by Tom Clarke
The sun had been down for some time as they pulled into a wooded area closer to the compound. The sky was lit by a bright full moon making it easy enough to see as Jim parked, got out, and walked to the back of the SUV.
Pulling the back gate open Jim stood there, backlit by the full moon, staring at Paul for a second. The scene was almost otherworldly as the fear in Paul’s eyes became increasingly evident.
“Now Paul” Nico said in a calm, accented voice, “we are going to ask you some questions. I, and my friends here would appreciate straight forward and truthful answers.”
Paul’s anxiety grew as he watched Darrel, who had now joined Jim at the back of the SUV, remove a small zippered canvas tool kit from a back-storage compartment. He then took out a ball-peen hammer, pliers, and other tools, laying them out in a neat and ordered row.
Darrel stepped out of the way as Jim just stood there, gripping his knife, and staring at Paul.
“Paul” Nico said as he tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention away from Jim and Darrel. “Nod your head if you understand me. You are in a lot of trouble. This is not an intimidation tactic; these men want to skin you alive for what you did to Mr. Richards family. We know what you are, and we are not afraid of you, or your master, who, by the way, is responsible for putting you in this position.”
A hard realization hit Paul like a bucket of cold water. He was not human, he was, however, trapped in this body and in this place. He had been dragged here by his master. Yes, he had been feared by the humans he commanded, and fed on over the years, but these were not those humans. Paul started thinking about all the times that his master, Alan, had beaten him, degraded him, and treated him like a slave. Then he remembered that the beatings hurt, a lot.
Suddenly, for the first time in 10,000-years, Paul found himself thinking what it would be like without a master. What if he was the master? What if?
Paul’s attention was re-focused when Nico reached out and again tapped him on the shoulder. “Paul, believe it or not, but we can help you. I, can help you! But you must first make amends for what you did and help us.”
“Well, shit!” Darrel said as he and Jim watched Paul start to nod his head in the affirmative.
Nico reached out and put a hand on Paul’s shoulder, “Good my new friend, that’s very good! Please, hold still and I will release this gag from your mouth.”
As Nico removed the gag from Paul’s mouth Jim turned and looked Darrel right in the eyes. Darrel knew from the anger and rage that were storming in Jim’s eyes that Paul was a dead man, even if he did help them. Darrel’s facial expression scowled to match Jim’s and he just nodded.
As Nico started to question Paul, Jim and Darrel walked out of earshot, but still close enough that they could respond if Paul tried anything. “Jimmy” Darrel said, “I’m with you, no matter what happens, I’m with you.”
Jim turned to his friend and forced a smile, “Thanks man, I appreciate that.”
“What’s eating at you?” Darrel asked. “So far things are working out pretty good.”
Jim hesitated, took a breath, then asked, “Did it seem a little strange to you that Nico was able to get Paul to roll over so easily? I mean, the guy, or whatever he is, was a full-speed zealot! We grab him, Nico chats him up, and BAM! He’s now on our side?”
Darrel knelt down and took a knee, “What are you saying here Jim? Do you think that Nico is somehow in bed with these things?”
Jim shook his head as he looked up at the stars, “I don’t know brother. There was that business back at the cabin. Then, while we were inside that cave and found the stone he had a chance to grab it, but he stopped just short, said he heard something, and then ran off.”
Darrel stood and looked over at Nico who was busy having Paul draw a sketch of the compound. “Man, I don’t know. I don’t think he’s one of those things, but he sure had been acting on the suspicious side. What do you think, what should we do?”
“I don’t know,” Jim replied. “Listen, I rigged the bag with the stone in it with a smaller IED. If it looks like things are going south, we need to blow that thing into little pieces. Whatever happens, it stays with us! You or me, that’s it.”
Darrel nodded his head in agreement, looked around, and then asked cautiously, “Jim, what if we kept it?”
Jim didn’t answer, the look he gave Darrel asked all the questions for him.
“This thing is obviously a pretty important piece of gear to these guys” Darrel said. “I’m just thinking out loud here, but it’s my understanding that Alan, Paul, and their merry bunch are not the only ones creeping around, there are others. Like that one that’s pretending to be Tyler! If we keep the stone doesn’t that give us some serious leverage?”
Jim couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Are you seriously making a case to keep that stone?” Jim asked. “Man, have you lost your fucking mind! You know what that thing is, we cannot keep it.”
Darrel nodded, “Yeah, you're right. I’m just looking at this as something we can use to our advantage for a change. Jim, I’m good to go either way. Come on, let’s go see how Nico’s making out with his new friend.”
Jim watched as Darrel started walking back towards the SUV. His paranoia shot up, almost out of control, Nico’s behavior was throwing suspicion on him, and now Darrel is talking about keeping the stone?
As Jim started walking back to the SUV he heard a voice, so clear he turned, thinking it was coming from right next to him, “Breath Jimmy, stay on task, she needs you.”
The voice was familiar, like that of a grandfather, or lifelong friend whose been gone for a long time. It was calming, the storm that had been raging inside him for a long time now was suddenly subdued. He felt a small measure of peace.
