Kali's Altar 12-16

12

After dinner, the Gothic Girl’s voice came into my mind, “Go to the den, I want to look at you when I talk to you.” When I got to the den the Gothic Girl was standing in front of the window, looking out. She spoke out loud, “Your mind is disturbed and you’re anxious. Is there something you want to talk about?”

I said, “Of course I’m anxious and disturbed. You keep me in the dark and I have no idea what to expect. There is too much going on here that I’m not aware of…”

“Why don’t you ask Lavinia!”

Black Sally entered the room. She said, “Damijana, we have important matters to discuss. We do not have the luxury to waste time and energy with this love triangle bullshit. The Great Sathanas expects us to pay him because we killed his workers.”

The Gothic Girl said, “You know Lavinia won’t pay him.”

“I know, and I wouldn’t pay him either. But you know what this means. He’s going to want to go to war over this.”

“Then it will be war. He is a tyrant and he deserves to die.”

“I agree with you Damijana. However, he does have a tremendous amount of resources at his disposal.”

I asked, “Who exactly is The Great Sathanas.”

The Gothic Girl answered, “Some people call him a pimp. I don’t think that’s accurate. I’d call him a Master of slaves, as in someone who has mastered the art of capturing and enslaving people.”

Black Sally said, “He hooks women up to machines and turns them into prostitutes. He started out as a pimp on the street. He was known for keeping his women strung out so he could control them easier. Eventually, he decided to take it a step farther and he started performing lobotomies. His interest in the human brain grew and he began to experiment. I’m not sure how many women died during these experiments but my guess is MANY. Imagine some pimp sitting in grungy motel hooking up wires to some junkies brain, then plugging her in. Ooops! Wrong spot, or too much electricity, and she dies. But eventually he does figure out what spots to stimulate and what spots to shut down. He came up with his own little machine that could keep a woman in a trancelike state. He figured out how to completely wipe out a person’s memory and personality. He could lure in a regular woman, slip something in her drink, hook her up to his machine and by the time she woke up, she’d be a junkie whore who couldn’t remember ever being anything else. He ran a brothel like that. He began to make a lot of money and he caught the attention of some nefarious characters in powerful places. Those powerful individuals happened to be on the same page as the pimp. They saw an opportunity to test out their own mind-control technology and bring in more funding for their research. That relationship developed and flourished. This is how he became The Great Sathanas. Powerful people are protecting him and supplying him with technology that only the military has and most people don’t even know exists. He controls a lot of people, he has a lot people working for him and he has a lot of people protecting him.”

“There are only five people in the house, how will we go up against someone like that?”

The Gothic Girl said, “Did you forget the speech made by Antonija. This house was founded on the blood of tyrants. We will destroy him regardless of his numbers, wealth or fancy titles.”

Sally went on, “This definitely is our war. I hate to say it, but at a time like this we need a Matriarch like Lavinia. She will destroy the demons on the battlefield just as the Goddess did. We must support her in her efforts to make…”

The Gothic Girl interrupted, “There has to be another way. You’re talking about opening up the gates of hell.”

“Since we’re going to war with the devil, I think that ’opening the gates of hell’ is not only preferable, but essential for our survival. Lavinia is going to use Octavia like a Rosetta’s Stone and figure out how to raise the dead. We need to think about what we can do to support her in that effort. That means we need fresh bodies, that haven’t been all cut up.”

“Lavinia will still demand her sacrifices. We can’t bring in people by the busload Sally and we can’t have people comparing this hill to the Bermuda Triangle.”

“We have no choice. After the war, we’ll find a different home base and burn this house to the ground.”

Lavinia’s voice boomed into my head, “EVERYONE TO THE ALTAR!”

When we got to Lavinia’s room, the Jehovah’s Witness was kneeling on the floor in front of Kali’s altar crying. The first thought that came into my head when I saw her was, “I wonder if she’s a virgin.” I felt shamed by my thoughts and hoped no one was in my head. Lavinia’s laughter penetrated my mind. Her voice said, “She IS a virgin my wicked little slave. Would like to be the only man she knows?”

Lilith and Octavia came in the room, both wore black coveralls. Lavinia was seated in her chair, still wearing her blood-red gown with the black and red mask. She turned her head toward Octavia and Lilith, “You two, take off your boots and coveralls, then kneel on either side of her.” She pointed to the Jehovah’s Witness.

Lilith and Octavia did what they were told. I heard Lavinia’s voice in my mind, “Take her! I know you want her. Take her! Take her right in front of the altar. Don’t think slave, DO IT!!!!”

I kneeled behind the woman, grabbed her hair and pushed her head down. She was on her knees with her face pressed to the floor. I yelled at her, “DON’T MOVE!” I let go of her hair. The only movement she made was her trembling. My hand slid over her ass, I squeezed it and slapped it. My fingers found their way to her wet, virgin pussy. I played with her clit and finger-fucked her. I undid my pants. My cock was pulsating and hard as stone.

