The Word of God (2 page)

Gwen scoffed: “Devil Worshippers! Here in North Queensland? Get real!”

“It's true!” the man shrieked. “You must believe me. Oh please hurry!”

“Prove it,” Gwen challenged.

“I can't,” the man replied in a mixture of anger and exasperation. That he was deeply distressed was very apparent.

Stephen Bell, who up till this time had stood back, now stepped forward and pushed his glasses up his freckled nose. “There are Devil Worshippers in Cairns, I can vouch for that,” he said quietly.

Gwen gave him a shocked look and CUO Joy Randall, a short, solid girl from Townsville, let out an audible gasp.

“How do you know that?” Gwen demanded of Stephen.

“I'll tell you later,” Stephen replied calmly. “But believe me they exist; and they are very dangerous people. If this guy says that they are going to make human sacrifices then I believe him.”

Stephen's word was good enough for Peter. He had known Stephen for years and they had been through some hair-raising adventures together in the past. Peter turned to the man: “OK, give us the facts, and quickly.”

The man nodded, licked his lips and spat out his tale in jerky sentences. He had been persuaded to become a Devil Worshipper a few years earlier by a friend. At first he had thought it all a bit of a joke and mostly good fun, with lots of sex and good thrills. Bit by bit he had been initiated into a secret group. By the time he realized the Devil Worshippers were deadly serious he had been too deeply involved to pull out.

“So why come to us?” Peter asked.

“Because I've had enough. I can't stand it any more. I don't want the deaths of anyone else on my conscience,” the man replied.

“How many Devil Worshippers are there?” Peter asked. “Five, and three prisoners,” the man replied. “Are they armed?” Graham asked.

The man nodded. “They will all have knives. That is how they make the sacrifices. They pray and get all worked up, then at either sunset, or midnight, whichever the omens indicate, they mutilate and torture their captives, then slit their throats and drink their blood.”

Peter shivered with revulsion and horror. Several of the others gave audible gasps. “Who are these people?”

The man shook his head: “I daren't tell you. I've said too much already. If they find out I told you they will kill me.”

The man's fear was so genuine that Peter could only nod. He asked: “Who are the prisoners? Why are they killing them?”

Again the man shook his head: “Three men. I don't know their names. One is a local bloke but I have never seen the other two. The boss didn't explain why they had to die except to indicate they were very dangerous to us in some way.”

“Why are you here? Why didn't you go up the mountain with the others?” Peter asked.

The man waved the hand radio. “I am the sentry. I am to warn them if anyone follows them up the mountain. They like to worship in secret.”

Peter put his hand out: “Give me the radio. What is your call sign?”

The man handed the radio over as though it was hot. “Michael,” he replied.

“And your boss, what is his call sign?”

“He is six six,” Michael replied. “He is one of Lucifer's Lieutenants.”

“How will we know these people? How will they be dressed?” Peter asked.

“In ordinary clothes until they begin their ceremonies,” the man replied. “Then they change into black costumes. You will know them when you see them. Oh hurry!”

“Just a minute. We need to plan this,” Peter replied. “Will you show us the way?”

The man shook his head, fear evident on his face. “No! No! No I won't. I'm getting out of here.”

With that the man turned and began to run along the vehicle track towards Gordonvale.

Graham moved to grab him. “Hey! Come back here!” he cried. But the man ignored him and ran on. Graham went to chase but then stopped to watch. As the man vanished out of sight around the bend in the track the cadets looked at each other.

Joy licked her lips and looked sacred. “Well! What do we do now?” she asked anxiously.

“Pretty obvious,” Peter replied. “We phone the police. Get out that mobile phone Charmaine.”

Charmaine, the red faced chubby girl, nodded and bent to dig in her pack. Army policy was that cadets were not allowed to have mobile devices during cadet activities and while they all owned one Capt Conkey had only allowed them to keep one in case of emergencies.

While Charmaine rummaged in her pack Joy bit her lip and frowned. “What if.. what if this is just part of the exercise?” she asked.

