For now, though, I had to move, keep going forward. I left the house, exiting through the front door, leaving it unlocked. The night had grown cooler, the air wilder. The surrounding trees moaned and creaked as the wind picked up, scratching against the siding and swishing the leaves about in a late-October dance.
The dance of the dead, I thought.
It was Halloween, and the costumed children of Haverville were prowling the streets tonight, but there could be no real treats, only wicked tricks and a false promise of a future, while their mothers and fathers fell under the power of Farmer Graver. A slow, inexorable sucking out of all the life in this once mundane small town.
Stars glimmered overhead, the moon fat and round, and the bordering forest seemed watchful, the trees pressing in close around me, the shadows deep and menacing. I was outwardly nervous, but my inner senses were alive, tingling with excitement. I scanned the voids of blackness, standing there motionless.
Nothing…
My gun still in hand, I brought it up, ever so slightly, pointing it into the woods.
There…
A large shadow moved, shifting between the trunks of an ancient oak tree and a slender ash. Instantly, I thought back to the thing from ten years ago, something that had stalked me, eventually chasing down Kyle in the hazardous flight on Graver’s Farm. I’d first seen it right here, in my own backyard and along the woods, the earliest indication that something unknown had marked me.
I raised the pistol and flicked the safety off, my finger ready to pull the trigger.
“Come out in the open where I can see you. Think it’s all right to hunt children for your master? He’s an even bigger coward. I’m not afraid of you this time…”
My words sounded brave, and to be honest, I felt a mixture of emotions. I was scared, certainly, but also brash, the decision to take action now made. I didn’t know exactly what I faced, but I was pretty sure it was something of flesh and blood and could be injured or killed. It moved again, slouching down behind the trunk, and then it lunged to its left, into the deeper brush. I fired off several quick shots, hearing a grunt as my bullet struck, but the thing never slowed, hurtling away and vanishing completely. I flashed my light across the area, but it was gone. Slowly, I went several yards beneath the eaves, listening for movement in case it returned. Bending to the ground, I examined the earth for markings, footprints. I didn’t see anything, but it appeared fairly dry, and to my memory, it had never rained that much here anyway. Venturing a few yards farther, I then spotted something.
Liquid, on the ground. Dark. I knew instantly it was blood from whatever I’d shot.
I straightened, nodding to myself, staring into the gloom.
“That one’s for Kyle,” I spoke into the woods. “Hope I killed your pet monster. The next bullet will be for you, Graver.”
I headed back to the car, my eyes never leaving the tree line. I felt some measure of comfort, having finally made a strike against old man Graver and his watcher, or that’s what I considered it, at least. As I thought more about it, the thing had probably been alerted to our presence years ago that fateful night, as Kyle and I had sat there on our bikes, looking down the road that led to Graver’s property, making plans to enter, see what we could find. The creature had then stalked me, keeping an eye on my actions, most likely reporting back to its master. It was like something right out of a horror movie, for sure. But what the hell else was I supposed to think? It made as much sense as anything else I could have dreamed up. A lot more, actually.
Moments later, I entered the truck and drove away, leaving my home behind once more, and my dad.
For now…
There were still things to do, more scores to settle, and Halloween was the most appropriate time of the year to make it happen. Maybe it was the only night.
The mountain road was deserted, the scattered houses appearing unfriendly, uninviting. I spotted lights on here and there, but they only served to make the homes appear more lonely and hopeless. How many of the townspeople were under the sway of evil? I didn’t know, but it had to be a lot. I’m sure his power had grown in the past decade, and it was an unsettling thought. Going farther along the road, I slowed, approaching Craig’s place. Did he still live here? I had a sinking feeling that he did, and nothing much had changed in ten years. I saw a light on in the house, but the garage was dark, his workplace, where Kyle and I had hung out with him, drinking a few beers, listening to rock music, talking about cars, pretending we were adults. We’d thought he was a pretty cool guy all around. On the surface Craig had seemed normal enough, but thinking back, I realized how he’d dropped hints at times, telling us to stay out of trouble, look past Haverville and what it offered, and most especially to keep off Old Man Graver’s Farm. And my last night before running away, I’d snuck around his place, hiding outside and looking in the window. What I had seen would haunt me forever, and I shuddered as I passed his place.
