“You’re saying demons are real, right? Satan’s minions or angels of darkness or whatever other name they go by.”
He nodded, reaching down the first aid kit from the shelf over the desk. “Yes. The forces of evil are as real as you or I. You just can’t see them. It really isn’t safe to mess about with the occult in any shape or form. Whether that’s a Ouija board, a film about poltergeists, or a horror film that invokes demons or the supernatural.” He pulled out an antiseptic wipe and took hold of her hand, gently cleaning it.
“Jesus did an exorcism, didn’t He?”
Pastor Jack held her hand still, studying her with an intent gaze. “Meggie, where is this leading?”
“Last night, there was something in the car. It’s why I crashed.”
“And you think it was a demon?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I was looking it up online. But it was real. It had red eyes and claws and wings and it stank.”
Pastor Jack’s expression changed. “What did it smell like?”
“Sulfur and…” she hesitated, watching him pull a Band-Aid from the box. “It was horrible, bad eggs or something. It looked like the salt and pepper pots in the farmhouse.”
His hands stilled. “Meggie?”
“Mrs. Field has these…demonic salt and pepper pots. I thought I saw something in the mirror in the kitchen, but dismissed it as it was just a fleeting glimpse, but whatever was in the car was very, very real.”
“Maybe this is a warning. Perhaps the farm isn’t the place for the bonfire,” he said, a thoughtful expression creasing his brow.
“The farm is fine, it’s just the farmhouse. I can’t explain it. Well, that and Mrs. Field. There’s something about her.”
“Now you’re bordering on slanderous,” he said gently.
“Sorry.” She looked down at her bandaged finger. “Maybe I imagined it. I don’t know.”
He touched her shoulder briefly. “The thing is, that side of the spirit realm isn’t much talked about. But it’s very real and very dangerous. Don’t get involved in it. Even research or just looking at pictures is a crack in a door for them. It doesn’t take much incentive for something to slip through.”
“OK.”
“Let’s pray about this.”
Meggie nodded, closing her eyes.
Once Pastor Jack had finished praying, he smiled. “Now, proofread the service sheet, and then we’ll run through the details about bonfire once you’re done.”
Meggie nodded, loaded the document and began reading.
****
Aaron hooked Meggie’s car to the tractor and checked the ropes were secure and not likely to pull the bumper off the vehicle. He didn’t want to do any more damage to it. He glanced at Hal in the cab and waved him backwards. Slowly, the car began to move from the ditch to the road. Waving again to halt the tractor, Aaron unhooked the chain. He walked around the outside of the car, checking it carefully, before pulling the keys from his pocket.
He squashed into the driver’s seat and pushed the chair as far back as it would go. How could anyone sit that close to the wheel?
To his surprise, the engine started first time. He popped the bonnet and ran a cursory gaze over the engine. Satisfied there was no further damage, he nodded and closed the lid. He untied the rope from the bumper and, rolling it as he walked, went over to the tractor. He tossed it inside and nodded to the driver. “Hal, follow me back to the farm. I’ll check the car over properly there.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
Aaron returned to Meggie’s car and moved the driving mirror thoughtfully. What had she seen that had scared her enough to crash? There was definitely nothing in the car now. And the only thing he could smell was her perfume. He did a three point turn and headed down the lane to the farm.
Meggie’s CD played quietly in the background. He hadn’t listened to hymns in years, but found himself humming along to one of them. It had been his grandfather’s favourite and likely his great-grandfather’s too, as the name of the farm came from part of the hymn. Maranatha–Come, Lord Jesus.
He turned the volume up a little, allowing the music and words to wash over him. A smile crossed his face. He, Isaac, and Leah had called this the ‘not hymn’ as almost every line began with the word not.
When the Lord in glory comes, not the trumpet, not the psalms…
That hymn always made his sister cry and he never understood why. But listening to it now, memories flooded back and a lump caught in his throat. He swallowed hard. Emotions were for women and children. He didn’t have time for feelings. That part of him died when Nancy left him.
