The Forsaken: Part VII

Only a few hours passed, but the tension in the room was palpable. While one sat sipping scotch from a cheap hotel glass, another rocked back and forth. Elizabeth was nearly through her tenth cigarette. She kept repeating Lucas’s answer over and over in her head. A Prince of Hell possessed her body.

“I thought they needed permission,” she thought out loud.

“No, that’s only in movies and television,” explained Lucas.

She started rocking back and forth again. Lucas sat and waited. It was the sixth or seventh go around they had about the subject, and each time, she would retreat into herself. Elizabeth handled the revelation better than most. Most people lose their minds. Learning you were a demon’s playtoy is a traumatic reality.

A knock at the door caused Elizabeth to pull out of the nearly catatonic trance she’d remained in for so long. Lucas answered, making small talk before turning around with familiar clothes. Seeing them, Elizabeth looked down at herself. The barfed, black goo left her a wretched mess.

“I called Walt and told him to cover for you. He sent a unit to your place to bring a change of clothes,” Lucas explained. “I hope that’s alright.”

“Did this actually come out of me?” she asked.

“Captain, that was all you.”

Elizabeth pulled herself together and gratefully took the change of clothes. She told Lucas to call her Lizzy. He’d earned that, she thought to herself.

Standing in the shower, Elizabeth scrubbed and scrubbed, struggling to get the black off her skin and the goo out of her hair.

Lucas brought her some soap, telling her it was a bit grainier than usual but would work better than the most bar soaps. Feeling it reminded Elizabeth of the soap in her dad’s garage. The scent reminded her of her father and how he always smelled good, even after working all day.

After an hour, a while after the water turned cold, Elizabeth walked out of the bathroom, drying her hair. She remained confused, even a little bewildered by the earlier events. Elizabeth wondered how Lucas got involved in such affairs.

“You’re not a priest, not even a preacher. How did you start working for the church?”

“I had a wife and son,” he replied.

“Had?”

Lucas explained how years ago, while he was a cop, his wife and son were murdered. He went “off book” to find the killer. During that time, Lucas found his way into the path of a Vatican investigator. That’s when he learned his wife’s killer wasn’t human. The investigator from the Vatican was chasing the same thing as Lucas.

“Did you find it?”

“We never found her killer.”

Lucas told her about being sponsored to undergo the training at the Vatican. He studied more than the other students and met an inquisitor during a ritual. The exorcism was long and brutal, but he stood his ground alongside the investigating priest. It resulted in his recruitment to the inquisitors.

“Why you?”

“There’s a rising need, and I wasn’t afraid to chase after the boogeyman,” replied Lucas.

“I guess that would be an asset.”

The two eventually exited the hotel room. They both got into Lucas’s S.U.V. Driving to the station, the fog was even thicker. Lucas could barely see.

“This is because of Aamon being here?” questioned Elizabeth.

“I think so,” said Lucas.

The fog wasn’t a traditional omen. Lucas looked for comets, eclipses, howling dogs, cattle mutilations, strange temperature anomalies, and dead or injured birds. His studies never mentioned mystery fogs or weird mists. He’d never seen anything like this before.

“Princes of hell?” wondered Elizabeth, thinking it was because of their different powers.

“I think so,” admitted Lucas, turning a corner toward the downtown area.

The two made their way to the station and walked in together. Walt was behind the chief’s desk when Elizabeth walked in, followed by Lucas.

“Captain, it’s good to see you,” said Walt.

“Do you have anything new?”

“The past couple of hours have been quiet. We continued doubling up units. Right now, we’ve got three cars out and three on standby,” explained Walt.

“Walt, get everybody on the street, no less than two cars to a call. Let’s see if we can get some volunteers to back up patrol,” she instructed.

“Yes maam,” he responded.

When the door closed, Lucas told her it was a good idea to keep everybody on the street. He knew the longer the town was in darkness, the more desperate people would get. Lucas also knew that Aamon would be looking for another body.

“This things not likely to stay quiet long.”

“What can we do?” asked Elizabeth.

There weren’t a lot of options. Lucas didn’t know why the trap hadn’t held the beast. Expelling the demon was the idea behind the exorcism. Having it trapped should have pushed the beast back to hell.

“Should have?”

Lucas looked at Elizabeth, admitting, “Something went wrong.”

Harry Wintheiser was out looking for his dog. Walking the street, Harry used a flashlight to keep him visible. The retired firefighter couldn’t believe how thick it was as he hunted for his lost Retriever.

“Here boy!” he called out, listening for his walking buddy.

Harry knew the streets in his neighborhood. He’d lived there for twenty years. Harry knew Rolly enjoyed going out for a run, but in the strange mist surrounding the town, it was a horrible time to go on one of his little adventures. As he walked, hoping he was close and would hear him, Harry tried shining his light at the tree line.

“Come on, boy. Where you at?” Harry pleaded, hoping the dog would show himself.

Harry walked another six blocks, still unable to find Rolly. Harry started to turn back toward home when he realized where he was was further away than he imagined. Somehow, he’d gotten turned around and missed a corner or two.

