It was ten minutes to noon, and Ellie sat uncomfortably in the front seat of T’balt’s car. She had only known the man since this morning and had somehow let him convince her to do something regrettable. “The abbot and his wife are in danger. I need your help.” But there was something about this stranger that prompted her to follow. Maybe because he had the young boy Acelin with him, having saved him from that brutal household he lived in.

  But she knew Acelin was only here by nefarious means. And what they were doing now was also some very nefarious means.

  They sat parked on a hill overlooking the home of Arthur Kilgrove. It was a straight-laced, sunny neighborhood in a half-rural, half-suburban part of town. It was the kind of place where all the houses were different shapes and sizes because most of them were built privately. No ice cream trucks were ever coming this way, but if someone wanted a peaceful retirement, they’d find a spot of land like this.

  The abbot had a more modest home, a one-story flat with two patios, one on the side and one on the back. Ellie had seen it many times. She’d spent countless days and hours communing with Martha and Arthur there over books, sermons, and town gossip. It was most of all she had to do these days. Her friends were few and far apart, and with where she had mentally, a simple, modest life like that old couple lived was what she needed. That was partly why she felt so slimy, spying on them like they were preparing for a robbery.

  T'balt had a pair of binoculars he bought from a nearby convenience store. He would look down on the house, write something in his notebook, and look again.

  “If they’re in so much danger, wouldn’t it be better to just go and tell them and get them out of the house?”

  “No,” T’balt said, writing. “I need to see what happens. If it's true, I think I’ll get a whole new understanding of Arthur.”

  He said weird stuff like that all the time. “What do you mean, a new understanding?” she probed.

  “I’ll tell you later. For now, just bear with me.”

  She crossed her arms. T’balt knew this would be an issue with her, but he couldn’t very well leave her at the church with Monan looming around. It was best that she and Acelin stayed with him until the church was protected. Acelin was playing in a tree nearby.

  He took another look over to Arthur’s house. The abbot looked to be on his side patio, admiring a half-completed sculpture. He wondered if the man was working on it himself.

  That’s when he saw her for the first time. Martha Kilgrove came outside in a spotted yellow dress. She was slim with short curly, greying blonde hair. She reminded him of a first-grade teacher he had, with the way she walked, straight-backed and proud despite her age.

  She handed Arthur a glass of lemonade to match her own and observed the sculpture as her husband did. “Today's a beautiful day, isn’t it?” she said to him.

  “Perfect,” Arthur said. The statue was a recreation of the angel Michael slaying the demonic form of Satan. Michael held his holy sword high, ready to drive it into the back of the demon-horned Lucifer. To end all of mankind’s suffering at the hands of God’s greatest enemy.

  It was only the size of a small dog, perfect as a table decoration, but for now, it was only half finished. Michael’s figure was formed with the sword in hand, but the face was unsculpted, smooth, and plain. As was the devil. All that was crafted of him were the horns, leaving a blocky piece of hardened clay with a head under the angel’s foot.

  “What do you plan on doing with it when it's done?” asked Arthur.

  “Nothing currently. Just look at it, knowing it was something I created.”

  “Well, that’s no good. We should at least display it somewhere for people to see. Why not put it up in the church?”

  “Hmm, no. The people don’t go to church to be reminded of their fates in Revelations.”

  “I often wonder if that isn’t the exact word that they need to hear the most.”

  “Church is meant to be a loving experience, Arthur. To bring hope after a hard week of life. The shadows cast by the scripture, in my opinion, are best experienced on one’s own.”

  “Guided but not led.” He nodded. ”Even still, it's better no one forgets the great evil our lord is capable of when he feels the world has run dry of goodness. So I think I’ll put this up in the main hall when you’re finished. So make sure you don’t get lazy on the finish.”

  She smiled. “I’m so proud of you, Arthur.”

  “I’m blinded by that bright yellow dress,” he said, pulling her in by the waist.

  “Thank you.”

  “No, really. It's so bright it's reflecting the sun. I can’t see.” He playfully mimed his hands as if he were searching for sight. Martha laughed and hit him on the shoulder.

  “Doesn’t look like anything’s out of the ordinary,” T’balt muttered. He looked at his watch. It was about that time. “Brace yourselves, guys.”

  There was a moment of confusion from both Ellie and Acelin, but in the seconds that followed, they were thrown to the ground by a rapidly escalating earthquake. It was there and gone in less than a minute, but it was something neither of them had ever felt, leaving them wide-eyed and terrified. But when it was over, T’balt smiled at them, offering a kind hand to lift them from the ground.

  It was the first time experiencing the start with both of them. It was interesting to see how people reacted to the massive quake in a part of the world that hadn’t experienced earthquakes.

  After the initial confusion, Acelin jumped around excitedly. “Whoa. That was crazy. Did a kaiju fall from the sky or something?”

  T’balt shrugged. “Something like that.”

