The Crave The full moon shone down on the First Church of the Newborn. Shadows lay all through the landscape. The two grey main buildings shone as bright as if it were day. No other activity except for the rustling autumn leaves in the trees. There was other activity going on below the sanctuary. A woman was standing prone in the lightless room and staring into the open door of the furnace. The iron glowed bright red which made the room unbearably hot. Steam was heard hissing from safety valves, leaking from long use and no attention. Stale rusty water fay in the sump around the furnace, giving a foul odor to the air. The woman's outline seen against the curling flames which occasionally leaped out of the furnace door, is a charming sight for any man's eyes - Her skin glissens white. A delicate cross dangles from a chain around her neck. A smile comes to her shining face and then her hands reach for her long dark hair. She pulled two bobby pins and her hair fell down to the small of her back. "What is it like to do something evil, something society would frown on? Would it bother me or would it just bother society? I have never done anything bad. I must do something bad. I feel like I am missing something." The furnace clicked off and only the red metal could be seen. The roar was gone, and only the hissing of steam remained. "I have never committed anything I could call wrong in my life, not even when I was a little girl. Father would have beat me with his razor strap if I did. He was so strict. He wouldn't let me eat butter with peanut butter. Well Stephanie, you really fixed yourself now having married Reverend Jim Wood, but that won't stop me. I must do something wrong. I crave to do something wrong. I will do something wrong." A compressor in the far corner began chugging away driving hot water to part of the building. The sump pump hummed in turn as it pumped off the excess water around the furnace. "It is a good feeling to do good; to feel you are on the right side of God, but there is more to it than that. Being human means evil and hatred, as well as good and joy. It is this way and will always be. "A major crime sounds most exciting to me. The experience would be much more interesting and challenging than doing something minor. My craving would be greatly fullfilled." "Evil and good are interwoven. Society constantly stresses the good side of life; to obey the laws and signs, to let your conscience be your guide. Well I am letting my conscience be my guide. Man cannot live by good alone. This has been the case all through history. There is! something about man's makeup which bares wickedness and hatred. A small child is a good example of the emotions a human being does contain." 6 Beads of perspiration began to run down her cheeks and drip from her chin. She undid the first three top buttons of her blouse and wiped her brow with her sleeve. There was a click, the sound of hissing gas, and a small explosion as the furnace flames began heating the boiler. The brightness of the flames exposed the shinyness of her skin. A small pile of brick, just below the boiler, began to glow bright orange "Death, sex, and pain. Yes, I must find relief!" She turned and groped for the entrance of the room, feeling her way along the wall. She caught the door knob in her hand, opened the door and made her exit up the stairs and out the building. She stood in the wind a few minutes to dry off, then entered the other building where the parsonage was located. She entered the master bedroom, made ready for bed, then slipped in by her husband. "One of these years," she said to herself, "I might be able to tuck a child in before I go to bed. "Jim leaves for a conference in Denver tomorrow morning and I will be alone for the next two days. I shall end my craving tomorrow night. It wouldn't be right to have Jim around." She said her prayers and fell into a deep sleep. That night she had a strange dream. She dreamt of being in the sanctuary and pulling up a loose board from the floor. Below the floor she could see piles of crawling worms, large spindly spiders creeping toward her with scorpions at their heals. Rats were jumping furiously for the opening in the floor showing ugliness in their yellow eyes and teeth. The last thing she could remember was trying to push a rat from the opening with her foot, and her whole body pounding with fear. She kissed Jim goodby, wished him good luck, put him on the train and was now on her way home. To her, her mind seemed to be going one hundred miles an hour. By the time she reached the church she knew exactly what she was going to do. "One of satan's apostles would make a grand catch," she said merrily. "Someone from our congregation." She parked the car and walked toward the parsonage. "Good morning Jake," she said to the custodian who was standing by the door rolling a cigarette. "Good morning Mrs. Wood." She entered the main church office. Opening the membership file, she flipped through the cards until she happened on the name Mark Parson, 399-7461, 431 Birch Lane, single, 31, Parson Finance Incorporated. "Perfect," she said, pulling the card from the file. "Beautiful on the outside and a rat on the inside. In church he wears a halo, but upon leaving, replaces it with a tail. I might as well do every one a favor, and not just me alone." Stephanie reached for the phone and dialed 399-7461.. "Hello, Mr. Parson?" "Yes." 7