Lavinia’s voice said, “Yeah, that’s it. Fuck that little bitch. I want to watch you turn that churchgoing little good girl into a whore.”

I began pushing my cock into her pussy. She was unbelievably tight. She tried to squirm away from me. Lavinia’s voice commanded, “Octavia, hold her head to floor.” Octavia took two handfuls of the woman’s hair in her fists and held the woman’s head down. I put my hands on her hips and jerked her toward me as I thrust myself forward, forcing my cock inside her. Her pussy was like an oiled, clenched fist squeezing my cock. She let out a high-pitched squeal each time my hips slammed into her ass.

A hand grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me away. It was the Gothic Girl. She got on her knees behind the woman and pulled a large nickel-plated revolver from the waistband of her skirt. She popped out the cylinder and emptied the bullets out on the floor. She picked one of up, placed it back in the cylinder, spun it and slammed it shut. The woman shrieked like a banshee when the Gothic Girl shoved the barrel of the gun into her pussy. She pulled the hammer back “click” The screams got louder, the woman became hysterical.

The Gothic Girl pulled the barrel out her pussy. The woman’s juices glistened on the nickel-plating. The Gothic Girl opened and spun the chamber, then she slammed it shut and shoved the barrel of the gun in the woman’s vagina again. She pulled the hammer back, “BOOM!” The gun went off. Lilith and Octavia both dived for cover. The woman remained on her knees with her face to floor; twitching, blood flowed from her mouth.

Lavinia’s voice yelled, “Give Octavia a dagger! He has to cut her throat!”

Sally pulled her blade and handed it to Octavia. Lavinia’s voice commanded, “Octavia, you must cut her throat NOW!” Octavia hesitated, she remained frozen with the dagger in her hand. Lilith snatched the dagger from her, grabbed the woman’s hair, pulled her head back and slit her throat.

Lavinia’s voice said, “Damijana! Why the fuck did you do that? You fucked up the ritual. Put another bullet in your gun. We’re going to play again.” Lavinia’s face turned to Octavia, “Octavia, when I tell you do something you will do it. Now turn her over and cut her open.”

The Gothic Girl let the empty shell fall from the cylinder of her revolver and replaced it with a bullet. The cylinder spun, slammed shut, then the barrel of the gun was pointed at Octavia’s head “click”. Tears streamed down Octavia’s cheeks. The tool chest raised several inches in the air, then slammed back to the floor. The Gothic Girl spun the cylinder, clicked it back in place and pointed it at Octavia. I yelled, “JUST CUT HER OPEN! SHE’S ALREADY DEAD!” Octavia didn’t seem to hear me. “click” Lavinia’s chair flipped over, throwing her to the floor. She sat up on the floor and casually straightened out her gown.

Octavia pleaded, “Please stop! I can’t do this! I can’t…” The cylinder spun and was slammed back into place. The Gothic Girl said, “I’m not scared of your power Octavia. I will blow your telekinesis right out the back of your fucking head.”

Lavinia’s voice said, “If she doesn’t stick her blade in that bitch, kill her Damijana!”

Lilith screamed, “What’s wrong with you? These people will kill you Octavia! Just cut her open.” The Gothic Girl shoved her gun back in her waist-band and said, “Clarence, get me the bat.” I went to the chest, got the wood baseball bat I used on the doctor and handed it to her. She gripped the handle of the bat with both hands and stood in front of Octavia.

The dagger shook in Octavia’s hand as she pushed the tip of the blade into the woman’s navel. Tears fell from Octavia’s eyes, landing on the flesh of our victim. Octavia pushed the blade in and cut open the woman’s stomach. Then she turned her face toward the ceiling and screamed. The walls shook and the candles blew out on the altar leaving us all in darkness.

A flame was lit by the altar. Lavinia’s black and red mask was all that could be seen in its glow. She re-lit the candles, scooted herself over by Octavia and took the dagger from her hand. Lavinia removed the woman’s liver and held it in the air. Her voice demanded, “Clarence, come feed me.” I took the liver from her hands. Lavinia laid on her back, pulled her gown up to her waist and started playing with her clit. Her voice said, “Damijana! I want you to lick my pussy while Clarence feeds me. Then you can watch him fuck me while you play with yourself.”

I looked at the Gothic Girl. She didn’t look at me. She just glared at her sister. But I could see her eyes, and I could see what was in them…HATE.

13

The Gothic Girl walked out the room, slamming the door behind her. Lavinia’s voice said, “Forget about her. Feed me.” There were no options. I knelt between Lavinia’s bandaged stumps, took a bite of the meat, chewed it for her and fed her. The meat was passed and the ritual was consummated. The blood was mixed with the seed. Sally ate from the meat and passed it to Lilith. Lilith did the same, then passed it to Octavia. Octavia grabbed the meat from her hands and devoured what was left. I was surprised by Lilith and Octavia’s sudden transformation. The sight of the blood, death, fear and suffering seemed to have awoken something deep inside them.

