2013: Beyond Armageddon (27 page)

“But they don’t. They could have repercussions for everyone on earth. When I think of that, I inevitably start to think about forgiveness. Because as much as I crave revenge, I know that it only perpetuates the evil. Someone does you wrong, you retaliate, they get even, you get even…it never ends. Look at Israel and Palestine.

“Somewhere, sometime, forgiveness has to enter into it. Because even if we do find and defeat Satan—and, let’s face it, that’s a long shot at best—even with Satan gone, millions of people are still going to have to forgive horrible wrongs. Wrongs that in some cases go back hundreds, thousands of years. Otherwise we’ll just sink into the quicksand of hate that’s been pulling us down since the human race started.

“So that’s what we’re here to discuss. Can we forgive? Should we? In my case, the man who killed my family died in prison, so forgiving him seems moot. Not that I could anyway.

“But there is another man. One I have spent years despising. I have to speak carefully here, there’s an issue of confidentiality, of national security. He and I were once very close. We were involved in…a military plan that backfired, because…he went temporarily insane and gunned down an innocent family. I never saw him after that until recently. He seemed to have turned his life around. He’s become a forensic psychologist. An expert on death row murderers claiming Satan made them do it. Which he himself had claimed after he murdered that family.”

Zeke took another sip of beer and looked at the faces around the table.

“I’m considering asking him to join the dig. On a practical level, his expertise on Satan might be helpful.
Might
is the key word there. I’m not at all convinced of it. I’m not convinced there even is such a thing. An expert on Satanic
behavior
, okay, but on Satan himself? No one’s ever met him face to face, so how can they know? So maybe I’m rationalizing, or maybe he can be helpful. I’m not sure.

“What I do know is that forgiveness has to start somewhere. Perhaps it could start with me. Certainly having him here would put my forgiveness theory to the supreme test. If I failed that test—a distinct possibility—his presence could just bring out hatred in me that would poison the dig. It’s a huge risk, a tough decision I didn’t want to make without getting your opinions first. So let’s hear ’em.”

He leaned back and waited. Hassan finally spoke.

“Your point is well taken, Zeke. In principle I agree with you. In reality, I know I could not forgive the man who killed Norah, even though he is blown to bits and there is no one left to forgive. Even so, I wonder how much people ever truly forgive. In here.” He tapped his chest. “Or here.” He tapped his head.

“I agree,” Zeke said. “It’s much easier said than done. Still, if we say that change for the better is impossible, than we might as well quit now.”

“In our case,” Mordecai said, “forgiving the man who killed Norah is, what was the word you used?”

“Moot?”

“Moot, yes. As Hassan says, he blew himself up. That really only leaves the man you are talking about to test your theory. And I agree that forgiveness is much easier to talk about than to give. If you invite this man, think about this. None of us know him but you. He will be just another person to us. But to you he will be a mass murderer, a daily reminder of one of the two worst days of your life. It is a tough decision, the toughest. One I’m afraid only you can make. A decision that could—would, probably—affect the rest of the dig, yes, but I guess it depends on how much this forgiveness thing matters, how much you are convinced that you have to blaze that trail for humanity.”

There was a clicking noise and all turned in the direction of the television.

A picture began to emerge from the blackness.

Everyone got up and gravitated toward the screen, becoming transfixed as the image became clearer. Zeke wanted to believe it was a scene from a horror movie, or a death metal music video, but the image was too real, too immediate.

Too frightening.

And the TV had clicked itself on.

Looming into view was a grotesque face. The head lolled about as if trying to center them in its stare, like quarry in the crosshairs of a rifle scope. The leering face was long and narrowed to a pointy chin. Its cheeks were deeply furrowed and covered with wartlike growths. A sneer of inhuman contempt revealed long, needlelike teeth, obviously designed for devouring prey. A tongue moved around lazily behind the teeth, possibly on the verge of sliding out. All the while a low growl rumbled, the menacing sound of an animal getting ready to pounce.

Worse than all this were the black openings that served as the thing’s eyes. A hypnotic force emanated from them, as though pulling you into shadowy caves where underworld creatures lurked.

The eyes were locked onto Zeke. From the middle of each a fiery glow of red burned into him. He instinctively leaned away from their magnetic pull.

