Chapter 6 After the Horror
Now, another chapter in my great and noble Quest/Attempt at a good Supernatural Christian Story. Oh, by the way, I am basing many of my ideas and writing style in this book after Frank Peretti's. A very good author. I recommend his books to one and all, and all and one. "This Present Darkness," and "The Oath," are fabulous books of his. I am mostly using ideas that spawned from the Oath, but that's because it is a darker type story, like this one. "This Present Darkness" is not really very dark. There! I've advertised my favorite Author's stories. Good. Now, read this please, and leave reviews all you good reviewers.
"Ann," I said upon entering the inn.
But the site which greeted me was not a pleasant one. Ann was lying unconscious on the floor of the Inn. Or at least she appeared to be unconscious. Her body thrashed on the ground viciously as if some unseen force was attacking her. Her eyes were closed in a vacant stare, as her body flopped on the ground like a dying fish. But her face, something was not right about her face. It was gray, like ash. Doug ran to Ann's side, and pushed a pillow under her head.
"She's having a seizure!" he shouted to me.
I shook my head. "I think its much worse than a seizure."
We did the best we could to help her, but there was little to do. Her body could not be contained. Suddenly her mouth opened, and she began screaming.
"No!" she screamed. "Leave me! Aaaaaauuuggggghhh! Do not! No! Help!"
"Pull yourself together Ann!" I shouted at the struggling body which lay at my feet.
Her body then stopped shaking and lay still. At the very center of her face, I saw the color begin to return. The gray color began to withdraw from her face as the pale color of skin began to return to her flesh. Then, like the wind, the gray was gone, quietly, and quickly.
Ann lay on the ground with bruises all over her body. Her hand was very bloody. Doug placed his hand against Ann's nose and mouth, and felt for breath.
"She's not breathing!" Doug said as his face turned pale in fear.
I placed my hand against her neck, feeling for a pulse. None.
God, please don't let her die, I prayed silently.
I pinched her nose shut, and breathed into her mouth. Her chest rose. I then placed my hands on her chest, and began pumping up and down fifteen times. I then breathed in her mouth twice again, and pumped for another fifteen times. Luckily I had taken life guard training, so I knew CPR. While I was doing this, Doug ran over to the phone, and called the Clinic.
"I don't care if it is the middle of the night!" Doug shouted into the phone suddenly. "My daughter needs immediate medical attention. Get yourself over here Doctor!"
Doug then hung up, and ran out the door. I continued performing CPR as I waited for Doug to return with the Doctor. Then Ann suddenly began coughing.
"Oh thank God," I gasped as I said a prayer of thanks.
Ann's eyes opened slightly and she looked up at me. Ann smiled warmly up at me as I looked down at her with concern.
"Zach," she said lovingly.
"You're okay," I said happily. "Thank God you're okay!"
"Its all because of you," Ann said as she breathed in and out on her own.
"I know," I said bowing my head. "I'm sorry."
"No," Ann retorted. "I'm alive now, because of you."
Ann reached out her hand, and placed it against my cheek. I turned red, and tried to turn away. But Ann put her hand behind my head, and pulled my face down to hers before kissing me. I was surprised at this sudden display of affection, but after all, Ann had just been through a lot. I closed my eyes and kissed her back. I floated in a dream of pure joy as all the darkness inside me began to disappear. I was happy now. Even though this had been a terrible night, I was happy. Ann put her arms around my neck as we continued, and I placed mine around her waist. I contentedly sighed as I held her in my arms. Finally I had found the one that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Finally I had found someone I could love. She was now in my arms, holding me tightly. I now pledged to myself that I would protect her from all of the darkness which was taking place here. If Ann died, I didn't know what I would do. She was so special to me. Whatever the future held for me, I would spend it with her. I now realized how desperate that it was that I save the town. If I didn't, all of the friends who I had met in my days here would all fall into darkness. I could not let that happen to any of them.
"Ahem," I opened my eyes when I heard someone clearing their throat. I looked over, and saw Doug and the town Doctor, Jim, standing in the doorway of the Inn. I pulled away from Ann, and looked up at the two of them, and turned bright red.
"Hi," I said embarrassed. Ann opened her eyes, and turned an equal shade of red when she saw them.
Doug was clearly amused, for his face was plastered with a gigantic grin, and he even threw back his head, and laughed. The Doctor just walked over to Ann and began examining her hand. He began cleaning the wound slowly with a cotton ball.
"What happened?" the Doctor asked, clearly concerned. "These look like bite marks, but they are not like any dog I have ever seen. More like human..."
The Doctor turned and stared at me almost accusingly.
"You wouldn't believe any of us if we told you," Doug said.
I nodded in agreement.
"I need to know," the Doctor said. "If these aren't human, then they came from something which we have never seen in this village before. And if it is dangerous, we must warn the whole town about it."
"Zach," Doug said sternly. "I would also like to here where those things came from."
I sighed, and began talking. "In case you didn't know, I am a Christian. Do you know what that means Doctor?"
"Yes," the Doctor said nodding.
