Angel in Disguise

Chapter 1

In the night

It was the dead of night when they called, interrupting my work as always. But ignoring a call from one of the largest churches in the world wasn't something to be done lightly. So in spite of my dread, I answer it.

"We need you to come in early tomorrow, Father. There's been a miscommunication between the Sisters and they can't get the task done in time," I take a moment for a heavy and audible sigh.

"Is there another Priest within the entirety of the church that you could call at 3 in the morning, or am I just lucky?" I say with resounding sarcasm.

"W-Well, you see Father James it's just that- well you're the only one with any sort of.. expertise in this area,"  she stammers out. I understand what she's saying makes sense, but it didn't change my feeling of dread about having to go back to work after my retirement got interrupted.

"Yes, yes, I'll do it. Just have the subject in question ready and under surveillance by the time I arrive in the morning," One second of silence can speak a million words, really. The nun on the other side of the phone had taken a moment to let out a sigh of relief, but she quickly spoke again.

"T-Thank you, Father. You have no idea how much this means to us, we'll have him ready by morning," she said. After a mutual goodbye, I hang up and take a deep breath. In spite of my insomnia, I try my hardest to fall asleep so I can have a clear mind for the completion of my task in the morning (even though it's 5 hours away).

    Chapter 2

In the morning

My eyes open at 8 am, and despite my 5 hours of sleep, I feel refreshed. There's a cheery bird singing it's favorite song outside the window. Often I yearn to be a bird flying high, singing songs, or making a nest instead of the ins and outs of the daily struggle that turned out to be adult life. I force myself out of bed and into the closet, to get dressed for the day.

"It's got to be durable, or something that I won't mind getting a mess on," I groan to myself, still groggy from waking up. "But it has to meet the expectations of a Priest. Oh, I'm too old for this. A man at the age of 65 should not be exercising demons out of a teenager with the dull idea to play a Ouija board alone," Well, at least I'll get paid. "Besides, I took an oath to help people, and until my retirement is approved, I have to live up to it."

As I get into the car and start to drive I get a pit in my stomach.

"I had breakfast, nothing out of the ordinary either.. why do I feel sick?" I think to myself. "It's probably just nerves," I reason, as I settle into the journey back to work for the first time in 3 years.

    Chapter 3

At work again

I step through the doors as the airy smell of the church hits me again, sending a wave of memories through me.

"It truly has been a long time since I've done this," I mutter to myself. Though my voice was low, the echo carried it to the ears of Mother Eleanor. She approaches me with her familiar smile. Mother Eleanor and I were friends before I retired, now I'm unsure what she thinks of me because of it.

"Hello, Mother Eleanor. Long time no see?" I say trying to make a potentially heavy conversation light.

"Hello, Father James. Indeed it has been awhile."

"I've missed your smile-"

"I'll lead you to the subject.. he hasn't been cooperative," she says as she cuts me off.

"Well, I wouldn't expect him to. He isn't the teenager we see, his body is the host for a demon after all," I sound snarky, though I really didn't try to be.

"Yes, of course.. well, right this way."

"Right." She leads me down corridors that seemingly reached forever, though it might have been thanks to me stopping and taking in the scenery. I haven't seen or heard from the place in 3 years, after all. She takes me down 2 flights of never ending stairs and finally she leads me to a large, thick wooden door.

"This is it," she says, and slides open the peephole, "This is where he is.. the horrid thing.." she mutters under her breath.

"Alright, can I go inside?" I say hesitantly. I realize that there's a demon in there, but what else can I do other than my job? I feel as if there's something that I'm missing other than my willingness to do it.

"Yes, I suppose so. As long as you have what you need, that is."

"I guess I do," I try to force out a laugh but it surfaced weakly. "But first, I need you to do something for me. If I yell for help, don't open the door. Unless I'm finished with the exorcism, do not open this door. Do not let anyone in, or out. Do you understand?" She shakes her head sadly. Exorcising demons was never the hardest task for me, so why did I have such a dreadful feeling about this?

"Okay. Open the door." I say with fake confidence. "Oh, and Mother? Pray for me."

Chapter 4

In with the demon

The heavy door slams shut behind me. Now I stand in a cold, dark room, alone. With a demon. How can this possibly end badly, right? The boy appears to be himself, as of now. But everyone other than him knows what lie dormant. I approach him carefully, studying his behavior. He cries out to me for help, begging me to loosen his restraints. It's hard to tell if this is the boy or the fallen angel, considering that no one would want to be in a dark and dingy room by themselves. But this could also be the creature inside of him acting as the innocent teenager, so I knew I had to be extra careful.

