Moonshine

Chapter Five

Sorry this one took so long. 

This chapter is dedicated to a friend of mine who passed away last week to cystic fibrosis. She was a good girl and always tried her best to fight for her life. Rest in peace, Kimmie. You will be missed. <3

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Back when I trained to be a cop, they taught us not to panic if we found ourselves in a 'situation' with a mob. But as Abelli's keen eyes bore straight into mine, I still got the shakes along with a thousand questions running through my head: How long did he know? What gave it away? What the hell was he going to do to me? And more importantly, How the hell was I gonna get out of this mess?  

"John what're you, nuts? You think I'm some kind of demon?" I struggled against the rope just for the effect. "You've gotta be kidding me!" For some reason I thought maybe I could pass the sudden shock off as some kind of delayed reaction to their 'crazy' claims. Anything was worth a try at that time.  

"Don't think, I know. Where's that cross you always wear, eh?" He pulled at my red tie. "I know for a fact that Andy wouldn't go anywhere without that cross around his neck."  

What hope I had left sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Russell must have taken it off prior to me hopping into the body, and I knew for a fact that demons couldn't possess a body when it wore a holy symbol such as the cross. That's why it was so much harder for demons to possess a living soul. Smith had worn one for protection. He had needed it too, being the man he was after all. Hell, even I wore one given the circumstances of my job. What Russell did to it afterwards, I have no idea.  

But still, that didn't stop me from feeding more lines to Abelli.  

"John, it's me I swear! I just misplaced it!" I pressed on desperately.  

"Misplaced it? Well here." Abelli motioned over one of his men. The man then took off his own cross and pressed it against my arm.  

What happened next hurt like hell. It felt like the metal had been thrown into a fire, and then just left to sit until it grew white hot before piercing my skin. My entire body sort of seized up, trying to ignore the pain. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't bite back the tears or the screams that echoed against the dark walls.  

And then after twenty slow and agonizing seconds, it stopped. The man dangled the cross in front of my face, a sadistic smirk on his own. 

"Yeah, you're human alright," Abelli spat out. "Now, tell me; what are you doing in Andy's body, huh? You sent to spy on us?"  

The cross dangerously close to my skin again, I struggled to draw my arm away from it. However, the other man that helped tie me up grabbed onto it and held it straight. Regardless, I said nothing to the Italian, like my body was still in shock from what just happened to it. 

The man who held the cross stood back and drew out his gun, pointing it straight at my heart. "It ain't gonna speak, boss. It's probably just like the other ones. Screw torturing it; let's just finish the job off."  

I stared at the gun, paralyzed. They were really just gonna finish me off here? No, they couldn't be serious! Abelli might think that Andrew's still in here. He's not dumb enough to pull that trigger.  

Just as I'd hoped, John raised his hand, blocking the barrel of the weapon. "Hold it Gus; Andy might still be alive in there."  

"Yeah right, you know these demons, boss. It's much easier to possess a dead body than a live one. Smith's probably long gone," Gus said with a frown.  

"An-And what if he's still here?" I shouted. 

They stopped and looked at me. 

I continued. "Yeah, what if...what if he's still alive in here, eh? You really gonna kill your best friend?"