Evil Agreement (36 page)

“I see your point.”

“What’s going here?”

“Let me be as candid as I can be. I really and truly don’t
know. Remember, I only have the powers and knowledge God gives me. I just don’t
have an answer for you on this.”

“There’s got to be a reason, a purpose, something I’m
supposed to understand. I wish I knew what it was. I have a feeling it’s very
important,” said
Korie
as she looked over the gun
from end to end.

“If you’re right, I hope you figure it out soon. We’re
running out of time here and we can’t afford to miss a thing.”

Korie
didn’t say another word. She
slipped the gun into the waistband of her jeans and pulled her tee shirt over
the gun concealing its presence.

***

The coven members had all arrived at Phyllis Atkins’ real
estate office.

Samuel sat down at the conference table and the others took
that as a sign that their meeting was to begin.

“Has Powell contacted you yet today?” asked Walter
Yandow
.

“No,” answered Samuel.

“Shouldn’t you try to contact him?” asked Josephine Lawless.

“No! He said he would contact me and I fully expect him to.
We know where he is. In case he changes his mind and tries to leave town, Ed’s
arranged for some people to keep track of him.”

“Reverend?”

“Yes, Samuel. I want you to head up to the mountain right
after this meeting and get the altar ready as required by the covenant. Bob, I
want you, Chucky, and Ed Foley to go along and help the Reverend. I also want
two crosses set up, one on each side of the altar.”

The Reverend shot a sideways glance at the Judge then asked,

“How big are these crosses supposed to be?”

“Big enough to hold a man.”

The Reverend swallowed slowly as he heard those words.

“Chucky, make sure we have enough wood for several bonfires.”

“About the same as always?” asked Chucky.

“No, make it twice as much.”

“Will do!”

“Shirley, it will be your job to bring the sacred cup and
knife.”

She nodded her agreement.

“What about your sister?” asked the Judge.

Everyone in the room immediately tensed up upon hearing this
question. Now all eyes were squarely fixed upon Samuel.

“Judge, I want to thank you for bringing her up. I believe
she, too, will show up at the calling. We know she’s with Powell, right?”

“Yeah, we’re pretty certain she’s hiding out at Miss Beacon’s
place,” answered Ed Townsend.

“If Powell comes to the meeting without her, we will know
it’s because we’re watching Miss Beacon’s place. Once he leaves there, we will
go in, grab her and bring her to the calling.”

“Very well,” said the Judge.

“Does she still belong to Moloch?” asked Judy.

“Yes.”

The meeting continued on for several more minutes as coven
members conferred with each other on their roles.

Finally Samuel spoke again, “Chucky, make sure you get the
announcement out on the radio this morning. I want all of our faithful to be
aware of tonight’s long awaited calling ceremony. The word must be spread to
all to join us in the greatest celebration of our time. Our efforts have
prepared the way. Tonight begins a time of reward for our loyalty.”

Instead of his usual wise cracking rhetoric, Chucky answered
with a sense of seriousness, “I am honored and grateful to have this
privilege.”

“Thank you. Now go and do your jobs well. Remember, Moloch is
counting on all of us.”

The coven members all rose from the table and headed for the
exit. Samuel stayed behind, still seated at the table. He seemed deep in thought.
Phyllis Atkins was about to turn the lights out when she noticed Samuel was
still sitting at the table.

“Samuel, is something wrong?”

“No.”

“Do you need a ride somewhere?”

“No, thank you. I just want to stay here for awhile, if it’s
okay,” he said in a tone that was more like the young boy that he was.

“Sure.”

“Please turn out the lights.”

Phyllis did as she was asked. She closed the door to the
conference room leaving Samuel alone in the semi-darkness.

Outside the offices, on the sidewalk, Ed Townsend was
speaking in a hushed tone with the Judge. The two men nodded and then
separated. The Judge went over to the Reverend and whispered something into his
ear. The Reverend responded with his own whispered response. Now the two of
them separated as well. The various coven members began heading for their
vehicles.

From inside the real estate office Samuel watched intently
through the slightly parted window blinds, the group dynamics of the coven
members. He took notice of the small group meetings and whispered exchanges. He
smiled at what he saw. He closed the blinds and left the conference room. Soon
he left the building. All the other coven members had already left. Now alone,
he turned onto the sidewalk and headed home.

Moments later the local radio station interrupted its regular
programming for a public service announcement.

“The Church of Everlasting Faith of Sutton has scheduled its
homecoming barbecue for tonight. All members are invited to attend. Again,
that’s the Church of Everlasting Faith of Sutton has scheduled its homecoming
barbecue for tonight. All members are invited to attend,” said the radio
announcer. “Now, back to our regular programming. Today’s farm report is
brought to you by Valley Hardware.”

