The Dark Sacrifice: A Horror Novel

by Jay Bower

  Patrick squinted and tilted his head as he looked at Benny. “What? You aren’t making any sense. What plans are you talking about?”

  “Huh? Nothing. It’s nothing. He just gets under my skin at times, you could say.”

  “Okay, Benny, if you say so. He gets on all our nerves at times. It’s his prerogative as our boss.”

  “Yeah, something like that. You want some coffee, Patty?” Before Patrick could answer, Benny continued. “I do. Let’s stop over at Martha’s and get some to go.”

  They drove downtown past the centuries’ old storefronts with awnings that didn’t match the time period, and pulled in front of Martha’s Cafe, a small dive famous for coconut cream pie and questionable employee hygiene. Still, they had the best coffee in town, and according to Benny, coffee needed some character.

  As they waited for a fresh pot to brew, an old farmer flung open the door. He was in denim overalls and what used to be a white shirt. He stumbled forward, his face pinched in pain. Patrick noticed a crimson stain on his shirt, just over the top of his overalls. “My farm! Come quick,” he wheezed. He stumbled again, catching himself on a booth.

  Benny ran to him. “Amos, what the hell is wrong with you? What do you mean about your farm? Are ya hurt?” He tried to inspect the wound, but Amos brushed him away.

  “Patty, ya better call for an ambulance. This seems kinda bad,” Benny said. Patrick grabbed his radio.

  “Here, have a seat Amos. What’s going on?” Benny asked again. Times like these made Patrick thankful his partner had outlived just about everyone in this town. He could tell you the ins and outs of many of the families around, and most people trusted him. He helped more than one mischievous kid circumvent the punishment they had coming at the hands of their parents. He built a bond of trust with the people. It showed in the way they listened to him. If Patrick had tried half the stuff Benny did while back in East St. Louis, more than likely he’d be dead.

  Amos breathed deeply, holding his chest near the bloodstain on his shirt.

  “My farm…there’s a problem. Get down there now Benny, please.”

  “But what about your wound, Amos? You need to get that checked out. And how’d you get it, anyway?” Benny tried to inspect it, but Amos thwarted him at each advance.

  “Don’t worry, Benny, it’s nothing serious. Besides, I’m not even sure it’s my blood. You need to get down to my farm now.” He shivered, his eyes glistening over. To Patrick, he appeared like a meth addict coming off a high, but Amos didn’t strike him as one. He still had all his teeth.

  “Okay, Amos, we’ll go check it out.” The ambulance arrived with the same paramedics that had picked up Noah.

  “Well, Deputy O’Shea, I guess we meet again,” the taller of the two paramedics said. His name “Stow” was embroidered on his shirt. Patrick had heard the name before. Simon Stow, he thought.

  “Yeah, Simon, I guess so. But this time, it’s not one of mine causing the problem. It’s Amos over there,” Patrick said, pointing to Amos sitting at a table with Benny.

  “You fellas look after him, all right?” Benny said to the paramedics. “Come on, Patty, we got a farm to check out.” Patrick paid for the coffees and grabbed them to go. The cups burned his hands, making him walk faster.

  Benny drove them to the property that sat on a thousand acres southwest of town. They parked by the modest farmhouse and got out of the car. Searching around, Patrick tried to figure out where to start. Everything seemed calm. There were no machines going and no one out in the fields. Benny pointed to a tractor in the distance with a stream of smoke rising from it.

  “I think we need to start there,” Benny said pointing at the thin gray plume.

  “You know, for an old man, your eyes work pretty damn good,” Patrick said. Benny waved his hand behind him and marched off after the tractor.

  Benny, despite his slight limp, reached the tractor first. He stopped at the clearing in front of it and waited for Patrick to catch up. Patrick stepped to Benny’s side and froze.

  In the cleared out patch in front of him lay a mound of maggots, squirming and writhing. The stench overwhelmed Patrick and he vomited on the spot. Benny laughed.

  “Patty, you got a weak stomach, huh? I guess I should’ve figured you would be soft, city boy.” The fetid odor wafted over them again and Patrick emptied his stomach a second time. He couldn’t take his eyes off the pulsing mound of maggots. They covered an area about two feet by five feet, but he couldn’t see what they feasted on through all the maggots. Never in his life had he seen such a bizarre sight. They moved as though they were all in tune with each other, as though one center controlled their movements. The maggots heaved up and down, pulsating. Patrick watched, horrified by the small white larva. There were so many of them. The mound squished as it moved about; the sound, one he vaguely recalled.

