Dark Exorcist 2 (Dark Exorcist Series) Page 8

  “Don’t. I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s just get out of here,” Laura said.

  Dietrich nodded, relieved, and helped her to her feet. She found her shoes and pulled them back on as they walked out of the locker and back to the main lobby.

  “We still looking for Simon?” She asked.

  “That’s the plan. Though we might want to get some sleep and wait until daylight. I’d rather not get cornered by those afflicted in the middle of the night again.”

  “Good point.”

  “We’re pretty secure in here. There are some couches in one of the offices. You can go rest there. I’ll stay up for a bit to keep watch.”

  “You don’t have to. I’ll stay up,” she said, but her eyes were sagging as it was.

  “No, you go ahead and lie down,” he said. She nodded without further argument and lay on the couch. He found a blanket and helped tuck her in. Once she fell asleep, he went back to the locker room and grabbed a couple of guns from the floor, then went back to the office. He found a comfortable chair to sit on while keeping an eye out.

  “You should sleep too,” Laura said. He jumped and turned around.

  “I thought you were sleeping,” he said.

  “She is. This is Amanda.”

  “What the hell?”

  “I had to use her body so I can talk to you. But I assure you, Laura is sound asleep.”

  “You’re possessing her?” Dietrich said.

  “Sounds horrible when you say it like that. But I guess so. More like I’m borrowing her.”

  “So what is going on?”

  “Well, I think I stayed in purgatory since I was already there when they killed me. It’s like being under water, for real. So just figured out how to manipulate the waves, I guess you’d call it, to move stuff around. I been working on it before, but I kind of went crazy with it with those guys.”

  “Yeah, I’ll say you did.” Dietrich said.

  “In the morning, I’ll follow you guys to Simon. I’ll help clear a path for you if I can. But there’s something you should know.”

  “What is that?”

  “K’rall is here.”

  “What?”

  “I always knew he was around somewhere. I’d never seen him in Purgatory before. But he’s here. He approached me.”

  “Did he, say or do anything?” Dietrich asked.

  “He said it’s been a long time. Said he’s been watching me and now I’m one of them. Was really creepy. But I don’t think he can hurt me now. He said that, then laughed and drifted off. I never actually saw him before. He’s really ugly.”

  “I don’t doubt that. Well, this complicates afflicted. Not sure what his relationship is with Yeshto’th.”

  “You mean like they could be friends?”

  “That’s not likely. They are both extremely powerful beings. Maybe K’rall doesn’t like that Yeshto’th has gained so much power. Something he couldn’t do.”

  “Wow. So we might be in the middle of some demon war?” She asked.

  “God I hope not.”

  “Me too. Not sure what I can do against K’rall from here. I’m not even sure what happens to me now. I mean, I’m dead. I’m not even twenty years old and I’m dead. I’m dead, but I’m still here. How do I even process that?”

  “I don’t know Amanda. We can talk about it later when we have more time. And I mean that. I do want to help you through this if I can.”

  “Thank you Father.”

  “Please, call me Dietrich.”

  “You’ll always be Father Harlan to me.”

  “I know.”

  “You should get some sleep. I can stay up so both of you can rest.”

  “Really? You’re not tired?”

  “I don’t get tired. I’m dead.”

  “Right. Okay. I’ll try and get some rest.”

  He walked to the other couch and lay down, pulling his legs up to his chest and closed his eyes. As he tried to sleep, all he could see was the carnage he’d seen throughout the day. So much death, blood and mayhem. Tomorrow would be full of even more. He wasn’t sure he would survive it. His only friend, Bernard was gone. For some reason, demonic events were so rare, yet he’d been involved with two major ones. Hard to say why the universe picked him to be the champion against demons. He was more than willing to pass that torch on to someone else.

  In the meantime, darkness closed in as sleep finally came. Part of him was afraid to sleep with those afflicted right outside, but his body and mind were exhausted. He would need every last ounce of energy in the morning. This wasn’t an exorcism at all. It was war.