Suddenly the monstrosity spoke. It was the same inhuman voice from the plane, a throaty, oozing purr that sent tendrils of ice wriggling down Zeke’s back.

“Very noble speech, Ezekiel. Forgiveness. Despite what your Good Book says about loving your enemies, I’ve never believed in it myself. I prefer to devour my enemies. Devour them all, and you will have no more. As I will all of you. God’s little Hell Squad. And sweet little miracle girl Leah. Every now and then one dodges a bullet.”

A cascade of demonic chuckles came through the speakers in surround sound. The vile comment about Leah hit Zeke like the jolt of a taser. He moved to smash the screen but stopped when he realized it would solve nothing.

The face addressed them all now.

“You are not going to let little old me intimidate you. Good. You will never find me, but if you do, it will be my greatest pleasure to have all those delicious new souls to consume. And by all means, invite Mr. Price. A perfect test case. We will both tempt him and see whose power is stronger. He has succumbed repeatedly, I’m sure he will again.” The searing gaze bore deeper into Zeke. “Do not overestimate the power of your God, ‘savior’. Here is a sample of what you will be up against.”

The monstrous tongue burst through the screen without shattering it. Forked, black and glistening, it elongated across the floor. Snakelike, it flicked and slithered among the tables and chairs as if looking for someone to grab. Everyone backed away, as much from the putrescent smell as from its approach.

Suddenly it shot several feet farther and coiled itself around Leah’s ankles. It yanked and she fell hard. The tongue began pulling her toward the television screen. Zeke grabbed her hands and pulled her back. Stretched taut, she let out a cry of pain. Fearful of doing permanent damage, Zeke eased forward to create some slack.

He was losing the tug of war. The screen was now less than ten feet away.

“Somebody get something to stop this thing!” he yelled.

The others scattered to look for a weapon.

Leah continued to moan as her feet got closer to the screen, now only five feet away.

Four. Two.

The tongue stopped its retreat but still held onto Leah. The soles of her feet were inches from the screen.

Hassan came streaking back from the bar holding a small knife with a serrated edge.

“Use it!” Zeke yelled.

The tongue began pulling again. Zeke pulled in the opposite direction with all his might. Leah screamed in pain. The gap between her feet and the television screen continued to shrink. Three inches. Two. Zeke knew he was hurting her, but he didn’t dare release his grip, not knowing if this thing could actually pull her into the screen.

Like a crazed butcher Hassan brought the knife down again and again, hacking with all his strength at the point where the horror poked through the screen, pulling the knife toward him with each stroke to maximize the sawing effect of the serrations.

An unearthly roar filled the room. Foul black liquid spattered from the wound, burning and sizzling like acid. A few drops hit Zeke’s forearm. He groaned as they ate into his flesh. The pain forced him to let go of Leah.

Some of the drops hit Hassan and he dropped the knife, now only a jagged, misshapen strip of metal. The demonic roar suddenly changed to bellowing laughter, driving them to the brink of madness. As though staring at a scene out of Hell itself, Zeke watched the tongue wrench itself free where it had been slit and flop to the floor.

“A little something to remember me by.” The blazing eyes fixed on Zeke. “You cannot defeat me, savior.”

Zeke grabbed the crucifix he wore around his neck and thrust it at the demonic face. “I will not be fighting you alone. He will be with me.”

The severed tongue burst from the screen and yanked the crucifix from Zeke’s hand, breaking the chain that held it around his neck. The fleshy stump hurled it across the room, then snapped back and disappeared into the screen. The gloating voice spoke:

“There is your Christ. Beaten again, just like I beat him at Golgotha. Remember his dying words, savior? ‘Eli, Eli, Lama sabachthani? Lord, why hast thou forsaken me?’ Come see me, Chosen One, and you will get to say them. And that will be the end of the Second Coming.
Déjà vu, mon ami.
Perhaps the
third
time will be the charm. When
I
am coming. To reign over all.”

Demonic cackling faded and the television clicked off. Leah scrabbled backwards to get away from the screen.

