The Spirit Box (6)

Chapter 6: The Snake from Heavens Gate

I hadn’t even left for work yet when tragedy struck the office.

As the early morning light seeped through the windows of the police station, a sudden explosion rocked the building. The night shift officers, not yet clocked out and minutes before their shift ended, scrambled to their feet and drew their weapons as a group of white-clad covered figures stormed into the station, firing shots into the air and throwing smoke bombs while humming chants.

In the chaos, some of the men broke into the holding cells and freed the prisoners, including a man named Jimmy Jacobson. They blew up a wall on the other side of the building to make their escape, leaving several injured officers and guards in their wake.

I got a call from Chief minutes before my alarm clock went off. He explained the situation.

“You’re kidding,” I said, the alarm on my phone finally blasting, muffling chiefs reply.

“Sorry, you cut out. What was that?”

“No, I’m not kidding. We think they’re left over followers of the cult, Heaven's Gate…” Chief said.

“Why does that name sound familiar?”

“Do you remember a man named Marshall Applewhite?”

“Wait, no? It couldn’t be? Didn’t they all die in a mass suicide thinking a UFO would abduct their souls or something?” I asked.

“Apparently, there were a few stragglers who got left behind. We think they freed the prisoners in an attempt to recruit new members. Would you mind coming in?”

“I was coming in anyway,” I said. I showered, ate, and left for work.

“I can’t believe that snake still has followers,” I said.

“Have you seen the news?” Chief asked me when I walked in.

“How could I? I was driving here?” I asked.

Chief pointed to the television.“It’s been playing all day.” Chief turned up the volume.

Jimmy, one of the freed prisoners, inhaled from a spirit box, then made a speech, his eyes blazing as he began to speak:

"I am the reincarnation of Marshall Applewhite.

I am the river through which all other rivers flow!

My brilliance outshines the sun, my power greater than the tide.

All that exists pales in comparison to my glory, for I am the source of life and the center of the universe.

Bow down before me, for I am your master, the ruler of all that is seen and unseen.

My wisdom is infinite, my beauty unmatched, and those who oppose me shall know my wrath.

I am the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega, and all that exists does so only by my grace.

None can compare to my grandeur or my might, for I am the river that shapes the course of history."

The entire station watched in horror as Jimmy declared his power and demanded that the city bow down to him.

“What do you think he’s planning?” I asked.

“Nothing good,” Chief said.

Emily walked into the station.

“Guess she decided to take the bus,” I grumpily mumbled.

Emily walked into Chiefs office.

“Wow, the station is in ruins,” Emily said.

“No shit, Sherlock!” I said.

“Did you see the news?” Chief asked Emily, who looked at the television screen.

“What a maniac,” Emily said.

“You should know,” I mumbled.

“What?” She screeched.

"I said, we have to stop him," I smiled.

"But how?" Yi asked. "He's clearly unhinged, and he has an army of fanatics at his command."

"We need to figure out what his next move is," I said. "He must have some sort of plan."

“We could pretend to be cult members,” Yi suggested.

“That sounds dangerous,” Chief said.

“Let’s send Emily,” I said.

“Hey!” She screeched.

“That’s actually not a bad idea. You could use Ann O'Delia Diss Debar to give Marshall Applewhite a reading. He’s delusional enough to listen. Then you could offer to join his cult, learn a thing or two, then report back to us about anything you learn,” Yi said.

“Fine. Just be glad I’m desperate for work,” Emily said and crossed her arms.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be your backup,” I said and smiled.

“How do we even find this guy?” Emily asked.

“The statue in the background is the statue in the Blue Mercury parking lot. I say we start there,” I said and smiled.

Officer Yi and I drove with Emily to the parking lot.

We got out of the car and I pointed to a building.

“They’re in there!” I said and nodded my head to a building.

“How do you know?” Emily asked.

“There shouldn’t be two hulking night club bouncers standing outside a toy store. Especially since yesterday, that toy store was the bar competing with Blue Mercury. I doubt they actually changed it to a toy store since last night,” Yi said.

“Well, that is suspicious,” Emily agreed.

We inhaled our spirits and approached the building.

“Hi. Do we need an appointment to join your group?” I asked.

“State your purpose,” one of the hulking guards said.

“To… join the collective,” Yi said.

“Yes, I’d be really interested in hearing Jimmy speak,” Emily said.

“You mean Marshall Applewhite?” The other hulk said.

“Yes, of course. It’s so amazing he’s reincarnated,” Emily said.

“What’s our mission?” The first hulk asked.

Emily uneasily stammered.

“I… uh… to… recruit the best…. Be the…”

I interrupted, “to get our souls abducted by comet following aliens,” I said.

“It almost sounds like you’re mocking us,” the first hulk said as they reached for weapons.

“John smash!” John said and I punched the first hulk into the wall so hard it cracked, and Yi took out the second.

We quickly changed into their clothes and hid them in the bushes.

We walked Emily inside. Marshall noticed us immediately and parted the crowd to approach us.

“Aren’t you two supposed to be watching the door? And who’s this?” Marshall asked.

“This is Ann O'Delia Diss Debar. She’s apparently a psychic and has a message for you,” I said.

“Oh, how fun. What’s your message, Ann?”

“Oh, you can call me Miss Diss,” Emily said.

“Miss Diss, please enlighten us with your news of the future,” Marshall said.

