by S E Brower
“What’s in there?” he asked.
“Cleaning supplies,” she said, holding her breath, hoping he wouldn’t notice the water guns.
“Okay,” he said, “when you finish, pull into this hallway to turn around. See the large red button on your left, in front of the door? Just push it, the door will open for you.”
“Thank you,” she said, “can you tell me how to get into the offices from here?”
“Go that way,” he pointed towards the hallway from where the cart came, “there’s an elevator just on your left.”
“Thanks,” she pushed her supplies around the corner. Dragging the heavy cart over the threshold when the elevator doors dinged open, she pushed the button for the sixth floor. “Hmm, top of the building then,” she thought, as the elevator groaned its way up. The doors opened leaving her only one way to go… left. So, she pushed the cart down the hall, reading the numbers on the suite doors as she went.
At the end of this hallway, again there was only one choice, so she followed the hallway until she noticed a door to her right, with the word MAINTANENCE across the front.
Stopping, she knocked, and a tall man in work clothes greeted her. She assumed he was the Maintenance Supervisor. “Hi,” Jessie chirped, her nerves getting the better of her, but she managed to smile at him, “I’m here to fill in for the cleaning crew.”
“Yep,” he smiled back at her, “I’ll walk you to the door, this way.” He motioned for her to follow him, Jessie pushing her cart along behind until he stopped at office suite No.66. “Right here, Miss,” he said.
“Why, thank you, “Jessie said, while thinking, “well, at least he didn’t ma’am me.”
Jessie noticed the double doors to the office had a large transom window running across the top. “I’ll need a ladder for that,” she said, pointing to the window.
“Coming right up.” He walked back to the Maintenance room, returning with a ladder, “Here you go, Miss. One thing though, be quiet in there. Keep your head down, understand?”
Jessie nodded, “Yes, I’ll be quiet.”
He tapped out a sequence on a keypad next to the doors. Just before the bolt slid unlocking them, she turned to him, “I’m Jessie, by the way,” she whispered.
He smiled down at her, “Pete,” he whispered back, “nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too, Pete.” He stared at her with the oddest look on his face. Not knowing what to say, Jessie felt awkward.
He then blurted out, “Jessie, it’s me, Garret,” shrugging his shoulders.
“What?” she gasped, her eyes flew open wide. As soon as she was ‘Aware’, she saw him in his true form. “Wow, I would never have guessed it was you.”
“That was the whole idea. I wanted to see if my disguise worked.”
“Trust me. It did.”
Looking down, she noticed Isaac’s Lariat suspended from the utility belt about his waist. She did not see it before she knew Pete was really Garret.
“I thought this task was for Travis and me to handle alone, and why the Lariat?”
“Well, I am here to help you, and I brought the Lariat… you know… just in case.”
“Does Dax know you’re here?”
“He’s the one who sent me, now shush,” he said, opening the door. He pushed her cart into the room for her, as she rolled her eyes behind him.
Jessie grabbed the caution tape, affixing it across the doorway. Once in place, Garret pushed the doors shut, locking them. The sound of the bolt sliding back sent a shudder of finality through Jessie. There was no turning back, and no place to hide. The only way out of this, was in.
They were relieved and thankful when they found themselves in an L-shaped alcove. The little niche afforded them a way to enter the room unobserved. It was a large office, with mirrored one-way windows running the length of the walls on two sides. It was getting dark outside and Jessie could see the summer sunset glaring off the outlines of Buildings A and B across the parking lot.
Everything inside the room was dim. The only light was coming from computer monitors, and Jessie squinted trying to adjust her vision to the darkness. In the back of the room, she noticed a single door with a small window looking out into yet another hallway, providing an additional exit from the room. Where it led, Jessie had not a clue, but next to it, she could just make out a red fire alarm mounted on the wall. There were no signs or pictures anywhere, making it the only disruption in the otherwise blank canvas of the room.
In the center of the large space was a raised platform, where three technicians wearing dark clothing sat, each fixated on the monitors facing them. They pounded away on their keyboards. Their features contorted, as green 0’s and 1’s streamed down the screens, illuminating their faces with a ghostly glow.
