The Last Customer (29 page)

           
Garth stepped into the garage. His feet scraped across the chalky cement floor. He was a shadow in the dark as he leaned against the doorframe and said, “If you let her take your body, she’ll give you the pleasure that you desire. Don’t fight it. I didn’t. I feel like I could crush mountains. Imagine the two of us with strength like that, Winny. Trust me. Join me.”

           
He wanted to. To be that strong and to taste the flesh of this beautiful girl that he’d sought after since he’d laid eyes on her. Wanting her wasn’t enough. He had to have her. In that moment, he didn’t care, even if it meant giving up his soul. He wanted her badly. He could taste her in the air between them.

           
For just one moment, his guard evaporated. He felt the fiery winds sink deep into his flesh like a million hot needles. It burned horribly.

Chapter 25

1

Cherri stood in the attic staring out the window. A million thoughts raced through her head. After facing the evils of this night she’d been able to put her life into a new perspective. If she made it through this, her lifestyle would change. For now, she waited for a sign that Winny was all right. Everyone had become silent since he’d left. At the time, Cherri wanted to run after him and she tried, but Donna had stopped her. Cherri didn’t care if those
things
were to catch her and hurt her because she only wanted Winny. She wanted him to be all right and his safety weighed on her heavily. Her guts twisted at the thought of what those creatures could and would do to him. It saddened her to think of how vulnerable he’d made himself. She’d never had any brothers or sisters and, therefore, she couldn’t, honestly, grasp the feelings that Winny held for his brother. They were enough that he’d disregarded his own safety in order to help him. She found him noble for doing so even though she would do anything to have him back in
this
attic where she sat near the window. Donna and Leslie Gardner stood near the hatch like guard dogs. They remained silent and seemed to be communicating on another level. Their communication wasn’t of the verbal variety.

           
The sound of Gardner’s creaky knees drew Cherri’s attention. He was stumbling forward, gripping his back and wincing.

Cherri opened her mouth, “I want to find him.”

           
Gardner glanced up at her. His mouth moved, but he didn’t say anything. He turned to Donna.

           
“What do we need to do?” Donna asked.

           
Gardner answered, “He’s being tested. From there we will know what to do.”

           
Cherri was angered. It seemed like Gardner didn’t care. It was like he was being lazy. Waiting wasn’t the right thing to do.
Shouldn’t they be trying to save Winny from being tempted by those creatures?
This thought linked her to the next. She wondered how Winny was being tempted. Had Sammael somehow convinced Winny that
he
was in fact Garth? Had Winny bought into Sammael’s deceit because he needed his brother to be all right? Had the demon tempted him like it had her? Like the image she’d seen of her stepfather? The thought of Sammael tempting Winny—somehow—with thoughts of
her
hid silently at the back of her mind. What if Sammael had somehow become Cherri and seduced Winny. She knew that the demon was able to conjure illusions. She’d been fooled earlier when Jezebeth had manifested into the terrifying image of her stepfather. He appeared in the bathtub and she’d bought into it. But Gardner and his wife had saved her. Why couldn’t they save Winny?

           
“I think we need to help him…I need to help him,” Cherri finally answered.

           
“For now, we need to stay together. If we separate, the demon will corner each of us and prey on our weaknesses. That is what the demon does. You know this. It tried to get you earlier and it will do the same again—with you, my wife and certainly with me,” Gardner answered. “I guarantee that is what the demon is doing with Winny.”

           
Cherri frowned. It felt like she’d been stabbed in the belly. How could Sammael tempt Gardner? It didn’t make sense. He was blessed somehow. He had some kind of holy shield
;
a knowledge of how to fight these evil creatures.
Even though
it sounded ridiculous.
But then, this whole night sounded ridiculous. Gardner had certain gifts and his powers had enabled him to fight off the retched creatures. He possessed the strength to fight them. Cherri couldn’t imagine that he could be tempted. There was no way. He was too solid and he seemed to do the right things all the time. His morality was flawless.

