The Resurrectionist

by Michael Gesellchen

“Reverend Channing.” My voice was shaky, barely above a whisper. He kept walking to his car. “Reverend Channing.” I spoke louder and firmer. He turned to face me.

  “Mr. Stark. I told you to never come back here."

  “I would like a minute of your time please.” I said. He motioned me into the alley.

  “What is it? I’m very busy.” I glanced to both sides. There was no one there.

  “I'll make it quick. I just want to tell you that I forgive you. I no longer blame you for Allison’s death like I once did. I’ve had a change of heart.” I waited for his response but he stood silent. The tiny muscles near his mouth and nose began twitching rapidly along with his eyelids. He reached out and grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me up against the brick wall of the building.

  “How dare you! You arrogant little bastard! You dare you come into my church and accuse me of killing my own daughter. How dare you!”

  “Let go of me! It’s just how I felt but I had a change of heart. I just needed to tell you. To clear my conscious.”

  “You’re conscious will never be clear boy! In any case your soul is damned already!” Anger blew the wall down. How quickly it can grab you if you let it. A split second is all it takes. I swung my arms up and put my wrists between his, pulling them hard apart. He lost his grip on my shoulders and I grasped his throat. Thoughts fired through my brain to squeeze harder and harder. The more I squeezed the better I felt. Inflicting pain on someone I despised was oddly therapeutic. He was losing consciousness which made my grip tighter. My hands had never been so strong. I glanced up to see the faded image of the dark figure standing over us. His vile presence scared me. His grin scared me even more, momentarily snapping me free of the rage. I let go of my grip as Reverend Channing gasped for air. I slowly stepped away.

  I fell to my knees. It was terrifying to know how out of control I really was. I thought I was gaining control over the anger. I was dead wrong. It was stronger than I could possibly fathom.

  “This isn’t over Stark. I’m going to press charges. You’ll be in police custody for attempted murder before you wake up tomorrow!” I kept walking, wanting to flee, fearful for what I had just done. “Stark!” He yelled again. Something made me stop and face him. “You’re right, about Allison. I killed her. She called me that night. To ask if I would forgive her. She asked to come home.” The Reverend looked at me with callus eyes. “I told her I would rather she kill herself than forgive her for choosing the Devil over her own father.”

  I stood awe struck, regretting that I failed to finish the job. I hated him more than ever.

  "The devil preys on the weak willed, boy. He'll drag you to hell if you don't get it together." Reverend Channing's nose was in my face.

  "Don't worry Reverend. I'm taking you with me."

  ***

  “I’m ready.”

  “Will?” Justin's voice was soft.

  “I’m ready to save Allison.”

  “Slowdown Will,” Justin said.

  I took a deep breath. “Sorry but I'm done. Reverend Channing is a monster. Allison deserves the peace she could never have in life. You're right. We can do this. Together we can save Allison and pull her out of that dark place.”

  “Are you sure Will?” Justin asked. I turned to see Corbin emerge from the corner of the room.

  “I am.”

  “Good. Corbin has finished tweaking Gateway. The frequencies will be able to match the density of the realms you will need to enter to get her out. Remember, it won’t be easy but we'll guide you. Did you read the book, A Treatise on Purgatory?” Justin asked.

  “I did. I understand.” It was a lie. I never bothered to open it.

  “Good, I trust that you do. Let’s get you on the table." Justin said.

  I laid on the steel table as Corbin fitted my head with electrodes and hooked me up to Gateway. Before I could breathe, I was once again standing on the threshold of hell. My will was strong this time. I wasn’t afraid. Not in the least. I knew I would save Allison. I had faith that I didn’t know existed within me.

  “Can you hear me Will?” Justin’s voice was loud and clear.

  “Yeah, I’m ready.” I stepped into the Abyss without hesitation.

  “Ok Will, listen close. Same game plan. Stay off the roads and stay hidden as much as possible. Do you copy? Will?"

  I remained silent and removed my ear piece."

  "Will. Do you copy? William!" I could hear Justin's frantic screams coming through the earpiece I had placed in the dirt, just after I severed communication.

