Morningstar/Alignment by Keith Trimm (people reading books txt) 📕

The crowd shouted and cheered back.

"Bring me some clothes," Alex, the Son of the Morning Star demanded, "For I know now that I am naked."

Seth stood and grabbed a robe off one of the church members standing close by. He turned and walked to Alex bowing and offering it to him. Alex just looked down upon him.

"You wish to control me?" Alex asked Seth.

"No my Lord! I only wish to obey you," he replied, looking up to him.

"You cannot lie to me. I am the King of Lies. I know what dwells in your heart."

"I do not lie to you."

Alex paused for a moment. "Stand before me and repent."

"Repent?"

"Stand!"

Seth stood and faced Alex terrified. "Why do you fear me? Is it not your only desire to reside in my kingdom? Do you fear leaving this place?" Alex asked.

"I, I don’t…"

"That’s right. You don’t know. Your mouth speaks, but your heart deceives."

"I have always led the way for your coming."

"You have used me for your own personal gain. Until now you ruled over these people. Now they are mine. What purpose do you serve now?"

"I will serve you. You are my master now."

"For how long? At what point will your envy take over? I need not a conspirator in my ranks. For you I have no trust, or need." Alex stated. "What is it you crave most?" he asked.

"To please you." Seth answered.

"Your dishonesty pleases me," he replied as he reached out and grabbed Seth’s head, twisting it until his neck snapped. He joined Brother Follett and the sheriff on the slab.

"Tonight was a good sacrifice," Alex stated to the crowd. "My father is pleased tonight."

Chapter 11

April 12, 2000

6 months later

Jennifer Davis stepped out of the university library into the cold dark night after an evening of study and research for a paper in biology class. The light emanating from the building faded quickly as she paced down the sidewalk towards her off campus apartment. She could see her breath as she huffed and puffed, always keeping an eye out for strangers and looking back over her shoulder on a regular basis. It was well known that several coeds had been killed at the university but none in the last seven months or so.

Her destination was ten blocks off campus mainly down poorly lit residential streets, and she hadn’t planned to stay at the library after sundown. With her books in tow she counted her steps as they danced in a rhythmic pattern. She tried not to concentrate on the stars in the sky above, or the bite of the cold air on her face. She was trying to listen for any sounds that were out of the ordinary and looked for any movement that might be a signal trouble lurking in the shadows.

Across the street she could see the brightly lit up sign from a gas station/ quick mart and several people moving about inside. It gave her a bit of comfort knowing she could call out for help if needed and she continued briskly across the parking lot towards the roadway. Her books seemed to grow heavy in her arms and her fingers began to tingle as the cold night air nipped at them. She wore only a light jacket not realizing the temperature would drop so suddenly after sundown.

From out of the shadows of the science hall building, came forth a familiar male voice calling out her name. She listened as the voice called out to her again.

"Hold up a minute," the voice yelled and the sound of fast paced footsteps became louder as her pulse began to speed. She froze in her tracks waiting to see who’s face matched up with the voice.

A sigh of relief came over her as she saw Prof. Alex Parsons emerge from the darkness in an almost cartoon fashion waving his arms and waddling like a penguin.

"Do you need a ride?" he asked her. "I am heading home myself and I saw you heading off campus, thought you might like the inside of a warm car instead of freezing your toes off out here."

She didn’t even hesitate. "Sure, I’d really appreciate it Dr.. Parsons."

"You can call me Alex, honey. My car is right over here," he replied as he directed her to his four-door navy sedan parked at the far end of the lot. They made their way through the lot passing between cars not saying anything to each other. She felt comfortable with this man for he was the Professor in her Physics class and had a very fatherly appeal about him.

He unlocked the door and hit the automatic unlock button making a click in the remaining three doors. The lock on her door raised into the up position and she opened the door and got in. Once inside it seemed very quiet and the car smelled to her like it had been well cleaned and well kept. She figured he must have been obsessed with neatness except that his pants were always too baggy and his hair was constantly messed up.

He turned the key and the car started up hardly making a sound. It seemed to purr like a kitten as he put it into reverse backing out, then switching gears and making his way down the lot towards the entrance to the street. Jennifer watched out the passenger window as the gas station grew further and further away from her. After looking both ways Alex pushed on the gas and headed down the street.

