He got back in and turned the ignition. The headlight dimmed a little and the engine cranked miserably but didn’t start. He rolled down the window so he could hear better and tried again. It grumbled. He tried a third time, and a fourth, and a fifth. Nothing but the droning rasp of the engine as it cranked. He slammed his palms against the steering wheel. “Sotare? I need some help!”
He sat back in the seat, enveloped by the silence and darkness, the lone headlight faintly shining into the black. “Crap!” He tried the engine again. It still wouldn’t start.
He remembered his cell phone. All he had to do was call for help! He scolded himself for not thinking of it already and unclipped the phone and flipped it open. The display read “No Service.”
“Not now!” he cried angrily, realizing his phone was of no use to him. “This is great. This is just great.” He gritted his teeth, clutched the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. The cool air was wafting through the window, and he could see his breath faintly before him. He checked the rear view mirror, realizing that he was halfway around the curve and that someone coming along the road might not see him. If they swerved out too far to the right, he might get hit.
In the trunk there were some roadside reflectors for just such an emergency. He popped the trunk lid latch, hopped out, and retrieved three triangular reflectors. He hurried back up the road about fifty feet in direct view of the oncoming road. To his surprise he saw headlights in the distance.
“Yes!”
He unfolded one of the triangles and put it about twenty-five feet from his car and then another one further back on the road towards the straightaway. The third he held in his hand and began to wave. About a minute later the headlights were upon him. The car was slowing down. The sound of its tires crunched on the gravel as it moved off the side of the road and dust wafted into the headlights, casting an eerie haze upon him. That is when it occurred to Mark that he was very alone. Mark hated that he was now becoming paranoid and suspicious of everything.
The car door opened and a figure appeared in dark silhouette created by the headlights. The person started walking towards him. The dust from the road was mingling with the headlights and when the man stepped in front of the car, a heavy lined shadow moved as he approached, making him seem unusually large and menacing.
The man stood there, motionless and silent for a moment. It made Mark just a little nervous.
“Need some help?” asked the dark figure.
“Yes, my car, I don’t know what happened to it. I was using cruise control coming up to this curve and when I tried to turn it off, it wouldn’t work. I turned off the engine to slow the car down but I hit the guardrail and wiped out the front right.” Mark waved a hand towards the mangled fender. “Now it won’t start. It’s in a bad position, too.” Mark stopped, realizing he was just rambling on, feeling awkward and apprehensive.
The man took a few steps closer to him. It was difficult for Mark to make out the man’s details. Remembering that one can tell a lot by looking at someone’s face and clothes, Mark realized he couldn’t see the stranger in the dark. He put his hand forward for a handshake.
The man put forth his hand to shake Mark’s, seemingly hesitant, “I’m Reggie.”
“My name is Mark,” he said, not wanting to give his last name.
“Let’s take a look at what’s up.” Reggie walked on ahead of Mark towards the car. Mark followed.
“I don’t mind leaving it here. But I’m worried about this location. If someone comes around the corner too fast, he might hit it.”
“No problem,” said Reggie. “I have a rope in my trunk. Tell you what. We’ll hook her up and tow your car out of the way. By the way, where are you headed?”
“I’m heading to Destiny to visit my wife. She’s taking care of her father.”
“That’s where I’m headed. Small world.” The man started to head back towards his car and stopped. “You’re lucky I’m passing through.”
“Yeah,” said Mark, still unsure of the situation.
Reggie headed back to his car, and just as he promised, he drove it ahead of Mark’s. He got out, popped the trunk, and retrieved a thick rope about twenty feet long. Within a couple minutes, they had it tied to both cars. Reggie drove his car while Mark steered his. In no time they towed it up the road a quarter mile and safely out of the way.
Mark retrieved his suitcase and once in Reggie’s car, Mark felt a lot better. “If you would drop me off at a hotel or at an airport, I can rent a car and contact someone in the morning to get my car towed in.”
