by A. R. Wise
“What should we do?” asked Oliver.
“Call The Accord, and then the army.”
Oliver thought the old man was joking, but then realized he was serious. “The army?”
Vess nodded. “Yes. We’re going to need help containing this. The Accord won’t be happy about this, but we’re going to have to tell the military about our experiment. It’s our only chance of stopping this from getting any worse. But first, we need to discuss what we will and what we will not be telling them.”
Widowsfield
March 15th, 1996
Oliver had never expected the CORD experiment to have such an impact on the area around the reservoir. Vess and Oliver had used a lifeboat on the Eldridge to get back to shore, and the devastation they encountered was vast. All of the Cada E.I.B. employees that had escorted Vess to the town were unconscious, lying in the same catatonic state that Lyle was suffering, staring blankly at the sky.
Other people, all throughout the town, were in a similar state. One odd occurrence that they discovered was that cars and trucks had stopped on the road or pulled over, and the passengers were lying on the ground outside of the vehicle. Oliver and Vess had debated the possible reasons for this, and it was Vess that theorized the motorists had initially been protected from the CORD’s effect by the rubber tires of their vehicles. But the moment they stepped out, and made contact with the ground, they were connected to the creature that had swarmed the town.
The Accord handled discussion with the military about the event in Widowsfield, and Oliver wasn’t privy to what was decided. However, the National Guard arrived within an hour, but they didn’t venture into the town. Instead, the National Guard investigated the extent of the damage, and it was discovered that whatever had happened in the area had been isolated to the town of Widowsfield. There were rural homes on the border of the town that hadn’t been affected, and the residents were swept off after being given vague information about an event occurring within the town that might be dangerous. The National Guard then set up blockades around the town, preventing anyone from entering or leaving.
All traffic coming into town was stopped, and the occupants interviewed. Anyone that owned land within the town, or had family or friends there, were taken into custody. It was important that all public information about the event be marginalized.
Oliver and Vess were interviewed at length, but both refused to cooperate until representatives from The Accord arrived. Eventually, both Oliver and Vess were brought into an office inside of Cada E.I.B.’s facility and a conference call was set up. They were joined by several high ranking members of the military. Members of The Accord were also on the call, and once everyone was settled, they began the meeting.
The Accord recounted details about the experiment to the members of the military, but they didn’t reveal Vess’s theory about the entity that had escaped into the town. The Accord’s explanation about the experiment was centered on the CORD’s use as a cloaking device for ships, as well as potentially for large aircraft.
What had started as a contentious debate turned more civil as The Accord offered to hand over all data about the CORD to the military in exchange for their help dealing with what had happened in Widowsfield. Unbeknownst to Oliver, The Accord and the military were already working together on other projects. Cada E.I.B.’s work as a broker between the military and other countries had gave them a lot of clout. Everyone understood that if word got out about Cada E.I.B.’s involvement with what happened in Widowsfield, then their ties to the military would be revealed as well. That wouldn’t be good for any of them.
That’s how the process of covering up the Widowsfield incident began.
The catatonic victims of Widowsfield were collected, and several bodies were discovered fused to the walls of homes, or to the pavement, as if their legs had sunk into the concrete, leaving them twisting and screaming until they suffered a fate similar to the guard on the ship. Oliver and Vess had been left at Cada E.I.B’s facility to collect their notes on the experiment, but they were retrieved by an Army general who explained they needed to see something.
They were brought to a house on the north side of Widowsfield. Along the way, Oliver marveled at how dead the town felt. The only activity he witnessed was at the high school, where several jeeps were parked and soldiers were pulling bodies out. The clean-up of Widowsfield had been limited to a small group of men to help avoid information leaking out about the event.
The general parked, and then turned to look back at his two passengers. He motioned at the plain looking house with his thumb and said, “Go on in.”
“You’re not coming?” asked Oliver.
“Nope. You two go see for yourselves. I’ve seen enough of the nightmares in this damn town to last a lifetime.”
“Is it a body stuck in something?” asked Oliver. “We saw people stuck to the…”
“Nope,” said the general. “I’ve seen those too. This one’s different. Just go in and see for yourself.”
Oliver got out first and then helped Vess. The elderly man seemed weaker than before, and wasn’t exhibiting the same self-reliance he had been days earlier. As they walked up the path that led to the house, Oliver asked, “What do you suppose we’re going to find in here?”
“I have no idea,” said Vess, but his tone revealed concern.
Oliver opened the door, frightened of what he might see.
The home’s front door was set between the living room on the left and a kitchen on the right. The television was facing towards him, set on a table on the far wall, and it was still turned on, displaying static. The volume was up, and the sound of the static crackling provided an eerie soundtrack to the scene.
Directly across from the front door, behind the kitchen, was a stairwell that led to the second floor. There were bloody handprints on the wall.
“Look,” said Vess when he entered. He was pointing down to a dog cage on the floor. Oliver knelt and peered inside where he saw a mangy, unconscious dog laying on a urine-soaked towel. The smell was pungent, and he cringed as he stood back up again.
