Chad, Michael and Diego-Final Exam?

Prompts:Write a story about a secret group or society and a story about a test or exam with a dangerous or unexpected result.

Chad, Michael and Diego-Final Exam?

I attend one of the most non-prestigious city colleges along the eastern seaboard. Surprisingly, it has a large student body, probably because many cannot afford the hoity toity Ivy League school tuitions. The college is a menagerie of people.Faces constantly come and go. None seem familiar from week to week. Most students live in student apartments within walking distance to the main campus. My two friends and I were no exception. Chad, Michael, and I would do the daily grind toward the cramped quadrangle to attend our classes. Neither of them would say anything to me or to each other. They would walk quietly mesmerized by the monotony of the hike, rarely saying a word unless coerced by my comments.

The air was crisp. One could feel the changes in the season. Soon Fall would be upon us bringing an unsettledness to the campus. Of the three of us, it turns out I would be the only one feeling this dread. To cut through the tedium of the walk, I often wondered out loud about the steam that hissed through the grates dotting the walkways of the campus quad. Frequently, eerie noises accompanied the moist, hot gases as they rose up from the grates which spewed out at a torrential rate. It was disturbingly violent. In the Fall the turbulence peaked during the autumnal solstice until Winter’s first frozen breath. Chad and Michael would walk right through the hot vapors, dismissing it as overflow from the university’s boiler heating system.

Chad turned to me saying, “Lighten up Diego. A little steam bath never hurt anyone. It helps to clear my skin pores and sinuses.” He chuckled at his own humor and would not stop until we got to class.

Winter was upon us now. I would have expected heavy clouds of steam but there was not even the slightest belch. Nothing. Not a puff. It just did not add up. Again, Chad and Michael, the boiler gurus, said that all of the steam went directly into the buildings and there was no need to vent off the extra steam from the pipes.

Michael became annoyed with me saying “Diego, take a chill pill. You don’t need to worry about the steam. You need a cooling off period.” He smirked at his own lame humor.

I responded saying, “Perhaps this might make sense from a thermal perspective, but it does not resonate well with me. And I am not talking about pipes resonating sweet music either.”

Michael wryly said, “Be careful dude. A watched pot never boils. But when it does it might just spit back at you.” Both of my clown friends broke into hysterical laughter. Not sure they realized it made no sense, at least to me.

Winter remained uneventful. No steam puffing on my cold hikes to class. Similarly, the Spring semester seemed to fly by transitioning right into Summer. I stayed on campus as did Chad and Michael to catch up on our studies. But my ulterior motive was to keep one eye open on those steam vents. Nothing had materialized yet, but I did hear once again ominous shrieking sounds, followed with clanking and screeching noises on my way back to my apartment in the twilight. Strangely, it was my guess that no one else on the campus was hearing them. Possibly, they were too wrapped up in the socio-political issues of the day. Campus protests were increasing in numbers, size, and emotional intensity. In all likelihood, the only pressure students were really concerned with was the volatility of their grades on their midterm exams.

It was a couple of weeks before the Fall season would be in full swing this year.Despite my persistence, I had done nothing to satisfy my gnawing curiosity regarding the mysterious steam emissions. I vowed I would resolve the mystique of the bellowing emissions before Winter’s onset. Nothing would interfere; not even my feeble grade point average and indifferent friends.

However, I was lost on how to proceed. I guess at night I could open one of the grates and crawl into the duct. That attempt ended quickly when I learned that they were welded shut. It was early one day when I made my way to classes without Chad and Michael that I noticed a sinister looking skinny man dressed in all black. He was posting flyers on a few of the quad lamp poles.

I whispered to myself, “Hmmm, this could be a clue. The dude posting them looked freaky enough to warrant an investigation.I nonchalantly stopped at one of the posted flyers. I expected to read something ghoulish and terrifying but it simply said:

Beginning at midnight next Saturday at the Theology Hall join Professor B. Peor as he welcomes in the Fall Solstice.

A lively discussion on ancient Old Testament gods will ensue following his brief lecture on Hoodoo crafts.

Cider beverages will be served by the campus wiccans.

Let this be a spark to kindle the flames of a new energy inside you!

