Page 75 of Devil's Hour
Royce silently eased through the door and began walking down the aisle, gun up and aimed at John Bennett. Firing his gun could send the church and Father David up in flames.
“You did,” Father David soothed. He never took his eyes off John, but Royce knew the priest saw him approaching and was trying to buy them both time. “You did. And you helped me. Together we can punish all those who dabble in sins of the flesh.”
“You are a monster just likehim, and you made me into one too. Now you’re going to know what those people felt when they died in that fire.” John turned the metal can and poured the fluid on himself before flinging it away. “We both need to atone for our sins.”
“No, John,” Father David said, shrillness starting to creep into his voice, choking out the calm. “We can fix this.”
John reached inside his pocket and Royce knew he had to act fast.
“Police! John Bennett, put your hands up in the air and don’t move.”
Instead of complying, the former bank manager with the Robin Hood complex turned and faced Royce, wearing a resigned expression that chilled Royce’s blood. Bennett had no intention of leaving the church alive. “Go ahead and shoot me. We both know what will happen when your gun goes off. It will be the spark that sends this evil bastard to hell where he belongs. Make sure you shoot me in the leg or someplace nonfatal, because I deserve to suffer too.”
“No, you don’t. Come on, John,” Royce said. “Death is too easy for someone like him. Let me help you. I’ll put him in prison for the rest of his life. That’s hell on earth.”
“He needs to burn.” Bennett pulled the lighter out of his pocket and suspended it in air. “Purification. Right, Father?”
Royce’s only choice was to bull rush him and knock him to the ground before he could flick the lighter, but he was still ten feet or more away. From his periphery, Royce saw Sawyer entering the sanctuary from the vestry to the right of the altar.Damn it, GB. Why couldn’t you listen?Royce must’ve done a poor job at hiding his emotion because Bennett snapped his head in that direction.
“God forgive me,” he said, flicking the lighter.
It felt like slow motion watching the fumes around John Bennett ignite, engulfing his body in flames. Bennett screamed in agony, stumbling around on the altar, while Father David pleaded for someone to save him. The more Bennett moved the higher the flames climbed. What seemed to take forever, actually only took seconds. The altar exploded in a wall of fire so high Royce couldn’t see if Sawyer managed to escape.
Father David screamed as the flames devoured him, and there was nothing Royce could do to save the man. Black smoke began filling the sanctuary as the blaze destroyed everything in its path. Royce turned around and sprinted out of the church, where Avery Bradford surprisingly remained. Royce heard the fire trucks and police cruisers but didn’t wait to direct anyone. He had to try to get to Sawyer.
“Make sure some firemen come around to the side entrance. My partner is down, possibly severely injured,” he told Avery.
He reached the side door Sawyer had entered, wrenched it open, then crouched down and moved inside the building as quickly as he could, using the flashlight on his phone to guide him. It wasn’t long before the smoke became so thick that he had to drop to his knees and crawl forward. The furious blaze had picked up momentum as it consumed the once beautiful wood. Royce heard the stained-glass windows shatter, sending dangerous shards raining down. The flames roared, and once beautiful beams sizzled and snapped overhead. His fear of burning alive was potent, but the notion of living without Sawyer was far scarier. Royce wasn’t leaving without him.
“Sawyer,” he choked out, nearing the vestry and sacristy. Royce’s heart nearly stopped when Sawyer didn’t answer him, so he tried again. “Asshole! I’m coming. Where are you?”
Smoke filled the rooms, so dark and thick that his flashlight couldn’t cut through it. He could only see a foot in front of him and needed to rely on audible sounds to help guide him to Sawyer. The toxic air started closing in on Royce, making his lungs burn. He became dizzy and nauseous but refused to stop moving. Royce pulled his shirt up to cover his nose and mouth, hoping it would help filter the oxygen a little bit.
“Asshole. Stop hiding from me.”
He heard it then, a faint chuckle followed by wheezing. “Dickhead.”
Thank God.Following the direction of Sawyer’s voice, Royce crawled over to where he lay on the ground, wrapping his arms around him. “I thought I told you to stay outside.”
“Not now,” Sawyer gasped. “Let’s get out of here. You can spank me later.”
“Are you able to crawl or do you need me to drag you out?”
“B-burned. Hurts b-b-bad. I can c-c-crawl.” Each word sounded like it was ripped from him and cost more than Sawyer had to spend.
They were running out of time and oxygen. The whooshing sound of the inferno consuming everything around them was terrifying. The fire would overcome them if they didn’t get out of there, but he didn’t think they’d make it without something shielding them from the smoke. Glancing around, Royce spotted the cabinet where they stored the sacred vessels for communion as well as the holy water and various types of cleaning cloths to properly maintain them.
He crawled over to the cabinet as fast as he could and pulled down a bottle of holy water and a few pieces of cloth, quickly dousing the fabric before crawling back to Sawyer. “Listen to me this time, asshole. Tie this around your head, covering your mouth and nose. Hook your fingers through my fucking belt loops and follow me out of here. If you let go, I’ll stop too. I will not leave this building without you. We live or die together. You choose.”
“Hurts.” He sounded so pitiful, and it broke Royce’s heart. He wanted to cry, but what good would that do either of them?
“I know, baby. Let’s get out of here so we can get you help. Yeah? You and me together.”
“Together,” Sawyer said, but he was losing strength fast.
They began the crawl out of the room and toward the hallway leading to the side exit, but they had to go excruciatingly slow due to Sawyer’s injuries. More than once, Royce didn’t think they’d make it with the roaring blaze bearing down on them.
Royce thought someone was calling their names but worried he was hallucinating until he heard it again. Closer this time. He saw white lights ahead of them slashing from left and right. Was it an angel? Fuck, he knew he was close to losing his shit.