Sally chopped the corpse up with a machete, then Octavia and Lilith carried the pieces to the shed. Lavinia’s voice demanded that I go to her office. As I sat alone in front of her desk, my hands and face covered in blood, my mind was on the hand that held my soul in a clenched fist. I realized then that my enthrallment was not based solely on fear. I had never encountered a person who had so much power centered within themselves. She didn’t need weapons, wealth, permission or praise. Her power was in her heart and mind. She sacrificed her beauty, legs and breast to show that her power could not be diminished and her will could not be thwarted. I had fallen in love with her power, cruelty and defiance.

I heard the door open and turned to see Lavinia sitting on the floor in the doorway. Her voice said, “Put me in my chair.” I got the chair from behind her desk and pushed it to where she was seated. I picked her up, sat her in the chair and pushed her to the desk. She pulled out a brush from the desk drawer and began to brush her hair. Her voice said, “Sit down.”

She still wore the black and red mask. She placed the hairbrush back in the drawer, then laid her blood-stained hands flat on the table. Her voice said, “I have a different plan for Brianna. When we’re done here, you will go across the hall and strangle her. Don’t do anything else to her. I’m going to use her for something and I need her whole. I see that you have a conflict going on inside you. Do I need to cut your heart out so that I can be sure where it is?”

“No.”

“No? Are you saying that your devotion to me is a certainty?”

My heart pounded and anxiety swelled inside me. She knew my thoughts. She was asking a question that I couldn’t answer. Her voice became angry. She slammed her fist on the desk, “I ask for certainty and you give me doubt?”

“I’m in this with you all the way. I have no doubts about my devotion to you?”

“LIAR!!! In your heart you believe that you’re stuck, committed to someone that you’re terrified of, and who you believe will eventually destroy you. Isn’t that the truth? Is that what you call devotion?”

“That describes part of my devotion to you, not all. There is reverence and there is love.”

“That is fear, not love.”

“If you doubt me, then I guess the only way you can be certain is to cut my heart out.” I opened my shirt, exposing my chest, “Go ahead!” She sat motionless and silent for several minutes. Finally, her voice said, “Don’t think you’re special, I can replace you any day.”

“Now you’re the one who is lying…” Instantly and at the same, I began vomiting, pissing and shitting on myself. My right hand balled into a fist and struck me in the mouth.. I tried to stand and collapsed facedown on the floor. I couldn’t move. Then, she was right beside me, turning me over. She climbed top of me, straddling me with her stumps. She held a dagger in her hand.

Her voiced screamed in my head, “TELL ME TO DO IT AGAIN! TELL ME TO CUT YOUR HEART OUT!” Tears streamed from my eyes. She stabbed the dagger into the floor, inches from my face. Then she laid down on top of me. Her voice said, “Don’t tempt me or provoke me. I would regret it if I killed you in anger.” I was able to move again. I placed my hands on her back and thought, “I’m sorry.”

She sat up and got off me. Her voice said, “Go clean yourself up.” I picked her up and put her back in her chair. After a long, hot shower, I put on a black robe that hung on the door. Then I went to the room across the hall and strangled Brianna until her face was dark blue, her one-eye looked like it was going to pop out of its socket and her tongue hung out the side of her mouth.

I left Brianna’s limp body hanging from the restraints on the wall and returned to Lavinia’s office. Octavia was seated in front of the desk. She had showered and changed into a fresh uniform. I took a seat by the door. Lavinia and Octavia both sat in complete silence. I focused on Octavia. There was no voice to the thoughts I picked up, just images flashing into my mind; a circle of women with painted faces standing around a freshly covered grave, hands digging out the dirt, a pine coffin, a man hacking away at the wood with a machete, the corpse opening its eyes, a large woman with a mask identical to the one worn by Lavinia. I tried to draw my focus away from her, the images kept flooding my consciousness. The dead rotting old man that attacked Octavia as a child, a line of expressionless, pale faces; painted bodies dancing in a circle, a wrinkled old woman slicing open a body, the altar, a daemonic Goddess devouring a man alive, a sea of bloody bodies fornicating and feasting.

The images stopped when Lavinia’s voice entered my mind, “Stay out of Octavia’s head. She is followed by a demon, it frequents her thoughts and may not react well to your presence.”

“Does she know how to bring back the dead?”

“The dead don’t come back. The demon that follows her can channel its energy into a fresh body. I can control that energy once it’s in place.”

“How long till Brianna…”

“Go look. She’s not Brianna anymore.”

I went back to the room across the hall. Brianna was standing up straight. Her one eye looked straight ahead without blinking. Her chest didn’t move, I saw no sign of breathing. I approached her slowly. Lavinia’s voice said, “Careful.” Brianna lunged at me, her teeth snapped shut in front of me. She fought against the restraints, bared her teeth at me and growled. Then she immediately went motionless and silent looking straight ahead.

