Doctor Forrester couldn’t sleep. He hadn’t slept in days in fact. He couldn’t shake the visions of poor Curtis from floating into his dreams. What monster could have done this? Could it really be a demon? Or was that just small town hokum? Within a week there was another murder just like that of poor Curtis, only this time it wasn’t a townsperson, just a passerby, so the townspeople didn’t even do him the courtesy of a proper burial. Muriel’s people just threw his body in the river and let the current do the heavy lifting to dispose of the body. Forrester felt a deep sense of dread right inside his bones. It’s the type of dread that makes it difficult to get up in the morning, or do basic things like taking care of yourself, or concentrating on the job. More than once he had to re-do a medical examination because he wasn’t actually paying attention to his patient. In lieu of sleep, Forrester had taken to reading. He had ordered a book from the library at the University in Boromont on demonology, a fact he was more than a little embarrassed about; he couldn’t believe he was actually considering the possibility that a demon could have done these things. At the same time, however, how could a human ever do something like this? It was just so monstrous. One day Forrester was in his office reading about the history of the pentagram when two men burst through the doors carrying a third man with an immense open wound in his chest right over his heart. Forrester noticed he was also bleeding from the jaw line. At first he thought his throat had been cut, then he realized what was happening.

“A survivor!” He shouted, “Get him on the table!” They hoisted the man onto the examination table and Forrester opened his medical kit. Forrester shoved a wad of gaus into the hands of one of the men and said “Apply pressure to the wound!” The man hesitated, unsure of what to do. “The chest wound! The chest wound!” Shouted the doctor. The man quickly applied the gaus to the chest wound while Forrester checked his vital signs. His pulse was weak, but he was conscious, though his pupils were quite dilated. “Who did this to you?” He asked. The man was frantic.

“The, the ...Devil…” He said as a chill ran down Forrester’s spine.

“The… Devil..?” He said.

“The Acolytes… of the Devil…” Said the injured man.

“He must be delusional…” Said the doctor.

“Uh, Doc?” Said the man with the gaus, “There’s something you should know about Helmuth, and the mines.”

“I know.” Said Forrester, “It’s not just a clever name. Actual demons and all that, I’ve heard the spiel, I’m not convinced.”

“Hence the book on Demonology on your desk” Said the other able bodied man. Forrester blushed.

“Look, we can debate this later,” he said, “right now this man needs our help.” Forrester sedated the injured man and stitched up his jawline, then he did what he could for the chest wound. He made him comfortable in a bed in the back room, but he had his doubts he would make a full recovery. Certainly not a full psychological recovery anyway. He collapsed in his office chair with the two other men leaning against the examination table. They were all tired and splattered with blood. Forrester wiped his hands off.

“What could he have meant by ‘The Acolytes of the Devil’?” he said. “Does he think demons did this to him, too?”

“Doc,” Said the man with the gaus, Forrester found out later his name was Henry. “There’s some things you gotta know about Helmuth. Some things you probably should’ve known before even movin’ here.,,” The doctor leaned in. “The Acolytes of the Devil,” Henry started “Is a cult here in Helmuth. It’s a miner’s cult.”

“A miner’s cult?” the doctor said in disbelief.

“Yeah, some of the miner’s claim they saw something down in the pit.” said Henry, “Saw someone…”

“Well, who?” Forrester asked impatiently.

“They say they met a demon named Moloch, who says he’s the devil.” Henry said, somewhat hesitantly. “They say he’s trapped, and if they can release him he’ll make them all rich. Open up the ore in ground and what not.”

“And so… what, they are doing the killings?” asked Forrester.

“It’s a ritual” said Henry, “until they can do it right Moloch can’t be released.”

“So, they’re trying over and over again…” said Forrester.

“Yeah, we walked in on them trying to do it to poor Ned back there,” said Henry, “I fired my gun and they dispersed and just left him there.”

“You saved his life.” The doctor said.

“If only it were that simple,” said the other man, John. “They’re gonna come back for him. If he’s the one they need to release Moloch, then they aren’t finished with him yet.”

“And that will lead them here…” Said Forrester. Henry looked out the window.

“I think it already has…” He said. Forrester and John looked out the window to see what Henry was referencing and their hearts sunk. Forrester walked out the door to see a flaming pentagram in the street with the top point of the star pointing directly at the doctor’s office.

“So, they’ve come then…” Said Forrester, unable to shake that deep sense of dread in his bones.