No, I didn’t want to stop there. I had no desire to see how Craig had aged, burdened by the fact that there was no future left for him, no hope to grab on to. I could only take so much…
Continuing, I soon made the stop sign and turned right, and found myself there again, the one place in the world I had vowed never to return to…Graver’s Farm. How ironic and frightening it all was. Maybe the most important thing I’d learned to date was never make promises unless you damn well knew you could keep them, because here I was again, facing my worst nightmare.
On Halloween night, ten years later.
I paused, my headlights illuminating the fields of high grass, the beams glimmering faintly off water that lay scores of yards away from the swamp in the distance. It was an ominous sight, and reality hit me hard. I relived that scene from so many years before, wishing that things could have been different. Two boys out on a dare, with no idea of how dangerous a game they played, and who they were playing against. Old Man Graver…
Why didn’t the townspeople fight back, rise up against the farmer?
I didn’t know the answer, and time was slipping. I’d wounded the creature, and that most likely meant that my presence was known.
Time to go, and I wasn’t leaving my vehicle behind for any money in the world. I needed to have all options covered, so I drove down the lane, keeping my eyes glued to the road ahead and any indication of danger. Everything appeared the same, and after passing the first NO TRESPASSING sign, I knew I was really past the point of no return.
I didn’t give a damn as I read the words.
YOU ARE TRESPASSING! YOU WERE WARNED! TURN BACK OR ELSE!
This place had tormented me in both my waking world and nightmares alike for far too long, effectively taking away my youth. My parents and friends. Left me as a shadow of what I could have been, drowning my potential. Graver had a lot to answer for, and I was willing to call him out on all his crimes, act as judge and jury.
And executioner.
The time was long due for Graver to meet his maker…
The truck rumbled along, and it seemed that only a minute had passed before the forest opened up, the landscape fully revealed in the silver moonlight.
Graver’s Farm…
I shuddered. Despite my anger and bitterness, despite my determination, I was terrified to the bone. I’d suffered too much, seen too much, and had too much time to recall the horror. Here lay my enemy, the enemy of everyone in Haverville. Here was his grim abode, the source of evil in this small town.
And nothing had changed one bit.
The farmhouse sat to the right, and a pair of buildings to the left. The largest one in the back was illuminated from within, as if it were a lantern dangling from the hand of some unseen, invisible giant that had descended from the stars, its body consumed by darkness. A horrible thought, and I had no idea where it had come from. It was a daunting vision, and for one terrible, breathless moment, I thought that the very air above the structure shimmered, as if something was actually there, disturbed by my probing stare.
The image vanished, and I felt my shirt clinging uncomfortably to my back in a cold, clammy sweat. Momentarily stunned by the monstrous vision, my chest was constricted in a vise of fear, and I blinked several times and shook my head, trying to clear my mind, keep moving. I checked the gun, adding bullets to keep it full.
I then turned off the engine, putting the keys in my jacket pocket. Grabbed a flashlight and said a quick prayer. I would need all the help I could get for what was coming…
I looked over at the farmhouse, and noticed a single light upstairs, toward the back. I hurried forward, crouching down and making for the front porch. The wind wrapped cool arms around me and the air felt good as it brushed my face. It made me feel alive.
I was yards from the porch when the light suddenly came on, stopping me in my tracks. And I remembered the same thing happening ten years ago…
I pivoted, bracing for the attack, only my instincts saving me. The creature was nearly upon me, and I brought the weapon up, firing at the bulk that lunged toward me in a fury of hair and bristling limbs. We collided and both went down in a heap, and I felt its hot breath on my neck, saw the gleam of fangs before my startled eyes. I pushed away with all my strength, rolling to the side and regaining my feet, and it gave way, motionless on the ground.
