Evil Heights, Book I: The Midnight Flyer

by Michael Swanson

"Stepping forward with broad steps Two Twigs made a sign of greeting.

  "Osia, not leaving the shadows of his doorway, did the same.

  "Two Twigs kept his eyes fixed upon those of Osia as he neared the solitary brave.

  "The chief was not a small man, but Osia was tall, towering over all the others. Wearing only buckskin breeches, adorned with colorful beads, the muscles of his broad, flat chest showed thick with purple veins and sinewy cords. Remorseless, he gave away no emotion, but kept his thoughts closed behind those sharp, black eyes.

  "As Two Twigs had recognized from years before, Osia adorned himself with but two powerful eagle feathers, one dangling down from behind each ear.

  "Two Twigs, his men at either side, stopped ten paces away.

  "'Osia,’ he said. ‘I am Two Twigs, from the west.'

  "Osia, his eyes beginning to change, said, ‘I remember you.'

  "'We are hunting a bear and ask leave to spend the night by your lodge,’ continued Two Twigs.

  "A crease of a smile broke across the corner of Osia's thin lips then just as quickly it went away. ‘Why don't you tell the others to come out? Did you think I would be afraid at so many?'

  "Two Twigs knew he had underestimated the man, a mistake he had hoped to avoid. Without arguing the point, he raised his hand to signal the others to come out from their places amongst the trees.

  "Watching them emerge, one by one, Osia's eyes began to gleam yellow. ‘So many men for but one bear. This must be a truly terrible creature.'

  "'You can not imagine,’ echoed Two Twigs gravely.

  "'I can imagine a great deal,’ replied Osia, motionless with that peculiar stillness common to a serpent lying in wait.

  "The rest of the braves gathered around the two men, forming a half circle from one corner of the lodge to the other. The sun was cold, though it shown brightly, and the air hung still in quiet anticipation.

  "'A man came to us,’ said Two Twigs.

  "'Was he a bear?’ asked Osia, his tone of insult clear.

  "'No. But he had been hunted like a bear. He spoke of a wolf or a demon, maybe both, who killed his people and did unspeakable things to the bodies of the women and children.'

  "Osia shook his head. ‘It must not have been unspeakable, if he spoke of it to you.’ He paused and stared into the eyes of Two Twigs. ‘Surely, it was the bear that you seek.'

  "Two Twigs was becoming angry at the insolence. Yet, still he waited. ‘Of that I am certain,’ he countered. As a test he took a step forward.

  "Osia moved out slightly, keeping his right arm and shoulder behind the smooth deerskin covering the door. ‘So why don't you, Two Twigs, and your many braves go down to the river, have a cool drink and find a soft place to make your camp? Certainly if horrible fates befall only brave women and children,’ he spread an arc with his left hand indicating the men gathered around, ‘the many of you would have nothing to fear in the safety offered by my lodge.'

  "Again Two Twigs ignored the taunt. ‘We will, Osia,’ replied Two Twigs. ‘But first I would like you to extend to me the hospitality of your lodge.’ The chief took another step forward.

  "Osia drew back, his eyes beginning to burn. ‘That I will not allow.’ His voice a low snarl. ‘This is my lodge. Open only to me.'

  "The two men fixed their eyes.

  "'I will enter,’ Two Twigs’ resolve was clear.

  "'Your bear is not here.’ Osia tensed the sinews of his chest now standing taunt. ‘You would be wise to seek him elsewhere.'

  "'But I must see for myself,’ echoed Two Twigs, taking another step. ‘Only in the lodge of a bear can a hunter hope to find the bones of his victims.'

  "Without any warning, Osia hurled a tomahawk straight at the head of the chief.

  "Two Twigs was fast and had been ready, but despite a quick move, still the stone blade grazed his cheek. The man behind Two Twigs was not so lucky, and the wedge of stone buried itself in his chest.

  "Osia emerged fully out of the door with a great staff in his hands. At either end of the stout shaft were long, sharp blades chipped from pieces of clear quartz. Flashing in the light of the sun, Osia strode forward, whirling the weapon with a terrible resolve.

