The Strange Cases of Detective Warren Stevens
The Strange Cases of Detective Warren Stevens
One Step Behind
Jonah and Maggie .. if you excuse the pun... fly into danger.
Only to discover they have arrived too late and Warren is missing. And after reviewing the camera footage Jonah makes another horrifying discovery. His friend is dying.
Yet, he's so close to catching Silus or Cassandra... they're within his grasp!
Meanwhile, Alex remains in pursuit only to discover something horrifying of her own. The reason for Ipswich ... and the reason they want her to pursue.
The following podcast is a work of fiction. Characters or the creation of Peter Williams. Any resemblance to someone living or dead is purely coincidental. Thank you. Hi, this is Peter Williams, and I hope you're enjoying Detective Warren Stevens and Atlas Good Night. I just wish to ask you politely to check out my book on Amazon, Acolyte. It's out there for sale right now. And if you love the podcast, I'm sure you will love the book. That's Acolyte, available on Amazon. Thank you. And chapter nine is coming right ahead. A crow circling as a man races to a scene marred by chaos, only to be left dumbfounded by what he finds. What choice he makes may seal Warren's fate to chase the shadows or chase the dying light. But before we see which way the coin will flip, let me remind you that this podcast may contain images of graphic violence, child endangerment, adult situations, and naughty, salty language. Now, now we will find what Jonah will choose as we dive into chapter 9, One Step Behind. Maggie circled above the coffee shop as Jonah, still far in the distance, followed below. It had been a while since Jonah had used his abilities to this level, and in truth, he could feel every step. No longer having his left arm that held back the demonic energy, it now flowed freely throughout his body, making it difficult to tap. If Mr. Alster hadn't insisted on him training to function so, he would have been lost, or perhaps consumed by the very darkness that he had consumed. For it wasn't that he had eaten one demon, he had eaten thousands. The more powerful, the harder to digest. Even now, the remnants of Cilen, the demon that had killed his baby sister, still flowed through his blood. That one in particular was difficult. It would whisper to him in the darkness, mock him with its mere presence, even nag him, hoping to draw him into the darkness to feed on the innocents as it had done. His only consolation was that the cross that had been embedded into his hand had not been lost. It now hung around his neck, a gleaming reminder that he was loved. Loved by his grandmother, loved by Reagan, his baby sister, loved by his parents, and loved by the very word made flesh. But sometimes pain makes a man forget these things, and these last few years, the pain was excruciating. In truth, as much as he was angry with Mikhail about being exiled to the tower, it was also perhaps a chance to regain control over his faculties and power. But as I have mentioned before, it also grew his desire for retribution and revenge. Maggie watched him as he approached. From this vantage point, he couldn't see what Maggie could. She could see much more than just the building. She could see the very story it had to tell. She took it all in, her raven-like eyes emitting a deep crimson light. And what Maggie saw, what she learned from that sight, concerned her greatly. Her sight made it clear as it revealed the trail of dark energy imprinted from beneath the structure. But something else mixed in with it, something new. Darting back towards Jonah, she started relaying her concerns. Kawh! How bad? Kawh! You sensed what? Kawh! What in the word could have caused that? Maggie didn't answer. She couldn't express what she felt. What was the type of energy wrapped or perhaps overlaid the trail left behind by Cassandra? The only hope remained is that she spied no vehicle and she was picking up the wisp of some strange energy swirling on the wind, growing fainter by the minute. Jonah picked up his pace at the news and arrived at the coffee shop. He immediately sensed the same overwhelming presence left behind by Cassandra. Her energy contained a unique signature, or I should say, fingerprint. Smell? Like I said, unmistakable. Standing outside the facility, he looked over the large windowpane. It was stained and smeared with a black residue. A camera scans and picks up on his presence, and he can hear a computerized voice.
SPEAKER_01:Jonah Hallander recognized. Access granted.
