“What’s going on? Where am I? Who are you?”
“I’m here to help you, Danny. Show you things that very few people have ever seen. You’re a very special boy, and for that, you’ll receive very special treatment.”
“Are you some kind of sicko? Some pervert?”
The man laughed and put his hands up in mock surrender. “Certainly not. I have no need for such strange human desires. Not every man wants to take you in the woods and show you his prick.” Danny winced at the memory of his time in the ‘Shack.’
How does he know about that? he thought. The man snickered at Danny’s discomfort and stepped forward.
Danny sprung from the bench and stood behind it, forming a barrier between them. “Get the fuck away from me!”
“Your second question, where are you, isn’t very easy to answer, but if you’re interested in a history lesson, I’ll gladly oblige. You like history, right Daniel? You used to love talking about the past with the old man that lived next door. Such a shame what happened to him. Scared to death… isn’t that what you kids say these days?”
Danny remained silent, trembling with anger and fear.
“The idea isn’t a new one, Daniel. Alternate realities. It dates back to Hindu mythology. Many of your writers have discussed it at length. Seems the artsy types are a bit more open to the truth behind their fiction.”
“What are you talking about?” Danny asked.
“I thought you wanted a history lesson? I’ll just give you the cliff notes if you’re getting impatient.”
“What I want is to get out of here.”
“In due time.” The man stepped closer again, bridging the distance between them. “You’re still in Elmview, Daniel; the town you grew up in, the place you have all your fondest memories. It’s just a slightly different Elmview. This one is five slips from the one you know, and although slips can be very similar, they can also be quite different.”
“Slips? What are you talking about? You’re crazy.” He was tensed and prepared to run but his legs felt like concrete.
“The world you know is only one of many, one in a string of worlds that stretch out across space and time. A version of everything that has ever lived has a twin in each of these realities. Are you following me so far?”
“Fuck you.”
“Indeed. In this reality, you had red hair. It wasn’t very fitting. Your friend Eric died when he was twelve years old in a car accident, and you never met Brent at all. You didn’t have many friends to speak of, which made you a pretty miserable child. Here, in this reality, you were killed in the accident you just witnessed, and your death signaled the end of everything. That’s a much longer story for another time.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. This is just another stupid dream… you aren’t real.”
“Sorry Daniel, this is very real. You and I are real. Everything I’m saying is real. Time and space are like taffy that can be twisted and molded and broken. As worlds die, others are being born, continuing a cycle that predates time itself. I am part of that cycle and so are you.”
“I don’t want to be part of anything. I just want to go home.”
“Soon, my little friend. I can’t keep you here very long, but while we have this time together why don’t you just let me do all the talking?” The man waved his hand and Danny’s mouth vanished. A smooth layer of flesh grew over his lips. Danny’s eyes grew wide, and he tried to scream, but he made no sound. “Don’t worry, it’s only temporary.”
Danny cried silently. Snot ran from his nose and down over the new flesh. It itched terribly.
“From now on if I ask you something, you may nod your head yes or no. Do you understand?”
Urine stream down Danny’s leg, saturating his right sock.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” the man said, giggling. He walked closer and sat on the bench in front of him, motioning Danny to do the same. Danny obeyed, controlled by the man like a marionette.
“I’m what one would refer to as a garbage man. I’ve been taking out the trash for eons. When a world is scheduled for termination, it falls into my hands to carry out that process. You need to understand this is a very important job, but also a very large one, one that I can’t do by myself. In this case, it’s your help I’ll be requiring. Good so far?”
Danny shook his head violently back and forth.
“You will. I’ll make everything clear.”
Thunder rumbled overhead as heavy rain began falling, soaking Danny’s clothing. The water beaded and ran from the man’s skin and hair as if on a duck’s feathers. The rain burned Danny’s eyes. He wrinkled his nose at the noxious odor as water dripped from his face. It was the same colorless gray of the sky and felt chalky to the touch. The ground was quickly covered in what looked like wet clay.
“So sorry for the inconvenience,” the man said. “I don’t have control of the weather. Ell oh ell as they say on social media. You don’t know what I mean, that horrible fad didn’t come until after your time. That and cell phones. What stupid shit you humans devise to keep yourselves entertained.
“Anyway, I’m going off on a tangent. What I was saying is that I’m going to need your help. You see, there are children that are born special, ones such as yourself, who were never meant to survive their birth. Abortions, stillborns, you understand? For some reason, a glitch grows in the system that allows you to be born, anyway. You were meant to be strangled by your umbilical cord, but yet here you are, stamping your carbon footprint on the world. You, Daniel, have cheated the universe and now you’re being called upon to help me correct this flaw and start over.
“It isn’t pretty, but it is necessary. I can do most of the work myself, but it’s your energy, that spark of life inside of you that should have never ignited, that completes the circuit. I’ve done this an infinite number of times and will continue to do so, but it always hinges on finding the right business partner. Are you reading me clearly?”
Danny didn’t respond. Dirty water dripped from his hair as he shivered from the cold.
