Authors: Richard L Hatin
He climbed back into his car and started it up. He put it in
gear. He watched Miss Beacon give him a wave, which he politely returned. She
turned and started for the backdoor of her store. With that, Ed backed his car
up and left Mother Nature’s.
Aaron and
Korie
both received a
loud mental message from Miss Beacon.
Stay where you are and don’t try peaking out the window,
said the voice of Miss Beacon inside their heads.
They did as they were told.
Ed turned out onto the highway and slowly drove away.
Now I know where they are,
thought Ed.
Several minutes passed before the driver’s side door opened
to the Land Rover.
“Relax, it’s just me. I’m going to pull closer to the
building. I’ll tell you when you can get up.”
She pulled the land Rover forward and then turned a half
circle before it came to a stop in the shadow of the store.
“Okay, you can come out now,” said Miss Beacon.
Without waiting for another signal Aaron and
Korie
threw off the blanket. Their clothes clung to their
bodies from the heavy perspiration.
Korie
wiped her face with the back
of her right hand.
“Do you think you fooled him?” asked
Korie
.
“Not for one instant,” was her reply.
“Then why didn’t he say or do something?” asked Aaron.
“Because now is not the time.”
“What do we do now?” asked Aaron.
“You two can take a shower upstairs. I’ll make some ice tea.
Then Aaron, I want you to finish reading the last twenty or so pages of your
family diary.”
Aaron and
Korie
climbed out of the
Land Rover. After a brief stretch they went up the back steps heading inside to
the coolness of Mother Nature’s store.
“Miss Beacon, I don’t remember seeing any blackberries in the
back of the Rover. Where did they come from?” asked
Korie
.
“I’m an angel, remember?”
***
Ed Townsend delivered the news in person.
Samuel’s reaction was quite restrained.
Ed leaned against his car and waited for Samuel to move to the
question, what now?
“Ed, I want you to go and pick up Judy for me and bring her
here.”
“Anything else?”
“Yes. Can you get a message to either Bob or Walter?”
“Bob’s in town searching stores. I sent Walter up in the
mountains to search hunting camps. I can reach them both with the portable
radios I gave them. What do you have in mind?”
“Have Bob set up near Mother Nature’s to keep an eye on the
place. I want to know the minute anyone comes or goes.”
“No problem. I’ll get right on it. I’ll be back in a few
minutes with Judy.”
Ed climbed back into his car and quickly pulled away leaving
Samuel standing alone on the sidewalk in front of his house.
***
Judge Fairchild and Reverend Mitchell were as yet unaware of
Ed Townsend having pinpointed the whereabouts of the Powell descendant. After
leaving the meeting earlier in the day, they moved to the Reverend’s office to
discuss their plans.
“You know, Arthur, I feel certain Ed Townsend would come over
to our side.”
“I’m not quite as confident as you. I know Ed has had to put
up with Samuel’s overbearing and insulting behavior, but that is a far cry from
choosing to turn against him.”
I agree, but I am convinced the look he gave me before he
closed the door at this morning’s meeting was meant to convey something.
Perhaps it was meant to . . .”
The conversation between the Judge and the Reverend
continued.
***
Meanwhile Ed had picked up Judy and was taking her back to
see Samuel. She had been dressed and waiting at the door. She was wearing a hot
pink spandex t-top with matching hot pink spandex tights. She also had on white
ankle socks and brand new Reebok cross trainer shoes with pink shoe laces. Her
hair was pulled into a ponytail held tight by a pink and white
scrunchy
.
She had applied a liberal amount of perfume and her makeup
was just perfect.
“Damn Judy, you overdid it with that perfume,” said Ed as he
rolled his window down.
“Stop complaining. I know what I’m doing.”
“Haven’t you thought that the man might have allergies or
just doesn’t like strong perfume?”
“Honey, it’s all part of the package,” she said as she pushed
her breasts upward so there was now additional cleavage showing at the top of
her spandex t-top.
