Read Refuge Book 1 - Night of the Blood Sky Online

Authors: Jeremy Bishop,Jeremy Robinson

Tags: #Horror

Refuge Book 1 - Night of the Blood Sky (4 page)

BOOK: Refuge Book 1 - Night of the Blood Sky
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“She a flight risk?” Rule asked Griffin.

Bong.

He glanced at the cuffs and then the fiery eyes of his daughter. “Do it.”

Before Avalon could protest again, Rule spun her around and slapped the cuffs on both wrists. “Frost will take them off when you settle down for the night.”

“You gonna sing me
Twinkle Twinkle
?” Avalon said with a sneer. “Would be like old times.”

Bong.

“Is it just me or is that bell speeding up?” Rule asked.

Bong
.

Definitely speeding up.

“Go ahead,” Griffin said, taking hold of the chain between Avalon’s wrists.

“I’m never speaking to either of you again,” Avalon growled.

Bong
.

“Honey, you probably won’t remember a lick of this.” Rule glanced around the empty bar. “And between the three of us, I am happy you’re home—current circumstances notwithstanding.”

Bong
.

“Fuck you,” Avalon responded.

Rule grinned. “Like I said.” She headed for the door and held it open for Griffin and Avalon. He led his daughter north, walking quickly. Rule followed behind, angling out into the street. While the police station was just north of the church, it was on the wrong side of the road.

Bong
.

Rule picked up her pace, breathing quick, deep breaths, inhaling air that smelled strongly of the lilacs growing beside the church. It was only a block away, but she was winded by the time she joined Cash and Walter on the sidewalk.

Bong
.

“You okay, Sheriff?” Cash asked.

“Nothing a few months of exercise can’t cure.” Rule looked up at the church steeple.
Bong!
Whoever was ringing that bell was really putting their back into it.

Bong-bong!

“Where’s Dodge?” she shouted over the resounding echo of the church bell.

Bong-bong!

“Inside!” Walter shouted back.

She took a step toward the church when the front doors burst open. Three bodies spilled out, running down the front steps, hands clasped over their ears. Rule recognized all three faces: Dodge, Radar and Lisa. Rule sighed, she knew she might have to let yet another transgression slide or Radar was going to get a beating, and then she’d have to haul his father off to jail for real.
Happy fourth of July
, she thought.
At least the excitement is over
.

But then, it wasn’t.

Bong-bong!

“Who else is inside?” she shouted at Dodge, who looked ten shades paler than he had in the bar.

“No one is inside!” he shouted.

Bong-bong!

Rule caught hold of Dodge’s shoulder and spun him so they were eye-to-eye. “Pastor, who the hell is ringing that bell?”

Bong-bong!

He snapped out of whatever panic had gripped him and said, “No one! It’s ringing itself!”

Bong-bong-bong-bong-bong-bong!

 

 

6

 

“Bells don’t ring by themselves, Pastor,” Rule said, matter-of-fact. Her instinct was to cross her arms or plant her hands on her wide hips to punctuate the statement with a little body language. But the constant ringing of the bell forced her hands to her ears.

“It’s demonic,” Dodge said. “Has to be.”

Rule went to church, just like most everyone else in town, but like most everyone in town, it was to maintain appearances. She knew all about the Bible and God and Jesus, and she liked the message most of the time, but she wasn’t sure she actually believed. There was a difference between knowing and appreciating and actual belief—the kind of belief that would lead her to accept an invisible malevolent force was taking time out of its busy schedule to ring a church bell. Seemed to her that such a thing would be counterproductive for the forces of evil. Most people’s response to proof of the existence of the Devil would be to run headlong into the open arms of Jesus. So without stepping foot in the church, she knew this wasn’t demonic.

“I’m with you, Sheriff,” Cash said, leaning down close.

“You’re a dear,” Rule said, making a mental note to never doubt Cash’s integrity so quickly again. Then she turned to Walter. “You’re coming too.”

Walter was clearly displeased with this development, but nodded and fell in line when Rule headed for the front door. Rule pointed at Radar as she stomped by. “You two don’t go anywhere! No sense in running. I know where you live.”

Radar nodded so quickly he looked like a red-headed woodpecker. He was as petrified as Dodge.

The sheriff wasn’t sure how fast a church bell could ring, but the rapid fire bonging didn’t seem possible. The bell rang when a rope was pulled from the bottom of the steeple. She’d rung the bell once a few years back and it wasn’t exactly easy. Building up this kind of speed would require what?
A machine
, she decided. Someone must have put something against the bell.
I swear to God
, she thought,
if Radar did this to impress Lisa, I’m going to help his father tan his hide.
That could be why Radar looked so afraid. Having been caught in the act, he knew what kind of hell might come down on him.

She yanked the heavy door open and stepped inside. It felt strange being in church on a Saturday night. The smell of wooden pews, polished by years of human backsides, old candle smoke and vanilla air freshener was an experience reserved for the following morning. The clanging bell was muffled some but was still loud enough to tense every muscle in her body, mostly because she knew it was about to get louder.

A lot louder.

