"Hi, can I see Joe?" asked seventeen-year-old Vanessa Bender, Joe's girlfriend of almost eight months. "I just came from the hospital and they said he was no longer a patient there," she added, pushing her long blond hair out of her face and looking at Mrs. Hardy with blue-grey eyes.
Mrs. Hardy burst into tears and Vanessa quickly put an arm around her shoulders and entered the Hardy home, closing the door behind her.
"What's wrong?" Vanessa demanded as Frank and Mr. Hardy came running into the foyer to see who had arrived, their faces anxious.
"Joe was abducted from the hospital this morning," Frank told her, his voice strained. Like Frank, Vanessa had treated Joe poorly his last week at school. But unlike Frank, she had been duped into believing Joe was cheating on her. She had come to her senses and gone in search of Joe and Francessca only to discover that Francessca had been involved in kidnapping Joe for a sinsiter purpose.
"What?" Vanessa asked, her voice sinking to a whisper. "Who?"
Mrs. Hardy gave a violent sob and retreated upstairs to the bedroom she shared with her husband. "Who?" Vanessa demanded again, her voice growing stronger.
"The guy who was posing as the hardware clerk," Frank answered. "He changed his appearance and got a job at the hospital as an orderly. When Joe regained consciousness this morning, Dr. Bates ordered some tests done. The orderly was supposed to take Joe to the lab but instead, he left with him."
"What are you going to do?" Vanessa asked.
"I'm going to jail," Frank said. Vanessa's face registered shock. "The one good thing about all of this is that the members didn't know all of the other members of the cult. Each member either wore a pentagram pendant or had a pentagram tattooed on their upper arm. I'm going to get a temporary tattoo and go to jail. Maybe I can learn something from the others that they haven't revealed during their interrogation."
"After I drop Frank off at the station, I'm going to head over to the address Avery gave at the hospital. It's a long shot, but we have to check it out," Mr. Hardy said.
"What can I do?" Vanessa asked, prepared to do anything asked of her.
"Stay with mom?" Frank suggested. "She's taking this hard."
"Can you blame her?" Vanessa countered. Frank shook his head. "I'll stay," she continued. "Just find Joe and bring him home."
"You didn't tell her about Joe's voice," Mr. Hardy commented once they were in the car.
Frank shrugged. "Maybe it will be back when we find him," he commented, his voice thick. "No point in worrying her even more."
"Be careful in there," Mr. Hardy said, thinking about Frank going to jail undercover.
"I will," Frank promised.
"And remember, no matter what you hear, you are supposed to be one of them. You have to control your emotions," Mr. Hardy stressed.
"I knew you knew more than you were telling," Frank said, turning on is father angrily. "Give!"
Mr. Hardy told Frank about the bathing ritual Joe had endured every day. Then he mentioned the part about the animal blood being poured on Joe. Frank's face went white and he began to gag. Mr. Hardy pulled the car over and let Frank outside. A few minutes later, Frank got back in the car. His face was white and his stomach queasy, but he had to know. "What else?" he rasped, his anger at Joe's captors boiling over.
"I'm not sure," Mr. Hardy admitted. "No one is talking about the final ritual, but the animals found at the scene after we left to go to the hospital had been skinned alive. It's a safe bet they made Joe watch, if he was conscious at that point in time."
"And?" Frank pushed when his father fell into an uneasy silence. Mr. Hardy kept quiet. He had to tell Frank so he would know what to expect. But how was he supposed to break it to him? "Dad," Frank pressed. "Tell me."
"Forensics said the blood on Joe belonged to the animals. There were even bits of animal hair embedded into Joe's skin," Mr. Hardy whispered, tears sliding down his cheeks.
"What exactly are you saying?" Frank demanded.
"The animals were probably rubbed against Joe's skin after they had been skinned. Possibly while they were still alive."
When Joe awoke, he was lying on his back on a twin bed with a rail headboard. His legs were free but each wrist had been secured to one of the rails with a handcuff. Joe thought this was overkill since he didn't have the energy to sit up much less try to get away.
Joe looked over at the door as it opened and a figure was silhouetted in the frame. "Ah, you're awake," said the man, flipping on the light switch and entering the bedroom.
Joe watched him warily as he came nearer. Why had this man kidnapped him? What did he want? Joe's nerves were on edge. He had been through so much over the past month, especially near the end of his previous captivity, that he wasn't sure how much more he could take.
Joe took in the brown hair and hazel eyes, and the square chin and began hyperventilating as the man spoke. "We need to get started. You must be properly prepared. You were spared before because they refused to desecrate you ," he continued. "It is your desecration which will give your soul to Satan."
Joe's breathing became more labored. Why was this happening? Why hadn't they all been captured when he was rescued? How many more got away? Would he ever see his family again? These thoughts raced through his mind as Avery came over and held a hand over Joe's nose and mouth. Soon, Joe was breathing normally again.
Avery left the room but returned almost immediately with a buffet cart. He rolled it over to the bedside and sat down beside Joe. He ripped the hospital gown from Joe's body and tossed it against the far wall. Joe breathed deeply, terrified of what this man was going to do to him. Joe couldn't remember what Francessca had called him in the hardware store, but it didn't matter. What was about to happen to him did.