Jessie didn’t understand what she was seeing on the screens, but she figured those three were controlling the six satellites being used to locate and zero in on brain waves.
There was a fourth technician at a separate terminal, with a much larger monitor showing an expanded world map. This was how they were intercepting prayers and re-directing them to Lucifer. Jessie frowned. “This ends today. Right here, right now,” she thought.
In the darkened room, the technician’s focused concentration rendered them oblivious to the movements of Jessie and Garret, as the two circled around behind them.
Jessie jumped when a disembodied voice shouting at the four men broke the silence. “Hurry! Time is of the essence!” the voice barked.
Both Jessie and Garret recognized it at once, and just as with Garret, when Jessie was ‘Aware’, she saw him. It was Dreck. Garret’s blood boiled. If there were ever a demon he hated above all others, it was this one.
Jessie hid her face, in the hopes the demon might not recognize her, envious of Garret’s disguise. Dreck had only encountered him as a spirit, never witnessing his true form, so deceiving him was not necessary, but Garret was taking no chances.
Each evening, the slight intrusion of a cleaning crew, dusting and emptying trashcans within the suite took place. Aside from washing windows, their presence was nothing out of the ordinary. The technicians and Lucifer’s demon paid them no mind.
The presence of Dreck complicated things. They had not anticipated him being there and this task would prove more difficult than they expected, worrying Jessie. They set to work with the Holy Water acquired earlier, staying as inconspicuous as possible. The ladder was positioned to reach the top of the transoms.
The only sounds in the room were the continuous clacking of the keyboards, along with the hum of computers in the background. Dreck could be heard angrily shouting his displeasure at the technicians’ failure to complete their mission.
Jessie filled up the water guns without attracting attention, passing one to Garret. Together they bathed the walls, floor and ceiling with a light mist of Holy Water, careful to avoid areas above and below the technicians, and still they went unnoticed.
Meanwhile, down in the lobby, Travis arrived carrying several bags of equipment. He had just gotten his clearance for a shoot, which would never happen, as it was just an excuse to access the building. As he prepared for what lay ahead, it surprised him to see, walking down the hallway towards him, none other than Celeste.
“Hi Travis,” she called, when she saw him standing there amidst all his gear.
“Hey Celeste,” he said, puzzled to see her here of all places, and at such a late hour, “what are you doing here?”
“It’s Kendal now, Kendal Williams.”
“Oh right, I forgot, sorry,” Travis blushed, rubbing the back of his neck.
“That’s ok, Travis. I work here now,” she smiled, flipping up the badge hanging from a lanyard around her neck, “a certain someone we both know, advised me to find a new profession. You didn’t know I have a degree in Astrophysics.”
“I did, actually. I saw your diploma on the wall of your parlor, although at the time, I didn’t recognize the name.”
&nb
sp; “Psychic readings for high class clientele was a LOT more lucrative. But this pays the bills, and I enjoy the work.”
“Glad to hear it Celes, um… Kendal,” he corrected himself.
“I’ll show him the way,” she told the security guard, who nodded and buzzed them through. “Here, let me help you with that,” she said, grabbing up one of his bags.
“Uh… okay, thanks,” he said. Giving her a puzzled look, he asked, “You know where I’m headed?”
“Still clairvoyant.”
“Ah, good point.”
On the sixth floor, they walked down the halls until Travis saw Jessie’s caution tape outside the doors. “That’s the place,” Travis said.
“You will need a code or an ID to get in there,” Kendal added, “I have an ID,” she smiled.
“That’s… convenient,” he was still unnerved by her presence there.
Swiping her card through the side of the keypad, she opened the door gesturing for Travis to enter. Ducking under the caution tape, he felt a light brush against his neck.
Travis drug his equipment into the little alcove. Before he could turn around, she slipped in after him, closing the doors, locking them behind her.
“I want to help,” she whispered. This sudden turn of events did not please Travis, but there was no time to argue, and he didn’t want to draw any undue attention.
