These are the final two chapters of this story. I have another one I can serialize if anyone is interested. Just let me know.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

The next morning the group met at five AM. They were all dressed in black. It was time to win or die. The group stood in a circle and held hands for a small prayer. They did not normally pray together but this was an unusual day.

Sean said, “Any trouble last night? No, then let’s get ready to go.”

Josh said, “What about the two outside?”

 Ryan answered, “I got a plan for those two outside. I know what to do with those assholes. Sean you and me come on.”

Sean, “What are we going to do?”

“I’ll explain as we change.”

“Change what?”

“You’ll see.”

They went upstairs and stole a couple of his sister’s dresses. Sean and Ryan put the dresses on.

Ryan said, “The rest of you keep looking out at them, distract them. Let them know you are watching. Sean and I will get them. They won’t be looking for two girls coming from around the corner.”

The two went out the back door into the yard and climbed the fence to a side street. They circled a couple of blocks and came up behind the two who were watching the boys like they were expecting the NiteOwls to charge across the street. They didn’t charge but Ryan and Sean in their dresses came up quickly behind them and used hammers on the two. The two men dropped like deer and all the boys ran out and dragged them back into the basement.

Richie looked at them, “Oh shit I think you killed them.”

Ryan said, “I hope so. If either one moves hit him again as hard as you can. Better they’re dead then us.”

The boys decided they would put the two men in Ryan’s car and dump them in the Gowanus Canal before the sun came up. Maybe the cops would think it was a Mafia hit.

Sean said, “We can take care of the guards the same way.”

Josh said, “Maybe but I’m bringing my twenty two.”

Ryan agreed, “I’m bringing mine too. They all seem to carry those big curved knives but I didn’t see any guns.”

Roger who collected knives said, “Gurkha knives. We better search these two.”

They searched them both and found no ID but they did find the knives.

After stopping at a deli on Smith and Ninth Street for coffee, Gary drove them to the shop. When they got there Gary said, “Fuck there’s the boss’s car. We have to wait.”

 They sat half way down the block for about twenty minutes until the boss left with a really ugly woman.

Gary said, “Damn he would do a snake if someone would hold it for him.”

Roger said, “That guys got a lot of class bringing a girl to a dirty greasy boiler shop to get laid. Yep he’s all class, all low class.”

As soon as he turned the corner the three ran across the street and got into the shop. Once inside, Gary who didn’t have a weapon grabbed a heavy short handled sledge hammer.

Roger said, “Damn that thing looks like Thor’s hammer. Do you have any more?”

Gary handed one to each of them and smiled, “I don’t know about the lightning. But if we hit them in the head with this bastard, they’ll sure as hell feel the thunder. I’ll lock the door. I have an idea for downstairs.”

In the basement Gary had Roger and Sean help him drag a thousand pound piece of machinery from the other side of the basement. They set it next to the steel plate covering the entrance to the tunnel. When they had it in place Gary told them, “Just in case they figure out we went through this tunnel. When we come out we push this bastard onto the plate. Then if they check this plate it won’t move and maybe they will keep moving. I think this comes out somewhere near Prospect Park. It should throw them off the track at least for a while.”

The boys climbed down the ladder and headed for the death chamber. They expected to see the robed figures at every step, but the tunnel was deserted. In the chamber Sean stood at the side tunnel that the procession had come through before. They listened for anyone in the distance, but they heard nothing. Roger went to the tunnel leading to the pier and did the same. When they signaled that they couldn’t hear anything. Gary dug a small shallow hole in the ashes and placed the coffee can in it fuse up. He filled the area around it with nuts and bolts from the boiler shop and covered it all with a thin layer of ash. He brushed it until it blended in with the rest of the hole. He then backed out brushing all signs away that they had ever been there. Once done the trio headed back to the shop, no one had said a word since they entered the tunnel.

Back at the shop Roger said, “I’m gonna call and let the others know we made it.”

When Roger called Ryan’s cousin Laura answered. He asked her to get one of the guys from downstairs. A few minutes later Ryan came on the line.

“What’s going on? Did you do it?”