Avery pulled the cart as close to the bedside as he could then straddled Joe's waist. His weight kept Joe from thrashing about. "This is going to hurt," Avery warned him, reaching over to the cart and lifting a fine line marker. He drew a pentagram on Joe's chest, directly over his heart. "Now, lie still," Avery told Joe laying the pen down and picking up a some type of metal drawing gun. "This will hurt more if you try and move."
At the police station, Frank was taken to the lab and a make-up artist was sent to help change his appearance. It was assumed that Frank would be well known since Joe had been under surveillance for some time so he would have to undergo a major transformation before being confined with the members of the cult.
To begin, a temporary dye was used to turn his hair and eyebrows a jet black. Then his hair was styled to form a wave in the front. Next, he was given colored contacts that turned his beautiful brown eyes an icy blue. His skin was rubbed down with a berry mixture to make him darker and then he was given a pair of Levi's and a black tee shirt that was just tight enough to have his muscles ripple beneath it. To complete his disguise, a pentagram was painted onto the bicep of his left arm.
Frank was then escorted to a cell that housed three other males of varying ages. One, Frank recognized right off the bat. It was Timothy Douglas, the so-called high priest of the cult.
Douglas watched with a serious expression as the cell was opened and Frank was shoved inside. "I don't recognize you," Douglas said to Frank in a low voice.
"I have been in Europe," Frank answered. "I was arrested when I arrived home. What happened?"
"Who are you?" Douglas countered, suspicious of him.
"Larry Madison," Frank answered, using the cover his dad had fixed for him earlier. Fred Madison had been a member of the cult and his son was in Europe on a student transfer program. Mr. Hardy had decided to do what the cult had done to get Joe; he stole the identity of the son of one of its members.
"Fred's son," said one of the other two men, coming over. "So you're Larry. Your dad said you looked like your mother and I'll be damned if you don't. I'd know those eyes anywhere."
Frank smiled at the man as Douglas put an arm around Frank's shoulders and led him over to a bunk to sit down. Frank fought the wave of nausea he felt at the man's touch and forced himself to relax. Douglas told Frank about the ceremony's interruption and their subsequent incarceration.
"Too bad the sacrifice never happened," Frank said, almost choking over the words.
"It will," Douglas assured him. "Cameron will see to it," he added, smiling.
"Alone?" Frank demanded, acting surprised.
"Cameron insisted the lamb must be desecrated before its sacrifice," Douglas informed Frank. "Since it was halted, he will be certain he was right and see to the desecration and demise of our, um, lamb," he ended, smiling.
"Our Master will have what is his," added the man who had unwittingly help to establish Frank's cover. "His body and soul."
Mrs. Hardy burst into tears and Vanessa quickly put an arm around her shoulders and entered the Hardy home, closing the door behind her.
"What's wrong?" Vanessa demanded as Frank and Mr. Hardy came running into the foyer to see who had arrived, their faces anxious.
"Joe was abducted from the hospital this morning," Frank told her, his voice strained. Like Frank, Vanessa had treated Joe poorly his last week at school. But unlike Frank, she had been duped into believing Joe was cheating on her. She had come to her senses and gone in search of Joe and Francessca only to discover that Francessca had been involved in kidnapping Joe for a sinsiter purpose.
"What?" Vanessa asked, her voice sinking to a whisper. "Who?"
Mrs. Hardy gave a violent sob and retreated upstairs to the bedroom she shared with her husband. "Who?" Vanessa demanded again, her voice growing stronger.
"The guy who was posing as the hardware clerk," Frank answered. "He changed his appearance and got a job at the hospital as an orderly. When Joe regained consciousness this morning, Dr. Bates ordered some tests done. The orderly was supposed to take Joe to the lab but instead, he left with him."
"What are you going to do?" Vanessa asked.
"I'm going to jail," Frank said. Vanessa's face registered shock. "The one good thing about all of this is that the members didn't know all of the other members of the cult. Each member either wore a pentagram pendant or had a pentagram tattooed on their upper arm. I'm going to get a temporary tattoo and go to jail. Maybe I can learn something from the others that they haven't revealed during their interrogation."
"After I drop Frank off at the station, I'm going to head over to the address Avery gave at the hospital. It's a long shot, but we have to check it out," Mr. Hardy said.
"What can I do?" Vanessa asked, prepared to do anything asked of her.
"Stay with mom?" Frank suggested. "She's taking this hard."
"Can you blame her?" Vanessa countered. Frank shook his head. "I'll stay," she continued. "Just find Joe and bring him home."
"You didn't tell her about Joe's voice," Mr. Hardy commented once they were in the car.
Frank shrugged. "Maybe it will be back when we find him," he commented, his voice thick. "No point in worrying her even more."
"Be careful in there," Mr. Hardy said, thinking about Frank going to jail undercover.
"I will," Frank promised.
"And remember, no matter what you hear, you are supposed to be one of them. You have to control your emotions," Mr. Hardy stressed.
"I knew you knew more than you were telling," Frank said, turning on is father angrily. "Give!"