Travis peeked around the corner of the alcove and saw Jessie, who acknowledged him with a nod. He couldn’t see Garret from his vantage point and thought no one besides Jessie and the four technicians were in the room.
Garret, still disguised as the maintenance man, noticed Travis and Kendal step from the alcove. As they did, he threw Isaac’s Lariat at Dreck, ensnaring the ugly little demon and alerting Travis to Dreck’s presence. Garret wanted to cause Dreck as much misery as possible for what he did to him and his brother, but Dreck was a surprise element of this mission. Garret would have to wait for instructions from Drummondax on how to proceed.
Being captured by the Lariat enraged the little demon as he writhed, “Angels, Angels!” he screeched, his voice oozing pure evil. The more he grappled with the Lariat, the tighter it became.
From the opposite side of the room, Jessie watched, as he struggled, noticing he was now missing a hand. “Hmm,” she thought, “I wonder how in the world that happened?”
Garret may have incapacitated Dreck, but his warning alerted the four technicians who jumped from their chairs. Jessie had no more time to contemplate the demise of Dreck’s hand. But it wasn’t until Dreck spied Travis, that the entire room went into full panic mode.
“Dragon Warrior!” Dreck shrieked. The demons within the men became agitated, their red mists pulling away, leaving their hosts to collapse back into their chairs, drained and confused.
As they did, Jessie drenched the ceiling and floor above and below them. The demons tried to flee, but to no avail. There would be no escape. They had coated the whole of the room with Holy Water.
Jessie picked up Garret’s water gun tossing it to Travis. Taking aim at one of the panicked demons, she fired. The demon mist wailed in pain as the Holy Water sprayed across it, spurring the others to erupt into a chaotic frenzy.
Jessie inched towards the door in the back of the room, all the while bombarding the demons with Holy Water. When she reached the fire alarm, she pulled down on the handle, setting a red light flashing and an ear piercing siren screaming to life.
The bewildered men stayed seated, not sure where they were and what was happening. Jessie shouted at them, “Fire, fire, this is not a drill. Exit this way, hurry!” They were coherent enough to get up, and she directed them through the door, while Travis took aim at the demon mists trying to escape, evoking more painful screams, and forcing them to the other side of the room.
Once the four computer technicians had evacuated, Jessie bolted the door behind them. Picking up a bucket of Holy Water, she threw it, drenching the entire door. She did a double take when she saw Kendal there, jumping back out of the way of the splashing water. Jessie turned her attention back to the demon mists, helping to cause them as much discomfort as possible.
Garret, still clasping the Lariat, was trying to keep Dreck immobilized. Realizing the room was now secure, he shouted off the names of the four demons that Drummondax had provided for him.
“Menek! Kektoo! Netguth! Epnem!” As he called them by name, one by one they exploded into thin air, sending them back to the depths of Hell, with only Dreck remaining. But Dreck seemed undeterred, even though restrained by the Lariat.
“Dilettantes, I have no fear of you,” he spat at them. It was true. He wasn’t afraid. Even though they knew his name, he did not fear them. It was only Travis, he perceived as a threat.
“You cannot annihilate me with your rain dance of weak water,” he laughed, shouting a command. “Kill the Dragon Warrior at once and release me.”
Hearing Dreck’s command, Garret instantly understood, shouting out a warning, “There’s a sixth demon!” The siblings exchanged puzzled glances, just as the ladder came crashing down, hitting Travis square in the back of the head. He staggered forward, dropping to one knee, collapsing on the floor, out cold.
Jessie looked over to where the ladder had been, only to see Kendal, a dagger in her hand, heading towards her brother. Jessie raced towards her, jumping up with a round-house kick, sending the dagger skittering across the floor. They both dove for it.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Jessie screamed.
Kendal seized the dagger first, scrambling to her feet. Wielding the blade once again, she lunged at Jessie, who leaped back just in time, the dagger barely missing her.
The next slash Kendal took, Jessie grabbed her by the wrist, twisting her around into a stronghold, mindful of the blade. A deep growl erupted from inside Kendal, making Jessie squeeze that much harder. The voice of the demon, a ragged whisper in Jessie’s ear, threatened her.
