Betty could feel a pain in her chest and wanted to scream but the pain stole her voice away. The pain only increased as the walls around her turned to blood, the floor oozing with the substance as the blood flowed down from the walls. Wes and Clara cried out at the ooze flowing over them, stinking and sticky as it covered their faces and bodies.
“Stop it!” Betty managed to yell out. “Leave them alone. I will go with you if you leave them alone!”
A voice chuckled in the darkening room, the blood flowing over even the lightbulb in the ceiling, casting a red glow to the scene. Betty screamed as she flew into the air, her body tumbling as the force threw her around like a rag doll. She was flung around the room though she never hit anything.
“My dizzy little madam, you do not quite understand do you? You are mine now. There’s no bargaining, no 'please'. They will be mine next. Now, come give me a kiss.”
Betty’s body came to a halt in the center of the room, about five feet from the floor. Her body went limp as her brain finally had enough and she passed out. But she was not spared for long because the being intruded even into that haven, a demonic laughter chasing her from the depths. She awoke to a blinding light as her body fell to the ground, two thumps behind her letting her know Clara and Wes were free as well.
As the blinding light filled the room the trio of humans huddled together, trying to see into the light but unable to without pain. What was happening now they all wondered?
A new voice boomed out of the light, sweet, where the other had been bitter, kind where the other had been cruel. Betty knew that voice and she longed to see him properly once more. Her lost love, her only love had come to save her and her child.
“Adam.” She breathed the word, a prayer, a thank you, a relief. Adam was here and she was safe once more.
“Travis, will you never leave her be? Why can’t you allow her a moment’s rest? She has had a lifetime of your torment. Leave her be.” The voice came from the light.
The trio looked around but could not see the Shadow Man, his darkness was being sucked up by the light Adam released. Even the blood that had stained every surface was drying up and blowing away under the force of the light. As the light filled the room the trio finally saw the man hiding in the darkness, the withered remains of Travis, now a bent and wrinkled imitation of himself. His eyes still burned with anger, though, with hunger for the things he could not have, and with hatred.
“You. You wanted to send me away, you wanted her for yourself. I know what you were doing with her, breaking the rules. Well, I stopped you! I stopped you both, did I not? And I still had her, despite her mewling’s over you. I had her several times that night and we have a child because of it. She is the mother of my child. We are connected throughout eternity.” The withered little man danced in the light, his power waning as Adam grew brighter, a warmth coming from him now.
“You have nothing with her, Travis. Absolutely nothing. You had her body against her will, you tried to steal her soul but you had nothing of her. You share nothing with her but memories that cause her pain. That was always your problem. You just did not know when to leave people alone, when you weren’t wanted. But like a child you had to have what others did not want to give you, even if it meant stealing it from them. You talk of rules but you made your own up and then broke them. You are not even supposed to be in this realm now. It is forbidden to us and even my time here has to be short.”
“But I am the girl’s father. I share a bond with her. That is my girl. She is mine.” The evil little man jumped in place, his anger making him dance with frustration.
“No.” Adam said, his body stepping out of the light finally. “You have no place here. We lost our time the night you decided to unleash your greed once more. We are not supposed to be here.”
Clara saw how handsome he was and could see why her mother had loved him so. Angelic and sweet, strong and safe, Adam was everything her mother would have wanted.
Betty’s heart melted as she saw him once more, years of torment melting away as she saw his smile. She could only really see his head, his body still only just white light. But just to see his face once more was a miracle. She breathed his name, no more than a sigh and held her hands out to him.
Adam came into her hands, his face between her soft aged palms, and kissed the delicate flesh there. He touched her face, her head, then stepped away, looking over at Clara.
“This is our girl then. She is as lovely as you Betty. You have done a wonderful job with her. I only wish I could have been there to watch her grow with you.” Adam’s face revealed his sadness, his pain at missing so much of his own life and theirs together.
“How do you know she is yours, Adam? I could never tell, no matter how hard I looked at her.” Betty revealed.
“Oh, it is simple really. Travis had the mumps as a teenager. His testicles swelled up into two giant balloons. He could not have fathered a child because that bout of the mumps sterilized him. I am surprised he could even have sex after that, his testicles were so misshapen. No, there’s no way he could have fathered this child, none at all. His body simply was not capable of it.”
“But, she is mine!” Travis protested, his body withering even more before their eyes. “She is mine. I made her. I put the seed in this woman’s belly and that girl is the fruit. She is mine.” He was hopping up and down in anger. Now he was more a laughable sight, a pitiable sight, than a frightening one.
Adam’s light began to grow once more and his voice shook in anger.
“You are wrong, Travis. Now be gone!” A blinding flash of light absorbed the man and he disappeared, his body and his shadow gone.
Wes, Clara, and Betty all felt a relief, a loosening of the tension, as the man disappeared and Adam’s light started to dim once more.
“Betty, I can’t give you the years we lost and I can’t promise you many more on your own, but I can take this disease from you. It is gone and will plague you no more. The rest, your heart, your body, I can’t make that better, but I was able to take this disease. I hope the rest of your life is peaceful. Spend it as you have the other part of your life, loving our daughter.”
And with that Adam was gone. He did not say goodbye or speak to Clara, he just left, taking the evil that was Travis with him.
“But what about our girls? Where are the girls Momma?” Clara called out.
