Having worshipped at God's feet for the best part of twenty-five years, Father Hendrie should know better - nightmares are only a fabrication of an over-active imagination. But the dreams which haunt him are terrifyingly vivid and all are somehow li...
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Having grabbed his housecoat, Bill gestured for his night guests to move to the sitting room. Jamie was not badly hurt; he had a mere graze on his brow which, in Bill's mind, suggested a collision with the kerb was not what happened at all. He could not accuse the young lad of lying, though, at least not until he heard his story.
The thunder and lightning continued as the rain battered the house, and power had not yet resumed. Once all three were downstairs, Bill found and lit some candles before sitting in his favourite armchair. He gestured the sofa for Jamie and Lisa to sit and asked them to explain what was happening.
In the space of half an hour, Father Hendrie's whole world was reeling. Everything Jamie and Lisa said seemed exaggerated, let alone impossible, yet... Bill listened intently, biting his tongue to stop bursting forth with some inappropriate harangue. One moment he was angry, infuriated to be taken for a fool; the next, he questioned the 'truth' as he'd known it his entire life.
"I didn't mean to frighten you, Father," Jamie's voice penetrated the serendipitous fog swirling in the priest's head.
Bill gradually focused on the young gardener, pulling his housecoat tightly around himself as if for protection. "Well, you did, Jamie - or whoever you are." The priest retreated into his thoughts again, shaking his head, a look of disquietude rippling across his face.
Jamie shrugged and turned to Lisa. "Whatever!" he huffed. "I told you he wouldn't believe us."
Lisa was equally upset by the entire incident; this was not how she'd expected they would divulge their plight. Finding words to ease the moment was difficult, but she had to try. "Bill, I know this seems fantastic, impossible even, to a god-fearing man like yourself..."
"God-fearing?" Bill scoffed, his eyes, hollow, as he fixed her with a haunted look.
Jamie and Lisa glanced at each other, confused by the icy mockery in the priest's tone.
Bill felt compelled to lay bare his soul for some strange reason, even though it was only to his gardener and the pretty neighbour. "I've battled with my faith for the best part of twenty years; that's almost all the time I've served God." He paused, taking a deep breath. "For months now, I've been plagued by nightmares. In these dreams, I see demons and creatures that look almost angelic, yet they are not. And in my wakened state, people I know - have known for years - suddenly appear deformed, hideous, demonic..."
"Well, I can understand if you see Janet that way," Lisa quipped, unable to shirk her dislike of the woman. Jamie grinned.
Oblivious to Lisa's comment, Bill continued. "I thought I was losing my mind. Part of me feared it was real, while another part considered it was a punishment for my past, a penance of sorts. I was not a good man before I took the cloth."
Jamie rolled his eyes and shook his head, disinterested. Lisa glared at him, annoyed by his flippant attitude.
"We don't have the time nor the inclination for a confession," he whispered to her.
