Nearly two months had passed since Cassian began his vacation, and the Pennsylvania sun shone brightly over a quiet square in a small town where he had decided to stop. Sitting on a wooden bench, a cup of coffee in one hand and his bag beside him, he watched people pass by: elderly walking dogs, children chasing pigeons, an ice cream vendor shouting deals. His crucifix rested under his shirt, and for the first time in a long while, there were no lurking shadows in his peripheral vision. The rest had done him good, though he hadn't chosen a beach as he'd thought; instead, he had let himself wander along back roads, seeking nothing more than the sound of the wind and the sun on his skin.
The phone buzzed in his pocket, breaking the calm. Cassian pulled it out, seeing Elise Rainier's name on the screen, and answered with a relaxed but curious tone.
"Elise, what a surprise. Are you okay? I thought you were resting after New Mexico."
Elise responded, her voice warm but tinged with urgency.
"Hi, Cassian. I'm fine, thank you, but I'm not calling about me. How are you? Where has your break taken you?"
Cassian took a sip of coffee, looking at the park.
"In a square in Pennsylvania, just watching life go by. Two months away from chaos, and I'm not complaining. What's going on, Elise? You sound like you need something."
She sighed on the other end of the line, the sound of papers rustling in the background.
"I need your help, Cassian. There's a couple here in California, Renai and Josh Lambert. They're having problems, bad ones: their son, Dalton, is in a coma, but it's not medical—it's something else. I visited him with Specs and Tucker, and I felt a spirit, something keeping him trapped in a dark place, the Other Side. Josh is acting strange too, like he's being watched. Can you come? I know you're on vacation, but you're the best person for this."
Cassian set the cup on the bench, his mind racing as he processed her words.
"A child trapped and a father being watched… sounds like a strong infestation, Elise. I'm not as far away as you think—I can drive there in a couple of days. What have you seen so far?"
"Little, but enough to worry me," Elise replied. "Dalton won't wake up, and Renai has heard noises, seen shadows. Josh denies everything, but he feels tense, like something's pushing him. I found an entity in the photos Specs took—a red figure with horns, watching them. I think it's playing with the family, and I don't know how much time we have."
Cassian stood up, grabbing his bag with one hand.
"A red demon… that's not subtle. Alright, Elise, I'm coming. I'll leave now and meet you soon. Are you with them or at your house?"
"I'm at my house now," she said. "The Lamberts are at theirs, but I'll visit them tomorrow. I'll wait for you here, Cassian, and thank you. I know I'm pulling you out of your break, but I wouldn't trust this to anyone else."
Cassian gave a slight smile, walking toward his Jeep parked nearby.
"Don't worry, Elise. Two months were enough, and I won't leave a child trapped. See you soon."
He hung up, climbing into the Jeep with a sigh. The engine roared as he left town, taking a back road lined with cornfields stretching like a golden sea under the sun. He had driven for hours, the monotonous landscape calming his mind, when the car suddenly stopped, the engine cutting out without any apparent reason. Cassian frowned, hitting the steering wheel.
"Come on, don't do this to me now," he muttered, checking the dashboard, but everything seemed fine.
Then he felt it: a chill at the nape of his neck, a weight in the air that his sharpened senses recognized instantly. Something was wrong—not in the car, but outside, in the nearby cornfield. He got out of the Jeep, his hand instinctively going to the blessed dagger on his belt, and listened: a sharp, feminine scream cutting through the silence from the rows of corn.
"Help! Please!" The voice was filled with panic, and Cassian didn't hesitate.
He ran toward the sound, the corn leaves brushing against his arms as he drew his dagger, his heart pounding with urgency. The screams guided him, growing clearer with each step, until he found a clearing with a wooden trapdoor half-hidden under the dirt. The girl was screaming from below, and Cassian broke the entrance with a kick, the wood splintering into shards. He descended into a dark underground shelter, the air damp and heavy with a metallic stench, and saw a young girl struggling against a burly man who held her arm, his face twisted in a snarl of rage.
"Let her go!" Cassian roared, lunging at the man.
The man turned, surprised, but Cassian was faster, striking him in the jaw with the hilt of the dagger and knocking him to the ground. The girl fell backward, sobbing, as the man tried to get up, but Cassian pinned him down with a knee to his chest, the dagger at his throat. He looked around: the shelter was filled with rusty tools, torn photos taped to the walls, and a dirty mattress in the corner. It was clear what this man had planned, and likely done before.
"You don't deserve to breathe," Cassian growled, and with a swift motion, he slit the man's throat, his blood splattering the ground as his life faded.
He stood up, wiping the dagger, and recited in Latin, his voice echoing in the enclosed space:
"Anima tua, peccator, in inferno torqueatur, per omnia saecula saeculorum!"
The body trembled briefly, as if something invisible claimed it, and Cassian turned to the girl, who was crouched against the wall in shock, her eyes wide and full of tears. He sheathed the dagger, kneeling gently in front of her.
"It's over, you're safe. Breathe—you're not going to be hurt anymore. Can you speak?"
She nodded slowly, her breathing ragged as she looked at him.
"I… my name is Susie. Susie Salmon. I'm 14. Thank you… he grabbed me on the road, brought me here. I thought he was going to…"
Cassian raised a hand, stopping her gently.
"You don't have to say it, Susie. I saw it in this place, in him. No one will touch you again—I promise. How did you get here? Where are your parents?"
Susie swallowed, her hands trembling as she hugged herself.
"I was walking home from school, cut through the field. He came out of nowhere, covered my mouth… my parents are in town, they don't know I'm here."
Cassian nodded, pulling out his phone as he waited for her to calm down. He dialed 911, his voice firm as he spoke to the operator.
"This is Cassian. I'm in a cornfield a few miles west of Route 30, Pennsylvania. I found a girl, Susie Salmon, being held in an underground shelter by a man. I neutralized him—he's dead. I need police here and contact her parents immediately."
The operator responded quickly, promising to send units, and Cassian hung up, turning his attention back to Susie. She stared at him, and he felt something strange: a purity in her, a light he hadn't seen even in the most devout nuns in Rome.
"You're different, Susie," he said, almost to himself. "There's something about you—pure. Stay with me until they arrive, okay?"
She nodded, her voice calmer.
"Thank you, Cassian. I don't know how you got here, but… thank you."
The police arrived within minutes, along with Susie's parents, a distraught couple who ran to embrace her through tears. An officer, a gray-mustached man, approached Cassian as they inspected the shelter.
"I'm Sergeant Hayes. The man you killed is George Harvey, a known criminal. Abductions, murders—we've been after him for years. What happened here?"
Cassian explained, his tone direct.
"I heard him screaming at her from the road, went in, and saw him trying to hurt her. I stopped him—there was no other option. Search this place; there's evidence of more victims."
Susie, now with her parents, approached with them, her mother crying as her father, a weathered-faced man, shook Cassian's hand firmly.
"I'm Jack Salmon, this is Abigail. I don't know how to thank you. You saved our daughter."
Cassian inclined his head, serious but kind.
"There's no need to thank me, Jack. I did what I had to. Susie is safe—that's what matters."
Before leaving, Cassian wrote his number on a piece of paper and handed it to Susie, his gaze steady.
"Keep this, Susie. If anything happens—anything at all—call me. No matter where I am, I'll come."
She took it, nodding with gratitude.
"I will, Cassian. Thank you… again."
Cassian gave his statement to the police alongside Susie, detailing the encounter, and then returned to the Jeep, which miraculously started without issue. As he drove toward California to help Elise with the Lamberts, Susie's purity lingered in his mind, a stark contrast to the shadows awaiting him.