--Almost done, really! I don't own anyone but Gabe. ... oh, and if you're all lucky, I'll have this finished in the next few days! Consider it my Christmas present from me to you. ^_^ Happy holidays, all! Oh, irrelevent side-note: the opening song for this chapter is my favorite song. Ever.--

Hello, hello
Won't you come right in?
I'd give anything
Just to see you again
Hello, hello
Won't you come right in?
Welcome to my world
Where you know you're
Everything
--
from Hello by Sugarbomb

There was a long moment of the terrified silence before Lacey raised a slender finger and pointed at Gabe.
"Shut her up!" she snarled. Ruth pulled away from Micah's grip on her hair.
"Yes, Lord," she said meekly, and darted over to Gabe. She gave the coughing girl a hard pound on the back; poor Gabe made a loud strangling noise, but finally managed to stop coughing. Her breathing was harsh and ragged, so Ruth clapped a hand over her mouth and turned obediently back towards Lacey.
"Lacey?" Micah whispered confusedly. "How could it --"
"She tried to warn you," the Lacey-Thing said, a dark smile playing on her face. "Silly little thing. She knew what was coming, and she tried to turn you away. I seem to remember a... phone call?" Micah inhaled sharply.
"When she called me --"
"When Lacey called you," the Lacey-Thing went on, "she was trying to make you stay in St. Cecilia. She knew about my faithful cohorts --" She sneered at her servants. "-- and what they were planning. But Little Miss Goody-Two-Shoes was too afraid they might lock her away if she started ranting about 'He Who Blah Blah Blah'. So she tried what she was best at: being a bitch."
"Why won't you just die?" Micah whispered, half numb. He'd escaped twice, which was more than expected, but could he really slip through the demon's clutches three times?
"The Beast never dies," He Who Walks Behind The Rows said, and laughed. It was more of a bark than a laugh. Three short ones: ha ha ha. Then He looked sharply at Jedediah. "Get off of your lazy ass and seize the Chosen." Jed glanced up -- at Ruth, not at his master -- with wounded eyes.
"I think my nose is broken," he said softly. Ruth averted her eyes and pressed her hand harder against Gabe's mouth, who'd finally quieted down to wheezy breathing.
"What do you want?" Micah asked, his voice high and frightened. Gabe had gone strangely quiet, and he was terrified that something had happened to her. Not being able to see her was twisting his chest into painful knots. "What the hell do you want? I've served you long enough! I can't do anything else!" He hesitated, then added, "Let Gabe go, please, at least let her --"
"I agree, the nose might've been a bit much." The Beast wasn't paying any attention to him; he was focused on Ruth, who blushed furiously.
"But Master, the boy --"
"The boy will be taken care of." The Beast smiled thinly. "Believe me."
"What do you want from me?" Micah screamed. Suddenly, he had everyone's attention once again. The Beast turned his black gaze on Micah and smirked.
" 'And the Chosen shall return to the holy ground, offer himself up to the Lord, and return with new hope and life for all.' That's what I want -- new hope and life for all." He paused, then added with a grotesque grin of satisfaction, "Perhaps I was too vague. 'New hope and life for me.' I couldn't possibly care less what happens to the rest of you."
"But Master," Ruth said suddenly. "You agreed, you agreed I could have the Chosen when you were done with him --"
"Well, of course!" the Beast said with another barking laugh. "It was the only thing that would get through that mop of yours so you could aid me!" Ruth looked confused; she flicked her gaze from Micah to what used to be Lacey.
"But -- I -- you said --"
"I say a lot of things, Ruth." The Beast smirked with Lacey's lips. "I also told Jedediah that he could have you when I was finished with the Prophecy." Micah twisted wildly in his seat. Oh, God, it couldn't be good that she was so quiet... Gabe shouldn't be that quiet...
"You what?" Ruth shrieked in disgust. Jedediah flushed so red that for a moment, the smears of blood vanished into the color of his face.
" 'And the Chosen shall return to the holy ground, offer himself up to the Lord, and return with new hope and life for all,' " the Beast repeated, and smiled. "Come now, my Chosen. Offer yourself up to the Lord."
"Let Gabe go," he said. His voice was quiet, but firm, and that made him feel slightly better.
"Ah, but there is a purpose for her too." The Beast's face very briefly wavered, and Micah cringed involuntarily. "This vessel is incredibly weak. I must get out of it soon. And perhaps you heard me wrong the first time --" He ambled over to Micah's chair and seized the pale boy by the collar. "-- offer yourself up to the Lord." With a heave, the Beast flung Micah to the ground.
"Master!" Ruth cried, then fell silent.
"Such a flimsy vessel," The Beast said, and laughed quietly, inspecting his hand. "I think I've broken a nail!"

