Brian Keene - Ghost Walk

As his father, Amos, used to say when he thought no one else was listening, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch or a charismatic evangelical Christian to live.”

Dee stomped her hooves and whinnied again. The air grew colder as the girl passed by. Across the parking lot, a baby shrieked. Dogs barked somewhere in the night. Levi mouthed a silent prayer:

“The cross of Christ be with me. The cross of Christ overcomes all water and every fire. The cross of Christ overcomes all weapons. The cross of Christ is a perfect sign and blessing to my soul. Now I pray that the holy corpse of Christ bless me against all evil things, words, and works.”

The young woman stopped a few yards away from him. Levi stole a quick glance at her. The girl turned her head toward him. Levi saw his reflection in her sunglasses. Dispensing with pretense, he continued out loud, his voice barely a whisper, issuing a challenge of sorts.

“Enoch and Elias, the two prophets, were never imprisoned, nor bound, nor beaten, and came out of their power. Thus, no one of my enemies must be able to injure or attack me in my body or my life, in the name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Ut nemo in sense tentat, descendere nemo. At pre cedenti spectatur mantica tergo .”

Ignoring him, the girl walked on. Dee calmed down after she was past them. Levi kept petting the horse, watching her go. Darkness swirled around her, blacker than the surrounding night. Levi shivered. He suddenly felt very cold. His stomach clenched and his breath caught in his throat.

Something was very wrong with the girl. She wasn’t human. Well, she had been at one time—recently, judging by her appearance. But no more. Now, she was something else. Not evil. Levi had faced evil many times, had seen it reflected in both human and inhuman beings. The girl wasn’t satanic. He was sure of it. If she had been, she would have responded to his challenge. This was something else, something beyond the Judeo-Christian pantheon or any of the world’s other major religions. Whatever the girl was—possessed, otherworldly projection, or pan-dimensional manifestation—she wasn’t evil. Her presence went beyond evil. He sensed it. Saw it in the girl’s aura. In the way she’d ignored his prayer.

Levi had some experience in such matters.

The Lord had put him here, that much was certain. God had sent him to the Safeway for groceries tonight so that their paths would cross. So that he would recognize the threat. This was his calling. His birthright. His curse.

He sighed. It was still a long ride home, and there was much to do once he got there. Levi rented a small, one-story house in Marietta. His neighbors pretty much left him alone, whispering quietly to each other about “the nice Amish man next door.” Levi found that mildly irritating. He’d tried explaining to them over and over that he was no longer Amish, but they still insisted on referring to him as such. Maybe it was because he still preferred the long beard of his former people, or perhaps because he still adhered to their plain dress code: black pants and shoes, a white, button-down shirt, suspenders, and a black dress coat, topped off with a wide-brimmed straw hat. Or because he drove a horse and buggy rather than a gas-guzzling SUV.

The rental property had a two-car garage out back. One half had been converted into a stable for Dee; Levi had turned the other section into a woodshop. During the week, he made various goods—coat and spoon racks, plaques, lawn ornaments, and other knickknacks—and sold them every Saturday at the local antiques market. It was an honest, decent living. The Lord provided. But Levi also had another, more secret occupation.

He worked powwow, as his father had, and his father before him. Patients, mostly the elderly who remembered the old ways, or the poor who couldn’t afford the more modern methods, came to him seeking treatments for various ailments and maladies. He dealt with everything from the common cold to arthritis. Occasionally, he’d be called upon for more serious matters: stopping bleeding or mending a broken bone. He usually saw two or three patients a month—not nearly as many as his father had tended to when he was alive—but, modern age, modern sensibilities. People didn’t need his help anymore. They didn’t even need doctors. Modern man had the Internet—a font of medical knowledge. The first thing Levi had done when he left the congregation was purchase a computer and dial-up Internet service. He hoped the Lord would grant him enough money to get a cable modem, but so far, none had been forthcoming. Levi loved the Internet. It symbolized all that was right and wrong with mankind. He found it fascinating. And useful to his trade. Many times, he’d exchanged notes and information with others around the world—faith healers, witch doctors, warlocks, shamans, hougans. Their differences in beliefs didn’t matter. They all answered to a higher purpose, and they all had something in common. They were outsiders, Levi and the others.

Despite his knowledge, Levi’s abilities had limits. There were no herbs or ingredients to combat cancer, for example. Only prayer could cure that, and the Lord didn’t seem inclined to oblige. Levi had experienced failures. They haunted him. But so far, his successes had far outweighed his failures. Yet there were times when he was charged with doing more than helping the sick or curing livestock.

This was one of those times.

“Thy will be done, Lord. Thy will be done. Although I wish you’d have let me get my ice cream and milk home before you called on me. They’ll go bad sitting out here. And I’ve still got to feed Crowley. Wouldn’t do to let him starve, unless you plan on sending him some manna.”

Dee neighed in agreement. Or maybe dis plea sure. Levi couldn’t be sure.

He needed to face this—whatever it was. Defeat it. But to do that, he needed its name. He needed to know what he was fighting. All power stemmed from naming. And the only way to discover the girl’s identity was to follow her. She was on foot and hadn’t gone far. He still sensed her, although distant. She was heading west, toward the river. He couldn’t follow her with the buggy. There was no telling how far she would travel, and Dee was already tired. Also, if she crossed the river, he’d have to use the bridge. Such an undertaking was dangerous. Tractor trailers barreled across the two-lane bridge at seventy miles an hour. If he was in front of them, they’d never be able to stop in time. He couldn’t do the Lord’s work if he was dead.

Even as he considered his options, he felt the girl’s presence getting farther away. If he followed on foot, he might lose her. Already, her aura was fading. No, there was only one way to follow her.

And he didn’t like it. He loathed it, in fact. It had been a long time since he’d done it, but now, it was a necessary evil. There was no other way.

Levi was afraid of flying. Afraid of heights. He had a fear of gravity.

“Thy will be done…”

He ran back into the grocery store and asked the manager if somebody could keep an eye on his horse and buggy. Levi explained that he had an important errand to run. The manager eyed the clock on the wall and pointed out that they closed in two hours. Unblinking, Levi stared him in the eye, made a slight motion with his finger and asked if the night shift would be willing to watch it for him. It was very important. Sighing, the manager agreed. Levi thanked him and left the store.

On his way back to the buggy, Levi rummaged through his pockets and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed his closest neighbor, Sterling Myers. The older man answered on the third ring. He sounded drunk. Southern rock music played in the background.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Sterling. This is Levi Stoltzfus. I hope I’m not disturbing you?”