Devil's Harvest Part 2

Chapter ten

Four days later

Deaq and Billie were still numb with shock and grief. They still couldn't accept the fact that Van was gone. He had always said he wanted to be cremated and only wanted a short memorial service and that is what was done. His father had been located and had attended the service. He sat next to Deaq his eyes downcast, never once looking up, his heart broken by the death of his son. They had decided to keep from him the actual circumstances surrounding Van's death. He was told that he had died in the line of duty.

"I never wanted him to become a cop, too dangerous." He said sadly to Deaq after the service. "He should have stayed in my business."

"He loved being a cop Ray, you know that. He lived for it. Just always remember he died doing something he loved."

Ray simply nodded, too emotional to speak. When he saw the tears in Deaq's eyes he pulled him into a hug.

"Van loved you, you and Billie both."

"I know Ray…we loved him too. I can't….I just can't believe he's gone. I keep expecting him to…" Deaq shook his head sadly and looked away.

Billie walked over and hugged Ray.

"I'm so sorry for your loss." She said trying her best not to cry but she wasn't successful, tears began streaming down her face. "Oh God I'm going to miss him." She sobbed.

He hugged her back, tears in his own eyes.

"We're all going to miss him Billie. Van was …special."

"Yes, he was."

The rest of the day was spent reminiscing about Van. There was laughter and tears and at the end of the day Van's ashes were turned over to his father.

The Candy Store – the next day

Deaq sat starring at the basketball court. The court where he and his partner spent a lot of their off time.

"Billie, I think I'm going back to New York."

"Deaq please don't go jumping into something you'll regret later."

"I don't think I'll regret it. It's …it's too quiet around here without…"

"Yeah, I know what you mean." She said as she reached for a cigarette and lit it.

"Hey, don't start that up again. It's going to be harder to quit the second time around…You know Van and I had an on going bet on what would make you start smoking again. I guess we found out what it was."

"I'll give up the cigarettes if you give up the booze." She gave him a sad smile. "I've been smelling it on you ever since…"

"Yeah, I guess we both need something to help us get by."

"Please Deaq, just reconsider the New York thing. I need you here. This is your home now."

"I'll think about it Billie but I wasn't going to leave right away, at least not till we get the bastards who did this to Van. I'm going to bring them down, Billie."

Later that week

Deaq and Billie joined the rest of the police force as they searched the back alleys where most of the victim's bodies had been found. They drove through out the night patrolling the alleys in hope of finding something related to the coven.

The murders continued, one every three days. Most of the victims were prostitutes and homeless since they were the easiest for the coven to grab. The rest of L.A. stayed at home behind locked doors,or if they had to go out they went out in groups.

Finally two weeks after Van's death, while driving at night by a dark unlit alley, Deaq saw the two black dogs again. They stood at the entrance to the alley as if guarding it. He parked his car and headed toward them. As he approached, they stood their ground. Their lips curled back as he neared them and he could hear a low warning growl. He pulled his gun and stood looking down the alley into the darkness. He could make our figures moving around at the far end of the alley but couldn't see who they were or what they were doing. He tried to move closer but the dogs wouldn't allow it. He pulled out his flashlight and shined it down the alley.

"This is the police! What's going on down there?" He shouted into the darkness.

The figures seemed to stop what ever it was they were doing and then one by one seemed to disappear. The dogs looked up at Deaq, slime dripping from their snarling mouths. After all the figures had disappeared the dogs turned and ran off. Deaq could swear he saw a flash of red in their eyes just before they turned. He quickly ran down the alley and searched for any sign of what the figures might have been doing. His flashlight lit up a small pool of blood with drops leading to a manhole cover which led down into the sewers.

"So that's where you've been hiding." Deaq said out loud to himself. He pulled out his cell phone and called Billie. When she picked up the line began cracking with static making it difficult to hear.

"Billie?"

"Is that you Deaq?"

"Yeah, I can hardly hear you Billie. I found them, they're in the sewers. 600 block of Wilcox." He shouted into the phone hoping he was getting through.

"What? I can't hear you?"

"The sewers, they're in the sewers! 600 Wilcox!

"Deaq?...Deaq?..."

"The sewers!" He yelled one last time before the phone went dead. "Damn it!"

He knew he should wait for backup but also knew he couldn't. The coven had disappeared before and he couldn't chance that happening again. As quietly as he could he removed the man hole cover and began his descent into darkness. Once down he kept his flashlight aimed directly at the floor in front of him hoping that the light wouldn't alert them to his presence. Off in the distance he heard what sounded like chanting and quietly headed toward the sound.

Candy Store

Billie took the small tape out of the phone. For security reasons she always taped her phone conversations and now she was glad she did. If it was Deaq on the phone she needed to know what he had said, from the tone of his voice he sounded excited. She took the tape over to a voice enhancer she had had installed in the Candy Store. It saved a lot of time not having to run to the precinct every time she wanted a tape checked out. She popped the tape in and began fiddling with the dials trying to get a clear audio of the person's voice on the tape and eliminate the background noise.

