CHAPTER XVII

Brad and Eldon arrived on the scene where Tyndal and her group had delivered their form of punishment on Tony Adams. They had angrily vented their spleens at Tyndal’s tactics the whole time they travelled and realized they would not be in on whatever had been planned. All they could think of was how much they wanted to kill Tony Adams, and that they would be denied their vengeance. They deserved to be in on this. They had promised themselves they would deliver the blow to end his miserable life. They were being denied justice.

Tony Adams had only begun to regain consciousness when Eldon and Brad entered the clearing where Tony was lying on the ground. He recognized them, at least he thought he had seen them somewhere before. Only, he couldn’t be sure. All he could think of was the Angels, bright light, and Lucifer and the all-consuming darkness that had claimed him. He could still hear the evil laugh that came from Lucifer and how it had surrounded him, and he croaked out a plea through his tears, “Kill me, please. End this torment.”

“What the hell happened here?” Brad asked. There were no signs of a struggle or anything that might have happened to cause this reaction from Tony Adams. They had to admit, the man looked like he had been put through the wringer several times.

“You can’t let them get me,” Tony Adams whimpered.

Eldon and Brad could barely understand what Tony Adams was saying and he certainly wasn’t making much sense. He was also drooling as he babbled. “Don’t let who get you?” Eldon asked.

“The Angels,” Tony Adams explained hoarsely. “They can, you know. They were here, they left when the light came for them. They said they were finished with me, but I know better. Beware of the dark one, he brings nightmares and they called him Lucifer.”

“Lucifer?” Brad looked at Eldon and shook his head. He had no idea what had happened, but from what he could see, whatever it had been had reduced Tony Adams to little more than a mindless lunatic.

“He will get you too, if you don’t do as the Angels tell you,” Tony Adams warned. “They are all bad. They will control you. They will take the light and leave you in darkness.” He then gave a small gleeful giggle at the thought.

“He has lost his mind,” Eldon stated.

“Kill me, end the torment,” Tony Adams begged.

“I almost feel sorry for the poor bastard,” Eldon commented.

“I am tempted to grant him his wish,” Brad agreed. “Can you imagine living a life like this?”

“I don’t even want to try, but I find I rather like the idea of leaving him alive to live in this state,” Eldon noted.

“Has anyone ever told you that you can be a sadistic bastard at times?” Brad asked.

“Yes, Alice, last night, but she liked it so I am fine with it,” Eldon chuckled.

“What do you think we should do with him?” Brad asked.

“From what Alice has told me about him, he treated his family like dirt,” Eldon informed Brad.

“A lot of people fit that profile,” Brad pointed out.

“True, but I understand he was particularly bad to them. Perhaps we should let them deal with him,” Eldon mused. “I am sure his wife can think of a place where he would fit in perfectly.

Brad shook his head as he commented, “Trust you to think of something like that.”

“Look at him,” Eldon motioned at Tony Adams with a wave of his hand, and he looked disgusted. “He has drool running out of his mouth and he has soiled his pants. He is crying and babbling like a fool. Whatever happened to him out here has caused him to snap.”

“Which reminds me,” Brad noted, as he looked up at the darkening sky. “We better get back to that clubhouse where we were told to stay for the night. Bill advised us not to get caught out in these woods, either close to dark or after. He says it can be a creepy place with all the noises the animals make. Makes me wonder what type are out here.”

As Brad spoke, a slight wind picked up and with it came wailing. He looked at Eldon and then at Tony Adams, as he gave another croaking scream.

“They are coming for me.”

Eldon curled his lip in disgust, as a fresh sign of wetness stained Tony Adams pants and he gave a shudder, “Do we really have to touch him? He is disgusting.”

“Don’t be such a pussy,” Brad teased. He didn’t blame Eldon, though. He had come close to giving in to Tony Adams’ sobbing pleas to end it for him too. It would be more humane than allowing him to live, in his opinion.

Four hours later, Eldon and Brad walked up to Tony Adams mansion with Tony held between them and rang a doorbell, which was answered by a real butler.

Tony Adams wife was halfway down the grand staircase that led to the second floor of the house, and she gave a cry as she saw her husband suspended between the two men. “What happened?”

“We have no idea,” Eldon admitted. “We work for him, and this is how we found him. Since then, all he has done is blubber about Angels coming to get him. He had fouled himself a number of times. I realize you are his wife, and I shouldn’t say this, but his condition is disgusting.”

Tony Adams looked at his wife. He began to cry and then lunged at her. “Gillian, you need to help me. The things they do to people, and they are supposed to be benevolent beings. Don’t believe a word you hear about them.” He then soiled himself anew and burst into a fresh torrent of tears while he blubbered. “I didn’t deserve what they did to me before they went back to heaven.”

Gillian took a step back, but it wasn’t far or fast enough to evade Tony Adams’ clutching hands. A strange look entered his eyes, as they connected with hers. As he saw the revulsion and fear in her eyes he moved his hands to her throat and began to strangle her.

“You were there. You were one of them. You told them to do those things to me. I will kill you, then I will kill those bastards you created for me. I can’t live this way and it is all your fault. Kill me now, before it is too late or they come for me again. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

At the sound of something happening on the main level of the house, Tony Adams’ sons came running from their rooms just in time to see their father attack their mother. Moments later they rushed to help Eldon and Brad stop Tony from killing her, while the butler phoned 9-1-1. They were all surprised how strong he was for a man who had never done any physical work in his life.

A couple of hours later, Brad and Eldon were sitting in Gillian Adams’ living room as they spoke over cups of fortifying coffee.

“So, now what are you going to do?” Eldon asked.

“The doctor was clear about Tony’s condition. He said he will never recover. We intend to draw up legal papers to have him declared insane,” Gillian answered, as she took a shuddering breath.

“I shouldn’t say this, but the man treated you like garbage most of your married life, and considering how he acted towards others, it is a wonder he lived this long,” Eldon stated. “What do you plan to do with him?”

“The only thing I can,” Gillian didn’t bother to deny what these men were telling her about her husband. She had a good idea of some of his actions and what had driven him in the past, although she hadn’t suspected the worst. These men had treated her with a kindness she hadn’t experienced in decades. They stayed by her side, along with her sons through this whole ordeal. They had told her what they had done for Tony, but left out how he had repaid them. She had a feeling the ending of their relationship couldn’t have been pretty. She knew that under the surface, Tony Adams had been a brutal person in how he dealt with others. It was time the tables were turned.

“I know of a place people like Tony deserve to live out their lives in,” Gillian stated. “We will take care of him.”

The eldest of Tony Adams’ sons firmed his lips and added, “I know the son of a bitch sired us, but he was never a father to either of us. We will see to settling his estate and try to rectify his actions. I know this won’t be possible in some cases, but we can still try.”

Eldon and Brad agreed and then left. They had lives to rebuild too.