The Soul Healer

by B. Groves

  “Kyle, you’re in enough trouble and Carter might have to arrest you if you step foot on Emma’s property; it could mean trouble for us. It’s best you stay in the shadows,” Alison answered. She liked her answer.

  Kyle turned away. “You’re right.”

  “What about the security cameras?” Miguel asked.

  Alison brought out her phone. “I have a person to take care of that.”

  Alison turned and headed back to the house, urging the group to follow her.

  Once everyone was inside, Olivia went to play on her iPad while Alison showed Kyle and Miguel what they needed to do.

  “There’s a path that leads from Weddington Road behind the house,” Alison pointed out.

  “That’s a running path,” Kyle commented. “Emma jogs it early in the morning.”

  “You will only have a ten-minute window once I tell my hacker to turn off the cameras before the security company notices, so you guys will have to be fast,” Alison explained. “I can hold her off, but I’ll give you time to park and make your way to the path.”

  Both men nodded.

  “Will we need pictures?” Kyle asked.

  “If you can, please, but if you can’t, make sure you get a good look.”

  “Sounds easy, but we won’t have much time,” Miguel commented.

  “Be fast,” Alison answered. “I can't emphasize that enough.”

  Miguel turned and grinned at Kyle, who was downing some Advil. “You’ll hold me back.”

  Kyle made sure Olivia wasn’t looking and gave Miguel the one finger salute, much to Miguel’s amusement. “I’m not your preacher anymore, so I can do that.”

  Alison and Miguel laughed.

  “Carter should be here any minute. What are we going to tell him?”

  “That’s the best part. I’m sending him elsewhere and throwing him off,” Alison answered.

  “What if Emma calls the cops on you?” Miguel asked.

  “She won’t.”

  Simon barked when Carter pulled up. This would be another time she couldn’t take Simon with her. Most of the time she worked alone and she would have investigated the barn herself with the help of other hunters, but this time she had two every eager human o face men who needed a purpose.

  One for the vengeance of his wife and the other who needed revenge for Samuel Manes ruining his life.

  Alison never felt comfortable getting regular humans involved. She didn’t like putting others in danger, but she’d never live it down if either of these men knew she executed her plans without them.

  Both men needed a purpose and she was handing it to them.

  Alison still didn’t trust Carter when he walked in and greeted them. She had John researching his background for her. She wanted to know more about Chief Carter.

  The police chief seemed like a good man who wanted to do the right thing, but his dismissive attitude towards the missing people concerned her the most. The statistics he told her when they first met were correct and she found out from her FBI informant that the feds had been watching the town for years and they didn’t like his approach to the missing people either.

  That set off Alison’s inner alarm bells. She understood there was only so much a small-town police chief could do, but he never showed much concern for the missing when she brought up news articles on the missing.

  Although the town had the most found alive, many were never found. Carter had reassured the public that no serial killers or kidnappers stalked the area, but the town stayed on edge from the information she’d gathered and it kept the feds on edge too since none of the disappearances were explainable.

  Alison closed her laptop, so Carter wouldn’t notice her plan as he spoke to Kyle about Samuel.

  Broken nose confirmed. Samuel’s lawyer is screaming for charges but Samuel is not pressing them, saying that Kyle did enough damage to himself.

  Alison could see the regret on Kyle’s face as Carter spoke to him. Carter thought it’d be best for him to keep a low profile and leave town quietly. Kyle resisted and that made Alison happy. She needed him and he said he would be at the festival whether or not Carter liked it.

  She was even more relieved when Carter asked what they were doing today and Kyle said they were waiting on the team of hunters. He started packing to move and the others would help him.

  She worried when Carter asked Olivia how she was doing. She didn’t know if the little girl would mistakenly tell the truth, but Olivia repeated their story like a pro.

  Carter then mentioned that Clara’s sister Audrey would arrive today to decide for the funeral and that her car wreck had been a tragic accident.

  They all knew better.

  Alison heard Kyle voice his displeasure about not overseeing Clara’s funeral.

  Alison listened to the men exchanging conversation, patiently waiting for Carter to leave. She grabbed two apples from the refrigerator and handed one to Olivia and sat on the couch next to her.

  Olivia put down her iPad and snuggled closer to Alison.

  “How are you doing, sweetie? Are you okay?” Alison asked after taking a bite of her apple.

  Olivia nodded, looking thoughtful. “I miss my mom. Dad tries his best with my stuff, but he’s not that good at it. Not like Mom.”