Peter looked at her, thinking she was very pretty. “You mean like the people who act various roles in the Senior Field Exercises your OC organizes?” he queried. Joy's unit, 130ACU, was famous through the North Queensland cadets for the week long ‘Senior Exercises' that were always a challenging adventure and always involved a story with a lot of costumes and play acting. One had not been organized for these holidays which was why the friends had arranged their own activity.

Joy nodded. “Yes,” she agreed.

Peter did not think so but before he could speak Stephen answered her.
“No way. That bloke wasn't acting. He was genuinely terrified. I think we should call the police.”

Graham looked doubtful. “What if it is though? Shouldn't we check with Capt Conkey first? We will look like real noddies if we spark a major police drama and it all turns out to be just part of the exercise.”

Peter nodded. “Good idea. OK Charmaine, give Capt Conkey a call and I will ask him,” he said.

Charmaine now had her mobile phone in her hand after extracting it from a plastic bag. She tried to turn it on and then frowned and tried again. A little stab of anxiety went through Peter. “What's the matter?” he asked.

“It won't seem to turn on,” Charmaine replied, pushing again at the button. She blushed and looked flustered.

Stephen looked at her. “Is the battery flat?” he asked.

Charmaine nodded and muttered, “Yes, it looks like it.”

“But you charged it fully and then turned it off and packed it away,” Joy commented. “I watched you do that.”

Charmaine nodded again and then coloured with embarrassment. Joy held out her hand. “Give me a go,” she instructed.

Reluctantly Charmaine handed Joy the phone. Joy also tried and also had no luck. “Dead flat,” she said. She handed the phone back and then looked accusingly at Charmaine. “Did you take it out and turn it on?”

Charmaine blushed even more and then nodded. “Yes, but only to check my emails and facebook,” she muttered.

Peter wasn't impressed. They had promised Capt Conkey they would not use the phone for personal reasons and his opinion of Charmaine, never high, now slid even lower. “You must have left it turned on,” he said.

Charmaine nodded and tears formed in the corners of her eyes. “Sorry,” she whispered.

A worried looking Dean spoke next. “So what do we do now?” he queried.

Peter had been thinking about that, calculating time and space in his head. “Obviously some of us go to get the police; and the rest of us go up this bloody mountain. It looks like you are going to get your wish Graham.”

Graham bit his lip and nodded, then started walking. Peter put out a hand to restrain him.

“Hey! Hold on a minute ‘Old-Bull-at-a-Gate'. Let's get organized first.”

Graham stopped and gave a grin, then nodded. Peter smiled back.
Good old Graham!
Peter knew he could depend on him come Hell or high water.
If there is a scrap where a White Knight is needed to fight dragons, then Graham will charge into it, he thought. Particularly if there is a damsel in distress involved
.

Charmaine looked fearfully up into the bush. “I'm not going up that mountain!”

Peter managed to keep his voice neutral as he replied: “You don't have to. We need someone to stay down here; to contact the police; and to wait for Captain Conkey. You can do that.”

“Not on my own!” Charmaine shrilled. She was from one of the Townsville cadet units and Peter couldn't help wondering why she had joined them on the holiday hiking trip.

“You won't be. We wouldn't be so silly. There must be at least two of you. Who else wants to stay?” Peter asked, glancing at Joy, Megan and Gwen. All shook their heads, although Joy looked very apprehensive.

Gwen set her lips in a firm line. “If the Devil's Disciples are about then it is our Christian duty to fight them,” she said.

She said this in such a matter-of-fact, yet determined way that Peter was surprised.
I never knew old Gwen had strong religious ideas
, he thought. They had been in the same classes at school for twelve years, and in the cadets for four years and he was amazed to realize at how little he really knew about her.

Dean had been looking very unhappy and was sweating. He now said hesitantly: “I'll stay with Charmaine,” he offered.

Peter caught a glimpse of the contempt on Graham's face as he turned away. He nodded and agreed. “Good. We will take all your water. Then you are to go and phone the police.”

