Page 74 of Unbinding the Demon
“I gave them a gift! They were sinners, and I purified them!” he snapped, but was quick to regain his calm composure. “And don’t worry, my dear. It’s quite alright; your sacrifice will serve the highest and greatest good. God’s good, to be exact.” He spoke as if I should be happily letting him murder me.
“Good? How is any of this good!?” I scoffed as a few traitorous tears began running down my cheeks again.
“It’s good because I’m going to purify the world! Just look at my children, don’t you see? They are free from sin! They listen to me without question. They have no desires for earthly possessions or sins of the flesh. There is no free thought, only faith and obedience. They are the perfect servants of God, and I will use them to make a perfect and holy world! All who are not converted will perish, and mankind will be purified!” His words and face beamed with corrupt conviction and self-righteousness.
This guy is crazy with a capital ‘K’.
I sat there for a moment, beyond baffled by the sick and twisted lunatic in front of me. “How can you say that when they’re clearly just dumb, mindless zombies?”
“Oh my dear, they are far from dumb and mindless! Here, watch...” He pointed to a random zombie. “You! What’s your name, and what did you do for a living?”
“Miguel Sanchez...I was an... accountant...” the zombie sibilantly responded, while twisting his head unnaturally to the side.
You’ve gotta be kidding me.
“So tell me, Miguel, could you file the church’s taxes for me?” Adelstein questioned with a raised brow and a smug smile.
“Churches... don’t pay... taxes...”Black drool dripped from the side of his grotesque mouth and dribbled onto his dirty, tattered green shirt as he spoke.
“Ah ha! You see? He didn’t fall for my trick question! They’re perfectly intelligent!” His smile beamed with pride. “I just wish Elowynn was still alive to see them. Sometimes I like to think of them as our children since if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have realized the book was a gift from God. She practically made me the man I am today.” His eyes trailed down, and a wistful look fell across his face.
Man, this guy is really fucked in the head.
Adelstein and I both jumped in startlement as a series of loud crashes came from overhead. I assumed all the ruckus was one of the heavy double doors upstairs being kicked off its hinges and flung across the room.“Where is she!?”A furious and downright demonic voice boomed through the ceiling, followed by what sounded like two terrified, stammering men sputtering out nonsense. My face lit up, and hope bloomed in my chest.
Ashton!
“He shouldn’t be able to find or hear you down here, but make a single sound, and I will have my children rip you to shreds.” Adelstein leaned in and whispered to me, his face tight with anger.
I bit my lip and looked up at the shadows breaking the rays of light that poured in through the ceiling boards. Ashton was shouting and sounded absolutely livid. I desperately wanted to call out to him, to be rescued, and to get the chance to say sorry for being such a buffoon. But I knew how foolish that would be. The zombies would rip me apart before he could even get to me, and then they’d rip him apart too. So I stayed silent and cherished the sound of his deep voice, even if it was venomous and diabolical-sounding at the moment. It still brought me comfort to know that he was looking for me. The pain of never being able to see him again panged in my gut, as hot tears streamed down my cheeks.
The door creaked open, and two men, silent as the grave, crept in, then shut the door behind them without a single sound. Adelstein looked back at their terrified faces, and they exchanged worried glances. One of them held a rosary and prayed in a shaky voice. My eyes somehow got even wider than they already were, as Ashton’s voice morphed from thunderous yelling to a vicious, predatory-sounding growl. I had listened to a fair share of deathcore bands in my day, but none of them even came close to the demonic gutturals I was hearing.
My mouth fell agape, and my eyes shifted around as a loud cacophony of bangs and crashes, mixed with horrified screams and pained gurgles, rang through the building. Harrowing noises of what was obviously a violent struggle came from right above us. The screams were accompanied by deep, bestial snarls and roars that sounded like they belonged to some fierce, devilish creature that had emerged straight from the fiery depths of Hell. It sounded like the men were being mauled to death by a diabolical beast… and then everything went silent.
Was that Ashton making those noises?
Thick droplets of blood began to trickle down slowly from between the floorboards above us. They glistened bright red in the rays of sunlight that shone through the cracks and then turned an eerie, dark crimson as they landed on the floor. My heart pounded in my chest, and anxiety overwhelmed me as I hoped desperately that Ashton was still okay.
Heavy footsteps ominously echoed above us, and then Ashton called out in the most sinister, deep, sing-song voice I had ever heard.“Oh, Adelstein...”Chills ran up my spine, and I wasn’t even the one who needed to be afraid of him; that’s how scary-sounding he was. “Can you hear me, Adelstein? Are you here?” he cooed in a downright demonic voice. Adelstein stared up at the ceiling with an angry expression and wide, wary eyes. “You’ve stolen something very precious to me. Give her back unharmed, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll let the rest of your little clergy live.” A minute of eerie silence stretched by, then I flinched as he abruptly let out a deep, bestial roar, and another loud crash was heard. His footsteps briefly echoed above us again, and then, to my confusion, he seemed to disappear into thin air.
Jeez, that is one stealthy man.
Everyone stayed silent and unmoving for about ten minutes. Only the unnerving sound of blood dripping into the small crimson puddles that had formed was heard. “Well, we had better go see what the damage is,” Adelstein said, as he rose to his feet with urgency. He and the other two men cautiously exited the room and shut the door behind them. I listened to the distant sounds of their footsteps climbing up an old creaky staircase. Their voices echoed from above as they squabbled about the mess for several minutes. Putrid, metallic air filled my lungs as I sucked in a deep breath to compose myself. Then the sound of low hisses and eerie snarls began filling the room once again.
Tears brimmed in my eyes at the realization that Ashton had left. Even though he had just sounded like the most terrifying man in existence, his presence had brought me some much-needed comfort. And now, because of my foolishness, I was going to be murdered and never see his loving smile or feel his warm touch again. He had been right about Adelstein all along. If only I hadn’t broken my promise. I’d probably be safely wrapped up in his arms right about now, receiving tender kisses and listening to his silky baritone voice as he shared his secrets. He loved me and wanted to keep me safe, and yet I betrayed him.
I’m such an idiot... Of course, Ashton isn’t a serial killer.
The door swung open, making a loud bang as it slammed into the wall. The zombies stared inquisitively while snapping their jaws, as a very pissed-off Adelstein and one of the other guys dragged in two mutilated bodies—Well, Ashton’s definitely still a killer. They carelessly dumped the two bodies in the center of the room. Both were maimed beyond recognition and looked like a gang of angry leopards had attacked them.
“Your abominable satanic beast of a boyfriend just cost me a fortune in damage!” Adelstein spat while he stormed back over to the door. His hair fell out of place across his forehead while he pointed at me, his face a vivid tomato red. “No matter, though, killing you will be revenge enough!”
The other man scurried out of the room, while Adelstein sighed and tried to straighten out his now somewhat disheveled appearance. “Eat well, my children.” He gestured to the bodies, as if he were offering them a five-course meal. “And don’t let her fall asleep.” He pointed to me again. “I have good reason to suspect that filthy beast is an incubus,” he grumbled lowly, then walked out, slamming the door behind him.
What the fuck is an incubus?
Wicked, black oozy grins and chilling, sinister snarls broke out all across the room. Then, like a pack of ravenous coyotes attacking a slab of meat, Adelstein’s children swarmed the bodies and began tearing them apart in a grotesque, bloody feeding frenzy. A gruesome symphony of ripping flesh, the squishing of organs, teeth crunching on bones, and the splattering of blood and entrails filled the room.
