Reckoning

by R. S. Broadhead

  “I really don’t see how anyone else could ever make me feel the way you do, so I think it’s okay with me,” I replied.

  “I’m glad you said that because … I have something I bought you. I just wanted to be sure you felt the same way I did. It’s always been in the back of my mind that you might love Sim more than me.” I grabbed his face, so I could look him directly in the eyes.

  “Sim Baker is my past. He may have walked away with a piece of my heart, but I’m giving you more than that. I’ll always care for him, I can’t deny that, but this is where I need to be and who needs to be at my side.”

  “I have somethin’ I need to ask you …” he said hesitantly.

  “What? You can ask me anything,” I replied, looking at an absolutely nervous Oliver Steele in front of me. Before he could speak there was a loud banging on the door. I jumped up to open it.

  “They just sent the location, we need to go now!” Jace said excitedly. He was obviously ready to fight and kill something.

  “We’re right behind you.” I started shoving my weapons into the various holders on my suit. “Can you wait on what you were gonna ask me until we get back from this?”

  “Well … I guess it can wait.”

  “Let’s get moving then. I’m ready to get this over with.” He nodded and followed me out the door. We walked down to the conference room and found everyone sitting around looking a little stressed.

  “Put the video on, Fuzz. I really wanna go kick some ass. These size twelve’s are about to be embedded in someone or something’s boohole,” Jace said from beside Shayla. She giggled at him and shoved his shoulder.

  “I’m happy this is such a game for you, Jace,” Fuzz replied while typing away at his laptop.

  “Come on, Fuzz, no one really thinks this is funny, but it’s a good way to keep us from thinkin’ about what happened last time we all got together for a job like this,” Payne said. Liam’s face abruptly flashed in my mind and the way he oddly looked lying there on the bottom of the cave floor, lifeless.

  “I’m fully aware of what happened last time you all went out, and that’s all the more reason to be on your toes tonight. Now, if I can have everyone’s attention, I’ll play the new video that was just received.” Silence filled the tension stricken room, which seemed to satisfy Fuzz, and he clicked a button to display the footage on a large monitor hanging on the wall.

  Derek stood with Sim clearly visible behind him. “Hello, again everyone, I’m really enjoying my time with your good buddy Sim Baker, and believe me, I think he’s having an unforgettable experience.” He grinned at the camera and pulled a knife out of his jacket pocket. Casually he strolled over to Sim and slammed the knife down into his leg. Sim’s screams were muffled by the dirty rag shoved in his mouth and secured by tape. I jumped at the sound of his pain. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t show weakness, even if this situation was more personal to me than the others.

  “Do I have your attention now?” he asked, pulling his bloody knife out as he walked back toward the camera. His face was menacing. Despite the show he was trying to put on for us, I could tell there was a difference in him. He was trying to mask his vulnerable state, which if you looked close enough, you could see. He was weak! Maybe this would be easier than what I thought it would be, and my first instincts were wrong. “You have one hour to get here and here is Mt. Nebo. Don’t be late, or I will wear your friend’s face here as a mask…” He started laughing as he licked the blood from the knife. The screen went black, and my stomach was full of knots.

  “Sick bastard,” Lance said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

  “Savannah, get the coordinates to this place he’s talkin’ about. Everyone will follow you to the location. As usual, Dax and I will stay behind at the base to guide you and help in case of an emergency. Hopefully this will be smoother than last time. Now, I think we should all come together for a prayer before you all head out,” Fuzz said.

  We joined in the middle of the room with the exception of Savannah who was working fiercely on trying to find our destination. Some joined hands or held onto each other, and others gripped their weapons as tightly as they could. I could feel Steele’s shoulder touching mine, but my hands were around the handles of my knives. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to hold onto him during this spiritual moment, but right now I felt like I needed to be bonded to the weapons that would save my life and anyone else that I had to defend.

