The Thing in the Pit

by Cameron Joseph

  “Colt, you can’t shoot your way out of everything. This is not a monster, put that gun away.”

  It was easy to see the anxiety in both Fred and Colt, but Harrison, was calm and did not fear Rex at all. Suddenly Rex burst out the door, catching Fred off guard. He grabbed Fred and punched him in the face, Fred fell to the ground. Harris stepped in front of Colt. “Get out of my way bumpkin, unless you want what Fred got,” Harris said not one word. He hit Rex in the mouth. Rex went down. Harris stepped over to him and kicked him in the head. Then, he stomped his face. Rex rolled over and put his hands over his face. Colt helped Fred up. Then, Shawna staggered out the door. Her bloody blouse ripped half off her, her breasts exposed. A woman across the street came a to help her. Harris looked at her and back at Rex. Colt and Fred were watching. Harris walked over to Rex, reached down and grabbed him by the hair. Then, he pounded him right into the ground, face first. He pulled his head back up and again, wham! Face into the ground. Colt started over there and Fred held him back. Harris stepped back from Rex and watched him trying to crawl on his hands and knees. He took a step and kicked Rex in the ribs as hard as he could. He rolled him over, put his knees in his chest and hit him with each fist, right, left, right, left, blood splattered. Fred and Colt went over and got him off him. It was easy to see; he would have killed Rex right there. “You got him, you give him what he deserved,” said Fred.

  Fred wiped Rex’s blood off Harris’s face. Then, is when two of the thugs with whom Rex hung out, showed up. One had a pipe and the other pulled a butterfly knife. Colt eased his hand over his .45. He was hoping the one with the knife would come towards him. Harris charged the one with the pipe. He kicked him in the chest. The pipe flew out of his hand. Harris then pivoted towards the one with the butterfly knife. He backed up, and put his knife away. Harris went over and got the pipe. He took it, and cracked the one who had it, in the knee. He screamed in pain. Then Harris threw the pipe over Shawna’s house. The man with the knife walked away. Harris screamed, “Argh! Who is next? Come on!! Come get some! Come on!” Colt made his way over to Shawna. “Shawna, can you hear me, honey?” She was sitting on her neighbor's porch with her face in her hands. "You okay?" Colt asked.

  “No it hurts, he hurt me. I never did anything to him, he just hurt me.” Shawna sobbed. Colt sat down beside her and put his arm around her. “It’s going to be okay, he won’t hurt you again.” Colt held her for a while. Fred talked to Harris and he calmed down. Rex laid on his belly, busted up. It took twenty minutes for Harris to beat the hell out of Rex and back down two of his young thugs. In that short span of time, Colt learned that you don't mess with Harris. Fred learned that he was not quick, or as strong, as he once was. He knew, without Harris, he would have gotten his ass kicked. He also knew that Harris lost control, and he would remember that. “I want to have dinner with you, Shawna. Call me, okay?”

  "Okay handsome, I will." Through her tears, she smiled and Colt smiled back. They got back in their trucks and headed back over to Fred's house. Harris went in to wash the blood off his hands and face. Colt looked out over Fred's property, it was calling him again. "Fred, you mind if I walk out there?"

  “Let me get Harris on his way and we will drive out there. We can drive my truck right up to the edge of the old road.”

  "Fred, you got a cup of coffee? Asked Harris

  “Sure, Harrison,” Fred got him a cup of coffee.

  "You two still want to go out on that old road tonight? Let me call Betty and tell her I am over here working."

  “Harrison, I thought you were going home.” Said Fred. Harris called Betty.

  "Hello, honey."

  "Hey, where are you?"

  “I am over at Fred’s, finishing.”

  "Oh, okay, well come home soon, okay? Sarah has been all upset wanting Daddy Harris. I’m worried."

  “Tell Sarah to come to the phone.”

  “Daddy Harris come home.”

  "I will baby, I love you, Sarah, so much."

  “I love you too Daddy.”

  “Baby, why are you acting like this, what’s wrong?” Asked Betty

  "Nothing is wrong; I will be home soon. Where are the boys?"

  “Watching television. You are scaring me, Harris.”

  "I love you, Betty, I will be home soon."

  “Okay, I love you too, and if you are not home soon, I am walking up there to get you.”

  “Be home soon, honey” Harris hung up.