  I dropped to my knees, etching a circle in the dirt. With trembling fingers I drew a pentagram, two points facing up. “Take me to Channing.” I commanded. I knew it was behind me before I even turned around. The dark figure's eyes glowed blood red with hatred.

  “I knew you’d see it my way.”

  “Shut the hell up! This isn’t about you! Just take me to him and let me get on with it.” I commanded.

  “As you wish.” The figure glanced toward the ground for a second and then back up at me. His smile chilled me, as if is this was a game to him, as if he was winning and knew it.

  I was jolted through space like a lightning bolt towards my destination. Reverend Channing’s living room was modest. A reclining chair, coffee table, and lamp were his only possessions. Not even a picture hung on the wall. He couldn’t see me. I was a spirit. The staircase creaked as I ascended and moved towards the bedroom. The darkness within raged to barbaric levels. The staircase railing broke on command. Thought had become my weapon, I aimed to use it with vengeful intent. I wasn’t out to move pens, I was out for blood.

  On earth, a person can appear beautiful on the outside and be ugly on the inside. Not so in the spirit realms, where all is laid bare, naked for everyone to see. In the spirit realm, your appearance is a direct reflection of the condition of your soul. I turned towards the mirror in the bathroom at the end of the hallway. A nightmare reflection stared back at me. My eyes had slits like a serpent and skin hung grotesquely off my face.

  The mirror shattered to shards with the shock I felt at knowing what I had become. Reverend Channing ran out of his bedroom to inspect the damage. He knew immediately that he was in the presence of evil beyond his comprehension.

  "Get out of here demon! This is a house of God!" He screamed as he grabbed a crucifix off the wall and swung it wildly in the air, spinning around like a top and falling down the stairs where I had broken the railing. The sight made me squeal with delight. The revenge I craved rushed exhilaration through my body like a junkie injecting a needle into his vein. I wanted to cause him as much pain as he caused Allison. I vowed in my heart to avenge her death at all cost after what he did to her. He belonged in hell, not her.

  I wasn’t the least bit disturbed by the pleasure I was getting. Maybe I should have been. The night couldn’t have been more fitting. Terrible thunderstorms had moved in causing incredible lighting and earth shaking thunder. A symphony of evil played out for all to hear. I summoned my gift and caused the lamp on the table above where the Reverend lay to shatter. He reached for his bible, grabbing it just before I slapped it from his hands.

  “You don’t understand a damn thing in that book! You hide behind your lies!” I shouted.

  The room had filled with evil spirits. Cheering me on and jeering at Reverend Channing. The sight was sobering. Their hideous features and laughter caused a moment of reckoning. Was this really me? Was this really the quiet young boy who once so delicately cared for the old wooden shoe? I looked down on Channing with a brief moment of remorse. Horror overtook me. A large pool of blood had formed beneath his head. He wasn’t breathing. He was standing next to me. We looked upon the terror in each other's face, knowing without a doubt what was about to come.

  I stepped back, ready to flee. The dark spirits in the room had surrounded me. “Let me go.” I said, my nerve fading fast. One of them approached me. “What do you want!” I screamed with my last bit of strength. It o
nly smiled, revealing it’s rotten teeth. “No!” I screamed. The group rushed and began ripping apart my flesh and pulling me to the ground. Blood sprayed from my arms and legs as they gashed me with teeth and talon like fingers. Thick warm liquid ran into my eyes as layers of skin were peeled off my face.

  “There is no return now murderer, you sold your soul, you're like us, we hate you!” They shrieked violently. The wooden floor beneath me opened and splinted. A powerful force, like a vacuum, pulled at my body. I grasped with desperation at the fractured wood, digging my fingernails in so deep that they were ripped from my hands before the dark spirits dragged me to hell.

  Chapter 16

  Dark spirits pulled me through the floor, down to the basement, and into the ground. Hands of evil groped every inch of my body. Dirt and earth engulfed me as I gagged for air. My head bounced off tree roots and rocks before landing heavily into an underground cavern. Channing grasped for a tree root, hanging momentarily before claws shredded his legs and pulled him down with me. Five beings held us down as two others bound our hands and feet with chains. A brutish beast of a man appeared from the shadows. His face was covered in black soot like you would see when a coal miner emerges from the tunnels after a sixteen hour day. His muscles hardened by unending physical labor.

