The bodies of three children were wrapped in white blood-soaked linen half buried in the dirt beneath a large willow tree in the woods a short drive out of the town of Jericho. They were found by two hikers looking for mushrooms. When they first began to unwrap the linen, they saw the face of a child about five or six. Dried blood appeared to run from a carved crucifix in the child’s forehead. The woman screamed before she saw the other two bodies beneath this one. Her partner came to her aid and tried to calm her. Finally, the Sherif’s department was called. 

The media instantly called this a Satanic sacrifice due to the gruesome nature of the, now determined, murders. All three children were found nude with Christian symbols carved into their bodies. On one child, a girl, 15 or 16, there was a large cross burned into her back. The youngest of the three, a small infant, was drained of all his blood. His eye sockets were sunk deep inside his head. The first troopers on the scene could not hold their vomit. One passed out from shock. The media exploded with theories and stories of human sacrifice in the name of Satan. One report on the nightly news stated: “Even though it has not been confirmed, it is believed these children were raped before they were tortured than sacrificed.”

TV stations believe if you add the stipulation that it is unconfirmed they can rebuke it later when it is found to be false. But the damage would already have been done. It’s out there. The news that someone raped and killed three children, one of whom is merely an infant. It took the church less than a day to collect their congregation and hit the streets. Protesting Satan and all who worship him. Now, according to the church, that includes anyone that plays dungeons and dragons, loves horror movies, dresses as a “GOTH SLUT” (a big sign carried by a large woman in a sundress with her nipple piercing for all to see, and anyone else the church felt did not live by their values and rules. The people demanded  the police find the ones responsible and punish them right away. Now, for God fearing Christians they seemed very blood thirsty. Demanding the death penalty for anyone suspected of being involved. Yes, suspected. They did not care if there was proof or not. If they suspected anyone of worshiping the Dark Lord of the underworld, they wanted them strung up and executed in a live public setting for all to see and, as they said, to learn. 

The autopsies revealed the children were malnourished and severely dehydrated. Only one of the children, the teenage girl, showed any signs of sexual activity. There was too much damage to her body  to determine if it was consensual or rape. The families of the victims were God fearing church going families. Or so the church said. The teenage girl, identified as fifteen-year-old Gretchen Holden, was last seen after her school’s production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. She played Elizabeth Proctor.  Reports state that she left the school after the play and headed in the direction of home. Never to arrive. She walked alone.

The boy was identified as Christopher, Chris, Thompson, age 4. He was last seen playing in his fenced in front yard by his mother who went inside to grab a glass of water and when she returned, he was gone. The infant remains unidentified at this time. DNA has been taken but, even with a rush on, the results are not expected for weeks perhaps months. No one has reported a missing infant. The medical examiner determined the infant was only a day or two old. A puncture was found on the body of the infant. Because of the state they were found in, the linen wrap and the single shallow grave lead the detectives handling the case to assume it was one perpetrator that took all three and killed them.  The case made national news. The FBI sent an agent to assist the local authorities with, as the reporters put it, whatever they needed. The teens suffered most during the first few days. Anyone that wore black, had piercings, and listened to music deemed questionable by the church was interrogated and asked for their alibi’s. Adults had it no better. The first were the ones the church deemed outcasts, and anyone that was not associated with the church.  One man in particular was at the top of the list. He was a man who moved into town only a few years ago. He never socialized with many people. He doesn’t go to church and rides a motorcycle to work. Rumors circulated from day one that he was a criminal that was here to hide from the authorities. His door was kicked in two days after the bodies were found by parents in a hysterical frenzy. When the detectives showed up, he was lying in his yard covered in blood and had broken ribs and a broken arm. The parents beat him close to death, only stopping when the sirens approached. Without a word, Detective Sharp grabbed the man’s broken arm and pulled him up to his knees. He read him his rights and placed handcuffs on his wrists, ignoring the bone protruding from his right arm. He pulled him to his feet and guided him to the cruiser. Detective Sharp told the man, Henderson, Henny, Simms he was under arrest for the rape and murder of the three children. Henny dropped three times on his way to the cruiser. Det. Sharp pulled him up each time by his broken arm. Henny passed out, as he was thrown into the back seat and the parents screamed profanities and slurs. 

