The Last Customer (28 page)

           
Fumbling to his knees, pain shot upward through his body. His teeth chattered. Not stopping, he stood and ran toward the stairs and then down them and out the front door. He ran into the night. Realizing that he didn’t know where he was going or what he was going to do, but that didn’t stop his legs from pumping hard and fast. He felt as though he were being guided by something unseen.

           
Before he hit the mouth of the driveway, he heard a voice call to him. It sounded like Cherri’s. There was a sweet tone to it. He turned and looked out into the night. He saw that she was standing near the corner of the house. She stood still, staring at him. She didn’t look frightened—
as she probably should have.
She looked delighted to see him. Suddenly, he felt that he needed to go to her.

           
Relief washed over him. Then fear struck when he saw Garth. Garth was possessed. Still, there was something different about his appearance now. It was Garth.
Not just his flesh and blood, but
his brother.
He stood behind Cherri and there was nothing evil about him. The evil presence that radiated from him was gone and his eyes were sullen.
It was really Garth.

Maybe Gardner had somehow cast the demon out?

Garth looked sad, yet cautious, as if he didn’t want anyone to see him.

           
Winny went to his brother and Cherri.

7

Jezebeth burned. Her existence had grown weak and the pain was intense. It was sharp and she savored it. She hadn’t been sent back yet. For one reason or another, the matter in which her existence was consisted of was not in a solid state. She was a presence, particles of searing pain. Each particle more intensely tormented than the other. But she remained in the world of the living. She still possessed strength. Not the level of strength she’d possessed when she arrived in this realm, but enough strength to present images to those she wished to possess. The red-haired beauty, Cherri, would be a good image to project upon Winny. Winny’s optimism was Jezebeth’s strength. She could make him weak and his guard would fall and then she could wear his body while she tormented his soul. Earlier, when she inhabited the body of Patty, she’d seen the attraction that Winny held for Cherri. It was unmistakable. Now, she would use this attraction, this weakness, in order to take his body and destroy it.

She would possess Winny first. After she had a body, she’d destroy the others. She would be rewarded in Hell. She didn’t care what happened to Sammael. Yet she acknowledged that he was strong. He was better at this sick game than her. Rightfully so, Sammael had existed for many centuries. He’d been around much longer than she had and therefore he was more experienced. But given what had happened tonight—being able to escape the power which the priest carried—she knew that she could continue on her path of destruction. She could be rewarded by the Dark Master.

           
Now, as Winny walked toward—what looked like—Cherri and Garth, Jezebeth smiled. Winny looked comforted. He thought he was seeing Gath and Cherri.
Too bad it wasn’t them; too bad for him.
Winny thought he’d found his brother and Cherri. He slowed down as he neared the edge of the house.

           
“Garth…Cherri, what are you doing?” he asked.

           
Jezebeth could sense his defensiveness. That he was probably contemplating whether or not she and his brother were in fact who they claimed to be and obviously they were not. They were here to destroy him. Naivety was a pleasant weakness about the human race. When people want something bad enough, they’re willing to justify their thinking to suit their wants.

8

Winny shivered as the cold morning air surrounded him. The temperature had dropped significantly. It had been hot during the day, warm in the evening, and was growing bitter cold in the night. He rubbed his shoulders as he walked toward his brother, but couldn’t take his eyes away from Cherri. She was beautiful. He wanted to be with her. He felt guilty because he didn’t want to be thinking about her—like that—now. He couldn’t help it.

How did she make it down here so fast?
He’d just seen her in the attic a few moments ago. He didn’t care. She was here and so was Garth. His faith continued to build. He didn’t recognize any evil within his brother. It just wasn’t there as it had been before.

Maybe Garth had been able to get rid of the demon on his own.
He lacked the glazed eyes and the sinister grin. There was life behind his eyes now that reflected goodness. He looked, strangely, apologetic. The humanistic gleam in his eyes expressed his regret.
He was sorry for leaving earlier.
           

