Page 76 of Unbinding the Demon
—SNAP.
-Three hours later-
Forty... forty one... forty two... Huh? There are exactly forty-two zombies down here. Hot ding-a-ling, I’m a good guesser!
I sat there, rocking back and forth within the limits of my restraints, counting the now full-bellied “children” in a pathetic attempt to distract myself from my impending doom. Hours had passed, and I was still tied up under the godawful church. There was nothing I could do other than count the zombies and curse whatever blasted planetary transit was making me so goddamn susceptible to being kidnapped lately.
Once the feeding frenzy had ended, the only remains left of the two men were their bloody, tattered clothing, shoes, and a pair of broken glasses lying strewn about the blood-dampened dirt floor. I had hoped I would have gotten used to the rancid stench by now, but it was just as foul and putrid as ever. That, and the gruesome display kept my stomach in a constant state of nausea. The zombies, thankfully, stopped snapping their jaws at me once they had eaten. Most were wandering aimlessly around the room, snarling and groaning. Others kept their beady eyes on me with unwavering vigilance.
I wanted nothing more than to pass out and sleep through this horrific nightmare. But even if my debilitating fear and frazzled nerves would allow me that small comfort, the zombies wouldn’t. Every time I had tried to close my eyes, the one named Ryan would aggressively shake my chair and loudly snarl in my face.
What made it worse was that I didn’t know how long I had until Adelstein came to kill me. Hours? Days? Weeks, even? Was he going to wait for some obscure celestial alignment or just get it over with? I tried to keep my spirits high and my thoughts positive, even though I knew I was a goner. If I let myself think about my friends or Ashton, I’d end up spiraling into another teary fit of self-loathing and misery.
The sound of loud, clunky footsteps descending the creaky staircase startled me out of my thoughts. Each heavy thud injected a hefty shot of anxiety straight into my veins. The latch to the decrepit door clicked, and then it opened. Adelstein and the two other men from earlier strolled in. Adelstein smiled warmly at me with a compassionate look as he walked over. It made me want to throw up more than the zombies had.
“Well, my dear, the time has finally come. Simon and Elliot over here,” he gestured to the other two men. “Are going to be bringing you to the secret sacrificial location. Do be a good girl and behave for them.” His patronizing tone made me want to dish out all the sass I had to offer, but I kept my cool and held my tongue. I had come up with an argument to talk him out of killing me, and I didn’t want to anger him beforehand.
“Please, Father, don’t do this,” I pleaded pitifully as I gazed up at him. My eyes were puffy and red and burned from all my tears.
“I’m terribly sorry, my child, but I must. It’s God’s will, after all.” He crouched down and reached around my body, squeezing one of my tied-up hands to comfort me. Feeling his cold, clammy hand on mine did nothing but sicken me, but I begrudgingly forced a small smile onto my lips.
“But god says not to murder, doesn’t he? So wouldn’t it be a sin to kill me?” I tried to sound extra sweet and helpless, hoping I’d be able to reason with this harebrained whack job.
“Oh my sweet child, you see, that is where you’re terribly wrong. Yes, it’s true that God says not to murder, but how many times did God tell the ancient Israelites to slay every man, woman, and child amongst the heathen tribes for him? So he certainly doesn’t oppose killing in his name. It’s also made quite clear throughout the Bible that the Lord our God enjoys blood offerings.” I stared over at him with a look of complete bafflement, while a joyous smile stretched across his long, thin face as he continued.
“That’s not true.” I side-eyed him, dread seeping into my veins.
“Oh, but it is! All one needs to do is simply read the Bible to see it. Just look at Numbers 31:40; God demanded that 32 virgins be sacrificed unto him. Or how about Exodus 22:29, where it requires us to offer our firstborn sons to the Lord? II Samuel 21:6-21:10 is another wonderful example of human sacrifice to Jehovah, and the list goes on and on.” He waved his hand in a circle. “So you see, my dear, God will be most pleased when I spill your blood for his cause.” His smile was loving as he spoke with an eagerness in his crazed eyes.
Goddammit, he’s a religious radicalist.There goes my last shred of hope.
I sighed in aggravation, trying to keep my tears from falling once more. The false, loving smile he had on his face made me want to gag. In his mind, he was a true man of his god, and killing me was the righteous thing to do. I didn’t know how to argue with someone who had such a twisted mindset.
