But now his confidence level in the soldiers had fallen. Another piece of the helicopter crashed to eartha"this looked like the tail, and burned up in a small fireball. This one, at least, didn't hit any soldiers. Then the rest of the copter crashed down across the street, right through the roof of the bank. A couple of soldiers caught fire and rolled around on the ground, frantically trying to put themselves out. Then a body dropped out of the sky to splatter in the road. Probably one of the guys in the helicopter, Todd thought.

Todd had never seen a dead body in his life, and now he was seeing them by the dozensa"not only just bodies, but people being killed in horrible ways. Part of him felt sick and disgusted. The other part was just numb, as if he were playing a video game or watching a horror movie. But this wasn't the Hollywood blood and gore like he saw in Fangoria when he sneaked a peek in the magazine at the drug store when his mother wasn't looking. This was the real thing. The movies could come pretty close, but they couldn't get the real thing. They especially couldn't get the sounds. And the smellsa"the sickening smell of that demon, and the smell of people on firea"the smells were beyond anything he could possibly have imagined.

He thought for a moment that he might throw up again, so he turned away from the window for a moment and looked at his Mom. She looked as if she had been through a battle of her own. Actually, she had, he thought. They both had. And so far they had survived. His mother's hair was all tangled, and her eyes looked tired and old. Her face was sheet-white. Still, though, she managed a small smile.

"I wish Dad was here," Todd said. "He'd be able to get us out of here."

"We'll be fine," his Mom said. "We're safe here."

Todd looked past her at the soldier guarding the door. Maybe, he thought. But that one soldier wasn't going to stop this thing. He'd put more faith in the tanks. He looked back out the window and saw the two tanks taking up a position across the street.

The demon dropped into view, just in front of the town hall. For a moment, it blocked Todd's vision, then it half-flew and half ran towards one of the tanks. The tank's machine gun blazed, and bullets ricocheted off the demon and off the walls of the building. Todd instinctively ducked down and away from the window in case a stray bullet came thorough.

When he peeked back up, the demon was standing in front of the tank, holding a soldier above his head. The big gun of the tank fired at point blank range. The sound was deafening, and smoke filled the air, clouding over the area and engulfing the monster in black soot. Surely, that was enough to kill it, Todd thought. He watched and waited for the smoke to clear.

Everything was silent, shrouded in smoke and falling debris. Todd waited in anticipation.

"I think they got him," he said softly. He glanced quickly at his mother. She looked like she was praying.

Then, as the smoke and dust finally settled, he saw it still standing there in front of the tank. The soldier it had been holding over its head was now nothing more than a piece of meat, torn and charred and ripped into pieces. But the demon was whole. It had taken a step or two backward, but still stood tall. The thing looked down at itself and picked a small, fist-sized piece of rock off its chest, where the tank shell had hit. That was all that had come off. The demon seemed to laugh, then threw the small piece of itself at the man on the tank with the machine gun, where it crushed through his helmet and instantly brained him.

Todd couldn't watch the rest. He knew they were done for now, no matter what they did. The last thing he saw was the demon flipping the tank on its side. Then he ran over to sit by his mother, feeling the comfort of her arms around him. Although he wasn't very good at it, and didn't really feel like it would do any good, he joined her in silent prayer and tried hard not to pay attention to the screams and shrieks that were coming from outside the Town Hall.

-2-.

The darkness was complete now; the last of the setting sun had disappeared, and the moon was low on the eastern horizon. But Erik didn't need any light to see. He could feel the presence of the altar stone standing across the field. In fact, it called to him, attracted him now.

"Come," it seemed to say. "Join with us. There's no need to fight. You can be on the winning side."

Erik shook his head in an attempt to clear it. He wondered if the thing was calling to Dovecrest, too, or if this piece of fun was just for his benefit.

He thought about Vickie again and this time he had a sudden bad feeling. They hadn't made it safely to the hospital. He didn't know how he knew, but he was sure of it.

"Join us and your family will be safe," the voice seemed to say in his head. "They will be taken care of. You won't have to worry anymore."