As the radio announcer continued his presentation he gave a
wave to Chucky
Trainor
, his station colleague, who
was standing just outside the broadcast booth. Chucky acknowledged his gesture
with his own thumbs up signal.

The radio announcer noted that the announcement bulletin
indicated the public service message needed to be read six more times
throughout the late morning show. He stuck it up on the broadcast announcement
board and checked his watch.

***

As Samuel walked down the sidewalk he noticed the tall,
slender boy with oversized baggy pants skateboarding towards him on the
sidewalk. He recognized the boy. The skateboarder pushed off with his right
foot to maintain speed. The two boy’s eyes met only briefly as they passed each
other on the sidewalk. Samuel never yielded any space. The skateboarder deftly
avoided contact as he skated past Samuel. It was the same young boy who had met
Aaron Powell the day before.

***

Kelley was lying on the bed. She needed the rest. She had
drifted off to sleep tossing and turning on the bed. She kept rubbing her arms,
and running her hands through her hair, as if to rid herself of the spiders
that had tortured her in the church basement.

After awhile, calmness seemed to settle in. Her sleep became
deeper, more relaxed. Her breathing was now more rhythmic and slower.

She had drifted off into a dream state. In her dream, she
noticed she was wearing a wedding dress, a black wedding dress. The veil was
black and she was carrying a bouquet of black, half-dead roses. She glanced up
and saw that she was standing at the back of a large gathering. There was a
path through this gathering, which led directly to the stone altar, which she
recognized.

Many faces were turned towards her. She recognized these
faces as fellow church members. The people were smiling and speaking, though
she could not hear what they might be saying.

Interspersed in the crowd were faces she didn’t recognize at
first. These faces were hideous and disfigured. Blood and mucous draining sores
seemed to dominate these faces. Their hair was matted, or missing, and teeth,
where present, were stained green, or black with rot. Kelley could barely stand
to look at these monstrous faces. Gradually some of the grotesque figures
changed into those of regular church members, while some regular church members
took on their own hideous characteristics.

Kelley felt someone pulling on her left arm. Startled she
looked to her left and recognized her own father smiling down.

“Kelley, this is the proudest day of my life. Your mother and
I want you to know you have always been special to us, and we love you very
much.”

He was wearing a black tuxedo with a black carnation in his
lapel.

“Daddy, I don’t want to do this. How could you and mom let
Samuel do this to me?”

“Don’t be so ungrateful,” he said with a slight expression of
anger in his tone.

As Kelley looked at her father, his face began to change. His
lips turned black and blue in color. They appeared cracked and withered. His
skin sagged and turned gray. Lumps appeared under this skin and seemed to move
about on his face. Dark purple veins tracked across the top of his head, as his
hair seemed to disappear.

Kelley couldn’t let herself continue to look at him. She
looked away. Her eyes dropped down, and it was then, she noticed his hand,
which gripped her arm. It was greenish black in color, and scaly, too. She
tried to pull away from his grip but he was too strong. He took a step forward
pulling at her arm as he did so. She immediately spotted his cloven feet. She
let out a scream. Only in her dream, this scream was silent. No one could hear
her.

The more she struggled the tighter his grip seemed to get.

“Kelley, it’s time,” said her father.

“No, no,” she protested.

He pulled her along the aisle towards the altar.

She looked up and saw her brother, Samuel, standing in front
of the altar. He was smiling. Standing to his left was a very tall creature. It
seemed to stand seven feet tall. Its skin was a scaly dark green and black.
There were pulsating red veins bulging everywhere beneath the surface of his
monstrous skin. He stood on two cloven feet. On top of his head were two horns.
His widely set eyes looked at her with a power that seemed to burn right
through her. The eyes were bright yellow in color with black, snake-like,
irises. Large stained teeth could be seen as the creature smiled down on her.
Beneath his arms, she could make out large folds of skin, membrane-like, which
seemed connected from his wrists to his underarms and along his sides. They
were wings. A snake like tail swished back and forth behind him.

She knew who it was. It was Moloch.

She tried to look away for someone to help her. Then she
noticed the two blackened crosses, one on each side of the altar. Hanging on
these crosses, were the charred remains of two people who had been burned to
death. The sickly, sweet smell of burnt human flesh still hung in the air. She
felt a strong urge to heave.

“Won’t somebody help me, please?” she pleaded.

Samuel reached out and took her left wrist firmly in his
grip.

