Revenge of the Three (Hand of God) (9 page)

Chapter 23

              The flames were really starting to hurt. The flesh on my feet and legs began to bubble and peel as the flames whipped against them. I wiggled around, but there was nowhere for me to go. I cried out in pain as the flames rose around me, burning my sides and underarms. I hated screaming in front of these assholes, but it was almost involuntary. I could see them laughing through the flames.  It made me want to kill them even more.

             
As the pain intensified, it occurred to me I might have one chance. I hadn’t done it in years, so I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I had to try it. I reached out with my mind to the men standing around the fire-- the two men with guns and Domingo. Within a few seconds, the three men were themselves screaming. I’d never fully controlled people when I turned them into zombies before, but this seemed like a good time to try. With little effort on my part, walked right into the fire, causing the flames to kick up even higher and hotter. It was like they were moths flying into a bug zapper. I finally began to swing my legs. One of the burning zombie men was just feet in front of me. I propped one foot on his shoulder and kicked with the other leg.

             
I got enough momentum going to kick my legs high enough to wrap my ankles around the beam, up by my hands.  I was no gymnast, but it was definitely time to start doing more stretching. Once I got both legs up, I unhooked the handcuffs from the chain and dropped to the ground. Landing square in the middle of the fire was incredibly painful. Despite my pain and soreness, I was able to jump up and out of the fire. The cool air felt like heaven on my burning skin. I had no idea how much damage I’d taken, but I felt like death.

             
The rest of the men in the camp stood watching me wide eyed. I wasn’t sure how long they’d been there. Long enough to watch their amigos walk straight into a fire, and then see me jump off it like I was an Olympic gymnast For some reason I had hoped one of them might help me after all that, but they just stood there like they were paralyzed. I walked toward one of them as I put my hand out, but he stepped away, pointed at me and screamed.

             
“El Diablo Blanco! El Diablo Blanco!” He screamed as other began yelling while running away.
El Diablo Blanco?
It means “The White Devil.” They were calling me The White Devil. Not
A
White Devil, but
The
White Devil. I’d been called a lot of things, but this was a new one.  I kind of liked it, but, unfortunately I was in way too much pain to enjoy it. I didn’t bother with the men who were running. They were no threat to me, and I didn’t have the energy to chase them. Instead, I stumbled into one of the tents and climbed inside. My feet were killing me, along with the rest of my body. The zombie men finally stopped screaming; the fire had consumed them.

             
Once inside the tent, I looked for something useful. There were several bottles of water lying around. I drank one, and poured the others over my burns. The water stung as it cooled my skin and wounds. Looking at my legs, I could see parts of them were burned black. I didn’t know how I was going to walk on them in that condition. I didn’t even know where I was. I assumed it was somewhere in Mexico, but that could be hundreds of miles from the border. As I lay there, I wondered how I would get back to Del Rio. I also wondered how my life had gotten so complicated in such a short period of time.

             
There was a drug cartel trying to kill me. The Feds wanted me in prison, yet it was the Feds who handed me over to the cartel. There was no telling who is working for who in this mess. And I can’t forget the “Holy Ghost” himself drifting around trying to end the world, beginning with me. I suppose if I let that happen, it would solve the other two problems, but not my first choice. I had no idea what the creature was up to at this point.

             
There was a duffel bag in the corner of the tent. I sifted through it and found some clothes, a .38 revolver, some boxes of ammunition, a bag of weed and a satellite phone. The phone surprised me at first, but when I considered it, it really wasn’t that surprising.   The cartel thugs would need a satellite phone if they were this far away from anything. I dialed Maria’s number, but it went to voice mail after four rings. I dropped the phone and lay back down. It’s not like I could call a cab way out here. The slightest movement hurt like hell, except in my lower legs where there was no feeling at all. I knew that this was not a good sign.

             
As I started drifting to sleep, the phone rang. I grabbed it and answered it.