  “What do you suppose that is?” Benny asked.

  “Maggots?” Patrick replied after retching for a third time.

  “You think so, Patty? I meant, what do you think those little buggars are eating?”

  “Hell, I don’t know. I don’t wanna know,” he said, wiping his mouth.

  Benny walked around the writhing mass, bending down. “Notice all the blood around the base there,” he pointed. Patrick gazed at the mound of maggots where the ground was stained a dark color.

  “Yeah, I see it now. What the hell is this, Benny?”

  Benny spat on the ground in reply. He stood up, rubbing his chin. “I’ve seen this before, Patty.”

  Shocked, Patrick was silent.

  “Patty, this is a foretelling. I’m not sure you’re gonna like it, but it’s a sign.”

  “What are you talking about, Benny? You know, most of today, you’ve been saying weird shit. You could just tell me straight out instead of all this mysterious talk.”

  “Patty, I’ve been around for a long time. What I’ve seen would make your hair turn white in an instant. I don’t like it, but sometimes we gotta do things that aren’t comfortable. Sometimes, we gotta do what’s best. If you’re ready for it, truly prepared, then…well, that makes a world of difference. It makes it a lot easier.”

  “What does that even mean? Have you finally lost it? I don’t follow you at all,” Patrick said.

  The sound of the maggot mass grew louder. Patrick looked at the maggots and back to Benny. The scene in front of him made no sense. The disgusting little worms were moving in unison, heaving up and down.

  The tractor sat some distance away, idle, though a small plume of grey smoke rose from the exhaust. “Benny, look,” Patrick pointed. He’d forgotten about it when his eyes caught sight of the maggots. On the side were red letters, a stark contrast to the goldenrod color of the tractor. Patrick walked over to get a better view.

  “What the…” he managed to say before Benny walked up beside him.

  There, scrawled in blood that still dripped from the letters was his son’s name. “N O A H.”

  Benny whistled through his teeth and spit out the wad of chew he had stuffed in there. “Patty, I told you, there are things I’ve seen that would make weaker men give up.”

  “Oh my God, we need to get back! I need to make sure he’s all right!” Patrick turned and ran back to the car, jumping over furrows and slashing through the waist-high grains.

  ***

  BENNY FOLLOWED, WALKING SLOW. He didn’t see the need for too much of a hurry, not that his limp would let him anyway. When the time came, there couldn’t be any fighting it. He’d been around a long time and saw a lot of things. Patrick would learn. He’d have to if he and Meagan were going to live here. There were certain ways things were done, not that anyone on the outside knew of it. They kept their secret well guarded. Chief Wayne’s concern was well founded. They were being called into action. Patrick would soon find out, though he’d have a hard time adjusting to it. Being an outsider, he wouldn’t be expected to understand.

  Not at first.

  Benny finally made his
way to the car. As he approached, he held out the keys. “Looking for these, Patty? Come on, let’s get moving.” They hopped in and took off for Patrick’s house.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  BENNY SPED AWAY FROM the farm in a cloud of dirt and dry grass. The tires screeched on the pavement when he turned onto the highway. Lights flashed and the siren called to the fields. Patrick fished his phone out of his pocket and called Meagan. She didn’t pick up. “Damn!” he said, slamming his phone on his leg. “Come on, Benny, can’t you go any faster?” He thumped his fingers on the armrest between them. His feet tapped wildly on the floorboard. Sweat streamed down his face. “Come on, come on!” he said.

  “Boy, it will be all right, I promise ya. Now settle down, will ya? You need to stay calm, or didn’t they teach you that in training?”

  Patrick shot Benny a glare. “Just get to my house, Benny. Now.”

  “Yeah, we’re doing that,” Benny replied. He stuffed chew in his mouth and the scent of mint filled Patrick’s nostrils. Patrick felt sick. The heat mixed with mint turned his stomach, and as weak as it was after the maggots, he wanted to hurl and rid himself of everything inside. He clutched his gut when his body convulsed.