“Sounds good,” responded Reggie.
By now, Mark was able to size up his rescuer. He seemed nice enough. There was a skull tattoo on his left forearm and the car was a bit dirty, but Mark was grateful. They talked for another forty-five minutes, but he was careful not to reveal any details to this stranger. For some reason, he didn’t feel comfortable with him. A couple of times, Mark could feel Reggie staring at him in an odd manner.
“There,” said Reggie as he pointed up ahead. “There’s an airport. See that plane coming in for a landing? We’ll be there in about five minutes.”
“Yeah, I see it. Thanks, you saved my rear.”
“No problem.” said Reggie. “I like helping people out. Besides, who knows how long you would have been there.”
“You got that right.” Mark gazed out of the window at the descending plane. “I really appreciate the lift, Reggie.”
“Call me Leech. All my friends do.”
***
Pastor Tim was not sleeping well. His tossing and turning reflected the nightmare accosting his mind. He was in his church, in the pulpit preaching, when a demon suddenly appeared in the church aisle. It was huge and bony with sharp quills pointing backwards on its head. It had red eyes and a skull that had a vertical cleft running down to the nose. Its forehead was sloped and two huge horns twisted upward from its head. Two large bottom teeth curled towards its eyes and two large wings dragged behind it on the ground. It had hoofed feet and clawed bony hands. No one in the congregation seemed to notice it. Tim felt the hatred emanating from the dark, evil creature.
His heart was racing as he dreamed. It pounded hard, almost matching the rhythm of his shifting head.
The demon pointed at him. Sharp pain pierced his chest. Tim looked down to see three holes with light from the outside passing through a stained-glass window behind him, continuing through him, and resting on his open Bible.
He looked up and noticed the congregation was gone. He turned his attention back to the three rays of light on the Bible. It was burning. He beat the pages with his hands until the fire was out. As the smoke cleared, he saw three charred holes in the Bible. From each, blood began to flow.
Tim twitched while adrenaline seeped into his veins. His heart pounded like a hammer. His breath was shallow and quick.
He looked at the demon. It leaned forward, opened its mouth and what looked like worms fell down to the ground. It growled in a low, rumbling gurgle before it spoke: “Die!”
Tim burst into consciousness, gasping for air, his chest pulsing with the hammer blows of his heart.
It was a dream! It was just a dream.
He was clenching the sheet with his hands.
Fear hovered over his soul for a few seconds until he was finally able to calm himself. The nightmare was over. He let go of the sheets and forced himself to calm his breathing. He looked over at his wife. He was surprised to see that she wasn’t awake.
Tim looked at the ceiling. Oh, Lord, he prayed silently, please be with me in this hour of darkness. Please deliver me from the evil one.
He slowly slid his legs to the side of the bed and onto the floor, and then he got up and headed into his office where he knelt down on the floor.
“Lord, I don’t know what the dream means. But I know that you have allowed it for a reason. Here I am—your servant. I ask to be used for your glory and according to your will. If I’m to die in your servi
ce, then I praise you and thank you. I know that your will is perfect and that my death would be what is best should you deem it necessary.”
He paused for a moment and considered the seriousness of his prayer. “As your Word says, we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities. I ask in the name of your Son that you fight for us in the spiritual realm and that you send a host of angels to protect us and guide us.” He paused again, trying to sense the direction and calling of the Lord. Then Mark flashed into his mind.
He waited. Mark again came to mind.
Tim began to pray for him and also for Kathy but within a few seconds, quite unexpectedly, he sensed the words, “Go the church now, and pray.” It was very strong and very clear. He waited for the impression to come again. It did. “Go to the church now, and pray.”
He rose and hurried to the desk where he grabbed the phone and quickly dialed one of the elders of the church. The phone rang five or six times.
“Hello?” said a man in an alert voice.
“Allen, this is Pastor Tim. I’m sorry for waking you up this early, but I believe the Lord has spoken to me about getting the church to pray for today’s service.”