“Everything went perfect. The bomb is in place. Gary had an idea to put a bunch of little nuts and bolts around the can. We are going to go and get some coffee. We have the heroes we got yesterday to eat. I suggest you eat something too. I’ll call just before we go down around nine tonight. One more thing, when you leave go out the back and over the fence. I don’t want to take any chances in case they sent someone else to watch us.”

“You’re right. We have our heroes too. If it’s our last meal I guess you can’t beat those heroes. We’ll be here waiting for your call.”

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

The boys brought their containers of coffee into the back yard of the building. They sat in the sunlight, drank their coffee and ate their heroes. They didn’t talk about the tunnel or what they were going to do. None of them would admit that they were scared of going down that hole again. At nine o’clock Roger called Ryan’s home. This time Ryan answered.

“Roger?”

“Yeah, is everybody ready?”

“We’re all scared shitless but I guess we’re ready. We really don’t have a choice. When are you leaving?”

“In about ten minutes.”

“Okay we’ll head to the pier. We won’t get too close until we hear the explosion. What should we do if we don’t hear anything?”

“If you don’t hear anything by twelve thirty get the hell out of there. It means we’re fucked.”

“Good luck.”

“Same to you, See you later”

 The three boys shook hands and headed to the basement. When the trio descended the ladder into the darkness, each wondered if any of them would ever see the sun again.

They moved slowly listening for any noises. Except for rats and a huge spider that fell onto Sean, who had to bite his hand to keep from screaming the trip was uneventful. Tedious and terrifying but quiet. The three were in position by ten.

Ryan whispered, “What if it doesn’t explode?”

Sean replied, “I guess then we each have to decide should we try to save the girl or just run like hell. I’m going to go for the girl.”

Roger said, “Me too.”

Gary, “Same here, but I really hope I don’t have to.”

All agreed neither option was a good one. They just had to hope that the coffee can explosion was as big as the one in Coffey Park. No one said anything else. The boys waited in the cold and dark, twenty yards from the chamber, sitting with their backs pressed against the dank tunnel wall alone with their thoughts and fears.

At eleven they heard noises approaching. They could see the procession entering the chamber chanting as they did before. They were followed by four men pushing a large wheeled caldron. Last in line were two men pulling a crying child with them. Upon entering the chamber they broke off from the rest. They dragged her into the same tunnel the boys had hid in last time. As they neared the fire the others each in turn stepped forward. They reverently placed their wood into the pit. They then stepped back genuflected and knelt at the edge of the pit.

When all were in position the High Priest of this demon cult in his blood red robes stood and walked around the congregation. He gave his hellish blessing as he lit the four tall red candles. When this was done he dipped a ladle into that four foot tall caldron several times. Each time he poured a foul smelling substance upon the wood and lit it. After a few seconds the wood roared into flames and the smoke started to rise twisting and turning on itself. The smoke seemed to solidify into four serpents that twisted and merged until the demon took shape. It stood twenty foot tall right on top of the coffee can.

The High Priest bowed before the creature and called for the sacrifice to be brought forth. As they dragged the girl towards the chamber she could see what awaited her and screamed. When they heard her scream the boys rose up as one. Explosion or no explosion they were going for the girl. Before they could take their first step the coffee can blew. The substance in the caldron added fire and force to the blast. This explosion was two or three times that of the Coffey Park can. Even forty yards back in an adjacent tunnel the three NiteOwls were still knocked off their feet.

The three scrambled up and charged. The chamber was chaos. All that were near the pit were down. The chamber floor was covered in the blood of the worshipers. They could feel the rage and pain from the creature and its flock. It bellowed out its hellish agony. The two holding the girl stared at it and never saw the hammers descend on them.

The boys grabbed the girl and ran with her. As they ran along the tunnel they could feel the rage of the demon but now above that was joy. It was a few seconds before they realized it was the joy from all the souls that had been trapped inside that evil in the pit. The explosion had injured the monster and as each soul escaped it got smaller and weaker. The boys could feel that the creature was dying. As the last soul left that thing of evil it was no bigger than a roach. It shriveled upon itself and disappeared.