  Chapter 23

  Dietrich woke up to sunlight pouring through a window. He sat up and looked around. Laura was standing at the window, looking outside.

  “Hey,” she said brushing her hair back over her ear. “You were really out.”

  “Laura?”

  “Yeah. Who you think I am?”

  She didn’t even realize Amanda had possessed her overnight. He wondered if Amanda were still with them or if she’d floated off somewhere.

  “Yes, of course.” He said. “Sorry. Feeling groggy. What time is it?”

  “It’s almost ten. It’s been really quiet outside.”

  “It has?”

  “Yeah. I mean I haven’t gone out, but I woke up a couple hours ago. I haven’t seen any of those afflicted out there. Not since I woke up.”

  “Strange. The cops last night said some were headed into the city. I wonder if they all went down there.”

  “God I hope not. Can you imagine?” She asked.

  “I actually can. That’s the bad thing.” He said as he stood. “Amanda? Are you with us still?” He called out. Laura looked at him strange as he looked around. In the corner of the room a chair lifted up and dropped to the ground. “There she is.”

  “That is intense.” Laura said.

  “Yeah. Among other things. We should go.” Dietrich put his shoes on as they headed out of the police department and into the street. The air was warm and sticky but the streets were quiet. No one was in sight.

  “I don’t like this,” Laura said.

  “Me either. Here.” Dietrich handed her one of his guns. “You might need this.”

  She nodded as she held it to her side. There was a woman standing on the street corner up ahead. As they got closer, she didn’t look possessed or crazy. She was just staring off into space.

  “Ma’am,” Dietrich said training his gun on her. “Ma’am? Are you ok?”

  The woman turned and looked at them. Laura gasped.

  “Mom!” She said running up to her.

  “Laura be careful!” Dietrich shouted, but she had already grabbed her mom in a tight embrace. The woman still looked lost, as if she didn’t recognize Laura.

  “Mom? Can you hear me? Where’s Dad? He went to find you a while ago. Mom?”

  “They’re all dead,” her mom said.

  “Who? Who’s dead?”

  “Everyone. You will be too. He’s coming. I saw him.”

  “Saw who?”

  “Yeshto’th, he’s here. He’s everywhere.”

  “Shit. Mom? Dietrich? What’s wrong with her?”

  “I think he has her. She’s just not acting like the others. Not sure what she’s doing.”

  “He knows you’re here. He knows you’re coming.”

  “Shit. She’s a lookout,” Laura said. “Mom!” She shook her. “Mom! Snap out of it! Wake up!”

  “It’s okay baby. Mommy’s here. I’m here for you.”

  “Can you hear me? You’re talking crazy.”

  “I’m fine. I hear you fine. I’ll hear you better when Yeshto’th shoves his huge cock up your cunt!” She said as she lunged at Laura, grabbing her around the neck.

  “Laura!” Dietrich yelled as he jumped on her mom’s back, putting her in a chokehold, but it had no effect no matter how tightly he squeezed. “Get off her!”

  Laura’s face turned bright read as she strugg
led against her mother’s grip. Dietrich went to readjust his grip when a gunshot went off, splattering his face with blood and brain chunks. Shards of bone and skull stung his face as the back of her head exploded. The woman’s body fell limp as Dietrich let go. Laura was holding the gun in her shaking hands.

  “Laura!”

  “I—I killed my mom.”

  “It’s okay.” Dietrich took the gun from her and tucked it into his jeans. She was trembling and crying as he sat next to her and put his arm around her. “It’s okay Laura.”

  “I just killed my mom. I blew her fucking brains out.”

  “It wasn’t her. She was long gone.” He wasn’t sure that was all true, but he was sticking with it to keep her together. “She would have killed us both. You did the right thing.” He held her tight for several minutes until she stopped shaking. Finally she was able to get her bearings.

  “I’m sorry. I had already thought she was dead. Then I saw her and got so excited, but then it wasn’t her.” Laura said.

  “I know. It’s okay.” Dietrich said. “Can you walk? We should keep going.”

