Was this a dream?
If this didn't happen, then why did Janie have the same dream??
Ziggy tricked everyone into thinking he was this great guy but he really had a bad side that no one ever saw but the few who knew him well. One Sunday afternoon he took Janie and me to the rectory at the church to meet Father Paul. When we arrived, Father Paul came out of the office and led us into the church. Ziggy stayed behind. Running away and escaping was no longer an option. We were convinced that Father Paul would kill everyone we cared about if we defied him. Father Paul carried demons with him, demons that he mistook for God. He was mad to an extent, but just sane enough to pull anything off.
Anxiously, we walked down the long aisle of the church. Father Paul was still wearing a robe and parchment from offering mass earlier on. He strode behind the altar and took out the brass cup and the wine used for the sacraments in mass. He then poured some wine into the cup and drank from it. Next he filled it again and inconspicuously put some white powder in the wine and told us to drink it. We weren’t stupid but after seeing what he was capable of, how could we refuse? After we drank our dose of liquid poison, he cleaned the cup inside and out, making sure not to leave any powder behind. Instantly we both felt the full effect of the drug. Janie passed out first, slamming her head on the church floor. Then I blacked out as well.
When I regained consciousness, the first sense I had was the sight of the ocean front. I felt the cool breeze chill my neckline. Something looked familiar about this place but I did not recognize this house in front of me. Two bold, large stone lions were planted at the walkway, guarding the entrance. I noticed that it was a single-story house with a concrete façade. Strangely, no grass was growing in this yard, unlike at the neighboring houses. This house was made of just cold stone and concrete.
I took a deep breath as Father Paul turned the doorknob and we entered two massive, custom-carved wooden doors. The inside was an empty vessel without any furniture. The hardwood floors were black and a small entryway had a podium.
The man at the door lurked behind the podium and looked down at a list as if we were checking in. Then several men dressed in red robes came in from the back room. I saw at least one women but it was difficult to tell if she were the same one I had seen before. Father Paul placed me on display in the center of the large room while Janie stood watching beside him.
The priests checked in and stepped over a board blocking the floor to enter the room. The next thing I knew, I was being laid face up on the cold floor on top of a strange design. I still felt the effect of the drug but was aware enough to know what was going on at the doors. The men all lined up and looked intently at me like I were some type of zoo animal. My heart raced as I remembered the little boy who was killed.
Father Paul picked up his black magic book again and began to read incomprehensible Latin phrases. Although fear had rendered me paralyzed, I felt that this time was different. I felt the presence of something real. Was it the power of God or was I dreaming?
Father Paul read on even louder than I had ever heard him read. I think he was trying to summon something evil. Suddenly a man with a large cardboard box came to the door. He tilted it towards the room to show us what it contained. To my disbelief, he walked towards me with a dozen or so large snakes of all kinds. In a rainbow of different colors, the vicious reptiles slithered around the open floor and formed a circle around my body. Without protection or clothes, my heart almost beat out of my chest in tremendous fear. Two of the bigger snakes immediately fought with each other. The snakes and I were aware of each other's presence. One of the snakes slithered onto my leg and bit me, then another, and I felt the pain but I refused to show them fear, nor anyone else in the room for that matter. I WAS NOT backing down. I decided to take a stand and prove who was in charge. To prove to Father Paul that he didn’t have the power to hurt me anymore. This decision was critical as something incomprehensible happened to me. As I wiped the sweat off my forehead, sharpened my gaze and stood up, I felt the power of my blood coursing through my veins. Blazing with powerful energy, I had never felt more alive. A powerful strength was piercing into my soul.
The snakes proceeded to form a circle around my body, facing away from me and towards the evil men as if to protect me. Then they begin to hiss at the priests at the doorway and one by one they started jumping violently in their direction. With my powerful eyes fixed on theirs, I sensed deep fear. The onlookers felt startled and uncomfortable, almost as if they knew they didn’t belong there. The man who had brought the snakes decided to go in and remove them, but as he did, the snakes began to attack him, biting him multiple times. He desperately ran to the door in terror, screaming, “Help! They are poisonous. I’ve been bitten!”
The others quickly exited the house, leaving me alone.
In shock, Father Paul couldn’t take his eyes away and began reading the book again. I wondered if he thought he was going to break the spell he had put on me with that Latin book of magic.
I walked by Father Paul with the snakes at my feet. Then I removed the boards and left the room. Father Paul called Ziggy in to take me home. His expression was of terror, just like the expressions of the others. Now I knew that even evil serial killers like Father Paul did experience fear.
After a couple of hours had gone by, Janie and I woke up in the basement of our house. I scratched my head wondering what forces were summoned in that other house that made everyone run in fear. In my gut I knew that what happened to me was something Father Paul would never understand. It was supernatural, but not Father Paul’s doing. The snakes protected me…. that wasn’t the work of evil. It was the work of God, protecting a child.