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CLARA, HAM, AND FRANK arrived in Lubbock just after 4:30 am. As in Marrisa’s van, Ham had found sufficient tie-down points to secure his chair in the back. Frank was using his hand-held radio, now that they were in range of Sariel/Jason and the police walkie-talkie he still carried.
“Jason, we’re on highway 62 about to cross highway 289, how far out are we?” he asked.
“You’re about 20 minutes, Lieutenant, and you’re cutting it close. There’s been a lot of activity at the trestle,” Jason replied with a touch of panic in his voice. “Take 62 to MLK, it’s about two miles. Go south a quarter mile to Canyon Lake Drive after the bridge. It’s a loop, so there are two turn-offs, take the second one. We have people set up halfway down the first one. Follow it about a mile and a half to the dam. It’s the best place for Ham and Clara to be over watch.”
“That adds up to four miles, how is that twenty minutes?” Frank grilled.
“Canyon Lake Drive is a winding two-lane, and it’s residential. There’s not much traffic at 4:30, but you wouldn’t want to try straightening the curves in your van, I don’t think,” Jason replied. The panic in his voice was nearing hysteria, and Frank was concerned for his reliability.
“I’ll be careful,” Frank assured him. “You might want to take a few deep breaths, Jason. You’re sounding a little frazzled.”
When there was no reply, Frank raised the radio to his mouth to speak again, but Jason’s voice came out of the walkie. Only this time, it was calm and sounded different; angel different. “Jason has agreed I should take over for now,” Camael said. “The things he’s seeing are difficult for him to comprehend.”
“We’ll be there in ten minutes,” Frank assured him. “What should we expect, and what do you need us to do?”
“Demons have been streaming through the gate since moments after we arrived at the old railroad bridge,” Camael said. “We have been able to hold them back for the most part, and those who have slipped past must contend with Hemah and Arariel on the road. We have a moment’s respite, as they gather on the other side for another assault. I have yet to determine how they managed to breach the gate initially, but that consideration is now mute.”
“Moot,” Frank heard Marrisa say in the background. “The issue is moot. Mute means you can’t speak.”
“The first we encountered were humans with demon riders, and we dispatched them easily enough,” Camael continued. “Azrael and I are considering those humans might have performed a ritual which weakened the portal sufficiently for the others to come through. Once that happened, their combined powers were sufficient to open it completely.”
“Have they heard from Cassiel and Ariel on how many they’ve stopped?” Raquel asked.
When Frank relayed the question, Marrisa answered. “Camael is busy with some new arrivals, so asked me to continue the conversation. Cassiel told Azrael, so of course I overheard, that they’ve stopped a dozen or more pure demons searching for hosts, but Ariel and Camael think more than that have gotten past us.”
“Between them and Adriel, they’ve stopped at least fifty demons right here at the gate. Adriel is really scary, you know. She just touches a demon and they burst into flames,” she finished. “She’s the angel of Death, but what a way to go, even for a demon.”
“So, is she saying there may be some demons coming around our side of the loop?” Ham asked, quickly analyzing the scenario.
Frank nodded, raising the radio to relay their thoughts as two nightmare figures leaped out into the road in front of the van. Frank instinctively jammed on the brakes and cut the wheel, and the ABS caused the front tires to skitter on the asphalt as the vehicle slewed clockwise. One of the creatures resembled a man’s torso, with the head of a bull and the legs of a lion. Its arms were heavily hairy but human until the end, where they terminated in three razor-sharp claws.
The second creature wasn’t remotely humanoid; it had eight tentacles writhing from the foremost end of a quadruped body which might have been a bull, or maybe a horse. But the legs were thick and powerful, like those on an elephant.
Frank was frozen in abject terror. Raquel spoke words of power and thrust her hands in front of her face at the charging juggernaut. The creature faltered in mid-stride before regaining its footing and continuing its charge.