“There’s blood on the wall there,” said Oliver as he walked towards the stairs.
Vess followed, but he was growing weary as he went. Oliver waited at the bottom of the stairs for him, but Vess waved him on and said, “Go without me. I’ll make my way up there in a minute.”
Vess looked exhausted, and Oliver was stunned by the change in the formerly vivacious old man. It was as if he were suddenly feeling his age.
Oliver went upstairs as Vess took each stair slow and cautiously. There was blood everywhere. The wood floor was splattered with dry blood, and there were streaks on the wall that looked like someone’s bloody fingertips had traced along it. The trail of blood led to a closed door at the end of the hall, and Oliver moved slowly towards it. He turned the knob and then paused before opening the door, steadying himself for what might be inside.
The blood in the hallway was a precursor to a far worse scene. Lying on the floor in the master bedroom of the home was a young woman that had been slaughtered. She was nude, and her skin was mottled pink and purple, with large blisters on her cheeks. Her mouth was open wide and flies were buzzing around her swollen lips. The smell was horrendous, and Oliver quickly covered his nose in the crook of his arm.
While the woman’s blistered skin was bad enough, the worst sight was what had been done to her stomach. Someone had cut her open in an awful display of violence. She hadn’t simply been stabbed. Whoever had murdered her had plunged the knife in so many times that her gut was split wide, causing her entrails to spill out around her. The kitchen knife that was used to murder her was standing straight up from her midsection, the tip stuck in the wood floor beneath. Flies buzzed and swirled around the scene, and Oliver turned away in disgust as he swatted at the insects.
Vess was standing behind him, staring down at the murdered girl.
“The Watcher got what he wanted,” said Vess.
; “What do you mean?” asked Oliver.
“He got his sacrifice.”
Oliver looked away, but caught sight of something else that shocked him. There was a child sleeping in the bed, his head set on the pillow and the sheets pulled up over him as if he were just asleep. His face was horribly disfigured, and his teeth were chattering as he stared up at the ceiling.
PART THREE – And No Winners
CHAPTER 19 – Loose Ends
Chicago
March 15th, 2012
Alex knocked on the door of the apartment and waited for someone to answer. It had been a long trip, and he was looking forward to finishing his task.
When he’d met Rosemary, he had no idea how she would change his life. He’d been sent along with a couple other guards to investigate what Helen from Cada E.I.B. had seen when driving in to work. Helen warned the security team that a woman was camping out by the reservoir, so Alex and his group had been sent to look into it. That’s when they discovered Rosemary.
The mysterious woman had been drawing in her sketchpad, and Alex never expected that she would be any danger at all. But when she reached into her bag, she didn’t pull out a paintbrush. Instead, her bag was loaded with weapons. None of the security team were carrying real weapons, and they were forced to do as the stranger asked.
Alex had been lucky, because Rosemary had chosen him to be the bearer of her bracelet, which she explained was a rare gift. He wore it with pride.
Rosemary took his van, saying that she needed it and that he could use the car that she’d driven there. Unfortunately, she didn’t leave any money for gas, and Alex wasn’t supposed to use his credit cards to keep anyone from being able to track him.
The other guards that he’d been working with had some cash on them, and he stole it after murdering them. When Rosemary left, the men Alex worked with assumed they were safe, but Alex knew they had to die. They never suspected he would hurt them. They didn’t know how important Rosemary was to him.
After that, he dumped the bodies off the edge of the scenic overview at the Jackson Reservoir, content to let the catfish gnaw at them until their bodies were dragged over the dam.
The cash that Alex had been able to scrounge up got him enough gas to get to Joliet, while still saving enough to purchase what he needed in Chicago, but that left him with nearly 150 miles to cover. He managed to get a ride from a truck driver that was on his way to Chicago, and he would’ve murdered the driver too, but he was already low on bullets. Alex had to make sure he kept enough to complete his job.
The jerry can he’d filled with gasoline was set down beside the door, and he pushed it to the side to make sure no one saw it when they opened the door.
Alex knocked again and heard a woman answer from inside, “Coming, coming.”
The door finally opened, and Alex saw a short, chubby girl with glasses. She kept the chain on the door latched, and only opened it as wide as the chain would allow.
“Hello?”
“Hi,” said Alex. “Are you Mindy?” He laughed, and then corrected himself, “Sorry, not Mindy. I meant Terra. Are you Terra?”
“Who’s asking?” asked the woman inside.
“I’m a friend of Rosemary’s.” Alex showed the woman the bracelet on his wrist that Rosemary had given him. Terra looked at it in befuddlement, uncertain why that should be proof of anything.
“Okay,” said the woman, uncertain of the guest. “I’ll ask again, who are you?”
“My name’s Alex. Rosemary sent me to bring something to you.”
“I haven’t talked to her in years. I heard she was living in Europe or something.”
“No, she’s back in Widowsfield.”
Alex noted the way the woman responded. She cringed at the name of the town, and that was all Alex needed to see to know that this was definitely who he’d been sent to dispose of. This was the woman that had accompanied Rosemary to Widowsfield in 2007, and she was one of the last loose ends Rosemary had yet to deal with.
