by Tim Miller
“God, fuck this stupid town,” Summer said.
“Don’t worry guys,” Angela assured. “It’s all under control.”
Chapter 13
Zachary sat inside Tom’s house. The burnt corpse of Tom’s wife and children lay spread out on the living room floor. They’d make a good surprise for his soon to be former boss when he came home. He had run an hour or so late, but finally Tom came through the door. He stopped in his tracks at the gruesome sight before him.
“Oh my God. Clara?”
“I’m afraid she can’t answer you,” Zachary said.
“Zack? What are you doing here? What have you done?” Tom screamed as he reached into his briefcase and came out with a handgun. Before he could pull the trigger, Zachary had sent a stream of fire hitting the gun causing it to glow red hot. Tom dropped it shaking his hand away.
“What the hell?”
“You liked to humiliate me Tom. Now it’s my turn.”
“I never tried to humiliate you. I was just doing my job!”
Zachary reached out and grabbed Tom by the collar, dragging him through the house and into the garage. He’d set up a large chair in the garage and some chains. He shoved Tom into the chair and wrapped the chains around him, and locked them into place with a padlock.
“What are you going to do to me?” Tom asked.
“Everything.”
Zachary held his hand over the chains and sent a steady stream of heat into it. The chains were wrapped around Tom’s chest and arms. After a minute, they began to heat up.
“Fuck that’s hot!” Tom said. Zachary ignored him and kept going as the chains turned bright red. Tom let out a scream as the hot metal seared into his flesh. Zachary smiled at the smell of burning skin and hair as Tom struggled helplessly against the hot chains.
“Please! Stop! Please!” he screamed, begging for mercy.
“I can’t do that. See, you’re not my boss anymore. I’m the boss now.”
Zachary stood and admired his handiwork as tears ran down Tom’s face as he struggled and kicked. He then leaned in with his finger and a blue flame came shooting out like a blowtorch as Zachary ran the flame along Tom’s right ear. Tom howled as his ear popped and sizzled while Zachary moved the flame up and down. He did this until the ear was a melted, mangled mess on the side of Tom’s head.
“Please don’t do this. You want money? I have money. I’ll give you as much as you want. Please?”
“That’s your problem Tom. You think because you were some grocery store manager and made some money that you’re better than everyone. You thought you were the big shot. You don’t look so big now,” Zachary said as he began torching his other ear. Tom screamed as Zachary pulled on the earlobe while burning the skin off where the ear was attached. Finally the ear pulled free. He held it up before Tom’s face letting him look at it.
“Jesus Christ!” Tom screamed.
“No. Zachary. Jesus can’t help you.”
Zachary took his fingertip and began torching Tom’s nose. It smoldered and popped as he screamed once again. He thrashed his head about as Zachary held a handful of Tom’s hair with one hand while torching his nose with the other. After several minutes, there was a massive black crusty hole in the middle of Tom’s face.
“You look lovely,” Zachary said. He went and got a mirror and came back, holding it up for Tom to see. Tom screamed at the site of himself.
“Don’t worry. It’s still a work in progress,” Zachary said as he began on Tom’s face. Over the next hour, he meticulously went along burning the flesh off inch by inch. Some of it burned away while other times it fell off in chunks. Tom screamed, thrashed and cried throughout the “makeover” until his head was just a lump of black charcoal.
Tom’s bare teeth showed as his lips were now burned off. Zachary didn’t touch his eyes or eyelids. He wanted Tom to see everything. Tom’s screams had turned to moans and whimpers as his head hung limp.
“Just kill me,” Tom said. “Just get it over with.”
“Oh I will Tom, don’t you worry. Just not for a long time.”
