Chapter 99

It was dark when the kombi stopped close to the open field where Andrew was supposed to meet his enemy. He was not really bothered about being outnumbered because he had everything he needed within. On top of that, he had his battle axe which he pledged his life to. The one thing that did bother him was Sarah and Emily's safety. They were the soft targets for a cruel cult he was about to oppose. If anyone had seen where they were hidden then they would surely move in and capture them for future use and leverage, who knows, maybe even for fun, to torture and kill. The other thing that dawned on him was that Patrick was the only one who could help him put an end to the mess. Would he be able to do it? Would there be a moment in time when Andrew's attention would be somewhere else for a moment and his brother would get hurt or killed by the cult? Andrew knew he had to be on his guard towards his brother at all times. He would rather let them take his life before the life of his brother. At least he had a plan in place. It was not the best plan, but it was the only plan they had.

Craig dropped Andrew off at a spot where they thought would be the least obvious. Andrew needed time to assess the field better. He needed to know if there were any hidden spots where members of the cult could hide and surprise him from behind. He knew the Satanists would try anything in their power to get him down and win the war. Andrew said goodbye to Craig and Patrick regarding each one of them as if it would be the last time they would ever see each other. They were all dressed in black to make it harder for his enemy to spot them during the night. Andrew watched as Craig and Patrick drove off. He said a little prayer of protection for them.

Andrew climbed through the fence after he pushed the battle axe through. He picked the axe up again and felt ready for anything that might be coming his way. He felt the power pulse through his veins. He started heading for the warehouse far in the distance. He could not see it in the dark night, but at least he knew in which direction it was. It was not long before he glimpsed the large grey structure in the distance. His heart was beating faster. He knew the time was coming closer.

Andrew scouted the land. There was no sign of his enemy anywhere. Although he knew he was early, something did not feel right. Surely he would have spotted some form of movement or even a rattle in the grass somewhere. They were probably waiting for him in the warehouse. He wondered how many they were and how it would feel to slay the first one with the battle axe before they swamp him with their numbers.

Andrew was close to the warehouse when he heard voices. It sounded like a chime. The only difference was that he did not understand the language they used. He knew it was an ancient language from hell. For a moment he felt gooseflesh all over his body. There was a certain glow from within the warehouse that he could not remember seeing earlier. The glow was coming through the lower windows.

Andrew noticed a small door on the side. He approached and cautiously entered the warehouse through it. He was surprised by what he saw on the inside. In the middle of the concrete floor was a large opening with an orange glow protruding like fires burning inside. Since there was no smoke, Andrew knew exactly what it was. He was staring at the portal of hell that Francois had told him about moments before he died. Andrew noticed a mass of Satanists humming towards it. They all wore black robes and clothes. Against the walls, there were many pentagrams as well as a couple of ram's heads. Candles were burning on each corner of a large pentagram on the floor next to the large fire.

The humming sound was interrupted when one of the Satanists noticed Andrew inside the warehouse. Andrew noticed how some of them escaped through another door and he knew what their plans were. They were going to surround and close in on him from all sides, trapping him inside so that he had nowhere to go. Andrew scanned their faces in search of Victor, but it was impossible because most of them wore hoodies while others had their faces covered with white paint. Andrew knew he had to be on his guard as he moved towards the centre. It did not take long before they started streaming in from all directions through the open doors on the sides he had not even noticed before. Andrew was surprised by how many they were. They must have been about a hundred, maybe more. Most of them had weapons which seemed like anything they could get their hands on, from kitchen knives to screwdrivers, chains, wheel spanners to battens and baseball bats.

