The Barn Ch. 09

"I don't have words to thank you Dr. Orion," Amos solemnly said. "If you can take the memories away from Luke, Sarah, Rachel, and the rest of these folks, it would be a blessing. Maybe you could do the same for me and Luke Jr.?"

"I wish I could, my dear fellow," Thaddeus Orion replied, "but you and your great-grandson must remember these events. Both of you are strong enough to carry that burden with you, and I know that neither of you will ever relate what has happened here to anyone else. You are to be my watchers and if at anytime something strange begins to happen in this place, you shall call me and I will come."

"But Luke Jr. don't need to know about all this," complained Amos. "At least make him forget and I will be your watcher."

"I wish it were that simple," Dr. Orion firmly gripped Amos's shoulder, "but the years will go by and you need to pass your watchfulness on to someone else. Have faith in the character of your great-grandson. I see within him the same will and integrity, which you hold so dear. He will not fail or falter as a watcher."

"This will haunt us for the rest of our days," stated Amos.

"I know it will, but such is the fate of those who must stand guard against evil. In time the horror you now feel will diminish. Do not think less of your family members, or any of these other people who have taken part in the events, which have taken place in this barn. They did not do so of their own free wills. They were dominated by an evil being, which enslaved them to its desires.

"Please go up to the house and close the barn doors as you leave. I shall come up to the house shortly."

Amos silently nodded and did as the doctor asked. Once he reached the house, Amos was met by Luke Jr. who asked him many questions. Amos could only tell the boy that the evil in the barn was gone and that Dr. Orion would come up to the house to explain more in a little while. Twenty minutes later, Dr. Orion knocked on the door and Amos let him inside.

"I have only a short time to get to the church and tend to the children," the doctor explained before turning his attention to Luke Jr. "Neither of you must tell anyone about what you have witnessed this night. An unimaginable evil has vanished from this world. I shall make sure that you know where to reach me at all times and if anything, no matter how small, seems strange to either of you, I want you to call me."

Both Amos and Luke Jr. nodded their agreement. The younger Luke, with tears in his eyes, then ran over to the doctor and hugged him. "Thank you for saving my folks. I seen that thing and it was terrible. I just want us to move away from this place."

"My dear boy," Dr. Orion hugged the lad as tears filled his own eyes, "I wish it was so simple, but you and your great-grandfather must be here to guard against the return of the entity. Many people run their whole lives from evil but by doing so the evil grows. I know it is a heavy responsibility, but the two of you need to watch and wait; although, nothing may ever happen in your lives. I truly hope that I have forever banished the demon. Can you be brave enough to be my guardian, Luke?"

"I don't like it none," the boy said, "but I reckon if my great-grandpa can do it, so can I."

"Good," the doctor freed himself from Luke's embrace and turned to the door, "I have to get to the church, but I will be in touch."

Amos and Luke Jr. watched Dr. Orion drive away from the house and half an hour later the door of the barn opened and people began to go out and get into their cars to drive away. Before long Luke, Sarah, Rachel, and Mark came laughing up to the house.

"I thought you two sick ones would be a sleep by now," Sarah said. "How are you feeling?"

"I think we could be better," Amos said, "but then things could be a whole lot worse."

"How are you Ma and Pa?" asked the younger Luke. "Rachel, how are you?"

"Son," the boy's father answered him, "we are just fine. You missed a great party. I wish you had felt good enough to go with the other kids to the church, but there will be other happenings. We all had a great time, but I think we had better get to bed. Thanks for waiting up for us, but you didn't have to do that."

"Did little Eve cause you any trouble?" Sarah asked.

"Not a bit," replied Amos.

"Well, I had better get going home," Mark said. "I guess I sort of lost track of the time what with all the gospel music and fun. I'll see all you before long."

Rachel saw her boyfriend out to his car as the rest of the family made their way to their beds. Luke Jr. felt strange as his parents tucked him into bed. He thought about the evil, which he had seen mark them, and he wished he could say something to his mother and father; however, he held his words and thoughts to himself from that day forth.

In the days that followed Amos and Luke Jr. seemed standoffish to the rest of the family but as the hot days of summer passed, and everyone seemed normal, Amos and Luke Jr. relaxed and life resumed much as it had done before Micah had come on the scene. Everyone in the family, except Luke Jr. and Amos, believed that Micah had decided to resume his travels half way through the start of summer party. Luke and Sarah recalled him only as a hired man who was good a fixing the equipment, while Rachel thought she had first met him at the party.

Summer became fall, which was followed by winter and at Christmas the family received a Christmas card from Dr. Thaddeus Orion. Sarah almost threw the card away; however, Amos told her that the doctor was a friend of his and Luke Jr. In the years that followed each Christmas a card from the doctor would arrive, which boldly displayed the man's address and phone number.

It was in 1976 that Amos passed from this life and everyone felt the void of his death. A short time later Rachel and Mark married and moved to the north of the state. Twelve years later Luke senior suddenly died from a heart attack and the younger Luke stepped up to take on the duties of man of the house.

Luke Jr. married a couple of years after his father died. He his wife, Jane, and Sarah lived happily together. Jane and Luke had three children, the youngest was born in 1998 and the horror from the past seemed long buried and forgotten. Although Sarah felt heavily the loss of her husband, she fell into the role of grandmother with gusto and life was good.

The year 2007 saw the customary Christmas card from Thaddeus Orion arrive. Over the years the doctor's phone number and address had changed but without fail he always sent a card. Luke Jr. would always feel slightly troubled when the doctor's card arrived. In the depth of his heart he wanted to forget the awful happenings, which had taken place in the barn.

It was in late February of 2008 that Luke Jr. noticed a dark spot on the far wall of the barn. He felt a cold blast come forth from that spot, which caused his breath to turn to vapor. Outside the barn the weather was fairly warm, but toward the far end of the barn, the air felt frigid. Memories of the past came flooding back into Luke's mind and he ran into the house to dial a phone number from a Christmas card he had received.