Abe sat down with John as the young man related his side of events. The agent had finally regain full consciousness and was able to stay awake for several hours at time now. Because John still looked exhausted however, Abe decided to keep the man in the infirmary for a few more days under close observation.
Despite all of Abe’s vocal threats and reprimands, in the end all it took was a soft smile from John to send a sulking Hellboy out of the room for some much needed rest. This was fortunate as the absence of the red demon’s presence made it easier to talk to John.
Abe mused over what John had told him. “That sounds like quite a similar experience to the one you had a few days ago.”
John nodded solemnly and let a yawn escape from his mouth. “Sorry,” he grinned sheepishly.
Abe smiled indulgently at him and was about to tease him when there was a sudden knock on the door. Although the medical staff did make a habit of knocking before entering, he had asked for no interruptions for the hour. He went to see who it was and stood face to face with BPRD’s newest agent.
“Ah, Agent Connelly. How may I help you?”
Dean smiled briefly at Abe before gesturing to the men that stood behind him. “Red told me to report back to him here as soon as security was cleared for the priests.” He stood back and allowed the two shocked men a clear view of the blue merman.
“Excellent,” Abe exclaimed. “I am Abe Sapien. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintances.” He extended his webbed hand out in offer.
“Deus,” one of them finally whispered, a look of both curiosity and fear was apparent on his face. “What sort of demonic activity is this?” Both men took a step back and crossed themselves repeatedly as they chanted quietly under their breaths. Abe cocked his head to the side in amusement while Connelly looked embarrassed for the visitors.
“Gentlemen,” the agent said tightly. “We had already discussed this earlier when we had you sign those confidential clauses. Abe is not what we are here for. Remember, you are both under federal contract that you are not to disclose anything that you have seen during your time here.”
“Of course, Agent Connelly,” the elder priest replied. He gave Abe a thorough look-over and hesitantly took the proffered hand. “Yes Mr Sapien, I am Father Ricci. This is my deaconate, Stephen Lawrence.” He looked over to see his companion still staring wide eyed at the unusual looking being and subtly elbowed him, coughing gently. The deacon startled slightly and had the grace to look embarrassed.
“My apologies,” he murmured as he offered his hand next. “Excuse my behaviour. Agent Connelly and your Director Manning had warned us of your, um, appearance. But it is still a shock to see it with our own eyes.”
“I insist you call me Abe and do not worry. Apologies are not necessary,” Abe said graciously. “I am used to people’s reactions to my appearance. And besides, you still have Hellboy to meet. I believe your reactions to seeing him well more than make up.” He smiled enigmatically as the two men of the church exchanged nervous glances with each other.
Abe stepped away from the door and invited them in. He could see John sitting up in his bed, dying of curiosity. “Gentlemen, this is Agent John Myers. You will be working closely with him.” He glanced over at the young man in bed. John had glanced briefly over at Ricci and Lawrence, but his attention paused on Connelly.
“John,” Abe began. “This is Father Ricci and Reverend Lawrence. They will be performing the exorcism that we spoke about.” Myers nodded absently but kept a suspicious eye on Connelly. “This is Agent Dean Connelly. He is new to the BPRD and will be taking over most of your duties until you are fit for duty again.”
John glared at him. “Who says I’m not fit for duty?”
“Until you are well again,” Abe quickly consoled.
John narrowed his eyes at his friend and glanced over at the newest agent again. “Who hired you?” he demanded. He had been the one responsible in looking over potential candidates for field work and he didn’t recall ever coming across this man’s profile.
Connelly cleared his throat and stood straighter. “Sir, Director Manning had enlisted me just two days ago. I haven’t been with the Bureau for too long and had just actually transferred back to Quantico from England only recently.” Dean knew that he was being severely scrutinised as he spoke and he tried to remain unaffected. Sitting on the bed in white scrubs with wires attached to his body, Agent Myers appeared fragile. But Connelly had heard stories about the younger man and knew that appearances were deceiving indeed. When Myers finally looked away and focused his attention on the two visitors, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
“Please to meet you,” John greeted them. “What do I get to look forward to exactly?”