Now the demon was gone but the congregation of the creature’s acolytes was in a rage. They milled around confused searching for who, or what had attacked their god. One saw the four run into a tunnel. They had been spotted. But before he could say anything or raise his arm to point, Ryan and Josh burst from the tunnel on the other side. Each fired five rounds into the crowd then turned and ran.

The robed figures with a roar of hate charged at the gunfire, forgetting the girl and everything else. They wanted those who had killed their god.

Only two chased after the girl and her rescuers. Sean and Roger realized the two were catching up since they could go no faster than the emaciated girl could run. At a turn in the tunnel they told Gary to take the girl, to keep running and hid against the walls. When the pursuers turned that corner they were met with the sledge hammers. Before they could lift their long knives they were down. Their skulls crushed in.

Once they entered the basement of the boiler shop. They dragged the heavy machine onto the plate just in case they were followed. The boys then blindfolded the girl. She started to cry thinking what they were going to do to her. Sean explained that it was only until they could get her away from there. He told her that they didn’t want the police to know who they were, that they would not hurt her. He said they would be getting her home safe. Despite all she had been through, she believed him and relaxed.

Back at Ryan’s they all got together to tell their tales. Roger told how only two chased them and how those two met their end.

Ryan explained that after shooting into the crowd, they ran for the tunnel exit. They could hear the mob closing on them as they ran by Richie. Richie tossed that stupid bucket of jacks. Then he ran after them. They were almost on top of them when several of the mob started screaming. Those damn jacks worked. 

About a hundred yards from the tunnel exit Ryan stopped. They had placed a bottle there filled with gasoline and a rag hanging out. The rest of the gasoline had been poured on the tunnel floor. The gasoline covered floor stretched back to the jacks. The robed fanatics were splashing through that gasoline when Ryan threw the lit bottle. When that bottle exploded the gasoline covered floor lit up. All were caught in the flames.

With those who died in the original explosion plus the four taken out with hammers and those Ryan’s Molotov cocktail ended. All of those who worshipped the demon died that night. All the NiteOwls had survived.

Later the boys dropped the girl off on Union Street by the Seven Six Precinct and told her to go inside. Naturally no one believed her story of the monster. But in the papers the next day were stories of the group of heroes who rescued the little girl from cultists. A reward was offered by the city and her grateful parents.

It was never claimed.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Richie, Roger, Josh, and Sean’s brother Gary were in the basement when the boys came barreling in. Before anyone could say a word they started pulling over everything they could move to block the door.

Josh started to laugh, “Real funny guys. Is a monster chasing you?”

When they turned and looked at him Josh knew something was really wrong. They all sat in a circle around the pool table/card table as the four told their tale of terror. Roger and Richie believed them but Josh and Gary not so much.

Gary said, “It has to be some kind of hallucination. It was probably just some gas in the tunnel.”

Tommy said, “Yeah you think so look at this, I filmed the whole thing.” Tommy set up his movie projector. First they saw the grainy footage of the chamber as Tommy walked around. That got them interested. When they ran to the side tunnel and turned off all their lights the screen turned black. The candles and torches looked like fireflies on film and the black robed worshipers merely dark shapes. When the fire was lit and the demon appeared it was still dark and fuzzy but it was enough to scare the hell out of them all.

Gary said, “But you got away and it was dark so they couldn’t have seen you clear. We should be okay.”

Ryan looked at him, “No we’re not. I could feel it in my mind. Digging away and calling for its flock. They are pissed and they’ll be coming for us.”

Gary again said, “Yeah, but they don’t know who we are. They have no way of finding us. Let them be pissed who cares.”

Sean shook his head, “it’s not like that. They were in our minds and we were in theirs. They know all about us just like we know all about them. They have to kill us. We know what they have planned. Tomorrow they are going to sacrifice a twelve year old virgin girl to that thing.”

Josh, “You mean they’ll feed her to that thing?”

Sean responded, “In a way. It will suck the soul out of her when she is thrown into the fire. Then they will eat her body. They are cannibals. It is a soul eater. It is their dark communion.”

Josh said, “Holy shit, we better go to the cops.”