“What did I do to deserve this? You killed my family. You’re killing me. Why? I’ve never experienced pain like this.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that. But I’m just getting started.” Zachary began on Tom’s scalp. The burning hair smell was the worst. Zachary had to stop several times and gag as Tom’s hair and flesh smoldered away from his scalp. He pulled it away in large chunks and set them aside as Tom continued screaming. At one point he stopped screaming completely. Zachary worried he might be dead. After looking at him closely he saw Tom was only passed out. He finished burning his hair off and smacked Tom across the face.
Tom’s eyes fluttered open as he looked around. Zachary held up the mirror to him once again. Tom screamed at the site of what used to be his face. Freddy Krueger looked like a male model compared to Tom’s face now. It was nothing but charred blackness with burnt chunks of flesh hanging off in places.
“That does it for your face. Now, what should I work on?” Zachary said.
“Just kill me. I just want to die,” Tom said.
“Not yet. I have an idea!” Zachary knelt down and lit his finger torch again and began cutting into Tom’s left kneecap. Having renewed energy, Tom screamed and thrashed as Zachary burned through the skin, then through the muscles and tendons, watching them wither away under the blue flame as the muscle and tissue popped. Finally he pulled the kneecap free and tossed it up and down in his hand.
“I always wondered what these looked like up close,” Zachary said. He tossed the bone onto Tom’s lap, and knelt down to begin on the other knee. Tom continued to scream, and he wouldn’t stop for quite a while.
Chapter 14
“We have been here for hours. What are we waiting for?” Regina asked. The three women sat in the holding cell. No one had spoken to them since they arrived. Regina was trying to be patient and trust Angela, but sitting in that tiny cell was making her claustrophobic. It was especially bad when she had to use the toilet sitting right out in the open.
“It’s almost time,” she said. From the window in the sliding cell door they could see the clock. It was just after seven in the evening. It had to be the biggest waste of a day Regina had experienced. Finally Angela stood.
“Ok, it’s time,” she said.
“Time for what?” Summer asked.
A deputy came walking to the cell and popped open the tray door. He slid a paper plate with a bologna sandwich and mashed potatoes through the slot.
“Chow time!” he called out. Angela walked over and took the plate and set it aside.
“Hi officer,” she said brushing her hair aside. Regina noticed her tattoo was glowing again.
“Uh, hello,” he said. “You go ahead and eat now.”
“I will. But you need to do something for me,” she said.
“Yes?”
“I need you to open this door.”
“Ok,” he said as he took his keys out, inserted it into the lock and popped the door open.
“Now step aside,” she said.
“Yes ma’am.” He moved out of the way as the girls all walked outside into the main office. Regina and Summer looked at each other in disbelief. They had seen more real magic in the last twenty four hours than they had their whole lives. Up until this point, their craft had been mostly a religion and lifestyle. Regina had wanted to learn real magic, but part of her wasn’t sure if it actually existed.
“Now what should I do?” the officer asked.
“Hand me your keys and step inside the cell,” Angela said. Her voice remained soft and gentle. He did as he was told and Angela slid the cell door shut. “Officer, now lie down on the bunk and go to sleep.”
“Yes ma’am,” he said as he climbed onto the bunk, kicked off his shoes and lay down.
They walked outside and Angela hit the keyless remote on the keys until they heard the chirping of the alarm on a red Ford F-150. They piled in
to the truck as Angela started the car.
“So what just happened?” Regina asked.
“He let us go,” Angela answered. Her tattoo had stopped glowing.
“I see that. How did you do that?”
“An old trick I hadn’t used in a long time. I wasn’t sure it would work. But in certain types of people, you can use this spell to make them do what you want. Sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“Ok. Cops especially or most of them anyway. They are used to doing what they are told. The spell probably wouldn’t work on the Chief. He’s too strong willed. But one of his young officers? It simply puts the suggestion in their mind that they want to make you happy. They want to please you.”
“That sounds awesome!” Summer said.
“It can be. It can be dangerous too. If used on the wrong person, you can have some serious problems.”
“Like what?”
“Like an eternal stalker for one.”
“Yikes!”
“Yeah,” Angela said.
