She backed back and the hairs on her neck stood up. She was afraid beyond what the circumstance called for. She sensed that he was evil and the thought terrified her. Connley pulled up, tooted the horn and they headed for the door. By now, the barmaid was backed against a wall trembling uncontrollable. Thayer looked at her and whispered, "I'll be back for you." He puckered his lips, blew her a kiss, turned and quickly exited.
The two men had located their car, got in and pulled off the lot, unaware that they were being followed. They hadn't gone very far before Connley began to flicker his high beams to attract their attention. The driver looked through his rear view mirror, saw a Mercedes and assumed that it belonged to Cecil, so he pulled over. They stopped on a dark, desolate street in front of a vacant lot that was filled with trash, junk furniture, and everything else that someone could quickly and illegally discard. Behind the junk pile was a path that trailed off into a wooded area. Thayer got out and walked up to the car. The driver rolled down his window. "Hey, you ain't Cecil and you don't look like a cop; so, what do you want?" "I'm looking for some coke. I saw you in the bar and thought you might know where I can find some." While he kept their attention focused on him, he signaled for the others to get out of the car. He noticed that the driver had a hand gun stuffed in between his legs.
"Look, Bud. I don't know what makes you think I'm a coke directory. You want some coke, find it yourself. Now if you'll get you dead weight off my car, I'll let you go without hurting you." "And if I don't?" "If you don't, I'll blow your brains out." He reached for the gun between his legs, and as he did, Thayer grabbed his head and rammed it into the steering
wheel. The other guy made a move for his gun but before he could pull it out, Thayer had grabbed the driver's gun and had it pointed at the passenger's head. The man made a move like he was going to draw his weapon despite having one aimed at him. Thayer saw him make the move and said, 'Hell overflows with dead heroes, abandon the thought.' He eased his hand away from the gun. Vice opened the passenger's door and he and Terron snatched both of the men out of the car and threw them to the ground. 'Now what?' Vice asked. 'Now we get some information and then have a little sacrificial fun. Take them to the woods. Connley, search the car, get everything useful and bring it back.' There was a gash on the driver's head, but he was conscience enough to walk under his own power. Once they got back to the woods, Thayer made the men strip. Next, he removed all identification, money, and weapons from their clothing. Connley arrived carrying a briefcase filled with several guns, ammunition, drugs, and a small stack of thousand dollar bills. 'Well, well. What have we here? It appears that you boys are into something big. What is it? Whose behind it, and why are you going to kill Johnny Angel?' 'Man, look. I don't know who you are and I don't care. But what I do know is that I'd hate to be in your shoes come morning if you mess with that money, those drugs, or us.'
'Wrong answer,' Terron said, and with that he punched the man in his head, opening up the gash even more. "Listen, it'll take us all night to find out what we need to know at this rate. Find something to gag and tie him up,' Thayer said. Vice took off and came back with some dirty, oily rags and extension cords that he found on the junk pile.
They gagged and bound the driver. "Now what?" 'Now, Terron, you can have your way with him and this one will watch. Afterwards, if he doesn't talk, worse will happen to him." "Hey man, I don't know nothing." "Shut up and watch the show. When you think of something, feel free to interrupt.'
Terron pulled a long, slender, black case from his jacket pocket, opened it and removed a two piece instrument that, when screwed together, became an eight inch long device that resembled an ice pick. He grabbed the man's foot, took his middle toe, and placed the tip of the probe underneath his toenail. 'Are you sure that you don't know anything?' Thayer asked again. 'I told you man, I don't know nothing.' Terron slowly began to push the probe into the man's toe. He began to kick and thrash about. Vice punched him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him momentarily. Vice and Connely then grabbed him and held him down. A mixed combination of blood, sweat, and tears ran from his face as he desperately tried to free himself. His frantic cries were muffled by the dirty rags lodged deep in his mouth. Terron shoved the probe as far as it would go. The man shook violently,
arched his back, and slowly descended back to the ground after receiving a club like punch to his sternum from Connley.
Terron began to twist and turn the instrument from one side to the next. He yanked it out and pressurized blood spurted three feet in the air. When he saw the blood gushing from his toe, his eyes rolled back into his head, and he passed out. Terron shook him. 'Don't pass out on me; not yet, I'm just getting started.' Thayer looked at the man beside him, who was now trembling, and said, 'I hope for your sake that you have recalled something. It would be such a waste of time and effort to have Tenon do worse to you.'
