The Soul Healer

by B. Groves

  Alison rolled her eyes. Other demons have used the same argument before. “Still better than what you’re offering. Possessing children, killing the elderly who can’t handle your strong presence inside their bodies. What are you going to do with the Earth by taking it over? Turn it into a utopian state? Will you kill just the humans or does every living organism right down to a mosquito have to suffer from your ambitions?”

  Samuel checked his perfectly manicured fingernails while Alison spoke. “They are the exception. Otherwise, we have orders that humans must go.”

  Her anger boiled inside of her. No matter what evil humans commit on this planet, there were those who risked their lives every day to save others and those that made life worth living. Her sister might have been one of them if that thing hadn’t possessed her.

  Alison could feel her powers rising inside of her. She lifted her hands and her fingers spread.

  Samuel sensed the rising power but didn’t flinch. He only stared at Alison waiting for her to strike.

  “Your higher power is only trying to do this because of His hatred of humans,” Alison said. Her voice echoed through the jail cell. Her voice had changed once her powers surfaced. “His sick jealousy and selfishness because daddy didn’t pay enough attention to him. He caused my sister’s death.”

  Samuel never flinched. He kept his eyes trained directly on Alison. “Are you sure that’s all it is?”

  Alison inhaled deep breaths. Her muscles screamed from tension as she waited for the right moment.

  “I never wanted this,” Alison said. “All I wanted was to finish school, meet someone special, work a boring job, and raise kids. Instead, I’ve seen nothing but death and destruction because of your blackened souls. Who are the real monsters?”

  Samuel sneered. “You’re such a cliché, Alison. The reluctant hero. The chosen one.” Samuel placed his hand over his forehead dramatically. “I never wanted this life. Oh, poor me.”

  Alison tried to hold back her temper, but as she thought of her sister, she couldn’t hold in her rage any longer. All her memories of Heather came flooding back to her. Discovering her sister hanging in her closet that night. It tore her family apart. No. She never wanted this life. She didn’t care if she sounded like some kind of cliché from a trashy novel. She didn’t choose this horrible fate.

  Her rage rose into her throat. The things she’d seen besides…. The way the demons destroyed human souls, and how they callously taunted the humans around them, destroying families and friends. Even before Heather’s suicide, she’d wondered if death would have been a sweet release from all the misery she’d witnessed over the years and how she had to keep it a secret from the rest of the world. How she’d never had anyone to talk to about her fears, her doubts, and her struggles in this life. She had other hunters, but they also struggled with the same thoughts as she did.

  Alison jumped from her chair and reached Samuel before he could get out of her way.

  She placed her hands over his head and felt the power rush through her when she met with the dark soul possessing him.

  “I will destroy you,” she growled as she entered Samuel’s head and made her way through the maze of darkness, where tormented faces appeared and screamed to her for help. She would turn a corner and they would taunt her, ridicule her, and show her the world if they defeated the hunters on Earth.

  Samuel grunted and groaned, but he said words that gave Alison pause.

  “You can take me out, Alison,” Samuel gasped, “but you’ll be releasing a real monster.”

  Alison closed her eyes. In Samuel’s consciousness, the demon appeared in humanoid form. He hissed and pointed to the real Samuel inside his cage.

  “Alison, if you release me, you’ll regret it,” he said.

  He moved out of the way so Alison could approach the real Samuel. He sat inside the cage, rocking back and forth and as she drew closer on the path to the cage, pictures formed in front of her.

  The real Samuel’s memories appeared.

  A boy born from a mother involved in prostitution and drugs. He grew up without parental supervision. The kid would hear his mother behind closed doors sleeping with different men for money and more drugs. She would leave Samuel alone for days and beat him when he misbehaved.

  Alison couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the little boy who had no one to help him escape from his horrible circumstances.

  She watched as Samuel grew into a teenager. His classmates bullied him severely because of his mother’s profession.

  He released his rage by killing small animals. He would run to escape the bullies, but he would hide in a thick forest and search for hours until he found an animal to kill.

  The human Samuel looked about fifteen when one of his mother’s customers tried to rape him, and that was when Samuel snapped.

  Samuel’s mother owned a gun that she kept in her dresser drawer. Samuel escaped the man and grabbed the gun.

  Samuel never hesitated and shot the man through the forehead. He then turned the gun on his screaming mother and put a bullet in her chest.

  Samuel fled and made it to New York where he lived on the streets for years, assuming new identities until he found work for a trucking company when the company gave him a shot.

  Alison watched as Samuel picked up his life and turned it around. Except, he didn’t turn it around for the better.

  Samuel’s hatred of prostitutes and women, in general, fueled his inner rage. He always pictured his drug-addled mother when he was picking up a prostitute and continued to see her ghost while he murdered each of them.

