by Alexie Aaron
“Why?”
“I want to see if the heritage demon was around when you agreed to take this job. And if so, does it show up on film? More importantly, was this woman with it?”
“Call Cid too,” Kiki said. “Keep him in the loop.”
Alan raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t say a word,” Kiki said, putting her finger to his lips. “Let’s get back to work. I still have Arnold’s state legislator years to finish. I’m taking pictures of the lady every time I see her.”
Alan nodded and started in on the next stack of periodicals.
~
Cid made sure the contractors were fed before he folded the laundry and walked back into the trailer. He glanced in and saw Sally was still sleeping. He put away the bedding and his clothes. He put Sally’s clothes on the counter. He decided to sit down and finish reading the book in the trailer. He brewed himself some tea and sat down and opened the book.
There’s no other way of saying this but the drinks were laced with something. The world was a blur. Jon was the first to sink in his chair. I saw Arnold raise his hand, and two hooded figures came out from behind the carved screen. They carried his body up the circular steps. I tried to get up to save him, but I found my legs would not hold me.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked.
“I’m sorry, but you have to be sacrificed. It’s for the good of this country. It’s for the good of my family,” Arnold said. “I don’t have the power to stop my grandfather on my own. I have put my trust in my lover Miss Gee.”
“I have a family. Me mam and da are needing the wage I send them.”
“They will be compensated, Daniel Sullivan,” Miss Gee said as she caressed the side of my face.
The cloaked acolytes returned. They rolled back the rug, and Miss Gee took out several black candles that had been stored in the room. She started to speak in a strange tongue.
I heard shouting coming from the front door. It took me a moment in my drugged state to make it out.
“What is going on in here!” an old man said as he burst through the door.
“Grandfather, how nice of you to join us,” Arnold said. He nodded to Miss Gee, and she resumed her chanting.
“This circle is not for you. Not yet. I haven’t prepared for the transfer. Where is Gadus!”
“A sacrifice must be made,” Miss Gee said.
August Atwater looked at the woman aghast. “What is she doing here?”
“Grandfather, we know you killed the workmen. What’s one more?”
“I didn’t kill them, but I stopped anyone from finding their bodies because no one should ever know our secret.”
“What secret?” Arnold asked. “Do you mean that you intend to kill me and take my place? August Atwater lives forever by selling his family’s souls to the devil?”
“A deal was made, and like it or not, Gadus is bound to us forever. I get eternal life, power over men, and riches beyond belief.”
“At what cost?” Arnold asked.
“Every Atwater who dies, by natural or other means, their soul is given to Gadus. Gadus sells them to the devil. As long as my line is prosperous and Gadus has many souls to sell, I will continue to rise above the robber barons. In time, I will be able to take over this country and then the world.”
“Why have you brought me here, Grandfather? Why not leave me to have many children so I can supply you with more souls?” Arnold asked.
“People are beginning to talk. I have lived beyond my years.”
At this point, Miss Gee stopped chanting. I looked at the men and saw two Arnolds. One in the rich finery of August Atwater, the other in the plainer fare of his grandson.
“I can’t hold this glamour forever. I will simply become you,” August said.
“What happens to me?” Arnold asked.
“Gadus!” August cried. “Time to clean house.”
The ground shook, and the light was stolen from the room. I tried to leave, but strong hands from the cloaked men held me down. I saw the wicks of the black candles being relit, not by match but by magic. The two Atwaters had discarded their clothes and stood facing each other. I could not tell one from the other. The only exception was that one had an evil-looking blade.
Miss Gee said something in a strange language and then repeated it in English for the benefit of the Atwaters. “There can only be one.”
The one with the blade circled the other. It wasn’t a fair fight. I suppose, when evil is about, the fight is never fair. The unarmed man fell to the floor.
“Quick before his life leaves his body,” Miss Gee said. “Bring me the Irishman.”
I was lifted out of my chair and dragged to the circle. The woman’s eyes glowed with an unnatural light. “Perhaps a kiss goodbye?” she said.
I turned my head, but the men behind me forced it back. The woman sealed her mouth over mine and sucked the air out of my body. I fought to live, but the suction was unending. Just before I lost consciousness, I rose above my body. I stared down upon the tableau on the ground. There I was, suspended between two black-robed acolytes. Miss Gee stepped backwards. And as her lips left mine, she jammed her fingers into my mouth and pulled. Later, I would happen upon a medical journal and would recognize what she took from me. She ripped my lungs from my body.
My body was dropped on the floor. The woman chanted, and my organs shrunk into a biological mass no bigger than the boxes we carved. I remember thinking, “Jon and I carved our own coffins.”
Miss Gee, Arnold and the two acolytes left the room. I tried to follow, but I could not move beyond the summoning ring. All I could do was watch the body of the duelist below me. The blood seeped out and seemed to rest in the grain of the cherry wood. It still breathed, but his breaths became shallower.
It seemed like an eternity, but it must have been only minutes. Miss Gee and Atwater returned without the two cloaked men. Atwater’s body was splattered with blood.
“We are in time. Watch,” Miss Gee said.