             
“Hello?” I said. It was harder to speak than I thought, even after just having drunk the water. My voice sounded grainy and raspy. I recognized the number calling, it was Maria’s phone.

             
“Well, hello Charlie,” a weird voice said. It sounded like a man’s voice, but not a natural person. It reminded me of one of those guys on TV who are in witness protection and give an interview with a voice disguiser.

             
“Who is this? Where is Maria?”

             
“Maria is mine,” the voice said while letting out a guttural laugh. “Your friend Lucifer is gone too.”

             
“Gone where?”

             
“To the Abyss! Where he belongs. Now I just need you to come and get your girlfriend,” it laughed some more, a deep and creepy snicker.

             
“Well that is going to be difficult. If you were actually all knowing, you’d know that I’m out in the middle of the desert, half dead.”

             
“Oh, that’s too bad. I guess I will just have fun with your honey here while I finish the rest of my work. Looks like someone took care of you for me.”

             
“Don’t you dare hurt her.”

             
“Or what? You’ll take my name in vain?” It laughed some more. It apparently thought itself really funny. The laugh was enough to make the hairs on my neck stand on end. “Too bad for you Charlie. Looks like I did what my brother couldn’t. Now I will finish. And just so you know, after all the suffering you just went through, you’ll wake up in the Abyss when you die here.” It laughed again then hung up. This day couldn’t get any worse.

Chapter 24

             
When I woke up, it was dark outside and my feet were throbbing. I looked down and saw they didn’t look as badly as they had earlier. I figured my Nephilim DNA must help me heal quicker. I never stayed injured for very long. The burns were still pretty bad, though. I was a little concerned since other than the throbbing, I couldn’t feel anything else. I crawled to the edge of the tent, looking around. I could see the sun on the horizon, so it was early morning. The other tents were still up, but none of the cartel guys had come back.

             
I climbed out and stumbled to one of the other tents and dug around. This one had a first aid kit. There wasn’t much useful in the kit, but I took a blanket and tore it up. Carefully, I wrapped my ankles and feet with it. I dressed in some jeans and a blue t-shirt that I’d found. I put on two pairs of socks and pulled on a pair of boots. I had to push the pain aside for the moment and figure out where I was and how to get back to Del Rio. It also occurred to me this wasn’t the first time I was stranded in the middle of nowhere in a stranger’s clothes.

             
I stuck the .38 down the back of the tight jeans and started walking. I could see a road a few hundred feet away. So I headed toward it. Once on the road, I walked along the shoulder headed for what I’m pretty sure was north. I was glad I drank the water earlier, but I was also starving. I hadn’t eaten since the night before. There wasn’t anything I could do about it at the moment. The heat was getting intense too. I wished I’d kept some of the water. After walking for an hour or so, my feet felt like they were still on fire. If I didn’t get a ride soon, I wasn’t going to make it much further.

             
I heard a car approaching from behind me. I turned and saw a dark colored Jeep getting closer. I waved my arms as much as I could to flag it down. I hoped it wasn’t a cartel guy, or it would be a short ride. The Jeep pulled up next to me and I walked over to the window. I tried to speak to him but he would only reply in Spanish. I knew a little, but not enough to get what he was saying. I definitely didn’t know enough to explain to him what was going on.

             
“Yes, I need a ride. Can you help me?”

             
“Que?”

             
“Help? Ride? Please?”

             
“No Ingles,” he said. Then he began talking so fast I couldn’t have understood him in any language. I was tired, sore and not in the mood for this. Plus I couldn’t afford to let him drive off and leave me walking again. I was sure I’d die out here if I didn’t get a ride and out of the heat. So without another word, I pulled out the .38 and shot him in the face. Now, I had never used a gun before, knives were my thing. I have to say it is quite an effective killing tool, though it was incredibly messy. Since I was only a few feet away the bullet tore through his face and head, causing the back of his head to explode, sending blood and chunks of brains and skull all over the dashboard.

