A Place So Wicked Patrick Reuman (children's ebooks free online TXT) 📖

To access the basement, they needed a key. According to Eli, there was a church near the center of town, a really old church, where they had some sort of secret room.

That was where the key was being held, they hoped.

The plan was simple. He and Eli would enter the church separately. It was Sunday, so the sermon would be ending shortly. If Eli were correct, and the key was there, they could assume, at least reasonably, that the people there, the ones that ran the church, knew about Toby’s family, the house, and everything else. So, when they saw Toby come in, all attention would be on him. He just had to soak up all that attention long enough for Eli to sneak in, find the secret room, and get the key. Easy, he hoped.

If the key wasn’t there…well, it didn’t seem any of them had a backup plan quite yet. They needed it to be there.

But if the key was there, then what? They hadn’t planned that far in either direction. The only thing left to do, then, was to enter the room in the basement. But that seemed like a horrible plan in itself. What exactly did they hope to accomplish by opening the door? Especially if there were some demonic creature in there. He pushed the thought away. They needed to tackle one thing at a time, and for that, he needed to remain focused.

Toby saw Eli a way up ahead. Eli had told him of a road, one he could find relatively easily, where they could sort of meet up. Eli didn’t want them to be seen together. All it took was one wrong person seeing them then placing a call to someone else, and their whole plan could be shot to hell. So, as soon as Eli saw Toby coming, Eli started walking, and Toby started following at a distance.

They walked this way for a while, perhaps fifteen minutes or so. Toby spent most of the time looking down at the sidewalk, only glancing up quickly to make sure he still had sight of Eli. He felt as though everybody was watching him, that each car that passed stared out their windows at him, as if he were an escaped zoo animal.

Finally, they reached the church. Eli didn’t even look back as he entered through the large doors. But as Toby himself approached, he almost froze. Whatever bravery Eli had, Toby seemed to lack. The doors were large and mahogany, rounded at the top. Around them was a beautiful design, a grand archway standing tall, as if beckoning him forward to their passageway into heaven, or perhaps into hell.

The door was already open wide enough for at least one person to enter at a time. He gathered himself, remembering why he was there, and how important his mission was, then slipped in quietly. Inside, there were many people gathered, all of them dressed nicely, far more formally than he was. Women wore long dresses that rode all the way up to their necks, completely covering any sign of sexuality that may exist. It was cult-like, Toby thought as he made his way further inside. The men all wore suits, matching ones as if each were a copy of the last, all mannequins in a nuclear town.

Eli was already gone, disappeared in the waves of people and chatter. As of right then, he was still unnoticed. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting exactly, everybody to turn and face him the moment he entered maybe? For them to point at him and shout, “There he is! There’s the sacrifice!” But nobody even batted an eye as he himself entered the crowd like a boat cutting through the sea.

He heard bits of chatter here and there, all of it mundane and completely normal, none of it about the sacrifices, or evil creatures hiding in basements. He weaved through the masses, unsure of what exactly he was supposed to do now that he was there.

A woman spotted him. He stopped in place and looked back. He had to keep calm. He smiled and offered a nod. She smiled back and then returned to her conversation. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, wondering right then what Paisley was doing back at home. They were supposed to go to the doctor’s. He hoped he could make it back before they did so, so he could go with them, but he was starting to doubt that was a possibility.

He finally broke free from the ocean and found himself standing at the edge, next to a row of seating, all of it facing toward the stage. That’s when he finally noticed Eli not far from him, still immersed in the crowd. Then he noticed a door at the far end of the room, not far past where Eli was standing. He could see Eli taking glances at the door but not heading in its direction, not yet at least. He wished he were taller, so he could see over the crowd and get a better idea of what he was dealing with.

He moved further from the people and tried to get a better look without appearing abnormal. That was it! Toby spotted two men standing maybe ten yards away from the door, near the stage where, just behind them upon the stage, stood a podium where the pastor would give his sermons.

Toby swallowed deeply and tried to steel himself. This right here, this was why he had come, this was his role, his job, and it was time to act. Without giving himself time to reconsider, he walked forward, straight for the two men. As he passed Eli, he had to slow himself, realizing he was charging at them too quickly, like a dorky kid trying to navigate the high school halls to get away from the bullies.

Both turned, noticing his