Ed pulled the car over to the curb in front of Samuel’s
house. He was about to blow the horn when Samuel came running out of his house
and up to the car. He gestured for the two to stay in the car.
Judy rolled down her window. Ed kept the car running.
Samuel looked Judy over and nodded his approval.
“Judy, you’re going to get your chance just like you asked
this morning.”
“Good. I’m ready.”
“Ed, take her over to Bob and leave her with him. Judy you
can make your move anytime, the sooner the better of course. Remember Judy, we
need information and we need Powell to join our coven, nothing more.”
“You can count on me, Samuel,” she said with her usual sultry
smirk.
“All right, we’re off,” said Ed as he put the car in gear.
Samuel watched as Ed and Judy left. He had much to do and
little time to do it in. He would call the others. He would notify Shirley and
Phyllis to be ready to approach the woman traveling with Powell. After putting
things in motion he would call to Moloch and share the news with him.
Samuel knew things were going smoothly now, but he knew he
would have to be on his guard. Moloch was counting on him and Samuel wasn’t
about to let him down. This coven had waited for over 160 years, and had been
once so very close to completing that first critical step towards Armageddon.
Samuel felt this would be their last, best chance. Even though Samuel was only
fourteen, he had been imbued with extensive knowledge of Satan’s long struggle.
He was well aware of his fate, and the fate of the others should they fail.
Satan was patient but unforgiving.
Twenty-three covens since the beginning of human history have
tried and failed to complete the fateful ceremony. Their failure left their
souls suffering and tormented in Hell. They were abandoned by God, and were now
despised by Lucifer. Each individual coven member was consigned to suffer one
human pain, to the extreme, for all of time.
***
Ed pulled up behind Bob’s tow truck. Judy and Ed got out of
Ed’s car. They approached the tow truck on the passenger side. The truck
shielded them from view by anyone in Mother Nature’s.
Ed opened the passenger side door of Bob’s truck for Judy,
who hopped up inside the cab.
“Any sign of him?” asked Ed.
“Nope. I’ve only been here a few minutes though. I’ve been
checking the place out with these,” he said tapping a pair of binoculars
sitting on the dash.
“Good. Listen I’ve got some work to do so I’m going to leave
you two for now. I wouldn’t try to get any closer than you already are Bob,
okay?”
“Sure.”
Ed closed the truck door and headed back to his car. Bob had
parked the truck about four hundred feet to the north of Mother Nature’s. Ed
backed his car up just a bit and then did a U-turn in the street and headed
back into town. He was heading over to Reverend Mitchell’s place. He had a
hunch he wanted to follow up on and now was the perfect time.
***
Inside Mother Nature’s Aaron was sitting in his room on the
bed, reading the last twenty pages of his family’s diary while
Korie
showered.
His mother had written all of the last twenty pages. She
wrote of close encounters with coven members pursuing her. She wrote about car
chases, tapped phone lines, and opened mail. She wrote about elaborate
disguises and constant moving. She also wrote about her fears for her son, who
doesn’t even know she is his mother.
In the last couple of pages Aaron read about her hopes for
him. She is clearly expecting Aaron to be the one Powell who will ultimately
face the coven straight on.
It will be my Aaron, who will be called on to do battle with
Moloch. Of this I am now certain. Oh, how I wish I could be the one, and take
his place. I can only pray he will be graced with all the powers of our family.
Dear God, grant him the power of second sight, so that he can truly see evil in
all of its forms. Grant him the four powers of earth, wind, water and fire. Oh
merciful God, please bestow on Aaron the power to heal. Also, extend to him the
great power to condemn. I beseech you Lord, to protect him until he is called
upon to do battle. May his Guardian Angel be ever vigilant.
These prayerful words seemed to hang in the air for Aaron. He
closed the diary and set it on the bed.
At that moment Aaron sensed the need to look outside. He rose
from the bed and headed over to the window. Parting the curtain only slightly,
he looked outside. Nothing unusual stood out to him. Then his eyes closed in on
the truck, as if he were looking out the window with a high powered telescope.
