The Raven Flies At Night

by Janine R Pestel

  “He's going to get you all,” the man yelled out, his voice raspy, “He's going to get you all. And, when he does, you'll learn. You'll learn what it means to suffer.”

  Johann and Robert glanced at each other, then Johann again turned his attention to the man and could see that he was talking to anyone within the sound of his voice. Most of the people who passed by refused to acknowledge his presence and those that did only did so with some disdain.

  “His wrath shall be great,” the man said, as though he were giving a sermon, “His wrath shall be great, and he will bring with him his minions. They will run, and they will take the air. They will pluck from you, your blasphemous eyes.”

  This heightened Johann's curiosity, and he studied the man, who now knelt on the ground and looked up with his arms outstretched.

  “What the hell,” Johann said, almost to himself.

  A car horn sounded behind him. Johann glanced up at the light. It had turned green. He pressed on the gas pedal and turned left.

  “Did you see that homeless guy,” Johann asked, as he scanned the building addresses for number one-twenty-six.

  “Uh huh. He seemed a little whacked out, didn't he,” answered Robert, as he scanned his side of the street for the same address. “The numbers on this side are even,” Robert added, “So her house should be on my side.”

  “Yes, he did,” Johann said, almost to himself, “He almost sounded like he was getting ready to perform some sort of ritual,” Johann said. Robert glanced at him, then turned his attention back to the buildings on his side of the street. As they neared the church, the numbers climbed into the one-twenties.

  They finally pulled up in front of the large, brick church and Robert took note that the building next to it bore number one-twenty-four. He turned his head and glanced at Johann.

  “Johann,” he said, “The church is number one-twenty-six Spring Street. She lives in a church? I don't think so.”

  “Interesting,” said Johann, as he got out of the car.

  The two men walked up the steps of the church to the two massive oak doors. As they reached the doors and prepared to enter, one of the doors unexpectedly opened and startled both men. Standing before Johann and Robert was Father Nelson, a young priest in his late twenties. His hands clasped together in front of him at his waist. His pleasant face wore a warm smile. He extended a hand in a gesture of welcome and bowed his head.

  “Welcome,” the priest said as he stepped aside, to allow Johann and Robert passage into the church. He lowered his voice to almost a whisper, “I've been expecting you, Father Gunter.”

  -5-

  Father Nelson led the way into his office in the rectory. Johann and Robert entered, and the priest closed the door behind them.

  “Please, take a seat,” the pontiff said, as he walked around his desk to his chair. Johann and Robert sat in chairs in front of him.

  “How did you know my name,” asked Johann. Father Nelson gazed at him, almost surprised by the question.

  “I would think it would be obvious,” he replied, as he chuckled lightly. “I'm a Catholic priest. You called Father Tuttle, and told him you were coming here, did you not?”

  “Duh, Johann,” whispered Robert, as he leaned toward him, “Even I could tell you that. They stick together, in case you didn't notice.” Johann glared at his friend.

  “I could figure that part out,” said Johann, “But, what made you realize I was Father Gunter? I could've been anyone.”

  “Not true,” said Father Nelson, as he waved a finger back and forth in the air, “Only a man of the cloth would consecrate remains.”

  “How did you know I blessed the corpse? Were you there?”

  “No. It was on the tape Belinda Carstone showed me.”

  “I saw her report on TV. There were no shots of me blessing him.”

  “Of course not. I asked her to make sure they cut that out, and she graciously agreed.” Father Nelson gazed a moment at Johann, then continued, “Besides…Father Tuttle gave me a full description of both you and Robert, here. He also told me what kind of car you drive. Love the car, by the way.”

  “Thanks,” said Johann. “So, A few things bother me.”

  “Ask away,” said the padre.

  “First of all, I never met your Deacon, and yet the last thing he said to me was my sister's name. How would he know about her?”

  “What happened to your sister was no secret among us priests. We're all aware of what happened. Her being taken by a demon was what caused you to leave the priesthood to find her. I suspect he only tried, in his own way, to tell you-you're among friends.”