It was almost tempting. How many times had he seen evil rewarded during his lifetime? It seemed that those with the least amount of good in them were often the most successful. Some of these people just seemed to have a knack for getting ahead. He, on the other hand, had to work for whatever he got. It hadn't come easy. Even now, though he certainly had achieved success, there were those whose work was half as good and who earned ten times what he made....

Stop it, he told himself. You're listening to this thing. You're letting it get to you. You have a good home and a decent living and a great family. Stop being jealous and enjoy what you have.

"You won't have that family for long," the voice said. Then it sent him an image of the demon clutching Vickie and Todd by the hair, dragging them along Main Street.

"Stop it!" he said, and only when Dovecrest turned to look at him did he realize he had spoken out loud.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"Don't let it turn you," Dovecrest said. "It'll try to show you things...."

"It already has," Erik said softly. "The things it shows mea"are they real? Will they happen?"

"Maybe. Maybe not."

"How will I know?"

"You won't know."

"Vickie and Todd are in trouble. I know it. I feel it. It's not just that thing getting to me."

"We are all in trouble, my friend. If you really want to save your family, we have to finish our work here."

"I know. It's just that...waiting is so hard."

"Waiting is harder than doing," Dovecrest said. "But that's what we have to do right now. We have to wait."

"How much longer?"

Dovecrest laughed. "I don't know. But if that thing is trying to get to you, that's a good sign."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because if it didn't fear you, it wouldn't be trying to convert you."

"So now it's afraid of us, right?"

"Maybe fear isn't the right word," Dovecrest agreed. "But we have its attention and it's worried."

"Then why doesn't it just come here and destroy us before we have a chance to act?"

"I don't know," Dovecrest said. "But I never said it wouldn't try."

Erik just shook his head. "That's what I've grown to love about you," he said.

"What's that?"

"The way you can be so comforting in times of stress."

Dovecrest laughed. "Hey, at least I got you to stop worrying about your family, didn't I?"

"Yeah," Erik said. "Only now I'm worried again."

-3-.

The demon had enjoyed tearing up the town and killing the soldiers. The helicopter had come apart a little too easy, and the tanks hadn't even been a challenge. But the looks on their faces when the thing had fired at it and not damaged it had been worth it all. It had heard the collective groan of despair when they'd seen it still standing. Their collective hope had evaporated into dust. They had turned and run away without a fight. It had killed a few as they fled, but for the most part it had let them go. Just its presence had damaged them enough. None of them would ever be the same. Yes, it had enjoyed the killing spree. But it was time to get back to business now. The woman and the unborn childa"ultimate innocence. That's what it wanted. To destroy it at the moment of birth.

It turned back towards the building where the woman and the boy had gone. They thought they could hide inside. But it would go inside and get them. Nothing would stop it now. It was invincible.

It could reignite itself and resume its fiery flaming shape and burn its way through the door. But it was enjoying the physical thrill of crushing and maiming in this forma"hands-on, it thought. It leaped into the air once again and flew to the door of the building. The door was strong. But not strong enough. It reached out and grabbed the heavy iron handles and pulled. It resisted for just a few seconds, then popped off with a thud and a clang as it fell to the ground. The door swung back easily on its hinges now.

It could smell the fear of the woman and the child inside. It could also sense the unborn, which had no fear, only innocence. It would break, corrupt, destroy that innocence at that perfect moment of birth, just as an insult into the face of all that was good. It would do this because it could and because it must.

The last soldier made a feeble attempt at resistance. He shot the demon and tried to stab him with a bayonet. The demon grabbed his gun and twisted it into an obscene shape around the man's neck. Then it smashed his nasal cavity up into his brain. The soldier dropped to the ground, senseless and dying, blood flowing from his nose and mouth like a river.

The woman and the boy tried to run. But there was no place to go. They retreated further into the main hallway, then tried to run up a staircase. The demon took to the air and was halfway up before they made it to the top step.