The man on the floor gasped his last breath. His spirit rose, but he was trapped like I was in the summoning ring.
“Since you’re family, I will give you a choice,” Atwater said. “You can live on by feasting on the dead. Or Gadus can take you straight to Hell. If you feast upon the dead, you will condemn yourself to an undead existence. You will have power to survive but must return here to feed. I have made sure that all who die in this house, their souls cannot leave. I will visit you from time to time so you will not be alone.”
The spirit looked at me.
“Go ahead. We made the first one easy for you. You have a choice,” Atwater said.
Atwater looked at me, and I moved as quickly as I was able, but he caught me in the end. He drained my soul, and I fell to the floor next to my mutilated body. The ghoul who feasted on me turned black as night.
“He is transforming,” Miss Gee said. Her eyes and face lit with glee. “See, he is losing form.”
The spirit fell and landed on the floorboards, and his body lost shape. He was nothing more than thickened tar.
“Go and feed,” Miss Gee commanded.
The tar moved out of the circle into the shadows. I remember hearing a steady thump, and the creature moved down the stairs. Then the unholy cries of the dead filled the air.
Cid heard Sally stirring. He closed the book and pushed the horror into a corner of his brain. He moved quickly to the bunkroom.
Sally looked up from the pillow. “You’re here.”
“Where else would I be?” Cid asked, sitting on the edge of the bunk.
“A smart man would have headed for parts unknown,” Sally said.
“Evidently, I’m not a smart man,” Cid said.
“Did you finish the book?” Sally asked.
“No, not yet. I read more. It’s pretty bad. Not the writing, the content.”
“His words pulled me in.”
“Me too.”
“I will.”
“I want to see this adventure through, but I fear I’m not going to be able to do so.”
“I called Mrs. Leighton, and she has a space open in the woman’s ward for you. I’m going to drive you there as soon as you’re ready.”
“But what about your crew?”
“Jesse is here.”
“No. You need to be here. I’ll have Carl drive me,” Sally said. “He’s used to me. He’s seen the signs.”
Cid fought a war within himself. He wanted to be with Sally, but he was also responsible to keep the crew safe. He decided that he had to trust Jesse to bring them through or at least know when to get the hell out. He decided to follow his heart.
Sally waited for him to talk, and when he didn’t, she said, “I’m not leaving you, Cid. I want us to continue, but I know that I’m too broken to be here. Two attacks so close together is a warning that I need to pay attention to. It could just be the atmosphere of this place. I’m hoping that’s it. Otherwise, I need to be under care for a while. Will you wait for me?”
“Sally, I can’t imagine not having you in my life. Of course, I’ll wait for you. We’ll get through this together. Please let me take you. I’m not sure I’ll be much good here anyway with you gone. I promise not to crowd you. I want to be close.”
Sally moved over to Cid and looked him in the eyes. “This is something I need to do without you. I need to be able to stand on my own two feet so I can look you in the eyes and be worthy of you. I need to know that our children will be safe under my care. You can’t be with me every minute. I have to learn to trust myself before I can trust me with you. I love you, Cid.”
Cid pulled Sally to him. “I love you, Sally.”
~
“It couldn’t be better timing,” Wayne said, patting Cid on the back as they watched Carl’s truck pass through the gates. “His work is finished. Sure, I’d like to have his hands and strength to complete the other projects, but his being gone is not going to halt work.”
“I wanted to take her. She refused.”
Wayne turned to Cid. “You need to be strong for her. She has made up her mind. She told Carl that the moment she returned from your trip to the city, she decided to live, not just exist. She looked at you and saw a future. Carl said she’d not talked that way since before she joined the Army.”
“Are these confidences you shouldn’t share?” Cid questioned.
“Maybe. But I know you’re a good man and will keep them to yourself.”
“Am I a good man? Sometimes I worry that I’m not up to my good press,” Cid said. “Kiki thinks I’m constantly trying to undermine her.”
“Kiki is paranoid and needs to see a shrink. There are times I want to turn her over my knee. I don’t know how Alan can put up with her mercurial nature?”
“Love eases so much,” Cid said.
“Are you in love with Sally? You’ve just met her.”
“Yes, I think I am. I can’t ever remember feeling this way with anyone else. I love my friends, their children, and I have enjoyed a type of love with two other women. But this is different. I’m fiercely protective. It’s almost primal.”
“I still feel that way about my wife. We have spats and don’t agree on everything, but when I close my eyes, I see her. I miss her. If Kiki gets that block of apartments, I’m going to rent an apartment and insist that my Wendy stay there with me. My daughter will be spending a semester abroad. This will give us time to become reacquainted.”
“Would you ever move away from home to live in Chicago?” Cid asked.
“No. Wendy and I made a forever home, and we’ll return there. My brother can watch the place while we’re gone.”
“I have my forever home, but I worry it will be too remote for Sally.”
“You’re already thinking of moving in together?” Wayne asked, scratching his head.
“I just know that I don’t want to waste any more time. I love Sally Wright.”
“Give her time to get used to all that is Cid Garrett, the normal and the paranormal, before you start buying his and her towels.”
“That is good advice. I hope I can follow it,” Cid said.
