The story with the young priest and the evil cathedral is a very slightly modified version of a short story I wrote in 2000 or 2001, during my high school years. It was a homework assignment about religious symbolism in Medieval literature... and, of course, I decided to make a horror story. My classmates loved it. The literature teacher - not so much.

In the original story, the young priest was named Ishmael.

CHAPTER V: THE FIRST VISION

I clearly remembered an encounter from the dark past of humanity – a vile Heresiarch, his loyalty to Hell reaching pure insanity.

"I am sorry, sir, but we do not have any information for you at the moment. If you would like to check later..."

Kyle just sighed and walked away from the "Information" desk. That was amazing – they did not have information! All the chaos at the star port was probably related to the restoration of the planet, and the many flights back and forth to the moon, the space stations, and the spaceships high in orbit. Some people wanted to return to their homes, others wanted to get as far away as possible from the ruins of their homes. Kyle wanted to leave this place – he could only associate it with bad memories. He had been here twice before – the first time was when he was sent to Mars, one cold evening. The second time was a few months ago when he fought demons and tried to let humanity escape from the clutches of the enemy force field. And now, he was going to Io – having no idea what awaited him there. He looked once again through the files he was given. The photograph of a menacing-looking person was staring at him with his black eyes. That man was Simon Stalker, PhD. His file gave a long list of special achievements in the fields of microbiology and genetics, as well as numerous notes about rules violations and other incidents that pointed at the scientist's volatile and aggressive personality. Kyle noticed another thing – despite his biological specialization, Dr. Stalker had conducted extensive historical research – especially in the ancient period of 1920 – 1960, the middle of the 20th century. The marine could not remember anything specific about that period, especially since he had never been particularly interested in history.

He moved to the other lobby, which was empty. People did not come here as it was not cleaned yet – there were bloodstains on the walls, as well as a few piles of something that could possibly be the charred remains of some creature. The restoration of the star port was a long and complicated process – they would clean up that particular room only after taking care of the more important sectors. Kyle went there to be alone and try to relax. He was sleepy, yet was afraid to sleep – the nightmares had returned. "It's all in your head," he told himself, appealing to his reason, knowing that the demonic threat had been dealt with... for the time being. He sat down and waited. There would probably be a few hours before his transport was ready to depart. The journey to Io was the longest tour one could do. The preparations on the ship were long and extensive.

Sitting there, in the cold damp lobby, Harlan felt sleepier than before – the tension from the previous days hung like heavy garments upon him, the nights spent awake had their effect, the quiet room and the benches... The ghostly whispers that came from one corner of the room... He could not even try to react to them.

Kyle could not resist any longer – he slumped and fell asleep right there on the bench. The whisper grew stronger, turning into a voice that sounded very familiar. Where had he heard it before? What did it say? "Listen, human," it said "And watch carefully. Do not resist me – I will not harm you." As the marine fell asleep, bright light exploded in his mind and vivid images appeared. Suddenly, the vision overwhelmed his senses and filled his thoughts.

It was bright and hot. The atrocious sun stood still in the clear sky, throwing its unbearable heat on everything below. Grassy fields and a small town in the distance – what epoch could that be? Along a dusty road came a lonely man, a young priest, as it seemed. He carried something on his back – something very long, wrapped in torn leather bags, a staff of some kind or a very long scepter. There was something in the man's eyes –a grim determination to do something, and sadness – immense sadness. As the man passed, Kyle could see where he was going – alone in the grassy fields stood an imposing cathedral. The priest approached it, his pace getting slower as if he was afraid of something.

The garden in front of the temple seemed long-neglected. An old rusty scythe stood by the wall, right next to a dried-up fountain. A broken pillar, an old goat skull and piles of rubbish were all over the place. The only living creature beside the priest was a black cat that was watching every step he made towards the door. He stopped in front of it and looked up – above him was a huge painting of a saint that looked down upon the people who would gather there. Yet, there was something evil and distorted in the person from the painting, the flames rising behind him looked very much like the fires of Hell, the man's bloodshot eyes were looking with bitter hatred towards the intruder on this quiet hot day. The priest did not look at the mural for long – he opened the door and stepped in.