'I'll talk. Cecil Carrington told us to hit Johnny Angel because Angel beat him up.' 'What does Carrington do?' 'He supplies drug dealers with drugs.' Vice asked, 'Why does Carrington want that Matthews fellow killed.' 'Because Matthews is campaigning to be reelected as mayor of Briarpatch. Since he's been in office, he has successfully kept drugs out of Briarpatch, Carrington is trying to establish Briarpatch as a drug territory but he can't as long as Matthews is in office. So, he wants Matthews out of the way.' 'Where does Carrington live?' 'I don't know, but if you're looking for him, you can find him at his video store through the week. It's on the corner of Hanley and Canfield in Briarpatch. That's all I know man, honest.' 'Very good. Isn't it amazing what one can remember once the proper stimuli is provided?' Thayer motioned for them to surround the hapless man. The next sound heard was the spine tingling, shrill cry of the man as they converged on him.
Chapter 4
The next day was sunny and bright. A few birds chirped pleasantly in a tree just outside of Johnny Angel's bedroom window. A ray of sun spilled into the room and kissed him lightly on his face. He woke up, shielded his eyes from the sunlight, and chuckled to himself as he thought about how dim the sun actually is when compared to the Father's radiance. In his mind's eye, he could see angels around the throne worshipping God. The thought pleased him. He kicked back the covers, got down on his knees, and began to worship his majesty. Having finished worshipping, he got up, slipped on his jogging suit and went out for a run. As he was running, he thought about all that had happened so far and wondered how he would be able to help Nancy with her problems: after all, that's why he was there.
"Oh well, all things in time,' he muttered and continued on his way. He'd just finished a six mile run and was standing in his driveway when Nancy's front door opened. Out popped Michael. He was dressed in a gray, pin stripped, three piece suit with a pastel shirt, black shoes and a thin gray necktie. He was carrying an expensive looking briefcase which was adorned with gold latches, hinges, and his initials. 'Morning, Johnny.' 'Good morning Michael. Do you have to work today?' 'Yeah, I've got some papers to prepare for court tomorrow." "But it's a holiday.' 'Yeah I know, but I've got to get this done. I'll only be at the office for three or four hours, tops.' 'Well, I'll see you when you get back.' 'Right. Enjoy the holiday.' He jumped into his Volvo, tooled down the narrow little street in the direction of the main intersection, and disappeared. Michael was a pleasant fellow, Johnny thought. A little overweight and agnostic in some of his thoughts, but nonetheless, very likeable.
Johnny had met Michael the day he moved in, he had dinner with them the next day on Michael's invitation. Though they were cordial towards him and one another, Johnny could feel the strain in their marriage. Their home was filled with many 'niceties from all over the world and it was stocked with costly furniture. Michael was a lawyer with a major law firm; he was doing quite well and expected to become a junior partner any day. Nancy was a pediatrician with a relatively successful and promising practice. From a human perspective, one would think that they had it all together, but on closer inspection, it would become obvio
us that only the spirit of God had kept their marriage from being totally destroyed.
Both of them were saved yet neither were fully committed. They attended a local denominational church about the size of a soda cracker. The church was exempt from revelation knowledge and guidance from the Spirit of God because the pastor knew little about the Spirit. The church had replaced gifts from the Spirit with meaningless programs;
consequently, no one in the church had received the baptism in the Holy Ghost, including Michael and Nancy.
In considering these things, it boggled Johnny's mind as to why the Lord had sent him to earth to help this pair. They didn't seem special in any way nor did they appear to possess a strong faith. In fact, they didn't have anything that stuck out enough to warrant a visit from a mighty warrior like himself. He sat down on the grass in the shade of a Maple tree that grew beside his house. During his run, he had worked up a sweat and was panting lightly as a result. Looking down the street, he saw the top of an old, rickety van navigating up the hill. It was the old paper man. 'Plop, plop, plop.' As before, each paper landed exactly where it was tossed and within seconds of the last one thrown. 'Thump." One landed next to Johnny on the grass. Johnny called after him, "I don't get one." 'I know, it's on the house.' The old man smiled, waved, and kept on going without breaking his rhythm. Johnny smiled and tried to thank him, but he had sputtered on up the street.