             
I opened the driver’s side door and dumped him out onto the road. I dragged him off the road as much as I could and got into the Jeep. The Jeep’s air conditioning felt incredible. The inside of the Jeep was soaked in blood and brains. It hurt my foot to push on the gas, but I ignored it as much as I could. I wasn’t overly concerned about the body being found. People get shot all the time in Mexico. I figured they’d chalk it up to another cartel killing. I just hoped this guy wasn’t someone important. There were enough people out to kill me at the moment.

             
After a few hours of driving, I saw a town ahead. Traffic was starting to pick up and the roads were getting wider. I hoped to ditch the Jeep soon, before someone noticed all the gore in the front seat. I wasn’t sure what city this was, but there was another sign that said twenty miles to the US/Mexican border. I drove through town until I was a few miles from the border. I pulled into an alley and left the Jeep and headed toward the border on foot. My feet were feeling much better as I began to walk. I wasn’t sure if the rest helped, or if they were starting to heal. It was still going to be tricky getting across. I had no ID or a passport. I’d considered that if I told the border agents that I was a tourist who had been beaten and robbed, they’d let me through. Problem was, I still had some blood on my pants and shirt. My best bet would be to find a coyote and see if he couldn’t me across.

Chapter 25

             
Maria stood outside the large church. It was a huge cathedral, with large stone steps and huge wooden double doors. She didn’t know where she was or how she’d gotten there exactly. There was something controlling her, something inside of her. She saw what it had done to Dennis, or Lucifer as it had called him. This must be what being possessed is like; or perhaps she was possessed. She’d seen movies about demon possession before. She never considered what happened to the person’s consciousness who was possessed. Now she realized she was just a passenger in her own body. She could see, hear, feel and smell everything, yet could do nothing on her own.

             
She stood watching the double doors as strong wind began swirling around her. A large, dark cloud rose around her, rising up like two large pillars. Then the doors of the church blew inward. The people inside jumped and shouted as the blast startled them to her presence. One of the heavy doors landed on a parishioner. Several others ran to his aid, but they would be of no help.

             
“What is the meaning of this?” the priest shouted. “This is God’s house!”

             
“That’s right Padre,” Maria heard herself say. “It’s my house, and I’ve come to take it back.”

             
“What do you—” the priest began, but was interrupted by the stained glass behind him shattering and raining down on him. He fell to the ground under the glass shards, but tried to get back to his feet. Chunks of skin hung off his face, and blood poured down it. Behind Maria, people were screaming and shouting. She turned to see them running out the back doors. Before anyone could make it, the doorway buckled, and collapsed on top of itself, blocking the only way out. The crowd stopped and looked at Maria. She couldn’t see herself, but felt her face contort into a twisted smile. The priest began yelling at her from behind.

             
“I adjure you, ancient serpent, by the judge of the living and the dead, by your Creator, by the Creator of the whole universe, by Him who has the power to consign you to hell, to depart forthwith in fear, along with your savage minions, from this servant of God, who seeks refuge in the fold of the Church. I adjure you again!” He was citing the Rite of Exorcism. Little did he know those words would have no meaning to the creature that had come for him.

             
Before he could get out another word, the black cloud protruded from Maria once again and swirled around the church. Everything it touched fell over dead. Men, women, children of all ages; old or young didn’t matter. They died where they stood. The priest was one of the first to go. From inside her body, Maria wanted to scream; to cry out for it all to stop. She wanted to run and help the dying people around her, but she was helpless. All she could do was sit and watch the carnage around her.

             
Within minutes, the screams stopped. Maria looked around as the dark mist lurked through the building, searching for any remaining survivor. There were some women and babies in the nursery downstairs. Maria wanted to die herself, as she sensed the life leaving each of the children and women in the nursery one by one. Helplessly, she walked through the church rubble and back outside. Once in the open, she heard the voice of the thing inside her speaking.

             
“Don’t worry my dear,” the thing said, “Your boyfriend will be dead soon. Once I finish here, so will you. Then you may rest in peace.”