Black Sally appeared in the doorway smoking, “I like her better as a zombie. She’s a lot nicer like this.” Sally looked at me and we both laughed. It was the first time I had really laughed in several days. I couldn’t tell if it was a humorous laugh or if I was just going insane. Sally motioned toward Lavinia’s office, I followed her in and returned to my seat next to the door. Sally sat on Lavinia’s desk. She spoke out loud, “The Great Sathanas. What do you want to do first?”

Lavinia’s voice replied, “Start hitting his brothels and his workers. I want him to know we’re coming for him. He’ll hide out and hole up. Once we have him in a hole, we’ll blow it up. Start with that whorehouse he‘s got on 8th. Kill everyone inside and burn the place to the ground. Don‘t take anything from there. Do you understand? I don‘t care what you find in that house, you leave it there. Burn everything.”

I asked, “What about the women?”

Lavinia replied, “What about them? When I say kill everyone inside, it means exactly that. The women, the tricks, the guys watching over the place, the dog; no one escapes and no one is left breathing. This is war. The only rule in war is ‘Win’. Destroy your enemy. Sathanas cannot protect his business interests from us. If he can’t make money, he can’t exist. The people backing him will walk away and they‘ll take their equipment with them. They may even kill him before we get the chance. Either way, the enemy will be neutralized.”

14

Sleep. I desperately needed sleep. That was all I could think of as I made my way back to my room. Sally walked ahead of me. As we descended the stairs she spoke out loud, “You need to prepare yourself for what’s coming. You entertain your weakness too much. The things you desire, the things that make you feel good, serve as a handle that others can easily grab onto and lead you around. You can’t be susceptible to every Ann and Jane that catches your eye, or you’re done for.” She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, turned and looked me in the eyes. I said, “In order for me to be prepared, I need to know what to expect.”

“You can expect the fires of hell. What answer do you pretend to seek that you don’t already have?”

“I don’t know what the fuck is going to come at me next. There were things I’ve always been to afraid to believe in, I’ve been exposed to the reality of those things in recent days. I don’t know what kind of demon or monster will jump out of the shadows at me next.”

“What does the monster’s name matter? Or what it looks like? You should be familiar with the nature of monster’s by now. The difference between one and the other is just details and trivialities. Demons? They’re as many and varied as all the people born into this earth and they’re everywhere. They have systems and societies in place older than the Sun. You’re always surrounded by demons; most of them are indifferent, some will be very hostile to you, others will look for ways to use you, none will hold you in higher regard than an insect. Humans have more control over the orbits of the planets than the affairs and intentions of the demons all around them. What’s the use in worrying about it?”

“Does the Goddess protect us from the demons?”

“She destroys demons. She consumes lesser gods and seizes or destroys their creations. Without Her, there would be a thousand gods for every star in the sky. Except there would be no stars or sky; no harmony, creation or growth. You can expect there to be deities, spirits and demonic forces that will want to destroy you.”

“Good versus evil?”

“Do you view every war between men as a battle of good versus evil? When you see two people in a fistfight, is that a battle between good and evil? Or is the conflict much more simple? Is a battle between lions and hyenas a battle between good and evil? Who’s good? Who’s evil? Who decides?”

“Is there a ‘good and evil’?”

“Ask Lavinia.”

Lavinia’s voice came into my head, “There is no good and evil. There is only victory and defeat. The victor makes the rules and decides what to label ‘good and evil’.”

Sally smiled and said, “The title of ‘good’ always goes the winner right?”

I nodded and replied, “The only evil is defeat.”

“Some people have different definitions.”

“What’s your definition?”

“’Good and evil’ is irrelevant.”

“Is The Great Sathanas evil?”

“He’s our enemy. Again, ‘good and evil’ are irrelevant. He is our enemy regardless.”

“You’re not answering my question.”

“You’re not asking me anything you don’t already know. If there is a Creator who made everything, including all that is labeled ’good’ or ’evil’, is that Creator good, evil or both. Have you ever read the Bible?”

I nodded my head.

“The Bible says God created the earth. Who does the Bible say is the ‘ruler of this world’? Who could have appointed him as ruler, if not God? And who was in charge of keeping the Serpent in, or out, of Eden?”

“So any agent of Satan is an agent of God?”

“And ’good and evil’ is irrelevant.”

“So are our sacrifices to God?”

“The Goddess has existed longer than the God who created this material world and the spirits, deities and creatures that fill it.”

“What did she create?”

“Consciousness. From that, all the other gods and goddesses were born.”

Damijana appeared in the hallway that led to the dining room, living room and den. She seemed to stare straight through me. Without speaking, Sally walked away. I focused on Damijana and thought, “I’m devoted to Lavinia, that will never change.”

“You’re too small-minded to plan any farther than next week, much less forever. I’m the last woman who you should expect to impress with declarations of eternal love for my sister. You must think eternal love means, ’Until something better comes along.’ We’ll settle the issues that exist between us later. You should rest and get ready for the days ahead.”

“You could have given me a choice.”

“You’ve always had a choice Clarence. I know that it’s easier for you to believe otherwise. You’ve had choices every step of the way.”

