by Sasha Pruett
*****
The deformed sounds of man, beast, and boy reverberated through the rocky halls and tore the couple’s hearts in two. They felt so helpless and scared; all they could cling to was their ceaseless prayers for the two inside. In this they would not fail, on and on the cries to God continued, with tears and without, aloud and silent, on their knees and in each other’s arms. The thunder quieted, the lightning faded, the rain ceased to fall, and the clouds that had hung over the town finally parted to reveal the crest of the dawn. It’s light, warm and peaceful.
“Is it over?”
“No Wendy, sweetie, it’s just daybreak.”
“No... it’s Him... it’s God.” Michael’s calm, certain statement was enough to send Wendy dashing back into the dusty den just in time to witness Pastor Garrison covering her naked son with his jacket. She forced her trembling legs to carry her to his side, scooping him up in her arms.
“Mom? What’s going on? Where are we?”
“It’s alright Baby, you were just sleepwalking that’s all.”
“Then why are you crying? Is everything alright?”
“I... we were just worried about you, very worried about you. We love you so much, you know that right? You mean the world to us. Everything is perfect; just perfect now that you’re safe and sound.”
“Okay son, let’s get you home. We’ve all had a busy night, and we all could use some rest.” Aaron helped his son to stand, “Jonathan could you and Michael help Jeremy back down to our car?”
“Of course, let’s go fellas. It’s a long walk.”
“If you will excuse me, I need to call Michael’s parents and let them know that he’s on his way home after we get his shoulder taken care of at the clinic. I hope he’s not in too much trouble. I’ll be right outside if you need me.”
As soon as Officer Carpell and the boys were out of earshot things turned serious and somber. All were exhausted and maybe their words hung heavier than they needed or maybe not.
“Pastor Garrison, how can I ever thank you enough?”
“I’m just glad I could help, Aaron. If you really want to thank someone, thank God. Without Him none of us would amount to a hill of beans and none of this would have been possible.”
“Of course; but Pastor?”
“Yes, Wendy?”
“How could this happen? I mean Jeremy’s not into witchcraft or anything, how is it possible that he could be possessed to this extent? He’s a good boy.”
“Even solid Christians deal with demons and temptation, sometimes on a daily basis. We are not immune to possession, but having the armor of God and the tools and education to recognize demonic occurrences protects us more than those without it.
Jeremy’s a good boy; I agree, but it doesn’t take a practicing Satanist to open yourself up to possession. Ouija boards, tarot cards, psychics, astrology, even a love of Goth and the morbid can lead to a spirit of possession regardless of whether or not you believe. People may argue and refuse it, but the truth is these all come from the same dark source. Satan has many tricks and faces and he will take advantage of even the tiniest of opportunities. Unfortunately even those who are or were victims of abuse are susceptible to spirits of suicide, anger, rage, lust, depression and more. We all need to be careful what we put not only into our bodies, but our minds and souls as well. The eyes truly are the windows to the soul, and after this night I realize that I had been neglecting to keep you and the rest of the town educated about the dangers that are still very real and plaguing each of us. I’m sorry that I failed you, Aaron, Wendy, please forgive me, but I won’t let it happen again. Tonight has taught me a lot.”
Neither knew what to say, this man had just saved the life of their son, and now he was asking for their forgiveness.
“Pastor there’s nothing to forgive, you saved his life. Besides, before this happened I don’t think we would have listened much to your warnings,” Aaron could see he wasn’t changing Ezekiel’s mind, “but if it helps... of course we forgive you.”
“Thank you.”
“Pastor?”
“Yes, Wendy?”
“What do we tell him? Jeremy, I mean. Will he be alright?”
“I won’t kid you; this is going to take a lot of prayer and fasting on all our parts to make sure that this spirit does not come back. Luke chapter eleven warns about repossession that’s even worse than the first. Satan feels like he has a claim on your son and his heirs and will be looking for any opportunity to slip in to their lives, but he cannot succeed if you’re vigilant. Those whom God sets free are free indeed, but that doesn’t mean that you can go back to the way things were, doing whatever you want and not suffer the same or a worse fate. An alcoholic, once freed from his addiction can’t go back to casual drinking and not expect to slip back into alcoholism.
As for what you tell him; that’s completely up to you, but I would suggest the truth. Lying is a sin and will only eat away at you like a cancer. Besides, I truly believe that he will figure it out one day and then it will be worse for all of you when he does. What’s done in the dark will come to light. I’ll be more than happy to help him get through any difficulties he may have, and you two as well. I’m always here for all of you; day or night, and I believe all of you need some counseling to completely accept and work through what’s happened as individuals and as a family.
Now, nothing that has happened here will go any farther than those present tonight, but there is another matter just as urgent that we need to address.”
Uneasy silence.
“I don’t know the whole story, but there seems to be a few items that we need to destroy before they cause any more damage. Am I correct?”
Wendy couldn’t help but look at the ground as she had done when her parents had confronted her as a child.
“It’s alright, Wendy, I’m not scolding you.” Ezekiel let out a little chuckle, “I just want to make sure to get everything gathered up that had a part in this and get rid of it permanently.”
“But all that history...” She had said it before realizing it.
“Was it worth it, Wendy?”
“No.”
“Are you willing to take the chance of something like this happening again to your family or someone else’s?”
“No.”
“Good, because as long as you hold onto that book you will have an open door for that demon to walk right back through.”
Gary hated to interrupt, but he was on the clock and there was one last body to attend to, “I’m sorry to rush you, but this is still a crime scene and I need to get things taken care of here.” He gave Aaron a look that said it all and as quickly and calmly as he could Aaron ushered the pastor and his wife from the cave before either of them was exposed the rotting remains of Harold Pintac.