Absence of Faith (41 page)

Two Monmouth County Sheriff's cars
pulled up and four officers got out of the cars. The flashing
lights and loud sirens unnerved the crowd and everyone turned to
look.

Homer, Skyler, and the two other
men stopped and picked themselves up. The four officers corralled
the men between the two cars.

"Now I don't want to arrest
anyone," the tallest officer said. "So I would suggest that all of
you go home and we can forget any of this happened."

"But we need to be in the hospital
to be safe. What happens if the devil strikes one of us?" asked a
short grandmotherly type with frizzy white-hair.

"Don't worry we have our top
officers working on that and the hospital is on red alert," the
officer said.

"Well, I would still like to be
here just in case," the woman countered.

"That would be all well and good,
but you would be in the way of the other patients who really need
help. Besides, as you can see the emergency room is full. Now if
you can all just go home everything will be all right."

The crowd reluctantly dispersed and
the officer turned to Homer and the other men.

"I should arrest all of you for
disorderly conduct, fighting in public, and inciting a riot. Now do
any of you want to press charges against each other?"

The men looked at each other and
shook their heads.

"Good. I suggest you go home. This
has been the fifth hospital I've been to today and I'm getting sick
of it. If I see you here again, you're going to jail," the officer
said.

The men nodded and walked away, but
Homer moved slowly towards the hospital doors shaking his head.
When he was far enough away from the officer, he darted into the
hospital pushing and shoving people out of the way.

"Hey! You! Stop!" the officer
yelled.

The emergency room was wall to wall
with people hoping to see a doctor. Homer kept pushing people out
of the way like a stubborn wild bull. Many grabbed his arms and
shoulders and attempted to hold him back, but he shrugged them off
and pulled away. When he reached the reception desk, several older
women punched him in the ribs and pulled on his arms. He sucked in
a large gulp of air from the blows.

"Hey, where's Dr. Stokes. I need to
talk to him right now!" he yelled at the three nurses guarding the
reception desk.

"You and about two hundred other
people," said a tall, large-boned nurse with a drill sergeant's
bite in her voice.

"No, I have to talk to him. It's
not about going to hell. It's very important."

"He's on the second floor, but I
doubt if you will get there before dawn. Knock yourself
out."

The police officer followed Homer
through the crushing, paranoid crowds, but he wasn't moving as
quickly as Homer. Finally, he reached the reception
desk.

"You! Stop there! You're under
arrest!" the officer said and drew his 9mm handgun from his holster
aiming it at Homer.

The crowd thinned out quickly upon
seeing the weapon and the two men faced each other about ten feet
apart. Homer put his hands in the air.

"I didn't do anything!" he
protested.

"Turn around and lie on the floor!"
the young officer yelled back.

Homer turned around with his back
to the officer and the police officer reached behind himself for
his handcuffs. Suddenly there were several people screaming and
rushing the hall behind them. The crowd violently surged forward
like a rogue wave pushing the officer forward. He stumbled, and
fell, and the gun fell out of his hand and bounced on the floor.
The discharge was like a small explosion in the small space. The
officer immediately lurched for the gun and then jumped on top of
Homer and secured the handcuffs.

"Now get up," the officer
said.

Homer did not move.

The tall nurse with the sergeant's
voice rushed out from behind the reception desk and put two fingers
on Homer’s neck feeling for a pulse.

"Turn him over!" she
yelled.

When they turned Homer on his side,
his eyes were motionless and the front of his shirt was red from
the blood oozing out of the fist-sized hole in his chest. Several
women screamed and one collapsed to the floor while two others
cried hysterically. The other nurses rushed from behind the desk
and gasped at the bleeding man.

"Bonnie, call for help!" the tall
nurse yelled.

She bent down, placed two fingers
on his neck feeling for a pulse, and then shook her
head.

"What time is he supposed to meet
us here?" Frank asked.

"Now," Chantress
replied.

"Can we just get one drink?" Yanni
asked.

"No," said Carson. "I don't want to
miss him."

"Don't worry, you won't miss him,"
Chantress said.

The four sat in Frank's rented SUV
in the parking lot at the Ink Well. The cold, white light from the
full moon created ghostly shadows in the dirt lot.

"Is this guy for real?" Carson
asked.

"Yeah, he'll show. He has before.
Right, Yanni?" Chantress said.

"He always keeps his word. He'll
show," she said looking out the window.

"I think we should call the police
and let them handle it. This is crazy," Frank said.

"No. I’m not going to sit back and
put Linda’s life in their hands!" Carson said. "If they botch it up
Linda’s gone."

"We could end up dead. She could
end up dead!"

"We’re not going to end up dead.
I’m confident it will work."

A half hour later, the group heard
the roar of a motorcycle. The engine got louder and louder until it
was unbearable as Husk pulled alongside of the blazer. He smiled
strangely, as the group peered out at him. His lips moved, but no
one heard him. It was like watching a silent movie. Husk laughed
strangely and turned off the motorcycle.

"Get in. Let's go," Carson
said.

Husk looked upward at the shining
moon and howled. Carson looked at Frank with a questioning look on
his face and Frank shrugged his shoulders. Husk swung his leg
around and got off his motorcycle. He moved the bike forward
engaging the dual kickstand under the chassis. Satisfied that the
bike was secure, Husk climbed into the SUV. Yanni introduced
everyone and Husk laughed again when she had finished.