Sean said, “And what are we going to tell them? That we went down into secret tunnels under Red Hook and found demon worshipers. That they made a fire and the smoke turned into a monster. That they are going to sacrifice a twelve year old virgin to it because she is having her first period and that is a powerful thing to them. It sounds like a Bela Lugosi movie. They’ll put us all in the nut house.”

Gary responded, “I guess you’re right. Maybe we should all go home and make sure everything is okay there. We can meet here tomorrow morning and try to figure out what to do.”

The guys all agreed. They removed the barricade from the door and straggled home always looking behind them.

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

Tommy was the last to arrive the next day.  He came in shaking, “I think they found us. There are two weird looking guys across the street just staring at the house. One of the bastards waved to me.”

They all went outside to check. The two men stood across the street. They didn’t move they just smiled at the boys. The guys went back inside.

Freddy said, “That’s them I just know it.”

They all agreed.

Ryan said, “Okay what do we do? They know where my parents live.”

Roger said, “They know where all our parents live.”

Sean said, “We have to fight it. Try to kill it.”

Gary shook his head, “How? You said it was made of smoke. How the hell do you kill smoke, or even hurt it?”

Sean said, “We can hurt it and maybe kill it when it becomes solid. We have to try to save the girl too.”

Freddy said, “Come on, how do we save the girl. We can’t even save ourselves.”

Sean smiled, “I have a plan.”

Freddy, “Do you have a bazooka too. As soon as we go into that chamber they will feel us. We can’t sneak up on them.”

“No bazooka, but we do have the other coffee can. Remember what it did to the park house.”

“So what we can’t throw that thing in from around the corner of the tunnel.  At least not and have it land where we need it.”

“We don’t throw it in. We bury it.”

“What?”

“We sneak in early tomorrow and bury it in the fire pit. We didn’t feel the creature when there was no fire. Maybe it’s only there when the fire burns. When they start the fire it should appear and then the can blows.”

“Should blow, why not just say maybe? The odds are that won’t work at all.”

“What else can we do? It’s the only chance we got. Anybody got a better idea?”

No one did.

Freddy said, “Okay why not, we are probably all going to die anyway. What’s your plan?”

“Me and Roger will break into Jensen’s boiler shop and sneak into the chamber.”

Gary said, “Don’t bother breaking in. I’m going with you. I work there, I got a key.”

“Better yet, we’ll put the coffee can in the middle of the fire pit and cover it with ashes, just enough ash so that they can’t see it. They are supposed have the sacrifice at midnight. I guess it is their midnight black mass. After we hide the can we’ll go back into the tunnel maybe thirty yards. Meanwhile the rest of you go there by way of the pier hatch. When the can goes off make a lot of noise and distract them.  When they go after you, Ryan, Gary, and I will grab the girl. She should be in the small tunnel on the left. They don’t want her to see the demon until he is in his full glory. We’ll head out through the shop.”

“That sounds like a suicide mission for us.”

“NO it’s not. Each of you carry a can of gasoline into the tunnel and when they start to come after you pour it out and set it off. By the time the flames die out you should be out the hatch. We will do the same on our side. Don’t forget to barricade it again.”

 Josh said, “No problem there. I am going to bring a couple of steel bars to wedge it closed.”

Richie said, “I’m going to the store and buy all the jacks they have.”

“Jacks, you mean like the little girls toys? What for? That’s stupid.”

“Yeah, they’ll be chasing us in the dark, they had no shoes on remember. Those jacks will be like spikes when I drop them behind me.”

“Get me some too.”

“But we still have to figure out how we get rid of the two across the street. We can’t sneak up on anybody if we can’t get out of here. They’ll follow us and let the others know long before we get there. We’ll be walking into a trap. Plus there will be a couple more guards on the girl.”

Josh said, “Maybe they’re gone. I’ll check. I hope they left.”

When Josh came back he said, “They left but there are two others standing there.”

Richie said, “That’s just great. They are watching us in shifts.”

Ryan said, “I guess we should all meet here early tomorrow. How about five?”

All agreed for tonight they would watch and protect their families.