CHAPTER 6
"....Wayne Brooke was earlier announced to have come up with a severe stroke and is in a coma. Leaving his daughter Doc. Gloria Brooke, the heiress and princess of Brooke industries as the interim head of the organization, pending the time her father fully recovers. Gloria is just twenty-six and heading a multi-billion dollars science research facility. She's the only..." A TV presenter announced on air.
* * *
Wayne's convoy parked at the front of the company's building. Gloria came down from it and walked straight into the building with Luke, Fey and Celeste behind her, all dressed in expensive black attire except for Gloria wearing an all-white outfit.
Inside the building, Gloria sat, talking to John, the same man Wayne was having an agitation with when she went missing, and four others who were members of John's organization, the same organization Wayne had accused of abducting his daughter.
"I've reviewed the proposal you sent to my father, and I want us to start immediately on your plans. I've got a little twist on the plan myself." Gloria said to the party in front of her as she chuckled evilly.
"Well, my dear I'm glad you've got a better foresight than your..." John replied, but was soon interrupted before he could finish his statement, as the office door opened.
Dr Raphael, a very close friend of Wayne and partner at the company, walked into Wayne's office and saw Gloria having a meeting with John and his organization.
Raphael was an elderly white man in his late fifties, he was tall and has the very young structure of someone in his mid-thirties. His green eyes sat perfectly on his handsome oval-shaped face. He wore a lab coat with the title 'Enzymologist' and his name 'Dr. Raphael' inscribed at the chest plate area.
"Gloria?! What is going on here?" He asked, surprised.
"What does it look like?" Gloria asked rhetorically.
"I'm having an important meeting that could change this world for the better." She answered finely.
"And you never thought it's wise to invite me?" He asked. "Your father and I are partners in this company. We built this place from the ground up. You can't make such decisive meetings without carrying me along. And besides, you're new here and need guidance, how would you know what's best for this company let alone the world?" He fired at Gloria.
"Doctor Raphael Johnson!" Gloria called out Raphael's full name and title.
"Do I need to remind you that my father owns this company, and you're only privileged to be a part of it at the beginning because you were his favourite lecturer and role model back at the university? This should be the last time you confront me regarding the decisions I make in my own father's company! My company!" She fired back at Raphael.
"I'm sorry," Raphael said apologetically, in shock at what just happened. "Forget this ever happened." He completed. As he made to leave, he noticed Gloria's coffee mug was on her right side, she is as well holding her pen on the right.
"He was right" Raphael murmured to himself.
He left the room and heard John and the others laughing out loud behind him. Realizing something is wrong somewhere, he quickly rushed down the stairs pulling off his lab coat, leaving the building.
Gloria gestured to Luke, he came close and bent towards her "He knows. We must take him out!" She whispered into his ears as Luke nodded and left the room.
* * *
It was evening already when Raphael got home. He called out to his wife "Honey?!"
"In the Kitchen Dear!" His wife, Mary replied.
Raphael entered the kitchen smiling, "Don't you think you're becoming too old for this?" He mocked as he moved in, turned her around to face him and kissed her on the forehead.
"Cooking?" Mary asked.
"Ahan!" Exclaimed Raphael.
"You're joking right?" She asked again.
"Just saying, so you won't cook a very spicy meal or a meal without salt and say 'I forgot to add the ingredients," Raphael said, laughing, as he mocked, mimicking Mary's voice.
"Ok Mr! You've done it this time, no dinner for you tonight." She fumed furiously.
Raphael rushed and hugged her. "I'm kidding, you know your meals are always delicious. I wouldn't have survived this long and strong without your food." He said apologetically to soothe her.
"Uhun...!" Mary exclaimed with a smile
"So please make dinner for your husband, will you? And I will make it up to you later." He said with a wink.
"Getaway, you old player. Over twenty-five years and you're still flirting with me." She said, laughing.
"Oh yes! Lest I forget. Honey" Raphael jumped, now sounding serious.
"Yes?!" She replied still busy with her cooking.
"I have something very important to tell you. You know I've never paid attention to your superstitions? But right now, I think something is..." He explained but was interrupted by Mary.
"No! No! Not now. You know the rules, no such discussions in the kitchen or the dining. So wait while..." She complained but was turned down by Raphael.
"Just listen to me, Mary!" He spat angrily.
"Ok, this must be serious," Mary said, as she turned her face to her husband, indicating she's ready to hear him out.
"Remember Gloria? Wayne's daughter?" He asked.
"The one that was saved from a ritual ordeal with the occult group?" She asked back.
"Yes!" Raphael responded and continued. "Well, after she was rescued, Wayne had severally complained about how his daughter had changed and some strange events happening since he brought her back home, from the event. He claimed she's not the Gloria he knows."
"It could just be PTSD!" Mary cut in.
"I said exactly the same thing. But he debunked that, he said he believed it's not just him and her alone in the house. That he was having a lot of strange, abnormal, unexplained feelings."
"So? It could be stress, I mean it's the first time since his wife died, Wayne is taking a real break to spend some time with his daughter that went through a life-threatening event. Anything can happen." She defended, turning back to check on her cooking.
