The first thing Lori noticed was the smell. With her first breath, she inhaled the old, wooden, dusty scent that hung in the air like incense. It was something she hadn't smelled in a long time, but she recognized it instantly. Church. Every church she had ever been in smelled exactly the same way.

She was laying on a small sofa in what looked like an unused office. There was a wooden desk and an old chair, but the wood walls were completely undecorated. A particularly drab dark-blue carpet covered the floor. There was a stack of books in one corner, and a few papers lay strewn across the desk. There were no windows, and only one door.

After Lori's head finished clearing, she got up and tried the door. It was locked.

"Great," she rasped. Her mouth and throat were bone dry. How long had she been in here?

Lori shuffled through the old church programs on the desk and searched through all the drawers. Nothing. The drawers were empty.

*click*

The door opened.

Lori turned around and saw Reverend Jericho closing the door gently behind him. He paused long enough to lock it with a tiny key, which he then placed in his pocket. The thin, dapper old man still looked as harmless and innocent as he did earlier when he kidnapped her. He was holding his Bible gently in one hand, and a glass of water in the other. He walked towards her, and Lori backed away. She couldn't help it. His cold, piercing eyes bore into her... pushing her back until she bumped against the sofa and sat down.

"Would you like a drink, child?" he said in his smooth, southern accent.. Jericho smiled at her. The sight of it made Lori's stomach turn.

"Let me out of here!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that. Your mother wants us to help you. We want to help you. Here..." He held out the glass.

Lori was parched. She took the glass and sniffed it. The water smelled dusty just like everything else. She took a sip. It was cold. And clean. She quickly drained the glass, and was contemplating throwing it at Jericho when he gently reached out and retrieved the empty glass.

"The drug they used tends to make one thirsty, so I'm told," said Jericho. His voice was almost apologetic. "You can have more water if you want."

"What do you want from me?"

"FROM you? Nothing, dear girl. We're here to help you with your problem."

"I don't HAVE a problem... other than being kidnapped! Let me out of here! HELLP!"

"You can scream if you want," he said. "But... as much as I would like the whole world to hear the word of God... I was considerate enough to have this church build well away from the neighboring houses. We do tend to be quite loud when we praise our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."

"SCREW YOU!" Lori screamed. She instantly felt guilty... this man was a Reverend... and this was a church.

"You see, Miss Lori, that's just the sort of thing I'm talking about. Such language-"

"I'm sorry, okay... but LET me GO!"

"Only if you will let go of your evil, Miss Zaslow. I can help you with that."

"I'm not evil! I'm not a demon, like those people you talk about!"

"But those who cavort with evil are abominations in God's sight. Do you know what an abomination is?"

"Stop talking to me like a CHILD!"

"But you are a child. That's why Satan wants you so badly. You're young and impressionable... and curious. He uses your natural curiosity to get you in his clutches. Music. Television. Games. Ouija boards."

"Is THAT what this is about! Me and Julie and Debra... it was just a game!"

"Oh, no, this is much more serious. An evil has latched onto you. Remember the boy at school?"

"He ATTACKED me!"

"I suspected it then, but when I saw the way you reacted to me, then I knew for certain."

"Because you're a FREAK! You're a crazy old man with a church full of LUNATICS!"

"Dear girl, if you had ever heard any of my sermons, you'd know-"

"I DID hear one, and I know you're SICK and EVIL!"

"... and the devil will make right appear wrong, and good appear evil. Tell me about the voices, girl."

"W-what voices?"

"Talking to spirits is one of the powers the devil gives those who follow him. And now you have it. Isn't that what you told the police?"

Lori felt a lump rising in her throat.

"Does Satan talk to you?" said Jericho. "Does he come to you at night?"

"STOP IT!"

"Does he touch you? Does he touch you in your private places? "

"NO!"

"Have you given yourself to him freely?"

"Leave me alone!"

"It may not be too late, girl. You're young... you can be forgiven because you know not what you do."

"YOU'RE the one who doesn't know what he's doing! You think I'm some kind of monster and I'm NOT!"

"Oh, yes you are girl. You cavort with demons... My church members have seen it with their own eyes."

"His name is FRANK WAID and he's NOT a demon!"

Jericho nodded slowly, as if agreeing with himself.

"He's NOT! He's a..."

Lori stopped. Either Frank was a ghost or some kind of Sovereign, and neither of those things would help her with Jericho.

"Just let me go."

"Pray with me, girl," he said. "Get down on your knees and pray for the Holy Spirit to come and cleanse you. Pray that it isn't too late-"

"No, I want to get OUT of here! Let me go!"

"Get down and pray, girl."

"NO!" Lori leapt to her feet. "I'm NOT a monster! You can take your prayers and go STRAIGHT TO HELL!"

SMACK!

Lori never saw the slap coming. One minute she was screaming in Reverend Jericho's face, and the next she was staggering back towards the couch with a deep stinging pain on her cheek.

"YOU GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES RIGHT NOW, GIRL!!!"

The sudden change in demeanor shocked Lori into submission. She was kneeling by the sofa before she could even think about it. She closed her eyes, not to pray, but to try and hold back the tears. She failed, and tears were streaming down her face as Jericho started to say the Lord's Prayer.

"Our father, who art in heaven... SAY it with me, Girl!"

Lori mumbled the words after him. She hoped that he would be satisfied, but she knew that he wouldn't. He was crazy. And violent. Her mother had abandoned her to this raving lunatic.

The tears came faster

<<mom? dad? anybody? .... please help me...>>

---

These patterns were familiar. He had been here before... this was the place where she was. The Wraith hovered in the parking lot and studied the identical dark structures surrounding him. Buildings. Apartments. The walls were all gray blurs with streaks of color running through them. It had taken him a while to figure out what the colors were, but now he knew them to be electricity. The wiring was alive with brilliant blues and occasional flashes of white. It was beautiful... but not nearly as much as the people. He could see them as they sat in their little cages of electricity, orange and yellow movement shining through the dim walls. Frank moved toward the building in front of him and rose up through the stairs. He passed the concrete and metal as easily as a man passes through the air. Even easier... for he felt nothing no resistance matter how fast he went.

He went left on the second level and passed through the door to Lori's apartment. He could tell Lori wasn't there even without looking. Her brightness would fill the entire place... but it was noticeably absent now. Instead, there were two other shapes... two blobs of color seated on the sofa. One was orange with streaks of blue... she was sad. Worried. Afraid. All those colors were there in abundance. The other was strange... odd... like the people at the school. Had they come here? Frank moved closer, and the shapes took on more detail. Lori's mother and the woman named Beth. Beth was one of Them.

And Lori was gone. Where was she?

Frank listened to the faint buzzing of their words... he concentrated on the movements of their lips, barely discernable on their faces.

Where was Lori? Where...

[To Be Continued]