“I guess that pretty much answers your third question too. Who am I? Everything I described and more. I’ve had many names - Shiv The Destroyer, Perses, Eris, Satan, Erebus, Pluto, Morpheus - and all of these are incorrect. Those silly Greeks and Romans have names for everything. My name is unpronounceable to mortal ears, so I’ll leave it up to you to give me one. How’s that? Anything you like?” He waved his hands again and Danny’s mouth reappeared. He panted and coughed and touched his lips to make sure they were real.
“Asshole!” he shouted. “That’s your name! Shitbreath, Douchebag, Fuckface, Cocksucker! Do you like that you fucking lunatic?”
The man chuckled and folded his hands, satisfied. “At least now you’re showing some spirit, but unfortunately we have to wrap this up. I have a clean sweep coming in a few minutes and I don’t want to miss it. A beautiful planet if you’re into that sort of thing. I am not. It’s taken me millennia to erase that hideous string of realities, but finally, the end is in sight.” The man stood and brushed water from his shoulders.
“One last thing. It’s up to you to do the right thing. You need to offer your help, I can’t force you, but you should know that noncompliance has its consequences, some of which you’ve already seen. Your friend Charlie for instance. Wasn’t that a hoot? Erased as if he’d never existed. I didn’t lie to you when I said that I didn’t kill him, but his death does have its benefits, one of which is to teach you a lesson. With the snap of my fingers, I can take things away, Daniel.”
The man with the silver eyes walked across the abandoned park and turned to face Danny one last time. “If you choose to neglect your duties, I will take the greatest pleasure in systematically destroying everything you’ve ever loved. The fires, the accident, Charlie - those things are only the beginning. Perhaps next time it will be your mother or father. Now go. Think. I’ll be seeing you soon.”
Darkness.
***
His clothes were dry; warm sun beat down on his face. Blaring sirens joined the already-present sound of fires crackling in the street and the piercing whine of the closest fire alarm. For an instant, Danny wished he could slip back into The Gray… at least there it was quiet.
“He’s back,” Kevin said, relieved. “Are you okay, son?”
“I think so. What happened?”
“You passed out again,” Eric said. “We didn’t know what to do.”
“Can you get up?” Kevin asked.
Danny felt Kevin’s strong hands beneath his armpits, pulling him to his feet. At first, his legs wouldn’t hold him, but his strength quickly returned.
“I think you’ll be okay,” Kevin said. “With all this,” he said, spreading his arms for emphasis, “it’s no wonder you overloaded.”
“Yeah, I’m sure that’s it,” Danny said. It was most definitely not it. It was so much more than that, he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to wrap his head around it. For now, it took most of his energy just to stay on his feet.
“Listen, I can’t thank you boys enough for what you’ve done today. You saved our lives and I will never forget that. Something tells me Shaun and I are in for a very long day. I think we’re all in for a very long day.” He grabbed his son from Brent - who’d been holding him ever since Danny collapsed - and walked away without another word. Shaun looked over his father’s shoulder, cooed softly, and offered a small baby-wave. Eric waved back and smiled in return. If anything good could come out of something so awful, it was this.
“Guys,” Danny said, “we need to talk.”
“You’re damn right we need to talk,” Brent said. “If you keep passing out like that, you’re gonna hurt yourself.”
“It’s more serious than that,” Danny replied.
“Are you okay?” Eric asked.
“I’m the opposite of okay. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
They left Broad Street behind them: the fires, the smoke, the twisted metal, the death.
This wasn’t the Elmview they’d come to know and love… it had become something else, something dark, something standing on the edge of a great precipice awaiting the slightest breeze to tumble it into the unknown depths below.
Into the open arms of the creature who called that blackness home.
***
Their perch atop Independence Grove gave them an unhindered bird’s-eye view of the downtown. The boys watched raptly as police and fire officials fought against the growing crowd. The fires had been extinguished. Body bags lined the sidewalks, illuminated by camera flashes and video recorders from a half-dozen competing news stations. It was something out of a movie, not something that happened in their own town, especially after the events of the previous night’s storm.
Something was building, and it was growing stronger by the day.
“I’m not having this conversation,” Brent shouted. “It’s bullshit and you know it. This is real life, not the fucking Outer Limits.”
“Believe what you want,” Danny replied. “I know what I saw and I know what I heard. That thing is causing this, trying to rip the town apart, and I think it’s because of me.”
“You can’t blame yourself for this, it’s way beyond your control. Are you positive it wasn’t another one of your dreams?” Eric asked.
“It never felt so real…”
“I can’t believe you two are actually discussing this!” Brent blurted. “You’re not some cosmic golden boy with the power to destroy the world. Do you know how it makes you sound when you talk like that?”
“Christ, Brent, maybe take it down a notch, huh?” Eric said.
“No, I won’t, and you’re just as crazy as him for buying into this shit. What happened to Charlie was terrible and crazy and fucked up, but there’s an explanation for all this, and it doesn’t involve monsters from outer-space.”
“Then give me your explanation, genius,” Danny shouted. “Tell me anything that will make sense and I’ll believe you. Anything is better than this.”
“At first I believed you, I really did, but you’re taking it too far. I mean come on, people die, buildings burn, storms knock down trees. Nothing has happened that can’t be explained.”