~
Sarah Leighton stood up as Sally Wright and Carl Lee were escorted in. Sarah waved them to a sitting area where she joined them.
“Hello, I’m Sarah Leighton, and for better or worse, I run this establishment. I’m not a doctor, I’m an administrator. My son and I opened this facility in order to bring the best care, initially, to my husband Glen who has locked-in syndrome. The VA certified us for treatment of veterans once I opened a prosthetics halfway house. Here we treat the mind and the body.”
“I’ve been diagnosed with PTSD. I have major fight and flight issues,” Sally said. “I’ve had two attacks in two days.” Sally went on to explain her concern for her safety and the safety of Cid and the others on the renovation crew.
“When Cid called, I was able to get Dr. Myer to change her schedule. She is our brightest star when it comes to treating PTSD when it occurs in female soldiers and civilian women who have experienced other traumas. She is not in the military but has done extensive work in Rwanda. I think she may be a good fit for you. Also, Cid may not have mentioned this, but his friend Mia Martin has a talent for quieting the mind. She volunteers here. Mia is presently overseas with her family. Otherwise, she would be here to greet you.”
Sally grabbed Carl’s hand. He enclosed her cold shaking hand in his. This loving action was not lost on Sarah.
“My foster sister isn’t employed at the moment…”
“Here, we pay it forward. What the Veterans Administration doesn’t cover, the Leighton Foundation will. All we ask is that you give this facility a chance to find a treatment plan that will help you. When you get back on your feet, volunteer here or help sponsor another patient. How does that sound?”
“Like a miracle,” Sally said.
Sarah smiled. “I’m going to have one of my volunteers escort you to your room. Mr. Lee, would you join me for a sandwich while Sally gets settled?”
“It would be a pleasure,” Carl said.
The door opened, and a young woman rolled into the room in a three-wheeled chair. “Did someone call for a wheelbarrow?” She activated a switch, and the chair moved the woman into a standing position.
“Amy, this is Sally. We have put her in room ten.”
Amy reached out a hand. “Sally, they have given you a lake view. Too bad it’s frozen right now.”
Sally shook Amy’s hand. Amy lowered her chair. “Give me your duffle.”
“But…”
“That’s an order,” Amy barked.
Sally dropped her bag on Amy’s lap.
“Oof. What do you have in here, bricks?”
“Serves you right,” Sarah said, escorting them out the door.
They rolled down the hall in silence. Amy cleared her voice. “So, how’d you hear about us?”
“Cid Garrett.”
“Dreamy, shy Cid. He and Ted are working on a few new prosthetic designs. I’ve asked for an exoskeleton. Because of this, Ted calls me Ripley.”
“From Alien.”
“You’re quick.”
“Mrs. Leighton said you were a volunteer.”
“Yes. I volunteer here a few days a week. I live a few towns over. My brother dumps me here on the way to work. He’s a state cop.”
Sally’s phone pinged. “I’m sorry, I should have silenced this,” she said, digging the phone out of her jacket pocket.
“Go ahead and look, it might be important.”
Sally touched the screen, and a picture of Cid covered in paint appeared. “Oh my.”
“Let me see,” Amy said, raising her chair and dumping the duffle bag on the tile floor. “That’s Cid.”
“He says this is what he gets for painting with G
ary,” Sally said when she took the phone back.
“Cid sends you pictures… I better break it to the lunch ladies that Cid’s got a girlfriend,” Amy said.
Sally blushed.
“I knew it! The rumor mill almost flew off into space when Mrs. Leighton was rearranging schedules and having room ten spruced up. We thought that a dignitary was coming.”
“I bet you were disappointed when you saw me,” Sally said.
“Yes. And doubly disappointed if you are indeed Cid’s girlfriend. I always wheel next to him when he goes through the food lines. The lunch ladies fawn all over him, and he makes sure I get some of the special foods they cook when they know he’s in the building.”
“So you’re not after his body…”
“Just scraps from his table,” Amy said. “Here we are.” She opened the door. “Let me show you how the door works. No resident’s door locks because they have to get to you if you’re in trouble. But they do believe in privacy. You turn this knob. It doesn’t lock the door but displays…”
“I’m dressing,” Sally read.
Amy turned it again.
“I’m sleeping.”
“Don’t forget to change it back when you’re finished. I’ve suggested, instead of using words, they use an emoji. Betty Boop in a towel for I’m dressing, for example.”
“I think that is a great idea,” Sally said.
“Take off your shoes,” Amy said.
“Why?”
“Do it.”
Sally complied.
“Do you feel it?”
“The floor is warm.”
“Heated floors. They can’t really put carpets in because they may hinder some of us challenged individuals.” Amy showed Sally how to get ahold of an attendant, call other rooms, and how to leave a voicemail for the doctors.
“May I take a selfie?” Sally asked when Amy was finished. “I want Cid to know I was welcomed.”
Amy smiled and Sally took the picture.
“Are they going to let me keep my phone?”
“That’s up to Dr. Myer.” A cackle came from Amy’s pocket followed by I’ll get you and your little dog too. “That’s my boss,” she explained before answering. “She’s