He could plainly see two people sitting in the truck. The driver, a man, was
looking at Mother Nature’s with a pair of binoculars. The other person was a
woman who was busy applying some lipstick.
Aaron let the curtain gently fall back into place.
Without knowing how, he knew they were coven members sent to
watch the place.
The sound of the shower stopped. Aaron picked up the diary
and placed it in the bottom drawer of the dresser. He felt strange. Aaron
turned to look at himself in the dresser mirror. He didn’t notice anything
unusual, yet the feeling was unmistakable.
“Your turn honey,” said
Korie
as
she padded into the room.
He stepped closer and pulled her to him. He kissed her hard.
She winced a bit at first but soon succumbed to his passion. The touch of his
lips felt as if they were on fire.
After a breathless moment, their lips parted and
Korie
said “Wow, that was some kiss. So what do you have in
mind now, big
fella
?”
“I just had to kiss you,” he said with a playful wink.
He pulled away from her and headed into the bathroom to take
his own shower.
Downstairs, Miss Beacon had also looked out her own window
and noticed the truck parked down the street. The coven was wasting no time.
They undoubtedly had a plan to contact Aaron, and try to lure him into the
coven of his own free will. That would make everything easier. Failing that,
she knew the coven would willingly resort to force. They were not going to let
this Powell slip away.
She had told Aaron to read the rest of his family’s diary.
What he didn’t know, was that the last words were the most powerful of all.
These words, when read by Aaron would complete a transfer of all of the powers
each of his ancestors had at one time possessed, and were now conferred upon
Aaron. He would need these gifts to be able to meet the challenges that lay
ahead.
She heard the shower starting up for the second time.
***
Ed Townsend knocked on the door yet again. After a moment the
door opened just a crack and one human eye looked through this crack at Ed.
Suddenly the door swung wide open. In the foyer stood Reverend Mitchell. He was
grinning from ear to ear. He seemed excited to see Ed.
“May I come in?”
“Why of course,” said the Reverend.
“The Judge and I were just conferring on the current
situation with our Powell. He’s in my study. Would you care to join us?”
“Interesting choice of words, Reverend.”
The Reverend was knocked off guard by Ed’s mocking of his
invitation. He suddenly felt uneasy.
Ed walked past the Reverend and headed straight to the study.
The Reverend followed closely behind.
“Could I get you something to drink? Ice tea perhaps?”
“That would be perfect, thanks.”
“Judge, it’s good to see you,” said Ed as he boldly strolled
over to the Judge who had not risen with Ed’s arrival. The two men shook hands.
In a moment, the Reverend arrived with a tall glass of ice
tea. He handed it to Ed and then he too sat down. Ed took a long swallow. The
judge and the Reverend exchanged sideways glances.
“Ah, that’s good. A real thirst quencher.”
“So, do you have any news about our Powell?” asked the
Reverend.
“Indeed, I do.”
The Judge sat forward in his chair and said “Tell us, is he
still here in Sutton?”
“Oh, yeah. He’s staying over at Mother Nature’s Bed and
Breakfast. Bob
Senecal
is keeping an eye on the place
for us.”
“Does Samuel know?”
“Oh, he knows, all right. He had me pick up Judy and run her
over there to sit with Bob. She dressed up like a teenybopper and we all know
how far she is from one of those. She’s wearing a pink spandex two piece suit
the color of penny bubble gum.”
“I see. So Judy gets to play vixen for this Powell. Think
he’ll go for it?” asked the Judge.
Ed took another drink of his ice tea, finishing the rest.
“We’ll have to wait and see. It’s Samuel’s plan. I just take
my orders.”
The three men looked at each other wearily.
“I see,” said the Reverend.
“And what do you think about this plan?” asked the Judge. He
studied Ed closely. It was an opening gambit.
Ed sat back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment.