Tender Walks the Demon - Chapter Five #Incarnate
UPDATE: WINNER! My entry won the #Incarnate contest over on the @IncarnateMovie page! Eek! I'm so excited!
Read the entire story (chapters 1-4, written by the amazing @ShaunAllan & chapter 5 written by me) by clicking on the link below:
Link: https://www.wattpad.com/story/88422380-tender-walks-the-demon
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Tender Walks the Demon
Chapter 5
Screaming in terror, Brian watched as his mother's body crumpled on the ground.
"I need you to run, Brian. Can you do that?" asked Derek.
Brian nodded as Derek set him down.
Shoes pounding against the pavement, they raced toward Kimberly with the demon closing in with every step they took.
The bricks on the houses across the street turned grey and began to melt. With each drip, another part of the home vanished.
"There's a church around the corner," shouted Derek. "We need to get there!"
Derek picked up Kimberly, who clutched her left leg, and began to run.
Brown wisps of air swirled around the ivy dotted walls, quickly erasing any sign of their existence.
"Why are you running?" snarled the demon. "Death awaits you."
Brian sprinted after Derek and his mother. The church lay at the end of the block, still untouched by the demon's powers.
Kimberly wept, tears streaming down her face as she looked back at her young son, close on the heels of Derek.
"You've already brought me to a church once. How did that end up?" boomed the demon in a nefarious tone.
"What happened at the church?" Derek asked.
Kimberly held a trembling hand to her mouth and shook her head.
"Tell me, now! What happened to the priest?"
Dropping her arm to her side, Kimberly closed her eyes and whispered, "He murdered him. Broke his bones and snapped his spine."
Goosebumps snaked up Derek's arms as he raced up the stairs leading to the large wooden doors. "Come on, Brian! We're almost there!"
Thunder boomed and lightning streaked across the sky above as Derek pushed through the doors. Brian emerged through a moment later.
"Brian, the bolt! Quick secure the doors!"
The young boy slid the bolt and turned it down, locking the doors in place.
"Brian, there's a kitchen to the left of the alter. I need salt and sage. Quick!"
Brian nodded and took off down the center aisle.
"What are we going to do? If a priest can't stop the demon, how will we?"
Derek sent Kimberly down on a nearby pew. "If this doesn't work, we'll be dead. We have to at least try."
He grabbed a vase off a nearby windowsill and plunged it into the font of holy water as Brian raced back up the aisle with a large cylinder container of salt and a smaller plastic container.
"I found both," he said, short of breath from sprinting.
"Good work, Brian."
Derek set the pitcher of holy water down and grabbed the two containers as the doors began to shudder.
"Brian, fill your palms with salt and stand over your mother. Give her some of the sage"
The wood splintered as the doors groaned in distress.
With the containers shoved under his arm, Derek ripped three crosses and a small angel statue off the wall.
"Here," he said tossing crosses to Brian and Kimberly. "Hold them-"
Before he could finish his statement, the doors blew open and the demon burst through. He quickly tucked the cross and the angel in his back pocket.
"You think you can stop me here?" he chortled, blood and spittle flying from his mouth.
Derek closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. He pictured himself approaching the demon and charging him with the cross. A powerful sucking sensation brought him face to face with the demon. "I will vanquish you!"
When he opened his eyes, the demon had doubled in size.
Derek filled his cupped hand with salt and sage. In the other hand he grabbed the pitcher of holy water. He stood with squared shoulders and planted his feet firmly in the ground.
The demon threw his head back and laughed. "The puny man thinks some salt and holy water will stop me?"
Raising his hands in the air, black clouds rushed through the open doors and filled the ceiling of the church.
Derek sprinted toward the demon. He whipped handfuls of salt and sage, scorching the demon's skin. As he got closer, Derek placed both hands on the pitcher and chucked the water at the demon, aiming as high as he could.
As the holy water splashed against the demon's skin, he let out a shriek, his skin turning a dark shade of scarlet.
Derek grabbed on to the demon's burning hot skin and scaled it, stopping once he grabbed hold of a think horn.