           
“That doesn’t seem right, Father Gardner. How can he tempt you?”

           
“The demon always has its ways. It can threaten me with violence against my wife or against you. It could create threats that would force me to succumb to its demands. And he
will
do anything in his power to sway me, and you,” Gardner replied.

           
Gardner’s argument seemed logical. Crazy as it all sounded, what he explained made sense. She almost laughed when thinking of the word
logical
. There was nothing logical about this night or anything that had happened during the course of it. But now, listening to what Gardner said calmed her. Her eager need to be with Winny—to possibly sacrifice herself in order to gain closure was settled. Still, she wanted to abandon her safety in order to find Winny. She couldn’t bear the thought of Winny suffering. Although Cherri knew Winny was tormented by the
taking
of Garth. That was probably what Gardner meant when he said that Sammael could tempt him. Horror seized Cherri. Just the mere thought of Winny being taken, possessed by Sammael, haunted her. The idea was agonizing.
And what if Jezebeth still lingered?
Gardner had fought her twice, but somehow she’d come back.

           
Standing, Cherri leaned forward and looked out the window. To her surprise, she saw something shift near the garage. She looked down and saw
him
standing in the front lawn.

It was Garth.

Chapter 26

1

Winny stood in the garage inhaling the rising dust as it kicked up from the dirty floor. His skin felt like it was on fire. His feet, legs and arms were tight, solid—stiff. He couldn’t move. He raised his hand to his face. It felt heavy. Each finger seemed to weigh a thousand pounds and his skin felt like it was barely hanging on. His forearm seemed to be filled with solid steel instead of flesh and blood. He fought to keep his eyes shut. He didn’t want to see his arm. He was sure that it was melting. He thought so, anyway. The pain was bad and he knew that he was being disfigured. Jezebeth’s heat was reforming his body.
This was it.
The thought of opening his eyes and seeing that his skin had melted away from the bone was haunting and images of his bones covered in bloody muscle flooded in. His stomach crumpled. When he finally opened his eyes, he saw that his arm was fine and
completely intact
. It felt like it was on fire, but it looked as it always had. His thoughts had gotten the best of him. The demon had tricked him. Then he looked ahead toward Cherri. Her entire body flickered like she was being erased and she was still shirtless. She was convulsing and shaking heavily. She vibrated at a high velocity and her appearance changed. The woman he saw before him, now, looked as though her skin was charred and blackened. Her eyes were white
;
without color or pupils. She quickly turned into Cherri again. Abruptly, Winny realized what was happening. The demon was trying to seduce him. She was trying to break down his guard. Jezebeth wanted to possess him and take his body. A blood churning sickness twisted in his stomach. He was sure that Garth had been taken and it killed him to think that his brother was enduring intense pain and torment. Sammael had possessed Garth. Gardner was right. Still, he had needed to be sure.
He couldn’t be faulted for his doubts.
Now, he needed to get away from this evil thing before he too, was possessed. Slowly, the sensation of the burning wind cooled. His skin no longer felt the flames and his awareness blocked the demon’s attack.

           
Winny was angry. He wanted to get back to the attic and see Gardner and his wife. The last time he’d seen Cherri—not the vision of her—was in the attic. The sweet girl that had come into his life on this fate filled night and now he wanted to feel the comfort of being with her. Suddenly, he felt ashamed for having bought into the demon’s seduction. Jezebeth used Winny’s feelings, for Cherri, to lure him in.

           
Now, standing in front of Jezebeth, he was able to see the demon for what she was—a retched beast. Her skin was black, charred and scaly. Her eyes opened and they flickered at him. His anger trumped his fear. Her pure white eyes gazed into his. She was still trying to force her way in, but he wouldn’t let her. It was obvious, from the flickering, fiery, glow of her eyes that she felt rage. She was losing the fight. Intuitively, Winny knew that she couldn’t continue this battle. If she could have, she’d have done it already, but for one reason or another she was unable to hurt him.
Maybe she didn’t have enough power?
 
