Demon Gate: Beyond the 9th Circle: The Rapture Was Just The Beginning. (27 page)

“Oh, I didn’t realize so much time had
gone by.” Gretchen said sheepishly.
“Don’t worry about it, dear.” Spencer said
as he did he heard a bell jingle as someone
entered a bistro, the bell sounded distorted, as
though Spencer were hearing it from under water.
Spencer leaned over to kiss Gretchen, but she
wasn’t there, there was no stroller. Spencer
looked around for Gretchen and his gaze was met
by an older man, the older man was sitting
outside the bistro drinking coffee.
“Did you see where the woman with the
baby stroller went?” Spencer asked.
The man shook his head.
“I didn’t see a woman with you.” The
man admitted.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. She was
right here, I was holding her hand.” Spencer said
then thought to look at his hand to find a pair of
leather gloves wrapped in his fingers.
“Gretchen?” Spencer asked, hoping the
man just missed Gretchen and the baby slipping
away, Spencer recalled the bell jingle and
headed into the bistro where two dozen people
sat enjoying a bagel or a latte. They didn’t notice
Spencer at first, but as he looked around for
Gretchen he could feel every single eye in the
room burning a hole right through him.
“Hey!” A voice called from behind the
counter in the back, “What do you want?”
“Did any of you see a woman with a
stroller come in here a minute ago?” Spencer
asked, Spencer anticipated someone directing
him to the bathroom, or to tell him that they
didn’t see a woman, but instead each person went
back to their food without so much as a word.
“Did anybody see her?” Spencer inquired,
growing more and more panicked with each
passing second, and still nobody uttered a word.
Spencer gave up his futile attempt the
solicit information from the crowd and proceeded
toward a sign reading bathroom, but he was
blocked by a large burly man in a white t-shirt
and a white apron that was stained with food.
“Hold on, buddy, the restroom is for
paying customers only.” The man said, and
pushed Spencer toward the front of the bistro.
“I’m just trying to find somebody.”
Spencer urged.
“The bathrooms are empty, now get lost.”
The man demanded before pushing Spencer out
the front door to a strangely vacant city.
Spencer turned back to the bistro to try
and appeal to the man’s better nature, but found
that the windows had been boarded up, the words
‘out of business’ was scrawled on the outside
sheets of plywood.
“What the hell is going on here?” Spencer
wondered aloud.
Spencer tried to pry the wood off the door and
get back in, but after twenty minutes he was no
closer, and rubbing his fingers raw so he headed
to an ally two doors down, the ally was dark and
riddled with water filled pot holes and various
debris, but Spencer proceeded in and found a
door sitting an inch ajar, the sign read ‘Guido’s
Pizza’ the restaurant he had just been kicked out
of, Spencer pulled the door open all the way and
headed into the darkness, the only light was from
a few exit signs that hung from the ceiling and a
gap in the boards on the window. A breeze
wafted through the abandoned bistro, and
Spencer noticed that the glass on one of the
windows had been shattered, thousands of
crystalline fragments littered the ground.
The restroom sign still hung on the wall,
sheer curiosity drove Spencer toward the
women’s restroom, the door opened, inside there
was nothing but a baby stroller, the one Gretchen
was pushing.
“GRETCHEN!” Spencer shouted, and as
he did he woke up and noticed the sun was just
beginning to rise over the landscape that was
pockmarked with old buttes, Spencer stood and
looked around as the sun rose and illuminated the
desert. Spencer looked beside him, expecting to
see Gretchen, but she wasn’t there.
“Gretchen?”
Spencer stood and began looking in all
directions, looking for Gretchen.
“GRETCHEN?”
Spencer felt panicked; Gretchen was with him a
moment ago, wasn’t she? Where could she have
gone, Spencer looked for footprints, they would
certainly tell him something, but after a brief but
thorough search the only footprints he found
were his own.
Spencer looked around and saw an old
road not fifty feet away, so head walked to the
road.
There were tire marks on the road as
though someone peeled out. The road weaved
through the dusty landscape around the buttes
and into the horizon to the east.
The sun poured down its rays, making
Spencer feel like he was literally on fire, but
there was no water, and besides there were more
important things to do, he had to find Gretchen.
The road stretched on for several hundred
miles. As the hours turned to days Spencer
continued following the road until it came to an
old roadside diner, Spencer noticed a motorcycle
in front, but decided to go in and have a look
around.