  Johann made a facial gesture.

  “Secondly,” he said, “What the hell did he mean by 'The Raven flies at night'?

  The priest got out of his chair and paced, as he thought. After a moment, he stopped and gazed at Johann.

  “You came here because of a news report about this town's extraordinary amount of suicides lately. One thing which ties all the suicides together is this; just before the victim commits the act, they receive a visit from a Raven. This visit usually, although not always, occurs in the dark of night -,”

  “Didn't a bird land on Mister Quinton's car, right before he lit the fire,” asked Robert. Johann glanced at him, then back to the priest.

  “Yes,” Johann said, “A Raven landed on the roof of his car, which explains why he was so terrified. The time had come for him to die.”

  “We all knew this was coming,” said Father Nelson, “He had told us for the last week or so about how more and more Ravens gathered around his house.” The priest sat back down in his chair with a saddened expression on his face. “He even told me he had a dream the other day about fire.”

  “What do you think caused this,” asked Johann. He wanted to gain a feel for what the priest thought about demons and such. The priest gazed up at him.

  “Only one thing can cause this,” he said, “A demon, of course.”

  “So, you believe in demons and demon hunting,” asked Johann.

  “Of course, I do. Why the hell do you think I told Sharon to give you a note with our address and phone number?”

  “Sharon,” asked Johann a little puzzled.

  “Yes. Sharon. My niece who works at the restaurant. I gave her your description, and when she called me and said a man with the description I gave her asked questions about the Ravens, I told her to give you the note.”

  “That explains a few things,” Robert said. Johann glanced at him and stroked his mustache as he thought.

  “Do you have any idea who, or what, the demon might be,” asked Johann, “I have one suspect in mind.”

  “I do, indeed,” answered the priest, “I remember my demonology quite well. None other than the Earl of Hell himself. Earl Raum. Who else can manifest as a Raven and cause this much despair?” Johann nodded in agreement.

  “Exactly who I was thinking of,” said Johann, “The Earl of Hell shall manifest as a Raven and bring despair on the land. He shall dwell in the tallest tower, and gaze down upon man,” Johann said, as he stood up, and began to pace. He sounded as though he were giving a sermon. “Now everything about the visit he paid us at the restaurant is crystal clear,” Johann said, “No wonder a chill went up my spine when he looked at me. The bastard's a fucking demon. Now, we know why he was so nice to us. He knows who we are, and wants to get us off guard-,”

  “Please, Father Gunter,” the priest said, “Please curb your language. I'd like to keep him on our side if you don't mind,” he said, as he pointed upward.

  “Sorry, Father,” Johann said.

  “Damn,” Robert said, giving the priest an apologetic glance for the cuss word, “That explains a lot of stuff…what that logo means, why the hotel is so tall, and, more important, why we can't get onto the sixth floor.”

  “Well,” said Johann, “At least the demon will be easy enough to find. Apparently, we're staying at his house.”

  “Oh,” said Father Nelson, �
�So, you're staying at 'The Tower Inn'? Yes, I've been told he lives there. On the sixth floor.”

  “The demon is part of the problem, but not the end of the problem,” said the priest. “We've got to find his conjuror. If we don't deal with the conjuror, there will be no getting rid of the demon.”

  “So, the conjuror would be someone who has some sort of vendetta against this town, or at least against someone in this town,” Johann said.

  “When we find who we're looking for, how will we know we have the right person,” asked Robert.

  “I guarantee, this won't be easy,” the priest said, “But, it can be done.”

  The priest removed a cigarette from the pack that was in his shirt pocket. Robert glared at the white stick and almost started to drool. He quickly tried to turn his attention elsewhere, so he would not be tempted to ask for one. Johann chuckled to himself. He found a little humor in his friend's discomfort.