“What were my choices? Be a part of this or die? You or Lavinia?”

“You chose me over the life you had before. You chose to become a part of this because it was more important to you to remain among the living, than to remain among the men who live their whole lives without shedding innocent blood. You’d rather be a living murderer than a dead man with clean hands. There’s no shame in that. If our ancestors hadn’t felt the same way, we wouldn’t be standing here having this conversation now. We’d be extinct. You never once tried to escape and you didn’t walk away when Lavinia gave you the opportunity. You’ve chosen this life just like you chose to fall in love with my sister. You chose her over me. Now, here you are looking for someone to blame for your own fucked up choices. The only person to blame for the situation you’re in is you.”

“No, you’re wrong.” I didn’t choose to fall in love with your sister. I had no more control over that than you had control over what this house turned you into.”

“And what did this house turn you into Clarence? A raping, murdering thug; Lavinia’s loyal henchman. The few moral values that you had when you came in were quickly discarded as soon as the opportunity presented itself.”

“You anticipated every change that has taken place within me.”

“I didn’t anticipate that you would forget me so quickly. I selected you for the particular brand of loyalty you possess. I misjudged the nature of that loyalty. Lavinia did not.”

“Are you saying that I’m disloyal.”

“You’re loyal to the Power behind the Altar. You’re not loyal to any particular person. You’re perfect for the house. You’re perfect for a Matriarch like Lavinia. Your type is an asset to an ideology, a system, an organization or a dictator. At the same time that you’re an asset to the organization, you’re a danger to its individual members. That’s what you have in common with my sister. You let go of me the moment you felt Lavinia’s power and realized she would give you access to it in exchange for your unconditional loyalty and obedience. Some might call that love. Others would call it a form of prostitution.”

“I love the woman, her power is just a part of who she is.”

“Save that Mickey Mouse bullshit Romeo. Your thing with Lavinia might be romantic if it wasn’t so politically advantageous for you. You’re far too calculating to be sincere. In the end, you’re only loyal to your own self-interest.”

“I gave up everything to follow you, and this is where you led me.”

Lavinia appeared at the top of the stairs. Her voice said, “You two have nothing to discuss other than how to address our adversary. Damijana, I suggest you refrain from stooping beneath your role in this house.”

If Damijana replied, she replied directly to the mind of her sister. I only saw her turn and storm away. Lavinia’s voice said, “She’s wrong. Your loyalty is solid. She’s too weak to hold it.”

“What about the things Sally told me? About God and Satan? About Demons?”

“Sally is a simple girl with simple explanations. She suggests a conflict where none exists. Satan was God’s favorite angel. Allegedly he opposed God, yet he still exists. Not only does he exist, but he has been given authority over dominion’s within the Lord’s Kingdom. The God who created the reality you exist in is not the only God or Creator. But we exist in the reality He created. We are His creations. His creations on this planet live in world ruled by His favorite angel. If you’re here, human and interacting with other humans, you’re playing The King of This World’s game. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Catholic, Muslim, Hindu, Atheist, Fascist or Socialist, they’re all marching to the beat of the same drum. They all have the same form, the same function; they all fight the same kinds of wars and for the same reasons. The people, the culture, the religion, the political beliefs, race; all that is interchangeable. One thing remains constant throughout, the Devil’s Will will be done. If the Goddess disagreed with the order of things here, she would destroy the Devil’s Dominion. Our Goddess guides us through this world and we do Her bidding along the way. I see your fear. There is one thing about Satan. He doesn’t play favorites. Everything that rises in his dominion falls, without exception. If you wish to see an example of this, look at the rise and fall of Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter to The King of This World what your banner says or what symbol adorns your breast, as long as there is a symbol there. What would this earth be without it’s flag, banners, symbols and marching soldiers. The person who speaks wears the mark of the beast. So you’ll have to go find a person who has lived their life without a language to find someone who doesn’t have the mark. You’re asking where you fit into all this. You wear the marks of both the Beast and the Goddess. But you belong to the Goddess and your function is to serve as an instrument for her to impose Her Will on the Beast’s System. Sally told you ’good and evil’ are irrelevant. I told you there is only victory and defeat. The person who thirsts and finds water will live on due to that seemingly small victory. The defeated dies of thirst, most likely the result of self-defeat as opposed to lack of water.”

“How can I be victorious in the coming battles.”

“Dispose of your fear, desire and mercy.”

15

After Lavinia’s lesson, I was dismissed to return to my room and rest. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Visions of tortured, anguished faces twisted up in unnatural grimaces haunted my dreams. I walked alone on a road lined with mutilated and dismembered bodies. The smell of blood and burnt flesh filled the air. Cold, razor-sharp steel sliced through my skin and into the muscle and bone underneath. I felt the handle of the dagger in my hand.