“Welcome, Kelley. Moloch and I have been waiting for you. Now
the ceremony can begin.”

“Samuel, please, for God’s sake, I’m your sister. Please
don’t do this.”

She sobbed uncontrollably as she thrashed about, trying to
break free from his grip.

“Help me!” she pleaded.

“Kelley, Kelley, wake up. You’re having a bad dream. Wake up”
said the somewhat familiar voice.

Through the deep fog of her dream, Samuel began to loose his
grip on her. Everything began to quickly fade, and in another instant she sat
up, fully awake.

Miss Beacon was sitting on the side of the bed. She was
holding Kelley’s left wrist.

“Everything’s fine now,” said Miss Beacon.

Kelley looked at her through tear filled eyes and said, “I
was there, Miss Beacon. My father and Samuel, they were, offering me to Moloch.
I was going to be his bride.”

Kelley started to cry. Miss Beacon handed her a tissue from
the nearby nightstand.

“There, there, child.”

“Miss Beacon. I saw something else,” she said sniffling as
she did.

“There were two crosses with two burnt bodies on them. What
does this all mean?”

***

Korie
found Aaron sitting in the
wing backed chair in their room. He had been leafing through the Powell family
diary. When she came into the room, he closed the dairy and put it down on the
floor.

Korie
sat down on the bed and
folded her legs underneath her.

“Aaron, when are you going to contact this Samuel character?”

“In a little while, I guess.”

“Have you been able to think of something we can do to stop
this madness?”

“No, but you know what?”

Korie
slipped off the bed and came
over and sat on his lap.

“What?” she said.

“I have been thinking, perhaps the best thing is to just have
faith.”

She looked down into his eyes. She ran her fingers through
his hair, and then, leaned over and kissed him on top of his head.

“He’s right,” said Miss Beacon from the doorway.

Miss Beacon and Kelley were standing there together. Kelley
looked pale. Her eyes were swollen and red as if she had just been crying.

“I want you both to hear this,” said Miss Beacon as she
ushered Kelley into the room.

Kelley and Miss Beacon sat on the foot of the bed.

“Go on, Kelley, tell them about your dream.”

Kelley’s lower lip was quivering slightly as she began.

30

Throughout the town of Sutton,
among the members of the Church of Everlasting
Faith, there was a buzz of excitement that was
reaching a feverish pitch. Men and women received calls at work from family
members still at home. Their faces lit up with joy when they heard the news.
The message had been announced on the local radio station and word was
spreading. They made up excuses and left work to hurry back home. Some members
closed their businesses and sent their employees home, with the rest of the day
off.

Soon families were together discussing their plans for
tonight’s calling ceremony.

Other people in town generally took little notice of the
scurrying about by the excited Church members.

Bob
Senecal
closed his garage, and
sent one of his employees home for the rest of the day. The other fellow was a
Church member, who had also left, to get ready with the rest of his family.

Ed Foley hung a closed sign up on his front office door. He
wouldn’t be treating anymore animals today. He and his daughter danced in their
living room with joy.

“I can’t wait,” she shouted.

“Me, either,” said Ed.

Phyllis Atkins closed her real estate office.

Josephine Lawless called into the Governor’s Office. She left
a message with the Governor’s Chief of Staff saying she had to take care of
some unexpected business today.

Judy
Perrillo
put out a closed sign
on the front door of her motel office. She went to her house and into her
bedroom. She spent the next hour giving pleasure to herself. Then she began
primping for the evening’s calling ceremony.

By now it was getting late in the afternoon.

The Reverend drove his car around back, behind the town
library. He slowly pulled behind the building looking around to see who might
be there. He was alone. He got out of the car and walked across the back
parking lot. He walked a short distance across the adjoining field, and entered
the town cemetery.

He spotted two men standing together, at the back edge of the
cemetery, near the woods alongside the railroad tracks. It was Ed Townsend and
Judge Fairchild. The Reverend walked quickly in their direction.

“Anybody follow you?” asked Ed.

“I don’t think so,” said the Reverend.

“You don’t think so?” said Ed.

“No, no, I’m sure I wasn’t followed,” said a very nervous
Reverend.

“He said he wasn’t followed, now let’s finish this. We can’t
be wasting time here,” said the Judge. “Now Ed, let’s hear your plan.”

“All right. Tonight, when we’re all standing next to the
altar and Samuel is reading from the Covenant, I’m going to shoot him. I need
another one of you to also have a gun and be ready to fire in case something
goes wrong. Think of it as insurance. I figure that would be you, Judge. I
brought this forty-five with an ankle holster. Reverend, we’ll need you to
start a diversion, just before I whack him. I need to have his concentration
broken for just a split second.”

