The Executioner

Hundred and Thirty-Nine

John Woods kicked Hunter’s gun to one side.

Hunter kept his hands away from his body, around head height with his palms facing forward. Showing he was no threat.

John’s eyes settled on the bloody rag on Hunter’s left arm. ‘That looks painful and you look pale. I guess you lost a lot of blood, huh?’

Hunter didn’t reply.

‘Slowly, lift the edge of your trousers.’

‘I don’t have a backup weapon.’

‘I’ll check that for myself. Now lift them.’

Hunter did.

John grabbed Mollie by the hair and violently pushed her out of the way. She stumbled to the ground with a loud thump. ‘Go back to the corner, kneel and pray,’ he commanded. ‘I ain’t finished with you yet. Pray for your mother and for your sins, you little whore.’

Hunter could hear her desperate attempt to suppress her sobbing, as if the sound of her crying would enrage her father even more. John was too far away for Hunter to attempt any physical reaction at the moment. He had to think of something. While John’s gaze was on Mollie, Hunter took a shallow step forward.

‘You don’t have to do this,’ he said tentatively.

‘YES I DO,’ John shouted back. ‘I failed my task the first time, but the Lord has given me a second chance. A chance for me to redeem myself. And this time I won’t fall short.’

‘You failed your task because you didn’t understand it,’ Hunter replied in a secure voice, being careful not to match John’s aggressive tone, knowing it would only anger him further.

The doubt in John’s eyes was brief, but enough to give Hunter a chance to carry on.

Another shallow step. ‘You thought your task was to punish your daughter, to rid her of her affliction, or what you considered to be an affliction – the fact that she can sense other people’s pain.’

‘She’s got the devil inside her, that’s why she sees things – demoniac things.’ John’s aim never left Hunter.

‘No, she doesn’t. That’s where you got it wrong.’ Hunter knew John Woods was an extremely religious man. He had to play John’s game if he was to stand a chance of saving Mollie. ‘You misunderstood what God has asked of you. Your task wasn’t to punish her. It was to help her.’

A moment of uncertainty.

‘I understood God’s words clearly. He talks to me,’ John said confidently, stabbing his left index finger against his head. ‘She was a test from the moment she was born.’

‘Exactly,’ Hunter confirmed. ‘A test to see how you would cope with having such a special child. To see if you could understand.’

‘THERE’S NOTHING TO UNDERSTAND,’ John shouted back.

‘Yes, there is. It’s been part of our history since the beginning of time.’

A glimpse of curiosity washed over John’s face.

‘Think back to all the stories in the Bible. How many saints, how many people who only wished to do good were misunderstood, persecuted, even considered hell-sent and executed before they were finally seen for what they really were and given the credit they deserved? And that’s simply because people didn’t want to understand. Don’t make that same mistake with Mollie.’

‘There’s nothing special about having the devil inside you.’ John’s speech was becoming faster, more excited. ‘I was supposed to rid her of her curse, but I failed and I’ve lived in hell ever since. My task is now to see that she asks for forgiveness, and then send her to the only one who can forgive her.’

‘Your task is to kill her?’

‘Praise the Lord. The devil shall be no more.’