Caged Light

by Tom Howard

  Caged

  LIGHT

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either a product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Caged Light Second Edition

  Cover Design by oliviaprodesign at Fiverr.com

  Copyright © 2016 by Thomas M. Howard

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

  ISBN - 978-0-359-63738-6

  All of Tom’s Novels can be found at

  www.mytomhowardbooks.com

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  Into the darkest of circumstances God will send His warriors to retrieve those who have been lost.

  T. Howard

  To our little one whose light was extinguished too soon, may you shine forever among the angels. You will never be forgotten.

  ​Love Mommy and Daddy​

  And so it begins…

  Lying there in the transparent space between sleep and awake, she had no idea what had just transpired. The warm breeze of the evening gently caressed her face, causing her eyes to slowly open. The stars were shining brightly as they surrounded a full moon. It was eerily quiet. Only the sound of her pounding heart could be heard as she gripped her head. The fog lifted and the grogginess cleared, her brow furrowed as she realized something was seriously wrong. Confusion engulfed her as she wondered why she was sitting at the bottom of a twenty-foot-deep crater, and how she’d gotten there. She wasn’t too badly injured, just a little sore in her right leg with a bruise on her calf the size of a baseball. Other than that, as she checked herself over, all she found was her white, mid-thigh length dress was tattered and dirty. It was almost as though she had been in some kind of fight and dumped there, left for dead. The only problem…she couldn’t remember anything.

  She looked around the crater and noticed the top was much wider than the bottom, with one side slanted more than the others, as if that’s where she had been tossed in. There were two choices placed before her: stay where she was and pray for help which may never come or climb out and try to solve the mystery of who she is and how she came to be in the crater. Taking a deep breath, she gathered what strength she could find and began her ascent. Even though the hole was only twenty feet deep with an incline, the majority of the portion was rock, with the top five feet being soft soil, which all together made the climb more difficult.

  Inch by inch she made her way toward the top, with freedom only feet away. Just as she reached for the top, the soil slipped from beneath her hand, causing her to slide down, slicing her leg on a sharp rock. Immediately blood began to flow, however, she wasn’t able to tell if it was superficial or deep enough to hit something important. All she could focus on was getting out. With only a few thrusts upward, she was finally free. As she emerged from the giant pit, through the darkness, she was able to see the field she was in, which appeared to be about fifty meters squared, surrounded by thick woods all around.

  As she was sitting in the grass nursing her wound with a piece of cloth she had torn from her dress, she noticed the woods around her weren’t as silent as they had once been. Strange sounds began to make their way through the tree lines. She wasn’t able to tell what was making the noises but was certain it was no small animal. Suddenly, out of the deep of the trees next to her came the close sounds of crunching leaves and snapping twigs. A low, rumbling growl could be heard as though a wolf were circling. Her heart began to pound as fear overtook all of her senses. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck suddenly rise as her eyes widened at the sight before her. Just beyond the shadows, with aide of the moonlight, she watched, nearly paralyzed in fright, as a figure began coming toward her. She could tell this was no mere four-legged animal. It appeared as though a gangly looking man dragging a hurt leg. The man appeared to be nothing but skin and bones, however, the growl was coming from him. What scared her the most was the closer he came, the more she could see. The man didn’t appear to be human. He was missing the top portion of his head from his forehead up, his nose was only the cavities one would see in a skull, and his eyes were a deep shade of orange. His skin was such a dark shade of reddish brown it nearly blended in with the night. The girl wanted to move, wanted to get away, but she had forgotten how to move. As the creature made its way closer and closer toward the edge of the tree line, it reached for her, but suddenly yanked its mangled looking hand back into the shadows the moment the moonlight touched it, and let out a yell the likes of which no ear had ever heard.

  That was her chance, the woman knew she had to get to safety somehow. For a split second, she looked away, toward the direction she was going to run, then back to the creature only to find…it was gone! There’s no way that thing could move that fast, she thought, not the way it had been moving so slowly. Even though her leg was in serious pain, the woman knew she had to get out of there as quick as she could. So, making her way to her feet, she began to run toward the trees to the north of her, away from where the creature had just stood.

  As she ran, fear and adrenaline fueled her for she knew at any second her life could be over. The creature, which now had her scent, wasn’t going to give up the hunt so easily. The woman had no choice but to forget the pain in her leg, and move quickly through the trees. However, the faster she ran, the more she could hear someone or some thing closing in on her. With a quick glance behind her, she could see a shadow moving rapidly between the trees. Fear rushed over her like a tidal wave, and was nearly more than she could handle. Her heart felt as though it were going to explode out of her chest. For every stride she took, the shadow figure took two. The edge of the tree line was in sight, with the moon lighting up a road. She knew it could mean her life if she didn’t make it and pushed even harder. She was closing in on her safe haven when suddenly the creature appeared in front of her, blocking her escape. She came to a screeching halt, nearly smacking into it. Gazing into the creature’s eyes, she could see pure evil coursing through its veins. Slowly she began to move backwards. The creature spoke with drawn out, hissing words, “You belong to us.” It said as it reached out for her once again. The closer the creature came to her, the further the woman backed up. “Michelle, come with us.” It caught her off guard that the creature would somehow know her name; so much so, she wasn’t paying attention to her footing and tripped over a small dead tree lying on the ground. The creature moved in closer until it was hovering over her. Michelle tried to move, but her foot was trapped. Try as she might, there was no escape. She watched in pure terror as the creature leaned down closer to her face, the shadows could hide it no longer. It had a mangled body which appeared to be severely burned. Slowly it reached out its claw like arm ready to take hold of her, and all Michelle could do was scream in horror as she turned her face to avoid the inevitable.

