Sugarfoot and Tadpole Part II

“Sugarfoot, wake up, right now baby, open your eyes. “Granny B was shaking him hard, and he couldn't figure out why. It was dark and he never got up when it was dark, unless him, or Tadpole got sick in the middle of the night or had to pee. But Granny B never woke them up for no reason. She shook him again and sat him up, he opened his eyes, and heard his little brother Tadpole whining. Granny had moved over to him now and was trying to wake him up as well.

“Granny, what’s wrong, I’m sleepy.”

“Christopher William Lewis, get your little ass up right now, take Tadpole and get in that closet, and do not you come out until I have told you, boy you mind me now. The devil is knocking at our door, and I got to meet him with all the prayer I can muster, and I cannot worry about where you and your brother are, I need to worry about my own soul.”

He grabbed Tadpole by the hand, and headed for the closet, as he opened the door, he heard a crash on the back porch, and someone yelling in pain.

“That's the first trap I set for that devil Sugarfoot, but it won’t slow him down long, you get in there now boy. Now you hunker down real low, both of you and take this bag.”

She handed him a small cloth sack about the size of his fist. “You hang on to that tight, it oughta help hide ya from him, and you sing baby, you sing all those songs to Jesus that you learned in Sunday School from ol' preacher Milburn. He won't come near you if you have that bag in your hands and you're singing the Jesus songs.”

With that she pushed him and his little brother, still shaking and unsure if what was going on was real or a dream, into the bottom of the closet and closed the door. She left the room, turning off the light as she went. Sugar heard the door shut and he started to sing, Tadpole hugged tight to him. He didn't remember if he had ever felt this scared before. More than that, he could not remember ever seeing Granny B scared before, not like that. She pretended to be scared sometimes. Holding her chest or putting her hand on her forehead like some southern belle. But that was always her being dramatic and playing over silly stuff. But this was different, she was scared for real now, and so was he.

So, he did what he was told, he sat with his back to the closet wall and arms around Tadpole, hands gripping tight to the bag she had given him, and he sang. Every song he learned in Sunday school. Jesus loves the little children, He's got the Whole World in his Hands, This Little Light of Mine. Every song he could remember from Mrs. Woods’ song service on Sunday mornings.

When he ran out of Sunday school songs he did not know if he should start over or if he could only sing each song once. He hated not knowing the rules, not knowing the rules made it too easy to get in trouble. He tried some of the big church songs that they sometimes sang on Sunday nights when he went with Granny to Preacher Milburn’s church. Go Tell it on the Mountain, There's Power in The Blood, Old Rugged Cross, Amazin' Grace, He didn't know all the words to all the verses, but he figured Jesus would understand if he got some of them wrong, he was only six after all and these were songs from the grown services. He couldn't be expected to know all those verses, especially when they all rhymed like they did. You couldn't keep that straight. Just as he was settling on this dilemma, he heard another crash from outside their room and this time he heard a shout and something smash against the wall.

“Break the whole kitchen you bastard.” He heard Granny B yelling at someone.

“It's not gonna change a damn thing, you'll not lay a hand on either one of those babies, I'll send you to hell tonight if you try, I will not have you hurting them the way you've hurt everyone else.”

More crashing and he felt Tadpole tighten his grip on him, it was hard to keep singing with his brother squeezing him like he was, but he kept going, he had to.

A growing voice, loud enough to drown out his singing and the sound of wind rushing through the hallway. “You cannot stop us; they belong to us, and you know it. Their blood is our blood now, we must have it.”

Granny B screamed “You’ll get nothing more tonight than what you have already taken Devil; you’ve torn enough from my family and from those babies. No one else will suffer at your hands. So come if you think you can, but all you will buy is a fast trip back to whatever hell spawned you.”