“I’ve had the same feeling,” he said. “In fact, I had a disturbing dream about you. It woke me up.”
Tim had expected to hear the groggy response of a half-awake friend, but not this. “You did?”
“Yes, it was about you in the pulpit. I was sitting there listening to you preach and suddenly three holes appeared in your chest. Light shone through your chest from outside the church onto the Bible and then it caught on fire.” Allen paused for a moment and then asked, “Did you have the same dream?”
Even though Tim believed in the miraculous, Allen’s apparently identical dream left him speechless for a few seconds. “Yes, but mine had a horrible demon in it.”
“Mine didn’t.”
After a pause Allen said, “I’ll start making calls right now and we will get the prayer chain started. I don’t know what’s going to happen or what it all means, but we’ll be praying.”
“Thank you. Oh, and I don’t know if you are aware of this, but there is a man, an unbeliever that is somehow significant in this whole thing. His name is Mark. I believe the Lord is calling him and will use him greatly. I don’t have time to explain it all right now, but pray for him, too. His wife is Kathy, and his father is John Creed.”
“John? I heard he’s out of the hospital.”
“He is. Please pray for them. I’ll fill you in later at the church on all the details.”
“Okay, no problem.”
They hung up and Tim went back to his prayer.
Allen dutifully made several calls and in a very short time, the church prayer team had been activated.
Angels turned their heads as they heard the prayers rise up to the heavens. Ramah heard it, too. Hands were lifted high.
Tim stood and went to wake his wife.
***
Paraptome peered through Leech’s eyes at his passenger. It knew about Sotare, Nomos, and the garden. It knew that Mark had been targeted for death. Here was a great opportunity. His possession was alone in the car in the dark with this man. Should Paraptome risk using Leech to try and kill Mark now? Would doing so jeopardize his assignment to kill the pastor, a far more important target? Paraptome weighed the options. Its orders were to kill the pastor and it knew better than to allow failure. The penalty would be harsh indeed. But, this opportunity was too important to pass up. There was no one around. Leech could kill him and dispose of the body and still have plenty of time to steal another car, get to the church, and kill the pastor.
Paraptome stared at Mark and as it did, Leech felt intense loathing. He was returning from a connection in a nearby city where he had picked up an untraceable revolver. It was under the driver’s seat. Leech knew he could retrieve it and shoot this stranger easily. He didn’t know why he had the urge to do it, but he did. He despised Mark. He took his left arm and set it down between his legs, close to the gun, tapping the seat, contemplating his actions.
Paraptome whispered, “Kill him.” Leech felt a surge, a wave of desire to destroy Mark’s life. It was seductively powerful. He looked in the rearview mirror to see if any cars were nearby. He saw no lights. He glanced over at Mark to size him up. Leech would have to surprise him, which would be easy. He could kill him and the pastor later. He inched his hand a little bit further downward.
Paraptome was focusing on Leech, gently moving him to action. But, it was distracted by a bright light out in the darkness that was moving in a slow arc. Paraptome focused on it and Leech found himself gazing straight ahead. Ramah was coming.
“I think that is the off-ramp,” said Mark as he looked at Leech.
Leech said nothing. He was still staring forward.
Ramah arrived quickly, arched upward in a loop, reversed his direction, and quickly matched the speed of the car. He folded his wings and dropped onto the hood, slipping through the windshield, and sat next to Mark. Ramah leaned forward and stared into Paraptome’s eyes.
Leech felt inexplicably troubled. He grabbed the steering wheel with both hands and looked at his passenger.
Mark was beginning to get nervous.
“Do nothing,” said Paraptome.
“Yeah, that’s it. That’s the off -ramp,” said Mark.
Leech slowly looked at him without speaking.
“Right there,” said Mark again as he glanced to Leech.
Leech flipped on his turn signal.
“Let him go,” whispered the creature into Leech’s mind.
Now is not the time, thought Leech.