He could only speculate when it came to the unknown. Jezebeth wasn’t fulfilled. She wasn’t getting in and that was good.

           
The fiery sensation subsided and Winny no longer felt like he was being held captive in a furnace. The muscles in his legs loosened and his arms swayed at ease. He stepped forward. Heart racing, he inched passed the demon. It snarled and hissed at him, but it didn’t move and it didn’t strike. It only stood there, vibrating and flickering. Heat radiated from where Jezebeth stood. Winny moved past her and left the garage. Still scared, he felt the slightest hint of relief.

He had passed this test.

He made it out of the garage. Smelling the cool morning air felt good. It was refreshing. A new fear set in.
Where was his brother? Where was the demon?
His brother wouldn’t have allowed Jezebeth to do this. The demon encouraged Winny to believe what Garth had said, but it wasn’t Garth. No matter how mad Garth was, he wouldn’t wish harm upon his brother. A faint chuckle rippled down from the roof of the garage.

           
Winny looked up. Above him, Garth stood smiling. His skin was pale. He cackled his head off. At first, Winny thought he was choking, but he was only laughing too hard. He hoped that Garth was somehow fighting the demon. Winny wished he could help, but the only help was Gardner.

           
“Hey buddy. Didn’t quite like her, did you?” Sammael called down as he sat on the roof. His feet dangled off the side.

           
“Leave my brother alone,” Winny growled at the demon, and for a quick second, Winny could sense his brother. The feeling was vague and almost unnoticeable, but it was present. A stammer of Garth’s soul escaped the demon’s eyes. The look was sad. He looked frightened. Sammael quickly returned, with his maniacal chatter.

           
“Join us, Winny.” He cocked his head to the side. “And what kind of a name is Winny? Your parents must be pricks. Do you have a friend named Piglet?” the demon joked.

           
Anger brewed and suddenly Winny’s fear subsided. He could help his brother. The fear of the unknown, supernatural being, sitting above the garage wasn’t going to stop him from trying. He yelled at the top of his lungs, “Let my brother go!”

           
And then the snide sarcasm, the belligerently sinister nature of the demon dissipated into something that restored fear within Winny. The demon opened its mouth and a snake shot forward. Just before it snapped at Winny’s face, a small bony hook poked through the end of it. The hook tore, jaggedly, through Winny’s right cheek about three inches, and it was deep. It hurt like hell and it stung. Winny immediately put his hand to the wound. When he pulled his fingers away, he found that they were streaked with blood. He felt the warm red fluid running down his chin and under his jaw. It dribbled down his neck. He looked up. Frightened, yet too upset to turn away, he screamed, “Let my brother go!”

           
And for the second time, Winny felt his brother’s presence.
Sammael couldn’t stop Garth from breaking through from wherever the demon was holding him captive.

           
“Help me Winny, go get Father Gardner before he kills me,” Garth screamed. Then, as quickly as Garth had come, he was gone. The angered white eyes of the demon were gleaming down at him with treacherous intensity.

           
Turning to run, another snake snapped from Sammael’s mouth. It whipped through the air and snatched a small patch of skin from Winny’s shoulder. It tore his shirt open. The pain didn’t stop Winny from running fast toward the front door of the house and as he ran, the padded drop of Sammael jumping from the roof of the garage and landing on the lawn drifted through the early morning air.

The demon stood still, watching.

           
Winny rounded the house and entered the front door. He slipped when his wet shoes hit the hardwood and then he dashed upstairs. His mind was clouded.

What would he say to Gardner when he reached the attic?

He wasn’t able to hide the warmth that flowed within him when the image of Cherri erupted into his mind.

2

In the garage, the wooden planks that made up the walls began to shake. Dust kicked up. Jezebeth—still vibrating and exposed to the world—shuffled into the early morning darkness. She was being vacuumed from the garage. Depression and sorrow encompassed her. Sammael stood in front of her as she exited through the side door. His arms were crossed and he was smiling. A curl of sarcasm dangled from his face. He shook his head.