Evil Origins

  Chapter THIRTY FOUR

  Mike

  I made my way through the narrow corridors turning here and there, trying to avoid the cameras when I could, but I figured the King knew where I was at all times. I was starting to regret the UV light idea just about now. I had come prepared by bringing sunglasses, but they weren't as effective as I thought they would be. What had I gotten myself into? I had teamed up with a gangster who happened to be a world class asshole so that I could trick the woman I had loved since high school to want me and in the process of all this, I had betrayed a friend. Harrow wasn't a good friend of mine anymore, but we still had history.

  As I turned the corner the whole place shook like an earthquake had passed right beneath the building. It was a strange feeling, trying to walk with the floor vibrating under my feet. It left this tingling sensation all the up my legs like the burn after a hard workout. Not that I went to the gym that often, but everything physical usually feels like a workout to me. Well it did, but since last night I felt so much stronger. I’m still not sure what Harrow did to me, only that everything about me seemed bigger and stronger.

  A series of clicking and clanging noises came at me from around the corner as the vibrations beneath my feet grew stronger. This was the part where everybody thinks that the hero runs away and either swings to safety on a rope, or dives into another room just in time to avoid death. Not today, he doesn't. Everything shook, so I had placed my hands on the wall and braced myself for the worst of it when I saw it coming like a blizzard. Shards of glass and some kind of white cloud headed right for me like a wild storm. I closed my eyes and held my breath as it passed right over me. Something powerful had broken every one of the lights that we had just installed. It was most likely Harrow and if he was in a bad mood before, he was going to be irate now.

  The dust settled and I cleaned the glass that had stuck to my clothes. Luckily, I had worn my thick old suit and not one of the lighter ones. I ran my fingers across my neck and felt the pinch of fine little grains of glass cutting into my skin. My hand was splattered with blood, which only added to the tension knowing that blood sucking predators were lurking around somewhere. Preaching about the evils around us and knowing they were in the same building wasn't the same thing. I felt like one of those guys who preaches about what he would do if he won the lottery. You know the type that have grand plans about investments and how they will never have to spend the principal they those chosen few who actually win the lottery go broke within a few years. That was me. Too many divine plans and yet when I see evil I made a deal to own a pretty woman's heart.

  I stepped towards the corner and part of me said to run away. To go home and forget it all. Return to my simple life, because the minute I’d step around the corner it would all change. The minute I took those three steps I would be committed to either saving Jenny or owning her, but I could never turn back. I peered around the corner and saw the vague silhouette of a massive man. The little emergency lights that were placed along the corridor helped accent his sheer size. He was rubbing his skin and appeared to be pulling pieces of glass from his shoulders. That might be just the thing to attract Harrow. The smell of fresh blood would attract him like a wild wolf.

  A flash of clear, bluish light struck my face. I held up my hand, trying to shield my eyes.

  “Get that thing out of my face.”

  “You must be the priest that the boss has been looking for.” He kept the light aimed at my eyes as he walked towards me. I tried to see what he had in the other hand, but it was virtually impossible.

  “You really pissed him off, priest.” He kept the light in my eyes as he walked towards me, which generally indicated that there was something in the other hand. “You know, he offered you a sweet deal. Having him as a friend makes life a lot easier. If someone pisses you off, he sends a guy like me to take care of things.”

  “Get the light out of my face. It’s not doing anything but pissing me off.” It was at this point I realized that he was holding a bat or something in his hand. With those massive arms, a bat or stick would easily pulverize my flesh or shatter my bones.

  Stomping closer to me, he said, “Disappointing him means a guy like me getting up in your face and that is where things get messy.”

  He swung the bat at my head and instinct kicked in. I leapt backwards. Not just a foot or two, but six feet back.

  There was a loud clunk and whatever he had swung at me was stuck into the wall. It was not baseball bat, that was for sure. When my eyes focused, I realized that he had a machete. He yanked it out of the wall like it was nothing and stepped towards me. It’s at times like this that the stupidest things go through your mind, like what kind of guy tries to cut off your head with a machete? The kind that a gangster sends after you, I guessed.

  I was holding my hands out in front of me as I slowly backed up.

  “Holland. That’s your name, right?” He didn’t say anything, but just stepped closer holding that damned machete in his hand waiting for a chance to hack my head off. “You don’t have to do this. It’s just a misunderstanding, that’s all.”

