if that fire ever went out. She looked back toward the trail again. Still, she saw no sign of the old man or the dogs that were with him. This gave her some small bit of relief. She slowed her pace as she neared the hut. She did not know what the dogs would do if she tried to rush into the hut without the old man. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she should stop and walk as calmly as she could toward the door.
Breathing heavily, she slowed to a brisk walk and cautiously approached the dogs by the door. The dogs did not look up. Two of them seemed to be fighting over some large, flesh-covered bones. The others were satisfying themselves with some fresh meat. None of them bothered to stop her.
Melvina pushed the door open and walked into the hut, shouting for Salva.
“Salva! Salva! We have to leave here now!”
The scene that greeted her as she entered the hut left her speechless.
The old man sat cross-legged on the floor in front of a large plate of meat and vegetables. He did not move as Melvina entered. Two dogs sat beside him slowly munching on a pile of raw meat that had been placed before them on the floor.
Melvina froze in horror.
“Where is Salva?”
The old man did not speak. After a few moments, Melvina took a deep breath and began to repeat her question. Before she could speak again, Salva walked into the house from the back entrance.
“Melvina, I was worried. You were gone so long,” Salva said calmly.
Melvina was speechless. She stared at the old man and looked back at Salva. The old man grinned at her and began to hum quietly as he ate.
“Melvina, come sit down and eat. Your food will get cold,” Salva said.
“How did you get here so fast?” Melvina snapped.
“What do you mean? He has been here with me this whole time while you were gone getting the water,” Salva replied.
Melvina felt her thoughts begin to spin and whirl inside her brain. She backed away from the entrance to the door and slowly stumbled toward the fire. The world around her seemed to tumble and fall away in a blur of motion and chaos too confusing to follow. In a moment, she fainted and fell to the ground, fast asleep.
Chapter Six
The Meeting
Driving home from the manor, Mitchell was struck by the suddenness of the tragedies that claimed the lives of the Morton family. The force that had taken the soul material of these victims was powerful. Soul material was sacred to the powers that ruled this world. After the death of a human, certain angels are assigned the task of collecting soul material and transporting it safely to the next world.
Granted, the angels did not always arrive at the most opportune times, nor did they always arrive on the day of the victim’s death. For the most part, however, the system worked and soul material was kept out of the hands of demons, elementals, energy parasites, and other lower-class soul feeders. Thus far, the force that had claimed eight lives in the Guilford County area had moved in before the Angelic Protectors could salvage their souls. This act alone required a tremendous amount of spiritual knowledge and power. Guilford County, North Carolina was not likely to be home to such evil.
Prior to relocating to North Carolina, Mitchell and Kathy had lived in Phoenix, Arizona. Kathy was an executive sales person for a large telecommunications firm in Scottsdale. She was born in Madera, California. Her father was a master brickmason and pastor at a local church. He was a strong-willed man who also championed many civil rights causes. He found it necessary on more than one occasion to shutter the blinds and stand by the doorway with a shotgun throughout the night to protect his home and family. Nothing ever happened that truly endangered the family, but Kathy had been with him on many of those occasions. Her father passed the time during those nights by telling her Bible stories. From that time, she developed a deep love for the sanctity of home and the protective power that came with a strong father. Her father died 25 years ago from complications secondary to pneumonia.
Her mother was a powerhouse of strength and love for the family. She cooked, cleaned, and made the clothing for her growing family. She was an expert singer and she imparted a deep love of music and art to all her children. Her greatest gift to Kathy, as far as Mitchell was concerned, was her gift of cooking. Kathy’s mother was one of the best cooks to ever grace a kitchen. Her recipes had won numerous accolades throughout the state of California. Kathy had watched and learned to cook from the best. As a result, Kathy’s cooking was superb. She had taken care of her mother during the final years of her battle with pancreatic cancer. That struggle had emotionally devastated the family. Kathy had been quite close to her mother. Even now, 12 years later, the anniversary of her passing was a difficult time for the family.
Kathy attended the University of Southern California on a track scholarship. She was a champion long jumper and was an All-American basketball player. She had started for the women’s USC basketball team that played in the final four. Kathy had planned to attend the Olympics and participate in the long jump, but American politics had precluded any team participation in the Olympics that year. Kathy finished college and worked briefly as a nurse in a hospital in Philadelphia. That is where she met Mitchell. Marriage and two children quickly followed.
Tiffany, the youngest, was a precocious young girl with a flair for languages and a love for all things television. She was tall and very petite, just like her mother had been at the same age. Tiffany was the noise in the house. She loved to laugh, joke, make fun, sing, and do everything she could to let everyone around her know that she loved life. Her main aspiration in life was to become a lawyer. At the moment, she was focused on convincing her parents to get her a dog, despite the fact that both Kathy and Mitchell were allergic to dogs.
Michael, their eldest, was very tall and strikingly handsome. He was very athletic and played on the school basketball team. He also played AAU basketball and was team captain. He was quieter than Tiffany but his sense of humor was extraordinary. He loved pretending to be different characters in an ongoing series of plays that he would create in his head.
Sometimes, he would adopt an Italian accent and pretend to be a street person looking for a handout. He also liked pretending to be a peculiar aristocratic character who sported a thick Russian accent and had a penchant for drinking diet cola. His favorite character was a country farmer with a deep southern accent who followed Mitchell around the house asking for dipping snuff. Michael was an honors student and he wanted to major in a science field. He hadn’t decided whether he wanted to major in mathematics or physics. Mitchell always thought he should consider the theater. Michael was a great accomplice to Tiffany’s case of the moment. Together, he and Tiffany had decided that the Gibson family needed a dog.
As Mitchell entered the driveway, he saw Michael and Kathy shooting hoops. Tiffany was keeping score in what seemed to be a rather heated game.
“Who’s winning?” Mitchell asked.
“Score’s tied, 19-19!” Kathy shouted.
Michael grinned and prepared to drive the ball toward the basket. He looked up briefly and waved to his father. In that moment, Kathy stole the ball, backed up behind the three point line, and drained a perfect jumper.
“Game time!” Kathy shouted.
“What do you mean ‘game time’?” Michael asked.
“Three pointers are worth two points
