On the edge of Darkness

[demonshead.livejournal.com]

The sound of his footsteps punctuated the brisk pace of his stride along the concrete sidewalk. Errant weeds poked through the cracked surface. Old tree roots had tunneled under the walkway for years and had transformed the once flat footpath into an uneven and broken trail of fractured cement. Despite the abundant water table so close to the topsoil in the area and the recent deluge of rain, all remnants of plant life had turned brown and dry as they neared the property line.

With a long satchel filled with undisclosed odds and ends slung over his shoulder, the man who was once known as the Demons Head stopped and looked up at the gaunt house before him. His eyes studied the edifice carefully. Details both small and gross were noted and evaluations were either revised or confirmed. The puzzling aberrations he noted earlier all fell into line, now that he had the missing pieces to the puzzle.

It was time to get to work.

Comments

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

"Ray, stop for a minute will you?"

Father Adam fumbled though his pockets, in search of the near empty pack of cigarettes as he caught up with his companion.

"I admit that the house seems strange and the things you've pointed out beg a few questions, but 'ghosts'? Don't you think that's sort of an extreme leap in conclusions?"

[demonshead.livejournal.com]

His response is delayed out of distraction, but momentarily he brings his attention to the priest's critique.

"You lack the full range of facts involved here."

Looking back to the house, he moves to approach it.

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

Adam places a hand on the man's shoulder, halting him for a moment.

"Then fill me in."

His eyes are effusive with sincere compassion.

"Ray, help me out here. You have to admit that this all seems a bit…crazy?"

Maybe he shouldn't use that word with the man, but the situation really left him with few other adjectives that were appropriate. Hopefully, he'd be able to talk Ray down enough to persuade him to persuade him to accompany him to the hospital.

[demonshead.livejournal.com]

To say that there was a time in the very recent past where his reply would have been markedly different would have been ludicrous. That man would not even have found himself in such a situation. As it was, he found himself oddly pleased that his circumstances were something of a novelty to him after so many centuries of existence. It was strangely refreshing.

Half turning to the cleric, he noted the pure intentions that revealed themselves in Adam's eyes. That too was refreshing, or perhaps that he could see such things now in men was what was new. Something to contemplate later.

"That is eminently fair. Let us then begin with what is known."

Pulling the folder from his satchel, he begins to leaf through it's pages..

" On this day, one year ago, Cheryl Walker and her daughter Katie were brutally murdered by the serial killer John Sullivan. The forensic and police reports detail a ritual killing that involved a number of vile practices that would have prolonged their deaths in a rather viscous and painful fashion. That in itself would normally be enough to allow for the possibility of restless spirits."

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

Oh sweet Lord..

Adam sighed slightly in spite of himself.

"The 'possibility of restless spirits'? Are you even hearing yourself Ray?"

He stopped for a moment and soothed his growing frustration. It was important to try to reason with him, not just call bullshit on the whole 'ghost' fantasy in general.

"Look, the so-called 'haunting' only started last month. Why would ghosts wait around for a year before making trouble?"

He bit back a crack about paperwork in the 'spectral bureaucracy of the afterlife'. No need to be blasphemous, and taunting the poor man was not his goal.

[demonshead.livejournal.com]

A dark look crossed his eyes and his voice took on a gravity that could not be ignored.

"From the photographs of the crime scene, I am fairly convinced that John Sullivan was conducting a rite of black magic. One that was designed to preserve his spirit as a wraith in the afterlife."

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

The ominous tone caught him off guard and dulled the edge of his cynicism momentarily. Something about the man's voice made him doubt. It almost caught him up in the fantasy. He noted a strange flicker of green in Ray's eye; clearly a trick of the fading light in the horizon, but eerie nonetheless.

Recovering his posture, he found his stance in the conversation again.

"Alright, so a serial killer in his lunacy engages in pointless blasphemy to fulfill his delusions of power and satisfy his sick kicks. You still haven't answered the question.
Why did the stories of spooks and strange lights only start a month ago, when the Walkers have been deceased for a year?"

[demonshead.livejournal.com]

His eyes lock with Adam's as he hands him a document..

"John Sullivan was executed in a Federal penitentiary one month ago."