Chapter 27 Accuser

Matt heard Ruth’s screams echo through the passage, and they were enough to get his feet running. Her screams got louder the further he ran into the darkness. At that point, he wasn’t thinking about what diabolical creatures hid away in the darkness. Neither did he quiver to the croaking sounds nor the sudden coldness that brushed against his skin. All he wanted was his Ruth.

“Ruth!” he hopefully exclaimed in the dark and got a scream in reply.

Matt hastened his steps to the faint light ahead. His boots thudded with every angry stride he took towards the oppressive figure pinning Ruth down. Matt halted and aimed his gun. He shouted and pulled the trigger to which blood splattered on Ruth’s face.

Asmodues fell limp on top of her, and she screamed aloud. Ruth pushed the body off and crawled away from it backwards with her teary eyes fixed on it. A thought crossed her mind, and she widened her eyes in fear.

Her eyes reeled around only to spot Matt running towards her. Ruth’s lips twitched into a smile but the sight of the corpse wiped it away like it wasn’t even there. The very same thought was lingering and gnawing in her mind.

“Asmodues is still here.” she anxiously bit her nails.

“Babe,” Matt huffed when he finally caught up.

Ruth shook her head at him, “Stay away,” she shakily warned him.

“What?” Matt took a step further but Ruth backed away in response. “Ruth,”

“Matt, please go. Babe, just leave.” she croaked.

“Everything is going to be okay. He can’t hurt you anymore.” Matt stretched his hand out to her. “Come on,” he urged.

Ruth’s mouth fell agape at the smoky figure peering above Matt. “No,” she cried as she shook her head in anguish. “Asmodues, you told me that you wouldn’t hurt him as long as I didn’t tell him about you.”

Matt dropped his brows stunned, and stupefied to learn the exact reason Ruth didn’t tell him about her problems. He thought back to the times when she brushed his questions off or plainly got angry with him. She was just protecting from her unfortunate fate.

Whilst Matt processed everything, he couldn’t help but notice that Ruth kept her eyes away from him but up. Curious, he followed her gaze and when he finally saw it, he scowled.

The shadow speared itself into Matt’s mouth. Matt dropped his gun and held the sides of his head. He squeezed his eyes closed, letting out an agonizing scream of pain that echoed through the hallway.

“Matt!” Ruth painfully screamed after him.

A deep laughter soon followed after. Ruth slowly got back to her feet. Matt grinned darkly at her and spread his arms apart. “How do I look?” he waved his brows up and down.

“You son of a bitch!” Ruth screamed at Asmodues in anger.

Asmodues threw his head back in laughter. “I swear females are the most complex beings in this damned world.” drawing closer to her, he continued with a smug, “I mean, I now possess the image of your beloved lover. Wouldn’t it be better to marry me this way? At least now, it will be his face you will see while we make love in this delicious lunar power.”

“You will never ever take Matt’s place.” Ruth retorted furiously.

“Oh, but I already have!” Asmodues raised his voice and the floor beneath them shook—dropping bits of rubble off the roof.

As soon as the quake subsided, Ruth lifted her wedding dress and ran away into the darkness in tears. Asmodues grinned at her turning to a corner.

Ruth came to a door and pushed it open only to bang it closed. She moved her gaze to a dusty tiny bedroom without windows and only a lamp for light. On the wall was a tapped up picture of;

“Muriel,” Ruth gasped and looked around. “This must have been her room.”

A bookshelf stood away in the corner. Ruth pushed it to the door. She quickly pulled the bed, lifted it up and placed it on the bookshelf. Ruth looked around the room for anything else but only spotted an old copper crucifix on the floor. She pounced on it and pointed it at the door. She cared less that it had cobwebs.

Silence filled the air as Ruth listened for any sounds. She anxiously hyperventilated at the tension. Her heart skipped a beat at the sudden sound of the door getting pushed. Ruth covered her mouth with her hand but kept the other with the crucifix stretched out.

“Ruth, babe, come on, don’t be like this. We are running out of time.” Asmodues pouted from the other side of the door.

“Oh God, please help me.” Ruth cried.

****

Stephanie pulled Fernanda away from the cross fire whilst Alejandro covered for her. In no time, she found herself in the kitchen. Stephanie let go of Fernanda and tried the pantry door. To her relief, it opened. She carefully put Fernanda’s hand over her shoulder and walked her in. Fernanda moaned in pain as Stephanie helped her lay down.