He reached to turn off the music, but something stayed his hand as the song changed. Nancy’s favourite hymn filled the car and he found himself singing along to it. “
In shades of the valley’s dark terror, where hell and its horrors hold sway, my Jesus will reach out in power, and save me by His only way.”
Something he hadn’t felt in a long time stirred within him and touched his soul. A sense of belonging and love and hope. Tears burned in his eyes. Was God still there? Despite everything that had happened? Would He listen, even now? “God, if You’re there,” he whispered. “Help me. Show me that I’m not abandoned and alone.”
He reached the farm and parked over to the side of the yard, tucking the car between his Jeep and his stepmother’s BMW. He pulled out his phone and rang the church office. He needed to let Meggie know her car was on the farm. Not that she’d be there, but someone could pass the message on to her.
A crow perched on the bonnet and walked up to the glass, peering in. A cold darkness gripped him as the yellow eyes stared unblinkingly at him.
“Good Morning. Headley Baptist Church, Meaghan Knight speaking. How may I help you today?”
Surprise filled him. “Hi, Meggie, it’s Aaron. What are you doing at work?”
“That’s almost exactly what Pastor Jack said when I rang him at eight o’clock this morning and asked for a lift. I’m fine, honestly. So, what can I do for you?”
“I’m sitting in your car. It works fine. Hal and I pulled it out of the ditch, and I drove it back to the farm. The front bumper is a tad dented and the paint is a little scratched. The right headlight is cracked, but other than that she’s fine.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Listen, I’ve got to come into town over lunch to make a delivery. How about I pick you up and bring you back here to collect your car.”
“Sure. I’ll be here all day. Thank you.”
His heart raced at the thought of seeing her again. “I’ll be finished about half past one.”
“Tidy. I’ll be waiting. Bye.”
He looked at the phone as he hung up. Tidy? What did that mean? Neat? Cool? Sure? Fine? He shrugged and locked the car. She’d said yes, that was the important thing. He put the keys in his jeans pocket for safety, before setting off across the yard to find the trailer for the tractor.
****
Thick black rain clouds gathered on the horizon as Meggie assessed the damage to her car. Aaron was right, it could have been worse, but she didn’t want to guess how much a new bumper and headlight was going to cost. She ran her fingers over one of the scratches and sighed. “It’ll rust if it rains.” She glanced heavenward. “Make that
when
it rains.”
“I put clear nail varnish over it already. That will stop the rust until you can afford a re-spray.” Aaron winked at her. “Nancy hated it when I used her nail varnish for that. But it works.”
“Thank you.” She hugged him impulsively, then blushed as she let go, surprised at herself as well as embarrassed. Since when did she feel comfortable enough to be an enclosed space with a man, never mind hug him? “I didn’t know that. Thank your stepmother as well.”
“It wasn’t hers. I buy my own.”
Meggie snorted and burst out laughing. “You buy your own nail varnish?”
Aaron’s deep bass laugh joined hers. “Just the clear one. I figured I’d only chip it otherwise. Manual labor and painted nails don’t exactly go well together. And before you ask, no, gold isn’t my color.” He grabbed at his cap as the rising wind threatened to tug it off his head.
Meggie grinned and looked at the gold nail paint on her hands. “Nor mine. It was an experiment that didn’t work. It’s meant to be magnetic—you make patterns before the varnish dries, only it didn’t work. So I gave up after a couple and now some are stripy and most aren’t.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I’ll take your word for it. They all look the same to me.”
“My point exactly. I did them red, white, and blue stripes for the royal wedding.”
“That is very patriotic of you.”
She grinned. “Thank you. I thought so, too.”
Lightning flashed in the distance and the heavens opened. Huge hailstones hit the ground around them.
Aaron looked at her. “Let’s shelter in the barn.” He began running.
Meggie followed him, glancing at the sky. A whirling, rotating mass of black and green hung over them. She stopped running and pulled her phone from her pocket. She opened the camera app and took a couple of pictures. Iestyn would love this. She watched fascinated as the clouds rotated faster, and a long finger slowly extended towards the ground.
She took another photograph. “Aaron,” she yelled. “Look at that. If this was Kansas…”
Aaron turned, his face paling. “Meggie! It’s a tornado. Run!”