"Anyways, this all goes back to my first days on my farm. It was then that I met the Harvest Goddess out by her spring. She asked me why I was not a servant of hers. I replied saying that I worshiped only the one true God."
"But you saw the Goddess, so you know that she exists," Doug said.
"Yes," I said. "She said this to me as well. Yes, I know she exists, but I doubt that she really is a Goddess. I believe she is just a supernatural spirit, or demon you might say, who deceives people into thinking that she is a Goddess. She then threatened me, saying that she controlled this entire island, and that she could use the forces of the island against me. She appeared to me several times later, telling me that I could not live in this town without worshiping her. Ann told me that my Grandfather had not worshiped the Goddess, and that he often acted as if something was wrong. And then I learned that he was found dead with a horrified expression glued to his face. It was that night that I found a letter which my Grandfather left for me to read. It gave many warnings, including to beware of "a man in a yellow coat," and to "never ever go outside at night." Ann and I realized the importance of the second warning one night when she was visiting my house. I went outside because I thought I heard a wild dog, but then I was attacked by some unknown creature."
"One of the spirits of the island," the Doctor said.
"Yes that's right," I said. "At least, I think that's what it was. Anyways, to make a long story short, Ann found me lying outside, and I wasn't breathing."
"Gee," Doug said. "I wonder how he started breathing again."
Ann shoved her father with her good hand as she blushed.
"Anyways," I began. "I realized that this was more dangerous than I imagined. The Harvest Goddess definitely wasn't very happy about all of this. So I made myself this staff," I gestured at my staff which was lying on the floor several feet away, "and I set out to find out who this "man in a yellow coat" was. It turned out to be Won. I went to meet him, and try and find out why I should beware of him. Basically I introduced myself, and he began yelling at me because I didn't worship the Harvest Goddess. When I was leaving, I noticed green smoke leaving his chimney. It then turned red and covered the sun. The sun then began to set very quickly. Didn't anyone but me notice that?"
"No," Doug said. "The evening ended just as quickly as normal."
"Oh my gosh," I said. "Maybe he sped up time for everyone but me!"
"Are you sure you didn't imagine all of this Zach," the Doctor asked.
"No," I said. "I'm positive. And before you question my sanity, you won't believe what happened next. And Ann and Doug were both witnesses of this."
Both Doug and Ann nodded.
"Anyways, I began running because I remembered what had happened last time I had been caught out at night. And this time Ann wasn't there to save me. I heard a voice in my head telling me that I "was wise to fear the darkness" just as the sky went dark. I then began hearing howls from behind me, and I realized that I had to get inside immediately, so I had to go to the Inn instead of going home. I ran to the church, and the most amazing thing happened there. The sign on the church changed around, and then the dirt in front of the gravestones lifted up, and formed three clay people. Then a green light shot out of the church and encircled the three clay beings, and they came alive. They immediately turned towards me, and began chasing me. I ran to the Inn for protection. Ann let me in, but the creatures shattered the glass, and attacked. Luckily Doug came out with the shotgun, and saved us. We didn't kill any of these creatures. Two of them took a shotgun shell in the chest and ran away. The third one, I shot it in the leg, for it was chasing Doug. It fell to the ground, and when we examined it later, it just fell to the ground as if dead, and the green light which had been in its eyes left. One of the clay manikins bit Ann's hand, and that is where she got her cut. I know that the spirit stopped my breath when it attacked me. So the spirit may have stopped Ann's heart from beating, in an attempt to hurt me by killing people I love..." I turned and smiled at Ann as I said this: "I believe that the Goddess was behind this. This is why I don't worship her, for she is not worthy of worship."
Doug stared at me in amazement. "You truly are an amazing person Zach. I don't know who this God of yours is, or anything, but if the Harvest Goddess tried to hurt my daughter..."
I looked into his eyes, and saw deep anger. Doug was a very protective person, always standing up for his daughter. He loved her very much. Since his wife had died, he brought up Ann all by himself. She was the last of his family, and he didn't want to lose her. The Doctor seemed to be a bit upset by this as well. He slowly tied a bandage around Ann's cut. He then began examining the scratches which covered Ann's body.
"I don't know if what you say is true, but because of the strange things which I have seen unfolding in the last few years, I- I have no reason to doubt what you say. Zach, do not go outside again. Stay here in the Inn for the night. But now, let's get Ann to a bed. She needs rest after all that."
The Doctor applied bandages to the rest of Ann's wounds before looking at me expectantly. At first I didn't understand what he was trying to tell me. He then gestured towards Ann with his head. I turned and looked at Ann. She looked back at me, and smiled. Doug was looking at me too. Then I finally got it.
I reached down and picked Ann up. She smiled up at me as I lifted her body from the ground, and got back to my feet. Doug opened the door where he had burst out from earlier, and motioned for me to bring Ann in there. I had never been in that part of the Inn, but had always assumed it was the part of the Inn where Ann and her father lived. The door led to the kitchen, and to two doors. Doug opened one door, and stepped inside. I followed him, and found myself in Ann's bedroom.