  “Grab the chains and drag them here!” Shouted a distant voice.

  The large man groaned as he picked up the chains and gave a violent jerk.

  I screamed. My arms were pulled hard in an unnatural way against my body, snapping tendon and ligament. I was dragged against the ground, scraping away skin with each pull of the chain. Scraping it to the bone. I could hear cries of agony coming from Channing but he was blocked from my vision.

  “Let’s just gut'em here and be done with it!” Cackled one of the spirits. By my best account there were about twenty surrounding all sides of us.

  “Idiot! We'll be punished if master finds out,” another one said.

  The first spirit grumbled. “I’m getting tired of always having to do what master says. One of these days-"

  “One of these days you’ll what? Just keep it up. Master will give you an attitude adjustment and it won’t be pretty,” argued the second spirit.

  “I’ll give you an attitude adjustment.” A fight broke out between the two but was stopped abruptly by the rest of the group. Both spirits were dragged away, screaming and hollering as their faces scrapped the rocky ground. Our group was reduced to ten.

  We traveled what felt like miles. Bloodied and torn skin hung from my bent body when we arrived at the end of the cavern, which opened up to a cliff. I saw Channing, a bloodied pile of flesh, hardly recognizable. A man, well, what appeared to be a man sat on a throne of rock. Next to him was an altar stained with blood. Three bonfires emitting thick black smoke were arranged in a triangle which glowed around us. Smoke invaded my lungs with each breath.

  “What's this man’s sin?” The man on the throne bellowed with a deep and commanding voice, pointing a fat finger in my direction. He must have been the master.

  “Murder!” Shrieked one of the spirits in the group. "He even scored himself a preacher man."

  "A preacher man, that ups the ante a bit but it's murder just the same. The boys downstairs will get a kick out if it but he'll still have to earn his stripes."

  "What's the preacher's sin?" The master asked.

  "Murder," shrieked the same dark spirit.

  "My God, I've committed no such crime. Your accusations are false!" Reverend Channing protested.

  "He willfully withheld love from his own daughter," squealed the spirit. "She went and offed herself over it!" The spirit laughed.

  "Sins of omission." The master said. "Throw'em both on the stones."

  Two dark spirits grabbed and placed me upright against a stone pillar. A third rushed me, jamming an iron choker around my neck, binding me to the rock. They left and grabbed Channing, binding him to the rock adjacent mine, leaving me face-to-face with my victim.

  "Look into his eyes, murderer. Look at the life you took with your own hands. Breathe in the ecstasy. Know fully what you've done. Stake claim to the slain. Your souls are bound to one another for all eternity. I place upon you the iron chain of retribution." The master commanded.

  A dark spirit grabbed my forehead pushing it back hard against the unforgiving stone. Another rushed forward with a ten foot chain, clasping it to the choker around my neck. The spirit hurried over to the shaken Reverend clasping the other end to his choker, sealing us together in bondage until the end of times.

  “That’s it.” The master said. By law we can only do that which they have done to others. What say you?”

  “The rack!” Yelled one of the spirits. “Let me have them master.”

  The master looked at him. “Our numbers are dwindling. You know what will happen don’t you, fool. Your wretched soul will be pulled down further, much like this poor boy.”

  “But sir, he committed murder knowing full well the punishments that awaited him.”

  The master's eyes glowed. “Well then, that changes things. Willful defiance against the creator warrants a one way ticket downstairs. By George, he is one of us!" The master let out a hefty laugh. Reminds me a bit of myself when I was a young man. Don’t worry we'll handle all of the travel arrangements. Something tells me you'll fit in quite nicely down there. The pit! Throw him in!”

  “The Pit! The Pit! The Pit!” The dark spirits circled around us chanting. Desperation strewn across the Reverend's face, terror across mine. The fires roared bigger and brighter with each chant and flailing of arms. Reverend Channing and I danced with our backs together and our hands up in self-defense. I swung and missed the first spirit who came at me. The big one picked up my body and flung me over the side of the cliff. The weight of my body pulled Reverend Channing over the edge until the chain twisted around a spirit standing next to us, knocking him down, leaving us dangling over the edge.

