Unrelenting Terror

by P. S. Power

  It was worse today.

  The large man that followed me started in about the same time I got my cart. It was a nice one today, not having a broken wheel or any annoying and embarrassing squeaks or anything like that. He wore a white button up the front shirt and black slacks, had on a pair of shiny black shoes and looked like he’d just come from church, except that he made a point of watching me very closely. Too much so for it to just be casual. At first I wondered if it was just my imagination or something, but the man stuck by me, not more than twenty feet away at any given time. He was huge too, so it wasn’t just me mistaking two similarly dressed people or anything like that.

  He must have been close to six-nine or ten and probably weighed in at about four hundred pounds. It meant he was fat, but a muscled kind of heavy that was pretty distinctive. Like a power lifter or a giant blond farm boy from a movie or something like that. He didn’t even fake trying to look like he was shopping, just walking behind me, stopping when I stopped, walking when I did. Watching. It was almost tempted to confront the man and ask if he worked for the store, but I didn’t. Mainly because it wasn’t illegal to walk around watching people shop. Just annoying and a bit freaky.

  I always made a point of going through the produce section first, because I wasn’t a huge fan of vegetables, so I liked to kind of trick myself into getting those in the cart early so I wouldn’t forget latter. I let a little old woman have first crack at the bananas, and just turned to stare at the giant watching me. I didn’t let myself smile or try to look appeasing at all. He was the one in the wrong, and while I wasn’t going to cause a problem, he was being creepy. I didn’t want to admit to being scared, but I was a bit. It felt like the man might attack or something. It wasn’t reasonable, but no one should be following me that closely while I tried to pick out cabbage. I really wasn’t going to try and stick one under my shirt or anything.

  For his part he just pretended not to see me looking back.

  It made me shop faster though, so that part worked out. It reminded me even more why I hated shopping though. That constant scrutiny I felt, reasonable or not, always reminded me of being up in front of a crowd of people. Palms sweating and feeling like my lungs were going to choke the air off at any moment, leaving me to stutter, forget my speech, and make a fool out of myself. I could almost see the faces of the crowd all around me, which reminded me of what Milford said about being surrounded by ghosts and other things all the time. Even in my most private and weak moments. When I was on the toilet or naked in the shower, they were watching. Maybe even touching me.

  I looked around as I got the checkout counter, but didn’t see the big guy anymore at all. That would make sense, if he was store security, after walking around after me for an hour, he probably got the idea that I wasn’t there just to steal. I could be wrong, but hopefully no one that looked as scary as that would have been following me just because he thought I was cute. He wasn’t my type at all. More like someone I’d be afraid to meet in the dark alley or something.

  That wasn’t really fair though, I wouldn’t wanted to meet anyone in a dark alley. No one that hung out in places like that had good intentions, did they? Of course the same could be said for people hanging out in crypts, but that hadn’t been my idea. It had worked out anyway, after a fashion. I’d made contact with Alex. For a second I wondered if I should go back that night and try again, but the woman ahead of me in line had started talking to me. I had no clue what she was going on about, but she was definitely making eye contact with me. She seemed angry too.

  Livid.

  “My cat… Can you believe that? Ten cent price increase on food for her. I blame the President. He always looked like a cat hater to me.” The woman didn’t sound like she was all together at first, but I thought about it for a second. While I doubted that the man had anything to do with cat food prices at all, he did look a bit like he might hate cats. It was a disapproving look in his eye I thought, so I nodded.

  “I can see that.” I realized I was talking to the back of her head though, since she must have turned around when I wasn’t paying attention.

  She turned again, smiling politely.

  “Sorry, were you talking to me?” She sounded a lot more reasonable too, less livid and ranting, which gave me pause. Who had those kinds of mood swings? First angry and then calm and polite in less than a five seconds?

  “Oh, I was just saying that I could see the President looking like a cat hater. I know he has those two huge dogs at least.” Smiling I tried not to show anything in particular, or sound too weird. I knew I was still in a very deep trance. I thought so anyway. It didn’t feel like much of anything, but everything felt like it was far away from me, at a distance. That was a sign that something was still happening, right?

  “Oh… funny. I was just thinking that myself.” Then the woman smiled again and turned back to settle everything on the conveyor belt, making a point not to make anymore eye contact with me.

  Had she not said that out loud? I didn’t know, I would have sworn she did. How would I have heard it otherwise? It could be that the woman was just insane, or that I’d imagined it, just taking what she’d been thinking about from her body language or… No.

  That was the kind of thinking that blocked off real understanding. I couldn’t name what I’d done exactly, or if it had been me at all, but it wasn’t just imagination. I had no reason to think that. I heard her say something to me and it was right, except that she acted like she hadn’t said it. I tried not to get excited about it, since things like that probably happened all the time, once you learned to pay attention. I hadn’t been told it would happen, but it was probably pretty common. Things like that did happen, and most people even admitted it to themselves when it did. A few would try to deny it and more would hide it in public if asked, but it was real enough that most would have just accepted that it had happened and written it off as just one of those things.