  “Now don’t you dare get sick in here, Patty. It’ll stink like no one’s business if you do. And I’m not gonna clean it up, I’ll tell you that.” Patrick’s body lurched a couple times and Benny slowed the car.

  “Don’t you dare, old—” and he lurched again, his hand going to his mouth. He waited a moment. “Don’t you dare stop, old man. Go,” he said through a clenched jaw. Benny sped on.

  “If you ain’t worried, then neither am I. If you puke, I ain’t cleaning it up.”

  Patrick waved his hand dismissively. He rolled down the window and stuck his head out like a dog on a joy ride.

  They arrived at Patrick’s house with a loud screech as Benny slammed on the brakes. Their car sat in the driveway. Patrick jumped out before Benny put the cruiser in park and ran to the house, his internal alarms blaring to life.

  “Meagan! Noah! Are you here? Where are you?” he shouted, entering the front door. Silence called back to him. He found it strange that the house was so quiet. Normally he’d hear the television or something. “Meagan!” he shouted again. He ran through the house. “Noah, where are you?” He tossed open closets and dropped to the floor, searching under their beds. Benny walked in behind him as Patrick lay on the floor in Noah’s room.

  “Patty? I’m sure they’re just fine. Don’t you think you’re overreacting?”

  Patrick jumped up. “Overreacting? Don’t you remember what we saw? That mass of maggots feeding on whatever the hell that was back there? And my son’s name…in blood on the side of that tractor? No, Benny, I don’t think so. There have been some strange things happening lately. I need to find my family.” Benny shrugged as Patrick continued his search of the house.

  Patrick yelled, “Meagan! Noah…are you home? Noah! Meagan!” He ran through the house again and still found no trace of them.

  Patrick crashed through the back door, running out to the patio. He looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Cupping his hands to his mouth, he shouted again. “Meagan! Noah! Are you out here?”

  A flicker of light caught his eye. Down by the trees at the back of the property, he saw two heads bobbing, one taller than the other.

  “There they are!” he shouted and ran to them. Sweat ran down his face and soaked his shirt. He had to wipe the salty droplets from his eyes several times. When he reached them, he grabbed both in a tight embrace. “You’re okay! You’re fine!” he cried. They barely heard him over his labored breathing.

  “Um, yeah, Dad we’re fine. Are you?” Noah asked.

  “Patrick, what’s wrong?” Meagan added. “Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be working?”

  Benny lumbered toward them in the distance.

  “I…I thought something bad had happened to you,” Patrick said, his chest still heaving from his sprint. “I thought you were in danger.”

  “Danger? Maybe from a tick bite. Patrick, what’s going on?” Meagan asked again. He finally released them and stood back, fussing over Noah like a finicky cat checking its kitten.

  “I saw something. It made me—” he started.

  “It made you crazy, that’s what,” Benny said as he stepped up behind him. “I told him not to worry, Meg. These young guys don’t tend to listen. You’re all right, aren’t you?” he asked her. Meagan nodded.

  “Dad, are you sure you’re okay?” Noah asked again. The look of concern on his face melted Patrick’s heart.

  “Yeah. I think so, buddy. So, nothing happened to you today? No one tried to hurt you?”

  “Nope, we’re perfectly fine, dear,” Meagan replied, kissing him on the cheek. “We needed a break from the house, so we came out here for a walk. Nothing scary about that.”

  “Why didn’t you answer your phone?” he asked.

  “Oh, I left it in the house. I didn’t think we’d need it out here.”

  Patrick thought for a moment, his hand on his hip, and shook his head. “Make sure you take it next time, okay? I thought something was wrong. Just humor me from now on.”

  Meagan looked at Benny with his cheek full of chew and laughed a little. “Yeah, sure. I’ll bring it next time. Come on, Noah, let’s go get something to drink.” She put her arm around him and they walked to the house, leaving Patrick with Benny.

  “Benny, I thought they were in trouble,” he said when they were out of earshot.

  “I know, son. They were fine, and that’s all that matters. I know you were worried, but you gotta learn to relax. Let them be who they are. They can handle it, Patty, trust me.”

  Patrick stared at him with his head cocked to the side. “What are you trying to say?”