  “Harris, you should go on home. We can handle this.” Said Fred.

  “I will get on the dozer, and we will drive it down that road. Will we be back before dark? Betty will be afraid after dark.” Said Harris.

  Colt got in Harris’s truck and Fred got in his own truck. Harris started the dozer, and they headed for the edge of the field. It took them about half an hour to get to the edge of the field and within sight of the old road. Colt scouted ahead on foot. He was twenty yards ahead of the dozer. Fred was following the dozer, in his truck. The path was still there, a few small trees and some brush, but nothing they could not get beyond. Woods had grown over the road, eerie trees bent together overhead. This made it dark even in the middle of the day, not much sun could get through. A fog was over the road and down towards the hollow. You could not see more than a few feet. They were a quarter mile in within a few minutes. You could not hear well with the dozer running. Then, the dozer shut down. Colt turned around to see why Harris stopped. He noticed Fred one-hundred feet or so behind Harris. He was not sensing anything. The fog was getting thicker and rising out of the hollow.

  "Harris, why did you stop?" Harris was off the dozer, checking it out.

  “I did not stop, it just shut down. I am looking to see what’s going on.” Fred got out of his truck and walked up to Harris. The fog was beginning to cover the road ahead of them.

  "Harris, what's wrong with it?

  “Fred, I can’t find anything wrong, it just won’t start.”

  "My truck quit too." It was getting near dark and the woods were starting to moan. Colt now was sensing something coming their way. He stepped back to the dozer. "Harris, you have that pistol I gave you?

  “It’s in my truck. Why?

  "I think we might need it real soon. Fred, you armed?"

  "Yes, and I’ve got an extra pistol."

  He handed a 38 to Harris. They stepped back, and stood together between the dozer and Fred's truck. They could hear something big, just down below. It roared and they froze with fear. It was a cry like they had never heard before. A horrible odor filled the air. Then a large oak tree fell right across the engine of the dozer. Then another in front of it. They ran for Fred's truck. Colt jumped in the back, he saw a gray shape of a man in the road behind the dozer. He fired his 45 at it. It turned and disappeared. Fred finally got the truck started, he floored it and they made it back to the field. Trees began falling over the road. They sat at the edge of the field and watched twenty or more trees fall across the old road, several on top of the dozer. The fog continued to rise, and the odor was stronger. It smelled like something rotten. Colt took his pistol and held it up to his nose. The silver killed the odor. "Let's get out of here." Said Fred. He sped away, across the field and over past his house, to take Harris and Colt home. They stopped outside Harris's house. Colt hopped out of the back and stepped to Fred's window. "Well, that did not work. We are going to have to go on foot and be ready for battle." Said Colt.

  “If I can get that dozer to start, it will push most of those trees out-of-the-way.”

  “True Harris, but it won’t run. Colt is right, the old road is not going to help us.”

  "Well, I need to eat and sleep." Said Harris.

  “Same here, I am going to stay up at one of the other houses tonight. I will come down here in the morning. Okay?”

  "Yeah, make it around 9 a.m."

  “Okay, sounds good.”

  “Tomorrow we ride horses, and we start early.”

  "Colt, horses won't go up th
at hollow." Said Fred

  “Just let me talk to them, we will pick them out together.” Fred smiled and drove away.

  “You talk to horses, Colt?”

  “Yes, I do. Just wait, you will see.”

  Secrets and Potions

  Harris and Colt went into the house. Colt went straight to bed. Betty was watching television.

  “Colt, going to bed already?” Asked Betty.

  "Yeah, I am headed to bed too. We have to get an early start."

  “An early start for what?” Betty noticed Harris’s hands were beat up and had been bleeding. “What happened to your hands?”

  “Oh, we had a problem with one of Fred’s tenants, it’s okay now. A thug roughed up a girl up there in one of his houses. Colt and I went with him. He knocked Fred down, and I stepped in.”

  “Let me see.”

  “No, they are okay, I am going to bed.” Harris stepped towards their bedroom.

  “Oh, okay, I am going to bed too. Right now, let’s go to bed.”

  “Betty, honey, I don’t want to fight.”

  “Okay, you talk to me. I want to know what went on today and what’s going on tomorrow.”

  "Okay," Harris went over and sat down on the couch. "Come over here and sit with me."