Micah lay on the ground, cringing in pain. His old back injury had been re-awakened, and he could hardly move for the ache racking his body. But now he could see Gabe. Her head was hanging limply once again; she was wheezing quietly against the palm of Ruth's hand. Ruth was staring at Micah intently, a worried frown twisting her brows. Jed was out of sight. And now, like some horrible thundercloud, Lacey stood over him, Lacey's stolen deity-ridden body.
"Come, my Chosen," he said softly. "It is time."
"Let. Gabe. Go." Micah had to clench his teeth to get the words out. The Beast simply smirked.
"Not. On. Your. Life." He gave Micah a kick in the side, making the boy squeeze his eyes shut in pain. "Worm," the Beast said, apparently meaning Jedediah. "prepare the sacrifice."
"Master!" Ruth shrieked as she stumbled away from the cross Gabe hung on. "Surely you don't mean --" The Beast turned on her, one blonde eyebrow raised.
"His blood shall nourish the corn and secure my legacy. The Chosen must be sacrificed in order to assure my rise to power -- oh, did I forget to mention that?" The wicked grin on Lacey's face suggested the Beast had not forgotten at all. Ruth was a sick pale milk color.
"Master, you cannot --"
"WHAT?!" The Beast's voice was suddenly a booming scream, one that made Micah cover his ears in surprise. "HOW DARE YOU EVEN SUGGEST WHAT HE WHO WALKS BEHIND THE ROWS CAN OR CANNOT DO!" Ruth blanched a few shades whiter and fell shakily to her knees.
"Master," she repeated, voice a terrified squeak. "I do not mean to blaspheme --"
"Then don't," the Beast said coolly, suddenly complacently calm once again. He laughed a little. "You see? This vessel, it's incredibly weak. I can hardly stand to be in it any longer."
"Lord," Jed said quietly. He had one hand cupped protectively over his nose. "How shall I prepare the sacrifice?"
"Cover him in barbeque sauce, for all I care!" The Beast threw his arms up in the air. "Imbecile! Spill his blood and secure my legacy! The instructions aren't that difficult to follow!" Again, he paused and laughed. "Now I'm starting to act like the little wench. Hurry and kill him before I start wearing shorts up to my ears and liking it." Micah struggled to sit up and couldn't; he cast a worried glance over his shoulder to the corn-husk cross.

Gabe was gone.

