Dimensions of Genesis by Danielle Q. Lee Page A

emanating from the
room, a smell that reminded him of rotting meat.
    Once the door was open, Gabe recognized
Father Francis sitting in a far corner. He looked haggard and
irritable as he glanced up from his bible. Nodding curtly, he
dropped his head and continued reading a passage from the book of
Mark.
    On the floor, hands and feet bound together,
was the young girl from the photos. She was emaciated and her ashen
skin looked to be bruised from head to toe. What remained of her
long, black hair was greasy and stringy. Peeking through the sparse
cords of hair were several bald patches on her scalp, many oozing
and seeping, as though she’d torn it out from the roots.
    Several long, red gashes veined across her
face, marring her pale complexion. She wore a light t-shirt and
shorts, both stained beyond recognition with what looked to be
vomit and blood.
    Facing away from Father Francis, she appeared
unconscious. If it weren’t for her chest rising and falling
sharply, Gabe would have surmised he was looking at a cadaver.
    Though the room was decorated tastefully, the
energy would make a morgue seem like a massage parlor. A dense,
negative charge swallowed the air, suffocating any positive energy
that dared enter. Gabe shuddered as he felt the weight of the
atmosphere on his soul.
    The girl’s mother stood in a far corner,
wringing her hands. A look of agony chiseled on her face as she
stared helplessly at her daughter.
    Not wanting to disturb the woman, He slipped
quietly out of the room in search of somewhere to change into his
robes. Finding a bathroom down the hall, he opened his backpack and
slipped into his ceremonial garb. Grabbing his bible and rosary, he
bravely went back to the room of darkness.
     
    ~
     
    Several hours passed as Father Francis
relentlessly prayed to the unconscious girl. He read passage after
passage from several locations in the bible. Psalms, Revelations,
Matthew, Mark and John, but there was no response from the battered
young woman. Gabe whispered prayers as he delicately held each bead
of his rosary.
    After four strenuous hours of praying with no
movement whatsoever from the girl, Father Francis suddenly
paled.
    “I’ll return in a few minutes, Father Gabe.
I…don’t feel well suddenly.” The old priest said weakly. “Come sit
here and keep reading.” The old priest instructed.
    Complying, Gabe watched as the old priest
shuffled wearily out of the room. Clutching the door knob on his
way out of the room, he slowly closed the door behind him.
    The second the door clicked shut, the girl’s
eyes flew open and her head swung sharply towards Gabe. An evil
sneer spread across her face, her lips curled into a snarling grin.
She smiled horribly, exposing blood-stained teeth as she’d
apparently been gnawing on the insides of her cheeks. Her pupils
were dilated to at least four times their natural size making her
eyes appear like shiny obsidian marbles.
    Gabe gasped as she growled a low, guttural
rumbling from the back of her throat. Her skin was so mottled and
ashen; she looked like a half rotted corpse. The snarling growl
soon turned to wretched laughter as she was obviously amused with
how she’d frightened Gabe.
    Panicked, he wondered if he should get Father
Francis or if he should continue to read from the bible.
    “Mmm mm….” she purred, “My, my, you are
delicious looking, aren’t you?” As she spoke, a line of white foam
tinged with blood trickled out of her mouth and down her chin.
    Gabe frantically flipped through sections of
the bible, attempting to find anything that might contain this dark
creature.
    Eyeing him seductively, she moaned and
flicked her tongue at him.
    “Come on,” she taunted, her voice deep
and thick. “You know want to. Just touch me…come on. Poor little
church boy, haven’t even had a piece of ass yet, have you?” She
cackled.
    Gabe’s mouth went dry and his head spun from
fear as he debated what to do. Finally, he decided he would recite
the