My eyes opened and I sat up startled. I was sitting naked on cold cement floor. The entire room was concrete. A dim yellow overhead lamp lit the room. I heard a woman’s voice behind me, “Clarence.” When I turned, I saw three women seated on three wooden chairs. They all wore long black gowns, black leather boots and gloves; every inch of flesh was covered except for their faces. They all had long black hair and dark complexions. They looked to be from some Middle-Eastern country like Iran or Lebanon. None of the women appeared to be over 30. But there was something about them, an energy they emanated, that made them seem very old, and very serious. They all sat up straight in their chairs, right leg crossed over the left, hands folded in their laps. The women stared at me without speaking, their expressions didn’t change.

As I looked from one pair of eyes to the next, I began sweating profusely, my heart pounded and panic covered me like quilt of thorns. The woman in the middle asked, “What are you afraid of?” Her voice was soft, warm and even motherly. However, the sound of her voice instantly prompted my body to react. I sat frozen in terror. I began to hyperventilate. The woman on the left asked, “Do you know who we are?”

I rolled over on my side and my body tightened into a sweat-coated ball of tension convulsing on the floor. The woman in the middle leaned forward and whispered, “Calm.” My body immediately stop convulsing, I caught my breath and my thoughts began to clear. Still I remained curled in a ball shivering in fear.

The woman on the right asked, “Why are you afraid of us?” I wouldn’t have been able to answer that question even if I had been able to open my mouth to speak. I didn’t know why I was so afraid of those women. All I knew was that their presence terrified me in a way I had never experienced before.

The woman on the left repeated, “Do you know who we are?” I shook my head. The woman in the middle took over, “That’s no surprise. We’re not as popular with the humans as some of the others. You may not be consciously aware of who we are, but your soul remembers us well. Everybody knows us. Most people can’t function with the level of terror that comes with having an awareness of our existence.”

The woman on the right said, “Your kind likes the blindfolded woman with the scales. A harlot, that’s who you would have administer justice. A symbol of corruption.”

The woman on the left, “We’ve been administering justice since the beginning. All of humanity stands guilty in Our eyes along with the parasitic gods and spirits that nurture and collect your souls.”

The woman in the middle, “We’ve been referred to by many names. Some flattering, some not. In humanity’s early years of language, we were commonly referred to with various forms of ‘The Worst Thing That Could Possibly Happen to You‘. I prefer ‘The Beautiful Ones’.”

The woman on the left, “Close your eyes.” I squeezed my eyes shut and saw a short middle-aged man with glasses. He stood in front of a large hole in the ground. He was a Black man dressed in wranglers, a plaid button up shirt tucked into his jeans and cowboy boots. The woman on the left’s voice said, “Meet The Great Sathanas. Look in the hole.”

I moved toward the hole in my vision. The Great Sathanas didn’t move, it was if he couldn’t see me. I looked down into hole, a family of four laid at the bottom. A large man in overalls appeared at my side with a shovel and began filling in the hole. The voice of the woman in the middle said, “That family didn’t anything but move into an apartment upstairs from one of his businesses. Watch this.”

I saw a young woman alone in her apartment. She sat curled on her loveseat studying a college textbook. The vertical hanging blinds behind her stirred then two dark figures crept in through the slider. One of them snuck up on the woman, pounced on her, punched her and covered her mouth with his hand. The other went to the front-door and opened it. Four more men entered, including The Great Sathanas. They shut the door and one of the men said, “Wait a minute before you hook that shit to her head. I don’t want her to enjoy it yet. I want to see the fear and pain in that bitches eyes when I’m fucking her.”

The Great Sathanas stood to the side and watched as the five men threw the woman on the floor, tore her clothes off, then shoved their dicks down her throat till she choked and tears streamed from her eyes. They laughed and passed a fifth back and forth as they took turns raping and sodomizing the young woman. The Great Sathanas commanded, “Hold that bitch down.” Then he pulled a scalpel from his jacket, knelt down by the woman’s head and made a small incision behind her ear. He then used tweezers to insert a small device into the hole. One of the men asked, “How do you keep it from getting infected.” The Great Sathanas replied, “If it gets infected I just cut the bitches head off, pull the chip out, wash it off and put it in a new bitch.” The men all laughed.

The Great Sathanas sealed the incision with the same kind of glue I’d seen used in the hospitals, then he placed a small piece of medical tape over it. He then pulled a small control pad from his pocket and pressed a button. The men seemed to struggle to hold the young woman down as she began convulsing violently.

The Great Sathanas pushed another button and the woman went stiff as if an electrical current was passing through her body. He pushed another button and the woman’s body went limp, her eyes rolled around in her head, a slight grin appeared at the corners of the woman’s mouth. The Great Sathanas pulled a syringe from his jacket, popped off the cap, picked a vein in the woman’s arm and inserted the needle. The woman’s grin widened. The Great Sathanas said, “Fuck that bitch now and see what happens.” One of the men quickly undid his pants, pushed his pants down to his knees and shoved his dick into the young woman. She moaned and rocked her head from side to side, her grin turned into a smile that seemed to stretch from ear to ear.