“Stephanie,” Fernanda called out with her weak eyes barely looking right at her.

Stephanie cupped the side of her face. “It’s all right. You stay here.” she got up and looked out.

“Be safe,” Fernanda passed out.

“God is with us.” Stephanie whispered and got out.

Her thoughtful gaze fell on Hendricks and two men. He smirked and the other two pointed their guns at her. Stephanie’s face balled up into an unforgiving scowl. She clenched her jaw so hard that it hurt and sent off a throbbing pain on her forehead.

“You are the one who hurt my spiritual mother.” Stephanie gritted her teeth at Hendricks.

“Your god wasn’t there to protect her the same way he isn’t here to save you.” Hendricks grinned whilst the other men moved their feet towards Stephanie.

Stephanie grinned back. “My God is always with me.” she abruptly grabbed hold of the closest man’s gun, and he fired at the roof.

Hendricks stared at her wide-eyed in astonishment. Stephanie stabbed her elbow into the chest of the man and smacked his face with his gun. The second man opened fire at her, but she back flipped and shot back at him in a split second. The man fell face down and soon was in his own pool of blood.

Stephanie tilted her head at Hendricks with one of her knees on the table where she had landed. Hendricks fearfully took a step back to which Stephanie shook her head at. She straightened her back and threw the gun at Hendricks. He slapped it around before finally getting a proper hold on it.

“I don’t kill people who can’t defend themselves.” she coldly said to him.

Hendricks fired at her without a second thought. Stephanie back flipped off the table and pulled out the revolvers strapped to her thighs. From behind the table, she shot back at Hendricks. Hendricks took refuge behind a counter. He put his gun up and fired only to hear nothing but a click.

Stephanie raised her head at the continuous sound of clicks. The next thing was Hendricks bolting out of the kitchen. Stephanie dashed out after him and caught sight of his back making a turn for it to the left. She sprinted after him with her gun pointing forward.

“Damn it, she is fast.” Hendricks grunted and ducked at the impact of a bullet on a wall.

Stephanie skidded across a hall and ran right on Hendricks tail. Hendricks came to a dead end and his heart dropped. Facing him was only one door. He pinned his back against it and listened to the growls behind it. Hendricks shakily pointed his empty gun at Stephanie.

She quickly made her way to him with her revolvers to her sides. Hendricks tossed his useless gun away and charged at her. He threw a punch at her, but she backed away and ducked at the other punch. Stephanie raised her leg and brought it back with a kick so powerful that it knocked the air out of Hendricks’s lungs.

She got hold of his neck and crashed him through the door. Hendricks fell onto the dust with a thud. He coughed at the thick dust tickling his nostrils and irritating his throat.

His fingers brushed against a skull. It was at that moment when he widened his eyes in horror. The growls forced him to sit up and protectively hold his hand up. Stephanie stared down at him with a straight face.

The dogs stealthily approached Hendricks. He yelped and dragged himself behind. As the growls intensified, his mind reeled in panic. Whilst he helplessly shivered at the sight of the ruthless canines, he spotted Muriel from the corner of his eye.

He jerked his head to the side and his lips parted in disbelief. Muriel stared back at him with a plain look. It was as though she was looking right through him—an oracle scanning his sins just before his death.

Hendricks heard a dog bark from behind him and his gaze switched back to the dogs. They pounced on him, and he hollered as they sank their teeth into him.

Muriel kept her eyes on the terrible yet satisfying sight of the dogs tearing Hendricks apart. Fiona locked Hendricks’s neck in between its jaws. Muriel clutched her dress at the sight of the blood pouring out.

A scowl replaced the distant look she had on earlier. She wished she could have been able to hear his screams. Judging by the way blood gurgled out of his mouth, she could tell that he was about to breathe his last.

The dogs ripped his clothes apart and tore his flesh. Hendricks stopped fighting but just laid limp whilst the dogs devoured him mercilessly. Realizing that he was dead, Muriel got up and continued to look on.

She caught sight of Stephanie above and realized for the first time that she had been talking to her the whole time. Stephanie got down on one knee and held out her hand to Muriel. Muriel turned back to Fiona and tucked her lips at the bloody sight of her beloved pet eating the monster she feared for years.

It was at that moment when Muriel sensed the feeling of freedom. Fiona was free too and with a pack. Muriel took a step towards Fiona but received a threatening growl in return. Fiona further barked aggressively at her.

'Fiona, it’s like you want me to leave.' Muriel’s tears stung.