The wallpaper was white with orange flowers all over it, and the carpet was off-white. Her bed sat in a corner, covered with beautiful white sheets, and a yellow blanket over top. Doug drew back the sheets, and I layed Ann down on the bed. Ann stretched out on the bed, and sighed contentedly before closing her eyes and falling asleep instantly. Doug pulled the covers over Ann's sleeping body, and turned out the light. The two of us quietly exited the room.
Doug led me back to the main room of the Inn, where he motioned for me to sit down at one of the tables. I did, and Doug went back into the kitchen area. After about a minute, he returned with two glasses of warm milk.
"Here," he said handing one to me. "After all that happened, you and I are going to need help getting to sleep."
"Ann didn't have any trouble," I pointed out.
"Ann's heart also stopped," Doug said. "She was more physically worn out than you. But more than that. Spiritually worn out. You may have done most of the physical battle with those creatures, but Ann had to deal with an unknown creature biting deep in her hand, and then trying to murder her. Did you see what that thing was doing? It was trying to get to her throat. It wanted to bite her jugular. It wanted her blood. Then some unseen force stopped her heart from beating while you and I were outside bringing down those creatures. Lets face it. Ann was conscious when we left, but we returned to find that her heart had stopped. Neither of us know what happened to her after we left the room. Do you think this spirit which you claim was trying to kill you attacked Ann while we were away?"
"I don't know," I replied. "The important thing is that all of us are alright, and none of us suffered any permanent damage."
"Permanent?" Doug said. "You think Ann didn't suffer anything permanent? She will remember this memory forever. She has always loved you Zach. You know that don't you. She has never talked much about any of the boys in the town. Then you show up, and she can't keep quiet about you. I stopped her and asked her what she thought of you one day. She got all defensive, and told me that it wasn't any of my business. She really cares about you Zach. Tonight, I am certain, is not the first time she has shown a degree of affection for you, is it?"
"No it isn't," I admitted recalling when she had hugged me.
"Exactly. She had to watch these clay things trying to murder you, while feeling helpless to save you. Then they turned on her. She had to fight to keep one from bighting her neck. No normal human kills anything by biting their necks. These things which attacked you are evil. They are definitely not human at all. Then we leave, and... who knows what happened then. Maybe the lights failed temporarily, allowing the spirit which attacked you that other night to enter the room in search of you. When it didn't find you, it found Ann. And... oh my gosh, I don't even want to think about how that must have been."
I bowed my head. "This is all my fault," I said. "If I hadn't come to the Inn, those creatures would have left you two alone."
"Then they probably would have run you down before you reached your house. No, it is not your fault what happened. You did what any wise human would do. You did what you had to do. If you had done otherwise, you would most likely be dead, and Ann would have to go through the trauma of losing you. Sure, she has gone through some trauma as a result of you coming here, but it is not as bad as what would happen if you had died. You saw her when we put her to bed. She was happy. Happy that all was okay. If you had died, she wouldn't stop crying for a week. Then she would remain depressed for a couple of months. And even after that, there would still be an empty hole in her soul."
"If you are going to ask me to stay away from her from now one, so such creatures won't attack her because she is special to me, then I understand."
"I would never ask that of you!" Doug shouted slamming his fist on the table. "I like you Zach, I haven't the heart to tell you to do that. Besides, you saved Ann's life tonight. If it hadn't been for you, she'd be dead. You are a good man Zach. You deserve Ann. You love her, don't you? As her father, my greatest wish is for her to find a perfect husband. You seem like the ideal man Zach. And Ann loves you, and you love her."
"I didn't do much really," I said in an attempt to be modest. "If I hadn't been their you would've just given her CPR in my absence."
"I don't know how to do CPR," Ann's dad said smiling. "And don't say that the Doctor would have come in time, for he would have been too late to save her. It took me about five minutes to get him down to the Inn, and Ann would have been dead before then."
"So you aren't mad at me at all?"
"Why would I be mad at you Zach. All you have done was for good. You placed Ann's life before your own back there. Many people would have run past Ann up the stairs, and locked themselves in one of the rooms while leaving Ann to die at the hands of those, those monsters. But you, you fought them off, and tried to prevent them from hurting Ann. You truly are a righteous man Zach."
"Thanks," I said as I drank the last of my milk.
"In fact, you are staying here for the night. Go upstairs, there is an extra bed up in the room up there. Cliff is up there. And because of these circumstances, and because you are a good man, I won't charge you any money to stay here."
"Thanks Doug," I said yawning. "I'd better be heading for bed then."
Doug nodded, and took the empty glass from me. I walked upstairs, and entered the room. Cliff was sitting up on his bed.
"What happened down there Zach? And what are you doing here at the Inn?"
I ignored him, and fell into the second bed, and fell asleep. I was too tired and physically worn out to retell my story a second time.
Its so romantic. Now I just gotta get Zach to dress up as a Knight and have Ann play his Damsel in Distress. Okay, that was just creepy. Now I'm going all romantic again. Sorry. Hard for us Romantics to shut up. That's especially wierd, because I am single. So if I made mistakes on the whole love thing, do forgive me. Now, farewell and adieu to all of you, see you again soon. Mountains may break, and forests may be levelled, but the great Hammermaster will return with the next chapter.
