The Night is Long and Cold and Deep

by Terry M. West

  “Oh, Jesus, man,” Bubba said, staring with dark fascination at the severed head. He looked around quickly at the darkness. “Is that monster in here?”

  “No, man,” Cecil assured him. “I’d feel it if it were. It put Bennetts’ head in here and took off through the garage door before we came in.”

  “But the head spoke,” Hattie Mae said, settling against Bubba. “I’m not going crazy, right? You boys heard it?”

  “I don’t know,” Bubba said. “It looks pretty dead to me.”

  Cecil leaned the lantern toward the head. He cleared his throat. “Did you say something?”

  The head opened its eyes and smiled. “You guys are lousy fucking shots, okay? Seriously. You shot me like sixteen times between the two of you.”

  “We were scared,” Bubba said apologetically. “And it all happened so quick…”

  “No, Bubba,” Cecil said. “You do not say you’re sorry to this asshole. You brought this on yourself, Bennetts.”

  “Cecil,” Hattie Mae said softly. “You’re chiding a reanimated head, sweetie. Why don’t you ask it what that thang wants?”

  Cecil grunted and nodded. “Yeah, you heard her. Get with it. Why don’t you start with the reason this thing can’t hijack my head anymore. What’s it got to do with Hattie Mae?”

  “There’s something special about that woman,” Bennetts said, his eyes staring lecherously at Hattie Mae. “And it’s not just the tits, okay? She has power. A lot of it. She also has the ability to compel, and she’s using it, whether she realizes it or not. It’s cancelling out the alien’s psychic pull. But you boys shouldn’t be jealous of her. There’s a potent aura around the two of you, as well. If you’re willing to lie down and sacrifice your energy to him at the end of it, my master will make you its heralds. It’ll be a pisser of a time until the lights are dimmed.”

  “Well, that’s awfully tempting but I think we’ll pass,” Cecil said. “Let me ask you something else. Why ain’t the alien coming at us like a man? What’s with all this slinking around shit? Is it scared or something?”

  “It’s cautious. You don’t survive as long as it has by jumping into situations blindly. But scared? Of you chattering chimps?” Bennetts laughed and the shelf rattled. “Is an aardvark scared of ants? No my friend. It’s just gathering its strength before it crushes the hill. When it feels comfortable, it’ll cut you down with ease. It won’t be long. That’s for sure. Why don’t you guys tag team the broad with the time you have left? Might be the last piece of ass you get. I’ll watch and do some phantom limb stroking.”

  “Hey, you damned… head… thing,” Bubba said, aiming a fist at Bennetts. “You better watch your mouth, man.”

  “When I was a kid, I used to watch spy shows. It’s what made me want to join the FBI,” Bennetts said, a sparkle of nostalgia in his eyes. “There was one show, and it had this gimmick, with a tape recorder…”

  “Yeah,” Bubba said, recalling it himself. “The self-destructing message. I remember that.”

  “Well, in that spirit… this head is going to self-destruct in five, four, three, two…”

  “Oh shit,” Bubba cried, grabbing Hattie Mae and Cecil and jerking them down toward the floor.

  Bennetts finished the count, grinned like a loon, and then his head exploded. The garage shook and Bennetts’ brains painted the tool counter and nearby wall.

  The three of them stood, slowly. The lower half of Bennetts’ skull remained. It was blackened from the blast and it smoldered. Cecil looked at the brain painting on display and cringed. “Now, that is truly a disgusting sight.”

  “Well, I’m just thankful his mouth is shut,” Bubba said.

  “We gotta gather more weapons,” Cecil instructed. “You got any ammo left?”

  “It’s gone, man,” Bubba said, pulling an empty clip from the gun.

  “Mine too. Go see if his partner has an extra clip on him,” Cecil said, motioning toward the van.

  Bubba walked to the back door of the van. As he reached for the handle, Hanson’s dead face popped up into the window and stared at him. Bubba nodded and then he walked back toward Cecil and Hattie Mae.

  “He doesn’t,” Bubba reported as he returned to his friends.

  “Well, those bullets looked like they were bouncing off of that monster, anyway,” Cecil said. “I just wish we knew a way to hurt that damned thing.”

  Bubba suddenly remembered something. “Hey, when that alien first attacked me, I tossed my soda at it. It burnt the son of a bitch. That’s how I got away.”

  “What was in the cup?” Cecil asked.

  “A little bit of everything from the dispensers,” Bubba replied. “The kids call it a suicide soda.”

  Cecil ran to a back shelf and pulled a small pest control rig from it. “My daddy, cheapskate that he is, bought this for us to blast the ants in the summer. If we fill it with that concoction of yours, we can use this to spray it at the prick.”

  Bubba’s eyes lit up and he took the rig. He slipped his arms into the straps and hiked the storage barrel up his back. Then he gripped the wand. “Yeah, man, this could work. Only one catch,” Bubba said.

  “What?”

  “The soda fountain is out there, and so is that ugly grey bastard,” Bubba explained, shrugging off the equipment.

  “Daddy keeps extra soda kegs in that side room,” Cecil realized, pointing toward a storage closet near the store entrance. “You can pop them open and mix up a batch.”