He picked up the rolled newspaper; it was wrapped in a clear tubular sack. At the foot of the paper was a drawing of a little weather man, under the drawing was the day's weather prediction which read, "Sunny and mild early today with an eighty percent chance of thunder showers this afternoon." 'We shall see,' he said aloud, yet talking to himself. He pulled the wrapping from the newspaper, unrolled it, and began to read. Sprawled across the front page in bold letters were the headlines 'TWO MEN FOUND MUTILATED AND OFFERED AS A SACRIFICE' The headline jolted him like a cold, hard, unexpected slap in the face. He thought back to yesterday and how restless his spirit had been. Spiritually, he had known something evil had taken place but he didn't know what it was. He began to read, 'ST. LOUIS- Police recovered the remains of two men from a wooded area on the near south side of the city. They had been beaten, sexually assaulted, mutilated, and placed on a make shift altar and set afire.
Officers discovered the bodies when passing motorists saw the blaze and called the fire department. Police have been hampered in identifying the men. They were found naked and someone had taken a sharp instrument, possible a scalpels, to cut along the outline of the victim's faces to roll the skin away, literally removing their faces. In addition, officers found markings and artifacts used in devil worship. A somewhat cryptic message scrawled in the ground read, 'Hunters from hell stalk heavenly and earthly prey. There's no escape. None are exempt.' It was signed BA-El? Anyone with information is urged to call police chief William Stewart at 868-2111.'
'BA-El? Was he any match at all for BA-El in this fragile body?" 'Johnny. Johnny Angel.' He looked over his shoulder to see Nancy beaconing him. He left the newspaper on the lawn, got up and went over to her. 'Good morning.' 'Good morning, Nancy.' 'Johnny, would you be a gentleman and bring me my paper? I don't have my robe handy.' "Sure, no problem.' He grabbed the paper and trotted to her door like a well trained Cocker Spaniel. When he got to the door, she wasn't there. 'Nancy?' 'Come on in, I'm in the back." He stepped into the living room and sat down, still trying to gather his thoughts. Nancy came from around a corner scantily dressed in a baby doll top and some bikini bottoms. Johnny stood up. 'Oh. I thought you were putting on some clothes. I'd better leave." 'You don't have to hurry off, do you' He took a step toward the door. 'Yes, I have some things to tend to." 'Johnny, I was wondering if you'd mind taking me to the mall? Michael left in the Volvo and our other car will be in the shop for another two weeks waiting for parts." 'Yeah. Uhm. sure. I'll take you.' 'Good, I'll be ready in an hour.' 'An hour? Alright. I'll shower and meet you in an hour.'
He hurriedly exited and briskly walked home, looking around to see if anyone saw him leaving her house. He didn't know why, but he felt guilty of a crime that he had not committed. He went into the bathroom, stripped and got into the shower. It was one of those pulsating, massaging showers. There were seven shower heads all together; one directly overhead, and six, three on each side, on the front wall. They gave a titillating and refreshing sensation, soothing all of the muscles in his body. He emerged from the shower feeling much better. He looked around the bathroom; it was laden with costly, exotic tiles, gold plated fixtures, plush carpeting, sky lighting, pictures and plants. It looked like something right off the pages of Better Homes And Gardens. He thought how God had spared no expense in seeing to it that he had the finest creature comforts around. It couldn't compare with scrape metal in heaven, but still, for an angel in an earth suit, it was somewhat exquisite.
Next door, Nancy was fluttering through the house humming silly little songs. She was taken with thoughts of Johnny Angel. She couldn't find one single fault in him no matter how hard she tried. She loved the way he looked and smelled. She even loved the way sweat caused his running suit to cling to his body, revealing the muscles of his well sculpted body. The sound of his voice totally disarmed her and left her in a state of delirium. 'Face it, she said, while looking at herself in the mirror, you have got to have him." She turned one way then the next, admiring her svelte, nude body.
