Devil's Harvest

Chapter eight

Deaq hurried into the building and watched as the figures disappeared into a hidden area behind a large cabinet. Once everyone was through, the cabinet was pushed back into place. They began walking through tunnels lit by black candles for a few minutes before emerging into a large dimly lit chamber.

Black and red candles were the only light in the chamber. In the middle of the chamber was Van lying naked on a table, a red silk sheet covering his body. He wasn't moving. Deaq shut his eyes for a few seconds and swallowed the lump in his throat as fear and pain shot through his heart. Maybe he was too late, maybe his partner was already dead. He stared at Van's chest praying he would see him breathe. Finally he could see him taking shallow breaths. Malcolm broke away from the group and walked over to Van. He pulled the sheet off of him.

Van was terrified. He had seen the other bodies and knew what was going to happen to him. He used all the strength he had to try to move but it was useless. What ever they gave him had made it impossible to move anything. He lay on the table helpless to do anything but wait for what ever was in store for him.

Come on Billie where are you? Deaq was frantic, he knew even if Billie was outside there was no way for her to know about the hidden tunnels. He reached down for his gun and his eyes widened when he realized it wasn't there. He must have dropped it in the alleyway when he was struggling with the man for his robe.

Malcolm began chanting and started running his hands over Van's body. When he came to the bandaged wound he stopped. Deaq could see that Van had started to bleed again. The bandage had turned red where blood had seeped through.

"This man has been recently damaged!" He yanked the bandage off of Van ripping open the rest of the stitches. Blood ran down his side. "We can not eat of his organs. His body has been tainted."

"But we can still complete the ceremony!" Jason spoke up.

"That is true. Once the ceremony has begun it must be completed." Malcolm continued rubbing his hands over Van's body, smearing the blood over his chest.

Without warning, Malcolm plunged the tubes into the side of Van's neck. Blood started dripping into the bowl he place next to him.

"Noooooooo!" Deaq jumped up and reached for his partner, he was quickly overpowered.

"Who is this man that defiles our ceremony?!!"

"A friend of the sacrifice." Jason said looking at Deaq. "He must die along side his friend."

"No, he has seen the ceremony. He is protected from harm. He must partake of the blood of the sacrifice or the ceremony will have been breached."

Malcolm began dipping the bread in Van's blood. Van could feel himself slowly growing weaker. Between the blood loss he had already suffered from the knife wound and the blood from his neck he knew he was slowly bleeding to death.

Inside the warehouse

"Where the hell are they?!!" Billie yelled as she and the other backup officers frantically searched for their missing fellow officers. "Maybe we got the wrong location!" Billie started to leave but stopped when she spotted the white dog standing in front of a cabinet digging frantically at the side of it. "I need someone over here to help move this!"

Back in the chamber

The bread saturated with Van's blood was past among the coven. Deaq's mouth was forced open and a piece inserted. He looked down at Van with tear filled eyes, he could tell he was growing weaker. His breathing was becoming shallower and his skin was turning pale from the blood loss. Billie hurry! He's dying!

"It is time for the sacrifice to die. But since his body has been damaged I as your leader can not do it." Malcolm said.

"But I can." Jason stepped forward and Malcolm handed him the sacrificial knife.

"I've been waiting a long time for this. Ever since I killed Amy I've been wanting to pay you back for taking her from me."

Deaq watched as a tear slid down Van's face at the mention of Amy.

"He used to be a friend of yours! Please don't do this!" Deaq shouted.

"Silence!" Malcolm put up his hand "You are disrupting a solemn ceremony. Let the sacrifice begin."

"No! Don't do it!" Deaq shouted Billie where the hell are you?!!!

Jason stood over Van and raised the knife high above him as the whole room started chanting. Deaq looked on in horror as Jason brought the knife down and thrust it deep into Van. In his mind Van could hear himself screaming in agony. The pain was unbearable. His last conscious thought was of Deaq and Billie. His mouth fell slightly opened and his head slumped to the side as Jason began slicing downward.

"Nooooooooo!" Deaq screamed, tears flowing down his face.