Jennifer watched as the car made its way to the first turn towards her apartment and she wondered how he knew when to turn, maybe he knew someone else who lived in the building and they had mentioned her name. The radio was turned off and she tried to think of something to say to break the silence and end this awkward moment. He kept his eyes facing out the front of the car with his hands on the three and nine o’clock position on the steering wheel and she just stared out the side window watching the streetlights pass by as the car sped along.

"How are you doing in your other classes?" he asked her. She almost was startled by the sound of his low booming voice.

"Uh…fine, I guess," she struggled for an intelligent answer. She clenched her books tighter as she looked at him.

"I wish more students spent time in the library instead of the clubs," he said. "You’re doing the right thing with your free time."

Jennifer thought about how she was actually planning to go out to the clubs after she got home, but had no intention of telling him. They were four blocks from her apartment and she was starting to get anxious about getting out of the car. He was beginning to get a little creepy and she didn’t really like talking to him as much as she thought she would. The heat from the vents did feel better than the nipping of the cold night air and she was content to ride this out for four more blocks.

As they approached her apartment he suddenly turned to the right taking her by surprise down the wrong street. She felt a hot flash and a moment of panic as she was forced by the turn to lean towards the Professor and grip the passenger door handle. He didn’t even flinch as continued down the side street in the wrong direction, which made her feel obligated to speak up.

"My apartment was in the middle of that block back there," she said.

"I know honey; I was just going to drop you off in the alley behind the apartments. There is a driveway leading to the backdoor."

She puzzled a moment wondering how he would know this, but then realized he has been a teacher in this town for almost a decade and may have been there before. She had only lived in the city for the two years she was a student. For all she know he had lived in the apartments before. He made the turn into the alley and drove to her driveway putting the car into park.

"Thank you Professor," she said and got of the car shutting the door behind her. She turned as she walked towards the apartments and saw him staring at her and it again, started to creep her out. She was glad to be home, she thought to herself. The headlights from his car shot her shadow harshly against the side of the building as she sauntered towards the door, hearing him put the car in reverse and pull out of the driveway. A sigh of relief came over her.

Jennifer pulled her keys from her jacket pocket and unlocked the door to a long steep set of stairs that led to her apartment at the top of the building. It was a chore to climb all the steps and she couldn’t wait to move somewhere else or find a house needing another roommate. The books in her arms felt like sacks of rocks as she trudged up the steps each one creaking and groaning with each stride One sixty watt bulb lit the entire staircase illuminating the cracks and yellow stains on the walls.

At the top of the stairs she produced another key to her door, unlocked it and entered setting her books on the kitchen table next to her dirty dishes and disheveled papers and magazines. She checked her answering machine and headed to the kitchen to look for something to eat peering inside her empty refrigerator. The cupboards were almost as barren and she searched the freezer for anything to toss in the microwave oven.

The clock on the wall read nine thirty five and she thought she could run to a cash machine and to a fast food restaurant, still having time to make it to one of her favorite clubs on the edge of campus. All she needed to do was con one of her friends into driving her, which she did, on a semi-regular basis. She picked up the wall- mounted phone in the hall next to the kitchen and dialed up one of her friends. A busy tone greeted her and she hung up again heading for the kitchen.

Again she searched in vain for anything to eat in case she could not locate a patsy to chauffeur her around tonight, because she dreaded walking in that dark cold night again. She leaned back against the counter and put her hands on the edge, hanging her head as she thought. The idea of ordering a pizza came to mind until she looked at her trash can and saw a pile of stacked empty pizza boxes sitting there that should have gone to the trash two weeks ago.

Frustrated she made her way back into the living room where her heart skipped a beat and her breathe made a gasping sound seeing Professor Alex Parsons, standing behind her dining room table. His briefcase lay open on the table with the lid propped up and his right hand hidden behind the top of the case. He didn’t look surprised by her reaction and was quite calm, almost business like in a way as he looked at her across the room.

"What…?" she bellowed out.

"I think you forgot something in my car Jennifer," he said and lifted a pair of her underwear from the case, tossing it out on the table. She looked at it