  Suddenly she felt a tight, but gentle, grip around her arm. “Hey, are you ok?” A rough, but gentle voice, with a subtle hint of a southern accent spoke from next to her.

  Michelle almost couldn’t believe her ears. However, as she turned to face whom she thought was her would be assassin, she saw someone else instead. She began to look around frantically, “Where did it go?” She asked with fear still lingering in her voice.

  “Where did what go?” The man asked, seemingly confused.

  “That…that creature.” Michelle replied. “It was right here, I thought it was going to kill me.”

  The man caressed Michelle’s face to gain her attention and ho
pefully calm her. “Sweetheart, there’s no one here but us.” A bit of his southern charm was beginning to show.

  “How did you find me?” Michelle was somewhat skeptical, wondering if the creature had somehow altered its appearance.

  “I was driving by on my way to the diner up the road, when I heard a scream, so I stopped to investigate. I saw you lying here and couldn’t tell if you were dead or alive, so I rushed over to help. The name’s Wyatt, I’m a detective with the local police department. What’s your name?”

  “Michelle…I think.” She said, starting to calm down.

  “Nice to meet you.”

  “You too.” Michelle couldn’t help but notice how her new friend looked. He was ruggedly handsome with a slight hint of stubble on his face, shoulder length dark brown hair, and piercing blue eyes. A faded scar lingered just above his left eye, and through his T-shirt and black leather jacket, she could tell he was dangerously chiseled.

  “Alright, let’s get you out of here and over to the hospital so they can get you patched up.” Wyatt stated as he wrenched Michelle’s foot free of the fallen tree. “That cut looks pretty bad, luckily it’s only superficial, any deeper and you’d have bled out in minutes. As it is, you’ll only need stitches.”

  “No.” Michelle replied shaking her head. “No hospitals. Thank you for your help, but I’ll be fine on my own.”

  “No offense sweetheart, but you look like you just escaped from a horror movie. At least let me get you to the diner, I know the owners, we can get you something to eat and you can clean up. What do you say?”

  Michelle thought it over as he helped her up, then finally nodded in agreement. They weren’t far from the road, and as Wyatt helped Michelle past the tree line, a voice emanated from the woods… “We will find you.” It hissed in a whisper. The two looked at each other, then back to the trees to find shrubs and bushes moving, however, neither felt any wind. With their heart rates on the rise, they climbed into his Challenger, and sped off.

  As they were closing in on the diner, a black car with sirens blazing and interior windshield lights flashing went flying by them, heading back in the direction of the woods.

  “You’re a detective; shouldn’t you be following that car?” Michelle asked, wondering where they were going in such a hurry.

  “Nope,” Wyatt replied, pulling into the diner parking lot. “those guys aren’t local, they’re Feds.” Michelle gave him a look wondering how he was so certain. “Very distinctive cars. They’d just squeeze me out and take over anyway. Besides, if I don’t stitch up that leg, you may lose it.”

  The entire area around the crater had been cordoned off, with cops everywhere. None of them had any idea what could have caused the massive hole aside from a small meteor, however, evidence of such was lacking. There were officers and crime scene investigators searching for anything unusual both in and around the crater, with nothing so far. Only moments later, the FBI agent who was driving the black car emerged from the trees, heading for the swarm of officers. He looked like the typical agent with the black suit, the haircut, black shades, and even his walk screamed government.

  “Who’s the officer in charge?” He asked, flashing his badge as though better than everyone else.

  The corporal, to whom he was speaking, huffed then motioned toward the sergeant. “Hey sarge, you’ve got a suit looking for you.”

  Sergeant Andrews, a long-time veteran of the force, came walking over. One thing he hated was someone trying to take over his crime scene. “And what does the FBI want with a giant hole in the earth?”

  “That’s classified.” The agent replied as he glanced around the area.

  “This is my town, pal, I give the orders here. De-classify it, if you know what caused this, I want to know.”

  The agent slowly turned to look at Andrews, removed his sunglasses, and stepped closer to the Sergeant. “I wouldn’t care if this were the Vatican, if you try to challenge my authority, you won’t even be able to find work as mall security, I will bury you.” He growled. “This is now a matter for the FBI, so anything you find better be bagged, tagged, and sent to us. And if anything is missing, you won’t like me when I come back.”

