Beasts Within

The Priest shuffled his notes and glanced down at the congregation from the pulpit. He was saddened to see how empty the pews were these days. He hid his frown behind a mask of cool exterior, lest the people pick up on the almost palpable disappointment that hummed in the stale morning air. As he continued with what he considered to be the most lacklustre sermon he'd ever written; his mouth forming the words and his body recreating the memorised actions of countless Sunday's from countless years, he couldn't help the thoughts that infested his mind, how it shouldn't be this way. The pews should be full, the walls fit to bursting, the sermon uplifting and engaging, the parishioners hanging on his every word. Like the old days. He allowed his eyes to stray from his flock and observe the dilapidation of his beloved church. The decaying building was the physical manifestation of his dwindling faith. The cup he used to fill himself with the spirit was as empty and dry as the rows of broken pews before him. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd used the baptistry to rebirth someone in the blood of Christ. A task he had always cherished in his role of spiritual leadership.

The inward sigh he pulled in signified his longing for the good times this place had seen. Weddings, christenings, even funerals. The people turned to him and he preached the word of the Bible until tears filled his eyes. What he wouldn't give to perform a baptism one more time. Hell, he'd even baptise the mangy dog that roamed the dirty streets, just to don those old robes again. Suddenly a cold draft filled the air around him and he could have sworn there was a quiet voice whispering to him in the ether. He shook himself, that was crazy talk, it was just the wind. He really needed to get those windows fixed. As he reached the end of the service, the Priest shuddered as an idea entered his mind and nestled in his thoughts. He tucked his notes away and heard the whispering again, this time more insistent and enticing. The band walked solemnly back on stage and the Priest took his seat at the back. As they sang their melancholia to the people he thought to himself "i just wish we could lock them in here and preach until we all believe again". Then he heard the whispering, louder, as though the speaker was stood right behind him. He turned sharply, almost falling off his chair.

"Who says you cant do that?" the Priest drew in a deep breath as he felt a hot hand on his shoulder, squeezing the flesh and breathing down his neck. "Just let me take over from here and you'll have your wish" the voice caressed his ear drums and he closed his eyes. They snapped open as he looked down upon his congregation once more, their flaccid attempts at the worship song that was played, mournfully by the band. He nodded, his heart racing.

"So be it." There was a loud clapping sound that reverberated through is whole body and the doors to the chapel slammed shut. The people scarcely seemed to notice as the song came to an anticlimactic end. he realised he was breathing fast, and so were his flock. the women were fanning themselves and the men stripped off their coats and jackets as the temperature had risen to unnatural heights. He stood, the words he wanted to say were forming in the back of his throat.

"My children! there is much penance to be paid this day!" he bellowed out, a hand beckoning to the woman in the front row, a pretty young thing wearing the sheerest of slips beneath her floral dress. She walked up on stage towards him, her self fanning making her dark hair flow out behind her. he slipped a hand around her waist, roughly pulling her tight to him, making her gasp. He slid his other hand over her full chest, gripping the thin mesh of the dress and ripping it away.

He bit hard into her neck and drawing both a sensually wet gasp from her and the scarlet flow of blood, which he licked up. He could feel his erection pulsating between his legs as he ran his bloodied hand down her body, muddying her slip. He slipped his hand between her legs and felt her wetness. He forced his fingers inside her and she cried out. He watched his flock as they watched him, the men taking their own erections in hand, the women opening their legs wide and touching themselves. He shoved the woman over at the waist and unsheathed his hardness and pushed his way inside. As he penetrated her, he began to preach.

"Children, feel the spirit fill you up! Feel the spirit penetrate you as i penetrate this woman!" He panted with the effort and the heat in the chapel, unnatural but enticing. He gripped her hard on her hips and pounded into her. He saw a couple in the middle row begin to take his lead, the female stripping off and straddling her pew neighbour. Soon the sounds of fornication were ringing out. Moans and sighs enveloped him as he pushed the nameless woman down on her back, having an urge to taste her. He flicked his tongue across her clitoris, making her cry out again, one hand slipping inside her and the other reaching out to stroke his erection.

The heat intensified until he stripped all his clothes and pushed his penis inside the woman again. he ravished her until she had tears in her eyes. He glanced at the congregation again and saw that every one of them was in the throws of passion, grinding on each other, open mouthed in exaltation.

This! This is what he wanted, the people looking to him as they felt the spirit enter them. He watched with a new reverence as couples and soloists touched themselves and tasted each other. He drew his penis from her and forced it into her mouth, moaning in appreciation. The only people not affected by this passion of faith seemed to be the band, who seemed not to notice a change things and continued to play their haunting melodies. The spirit inside him swelled.

Suddenly, the preacher pulled away sharply, aware that this was somehow wrong, he tried to reach out to the people to stop them and witnessed a terrifying sight. Every one of them, men and women were changing, transforming into monsters. He looked down at the woman he'd been inside but instead of a woman there was a wanton nymph of a creature. The heat grew once more and he was taken over again. He flipped this creature over and penetrated her from behind, sodomising her.

Outside the church, onlookers and bystanders came to watch the flames licking up out of the windows, the crumbling stucco paint on the walls peel off, wondering why no one was rushing to save the people inside. For evident from the noises they could hear there were surely some people trapped in the flames. But the people outside couldn't be sure the noises they heard were indeed human anymore. They were for sure unwilling to unleash the beasts within.