The Last Customer (12 page)

Jezebeth stood in front of Garth, smiling. She was probably going to kill him. Garth couldn’t turn his eyes away from Terrance’s head. It wobbled onto its side and settled on the cold tile floor. A pool of slick black blood formed around the neck. Terrance’s eyes blinked wildly. His mouth dropped open, looking as if he was going to say something. His teeth were chattering as his mouth involuntarily opened and closed successively.

           
The snake-like vine retracted back into Sammael’s chest. He was laughing again, slapping his knee and saying, “Excuse me.” Then he turned to Cherri. He cocked his head to the side. “I’ll make this quick, okay.” The snake slithered out from the gaping hole in Sammael’s chest, where he’d been shot. It wiggled slowly like an attacking viper. Spikes poked out from the end of it.

           
Garth took a step back. He turned, and attempted to run but his feet stopped moving. He felt something hot, wet and strong wrap around his ankles. He fell to the floor the skin of his right forearm squeaked. Jezebeth dragged him forward. Another snake-like vine shot out from the hole in her stomach, where she’d been shot.

           
“Help me!” Garth shouted, knowing that there was nothing that could save him. These people weren’t human. They were something supernatural.
Maybe they were devils?
Whatever they may be, they were stronger than anyone in the store. Hope diminished.

           
Garth closed his eyes. His time had come to an end. In a matter of seconds, this woman would kill him, painfully. Those vines that shot out of her body would rip him to shreds. He only hoped that it wouldn’t be agonizing. That he would die quickly.

           
Suddenly, the wall trembled. It sounded like someone hit it with a boulder. The window shattered. Tiny particles of broken glass popped and exploded everywhere. Garth’s thoughts of death were put on hold. A figure emerged behind the broken glass doors.

It was Father Gardner. He stood outside wearing gray cargo pants and a dark blue tee-shirt. His attention was locked on Sammael.

           
“Let them go. Now!” Gardner demanded.

           
Sammael disregarded Cherri. He walked forward toward Gardner. A smile etched upon his face. He stepped slow-foot over slow-foot.

           
“I was wondering when you’d show up. Welcome, buddy.”

Part 3:
 
The Reunion

Chapter 10

1

Gardner stepped into the store. The broken glass crunched beneath his boots. His ears rung, the explosive force of the breaking glass was incredible. A sudden realization struck. He was jumping into this fight cold. He hadn’t combated an evil like this in many years. His nerves refused to settle and his heart hammered in his chest. His palms were sweating profusely. Forcing himself to do so, he inhaled deeply. His breathing needed to settle. Eyes locked on Sammael’s, he held his ground. He was scared, but stood tall. He hadn’t seen evil like this in decades and didn’t know if he could fight it anymore.

           
“Why now?” Gardner was amazed that he’d asked. As nervous and scared as he was, he wanted answers. He felt entitled to them. Even though a demon stood before him, he demanded logic. Sammael stared at him behind the eyes of the young body he inhabited. He easily recognized the demon.

How could he forget?

He’d chosen to pack the memory of this demon deep within the storage locker of his mind. He braced himself for the lies. Demons lied. It was their nature.

           
“What better time than now, Gardner. What better place.” And then Sammael looked Gardner over. “Wow, you have gotten old.” Sammael cocked his head, as if in thought. “I’m surprised. I was hoping to see the fearless young man that I saw thirty years ago. I forget that
you people
age quickly. It’s
kind of
disappointing. Anyway, I’ve come back to say hello, is all and you don’t look excited. And oh, before I forget, how’s your wife?” Sammael finished. His lips quivered. He was on the verge of laughter, again.

           
Gardner was certain that he was dealing with the demon that he’d exorcised from Donna. It was Sammael. He knew the specificity of this demon. He could sense its unique evil. He’d researched it, studied it, and prayed for the answers decades ago, when he battled Sammael the first time. After conducting as much research as he could, the answer had been given to him in a vision. Sammael had been brought up from hell more than once. He came at the Unholy One’s request. But he could never come without permission from the Divine. That was the rule. There was no evil sent amongst the living without holy consent and there was never consent without reason. The mystery of the Divine remained unclear, but there was always a reason.