“So where are we going?”
“To see our friend Zachary.”
They were silent the rest of the drive. Summer didn’t seem to mind that she was wearing an orange jumpsuit and flip flops. After the ten minute drive, they arrived at a small house. They parked across the street and looked over.
“Looks empty,” Regina said.
“He might not be home,” Angela said.
“So we just wait?”
“May as well.”
“What if he’s out killing someone else?”
“He could be. But there is no quick way for us to track him. So may as well stay and wait until he shows up.”
Regina sighed as they sat and waited. After an hour, a car pulled into the driveway.
“What are we going to do? This guy is dangerous,” Regina asked.
“Both of you are witches, just like me. I’ve been at it longer. Just trust me. One of him can’t beat three of us.”
They climbed out of the car and crossed the street. Zachary was much larger than Regina had thought, but that shouldn’t matter where magic is involved. He turned and looked at them, looking confused at first.
“Hello ladies. You need something?” he asked.
“Hi Zachary. You’ve been a bad boy,” Angela said.
“What?”
The heart on Angela’s chest began to glow again which visibly startled Zachary. He jumped back and produced a flame from the palm of his hand and hurled it at Angela. She jumped out of the way, holding her hand out and stopped the fireball in midair without touching it. Thrusting her hand forward the fireball hurled back toward him. Not expecting it, it struck him in the chest, knocking him flat and setting his shirt on fire. He screamed as he rolled around extinguishing the small fire.
Zachary jumped to his feet and fired a volley of fireballs at Angela. This time she dove out of the way as he turned his attention to Regina and Summer. Both girls ran behind his car as he hurled several fireballs into their direction. A tree in the next yard over caught on fire as they sailed past. Angela stood, this time her glowing heart was pulsating white hot as she clapped her hands together above her head.
The clap produced a loud thunderclap which was followed by a bolt of lightning, striking inches away from Zachary. He hurled more fire at the girls before he turned and ran into the back yard. Angela gave chase as Regina and Summer followed. By the time they got to the back yard, he was gone. The ground smoldered where his footsteps had been. They trailed off at the street.
“Holy shit,” Summer said.
“His ritual must have worked,” Regina replied.
“I guess so. Let’s get out of here,” Angela said. “We got some things to do before we run into him again.”
Chapter 15
Zachary kept running as the women pursued him. His heart pounded in his chest, but not at the exertion. He had never seen anyone call down lightning like that, ever. Were they like him? What was he now exactly? The one woman seemed to be the most powerful. The other two looked scared.
He was almost a mile down the road when he stopped and turned. They were gone. What the hell? He’d just returned from taking care of Tom. What a fun time that had been. Zachary had no idea a human being could withstand so much pain and suffering. Tom sure had been a trooper though. He’d burned off every inch of the man’s skin, including his eyes right out of his sockets. That was one of the last things he did. Finally Tom had reached his breaking point and died. But that sure had been fun.
Then these women show up. They must be witches. He didn’t even realize there were such a thing, but it made sense. After all, he was able to summon a spirit to get his power. How did they know about him though? It didn’t matter. He’d take care of them later. They got the jump on him this time, but it wouldn’t happen again.
He took off again, this time at a light jog. Though he’d never been overly athletic he was amazed at how much stamina he had. While he wasn’t running with blazing speed, he wasn’t tiring out either. Before long, he was at the grocery store. This time of the evening, it would be jumping with co-workers and shoppers. Perfect. Perhaps the ambush would end up working in his favor.
Zachary walked through the doors and looked over at a cashier who looked at him.
“Zack? What are you doing here?” she said. He ignored her as he went to the sliding door. Using his finger blowtorch trick, he welded the door shut. Once he was satisfied no one could get out, he turned around and unleashed hell.
He started with engulfing the cashier who greeted him in flames. She never saw it coming. He sent a slew of white hot fireballs at her, sending her running for the door and rolling on the ground, but the flames were too intense and burning too quickly. Her hair flailed around like a large candle wick as the flames tore through it.
