Friday, December 7, 2018

The Depths of Belief

98.

Knock

Knock

Knock

Silence

Gilbert sat beside the door. He'd knocked several times hoping someone would answer and explain why he was here. But no one was coming, no one was answering and his desire to remain was wavering. Gilbert was about to turn away when the door opened. There was no one behind it of course, but whatever was in the church was letting Gilbert inside.

"Today is going to be a bad day." Gilbert looked once more outside and then stepped in. The doors slamming behind him made him sigh to himself. The church's interior was all torched, people's scorched skeletal bodies rested in the pews. Gilbert took out some salt and drew a line from the door as he went, a safe space he could jump behind against what was inhabiting the church. Gilbert could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. He had the double barrel shotgun readied, a mixed load of ammunition in the chambers based on what he felt may be inside.

Past the pews and the pulpit where a preacher apparently appeared to have burnt to death during a sermon was a basement. Gilbert cursed. He knew this is where he had to go, knew it and didn't want to go down stairs.As he sat there looking her heard a laugh, a rumbling strike of thunder of a laugh. Like someone who had just heard the funniest joke in the world just laughing and laughing.

"What amuses you demon?"

"You do with your salt and your piety Exterminator." Flames walked up from the deep, a man like form coated in them stomping up the stairs each foot step echoed in the church and reverberated on the walls.

"Behold the mighty demon locked away in a rural church in Idaho."

"This is my prison, but you are not my jailor, you are my savior. I can not walk out of here like this, but in your flesh? In your flesh I can be free." He reached the top of the stairs with a grin. The demon's face was burnt flesh and blackened teeth, the remains of whoever was the poor soul who summoned him in the first place. Gilbert opened fire with one barrel, it caught the demon in his left shoulder and tore it apart, the left arm hung dangling. The demon's grin disappeared, replaced with a snarl.

"Oh not quite so happy are we demon? I hope there's more of you in here or this job is going to be too easy." Gilbert popped open the breach on his shotgun and loaded two more shells into it, "Must have been a demon of dumb assery." The demon howled but the shotgun roared and that was the end of it. Gilbert emptied some more salt on its remains and muttered a prayer to the lord even though he personally never felt that part was worth a damn.

He knew there were more though, the one demon was just an entry point for the rest, like someone who opened the door, the basement which now blazed before him confirmed this. Gilbert sighed to himself and reloaded the shotgun, it was going to be a very very long day.

No comments:

Post a Comment