The gun had done the job. The thing was dead.
My breathing was harsh, and I examined myself, finding no injuries. I saw long claws on the creature and knew it could have slashed me open, flayed me to the bone. The game had become much deadlier now, with both sides playing for keeps.
Looking it over more closely, I saw that it was large, not quite as big as myself. But it wasn’t human. There were no clothes on it, nothing but thick fur covering it nearly everywhere. It was horrible, some monstrosity created by Old Man Graver to keep a watch over the townspeople, keep in line any who dared threaten him. A physical manifestation of his power.
I splashed my flashlight over it, lingering a moment longer just to be certain it was no longer alive. And then I noticed the face. The features.
By far the most human part of it. Very human, in fact. I leaned closer.
And then staggered back in terror, in recognition…
I lurched over toward the porch, grabbing one of the rails, retching until I had nothing left to give. Sweat poured from my brows, and tears rolled down my cheeks at the grim revelation of what I’d done. What I’d really killed. Who I’d really killed…
I couldn’t believe it. It was impossible.
“You rotten bastard! What have you done, Graver! Graver!”
I roared into the night, not caring who heard me. Let them come, all of them. I was beyond fear, beyond anger. Beyond pain. If the gunshots hadn’t already alerted the entire place, then nothing else would. I shuddered from the ice that claimed my body and mind, resolving myself to put an end to this monster, break his hold over Haverville. What he’d done…
I furiously replaced the bullets, staring over at the buildings while wiping the tears away, knowing what these structures harbored, townspeople busy at work. The lights remained on, and I thought I heard some activity from within, but no one came out to investigate. Maybe they still didn’t know I was here, the noise inside effectively masking any other distraction. It didn’t matter at this point. I was sickened, physically and emotionally. I wasn’t afraid of Graver anymore. He’d taken everything away from me, and I had nothing to lose. And I’d also found answers to some of my questions, but the results were even more heinous than I could have ever imagined.
The creature…
I stomped up the wooden steps, tears nearly blinding me as I glared at the door. The place looked old and decrepit, like everything else here. Lunging forward, I kicked it in, the panel shuddering once and collapsing into fragments. Gun pointed before me, I was overcome by an intense smell of must and disuse as I scanned the interior, finding myself in a living parlor of some type. Dust motes swirled around me like mist rising from a bog, and it appeared impossible that anyone living could call this place a home. Furniture was broken, caved in and trapped by cobweb streamers. The wooden floorboards were scarred and unsteady, curtains ripped and shredded. Coughing, I went deeper, passing into what had once been a dining room at some time, but the chairs and tables had long since rotted. The design looked unfamiliar, rustic and from the previous century, if not older. There was no way to tell.
This was Graver’s farmhouse, his home? I’d seen cemeteries and mausoleums that looked pristine in comparison. I knew something was dreadfully wrong here, maybe worse than I’d thought, which was pretty bad already. I went on, careful not to trip over anything and injure myself. I remembered the light upstairs then, spotting a spiral staircase at the same time. Testing the first step, I shook my head in disgust as my foot partially fell through it. Cautiously, I made my way up, unwilling to touch the banister as it looked ready to disintegrate. It was impossible that anyone could live here, and there was no sign of any other presence. I heard the fluttering of wings close by, most likely a bat or two. I doubted that rats or mice would even nest here, it was that bad.
It took a few moments, but I reached the top landing, pausing there to get my bearings. A long hallway lay to my left, with several closed doors on either side. At the end was the opening to a room, and it was from here that the faintest glimmer shone outward, a solitary, forlorn flicker of light in this place of dust and decay, appearing pathetic and insignificant against all the trappings of death and evil which permeated the stagnant air. I walked warily ahead, hardly daring to breathe. My fear was there, but held tightly at bay. At that point, no other emotion could breach the wall of anger which waited patiently inside my heart, poised to spring forth at any second.
