Demonic Designs (To Absolve the Fallen) Read Free

and queried, “Why Kingstone?   What possible reason would God have for doing something miraculous in this town?”
    “Maybe, this town is important.   Maybe, He has plans for it.”
    “Right.”   Alex laughed.   “I think Genesis tells us that, after God created the Earth, He squatted over His creation, took a shit, and created Kingstone.”
    Taylor laughed too, and Katie shot a warning scowl at him.
    “There were witnesses,” she explained.   “Did they just make it up?   Did they just hallucinate?   How do you explain it?”
    “What?   That old-man Davis’s house lit up?   I don’t know, but I’d think God has better things to do than to fuck with a bunch of redneck locals.”
    Alex felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked behind him.   Mr. Jenkins, his Advanced Juniors English teacher, had come down the stairs behind the group of students, and now he was studying them all—particularly Alex.  
    “Mr. Tanner,” he said, “what interesting observations you make.   I especially liked the one depicting the origin of this town, but I don’t think that’s appropriate language for a high school hallway.   Will you accompany me to the office?”
    Alex smiled as innocently as he could.   “I guess I don’t have a choice, huh?”
    “I’m afraid choice is not something I can afford you at this moment.   This way.”
    With his arm over Alex’s shoulder, Mr. Jenkins steered his student toward the front of the building where the ominous glass door to the office awaited.   They got right in front of it, but then Mr. Jenkins suddenly motioned toward the doors leading outside instead.  
    He looked at Alex and suggested, “Let’s take a stroll, shall we?”
    Alex felt the urge to resist or even say anything dwindle as he looked into Mr. Jenkins’s gray eyes.   Had they always been gray?   He couldn’t remember.   They walked outside and across the parking lot to where a black sports car was parked.   As they approached, Mr. Jenkins took a set of keys out of his pocket and pushed a button, causing the car to beep and the locks to pop up.   Mr. Jenkins opened the passenger side door for Alex and signaled him to sit.   Alex, however, only stood there.   His brain felt foggy.  
    Somewhere deep inside of him, this felt wrong.   He knew that it wasn’t a good idea to get into this car, but that thought was overridden by the desire to provide unquestioning obedience.   So he climbed into the car, and the door shut behind him.   It seemed as though the door had closed without Mr. Jenkins even touching it, but Alex knew that wasn’t possible.  
    Mr. Jenkins got into the driver’s seat and looked over at his passenger.   He smiled broadly, and his face changed.   The man who had been sitting across from Alex no longer seemed to be the same individual.   Now, when Alex looked at the person in the driver’s seat, he saw a boy, no older than himself, with bright red hair, blue eyes, and freckles.   Alex tried to comprehend what had just happened, but there was no use.   It almost seemed to him that Mr. Jenkins—or whoever this was—had always looked like that.   Alex’s brain accepted the transition without further hesitance.  
    “There,” the other said.   He even had the voice of a teenager.   “Now, our being seen together won’t be quite as suspicious.”  
    Despite the remarkable transformation, that haunting grin remained.
    “What the fuck?” Alex stammered breathlessly.
    “I’ve never understood how one person could use that word so often,” the red-head replied, as he turned the key in the ignition.   “You’ve said it sixteen times already today.   How could one word have so much meaning that you could find a use for it in nearly every kind of context?   It used to be, ‘What the hell?’   Had you said that, I would have chuckled at the context.   But apparently fornication is more offensive than everlasting torment.   It’s interesting how much you