  “Patty, it’s nothing. I told you they were fine, and they are. Why don’t you stay home for the rest of today? I’ll let the Chief know. Just stay here; it’ll keep your mind at ease.”

  Patrick wanted to finish the shift. He hated quitting things in mid-stream.

  “No, I’ll be fine. I signed up for this life. I can handle it,” Patrick replied.

  “You fool, you aren’t going anywhere. Stay here with your family. You only have so much time with them before they’re gone. Make the most of it.”

  Patrick thought of Benny, having lost his wife and his children deserting him.

  “Okay, Benny,” he said much calmer, “I’ll stay.”

  “Good idea. I’d hate to have to cuff ya to your wife. Now that would be fun to explain to the Chief, wouldn’t it?” He slapped Patrick on the arm and walked away.

  Patrick found Meagan and Noah sitting at a table on the back porch, sipping sodas.

  “Benny says I get to stay with you two today.” He tousled Noah’s hair and sat in a chair next to him.

  “Awesome!” Noah said. “Can we play some games, Dad?” Meagan looked from Noah to Patrick. They appeared a lot alike, both with their short brown hair and similar eyes. On more than one occasion, a stranger would approach and say, “You can’t deny him!” or, “Look at that mini version of you.”

  “I need to clean up first, son. Give me a minute.”

  “Cool. I’ll go get it ready.” Noah darted off into the house.

  “Patrick, what really happened to you? Why did you come here like you did?” Meagan asked after the screen door slammed shut behind Noah.

  “I saw something today, Meg. With what Noah has seen lately, I was worried. I thought you were in danger. But it’s nothing. I probably made it up. Just…be careful. Please?”

  “What did you see? How bad could it have been?” Her eyes searched him with a sadness he didn’t understand.

  Patrick thought for a moment before replying. “Honestly, I don’t know what I saw. I can’t be sure of it anyway. Like I said, I think my mind played tricks on me. Maybe it’s the humidity down here. You never told me it got this bad in the summer.” He smiled.

&n
bsp; “Would you have come here if you knew?” she replied, winking.

  Meagan got up and went inside. Patrick followed close behind.

  As he showered, he heard Noah on his Xbox, playing a shooter game. He listened to him talking to some friends through the microphone, though he couldn’t make out what he said. He stood under the refreshing water, steam rising all around him. Despite the heat of the summer, the shower felt wonderful. He felt his worry wash away, almost making him feel silly for jumping to conclusions like he did. Maybe Benny was right all along. He needed to relax and let things settle down. He needed to enjoy his family more. Viewing at it through Benny’s eyes, he understood what the old man was trying to tell him. His family could be gone at any moment, and he needed to cherish them.

  Suddenly, the water turned ice cold. The unexpected shift in temperature shocked Patrick’s body.

  “Hey, who flushed the toilet?” he called out. No one replied. “This isn’t funny. I know it’s hot outside, but stop it!” he shouted. The water grew colder and colder, like it flowed off an iceberg. His senses jarred to life. He felt the pricks of thousands of tiny needles in his skin. The sensation went from shock to extreme pain. He felt it to his core.

  The steam shifted from a light haze to a dark, almost black color. It smothered the bathroom lights, and he felt the darkness close around him. He tried to get out, but some unseen force held him tight. The water continued to get colder and the blackness consumed the light around him, leaving just a tiny pinpoint in front of him. He felt suffocated. The stinging water shot through him. He concentrated on the speck of light, which turned blood red and glowed brightly.

  No sound escaped his mouth when he opened it to scream, but the black mist seeped in, choking him. He felt it stuffing into his mouth like Benny with his chew, but more forcefully and fuller. The darkness filled his lungs. The water stabbing him quickly changed from freezing to scalding, burning his back and head. The pain was excruciating. He wanted to yell for help. He tried willing himself to jump out of the shower, but the mist held him immobile. It surrounded him, like sand filling in empty space around him. Panic raced through his mind. He tried to focus, to calm himself, but the weight of the black mist crushed him. The bright red glowing spot in front of him grew larger and flames licked the sides where it met the blackness. He tried to close his eyes, but the black mist forced them open. Air escaped his lungs, replaced by the black mist drifting in. His vision dulled. The scalding water burned him. The water alternated from bitter cold to blistering hot, his skin changing colors with the vicious shifts in water temperature.