It has been over a week since the bodies were found, and Henny was arrested. The town has all but shut down. Everyone seems lost. Schools began having representatives of the church in to talk to the young people about the dangers of Satanic groups. They showed pictures of kids their ages that were taken and used in rituals. Lonely children, they called them. Children that were pulled off the path of God by these heathens. Whisked away with promises of drugs and riches. Most of the teens at the high school were feeding off of the energy from the adults standing in front of them preaching the word of God. Christie and her friends were trying to leave unseen when they were drawn into the theatrics. 

Christie and her friends were considered the outcasts of their small town. They liked heavy metal music, they played, in the words of the church, demonic games. Magic the Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons, and Pokémon. They wore trip pants and had piercings on their ears as well as their faces. Nose, eyebrows, and lips. Some of them smoked, all of them did not care about the church or the town. They refused to join after school activities and at their jobs, they went, clocked in, worked, clocked out, and went home. They did not join in at work picnics or get togethers with other people. They liked their small group, and they didn’t bother anyone. The town took this to mean they were the perfect candidates to be part of a Satanic cult. 

The parents demanded they change their clothes and be removed from school. Some started a petition to have them arrested along with Henny. Det. Sharp said, “Folks we are not there yet. If we find that they were involved and helped Mr. Simms, we will lock them up. I promise.”

With a target on their backs Christie and her friends avoided people as much as possible. Due to the public pressure they all lost their jobs. 

Christie worked at the local diner, The Drop, as a waitress. Her friends had jobs around town. Lacey, Known as Tricks, worked at the local movie theater. She had been there for almost a year. Kent worked at the feed store as a stock boy. Even though he was hidden from the customers and worked in the back he still lost his job. The one that was a real surprise to everyone was Trip, aka, John Lessly, was the only one that was not fired from his job. But he did quit. He worked for his grandparents at their bookstore. They opened the store in 1976. They built it into a bookstore coffee house that served lunch and dinner. Only sandwiches and soups but they had a great reputation. When pressure pushed, they refused to fire their grandson and their business hurt. They were boycotted until he was fired. Trip quit so they would not lose their lively hood, and told everyone he was fired. They responded with closing the store and putting the property up for sale. When he argued, his grandmother assured him they had enough money to be comfortable the rest of their lives and wanted to retire for years. No matter what he said he could not change their minds. His grandparents picked him over the community, and he could not fight the tears when they told him. He lives with his mom. His dad died when he was just a kid. She supported her parents and they all decided as soon as the business and their homes sold, they were leaving town. They were talking to realtors from other towns as no one in town would help. 

Christie, Trip, Kent, and Tricks were, for lack of better words, hiding from the church and the town’s people. They did not think they would beat them like they did that man, but they did not want to risk it. All of this happened so fast. Within a week people were screaming for blood. How could they not. Children were dead.  Christie and her friends tried to figure out who could have done this, but the Sheriff’s department already had their minds made up. No one wanted to admit it, but the Church was running the investigation. As far as the town and the people were concerned the guilty party was already locked up and the people were going to save the children’s souls.

Christie knew Gretchen. They weren’t friends but they got along and liked each other. They were in the same classes. Christie knew Gretchen had changed in the last few months. Depressed, distant. She wasn’t as outgoing as she used to be. She came to life during her rehearsals. And even though Christie didn’t see the Play, reviews raved about Gretchen’s performance. 

An out-of-town lawyer showed up to represent Henny. He refused to say who hired him. He demanded the immediate release of his client and the guilty party who beat him to be arrested. Both were denied. 

The lawyer swore he would return the next day with a document demanding the department to release Henny. Det. Sharp laughed as he left.  That night Henny would commit “Suicide”.

Case closed. 

The town still took to the streets to eradicate the devil from their town. They burned down Henny’s house. The church moved into all aspects of the small town. Schools, libraries, and stores. Trip’s Grandparents bookstore got vandalized. Windows damaged. Books destroyed, all in the name of God. Someone painted graffiti over the walls and book shelves. Destroyed the kitchen. They would later file and collect a large insurance settlement worth more than the property, but now it was of little concern. Trip’s mother was bullied out of the hospital where she was a charge nurse. No one wanted to work for the mother of a Satanist.

The truth would eventually come out and burn the city’s belief system to the ground. Christie, at great peril to her and her friends, found out the truth and spread it like a virus. But just like viruses, no one wanted to believe it. 