“Hey bro, look, I’m sorry I took off like I did. All of this…that happened tonight…it’s just too much. We shouldn’t deal with this on our own. We need help. We need to get out of here. You need to come with me. I’m not leaving without you—that’s why I came back,” Garth explained as he stared apologetically at Winny. “And before, at the door, that wasn’t me. That thing was in me. After you took off, Gardner did something…he made it go away,” Garth said, and everything he said made sense. It paralleled his assumptions.

           
Winny felt an overpowering sense of camaraderie forming with his brother and it was much needed for some time. He stood close to Garth. Still leery, he stepped closer. He was terrified. Garth wrapped his arms around Winny and squeezed. It was comforting. The two brothers held each other.
It really was Gath, had to be.

Winny parted from Garth and turned toward Cherri who was smiling. She ran her hand gently down his face. It was as if she were happy to see them come together.

           
“I believe him, Winny. I took off right after you. Gardner and his wife are still up there. I’m not saying that he’s bad, but I think he’s going to kill us if he gets a hold of us. He thinks we’re those…demons,” Cherri explained. “I heard what he was saying.”

           
Winny began to wonder.
Was he being fooled? And why was Garth so sided with Cherri?
Quickly, he stepped back. He shook a flat hand in front of Cherri, looked to his brother and asked, “Why are you being so good to her? You hate her.”

           
Without hesitation, Garth smiled and said, “If I need to play nice with her in order to get you out of this hell hole, then that’s what I’ll do. I’m not going to be stubborn. We need to get out of here and get help. We need her.” Garth was silent for a moment before lifting his head toward Gardner’s garage. “Gardner’s truck is in there. Maybe his keys are too. We can go to the police station and get more help.”

           
That seemed logical. It seemed like something Garth would do. The three of them walked toward the garage—Cherri smiled brightly at Winny while they went. Her fingers danced across the palm of his right hand.

           
The grass was wet. It glistened in the moonlight. But the moonlight would pass soon. It was early morning. It had to be four o’clock by now. The sun would come out soon and with the light, Winny knew that everything would be all right. In the movies, nothing bad happened during the day.

           
The garage door creaked as Winny pushed it open. They filed into the musty scented wooden enclosure. There were wooden shelves jutting out from the wall on all sides of the garage. Garden tools hung from large hooks and dangled from the ceiling. Father Gardner’s pickup truck sat parked in the dark.

Winny went to the driver’s side and tried to open the door. It wouldn’t budge. It groaned when he pulled on the handle. He tilted his head to the side, looking at the steering wheel. There were no keys in the ignition. Spinning his head quickly, he found Garth and Cherri staring at him intently.

           
“No keys?” Garth asked, looking to Cherri. He turned and headed for the door. “I’ll get them. I saw them on the kitchen counter, earlier.”

           
“Be careful,” Cherri whispered.

           
Winny saw a smile stretch across Cherri’s face. But it didn’t matter. To Winny, the comfort of having his brother and the girl he’d come to grow fond of was enough that he’d stay. He needed Garth and Cherri to be all right. Garth wasn’t the enemy anymore. Neither was Cherri. It was hard to believe and it was complicated, but Gardner was the problem now.

Winny watched as Garth slid out the side door. It creaked when he closed it and it tapped against the wood frame. The room was dark again. Winny could barely see the outline of Cherri’s body until his eyes adjusted. She was smiling at him, seductively. Her lips curled and her smile shifted to the right side of her mouth. Her eyes drooped and her eyelashes slowly batted. Her appearance was sexy and inquisitive, as if asking,
“Now that we’re alone, what do you want to do?”

           
Winny shook the fantasy. There was no way this was happening. Sure, he wanted it to be happening, but not at a time like this.

           
“I’m glad your brother came back. I had my doubts about Father Gardner, but I didn’t think that it was my place to say anything. I know he’s a good man—that he’s dealt with this kind of stuff before, but I think he’s confused—out of practice.”

           
“It’s okay.” Winny nodded. “I’m just glad we’re all together.”

           
“Can I ask you something?”

           
“Sure,” Winny said. He swallowed hard as Cherri swayed toward him.