Face to face with the piercing rows of teeth, Derek reached in his back pocket and forced the copper angel into the demon's through before breaking the cross in two and plunging the jagged ends through the demon's tough hide. With one last push, the cross pierced the demon's heart.
Derek dropped to the ground as Kimberly and Brian threw salt and sage on the shrinking satanical beast. "In the name of God, be gone wicked beast. Be gone from our world and ride us of your putrid existence."
Screeches erupted from the demon as the floorboards of the church melted away, creating a never-ending hole of fire and desperate cries and moans.
"Keep it coming," shouted Derek as the demon desperately clawed at the wooden planks. Kimberly and Brian dumped the remainder of the salt and sage containers into their hands and chucked it at the demon as fast as possible.
Derek ran to the holy font and pulled with all of his might. The font broke free, water sloshing over the sides.
"No, Brian! Don't!" screamed Kimberly as Brian edged closer to the hole to throw his remaining sale.
The demon roared as he reached toward the boy, catching his pant leg with one of his claws.
As Brian fell to the ground, he cried out for his mother, hands desperately trying to find something to hold on to.
"If I'm going to hell, the boy is coming too," hissed the demon.
Derek, with one final push, darted toward the demon. "Vanquish, Xaphan and never return! Ecce crucis signum, fugiant phantasmata cuncta!" he bellowed as he threw the font toward the hole and then scrambled to grab on to Brian's outstretched arm.
As their hands met, Derek hooked his feet on the end of the pew and pulled the young boy to safety.
The demon let out one final malevolent howl before his claws gave out and he tumbled down the hole. Moments later, the wooden floor planks carefully relay themselves, sealing the endless pit.
Brian threw himself into his mother's arms. "We're safe, mum! We're safe!"
"My sweet, boy," said Kimberly holding her son tightly and kissing on top of the head. She looked up, tears flowing from her eyes. "Thank you, Derek! Thank you!"
The smoke snaked out of the open church doors and color began to return to the trees and homes across the street.
Derek dropped to his knees and covered his face.
Using the backs of the sturdy wooden pews, Kimberly hobbled over to Derek with Brian at her side. "Derek, you did it." She placed her hand on his back. The man sobbed, his entire body shaking with each breath.
"He's gone. Martin is gone."
Kimberly let her hand fall. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.
Brian shifted his weight. "I'm really sorry too, Derek."
Derek pressed his lips together and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I need to get back to Martin. He, I mean, his body, he shouldn't be left alone."
Kimberly nodded as she eased into a standing position. "Do you want us to come with you?"
Grief stricken, Derek shook his head. "No, you've done enough."
Kimberly's cheeks flushed. The demon who had inhabited her son's body had been a cold blooded killer and had ruined countless lives. The priest and Martin were gone forever. Everyone who loved them would be trying to make sense of the violent crimes that took the lives of their loved ones.
"Let me call you an ambulance," said Derek, looking at Kimberly's bloodied leg. He fished his mobile out of his pocket.
"Thank you," said Kimberly as she gently lowered herself into a pew.
"Yes, we are at St. Thomas' Cathedral on Birch Street. There is a woman here with a broken leg." Derek paused. "Yes, yes, five minutes. We'll see you then."
Derek slid the phone back into his pocket and wiped a fresh stream of tears off his cheeks. "I must be off now."
Brian stood and wrapped his arms around Derek. "I'm sorry."
Kimberly's face broke out into a small, yet incredibly sad smile. Such outward signs of affection were not typical for her son.
Stepping back, Brian cocked his head to the side and stared at Derek. "I have one question before you go." He didn't wait for a response. "How did you know the demon's name?"
Derek blinked. When he opened his eyes again, they were sunken in and black as night. "Oh, honey, I know everything," he hissed. "And I'll never leave you alone!"
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Cliffhangers,
Thank you for checking out my #Incarnate entry! The chapter above is the fifth and final chapter of ShaunAllan's short story, Tender Walks the Demon!
To read the first four chapters of Shaun's chilling story, head over to the IncarnateMovie profile!
As always, all comments and votes are always appreciated!
Kelly Anne Blount xoxo
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