7
All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. Psalm 22:7
Aaron grabbed Meggie’s hand, and they ran full pelt to the barn, the wind picking up and howling. The thought flashed through his mind that the storm did sound like they were depicted on film. He shut the barn door and bolted it. Pulling Meggie to the center of the small building, he flung up the trapdoor. “Down here.”
Meggie climbed down, her breathing coming hard and fast.
He followed her, pausing long enough to bolt them both safely inside. At least he hoped it was safely. This part of the barn hadn’t been built as a storm shelter. The pitch black was choking.
“Aaron?” Meggie’s voice seemed pale, terror eking through.
“I’m here.” He felt his way along to the shelf and grabbed the flashlight. He switched on the light and swung around, looking for her. “We’ll be safe down here.”
Wind howled above them, and she wrapped her arms tightly around herself.
He crossed over to her, pulling her against him. “I’ve got you,” he said. “It’s OK.”
“It’s not OK. It’s a tornado.”
“It may not drop here or at all,” he said, hoping he was right. “Just because the funnel started to form, doesn’t mean it will land on the farm and even if it does, we’re safe here.”
No sooner were the words out of his mouth, than the trapdoor above them rattled and the wind picked up.
He pulled her to the work bench, pushing her under first. He leaned against her, holding her tightly. “I used to play down here when I was a kid,” he said. He hoped the terror he felt wasn’t coming through on his voice. He needed to be strong for her.
“You—you did?”
“Yeah. This was Mum’s art studio.”
“But there’s no light.”
“That’s what Dad always said. But it’s what she wanted. After she died, I’d come down here to be close to her. Later it became my safe place. No matter how hard she looked, Tanis never found me here. Either that or there was something keeping her out of the barn. I don’t think she’s ever been in here.”
The boards above them rattled and tried to lift out of place. He tucked her in tighter against the wall, shielding her with his body.
Meggie started praying aloud, and he found himself praying along with her, hoping that God wouldn’t think he was joining in only because he was scared. Which he was, but deep down inside something told him it was the right thing to do.
For a horrifying moment, he thought they were going to fly off into the storm; then there was silence.
Meggie looked at him, her wide eyes reflecting lamp light. “Is it over?”
“I think so. But we should stay put for a while just in case.”
“I’m not going to argue.”
Neither moved for several long minutes. Then muffled voices came from overhead. “Aaron?”
He edged out from under the work bench and stood up. “We’re here.” He moved to the steps as the trap door rattled. He unlocked it. It was thrown back from above, bright sunlight pouring in.
He blinked hard. Sunlight coming from above? That wasn’t possible.
Hal peered down at him. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, we’re both fine. What about you and the others?”
“Everyone’s accounted for.”
“Good.” He headed back down the steps, holding out a hand. “It’s safe to come out, Meggie.”
She took his outstretched hand and climbed the steps with him.
Aaron glanced around. Half the barn roof was gone, along with the doors. Had any of the others been hit? “What other damage?” he asked.
“A couple of the fences, but we were lucky. None of the main buildings got hit. Other than this one.”
Aaron nodded and walked with Meggie outside. Branches and bits of wood lay strewn across the farmyard, a trail of devastation heading west. At least it hadn’t headed into town. He looked at Hal. “Round up the men and go check the animals. The crops can wait until tomorrow.”
Tanis came out of the farmhouse. “Aaron? Are you OK? I was so worried.” The saccharine tone was nearly too much.
“We’re both fine, thank you. How are you?”
“I’m good. That was some storm, huh?”
“It was.” Did nothing faze her? A tornado had almost blown him, Meggie, and the farm to kingdom come, and she didn’t seem remotely bothered by it. Not even a hair out of place and the cigarette still burning.
Meggie looked at him. “I should go home,” she said, her voice still trembling. “Assuming my car is still here and in one piece, I ought to go back to town and make sure my house is still there.”
“The debris field heads away from town,” he said, pointing.
“That’s good.”
Tanis came over to them. “There are trees down all over. The radio said the road between here and Headley Cross will be blocked until morning.”