The Unexpected Exorcist: Episode 22

The Hellhole, Part I

Recap

Last time on The Unexpected Exorcist: Father Andersen had sent Father Stevens for help. There were too many damned demons in the house.

Father Andersen went into the orchard house and found what he didn’t expect: The Demon Beelzebub. It had found a new entry portal onto the Earth-Realm. After a brief fight, Beelzebub won and now possesses Father Andersen’s earthly body.

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New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday at 3 PM PDT!!

- Adam Lutzi Rockwell

The DED Headquarters - Director Jinpa’s Office

Director Jinpa Rinpoche sat in meditation behind his desk. He breathed slowly. Two breaths per minute.

His phone rang and he opened his eyes and picked it up.

“This is Director Jinpa,” he said professionally.

“This is the switchboard, Director. We have a call from a doctor at the Richmond VA hospital. Would you like me to put him through?”

He looked at a clock sitting on his desk. 6:30 PM.

A call from a hospital was never good when he had agents in the field, and he always had agents in the field. “Yes, please put the doctor through. Thank you.”

“Please hold.”

Click.

“Hello, this is Doctor Lon Trotter at the VA Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. Is this Director… Kyabse… Jinpa Rin… poach…with the Department of Homeland Security?” He completely butchered his name.

“Yes, this is Director Kyabse Jinpa,” he said. “How can I help you, Doctor?” He braced his mind for bad news.

“We have one of your agents here at our hospital. A Holden Stevens. He was dressed like a priest so I figured he might be in disguise? Found his wallet, badge and ID.”

Jinpa ignored the priest comment. “What has happened?”

“He was run over in rural Virginia.”

“Is he dead?”

“No, sir, he is hanging on, pretty banged up,” said the doctor. “He’s in a medically induced coma, but we are optimistic. Fifty-fifty chance he’ll come out of it.”

“Thank you, Doctor, I appreciate your diligent work in keeping our man alive. Please take good care of him. I will send somebody to your hospital.”

“We’ll do our best, I’ll keep you posted,” he said and both men hung up their phones simultaneously.

Director Jinpa immediately got up from his desk and grabbed his thick maroon jacket with hood and tossed it on. He was quick.

He pushed a button on his phone, “Yes, Director?” a man’s voice answered.

“I need Rabbi Green. Have him meet me in the parking structure. Full gear.”

“Yes, Director. Right away.”

Director Jinpa would have preferred to have a few more agents with him, but they were all on missions. Things were busy for the DED.

“Thank you,” he said, hung up, and was out the door.

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Rabbi Adam Green was forty-five years old. He had become a world-renowned exorcist over the previous fifteen years.

Director Jinpa and Rabbi Green had become close friends since he recruited the Rabbi. He was a well-known rabbi from a large, Conservative congregation at Temple Shalom in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He still made the drive from the DED HQ to lead Shabbat services when he was available.

Rabbi Green was a bit overweight but could hold himself in any exorcism. He had sent two class-two demons back to Hell and even captured one. A feat nobody had ever bested. He wore the same suit as Uziel but had a white and blue tallit draped over his shoulders. A thick, solid gold Star of David hung around his neck on a gold chain. He was an ardent believer in God and his faith.

They drove quickly down a country road in a black Ford Interceptor. It was a sleek car and held the road well in the slush. Rabbi Green drove.

It was 9 PM. Dark with clear skies. An almost full moon illuminated the snow and trees.

“We should be getting close to the disturbance. It’s an orchard. The Larrabee Fruit Farm,” said the Director. “Remember, first and foremost, this is a rescue mission. Father Andersen could still be alive in there. Father Stevens was able to make it out alive, after all.”

Rabbi Green spoke with a thick New Jersey accent. “I have the farm on my navigation screen.” A large electronic navigational map showed they were just a mile from the entrance to the orchard. “I can’t believe Father Andersen went dark. It’s unbelievable.”

“It is all quite unbelievable. What has been going on for the last two weeks has been off the charts. We have never recorded this much demonic activity worldwide since I began my work with the DED.”

“I wish we could have spoken with Father Stevens. I’d like to know what we’re walking into up there,” said Rabbi Green.

“We will find what we find,” said Director Jinpa, pulling out a pair of demon-glasses and putting them on.

“Ain’t that the truth,” said Rabbi Green.

Rabbi Green nodded and drove slowly up the gravel road. The stones of the gravel crunched under the Interceptor’s tires, breaking the peacefulness of the orchard. No sneaking up to the house, but there was no time to waste.

Crows dotted the tops of the trees, silhouetted by the moon. The birds watched them through the darkness. Director Jinpa studied the birds but said nothing. They both knew the signs.

When they came upon the DED vehicle that Father Andersen had abandoned, Rabbi Green just shook his head.

They slowed as they reached the Larrabee Fruit Farm home. The place was lit up with two white streetlights.

A fire burned behind the home. Deep, intense.

“Be watchful, Rabbi Green,” said Jinpa. “I will let you know if I see anything. Looks like a Hellhole.”

“Yup.”

The Larrabee’s home was covered in blood splatters. Dead crows lay everywhere around the base of the house. Many of the windows were broken with crows hanging in shattered glass.

The fire coming from behind the home lit up the entire back yard. The smell of sulfur wafted into the car. It was overwhelming.