The sewers

Deaq inched his way toward the sound. As he got closer to the voices he could see a glow coming from around the bend up ahead. He turned off his flashlight and walked quickly toward the light. Once there he peaked around the corner. What he saw horrified him. Members of the coven, clothed in black hooded robes stood around a table where their victim lay sliced open. Deaq knew there was no way he could help her, she was obviously dead. The coven members were reaching into the victim's body and pulling out hunks of organs and flesh and devouring it. Some of them put pieces of the meat in a bowl and took it over to, who Deaq assumed was their leader, and offered it to him. He took the bowls and ate. Deaq sucked in his breath when he noticed the two black dogs he had seen before at the accident sitting on either side of the man. The man occasionally threw some of the meat to the dogs that greedily devoured it. Other members of the coven threw scraps of the body to three other hooded figures who sat against a wall. They fought over the scraps, each coming away with a handful. Deaq's face wrinkled in disgust. He knew there were too many of them for him to attempt anything and that he needed to call for back up. He slowly started to back away. He'd go up to the street and get help. But as he backed away he felt the blade of a knife pressed against his throat.

"Drop it or I'll slit your throat." The voice behind him said. For an instant he thought of fighting the person behind him, but knew as soon as he turned around the other members of the coven would pounce on him. He reluctantly dropped his gun. He then was forced into the chamber and tried to keep his eyes from the mutilated corpse in front of him. A lone figure approached him.

"So nice of you to join us Officer Hayes." He said as he pulled back his hood, it was Jason.

Deaq glared at him, his face filled with hate. He was the one responsible for what had happened to his partner.

"How do you like our little party?"

"You sick son of a bitch! You killed my partner!" Deaq said as he clenched his fists. He wanted nothing more then getting his hands around Jason's throat.

"Ahhh, but you're wrong. Yes, your partner died, but he had to die in order to be born into his new life."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You see your partner's body wasn't cremated like you thought. It was brought here." Jason nodded toward one of the hooded figures sitting against the wall. "Come forward." He ordered. The robed figure walked over and Jason pulled back his hood. It was Van.

"Oh my God Van!" Deaq tried to step forward but was held back. Tears of joy ran down his face as he realized his partner was still alive, or was he? Van stood in front of him more like a zombie then his partner, a glassy look in his bloodshot eyes. His face, lacking any color, was pasty white covered with the blood of the victim he had just helped devour. "Oh God Van what did they do to you?" He said sadly then spun his head toward Jason. "What the hell did you do to him!"

"We brought him back to life." He said simply.

"What's wrong with him?" Deaq asked when Van didn't even acknowledge him.

"Oh your partner's been a bad boy. You see he's eaten the flesh and blood of our sacrifices, but for him to truly be one of us he must make his own kill and so far he's refused to. Oh, he's had opportunity the last few days but he will not kill. But tonight…" Jason smiled. "You will be his first kill." Jason looked toward the coven. "Get him ready!" He commanded. Deaq fought them but there were too many of them. They removed the woman's body and strapped him down to the sacrificial table. They ripped open his shirt exposing his chest and stomach. Van was then led over till he stood next to the table.

Jason walked over to their leader Malcolm and spoke to him. He was then handed a long heavy blade which he dipped in a bucket of blood and handed it to Van.

"Tonight you will join us forever." Jason said. "Kill him so that we may consume his flesh and be one."

"Van! It's me your partner! It's me Deaq!" Deaq couldn't stop himself from trembling in fear, Van's face had a blank look on it and he knew he wasn't reaching him.

Van looked at the knife then at Deaq.

"You can't do it Van! You know you can't do it!"

"Kill, kill, kill…" the coven began chanting.

"Van no! You don't want to do it!" Deaq shouted then turned his head to the side and squeezed his eyes shut when he saw Van raise the knife, he waited for the agony to come. But when the chants ended suddenly he opened his eyes to see why. The same large white dog he had seen at the accident stood at the entrance to the chamber then slowly began walking closer to the sacrificial table. The members backed away terrified.

"Kill him!" Jason screamed to Van who, with hands shaking, began to bring the knife down. The white dog suddenly leaped between Van and Deaq, the knife plunging deep into his side. He fell to the floor covered in blood the knife protruding from his body. The entire coven began to softly chant again as Malcolm rose from his chair and pointed toward the injured dog. The two black dogs rose and began to slowly walk toward the fallen animal their eyes glowing red, a deep low growl coming from their throats. Deaq continued trying to free himself while the coven stood transfixed by the scene in front of them. The white dog's body began to glow as the knife in him began to slowly vanish. Just as the two dogs were about to attack the white dog got to its feet and the chanting immediately stopped. The dogs hesitated, uncertain whether to attack or not.