  “Your dad is happier you’re alive and well but he’ll catch on. You’ll have to guide him for a while. Do you remember anything else?”

  Olivia made a face and said, “No. I tried to remember the man in my room but I don’t know if it was the mayor or not.”

  “Well, I’m sure the truth will come out soon,” Alison said squeezing the girl’s shoulders. “Remember to follow my lead today. Word for word. You will be so important for the next few days.”

  “Okay.”

  Alison heard Carter ranting about the festival and what a mess Main Street turned in to.

  Carter walked over to Alison and handed her a pamphlet.

  “This is the map of the vendors and other entertainment for the festival. Samuel is scheduled to lead prayer on Saturday at noon and will dedicate a statue to fallen veterans at seven that night.”

  “That’ll be perfect,” Alison said as she studied the map. She took a picture and sent it to John with the same message.

  Alison smiled when Carter left.

  Kyle and Alison stared at each other for a moment, and Miguel asked, “Are we ready?”

  “We sure are,” Alison answered.

  Miguel nodded. “Let’s bring these assholes down.”

  Chapter 43

  Kyle’s ribs were throbbing again, but he ignored them. He should have been at home resting or lightly packing.

  On their way to Weddington Road, Denise called him to remind him that the elders revoked his privileges inside the church, and Miranda would leave his personal things on his doorstep when she finished packing them.

  She also reminded him about his limited time living in the house.

  “You’re lucky the mayor hasn’t pressed charges, Kyle,” she said with a sniff.

  “I’m so appreciative of your generosity, Denise,” Kyle answered. “May I ask a question?”

  “What?” she asked, her voice showing impatience.

  “Is your current lover eighteen years or older? Because North Carolina has laws against that.”

  Miguel snickered from the driver’s seat.

  Denise huffed through the receiver. Without another word, she hung up.

  “She hung up on me,” Kyle said with a grin.

  “You have too much to throw back in their faces,” Miguel said. “That’s why they’re not pressing charges. It’s not the demon.”

  “Exactly.”

  Kyle placed the phone back in his pocket.

  “I hope Olivia stays safe,” Miguel said.

  “Alison will keep her safe, you know that.”

  Miguel glanced at Kyle. “Why do you think she didn’t want to tell Chief Carter about our plans?”

  Kyle had been thinking about that
too. From what he’d learned about the hunter is that Alison did nothing without planning it first. There was a reason she excluded Carter from their plans and he would ask her why later.

  She had to suspect something or she would have included him, Kyle thought.

  “I’m not sure, but I plan on asking her later.”

  Miguel turned into the small park on Weddington Road. Alison and Olivia arrived at the house and waited for them according to her text.

  “They arrived,” Kyle said.

  The small park on the residential street contained a small playground, some picnic tables, and grills. Since it was a weekday and late morning, the park was empty. Kyle had been here a few times when he had been dating Emma, so he knew the path and knew where they could cut through the forest to her house.

  Miguel placed the car in park and said, “Are you ready? How long will it take to find her house?”

  “Once we enter the trail, less than five minutes,” Kyle said.

  “When will Alison give the signal to her hacker?”

  “Once we’re on the property,” Kyle answered.

  Kyle and Miguel exited the car. They would only have a ten-minute window before Emma’s security company noticed the cameras were down around the property.

  Alison said before they left the house that the hacker was ready and all she had to do was send the text.

  Kyle continued to ignore the pain in his side as he and Miguel entered the path. Kyle had the text ready. The path was empty except for the two men walking east.

  Kyle and Miguel walked past two houses and the forest became thicker.

  He knew Emma’s house was right around the next bend.

  Kyle’s eyes searched the forest and he grinned when he spotted the small dirt path off the main asphalt one.

  “There it is,” Kyle pointed.

  “Let’s do it.”

  Kyle signaled Alison. She answered to wait for her confirmation.

  “We’ll wait at the edge of the forest.”

  Kyle led Miguel down the dirt path. Both men were skittish and jumped a few times when squirrels rustled through the leaves to hide from them.

  “Those fucking things have made me so paranoid,” Miguel growled.

  “You’re not the only one.”

  Kyle pushed some brush out of the way and a white building appeared at the edge of the forest.

  “I’m surprised she doesn’t have a fence set up,” Miguel said.

  “Emma said that fences made her feel closed in. She’s very claustrophobic,” Kyle answered.

  “Do you think the doors are alarmed?” Kyle asked as he waited for Alison’s response.

  Miguel scrunched his face in confusion. “I didn’t know we would break and enter too.”

  Kyle shrugged. “Might as well go all in.”