           
Scared and uncertain, Gardner commanded, “I cast you out of this body, the body of human flesh that you have stolen.” He appeared confident, but he knew that his faith was weak.
Not that his faith hadn’t remained intact, but it was much less defined than it once was.

           
Sammael raised his eyebrows, and then winked. “I don’t think I will. I’m really enjoying this body.” Laughing heartily now. “You should have seen the sick things that this boy did.” Eye contact ensued. Sammael whistled.

           
Gardner’s vision brightened. In the back of his mind, he was able to see what the young man, Rod Barton, standing before him, had done. Rod had slaughtered the innocent—children, lovers, elderly and youth. The body that Sammael now possessed belonged to the evilest of humans. Rod was a believer in the great power of evil.

Gardner had never battled a demon in the body of anyone
this
evil. Three decades of retirement wasn’t going to help him in this fight either. He was out of practice and out of shape.

Gardner’s belief in goodness was the only strength he possessed.

           
The stomping of shoes thundered across the floor. The Gasper brothers and Cherri—covered in blood—ran outside.

Good.

Gardner wanted them as far away from here as possible. They raced through the back entrance. Gardner heard the door slam shut letting him know they’d left. They made it and he was relieved.

           
“Looks like your helpers abandoned you,” Sammael stated calmly.

           
“They have no part in this. This battle is between you and me,” Gardner said.

It was an accurate answer. He didn’t feel like explaining that he cared for the two boys that owned the store. His concern would only act as a weakness for the demon to exploit. Gardner was relieved that they had gone. They had been spared, for now.

           
Gardner lifted his head. He turned to the right and saw movement. Another woman stood in the aisle, a blonde woman. Even though she was concealed by darkness, Gardner could see that she was covered in blood. She stood against the broken glass door that he’d shattered with a large rock from the parking lot.

Again, Gardner’s vision illuminated. It shined within him. He saw the evil things that this woman had done. Gardner didn’t know which fallen angel had nestled inside of this evil woman, but he knew that she was possessed. He judged her status by the wounds inflicted to their bodies. When the possession was over, these bodies would be destroyed and their souls would be cast into hell. Their bodily injuries were too severe. Both the boy and the girl were rattled with bullet holes.

           
Anger seized Gardner, control left him. He ran forward raising his arms and tackled Sammael to the ground. Sammael cackled maniacally.

Looking up, Gardner watched as the slithering snake emerged from Sammael’s chest. It wiggled and heaved forward. It coiled around Gardner’s waist, fastening tight. It felt wet. Gardner’s body was lifted from the ground. The small of his back screamed, aching horribly.
 

Sammael threw Gardner across the store. Landing near the back, he crashed into a stack of Styrofoam coolers. The white boxes flew everywhere, creating a snowfall of small particles.

Gardner tumbled to the floor. His ribs throbbed as pain shot up his back in every direction. He didn’t want to get up, but he had to. Forcing himself from the ground, he faced off with the two demons. They came together, closing in on him. They walked forward and stood shoulder to shoulder.

           
Gardner froze.

2

The cornstalks scraped at Garth’s exposed arms, the sleeves of his shirt were torn. He moved fast. The tassels tore into his skin like paper-cuts. Garth led the way through the tall crops. The three of them were a good ways away from the liquor store. Winny and Cherri were in tow. Every now and again, Garth would hear one of them moan as the stalks cut into their skin. Both of them tripped a few times.

Garth was annoyed and wanted to push Cherri down the hill. She was poison and was only causing them grief. Each time Garth turned around—to make sure Winny was all right—he saw Winny helping Cherri along.

How could he? She’d tried to rob them at gunpoint with her degenerate boyfriends.

Winny could be so weak. The girl was obviously evil, blatantly a criminal.