“What, walk all the way to town?” Charmaine cried, pointing in the direction of Gordonvale. The chimney of the large sugar mill was just visible several kilometres away through the trees.

“It's only three or four kilometres,” Peter replied flatly, trying to hide his own negative feelings. “Anyway, you only need to walk to that farmhouse back over there. That is only about a kilometre. You should be there in ten minutes.”

At that both Charmaine and Dean looked relieved but Charmaine then added: “But that man went along that road.”

Graham's face twisted into a sneer: “Then walk around the edge of the bloody cane field! Christ! Let's get moving.”

Charmaine looked hurt. Peter shook his head: “Even if he did he won't bother you. He will be half way to Gordonvale by now. Just phone the police, then come back here. When Captain Conkey comes tell him what is going on.”

“But.. but what if more Devil Worshippers arrive?” Dean asked.

“Then hide in the bush over there and watch from there. You can hide our gear with you as well,” Peter replied patiently.

To get things moving he set to work transferring water. Most had only one
water bottle left, which was worrying as they were already thirsty and it was a hot day.

“Take torches,” Peter added. “We won't be back down before it gets dark.”

By then Graham was waiting at the bottom of the walking track, his face alive with excitement. Stephen and Gwen joined him, then Joy. Peter noted the anxious look on Joy's face and quietly whispered to her. “You don't have to come if you don't want to Joy.”

Joy set her lips in a firm line. “I'll come. Don't worry.”

CUO Megan Crawley, the fourth girl; a quiet, friendly, freckle-faced girl from Sarina, joined them and said: “OK, we are ready.”

Graham grinned. “Right, let's go. Dean, you and Charamine get busy moving all our gear out of sight and then get to the farm.”

Dean nodded and Charmaine gave a sickly grin then the pair gathered up two packs each and started walking across to the trees where Peter had suggested hiding the gear. Peter watched them for a moment and then nodded to Graham.

With that the friends set off up the Pyramid.

Chapter 2

UP WALSH PYRAMID

W
ithin a hundred paces Peter found he was gasping for breath and perspiring.
I'm not as fit as I thought I was
, he told himself ruefully.

“Slow down Graham. We aren't all as fit as you,” he called.

Graham stopped and looked back, his face red from exertion. From further down the hill behind Peter Stephen called: “Remember what Capt Conkey said about climbing mountains. Slow and steady wins the race.”

Peter nodded. Over the years he and his friends had climbed several mountains with cadets and he remembered that Capt Conkey's basic safety rule was that if you couldn't carry on a normal conversation you were going too fast for your fitness level.
But that doesn't apply in this situation. We have to push ourselves if we are to save these people
, he told himself.

Graham grinned again, then turned and continued to climb, but at a slower pace. Peter glanced back to check how the others were going. Already they were stringing out, with Megan and Joy falling behind.

The track was just an overgrown foot trail through knee high grass and open bush. It led up over patches of bare granite and through stands of straggly eucalypts. In places the track was eroded and rough, with stones or tree roots protruding.

Graham glanced back and gestured at the track. “Doesn't seem to have changed since we were up here last,” he commented.

“Did you expect it to?” Peter asked with mild sarcasm.

“Well, you never know,” Graham replied. “Things happen so quickly in North Queensland these days that you never know what to expect when you go somewhere.”

Peter nodded. “You are right there,” he agreed.

They paused to get their breath every hundred paces. At each halt they were visibly higher. They could already see out over the green cane fields and the sugar mill at Gordonvale was very obvious as a landmark.

As they halted after plodding up another couple of hundred paces Graham pointed up ahead. “Someone coming.”

They all looked anxiously through the trees. Megan licked her lips and asked: “What will we do if it is them?”

Peter shrugged. “Depends,” he replied. “If they are just walking down we will just pretend to be bushwalking and say a cheerie hello.”

Graham frowned. “How will we know if it is them? We can hardly just ask everyone we meet if they are Devil Worshippers,” he asked.

Stephen blinked through glasses that were starting to fog up from condensation. “We will know,” he replied flatly. He looked very pale and was unusually silent.