Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 126547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
The altar creaked, but when Adam searched for the source of the noise with vision blurred from tears, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. His eyes wandered over the portrait of the former pope on the side wall and then up the figure of Eve, but despite his senses screaming in alarm, he couldn’t find the strength to move.
Something stirred in the wooden leaves of the Tree of Knowledge. His first thought was that perhaps it was the shadow of one of the tall poplars that grew around the parish buildings, but no.
What Adam saw threatened everything he believed about the world. The snake carved in wood over three hundred years ago twitched, and then its body slid down the trunk as if he hadn’t gained flexibility only seconds ago, but had always been made of flesh.
Adam jumped to his feet when the beast let out a hiss that echoed under the ceiling, as if there was much more space above than the physical size of the church should allow. The snake dropped to the floor with a wet slap and crawled towards him, leaving a bloody trail on the polished wooden floor.
“Oh God…” Adam’s first instinct was to escape the building the way he’d entered it, but the serpent already blocked his way, its thick flesh zig-zagging in a wave-like motion as it approached Adam at an unsettling pace. It wasn’t even made of wood anymore. It was alive. “It can’t be… you… you’re not real…” Adam’s breath hitched as he stumbled backwards, eyes never leaving the huge reptile. He had to reach the main entrance if he wanted to get out of this alive.
“This is my domain. Your God doesn’t reside here, Adam.” It was words and hissing at the same time, as if the serpent spoke straight to his soul.
Maybe it was the fear talking, but the snake seemed to grow as it approached Adam, followed by a path of darkness. The candles flickered and eventually waned, only to turn into black voids one by one, and all Adam was left with was the cool glow coming through the narrow windows.
“No… get away from me!” Panicked, he turned to face the main entrance and dashed toward it, desperate to leave the church. How could a demon enter this place? Had it been desecrated?
It might have been. After all, he could have drawn blood during the whipping, which meant that the demon was telling the truth—they weren’t in the house of God anymore. He’d soiled his one sanctuary.
The snake’s red eyes glowed like torchlights as it wriggled down the center of the nave. “I will rid you of your pain.”
Adam screamed, stumbling into the vestibule, and yanked on one of the heavy door bolts. His blood went cold when it remained immobile. “No… no… no no no!” He choked out a sob, frantically jerking the iron handle with trembling hands, even though deep down he knew it was hopeless. “God save me… please, save me!”
He spun around when the demon blocked him from running back to the altar, gliding into the vestibule with its bloodied jaws open to show two rows of needle-like fangs.
“I promised you peace, didn’t I? Do not be afraid, Adam. I know what you need…”
Adam’s heart clenched in fear, and he backed into the corner, wishing he’d worn a cassock after all, just to have another layer of cloth to protect him from the monstrous reptile and its teeth.
Those rows of poisonous spikes were all Adam thought about when he felt a burning sensation at the side of his neck. With a strangled cry, he tried to rip the snake off, choke it, squash its heat with his hands, but all his hands found was his own skin.
It was only when pain bit at his fingers as well, Adam realized holy water was boiling in the container above him, some of it splattering and spilling to pool on the floor. Twin flames loomed in front of him, and a chilling hiss trailed up Adam's body. His heart sunk.
Sensing his despair, the demon leapt forward too fast for Adam to react, and wrapped its thick body around his legs, its head held high like that of a dancing cobra. Adam's mouth fell open, his stomach shrinking into a tight ball, but before he managed to snap out of the trance, the serpent held his arms in a bruising grip. Moments later, he was eye to eye with the monster.
“Embrace it. You know you want to,” the demon hissed, opening its jaws wide enough to showcase the dark depths of its throat.
“No… no!” Adam squeezed his eyes shut, shifting his focus to prayer, rendered powerless by this creature that came for him straight from Hell. “Our Father, who art in heaven—”
Adam's words were cut short when his mouth filled over its capacity. Something hot was pushing in, gagging Adam when it hit the back of his throat. His eyes shot wide open, and he grabbed the snake where he could reach it, desperate to stop it from getting any farther, but he couldn’t even wrap his hands over the beast’s girth. The demon was entering him, inch by inch, and spread Adam’s jaw beyond capacity. He felt the serpent’s head moving down his throat, blocking his air duct. He couldn’t breathe. Dizzy with nausea, he started seeing double, and there was no one here to help him.