  “We come to you now to ask that you guide us down an uncertain path. One that will be full of danger at every waking moment we walk down it. Grant us advantages, blend us with the darkness of night, shadows our companions. Mold our weapons to be one with the body and embrace this mission without any weaknesses. We do this bidding to protect those that cannot defend themselves, chin up and unshakable, to rid those that seek to harm the innocent. Those that receive joy from the pain and suffering of others shall receive their justice. Amen.” Fuzz’s prayer gave us all hope and a huge shot of adrenaline. I broke away from the circle bouncing on the balls of my feet and stretching my neck with one thing on my mind. Derek’s weakened face. The others may not have noticed it, but I did. This was my shot at ending it tonight and living a somewhat normal life again.

  “Got it! This place wasn’t easy to find, but it couldn’t hide from me!” Savannah said.

  “That’s my girl,” Lance replied as he walked up behind her and smacked her butt. Payne pushed past them and glanced down at the computer she had been working on.

  “That’s in Bum Fuck Egypt right there,” he exclaimed.

  “I suggest we move out then. Are you gonna ride with me?” Steele asked.

  “I think I’m gonna ride in the first car with Savannah and Shayla.”

  “Wait a minute! Who said my baby is ridin’ in a different car then me?” Jace yelled hysterically.

  “Jace, shut your mouth, I’ll ride anywhere I damn well please, and you know that. Me and my girls have to ride together to get pumped about this shit, so we can save all of your asses.” He let out a grunt rather than protesting. We all made our way up to the SUVs, and the three of us climbed in the first one. “Shall we ladies?” Shayla asked as she held up the Bone and Biggie CD we played to get us stoked.

  “Hell yeah! Put it on,” I told her from the back seat. We started singing while Shayla leaned over to the window trying to do her “gangsta lean”. I couldn’t help but to laugh at her. Ever since we had discovered what rap was several years ago, the girl acted way more gangsta then she should.

  We put the song on repeat and let it work its magic for the next thirty minutes. “I need to get to this place fast because I’m gonna shoot the hell out of somethin’,” Shayla said.

  “Well, you’re in luck because the place is at the end of this road,” Savannah replied, turning on a tiny dirt road. Thick, decaying trees lined tightly along the sides. They practically screamed this place was full of death, and we shouldn’t enter. We inched down the dusty road as I stared at the depressing sight, a Mt. Nebo sign nailed to one of them catching my eye.

  “What kind of place is this?” I asked, poking my head in the front.

  “It’s an old, unoccupied church, with a cemetery dating back to the 1800s,” Savannah said. “It was rumored these grounds were cursed, and anything that inhabits its area dies.”

  “That explains the trees, I guess.” Our bright headlights revealed the cemetery to our right and off in the distance, a small white church. Savannah turned the SUV around, pointing it out.

  “Just in case,” she said, her eyes wide. I glanced back at our followers all doing the same thing. Once all the headlights were cut off, the only light came from the church.

  “Here’s a flashlight, people. Looks like we’re gonna have to walk through the cemetery to get to the church unless y’all wanna walk around through the woods,” Steele said while handing everyone a small black flashlight with an extremely powerful light.

  “Ummm, I think I’ll take my chan
ces in the cemetery,” Masey said.

  “It’ll be a nice change … instead of fighting monsters we can just fight some supernatural junk,” Payne said, stepping up beside me.

  “Whoa, whoa now, I didn’t bring any salt!” Shayla said. Everyone turned in her direction. “What? Hasn’t anyone watched the show Supernatural?” Everyone but me shook their heads. “I guess all of you are just screwed up the poop shooter then. I’ll be damned if I don’t come prepared, especially after that Cry Baby Bridge experience.”

  “Guys we only have twenty minutes left till his deadline,” Abby said, looking down at her watch.