They took the stairs two at a time, heading toward the second floor. Jogging past the nursery, they reached the solid wood door that provided access to the steeple. The hallway walls shook, jittering a framed photo of a praying Jesus. Rule could feel a vibration moving through her body, as though some supernatural being had just taken hold of her. She fought against the chill that rose through her body, reminding herself that she didn’t believe in ghosts. The doorknob on the steeple door began to rattle, turning slowly, but was it from the noise or was something else turning it? She watched the knob twist until it stopped and began shifting back in the other direction.

It’s the vibrations
, she thought, but she didn’t fully believe it. She believed something was ringing that bell, just as surely as she believed something was turning that knob.
Someone
, she told herself,
not something
.

Gathering her resolve, Rule turned to Walter and Cash. She had to shout to be heard. “If someone is in here when I open this door, feel free to tackle them without warning.” She couldn’t do it. By law she had to announce her presence first, but Cash and Walter could act however they wanted, and if they decided to throw a few punches while they were at it, she’d somehow not see it. “Ready?”

Cash crouched down, ready to spring. When Rule saw him down like that, she remembered he’d been something of a football phenomenon back in the day. Refuge’s one and only football phenomenon. But like most people in town, he had picked up the trade of his father.

“Do it,” Cash said.

She twisted the heavy, metal door handle and pulled. The door swung open, revealing the ten-foot square space. Starting on the left was the staircase, leading up. And straight ahead was the bell rope, writhing back and forth like a wounded snake. The bell’s chime exploded from the doorway, sending three sets of hands to cover ears. Even if someone had been inside the steeple, she didn’t think Cash could have tackled anyone inside without permanently ruining his hearing.

But then, he did remove his hands from his ears. There wasn’t anyone to tackle, but there was a rope to hold. With grinding teeth, he leapt onto the rope, no doubt expecting his weight to hold the bell in place. But that’s not what happened. Cash was thrashed about, whipped back and forth, and within three seconds, flung free. His head struck the staircase, and he fell to his knees.

Without thinking, Rule rushed to his aid. For a moment, she was glad the bell was so loud; no one could hear her screaming. Fighting against the pain in her ears, she got her hands under Cash’s armpits and hoisted him up. He seemed to regain his senses at her touch and stood. Walter was at the door to receive him and they quickly retreated, slamming the door behind them.

“Becky,” Cash said, a trickle of blood rolling down his forehead. “What the fuck?”

What the fuck, indeed
, she thought, but didn’t say anything. She understood why Dodge assumed this was supernatural. The bell was indeed ringing itself, and with enough force to man-handle all two hundred plus pounds of Cash Whittemore.

“I have some noise canceling headphones back at the house,” Walter said. “Maybe those would—”

The bell stopped ringing.

Rule pulled the door open. The rope gently swayed back and forth.

Her eyes turned toward the stairs. Could someone have been ringing the bell from higher up? Without a second thought, she hit the stairs, climbing quickly. After the excitement of the ringing bell, she found her breath hard to catch. She could feel her heartbeat pounding hard and fast. Could feel it in her neck. Her fingertips. She wondered what a heart attack felt like, and then stopped, clinging to the railing.

Feeling light-headed, she gripped the rail. She breathed deeply and slowly, willing her body to slow down, but her heartbeat—
boomboomboom
—raced along. Trying to distract herself, she looked up, searching for her perp. But no matter how badly she wanted to find someone, the steeple was empty.

Through the ringing in her ears, she heard a new sound.

Shouting.

Screaming.

From
outside
.
“They’re getting away!” Cash said, and he ran for the steeple exit.

Rule wasn’t sure if Cash was right. Even if there was someone else inside the church, something was ringing that bell while Cash clung to the rope.
Unless
...she thought, picturing the only other way out of the steeple, which was safe only for birds and bats.
Could someone have actually jumped?
She followed Cash down the stairs, through the foyer and out the front door.

There was no mistaking what caused the others to shout, and it wasn’t a desperate perp who’d flung himself from the steeple. The air outside the church shimmered like heat rising from summer-time pavement. But that wasn’t all. The sky was alive with vivid red light. Refuge was pretty far north, and during peak sunspot activity, they occasionally got a glimpse of the aurora borealis. She’d seen it twice in her life—just faint waves of green sliding through the sky. Never anything like this.

She nearly toppled down the steps, but caught herself on the rail. No one noticed her near spill. She barely noticed it herself. All eyes were turned skyward, watching the waves of blood red light arch across the sky. Something about the sight was beautiful, but more than anything, it was awful. Ominous. While the night sky was still visible, stars and all, the waves of glowing red rolled across it. She stared up, wishing it would go away, hoping for a clear night sky, but the night continued to burn above her. It looked angry. Violent. The hair on her arms rose, as some primal part of her being screamed at her to run.

She looked at Cash, who met her gaze. He looked just as stunned as she felt. Before she could comment, Dodge spoke up again. “It’s not demons,” he declared. “It’s the Devil himself.”

BOOK: Refuge Book 1 - Night of the Blood Sky
7.56Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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