by Sasha Pruett
And Then...
And there they left their idols, and David and his men burned them.
II Samuel 5:21
Under the cover of the clear night sky, witnessed only by the stars, a small group of people gathered in Ezekiel Garrison’s back yard to lay to rest the bane of the past. The trinkets and tomes were gathered together, leaving nothing left to fall into the hands of well, anyone, and bound by the spirit of Christ. The group of men and women prayed and worshiped as Pastor Garrison built a bonfire fueled by accelerants and faith. Both Wendy and Susanne had willing handed over their spell books, neither wanting the accursed things in their homes.
The flesh of Saul’s tome sizzled in the flames as it cooked and the acrid stench of sulfur and burning flesh wafted into the air. The wind began to whip around the fire, swinging the trees wildly as unearthly howls erupted from what seemed like nowhere and smoke figures danced and glided around the yard. Ezekiel, Gary, Aaron, Wendy, and Jonathan watched as Satan’s minions led a protest against the destruction of their polluted property and domicile. The sights and sounds of their tirades disturbed them, but after the past few days nothing would surprise them. They only prayed harder and eventually the night returned to normal; another battle having been won, and eventually the tension of the evening subsided and the friends slipped easily into conversation.
“So Gary, how much trouble did Michael get into? Is his shoulder alright?”
“Luckily it wasn’t too bad, and as providence has it, it only served to solidify evidence of an animal attack. I discovered that he had passed out before he’d disappeared so I told his mother what he had told me. He’d been suffering from nightmares since the attacks began and was too embarrassed to say anything, which led to sleep deprivation. That night he collapsed and was probably sleepwalking, when he finally woke up he was scared and disoriented and he sought shelter right away. That seemed to do the job and it was true, at least from what I understand, which isn’t a whole lot after the past week. I realize now how little I really do know. How’s your son?”
“It’s like being a father again for the first time; after we got home and he went to bed I couldn’t help but to peek in on him every few minutes, just to check on him.”
“Is he still at the house?”
“Susanne’s with him and her boys. After we got home we just felt it was somehow safer to stay at our house so we crashed where ever there was a place. She was nice and volunteered to stay behind while we came out to take care of things here.”
“Sue and I had talked about it and since she hadn’t seen what we all had we both thought it best to...”
“Hey I hear ya, Jonathan. None of us knew what to expect. No sense her seeing any more than she has to. Is she alright?”
Jonathan didn’t quite know how to answer that question, “I don’t know. We’re all on auto pilot right now, time will tell, but she won’t go through anything alone.” He glanced at Aaron, hoping he hadn’t offended him.
“It’s alright, Jonathan, it wasn’t Jeremy, but the thing inside him. We all have to deal with that.”
“How is he?”
“He slept most of the day, Gary, but when he woke up he was lighter and happier than I had seen him in, well a long time. Not to pry, but I was wondering how you were going to report all of this; you had mentioned an animal attack?”
“I thought about that a lot, and I figured that the truth is the only way to go.”
Aaron held his breath.
“The attacks were caused by a single animal that was tracked down and dealt with on sight. There is no further danger to Epson or her citizens. Case closed. I don’t know how my superiors will take the vagueness of my report, especially after Pintac’s death, but I’ll just have to deal with that when the time comes.”
While the guys were talking, Wendy took the opportunity to pull Pastor Garrison aside.
“Pastor, I wanted to ask you something that I can’t quite understand.”
“Of course, Wendy. What can I do for you?”
“That talisman?”
“Yes?”
“Why did it work when the spell didn’t? Wouldn’t either both work or not work at all?”
“Good question. When Jesus was healing the sick and casting out devils he was accused of doing these things by the power of Satan. That’s when he said, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand?’. Satan is the prince of lies and deception, he gives men a small amount of power; as in those medallions, but when it comes to giving men the ability to cast out one of his own...”
Wendy finally understood, “So the talismans were just a tease, they were never meant to help at all were they?”
“Not at all, they were just another one his many misdirections. As long as he can keep you looking in the wrong direction for answers you won’t see that you’re walking off a cliff straight into Hell.”
Suddenly she began to shake as tears streamed down her cheek.
“What’s wrong Wendy?”
“It could have been me.”
“What could?”
“The curse or possession, or whatever you call it. I almost did it again, if Aaron hadn’t stopped me I would have read that thing aloud myself. I’m so obsessed with knowing that I would have put my family and this town in danger all over again. I mean there could have been two of them out there; can you imagine what I would have done, what I would have caused. Jeremy causing this is one thing, he didn’t know any better, he’s just a child, but me; I should have known better, but no not me if it’s there I’m going after it like a pit bull.”
Ezekiel hugged her comfortingly, “Wendy, thank God that you were stopped and use this as a lesson for the future. Now you know and if you keep in mind the events that have transpired over the last so many days the Lord will never lead you astray, and not only does he forgive your sins, but he forgets them as well.”