I came to a stop and slowly scanned up, across and down the street. It was the same all over. Everyone came to a stop and had turned to look at me. My heart started to pound. As I turned to glance inside the pizzeria, I saw four customers and the guy behind the counter all looking intently at me from behind the store’s glass window. I felt someone poke me on the shoulder and turned quickly. I was not aware of anyone near me.
It was the pizza waiter with the demon head. “I didn’t think any of you god-lovin-fools could see us. Join us or die!” The waiter pointed at the mass of people now huddling around and repeated. “Join us now, or die!” The crowd swelled. There was no place to run. The demon waiter laughed, The crowd chimed in as the laughter began to swell. Beneath it, I could hear whimpering. I looked around and saw a young woman with dark blotches.
She extended her hand. “Help me.”
I could barely hear her. As she repeated it, I could see her lips form the words. Upon closer observation, there were several blotched faces in the crowd all mouthing the same words. Originally, I thought everyone was laughing. They were not. The fully demonic faces were enjoying a raucous laugh. The others seemed to be asking for help.
The demon waiter raised his hand. All became quiet. The cries for help ceased as well. The crowd parted as the three demons from the provincial’s office approached. The one who killed Fr. Manuel came to a stop directly in front of me. “There is no place you can go, no place you can hide. You see us, we see you. Seers like you must either join us or die. You must decide now. What will it be, priest?”
I looked across the landscape of demonic and blotched faces. My gazed settled on the young woman whose hand had been extended. There were tears in her eyes as well as in the eyes of other blotched-faced individuals. I saw her lips move silently to form “Help me.”
What will it be, priest?