The voice of the woman on the right said, “Let’s fast forward this a little bit.” I saw the same woman, she no longer looked like a healthy college student. She was skin and bones with bleached blond hair, heavy make-up, a tight-fitting black shirt that said “SLUT” and a black mini-skirt. She sat on the edge of a bed staring straight ahead. Her face remained in a constant, unsettling grin. Loud voices could be heard outside the door leading to the room. The Great Sathanas entered followed by a large group of drunken young men. The Great Sathanas said, “Alright. You boys got four hours. We’ll bring you up some beer and a couple of bottles. Let me know if you need anything else. It’s your party boys, have fun.” The young men fell on the woman like a pack of ravenous wolves.

I opened my eyes. The woman on the right said, “When she’s so beat up and repulsive that nobody wants to fuck her, he’ll strangle her and have his henchmen dump her body behind some meth house. Her parents will search for answers as to why their normally responsible and loving daughter suddenly turned into a drug addicted prostitute who was eventually murdered on the street. They’ll wonder why she didn’t tell them. They’ll wonder how they couldn’t tell. Meanwhile, another young woman will be delivered to The Great Sathanas by the gangbangers and drug-addicts he has working for him. He pays them $500 a head for every fairly attractive young woman they can deliver to him. Of course, none of those women know that they’re being led into forced prostitution.”

The woman on the right added, “This is the sort of thing that catches our attention.”

The woman in the middle, “Lavinia has caught our attention as well. First, you will help her destroy The Great Sathanas. Then you will kill Lavinia. If you don’t, we will and then we will hold you accountable for the blood you have shed. If you do what we require, we will consider the murders you participated in to be acts of necessity and we will leave you alone. Think carefully about this Clarence. There are thousands of stories about nice places like Hell. The reality is that we decide who is damned and who isn’t. We are the one’s in charge of the damned. But you won’t find too many stories about us. You just know that for some reason you are deathly afraid of us. Don’t be ashamed of your fear. The Creator of this world has a similar reaction when we appear in His presence. There is no power that exists that can protect you from us.”

The woman on the left said, “The human mind cannot begin to comprehend eternal torture. That means forever. When this entire universe passes away and another one is born; then after that one passes to make way for another, you will still be suffering. There is no ‘place’ called Hell where all the sinners party together. The souls we punish suffer in isolation. We may allow you some company to fall in love with. But that’s only so that we can take what you love away from you, torture and destroy that which you love right in front of you and use your love to torture you further.”

The woman on the right, “We’ll bless you with a hundred offspring, let you nurture them, raise them, love them with all your being; then we’ll make you sit and watch helplessly as we hunt them down one by one and rip them to pieces.”

The women then changed into three large black birds, smashed through the concrete ceiling and flew away. I woke up in my room. I had no idea what time it was but everything was dark. Lavinia’s voice said, “Find some clean clothes, then go downstairs and eat. You, Damijana, Sally and Brianna are leaving right before dawn.”

16

I sat in the back of the Blazer with Brianna. She had been washed and dressed in a gray sweatshirt and jeans. She wore large dark sunglasses and a lot of make-up. She still looked dead sitting motionless and silent. Sally drove and Damijana rode in the passenger seat. I tried to keep my nerves calm. My mind kept thinking, “I need a gun.” Lavinia’s voice responded to my thought, “Your weapon is under the seat.” I found a two foot long spiked wooden club under my seat. Lavinia’s voice said, “There are two men in the house who watch over the place. Four women are in there working and there are three tricks inside right now. This is their slowest time of the day. Brianna will take care of at least one of the two men. Let Damijana and Sally deal with the other one and the tricks. You will go straight to the bedrooms and execute the women.”

“I can’t just shoot them?”

“No. I don’t want fireworks this morning?”

“We’re burning the house. I could just tie the women up…”

“No, you cannot just tie the women up and leave them to burn. You will smash out their brains with the mace under your seat. Are you afraid of the work involved or The Furies?” I was relieved that she had brought issue up. Nothing went on in my mind without her knowledge, not even my dreams. I replied, “Yes, I’m afraid of both. I’m afraid of beating four women to death with a club and I’m especially afraid of ‘The Beautiful Ones’.”

“They gave you permission to kill. They told you that after you help me destroy The Great Sathanas, you must kill me. I care about you, I don’t want you to suffer eternal torture. Follow the orders handed down to you by ‘the powers that be’. The first task you were given is to help me destroy The Great Sathanas, correct? Good. Now get ready to take that club under the seat and execute the four women inside the house.” I reached under the seat, grabbed the spiked club and wondered if the previous nights ‘vision’ was really a vision at all.

The Blazer came to a stop in front of a one-story single family home. Nobody spoke, everyone was following orders communicated directly to their brains by Lavinia. I had no idea what Brianna was going to do. I followed Sally and Damijana as they hurried to the front door. Brianna followed closely behind me. Damijana carried a machete at her side, Black Sally pulled a dagger from the small of her back and slammed her foot into the door right beside the deadbolt. The door flew in and Brianna ran into the apartment followed by Damijana and Sally. I crossed the threshold and pushed the door shut behind me. A high-pitched scream came from my left, Brianna had a man pinned down on the floor. She was tearing the flesh from his face with her teeth.