  Ellie had the typical adult response, ducking her head as if a bomb was being dropped right on top of her head. “That can’t be normal, right? It’s not… How did you know?”

  “I’ll tell you later,” T’balt said, picking her up from the ground.

  “And when is later?”

  T’balt left the answer unsaid, knowing that answers would only beget more questions. Usually, with Ellie, it took an entire day for her to fully grasp the scope of his ability. For now, he was here to keep an eye on Arthur.

  “What is that?” Acelin pointed at a beast emerging from the ground. It was huge and looked to be covered in black oil. It had a mouth like a snapping turtle with slimy, oil-covered tendrils shooting from its back.

  “One of the demons,” T’balt answered. “Some sort of oil loot, it looks like.”

  The whole neighborhood looked to be overrun with different demons quickly. Mostly the four-legged ones. They ran through the streets searching for flesh to attack and consume. The scene was bloody and visceral, like it always was. They’d break into people's homes, snuff the unlooted out of their cages, killing them by means of whatever loot they possessed. It could be burning by fire, crushing by earth, skewered by swords, or just plain devouring. All the things that T’balt had become so numb to. He couldn’t save any of them. Not this soon and not without any loot. So all he did was watch the evisceration of a small suburban neighborhood.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  But it had been a while since he’d sat through it with others. Looking back, he could see the horror on his two companions as they watched life as they knew it consume itself. Ellie fought to cover Acelin’s eyes as her own showed the early signs of permanent emotional scarring.

  But there wasn’t much he could do about that. It was just the painful reality of the world they now occupied. He looked down at the Kilgroves’ home to see Arthur in an utter panic. Looking at the wreckage, the abbot rushed inside his home, but the oil creature had already locked on its target.

  “That thing is going to kill Arthur!” Ellie called out. “We have to do something!”

  “No, it won't.” T’balt blocked her path with his arm. Ellie looked at him like he’d gone crazy, but that was nothing new. Arthur always survived, somehow. What they were here to see was what would happen to Martha, so in his mind, neither of them were in any danger from the oil creature. He had to see what happened next despite Ellie fighting and yelling at him.

  “There’s nothing you can do, Ellie. Do you plan to fight that thing? As you are now, what can you do?” He had to raise his voice. “We’re far away and out of sight from here. Safe with Acelin. But I promise that demon isn’t going to kill them.”

  Ellie was forced to sit still, fighting the urge to run to the abbot's house and throw hands with a creature she couldn’t fathom. She had to believe T’balt’s word.

  But T’balt hoped he was wrong. Because if a demon didn’t kill the abbot’s wife, then the implications weren’t something he’d want to see.

  He could’ve run to help them. He had a combat knife and his gun with him. He had the ineptitude and combat sense by now that he could figure out a way to kill that thing before it could even have a chance to hurt the old couple. But he forced himself into nothing but observation even though his own body told him not to.

  It was far more important to him to find out if one of his confidants was a murderer.

  He could barely see inside the windows, but the couple was struggling. The creature stood on two bulky legs, a hulking figure. It moved slowly, tracking black, sludgy oil where it stepped.

  It followed Arthur, and the crafty old man led it to the backyard, only to then cut inside the house, as the creature tried to figure out how to get to him. Martha was stuck on the couch, hyperventilating.

  “Martha, we have to go now!” Arthur yelled.

  “Those things… those things are everywhere…”

  “We have to go.” He struggled to lift her from the couch, for she was still a frail, small woman, and he wasn’t in his spry youth. But they didn’t have a choice. The foul beast ate away at their back patio with violent, hissing crunches as it tried to force the back door open.

  Kilgrove didn’t own a weapon. The deadliest things in his house were kitchen knives, and he saw no world where he’d take that thing out with just a knife. It would be like fighting a bear with a toothpick.

  Their only choice was to escape. They had to make it to the car. “Lord, please help us.” They ran out the front door, Martha squeezing his arm for comfort. Their car was sitting out front, damaged but still usable.

  But coming off the doorstep, Martha lost her footing, screaming on the way to the fall. Arthur hurriedly tried to pick her up. Though the beast had found them, locking eyes with Arthur. With no other choice, he stood his ground, guarding his wife. He held his arms up to protect his core. “Come at me, beast.”

  And it did, blasting him back with a slimy black limb. He bounced off the hood of the car and onto the other side, cringing on the ground. Martha saw it with horror. She was struck frozen, unable to fathom the beast before her as it oozed and stepped forward.

  “T’balt!” Ellie called again.

  His teeth were clenched hard enough to pop a blood vessel. He couldn’t stand to see it either. He didn’t care what he was still here for. The fight was clearly not going in the couple's direction. If Monan was wrong, he wouldn’t be able to stand himself if he just watched them die. “Get in the car!” he yelled.

  The beast seized Martha’s entire body, lifting it up a story off the ground. It was going to swallow her whole, opening that huge snapping jaw with a stench of a hundred years of garbage in its mouth. All she could do was cover her crying eyes and hope the end came quickly.