  “Yeah. I’m okay I think.” She stood as they both began walking again. “Are we going back to where Simon was before?”

  “That’s the idea.”

  They didn’t speak again until they arrived at the house. There were no further encounters since Laura’s mom and they saw no other signs of life at all. Finally they reached the house Simon had been staying at. There was no one outside and the front door was standing open. Dietrich walked up the steps as Laura followed behind. Once inside, they found the place was empty. It was also incredibly clean, as if no one had even been in there recently.

  “Where’d they all go?” Laura asked.

  “I’ve no idea. I hoped Amanda would know. She’s supposed to be following us.”

  Just as he spoke, a door opened and closed behind them. They turned as the door opened again. Dietrich walked to the door and into the room. The floor was covered with dead bodies. Dozens of them. All of them had been decapitated and dismembered. But their limbs hadn’t been cut off, they had been ripped apart.

  “Jesus Christ,” Laura said.

  “I’m pretty sure he didn’t do this.”

  “Fuck. What happened here?”

  Dietrich looked around. There was no sign of Simon, however. So hopefully he was still alive. Though when he reached the far wall, he realized exactly what had happened there.

  “That is what happened.” He said pointing at the wall. There was writing in blood:

  K’RALL WAS HERE

  Chapter 24

  Amanda drifted through Purgatory, though it had been a rough ride. It was like riding a small raft as a speed boat went by. Whatever was happening throughout purgatory, was sending a ripple through the whole realm. Every few seconds a wave would send her up and then down. When she saw the house, she realized why.

  She could barely look at the carnage K’rall had caused, but needed to take it all in. K’rall had declared war on Yeshto’th and it was about to get uglier than she could imagine. She didn’t want to leave Dietrich and Laura behind, but she drifted off toward the city. The highway between New Dublin and San Antonio was a mess.

  Cars had crashed and pulled over blocking the highway. There were people in the streets fighting each other in the most brutal display Amanda had ever seen. One group of men each had a tire iron and were beating a woman senseless. They stood around her in a circle wailing away at her.

  There were others in fist fights. One man was pouring gasoline on another and lit him on fire. The man continued fighting as if he could feel nothing. He picked up a loose tire and hurled it at his assailant, striking him in the face with it. The man fell to the ground while the burning man picked up the tire and used it to smash in the man’s head. Shortly after, he collapsed but continued to burn.

  A woman had a man bent over a car and was fucking him in the ass with a baseball bat. His asshole was ripped up and bloody as she thrust the bat in and out. The man didn’t seem to be giving much resistance. She continued thrusting until another man ran up and knocked her over and tore her head off with his bare hands. He ran off holding her head tucked under his arm like a running back carrying a football.

  “Enjoying the show?” A voice boomed from behind her.

  “K’rall,” she said.

  “Indeed. I couldn’t let Yeshto’th have all the fun. I have to say he’s gotten a bit carried away. Sleeping for all these years has made him testy.”

  “Why are you here? We defeated you. I defeated you.”

  “You simply cast me out of your body. I can’t be defeated. Though it looks like you’re helpless one. Not dead, not alive. Whatever will you do?”

  She had to focus and not get caught up in debate with him.

  “No matter. I’m trying to decide which of these apes I should jump into. So many to pick from. Simon is such a smart little boy. Yeshto’th knew what he was doing when he took him.”

  “Stay away from them. Why can’t both of you just go away? You have all this power. What the hell do you want from us? All you do is destroy!”

  “Precisely. That’s what we do. Birds fly, pigs play in their own shit, and we demons as you call us, we destroy because it’s what we do. When we’re not destroying afflicted, we are looking for something to destroy. If we had blood, destruction would be in it.”

  She tried to think of something she could say or do, but there was nothing. Here in Purgatory, she was little more than a cloud with a conscience. No matter what she wanted to do, she couldn’t do anything against him.