“It’s quite an intense ritual,” Father Ricci began. “There will be a series of rites that must be recited and religious sacraments that will be applied and utilised.”
“Is it going to hurt?” John asked. He wasn’t so much concerned about his own well being as he was about his unborn child’s. Subconsciously, his hands reached around himself to rest lightly and protectively across his abdomen.
“The experience may be exhausting and tiring,” the priest admitted. “As I have said, it is an intense ritual and everyone reacts differently. I understand it is a succubus you are inflicted with?” When he received a terse nod in response, Ricci continued on. “This type of demonic possession is quite tricky to be released from, depending on the type of hold it may have on you. I will need to return to my parish to retrieve some instruments. We will be back shortly.”
“Thank you,” Abe intervened when he realised that John was looking troubled. “Agent Connelly shall arrange for your escort.” The two men nodded their thanks and followed the new agent out.
Once the door was closed behind them, Abe sat down on the side of John’s bed and made eye contact. “What are you worried about?” he asked.
John blinked and shrugged. “I’m not sure exactly. My first instinct in this whole ordeal is that exorcism is all a bunch of hokiness and voodoo mumbo jumbo. But my time with the BPRD so far had been nothing but dealing with the mumbo jumbo and chasing the hokey.” John shook his head and let out a short laugh. “I don’t know if I’m more worried that the exorcism won’t work or that it will and something will go very, very wrong.”
Abe patted his hand in reassurance and stood up. “Rest for now, John. I assure you that we will do everything in our powers to ensure that nothing goes wrong. You know how Hellboy is, he will never let any harm come to you.”
John snorted and nodded in agreement. “I don’t know if I should count my blessings or not.”
>>>>>
The room was dark, lit only by several candles. John laid on the bed, staring up at the two ordained men curiously. Of to the side of the room stood a fully recovered Agent Clay, Agent Connelly, Tom Manning, Abe, and of course, Hellboy.
To John’s amusement, he couldn’t stop laughing at the sight of their visitors’ faces when they caught sight of the large red demon for the first time. Especially when his lover had stood up to his full height of 6’9” to greet the men. Their first instinct, of course, was to cross themselves over and over again, while brandishing a crucifix at Red’s disbelieved face. But once Manning and the agents had calmed the men down and had the whole situation under control, they had set about busily, preparing what they needed to perform the exorcism.
It hadn’t pleased Hellboy at all when he learned that he couldn’t be near John. The priest had insisted that the person to be exorcised on had to be segregated from others so that the prayers would be easily concentrated on one person. With a low growl, and a pout when Myers had snapped at him to stand aside like he was told, Hellboy loomed over by the wall along with the other non-participants. He stood as close to John as he knew he could get away with.
Both Father Ricci and Reverend Lawrence stood in front of the bed, staring solemnly down at John. They wore pristine white robes with purple stoles around their necks. In the deacon’s hand he held various bottles and a crucifix. The priest held also held a crucifix, as well as a small bible.
Father Ricci stepped up towards John and held out the bible to him. “Please read the passage as indicated, Agent Myers.”
He solemnly did as asked and in a loud, clear voice he read, “Father, in Jesus' name I ask you to forgive me of all my sins. I repent Lord. Come into my life. Fill me with the Holy Spirit. With your help, I will stop sinning.”(1)
“Amen,” Father Ricci whispered. The deacon could be heard whispering the same thing. John glanced quickly to his left when he heard a soft growl emanating from his lover. He knew that the passage he had read had put the blame on himself, but he did as told, wanting to get this over and done with and as quick as possible.