“Your group will have all the members it needs, provided you let me help you recruit. What’s in your future is a victory, all members reaching heavens gate. You are truly a god on earth,” Emily said.

Marshall Applewhite smiled morbidly, then said “I knew there was something a little off about you three. You see, our goal, despite our name, isn’t to actually reach heavens gate. It’s to have the aliens give us new bodies. Just like the aliens found Jimmy's body for me.”

Most of the followers in the room took out knives and one guy broke a glass bottle and pointed it at us, then gave us the death stare.

“Thats wasn’t aliens, that was a spirit box, you idiot!” Emily shouted.

“Kill them,” Marshall said.

“Emily, run!” I said.

“We got this,” Yi said.

Emily ran outside as Yi and I started punching, kicking and throwing the onslaught of followers all over the room.

Then a few of them took out guns, and we dove behind the bar and took out ours.

When they stopped shooting, we jumped up and returned fire.

“I got one,” I shouted.

“I got three,” Yi said.

When they reloaded and were about to return fire, Yi and I grabbed chairs and threw them so hard, most of the followers were knocked out.

One last follower was standing and his bullet grazed my ear. I fired back, hitting his face, his body slammed to the ground.

“Freeze, Marshall,” I said, Yi and I pointing our guns at him.

“Wait, don’t shoot. It’s me, Jimmy. Marshall tricked me. You wouldn’t shoot an innocent man. You’re cops,” Marshall said.

“Nice try, Marshall, but Jimmy didn’t sneeze you back into your box. We know it’s you!”

“You’re right, it’s me. But you’ll never stop us. Time to find another new body,” Marshall said and pointed a gun at his head.

“Marshall, don’t….” I tried to say. But Marshall pulled the trigger, blowing Jimmy's brains all over the wall.

“Damn,” I said, as Jimmys body collapsed.

“Follow the leader,” one of his followers said and the few followers that were left followed suit and shot themselves.

“Well, time to call the coroner,” I said.

We turned around and were about to walk out of the bar when we heard a moaning sound.

Jimmy and all the dead bodies on the ground began to stand.

“What the actual shit?” I said.

“Body… new body…” several of them moaned.

“The spirits never left the body after the mass suicide. They were never sneezed back into their boxes. They’re keeping the bodies alive, in a sort of zombie like state,” John explained.

“Damn it, spirit zombies,” I said.

Yi and I started blasting our way through the zombies until we ran out of ammo.

“Let’s go,” I said.

“No shit!” Yi shouted and we ran out of the bar.

We closed the doors behind us and leaned against them.

“Emily! EMILY,” I shouted. She got out of the car.

“What,” she shouted.

“Start the car,” I said and threw her the keys.

“Why,” she said.

“Now,” I screamed as more zombies were pushing against the door.

She started the car and as Yi and I ran towards it the zombies busted down the door.

We jumped inside and Emily shouted “What the hell are those things?”

“Zombies! Drive, drive, drive!” I screamed.

Emily floored it and went over the sidewalk before hitting the car in front of us.

“Sorry, Fred,” she said.

“Apologize later! Drive like hell now!” I shouted.

Emily backed up then drove off.

“Freaking god damn zombies? For real?” Emily asked.

“Mass suicide… spirits weren’t ejected… kept dead bodies alive,” I said, huffing.

“What do we do?” Yi asked

“Get backup at the station. Shoot the hell out of the zombies,” I said.

“There’s a better way,” John said.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Find their spirit boxes. They should be in the building we were just in. Once someone is dead, the boxes can pull the spirits right out without them sneezing. One of the people I was in died, and it was done to me,” John said.

“So let me get this straight. You want us to walk past all the zombies, go back into the building where the zombies came from, find their spirit boxes, and hope we don’t get eaten before getting their spirits back into the boxes?” I asked John.

“Yes,” John replied.

“Sure. What the hell!” I said and shrugged.

“I got this,” Emily said and made a U turn.

“What are you doing, exactly, Emily?” I asked.

“You’ll see,” she said.

The zombies were still outside the building.

She floored it and ran the zombies over, then crashed the car through the doors.

“You’re in so much trouble if insurance doesn’t cover this,” I told Emily.

“Gee, I’m only trying to save the world from a zombie apocalypse.”

We got out of the car.

“Where too, John,” I asked.

“Behind the door,” John said and pointed my hand in the direction of the door.

On the other side of the door was a stack of thirty spirit boxes.

“How do we know which ones are for the surviving zombies,” I asked.

“You don’t. Open them all and put them in front of you. Whichever ones are correct will pull the spirits from the zombies when they get here,” John said.

We very quickly set the boxes up, the zombies slowly walking towards us, and right before they had a chance to eat our brains we had them all set up.

We could see the souls being pulled from the living corpses, one by one. Marshall’s soul was the last, slowly coming out of Jimmy.

We could hear him shouting, “Nnoooo, I’ll be back!” Before the box had him back inside. I quickly closed Marshall’s box before he had a chance to escape.

All the zombie bodies collapsed.

“Damn, that was close,” I said.

“To close,” Yi said.

“I’m predicting a pleasant rest of the day,” Emily said and smiled.

“Thanks, Miss Diss,” I said.

Yi cracked a smile, and we all started laughing.

Yi and Emily helped me hold the spirit boxes until the Uber took us back to the station, since we had to have my car towed.