The Reverend Monster

“Take a sip from the cup Meg.” Barry bellowed, walking towards her.

The cup is shaking in her hands. She is struggling not to throw up because of the stench from the cup.

Barry has his tattooed arms folded across his chest. With one bushy eyebrow raised, starring menacingly at her. He shakes his head and sighs heavily. He takes a deep breath with his eyes closed and screams, “Drink up bitch” as he slams his fists on the wooden table in front of him in rage.

Barry was a clergyman who had moved into the estate with his wife a few years earlier. He was young and charismatic, and everyone loved him. We were all surprised when his wife left him. How could any right-thinking woman go such a Reverend gentleman?

The horror began on Saturday morning. Meg had gone for her routine walks when she accidentally sprained her ankle; she was limping on her way home when Barry pulled up beside her and offered her a ride. She was glad to be rescued from what would have been a painful and uncomfortable walk.

One minute, she was sitting in the car beside Barry, and the next minute, she woke up in his basement with her hands tied behind her back and her mouth gagged with a piece of cloth. She clearly remembers how Barry had put on a face mask then; then h sprayed her face with a bottle he retrieved from under his seat. Going by her calculations, it’s been six weeks since Barry held her captive in his basement. She could not believe that the well-loved reverend was a monster, a pervert, and a pig.

Barry threatened to kill her if she ever tried to scream for help. He showed her pictures of girls he had dealt with in the past. The views were a gory sight. They made her skin crawl. He made matters worse when he threatened to hunt down her boys and kill them if she tried to do anything stupid. Meg resigned herself to fate. There was nothing she could do.

She knew the consequences of taking the disgusting drink in the cup. It made her body weak and more helpless than she already felt. Barry had bizarre sexual fantasies and enjoyed doing them to her while she was passed out or almost lifeless. He wanted the power he had over her when she was numb. He was a sick fellow.

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Hot tears trickled down her cheeks as she pleaded with him not to make her take the drink. She would do anything he wanted, but she didn’t want to take the drink. He crouched next to her, placing a cold knife a mere inch from her throat; a land whispered in her ears, “drink up now.” The look in his eyes could make a child convulse.

Meg knows better than to argue with him. She is on her knees with the cup in her trembling hands. She knows she has to drink its disgusting content. She shivers and gulps the thick, reddish liquid while thinking of her two beautiful boys and loving husband.

They must be worried about her.

The familiar feeling begins to kick in and overwhelm her. From the corner of her eyes, she sees Barry smiling. This was what he wanted.

He had his way with her like he did all the time, leaving her on the cold floor in her vomit. She was like a rag doll.

Meg hardly slept, and she felt very sick. She could count her ribs. She had not seen a mirror in a long time, but she could tell that could tell she looked gaunt. She could feel the tears burning behind her eyes, but her dismayed state won’t let them out. She tries to sit up, but she hears footsteps approaching the door. Swiftly she lies back down on the floor, the key turns in the lock, and

Barry walks in to announce that he will join the search party organized by the estate residents to search for her.

He returns hours later and tells her that everyone has said a prayer for her. “Guess who led the prayer”? He asked, beaming from ear to ear.

All hope was lost for Meg. She knew that Barry would not let her leave that place alive. He was going to kill her. It was only a matter of time. This wasn’t his first time. He was a master at deception.

There were days when she heard movement outside the basement, and it hurt her heart that help was within her reach, but she couldn’t get to it. There were times when she heard Barry leading prayer meetings in his house; she would hear and listen to them pray out loud for her to be found. Hot tears burned her eyes those times.

Barry was usually very busy at this time. There was a widely publicized conference that tended out of town. He was the main speaker at the event. He told Meg that she would survive three days without the little food and water he usually gave her. He was going to kill her anyway, so it didn’t matter whether she ate or not.

The next day, Meg hears the critical turn in the lock, and her heart begins to race. Fear paralyzed her whole body. Barry was supposed to be away for three days; why was he back so soon? And he wasn’t there alone!!. She could hear voices. He had come with some people to kill her and dispose of her body. Her whole life flashed before her eyes, and she began to tremble as she feared what would happen to her.

The door flung open, and Meg saw the image scurrying through a pile of dusty cartons, obviously searching for something. It took a moment for her to make out who it was… Barry’s ex-wife!!.

With all the strength she could gather, Meg whimpered and made sounds to get her attention. The woman screamed in fear as she realized she wasn’t alone. Then came the footsteps racing to the basement, and two men dashed in. They discovered Meg’s limp frame sprawled in a corner and called for help. She was promptly taken to the hospital while the cops searched through the basement and found several incriminating pieces of evidence against Barry.

Barry was arrested while delivering his keynote address at the event. The police dug deeper into his story and found that Meg would have been his fifth victim, but she was lucky to be alive because “Mrs. Barry” had come with movers to pick up what was left of her belongings in the house.

The peaceful neighborhood could not believe they had been wining and dining with a serial killer.

The jury didn’t have so much to deliberate at Barry’s trial. He was given five life sentences for aggravated murder, abduction, rape, etc. Meg’s husband took the case to a higher court, where Barry was given the death sentence.

Meg was lucky to be alive. It took a while for her body to heal but not her mind. She still lives with memories from that horrible experience, and she always has a warning for everyone….”warns everyone: “be careful because you might just be friends with a reverend monster, trust no one.”