13

Kailie paced the floor after Michael’s observation. There’s no way this could be true. Even after everything else, the world has its own limits. It had to, or else anyone could get away with anything. Running into Kana had to be the most terrifying thing she could think of, and yet, there was more to come. There’s always more, she knew that. She just figured she would have solved the mystery by now. Stephen’s words, her grandfather’s words, and now, Michael’s encounter.

“You’re telling me, he had the nerve to get so close to the church, his forbidden area?” she asked.

Michael nodded. “But he seemed weak when I saw him. It’s like his usual habits aren’t enough for him, anymore. Personally, I’ve never heard of any demons that feed off of flesh.” He rubbed his knuckles nervously.

James nodded, looking at Kailie. His hands were getting cold, and he couldn’t warm them up. “This doesn’t make any sense. Outside the doorway was as far as a demon could get, I thought.”

Kailie shook her head. She knew something of that interpretation wasn’t right. It was on the tip of her tongue, and it wouldn’t leave her alone. What was it that he told me? Joseph never told her too much about spawn, and now, she knew why: the stories would continue to twist, until no one knew the truth of how to destroy them… Assuming destruction was possible. But they were supposed to act before the angels would be sent down. That’s why she went to Michael in the first place. It was all about symbols. Metaphors for the present world, nothing more.

“Kailie, you still with us?” James asked. He slowly move his hand up and down, in front of her. She blinked when his hand came down a second time. Staring at him, she was lost for words.

A part of Kailie kept going back to Stephen. It was like they were somehow connected, but of course, that wasn’t true. What he went through with her grandfather wasn’t anything to do with her. He told him to protect her, if worse came to worse. But what other connection was there? She couldn’t find one, and no amount of Bible-reading would tell her differently.

It’s not the connection with him you need to worry about, a voice inside her head was telling her. Think of what Kana told you. Think of what is mentioned in the very book Joseph would read to you.

“He’s desperate,” she whispered. “He has a schedule to keep, and time is running out.” She felt like only she could hear her words. They didn’t catch James or Michael’s attention at all. Her hands were twitching as she spoke, so she stuffed them in her pockets. Michael and James were having conversations of their own, but she didn’t catch any particular words or phrases. Their tones sounded concerned.

James nodded. Glancing at Kailie, he felt slight relief that this situation kept her busy. The irony of it annoyed him, though. He didn’t know how to feel about Joseph’s death, but he couldn’t rule anger out of the emotions. When he looked at Kailie, though, all he noticed was sadness and confusion, when she wasn’t talking.

Kailie knew how she felt, though. She wouldn’t let her family die in vain. She had to figure this mystery out. It would serve that b*****d right, for not letting her grieve properly. They knew the basics; this creature was born to a human from Lucifer, himself; he was punished for not fulfilling a duty, to walk the lonely road on Earth until his reign came to an end; last, if they didn’t do something, there was going to be another war. Normally, that would be all that was needed for her. But souls were at stake, and so were lives.

“Desperate?” Michael wondered. “For what?” His eyes were terrified and his face was pale. He was still rubbing his chest, as though expecting the blisters to return. So, he did hear her after all.

Before Kailie could answer, thunder cracked outside. James looked out the window, and pointed out heavy rain coming down. There was no light to help him see outside, but it didn’t matter. They knew Kana was going to fulfill this plan.

Laying out her fingers, she began counting the instances. “Look at how much havoc he’s caused in two days: he warns Stephen of his potential future plan; Stephen, soon after that, becomes overshadowed, endangering us as well; he terrorizes, and then, kills my grandfather; and now, this.”

James pointed toward Kailie, nodding. “Normally, demons would have a plan of their own to terrorize their victims. But this was sloppy. It’s like pulling a report together, on the last night before it’s due.”

Thunder cracked at the church, making Michael jump. After the shock he just went through, he started feeling a little weak from the adrenaline rush. It was hard to speak, much less breathe, at times. His shoulders ached, and he just wanted to sleep, hoping this was just a nightmare. Rachel and Isaac were waiting for him in the living room, the world was at peace. It’s not like he had any proof that any of the other traumas were real; the blisters and the mysterious Stephen had disappeared as quickly as they appeared… Think, though. How did those wounds disappear? No wounds just simply appear and disappear on their own!