  He was careful about his crimes and never murdered them in the same area, his job affording him that luxury.

  Alison couldn’t look at any more of the gruesome memories as the life left the prostitutes eyes when Samuel murdered them.

  She released Samuel’s head and staggered backward while Samuel inhaled shaky breaths of his own and the black veins disappeared from his skin.

  Alison sat down in the chair, leaned forward, trying to forget the real Samuel Manes and the vision of his life.

  “Ask yourself, Alison. Who are the real monsters in this world? Is my boss wrong?”

  Alison’s breathing returned to normal. She lifted her head and stared at Samuel.

  Did doubts cross her mind? Many times. She questioned her path in life so many times she’d lost count. She questioned if releasing a demon was the right thing to do after her sister hung herself that tragic night. There were times she let them go, knowing that the human underneath didn’t deserve saving.

  It had been her choice. Brady exorcised no matter what the human did or how it affected their health. He never questioned his powers or questioned the morality of releasing the human. This was what he’d been born to do, he would say, and he would continue to do it.

  Yes, there were monsters in human form. That was part of living on this planet, but Alison thought back to all the children who suffered at their hands, the elderly—whose bodies couldn’t handle the power within them and died of what doctors deemed natural causes although most hunters knew better.

  The door opened behind her before she could answer Samuel’s question.

  She turned to see a man in a suit holding a briefcase demanding they release Samuel right now and stating the charges were bogus.

  The man was all human as Alison narrowed her eyes on his head. He must have been Samuel’s lawyer and he was not happy.

  “This will kill your career, Carter,” the man yelled.

  Chief Carter gestured to Alison and she stood. Her time with Samuel was done.

  “Who is this?” the lawyer asked. “Who is this woman?”

  Samuel lifted his hands to calm his lawyer down. “It’s all right, Preston. Alison is a friend of mine.”

  The lawyer seemed to calm down but turned to whisper threats at Chief Carter.

  Alison stood along with Samuel who now wore a smirk on his face.

  Alison walked over and offered h
er hand for Samuel to shake. “I won’t,” she said when Samuel hesitated.

  Samuel took her hand and Alison repressed her powers while they shook. She leaned in and whispered in Samuel’s ear. “It doesn’t matter what this guy has done. You will never take this town or this planet. I will bring you down.”

  Alison stood up straight and let go of Samuel’s hand.

  His expression never changed as he said, “There are millions of us, Alison. You are few. When we get the word, this planet is ours.”

  “We’ll be ready,” Alison said.

  She turned and waited for Chief Carter to let her out of the cell while Samuel’s lawyer huffed near the door.

  Alison ignored the lawyer and walked through the door and into the office area of the police station.

  She turned when someone called her name.

  Kyle and Miguel waited by Carter’s office.

  Chapter 34

  After Kyle and Miguel dropped Olivia off at Carter’s house, they drove around town and checked every abandoned building they could find.

  Kyle became frustrated because Miguel would make his way back to the car, shaking his head saying the buildings were empty.

  Meanwhile, Kyle waited in the car and held onto his cellphone, waiting to see if Alison would call him with some news on Samuel’s arrest, but instead of Alison calling, Miranda kept trying to text and call him.

  Kyle wondered what she wanted. She said she wanted to visit her grandchildren. Did she change her mind? Did she stop by the church and see the new door on the closet? How did he explain away that one?

  Kyle rubbed his eyes and adjusted the ice pack over his ribs. The ice and the Tylenol were giving him some relief but not much, and Miquel insisted he stay in the car while he searched the empty warehouses along Route 8.

  Kyle remembered this sawmill. They were ready to shut down when Kyle first arrived and they called him in to do a group prayer for business to pick up and jobs saved.

  It never happened. The mill closed not long after Kyle visited the mill and many lost their jobs.

  Signs hanging on the mill were discolored and rusted, the paint had peeled off. Vines were sneaking their way up the brick building, giving it a contrasting color of red and green. Weeds choked the landscape, growing waist high, and local, bored teenagers redecorated the building with offensive graffiti.

  He watched Miguel make his way around the building, trying to gaze through the grimy windows.

  Miguel turned back to Kyle and shook his head.

  Kyle frowned and looked ahead. Where did Samuel hide those people? He wouldn’t dare leave them at his own house, would he? No, he wouldn’t. He was too smart for that. Kyle concluded the abandoned cabin where they found Billy Wilson was a decoy.

  Miguel got into the car and sighed. “Nothing again.”

  “I didn’t think so,” Kyle said. “These places are too obvious. We have it all wrong. I can feel it.”

  Miguel nodded as he started the car. “Do you think Alison may have sent us on a wild duck chase on purpose?”

