The Rising

The Rising is a fast paced action novel loaded with Special Ops and the supernatural.

Chapter 1
The priests were in way over their heads and didn't know it. Father Frederick, the older priest who everyone called Father Fred, had assisted in an exorcism when he was a young man, but that had been many years ago.
Father John was a newly frocked priest and even though he had studied the Rites of Exorcism in the Seminary, he never dreamed that he would ever participate in one. The demon was cackling gleefully; he was having a great time and was toying with the two priests.
"By the power of Christ I command you, by the power of Christ I command you, by the power of Christ I command you," ordered Father Fred, as sweat began running down his face in streaming droplets.
Father John had been warned against conversing with the demon or even to look at him, but Father John could not help himself from looking into the face of the 17 year old boy that lay on the bed in front of him.
The young man on the bed had just finished his junior year of high school and after the summer would be starting his senior year. To say that he was unpopular in school would have been a step up for him. He was one of those nameless, faceless kids who went to school, ate lunch by himself and went home. He didn't have any friends and didn't seem to fit in with any group.
It was over the summer when he decided to experiment with drugs that his whole world changed. He met other kids his age that were happy to smoke marijuana with him. He suddenly had friends and had even gotten laid. Of course she wasn't pretty and was even more strung out than he was, but she was willing and taught him how to do it.
It was through his drug use that opened the door for the newly escaped demon to enter the young man and possess him. It had been been over a month ago, in human terms, when the demon had been in the right place at the right time in hell. Something had weakened the veil between hell and the human realm and Baraxus didn't hesitate to punch through.
It had felt so good to escape from the place of torment that Baraxus had been cast to when he fell from heaven. If it wasn't for the human souls tossed to him to play with, he'll would be totally unbearable.
The last time he had escaped to torment these monkeys was during the Middle Ages. Baraxus had a great time then until those accursed priests had sent him back to hell. This time he would make it a lot harder for them.
"You are nothing but insects!" Baraxus yelled at the two priests through the mouth of the young man he was possessing. "Stupid monkeys!" He yelled, in a hate filled voice. For the millionth time he wondered how God could ever have expected him to bend his knee to these inferior creatures.
"I had been made perfect," he thought. "I served loyally for untold millennia and watched as God created this realm. He formed these animals from single cell organisms up to the hairless monkeys that He imbued with a soul. Then, pleased with his creation, he placed man above the angels. How dare He!"
Baraxus considered the two priests, "The old one is trying hard, but he is making mistakes in the ritual. The young one is totally lost; he doesn't even believe in hell and demons. He is lacking in faith."
Then thinking back to the last time he had come to the human realm and been exorcised, "They had used six priests who had performed the ritual flawlessly. Now they send these two inept monkeys to exorcise me. Me, Baraxus, I had been the spear carrier for Lucifer himself!"
Suddenly insulted, Baraxus could contain himself no longer. He leapt from the bed and stood toe to toe with the old priest. "Your inane droning bores me old man," said Baraxus, as he placed his left hand behind Father Frederick's withered neck and his right hand under the priest's chin. With great strength, the demon twisted his hands in opposite directions, breaking the old priest's neck.
Father John was paralyzed with fear at seeing the young man leap from the bed. He still couldn't accept that the young man was actually possessed by a demon. Father John was one of he new breed of priests that believe that evil is perpetrated by man and hell is Christian myth. Hearing the loud snap of Father Fred's neck, his long held beliefs had just been destroyed.
The demon leaping from the bed and the death of Father Fred was too much for Father John, and he panicked. He ran for the door and clawed at the doorknob. He threw the door open and stumbled, falling through the open door.
He crawled to the top of the stairs and regained his feet as he ran down the stairs. He was running so fast that he hit the bottom of the stairs and fell flat on his face. He could hear the demon cackling from the upstairs bedroom as he got back to his feet and ran past the boy's terrified as Father John fled from the house.

Author's Note

Does this opening hook the reader and make you want to go on to the next chapter?

Reviews

[wordman]

well it kept me in suspense and yes i would read the next chapter
I enjoy stories with a good plot

[Sue Hart]

This is outrageously good. Check the last sentence, "ran past the boy's terrified..."
The beginning sentence catches you and flows all the way through. When I would have turned the page, it wasn't there. Are you going to let me see it?

[Ron Toppings]

Thanks Sue, I made the mistake of retyping the first chapter on my iPad instead of cutting and pasting on my computer. Yes, it should have read, "ran past the boy's terrified mother..." In apology to you I have added the second chapter of The Rising.

[Sue Hart]

Oh how kind. And I will gladly read it. You have some serious talent.