Spencer headed into the diner, a bell
jingled as Spencer entered; there was nobody that
Spencer could see in the immediate area.
“Hello?” Spencer called and nobody
answered.
Spencer noticed a bell on the counter and hit it
several times. Nobody came so Spencer headed
into the only place he could not see: the kitchen.
A brief search and Spencer concluded
there was nobody there so he proceeded outside
to inspect the motorcycle, it was a brand new
Harley Davidson motorcycle, at least it looked
new and after finding the keys Spencer found out
it ran great, the bike started on the first try.
Spencer pulled out and zipped down the
road, for the first time since waking up two days
earlier Spencer could feel a cool breeze blowing
through his hair.
After two hours a town appeared on the
horizon. It was after another hour before Spencer
entered the city limits of town called ‘Devil’s
Hill’.
The town was only a square mile or so,
which was typical of a small desert town. There
was a main street, a row of buildings and shops
lined both sides of the street hiding three large
water towers.
Spencer turned off main and into a small
neighborhood. Pulling up to a house with a white
picket fence Spencer saw someone waiting on the
porch, it was a beautiful woman who was very
pregnant.
As she saw Spencer she smiled at him,
Spencer got off the bike and ran to Gretchen.
“Spencer.” Gretchen said with a smile.
Just as Spencer reached out to hold Gretchen he
woke up and found himself back in the desert,
parked on the side of the road fifty feet away was
a Harley Davidson.
Spencer’s mind raced with questions, was
it real? What was going on? Spencer was not able
to answer either question all he knew was that he
needed to be with Gretchen so he climbed onto
the motor cycle, started it and sped down the
road.
Finally he returned within the city limits
of ‘Devil’s Hill’ and found his way to the house
with the white picket fence where Gretchen
waited; he got off the bike and ran to her only to
wake up back in the desert.
Spencer just got back onto the bike and
returned to the town to repeat the same turn of
events repeat again and again and again.
After fifteen times each time around
seemed to blend with the next, until finally
Spencer arrived at Gretchen’s house, any second
Spencer expected to wake up back in the desert,
but as Spencer raced to Gretchen something
seemed different.
She was not smiling, she was almost
scowling. Spencer realized that Gretchen was no
longer pregnant.
Spencer stopped shot of Gretchen.
“Gretchen?” Spencer asked.
Gretchen paused, she was holding something
back.
“Where were you?” Gretchen asked.
“What are you talking about?” Spencer
asked.
“I needed you, and you weren’t there.”
Gretchen asked.
Spencer quickly started to realize that he was
losing Gretchen.
“I’ve learned to hate you since my baby
was born.” Gretchen said staring Spencer down.
“Our baby?” Spencer asked.
“No, it isn’t yours.” Gretchen admitted.
Spencer was hurt and confused.
“Who is the father?” Spencer asked,
Gretchen bit her lip, she didn’t want to admit
who the baby’s father was.
“Is everything alright, honey?” It was
Vince.
“Vince?” Spencer asked, “You’re the
baby’s father?”
Vince nodded, yes.
A baby cry came from inside the house.
“I have to go check on Vince Jr.”
Gretchen awkwardly said and excused herself to
go inside to tend to the baby.
“Vince?” Spencer asked, he barely knew
what to say.
“Look, you remember that night when
you stormed out last year?” Vince asked.
Spencer said nothing because he didn’t know
what to say, but because he was distracted.
Vince’s voice was a deeper than Spencer
remembered, not by much but enough that
Spencer noticed.
For no reason Spencer became
completely incensed and drew a gun he didn’t
know he had.
Vince backed up and put his hands up.
“Whoa, Spencer, what do you think you’re
doing?” Vince objected.
“You liar!” Spencer spat, his gun hand
started shaking, Spencer never intended the gun
to go off, but it did. Vince was knocked back by
the force of the gunshot. As he slid down the
outside wall of the house Spencer stared in shock
and awe at what he had done.
Spencer put the gun away as Gretchen
emerged from the house to see Vince lying dead
against the house, slumped over on the ground.
“VINCE!” Gretchen shrieked, and then
glared at Spencer with tears in her eyes. “What
did you do to him?” Gretchen demanded before
she tried to wake Vince hoping that it was
nothing more than a bad dream.
Spencer scurried over to the motor cycle
and mounted it before starting the bike and
speeding away all the while Gretchen’s screams
for Vince.