"Do you know who Jesus Christ is? He is our Lord and Savior. Listen to me and you will not be harmed." I say this mainly to the boy, in prayer that God and His angels are having a holy battle for him.

"Y-Yes.. I know who He is.. I'm a Christian. My mother is too, she raised me to praise Him well. Where is she?" He appears to be in control of his mind and body, but I'm still cautious.

"Your mother dropped you off here, she was very concerned for you."

"Why? Have I done something wrong?"

"Well.. you broke some serious rules. What's the last thing you remember?" I need to know more information so I don't preach to the choir.

"The last thing I remember was.. eating dinner.. going upstairs.. and praying before I went to bed. That's all, sir, I swear."

"Oh, I see.. well, allow me to share with you the word of God. You may already know it well, but you can never have enough of it, can you?" I say this to ease his nerves, assuming that it is him in his body after all. He doesn't fight, or struggle against it the entire way through. I perform the exorcism without him resisting it, and at the end I pray over him. Either this is an angel mistaken for a demon, or he's just a normal boy again.

"Well, you seem to be fine. I've prayed something fierce over you, and you did not resist one moment of it. However, we're going to have to ask you to stay here for a week or two, just to make sure. A few more people will probably do this again. You truly are intriguing."

"Thank you sir. I understand, but can I have a few things brought to my room first? I can't go without my Bible for that long, sir. My mother will go ballistic if I do."

"Of course, who am I to deny a man a Bible? It'll be here tomorrow." I exit the room, bewildered but relieved. Perhaps the demon left upon the entry of the church, after all it was holy ground. The boy did not burn when I blessed him with holy water, he did not struggle against the prayers, nor did he resist the rosary. I decide to ask Mother Eleanor some questions about the boy, since she was the one who called me in the first place.

Chapter 5

After

"Mother Eleanor, may I ask some questions about the boy you've held here? Upon my inspection he seems to be perfectly fine, and a good Christian."

"Really? Is that so? Well, thank God for that," she said in an exhale. "What about him do you need to know?"

"What miscommunication was there amongst your Sisters that had you call me so early in the morning?"

"Oh, of course. Well, the Sisters were taking their daily walk together, confiding in one another about their week and-"

"Sorry, but could you skip to the part about the boy? I have something I want to confirm."

"Of course, Father. They stumbled upon this boy in the garden making the weirdest noise, and contorting his body in an unholy way. Foaming at the mouth as well, poor boy. At first we thought he had eaten a poisonous plant so we took him to the infirmary, but then he started speaking a language not of this world, his eyes rolled back and-" I regretfully cut her off. I didn't want to but there was something I had missed, even in my thoroughness. This boy wasn't possessed anymore, he exorcised himself. It was something thought to have never happened, but he must have somehow gotten a hold of his mind and body for long enough to get himself to the church. The demon left just as they enclosed him into the chamber, they had put this poor boy who just did the heavy task of exorcising himself into a dark, dimly lit room by himself for hours on end without food or water.

"Your Sisters made another miscommunication, Mother Eleanor. That boy exorcised himself. You need to let him out."

"But there's no way he could have done that by himself, you're the only one in this church who is capable of exorcising someone! How do you know for sure?"

"He's on holy ground, he went through all of the stages of exorcism by himself. If that boy had no faith, he would be dead," I said heavily. "I want to tell you something that's been on my mind since I arrived today, Mother Eleanor. After strong consideration I've decided to come back. If you'll have me, that is."

"Of course, Father! Why have you decided this after 3 long years without you?"

"The boy has inspired me, I want him to be my apprentice."

Chapter 6

The apprenticeship

"T-Thank you sir, but why me?" the boy asked.

"You've inspired me, it took tremendous strength to do what you did. God smiles on you, I'm sure," I say to him reassuringly. "If you'd like, you can have everything in your room brought here, we may even be able to provide a room for your mother. She did raise you right, God blessed the both of you."

"That would be amazing, sir. I can't thank you enough." He sounds sincere, and I know that he will make a good apprentice. Although I was looking forward to my retirement, seeing as the days grow longer as I do, this boy has given me new found hope. I will always continue to serve God, but now I realize that the only time that I can rest will be when I see him in Heaven. I am at peace knowing that God and his angels will always win, and now I'm back. Back to work. Back to my old life. The only thing different now, is that I have an angel by my side.