Devil's Kiss (33 page)

Pistol on the ground beside them, she touched him, and his heart pounded.

They were naked in the shade of the cottonwoods, and the tiny creek murmured words of love, the babbling mingled with their words.

Above them, the bird sang a curious song.

“Sam!” she cried out as he entered her.

 

Her bare leg rested on his thigh, her dampness pressing against his hip. Her face was pushed against his shoulder. Breathing had softened, evened, slowed.

“What we did was a sin, Janey.”

“I remember you saying our God is a forgiving God.”

“If we ask for it, and,
I
believe, if we mean it when we do.”

“Well, there is one way we can get back in His favor,” she smiled against his skin.

“I'd like to know how,” he replied glumly.

“You're a minister, aren't you?”

He raised up on one elbow. “Of course, I am!”

Well—marry us, then.”

He blinked. “Here? Now? Janey, that's crazy!”

“Why? You love me, don't you?”

“Yes. I—ah—uh—told you that about two dozen times a—uh—few minutes ago.”

“There is no other minister around to do the job, is there? In Fork; this part of Fork, I mean?”

“That's right.”

“We can't get out to find one to marry us, can we?”

“Uh-no.”

“Then we're like Adam and Eve, aren't we?”

“Janey! Not quite.”

She grinned. “Keep it simple, Sam. Something out of Genesis, perhaps.”

“Genesis?” He thought for a moment, then smiled. “All right.” He quoted from chapter two, verses 23 and 25.

“I think that is very appropriate,” she touched his face. “When you consider the circumstances.”

And they were not ashamed.

 

“You and Jane Ann did WHAT?” Chester shouted.

“Oh, I think that's wonderful,” Doris said.

“But, Sam?” Wade had a perplexed look on his face. “Who married you?”

“I did,” Sam said.

But—but—” Chester stuttered.

“Be quiet, dear,” Faye shushed him. “I think it's wonderful.”

“I think it's against the law!” Doctor King frowned.

“What law?” Jane Ann put an end to that line of reasoning. “Where?”

No one had anything to say about that, since God mentioned nothing about blood tests, licenses, or waiting periods when He laid down His rules.

“It was really a very simple ceremony,” Jane Ann smiled.

“It must have been,” Doris observed. “There are still a few blades of grass in your hair. Not to mention a twig or two,” she added dryly.

“A bird sang—uh—above us,” Jane Ann blushed.

“Basic accoutrements for any marriage,” Miles smiled, stepping forward to shake Sam's hand. “Congratulations, friend.”

“I'll gather my things,” Jane Ann said. “I want us to go home.”

Sam sobered. “We've got about thirty-six hours before—it all breaks loose.” He glanced at Chester. “Have you got everything ready to go?”

“Everything is done, Sam. While you and Janey were—ah,” he smiled, “getting married, I stripped the store.”

“Strip is a good choice of words,” Doris smiled, picking another blade of grass out of Jane Ann's hair.

Miles frowned; Faye giggled; Wade shook his head; and Sam turned red in the face.

“We've got provisions for a full ten days,” Chester continued, “and extra gas is stored around this part of Fork; just about anywhere you want to look. That's no problem.”

Sam looked at Wade. “You and Anita staying here tonight?”

“We thought it best.”

“Tony? You're staying with Miles and Doris?”

The doctor nodded.

“Jimmy said Peter could move in with him. All right,” Sam looked around. “When you go home tonight, lock all your windows and doors. Pull the drapes. Keep as much religious paraphernalia in sight as possible. Place open Bibles around the house. Each of you take some Holy Water, and wear your crosses.”

“That didn't help Father Dubois or Father Haskell,” Chester pointed out.

“No,” Sam admitted, “It didn't. And I don't know why. But I, for one, am not going to take any chances.”

As Sam and Jane Ann stood on the front porch at Chester's, Jimmy pulled into the drive. After he recovered from his shock of their marriage, he said, “It's strange—no one is moving in town. A few young people, that's all.” He looked at Sam and Jane Ann. “Who married you?”

“I did,” Sam answered.

The young cop frowned, smiled, then nodded, keeping his many questions to himself.

“Are the kids still drinking?” Sam asked.

“Drunk, you mean! I stopped picking them up about an hour ago. If I put them in the lockup, my own men would turn them loose. If I took them home, their parents would laugh at me. Then Addison told me to leave them alone; said they weren't hurting anyone or anything. Sam, I can't get through to the Highway Patrol; can't get through to any law enforcement agency, anywhere. We're cut off—stuck! I'm going to turn in my badge, just as soon as I figure out who to turn it in to. I can't enforce the law—what's the use of wearing it?”

Sam thought of Jimmy's girl. “Have you seen Judy lately?”

The young man's smile was sad and bitter. “Oh, yes, Sam. Saw her this morning. Just before she checked into the hotel with David Vanderwerf, Paul Smiley, and George Deschin. I understand they had quite a party.” He spat on the ground.” She took them all on—so I'm told.”

Wade had stepped out on the porch, listening. “You think it's wise to turn in your badge?”