Spencer raced out of town and into the
desert, he kept going until he found a butte that
had a road going up the side, he raced over to the
edge before coming to a stop. Spencer got off
drew the gun and marched to the edge of the
butte and placed the gun to his chin and closed
his eyes. Spencer stopped just short of pulling the
trigger. He stayed there for a couple of minutes,
the desire to end his own life was swelling within
him, but he managed to resist the urge.
After a few minutes, he heard a voice.
“Do it.” The voice pushed.
The desire to die was starting to diminish.
“You killed your friend, you deserve to
die.” The voice justified.
Spencer lowered the gun and looked for the
source of the voice, there was a man standing
between Spencer and the motor cycle.
“What’s stopping you, Spencer?”
The man’s identity was shrouded in confusion,
but Spencer vaguely recognized the man.
“I know you.” Spencer admitted, almost
unsure.
“Of course you know me, I’m your
Master.” The man said.
A name floated up out of the confusion.
“Lucifer.” Spencer said, he suddenly
knew what was going on, and knew that he could
not trust anything he had seen.
“You’re remarkably strong…and
stubborn.” Lucifer commended.
“I aim to please.” Spencer said raising the
gun to point it at Lucifer.
Lucifer glanced at the weapon, he showed no fear
only annoyance.
Spencer pulled the trigger but the gun just
clicked, Spencer tried again and again, he pulled
the clip out and checked the ammunition, the clip
was still loaded.
“This isn’t over.” Lucifer warned.
Lucifer snapped his fingers and a tiny
point of light appeared that quickly filled the
surrounding mile, the light was so bright that
Spencer was forced to drop the gun and shield his
eyes.
When the light faded, Spencer lowered
his hands to find himself in a padded room a face
stared in from a window in the door. Fear quickly
gripped Spencer at the sight of the face, but he
rushed to the door and began to pound on it.
“LET ME OUT!” Spencer shouted.
Within a minute four orderlies came into the
room causing Spencer to retreat to the bed where
he was sedated.
When Spencer came to he was still in the
cell, but there was a doctor sitting in a chair on
the far side of the room, flanking him were two
orderlies.
“Good evening, Spencer. I am Doctor
Henry Marks.” The doctor introduced.
“Where am I?” Spencer demanded
standing up and looking around.
“You are at the psychiatric ward at St.
Vincent’s Hospital.” Doctor Marks replied.
“Your father committed you when you started
suffering from delusions of the armies of hell
attacking Earth, since then you keep mentioning
a girl.
“Gretchen.” Spencer said drawing near to
Doctor Marks where another chair was setup,
Spencer sat down.
Doctor Marks nodded, “That’s the name you kept
calling.”
“Wait a minute; you said my father had
me committed?” Spencer asked.
Doctor Marks nodded.
“Yes, he brought you in last week.”
Doctor Marks confirmed. “But we’ve made
tremendous progress since then.”
“I don’t buy it.” Spencer said standing up
and walking away from Doctor Marks.
“Why not?” Doctor Marks asked.
Spencer turned to face Doctor Marks.
“Because he’s dead!” Spencer snapped.
Doctor Marks looked disappointed then
looked at the door where another orderly stood
and watched; Doctor Marks nodded to and after a
couple minutes the door opened and a man who
bore a resemblance to Spencer entered.
“Spencer, I thought you were done with
your issues.” The man said mournfully.
“Dad, I don’t know what’s going on.”
Spencer said.
The man put up his hands.
“You can’t let go of your imaginary
girlfriend. You’re an embarrassment to the
family, and I’m done with you.” The man said
before storming out of the room.
Spencer went to his bed.
“Out!” Spencer said briefly.
“But, we’re not done with…” Doctor
Marks was interrupted by Spencer.
“GET OUT!”
Doctor Marks and the orderlies left,
locking the door on their way out.
Spencer sat on his bed, and didn’t notice
the light level going down until there was no
light. It wasn’t long before a voice emerged from
the darkness.
“So.” Lucifer said, hiding in the dark.
“You’ve lost everything you ever knew, and
everybody that you ever cared about has
abandoned you.” Lucifer said.
“What do you want now?” Spencer
demanded.
“I want you to prove to yourself how
strong you are, join me, I will restore to you
everything you have lost and more…I will not
betray you.” Lucifer said.