Muriel backed away at Fiona leaping at her. Fiona charged at her again but paused in her tracks when a bullet hit the wall. Muriel faced up at Stephanie whose gun still had smoke going out of it.

“Hurry up, we have to leave now!” Stephanie shouted.

Muriel didn’t have to hear what she said to know what she was saying. She took one last look at Fiona and tucked her lips at the sight of her tail wagging whilst she fed. She smiled faintly at her and her tears fell.

“Goodbye, Fiona.” she said aloud.

Muriel ran to where Stephanie was and jumped high. Stephanie caught her hand and gritted her teeth at her weight. She pulled her up with all her might.

Muriel pushed herself up to ease the burden and soon, she was safe on the other side. Stephanie picked up her revolver and shot two incoming men.

“Come with me.” she said to Muriel who nodded her head back.

****

Ruth pinned her back to the wall in tears. The bed and bookshelf laid on the floor and the door was partially opened with Matt’s dark hand holding it. A violent push forced it open and Ruth screamed. Asmodues smiled darkly at Ruth, and she threateningly pointed the crucifix at him.

“Oh my, what do you have there?” Asmodues asked her with a soft chuckle.

He zoomed in on her in a flash and grabbed hold of her hand. Asmodues tilted his head creepily at the crucifix as if he was studying a strange specimen. A smirk lingered its way in. He slammed Ruth’s breasts to his chest. Asmodues snatched the crucifix and to Ruth’s terror, he licked it from the toe to the head.

“How can you honestly believe that this thing can harm me? A fucking object curved into what you were brainwashed into believing your savior looks like.” he laughed so hard. “Even still, weren’t you commanded not to make any image and worship it of which included those of heaven? None of you know what your God looks like but yet you portray him to be Caucasian with fucking blue eyes and straight brunette hair. This is why He gave you that commandment but you are a hopeless bunch.”

“Let go of me.” Ruth struggled to pull her hand back.

“You could a throw a bible at me or sleep with it under your pillow but it won’t stop me from tormenting you. You idiots need to understand that even we know the bible. Hell, we know it much more than you do. We watched it get written. I am speaking of the original bible, not this half assed version of it with missing books that you are forced to read. As long as you remain lazy, you will continue to perish due to your ignorance.”

“Let me go.” Ruth cried, “Matt!”

“Yes, my love.” Asmodues responded with a cocky grin.

“You are not Matt. Give him back to me.” Ruth miraculously freed her hand and slapped Asmodues across the face.

Asmodues held his chin and licked his bloody lip. He cracked his neck at Ruth with a smirk. “Feisty one, aren’t you?” he raised his hands up. “The lunar power is at its peak. Be good girl and accept your fate.”

Ruth cracked up laughing, “You are a fool, Asmodues. Matt’s body won’t be able to help you complete your ritual. He never killed his child before. He doesn’t have one.”

It was Asmodues' turn to laugh. “It is you who is the fool. How can you forget about your miscarriage?” his words froze her. “Oh yes, you and I both know that he is responsible for your miscarriage. The terms for the ritual don’t state that the body owner must have killed his child directly or indirectly.”

Ruth fell to her knees weak. Asmodues circulated around her with a laughter so loud and merciless. “It wasn’t his fault. I – I,”

“He was out with that other woman instead of picking up your call when you got cramps.” Asmodues snickered and knelt down before Ruth. Pinching her chin in place, he continued, “I remember how devastated you were when you discovered that you just miscarried a pregnancy you weren’t even aware of.”

“It wasn’t his fault!” Ruth screamed.

“Yes it was! If he picked up your call, he would have gotten you to the hospital on time!” Asmodues yelled back at her.

“The fault was yours for pushing me down the stairs in the first place! You killed my child not Matt!”

Asmodues grabbed Ruth’s neck and forced her to the ground. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and leaned closer. “The fact that he didn’t get to you on time still remains. His body will achieve my goal.”

“No it will not.” Ruth laughed softly with Asmodues hand still on her neck. “Your confidence in your all-knowing attitude is your weakness, Asmodues.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You will not complete your ritual tonight because there is one thing you did not do. More specifically, what I did not do.” Her laughter continued to Asmodues’ annoyance. His eyes darkened at the realization of the agonizing truth. “Oh yes, I neither ate human flesh nor drunk human blood you sick fuck!”

“No!” Asmodues roared and the furniture in the room broke against the wall.