Andrew turned slowly regarding the circle of Satanists closing in on him. He knew that soon the first brave one would lash out before the rest joined in on the fight. He got ready by testing his battle axe. He rotated it in his hands loosening up his wrists and joints. He watched and waited regarding them carefully. Just as Andrew expected, one of the larger Satanists leapt forward with a weapon that seemed like a large sickle. Andrew countered him with a backswing of the axe. He was surprised at how light the axe felt. He knew it had something to do with the adrenaline that was running through his veins, but he was certain there was something magical inside the axe as well. The axe connected the first brave soul against the side of his head. He watched as the top half of his head disappeared exposing his brain. He could not remember that the axe was that sharp. He hardly felt it when the blade cut through the poor soul's head. The Satanist went down instantly followed by a few spasms on the warehouse floor. There was a moment of uncertainty from the black mass when they regarded their friend lying on the ground jerking from a malfunctioning nervous system (or lack thereof). For a brief moment, Andrew thought they might retreat and run away, but instead, they decided to swamp him. Instinct took control and Andrew swung the battle axe from side to side. Each time he saw body parts fly in all directions, arms legs, heads and guts. He even noticed how he had cut some of them into two parts. Soon the floor was slippery from the blood and guts lying around, but at least his opposers became less by the minute. The smell was sickening and vile, a mixture of blood and odour from slashed guts, brains and general stuff that belonged inside the human body. Andrew knew he had to move away from the mess on the floor. If he slipped, it would most probably be his last. Andrew opened up a path in front of him by swinging the battle axe violently and watching his back at the same time. He imagined the mess on his face and clothes.

There were only a few left, and they were becoming reluctant to attack. They had seen what happened to all their friends that now lay scattered on the floor as body parts. They had seen something in Andrew's eyes and they had witnessed his power and hatred. They knew it was not possible for any human being to slay people like that, as if they were nothing, cutting through them with ease. They could have sworn there was a grin on his face while he was doing it too.

Andrew waited for them to attack, but the fear on their faces meant something else. They started to draw back, one by one. Their weapons were held out in front of them in case they got attacked by the animal again. They momentarily glanced behind them to make sure the path was clear because stumbling would mean the end of their lives. They did not want to end up like their friends on the floor. One by one they started to dart for the doors, escaping into the black of night.

Soon Andrew was alone in the warehouse with the stench of the body parts. He moved closer to the centre of the floor and saw that it was indeed the portal of hell as if he had never seen one in his life before. There seemed to be no end to the cracked steps as they descended down the ground level where they disappeared behind a lava-like glow. Andrew had never felt such evil before. He knew this was the part where Patrick would have to play a role in. Now that most of the enemy had been killed, it would be easier for him to protect Patrick, but he knew it was not yet time to bring him to the portal. What bothered him most was that he did not see a trace of Victor or even his friends for that matter. He was sure he would have spotted at least one of them during the act of slaughtering the cult members, but then again, their faces had all been obscured somehow. He hoped that this was not a setup they had planned to get to Emily and Sarah, but at least they were not alone this time. Delmar and Bernard were there to protect them with their baseball bats. Still, something was not quite right. Were they waiting for him somewhere outside or did they have other tricks up their sleeves? That was when Andrew heard something inside the warehouse, a shuffling of feet. At first, he thought they were just more of the Satanists fleeting but he realised it was Victor and his other two friends. They were hiding behind something that seemed like a large concrete altar. They must have been there all along. Andrew realised then what their plan was. They used the masses for their own benefit. They expected the masses to cripple him before they would step in and finish him off. He felt anger at the cowardly act that they displayed. They did not even have the courage to join the fight, instead, they witnessed their friends die in vain who were probably good kids from good homes Once Upon a Time until they were corrupted by Victor and his friends, drawn from the light to the dark of night.

Andrew chased off behind them as they ran for the side door to the far end. When he reached the outside, his eyes had to adapt to the dark again. He focused and squinted for any movement or sound. There was none. He focused some more and noticed something to his far right and he ran. He tripped over a rock. He stumbled, fell and rolled back onto his feet, still clutching his battle axe. He noticed one of them running and he followed. He was closing in on him. He realised that the other two were probably hiding somewhere too scared to confront him. Andrew leapt. He grabbed the escapee by the shoulder and brought him down with his body weight. He held onto him as he struggled to get away, kicking and scratching. Andrew only had one hand as he held onto the battle axe with the other. He needed answers, and he had to use this opportunity that presented itself. He gave the escapee a slight knock on the head with his fist to incapacitate him. There was not much fight left in him anymore. Andrew turned him around so that he could face the person. To his surprise, he noticed that it was Mike, one of Victor's friends. Mike had a grin on his face.