The tongue on the floor ignited like a fuse and started burning a black, serpentine path into the room. Bubbling and sizzling, it emitted a stench like all rotting things combined. Zeke covered his nose and bent to check on Leah. With fresh horror he saw that the fast-approaching fiery tongue was still wrapped around her ankles. In a few seconds the fire would begin coiling around her flesh.

Quelling his nausea, he grabbed the tongue and yanked. It clung stubbornly, then came free just before the burning trail made it that far. He cast the repugnant tentacle aside and watched its fire die out.

He gathered Leah into his arms. Her face was ghostly white.

“Are you okay?”

She made a feeble nod.

Mordecai came over, holding a molten lump that had been Zeke’s crucifix.

The voice from the other side of the black television screen sounded hollow, as if coming from a bottomless void.

“Your Christ will not save you, savior. You will die forsaken. Just like He was on the cross.”

Zeke pulled Leah to her feet and steadied her. Still not sure it was over, his gaze darted from the others, to the television, to the burned remnant on the floor, then back to Leah. All eyes were taking the same nervous inventory. Zeke asked if everyone was okay.

“Define okay,” Hassan said.

“As okay as we can be, I’m sure,” Mordecai said. “Considering we just had a visitation from the Devil himself, threatening to destroy us all.”

Hassan spoke with a fatalistic calm. “I didn’t really believe before. I believe now.”

“They must have heard this upstairs,” Zeke said. “I’ll have to tell them the truth. I didn’t before because I didn’t want to sound like some crazy cult leader, talking about something I couldn’t really prove. I can’t worry about that now.” His eyes burned when he looked at Leah. “Lives are at stake. People have to know the risks if they stay.”

“I don’t think you need to tell them,” Mordecai said. “In fact I don’t think you should. Not yet.”

“What? Why not?”

“This sounded to me like a one-time warning, like he would be content now to wait and see if we can find him. We may have found Sodom and Gomorrah, but it’s a long way from there to finding the entrance to Hell. When we find that, then tell the others. Give them the option to leave then. Telling them now would worry them unnecessarily, about something that might not happen for a long time. If ever.”

“I agree,” Hassan said. “It is too soon to tell of this. If we scare everyone away, this dig will not get done. It needs many people. I say let’s wait. We may have seen the last of this. If he—it—appears again, we—you—can decide then what to do, based on the situation.”

“So you want to stay,” Zeke said.

Hassan stared, unblinking. “This is what we signed up for. I do not run at the first sign of trouble.”

“This is big trouble, Hassan.”

“In a search for Satan, did we expect little trouble?”

“Point well taken.”

“I have been spending every spare minute in the water, Zeke, training to help you confront this…thing. When you need me, I will be there.”

Zeke’s warm flush of admiration was cut short by the sound of footsteps. Joe Dayagi was coming toward them.

“A bunch of us heard a loud noise. It sounded like a monster movie turned all the way up, but I told the others I would check just to be sure. Is everything all right?”

Mordecai made a sheepish face. “Everything is fine. I was fooling with the television and the volume button got stuck. Tell everyone to get some sleep. We’ve got an early day tomorrow.”

“What’s that smell?”

Mordecai nodded toward the burn mark on the floor. “I was trying to run an old wire from the television to see if I could add a speaker, but I shorted something out. Now that I think of it, one of your specialties is wireless communications. I should have left it to you.”

Dayagi stared at him for a moment, then looked at Hassan, whose face showed nothing. He looked back at Mordecai and pretended to buy the lame story. “I’ll check out the speaker after work tomorrow. I’ll tell the others everything here is okay.”

Zeke waited until he had gone, then said, “So. We’re keeping this between us for now.”

Nods all around.

“Then let’s clean this up and get some sleep.”

Upstairs in their room, Leah sat in a chair rubbing her ankles. They showed no signs of damage. Zeke was more concerned about the resolve hardening on her face. He sat and put his arm around her shoulder.

“I want you to go home. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you.”

She shook her head. “And I couldn’t live with myself if I just left you here to deal with this alone. You’re in just as much danger as I was. We all are. Who knows how this thing could come after us? If it can do that, and what it did on the plane, it can do whatever it wants. I wouldn’t be any safer at home. Zeke, it’s all or nothing for us now. Don’t you know I would walk into Hell for you?”