As he turned back, Harry heard a howling dog in the distance.

“Rolly! Come here boy!” he yelled. “Come to daddy!”

Harry heard footsteps approaching. He turned his light in front of him and nearly jumped out of his skin, startled. Instead of his dog, a little girl in a white dress stood staring at him. When he jumped, she laughed a wicked little laugh. He thought it was creepy.

“Child, what are you doing out here in this mess?”

The little girl continued to giggle, turning away and skipping down the sidewalk as she wickedly laughed at something. Harry worried she was lost. He was a stranger. Good parents taught kids that age not to talk to strangers.

“Little girl, don’t be afraid,” he called out.

Harry followed the little girl, trying to keep pace with her skips. He looked at his watch. Harry wondered why she was out by herself. Even under normal conditions, a child that age should be home by now.

Harry continued to follow her, trying to catch up. As the girl got further away, she disappeared into the eerie mist. All he could hear was the faint sound of her giggles.

Continuing to follow her, she led him to the edge of the neighborhood, toward the woods.

“Where is this damned kid going?” he wondered.

The howling in the winds got closer as he followed the sounds of her laughter. Eventually, the howling was all he heard. Harry kept walking, expecting to catch up with her. Her tiny legs had to wear out eventually.

Reaching the treeline, Harry heard the giggling child’s laughter again. It intermingled with the howling of an animal.

“What the hell is that?”

When Harry breached the woods, he knew he was getting close to the park area. He imagined that’s where the little one was going. Many of the kids played there growing up. It was a popular place for parents to take young ones to burn off their youthful energy. After strange days, a kid running to the park made sense.

Harry didn’t like the sound of the howling animal. The echo the dog made was ominous. It wasn’t Rolly, and it wasn’t friendly sounding. Whatever was out there gave Harry a strange chill down his spine.

He reached the playground, and there she was. She was sitting in a sandbox playing with something. Oddly, she was talking to someone. Harry cautiously approached the play area, telling himself he should have called the police. It wasn’t his job to rescue lost kids, not anymore.

“Hey,” he said, getting closer. “Where are your parents?”

She stared blankly at Harry as if she didn’t understand his question.

“Do you know where your parents are? Or maybe your address? I’m sure they’re worried,” he suggested.

The little girl began to pout. She looked at Harry, an upset look on her face. When she mumbled, Harry didn’t understand her.

“What was that?”

“My parents. They’re long gone,” she told him, running her hand over the air.

“So, what are you doing out here, child?” he asked.

“Bringing my pet some food,” she giggled.

Harry knew kids had active imaginations. He remembered being young, what felt like a hundred years ago, and having an imaginary friend. So, he decided to go along with the little girl’s fantasy.

“What kind of pet do you have?” asked Harry.

“He’s special. He’s a hound,” answered the girl as she continued waving her hand.

“And what does your hound like to eat?” he asked.

The little girl laughed, turned her attention to Harry, and told him, “You, you silly human. Sick ’em boy.”

When she answered, Harry was caught off guard by two red orbs appearing next to the girl. He stood up and watched the shadow of a four-legged beast appear. Harry stepped back slowly. He could barely see the creature other than its shape.

When the thing started to move toward him, Harry turned and ran as fast as he could, trying to remember the path he took to get to the park. His breath was visible as a chill filled the air. Harry looked over his shoulder, seeing the nearly invisible dog closing the gap between them.

Harry was able to make it to the trees. Fumbling to get past the trees, he used the forest to try to throw the dog off his trail. Harry kept running. He felt through his pocket, grasping at his cell phone.

A large tree stood out, and Harry circled behind it to hide. He struggled to catch his breath as he dialed 911 on his phone. When he heard a branch break, Harry knew the thing wasn’t more than fifty feet away. Harry could see the glow of street lights through the mist. He saw a clean path from his hiding spot to the other side of the tree line.

Harry took off running as fast as he could. A voice on his phone called out, but he focused on getting out of the woods. Harry saw safety if he could make it out in the open.

Harry shot out of the trees and onto the street at the outer edge of the residential developments. He turned and ran toward home, finally putting the phone to his ear.

“I’m being chased by something, something I can’t see. Send help, please,” Harry begged.

Harry felt something grab at his ankle, pulling him to the ground. He fell hard, launching his phone several feet from reach. Harry screamed as a set of teeth penetrated his flesh.

Harry tried to crawl from the creature but got dragged back into the woods. Grasping at the trees, the beast turned him on his back. He felt claws as they poked into his skin. Harry fought, trying desperately to push the monster off of him so he could escape.

Behind the beast was the little girl in the white dress. She stood there, applauding, as if the spectacle was what she wanted. Harry tried in vain to get free, but as the massive claws of the invisible hound began cutting ribbons from his flesh, he lost his strength, and gurgling sounds escaped his throat.

Janice Sims was working to trace the 911 call from a few minutes ago. She needed more, and prepaid cell phones were more complicated to get information on than carrier lines. Walt was in the dispatch center and noticed she was worried.

“What is it, Janice?”