The antechamber had seven gates leading in different directions and a cross in the center – one that was rusted and nearing the point when it would fall apart. A small donations box was left in that room. The priest looked inside – there were thirty pieces of silver, covered in dust. He ignored them and opened one of the gates, revealing the main hall of the cathedral. He stopped with surprise – the hall was empty, yet there were traces of fire that had burned on the marble floor. The young man was not scared – he passed the small pond filled with blood and the piles of old human bones resting in the corners without even looking at them. He stopped at the altar where a book was left – its pages torn and stained with blood. The pentagram symbol drawn above did not bode well.

He took a corridor that led to the rear side of the cathedral, where its apse was located. The corridor was completely empty, though the lighter spots on the floor were a sign that pieces of furniture had previously been there. The young man stopped, as if he needed to regain his confidence, and looked through the window – a dark pall had overshadowed the sunny day, and dark clouds were approaching the cathedral with unnatural speed. The priest sighed and went on, going past a dead lamb that was left bloody in one niche. He entered the apse... and froze with terror.

The doors behind him were slammed shut by an invisible force. A human figure in a black robe sat on an octagonal golden plate in the room's center. Suddenly, it became dark; thunder sounded and a rain of embers poured out from the sky. A blood-chilling scream was heard from outside as darkness veiled the chamber's windows. The robed man turned around and looked at the visitor, his eyes glowing like charcoals. Beside him, on an ebony table rested black bread and a cup of slimy wine. The creature stared at the young priest and spoke. "So you finally came to me, my child. Eat. Drink. Let go of your old faith and become my follower in Lord Baphomet's name!"

"Never." The young man looked very scared yet determined. He felt that his heart would burst out of his chest. The robed figure's disgusting laughter made the room tremble. His teeth started to get longer and sharper. "Then, you will die and I shall claim your soul just like I did with the rest of your brethren." The heretic slowly raised his hands, eerie light dancing around his fingers.

What happened then, Kyle could not see clearly. The young man pulled out something long from the bag that he had carried on his back and showed it to the creature. "Do you recognize this, demon?" The robed man stepped back in shock and lifted his hands, as if trying to protect his face from the thing he saw. "Put it away! Put it away!" he screamed.

The priest threw the object at the heretic and a bright flash filled the world. Kyle heard the distant roar of a terrible explosion and saw a smoldering crater that remained where the cathedral had once stood. The people from the nearby town were rushing towards the site. Then, suddenly the scene changed and Kyle found himself on a vast plane of fire. The heretic and thousands of other robed figures that appeared to be his followers stood there. They were scared and looked around in disbelief. The heretic was smiling as if he had expected that. In that moment an enormous visage appeared in the sky above – a terribly ugly face that Kyle immediately recognized.

Baphomet. The Icon of Sin.

The great demon lord spoke to the humans below in an ancient language. They all cheered and shouted the demon's name.

The scene changed once again – the Heresiarch and his followers were kneeling before the great demon, their shapes started to blur and seemingly vaporize. Kyle witnessed as their souls were bound to a huge gem – a perfectly shaped human skull, made from the finest ruby. When the heretic and all of his followers were all trapped within that ruby skull, Baphomet picked it up and spoke: "Sleep now, and remain hidden for ages long. Your patience will be well rewarded. Wait until the time comes, and then you will be granted the vengeance you sought. Sleep now..."

The vision faded and darkness swallowed the marine. The familiar voice that spoke before the vision began, appeared again: "Remember what you saw, for it is a shadow of the past, yet a reflection of things to come. A dangerous enemy awaits you, and you will need all the strength and skill that you possess. Now wake up, the time for your departure has come." Kyle tried to say something...

"Corporal Harlan. Wake up – it is time for the transport to depart."

The marine sprang up and looked around. He was in the shabby lobby, and Lieutenant Anderson was standing nearby, waiting for him. Kyle grabbed up his old trusty backpack that accompanied him ever since his departure to Phobos when the invasion began. The chaos in the main hall was even greater as another large group of evacuated humans had just arrived from Earth orbit. The first thing that these people asked was whether they would be able to return to their homes, if they still existed. Harlan tried not to look at them – he had seen enough tragedy for the last few months. Outside one of the buildings was an area guarded by marines. There was the spaceship that would take him to Io. The other soldiers that were going to fly together with Kyle were excited or worried about traveling thus far. The marine did not feel anything as his thoughts were somewhere else. He remembered the vision and the voice that spoke before and after it. He recognized that voice.

It was the voice of the Gatekeeper.