The priest stepped up beside John and made a sign of cross over the agent before taking his stole off to place around Myers’ neck. Next, he placed his right hand on top of John’s head at the same time that Lawrence had walked up to the other side of him to do the same. John stared up dubiously at the two men as they closed their eyes and appeared to be lost in some silent prayer. They remained as they were for several seconds before Ricci finally reached into a pocket of his robe and took out a small medal. This he placed around his neck, on top of the purple stole and announced loudly, “Ut piisima et Immaculáta caelórum Domina vos prótegat atique defendat.”(2)
The crucifix was then suddenly placed in front of his face. John leaned back a bit, startled at the unexpected appearance of the sacrament. “Keep focused on this, my son,” the priest requested. “Ut quóties triúmphum divínae humnilitátis, quae supérbiam nostri hostis dejecit. Dignáre respícere, bene dícere et Sancti ficáre hanc creaturm incensi, ut omnes languores, omnesque imfirmitates, atque insidiar inimici, odorem ejus sentientes, efffugiant, et separatur a plasmate tuo; ut num quam lædatur amorsu antiqui serpentes.(3)
“I said to focus on the holy crucifix!” Ricci suddenly yelled when John had found his attention wandering. The sight of the sacrament was making his eyes water and a feeling of dizziness was beginning to overcome him the longer he gazed at it. “Numquam lædatur a morsu antiqui derpentis,”(4) Ricci quickly finished. “Now it is time for the blessed oil,” he said to Lawrence, who handed him a small vial.
John suddenly felt his throat constrict and he gasped for breath. He tried to sit up but hands firmly held him down. “No!” he screamed loudly. “Let me go, I need to go.”
“Be calm, my son. This will not hurt, I assure you,” Lawrence reassured. “You must stay calm.”
“Damn it, let me go,” John snarled as he fought harder to escape the holds on him. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Abe holding Hellboy back from reaching out for him. He turned to look at his lover, his best look of helplessness on his facial features. “Please, Red. Help me, they’re hurting me. Help me escape, please.”
Hellboy growled again and tried harder to reach out for John. He could see his human lover struggling against the hold the two men had on him. He couldn’t stand to see John in pain and he wanted to grab the man into a protective hold, to keep him safe from all dangers in the world. However, both Clay and Connelly were now holding him back also, and Abe was standing in his way. “Get out of my way, Blue,” he ordered.
Abe placed a hand on Hellboy’s chest and tried to calm the demon down. “Red, you are being deceived by the succubus. That is not John that is speaking to you. Let the priest do his job and stay calm. I will not hesitate to put you in quarantine if you do not cease this behaviour right this instance.” Hellboy stopped his fight and relaxed a bit.
“Red, please,” John whined pitifully. The voice tore at Hellboy’s heart and he watched helplessly as the man kept eye contact with him, anguish and pain in those blue eyes as he stood in place, unable to reach out for him.
“Hurry it up will ya?” he yelled at the exorcists.
With Lawrence now using both hands and all his strength to hold the possessed man down, Ricci pried opened John’s mouth by pressing firm fingers onto either side of his jaw. With his other hand he popped off the cork stopper and jammed the vial of oil between the teeth. The struggling increased as Ricci forced John’s mouth closed, making him swallow the oil.
“Exorcizo te, creatura olei. Omis virtus adversarii, omnis exceritus diaboli, omnis incúrus, omne phatasma Satanæ eradicare. Uf fiat ómnibus, qui eo usuri sunt, salus menti et corporis. Ab omni languore, omni qui infirmitate, insidiis inimici liberéntur. Cunctae adversitates separéntur a pusmate tuo.”(5)
Myers let out a blood curdling scream, which frightened everyone in the room. “You will regret this,” he cried. “This human will pay, you will pay!” John’s eyes had taken on the appearance of glowing orbs and he was staring straight at Hellboy. “You will pay dear for what you have done to our Mistress. Your lover will pay, your child will pay!”
“Silence, demon of Tortuous Serpent! Silence now!” Ricci commanded. He took another vial filled with a clear liquid and, again, pried John’s mouth opened once more to empty it into his cavity, forcing the man to consume it. “Drink this blessing of water in the vigil of the Epiphany of the Lord.
“Sancte Míchael Archángele, defénde nos in proélio contra nequítiam et insídias diáboli esto præsídium. Imperet illi Deus, súpplices deprecámur: tuque, princeps milítiæ cæléstis, Sátanam aliósque spíritus malígnos, qui ad perditiónem animárum pervagántur in mundo, divína virtúte, In inférnum detrude. Amen.”(6) Ricci chanted this over and over in a calm soothing voice. Myers seemed to had passed the peak in his struggles and slowly calmed his resistance.
