III.
In the opinion of Roland, perhaps, you could call people like Rick Fleming a monster. In Fleming's own opinion, monster was suitable enough. Hell, any name suited him. The Ageless Stranger, Randall Flagg, The Man In Black, Walter O' Dim, among others. Callahan had easily identified the man (though never seeing him in the flesh once before) as another persona of O' Dim. What other man would be waltzing around down there with a smile on his face in this hellish scenery? If endless blackness even counted as scenery... Nonetheless.
Callahan couldn't exaclty tell how long he had been down there before Fleming made his ever graceful appearance out of the darkness. The first thing Callahan heard was clicking- soft steps of leather shoes against the uncolored floor. Then the noise initially got louder and Pere found himself hearing whistling. It was his least favorite song, though.
"Someone saved, someone saved my liiife tonight!" A voice belted out comically from the darkness. Callahan let out an open groan. There was a titter from the black.
"In God's name and the name of the White, show yourself." Callahan mumbled. He looked up; black. He looked down; black. He looked left, right, and forward; black. The singing voice seemed to come from everywhere this time.
"As you wish, ex priest of Salem's Lot. As you wish, Faddah." Donald Callahan thought of where he met Walter O' Dim at the way station, and how he had been shoved through the door and into the Calla by the Ageless Stranger. There was no doubt who the voice belonged to when Callahan was adressed as Faddah. And it certainly wasn't because of the fact that the strange voices down in the Todash Darkness- the inbetween spaces, was from New York. "Faddah Donnie Callihan, da vampire slay'r. Da same priest who got hisself killed by dem low folks, and da very, very same who started some shit in the Dixie Pig. Welcome to hell, buddy-o, I'm your tour guide Rick Fleming. I'll show you to the "Unimaginable" monster den where we can see all the creepy crawlers and their little demon spawns, like the one that's coming out of Mia's pudunkadunk as we speak." The voice mused, and then there was more clicking of feet. Pere would see him any second.
Callahan felt breathless without even moving. He was coming, and Pere felt that he was going to die, again. Was this how Jake felt? How nothing in this world- these worlds, is even real? Reality is so thin- and too complicated. Let me just meet my fate. Callahan wished, the footsteps growing closer. Our father who ar't in heaven, hallow be thy- the clicks ceased. Callahan looked up- his eyes were closed and his head was down when praying.
Walter O' Dim/Randall Flagg/Rick Fleming stepped forward. His smile was huge and toothy. He looked like he did when Callahan met him in the desert. No black robe, though. He wore a fine business suit that was black enough that it almost- almost blended in with the background. The white aura still emitting from Callahan shrank a little when Fleming came close. Fleming's hair was slicked back and shoulder length, and his skin was pale. Above the breast pocket of his suit was a little pin on it with the sigul of the Crimson King. Next to this was a button with the words MAKE WAR NOT LOVE written on it.
"Why do you visit me, demon?" Callahan whispered, but his voice echoed and amplified it a hundred fold. Callahan felt the urge to reach for his cross and deflect the half-human half something or other like a vampire, but realized he didn't have it. Rick Fleming tittered once more and rolled his eyes around a couple times. Then he cracked his neck both ways. Callahan noticed Fleming was carrying a suitcase as black as the suit. What was in that case?
"I didn't mean to visit," Fleming tittered. His grin was so cemented onto his face that it was scary. "I was just in the neighborhood, you see." Callahan thought one word: Bullshit.
"People like you (though your probobly the only on of your kind) aren't just 'In the neighborhood'." Callahan muttered. And then, for the first time, he got to his feet. His joints cracked, and loudly. He stood before the man in the suit, unsure of what to say. So he just stood.
"I am only in the neighborhood for once, Faddah. Don't you trust me? Oh- but you don't know the whole story, do you? Time has grown thin, even down here. Actually, I'm ninety nine point nine percent sure that there is no time down in these parts." Fleming said. Callahan spoke up.
"Yeah, yeah. Get to the point, stranger."
"The point is, you haven't seen what's been going on at the other side. I could've just dropped in here two monthes from now, you know what I mean, Faddah?"
Callahan nodded his head slowly.
"Good. A lot has happened since you left, Donnie. I'm down here because I was stupid for once. Mauled by a demon spawn. Susannah- Mio's demon spawn, to be exact. Mia named him Mordred. He will finally make the Tower fall-..."
"LIES!" Callahan barked. Fleming laughed. "LIES, ALL OF IT!"
"Really?" Flagg/Fleming/Dim tittered. "Well, I suppose. Though I am the great Man In Black, even I cannot know what went on after I was killed. But I don't think Roland will have much luck with the Little Red King, anyhoozle." He tittered once more.
"Fuck off, hellspawn. God and the White command you." Callahan muttered, putting his head down and turning away from the tittering man.
"Like you have any faith any more, old man." Fleming spat. "You drank the blood of a vampire, your cross has been broken, and you have taken your own life. That's against the bible, is it not? Can you say Gawd, Donnie? Can you say Gawd-Bomb? Say hallelujah and I say amen? Can you say Lord, good man Jesus in heaven?"
"GOD! GOD GOD AND A FUCKING GAWD BOMB! JESUS IN HEAVEN, RID ME OF THIS DEMON AND SAY HALLELUJAH!"
And God answered his prayers.
IV.
Fleming stepped forward to silence the screaming ex priest of Salem's Lot, but he found he could not. Something- someone had protected Donald Callahan from the half man half demon.
It was a forcefield, sorta, and it surrounded Callahan in a box shape about twelve feet in each direction. It was like glass, but it could not be stained. Rick Fleming walked strait into it.
"What in Gan's name did this?" Fleming muttered. For once, he looked disappointed. And Callahan had another moment of feeling pity for Flagg, as he did at the way station, his feelings looking genuinley hurt. The beast who called himself Rick Fleming swatted at the (glass?) barrier annoyingly. "Ah, well." Flagg muttered, and then put on his happy face. "Looks like a case of bad karma. Mayhap I'll come back for you later, Faddah, but right now I have bigger fish to fry." And like that, the ageless stranger walked away into the black, singing "Someone Saved My Life Tonight." Callahan wondered who or what it was that saved him.
Sheemie Ruiz was his name.
V.
Susannah was eating dinner with Eddie and Jake when Henry called from Turtleback Lane.