  “Oh, there we go. She’ll be perfect.” K’rall said. Before Amanda could respond, he drifted into a little girl. The girl was hunkered down behind a car, holding onto a teddy bear and crying. Though once K’rall went into her, her demeanor completely changed. The girl stood, still clutching her bear and started walking toward the city. While the madness continued around her, everyone moved out of her way, clearing a path.

  Amanda looked ahead where she saw Simon standing on top of a tractor trailer. His eyes moved back and forth as he surveyed the damage. Though at this point, he was less Simon and more Yeshto’th. It wasn’t long before he recognized K’rall inside the little girl. She was headed his direction. Simon climbed down from the trailer and began toward the girl. It was hard to believe two of the most powerful beings in the universe were about to do battle inside the bodies of a couple of children.

  She retreated back into Purgatory, to the house. Dietrich would know what to do. It’s too bad he couldn’t be the one in Purgatory. He would know how to fight these afflicted. She was just a kid. Though she’d grown up a lot in the past year or so. Then she realized she was not even a kid anymore. She was dead. As she arrived back in New Dublin, Dietrich and Laura were walking toward the highway. She had to warn them to avoid it. They’d be torn to shreds otherwise.

  There wasn’t a way to communicate with him. At least not directly. She’d have to possess him or Laura, and she didn’t want to do either. She decided to go into Dietrich and talk to him directly. Though she felt guilty after possessing Laura. When she possessed someone, she immediately knew all of their thoughts and feelings. It felt so intrusive.

  She decided the need outweighed her own guilt as she moved into Dietrich. He knew she was there immediately.

  “Amanda?” He said. “Please tell me that’s you.”

  “It’s me,” she said. “Stay off the highway. K’rall and Yeshto’th have taken it over. It’s horrible. People are crashing into each other, tearing each other apart. I saw K’rall again right before he possessed some little girl. She and Simon were headed right for each other.”

  “Great. Okay. We need to do something. I can’t just let them tear the whole city apart,” Dietrich said.

  “What should we do? I can’t do anything from here. I’m just a ghost. I’m literally a fart in the wind.”

  She heard Dietrich actually laugh.

  �
��You’re much more than that Amanda. I saw what you could do earlier in that locker room.”

  “That was just against other people. What can I do with these guys? They’re demons!”

  “Since I can’t go into Purgatory, I have no idea what it’s like. But you beat him once before. You’re far stronger than K’rall is and he knows it. He’s just louder to scare you.”

  “You think so?”

  “I’m sure of it. We’ll still head for the highway. Hopefully it won’t be too late when we get there.”

  Amanda left Dietrich and hovered over them, watching their every step. Occasionally one of the possessed would run toward them, but Amanda flung them away easily. There had to be a way to defeat K’rall and Yeshto’th before they tore everything apart. She just had to find it.

  Chapter 25

  Dietrich felt lightheaded after Amanda left him. Laura was looking at him both confused and concerned.

  “You okay?” She asked.

  “Yeah. Amanda had just like possessed me a moment ago.”

  “Are you fuckin’ serious? That’s creepy as hell.”

  Dietrich didn’t want to tell her that Amanda had possessed her in her sleep.

  “Yeah, it’s a bit strange, but she had to talk to me.” He explained about K’rall and the little girl.

  “Holy shit.” Laura said. “So these two super powerful demons are gonna fight using the bodies of little kids?”

  “It would seem so.”

  “That’s crazy.”

  “Let’s hope not.” Dietrich said as they reached the highway and continued walking. He noticed there was almost no traffic and before long, there were cars crashed in the middle of the road, into the guardrails and even flipped over. A helicopter flew overhead as they walked. He looked up and saw it was a San Antonio P.D. helicopter. He was amazed there weren’t police or emergency crews. There was nothing.

  “Why aren’t they stopping or doing anything?” Laura asked.

  “I have no idea.” Dietrich said shielding his eyes from the sun as he watched the helicopter. It flew around in wide circles as if they were looking for something. It was on the third pass when he noticed it. The helicopter wasn’t steady. It was pitching and bobbing from side to side. It was subtle at first, but got more obvious each time around.