“What kind of diversion?”

“I don’t know, fake a heart attack or something, shit!”

“A heart attack?” stammered the Reverend who was still
nervous.

“I like this plan,” said the Judge. “If we each do our part,
then it should work. The key is going to be the Reverend. His heart attack has
to be convincing.” Turning to the Reverend he asked, “Do you think you can do
this?”

“Sure, I uh, yeah, I can do it.”

“All right, then I’ll give you two guys a signal when we
start this thing. I’ll fold my arms like this,” which he demonstrated.

“One more thing. We must be very careful from here on. We
can’t do anything out of the ordinary which will draw attention to ourselves.
We don’t want to arouse any suspicion on Samuel’s part,” said the Judge.

“Then it’s done,” said Ed as he extended his hand to the
Judge.

Each man exchanged handshakes and parted in different
directions.

The Reverend returned to his car and drove home.

As Ed left the cemetery he mumbled, “If those fuckers loose
their cool I’ll just have to whack them, too.”

***

Samuel sat in his bedroom waiting. It was getting late in the
day and he still hadn’t heard back from Powell. He was almost ready to set his
backup plan into motion when the phone rang. He heard it ring for a second time
and then he heard his mother’s voice as she answered the phone.

In a moment she yelled upstairs, “Samuel, it’s for you.”

He quickly ran out of his room and hurried down the stairs.
He took the phone from his mother and waived her away. He put the receiver to
his ear.

“Yes.”

“It’s me, Aaron Powell. I just wanted to let you know that
I’ve thought about it, and I’ve decided to join in.”

“Good. And what do you wish to get out of this?”

“Not much. I want to be able to live forever like the rest of
you, including my girlfriend. And I want to be a great bass and harp blues
player.”

“That’s it?”

“Yeah.”

“Then consider it done. Let me come over and take you to the
calling ceremony. I’ll introduce you around. After all, we need to initiate you
into our little group first.”

“I don’t need initiation. My mother told me in her diary that
our family bloodline still contains the vestiges of our ancestors. You and the
others have known that the Powell family has always been a part of the coven.
I’ll meet you there. I presume the ceremony will be held at the stone altar on
the mountain top.”

“So, you know where it is?”

“Yes, it’s next to the cemetery, where the original coven
members buried my family.”

This comment caught Samuel by surprise.

“What time is the ceremony?” asked Aaron.

There was no answer.

“I said...,”

“I heard you. The ceremony begins at
nine o’clock
and Aaron, don’t be late.”

“I won’t be. Oh, and by the way, I’ll be bringing your sister
along. I hope you aren’t uncomfortable with that.”

Trying to sound confident he answered “Of course not. Why
should I? We are all looking forward to seeing her again.”

“Click,” was the sound Samuel heard as Aaron hung up the
phone.

His parents watched him from the hallway. His father had come
home early when his mother called to say the radio had announced that the
calling ceremony was to take place tonight. They watched as he hung up the
phone and went back upstairs.

“I’m so proud of Samuel. I just knew that if anyone could
bring forth Moloch and then Lucifer to complete our covenant, it would be our
son,” said Samuel’s mother.

Samuel’s father wasn’t quite as excited as his wife. He still
feared Samuel.

Meanwhile Samuel went into his room, closed the door and
called forth Moloch. They had some business to discuss.

***

Aaron hung up the phone. He looked relieved that the call was
over.

Everyone waited to hear what he had to say. He looked at
Korie
, then Kelley, and finally at Miss Beacon.

“You heard what I said to him. I guess we’re all in this to
the end.”

“We’re with you,” said
Korie
.

“Aaron, you have got to stop Samuel and Moloch. I can’t be
Moloch’s bride or whatever he wants of me. I’d rather be dead. I wish you
people would shoot me right now,” said Kelley. She was filled with despair.

Aaron reached over and took her hand and said, “All of my
ancestors, going back to the family that’s buried up on that mountain, have
lived and died in their struggle against the Devil. I won’t let them down. Look
at me, Kelley!” he said lifting her chin. “I won’t let any of you down. I will
fight this thing with every ounce of strength I have. My ancestors will be with
me. Each of you will be with me and together we will win. We will find a way. I
just know it.”

“Kelley, he’s right,” said
Korie
.
“It’s his destiny to face this challenge. None of us can predict the future,
but we know what is in our hearts and there is no room for this evilness.”

Miss Beacon watched this exchange and smiled. However, deep
inside, she knew what sort of trouble they were going to face. It certainly was
going to get much worse before it got any better.