“What about the dreams, Brent?” Danny pleaded. “I’m not crazy. I woke up in The Gray, and that man wasn’t just a man. There was something hiding beneath his skin, something inside him… something evil. How could you even think I’d make this shit up?”
Brent stood from the picnic table and crossed his arms over his chest. “I have to go home. I’ve had just about as much excitement as I can handle for one day.” He turned and walked away.
“He thinks I’m nuts,” Danny said.
“He’ll come around. I mean, come on… would you believe it? I know there’s something going on, too much to call it a coincidence, but…”
“But what? Do you believe me?”
Eric sighed and closed his eyes, thinking how to carefully phrase his words so Danny wouldn’t get more upset. “I believe that you believe.”
“Eric! That’s a cop-out and you know it!”
“Okay, listen to me. There’s a kid I know who has terrible dreams about a planet-smashing demon from outer-space. At first, they were only dreams, but now this creature has come from another dimension to tell the boy he holds a magic key to unlock the destruction of the world. Of all worlds. Oh, and only he sees this thing. Rod Serling couldn’t have come up with a crazier story!”
Danny laughed and shook his head. Hearing it from someone else made it sound absolutely ridiculous. “Okay, so maybe you have a point.”
“Listen, you know I have your back. I’m trying here, but do you know how hard it is to swallow something like this?”
“Of course I do, but if I can’t tell you and Brent, who else can I tell? Brent already thinks I lost it. I’ve never seen him like this before.” Danny hung his head and swallowed hard. “I don’t want to lose you guys… not now.”
“You’re not losing me, Danny. Where the hell would I be without you? You’ve made my life bearable, even if you are a little crazy.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Danny laughed. “I’ll take what I can get.”
***
Eric jumped from his bed and choked back a scream. His shorts and t-shirt were damp from sweat.
It’s all true, he thought. Every single word is true.
The dream was so vivid, so real, there could no longer be any room for doubt. He could still smell the stale air of the other-world wasteland, could hear the inhuman voice of the man in flannel, could see the abandoned buildings, the time-bleached bones of long-dead bodies, the blackened craters where bombs had ravaged the landscape.
Danny was telling the truth.
Sleep was no longer an option. It was a little after three in the morning when Eric dressed and slipped past his snoring mother. Elmview was quiet this time of morning, eerily so, but as he reached Independence Grove, he was glad to be alone. So much had happened… so much to think about and figure out for himself.
The intersection below was still teeming with people. Smoke drifted lazily into the night sky as police officers detoured traffic around the accident site. The dead had been removed, and the living grieved. A chill wind soughed through the trees, making Eric shiver.
“You there,” a voice called. “Boy.”
Eric turned, startled by the sudden intrusion.
“Yes, you. Shouldn’t a boy your age be in bed at this hour?”
Eric frowned and turned away. “Shouldn’t an old man your age be in bed?”
He laughed and walked closer. “Old men don’t sleep much. The second my head hits the pillow I’m up to take a piss. The older the boat, the more it leaks.”
“Sounds like a personal problem.”
“What are you doing up so late? All the action in town got you jumpy?”
Eric shrugged.
“Something like that.”
“It’s understandable with all that’s been going on lately. Almost makes you wonder what this world is coming to.”
“The end. It’s coming to the end.”
“I wouldn’t be quite that dramatic. I think we have a bit more left in us, don’t you?”
Eric turned slightly and watched the man inch closer. He wasn’t afraid. His presence had a calming effect.
The man looked over the hill and blew a whistling breath through his pursed lips. “What a clusterfuck,” he said. He smirked at Eric and apologized for his language.
“It’s nothing I haven’t heard before.”
The man ran a hand through his thinning hair and sighed. “Do you mind if I sit?” Eric shook his head and motioned him over. “You have a name?”
“Eric Rogers.”
The man extended his hand and Eric shook it gently. “Call me Ben, all my friends do. Rogers, you say? I think I knew your daddy. Dennis was it?”
Eric nodded.
“Good man, your father. Shame he went so early. Only the good die young.”
Eric nodded again. He was quickly coming to like Ben. His voice was soft and kind, and he didn’t talk down to him as so many other adults had a habit of doing. Ben unbuttoned his shirt and shook it out. “This late and it’s still hot as hell. No wonder you couldn’t sleep.”
“I wish it was that simple,” Eric said. “I had a pretty nasty dream.”
“Anything exciting?”
“Not exactly what I’d call it.”
Ben waved his hand dismissively. It was all just small talk, anyway. Ben knew exactly what troubled the boy and his friends. This wasn’t his first trip around the block.
“You live here long?” Eric asked.
“Too many years to count. Once you reach my age, the years seem like centuries.”
“You ever seen anything like this before?” Eric motioned toward the town below.
“Not for some time, but Elmview has always had its share of tragedy. In ‘36 the old powder mill blew sky-high and killed about fifty people. The old foundation is out by the train tunnel, maybe you’ve seen it in your travels?”
The Darkening (A Coming of Age Horror Novel) (The Great Rift Book 1) Page 12