It stared at the woman with its hypnotic gaze. She paused and looked back. Her eyes grew wider as she stared into the endless depths of its eyes. It could feel her mind, could feel the infant inside her. It was not ready to be born, not just yet, but it was close. It would happen very soon, and he would be waiting. He could take it out himself with a single swipe of a claw, but it wouldn't be the same. It wanted the baby to be born into its embrace, to know pure evil as the first, and last, moments of its human existence.

It would take this woman with him and keep her until the time was right. Now the boy was another matter.

It turned to stare at the boy. This was the one that had defied it earlier, had tried to swipe at it through the very portal back when it was on the other side and calling to the child. The boy still held that feeble hammer in his hands, and was lifting it over his head as if to strike. The thing had hurt him before, but that was before he'd gained strength and substance. That had been when it was trying to enter this world of men. Now it was here, in the flesh so to speak, and this hammer would be useless. It would show this boy a thing or two before it killed him. But first, the prize.

It reached around to its own wing and tore a strip of the leathery appendage off. Then it leaped towards the mesmerized woman, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her towards it. The boy whacked at it with his hammer, but it only glanced off its rock-hard skin. It then took to the air, holding the woman tightly and binding her limbs into a ball as it flew, much like a spider might tie up its victim with silk.

It watched in amusement as the boy raved and screamed down below. It'd take care of this one soon, and make him pay for his insolence. It might take its time with this one and let the mother watch. That would make things even more interesting.

Carrying the mother in one arm, he leaped forward and dove down at the boy, grabbing him in the other arm and flying directly out the front door of the building. The boy screamed and flailed but the mother was still in shock. It felt her labor contractions beginning again and knew the birth would happen soon. It'd kill the boy that had caused him so many problems and then enjoy the rest. It landed on the grass in front of the town hall and looked over its handiwork. The bank was in flames, a helicopter was ruined, and two tanks were overturned and helpless, like turtles on their backs. It had been so simple it was almost funny.

It put the woman down on the ground and turned back to the town hall. Still holding the boy under its left arm, the demon strode up to the building and kicked a hole in the front wall. It moved over and kicked another one. The walls began to collapse around it, until the entire front wall was nothing but rubble. The boy was still struggling, trying to hit it with his hammer. It grabbed the weapon from the boy and crushed it into a glob of steel on a stick, then tossed it away. Then, just as it was about to finish the boy off, a new distraction entered the picture.

A car had pulled up to the front of the building and a man got out and walked purposefully towards the demon. It stopped what it was doing and looked at him. This was different. The man didn't have any weapons and didn't seem the slightest bit afraid.

Instinctively, the demon picked up the womana"it wasn't taking any chances that this man would take its prize away, or that she would be killed in a fight.

The man walked up to within six feet of the demon, walking with an intensity and confidence that the monster wasn't used to. Mortals were supposed to be afraid of it. The fact that this one wasn't made it angry, but also a little nervous. Did this human know something that the others didn't?

It would kill the man quickly and be done with it. But before it could take the first step to launch itself forward towards the man, he had pulled a small cross from his pocket and held it out in front of him. The demon stopped. It remembered this symbol from the church and detested it. In fact, it still felt the pain of the upside down cross that had been branded onto its chest. No, this man would have to die right now.

But the cross held him back for just a moment, and that moment was enough.

"I drive you out of this place in the name of Jesus Christ, our true Lord and the Son of God!" the man said. "In the name of Jesus I banish you from this place!"

The demon stopped, immobilized by the words and by the sign of the cross. It felt the upside down cross on its chest ignite in pain, burning deeply into it, scorching it again with the fires of hell. The demon doubled forward in agony and suddenly it no longer burned with wrath but with pain. It forgot about the pregnant woman and the boy, forgot about death and destruction and making the world dread and fear its presence. All it could think about was escape.

It took a step backward and the man stepped forward towards it.

"In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, I command you to be gone from this place, to return to the depths of hell from where you came!"

The demon Wrath was no longer in control of its own body. It felt its wings begin to flap of their own accord and its knees bend to take off in flight. It willed its body to stay and fight, to destroy this weakling of a mortal who had the audacity to stand up to it. It wanted to smash this man with every ounce of strength and power that it had. But instead of fighting, the demon felt itself being lifted into the air. Only by fleeing would the pain diminish. Only by returning to the altar and going back through the portal to where it had come from. It didn't want to go back, but it must. There was no other way. The altar called for it now, needed it.

