Free Invisible Terror Collection by Bill Myers Page A

if she could stand for a little more Chris tian company … especially tonight.
    “I’ve got it!” Ryan suddenly said. “Susan, from the church.
    The one who helped rescue you from those satanist guys.” Relief flooded Becka. “Of course! Why didn’t I think of it?
    Mom even asked her to check in on us.”
    Without a word Ryan threw the car into a U-turn and they were off.
    **********
    7:07 p.m.
    “But if this thing is a demon, shouldn’t Beck and her brother have been able to, you know, make it obey them? I mean, isn’t that what the Bible says?” Ryan was pacing back and forth in Susan’s tiny office. He seemed more agitated than Becka.
    Susan leaned forward on her desk, listening. As usual she was working late. She was a college student and a newlywed. She and her husband, Todd, worked part-time as youth pastors for the Community Chris tian Church.
    She had listened with interest to Becka and Ryan’s story.
    When Becka expressed her confusion over the ghost seeming to be real, Susan had nodded.
           “I can see why you’ve started to believe in this thing. But don’t forget that demons have knowledge of all that has happened. It wouldn’t be too hard for them to masquerade as the little girl who was killed there.”
    “And they could speak Spanish?” Ryan had asked.
    “They could speak whatever they wanted,” Susan had agreed.
    “If Spanish is called for, that’s what they will use.” Now Susan nodded again at Ryan’s insight. “Yes,” she agreed,
    “in theory, as believers, Becka and Scott should have authority over the demons.”
    “So what gives?” Ryan’s voice had an edge of impatience.
    “Becka has a special guest appearance in her bedroom, Scotty’s attacked by flies, and — ”
    “Wait a minute … did you say flies?”
    “Yeah, thousands of them. Why?”
    “One of his names … one of the names God gave Satan was Beelzebub.”
    “Be-elle-za-what?” Ryan asked.
    “Beelzebub. It’s like one of God’s jokes on him. It means
    ‘Lord of Flies.’ ”
    Becka felt the old familiar chill run across her shoulders. It took a moment to find her voice. “So what you’re saying is we might be dealing with more than just a demon?” Ryan stopped pacing and looked at the women. “You’re not talking about — I mean, are you saying it might be Satan?” Susan shrugged. “Hard telling. Lots of times demons will claim that very thing to try and freak you out. But from what you’ve described, with the history of occult activities on that hill, whatever they are doing is definitely big-time.”
    “They?” Becka repeated. “You said they.”
    “You’re probably dealing with a cluster of them, yes.”
    “But why do they always appear as Juanita’s ghost?”
    “Ghosts, angels of light, spirit guides — demons come in all sorts of disguises.”
           “Still, the Bible says we have authority over them, and my brother tried and got trounced. Why?”
    “A good question.” Susan reached over to her shelf and pulled out a Bible. She began leafing through the pages. “Chris tians shouldn’t go out looking for fights with the devil. After all, his job is to kill and destroy. But when they meet him, they will win if they are using God’s power.”
    She found her place. “Ah, here we go, Ephesians 6:12: ‘For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rul-ers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’ ” Becka nodded. “I know. Believe me, Scotty and I are very familiar with those verses.”
    Susan continued. “There’s more: ‘Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.’”
    Again Becka nodded. “But Scotty wasn’t exactly standing up.
    When Juanita — or whatever it was — got through with him, he was lying flat on his back, thinking he