Chapter 8

"You can go no further." Says the booming demonic hollow voice as it echoes about the apartment building like rolling thunder.

A fierce storm is raging outside, as Halloween has descended upon the world. Because of the radiation fallout out of the atomic bombs the onslaught is more powerful than any alive can remember.

There have always been priests who are exorcists, and there have always been witch doctors, spirit guides, and others to defend against evil's ever advancing push into this dimension known as life. Now it is Alex and his crew's turn.

The high-rise apartment building is shaking. The lights are flickering on and off. Doors are rattling. Down at the end of the long hallway there is a single door and from underneath it supernatural light can be seen as it tries to force its way beyond its realm.

The occupants have long since vacated the floor and even the police are hesitant to approach. In fact they are tucked away in the doorframes with their weapons drawn wondering if they get paid enough for this.

They barely recognize Alex as he advances up the hall towards the angry door. They are for sure surprised when the see a pretty woman following behind him carrying and big black book with powder blue lettering that they can't read.

As Alex approaches the atmosphere gets thicker and he has to forcibly push himself to make any headway. Just when he is about half way down pulsating concentric circles come down the hallway and buffet Alex painfully.

He hears Christina cry out. "Hold back." He yells over the raging storm that is growing inside the apartment floor.

Every step is painful and by the time he is three-fourths of the way down another warning is heard. At first it comes as a malevolent laughter and then an inhuman voice says, "Come human, if you dare!" Then a growing roar can be heard and the building starts to shake even more.

"I fear neither this dimension or yours, demon. This is not your time and place. Be gone with you."

All of a sudden the inner storm lessons and just when it seems it is about to pass entirely the malevolent chuckle rising again and the energy pulses build to ever-greater heights. As Alex fights his way through the force tears of blood start to drip from his eyes and slide down his cheeks.

"No force will diminishes another's greatness if the will be strong." It is a passage from the book.

At last Alex reaches the door at the end of the hall. He uses all of his innate strengths to force his hand to reach for the doorknob. His hand begins to shake as it feels an icy hand take hold of his wrist.

Alex cries out in pain and falls to one knee. He hears Christina call out to him from what sounds like from deep within a cave. Her love pushes him on and he gets to his feet. He starts to reach for the doorknob and all of a sudden the entire door freezes over with several inches of ice.

Alex tries to chip away at it, but to no avail. All of a sudden like an angel singing in a choir Christina starts to read from the Book of the Spiritual Nexus. "Hasaloco evlenlo hesperia." The power of the words reverberates out as light and when it touches the ice the ice shatters and falls at Alex's feet turning to pools of blood.

He reaches over with love in his heart and opens the door. The storm is twenty times worse in the studio apartment. Below the single bed is a maelstrom swirling with menacing intent. Alex looks down into the gaping maelstrom and sees rivers of lava and hatred.

Just then the eighty-year-old Italian woman in her white full-length nightgown sets up with glowing red eyes. The malevolent chuckle that escapes her is definitely not from this plain of existence. "She is ours." It says in its deep hollow voices.

When those words are spoken the old lady contorts and moves to inhuman positions. "She is her own and you have no right to occupy her without her permission."

"How do you know this wench has not given us permission?"

Alex looks around the small studio apartment and sees all the items of a good catholic girl. Alex doesn't say anything he just tilts his head in a fashion that says he knows better.

Again the evil laughter comes out as waves of hatred. "She is ours. Be gone exorcist."

Now it is Alex's turn to laugh. He looks around as he tries to make his way into the apartment. As the demon or demons are focused on Alex the power of the force diminishes in the hallway so Christina slowly starts to make her way forward.

Alex barely has enough room to skirt the maelstrom and make it into the apartment. The closer he gets to the maelstrom the more it wants to pull him in. He can feel its malevolence deep within his being. This encounter is no ghostly haunting this is demonkind. Just when Christina makes it to the door the possessed elderly lady looks that way in a rage and slams the door with its unseen powers.

Alex and the demons are left alone. Even from here the demons can feel the power of the book. They begin to understand that Alex is no normal exorcist and this encounter is not going to go their way.

Petty, as always, the demons take what little victories they can get. All of a sudden the old woman pulls out a butcher's knife from under the covers and is preparing to plunge it deep inside herself as she kneels on her shaking bed.

Alex looks around and forces himself between the cupboard and the refrigerator to get as long as a run as possible. Just then more words are spoken and the door blows apart with Christina standing there getting ready to read more from the book.

In the moment of interruption Alex runs and jumps over the maelstrom onto the bed with the woman. They immediately start fighting over the knife. Just as Alex gets the knife away from her and throws it into the maelstrom the bed collapses into the maelstrom.

It is hanging there at a sixty-degree angle. Alex grabs onto to the metal frame footboard with his left hand and grabs onto the tumbling old woman with his right hand. Christina cries out.