Whoa! This sounds interesting. It may not be an explanation, but the topic sounds bizarre enough to investigate. I discreetly pulled down the flyer crumpling it into my coat pocket to show Chad and Michael. I would discover later unbeknownst to me the stick figured man saw me take the flyer down. This would be right up our alley since we were religious studies majors. The three of us loved studying ancient history and ritual practices. I had not heard of this Professor Peor. I had doubts that he was tenured here and was visiting as a guest lecturer. I wondered if attending this event could be considered extra credit for our lack luster GPAs.

As soon as I returned to the apartment complex, I rustled up my compatriots hoping to spark a flame of interest in my latest discovery (pun intended). Both were sleeping in their respective studios so I had to prime them full of caffeine to get them to read the flyer. Chad and Michael tried to suppress their guffaws once they read it.

Sarcastically, Michael said, “Ok, let’s check it out.”

But Chad had a different spin. He said, ”I guess it wouldn’t hurt to learn more about dark arts practiced in the Old Testament. Yeah that’s exactly what we should do. We should learn more about magic and sinister practices that muddle and defy organized religions. By the way can we get extra credit? And who is this professor Peor?”

Michael grunted saying, I don’t know, but I am in.I’ll clear my calendar.”

The three of us for the next few days were on edge waiting for Saturday night. I tried to seek out Professor Peor on campus but no one in the business office at the Theology Hall had ever heard of him. But then again it was the business office. Figuring it would be a late night, the three of us on the morning of the event did our due diligence by completing our studies for the following Monday. A grip of fear momentarily got hold of me. So just in case, I added a note bequeathing my books and belongings to the incoming newbie Theology candidates.

Twilight was approaching. Chad, Michael, and I decided to head to the campus early to get a bite to eat and stake out the location. Neither one of us realized that there was no specific room designated at the Theology Hall.We stood inside the entryway of the hall.

Chad remarked, “So now what mastermind? Have we wasted our Saturday morning by doing homework? I was really hoping to sleep in.” Just as he was finishing his lament I noted in the corner of my eye, the stick figured man entering a room at the far end of the hallway. The three of us walked in a tight group like we were super glued together.

We entered into the room and the stick man addressed us. “Welcome. Are you here for the lecture and discussion? But of course you are! I noticed the other day you casually removed one of the flyers from the lamp post.How clever and deceitful to rob others of the opportunity to come tonight.”

Like a kid caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar I replied, “Oh yes, I admit I did that but not to prevent others from coming. I needed to make sure I would not forget to come. Could you tell me the room number Professor B. Peor will be lecturing?”

He said, “Why of course. I will do more than that. I will take you there.”

We followed him acting like we were still super glued together. His appearance was like the other day, dressed entirely in black.He was thin as could be and his face was full of wrinkles. He had beady eyes; spittle dribbled from his mouth when he talked. His pallor skin reminded me of a corpse going into rigor mortis.

He led us down several flights of stairs. I counted the flights in my head as we descended. One, two, three, four, five up to nine landings, eerily like Dante’s nine levels of hell. I think we ended up in the sub, sub, sub-basement of the Theology Hall on the other side of campus. At the final stop he slowly opened a massive wooden door.

Michael said, “Geez, this door must be centuries old, or maybe a millennium or two?”He looked at me whispering, “This really is creepy.”

We entered and all around us there were lighted candles. Waiting for us were six women attired in white robes or tunics. Each tunic had different symbols, but I noticed they all had in common a pentagram image. I humored myself by thinking ‘wannabe witches majoring in mysticism?’ Ten chairs were aligned in a semi-circle facing a closed curtain. I assumed that behind it was a podium for the speaker.I looked at my watch. It was already half past midnight with no sign of the Professor.

The wiccans then provided us with glass goblets filled with ‘fermented cider.’ I looked at Chad and Michael. They seemed to enjoy the attention from the women. The three of us were seriously gulping down the cider wine when the skinny man had left the room. He had only been gone for a short time when he returned dressed in a black tunic prominently showing a white pentagram. Impatiently, I asked him “when is this show going to start?” As I spoke two more weirdly attired people came in and sat down.