Rolling onto her back, the girl screamed, but the screams went silent as her tongue burned right out of her mouth and her eyes melted from her skull. Within a few minutes, her body was twitching as her flesh sizzled and popped. At first the surrounding customers and employees looked on, frozen in horror. Once the girl stopped moving, they looked up at Zachary. The looks they gave him was something he’d craved his whole life. Fear. Sheer, raw, and unadulterated fear.
Many screamed and began running when Zachary unloaded at them, hurling fire in every direction out of both hands as fast as he could. There was a smile on his face as he made his way through the store, watching everyone burn. A woman turned an aisle pushing a stroller with a toddler in it. When she saw Zachary, she froze, and turned to run away. Zachary blasted the stroller first watching it engulf in flames. The force of the blast sent it hurling down the aisle. The child screamed as his mother helplessly raced after him.
Zachary laughed at the macabre sight before him. Just as the mother was about to catch up to the stroller, he hit her with a wall of fire. Once she was engulfed, she fell to the ground rolling around as the stroller sped down the aisle. Zachary stood over her.
“Sorry, stop, drop and roll won’t work,” he said as he stepped over her and walked through the store. As he doubled back to the front, a mob of people was trying to force the doors open he’d previously sealed. This would be all too easy as he fired at the crowd. His hands were like cannons shooting flaming balls of death. The mob burst into flames as the screams intensified. Before long the cries no longer sounded human. They were animalistic howls from the depths of Hell.
Zachary liked that thought. He himself was no longer human, but something from the pit of hell. Through his life, he’d always been an outcast. Even as a child, he was the oddball, the weirdo. Kids often mocked and harassed him. He had been a late bloomer, always short and scrawny until his senior year of high school. Suddenly he was huge. Sure, then the high school football coach had wanted him to play for them. He told the guy no way. In previous years, the coach, who also taught health class had joined in on his humiliation. Not only did he join it, but he encouraged it.
Back t
hen, Zachary had been weak and powerless. Even as an adult, he’d scraped through life, barely existing. Those days were long gone. He was the most powerful being in Dark Rock. Everyone who had wronged him would die. Those who had stood by and watched would die. Those cunt witches who dared challenge him would die. Nothing could stop him.
Each fireball he shot from his hands almost felt euphoric. If there was such a thing as being drunk with power, he was absolutely wasted. One by one the people fell to the ground. The entire store reeked of burning flesh. The place was like a barbeque from Hell. He made a few more walkthroughs of the store. Occasionally he found someone hiding, but he torched them on sight. Once he was sure he’d killed everyone as painfully as possible, he blasted his way through the front doors and headed onto the street and into the evening. This would be a good night to introduce himself to the rest of the town.
Chapter 16
Merle sat on his knees at his bedside praying for over an hour. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he pressed his folded hands against his lips. This is a ritual he’d repeated more times than he could count. It was pretty much every time he’d have sex with a man. It would feel so good at the time, so alive and freeing. But once he had his release, the guilt would hit.
It was like a freight train of emotions running him over. Several years ago he had even attempted suicide; the shame had been so unbearable. He’d swallowed a bottle of Gladys’ sleeping pills. She happened to find him passed out in the bathroom and called 911. Thankfully it had been kept quiet. That would ruin him for sure. That was the peril of being a preacher. Morality was a huge thing. The slightest slip up would result in scandal. He’d seen it happen to numerous preachers over the years. Many had been friends of his.
So far, he’d been fortunate to keep his faults under wraps, but no telling how long he could keep that up. The suicide attempt might even be forgivable. Not his sins of homosexuality though. There was no coming back from that for any minister. He’d often wondered what was wrong with him. Merle had undergone counselling. He’d tried different medications. Nothing worked. God was punishing him with this curse for some reason. Maybe Satan had made a bet with him, like in the story of Job.