“I hate Hellholes,” said Rabbi Green, knowing that he was speaking the obvious. He slammed on the brakes twenty yards from the house. “What’s our next move?”

Director Jinpa scanned the house. As the most gifted adept seer and exorcist in the world, if there was something demonic in origin he would have seen it.

“There is nothing. I’m getting some spectral activity from behind the house, but no demonic activity.”

“We’re gonna’ have to close that hole. How would you like to proceed?” asked Rabbi Green, all business.

Director Jinpa considered his options. Father Andersen could be lying dead in the house, but he was worried it might be much worse than that. A Hellhole could only be opened by a major demon with the help of a familiar.

Typically, only specters and imps traversed a Hellhole, but it needed to be closed for the safety of the entire area. Director Jinpa hadn’t seen an actual Hellhole since he was the young age of forty-eight and running a tactical team outside Tallahassee.

“Let us search the home before we deal with the hole,” said Director Jinpa. “Please be careful, Adam.”

“I will,” he said. “Same goes for you, Kyabse. Don’t take any chances out there.”

“I shall not.”

As soon as they stepped out of the vehicle…

BLAM

A blast from a Glock-19 sent Rabbi Green onto his back on the ground. He was hit dead center.

Director Jinpa immediately took cover behind the car door. The Director did not carry a pistol. He was a pacifist. He had been instructed by the DED Council to carry a service firearm, but his Gelug order would not allow him to take a life even to protect his own.

Lying flat on the ground, the Director watched the front door of the house from under the car door. He looked under the car and could see Rabbi Green laying on his back next to the vehicle. He couldn’t tell if he was breathing.

Chet Larrabee stepped from the darkness of the porch with Father Andersen’s DED issued Glock in hand.

Chet shouted, “I see you out there, boy!”

Director Jinpa searched quickly for a place to hide. Chet was a man three times his size. He examined Chet with his demon-glasses but there was no sign of possession. No aura. Nothing. There was only one possible explanation:

Demonic Familiar.

The Director had encountered demonic familiars on numerous occasions in his work with the DED. They always surprised him. Why would any human agree to help the demonic forces arrayed against their own kind? It usually came down to power and promises, never to be kept by the demons.

The Director decided to make a run for the apple sorting house.

Just as he was about to go, an old red pickup truck came blundering up the drive. Noisy engine. It stopped quickly next to Father Andersen’s car.

It was Toby Henry, Chet’s best friend and foreman. He was fifty-eight years old, short with an unkempt white beard and balding head of hair. He wore a blue chambray work shirt with the Larrabee Fruit Farm logo on the breast pocket.

Chet turned his attention from Director Jinpa to Toby.

Toby rolled his window down and stuck his head out. He yelled up to Chet, “What the hell is goin’ on Chet? Andy told me you was burning! Burn pile is my job, man. You could’ve at least called me!” Toby was obviously drunk.

Before Chet could react, Director Jinpa used the distraction to make his move. He sprinted towards the sorting house.

Chet spun and took three wild shots at the Director. The wood from the blue loading dock doors of the sorting house exploded behind Director Jinpa. He disappeared around the corner, into the shadows.

“God damn it, Toby, you made me miss!”

Toby was out of the truck and he spotted Rabbi Green laying on the ground. “What the hell is goin’ on out here, Chet?” Toby got out a small silver flask that Chet had given him for Christmas. He took a slug of cheap whiskey. Inscribed on the flask was: “To Toby, My Best Friend. -Chet”

Janey stepped out from the rows of apple trees behind Toby. She wore a pink sweater, mom jeans, and Mukluks. She held a side-by-side double-barreled shotgun.

Chet yelled to Janey, “No, Janey, don’t!”

Toby looked over his shoulder and saw Janey closing fast with the gun pointed right at his back.

“Janey, what the hell are you doin’!”

BLAM

She shot Toby in the back. He landed dead at her feet with the flask still in his hand. Blood splattered the snow.

Chet couldn’t believe his eyes. “The monk is in the sorting house!” he yelled.

“Go get him, Chet. I’ll get Toby into the hole.” She slung the shotgun over her right arm and grabbed Toby by one foot. She was strong and pulled him through the ice and gravel towards the house. Blood trailed behind Toby’s lifeless corpse.

“There’s another one at the car I shot,” said Chet. “This is getting out of hand, Janey!”

Janey dropped Toby’s foot, unslung the gun and shot it into the air with the sole intent of intimidating Chet. The sound of the blast hung in the air. “Go get that monk. We stick to the gosh dark plan, Chet!”

Janey was obviously in charge. Giving orders. She pulled two more shells out of her back jeans pocket and reloaded the gun.

Chet shook his head and yelled, “Fine!” and hurried off the porch towards the sorting house.

Director Jinpa had found the back entrance to the sorting house locked. There was a small glass window just off to the right of the door. Without hesitation, he quickly broke a limb off a nearby apple tree and smashed out the window. He deftly climbed through the glass without a nick.

Chet appeared from around the corner and saw the window smashed out. He seethed with anger over Toby.

Janey had gone too far, but Janey had always hated Toby.

He got the sorting house key out of his overalls and quickly opened the door.

He went in to confront one of the best-trained fighters in the world.

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New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday at 3 PM PDT!!