Christy found out that Gretchen had been volunteering at the Church for over a year now. Her parents were devout followers. She became very close with Father Vance, who was able to convince Gretchen’s parents, because of her change in attitude and disinterest in normal activities that she once thrived in, that she was possessed by Satan. They laughed it off at first and her attitude continued to change. Her grades began to drop. The only interest that remained with Gretchen was drama. She once told Christy it was because on stage, she could be someone else. She could use everything inside her and just leave it all out up there. 

Christy just took this as a teen that was dealing with her changing body and controlling parents. She would soon find out it was much more serious than that.

She received a letter written by Gretchen. It had no return address. It was a suicide letter that explained more than Christy would have ever imagined.  The note read as follows:

‘Christy,

Im sorry you are the one that has to read this. I didn’t know who else to send it to. I know we weren’t friends but you always treated me good. And we did have talks about books, movies and school. I will miss you most from this world. I just wanted to tell someone why I am going to do what I am going to do. I am planning on killing myself in three weeks. I want to wait until after the run of the play. I worked so hard to memorize my lines. You should be getting this letter after. I found out if you post date the letter the post office will wait to mail it. I didn’t want you to try and stop me. I can’t deal with it anymore. No one will listen to me. I tried to talk to my parents but they are in their own world with their own problems. They don’t have time for me. I have been helping at the church for a year or so now. A little after I started my parents were excited that Father Vance took me as a protégé as they put it. He pretended to be my friend. Then one night… I cant believe I am writing this but I need to. I need my conscience clear. I don’t want to be afraid anymore. He raped me in the supply room. He told me not to scream. I stared at the statue of the virgin mary. I was so scared. Afterwards he said a prayer over me and gave me rags to clean off with. He told me my parents would never believe a man of god would do this. I bled for two days. My mom was so happy I started my period. I tried to tell her and she wouldn’t hear it.  I tried to stop going but my parents forced me to continue. He wouldn’t stop. Once a small boy walked in asking for the bathroom. I thought it would end there but it didn’t. He got more violent. Like it was my fault. A few months ago I was feeling really sick and couldn’t stop throwing up. I stole a pregnancy test from the dollar store. I didn’t know what to do. I cant be here anymore. I cant keep pretending it’s not happening. I wanted someone to know my story. Someone to remember me

I am sorry to put this on you

Good bye Christy’

That was it. That was the letter. Christy looked it over. Flipped it front to back and back to front. Tears welled in her eyes. She sat down. She remembered how they found her body. How there was an infant with her. She covered her mouth with her hand. She showed the letter to her friends, and they decided to confront Father Vance. They entered the church after dark on a day when there was to be no service. They made their way to the door behind the altar. They heard moaning. Kent opened the door slowly and saw Father Vance sitting in a throne type chair watching tv. Two naked women with giant breasts on the screen were doing nasty things to each other. Kent laughed. Father Vance jumped from his seat, spinning as he pulled his pants up. Everyone entered the room.

Christy stood on the side next to Trip. Tricks entered near Kent. Father Vance looked from one to another. “What are you doing here?”

Trip spoke first, “We heard you like little girls.”

The priest flushed. He mouthed words with no sound. He began to back away slowly. Christy spoke next, “How the fuck can you preach of God and blame Satan when you are the one doing this shit?”

He turned and ran out the back door. Trip broke hard through the door and was confronted by Det. Sharp Gu who had his gun raised. Shots rang through the door. Kent was close enough to get the spray from Trip’s exploding back across his face. He turned to yell at the girls to run, and he was shot in the back of the head. His face exploded in a spray of skull and meat fragments. Christy and Tricks ran out the door they originally came in. They saw more Sherif’s cruisers out front. They ran down the sidewalk and were followed by a single sheriff. Trick was tackled to the ground. She tried to fight only to get hit on the head with the butt of a police issue 9 mm. Christy screamed, turned and continued to run. She had nowhere to go.  With her heart pounding in her ear, she kept running. She couldn’t go home. She went to the only place she could think of. She went to Gretchen’s house. She knocked on the door. Gretchen’s dad opened the door. He was furious. She could see it in his red face. The vein on his forehead was about to break through. “I need to talk to you.”

“You need to leave here now. We are calling the police.” He tried to close the door, but Christy stopped him and ran inside. Gretchen’s mom had the phone to her ear. “She’s just broke in. I think she’s here to kill us.”

“What? No. Listen. I need to talk to you about Gretchen.”

“No. We know it was you and your friends that started her down the path of Satan.” His voice rose as he spoke. 

