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| FATHER JACOB {Chapter ONE} |
{Sorry for the lenght of the first chapter. Not all chapters will be this long.}
CHAPTER ONE
As Father Jacob collected the last of the Hymnals from the pews, he checked his watch. 8:15pm. He’d run a little over on his sermon tonight, but he still had plenty of time.
“Tobias?” Father Jacob called out.
“Yes Father Jacob.” A voice answered from the back of the church.
“Please remember to put the wine back into the cellar.” Father responded. “And Tobias?”
“Yes Father?”
“Don’t be drinking any of it.” Father Jacob said, with a little laugh in his voice.
“Ha ha.” Tobias laughed. “You’re a real comedian Father, you should do stand up with material like that.”
Father Jacob watched Tobias as he re-corked the decanter and carried the wine tray towards the cellar door. He’s a fine young man that one is, Father thought to himself. Probably one of the best altar boys who ever served him; for sure he was the best of the boys serving now.
As Tobias returned, Father watched him walk across the back of the church. He wondered if Tobias would want the join the elite corps. At only age 14 he was still a little young but he could be groomed to become a true asset to the Father. He fit the profile of the perfect candidate. His father had run off almost ten years ago, his mother, though loving and caring of Tobias, just wasn’t much support for a growing young man who needed direction and structure in his life. That’s where the church and Father Jacob had come in. Tobias respected Father Jacob and not just because he was a Priest. Tobias had become close to Father Jacob over the years, maybe to close Father thought. It was a little over two years ago that Father Jacob started testing Tobias, hoping to train him for bigger and better things. So far, Tobias had been coming along perfectly. It was just a matter of timing for the Father to decide when to bring Tobias into the “Inner Sanctum”. He was close, but a few more tests were needed to be done to be sure.
“Tobias?” Father Jacob called out from the front pew.
“Yes Father Jacob.” Tobias called back.
“It’s 8:30, why don’t you leave the rest of the cleaning for the boys after class tomorrow.”
“Are you sure father?” Tobias asked. “I don’t mind staying to finish. I really don’t have anything else to do tonight.”
“No it’s okay, relax tonight.” Father replied. “But come here first.”
Tobias walked over the Father Jacob, the Father handed him twenty dollars.
“Why don’t you go to the movies tonight? Have some soda and popcorn and relax. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“You sure Father?” Tobias asked as he took the money. He was halfway to the door when he turned back to the Father.
“Thanks Father Jacob.” Tobias said before he knelt and crossed himself before exiting the church.
“He’s a good kid that one.” Father Jacob said as he removed his collar. “He’ll work out perfectly.” A sly grin formed on his face. “Yes, I think he’ll be perfect.”
11:45 pm. Jacob sat in his car at the end of the street. The silver Town & Country had pulled into the driveway of the second house on the left about an hour and a half ago. The downstairs lights went out about thirty minutes ago, so had the lights in the upstairs room to the right. Now Jacob just needed to wait for the last lights to go out upstairs.
9:05 pm. Tobias settled into the aisle chair in the theater, his extra large Mountain Dew and jumbo sized popcorn with extra butter sat in the seat beside him, insuring that no one would sit next to him. Tobias didn’t like people to close to him. He didn’t know why, he just didn’t. He needn’t worry about it tonight anyway, there were less then thirty people in the theater for tonight’s movie, but still that felt crowded to Tobias. Even though there were 150 seats in the theater he looked around to be sure no one sat to close to him. Tobias wondered why he felt like this. At church, there would be over 250 people packed in the pews for any given Mass and he never once felt crowded or nervous there. Actually he felt quite comfortably there. Maybe it was a Godly thing? The power of Christ? Or maybe it was the fact that the church was Holy ground, or maybe it was that Father Jacob was there with him? Tobias didn’t know for sure, he just knew that anywhere else but in church he didn’t like people around him.
As Tobias waited for the movie to start, he thought about Father Jacob. He thought about how Father was always there for him, to protect him. He felt safe with Father. He would do anything for Father Jacob, because Father Jacob would do anything for him. The Father even sinned for Tobias. Just last summer Father had lied to the police to protect Tobias. Tobias had been picked up for stealing a ladies purse at the mall, but Father Jacob had told the police that Tobias had been with him at the time cleaning the church. Tobias knew how much it hurt Father Jacob to have to lie, but he did it to protect Tobias; to protect him from the hell of juvie hall.
Since that day, Tobias knew that Father Jacob was the only person he could trust to help him and to keep him safe. But it wasn’t like Father was a push over. Father Jacob made Tobias return the ladies purse and apologize to her. He also had to pray for an hour every day for a whole month, for the strength to be good. He even had to clean Father’s quarters for that month. Tobias did it all willingly, and since then, he never even thought about stealing again.
As he sat there watching the coming attractions Tobias whispered to himself. “I love you Father Jacob. I wish you could have been my real father.”
1:15 am. It had been a good half hour since the last lights went out, and Jacob crossed the street heading towards the house. A slight mist began to fall from the night sky. It felt good to Jacob. Cleansing. Baptismal. Jacob laughed to himself after thinking that.
“The Lord is cleansing me for the sins I am about to commit.”