  Smiling, he said, “Yes, it’s always a misunderstanding. The boss wants you dead and you don’t want to die. A giant, nasty misunderstanding.” I was backing away from him when I realized that I was quickly running out of space.

  “You don’t have to do this, Holland.” Even in this dim light, the sharp blade twinkled as the light hit the blade.

  “Maybe not, but I want to. I would kill for free if I had to. I even like it.” His arm went back as he prepared to strike. I ran towards him at such a rapid speed that by the time he realized what I was doing I had clamped onto the arm that was holding the blade. I could only speculate that Harrow’s blood made me so much more than human.

  In confusion, Holland cried out.

  “What the hell?”

  I whipped his arm around with all the strength I had in me. A loud pop followed as his shoulder dislocated and a second, even louder crunching noise could be heard as his body was pounded into the wall. The air from his lungs was driven out, making a gushing noise and he dropped to his knees, half stunned by the impact. Crouched over, he was holding his shoulder and hacking to the point that I thought he was going to throw up. The problem was, what do I do now? I wasn’t tough or a brawler and the last time I can remember throwing a punch was back in grade six when I sat in chocolate and Harrow told the whole school I dirtied myself. It was the first time I had tasted Renaud’s family loyalty. I beat up Harrow and Renaud beat me up. Strange how that one little fight started our friendship. That was the extent of my fighting experience, only I don’t think I will be able to call Holland a friend after this like I did as a child.

  Something told me that I should have knocked him out, but he seemed beaten.

  He was still gasping for air as he looked at me and vowed, "I am going to kill you." He was trying to climb to his feet on wobbly legs, all the while muttering, "I am going to tear you a new one, priest."

  Grunting, he pushed himself upward and with his uninjured hand he made a fist and swung. Stepping back, I thought that I had cleared his reach, but I misjudged it and got the brunt of it. My jaw ached as I hit the wall and he came charging at me. I pushed him off me, watching him collide against the wall.

  “This is starting to be fun," he said with a smile as he started charging at me as fast as he could. Panic set in and I was lost at what I should do. So far, I had just been lucky and luck always seemed to run out when you needed it the most. As he came at me, instinct forced both of my fists to snap out, connecting with his face and sending bloody teeth spilling out of his mouth. His eyes rolled and he fell to the floor, the only sign of life being the twitching of his hands.

  "Stay down, Holland," I said as I walked away in the direction that he came from. I tried to sound tough and confident, hoping that it would be enough to make him stay even though I was terrified about what would happen if he didn't. I could see a body left l
ying motionless in a bed of glass so I walked towards it. I wasn't foolish enough to take my eyes off Holland for long since, but I could see he wasn't feeling so tough right now.

  I was standing over the young blonde I had witnessed being dragged away by Holland earlier. He called her Maria and she looked like she couldn't be any older then eighteen. Twenty, tops. It was a shame that she had gotten herself trapped in this kind of life. I was sure that she wasn't the youngest or most innocent girl to be forced to endure the King’s company, but tonight she had the chance to find her freedom. To find her security and protection against this life.

  It seemed reasonable that Jenny should be laying somewhere close by, but I couldn't find her anywhere amongst the rubble. I wanted to run further down and search for her, but I didn't have time for that luxury. Jenny was lost out there in the dark with two vampires for guardians scanning the whole place for her while this young, defenseless woman only had me. Good or bad, I was the only protection she had. I leaned down and felt for a pulse. It felt weak to me, but I wasn't a doctor.

  “Don't worry child, I will protect you.” I whispered.

  I was startled by a loud laugh from behind me.

  "I thought priests didn't lie, Father Mike. You shouldn't be making promises that you have no possible way of fulfilling." I heard loud footsteps clomping along towards me. Looking back, I saw the King and one of his sidekicks slowly approaching. "I would rather kill Maria then let her go and she needs to punished for her disobedience."

  "I think we both know that I can't just walk away and leave her in your hands. You know as well as I do that the minute I walked out of that room, I chose to cross a line." I wasn't trying to be brave. I wasn't a brave man. I was just stalling for time hoping that an even more dangerous monster would come to collect on old debts. I might have beaten his champion, but I was aware that it had been just a lucky punch in the dark.

  "Yes, you chose a side, Father Mike. The losing side." He took two steps and continued talking. "I didn't want to be your enemy. I was willing to give you power. The power to own and control your darling Jenny and you just threw it away." He pulled his gun Bessie out of his holster and I prepared to die. No, prepared wasn't the proper term for it. I was forced to except death, as I couldn't control this outcome.