A large Hispanic man came running down the hallway. Damijana stood in his path, the machete concealed behind her long skirt. When the man approached, she stepped to the side and slashed him across the eyes with the blade. In a matter of seconds, she chopped the man’s left leg off at the knee then decapitated him after he fell to the floor. Black Sally stormed down the hallway kicking in doors. A shirtless man came rushing out one of the rooms struggling to pull his pants up. Sally buried her dagger in the man’s groin, pushed him up against the wall, then pulled the blade up to his sternum. I went to the hallway and entered the first room. A naked woman sat on the bed smiling. I raised the mace in the air; the smile never left her face as I broke open her skull. I went to the next room; hair, brain and bone dangling from the spikes on my mace. I heard a man screaming in one of the other rooms. He didn’t scream long, then all that could be heard was the sound of the machete hacking through muscle and bone.

It was the same with the woman in the next room, except she was a red-head. She sat on the bed with a detached look in her eye and that creepy grin on her face. She fell to the side like a bowling pin when the club collided with the side of her head with a loud meaty crack. The side of the woman’s head had been completely torn off revealing her brain. I pulled the large section of skull and red-hair from my mace and went to the next room.

The only difference in the next room was the hair color, she was a brunette, and I had to hit her seven times before she stopped twitching. When I entered the fourth room, I stopped dead my tracks, the club fell from my hand. It was the college girl from my dream. Sally entered the room. She yelled, “What the fuck are you waiting for?”

I said, “I know her. I won’t do it.”

Lavinia’s voice said, “Kill her. I told you to kill all four women.”

I thought, “You know who she is. You saw my dream.”

Lavinia replied, “There is nothing you can do for her. We can’t let her go.”

“We can take her with us.”

“No, you cannot. She can be tracked by that chip in her head and she can still be controlled.”

“I know where it is. We can cut it out.” I heard the screams of the last remaining man. Black Sally grabbed a handful of the college girl’s hair and pulled her head back as if she were going to slit her throat. She found the scar behind the girl’s ear and dug out the chip. The college girl immediately began screaming and flailing around. Sally punched her in the face, knocking her unconscious. She looked at me, shook her head and said, “You get to carry her and hurry the fuck up.”

As I dragged the college girl toward the front door, Damijana came in carrying a gas can and began dousing the furniture with gasoline. Brianna stood by the door, her face and hair soaked in blood. The body of her victim laid several feet away, blood, organs and intestines fanned out from all sides. Brianna helped me lift the college girl and carry her to the Blazer. We threw her on the floor and climbed in. Sally and Damijana hurried out the house and hopped in the vehicle. Black smoke billowed out the door as we pulled away. Damijana pulled a bag of towels from under her seat. Lavinia’s voice said, “Get the gallon of water, dish soap, bucket and bag of clothes from behind the rear seat. We washed the blood and brain matter from our hands and faces as we drove. We stripped off our clothes and changed into fresh ones. Damijana climbed in to the backseat and duct taped the college girls wrist’s, ankles and mouth.

Black Sally lit a cigarette, “Clarence. Where do you know that girl from?”

“I used to go to school with her.”

Damijana asked, “Would you like to try that again Clarence, without the bullshit?”

“I know her from a vision I had.”

Sally said, “Lavinia let you keep that woman…” she took long drag from her cigarette and slowly shook her head, “You’re telling me that Lavinia wanted to make you happy so we broke our line and let one of the women live? My life depends on the decisions Lavinia makes and she’s now making decisions based on what makes you happy? I know she can hear me right through your ears. That’s how close you two have become. So give me an answer Clarence. Ask your Mistress if that’s what the situation is here.” Sally pulled into the parking of a shopping center and parked. She turned in her seat and pointed large pistol at my face. She continued, “If that is the situation, I’ll just kill you right now before you get me killed later on down the road.”

Damijana held a .380 to Sally’s head. “I may agree with what you’re doing right now, but that doesn’t change the fact that if you kill Clarence without the Matriarch’s permission, you will be the next one to die.”

“Your sister…”

“My sister is the Matriarch of this family and you will follow her orders.”

Sally glared at me through narrowed eyes, then she smirked, “All right Damijana, I’m in line. But the next time this motherfucker’s woman issues put my life in danger, I’m killing him and I won’t give a fuck about the consequences.” She put the pistol away, turned back around and pulled off. I focused on Damijana and thought, “Thank you.” Her voice said, “Don’t thank me. Thank Lavinia. I didn’t do that for you. I agree with Sally that you should be executed. My sister disagrees. Today, she makes the rules. You should consider what will happen to you if our beloved Matriarch ever passes away.”

Lavinia’s voice said, “The more that I realize just how inextricably intertwined our fates are, the more I wonder if there really is such a thing as soul mates.”