Raquel screamed a similar phrase, and the thump felt inside the van must have been nothing compared to the detonation outside. The body exploded in front of the windshield, showering the glass with thick, viscous orange goo and gobs of blackened flesh. Overpowering odors of sulphur and rotting meat permeated the air, and Ham struggled to check his rising gorge.
Ham had watched over Frank’s shoulder as the man-thing had charged the driver’s window, and now thrust his hand out in a clenching motion, twisting his hand as if trying to open a doorknob. The man-thing reached for Frank’s window and froze, arms extended out in front of the torso. It vibrated and bounced as if a volcano were preparing to go off inside it, blurring the image of the creature as if seen through a wad of cellophane. Then it vanished with an audible pop.
“Yes!” Ham exclaimed. “God told me to lay waste to the demons of the Pit, and I am,” he shouted.
Raquel turned in Clara’s wheelchair and gazed at Ham. “My Father has given you immense power for a mortal, Ham. Use it wisely.”
Frank shook himself before restarting the van and putting it in gear. “I seriously need a drink,” he muttered under his breath. “There’s a housing subdivision to our right, and the lake to our left, so I’m assuming they’re trying to get to people in hopes of finding a host?”
Raquel nodded. “We must get closer to the gate to best stop them before they can reach humans.”
As they approached the curve leading to the dam crossroad, three more unusual apparitions appeared in the roadway; two straight out of Dante’s inferno. They looked a lot like goblins created by Hollywood, while the third was a beautiful woman dressed in a diaphanous gown. This time Frank didn’t hesitate, flooring the van and aiming it at all three.
The woman seemed to become transparent, while the two goblins impacted the front of the van at 30 miles per hour and began scrambling up the grill toward the windshield. As they grabbed the wipers for a handhold, Frank switched the wiper motor on and flung both creatures off into the night. Jamming the brakes, he spun the van 180 degrees and pointed the headlights at the three figures.
One of the goblins had struck a tree and was scrabbling about as if its back was broken. The other was regaining its feet and looked ready to charge the van again. Frank rolled his window down and thrust his revolver out, firing twice at the goblin on the ground. It jerked once and stilled, so Frank changed his aim and fired twice more at the other.
It leapt aside impossibly quickly and all three occupants of the van saw the bullets spark orange trails across the asphalt. As the goblin leapt for the van, Ham repeated his clenching and twisting motion. The goblin vibrated in mid-air and vanished.
Raquel had been moving her hands and arms in a complicated pattern in front of her face as all this was happening, and now thrust both hands away from her as if throwing something. The apparition wavered, becoming transparent again, before beginning to change shape and color.
It transitioned from stark white to yellow and then orange. The image became even more tenuous as it changed to bright red, and a piercing wail cut the night air like some mournful locomotive whistle heard across the silence of the vast southwestern plains. Then the spirit, ghost, or whatever it was shrank down to a finite point and popped out of existence.
“That was a wraith, and I had no idea they had joined forces with the demons,” Raquel explained. “Although they exist in a plain separate from the Pit, they can move between dimensions much more readily than my Brothers and Sisters. They are generally harmless, more inquisitive than anything else, but I sensed a malevolent cause in this one.”
I was confirmed when it attempted to drag me back across the curtain to its side.” Raquel paused, shaking her head in a very real display of human confusion. “This is indeed a new condition all the protectors must be made aware of immediately. If they are caught unprepared, a wraith can strip them from their vessel, leaving it unprotected.”
Frank keyed the radio and passed Raquel’s observation on to the others. “How do we inform the pair on the other side of the lake road?” Frank asked.
“I’ll be right back,” Raquel said, and the brilliance in Clara’s eyes vanished.
“Well, that was certainly interesting,” Clara said with a notable quiver in her voice. “Raquel barely got ahead of the wraith’s power. It had already connected with her energy, and was sucking her out of me. Raquel says I helped her remain by flowing positive thoughts to her. At least I know I can help in some small way.”
