“Their eyes! They’re so big … like insects. Black. Shiny. Stay away!”
Philip started to stand again, but the Ascension Lady threw him another quelling look. “What else?” she continued. “What else can you tell us about them?”
“No hair. Big heads, like upside-down teardrops. Two little holes for a nose. And their mouths, they don’t have any lips, just a thin line.”
“How many of them do you see?”
“Six … no, eight. They’re short. Four feet. And they’re so skinny, just skin stretched over bone. Gray skin and bones.”
“Gray? You said gray?”
“Yes.”
“Are you certain they are gray?”
“Is that common?” Philip whispered.
The Ascension Lady nodded.
“Yes,” Krissi said. “Smooth, powdery gray. Like they’ve never even seen the sun.” Suddenly she cocked her head as if listening.
“What? What do you mean?”
“What’s happening now?”
“One of them is talking. He’s telling me not to worry. They’ve come to help us, to help me.” Again her expression changed.
“No … no! Stay away. No, please.”
“Krissi, what’s happening?”
“They’re touching me. Their fingers are long and skinny.
They only have three on each hand. No, please … I’m not ready for this. Please, you’re scaring me.”
“Krissi?”
“No!” Krissi tossed her head first one way, then the other.
“No, please …” She gulped in air as if she were fighting.
“Krissi, what’s going on?”
No answer.
“Krissi, talk to me.”
Her thrashing increased. Back and forth. Sweat streamed down her face.
“Krissi, what — ?”
“They’re taking off my vest. No! I try to fight, but my arms, they’ve done something to my arms! I can’t move my arms! No!
NO!”
Her whole body writhed and convulsed, but her arms stayed perfectly limp at her side. “No … no!”
That was it. Philip had to do something. He lunged from his seat and rushed to her side.
“Krissi!”
The Ascension Lady reached out to grasp his arm, shaking her head fiercely. “You’ll only make it worse!” she hissed. She turned back to Krissi, fighting to keep her voice calm. “Krissi, can you hear me?”
“Machines … they’ve got machines. They’re all over me. The machines are touching me everywhere. No. No! Make them stop. Please make them stop!” She shuddered, her face contort-ing in pain. “Nooo …”
“That’s enough!” Philip shouted.
The Ascension Lady shook her head without looking at him.
“No, it’s important she — ”
“I said that’s
enough!”
“She’s there,” the woman argued. “This is what happened.
You can’t just — ”
“Augh!”
They spun to see Krissi shrieking at the top of her lungs.
“AUGHHHHH!”
Philip knelt beside her. The Ascension Lady tried to block him, but he pushed her aside. He grasped Krissi’s arms and shook her. “Krissi! Krissi, wake up!”
She continued to fight and struggle and cry.
“Krissi, it’s Philip.” He shook her again, harder. “It’s me!
Krissi, wake up.”
“No … no … please …”
“Krissi — ”
Suddenly her body went limp. She was still gasping for breath, but apparently whatever she had seen was gone.
Philip touched her face gently, not even noticing the way his hand trembled. “Krissi … can you hear me? Krissi?” Her eyes fluttered, then opened. They darted back and forth as she tried to get her bearings. Once she realized where she was, her face scrunched into a frown. “Why did you stop me?” Her voice was hoarse from the screaming.
“What?”
“You stopped me. Why did you stop me? They were giving me instructions. They were telling me — ” She stopped, noticing the Ascension Lady behind him. “Why did you let him stop me?” The woman only shook her head.
Krissi’s eyes shifted back to Philip. “We’ve got to go.”
“What? Where?”
“My folks’ cabin. Cougar Creek.”
Philip scowled.
“It’s too crowded here. Too many interferences. They want me to meet them at Cougar Creek, where it’s isolated, where we can be alone.”
“Krissi, that’s a two-hour drive into the mountains. We can’t — ”
“They want to give me more information. They said I need further instruct — ”
“After all you’ve been through?” Philip exploded. He’d had enough. “No way. It’s over.”
She met his eyes. He felt a chill at the icy glare. There was a determination in her eyes that he’d never seen before.
“If you won’t go with me,” she said, “I’ll go by myself.” She started to rise from her seat, but she was a little shaky.