  “Don’t flatter yourself,” Andrews replied. “I don’t like you now. In fact, you can take your authority and cram it up your…”

  “Sergeant, we’ve got something.” One of the CSI’s yelled from the bottom of the crater. Putting their chat on hold, the agent and Andrews walked to the edge of the hole. “It’s a footprint. From the looks of it, it’s female, probably 5’8”, a hundred and thirty pounds.”

  “Got something here too, sir.” An officer yelled from a ladder leading into the crater. “Looks like blood.”

  “Alright, let’s get samples of everything and get it to the lab.” Sergeant Andrews ordered, then looked at the suit. “The next time you want to try taking over my crime scene, bring back up. Now get out of here and go look for a UFO or something.”

  The agent said nothing, only pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and walked away. “Sir, we have something, there’s one here, female by the looks of it, and she appears to be injured. How shall I proceed?”

  “Search everywhere.” A deep male voice spoke. And by the sound of it, he could have rivaled most horror movie villains. “We cannot let her slip through our grasp.”

  “Yes sir, I’ll call you when I have something.” The agent closed his phone then crossed into the trees, heading back toward his car. However, as he made his way through the forest, an uneasy feeling overcame him, as though he were not alone. His ears perked up, and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end as a cold shiver ran down his spine. With each step he took, he could hear the faint echo of another following close behind. He came to a stop with only twenty yards between him and his car, knowing full well if he ran, he may have stood a chance. Though the sounds of twigs snapping and leaves crunching surrounded him in the darkness, there was nothing to show for the noise. His heart rate quickened as he knew he could soon meet his end. All the while, the agent wondered if whatever was in the void got a hold of the girl as well. If so, would there be anything left to find? With that, he drew his gun and made a mad dash for his car, all the while hearing his pursuer quicken its pace as well. As the agent emerged from the tree line, nearly leaping through the windshield to get behind the wheel, he looked back to see a pair of glowing eyes glaring back at him.

  The diner was a quaint little hole in the wall place, no bigger than a two-story house, with nothing around for miles except fields and forest. It was known to many people in the local towns and found by those who were just passing through. They had some of the best home cooked food to be found in the tri-state area. Of course it helped to have a country grandmother who knew how to cook, teach the cooks everything she knew. The inside was mostly open tables, booths, and a “U” shaped bar. The kitchen was in the back, with offices and bathrooms upstairs.

  Wyatt sat at the bar sipping on some Kentucky bourbon, thinking about the horrible day he’d just had. The homicide he was investigating took a turn for the worse when his only two witnesses were found dead of an apparent murder-suicide. He knew better than that. The case he was building was against a man named Damon Carver, a man responsible for the biggest money laundering scam in the state, drug and human trafficking, and too many murders to count. With all of that, no one has been able to make a single charge stick, especially when every witness turns up dead. However, Wyatt felt it was his responsibility to take Damon down. For him…it was personal.

  As Wyatt took yet another sip of his bourbon, out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement on the stairs. Slowly he returned his glass to the bar as he did a double take of Michelle descending like an angel. Her blonde hair cascaded to the middle of her back and her blue eyes could pierce the soul. She had a figure which could turn every head in the diner and then some. Wyatt stood up and pulled out the stool next to his.

  “You clean up beautifully.” He said as t
hey sat down.

  “Thank you.” Michelle smiled.

  “Oh good, they fit. You looked about the same size as my daughter.” The owner, Mrs. Clare said as she brought Michelle a lemonade. She was in her late fifties, but still able to run the place just fine, and even tend the bar when needed.

  “I appreciate it, but I have no way to pay you.” Michelle had been given blue jeans, a T-shirt, tennis shoes, and a jean jacket.

  “Don’t worry about it. Any friend of Wyatt’s is a friend of mine. Besides, it’s not often we get too many new faces coming through here.” Mrs. Clare said as she refilled Wyatt’s glass. “I’m happy to help.”

  “So how is it you two know each other?” Michelle asked.

  “A couple years ago I stopped the diner from being robbed.” Wyatt said, raising the glass for another sip.

  Michelle raised her brow expecting something else like their parents were friends and Mrs. Clare was like an aunt to him.

  “Don’t be so modest.” Mrs. Clare hit him with a hand towel then leaned on the counter. “One rainy night, almost closing time, Wyatt was sitting right where he is now, and a man walked in dressed all in black with his hood up. I could tell something was off, and at the time, I didn’t know Wyatt was a cop. So the guy has dinner, and as I was handing him the check, he grabbed my hand and took me hostage. He had a gun and threatened to kill anyone who moved. Wyatt was as calm as could be, but the other guests had no clue what to do. As we were walking over to the register, with me as a shield, we crossed behind Wyatt, who by the way hadn’t looked up from the counter, and for the first time since the man walked in, he spoke up. Oh, what was it you said?”

  “I basically gave him an ultimatum.” Wyatt replied. “I told him he had two choices, either let her go and we’d forget it ever happened, or he could spend the rest of his life eating through a straw.”