Wes was already on the phone, picking out numbers when the front door slammed open once more. The girls came in, an adult woman behind them.
“Momma! The Shadow Man wanted to play a game but it was bad so we said no. We had to come home to check on you. Oh Momma, we’ve been so worried about you and Grams!” The girls piled onto their mother in the floor and hugged her neck tightly. Clara was not sure what they were saying but she knew it was something about what she had experienced.
“It is alright girls, we are fine. I promise. Everything is going to be just fine now.”
But I was not sure it was. What if he broke the rules once more? What if he came back?
“I am sorry, I did try to call you, but the call just would not go though and the girls insisted on coming home. I will leave you to it if you are all alright?” The woman looked down at the adults and smiled as Clara shook her head.
“Oh we are fine sweetheart. You go on and take care of your own babies. I am going to make my daughter some dinner. I think she deserves a night off for a change.” Betty answered the woman, showing her to the door.
The girls cuddled their parents and then followed their grandmother into the kitchen.
“Grams, you seem different.” Twilla said as Lindy sat in a chair beside of her sister.
“I believe I might be, sweetheart. I feel different anyway. Now, who wants some of Gram’s lasagna for dinner?” Betty asked the girls, her voice excited.
The girls shouted their agreement excitedly as Clara and Wes walked in. It was late but they did not care. They were together and for now it seemed that the world was safe
once more. Well, as safe as the world could be anyway. Clara watched her mother, her heart filled with love as the woman danced around the kitchen with the girls. There was more to the change in her mother than just a lack of Alzheimer’s for Adam had taken that away. But he had taken away more than that, he had taken away three decades of guilt, of pain, and worry. Clara was the product of love and commitment; she was not the product of an evil act.
Clara felt a new freedom herself. She knew who her father was and she understood the years of silence from her mother now. That man had been evil and living with his memory must have been torment. That she had done it alone had been an amazing thing to Clara. She knew her mother was strong but she had had no idea of just how truly strong the woman was.
Wes watched his family, unsure of what had actually taken place, wondering if they’d all shared in some mass hallucination but there were things he could not explain. How had the girls known something was wrong? Why had Betty come home from the hospital? There were just too many unanswered question but he doubted he would ever know the true answers. Perhaps he knew them and he just could not admit it?
Either way, Wes was happy and hoped that was the end to all of this. He wanted to get his family back on track now. Maybe they could finally do that now that all of the demons had been slayed.
Chapter Thirteen
One year later
Charlotte, North Carolina
Wes and Clara leaned over the crib, staring down at the angelic blonde child sleeping peacefully in his crib. Wes’s arm draped over Clara’s still recovering body, cradling her protectively after the ordeal of the baby’s birth. He’d almost lost her on that table but now she was home and recovering, their family whole.
They cooed at the growing baby boy quietly, in love with the new life they’d created. Their daughters were close by, waiting their own turn to check the baby. They loved their little brother and liked watching him sleep. They liked smelling him and holding him after their mother bathed him and thought it was a treat when they got to feed him one of his bottles that their mother made for him.
Little Adam, fast asleep with a chubby little fist in his mouth to gnaw on, was three months old now; he had been around long enough to have this routine down. Take a nap, eat, get a clean diaper, cuddle with the two big people, maybe with the older big person, the two little people might come to play with him, then rinse and repeat. He liked life here.
Sometimes he would have strange memories, memories of another time and place, and of the older big person when she was younger but not often. As time went on these little memories began to fade but he knew this was his family and they loved him. And he loved them, most of all he loved his family. Perhaps he did not know much about the world yet but as he grew, he knew he would be loved and would love in return.
Clara looked down at her son and saw that his chin did not resemble his father’s or his mother’s. But she knew where she had seen it before. She and Betty had discussed it. Betty had known Adam far more intimately than she had and Betty could see Clara’s father in the small child they’d named after his grandfather. It was something about the way he looked at her; the way he would smile that was oh so familiar. Yes, this was Adam’s grandchild, not just his namesake, but his grandchild.
Over the last year the house had been repaired, furniture and appliances replaced, and they’d all settled in together. Betty had surprised the medical community by making a full recovery and now many were wondering if she had even had Alzheimer’s at all. They were wondering if she had had some other illness that had dissipated with time. Betty knew the truth and did not care what any of them had said. Adam had taken that from her.
Clara and Wes talked with Betty and they all decided Alzheimer’s or not, Betty was better off with them. They could help her in her daily life as she began to age and Clara was just happier knowing her mother was near. They’d almost lost each other; Clara did not want to take that chance again.
As the day settled into night and the family finally retired Betty stared up at the ceiling in the darkness. For so long she had been tormented by that demon. She had lived in fear of him and feared death because of him. She knew he’d be there waiting for her, to torment her in eternity, but now she knew Adam would be there instead. Adam would wait for her and take her hand as she stepped into the next life. Somehow, they’d be together again.
Betty now looked forward to death, to finally getting the chance they’d never quite had. Betty closed her eyes that night and went to sleep. She slept peacefully and without the haunting dreams that had plagued her for so long. She could do that now because Adam had taken it all away. Finally, Betty had the peace she deserved.
The End
Thriller: Horror: The Cottage (Mystery Suspense Thrillers) (Haunted Paranormal Short Story) Page 21