  “I’m on it,” Bubba said, hauling the pest equipment with him.

  “What should I do?” Hattie Mae asked.

  Cecil looked around, and spotted a small mallet. “Here,” he said, handing it to Hattie Mae. “You clean its clock with this.”

  Hattie Mae weighed the tool in her hand and frowned. “I don’t know if I can put enough strength behind this to do any harm.”

  “Do your best,” Cecil said, looking around for more weapons to employ.

  “Does this sort of thing happen to you boys often?” Hattie Mae asked.

  “Honestly, this here is our second foray into the fucking unknown,” Cecil said, picking up items and gauging the damage they could cause. “You were there for our initiation into the club of the cursed.”

  “It’s just, being a demon for so long… and now I’m human again. And still I’m bothered by this evil mess,” Hattie Mae said. “I was hoping for a bit more normality, I guess.”

  Cecil stopped what he was doing and regarded her. “Hey, well, woman, if we get out of this, you might want to consider keeping a fair distance from me and Bubba. We wouldn’t fault you, with this curse and all. And shit, you’re gorgeous. You’ll be raking it in at the Busty and Lusty. You’ll be able to afford your own place in no time.”

  Hattie Mae smiled. “Thank you. But I can’t do that. If it wasn’t for you, I’d still be licking the devil’s boot. I’m not going anywhere until your curse is lifted.”

  Cecil pointed a finger at Hattie Mae. “Then this is on you, okay? You see how dangerous this shit can be.”

  Hattie Mae nodded, and tested the mallet in the air.

  Ceil went back to rummaging through the tools. He noted that the more lethal ones required electricity or batteries to perform.

  Bubba stepped back near them.

  “You’re out of Dew, man.”

  “So I guess you’ll have to manage,” Cecil said. “Do without the Dew.”

  “I just hope it wasn’t the magic ingredient,” Bubba said, returning to his task.

  ***

  Reginald McGee walked into the store. He felt for the light switch near the entrance. He flipped it back and forth. The store remained darkened.

  “Cecil?” Reginald called. “What the hell is going on, son? You get over here and explain yourself.”

  Reginald shook his head, disappointed at his son. “If I can’t trust you for a night shift, what am I going to do with you, boy?” he thought out loud. He took a step and something crunched under his foot. He
noticed the Halloween candy spilled on the floor.

  Reginald suddenly felt something behind him. He turned around, quickly. A tall figure stood near the entrance. Reginald squinted at the form. The alien stared back, silently studying the old man.

  “Well, that is about the most spectacular costume I have ever seen. Wish I knew where my boy was. He has a camera on his phone. I’d sure like to pose with you, son. I could use a new profile picture,” Reginald said, smiling. “Is that outfit store bought, or did you make it?”

  The alien growled and cocked its head curiously. Reginald chuckled.

  “Staying in character, are we?” he said, reaching out and grasping a handful of candy bars from a rack. “Well, since that’s my name on the sign out there, I reckon it’ll be okay to give you these. Where is your bag, son?”

  The alien struck Reginald across the cheek. His glasses flew across the store. The old man fell backwards against the candy rack and slumped to the floor. The alien hauled the old man back up and brandished his tendril fingers in front of Reginald’s face. The fingers hardened and bonded together. The tip of the hand grew sharp and pointy. The monster jammed its deadly appendage into Reginald’s gut.

  Reginald bellowed in pain.

  Suddenly, a stream of fluid hit the creature’s back and began to smoke. The thing screeched painfully and dropped the old man. It turned. Bubba was screaming and firing soda at it from the wand of the pest control rig. Cecil and Hattie Mae brought up the rear. Hattie Mae clutched her mallet and Cecil dropped a small electric saw that he was going to stab the creature with and he picked the baseball bat up off of the floor instead. The thing flung itself away and crashed through a store window.

  Bubba looked to the body on the floor. “Man down!” he cried, kneeling, looking closer and realizing who it was. “Mr. McGee! Cecil, it’s your daddy!”

  Cecil dropped the bat and rushed over. He slid to the floor. He scooped Reginald’s head into his lap and noticed the wound at his father’s belly. “Get me a towel!” Cecil cried.

  Bubba and Hattie Mae looked around the store.

  “Cecil?” Reginald said softly. Hattie Mae came back with a roll of paper towels. She tore off a long string and pressed it to the wound.

  “Yeah, Daddy,” Cecil said, staring with worried eyes at his father. “It’s me.”

  “What was that… that… thang?” Reginald asked, gripping his son’s hand.

  “It’s an alien, Daddy,” Cecil said. “Some government men showed up in a van and it busted out. It intends to kill us all. You shouldn’t have been here. Why did you come back?”

  Reginald’s face twisted in pain. He rode a brief wave of agony, and then he looked to his son. “I couldn’t sleep. I came back to tell you I was sorry. I shouldn’t have spoken to you the way I did. No child should ever have to hear that sort of appraisal from a father.”