“Well, my dear, it’s about time we got going. I don’t want to keep the others waiting.” He was still smiling as he stood up and brushed some invisible dust from his sleeve. “Bring her to the car,” he ordered Simon and Elliot, while pointing up with enthusiasm.
The broken pair of glasses crunched beneath Simon's boot as the two men shuffled over to me. Elliot’s callused hands held me in place while Simon untied the restraints. My stiff body popped at every joint, but my muscles jumped for joy as I was pulled up, thankful to escape that godforsaken chair. It felt great to stand, but then I winced. A sharp burn shot through my wrists as they retied them behind my back. The coarse rope dug into my sore, already rope-burned skin, then Simon took hold of it and guided me out of the room.
Tears fell from my weary eyes as I glanced at Adelstein’s smugly pleased smile and all the zombies that faithfully stood around him. Then, just as we were about to leave the room, an unexpected moment of anger and complete insanity washed over me...You think I’ll just let you kill me without a fight!? Yeah, flippin’ right!
In an attempt to go all Chuck Norris on their asses, I let out a loud, hysterical scream that I could only imagine sounded something like an ancient Aztec war cry. I used all my strength to pathetically roundhouse kick Elliot in the gut.“Ow,”he groaned as he took a few steps back while holding his stomach. I bounced off the dirt floor and kicked my way up the side of the splintered doorframe in a frantic effort to get away. Simon was still holding onto the rope around my wrists, causing me to go horizontal in the air, then spin and flop onto my stomach.
I made a little“Oof”noise as my body thudded against the bloody, compacted dirt, ripping my black leggings at the knees. I jumped up to sit, ready to run. But then, a heap of flailing zombies tackled me back to the ground. The impact knocked the wind from my lungs. My head slammed into the floor, leaving a dirt stain on my cheek and making my vision go white. Black drool dripped all over my face and body as they snarled and snapped their jaws while pinning me down.
Why exactly did I think that would work?
“Don’t kill her!”Adelstein yelled with urgency, attempting to cut through the snarling commotion that engulfed me. “Get off her right now! She’s invaluable to us! We need her to be alive when we sacrifice her!” He ripped one of the smaller zombies off me. Simon pulled my disheveled, crumpled-up body back to my feet, his grip tight and unyielding. “You’re lucky I loved Elowynn so much!” Adelstein yelled in a fit of rage as I regained my balance. “Or else I’d be letting my children gnaw your limbs off for that outburst!” His face was beet red, and saliva sprayed from his mouth.
My breath came in sharp bursts as I directed a fierce glare at him. “If you had truly loved her, you wouldn’t be about to kill me right now! I read her journal! I know how much you obsessed over her! And as a priest, you should know thatobsession is more like selfishness than it is love! You spineless, selfish cockalorum!“ I stated with a venomous bite to my words.
Before I could even register his hand coming at me, he smacked me across the face. “Harlot!” he furiously spat. Searing pain radiated across my face, vibrating up along my cheekbone. But I paid little attention to it. I kept my loathsome gaze locked onto his enraged one.“Who in God’s name even says cockalorum anyway?”he grumbled in a harsh tone. “Gag her again, so she knows what it’s like to speak like a proper woman in her final moments,” he commanded his idiotic henchmen in irritation and then stormed off.
To my horror, they re-gagged me with the same red cloth they had previously thrown onto the dirty floor. The material tasted foul and sucked all the moisture from my mouth. They then stuck a brown cloth sack over my head, and Simon picked me up, bridal style. I squirmed and kicked, but my efforts were futile. Simon reeked of wood chips and body odor, which made me long for Ashton’s pleasant scent of fire and spice.
I heard the squeaking of an opening door, and a sudden gust of air chilled my skin. The sounds of trees rustling in the wind and distant yipping coyotes told me we were now outside. The cloth over my head was thin enough to allow me to see that it had darkened dramatically, meaning nighttime had already fallen.
I heard a click and was then ungracefully stuffed into what I assumed to be the trunk of a car. There were a few hard thingamajigs jabbing into me that made it quite uncomfortable, but I managed to fit in. The hood slammed down above me, and then everything became quiet until the rumbling of the engine started.
These jerks really couldn’t have been bothered to empty their trunk out beforehand?
