The Altar (20 page)

“How will we know if Mark drove it back or if it came back on its own, then?” Erik asked.

“Oh, we’ll know. If it’s driven out it will definitely be on the run. It’ll be afraid. Just imaging the fear you’d feel meeting God face to face on your worst day. I suspect it’ll also be angry. It won’t like being sent back, even if it’s only temporary.”

“Temporary?”

“Mark can drive it back. But it’ll gather strength again and come back. That’s why we have to follow it and destroy it once and for all.”

“That’s the part I’m really worried about.”

“Me too,” Dovecrest admitted.

Darkness was quickly covering the area. Though they each had flashlights, they didn’t need them. Erik was surprised by how acute his night vision had become, and the stars did illuminate the open field in front of them. Knowing that they’d need to stay quiet and out of sight, they settled down with their thoughts.

Erik wondered what might be going through his friend’s mind. The Indian had been alive for almost 300 years. He had seen so much—had seen the world go from the stone age into the space age. Erik couldn’t imagine what might be locked in that ancient man’s brain.

Then his thoughts turned to his wife and his son. He wished he knew that Vickie was safe. He had no idea if his baby had been born yet. He had no idea if it were a boy or a girl. The doctors knew—but Erik and Vickie were old fashioned and had asked them not to tell. The temptation had been strong. But they had held out.

Erik wanted a girl. A little girl to spoil. He had a son to toss the ball around with and play games with. Now he wanted a daughter to spoil with pretty clothes and with love. He might already have a daughter, right now. They would name her Christine. And he would spoil her with toys.

He remembered when Todd had been born. He’d bought the kid a tiny baseball outfit with a little cap and everything. He remembered how big the kid’s eyes had been, how he’d looked right at him, as if he recognized him as his Dad. Todd had been a good baby, though very active. He had hardly ever cried, though. Hardly ever got sick. And smart. He’d been reading in kindergarten. One day he knew the letters and the sounds they made and the next day he was reading his picture books. Erik thought he’d memorized them. But then when he wrote down words for the kid on a piece of paper, he’d read them too, just by sounding them out. The teacher didn’t know what to do with him, so she had him help her teach the other kids to read.

God, how he prayed that they were all right. They
had
to be all right. They were everything to him. So many times he had wished for things and prayed for things that weren’t really important. He’d wanted so badly to sell his book. Then he’d wanted it to be successful. And then if only he could have more money, if only they’d option his book for a movie....

Now, none of it seemed important. He’d trade in everything just for the knowledge that his family was all right. If only he had a cell phone and could call. He swore that if he ever got out of this mess ok that he’d break down and get a cell phone. And he’d get Vickie one, too. If only he had one and could call her right now.

Then he remembered where he was. He looked out into the open field and saw the altar looming out there, a terrible relic from another world and another time. No, a cell phone wouldn’t work out here anyway, not near this awful thing.

“Dear God,” he prayed silently, “Please, please let them be all right. Please stay with them and protect them.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

-1-

The old town hall was built like a fortress. It had, in fact, served as a fort during the Revolutionary War, and as an armory during the 1800s. Once Todd and his mother were inside, the soldier slammed shut the heavy, steel-reinforced door and dropped the iron bars to seal the place off. All of the windows and doors were barred and the walls were made of heavy granite. It was, without a doubt, the strongest building within 20 miles.

Although Todd didn’t know the history of the building, he did sense its strength and security. The demon smashed against the door once and it did not open. Perhaps they might be safe in here after all, he thought.

The soldier was on his radio calling for reinforcements. Todd rushed to the window to look outside. His mother tried to stop him, but he was too fast for her. The sun had just set, but there was plenty of light to see by, with the streetlights and the spotlights from the Town Hall.

Sure enough, reinforcements were on the way. He saw a small convoy of men and equipment turning onto Main Street, and he heard a helicopter overhead. It looked like a lot of men—maybe fifty, he thought, and a couple of tanks and army trucks too. This wasn’t just the police anymore. Surely the army would be able to stop this thing. The army could stop anything. And he wanted to make sure he saw it all.

“Todd, get away from that window,” his mother scolded, tugging at him. He noticed that her face was white and she was having trouble breathing. She’d called it “labor pains” and that meant she was going to have the baby soon.

“I wanna see, Mom! Somebody has to know what’s going on out there.”

His mother was too distressed to argue. She sat cross-legged on the floor and breathed the way she was supposed to when she was having labor pains. Todd looked back out the window to see what was going on. He wanted to see the army destroy this thing once and for all, and then he could get on with his life again without being afraid all the time.

He watched as the demon turned away from the main door of the building and faced its attackers. Rather than wait for them to come to it, the monster went to them. Its first target was the helicopter. Todd couldn’t actually see the helicopter, but he could hear it above the building. The demon looked up at it, then launched into the air—Todd knew that’s what it was after.

