Babylon, Part One

1/2/2020

20 December 2004

I groaned as I reached over to the ringing phone, only barely turning my head from my pillow to be able to see the screen. It was Rick. I let out a low growl as I answered.

"Yeah."

"Were you asleep, John?"

"Yeah."

"It's two in the afternoon!" I grumbled and rolled onto my back.

"I had a long night," I said, pushing myself up to sit with my back against the headboard. "Were you calling for any specific reason?"

"We're on for the Devil's Church! Tony is getting some people together, they're going to meet us at the D'Onofrio's parking lot in about an hour. You coming?" Mandy groaned and rolled over, laying her arm across my waist.

"Uh, let me check. I may have to do something real quick first."

"But you'll be there? Charles and I need a ride, he's here at my place."

"Yeah. I'll come get you." I hung up and leaned my head back against the wall for a moment, before putting the phone down and grabbing my smokes and a lighter.

"Who was that?" she asked, her voice soft and still half asleep.

"Your cousin." I lit my cigarette and breathed deep, blowing the smoke toward the ceiling. "We're gonna go investigate the Devil's Church."

"Oooo, that cursed place up past Headliner's?"

"The same." She began to trace her finger around my belly button as she scooted up to lean her head on my side.

"Can I come?"

"I think we've established you can." She lightly slapped my stomach and sat up, placing herself on my lap and facing me.

"Are you in a hurry?"

"We have an hour to get dressed, pick up Rick and Charles, and be up to D'Onofrio's." She hummed, running her hands down my sides and sliding herself down to slowly ease the blanket off me.

"I think we can make that work."

When Rick and Charles came out the door on hearing my horn, they were bickering about who would ride shotgun. I had my window down in case I'd need to yell to them, and was lighting another Newport. Mandy leaned over.

"Chicks get shotgun in Alpha, you know that!" she yelled out my window. Rick jogged down and leaned against my door to peer in as Charles grumbled and moved around to climb in the seat behind her.

"Mandy! John picked you up on the way?"

"No," I said. She laughed and winked, then sat back up in her seat. He looked puzzled for a moment, then concern washed over his face. "Get in or we're gonna be late." With that, I began rolling up my window and turned my attention forward. Rick stood upright, paused, then got in the back behind me. He tried to bum a smoke off Mandy but she reminded him we were going to a store and he could get his own, and he was quiet the rest of the trip.

D'Onofrio's is a standalone grocery store on the northern edge of the business district in Hermitage, and the last real stop before 18 becomes a freeway the whole way to Greenville, or at least the last one we acknowledge. For those of us who grew up in Sharon, it was an unstated fact that our home region ended at the store, and everything north was country. When we arrived, Tony's car wasn't there. Rick and I went in to get drinks and smokes while we waited.

"John," he finally said, softly, once we were out of earshot of the car and the store, "did you fuck my cousin?"

"Yes." He clenched his fists and took a deep breath.

"If you-"

"It was her idea. I didn't induce her to anything."

"Fine. But, please, did you at least-"

"I'm not answering any questions about how I had sex with your cousin." We were silent the whole time we were inside, and when we returned Tony's car was parked next to Alpha and Olivia was talking to Mandy through their open windows. As we got closer we saw that he also brought Karen, Mitch, and Rob. Mitch suggested we stop by Headliner's while we were up that way, citing his belief that strippers are always more friendly to a group that includes other women. He was soundly voted down. Rick and Olivia switched cars. After Tony and I confirmed we both knew where we were going, we set out.

We joked and carried on the whole way, and judging by the way they were laughing as they got out of the car I suspected the rest of them did roughly the same. Even Rick seemed to be in a better mood. Karen went straight for Olivia and Mandy and they began talking among themselves near Alpha as the rest of us gathered next to a headstone with letters faded beyond recognition in the dying winter light.

"What's the deal with this place, anyway?" Tony asked.

"Wait, they didn't tell you?" I asked, looking to the group.

"I thought he knew," Rick said with a shrug.

"I thought everyone knew," Rob said.

"Yeah, it's haunted, right?" Mitch offered.

"More than that." Rick was nearly jumping when he cut back in. "It's called the Devil's Church because there's a real church in there, somewhere in the haunted woods! They went dark, started worshiping the Devil, hosting orgies, human sacrifices, the whole thing. They got so corrupt that the Earth opened up and swallowed them whole; and now, the souls of the people who died wander the woods, tempting and tormenting people that enter!"

"And...why are we entering?" Tony asked, his brow furrowing.

"Because! We're gonna find the church!"

"No one has ever found the church itself," Rob said. "Everyone who tries falls to the spirits, and those who die there join the ghostly army."

"They're gonna try to kill us?!" Charles blurted out.

"Only if we don't join them willingly."

"That's not better!"

"They get people to do all kinds of things," Mandy said as the girls approached us. "They say groups who go in there can be best friends, but somewhere in the woods they start killing each other, or going mad. Sometimes eating each other!"

"Some stories include rape," Rob offered. I raised my brow.

"There...some very compelling reason you guys wanted to come along?" I asked the girls.

"Oh come on, you don't really believe the stories, do you?" Olivia asked.

"Besides," Mandy said, walking over to me. "If we were gonna start believing the stories, we should also believe you can just," she started fake punching the air in front of me, "break the curse and keep us safe, right?" The others laughed.

"John's our ringer, guys," Rick said. "We're gonna be the first ones to find that church cause nothing gets by him." I sighed and pointed my cigarette toward the trees.

"Fine. Lead the way."

"I will!" With that, Rick started walking toward the woods, and we all fell into groups following him. As we got closer and closer to the trees, Karen was growing visibly more hesitant. Finally, when Rick was just past the tree line, she stopped dead in her tracks and started to shake. We all stopped and turned to face her, as Rob and Olivia tried to calm her down. She started to protest going any further, and when Rob put his hands on her shoulders and told her it'd be okay she kicked him square in the balls. He stumbled backwards and she fell to her knees, crying. Olivia and Mandy swooped down to her. I looked around.

"You know, guys," I said, "it uh, it looks like no one brought a flashlight and it's getting dark. Maybe another time?"

"Yeah," Tony said, weakly, "Another time."

"Headliner's?" Mitch offered.

"How about Denny's." We all agreed to Tony's suggestion, and started heading back to the cars.