  I packed the cart off to my car, filled with more things than I normally would have gotten. Mainly stuff that wouldn’t go bad, since I really hadn’t been eating too well for the last few months. I tried to make all my own food, but the fact was, most days, I just didn’t want to. That meant I didn’t bother eating a lot of the time. If I got extra now, stocking up, maybe it would also mean I didn’t need to come back as soon. That huge guy had creeped me out. I knew I should tell the store about it, so they knew, but it didn’t feel right to me for some reason. Why that was I didn’t know. Maybe I was just scared that the man would come after me if I complained about him?

  I loaded the trunk up and turned to find the giant standing behind me, looking angry this time. I froze, not knowing what to do. I half expected him to claim I tried to steal something but he just stood there, glaring.

  “Um… May I help you?” I tried to sound polite and not too intimidated. The fact was, I hadn’t stolen anything and if this guy wanted to falsely claim that I had, I’d sue the hell out of his store. Him too, for embarrassing me in public.

  I waited for something to happen, not knowing what it would be at all, finally, he spoke, his voice a rumble so low I barely understood it. He had a thick accent, one that sounded vaguely German, if the old television programs I used to watch were right.

  “They’re going to take your life, if you let them. You mustn’t allow that to happen. You fear death and seek to keep it from those you love, seek to assure yourself that they are not gone, but that is not for the likes of you to know. Step back from the path you are on, before it is too late. If you do not, you will lose everything. There is no other way.” He didn’t sound happy about the words or the fact that he had to talk to me at all.

  “What? Who’s going to try and kill me? No one wants me dead. I think you might have the wrong person.” That wasn’t the case. I didn’t trust the man, being too large and angry seeming, but I knew he meant me. that was so clear the situation practically screamed it. I just didn’t know what else to say.

  After all,
no one would want to kill me. There was no reason for it at all. Oh, some random person might do it, for kicks or possibly thinking I was someone else, but no one hated me that I knew of. Not enough to kill.

  “The demons, that is who. Only I did not say they would kill you. I said they would take your life. You must learn the difference. Come with me and I shall teach you how to resist them. Now.” He was firm about it, commanding and I felt myself start to respond, start to take a step to leave with the man, even as I knew it would be foolish. If I followed him, I’d die. I knew it as certainly as I’d even known anything. This situation was a trick. How it was supposed to work I didn’t know, but it wasn’t real. I could feel that.

  “No… I don’t think so.” I half expected to keep walking, unable to control myself, but the deal I’d made was to only do what Dr. Milford said, not everyone in the world. What Milford said and what was written on the tablet in my mind.

  “I don’t know you and you aren’t making sense. There are no demons, just ghosts and a few entities that…” I didn’t get to finish, as a large hand reached out to grab my arm, pulling me along.

  “There is no time for this. We must hurry and you must not resist me. Herr Doktor Milford is the demon. I do not mean that figuratively either. He is possessed and he wishes to use you as a host for one of his brothers. You already have the signs upon you. You have been ridden by one of them already.” The man stared at me, almost as if trying to look into my soul.

  “Recently. It may be too late already. You must come.” He sounded frustrated, but it still wasn’t happening.

  The idea that Milford was possessed was foolish. He was just a man. One that had a lot of knowledge and skill in some odd areas, but that wasn’t the same as being a demon. I tried to explain that to the man, hoping he didn’t have a gun or a knife on him. If I had to pick a place to die, it wouldn’t be the parking lot of a grocery store.

  “Dr. Milford is a little strange, but he’s only a regular person. I think I should leave now. My ice cream is going to melt.” I sounded stupid and scared saying it, but I didn’t know how to respond. I’d heard a lot of stupid things over the years, even a few insane ones, but the idea that someone I knew was possessed was just about the best of them.

  Plus my ice cream really would melt if I took too long. The whole trip had been off-putting and strange. I kind of wanted to just go home and sit for a while, maybe distract myself with some television and forget all about it. Maybe forget about everything, if I could.

  The man shook his head slowly, then took a single step back, away from me.

  “I understand. You are not ready yet. I will tell you this, it may already be too late for you. If you decide you need help, I will do my best to find you. I do not know what you have been promised, but I can tell you this; it isn’t worth it. You should have come with me.” Then, without turning or walking away, without making any motion at all, he vanished.

  That made me blink rapidly for a minute, just standing in the parking lot, relieved to still be alive. If I actually was. Things had gotten so surreal, so fast, I couldn’t really say that was the case anymore. I pinched my arm lightly and felt it, so figured I wasn’t just sleeping at least. The man had seemed real and solid and I did too. He’d grabbed my arm hard enough that I still felt it, so I didn’t think he was a ghost. Unless I was just getting better at sensing that kind of thing? Real people didn’t just vanish like that though, did they?

  I realized that people were starting to stare at me, standing alone by my car, not moving at all, looking in the wrong direction. I kind of wanted to ask if anyone had seen the man disappear, but no one seemed to be reacting like they’d seen anything. I finished unloading the cart and closed the back of the vehicle up firmly, then jogged a bit as I returned the cart to its metal chute for the employees to collect later. I always tried to do that. Some people just left the things around, but that was annoying and a waste of good parking spaces.