“There’s the car rental,” said Mark as he pointed to a sign. Leech was still quiet as he steered towards it and quickly came to a stop, his tires squealed a bit on the pavement. Mark opened the door, and before he stepped out, he turned around and obligatorily extended his hand. Leech automatically took it and while they shook, Leech felt a strong surge of anger and hatred rise within him. Mark, on the other hand, looked into Leech’s eyes and thought he saw something odd. He couldn’t place his finger on it. Something was wrong. He released the grip, retrieved his suitcase from the backseat, said thank you one more time, and walked towards the entrance.
Leech kept his foot on the brake as he watched Mark.
Ramah was walking right beside him, though Leech did not know it.
Far away, in the dark, starry night a single speck of light moved downward in a slow arc. It grew in size as it approached, and within seconds Sotare arrived. “I came as swiftly as I could.” He landed softly on the ground next to Ramah.
“It was close, but Mark is safe for now.”
“I thank you, my brother. May we fight for our Lord together yet again.”
Ramah lowered his head humbly, extending his broad wings, and lifted himself into the night sky, arcing in the direction from which Sotare had come.
Leech continued to glare at Mark, imagining what it would have been like to kill him.
Paraptome whispered, “Your purpose is to kill the pastor. Leave him.”
Leech smiled as he thought about his task of murder in a church in front of everyone. It would surely be on the news and he would be an anonymous celebrity. The gang would have no choice but to believe that he was a determined and dangerous man, worthy of their respect and fear.
He looked out into the darkness ahead of him and smiled as he drove off.
Chapter 11
MARK ENTERED THE RENTAL office after he watched Leech drive off. Something about him wasn’t right, especially his quiet stare before they took the off ramp. Was it a spiritual thing or just nerves?
“May I help you?” asked a nicely dressed young woman behind the counter.
Mark turned and approached her. “Yes. I got into a fender bender about 15 miles back and need to have the car towed. Is there a tow truck service around here?”
“Sure is.”
“Great. Oh, and
I’ll need to rent a car, too.”
She gave him a look.
“The cruise control wouldn’t turn off and I ended up denting the fender pretty good coming around a curve. It won’t start. I got a ride here.”
“Okay,” she said as she glanced down at some papers. “All I will need is some identification and a credit card and we will have you in a car in no time.”
Mark nodded. In a few minutes he had a set of car keys in hand. As they finished their business, she dialed a number, and handed the receiver to Mark.
“I just dialed Frank’s Towing. He’s the best guy in town and he knows where to take your car.”
At the other end of the line a voice answered. “Frank’s Towing. This is Frank.”
Mark introduced himself and explained how he had lost an argument with the guardrail.
“Ah, yes,” interrupted Frank. “I know exactly where that is. It’s about 20 minutes from here. Believe me, you’re not the only one who’s met his match at that bend. Where are you? I’ll come pick you up.”
“I’m at the airport car rental office. But, can you get my car by yourself? I have a very important appointment in town and I can’t miss it.”
“Well, yeah, I suppose so. You can give me your car keys and the license number to your car. I’ll head out there and take it to the shop down the street from my yard. Shotsky’s Garage is close by. They can take a look at it.”
“That would be great,” responded Mark. “I appreciate it.”
“No problem. I’ll be at the airport in about ten minutes. See you then.”
“Great. I’ll be here in the lobby.”
Mark heard a click and the phone went dead. He handed the receiver to the girl behind the counter, who smiled dutifully. There were some comfortable-looking seats over in the corner, positioned just right for viewing outside, so he meandered over and examined the magazines on a coffee table. He picked one up and sat down and fanned through the pages, not paying attention to what he saw. His mind wandered. He was agitated and exhausted.
I hate this, he thought to himself. He stopped and looked up, hoping to see Sotare. He thought about the vision he had had, about Kathy and the gunman…the gunman. He reviewed the memory. There was something familiar about him, something…
The Influence (Supernatural Thriller) Page 26