Jacob whispered. “Isn’t that just fitting?”
Jacob slowly made his way to the front door. Reaching out he tried the knob.
“Stupid! Just plain stupid.” He whispered. It wasn’t locked.
“How can people be so stupid in this day and age to not lock their doors?” Jacob asked himself. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway, for he could pick any lock in less then 30 seconds, but still he thought, how stupid.
Once inside Jacob flicked on his mini flashlight, scanning the area he found the staircase. As he ascended he could hear the ticking of a grandfather clock on the landing ahead of him. Once on the landing he paused, he could hear soft voices from the right. Looking over he saw the faint glow from a TV under the bedroom door. Good he thought; the TV will cover any noise I need to make in the other room. Moving to his left he listened outside the other bedroom door. It was quite. Jacob slowly turned the knob and inched the door open just far enough so he could slide into the room. Once in, he pulled out his revolver and closed the door behind himself. He could hear a faint snoring coming from the left side of the bed; he guessed it to be the male. That would be his first shot. Take out the husband first, and then the wife, just in case things went haywire; much easier to deal with a hysterical woman than an angry man.
Jacob lined up the gun barrel with the slender beam of light from his flashlight. Sweeping up from the floor to the foot of the bed he slowly moved the light to the head of the bed. Pfft. A second later the light shined on the woman’s head, Pfft.
Jacob adjusted the light for a wider angle, there was blood running down the pillow and onto the floor. He had been dead center with both shots. Jacob walked over to the bed; he fired one more shot into each head, insurance. Insurance they were both dead.
Jacob unscrewed the silencer from the pistol. Putting it into his pocket he replaced it with a new one. He had learned long ago that a silencer is only good for one to four shots. Unlike in the movies where they fire off dozens of shots with one silencer, in real life a silencer begins to lose it’s effectiveness after each shot, and by the time you fire your fifth or more shots, the silencer is all but useless.
As Jacob turned to the door he whispered. “Forgive me for what I have done, and am about to do.” He crossed himself and walked out into the hallway. Once in the hallway he holstered the revolver and pulled out his tranquillizer gun. He paused to listen at the door of the second bedroom. The TV was still on; the glow from under the door told him the TV faced the door, which was good. This meant that the person inside should be facing away from the door, making Jacob’s job a little easier. As he reached for the knob, he thought about not doing what he was about do. That thought soon passed. He had to do this. He was trained to do this. It was a matter of life or death.
“You gotta do this damn it!” Jacob cursed himself under his breath. No matter how many times he had done this, he always felt a little guilty just before doing it.
“Just do it and get it over with, the hard parts done.” He muttered as he slowly turned the knob and quietly entered the room.
The boy lay across the bed on his stomach, resting on his elbows watching TV. He didn’t even hear Jacob enter his room. Jacob stood there for a moment just looking at the boy. Then he raised the gun, aimed at the boy’s buttock and fired. Pfft. The dart struck its target.
“Ow! What the fuck!” The boy screamed, jumping up from the bed. “Who the hell are,” Was all he got out before collapsing back onto the bed. He’d be out for about three hours.
10:25pm. Tobias sat and watched all the credits roll. He liked to be the last person to leave. He sat there for a few minutes after the credits stopped and the house lights came up. Grabbing his coat he got up and left the theater. Walking home he detoured to pass the church, kind of hoping to see Father Jacobs’s lights on, so he could stop and visit. There were no lights.
Upon getting home, Tobias went straight to his room. His mom wasn’t home yet, he really didn’t think she would be. She always worked late on Sundays, even later if the Packers played the night game, and even later still if they won. Then all the drunken fans stayed to party until bar time. As Tobias disrobed to take a shower he thought about how much he hated the Packers, and their fans.
“Fucking morons!” His hatred for them came from the simple fact that they kept his mother away from him longer during football season. He actually prayed each week that they would lose, so he would have more time with his mom. Last year was great; they only won two games and were the worst in the NFL. He guessed they had won tonight, since his mom wasn’t home yet.
As he showered, his mind wandered to thoughts he knew he shouldn’t be thinking. As he lowered his hand to begin pleasuring himself he smiled and laughed.
“Well at least I’ll have something to confess next Sunday."
2:30Am. Jacob carried the limp body of the boy down the stairs into the basement. He thought back to when he first discovered the secret room in the church cellar. He was an altar boy himself at the time. He had snuck down here to swipe a couple bottles of sacramental wine and as he reached for a bottle he noticed a beam of sunlight shining thru a small window and landing on the far wall. The way the light hit the wall it looked like the wall was on fire. Being the curious teenager he was, he went to check out the image on the wall. As he placed his hand on the brick, it slid in. It was then that young Jacob noticed a lever inside the wall. Pulling the lever, the wall opened up. Inside it was dark, pitch dark. Lighting a candle, young Jacob entered the room. What he found in that secret room changed his life forever. Still today, Jacob couldn’t decide if it was a change for the better, or for the worse.