Then her eyes flared white, and Raquel was back. “We must advance onto the dam so Ham has a clear view of the Gate where it opens at the end of the old train bridge,” she directed.
Frank put the van in gear once more and rolled slowly along the dam road until Raquel spoke. “Stop here, and turn the headlights to the south.” The headlights exposed nothing but treetops and open ground.
“I can sense the Gate is directly in front of us, but Ham must be able to see it in order to take action.” Both Frank and Ham could feel the frustration and anxiety emanating from Raquel. Her Brothers were in danger and she had the key to lock the Gate, but how to use it?
“Hang on,” Ham blurted. “I thought I saw a dirt road back that way a little.”
“I’m not going off-road in this van with you two in it,” Frank stated. “No discussion; it’s not happening.”
“Let me check out the map app on my phone,” Ham said. He worked his hand across the screen of the smart phone until he had the map he wanted. “I was right, the dirt road leads around a line of trees to the end of the bridge,” he said, handing the phone to
Frank. Turning to Raquel, he asked, “Where is the Gate in reference to the bridge?”
Clara was looking at the phone in Frank’s hand, trying to see the map as well. When he held it out for her to view, she brightened considerably. “As best as I can tell, this end of the bridge is the Gate. Adriel and Azrael are standing on either side, while Camael stands ready for all who exit. Frank, that dirt road leads to within a safe yet visible distance of the Gate. Once he can see it, Ham can close it.”
“I can?” Ham asked, amazed. “I heard you say that before, but thought I misunderstood. How can I close the Gate?”
“If my Father has given you power to wield souls and vanquish demons, you are his chosen prophet for this day and can do anything you need to defeat the hordes,” Raquel said as if quoting.
“So, I can do more than make demons disappear?” Ham asked, now excited.
“Ham, I daresay, you could make me disappear,” Raquel said solemnly.
“Now, why would I want to do that?” Ham blurted.
“Not that you would or should, Ham, only that you are capable,” she replied.
“Frank, take us down the dirt road only until I can see the Gate,” he said.
“There has to be another way,” Frank argued. “I know Clara is protected by your presence, Raquel, but I just learned that wraiths are real and can pull you from her body. And Ham has no protection of any kind.”
“Did you not just hear what she said, Frank?” Ham seethed. “I can do anything I need to stop these demons and close the Gate. Now, take me down the road or I’ll go by myself,” he said, already reaching for the tie-down strap releases.
“Just wait a damn minute,” Frank bellowed. The other two were startled at his outburst. “This is all moving too fast for me. Will you give me one minute to think?” he exclaimed in exasperation.
Ham sat mute, as did Raquel. Frank looked at them expectantly, but Ham only said, “Fifty seconds.”
“Oh, for crying out loud,” Frank groused, opening his door and walking around to the rear of the van. When he opened the rear doors, Ham released one of the three straps holding him in place and was reaching for another when Frank spoke. “Just tighten that right back up, mister. You’re not going anywhere.”
As he spoke, he pulled a panel off the inside wall of the van and removed an AR rifle along with two large-capacity magazines and a semi-automatic handgun. “Ever fire one of these before?” he asked, holding it out for Ham to see.
Ham mutely shook his head, so Frank thrust the pistol in the back of his waistband. Slapping a magazine into the rifle, he pulled the charging handle and allowed it to snap back into place. “I just want more firepower than my revolver,” he offered by way of explanation.
Entering the driver’s door, he propped the rifle against the front doorframe and sat the buttplate in the footwell of the door. Removing his revolver from the shoulder holster, he pulled a speed loader from his jacket pocket and, ejecting the cylinder onto the doghouse over the engine, reloaded.
Sliding the revolver back into its holster, he reached behind his back and pulled the pistol out, press checking it to see that a round was in the chamber. He wedged this, barrel first, into the space between the seat and armrest of the captain’s chair he sat in. “Now I’m ready. Where’s this dirt road?”