Everyone knew that Robert was a fine man. At the young age of thirty-five, he was a justice seeking lawyer, loyal friend, active community member, caring husband, and loving father. If anyone every needed help with anything, they could always call good ol’ Rob. Each day, Rob came home from a day of giving his clients everything that he could, and spent his time with his kids and wife. He kept the kids entertained while his wife, Hillary, made dinner, then he led them in prayer before digging in. Afterwards, he would read stories to them, kiss them goodnight, and tuck them in. Around eight o’clock, Rob would head down to the bar to meet up with his friends and relax after his log days, but he was always home in time to lay down with his wife.

Hillary was always so proud of Rob and everything he did for both his family and his town, so when he began to pull away from her, she simply assumed that the stress of his busy life was finally taking its toll on him. She tried in every way that she could to help him and make his life easier, but he begged off, claiming that he was just working on a big case, one that would have a huge impact on his career and on his life. It wasn’t until he started staying at work late and going to the bar early, took phone calls late at night, and kept everything he did secret, that Hillary grew suspicious. She called her mother, crying, and asked her to come over and watch the kids.

After he left, she grabbed her coat and followed behind him, staying in the shadows. She assumed he was having an affair and she wanted more than anything to be wrong, but if she was right, she wanted to know who this girl was. She almost felt silly when they reached the bar. He was just going to see his friends. He would never cheat on me. I know my husband, she thought. She almost turned around, but then she saw that he passed the bar. He kept walking until he reached the church. He walked around to the back and disappeared into the basement. Hillary waited five minutes before following her husband. There was no light to help her see, but there was a rail to lead her down the steep stairs. She thought she could see a flickering light at the bottom, and about twenty steps later, she could finally see, but how she wished that she couldn’t.

A roaring flame in the middle of the room illuminated the room and Hillary would have sworn it was from a nightmare. Runes were painted in dripping red all over the walls; an altar sat on the side of the basement farthest from her, satanic demons carved in; hooded men stood in a circle around the fire, heads bowed as if they were praying; but the worst sight of all was the three girls suspended from the roof of the basement, none of them over the age of sixteen. The man she assumed to be the leader spoke the, and with great horror she recognized the man’s voice as that of her husband.

“Brothers, today all our hard work, all our preparation will finally pay off. Zsarbaran shall rise and receive his sacrifice. He will shower upon us riches and we will be made kings on Earth. We shall want, take, and have anything we wish. Now come my brothers, let us commence the chant.”

Then the men began chanting nonsensical words. It would have been funny had Hillary not been terrified. As the men chanted, they slit their palms with the ceremonial knife and let their blood fall onto the fire. Hillary saw as the flames grew and changed colors. Red. Blue. Purple. Green. Black. She watched as Zsarbaran rose. She watched as the men waited in awe; their eyes had a twinkling quality to them, like children awaiting their presents on Christmas morning. She watched as the demon took the innocent girls as his sacrifice. Without her even thinking about it, her fingers dialed and the sirens came. She went home to her children. Her husband, or the man who had replaced him, was taken away. The demon was slayed.