He heard machine gun fire above him and the helicopter sound became louder, then drew away. More machine gun fire followed. Then there was an awful, screeching noise, as if gears were being ground up and turned backwards. Todd strained to see but the battle was going on above him and just out of his sight. He heard a popping sound, like the sound his uncle’s car had made the time they’d driven to Putnam and the engine broke because Uncle Matt hadn’t put any oil in it. Sure enough, he saw bluish-black smoke trailing over the top of the Town Hall. Maybe the helicopter guys hadn’t put any oil into their engine, either, he thought.

That’s when pieces of the copter began to fall. First there was what appeared to be a piece of the big propeller, and it was broken clean in half. The soldiers on the ground were close now, and firing up into the air. The propeller piece came spinning down to the ground, cutting through the soldiers like a lawnmower blade. Todd screamed as he saw a head fly off, and an arm. Several others went down like bowling pins as the blade sliced through them.

The remaining soldiers took cover, dropping to the ground or ducking behind the building, and the two tanks rolled forward. The rest of the helicopter blade fell straight down, like a spear, and neatly speared a soldier through the back as he lay on the grass, sticking through him and into the ground below. The effect looked like a science exhibit he’d seen where they pinned a beetle to a corkboard. The man squirmed for several seconds before collapsing.

“Todd, you need to get away from that window,” his mother was saying. It looked like her labor pains were over, so she was a threat now. He didn’t really want to look out the window, but he couldn’t help himself. He just couldn’t wait inside this building without knowing what was going on. Even if it were bad.

“It’s ok, Mom. The soldiers are gonna kill it.”

But now his confidence level in the soldiers had fallen. Another piece of the helicopter crashed to earth—this looked like the tail, and burned up in a small fireball. This one, at least, didn’t hit any soldiers. Then the rest of the copter crashed down across the street, right through the roof of the bank. A couple of soldiers caught fire and rolled around on the ground, frantically trying to put themselves out. Then a body dropped out of the sky to splatter in the road. Probably one of the guys in the helicopter, Todd thought.

Todd had never seen a dead body in his life, and now he was seeing them by the dozens—not only just bodies, but people being killed in horrible ways. Part of him felt sick and disgusted. The other part was just numb, as if he were playing a video game or watching a horror movie. But this wasn’t the Hollywood blood and gore like he saw in
Fangoria
when he sneaked a peek in the magazine at the drug store when his mother wasn’t looking. This was the real thing. The movies could come pretty close, but they couldn’t get the real thing. They especially couldn’t get the sounds. And the smells—the sickening smell of that demon, and the smell of people on fire—the smells were beyond anything he could possibly have imagined.

He thought for a moment that he might throw up again, so he turned away from the window for a moment and looked at his Mom. She looked as if she had been through a battle of her own. Actually, she had, he thought. They both had. And so far they had survived. His mother’s hair was all tangled, and her eyes looked tired and old. Her face was sheet-white. Still, though, she managed a small smile.

“I wish Dad was here,” Todd said. “He’d be able to get us out of here.”

“We’ll be fine,” his Mom said. “We’re safe here.”

Todd looked past her at the soldier guarding the door. Maybe, he thought. But that one soldier wasn’t going to stop this thing. He’d put more faith in the tanks. He looked back out the window and saw the two tanks taking up a position across the street.

The demon dropped into view, just in front of the town hall. For a moment, it blocked Todd’s vision, then it half-flew and half ran towards one of the tanks. The tank’s machine gun blazed, and bullets ricocheted off the demon and off the walls of the building. Todd instinctively ducked down and away from the window in case a stray bullet came thorough.

When he peeked back up, the demon was standing in front of the tank, holding a soldier above his head. The big gun of the tank fired at point blank range. The sound was deafening, and smoke filled the air, clouding over the area and engulfing the monster in black soot. Surely, that was enough to kill it, Todd thought. He watched and waited for the smoke to clear.

Everything was silent, shrouded in smoke and falling debris. Todd waited in anticipation.

“I think they got him,” he said softly. He glanced quickly at his mother. She looked like she was praying.

Then, as the smoke and dust finally settled, he saw it still standing there in front of the tank. The soldier it had been holding over its head was now nothing more than a piece of meat, torn and charred and ripped into pieces. But the demon was whole. It had taken a step or two backward, but still stood tall. The thing looked down at itself and picked a small, fist-sized piece of rock off its chest, where the tank shell had hit. That was all that had come off. The demon seemed to laugh, then threw the small piece of itself at the man on the tank with the machine gun, where it crushed through his helmet and instantly brained him.

Todd couldn’t watch the rest. He knew they were done for now, no matter what they did. The last thing he saw was the demon flipping the tank on its side. Then he ran over to sit by his mother, feeling the comfort of her arms around him. Although he wasn’t very good at it, and didn’t really feel like it would do any good, he joined her in silent prayer and tried hard not to pay attention to the screams and shrieks that were coming from outside the Town Hall.

-2-

The darkness was complete now; the last of the setting sun had disappeared, and the moon was low on the eastern horizon. But Erik didn’t need any light to see. He could feel the presence of the altar stone standing across the field. In fact, it called to him, attracted him now.