"And I shall need my new vessel ready and waiting," the Beast said, turning to Micah again.
"I thought you were going to kill me," he snapped angrily. He was trying to stall for time, let Gabe try whatever she was planning. Maybe she was getting help.
"Oh, I am. But your little whore is a fine vessel." Micah felt his heart plunge into his stomach as the Beast chuckled quietly. "That moron Jeremy wouldn't let me get into her pants, but let's see if I can get into her mind."
"You sick bastard!" Micah screamed. Again, he was stalling for time. Oh, if only the Beast would wait a few more minutes for his vessel...
"You flatter me. Now, let me inspect my --" The Beast stopped, staring at the empty cross. There was a long pause before Lacey's body whirled on Ruth. "Where is she?!"
"I --" Ruth was wide-eyed and white as a sheet of paper. "I -- I was --"
"That's the second person you let escape!" the Beast roared. "And I NEEDED that one!"
"Lord, I am --"
"And why aren't you preparing the sacrifice?!" He whirled on Jedediah, who'd frozen a few feet away from Micah.
"Master --"
"INSUBORDINATE, BLASPHEMOUS FOOLS!" The Beast's face was livid; he seized Jed by the collar and pulled him close. "DO YOU REALIZE WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF SHE BRINGS BACK ADULTS?!"
"Adults are the least of your problems," Danny said coolly. He had reappeared in the cornfield, standing at the edge of the clearing. He held a long-handled scythe in one hand.
"Oh, Danny," the Beast said, suddenly calm and smirking. He turned to face the blonde boy and placed his hands on his hips, twitching his behind smartly. "How do you like my new look?"
"I know what you are, you monster," Danny growled.
"Ah, but you didn't seem to notice last night." The Beast's mouth curled into a grotesque smile, and Danny blushed hard.
"You're not going to hurt anyone," he said angrily, lifting the scythe. "I won't let you."
"What are you going to do?" the Beast asked calmly. "Slice me up? And risk losing your little girlfriend?" Micah looked around madly. Oh, God, where the hell was Gabe?
"Not quite." Danny pulled a lighter from his pocket. "I know if I do that, you can still live on in the corn. So I'm going to hit you where it hurts -- where your roots lie." He clicked the lighter and held it to the wooden handle of the scythe; it immediately began to burn, creeping slowly down the length of the staff. Danny held onto it for only a moment. "Burn in Hell," he said coldly. "I'll make sure you do." And he heaved it at the cornfield.

The stalks went up in flames almost instantly, explosive with the dryness of the husks.
"NO!" the Beast howled. Ruth moved as if to help him, but Danny seized her by the arm and took hold of Jedediah.
"Let's go!"
"But Micah!" Ruth cried, twisting to get out of his grip. "We can't leave Micah!"
"Danny!" Micah yelled from the ground. He had been unable to speak or cry out when the cornfields took light, but now he was very capable of screaming. Was he planning to just leave him there?
(it would make sense this is always your fault)
"Danny!" he shrieked again, but the smoke was overwhelming. The fields were aflame all around him, and he couldn't even run.
"NO!" the Beast roared, and Lacey's body crumpled to the ground.
"What am I supposed to do?!" Micah shrieked to the smoke. Danny, it seemed, was gone, and there was no one left to help --
"Grab around my neck," a voice gasped. He twisted on the ground to see the source.
"Gabe!" Micah choked, and let out a dry sob of relief. "Oh, God, I didn't know where --"
"Grab on!" She lifted his arms and hooked them around her neck herself, then stood and pulled him up with her. Micah didn't know how Gabe could lift him like that, but she managed; with a grunt of exertion, she whirled and ran for the only part of the cornfield that wasn't aflame. He clung around her neck, terrified and ashamed. He felt like an infant, being carried like this.
"Gabe!" Micah shouted suddenly, and pointed past her shoulder. She looked behind them.
"Oh, shit!" she cried. The ground beyond them was twisting and churning like an ocean -- the ground, it seemed, was being disturbed from beneath the surface. And whatever was disturbing the soil was heading straight for them.
(we're going to die)
Gabe's breathing was harsh and ragged in his ear as she tried to speed up.
(he who walks behind the rows is going to kill us)
She let out a strangled yelp as she stumbled
(he's going to spill the blood of his chosen)
and quickly righted herself, careful not to drop Micah.
"GIVE HIM BACK!" screamed an unearthly voice over the roaring of the churning ground. "GIVE HIM BACK, HE BELONGS HERE! HE BELONGS IN THE CORN!"
"He doesn't belong with you!" Gabe yelled back. As soon as she said the words, the cornfield ended and the two of them stumbled into Main Street of Hemmingford.
"GIVE HIM --" the unholy voice howled, and the rest of the cornfield went up in flames.