“Who are you?” asked Terra again, but Alex didn’t need to talk anymore.
He raised his pistol and shot her in the head. Next he would spread the gasoline through the apartment and burn away the evidence before blowing his own brains out. That’s the way this had to end. That had always been the plan.
Widowsfield
February 24th, 2007
Oliver was staring at the CORD that had been built in the basement of the Cada E.I.B. offices in Widowsfield. The room was dark, except for the glow of a single halogen lamp that was placed in front of the expensive machine. He’d spent nearly twelve years of his life preparing for what was supposed to occur in just eighteen days, but now everything had fallen apart.
Vess had wanted Oliver to perform the experiment using Nia as his sacrifice inside of the machine. Vess’s health had deteriorated to the point where he rarely visited the facility anymore, and he wanted to use a new subject inside of the machine to see if that made a difference. He planned to bring Lyle along as well, but hoped to use Nia as a sacrifice instead. This would be the first time this particular CORD would be activated, and Vess wanted to make sure it was working properly before he emerged from wherever he was hiding. But Oliver had ruined that plan by having his assistant, Lee, murder the psychometric from Chicago.
The cellphone that was clipped to his belt began to vibrate, and he looked at the screen to see who was calling before flipping it open.
“This is Oliver,” he said.
The voice on the other line was garbled due to the poor reception Oliver was getting in the basement.
“Alex? Say that again, I didn’t hear.” Oliver walked out of the CORD’s room and back into the hallway where his reception improved.
“We found blood,” said Alex, one of the guards that helped patrol the area. “Quite a lot of it.”
“Where?”
“Right at the edge of the cliff,” said Alex. “Just like you said.”
Oliver placed his back against the wall and then slid down so that he was sitting in the hallway. He pressed his left hand to his forehead in frustration. “On the scenic overlook by the reservoir?”
“Yeah,” said Alex. “Right next to where that lady tried to kill her daughter a while back.”
“Amanda Harper,” said Oliver. “And she did kill her daughter. They both died.” Oliver massaged his temple as he contemplated what this meant. He and his assistant had murdered two girls to prevent them from leaking information about Widowsfield to the public. There was no doubt in his mind that they had to die, but now he couldn’t remember why. He’d hoped the event on the cliff overlooking the Jackson Reservoir had just been a dream, but the two girls were missing, and now their blood had been found. He no longer had any doubt that his memory was correct. Lee had shot those two girls.
“We can hire a team to come out and dredge the reservoir if you want,” said Alex. “Will The Accord be upset that we’ve stopped construction?”
“I’ll call Vess and try to figure something out,” said Oliver. “Just keep looking for Nia. But don’t call anyone, Alex. No one else can know what happened out there.”
“Okay,” said Alex before ending the call.
Oliver closed his eyes and silently cursed as he contemplated the call he was going to have to make to Vess. How could he explain that the psychometric that they’d been using to put Widowsfield back together was dead?
Oliver flipped his phone back open and started to scroll through his contacts in search of Lee. He needed his assistant’s help now more than ever, but Lee was nowhere to be found. Oliver had even managed to accidentally erase Lee’s contact information from his phone. He slapped the phone shut and screamed a curse that echoed through the empty hallway.
“Eleven fucking years,” said Oliver as he pounded his fist against the wall behind him in anger. “Eleven years down the God damn drain.”
After the event in 1996, The Accord and the United States military began working together on the CORD project
. The Accord feigned a complete willingness to cooperate, and the Eldridge had been taken, along with the original CORD, to a military base in New Mexico where further experiments took place. However, Vess and Oliver kept silent about the theory that the entity in the Eldridge had passed to the town of Widowsfield.
Cada E.I.B. purchased the land in and around Widowsfield, and the military helped accommodate the silencing of any angry townsfolk to prevent the story from getting out. The cover-up had been easier than expected. As it turned out, people across the country were more than willing to accept that a small town like Widowsfield could be corrupted by the illegal drug trade. The marketing strategists employed by the military did the same thing with Widowsfield that they’d managed to do with several other stories that should’ve made the headlines world-wide. They allowed information to be disseminated to the public through false third parties, and cooked up a conspiracy that the government was trying to hide the fact that they’d put so many people into a witness protection program.
The American public will almost always dream up conspiracy theories to explain even the most mundane of government activity, and the strategists had learned that the best way to deceive the public was to cook up the conspiracy for them. The government continued to deny involvement with the Widowsfield meth-ring investigation, but the internet exploded with supposed interviews with former residents who were speaking out about how they’d been moved to a new town in Florida, or California, or some other state far from Missouri. To add fuel to the fire, these fake witnesses vanished following their statements, and conspiracy theorists were quick to insist that the government had killed them for talking. The rabid public was sated with a faked conspiracy, and the truth about what really happened in Widowsfield was known only to a few.
The Accord placated the military, and while the CORD experiment never proved fruitful for them, there were several other projects that Cada E.I.B. had funded that were handed over to the military as recompense. Everyone was happy, except Vess.