“Whoa.” the Ascension Lady moved in to steady her.
“I’m fine,” Krissi said, pushing her aside. “I’m fine.” Then turning to look at Philip squarely, she asked, “So are you coming, or am I going alone?”
**********
Twenty minutes later Becka hung up the phone. She’d just talked to a very nervous and very worried Philip.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” he’d said. “But … we can’t face this thing on our own. We need your help. Can you and Ryan come to Cougar Creek? Can you meet us there? We really need you guys.”
Rebecca’s first instinct was to say no. The last thing in the world she wanted was to face more spiritual warfare. It had only been a week or so since her last encounter. An encounter that had left Julie, her best friend, still in bed, recovering.
And if that cow, the burned grass in the field, and the destroyed trees were any indication of the power she would have to face … well, who could blame Becka for thinking overtime to find an excuse not to go.
If only Philip hadn’t sounded so … frightened.
She finally managed to hang up, but not before promising that she’d run it past her mother. With any luck Mom would freak at the idea of her and Ryan taking a two-hour drive into the mountains, and that would be that. With any luck Mom would encourage her to avoid any more spiritual encounters.
Then again, Mom was always full of surprises.
“I think you should go, Beck.”
“What?”
“I think you and Ryan and Scotty need to go up there and help.”
Becka followed her into the kitchen. “But, Mom …”
“I don’t like the idea any better than you, but you said it yourself. They need you.”
“But why …” She struggled for the words.
“Why you?”
Becka nodded.
Mom turned to her. They’d had this conversation more than once. Her answer was gentle but firm. “I think you know the answer.”
Becka looked down.
“You’ve known it for months. Even when Dad was alive, when we used to pray over you — even then we knew you would be called to something like this.”
“But …” Becka could feel her throat tighten. She looked up at her mother. “I’m really scared.”
Mom paused, then nodded. “Me too, sweetheart … me too.
Every time you get involved in something like this, it makes me go cold inside.” She turned as though she was looking out the kitchen window — but Becka knew she was trying to control her emotions. After a minute, Mom went on. “Believe me, if I had my way I’d say no. But … part of loving is letting go.” Finally she turned to face Becka. “And part of trusting the Lord is letting go too.”
Becka looked into her mother’s eyes.
Mom reached over and brushed her hair behind her ears.
“He hasn’t failed us yet, sweetheart. He won’t fail you now.” Before she knew it, Becka had wrapped her arms around her mother. She loved this woman with all of her heart. She knew this was as hard on Mom as it was on her. She also knew she had a lot to learn from the woman — especially when it came to loving and trusting God.
Now she needed to talk to Scott.
**********
“No way.”
“Scotty, they need us.”
“I’m busy.”
Becka stayed on his heels all the way up the stairs and down the hall into his room. “Listen, what’s going on at that cabin is a lot more important than some stupid game.” He snorted. “A lot you know.”
Her voice raised a notch. “I know you’ve been like the invisible man ever since you started playing it.” He turned on her. “Is that some sort of crime?”
“It’s a crime when there are people who need help and you’d rather sit around and play some stupid game.”
“Stop calling it that!” The resentful outburst surprised them both. Scott continued, obviously forcing himself to calm down.
“Listen, this is more than just a game, all right?” Rebecca simply looked at him.
“It’s … Beck, there’s nothing like it. When I play, it’s like …
I don’t know, it’s like I’ve got this power, like I can do all these incredible things I could never do in real life.”
“It’s just a game, Scotty. Make-believe.”
“I know, but sometimes … sometimes it seems so real. More than real. Like I’m really there. Like I’m really this guy with all this power.” He shrugged and turned to stroke the sleeping Cornelius. “I just don’t feel like giving it up. Especially for some wild-goose chase up in the mountains.”
Becka continued to stare. This was not like her brother. Not at all. He was always the first to jump in and help people. “Scotty, we’re talking about real people here. Real flesh-and-blood people who need our help. Mine.
And
yours.” He fidgeted. “You don’t need me. You’ve done it before without me.”
She shook her head slowly, her expression thoughtful, almost apprehensive. “This is different. This one is really different.” She looked at him. “We need you there.”