  I couldn’t run away from my destiny. I could only challenge what I didn’t like and accept what I couldn’t change.

  "I am very disappointed in you, Father Mike. Do you know what I do to people who disappoint me?"

  I didn't know what to say, really. I didn’t think there was a right or wrong answer always depended on his mood and what he wanted. Men like him were like that.

  "Anything you want."

  "Yes, you’re right." Pointing to Holland who was still lying on the floor. "You know, I loved this magnificent son of a bitch. Recruited him right off the football team here at the local high school. I molded him into the man that he is today. I couldn't be prouder, even if he was my own son." He was waving the gun around, "Today he disappointed me." Shaking his head, he said, "Such a great disappointment." He pulled the trigger and shot Holland twice in the head. I had never seen a man get shot before. "I end them. I remove the disappointments from my life and forget about them."

  "What a lonely existence you must have," was all I could say.

  Laughing, he responded, "Oh Father Mike, I am never lonely," He kept waving the gun around. "If I want to talk, I have the boys come over and if I want company there's women." Pointing at Maria, he said "I have spent many quality nights with Maria, there." Stepping closer he added, "No, I think you are the one who has the lonely existence. You crave things you can never have. You tried to overcome this by becoming a priest, but it never could quite take away those lonely desperate feelings in the middle of the night when you woke up longing to feel a female touch. Jenny's touch."

  He was getting so close to the truth that it made me want to lash out and knock him on his ass. It was always the nights when I felt the loneliest. During the day, I was ok. Always busy with secrets and confessions. Playing referee between old, sour married couples and mentor to young lovers. By the end of the day though, it took its toll on me.

  I was always exhausted then my mind flips through the list. The list of things that I thought I would accomplish. Those lost dreams and desires that never quite went away. They’d just get pushed down a little deeper in my heart until finally I’d wake up in the middle of the night and be unable to forget them.

  "So we both are great liars. You lie to everybody and I lie to myself. A good lie can easily become a person's reality if they say it enough."

  Laughing, he let the gun drop to his side.

  "Yes, a good lie can be better than a hundred truths if the liar believes his own lie." I was good at talking people down. Drugs addicts and irate abusive husbands mostly, but the odd bully too. The King was a grown-up schoolyard bully who got his way by sheer power of will and intimidation, but I think I got through to him. One for the middle-aged fat priest and zero for the crime lord.

  Pointing the gun at me he said, "I think I’ll miss these conversations, Father Mike. You certainly aren't a normal priest and when I tell this story I’ll make sure that everybody knows that you were one tough mother right to the end. Biggest balls I had ever seen on a man. Figuratively and literally. Say hi to St. Peter for me."

  He lifted the gun and I prepared again to die. I still thought that somehow Harrow would save me. That he would save both of us, but the power of prayer didn't always give one what they wanted. It only gave what was needed and I guessed that soon enough I would understand why I needed to die here today.

  Something flew past me so fast that it sent me smashing into the wall as it came by. I knew it was there, but I couldn't see who or what it was. Creatures like Harrow weren't meant to be seen by human eyes. At least, not until it too late. It was moving so fast that by the time I looked over to the King, he was screaming and staggering from side to side along the corridor. Whatever or whoever it was made the most savage, animalistic sounds I had ever heard. I wasted many hours watching nature shows and nothing that I had seen or heard was even close to this.

  The King fell over and the growling stopped. It suddenly became quiet. I jumped up and made my way towards them like an idiot. I should be running away but I wasn’t brave, just borderline stupid. I was a few feet away when I saw the King holding his hand to his neck, wheezing. Of course, a cockroach like him would survive. It was one of life's great ironies. The good die young and the trash like him always survive. I saw a corpse lying beside him. It wasn’t Harrow as the frame looked female, but it was definitely the same type of creature. The lack of facial features and skin made the dagger-sized fangs in her mouth stand out.

  A loud booming sound echoed from down the corridor, beyond my sight. I looked and tried to see what could be making such a sound, but there was nothing there. I thought I heard footsteps as the floor creaked in the darkness, but it might have just been my mind playing tricks on me. I brought my attention back to the frozen monster lying on the floor, realizing that the King was gone. I saw him turn the corner and vanish as he made his escape.