  “Forgive my rudeness. Would either of you like one,” asked the priest as he suddenly became aware that he had forgotten his manners. Johann turned and gave Robert an 'I dare you' expression. Robert swallowed hard, as he shook his head.

  “No, thank you. I'm trying to quit,” Robert said.

  “Oh, sorry,” Father Nelson said, as he dashed the cigarette out in the ashtray, “Forgive me, I was unaware.”

  “No, no, Father. That's fine. You can have one if you'd like.”

  The conversation between the three men was interrupted by the loud, distinctive pop of a gunshot from somewhere out on the street.

  The three stood from their chairs, almost in unison, and ran to the front of the church. They opened the door, and a crowd had gathered on the opposite side of the street, where a store was located. Angry men's voices came from somewhere in the crowd.

  “Let's check this out,” Johann said. The other two nodded, and the three approached the scene.

  Lying on the ground was the homeless man Johann and Robert had seen earlier. He had a bullet wound in his leg. The blood from the wound mixed with the dirt on his jeans. He was still alive and did not seem to be in a life-threatening situation, but he writhed in pain on the sidewalk.

  “What happened,” asked Robert as they got to the scene.

  “The son of a bitch shot me,” said the man lying on the ground. One hand covered his wound, and with the other, he pointed to another man. The second man, who appeared to be the shop owner, held a shotgun in his hand.

  “You tried to steal from me,” said the shop owner, “You're lucky I missed. I was tryin' to blow your damned leg off, you miserable little -,” he didn't finish the sentence.

  “The hell I did. You should make sure of things before you try to murder people.”

  “You lyin' son of a bitch,” the shop owner said, as he again raised the gun barrel. The homeless man put his hands up, to protect his face.

  Johann placed his hand on the gun barrel. “You don't want to do that,” he said, as he, and the shop owner, locked eyes. The angry man slowly lowered the gun.

  “He stole stuff. That's against the law,” the man said.

  “Somebody call an ambulance for this man,” said Father Nelson,

  A person in the crowd dialed the number on their cell phone to report the incident. While they waited for the ambulance and police to arrive, Johann turned to the two involved.

  “What did he steal,” he asked the shopkeeper.

  “He stole a bar of soap.”

  “A bar of soap,” asked Johann, unbelieving.

  “Yes,” answered the man, “A bar of soap.”

  Johann turned and looked at the man on the ground.

  “Did you steal this man's soap,” he asked.

  “No,” said the man, “I picked it up, but I put it back down again. He's just a crazy jackass that likes to shoot people.”

  The wounded man tried to stand up, but Robert quickly knelt beside him to help keep him still on the ground.

  “Stay still until the ambulance gets here,” Robert said.

  Within moments, three police cars arrived, and the police officers came over to the scene. One of the officers was the same one Robert and Johann had met and spoke to at the gas station a few hours earlier.

  “You're everywhere today, aren't you,” he said to Johann as he glared at him, “Almost seems like everywhere you are, trouble follows.”

  “Just lucky, I guess,” answered Johann. He was uncomfortable about this officer of the law. Something about him wasn't right, as far as Johann was concerned.

  “Do you know what happened here,” asked the officer.

  “No,” said Johann, “Not really. I got here right after it happened.”

  The police officer turned and started to tend to the task at hand. As he did that, Johann and the other two headed back toward the church.

  “This is what I'm talking about,” said Father Nelson, “This kind of stuff is what's been happening here lately? This used to be such a peaceful town. Now, everybody wants to kill everybody else.”

  Johann glanced back at the scene as the officers dispersed the crowd. Instead of just moving back a little, to watch the activity, as was normal in a situation like this, Johann took note that everyone left the scene. In a moment, all that was left were the police, the shop owner, and the victim.

  The ambulance arrived a moment later, and the EMTs rushed to tend to the wounded man. Johann, Robert and Father Nelson stood by the ambulance, as they loaded the man into the back and left the scene.