“You cannot say my name. If you do, you and this body will die. Release me, and you both shall live.”
Jessie held Kendal around the neck, knowing if she let go the demon would go after Travis. Dreck had ordered it to kill him, and she was not about to let that happen. Jessie wasn’t afraid for herself, she was already dying. But she didn’t want to hurt Kendal.
“Jessie,” the demon hissed her name, “it is I, you can thank for your existence, for it was I, who moved that young man to rape your mother as a child, all those years ago. It was I, who changed her destiny.” The demon breathed into her ear, trying to demoralize her. It wasn’t working. Jessie didn’t want to end Kendal’s life, but kept choking her just the same, to keep the demon at bay.
However, that last revelation had raised Jessie’s ire. She thought she recognized the voice from the séance in Celeste’s parlor, but she couldn’t be sure. Her anger increased along with her grip, until she felt Kendal relax in her arms, on the verge of blacking out. Then, Jessie heard the weak voice of Kendal in her head, a tone just above that of the demon’s.
“Jessie,” Kendal’s thoughts invaded her own, “I know what will happen. It’s okay. I’m so tired...” her voice trailed off.
“Kendal, Kendal, stay with me!” Jessie shouted, shaking her, but not letting up on her grip. In her mind, she heard Kendal’s voice again, ever so faint.
“I don’t want to be this, this evil thing anymore. Just end it.”
“Are you sure?” Jessie asked.
“Yes, end it, end it now,” and she told Jessie the demon’s name.
Jessie looked up when Travis moved. Getting up from the floor, he saw her with Kendal still in a stronghold. “Jessie!” he shouted. She was relieved knowing he would be okay.
“I love you, Travis,” she called out to him, and then turned to stare into the contorted face of Kendal. She shouted the demon’s name, “A BA DDON!”
A bright explosion of light filled the room, sending the demon back to Hell. The blast slammed Travis against the wall. Kendal and Jessie lay mot
ionless on the floor, the dagger between them. Only Garret and Dreck remained unaffected by the blast. Travis was dazed. When he recovered, he did not fully understand what had just happened.
Enraged, he reached behind his head for ‘Intercession’, but it was not there. In a panic, he knelt, searching his equipment bags when Dreck cackled with laughter.
“Looking for something, Dragon Warrior?” Travis looked up at the ugly little demon with one hand. “That weapon disappeared before you even entered the room,” Dreck taunted him.
“Kendal!” Travis spat her name. He jumped up, ready to strangle Dreck with his bare hands when another bright flash of light filled the room. The fire alarm ceased, and Drummondax appeared, blade in hand. Dreck’s smug smile dissolved into the look of terror.
“Travis John,” Drummondax tossed ‘Intercession’ to the Dragon Warrior when he looked up, “now, finish this.”
“With pleasure,” Travis replied, seizing the sword from mid-air. When it was in his grasp, he wielded it heading straight towards the demon.
Looking Dreck in the eyes Travis declared, “I have it on good authority, you have no soul. This is the end of you. This is for Jordondey, and my sister.” And with one great slash, he sliced through the neck of the ugly little demon, obliterating him not just from Earth, but from any and all existence. Dreck was no more, and somewhere, deep in the bowels of Hell, an infuriated Lucifer screamed his curses, sending his minions scattering.
Dreck was the least of his concerns, as Travis quickly laid down the sword, rushing to Jessie’s aid. Kneeling, he raised her head and shoulders from the floor, cradling her in his arms. Looking over at Kendal, he could tell with one quick glance she was already dead.
Travis gently lifted Jessie’s head. Her eyes were closed, her body limp in his arms. Placing two fingers on the side of her neck, he felt her heart beating, faintly. She was still alive, but he didn’t know for how long.
Frantically, he looked for Drummondax. “Dax, help her,” he pleaded. The Curator of the Guardian Library appeared before him. “You can help her, right? You can fix this. Tell me you can fix this.” Drummondax knelt beside Jessie, bowing his head.