  "Two Twigs was brave, but he was no fool. He knew he would win, but if he battled on Osia's terms, the cost would be many men. Stepping back over the body of the brave who had fallen, he urged his men to draw back, rather than engage the beast that was Osia the Liar.

  "Osia advanced to the spot of the fallen warrior and stooping low pulled his tomahawk from the man's chest.

  "'I think you are all too timid to hunt for bear,’ he said, keeping his shining eyes moving from man to man. ‘You should return to your women, Two Twigs,’ he glared defiantly. ‘Maybe they can protect you.’ Still holding the tomahawk in one hand, with the other, gripping the thick staff, he drew a line down the body of the fallen man with the point of one quartz blade, easily opening him up from throat to crotch.

  "Two Twigs turned his head whispering to the men at either side. Instantly his party drew itself into a concentrated group to either side their chief.

  "Osia undoubtedly felt their best strategy was to charge him en masse. He stepped back from the steaming body and lowered himself, spreading his legs for balance. He hung the tomahawk from a loop in his breeches, letting his glowing, yellow eyes shine in turn upon each man who faced him. The long fingers of each hand released and re-gripped the hard, wood shaft, undulating in eager anticipation, as he stared each of them down, making a silent promise to every individual who dared meet his gaze.

  "Two Twigs dabbed at the blood dripping from the slice near his ear. ‘You are a mighty warrior, Osia. The blood of a devil is truly in your veins. You are surely a great evil. If we fight with you we will kill you, but I know some of us will die.'

  "Osia dug in his heels and prodded at the corpse, sticking the tip of his quartz blade into the flesh randomly. ‘One of you is already dead. Many more will follow. I think perhaps all. Then it will be time for your women and children to fear the bear, which will surely come out of the forest to claim them.'

  "Two Twigs silently spread both his hands, but his men did not rush forward. Instead the braves in front moved aside to reveal four of their best warriors, their bows drawn and ready. Before Osia could turn, they let their arrows fly.

  "Deftly, and with incredible speed, Osia actually managed to deflect one of the arrows with his staff. Still, four were too many, even for him. One lodged in his breast, another in his left shoulder, and another near the base of his throat. With a rabid scream of rage, the wounded giant leapt over the corpse, only to feel four more arrows rip into his flesh, fired by bowmen standing behind the first. Even as his feet touched down, his legs failed, and Osia collapsed to the ground, his two-headed staff of death rolling away into the carpet of leaves.

  "The braves closed in, bows stretched back, now no less than ten arrows pointing at the fallen giant.

  "Two Twigs stepped close so Osia could hear. ‘Now I will enjoy the hospitality of your lodge,’ he said gravely. ‘I think our women and children have nothing to fear.'

  "Osia could not speak, the arrow in his throat having pierced his voice. But, the fury that burned in his eyes, was such that the braves did not look into his face for long, for fear that they would be mesmerized by the strength of the evil. Others too, equally dreaded that they would witness him change into a wolf, as had been whispered quietly along their march to the lodge.

  "The Liar had three arrows imbedded in his chest, one so close to his heart; it twitched slightly with every beat. Besides the shaft lodged in his throat, and another buried deep in the left shoulder, he suffered from one in each arm, each of these having entered with such force, the stone arrowheads had penetrated the muscles completely, and the bloodied points stuck clear through. Any other man would have already been dead, but not Osia. Such was the sustaining power of his great hate and greater evil.

  "Two Twigs pulled back the flap, ent
ering the darkness of the lodge within. It is true he feared the power of Osia's magic, but this had to be done. It took but a few moments for his eyes to become adjusted to the gloom, as light slipped in through numerous chinks in the logs.

  "Many weapons hung on the walls, as did items he must have obtained through his trades. Racks of dried fish and piles of hides were in abundance, along with an ornate feather headdress, which must have decorated a great chief from a land far away.

  "Two Twigs called in men to carry the goods outside.

  "Osia watched from his place on the ground. Though he could do nothing but gurgle, blowing bloody foam from his lips, he worked his mouth strongly, uttering curses all the more potent for they were spoken in silence.