"Kill him!" Malcolm shouted to his pets.

The dogs began circling the white dog looking for a way in. Their red eyes grew brighter and brighter and their lips curled back displaying long bloody fangs but they didn't move closer. The white dog ignored them and began walking slowly toward Malcolm who kept screaming for his dogs to attack. They followed the glowing dog but kept their distance as if they knew they didn't stand a chance against it. Malcolm's eyes were wide with terror and as the dog approached he backed up till he hit the wall behind him and couldn't go any further.

"Kill him!" He screamed over and over but the black dogs only followed the white dog at a safe distance obviously respectful of the power the dog seemed to have. A few members of the coven picked up weapons and started to quietly approach the dog from behind but he heard them and looked over his shoulder. Their weapons were suddenly ripped from their grasp and tossed in a corner. Van backed away from the sacrificial table and slowly made his way over to the two other members of the cult who he had been standing with while waiting for the scraps of flesh to be thrown to them. The two members, who like him never made a kill of their own, were considered outcasts of the coven. He sat on the floor with them watching the scene play out before him. Deaq continued struggling to free himself, uncertain to what was going to happen.

Jason sensing something was about to happen started to back his way out of the chamber but was stopped when Billie and the police showed up. He was grabbed and handcuffed and shoved back into the room. The police then kept their weapons trained on the coven members while Billie hurried over to free Deaq.

"Billie…Van's alive!" Deaq said once he was free.

"What?" She said as tears started filling her eyes. "He's alive?"

"Don't ask me how, but he's alive." He nodded his head toward his partner who sat huddled against the wall with the other two members.

"Van." Billie said as she approached him. Deaq quickly grabbed her arm holding her back.

"Billie…he might hurt you."

"Hurt me?"

"He's not himself Billie, he's worse then he was in the hospital. I don't know if we'll be able to get him back."

"What's going on Deaq?"

Deaq explained what had happened. How the members had disemboweled a woman and were consuming her when he got there, even Van. And how Van was suppose to sacrifice him but the white dog had stopped him.

"What is it?" Billie asked looking at the glowing dog now standing directly in front of Malcolm.

"I don't know Billie…All I know is that I don't think it will hurt us…only them."

Malcolm reached behind him and grabbed a long spear. He held it over his head and brought it down to within an inch of the dog. The tip of the spear began to glow white and the glow traveled up the spear until it touched Malcolm's hand. He screamed in agony as the glow soon covered his entire body. His body suddenly burst into flames and he was consumed by the fire. Once Malcolm was dead the two black dogs fell to the ground dead also, a black mist came out of each of them and disappeared into the sewer. The white dog then began walking by each of the members of the coven who also were consumed by the flames, one by one. The police backed away allowing the dog plenty of room. Jason started screaming as he saw the dog approach knowing he was next. The dog simply past by him and he also immediately burst into flames. The dog then headed toward Van.

"No! Please!" Deaq shouted to the animal who turned and looked at him. "My partner never killed anyone. He doesn't deserve to die."

The dog wagged its tail but continued toward the remaining members then stopped in front of them. It began to glow even brighter as it stood there, highlighting the only remaining members of the coven still alive. But instead of bursting into flames a pale blue light surrounded them. When the light faded the dog simply turned and walked out of the room. All eyes in the room watched the dog leave, no one daring to stop it. No one fully understood what had just happened, only that it had.

Deaq and Billie cautiously walked toward Van and the two men who still sat huddled on the floor.

"Van?" Billie said softly.

Van turned his face toward her. His color was back and he looked as healthy as he had before any of this had happened.

"Billie?"

"Hey partner." Deaq leaned down, a big smile on his face when he saw how well Van looked.

"Hey." Van said quietly as he looked down at himself confused as to what had happened and why he was wearing a robe. He looked at the two men next to him and could see that they were equally confused. "What's going on?" He asked looking back and forth between Billie and Deaq.

"What do you remember?" Billie asked.

"I…I'm not sure…I think I remember being at the Candy Store…but …how did I get here?...And why am I dressed like this?...What the hell's going on?"

Billie walked over and hugged him and kissed his cheek.

"It's so good to have you back Van." She said blinking back tears.

"Back? From where?"

Deaq walked over and put his arm around Van's shoulder.

"Boy, do I have a story to tell you partner." He then put his other arm around Billie and headed out of the room followed by the two other men.

Epilogue

Two cats sat on a dumpster in the alley and watched the police rope off the crime scene, never noticing the black mist that came out of the manhole and snaked its way toward them. As the mist touched them their eyes glowed briefly red and they turned as one and ran into the night.

The End

Thanks for the reviews; I really like to read them. I hope you're not too disappointed with the ending. I'm leaving for vacation and I wanted this finished before Halloween.