"Husk! What the fuck is wrong with
you!" Yanni said pulling on his denim vest with her small bony
hands.

Husk smiled and then his face
soured.

"I'm sorry. This is not easy for
me. I had to get a little fucked up to do it," he said.

"Why?" Chantress asked.

"It's a long story and you don't
want to know," he said.

"Where are we going?" Frank asked
after starting the engine.

"Head south on seventy one towards
Neptune. I think I can find it again in the dark," Husk
said.

They drove on a dark highway for
about twenty minutes and then Husk directed Frank to turn off onto
a single lane road that was also devoid of lights, homes, and any
trace of civilization.

"Slow down a bit. I think this is
it," Husk said straining his eyes. "Turn down that
driveway."

"What are you nuts?" Chantress
said.

"No," he said calmly. "I'm pretty
sure this is not it. I'm just checking for a certain tree near the
entrance to make sure."

"Damn it!" Carson yelled. "My
wife's life is in danger and you're looking for a fucking
tree!"

"Carson!" Frank yelled. "Give the
guy a chance. He's doing you a favor. Don't forget
that."

"Well, he's supposed to know where
it is and now we're running around God knows where."

"Take it easy," Frank said. "We'll
get there. Don't worry. We'll get there."

"Head back towards the highway and
run south again," Husk said. "Then take the next
turnoff."

Frank turned the truck around the
followed Husk's directions. A few minutes later, Carson turned
towards Husk.

"Sorry," he said.

"I understand," Husk
said.

Carson saw intense anger and a deep
sadness in Husk’s eyes. It reminded him of what he felt now, and
the realization sent a shiver down his spine. He had become like
Husk - angry, sad and full of revenge and he didn't like what he
was feeling, but he couldn't help it.

The SUV turned left off the highway
onto another light less, narrow road. The pavement turned to gravel
and dirt and it seemed the road went nowhere.

"This is it," Husk said, looking
all around at the thick brush and trees that hugged the road.
"There! That's it!" Husk pointed.

Frank slowed down.

"No! Keep going! Keep going! Go
down about a mile to a small clearing and pull in there," Husk
said.

Frank found the clearing and drove
into it.

"Looks like someone was here,"
Frank said noticing the tire tracks of another vehicle in the dirt.
The others were silent.

"Turn around so the car is facing
the road in case we have to get away quickly," Husk
suggested.

Frank turned around, shut the
engine down and turned off the lights. The darkness swallowed them
completely. Seconds later the area seemed to brighten as their eyes
adjusted to the white, cold moonlight. Carson grabbed the handle on
the door and pulled.

"Stop!" Chantress said. "There are
three rings of defense around the coven stead."

"What are you talking about?" Frank
asked.

"Guards. They always guard a coven
stead and they do it in rings. The first ring is usually people who
will stop you and say you are on private property. In the second
ring, the guards will run you off the land or chase you out of the
area." Chantress explained.

"And the third ring?" Carson
asked.

"They really scare you," she
said.

"Okay. What areas do you think they
would guard the most?" Husk asked.

"I think the entrance, and the most
vulnerable areas, where the woods would be the thickest," Frank
said.

"How many are there?" Yanni
asked.

"We don't know. It depends on how
important they consider the ceremony. I'd bet this one was pretty
important," Chantress said.

"Where does that driveway lead?"
Frank asked.

"It goes straight back to the coven
stead," Husk said.

"Okay," Frank said. "Carson, Husk,
and Chantress enter the woods over there. Yanni and I will drive
the SUV up the driveway. When someone approaches us, we'll tell
them we're looking for a friend's house and we're lost. You guys
follow the lights to point you in the direction of the meeting.
Then approach from the rear. Hopefully, they won't have the rear
guarded."

"Hopefully," Chantress
added.

"Sounds good to me," Husk
said.

"Okay, let's do it," Carson
added.

"Let’s synchronize watches. I got a
quarter after. In three minutes, I'll drive in," Frank said. "You
got the bullhorns?"

"Yeah."

The trio vanished into the woods
and headed in the direction of the warehouse that Husk said should
be at the end of the road. Frank and Yanni stayed in the SUV. At
the appointed time, Frank started the vehicle and headed for the
driveway, lights blazing away.

Husk led the way into the woods and
Carson and Chantress had a hard time keeping up with him because of
the heavy foliage and narrow spaces between the trees. It was as if
Husk was at home; he was comfortable here and he knew how to move
through it quickly and silently like a deer.

"Hey! Wait up," Chantress said in a
low voice.

"Come on. We have to move fast,"
Husk said.

The trio came to a small clearing,
stopped, and crouched down.

"There's the lights," Carson said
looking down at his watch, barely making out the numbers in the dim
moonlight. "Ready?"

They watched the straight beams of
light bounce and flicker through the deep woods until they
stopped.

"That's it. Let's go!" Husk said.
The trio moved in the direction of the long beam of light. The
woods were not as dense, and the group moved quickly. Husk led the
way, Chantress was behind him and Carson was last. The wooded area
led to a narrow clearing that resembled a right-of-the-way, as if
someone had cleared it for another road.

"We’ll meet here," Husk
said.

The group jogged along the cleared
section. The night air was damp and cool and it smelled rotten.
Within minutes, Carson was winded and Husk and Chantress moved
ahead of him. When they were about 100 yards from the large shed,
Husk stopped.

"This is close enough," Husk said.
"You know what to do?"

Chantress and Carson
nodded.