Jim took a deep breath, held it for a second, and then exhaled. The cool night air felt good in his lungs. He started to take another when he saw that Nico was looking right at him. Jim made eye contact and Nico motioned for him to come over and join them.
“You okay?” Nico asked as Jim walked up to the SUV.
Jim nodded, “Yeah. What you got?”
Nico showed Jim the map that Paul had drawn. He then explained that, according to Paul Shelly was still safe and in good condition. Nico went on to say that at about 8am everyone went to the church for their morning meal and to pray to Alan. Shelly would either be there with them or secured in her room.
“How many people are in this compound?” Jim asked.
“There are 30 of them” Nico replied. “Ten, including Paul, and Alan are not human. Of those Alan, and maybe one other will be a full-fledged demon. The rest will be lower level monsters and servant demons. The humans will be converts, possessed by the demon.”
“Fellas, I don’t want to be the one to bring up a sore subject” Darrel said. “But we haven’t seen Tyler since Red’s shop. I seriously doubt that he’s sitting on a metal slab somewhere.”
Jim took a seat on the rear bumper of his SUV. “Okay, we stick with the original plan. Shelly is priority one. Once we have her secured then we can move to making sure these things are dealt with. First things first, have Paul call it in that they have the stone, but that their rig was destroyed. Have him tell Alan that he will be back in the morning, probably after church starts, driving a different ride.”
Jim continued, pointing to the main building on the map that Paul had drawn, “We will roll in nice and quiet once they have all assembled for their church. First stop will be the main building, we can pull right up to the front door. Pull up, Darrel and I will go to the room where Shel is being held. If she’s there we grab her, back to the rig, and back out the front gate.”
“And if she’s not” Nico asked.
“Darrel, you’ll be on the hill watching as they move to the church. So, with any luck we will know if she’s been moved with the rest of them or not. When we hit the room if she’s not there, then we will transition to the church. Darrel and I will move on foot, Nico you position the SUV h
ere, next to this out building. If they have her in the church, then as they start to move around we will make our move. I’ll grab her, and Darrel will be cover.”
“Jim, from what I saw yesterday we can put a couple of the IED’s here and here. Hit them with a rifle shot and cause a distraction for the grab” Darrel said.
“Yeah, I like that!” Jim said.
“If we go to the church, then while you guys are in motion I’ll put a couple here to cover the egress movement” Nico added pointing at the map.
“Good” Jim said. “When we roll out have Paul drive. Nico you sit behind him. I'll be front passenger, Darrel you’re back-passenger side. As we pull up to target one Darrel and I will just step out and leave the doors open.”
“Got it!” Nico replied.
Jim looked at Nico and Darrel, “Okay fellas. 7:30 Darrel you’re on the hill. We hit it as soon as they are all in church.”
.16
Snakes, Wolves, and Smokeless Powder
After monitoring Paul as he made his phone call back to his compound Jim and the others found themselves with a few hours to kill before they needed to begin getting ready. Not having had much sleep in the past few days they decided to take the time and sleep in shifts.
Nico and Darrel decided that they would take the first watch and let Jim sleep for a few hours. As Jim was sprawled out in the back of his SUV Nico came over, “Get some sleep my friend. We’ve got this covered. Jim, you have a good plan, I’m confident that we will pull this off.”
“Thanks man” Jim replied as he kicked his boots off. “Nico, what about Paul. Can we trust him?”
Nico gave a slight smile, “Yes, I’m pretty sure that we can. He thinks that we are going to install him as some sort of a replacement for Alan when this is all said and done. Like all of these Godless creatures all he can think about is power and influence.”
“Okay, good enough” Jim replied. “Wake me in a couple of hours and I’ll take over.”
As Jim closed his eyes it didn’t take long for sleep to find him. Darkness enveloped him as his exhaustion took over. Suddenly he was standing at the altar in church dressed in a tuxedo. It was his wedding day, but he was the only one there.
Standing there, looking out over an empty church, Jim again heard the familiar and calming voice he had heard earlier, “It’s just a building son. Your heart, your love, your faith, that’s what gives the building its power. That’s what gives power to people who choose to come to the building.”
“Who are you?” Jim asked. “Your voice, it’s so familiar, do I know you?”
“Jim” the voice replied in a soft tone. “The question is who are you, do you know? You walked away from me once, but I never walked away from you.”
Jim just stood there as a soft white light began to manifest itself in front of him. “To live in the light, you must walk through the darkness. When you’re ready I’ll be here.”
“Wait!” Jim said as the light became brighter and brighter.
“Remember Jim, the darkness knows you, and you know it.” With that the voice was gone.
The soft light of Jim’s dream was suddenly replaced by Darrel shaking his leg, “Jimmy wake up! It’s time.”
Shaking off his heavy sleep Jim crawled out of the back of the SUV. He could see that the sun was starting to peek over the horizon. “Here” Darrel said as he handed him a meal cup with what looked like coffee in it.