"I would have believed you if I hadn't seen Gloria today myself." Raphael exposed. "She came to the office and was having a meeting with John's organization, the same organization Wayne and I said 'No!' to for proposing that our lab create a virus that will wipe out half the world's population, to conserve and preserve resources to create a better future for the planet and so on..." He explained.
"Okay, that's suspicious. You know I told you I suspect foul play in Wayne's sudden development of stroke overnight." She expressed.
"That doesn't even begin to do the trick. What is Gloria's strongest hand?" Raphael asked.
"Her left," Mary confirmed.
"Are you sure?" He asked again to confirm.
"What do you mean by am I sure? Ever since her mom died I've been close to that girl like my own daughter I know her like the back of my palm. Gloria is left-handed!" She assured.
"Well the Gloria I met today is right-handed and very rude. It was like she doesn't even know me." Raphael explained.
"That's not possible. Is it?" She asked in surprise.
"I'm a scientist and I know that does not happen overnight." He confirmed.
"Well, that doesn't prove anything dear. The girl is going through a hard time." She defended.
"Is that the reason why she's accepting John and his organization's proposal to end the world?" He fired.
"Wait! Explain to me again how they found Gloria at that crime scene." Mary requested, turning to face her husband, with a serious look on her face.
"Well, the police came in and met her naked covered in blood, with the floor littered with bodies of the culprits," Raphael explained.
"How many bodies?" She asked again.
"About seventy, including that of a newborn," Raphael answered.
"Oh my God! This can't be happening..." Mary responded in fear, as she dashed out of the kitchen, forgetting her food on the cooker. She ran up the stairs and headed straight towards their bedroom.
Raphael nagged, running after her, "What's going on? Is everything alright honey?"
In the bedroom, He caught up to Mary as she tore through the wardrobe and brought out an old book.
"You are getting me worried, what in heaven's is going on?" He asked with fear in his eyes. Mary ignored him as she scanned through the old book.
"They were trying to do a resurrection ritual." She finally spoke out.
"Who was?" Raphael asked, confused.
"The people who abducted Gloria were doing a resurrection ritual. They were trying to bring back a dead person inside of Gloria's body." Mary explained.
"What are you blabbering about? Whatever they were trying to do, they failed right? I mean they were all found dead." Raphael asked in worry.
"What if they didn't?" Mary said as she stopped at a page in the old book. Seeing what she was looking for, she gestured for her husband to come closer.
She opened up the page as it unfolded wide into some kind of a pamphlet
"Every Generation is given the power to either save the world or destroy it. In a generation where triple powerful sibling souls shall be born at the same time. The Queen of darkness and Mother of all Demons shall rise in the vessel of one who saves lives, she shall spread her plaques around the globe. She wi..." She read the inscriptions but was interrupted halfway by Raphael.
"Wait! What the hell are you saying? How in God's name did you..." He asked in surprise but was cut short by Mary who made a gesture for him to keep shut.
Mary made movements with her nose, sniffing around, as though trying to smell the air for something.
"Get down!" She said to her husband.
"What?!" Raphael asked not understanding her.
"Get down now!" She shouted at him and they both bent over, by the bedside.
A dark smoky figure broke through the windowpane, entered into the bedroom and manifested into four ugly beings.
Raphael and Mary were flat on the floor below the bed on the opposite side of the demonic figures.
"Did someone just broke into our house? And what's that horrible smell?" He asked stupidly.
"Shhhhhh! Demons!" Whispered Mary.
"What?!" Asked Raphael again.
Mary stood up and directed the pendant on her neck towards the ugly demonic figures. A bright blinding light emanated from it, as the figures were caught on fire, turning into black smoke and disappeared.
"What is going on?! Oh my... Oh no... This is not real this is false! No science explains what just happened! Am I dreaming? Of course, I am dreaming. Someone, anyone, just stab me already! Mary what is...!" Raphael screamed, stammering at intervals.
Mary used her hand to cover Raphael's, now panicking, mouth and whispered into his ears.
"Raphael! You need to calm your balls and listen to me carefully. Everything you think you know, all the science, all of your education, you need to throw it in the trash and burn that trash to ashes. This is the real world. Everything I've been telling you and you've called superstition and believed was fiction? Are real. All real! Our house was just attacked by Demons and they'll be back soon. We have to run now! We need to find those three sibling souls. The world as we know it is about to burn."
Raphael mumbled through Mary's hand covering his mouth, "How the hell do you know all these things?"
"What?!" Mary asked, not getting what he said.
He pointed at her hand covering his mouth.
"Oh Sorry!" She begged as she uncovered his mouth.
"How did you know about all these things?" He repeated.
"I've always known and I've been trying to tell you but you've never cared to listen, calling me too spiritual and superstitious," Mary fired.
"I'm scared to death already at what I just saw and you're making me shit my pants right now. Who are you?" Raphael said in distress.
"Don't you think it's too late to be asking that? Mary insinuated. "Grab your passport and important things we need to leave this minute!" She expressed.
Immediately, a loud wave hit their house. The house shook like it was being hit by an earthquake, throwing almost everything to the floor.