Skinny man said “Welcome. I am Professor Baal-Peor. The planets and stars have aligned in the heavens to bring you here tonight. It is for this special purpose we are together to create balance on earth. You are a generation lost without purpose. Your lives will have meaning when you pay homage to me, Baal-Peor. You are now in the presence of greatness. I am a manifestation of the past, the present and the future. You will revere me. You will honor me. Your souls will be mine forever.”

I looked over at the faces of Chad and Michael. Their jaws had dropped wide open and it seemed like their eyes were popping out of their heads from the skinny man’s words.I shook my head in disbelief. The wiccan servants opened the curtain behind the Professor. A grotesque façade featuring a horrid countenance stared at us. Its mouth had a very large opening to a raging inferno behind it. One of the wiccans instantaneously was consumed by the fires within when she opened the furnace mouth.

The remaining wiccans guided the two late arrivals to the front. Immediately, they professed their allegiance to the Professor.It was obvious that Chad, Michael, and I were paralyzed with fear. Our legs became like petrified wood. Escape at this point was no longer possible because the recent converts locked the door.

The skinny man arrogantly said, “You must bow down to me and praise the name of Baal with your lips. If not, your bodies and your souls will suffer torment. There will be wailing and gnashing of your teeth. There will be no escape, and no reprieve of your suffering. Do this now or you will be thrown into the eternal fires of Baal’s stomach! Those hopeless students in the past who resisted my decree experienced the harsh reality of my stomach.”

“I have a question,” as Chad sheepishly raised his hand.

The skinny Professor looked at him. “What? What do you not understand?”

“Is this our final exam for the Fall semester or will there be extra credit if we give you our so-called worship?” Michael and I looked at Chad incredulously while whimpering a feeble laugh.

Baal -Peor puffed himself up to ten times his original size splitting his tunic open. “How dare you mock me, you insignificant cockroach!I will step on you! You will be soiling your pants as you are dragged into the eternal flames. My mission is ceaseless on this earth to capture minions to populate my kingdom of darkness.You will not deter me you pathetic creatures! Nothing can stop my conquest of this pathetic humanity!”

Before Baal-Peor could finish, a rush of wind descended upon us. An incredible spiritual power filled our hearts, minds, and souls with magnificent strength and courage. The three of us stood up. We defiantly rebuked his words as we professed the Nicene, the Athanasian and the Apostolic Creeds in unison. (Afterall, we were religious studies majors). Baal-Peor’s servants grabbed us and threw us into the mouth of the furnace.The intensity of the heat was so great, his recruits succumbed and died instantly. On the other hand, we walked around inside it. We were not singed or burned by the flames. Incredibly, we saw a fourth person walking amid the flames unharmed as well. The unknown stranger showed me his pierced hands and the holes in his feet. Immediately, I knew His identity.

A moment later the fire imploded on itself. The furnace was gone and so was Baal-Peor and his enslaved accomplices. The fourth person had disappeared as well. We were standing right where the center of the furnace had been located. Chad, Michael, and I were unscathed. No burns, no charring. We did not even smell like smoke.

It seemed like we were like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the Old Testament book of Daniel who refused to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar throwing them into a fiery furnace. They remained faithful to the Most-High God regardless if He saved them from the flames or did not.

But, were we dreaming or was this chicanery perpetrated by the theology staff? Did we thwart a witchcraft coven? Or was this divine intervention by God? Chad still thought this was part of our final exam. My private thought was a reminder of who really is in control of creation. All glory and honor belong to Him. Our profession of faith through the creeds confirmed and revealed our faith in the Most-High God, Christ Jesus. He saved us that night and more importantly into eternity through His death and resurrection.

-END-

P.S. We documented our experience in a co-authored class report, signing it as Chad, Michael, and Diego. Chad got his extra credit.

Some advice. Be wary of skinny professors wearing black and venting steam on the campus walkways. One never knows what lurks underneath it and who is the perpetrator.

Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music must fall down and worship his image of gold, and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. (Daniel 3: 10, NIV)

They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods; they aroused the Lord’s anger by their wicked deeds, and a plague broke out among them. (Psalm 106: 28-29, NIV)

When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the Lord your God. (Deuteronomy 18: 9-13, NIV)

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12, NIV)

This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1: 5-7, NIV)

NIV=New International Version

Author: Pete Gautchier

Acknowledgement: Reedsy.com prompts