The creature…what I’d done.
Blinking back the tears, I reached the opening, pausing again, letting my beam illuminate the inside of the room. It appeared large and I could see little, only a few angles and corners from furniture and chairs. Boldly, I threw out the challenge, knowing that the time had come.
“Graver, show yourself, you rotten coward. Let me see your face before I blow you straight back to hell.”
I gritted my teeth and started walking farther, not expecting a response, but I stopped in horror, hearing something which chilled me to the very bone.
Quiet laughter…
Malicious, and filled with contempt.
How dare he…The bastard. It was too much and I burst inside, gun barrel flaring, finger on the trigger.
And I stopped.
There he was at last. My enemy.
I’d finally met Old Man Graver. But I was as shocked as I was angry, perhaps more so. Before me lay a table with a single lantern, a large stone fireplace dominating the chamber, long gone cold. Next to it, sitting in a chair, was the farmer. And whatever my anticipation had been, it certainly wasn’t this. He wasn’t just old, but ancient. He looked mummified, more than anything else. His skin was chalk white, parts of it peeled away like degraded paper. And his size…he was small. If he could have been able to stand, he would reach only my belt, no more. This couldn’t possibly be Graver, the man behind all the disease and hopelessness. It couldn’t be. This frail creature before me had long since wasted away, and appeared as powerless and weak as anything I’d ever seen in my life.
I waited there, staring at this person before me, matching gazes with a pair of orbless eyes, ones filled with scorn and malevolence. Then he laughed again, without the prayer of a smile, and I knew without a doubt that it really was him…
I leveled the gun at this thing before me. A single shot would blow him to pieces, let him rot, his flesh and bones mingling together with his derelict home where he would become one with the maggots and worms. I stared deeply into his eyes, and then recognition struck me. I had seen them before—at Craig’s garage. But then, there had been no body, and I’d fled in terror, knowing that my only choice was to leave Haverville and put as much distance between it and myself as possible. In th
at moment, standing before him, all the horror welled up inside of me, gathering strength, pummeling my resolve and threatening to crush it into dust. There was power at work here, latent but strong, and now it seeped forth like a rising tide, poisoning my heart and mind. I could find no way out, and the tears came to life, pouring out of me as if I were a child lost in the deepest of woods. I slumped to the floor, terrified and overwhelmed by all my pent-up emotions, now left to breathe and flourish. Dying would have been preferable to all the terrible pain coursing through my veins and arteries at that moment. I wanted release, an end to it all…
And then it was there.
Something touched me, a way out, a doorway of hope, where I could bury the pain and move past it. Instantly I brought myself up, grasping for the source of hope before it could escape. There was a path toward peace, an easement of the pain and sadness. All I had to do was accept it into my heart, embrace the offering. It would all be ended, and I would be remade into someone who was immune to such crushing emotions. I reached out, finding it, but then recoiled in terror as an image passed before my inner vision.
My dad. Moving through his life like a puppet on strings. Hopeless.
Defeated. The price…
And Kyle, where was he now? Another emotionless slave? I saw Craig’s craggy face, heard the tone in his voice which had warned me about Haverville ten long years ago, and what lurked there. What had been his personal misdeed, one which had swept him up in Graver’s foul grasp? Another victim to his power.
And finally my mom.
I had thought she’d left the town behind, fleeing from its secrets, but now I knew the truth. Oh, yes. The terrible truth.
She was the creature…and I had killed her myself.
I fired then, willing myself to act before I gave in to the offer, the sweet, sweet temptation to be emotionally cleansed, and let my conscience be swept clear. Graver exploded, his body scattering into pieces, and I stared on in horror, trying to stabilize myself, put solid ground under my feet. His body was gone, shattered, but I heard the laughter again, and there before me were those disembodied eyes, glaring at me with the promise of pain and terror.
Halloween Carnival Volume 4 Page 13