  "The piles grew high. There were hides of bear and deer, along with those of beaver, fox, and raccoon. A great tawny skin, easily ten feet long from tail to snout, had once been worn by a mountain lion, an animal even more dangerous than a bear for it killed with cunning as well as great strength. They brought out many baskets, woven by women, each according to the styles of their tribes. Others were made of baked red clay, adorned with painted images and deeply scribed patterns of intricate design. Two, of great value, were filled to the top with arrowheads of various types, each of a perfect symmetry and remarkable color. Another held a trove of knife blades, each crafted so artfully they could easily shave hair. Such was the vast treasure of Osia, the Liar, who still would not die.

  "It was under a stack of hides, below the dried head of a boar, that the entry was found. Immediately, Two Twigs was summoned back inside. The men had already pulled away the stiff wood-framed deerskin that hid the entrance, and were peering warily down into the inky darkness below.

  "Two Twigs waited patiently while a fire was made. Fat tallow candles, which had been found in abundance, were lit, and the chief accompanied by one of his bravest men descended into the pit.

  "There was a cave below the lodge far larger than could have been imagined. A stout wooden ladder led down below into the silent depths. Though the air was chill, a strong odor was thick in their nostrils, reminding Two Twigs and his brave of the pungent smell from the green bowels of a freshly gutted deer.

  "The light from the candles flicked over the walls and the filthy floor. Among the Cherokee insanity was largely unknown. But here, it had taken hold.

  "From the ceiling to the floor, impaled upon the tips of antlers thrust into cracks of the limestone walls were the severed heads of so many young women, trophies. Many had foreign objects such as fingers and toes, inserted into the eye sockets, nostrils, and ears. Some did not, and they were the worst. Their agonized emotions were captured in their frightful stares, crying out from their eyes, which Two Twig's people believed recorded the horrors they had suffered before death.

  "Atop a table, fashioned with four real human legs, were bits and pieces so bizarre in nature, they were beyond understanding. Osia had toyed with portions of flesh from tiny human skeletons. Some of the pitiful bones, with shards of gnawed flesh still remaining, were woven together with string like the puppets of a devil. A few of the skulls were no larger than those of a rabbit. From the size of the little bones it could not be confused, some of the many must have been plucked from the wombs of their dead or dying mothers, to suffer through horrors having never been born.

  "Two Twigs, already horrified, started as the light from his candle played across an object at first he could not recognize. It was a spiny ball of closely packed porcupine quills standing on its own, resembling the creature called an anemone, which he had seen once when upon a pilgrimage to the sea. He picked it up gingerly by the tip of a long quill, turning it around to see. On the backside, which had faced the wall, there was a naked spot with no quills, revealing the core into which the long, spiny needles had been so meticulously stabbed. Two Twigs beheld the face of a human infant, its dried tongue crying out from the toothless and open mouth, frozen in an eternal scream. He dropped it in revulsion, and it rolled off the table, fell on the floor, and disappeared off into the gloom.

  "Part of the ceiling of the cave was the floor of the lodge. It had been well constructed from split logs, tightly fitted and laid edge to edge. In the center, above a wide, deep hole dug into the floor, long tresses of hair hung down, some clotted with blood and pieces of skin where the scalp had finally pulled free, allowing the victim to fall in. Two Twigs bent down to let the light from his candle shine in, but what he saw in the bottom caused him to turn away his face. Up near the rim of the pit, deep fingernail marks gouged in rows scarred the reddish clay of the slippery walls. Some of the desperate claw marks, which had reached as close as mere inches below the crumbly lip, remained as testaments to the desperation of those who must have tried again and again to escape from what lay below. In more than one place the fingernails themselves were broken off and still imbedded.

  "While Two Twigs was inspecting the horrors of the pit, the other brave had noticed a tall basket of tightly woven twigs standing off by itself, alone. Holding his candle before him, he peered inside and at first was puzzled by what he saw. Lowering his candle, he picked out one of the objects, but flung it away in revulsion when he realized what he held in his fingers was a shorn penis and scrotum, all shrunken and creeping with decay. How many there were he could not have counted.