  “Let’s go,” Steele replied. We silently walked across the old cemetery. The air was stale and stagnate. It literally felt as though nothing in this area was moving. I let the light from the little flashlight cover a few of the tombstones as I crept past. Chiseled faces in the stone greeted me. Time had washed away some of the features but not the undeniable creepiness. There was a rustling sound to our far right and all of the flashlights shot in that direction at the same time to find the trees dancing from a light breeze.

  “This place literally freaks my shit out,” Savannah said.

  “Everything freaks you out,” Lance said. Savannah didn’t reply because she was staring at the same spot we had just heard the noise.

  “Guys … there’s somethin’ over there,” she said. We followed her shaky beam of light and found a large cloaked figure that stood at least eight foot tall. Its arm stretched toward us while it let out an agonizing screech. We all started to run. Something cold grabbed my ankle, and I fell against a large box, dropping my flashlight, which went off when it hit the ground. I ran my hands over the dried grass, trying to find it. My hand hit the flashlight and I flipped it back on. I pointed my light at the box I fell against and found a decaying corpse with a small animal posed beside it. I sucked in my breath and pushed away from it. It looked like a small dog. The air became chilled, making me tremble. The glass to this unusual coffin iced over, and I blew out, looking at my exhale.

  “What the …?” The hem of a black cloak caught my attention as I slowly followed it up to the thing that had been standing on the side of the woods. I couldn’t see its face. It was black nothingness. Large charcoal wings protruded from its back, flapping one time before they settled, hugging against its body. I was staring at an angel, but this wasn’t the kind that gave you comfort. This was the Angel of Death. It raised its arm again pointing just over my head. I looked at the glass coffin. The corpse slowly turned its head to look at me.

  “Reese! Where are you?” came Steele’s voice a good distance away. I struggled to find him. Fog snaked around me and I saw other horrors. Hands dug their way out of the graves. Rotting vines unearthed themselves from the ground and wrapped my body.

  “Death hunts tonight, it is inevitable. I will claim what belongs to me, it is only a matter of time,” its cold breath hiss at me.

  “Who?” I asked, struggling to hold on to consciousness. His voice was doing something to me. I felt a tingling sensation all over my body.

  “The moment draws near, and you shall see.”

  “Reese, oh thank God!” Steele exclaimed as he reached my side. I felt his hands on my shoulders, and he started to gently shake me.

  “What happened?” I asked, trying to focus.

  “You must’ve tripped and hit your head on this coffin. You’re bleeding a little.” He took a napkin out of his pocket and dabbed my forehead slightly. “You think you’re okay to do this? We need to move because we’re running out of time.”

  “I’m fine. Let’s go.” I took his out-stretched hand and let him pull me up.

  “The others are already in the church tryin’ to find out where we need to go next.”

  “What do you mean? He wasn’t in there waitin’ for us?” I asked unable to hide my panic. The longer it took us to find him the more likely I would never see Sim alive again.

  “Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ve already found somethin’.” As we reached the church, I heard their frantic voices inside.

  “Wait! My grand-dad used to tell me stories about how some churches in Jackson built catacombs for the dead way back in the day, and seein’ as how this church has been around since the 1800s, maybe it has one,” Shayla said as we entered into the church. It smelled of dust and the little pews were still lined up as if waiting on the congregation to rejoin at any moment. I shivered as I thought about the hands coming out from the graves, maybe that’s who they were waiting on.

  “How do we find out if it has one?” Raven asked.

  “Well, since they’re built underground, there would have to be some type of door to get into it. Everyone search the floors, especially under rugs or any places that looked like something’s been moved recently,” Payne instructed. Our lights fanned out moving across the floor in search of anything that might help us.

  “Over here! There’s scratch marks on the floor!” Masey said. We grouped around her.

  “Looks like they slid the pew over so let’s get this bitch moved,” Lance said as he pushed the pew into the wall.