Garth and Winny would already be at Father Gardner’s house if it weren’t for her. Cherri slowed them down.

Garth hoped that Donna was home. It would be easier to get around if she were home and awake. Regardless, they would be able to use the Gardner’s phone so they could call the police. Garth’s legs pumped forward. He was bothered but he needed to think clearly and use his brain. God knew
,
Winny’s brain was in the clouds. Their lives were in danger and all he could think about was a piece of tail.

           
Garth’s legs were fatigued and he was winded. His lungs burned and his breath was short. The uphill run had taken its toll. His feet kept
getting
stuck in the mud. Still, he moved at a steady pace. His adrenaline kicked in, he wanted to be as far away as he could from the psychos at the liquor store.

He turned around seeing that Winny and Cherri were exhausted too. They moved slowly. Hopefully she would stop. If she stopped, she could fend for herself. That’s where Garth would draw the line and then he would leave her. He wouldn’t care if Winny came with him or not.

And then she panted, “I need to stop.”

           
Garth smiled. “Go ahead, I wish you were stuck back at the store.” He pointed to the liquor store at the bottom of the hill. “You belong with those…sick bastards.”

           
“Come on Garth, she needs our help. We need to work together.” Winny pleaded.

           
Garth’s eyes went wide and wild. He wanted to scream. He wanted to punch Winny in the mouth. He remained silent, shaking his head. Suddenly, he took off running and disappeared into the heavy cornstalks, hoping that he’d lose them. Maybe they’d get lost in the field and it would be great if they couldn’t find their way out. At least Winny would be safe—if he was lost. Wandering around the vast acres of cornfield might be the best thing for him and it would buy Garth some time. He could call the police and diffuse the situation by the time Winny found his way out of the cornfield, this nightmare would be over. Then, after the situation was settled, Winny would still give Garth grief.

           
Once Garth was far enough ahead—of Cherri and Winny—and elevated enough to see downhill, he saw that they were moving forward.

How cute, they were moving hand-in-hand
.

But they were okay. Garth was mad, but he didn’t want them dead. Well, he didn’t want Winny dead. He could care less about Cherri.

The tassels from the cornstalks shook slowly as their shoulders plowed through the greenery. They continued to jog uphill.

           
Facing forward, Garth saw the darkened farmhouse. It opened up into a clearing. The house was only a football field’s distance away.

Garth kicked up his speed.

3

Cherri hadn’t run in years. Her stomach churned and sharp pains twisted her bowels. Her lips were cracked. Timmy’s blood had dried to her skin. It itched, and created a red paste when she tried to wipe away the blood mixed with her sweat. A light crimson stream ran down the contours of her face. She was exhausted—mentally and physically—not to mention confused by what had happened at the liquor store.

Who were those people?

She’d never been so scared in her life. The young couple—Sammael and Jezebeth—were freaks of nature. They were superhuman, and she’d never seen anything like them. Right now she didn’t have the time to process the situation. The last hour of her life had changed her way of thinking forever.

Until an hour ago, Cherri lived a horrid existence with her abusive boyfriend. For one reason or another she’d felt indebted to him. She had no concern for Terrance because he was a criminal acquaintance, tagging along for kicks. He would have left after they’d reached Detroit.

           
Maybe being dead wasn’t such a bad thing.

           
Then why was she trying so hard to survive? A million thoughts raced through her head. She didn’t know what to think. She didn’t know how to react. All she knew was that she wanted to live. Maybe it was because she wanted an opportunity to redeem herself, to turn her life around. If she made it out of this night alive, she promised to change the way she lived.

What about
these two
boys she’d escaped with? They didn’t care for her. The angry one had made that crystal clear. The taller one, Winny, was helping her. She didn’t know why. Maybe it was his nature to help. Or maybe he didn’t have time to think about it. It could just be that he rationalized an extra set of hands as strength. But if they ran into more danger, Garth would leave her and she would have to fend for herself. She, like Winny, would rather be with a group, whether they liked her or not.