Then the demon realized that, somehow, it had managed to hang on to the boy and the pregnant woman. It still held them tightly, one under each arm. So, maybe it couldn't stay herea"at least right now. But it could take these two back to hell with it. It would bring them back and destroy them. But not until the baby was born. That would be the ultimate victory over that cross-thing. To have the innocent baby born into the bowels of hell.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE.

-1-.

Pastor Mark watched in shock as the monster took to the air, carrying Todd and Vickie, one under each arm. He held his cross up over his head, and followed the path of the demon with it as it disappeared into the night sky. He could see the brand of the cross upside down on the thing's chest. The brand glowed like hot coals as the thing disappeared into the night. He watched with his mouth open, then looked down at the destruction around him.

The soldiers had either fled or been killed or wounded. Several maimed men lie scattered about, moaning in agony from various wounds. Some appeared burned. Others were bleeding from hideous wounds. Several appeared to be missing limbs.

If only he had arrived a little sooner. He might have prevented all of this. But tracking the demon had not been an easy task. The rumors of its whereabouts had outrun its actual presence. Finally, he had followed the trail of destruction, which led him to the town hall.

Now that it was done, he didn't know what to do next. He dropped down to his knees on the ground and tried to pray. His hands were shaking as if he were having some sort of fit, and he realized that he could no longer find any words to say, not a single word. His mouth was dry and he felt tears streaking down his cheeks. His legs collapsed beneath him and he lay down on the grass and wept openly, without shame.

Despite his faith, he hadn't really been sure this plan would work. He knew in his heart that God had dominion over all things, and that He had given man strength and power over evil. He knew it in his heart. Yet his mind had questioned, and he had been forced to make his mind be quiet. He had listened to his heart. Now his mind stood by in bewilderment of what he had done.

As he had banished the demon, he had really felt God's power within him. It hadn't just been the Sunday sermon designed to sound good for the congregation. This had been the real deal here. The power of the Lord had filled him to the brim, giving him a faith and confidence and strength that he could never have imagined.

"Thank you, Lord," he said at last, struggling to say even those simple words. His body felt as if it had been used to fight a war. In some ways, he guessed it had been.

But the war was not over. This was just the first battle. And the thing had escaped with Erik's wife and sona"and the unborn baby. If he had only been here sooner, he could have prevented that, he thought once again. He could have saved Erik's family and prevented this death and destruction around him. How many lives had been lost because of his hesitation?

But that was his mind speaking. And once again, his heart took control, soothing and calming him. This was not his fault, it told him. God knows all and allows everything to happen, all in its own time. His heart knew this. Now his mind would have to accept it.

"Thank you, Lord," he said again. "Now help us to finish the job we have just begun."

Then, slowly, he stood up and returned to his car. He'd follow the thing back to the altar. Perhaps there he could be of some help to his friends.

-2-.

Erik was now fully convinced that Todd and Vickie were in serious trouble. He couldn't think, couldn't concentrate, couldn't keep still in his hiding place in the brush.

"This is driving me crazy," he said. "I can't just sit here any longer. I have to do something."

"You'll get your chance soon enough," Dovecrest said. "I have the feeling the demon is heading our way."

"And I have a feeling that my family is in trouble! I've got to help them! I can't just hang around here waiting for something that might happen. I never should have left Vickie."

Erik stood up from his hiding place in the brush and Dovecrest was beside him, holding him back.

"No, you can't leave."

"Why not?"

"First of all, where are you planning to go?"

"I'll find a phone and call the hospital. Then I'll know if Vickie made it there or not."

"And if she's not there? Then what do you do?"

"I'll...I'll go find her. I'll retrace her steps."

Dovecrest shook his head. "You don't know which way she went. She could have gotten turned around and gone anywhere. The military might have evacuated her. She might have even gone to a different hospital. You wouldn't know where to begin and you wouldn't be doing her or Todd or yourself any good."