  “Lance! You’re in a church, so watch your language,” Savannah said with an unsettled expression. Raven dropped down to her knees and began gently tapping across the floor. The tap became hollow as she crossed over a few boards. She pulled out a long, flat piece of metal with a handle and jammed it under the board. The entrance lifted up, and Steele reached down to take the hidden door to throw it to the side.

  “Me first,” Jace said as he disappeared into the hole before anyone had time to protest. “It’s clear!” We descended down the rusty ladder that was bolted to the wall made of rock. It was at least fifty feet below the surface of the ground. When my feet hit the floor, there was a cold dampness to the air. I could literally smell the dead that surrounded me. The walls were painted in earth tones, with symbols and pictures of people lifting the dead into the sky.

  “Uh, it stinks down here!” Shayla said.

  “What did you except it to smell like? You’re the expert on these places from your grand-dad, he didn’t tell you that it would smell like shit down here?” Abby asked.

  “Nah, he left that part out. It probably would’ve been pretty helpful though,” she replied.

  “Guys, we’ve looked through some classified town records that Dax innocently hacked into, and it looks like these tunnels run under the entire area of Clarke County,” came Fuzz’s voice through our earpieces.

  “Great! How are we gonna find them then, Fuzz?” Steele asked.

  “Dax has you covered. He’s launched a heat sensing satellite that he’s been workin’ on the past couple of weeks. It can sense a large source of heat comin’ from your northwest. My guess is that’s where you need to head.”

  “Thanks Fuzz,” I said into the static filled microphone. We walked along the narrow passage that was lit by oil lanterns on each side of the wall until we came to a split.

  “We should probably split up and try each side,” Steele said. “Payne, you and Lance take Savannah, Raven, and Abby that way,” he said, pointing to the right. “Jace and I will take everyone else this way.

  “Got it, be careful guys,” Payne said before he walked into the passage. Our little group lead by Steele and Jace started along the other one. No one spoke as we made our way down the never-ending path to the unknown. I found myself glancing over my shoulder every few seconds since I was closing our rear.

  BOOM! A loud explosion came from just in front of me. Shayla jerked Masey back just in time from being crushed by rocks. Dust was everywhere and my ears rang in a high-pitched shrill way.

  “Are you guys okay?” I asked Shayla and Masey who had been thrown back against the wall. I was probably shouting at them, but they didn’t seem to notice, they only nodded. Our path was completely blocked with the three of us on one side and Steele and Jace on the other. The shrillness started to subside and I could hear the boys yelling. “We’re fine! Just keep goi
n’, and we’ll find another way around!” I yelled at them through the rock. I turned to my two companions, “Can you two walk?”

  “Yeah, we’re good. My damn head is killin’ me now though,” Shayla replied, helping Masey up from the ground.

  “Aww, I really hate I didn’t do more than that with my little surprise,” Casey said as she stepped away from the wall. She was painted and camouflaged to match our surroundings perfectly.

  “You did this? You stupid, vindictive thunder cunt!” Shayla shouted. Her aggression was met with laughter.

  “I’m so happy I can still get under your skin.”

  “Oh, you never left.”

  “Casey, why would you do this? You’re my sister! You almost killed me!” Masey cried out, obviously fighting tears.

  Casey stared at Masey. “My dear sweet sister, of course, I didn’t wanna hurt you,” she exclaimed, holding her hands out as if wanting Masey to join her for an embrace. Masey didn’t budge. She stood, staring at her twin with a confused look. “What, you don’t trust me?” Casey asked with wide eyes. “Looks like you’ve finally managed to get some common sense into that idiotic head of yours. You’ll go down with the rest of them, so I don’t want you to call me sister any more. You’re dead to me.” Masey choked back a sob.

  “What makes you think we’re goin’ down?” Shayla asked.

  “What do you think this was? Let me guess a nice little visit just to say hey and catch up?” She laughed at her own question before answering it. “It was a trap. You’re all gonna die tonight. You’ve messed things up enough already. It’s time to end this little hero game you’ve been playin’.”