The Devil's Pet

Chapter 7

Sean awoke from his encounter with Sam and Anthony James sitting upright in a small dark room. Tired and disoriented, it took a few seconds for him to recognize his surroundings. He was sitting in a confessional booth. As if his life hadn’t turned strange enough, he hadn’t been in one of these since he was a child and his mother told him he had to go because “it was good for his soul”. This had to be another dream, right? Waking up from one dream to be in another had never happened to him before, at least he didn’t think so but he couldn’t be sure as dream memories are often fleeting, but he didn’t think so.

Reaching across the booth, he peeled back the heavy purple drape covering the doorway and peered out. Many rows of candles lined one above the other against a stone wall dimly lit a cavernous ancient church. Drawing a breath he tasted a damp, musty smell in the air, it certainly felt real. This was no bar, there was no whiskey and Sam was nowhere in sight so he decided to go looking for him. He stood up and was about to walk out into the church when a voice emanated from inside the booth.

“Are you ready my Son?”

This wasn’t Sam’s deep, pleasant voice, it sounded more like it was forced through the reeds of an old musical instrument.  High pitched and raspy, it rose and fell rhythmically as if recited from a hymnal.

Wherever his location, it was becoming clear this wasn’t Sam’s work, so then who? Only one way to find out he thought. Strangely enough Sean was getting used to being confused, he pulled the curtain closed and sat back down. Confessionals had always given him the creeps when he was young, looking around he saw no reason to change his mind now. The darkened booth was the size of a small broom closet with a hard wooden bench along the wall for a seat. On the opposite side wall was a small square opening covered with a cloth lined screen leading to an adjoining booth.  It was dimly backlit revealing the shape of someone behind the screen.

“Are you ready to confess your sins my son? How long has it been since your last confession?”

Since he was raised as a Catholic Sean grew up fully indoctrinated to the faith but had stopped going to church after his mother died many years ago. Still, he could remember the words, the cobwebs were coming off his memory and he replied, “Oh yeah, I remember this, uh . . . Bless me Father for I have sinned, it has been, um . . . a long time since my last confession. That’s right isn’t it?”

“Yes, the words are fine my son, what about your intentions? Do you truly seek repentance?”

“My intentions? I don’t know how I got here, or even where here is. Are you a priest, should I call you Father or what?”

“I am allowed to hear your confession and grant you absolution, if that is what you wish. You may call me Father. Where you are is unimportant, why you are here is what matters. You have been approached by evil and you are reaching the point of choice soon, which is why you are here.”

“Approached by evil, you mean Sam?”

“Satan comes in many forms my Son. You have been visited by one of them. Satan rarely inhabits the human form, but when he does, the souls of those he touches become as ash in the wind. Only by your faith and use of your free will can you avoid eternal damnation.”

Sean was beginning to realize who he was talking to. “Forgive me Father for my ignorance, but are you an Angel?”

“Your ignorance is understandable my Son. It is important for you to know that your faith, not your intellect will guide you to the right choice. I am but a humble servant of the Lord, my God, here to assist guiding you.”

If he was deemed important enough to be visited by a servant of God, an angel, then he thought maybe there was some hope for him after all. Sean felt emotion well up inside him unlike anything he had experienced since he was a child seeking comfort in his mother’s arms. He wanted someone to make his world right, to make the trouble go away.