She tried to tell them about the letter that she now had in her hand. The letter their daughter sent to her. She could hear the sirens coming closer. “You don’t understand.”

“No, you don’t.” He grabbed her upper arm and pulled her. “Because of you and your friends our daughter is dead.”

“It wasn’t us.”

“Bullshit, because of you she was possessed, and we had to have her cleansed.”

Christy’s eyes widened at the realization of what he was saying. “You killed her?”

He froze. Squeezing her arm. She thought he would break it.  Christy took the opportunity to kick him in the testicles. He dropped to his knees, letting her go. She was attacked by Gretchen’s mom. She felt hot liquid run down her forehead. It was blood. Christy saw her dead eyes. She was running off pure rage. They really believed she killed their daughter. She dodged her next attack and ran. Christy’s only way out was through the large plate window on the front of the house. She was cut badly on her right arm. The arm she used to break the window. It hurt. She picked herself off the ground, saw the red and blue light coming down the street and she ran. 

What did they mean possessed? Did they mean literally?  She couldn’t run anymore. She was fading. She could feel her energy drain. Her friends were dead. The police were after her. No one would believe what she has to say. She lost the letter Gretchen sent her. She herself was lost. As she fell to the ground, sitting up right she looked ahead of her. She saw the church. The police tape surrounded it like the end of a marathon. She only saw a medical examiner’s car and two gurneys with body bags on them. She saw the examiner, the one she saw all over the news after Gretchen and the kids were found, talking to the Priest

by the door at the top of the stairs. She was too far away to hear them, but she saw they were laughing. Her friends were dead, and they were laughing. She forced herself to stand. She walked, stumbling, might be the correct term, towards the church. She saw Father Vance head into the church. She decided to use the back door. The one Vance used to run away. The one where two of her friends died because of a fucking cop who shot without identifying himself. Because of a fucking pedophile priest. They are the reason her friends are dead, and she was now dying of blood loss. 

The back door was still open. Kent’s body was still lying on the floor. That means Tricks was killed by the cop that beat her head in. Christy closed her eyes tight as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Blood smeared her cheek. She stepped over Kent’s body and went inside. She saw Father Vance staring at her. The smile on his face made her shiver. He looked like a creepy marionette made to terrify children’s dreams. His limbs seemed to just hang at his side with no purpose. His mouth opened and closed. His head seemed to sway ever so slightly from side to side. “I knew you would come back. After they told me you ran from the Finster’s house, I knew.”

“You killed those kids.”

His smile faded. “I saved them.”  

Christy took a few steps closer. “You raped Gretchen. You got her pregnant. Was that your baby they found with her?”

He charged Christy. She was too weak to move. He grabbed her shoulders and slammed her to the wall. “I was her savior. I saved her soul.”

Gretchen’s father hit Father Vance over the head and pulled Christy away. Father Vance was on the floor, looking up with his hand on his head. “What are you doing? She came here to kill me.”

Gretchen’s father raised his right hand, holding Gretchen’s letter in his hand. “What did you do to my daughter?”

Sister Agnus, one of the church’s nuns, runs out of the dark to cover Father Vance with her body. “He saved her soul.”

“What?”

“He told us. You sent your daughter here. You sent her here so he could Exorcise the demon out of her. And that is what he did. We helped him. We strapped her to the table so she would not hurt herself and he performed the rites. The demon was strong. It fought. It tried to take her soul.”

He could not believe what he was hearing about his daughter. “You hurt my daughter.”
“No, after days of grueling battle with the demon she was close. He used the staff to finish the process.”

“What do you mean he used the staff?” Gretchen’s father closed the distance between him and the two. But it was Christy that answered. “He used the exorcism as a cover to abort the baby. He stuck the staff up inside her and killed the baby. That’s why there was a puncture, and the baby had no blood. After he pulled it out, he let it bleed out.”

Gretchen’s father turned his face full of anger and hatred to the priest. “No, he pulled the demon out.”
Gretchen’s father grabbed the nun and pulled her off of Vance. He grabbed the priest and pulled him up. Sister Agnus tried to fight him but was stopped by a board to the back of the head by Christy. Sister Agnus dropped, the board continued to come down repeatedly. Christy hoped she was dead. Gretchen’s father pulled the priest up and slammed him back against the fireplace. “Why?”

Christy turned to walk out. She didn’t want to see what was going to happen. The sirens sounded even closer now. As she exited the room she heard the priest’s final words. “I saved her.”