  Kyle couldn’t hide his snicker, and it made his ribs hurt. “Goose.”

  “What?”

  “Wild goose chase. I don’t think she would do that. She’s trying to eliminate locations.”

  Miguel nodded and they drove off. “Where to now?”

  “We should head back to the police station and meet Alison there,” Kyle said.

  “Are you sure you want to be in the same room as Samuel?”

  Kyle shrugged. “He’s got a lawyer. We both know my accusations won’t stick.”

  Miguel and Kyle drove back to town. Kyle’s ice had melted in the bag and the pain from his ribs flared up again. He hoped Markus had an ice machine so he could refill the bag. He’d brought some Advil and popped those, swallowing them dry.

  “You should see a doctor, amigo,” Miguel commented.

  Kyle shook his head. “No. I’m good.”

  Kyle scowled when his phone rang. He checked the screen and found Miranda trying to call him again.

  While Miguel searched for a parking space, Kyle finally answered her.

  “I thought you were on vacation,” Kyle answered.

  Miranda huffed. “I was leaving when I got a phone call. Reverend, where have you been? I’ve been trying to call you all day.”

  “I had to take care of some personal issues,” he said, turning to gaze at Miguel. “Now, why are you still in town?”

  Miranda let out a long breath. “Reverend…”

  The tone of her voice wasn’t cheerful or friendly. It sounded… disappointed and angry.

  “Spit it out, Miranda.”

  “Reverend, the church elders have called an emergency meeting tonight,” Miranda said. “Emma wouldn’t tell me why. She asked me to come back to town for it.”

  Kyle froze, and his heart skipped a few beats. He tried to swallow but the combination of his ribs hurting and the shock of this meeting made it feel like his throat was closing. If Emma called the meeting that meant she knew about Clara, and if she knew about Clara, that was bad news for Kyle.

  Miguel placed the car in park and turned to Kyle in confusion.

  “I don’t understand, Miranda. Why did she do this?”

  “All she said was you broke church rules and a door? Kyle, what happened?”

  Kyle rubbed a hand over his face. Shit…

  “It was all a big misunderstanding. I’ll explain everything tonight—”

  “They’re saying seven o’clock.”

  “Fine. I should be home by then.”

  Kyle hung up with Miranda, cursed as Miguel placed the car in park at the police station.

  Miguel looked over in confusion. “What?”

  “They know about Clara and Emma’s called an emergency church meeting.”

  “Tell them the truth. How long have you been Reverend? Your record is clean, right? That has to count for something.”

  Kyle shook his head. He was reeling from this meeting. He thought about the worst scenario. He could lose his job. Kyle could lose his collar and he’d become a pariah in the community.

  Kyle closed his eyes. Was that such a bad thing, though? He’d been struggling for years about his beliefs. Even after discovering demons existed, he still struggled with what he preached.

  Was God answering his prayers about his path in life? He had been bleeding worshippers for a long time. He didn’t care. His enthusiasm wasn’t there.

  The shepherd could barely herd his sheep on a good day.

  The terror of losing his job and the hopefulness of a new beginning dominated his thoughts.

  Where would he go? What would he do?

  Kyle’s lips turned up in a smile. Maybe Alison needed an assistant, or she knew someone who would, and maybe it would be close by where she lived.

  Kyle shook his head. Alison wouldn’t want him around. Not with all the stupid stunts he’d pulled over the last several days, he’d just be in her way.

  With that thought, Kyle and Miguel exited the car with Kyle insisting he was fine when Miguel asked.

  “If I’m terminated. I always have options,” Kyle said.

  Miguel raised an eyebrow but motioned for Kyle to look behind him. Kyle turned and saw the car with Samuel’s little minion waiting outside.

  Jason nodded at Kyle as they passed by the car. That meant Samuel was on the verge of getting released.

  Kyle and Miguel walked through the glass doors of the police station and were greeted by the receptionist who was a member of Kyle’s church.

  Linda’s bushy eyebrows raised in surprise when she looked up to see Kyle standing at the desk.

  “Good afternoon, Reverend,” she said. “Is everything okay? What can I do for you?”

  Linda came in for counseling a lot. She and her husband were in the middle of a divorce. She found her husband having an affair with another man and she didn’t take it well. Linda struggled to come to grips with it since they’d been together since college, but
she was improving.

  It was then Kyle remembered how many people he helped over the years he lived in Wolfpine and it made him angry that he would lose not only his job but he couldn’t help the people who still came to him for advice.

  He remembered encouraging Linda to find friends and that it was okay for her to move on with her children. She was coming out of the shell she built around herself and her husband and he remembered when she giggled shyly that she talked to a man in a bar while she was visiting an old college friend in Asheville.