  As Kyle waited, his eyes darted from side to side to make sure no other human was around. He remembered helping Emma put the plans together for the barn and how she insisted she wanted a modern facility.

  This wasn’t a traditional wooden barn, it had metal siding, more like a small storage facility. Kyle had thought it was odd at the time, but now he knew why.

  “The windows are on the side,” Kyle pointed out. “There and there.”

  He stood up and extended his neck. “There’s side entrance on the other side.”

  “You wanna try it?”

  “Yes.”

  Miguel’s gaze also darted around. “I don’t see anyone moving around.”

  “Emma has security, but they show up at night.”

  “What about a demon guard?”

  Kyle chuckled at Miguel’s nickname. “Could be, but we’ll chance it.”

  Kyle’s phone vibrated. He looked at it and smiled.

  “You have ten minutes. Go now,” Alison said in her text.

  Kyle set the timer and nodded to Miguel.

  The men exited the forest and tried the windows first.

  The late morning sunlight beat down on their shoulders and both men were breaking into sweats by the time they reached the windows.

  Miguel kept watch over the property while Kyle gazed inside.

  At first, the interior looked like a regular horse barn complete with stalls and dirt on the ground.

  He exhaled thinking they’d hit a dead end when something caught his eye.

  To his left, he spotted someone crawling around on the floor by one stall.

  Dark and foreboding emotions swept through him as he leaned closer to the glass.

  The person was a female with long brown hair blocking her face. Her movements were unnatural as she crawled around the floor. Her clothing was torn and dirty. Her fingers were scratched and bloody.

  Kyle guessed she’d sensed his presence because before Kyle could take his next breath, the woman crawled to the window and sneered at him.

  “Jesus…” Miguel muttered the woman banged on the glass.

  The woman’s eyes were black, she scratched at the window and moved her mouth, and Kyle guessed she wasn’t giving them a happy greeting.

  He stepped back and took a few pictures realizing who the woman was.

  “That’s Candace Taylor,” Kyle said as the woman continued to taunt them from behind the glass. “She’s that second-grade teacher who went missing about three months ago.” He turned to Miguel for confirmation.

  Since Miguel was a custodian at the local elementary school, his mouth dropped open. “The school had all kinds of searches conducted for her. My wife and I helped in the search. They never found her.”

  “They didn’t, but we did,” Kyle said.

  Miguel asked how much longer.

  “We have seven minutes,” Kyle said.

  Miguel reached into his pocket and removed a lock pick. “Let’s do it.”

  Kyle smiled. “I knew you’d want to.”

  The men moved along the wall and around the building still keeping an eye on the distant house, hoping they wouldn’t be caught.

  “Six minutes,” Kyle said.

  They made it to the door and Miguel checked for an alarm. “I don’t see an alarm, but it may be on the inside.”

  Miguel tried to the door, but it didn’t budge.

  “We’ll take the chance,” Kyle said. “Come on, time is counting down.”

  Miguel cursed and kneeled. He put the pick inside the lock and within seconds he turned the knob and the door flung open to the most gruesome smell Kyle ever experienced. He’d seen a lot in Iraq but the scent of death, feces, and who knows what else entered his nostrils almost making him gag.

  Miguel heaved and turned sheet white.

  “No. Stay with me,” Kyle urged his friend.

  Kyle didn’t need more evidence. He heard Candace wheezing and laughing at them from her corner. He heard cries of pain, sometimes fits of laughter, other times groans of what could be construed as sexual pleasure.

  Some heads popped up from the stalls. He heard chains clinking as the demons cursed their restraints.

  Kyle focused on one man right across from the door. He couldn’t remember the man’s name but recognized him from missing posters around town.

  “We’re in hell,” Miguel commented, his eyes wide in shock.

  Kyle prayed for these lost souls. He took another tentative step inside the barn, keeping a close eye on Candace as she lifted her shirt and exposed her breasts to him, trying to coax Kyle into coming over and fucking her.

  Kyle turned to his right and almost lost the granola bars he’d eaten on the way over.

  A big carcass of an animal lay in the barn’s corner. Flies were swarming it, and he thought he saw some maggots crawling around it.

  He tried to keep his bearings as he lifted his phone and took some fast pictures before the security cameras came back online.

  They had two minutes and that was more than enough time for Kyle and Miguel to step out of the barn and lock the door behind them.

  Without a word, both men ran for the forest and once they were a safe
distance from the barn, Miguel ran to the other side of the walking path and lost his breakfast in a bunch of ferns.