  The police officers talked with the shop owner. Johann took note that they didn't arrest him. They didn't even take his gun as evidence. From what he could ascertain, they merely spoke with him a little while, then left. The whole incident was over in a matter of minutes, and the shop owner went back inside his store. This did not sit well with Johann or Robert. They glanced at each other, the unspoken “What the hell?” lingered in the air.

  As they turned to go back into the church, something caught Johann's eye, and he stopped. He grabbed Robert's arm and gestured to the store. A Raven had landed on the sidewalk in front of the large, plate glass window. Father Nelson realized that Johann and Robert had stopped and turned to see what had their attention. The sight of the Raven in front of the store gripped the priest with fear.

  The huge black bird walked along the sidewalk for a moment and examined the blood stain on the sidewalk before it stopped at the front window. It glanced in through the plate glass, as though it knew what it was doing.

  “Oh, no,” Father Nelson said, as he blessed himself.

  A moment later, the bird let out a cry, spread its wings and took flight. Immediately afterward, there was the unmistakable sound and bright flash of a gunshot inside the store. At the same time, blood and tissue splattered against the front window of the store, which shattered from the bullet, and spilled the bloody mess onto the sidewalk. The shop owner's now mostly headless body fell limp on the jagged glass. As it lay half out of the store, the corpse bled out onto the sidewalk. Like a crimson stream, the blood flowed across the concrete into a nearby storm drain.

  Robert took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed nine-one-one, to report the apparent suicide. Johann walked across the street to protect the victim's remains and preserve the scene for the police. Father Nelson joined him and knelt at the side of the corpse.

  “Father, forgive him,” the priest prayed as he touched the body, “And grant him eternal rest.”

  “There won't be any rest until we get that son of a bitch,” Johann said, angry that they had been caught off guard, and powerless, to stop this suicide, “Obviously, it's true what they say about a Raven showing up.”

  A crowd began to gather, and Johann and Robert tried their best to keep everyone as far away from the body as possible. One man glanced over. When he caught sight of the decapitated corpse, he turned and vomited on the wall of the building.

  Sirens once again screamed through the streets, as they approached the scene. Johann was thankful they were comi
ng. He was certain he wouldn't be able to contain the scene with only himself and Robert.

  The police arrived, and Johann was relieved; none of them was the officer he kept running into. As the officers came to the scene, several of them formed a human barrier around the grisly scene, while three of them began investigating the death scene.

  “Did anyone see this happen,” asked one of the officers.

  “I did,” Johann said. The officer walked over to him, with his notebook open.

  “What did you see?”

  “We were standing over there -,” Johann said.

  “ 'We,' ” asked the police officer, paraphrasing what Johann said.

  “Myself, my friend Robert, and Father Nelson, here.”

  Robert and Father Nelson came over and joined Johann as he talked with the officer.

  “What's your name,” he asked Johann.

  “Johann Gunter,” replied Johann

  The interrogation went on for a few minutes. The police officer collected Johann, Robert, and Father Nelson's personal information.

  “Did any of you see who shot this man,” the officer asked.

  “He shot himself,” answered Johann, “He was in an altercation a little while ago with a homeless guy. After they took the homeless man to the hospital, he went into his store. A minute later…Bang. He blew his head off.”

  While he told the officer what had happened, Johann studied the man's face. He detected a slight lift of the eyebrows when he mentioned the homeless person.

  “Thank you for your statement, Mister Gunter. You're free to go,” the officer said, as he tucked his pen into his shirt pocket.

  Johann, Robert and Father Nelson walked back to the rectory across the street. They went directly back to the priest's office. Father Nelson sat at his desk and opened a small chest that was in front of him. He gingerly reached in and withdrew a small, round, metallic item, which almost appeared to be a coin of some sort. He smiled as he glanced at the shiny object, then turned his attention to Johann and Robert, who were sitting in front of him.

  “What's that,” asked Johann.

  “This, my son, is something that will help you in your quest to destroy demons,” Father Nelson said, as he held the item up so Johann could examine it.