Standing behind her in the unseen dimension was a lust demon named Porneo. He was about 6' tall and closely resembled a gargoyle. His body was covered with thick, matted hair
that was overrun with lice. The texture of his skin looked and smelled like regurgitated pea soup and was as rough as coarse sandpaper. When he smiled, the corners of his mouth, literally, touched his ear lobes. Like a shark, he had two rows of teeth, and each row was crooked, pointed, and rotten. He leaned over and whispered in Nancy's ear, 'You sure are fine baby.' 'Yes, I am,' she responded. Since the short time that she'd met Johnny Angel, she had thought about him so much that the thoughts became fantasies, which gelled into a fixation, which solidified into a stronghold. There was no turning back and Porneo was there to make sure of that. She showered, dried off and quickly dressed in the most seductive dress she could find on such short notice.
Johnny had finished readying himself and was at her door ringing the bell. 'Come on in, it's open.' He went in and sat in the oversized recliner in the living room. The whole house was alive with aromatic fragrances. Soon Nancy entered the room wearing a toothy smile in addition to her seductive dress. 'Hi, Johnny. Are you ready to go?' He sat there staring at her. His insides were all jumbled up, his feelings were running amuck, and he lusted after her. Porneo, seeing the affect that Nancy was having on him, eased over to him and said, 'Look at her man, you know you want her. She's begging for it, do her. Go on, get her.' 'Well?' 'Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm ready." He stood up, adjusted his clothing, and walked toward the door. Nancy smiled at the bulge in his pants, she had succeeded in arousing him.
Johnny had pulled his car in front of Nancy's house. He was much more familiar and comfortable with driving than what he was on his first encounter. He opened and closed Nancy's door, trotted around to the drivers side and got in. 'Which way?' 'Oh, that's right, you've never been to°the mall. Go down to the corner, make a right. Keep on going until you hit the highway, go west and follow the signs.' Nancy was so captivated by him that, to her, it seemed that they made it to the mall in the twinkling of an eye. She hardly recalled anything in between the house and the mall.
Once inside the mall, Johnny was amazed at all there was to behold. The stores, food court, theaters, game room„ and mall exhibitions were all packed with people of all ages, shapes, colors, and sizes. The excitement of it all had taken Johnny's mind off of Nancy and BA-El; he was caught up in the moment like a child at a carnival. And though he had seen all of these things and many of the people before, he had never experienced it in the natural. Nancy was dragging him from store to store
as she purchased shoes, dresses, purses, and anything that she wanted. To onlookers, they looked like newlyweds, so it was no surprise to Nancy that everyone was smiling at them. She had finished her shopping and they were on their way out when she noticed a lingerie shop. 'Oh, that's the new store that opened last
week. I've heard a lot about it already. Come on, it'll be our last stop; I promise.' By now Johnny was looking a like a tired, broke husband whose chief desire was to go home.
He looked at the mannequins in the window and at the way they were dressed. He could feel those lustful desires returning. 'No, I think I'll just wait out here.' 'Don't be silly. Come on; I may need your help in selecting something." She gently tugged on his arm, and like a horse with a bridle in his mouth, he followed. She picked up several pair of panties, that were erotic and seductive in nature, and held each pair against her body asking Johnny, 'How do you think this would look on?' Looking at the underwear against her body, he could only mutter barely audible answers. Each pair that left him tongue tied, Nancy purchased.
Ladies laughed out loud at Johnny's obvious embarrassment. She spotted a pile of nighties, searched through it and found a black one, and kept on to the cashier. They had entered the mall and were heading for the door when Johnny noticed a karate demonstration in process. They made their way up to the front of the platform where a short, stocky fellow with a white uniform and black belt on, was touting about his ability to break a three inch thick slab of ice with his bear hand. He had the audience's full attention as he got into his stance, raised his hand high above the ice, exhaled deeply, and aayyiee; he let out a guttural yell as he crashed his hand into the ice. The ice cracked and fell in a heap on the floor. People were whistling and applauding at the little man. The roar of the crowd was dying down as Johnny made the statement to Nancy, 'Big deal. That's nothing.' The crowd and the instructor heard him. 'Excuse me, sir. Apparently you don't think much of my abilities. Perhaps you can do better, or at the very least, equal them," he said in both a sarcastic and challenging tone. 'With ease," Johnny answered as he, grabbing Nancy's arm, turned to walk away.
Neon Nights Page 3