Mr. Hardy told Frank about the bathing ritual Joe had endured every day. Then he mentioned the part about the animal blood being poured on Joe. Frank's face went white and he began to gag. Mr. Hardy pulled the car over and let Frank outside. A few minutes later, Frank got back in the car. His face was white and his stomach queasy, but he had to know. "What else?" he rasped, his anger at Joe's captors boiling over.
"I'm not sure," Mr. Hardy admitted. "No one is talking about the final ritual, but the animals found at the scene after we left to go to the hospital had been skinned alive. It's a safe bet they made Joe watch, if he was conscious at that point in time."
"And?" Frank pushed when his father fell into an uneasy silence. Mr. Hardy kept quiet. He had to tell Frank so he would know what to expect. But how was he supposed to break it to him? "Dad," Frank pressed. "Tell me."
"Forensics said the blood on Joe belonged to the animals. There were even bits of animal hair embedded into Joe's skin," Mr. Hardy whispered, tears sliding down his cheeks.
"What exactly are you saying?" Frank demanded.
"The animals were probably rubbed against Joe's skin after they had been skinned. Possibly while they were still alive."
When Joe awoke, he was lying on his back on a twin bed with a rail headboard. His legs were free but each wrist had been secured to one of the rails with a handcuff. Joe thought this was overkill since he didn't have the energy to sit up much less try to get away.
Joe looked over at the door as it opened and a figure was silhouetted in the frame. "Ah, you're awake," said the man, flipping on the light switch and entering the bedroom.
Joe watched him warily as he came nearer. Why had this man kidnapped him? What did he want? Joe's nerves were on edge. He had been through so much over the past month, especially near the end of his previous captivity, that he wasn't sure how much more he could take.
Joe took in the brown hair and hazel eyes, and the square chin and began hyperventilating as the man spoke. "We need to get started. You must be properly prepared. You were spared before because they refused to desecrate you ," he continued. "It is your desecration which will give your soul to Satan."
Joe's breathing became more labored. Why was this happening? Why hadn't they all been captured when he was rescued? How many more got away? Would he ever see his family again? These thoughts raced through his mind as Avery came over and held a hand over Joe's nose and mouth. Soon, Joe was breathing normally again.
Avery left the room but returned almost immediately with a buffet cart. He rolled it over to the bedside and sat down beside Joe. He ripped the hospital gown from Joe's body and tossed it against the far wall. Joe breathed deeply, terrified of what this man was going to do to him. Joe couldn't remember what Francessca had called him in the hardware store, but it didn't matter. What was about to happen to him did.
Avery pulled the cart as close to the bedside as he could then straddled Joe's waist. His weight kept Joe from thrashing about. "This is going to hurt," Avery warned him, reaching over to the cart and lifting a fine line marker. He drew a pentagram on Joe's chest, directly over his heart. "Now, lie still," Avery told Joe laying the pen down and picking up a some type of metal drawing gun. "This will hurt more if you try and move."
At the police station, Frank was taken to the lab and a make-up artist was sent to help change his appearance. It was assumed that Frank would be well known since Joe had been under surveillance for some time so he would have to undergo a major transformation before being confined with the members of the cult.
To begin, a temporary dye was used to turn his hair and eyebrows a jet black. Then his hair was styled to form a wave in the front. Next, he was given colored contacts that turned his beautiful brown eyes an icy blue. His skin was rubbed down with a berry mixture to make him darker and then he was given a pair of Levi's and a black tee shirt that was just tight enough to have his muscles ripple beneath it. To complete his disguise, a pentagram was painted onto the bicep of his left arm.
Frank was then escorted to a cell that housed three other males of varying ages. One, Frank recognized right off the bat. It was Timothy Douglas, the so-called high priest of the cult.
Douglas watched with a serious expression as the cell was opened and Frank was shoved inside. "I don't recognize you," Douglas said to Frank in a low voice.
"I have been in Europe," Frank answered. "I was arrested when I arrived home. What happened?"
"Who are you?" Douglas countered, suspicious of him.
"Larry Madison," Frank answered, using the cover his dad had fixed for him earlier. Fred Madison had been a member of the cult and his son was in Europe on a student transfer program. Mr. Hardy had decided to do what the cult had done to get Joe; he stole the identity of the son of one of its members.
"Fred's son," said one of the other two men, coming over. "So you're Larry. Your dad said you looked like your mother and I'll be damned if you don't. I'd know those eyes anywhere."
Frank smiled at the man as Douglas put an arm around Frank's shoulders and led him over to a bunk to sit down. Frank fought the wave of nausea he felt at the man's touch and forced himself to relax. Douglas told Frank about the ceremony's interruption and their subsequent incarceration.
"Too bad the sacrifice never happened," Frank said, almost choking over the words.
"It will," Douglas assured him. "Cameron will see to it," he added, smiling.
"Alone?" Frank demanded, acting surprised.
"Cameron insisted the lamb must be desecrated before its sacrifice," Douglas informed Frank. "Since it was halted, he will be certain he was right and see to the desecration and demise of our, um, lamb," he ended, smiling.
"Our Master will have what is his," added the man who had unwittingly help to establish Frank's cover. "His body and soul."