'Call him!' Mike shouted in the air.

Andrew slapped him accross the face, 'Call who?'

'Fuck you,' Mike said and spat into Andrew's face.

Andrew slapped him again. 'Call who?'

Mike had a grin on his face. Blood started to stream down the side of his mouth and right cheek. 'You are strong, I give you that, but not strong enough.' He chuckled.

'Call who? Not strong enough for who?' Andrew asked. He shook Mike as if trying to shake the devil out of him.

'Ah, you will soon find out. I don't want to spoil your fun just yet. Patience Andrew, patience,' Mike said softly.

'What are you talking about Mike? Talk to me, I don't want to hurt you like I hurt your friends in there.'

'My friends,' Mike chuckled. 'We serve the same Satan, but that does not make them my friends you know? They were the pawns in a game of chess. We needed to test your powers first, and they were good enough for that.'

'You are fucked in the head,' Andrew said through his teeth. 'Coward motherfucker.'

'No, no, no, the one who's fucked is you. Soon Andrew, soon you will meet your fate and believe me I don't want to be you when it happens.'

'Where is Victor and that other fuck head with the tattoos?'

'Gone with the wind,' Mike said. He released compressed air from his lips that came out in a puff sound.

'Well, your answers are not helping either one of us,' Andrew said. 'You can start playing by the rules and I will let you go alive. You still have a choice.'

'Fuck you, smart boy. I will never submit to your kind. Did you really think I would tell you where they are? Fuckin silly you,' Mike said.

'Well, you don't give me any choice, so fuck you back and die you cunt!' Andrew shouted. He placed the axe against Mike's throat and pressed down. He could see how Mike was suffocated for a moment before his tongue stuck out of his mouth and his eyes bulged. Mike made a horrid sound as he was struggling for breath. For a moment Andrew wanted to lift the axe from his throat and let him go, but he heard the screams of the woman and children again. He knew that this kind had caused too much suffering in the past. He knew they had a choice, but they chose this life after all. Andrew felt the muscles in his arms bulging and soon Mike's head rolled to the side away from his shoulders. Blood squirted from his main arteries in repetition to his heart's last beats. Andrew got up and scanned the area for any other movement but there was none.

Andrew headed for the fence where Craig had dropped him off earlier. He knew the time had come for Patrick to do his thing with the staff now that the path was cleared. He would meet them somewhere on the road where they would be driving up and down slowly just like he had asked them to do. He figured that if they kept moving, the chances would be slim for a surprise attack on them. The worse that could happen was that they might be thrown with rocks or maybe a flat tire where the cult might have placed spikes in the road, but that would not necessarily cause them to stop. Andrew figured that was the only way to keep them safe while he was attending to the business in the warehouse. As long as they kept moving they would be all right.

Andrew waited for them in the long grass next to the road. He would have given anyone the shock of their lives if he appeared on the road covered in blood and guts. Andrew noticed the familiar round-shaped light of Craig's kombi slowly creeping up the dirt road. He emerged from the grass and stop them.

Andrew realised the complete look of terror on Craig and Patrick's faces when he got into the kombi. He reeked of death and he wished that he could take a shower. He looked at Craig and nodded, 'I've done most of them, but I think it's safe. Pat, are you ready? The time has come.'

'Ready as can be,' Patrick replied.

Craig parked the kombi next to the road and switched off the lights. He locked it and walked around where Patrick and Andrew waited for him. They stood there for a moment listening. Andrew wanted to be sure that he was not followed on his way to the road. He could not hear anything except for the wind rattling the dry surrounding grass.