  I tried to focus and drive carefully, feeling more than a little out of it. I ran a red light, not noticing it until someone leaned on their horn at me. Then I drove past my driveway instead of turning in, wondering if someone had followed me home. Of course, the giant German guy probably didn’t need to. Not if he could vanish into thin air like that. If he was a ghost or entity then he might even be with me at that very moment, invisible to my yet untrained senses. I circled a few times anyway, just to be sure the house was alright, then went inside, ready to scramble back out, if I had to. There was no one waiting for me inside though, and all the doors and windows were firmly locked.

  I could feel someone though. The sense was sharp and foreboding. It didn’t feel like Alex this time, or even the German fellow. It was different than that. More like… I drew a blank. It felt familiar, but not like anyone I knew at all. I couldn’t tell if it was good or bad either, just a bit scary. It didn’t leave as I put away groceries, just followed me, watching. It was strong enough that I could feel it on the back of my neck, even though nothing was there when I turned around to look. I’d learned that lesson already and looked each time I felt something now. I couldn’t stop a ghost or whatever it was from being there, but I could sure as heck see it coming and not let it sneak up on me.

  The feeling shifted, becoming a bit of tension between my shoulder blades. I turned again, to look at what was there, but only caught the smallest hint of something black and darting from the corner of my eye. That was a real signal of something being there though. I unpacked the plastic bags slowly, carefully, so that I could keep my focus on my surroundings. Nothing showed itself and after a while it went away altogether. I just had to hope it wasn’t that freaky German man again. He’d seemed so very real.

  I pulled the carton of ice cream and got myself a single scoop, not really wanting it. It was a butter rum ripple, which was my favorite, but it was still early in the day for sweets. I didn’t even know why I was eating it at all. I really just couldn’t help it. When I was finished with the tiny dish I’d gotten myself, I went to the freezer and got the carton again, wondering why I’d do that. I didn’t want any more. It was good, but I’d just had some. Without hesitating at all, even as I wondered what was going on, I took a spoon and starting eating it directly from the carton. Big spoonful followed large bite as I worked easily through the half gallon, the ice cream still soft and a bit melted around the edges. Near the bottom I decided that I’d had enough, and pushed the carton back away from me on the kitchen table.

  Only to reach out a few seconds later to start eating again.

  It was like I didn’t have any control over what I was doing. Like I was possessed. I kept eating until the container was empty, my stomach too full for more food, and got up to wash my hands and face. I felt bloated and uncomfortable, shocked that I’d eat that much at one sitting and baffled as to why I had. I felt bad about it. Scared.

  Because I would never have done that on my own.

  It wasn’t a comfortable thought. I was normally pretty good about not over eating, and when I did it was normally when someone else pushed food on me and I didn’t want to seem rude about refusing. This time though, I’d felt like I didn’t have any choice in the matter. Normally I would have written that kind of thing off. After all, people made mistakes and had bad days, ate for emotional reasons and all that. This time though, after what the man in the parking lot had said, a thought occurred to me that never had before in my life.

  What if he was right and something had been controlling my body? Taking it over to do who knows what? I'd woken up in bed and had figured that I’d been sleeping for a while, but I didn’t know that. I could have just laid down seconds before. It wasn’t pleasant to think of at all, but I had been in a crypt the night before. A really haunted one that could have been the subject of a movie without needing any extra special effects. What if something really had taken over my mind? Ridden around in my body, making me do things?

  What if it still was?

  I needed to talk
to Dr. Milford about the whole thing. I didn’t have an appointment or anything though and it wasn’t a work day for him. Plus he’d probably just tell me that it was nothing and that I needed to not let fear control me. Acknowledge the fear, but confront the unknown head on. I’d agreed to that. I needed to keep my word. It felt very important to really make this experiment work. I had to let myself be open and do everything that Dr. Milford had said.

  Instead of calling him with my no doubt silly concerns, I moved to the living room and turned on the weather channel. It was supposed to be sunny and warm the next day. From the colors on the screen I figured it was supposed to be happy and cheerful too. I just sat for a long time, watching the forecast play over and over again. I almost laughed when they had a segment about the upcoming lunar eclipse.

  It wasn’t a word that I heard very often, but given everything it called up the screen in my mind instantly and made the weight in my hands more real now than ever before. I could really see the whole thing, right there in front of me. It was eerie, it was so real. The words on the screen were a little strange, because instead of just telling me what I’d been thinking, or going over what I saw, or what Dr. Milford said, there was just a single line, telling me that someone was speaking, though it didn’t say who.

  I read it to myself, wondering why it was there. How it had gotten there at all.

  “You’re asleep. You need to wake up, or you’ll stay that way forever.”

  Then I heard a voice say the words out loud, and screamed, just a little.

  The voice sounded like Alex.

  Chapter six

  I didn’t know what to make of the whole thing. Was I asleep and dreaming? I felt awake. There were some strange things happening, but I knew I wasn’t just in bed. That couldn’t be happening... everything was far to real for that. It was something more.