III

The organ continued to auto-play its somber melody as the evening services at the St. Eva Church of Essex, NJ came to a close. Mike quietly put his prayer book back on the cart. Father Manson had spoke about the recent disasters. He had said that there were always times of hardship that occurred over periods of time, and that it was completely natural. But Mike still wasn't satisfied. He slowly wound his way out of the chapel and towards the confessional booths. A young woman emerged from the left-most one, and as he passed her, Mike could see her clutching something in her inside coat pocket. A gun, most likely, he thought with a sigh.

"What troubles you, my child?" asked Father Henry as Mike sat down.

"Is this the coming of the Devil?" he blurted out.

Henry seemed startled. "I'm sorry?"

"I heard that before the Devil comes, he makes a grand announcement of some kind. And I read in the Book of Evans that he has the power to influence people to do harm to others."

Mike could see Father Henry sigh on the other side of the booth. "He has no such power." He finally said. "At least, not anymore."

"What do you mean?" Mike asked, sharply.

Henry took a long breath. "It's a long story… quite trivial in today's times, really."

"Tell me." Mike insisted.

"Well, many, many years ago, and I'm talking in the millions here, there was a very powerful devil… she attracted people by…"

"It was a female?" Mike interrupted, astonished.

"Yes. Her name was…" Henry crossed himself before saying it, "Myria. She granted wishes for the weak, and then used their strength to do great harm to the people."

"What ever happened to her?" Mike inquired.

"About five-million years ago, a young man, not unlike yourself, went with his seven companions to destroy her. He succeeded, so now we have nothing to fear from the Devil."

This story did not relieve Mike in the least. "But what about now, Father? What about what's going on everywhere?"

Father Henry smiled. "I call it coincidence. That's all it could be. I'm sorry, but I need to see the next person."

Enraged, Mike got up and stalked out of the church. He gazed up at the moon, wondering why the "omnipotent being" up there wasn't helping. Then his gaze drifted down, under the ground he stood on, and he wondered what was happening down there.

It was 9:15 at night, and most New Yorkers were eating dinner, or relaxing with their families, or having fun out on the town. But that was for the people up on the street. Down in the sewer, there were still men at work. Two men, to be exact. These men were planning on working long past midnight, doing their duty of cleaning out pesky turtles and flies from the sewer pipes.

"Hey, Luigi!" The red-clad plumber called. "I need backup here!"

"I'm comin'." A plumber wearing green clothes sloshed his way over to his brother. "What's up?"

"There seems to be no end to these things," Mario grumbled, swatting at a swarm of flies. "Help me with the turtles while I take care of these annoyances."

"What do you think of all the crap that's happening up there?" Luigi asked, as he swept the turtles out of the pipes and kicked them back in the water. "It's some freaky stuff."

"Yeah, you know? I heard people are disappearing." Mario replied.

"Maybe they 'lost their last life.'" Luigi cracked.

Mario grinned. "That's funny. Is that the same as 'eating a mushroom to get bigger?'"

"Old jokes are the best." Luigi agreed. At that time, he accidentally pressed a stray wire up against the side of the pipe, and a shower of sparks flew out towards him. He ducked just in time.

"I told you to watch out for sparks!" Mario exclaimed, slapping his brother's head. You're as clumsy as…" Mario didn't finish speaking, as a low rumble began from the back of the pipe.

"What the hell?" Luigi whispered. The rumble became louder, and the pipe began to shake.

"I think we should move away." Mario said.

"I think that's a good idea."

The brothers jumped aside just as a huge tidal wave of sewage spewed out of the pipe, flooding the sewer floor and coating Mario and Luigi in icky goo.

"Fuckin' shit! That smells!" Luigi cried. "Yeeeuk!"

"Hey, what's this?" Mario asked, wading over to a lump in the sewage. The lump was actually a small creature that looked sort of like a baby, but it had very few facial features, and its eyes were covered by a fleshy glaze. It had no mouth. It moved, however. When Mario picked it up, it shook and writhed in his arms.

"It's an alien!" Luigi screamed.

"Keep your suspenders on," Mario told him, but in actuality he was just as frightened as his sibling.

Suddenly, Mario turned. "Somebody's coming," he whispered, and he pointed his flashlight down the dark tunnel.

"Who are you?" Luigi called.

"It's okay, it's okay," said a rough voice. "Carl Winslow, NYPD." A tall, sharp-looking police officer appeared. "We heard the pipes rumble, and then my boss remembered that there were still some men down here. Are you guys okay?"

Mario pushed up his hat. "Well, we're fine, officer. But look what we found."

Carl started as Mario held the creature up to him. "Oh my gentle Jesus," he murmured. "What the fuck is that?"

"We're asking the same thing."

"Is it an alien?"

"That's what I thought it was," Luigi said.

"Shit…" Winslow became frantic. "Um… shit… okay, I'm gonna take this thing above ground, okay? I'll take it to the station, and then I know a science research place, and they'll come and get it. Is that okay?"

"You're the cop, cop."

"Good. You boys did a good job. We don't know what else will come out of here, so you had better go home for now."

Mario and Luigi slapped hands. "Score! We get to leave early!"

Winslow rolled his eyes and began climbing up the ladder, the creature tucked under one arm.