“Come,” it seemed to say. “Join with us. There’s no need to fight. You can be on the winning side.”

Erik shook his head in an attempt to clear it. He wondered if the thing was calling to Dovecrest, too, or if this piece of fun was just for his benefit.

He thought about Vickie again and this time he had a sudden bad feeling. They hadn’t made it safely to the hospital. He didn’t know how he knew, but he was sure of it.

“Join us and your family will be safe,” the voice seemed to say in his head. “They will be taken care of. You won’t have to worry anymore.”

It was almost tempting. How many times had he seen evil rewarded during his lifetime? It seemed that those with the least amount of good in them were often the most successful. Some of these people just seemed to have a knack for getting ahead. He, on the other hand, had to work for whatever he got. It hadn’t come easy. Even now, though he certainly had achieved success, there were those whose work was half as good and who earned ten times what he made....

Stop it, he told himself. You’re listening to this thing. You’re letting it get to you. You have a good home and a decent living and a great family. Stop being jealous and enjoy what you have.

“You won’t have that family for long,” the voice said. Then it sent him an image of the demon clutching Vickie and Todd by the hair, dragging them along Main Street.

“Stop it!” he said, and only when Dovecrest turned to look at him did he realize he had spoken out loud.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“Don’t let it turn you,” Dovecrest said. “It’ll try to show you things....”

“It already has,” Erik said softly. “The things it shows me—are they real? Will they happen?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

“How will I know?”

“You won’t know.”

“Vickie and Todd are in trouble. I know it. I feel it. It’s not just that thing getting to me.”

“We are all in trouble, my friend. If you really want to save your family, we have to finish our work here.”

“I know. It’s just that...waiting is so hard.”

“Waiting is harder than doing,” Dovecrest said. “But that’s what we have to do right now. We have to wait.”

“How much longer?”

Dovecrest laughed. “I don’t know. But if that thing is trying to get to you, that’s a good sign.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because if it didn’t fear you, it wouldn’t be trying to convert you.”

“So now it’s afraid of us, right?”

“Maybe fear isn’t the right word,” Dovecrest agreed. “But we have its attention and it’s worried.”

“Then why doesn’t it just come here and destroy us before we have a chance to act?”

“I don’t know,” Dovecrest said. “But I never said it wouldn’t try.”

Erik just shook his head. “That’s what I’ve grown to love about you,” he said.

“What’s that?”

“The way you can be so comforting in times of stress.”

Dovecrest laughed. “Hey, at least I got you to stop worrying about your family, didn’t I?”

“Yeah,” Erik said. “Only now I’m worried again.”

-3-

The demon had enjoyed tearing up the town and killing the soldiers. The helicopter had come apart a little too easy, and the tanks hadn’t even been a challenge. But the looks on their faces when the thing had fired at it and not damaged it had been worth it all. It had heard the collective groan of despair when they’d seen it still standing. Their collective hope had evaporated into dust. They had turned and run away without a fight. It had killed a few as they fled, but for the most part it had let them go. Just its presence had damaged them enough. None of them would ever be the same. Yes, it had enjoyed the killing spree. But it was time to get back to business now. The woman and the unborn child—ultimate innocence. That’s what it wanted. To destroy it at the moment of birth.

It turned back towards the building where the woman and the boy had gone. They thought they could hide inside. But it would go inside and get them. Nothing would stop it now. It was invincible.

It could reignite itself and resume its fiery flaming shape and burn its way through the door. But it was enjoying the physical thrill of crushing and maiming in this form—hands-on, it thought. It leaped into the air once again and flew to the door of the building. The door was strong. But not strong enough. It reached out and grabbed the heavy iron handles and pulled. It resisted for just a few seconds, then popped off with a thud and a clang as it fell to the ground. The door swung back easily on its hinges now.

It could smell the fear of the woman and the child inside. It could also sense the unborn, which had no fear, only innocence. It would break, corrupt, destroy that innocence at that perfect moment of birth, just as an insult into the face of all that was good. It would do this because it could and because it must.

The last soldier made a feeble attempt at resistance. He shot the demon and tried to stab him with a bayonet. The demon grabbed his gun and twisted it into an obscene shape around the man’s neck. Then it smashed his nasal cavity up into his brain. The soldier dropped to the ground, senseless and dying, blood flowing from his nose and mouth like a river.

The woman and the boy tried to run. But there was no place to go. They retreated further into the main hallway, then tried to run up a staircase. The demon took to the air and was halfway up before they made it to the top step.

It stared at the woman with its hypnotic gaze. She paused and looked back. Her eyes grew wider as she stared into the endless depths of its eyes. It could feel her mind, could feel the infant inside her. It was not ready to be born, not just yet, but it was close. It would happen very soon, and he would be waiting. He could take it out himself with a single swipe of a claw, but it wouldn’t be the same. It wanted the baby to be born into its embrace, to know pure evil as the first, and last, moments of its human existence.