  But then she heard the sounds of an engine revving to its highest power. Out of nowhere, a car slammed into the beast at high speed, pinning it to the wall of their house. The beast dropped her on the hood of the car, and she slid to the ground.

  The car was still in full throttle, its engine revving and its tires burning, driving into the thing.

  The oil creature struggled for a moment, clawing at the hood of the car, leaving scratches, holes, and black goop. It chomped its jowls at the driver, but after a few more moments, it stopped moving. The car was pinned to its gut, blocking off its air supply. And it limped over dead.

  Arthur took his hands off the wheel and let up on the gas. He breathed a sigh of relief. He backed the car off, letting it fall to the ground. He got out of the car to check on his wife. She had taken a heavy fall, one that could kill a woman as frail as her. He got out and looked at her body. Then he immediately ran back to the wheel of his car.

  That tendril-having oil creature was still alive. Its limbs were waving uncontrollably, and its black oil spurted from its body. But this time it had Martha. It was possessing her. A demon had taken over her body. Her face and body was covered in that black sludge, her mouth barely able to open.

  “Die, you foul beast!” He stomped on the gas and the car blasted forth, putting a hole in the wall of the house. Arthur stopped as blood splattered over his windshield. He breathed heavily as he saw the black substance slowly disappear.

  Then there was just his wife, Martha, with fresh blood pooling at her mouth, eyes shot red and black with oil and blood. She struggled to lift her head, straining with every crack of her annihilated bones, a rattle in her throat. “Ar… thur…” Then her head fell on the hood of the car, and a small coin emerged from her neck before scurrying away.

  First, there was confusion. Then there was grief. Then anger. Then absolution. Arthur got in his car and drove to the church.

  He unlocked the back door and barricaded himself inside. There were already people gathering in the parking lot demanding to be let in. He left them outside just to have a moment to himself. A moment alone with him and the lord. He looked up at the images of angels painted on the ceiling over the pulpit. “Possessed. She was possessed. That was not Martha,” he said. “May she rest knowing that I have saved her body from that thing.”

  He stood from his prayer. “Ellie!... Ellie, are you here!?”

  Ellie walked into the pulpit, silent. She was flanked by a stranger and a young boy.

  “Thank god you’re okay,” he said. He went to hug her, but she didn’t hug back. “Who are these… nevermind. Listen. Something strange is happening. There are these… demons outside running amok. We need to use this place as a safe haven. The people outside, we need to let them in and shelter as many as we can.”

  Ellie took his hands off her shoulders. He didn’t realize how hard he was squeezing her. When he took in her face, he saw that she had been crying. “Are you okay, child? Are you hurt?”

  “How could you, Arthur?” she said. He backed away. “You killed her.”

  “You… you…” He searched the faces of the two behind her. “What’s the meaning of this?”

  She slapped him. A blow he didn’t see coming, but it stung all the worse coming from Ellie. The sound of it echoed off the walls as the angels looked down upon them.

  “She was possessed…” Arthur said, holding his cheek. “Her body defiled. I did what I had to do.”

  “She was a human being. Your wife, Arthur. If she were possessed, we could’ve helped her. She was the purest I knew. How could you jump to the conclusion that—”

  “She was not pure.” Arthur bit down. “If she had been, then it wouldn’t have been allowed for that evil to take her body. I don’t expect you to understand. You’re still new to the teachings of the church. But in time, you will understand why she had to die. But for now, please don’t mention a thing to anyone else, not until I’ve gotten people to settle down.”

  Ellie looked at him, incredulous, like all she wanted to do was slap his face a second time. Instead, she removed the cross hanging from her necklace and dropped it on the floor. Arthur looked down at it, fighting the anger that drew to him.

  “We’ll discuss this later,” he said. “For now, there are people outside who need our help.”

  T’balt stepped forward. “I’m not gonna say I buy into why you did what you did, Arthur. But I know what’s going on here. You should go clean yourself up. I can explain to everyone what's happening.”

  He looked down at his clothes. His casual sweater and slacks. They were covered in oil and a hint of blood. Smelled of it, too. “No, I can’t allow that. I don’t know who you are. And these people will need a face that they know to guide them.”

  Ellie stepped forward. “He is more worthy to guide them than you. He isn’t a killer… If you think I’ll let you lead these people after what I saw, you’ve lost all sense… If you don’t do what T’balt says, I’ll tell them all what I saw today.”

  “Ellie...” T’balt tried to pull her back. She was incensed. This was that side of her that came out only when she saw the people around her dying. The last time he remembered seeing her like this was when they had the first encounter with the Fury. It was like she would damn anyone in her path, no matter the consequence.

  The abbot’s lips tightened. “As you will then.” He turned to walk away. He didn’t ask for a bite of explanation of anything. He went to his office to put on his black robes, clutching the discarded cross necklace to his chest.