Dead Man's Eye

CHAPTER 18

Despite her vision problems with the Fuchs’ eye, the transplanted cornea seemed to overcompensate, allowing Joanna to clearly see the approaching demon, emphasising that this was something unnatural.

“This way,” she said, pulling Stephen along. She headed down the aisle, looking for an escape route. From the corner of her eye, she saw a figure leap the pews like a gymnast.

“We’re trapped,” Stephen said, his voice relaying the measure of his panic.

Joanna didn’t want to agree. There had to be a way out. There just had to.

To her right, she saw a vestibule at the side of the church, and she pulled Stephen between the rows of pews and into the small room. It seemed designed for silent contemplation, or perhaps small ceremonies, but more importantly, she saw a stairway leading up to the balcony above.

“Up there,” she said.

They fled up the stone steps. At the top, Joanna followed the balcony around.

Movement caught her eye further ahead, and she saw one of the demons jump from the ground floor onto the balcony to bar their way.

“Jesus Christ,” she said.

Stephen groaned. “How can we expect to win against bloody Superman?”

“Even Superman had his weakness. We just need to find theirs. Now come on, run.”

Despite her words, she didn’t fully believe it. Weren’t demons supposed to be unable to enter holy places? Well, obviously that was a pile of horseshit. So how could they fight people blessed with supernatural strength?

Unable to continue forwards, she led the way down another staircase and back onto the ground floor. The demons closed in on all sides. She heard them laughing. The sound made her bones literally shake.

She backed up until she encountered a solid surface. Bringing her hands around, she recoiled slightly when she felt cold liquid. Unable to look away from the demons, she traced her fingers around the object, finally realising it was the font, used for baptisms.

Could this be their weakness? With no time to lose, she scooped up a handful of the holy water and threw it at the nearest demon. The creature gave an almighty hiss, and recoiled as though struck. It scurried back, flesh bubbling.

“You can’t get away,” Nina hissed.

“I’m going to enjoy this,” another said.

Remembering the bucket that the priest had been using to carry the dead flowers, Joanna looked around the font until she found it. She tipped out the contents as she regained her feet and then dunked the bucket in the font, filling it with as much water as she could.

“What are you doing? Stephen asked.

“It’s holy water. It seems to keep them back. Now hold still.”

Before Stephen could argue, she tipped the water over him. Stephen cried out in shock.

“I’m not here to be bloody baptised,” he squealed.

Without bothering to explain, she refilled the bucket with as much water as she could, and then tipped it over herself, shivering as the cold liquid soaked through her clothes. Then she dunked the bucket back in the font, hoping to obtain whatever vital drops she could.

“They shouldn’t be able to touch us now that we’re soaked in holy water, so let’s go.” She grabbed Stephen’s hand, and then pulled him behind her. It wasn’t the version of walking down the aisle she had envisioned for herself as a little girl.

As she hoped, the demons cowered away, the holy water providing a temporary barrier. She knew it wouldn’t last long, as the water would evaporate, and she doubted that any lingering effects would be sufficient to keep the demons at bay, so they needed to get as far away as they could. Fast.

When she reached the church doors, she yanked them open and stepped into dazzling sunlight. The sudden brightness made Joanna’s eyes water after the muted interior of the church, and she blinked rapidly.

Behind her, she heard the demons roar, and the sound chilled her more than the water.

“What do we do now?” Stephen asked.

Joanna glanced back into the church where the demons lingered.

“I’ll find you,” Nina said.

“We need to get as far away as we can, as fast as we can,” she said, tugging him towards the car.

Once they were safely seated inside the vehicle, Joanna felt a little more secure. Although the cars bodywork would probably prove useless against an attack, its presence felt like a protective barrier.

She looked at the bucket at her feet, disappointed to see less than an inch of water sloshing in the bottom.

“So what’s so special about that water?” Stephen asked as he started the car up.

“It’s been blessed, so I guess the demons don’t like it.”

“Well being holy didn’t seem to stop them entering the church or killing that priest.”

The remembrance of seeing the priest’s neck snapped was not something she wanted to dwell upon. “Let’s just get out of here.”

She looked through the window at her side and saw the demons gather outside the church.

Most terrifying was that instead of looking angry, they were grinning.

“Where to?” Stephen asked.

Joanna clenched her teeth. “Back to Temple hospital.”