“It’s good, Nico made it. MRE coffee mixed with the hot chocolate powder.”
Jim took a sip, then a long swig. Setting the cup down, he made eye contact with Darrel, who was smearing green and black face paint into a pattern across his face. “How come you guys didn’t wake me up?” Jim asked.
“You needed the sleep” Nico answered. Turning to respond, Jim was taken-a-back by the pattern painted on Nico’s face.
“Say’s he learned it from an old Druid” Darrel said as he handed Jim the small case with camouflage paint in it.
Jim just sighed, took the case and proceeded to paint alternating OD green and black stripes on his face and neck.
As they finished getting ready Jim walked over to Nico with his coffee cup in hand. “Thank you,” Jim said.
Nico just looked at Jim, nodded, and said, “Thank you Jim, you too Darrel. My friends, our destinies have been entangled for some time and now we reach the reason why. Jim, we will save Shelly, of this I am sure. We will also end this affront to God and send them back to the hell they came from!”
Darrel slapped Jim on the back, “Okay boy’s, I’m off! I will hit you with a radio check when I get eyes on the compound.”
“See you soon” Jim replied. “Nico, you and your friend ready?”
Nico looked over at Paul, who was seated in the driver’s seat of Jim’s SUV, duct-taped to the seat so that he could not get out. “Yes, we are ready” Nico said with a smile.
Jim just shook his head as he got into the front seat of the SUV, trying to contain his laughter at the sight of Paul taped to the seat.
As he sat down Jim placed a small pack between his feet. Paul just stared at the pack, “It’s in there, isn’t it? I can feel it’s power!” Paul said.
It didn’t take Darrel very long to reach his overwatch position on top of the hill. “Jim, I’m in position, how do you copy?”
“Good copy” Jim replied. “We are standing by, ready to roll.”
“Copy” Darrel’s voice crackled back over the radio. “Jim, I’ve got some movement here. Looks like a teenage female, barefoot, running from one of the buildings. Two males now in pursuit, they… Standby. Jim, be advised I have eyes on Thor! He’s running after the girl.”
Nico reached up from the back seat and grabbed Jim by the shoulder, “Jim, if Thor is there then that means Den-Ra-Tenian is too!”
“Jim, the female’s down. Thor ran up and hit her in the head with something, a hammer I think” Darrel reported.
Jim looked at Paul, who was smiling as Darrel continued, “I have eyes on several males dressed in brown suits moving towards the female. They’re down on all fours. Jim, they are being followed by some sort of a large animal, it looks almost like a huge wolf!”
Knowing full well what was about to happen, all Jim could say was, “Copy.”
Darrel was sick to his stomach at the understanding that there was nothing he could do to help the young girl, and even if he could, giving away his position now would collapse their plan and probably get them all killed. He watched as the large wolf slowly walked up to the terrified girl, and then as the men on the ground started clapping and waving their hands in the air, attacked and killed her.
He watched through his field glasses as the large animal, probably the size of a miniature pony, pulled pieces from the girl’s body and threw them into the ever-growing crowd of worshipers. The monster then started to roll around on top of what was left of the body, much like a dog does in the grass.
As Darrel looked on in disgust, and then in amazement, the animal began to change. Slowly a familiar shape began to form, it was Tyler. Just as he started to key his radio a bell started ringing and the occupants of the compound started to move towards the church.
“Jim, I have eyes on Tyler! He’s with Thor and approximately 10 of those guys in the brown suits. They just killed that young girl. Jim, Tyler was a large started out as a large wolf and then changed into himself after killing that kid!”
“Copy” Jim replied. He then looked over at Paul, who was salivating and humming.
“You hear that, Paul?” Jim asked. “That could be you, running the show with a group of followers.”
Paul looked over at Jim and smiled, showing a mouth full of sharp, yellowing teeth. His face was contorted outward to accommodate his expanding jaw. “Yes!” Paul hissed.
“After we deal with your master Alan, we're going to need friends” Jim went on. “You stay with us on this and you can be that friend! We will back you. You help us, and we will help you.”
“Yes!
” Paul hissed again as his skin tone started to change to a gray, dead looking color. Paul turned and looked right into Jim’s eyes, “You will be my friend Jim” Paul hissed in an almost hypnotic tone.
Jim could feel a darkness begin to spread through him. He looked back at Paul, who was slightly weaving back and forth and humming. “My friend” Paul said again as though he was talking to a child.
“Yes,” Jim replied, “your friend.” Paul then let out a gasp as Jim suddenly lunged forward and stuck his knife in Paul’s throat, “You cross me, friend, and I’ll cut your head off and display it like a fucking bobble-head toy!”
Paul’s face began to contort back to its normal shape. “Yes, I understand,” he said in a subdued tone.
As Jim sheathed his knife Darrel’s voice came cracking across the radio. “Jim, they are on the move, headed to church, no sign of Shelly yet. Standby, I have eyes on her now! She’s being escorted towards the church by another female, they both are wearing the same dress. Two more males now with her dressed in brown suits. They are headed right for the church.”