“A 911 call, but the caller didn’t give me much. He said he was chased by something he couldn’t see. Then I lost him, but the line stayed open,” she explained.

“Play it back,” he instructed, “Rob, go get the captain and Mr. Shaw.”

Moments later, Lucas and Elizabeth were standing in the dispatch center. As Janice played back the 911 tape, they listened to the scared sound in Harry’s voice. Lucas asked if they could enhance the tape in any way.

“I’ll try,” answered Janice.

Listening to the call again, Lucas put on a headphone set and focused on the background noises. Walt and Elizabeth continued to listen as they tried to figure out the caller’s identity.

“Why’s the voice sound familiar?” she asked.

“I thought so too,” admitted Walt.

Lucas put the headphones down. He’d heard the sounds of a child giggling in the background. What was worse were the guttural breathing sounds of the hound. Lucas knew the sounds. He heard them in his nightmares.

“Shit, I know who it is!” exclaimed Elizabeth. “It’s Harry Wintheiser. He worked for the L.F.D. until he retired.”

“Great, now we just have to figure out where he was calling from,” said Walt.

Lucas stared at the city map on the monitor. He traced an area with his finger, theorizing something to himself. In his nightmares, the hounds always stayed close to cover. They preferred to hunt near wooded areas and only came into population centers when sent.

“What is it?” asked Elizabeth.

“Sounds in the background. There were two and they’re distinctive.”

“Do you want to share with the rest of the class?” she asked.

Lucas looked at Janice. He told her to focus her trace along the northern side of town and to the west. He traced his finger around a twelve-block area near the newer subdivisions.

“We need to head that way if you think that’s where it came from,” said Elizabeth.

“No. Tell the units to approach with caution and have shotguns at the ready. Tell them to shoot anything that doesn’t seem human,” he instructed.

“I can’t give them that order without a good reason,” she insisted.

Lucas pulled Elizabeth into a closed room. He needed her to understand what they were sending units into.

“Have you ever been a jazz fan?”

“What the hell?”

“There’s an old legend from the early days of jazz, specifically from the Mississippi Delta Blues era,” he explained.

“What’s that got to do with any of this?”

“One of the most famous songs in American history was written and sung by a guitarist named Robert Johnson. As the legend goes, he showed up one day with a sound nobody had ever heard of. Toward the end, some of the songs lyrics were a story. Johnson believed that after he visited a crossroads and did a deal there were things coming for him,” explained Lucas.

“What things?”

“They’re called Hellhounds, nearly unstoppable killing machines sent by hell to collect souls that are promised,” said Lucas.

“Anything else,” wondered Elizabeth.

Lucas hesitated before telling her, “Yeah, if they see a small child, tell them not to approach until you and I get there.”

Twenty minutes later, the entire department emptied out of their cars and on foot to search for Harry Wintheiser. Janice narrowed the call down to a four-block area along Davison Road. Lucas and Elizabeth were the last to arrive as officers searched the street the call came from while others kept their rifles and shotguns in ready positions.

“Anybody!”

“Nothing yet, Captain,” replied Walt.

Lucas took out a pistol and flashlight and began walking the grid with the officers until one of them called out. He and Elizabeth ran over to where the officer pointed his light at a phone. The line was still open from the call. Elizabeth picked it up.

“Janice, it’s Harper. We found the phone. Good work,” said Elizabeth.

Just ten feet from the phone was the first sign of Harry Wintheiser’s outcome. Lucas pointed his light at a small puddle of blood.

“Shit, we’re too late,” sighed Elizabeth.

“Against one of those things, he never had a chance,” admitted Lucas.

“Over here,” called an officer, seeing where there were drag marks across the damp grass.

Lucas warned everybody to be careful as they all began their way into the trees. It didn’t take long for them to find the body. One of the officers stopped in his tracks, staring at the bloodied and mutilated corpse of Harry Wintheiser.

Elizabeth ran over to the officers' position and suddenly turned her head. She knew Harry pretty well. Seeing him torn to shreds like that was nearly too much.

Lucas continued to work his way inward to the opposite edge of the tree line. He stopped at the opening, seeing the park and a little girl playing in the sandbox.

Elizabeth found Lucas staring tensely at the girl. She looked on as Lucas began to walk toward her. Several of her men reached the treeline, a couple wanting to get the girl out of there. Elizabeth stopped them.

“This is Mr. Shaw’s play to make, you guys don’t want any part of this,” she warned them.

Lucas stood in front of the sandbox. It took minutes for the little girl to look at him.

“I’m ready,” she said when she finally acknowledged him.

“Ready for what?”

“Come now, you know what you’re going to do. That’s why the good captain kept her men at bay. You know it’s the only way you can be rid of me,” said the girl.

Lucas reached into his pocket and pulled out a flask. He wrapped a rosary around his hand and kissed the crucifix around his neck.

“Why?” he asked. “Why are you giving up?”

The little girl giggled and promised he’d see soon enough. She stood up, walked over to Lucas, and hugged him. Before he started the ritual, she whispered something in his ear.