  “Damnit! The damn chain is around my leg. One of you tools get it off!” The spirit shouted.

  I looked down and saw nothing. The end of innocence awaited below. Painful, blood curdling screams rose from the darkness. “No! Wait!” I cried. “Don’t do this! I’m no murderer. I didn’t touch him. He fell!”

  The large spirit rushed over, freeing the others leg. He pulled me up and held me upside down, my neck keeping Channing from falling into despair. “I hope you like to run because you’s about to be hunted for the rest of eternity. Enjoy your time in hell boys. You earned it!” He released the chain, laughing with delight.

  We fell. Downward into a black abyss. Hours passed before solid ground caused our body's to bounce and flatten like pancakes. The force of the impact should have killed us instantly. I could feel the snap and break of every bone in my body, but I was not dead. I laid motionless as several more hours passed. This place was heavier and darker than the division of hell I was in before. “Monika! Justin!” I cried. No answer. I was alone, with the devil.

  Reverend Channing dug his fingers into my neck, pulling and twisted at my choker. He didn't speak, only growled.

  "Get the hell off me man!" I kicked him in the chin causing his head to jolt backward."

  "I'm gonna kill you Stark! You did this to me!" Channing wrestled with me on the ground, surrounded by darkness.

  I don't know how much time passed before we were overcome with exhaustion. Screams rang out all around us but we couldn’t see the wretched souls who released them. A primal urge to run, to survive, welled up within me. I took a step forward and tumbled, splitting both hands open on sharp rocks. The chain around my neck bound me to the darkness. It was evident, if the Reverend and I didn't want to end up in the back of a windowless van, we'd have to work together.

  "Reverend Channing, listen, time is running out. Hunters will catch the scent of fresh meat. By now they know we've landed and are in pursuit. We need to work together if we want to escape intact."

  "Go to hell Stark!"

&nb
sp; "Um, sure. Kinda already there, now follow my lead."

  "No way I'm following your lead you pathetic weakling."

  "Who better to lead, a sinner like me, who knows what it's like to lead a Godless life. Surly I'm more prepared to live in this wasteland then someone as prominent as yourself." I said, playing to Channing's ego.

  "Whatever Stark. I'll play your game but only until these chains are loosened."

  The ground was much more jagged and rocky than above. Running was impossible. We were being hunted and time was running out. My eyes slowly adjusted, allowing the reddish glow to light my surroundings. I could faintly make out a worn path on the ground. Justin warned me to stay off the paths. I went against his advice. What choice was there? There was no going back, not after what I had done. Justin and Monika were lost to me, forever.

  Progress was slow, dragging a sniveling Reverend didn't help. Navigation through the blackness was near impossible but I made it to a clearing in the air, vaguely making out what looked to be the walls of a great city. We pressed along the path and eventually made our way down into a valley. The walls surrounding the city were made of huge stone boulders. I felt my way along the edge until we reached a giant gate that protected the city. As I approached the gate I could see two guards standing watch. “Help!” Reverend Channing cried in desperation. "We are in need of shelter."

  "No, you idiot. We can't draw attention to ourselves." I lashed out.

  Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here, was written at the top of the gate. I vaguely remembered hearing that phrase before but I couldn’t place my finger on it. Thick stained tarps hung from the gate acting as a partial barrier. One of the guards lifted his head and looked towards our direction as I fought to hold Reverend Channing from stumbling closer.

  “Please sir, fetch some water. I’m so thirsty!” Reverend Channing cried out.

  The guards looked at each other but gave no response. The guard on the left approached me first. I held out my hand for mercy, before I keeled over from exhaustion. The guard hit me with tremendous power, knocking me to the ground. I laid stunned, staring at his blood soaked boots. “Pull’em in and give'em to the dogs." I laid on my back as the guards dragged me underneath the gate. I threw up. The tarps hanging above were made of skin sewn crudely together, stained with blood from the victims. The dogs hated me, viciously ripping the remaining flesh off of my body. Gnawing and gnashing of teeth were the only sounds I heard other than my cries of agony. Let me die.