Today as he re-entered the room, for what seemed like the 1000th time, he thought of the boy he was carrying. For 16, he was surprisingly light. Jacob figured he was 90 to 110 pounds at best. As he laid him down on the bed, he looked at the boy closer. If he hadn’t known any different, he’d have guessed the boy to be 12 or 14 tops, not 16. He pulled the covers over the boy and tucked him in as a dad would his own son. All Jacob could do now was wait. Wait for the drug to wear off.
7:30Am. Tobias awoke feeling refreshed. He had slept well last night: no nightmares for the first time in weeks.
“Ah, what a good nights sleep,” Tobias said as he stretched and stood up. “Maybe I should whack off more often if it’ll help me sleep.”
After getting dressed he headed down to the kitchen for breakfast. He wondered if his mom had come home last night; he never heard her come in but she might have. He would be quite so as not to wake her if she was, she would need to sleep, to ease her hangover. And he wasn’t going to check her room just in case she had another over night guest.
Tobias slammed the last of his orange juice and headed out the door. Stopping on the porch, he pulled back a piece of the siding and retrieved a pack of smokes. He took out two and put the rest back and pushed back the siding. Tobias really didn’t smoke; he just puffed on the cigs, never inhaling, he just lit up to fit in with the older kids in the park before classes started at school.
4:45Am. Jacob walked over to the bed, the boy had begun to stir a little. Jacob poured a glass of water and placing his hand beneath the boy’s neck he gently lifted his head. Slowly he poured a little water into the boy’s mouth. Not expecting it, the boy coughed and spit out the water while shaking his head. Blinking his eyes the boy bolted up; after a quick glance around, realizing he wasn’t in his own room he jumped from the bed and screamed.
“What the fuck? Who are you? Where am I? What do you want?” The boy rattled off the questions without waiting for any answers.
“Relax, please calm down.” Jacob said trying to sound reassuring to the boy.
“Where am I? Who are you?” The boy repeated.
“My names Jacob, where you are isn’t important right now. You’re safe, I promise you that, and if you do what you are asked, you will remain safe.”
“Fuck that mister!” The boy yelled, looking around the room for a door or any way out. He couldn’t see one.
“Let me out of here right fucking now!” The boy screamed.
Jacob stepped towards the boy, the boy jumped back and backed up until he hit the wall. Pressed as tight to the wall as possible, the boy felt the coldness and roughness of the brick against his back. It was then that the boy looked down and realized he was wearing just his boxers. No shirt, no pants, no socks, nothing, just his Sponge Bob boxers.
“Where the fuck are my clothes?” He screamed.
“Oh my God!” The boy cried, the color fading from his face. He crossed his hands over his groin. “You’re one of those sick perverts who like boys aren’t you? You’re going to,,”
“No, no, please listen to me.” Jacob said trying to sound assuring to the boy. “It’s not like that at all.”
The boy slid down the wall until he sat squatted on the floor, scrapping his back on the rough brick, leaving a few small drops of blood as he slide down. Tears were flowing freely from his eyes now as he clutched his knees to his chest and started rocking.
7:50Am. “Yo Tobias!” A voice called out from the basketball courts on the far side of the park.
“Yo Jimmy!” Tobias yelled back as he turned towards the courtyard.
Jimmy was Tobias’s closet friend. Well the closet friend his own age. Tobias considered Father Jacob to be his closest friend.
“What’s up Jimmy?”
“Not much Tob. Hey you got a smoke?”
“Yeah, sure.” Tobias answered pulling out the two smokes he brought. That’s why he grabbed two; he knew Jimmy would want a smoke too. But unlike Tobias, Jimmy actually smoked. He inhaled. He also smoked other things that Tobias didn’t really want to try. Jimmy would occasionally offer some to Tobias, but Tobias had always said no.
5:15Am. Jacob tried talking to the boy, who was now in shock, he didn’t hear a single word Jacob said. He just sat there humming; humming a low, slow, monotone hum, all the while rocking back and forth with a steady stream of tears flowing down his cheeks.
“Boy, snap out of it!” Jacob yelled trying to get the boy to answer. He didn’t want to, but he had to, Jacob slapped the boy across the face.
“What?” the boy cried as he looked briefly up at Jacob. Looking back to the floor he cried. “Please mister, don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me, please.”
“I’m not going to hurt you boy,” Jacob said sympathetically. “Just try to calm down, okay?"
Jacob got up and crossed the room to one of the dressers, opening the top drawer he pulled out a shirt and pair of jeans and went back to the boy.
“Here, put these on.” Jacob told him. “These should fit you. And no, I am not a sick perv. I really am here to help you. I know you can’t grasp that right now, but you will eventually.”
The boy grabbed the clothes and stood up; turning his back to Jacob he put them on as fast as he could.
“You have any shoes?” The boy asked as he wiped the tears from his face.
“Yeah I think so,” Jacob answered crossing the room back to the dresser. “What size do you wear?”
“8 ½ I think.” The boy answered.
Jacob found a pair of size 9’s and grabbed a pair of socks and set them both down on the end of the bed.
“They might be a little big, but they’ll have to do for now.”
The boy sat down on the bed and pulled on the socks and began to slip on the shoes.
“Now we need to have a little talk.” Jacob said as he pulled a chair up to near the bed and sat down facing the boy.
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