SPEAKER_00:A heavy bolt turns as if Warren had been keeping gold inside. The doors open with a pop and a hiss. He was tempted to call Warren paranoid between the cameras, heavy locks, and AI subsystem. It was clear he was keeping any human element out. However, as he stepped through the door, the demon energy in his system screamed. Holy objects had been placed above the door, windows, and even without seeing them, he could tell that more had been placed throughout the coffee shop. Warren wasn't paranoid, he was thorough. Looking around at the mess left behind by the struggle, he began to use his own basic knowledge of detector work to figure out what had gone on here. The floor-drain cap had been pushed off, maybe best described as popped off, with a violent force that had sent it into the far corner of the kitchen area. The cap embedded into the corner of the ceiling, just missing the camera. Whatever had happened here had been recorded. A wave of black ick had sprayed, covering 60% of the cabinets, the equipment, and stained the floor and the drain itself. Something had cut into Cassandra, causing serious damage. But what? Maggie flew in behind and landed on his shoulder. Any ideas, Mags? I agree. A new holy weapon has been used, but Gua! Yeah. And no Warren and He didn't want to say it, but it was clear Warren had lost a lot of blood. Although not as clear as the black ig, puddles of drying red could be seen in between the drag marks leading to the office in the back. Gua! Yes, we should check that out just in case. Office was disheveled. The desk was covered with scattered papers and an unusual box covered in blood. Warren must have crawled here after being injured. But from where? He hadn't seen He spied the answering machine. The phone above it destroyed from a tentacle-sized hole. That meant Cassandra had destroyed it. But why? He was about to play back the message when Maggie called him into a small control center hidden in a closet. Monitors inside and outside allowed him to see every nook and cranny of the coffee shop. The only rooms not on the camera were Alex's room, obviously, Warren's room, and again, obviously, the bathroom. Let's see if I can play this back. But when? What time? Right, the answer machine. It would give me the time the message was left and Maggie. Play back that message. Maggie flies over and hits play. You have one new message from Wednesday, October 29th, 1.39 p.m. Wednesday? It had been nearly 24 hours since the incident took place. No Alex. No sign of Warren. What had gone on? Sitting down behind the computer monitors, Jonah right-clicked on the camera that showed the kitchen area. A small drop box with a counter and time appears at the center of the screen. Jonah changes the time to 10 minutes before the message and presses play and increases the speed six times the normal pace. At 1332, he watches as the cap to the floor drain explodes and a puddle of black ooze deposits itself at the center of the room and expels the body of Warren. Jonah can see a trail of blood pouring from a wound just above his heart. Ooze congeals as if a jet of oil took form and formed into the shape of a woman. It turns as if looking around the room. It's then clear she's listening to the answering machine as Warren pulls himself across the floor, a stream of blood under him. Dona actually lifts his hand and places it over his friend as if he could help him. Warren, he whispers. Then Cassandra lifts her head and watches as a singular finger extends like a stream across the room and into the phone. Electrical sparks fill the air as she turns back to see that Warren is missing. Jonah watches as she follows the trail of blood and then disappears off camera. Jonah pauses the video. Which one's the office? Which one? Finding the right one, he clicks again to bring up the recording, but over and over it replies, nothing recorded. How? How you piece of crap? I know something happened in here. He returns to the camera of the kitchen area and at exactly 1.50 he sees a flash and that camera goes dead as well. Damn it, Warren! I need to know what happened. Nothing showed. He decided to check the entrance. That camera he knew was still working. It had identified him as he opened the shop. He brings it up and sets it to the time of the flash. A few minutes go by, nothing. And then a second flash from the kitchen area around 155. Then, bloody, ragged, Warren emerges out of the kitchen area. Something bright in his right hand, but Jonah can't make it out. Warren digs for his keys and exits through the front door. Jonah pauses. He looks in horror at what he prays is a trick of light. He can see straight through the man. Holy Kaw! Mags, can you sense what direction they took? Kaw! Jonah goes to move, to foul when his hand catches a folder and a singular picture slides out. Silas. Maggie calls at him to hurry, but Jonah sits back down and opens it and starts flipping through the folder. It shows him pictures of a motel, the car Silas is using, pictures of a young man with the name Zack written on the bottom, and pictures of a blurred structure at the edge of town. A structure that was and wasn't really there. Madam'alani's T's and oddities. Dunn understands the meaning behind the name Alani, the goddess of the underworld. Cassandra wasn't hiding, and anyone who had bothered to look into the name would have realized that, but but humanity had become a superficial species, only looking into the obvious, never digging unless it was to investigate a political or a paranormal thing like aliens. Cool! Maggie tried again to gain his attention. Warren was still slipping away, fading from this reality, and Jonah was reading a file. I know, I know, he growls, not out of anger, out of frustration. He now had two paths to follow. One to Silas and to Cassandra. The other in truth, he only had one direction. Kaw! Maggie pleaded, and Jonah rose again from behind the desk. Let's go. I know that Silas is gone. And it's unlikely Cassandra is still lurking nearby. Especially after Warren gave her such a thrashing. Kaw! Yeah. Let's pray my friend is still alive. When and if we find him. The pair tore off. Following the faint trail of energy. Alex raced after Silas, only knowing that his destination was a cemetery in Ipswich. But why there? What was so special about that cemetery? She didn't have time to stop, and like her previous trainers, she disliked using any technology. While they had made inroads into that domain, it basically belonged to the enemy. Filled with lies or half-truths that make you believe the lies, it was used to lower a person's self-countenance. You're not as wealthy, not as pretty, not as smart, you're a failure. While adults had more of a resistance to these lies, they still found these rabbit holes of deception that could confuse them. And the more confused, the more a person would have trouble believing in the truth. Even it was as plain as the nose on their face. And with children, it was even worse. They had completely open minds. They were trying to gain attention. Their parents more involved with their own toys or television programs and sports than wondering who their kids were talking to, what their kids were doing. The web was a festering cesspool of evil set to destroy children, their innocence, and these children being God's favorites, if you hurt them, you hurt him. Not having much of a choice, she activates AI on her smartphone. The Order had created one of their own, which they named Wisdom. Wisdom? She calls. A door? Do you mean something like a Solomon gate? Another pause.
SPEAKER_01:That description would be accurate, yes.
SPEAKER_00:She thought back to her training. Jonah had mentioned that there were three ancient gates that connected to the waste. The first in the Holy City, but that one had been destroyed centuries ago. The second, actually, like the tower, was kept outside of time. The third, however, it had never been found. Hidden by the enemy until they could figure out a way to use it for their dark purposes. That would mean they would also need a trigger. Summon or something that could activate it. Shit, she thought. She was in deeper peril than she had ever realized. And by following Zack, she may have given the enemy the one thing they needed, the one thing they desperately wanted. Adonai, please, be with me. Daylight is fading, and night quickly approaching as it does in late autumn. With our detective pursuing and our heroine understanding that not all doors should be opened. As we now turn to page to chapter 10, the Ancient Gate.