  "The worst of it all, the sorrow of sorrows, was found deep in the far corner in the recesses of the cave itself. Criss-crossing, flat strips from supple, young birch saplings formed a rack suspended up against the wall: A bed of woe.

  "A young girl's body was still strapped down upon it. The restraining cords made of twined human hair had cut deeply into her wrists and ankles. Her bloated fingers and toes were black with gangrene. She was naked and spread wide, the indignity a part of her pain. Bespeaking an insanity of monstrous proportions, inserted between her legs was the pudgy arm of a dead child, its elbow thrust inside her and its balled fist hanging down between her knees.

  "In all the most tender of places, her body was inflicted with ragged, purple bites. The freshest were easily recognized as the bruised outlines of the teeth were marked as rough, red serrations. One small breast, bite by bite, was almost entirely eaten away. The ragged scraps of her one remaining ear bore the outline from what must have been one quick snap.

  "Chief and brave stood shaking before this misery, their candles flickering and playing across the ravaged young corpse. From the varied decay around some of the inflictions it was apparent that what she had endured, must have lasted for days.

  "It was with chilling disbelief they started in horror when an eye fluttered, then opened. The girl quivered so slightly, the spasm passing through her flesh like a ripple. At the slight movement, the small arm within her slowly slipped out, and with a sucking sound, fell to the dirt at their feet. Her lips moved, yet no sound came forth. It was the remaining eye that said what she needed to say. With nothing but pity in his heart, Two Twigs used his own knife to grant her the release she had surely craved.

  "Once back in the light, outside of the lodge, what they had experienced was told through their eyes. Two Twigs, his skin gone ashen, had no idea he could have ever grown so cold. The chief stood trembling before the fallen Osia. Two Twigs could find no words such was his revulsion. What he had seen was beyond anything ever known in the history of his people.

  "Osia's expression had changed when Two Twigs emerged. With the knowledge his work had been seen, his eyes glowed even more brightly with a defiant pride. He looked up to Two Twigs displaying through his hate nothing so much as an insolent glee.

  "This look stabbed Two Twigs as surely as a blade. The thought of the girl below and of those before her, who had endured the same, sickened him. What it must have been like for Osia's victims to have had their bodies exposed to such abominations, the monster returning again and again, chilled him. What must have gone through a girl's mind, as she waited in the dark fearing the monster's return, was a reality he did not wish to understand. P
ale and quivering, he drew his knife, eager to make an end.

  "As though he could read the thoughts of the man standing over him, with great effort Osia drew from within, his final curse. ‘What I am will always live here,’ he growled, spitting blood with the effort. ‘Fear me.’ A bubble of blood formed at his lips as the awful, yellow eyes glassed over and became dull. The gory film between his lips stretched as to burst, but the pressure died away and with the last breath the bubble drew back to lie flat between his still lips.

  "Forbidding the others to even reenter the lodge, Two Twigs instructed the men to throw every scrap back inside. The defiant corpse of Osia was the last thing heaved back through the door.

  "While this was being done, Two Twigs went to the river and threw himself in, scrubbing his skin with the gritty sand. He set his braves to gather dry wood for a fire and repeated his bathing twice more while they worked.

  "As night fell they set fire to the lodge, eager to erase it from the earth. Throughout the night they continued to work, dragging in entire felled timbers and piling them high, stoking the soaring blaze. The fire burned ravenously, spreading sparks high into the sky. When the fire died down they rebuilt it anew, not leaving the place for two more days.

  "Two Twigs and his men returned to their camp, and immediately sent runners out to the other tribes. In the harshest of terms all were told of the incredible horror. All were warned to shun the charred spot by the river, lest they invoke the dying curse of the Liar."

  "That's what Porter told us,” said Javier, placing his empty beer in the carton with the others. “And you can be sure, we listened."

  Lee had drawn his fists into balls and had them tucked tightly between his knees. “Do you think he meant the cut in the bluffs at the train trestle was where Osia had his lodge?” Lee asked, his eyes wide.

  "I don't know of any other,” replied Javier. “And remember the falls, where the brave washed over?"

  Lee shivered.

  Javier noticed and tried to break the spell with a laugh. “Don't worry amigo, it's just an old tale, an Indian legend, nothing more."