Several minutes in the five figures that had been standing more or less quietly against the wall watched with baited breaths as Lawrence finally let go of Myers’ body. The priest had stopped chanting now and quickly made a cross over himself and John, the deacon doing the same to himself.
“Is it… is it over?” Clay hesitantly asked after several more minutes of silence.
“Yes, I believe the exorcism is complete,” an exhausted Ricci answered, keeping his eyes on the man in bed.
“So, that’s it then?” Hellboy asked. He was slowly approaching his lover’s bedside when John suddenly sat upright and stared at him with panic in his eyes. “John?”
Just as sudden, John’s eyes closed and, as a soft breath escaped parted lips, he fell bonelessly back to the bed. Hellboy stared on in confusion, not quite sure of what to do next. He was jolted out of his reverie as Abe pushed him out of the way.
“Something is not right here,” he said. Quickly he put his ear down next to John’s chest and placed fingers against the carotid artery. “There’s no pulse here,” he muttered. “We have a code blue, get the defibrillator in here, stat,” he demanded as he moved to begin CPR. Both Clay and Connelly ran out of the room to grab the necessary equipment and medical crew.
It was within seconds that the small room was suddenly crowded with people, all having their duties to perform to keep John alive. “All non-essential staff get out now,” Abe barked as he prepped the paddles that he was quickly handed. The two agents dragged a somber Hellboy out of the room as Manning politely escorted the priest and deacon out.
As soon as the door closed on them, shutting out the frenzied action, Hellboy loomed over the two ordained men and towered above them. “What the fuck did you guys do to him? I swear to God if he dies, so will you,” he vowed quietly.
“Hellboy,” Manning barked. “Get away from them.”
“I promise you, Mr Hellboy,” Ricci began, his voice shaking slightly. “I have done this exorcism many times. I promise you that this is the first time this reaction had ever occurred. I have no idea why his heart would stop beating like that.”
“Don’t worry about it, Father,” Manning assured them as he shot an icy look over in Hellboy’s direction. “Of course you didn’t do this intentionally, you had no control over how Agent Myers would react to the ritual. Clay, Connelly,” he ordered. “I want you two to take the Father and Reverend to the commissary and make sure they’re comfortable.”
Manning and Hellboy stared back at each other, neither person willing to back down in defeat. Once the four other men were out of earshot, Hellboy growled at the Director. “I wasn’t joking, Manning,” he said. “If John dies, so will they.” And without another word, the red demon left the infirmary and kicked opened the doors in front of him to leave the building.
>>>>>
Abe glanced over at the EKG screen and breathed a huge sigh of relief as the cardiac spikes finally stabilised. Wearily, he handed the paddles of the defibrillator to a nurse and wiped a hand across his face, a small smile lingering on his lips. “Thank you,” he whispered quietly to no one but himself. He gazed down at an unconscious John, another nurse wiping the lubricant off of his chest, before turning around to leave the room. Abe had expected to be instantly ambushed by a frantic Hellboy and was shocked to not find the red demon there. Instead, Tom Manning stood up from where he was seated and waited for Abe to approach him.
“How is Agent Myers doing?”
“As you know, he had undergone cardiac arrest. I am not sure how this came to be, it might simply be the result of the stress from the exorcism combined with over exhaustion from previous events. Either way, he is stabilised for now and I must speak with the priest if he is still around.”
“I sent Agents Clay and Connelly to escort the gentlemen to the commissary. We had a bit of a…,” Manning paused to carefully choose his word. “Altercation here,” he finally amended.
“Ah, I see,” Abe nodded his understanding. “I take it that would be the reason why Red is not here pacing a hole through the floor?”
Manning nodded tightly. “I’ll be leaving now, Abe. You’ll find me in my office if you need me, and please keep me updated on Myers’ current condition.”
Abe nodded again and they went their separate ways. The merman headed off in the direction of the food mess and caught the four men sitting at the same table, all nursing mugs of coffee. They looked up simultaneously as he pulled up a chair to join them. “Good evening, gentlemen,” he greeted them. Pleasantries were exchanged and Abe asked them how they were doing.