“I don't think it makes any difference,” Sam answered for Jimmy. “In a matter of hours we're all going to be participants in the biggest blood bath to ever hit this state. A badge is not going to make any difference, one way or the other.”

Jimmy shuddered as he thought of what lay before them. Wade's face was pale. Sam was totally calm. Jimmy removed the badge from his shirt. “I'll go get Peter. We'll get our gear together.”

“Try to stay calm, Jimmy,” Sam urged him.

 

Jane Ann stood in the doorway of Michelle's bedroom, her lips pursed in disgust. She shook her head at the filth. “I've never seen anything like this. What are you going to do with all this junk?”

“Leave it. We don't have that many hours to spend in this house. Why bother with it?”

She walked to the painting, staring at it. “It's evil!” Picking up a long fingernail file from the dresser, she ripped the painting to shreds, hacking at it until it was no longer recognizable.

Marching to the kitchen, Jane Ann found a large bag and stuffed Michelle's satanic possessions into it, along with what was left of the picture. She carried the bulging bag out to the back yard, dumping it into the garbage can.

Neighbors watched from their windows, their eyes wild with hate.

Sam had watched her with mild amusement. When she returned, he asked, “You feel better, now?”

“Some,” she returned the smile. Her smile faded as she looked outside. The sunlight was beginning to wane. Night was slowly creeping upon the town.

She walked to him, putting her arms around him, pressing close to him. “Tell me everything will be all right.”

He stroked her hair. “I wish I could,” he replied honestly. “But I'm afraid I'd be telling you a lie.”

 

Night fell heavily on the prairie town, shadowing the lighted streets, deepening the gloom of alleys and back yards, bringing with the darkness an almost tangible aura of evil. The streets were murky. Red-rimmed eyes looked out from dark windows, heavy breathing could be heard. An occasional snarl ripped from once-human throats, and savagery began to stalk the town.

At full dark, a gang of drunken teenagers smashed the back door of a drug store and helped themselves to a selection of narcotics, washing down the highs and lows with raw whiskey. Patrolman Vickers of the Whitfield Police Department watched them stagger down the street. He chuckled as he touched the medallion around his neck, then laughed and drove away into the night.

Fifteen minutes later, he sat in his patrol car and watched an elderly woman walk her dog. Vickers took his .38 from his holster, took careful aim, and shot the old woman in the head. The slug tore through her brain, blowing away part of her face. She sprawled in a front yard. The dog ran away into the night, barking its joy at being set free.

Vickers laughed wickedly and drove away.

He did not see the huge Beast shuffle out of the darkness, dragging the old woman into the shadows, where others of his kind waited, lips wet with drool. Their teeth flashed a dull, slick yellow as they feasted on the still-warm flesh.

Ruth Cash heard something prowling in her back yard. Fear made her heart pound in her chest. Those teenagers were back. They circled her house, calling out from the night, telling her what they were going to do to her. She had called the police and the sheriff's department, but no one came to help her. Now her phone wasn't working.

An attractive woman of forty, a widow for ten years, Ruth stepped out on the back porch. “You boys better get away from here!” she yelled. “I'll call your parents!”

They laughed at her from the darkness, and the taunting, jeering chilled her as they shouted filth at her.

“You're all dirty!” she screamed. “I'm going to call the police.” She began to weep. “Dear God,” she whispered, calling on Him for the first time in years. “What is happening in this town?” She backed away, off the porch, into the kitchen. “Help me. Please help me.”

The young men came at her, knocking her down, dragging her into the living room. They stripped her, spread her legs, pinning her to the floor. Ruth watched as one young man removed his jeans, exposing himself, his hardness leaping free.

“What is she?” a teenager asked. “How come she ain't one of us or Them?”

“She ain't nothing,” was the reply.

Then they raped her.

They took turns with her, in all positions. Ruth screamed her pain and outrage as they sodomized her. But no one came to help her. They beat her, forcing her to engage in oral sex with them.

And the night wore on, painfully. Ruth lay sobbing on the carpet, bruised, aching, and humiliated.

“Reckon she can still breed?” she heard a young man ask.

“I don't see why not,” another replied. “We'll take her to Them.”

Hours later, Ruth's sanity had left her, as had her former shape. Mercifully, she had fainted when the young men had dumped her over the fence at Tyson's Lake—and she got her first glimpse of the Beasts. She had regained consciousness to find herself on her knees, a Beast mating with her, his organ driving deep inside her, his fangs biting her on the neck.

She now squatted deep inside the earth. Her body was covered with coarse, thick hair. She mumbled and snarled and growled, and the others seemed to understand her, and she them. She had no recollection of her former life. No remembrance of the God she had once loved, then had forsaken after her husband died, for a belief in nothing. Dimly, as a female Beast, she understood she was going to breed new life in a few months.

There were several young Beasts crawling around on the earth floor of the cave.

And Ruth was happy.

 

“I don't like it,” the young woman said. “Honey, we haven't seen one person in over an hour. No one. It's spooky!” she moved closer to her husband, placing a hand on his leg.