***

As it had been a picture perfect day, the evening promised to
be just as beautiful. The air was dry and cool. The sky was cloudless. As
twilight began to descend on the valley that held the town of Sutton, certain
people began to take to the streets and back roads as they headed out to the
mountain site for the calling ceremony. Many members of the Church of
Everlasting Faith wanted to be there early. No one wanted to miss a thing.

One by one the cars pulled to a stop and parked along side
the narrow, rutted, dirt road next to Walter
Yandow’s
Game Warden and Fire Marshall Lodge. The nearly mile long trail leading up to
the altar was soon filled with people streaming up to the site. Conversation
along the trail was buzzing with excitement.
 

As everyone reached the clearing leading up to the altar,
they immediately noticed the two large crosses that were set in place to either
side of the altar. Next to the crosses were large piles of seasoned, split, dry
wood. Several torches were set in place around the perimeter of the clearing. A
couple of them were already burning. The night sky was getting darker as the
first stars began to twinkle.

Several of the coven members were already there. They mingled
about accepting congratulations from the faithful.

Ed Townsend arrived. He had walked most of the path alone. He
now crossed the clearing, taking long purposeful strides as he headed straight
for the altar. He quickly looked things over. He noticed that off to the edge
of the clearing, next to the changing tent, were several red cans clearly
marked “gasoline.”

“Hello, Ed,” was spoken in an intimate tone. A hand gently
caressed his left arm.

He turned to his left. It was Judy
Perrillo
.
She seemed so aroused by the moment that she practically purred with sexuality.

“Isn’t this so wonderful?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“I almost can’t wait. Soon, I’m going to be able to have as
many men as I want, anytime I want.”

“That’s nice.”

“I don’t know where to begin,” she said as she looked around
at the growing crowd.

“I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

“How about you and I, Ed?” she said as she licked her lips
with the end of her long and slender tongue.

“Don’t you think it would be nice to, uh, celebrate a
little?”

“I don’t think so,” he said as he tried to pull away.

“Ed, it would be incredible!”

“No thanks, Judy,” he said as he pulled himself away.

Judy seemed momentarily disappointed. She turned to her right
and spotted Chucky
Trainor
just arriving.

“Chucky, Chucky, I need to speak to you,” she said as she
half jogged towards him. She made sure her enhanced figure got full notice,
long before her arrival.

Chucky was smiling at her as she arrived.

Ed moved off to stand next to the changing tent. No one else
was there and that suited him just fine.
         
 

The Reverend arrived next. There was a small crowd of people
with him. They all seemed to enjoy listening to the Reverend, whose
conversation appeared to be punctuated with several animated gestures. He
clearly appeared to be in good spirits.

Next to arrive, came the tall gangly figure of the Judge. He
walked with his head held high. Two older women from the Church accompanied
him. One was doing all the talking and the other woman and he were doing all
the listening.

The Judge looked around and spotted the Reverend. He then
looked for Ed Townsend. After a moment, he located him at the far edge of the
clearing next to the changing tent. Once the Judge and Ed’s eyes locked into
each other, they both looked away.

There suddenly, was a rise in volume from the assembled as
several of them spotted Samuel and his parents arriving. Many rushed forward to
greet the coven leader. Samuel smiled at them and raised his arms in recognition.
Ed Townsend watched him from his distant vantage point.

Samuel moved through the crowd. As he did so, he reached out
for some people and touched them on their arm, then he would touch the top of
their heads. Ed watched this curious behavior for a moment, focusing upon the
people Samuel was choosing to touch in this special way.

Ed noticed these people had been changed after Samuel’s
touch. These people seemed suddenly more subdued. Their faces were almost
expressionless. They still moved and spoke but with far less spontaneity than
before.

“The little bastard is changing them,” he said in a hushed
whisper. “He’s invited a devil to share their bodies and they don’t even know
it. Clever son of a bitch.”

Ed’s cell phone buzzed inside his sport coat. He removed it,
flipped it open, and spoke.

“Yeah.”

“They’re leaving. Miss Beacon, Samuel’s sister, and a man and
woman got into an old Land Rover and appeared to be heading your way.”

“Thanks.”

Ed closed his phone and returned it to his pocket. He continued
to watch Samuel.

Samuel stopped briefly and turned around and said something
to his father. His father and mother had planned to move away to be with some
friends. They wanted to let Samuel be free to do what he needed to do.

His father broke away from Samuel’s mother and the others. He
stopped in front of his son, Samuel.

Samuel spoke briefly to him, then he placed his hand on his
father’s arm, after which he put his hand on his father’s head.