  “But you were right, Daddy,” Cecil said, his eyes watering. “I am a monumental fuck up. And everything and everybody is gonna die because I ain’t got it in me to beat this monster.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong, Cecil,” Reginald argued softly. He took a short breather, and then continued. “I lied to you before. I told you there was nothing about you I found pride in. But there is. Though I suppose it is a quality a parent shouldn’t admire in a child.”

  “What’s that, Daddy?”

  “Vengeance,” Reginald said. “It has always served you well. No one ever picked on you more than once. I was proud of you. The way you would serve it back to your tormentors. The extremes you would go to and the methods you would use…”

  Reginald smiled, recalling it fondly. “If it were a sport, your face would have been on a cereal box.”

  “I just never liked to be messed with, Daddy. I got that from you,” Cecil said, fighting the tears.

  “Cecil McGee, you are going to kill this thang. You avenge me. You protect yourself. And know that I have always had your welfare at heart. I love you, son,” Reginald said, his strength running out. He closed his eyes.

  “Daddy?” Cecil said, giving his father a slight nudge.

  Reginald looked to his son a final time. “I’m going to rest now, Cecil.”

  Reginald closed his eyes again. Cecil sat there, waiting from them to open.

  Bubba took his cap off and held it to his heart. “I’m sorry, Cecil.”

  “He’s fine,” Cecil snapped quickly. “He’s just resting is all.”

  “Honey, I know dead when I see it,” Hattie Mae said, giving up on the wound. “Your daddy’s gone.”

  Cecil nodded his head sadly as the tears came harder than he could ever recall them coming. He heaved over in grief and clutched at his father.

  Bubba felt himself tearing up as well.

  Hattie Mae gave Cecil a short allowance on time, and then she gently gripped Cecil by the shoulders. “I know it hurts, but we got this thang to contend with.”

  Cecil straightened up and dried his face. He stood and toughened himself. He looked to Bubba. “Can you put my daddy in that storage closet back there? I don’t want him used against us.”

  Bubba nodded solemnly and picked Reginald up. He carried him away.

  Cecil turned to Hattie Mae. “Bennetts said you had the power to compel. You think you can reach inside that beast’s head?”

  Hattie Mae thought about it. “I’m not sure. I mean, it used to be a natural inclination to charm someone. But I honestly don’t know if I am still able.”

  Bubba returned. “What’s the next move?”

  “I think Hattie Mae might be our secret weapon,” Cecil announced.

  Bubba looked at the both of them, curiously. “How so?”

  “I think she still has a shine or two of demon on her,” Cecil wagered. “I think that creature is more scared of her than us.”

  “But I’m human now,” Hattie Mae asserted.

  “No one is arguing that. But maybe you still have abilities, deep down,” Cecil explained. “We gotta try. Our options are running on fumes.”

  Hattie Mae nodded. “Just tell me what you want.”

  Cecil collected the crowbar and baseball bat from the floor and led Bubba and Hattie Mae back to the garage. They walked to the center of the garage. Cecil pressed the bat into Bubba’s hands.

  Cecil then put his hand on Hattie Mae’s shoulder. “I want you to reach out to it, with your mind. Bring it here. And then Bubba and I will put the boots to it.”

  “Okay. But I’ll need to concentrate on it. It might take me a few moments.”

  “You do what you have to,” Cecil said, and then he turned to Bubba. “Let’s stand on either side of that door and get ready to ambush the thing.”

  Bubba slapped his palm with the bat and got into position.

  Cecil took his own spot as Hattie Mae stood quietly, concentrating with her eyes stamped down hard. It took a spell, but Hattie Mae’s brow finally relaxed and her eyes opened. Her pupils were gone. Her white orbs stared at a sight not given to the boys.

  “I see it. It’s in the woods nearby.”

  Hattie Mae gasped. And then she cringed in shock. “It ran across some children. They were costumed and laughing. They were laughing at you, Cecil. And then it came upon them and it… it… what it did to them…”

  Hattie Mae paused and shook quietly for a second.

  Cecil and Bubba stared at each other, sadly. Cecil felt lower than dog shit. He would have never wished something like that on those kids, but he still felt he had a hand in their horrible demise. He clutched the tire iron closer to his chest and regarded Hattie Mae. “Hattie Mae, can you hear me?” he said, softly.

  “It tore them to bits,” she carried on, trapped by the terrible vision.

  “I know it’s a tragedy, but focus,” Cecil urged. “Bring it here, so we can stop it. No more kids need to die tonight.”

  Hattie Mae nodded, silently acknowledging Cecil. She closed her glowing eyes once again. It took her a bit to swallow down the horror, but she managed to. An
d then she put on her familiar mask of the temptress. She smiled flirtatiously at the air.

  “Well, hello,” she said, sweetly, playing with her red locks. “You poor thing. You’re so far away from home. It’s so lonely, I can imagine. Come on over here, honey. I want to have a little chat.”

  Hattie Mae opened her eyes again, and looked toward Cecil and Bubba. “It’s on the way,” she reported, closing her eyes and returning to the connection she currently had going with the alien.

  “My, you are big and strong. You want to what? To my what?” Hattie Mae giggled. “Honey, I don’t know if I even have a part on me for something like that. But you could look and check, I reckon.”