“My friends,” Michael interjected. “It might be worth knowing that the container you used on me had holy water in it.” He shrugged, staring at his feet.

The whole room went silent by then. The wind howled outside, and distant containers were being blown around the streets. But the room was quiet. Kailie rubbed her hands together as James’s jaw dropped. It was like the missing clue from a story book, the way Michael brought it up. One of the most important details they could ever know, and his tone made it sound like a casualty.

“Well, ain’t that just the cherry for this situation,” James joked. “He did back away from your chest after all.” He scoffed, completely annoyed with this man. It was like he had never set foot into the real world. Hanging out with religious nuts didn’t count. If he hadn’t met Joseph, James would have urged Kailie to let them move on. “This just slip your mind?”

Michael glared at him. “I was in a bit of a shock for a while, if you’ll excuse the timing. Even for believers, it’s not every day one gets attacked by a demon, or whatever it is.” He moved his arms around in a wild manner as he spoke. Kailie had never seen someone so physically distraught. His voice was hoarse at the moment, still having difficulty breathing, she assumed. His eyes were shady, his hair was a bit unkempt and she could swear he was shaking. Could he really have been the man Grampy meant for her to find? Based on his stories, he had to be; they’ve known each other a long time and he worked at Lane Prairie Baptist. Still staring at him, she thought about what he mentioned with the liquid.

“Holy water,” she whispered. “Seems reasonable.”

As she spoke, the door burst wide open. Looking over, they found it wasn’t the wind. A woman, about five-foot-five, slender, blonde hair, and dark blue eyes stood by the way. On the left side of her face, there was a scar running down her cheek, ending just shy of her top lip. It looked pretty fresh, because blood slowly moved out of it. Her face was pink, smelling of perspiration on her face, and she was panting. Her hair was soaking wet from outside. She moved her head from Kailie, Michael, to James, and then, reversed. She didn’t look familiar to either of them, and they to her. She walked slowly out of the doorway, leaving them to slam shut. The bang made her jump and gasp at once. When she saw that the noise was from the doors, her breathing relaxed as she slowly blinked in their direction.

“Ma’am,” Michael called. “Can we help you?’

Her panting was more like shivering. Her arms wouldn’t hold still as she slowly continued walking toward them. Shaking her head, she glared at them.

“Don’t… go… outside,” she directed. Her eyes looked like they would pop out of her head.

Michael shook his head. “Excuse me, ma’am. What’s your name? I’m Michael.”

“What’s it to you?” she sneered. She jerked away from his body, thinking he would pull something. She looked like she didn’t know who to trust, narrowly escaping an attack. Like a child. That was the only term he could compare her to.

He shrugged. “Just asking… You don’t have to be afraid of us.”

She curled her bottom lip like she was about to cry. Only air came out of her, though. Her color was toning down as her breathing slowed to a normal pace. Her legs were shaking like she would drop to her knees. She covered her face and shook her head quickly.

“I’m Miriam,” she said finally. Her eyes watered as she spoke and her legs were shaking faster. The jeans she wore were torn at the knee and it was painted in blood. She didn’t look familiar to Michael, but he figured all were welcome at this point. After introducing herself, she bit her lower lip and stared at her knees. Michael figured that the pain would slow her knees down. But it didn’t.

James stepped closer to her. “Where did you come from, Miriam?”

She pointed toward the doors. If they didn’t know better, they would have thought she was having a seizure. Physically, she tried to stop shaking, but something within her wouldn’t let that gesture take place. Michael gestured for her to come closer to them. His moves were slow and patient, nervous that she would react harshly, if tempted.

She walked toward him, eyeing Kailie and James. Michael was the only one who managed to converse with her, so, he had to figure he was the only one she trusted, at the moment. He sat her lightly on a kitchen table, covering her with a spare blanket. Despite the sweating, she kept saying that she felt so cold from the winds. Miriam cuddled against the blanket, treating it like an old friend in her arms. A small smile crept onto her lips, meant for Michael.