He glanced up at her. She held his gaze. He looked over to the computer, and Becka could see wheels starting to turn.
“Hold on,” he said. “Wait a minute. Who says I can’t do both?”
“What?”
“Sure. Darryl’s got his laptop and he’s out of the game.”
“What’s that got to — ”
“There’s a telephone up there, right?”
“Yeah, I suppose.”
“I bet I could call in and hook up with the modem. Then I can play from wherever we’re at.”
“Scotty, I don’t think that’s exactly what — ” She broke off.
Scott wasn’t listening. He was picking up the phone and dialing Darryl’s number. Becka stood, watching. She wasn’t too sure this was a good idea.
Still, having part of Scott there was better than having none of him …
She watched the excitement on his face as Darryl agreed to loan him the laptop, and a chill of doubt ran through her.
… or was it?
Shaking off her concern, she looked at her watch. It was 3:05.
As soon as Scott was off the phone she’d call Ryan. They could be on the road within an hour.
Chapter 7
Scott knew something was wrong. Here he was, riding in the backseat of Ryan’s Mustang, going up into the mountains for some sort of major showdown with some sort of major evil, and all he could think about was what Ttocs’ next move would be in the game. Amazing. Part of him knew Becka was right when she said it was just a game. But part of him knew it went much deeper than that. Much, much deeper …
For the hundredth time he shuffled through Darryl’s laptop computer case to make sure he had everything necessary to call up on the modem. And for the hundredth time he asked Ryan about the phone situation. “You’re absolutely sure Krissi’s folks don’t have a telephone?”
“Will you relax,” Ryan chuckled. “The General Store is just ahead. I guarantee you, the owner will let you call from there.”
“It can’t be a pay phone. It’s got to be a line I can plug in to the computer.”
“He’s cool. I’m sure he’ll let you use the store phone just as long as you pay for it and don’t take too long.”
“It won’t be long. Just a few minutes every half hour or so.”
“Every half hour?” Becka turned to Scott from the front.
“How long do you plan to spend there?”
That was the question Scott had been dreading. Fortunately, Ryan slowed the car and was turning into the General Store’s parking lot. A perfect time to change the subject. “Are we here?” he asked.
“This is the place.”
It was an old-fashioned store with rough wood planking and a long front porch. The sun was just thinking about setting, and the warm glow of the lights inside looked inviting. Even more so when they stepped out into the cold.
“It’s freezing!” Becka shivered as she fumbled with the buttons on her coat.
Ryan grinned. White plumes of smoke escaped from his mouth as he spoke to Scott. “The cabin is just a mile or so up the road. There’s this big orange trout for a mailbox, and the driveway winds up a little hill. You can’t miss it.” Scott nodded.
“Well, let’s get you settled,” Ryan said as he started up the store’s steps. “How long did you say? A few minutes every half hour?”
Scott nodded, doing his best to avoid Becka’s glare. He knew he was cheating. He knew by agreeing to come he’d led her to believe he’d help. Well, he would. Sort of. He hoped. He read-justed the computer strap on his shoulder and headed up the stairs after them.
**********
“What a jerk,” Becka said as they pulled out of the store’s parking lot and onto the road. “He won’t even stop long enough to help. It’s like that stupid game’s got a hold on him.” Ryan nodded. “I had a friend that really got caught up into that stuff too.”
“What happened?”
“He just sort of dropped out.”
“Dropped out?”
“I still see him around school and stuff, but it’s like he’s not really there. Like, he’s in a different world.” Becka turned to look back at the store as it disappeared around the bend. Her anger and frustration had already turned to concern.
**********
Becka and Ryan had barely left the store before Scott had situated himself in the back office and connected with Hubert’s computer. The other players in the group had agreed to let him accu-mulate turns while he traveled, so when he finally got online, Scott was ready to give it everything he had. Unfortunately, the dice had other ideas.
On his first move Ttocs was attacked by a living corpse. The hideous creature began shredding his flesh and devouring it. Each time Scott rolled the dice for a counterattack, he lost. Each time he tried to defend himself, he gave up more and more of his power.