault,” Mark said. “I thought we would look cool to our other classmates if we got our picture taken in front of it. You know, to show we were brave.”
“Well, I don’t doubt that you’re brave,” Convert said. Mark tried to hide his smile but couldn’t. “I thought it had been an abandoned area too, but you guys met someone living in the barn?”
“Yes,” Jordan said. “Trent and I went into the barn and while we were inside a guy came down from upstairs and began to chase us threatening our lives.”
“Why do you think he did that?” Convert asked.
“I think it’s because we saw stuff we shouldn’t have,” Trent said.
“Like what?”
“Robes, daggers, ropes, and stuff like that. It looked like the stuff you’d see in a movie like when a cult wants to do a sacrifice or something.”
“We ran and he chased us,” Jordan said. “We all managed to get on our bikes and get out before he was able to catch us, though. He was the scariest man we have ever seen. He was evil and he would scream almost like an animal.”
The thought of this man sent a chill down Convert. “Can you tell me what he looks like?”
“Tall, probably 6'3 or 6'4, muscular, blond hair. He wore boots, cargo pants, and a jacket. He also had a huge knife strapped to his side. We call him Drago because we think he looks like the bad guy from Rocky 4.”
“Afterwards, you told Aaron that you recognized him from a dream?”
“Yeah,” Mark said. “We saw him kill Earnest Weller.”
“Yeah, he had a heart attack from an injection given by Drago,” Josh replied.
“And you know this from a dream?” Convert said.
“Yes, and we believe it because we never knew Earnest Weller before then,” Jordan said.
“How big would you say
the guy’s knife was?”
“Maybe ten inches or more,” Jordan replied. “Why does that matter?”
Convert looked up at Marie. He could tell it was painful to think about Jack’s murder and yet he knew that they all wanted answers. They needed them.
“Do you know who this guy is?” Jordan asked.
“No, I don’t,” Convert replied. “I wish I did.”
Convert noticed that the guys all began to look at each other. They knew something he didn’t.
“We think you do,” Jordan said uneasily.
“How would I know him?” Convert said leaning in.
“It was in our second dream. We saw you and Ralph. You were playing on the playground dressed up in your knight costumes on Halloween.”
Jordan stopped talking as he noticed a small tear escape Marie’s eye and run down her cheek. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ll stop.”
Marie smiled sweetly. “It’s ok, sweetheart, please continue.”
Jordan turned back toward Convert as he nodded his head to continue. “We saw you guys playing and then we saw the playground bully come up to you and break the necklace you were using as an medallion of protection.”
Convert’s eyes began to water as the memory of that day came flooding back. He always remembered that night with clarity, but he had forgotten what happened earlier. “Did you see Wall too?” He asked.
“Yes and we saw what happened to him.”
“Later on the kids used to call that event: ‘The day the wall fell.’ He never came back to our school again. Are you saying Wall has something to do with this?”
“No. We’re saying the guy who bullied him does. His name was Damon Marshall, but everyone called him…”
“Demon!” Convert said as his eyes widened, deep in thought.
“Yeah. Do you know whatever happened to him?”
“Damon Marshall went missing on Halloween night,” Marie said. “The same night Ralph died. His parents were around my age and had been found dead that night from carbon monoxide poisoning, which had been caused by a gas leak. Damon was their only child and he ended up missing. They never found him.”
The Scarlet Plan Page 27