“Thank you,” she whispered. Her body wasn’t shaking as much anymore.

James shook his head. “Miriam, do you know exactly where you just came from? We’re trying to find someone.”

She looked down, as if trying to remember where she had been, but nothing came to her. She closed her eyes, trying to think of something, but was completely lost, staring at the three of them.

“I was just stand in the boneyard, see,” she murmured. Kailie could barely hear her, and had to move a little closer. “I went to visit my mother’s grave, like I do once a week. I know it was a little late, but it’s quiet during that time, see.”

Her hands moved as she spoke, as if trying to get them to understand. She looked at them, a little defensive like the idea of going to a cemetery at night was the weirdest thing to happen. Inhaling slowly, she continued.

“And then, the fog came. Slow and heavy, it came. So thick, I couldn’t breathe for a few seconds. It felt like something, or someone, was strangling me. I couldn’t see my mother’s grave anymore, just white all around. White thickness everywhere, surrounding me like ghosts. I twirled around a few times, hoping it would disappear in a few seconds. When it didn’t, I closed my eyes and sat down in my spot to keep the dizziness away. Then, I heard them.”

Tears came down her face. Her body was completely calm, but light sobbing started up.

“Heard what, Miriam?” Kailie asked.

Miriam swallowed, trying to hold back the tears. “My mother’s screams. She died a couple years ago, in a car wreck, see. I was in the car behind hers and I had seen the whole thing. I had pulled over when her car was smashed, and I could hear her screams from inside my own vehicle.

“Anyway, it was like I went back in time to that incident. I would know those screams anywhere. I stared running toward them, blind as a bat. I figured I would be getting closer to them, but as far as I ran, those screams were still farther from me. I know this sounds crazy, but it’s true. I don’t know how to make things like this up!”

Kailie glanced at James, whose eyes were wide. She didn’t remember breathing properly, ever since this story began. Michael was anxiously biting his right index fingernail, scratching gently at his left thigh.

Miriam continued with the story. After a couple more minutes, the fog began to clear up in front of her. As much as she ran, she was still next to her mother’s grave. Staring at it, the next thing she knew, she was flying upwards into a tree. The branches tangled at her neck, making her choke on the way down. She never made it to the ground, though. Something was holding her up, she said. It felt like a claw around her throat. Then, a slight warmth crept in her ear. She never saw who it was, or what it was, but it had a man’s voice.

“‘Tell that witch doctor he’s dead,’ he said to me. I must have been shaking as he spoke, because whatever was holding me up slipped from the grip in my neck. All the while, I still never saw a face… Not until a while later. I had lost track of time, but my body was so sore by then, I didn’t care. And then, a man approached me.”

Miriam was hysterical now, shivering back some tears. The sobbing was becoming more intense as she tried to suck in some air. The description she gave was all too familiar for Kalie to turn away from: hair as white as snow, eyes blacker than the night sky. There wasn’t anything solid about him, though, she told us. He looked like a man, wore clothes like a man, but wasn’t “whole”. She said she could see right through him. Pieces of his skin withered away as the wind blew, but until he made his point, he stayed in his spot.

“‘All who step my blood shall writhe.’ That’s what he told me. I didn’t understand what it meant. He never said anything else. After that, he and the fog disappeared and the night was clear again. At least for a while. After about five more minutes, I walked away from the cemetery and it started raining. I kept looking behind me, to see if he was testing me, whoever he was, but I never saw him. Everywhere else was closed down or destroyed. This was the only place I could think of to arrive at.”

She rested her head on Michael’s shoulder while he tried comforting her. Her sobs had calmed down and she closed her eyes, trying to catch her breath. He just looked at James and Kailie as they stared back at him. No one knew what to say. James had his hand over his mouth, like he was about to vomit. Kailie bit her lip, shaking her head.

This can’t be happening, Michael thought. Why get an innocent woman involved in this?! He stroked the back of her head, trying to keep her as calm as he could. He didn’t know why, but he was hoping that Kailie or James had some kind of plan for a situation like this. He didn’t think Joseph was totally prepared, though. He was only human.