Another crash and a scream that shook the whole house. “You can send every spell you have my way witch; it won't matter, I will eat his heart tonight. I will skin him and hang his face on my wall next to his parents as a matching set, and my lord will have his servant. Will you still serve your false god when you sit alone in a pool of the blood of everyone you have ever failed to protect.”

The floor of the little house began to creak like it was pulling apart.

Then he heard Granny B again, “Sing Baby, sing to Jesus to protect us.”

Then he heard her singing too, like she was praying, but the prayers sounded like made up words, or words he had not been taught yet at least. He jumped to his feet and Leroy followed holding his hand tight, Sugarfoot began to sing like he never sang before. He took a big breath and started to belt out song after song.

“There is power, power, wonder workin’ power, in the blood, of the lamb!”

He was practically screaming now. His throat was raw, and tears and snot ran down his face, but he sang on, “On a hill, far away. stands an old rugged cross!” There was no signing now, he was just crying the words, hoping that whatever Granny B was doing to protect them would be enough to send that mean ol’ devil back to where he belonged.

The devil screamed his outrage, and the house shook harder, “It does not matter, you stupid cow, we are legion and if not me then another far worse will come for them, we cannot be dissuaded, all you are doing is delaying the inevitable and making the torture worse. The boy belongs to us, and his brother must die along with everyone else in his family.”

His scream now was one of pain as much of outrage. Granny’s weird prayer must have hurt the devil, and she got louder and louder “Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii.”

He had no idea what the words meant but he hoped that the devils screaming meant they were winning. He screamed louder, the shaking and wind got worse, Granny screamed her prayer at the top of her lungs, he could feel her words moving through his bones, the devil screamed again. Everything stopped.

He heard Tadpole whisper in his ear, Granny sent the devil away Suga, but he is not dead, and he is not happy.” He wanted to ask how he knew that, then the world went black.

He woke to the sound of Granny throwing open the closet door, “You boys did so good, it’s all over now, I brought you some water for your throat, but I need you to get a drink and get into bed, that devil made a mess of my house, and you know, don’t nobody see Granny B’s house when it’s a mess, not even you angels.”

With that she kissed them on the foreheads and shooed them back to their beds. As soon as she shut the door Tadpole ran over and jumped in the bed with Sugarfoot, normally an act this seditious would get him pushed off on the floor, but tonight, Sugar was ok with it. Tonight, had been different.

The next morning, Sugar and Tadpole woke late to the sounds and smells of breakfast cooking, they ran out in their pajamas to see Granny, a thousand questions raving through their minds, why had the devil come last night? Where did she learn those words, she was praying at the devil? Why had it said those things about their mom and dad and one of the boys belonging to it?

Granny wasn’t in the kitchen, it was Aunt Avis, Aunt Chalice, and Uncle Ricky. Aunt Avis grabbed the boys and sat them at the table, immediately administering OJ and Milk, while Aunt Chalice started pilling their plates with bacon and biscuits.

Uncle Ricky looked at them grimly, “Boys, mind me now, you know your grandpa Willy could be a mean ol’ cuss some days.”

Aunt Chalice slapped him on the arm at this, he didn’t seem to notice.

“Well, last night he went out with some of his drinking buddies, and they got a lung full of liquor, and he picked a fight with the wrong fella and that guy beat him to death out behind Miller’s Tavern out on Calumet Street. Now I am sorry about your grandpa being gone and dead like that. That’s the hard life, if you are gonna booze and fight you are bound to run into a meaner polecat eventually. Granny B is out tending the funeral arrangements with Aunt Viv, and they’ll be back soon. “

Tadpole looked over at Sugarfoot as if to say something to contradict what Uncle Ricky had just told them. Sugarfoot shook his hea. He knew Uncle Ricky wasn't telling the whole truth. But he saw no sense in catching a backhand to assassinate a grownup. Besides, all that mattered was that they were together and safe fromm whatever kind of devil may be there.

His moment of peace was broken when Tadpole spoke two quiet words. “Where’s Tick?”