“None too worse for the wear,” Father Ricci smiled briefly before letting it fade into a look of nervousness. “I wonder though, how is Agent Myers fairing?”
“A case of cardiac arrest. As I have already told Director Manning, it was most likely the combined result of stress from the exorcism and fatigue from previous events. Agent Myers had been through a lot almost non-stop for the past week now. In fact, I believe the only rest he had been receiving is from the infirmary.”
The two men exchanged looks and smiled in relief. Abe smiled back, “Do not worry about Hellboy. He is truly overprotective where his partner is concerned and can get a bit illogical at times. Once he hears that John is well again he will not even remember you. I just wanted to assure you men that there is nothing to worry about. Now, I must return to Agent Myers’ side and make sure everything remains well. Is there anything else I should know about the effects of the exorcism before I go?”
“Yes actually, it is recommended that you burn some incense in Agent’s Myers’ presence for the next few days to ensure that all signs of evilness is completely obliterated. For at least the next 72 hours will do nicely.”
“I shall make sure we have that burning constantly during that time period. Thank you for taking the time to aide us through this and for tolerating the unusual parametres of this visit,” Abe said.
Both men shook his hand in farewell, this time there was no hesitation involved. “It had been quite the unusual experience indeed,” Lawrence commented. “But no worries, we understand the conditions of the security clearance we were given and we do look forward to working with you in the future should you need our assistance again.”
Abe watched as they left the building with Connelly in tow and quickly turned on his heels in search of his wayward friend. He exited through the rear doors nearest the infirmary. There was a small private patch of greenery there for patients to walk through, catching a breath of fresh air. He knew that Hellboy sometimes came here to smoke whenever John was stuck in the ward.
He strolled over to a lone bench and sat down. Leaning back, he gazed up into the clear night’s sky, taking in the bright stars that were not overwhelmed by the city’s lights. Taking a deep breath in, Abe inhaled the fresh scent of trees and flowers and cigar smoke. “He is stabilised, you know,” he commented quietly.
After a few seconds of pause, he heard the rustling of the leaves in the large tree next to the bench. Before long, the ground beneath him vibrated as Hellboy landed heavily on his feet, dropping down from the tree above. Red took a long drag from his cigar and blew out the smoke before settling himself next to Abe.
There was another moment of comfortable silence between the two. Only the sounds of the city’s night noises could be heard faintly around them. Hellboy was the first to finally break the quietness.
“I don’t know what I’d do if I lose him.”
“He would want you to be strong and happy and move on without him,” Abe answered matter of factly.
Hellboy snorted. “That sounds like something he would say.”
“If he found out that you had been sitting around, moping over him, he would never let you hear the end of it,” Abe warned.
“Who else knows that I was here except for you?” The ember end of the cigar lit up brightly as Red took in another drag.
Now it was Abe’s turn to snort. “Just go back in there and keep him company. You know how happy he is when you are the first person he sees when he wakes up.”
Hellboy nodded. “That I will. I’m just gonna finish this one off first, then I’ll go make sure Sleeping Beauty gets his Prince Charming.”
Abe stood up to leave, patting Red on the shoulder as he walked past. “Prince Charming indeed? I thought I just told you that John would want to see you when he wakes up?”
“Ha ha, Blue. Ha ha.”
TBC...
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References:
(1) John 5:14
(2) May the Holy and Immaculate heavenly Lady protect and defend you.
(3) How often the divine humility has triumphed casting out the pride of our enemy. Deign to care for bless and sanctify those being inflamed by passion and weakness, any sickness, deceits of the foe and suspicious resentments felt by them. Be cast out and driven away from your creature.
(4) Never to be hurt by the bite of the ancient serpent.
(5) I exorcise, creature oil. All power of the adversary, all diabolical armies, all hostile attack, eliminating every satanic apparition. And all who would use this would have health of mind and body; all weakness and all sickness, freed of any snares of the enemy. All of the opposing powers that separate your creature from you.
(6) Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
http://www.stmichael.pair.com/index.htm
http://www.demonbuster.com/incubus.html
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