1. In_Darkness_Dwells


    Date: 3/11/2024, Categories: Fiction Horror, Non-Erotic, Author: Sage_of_the_Forlorn_Path

    ... domineering challenge, but learning helped quell the sense of dread he felt in the back of his mind. If Rathodor returned, he wanted to be ready. He worked through the day and into night, pausing to drink with Sam and the villagers. Once all was quiet, and the tavern was empty, Sorine approached.
    
    "You should burn those pages."
    
    "You sound just like Sam. You have no idea how valuable these pages are."
    
    "All they'll do is corrupt and destroy. The threat of that demon will always remain as long as those pages exist."
    
    "You're right, these pages are absolute evil, meaning if they exist, so too must absolute good. As horrible as they are, these pages prove that God is real. As the daughter of a priest, shouldn't that have some weight?"
    
    "My father died because the exorcism failed. God didn't kill that monster, we did."
    
    "I hope this incident hasn't cost you your faith."
    
    "All I know is that if there was ever a time for God to show He cared and show His power, it was then, and that time came and went. What am I supposed to feel after the things I've seen? What am I supposed to believe when my father, the man who taught me my beliefs, died because those beliefs failed him? You said that ultimate evil is proof of ultimate good, but what value is ultimate good if it fails us when we need it?"
    
    "Perhaps ultimate good isn't something to rely on, but something to strive towards. Like the creation of a utopia; even if it is impossible to seize, it should always been ...
    ... reached for."
    
    "I find myself wondering if maybe this isn't a matter of the power of God failing, but all a part of His plan. My people and I are all the descendants of devil-worshippers. Maybe this monster's arrival wasn't simply an accident or the endeavor of a madman. Maybe it was retribution, all of us paying for the sins of our ancestors. What if the exorcism failed, not because God wasn't strong enough, but because He decided that this was our fate."
    
    "An interesting theory, but I think you're making a mistake by interpreting meaning in an event. You're confusing a phenomenon for a message."
    
    "Then what do you think it means?"
    
    "Nothing. At least, it's not worth speculating. That is simply another data point in this experiment we call life. I am a scientist, Sorine. It's my job to collect information. That's why I'm reading these notes, so that I won't have to speculate. Word of what happened here will spread. When I tell this story, I want to have all the facts."
    
    "Maybe there are some things that should not be known."
    
    Gunfire interrupted their conversation, and both felt a chill of terror crawl up their spines. Volker grabbed his shotgun, and they ran outside, trying to determine where the noise was coming from. This wasn't simply one or two shots ringing out; it was several rifles all firing at once. People throughout the town heard the sounds of fighting and were gripped by terror. The nightmare wasn't over yet.
    
    "It's coming from the north," said Volker. ...
«12...333435...56»