           
“In the basement…earlier…you wanted to kiss me?”

           
Winny felt his heart rate quicken. Tiny bulbs of sweat beaded up from the skin of his forehead. He was going to sweat. His cheeks were red. He was becoming aroused.

           
“Ah…I mean. Is it okay that I did?”

           
“It is. I wanted you too. I still want you.”

           
Then she was pulling her shirt up, exposing her flat stomach which spread at the sides where the perfectly symmetric curves of her hips began. Her skin looked soft and flawless. It was vibrant, even in the dark.

           
“What are you doing?” Garth asked, struggling to catch his breath. His breathing was becoming erratic.

           
“Giving you a sneak peek.” She whispered while lifting her shirt even farther, exposing the rounded bottom of her breasts.

           
Winny was fully aroused. Suddenly, he was embarrassed.
She might be able to see his erection.

           
Taking a step backward, Winny crouched. He looked up, at Cherri. She smiled and said, “
It’s
okay. I want that too.” And yet, Winny didn’t feel at ease. He continued to back up. His mouth was dry and he tried to swallow. She’d taken her shirt off and her breasts were completely exposed. Her nakedness was accentuated by the moonlight that shone in through the small rectangular garage window.

           
“This isn’t the time, Cherri,” Winny said, fumbling for words.

           
“Is there ever a right time?” she asked. Her voice had become monotone as if she were a bad actress in a horror film seducing the unsuspecting male victim. She kept moving forward.

           
“Stop,” he said.

He stood tall, firm—as if telling her that he’d take action if she took another step forward.

           
She smiled while tracing her index finger down the center of her chest. She traced the underside of her right breast. “You don’t find me attractive?”

9

Standing in the garage seducing Winny, Jezebeth’s attempts were becoming questionable. Her actions displayed too much. The seduction wasn’t subtle. It was forced. Winny would soon find her actions ridiculously false. Jezebeth’s desperation was becoming apparent. The results were written in Winny’s fearful expression. She sensed that her seduction was failing. It had succeeded at first, but now her attempts were drowning. Still, she needed to continue. She wouldn’t allow herself to stop. She needed to lure him in. Cherri’s beauty was the only way. Jezebeth wouldn’t be able to seduce him any other way and she needed his body. Rage boiled within the matter of her being. The possession needed to happen now or she would be sent back. If she went back, she would live, burning in flames, for too long. It would be decades before she was permitted back to the world of the living.

           
She looked below Winny’s stomach. Beneath his jeans, she saw that he was aroused.
She held a chance.
But if he touched her she’d be revealed as an imposter,
an illusion.
That would end her existence and he would know that she was fraudulent.

She pushed her breasts together and moaned—another feeble attempt.

He licked his lips. Jezebeth could tell that he was trying to justify his arousal—make it all right—while trying to control himself. Her confidence built as she found that he wanted her, but knew that he couldn’t.
Humans were so easy.

Jezebeth needed Winny to believe that she was Cherri.

Or at least forget that she wasn’t.

10

Standing in the garage, alone with Cherri, should have been tantalizing. Being in the basement with her, earlier, was exciting. They’d almost kissed. Frustration suddenly set in. He shouldn’t be feeling these things. The timing couldn’t be more wrong. But she was coming on to him, seducing him. Winny’s will shattered. He moved forward to Cherri. Lustful thoughts dwelled in his mind, and in his heart.
He had to have her.
To touch her soft flesh wasn’t enough. She’d exposed herself to him. Beautiful girls like Cherri never showed interest in him before.
He accepted the bait.
Garth would be back momentarily. When he returned, they would
have
to stop. For now, he only wanted a taste, just a nibble. He wrapped his arms around her. He should have felt her warm body. He anticipated the comfort and the warmth of her, but his arms sifted through her and he fell forward. It was as if she weren’t there. She was weightless. She was shaded energy, drawn in the air. That was all.
No sustenance to her being.
And then, he felt her trying to get in. It felt like the pores of his skin were being penetrated by fiery wind. It hurt, but he wasn’t going to let her in. He closed his eyes and began to pray.