  Betty sat against Harrison on the couch he put his arm around her. He spoke softly. “I am going to tell you about today, and it's going to scare you, Betty. Colt and I went to see Miss Toppings. It was strange, she told us the old road to the Adderley place might help us. We drove back to Fred's place, and he was there. We talked about the haunted woods. Miss Toppings called them the dark woods. Then, after Fred tried to give me his place, we decided to try to go to the Adderley place just before dark. That’s after I beat the hell out of three thugs. Colt told me that Sarah has magical powers and is psychic. Then, we went down that old road just before dark. A fog rose, we saw a ghost, trees fell, the dozer quit running, and we had to get out of there in Fred's truck. You hear me, baby?” Betty was snoring as she cuddled with Harris. Harris grinned. Betty always dozed off when they sat together watching television. He held her close, he loved her so much. Harris knew Betty had every reason to be upset. Her and the kids felt trapped in that house. He did not bring his family to Sunset to live in fear. He gently eased Betty back, placing her head on a cushion. He wanted to look in on the boys. They were in bed now as well. Harris opened their bedroom door, “Daddy? What’s wrong?” asked Dana.

  “Nothing son, I’ve just been busy today, and I wanted to see you boys for a minute. Tommy, you got that garden in shape?”

  "Yes, dad, we have been working on it every day. Dad, when are we going to finish Potter's barn?" Harris walked over to Tommy and put his arm around him.

  “I love you son, and I am so proud of you. I'm sorry for how I treated you over that pop. Tommy, I think we finished our job son.”

  “Dad, what happened to your hands?” Asked Tommy.

  "Well, I had a scrap, and when you have a scrap, sometimes you bust up your hands," Harris laughed.

  “Dad, if you ever have a scrap, just call me. I will fight anybody who tries to hurt you.”

  “I will too Daddy!” Said Dana.

  “I know. I have never doubted that for a second. What we have to do boys, is protect momma and little Sarah. As long as we stand together, nothing can hurt us. Dana, you're not afraid of a ghost, are you?” Dana's eyes got big.

  “Well, what does it look like Daddy?”

  “What does any ghost look like son?”

  “Tommy, he is not afraid. Take him with you, and I will stay here with mom. We will lock the doors.”

  “Lock the doors? What if Tommy and I need to get in? Ha, ha, ha.” Tommy and Harris laughed and Dana grinned. Harris picked him up, “You’re Daddy’s little man.”

  “Yes!”

  “Daddy won’t let any old ghost bother you, don’t worry about that.” The boys got in bed and dropped off to sleep. Harris went back to check on Betty. He did not want her to sleep too long on the cushion, she might hurt her neck. Colt had a cup of coffee. “Did you tell Betty about what happened today? Did you talk to her about Sarah?”

  "She dozed off, so, I don't know if she heard any of what I said. I think Fred is shaky. He said he was not staying at his house tonight."

  “Yes, I know and he is not what I thought he was. He is a decent man, Harris. You are all good people.”

  “Colt do you think if we kill what’s in that hollow, in those dark woods, then would Fred’s place be safe?”

  "I would burn that barn and make sure you seal that shaft, even if you have to blow it up. Harris, I can't tell you. I had flashes out there today. While we were on that road, I saw a creature that looked like a small dinosaur. I also saw a face, with scary eyes. A man with cracked or scaled skin. It calls to me; it challenges me because it knows it can kill me."

  “I never saw anything. I don’t have any urges to go there. Why? Why is it not calling me?”

  "I guess it's too busy with me and Fred. Harris, I am not leaving here until it's dead and or buried. That does not mean you have to put yourself in danger."

  “I’ve been thinking of telling Betty to pack up so we can move on. I am going to sleep on it.”

  “See you in the morning.” Said Colt.

  Harris went to bed. Colt could not sleep. He decided to walk outside and just look around. He looked around the house and everything was okay. Then, he got in his Lincoln and drove over to Fed's barn. He stayed in the car but he drove towards the field. Then he looked out over the dark woods. Flashes again, he saw the face of a man again it had cracked skin the eyes were green and angry. It was huge across the night sky. “Come to me, come to me, Colt Justice, come to me.” Colt got out of his car, he aimed his 45 and fired, he fired again. He was shooting into the air. Then, he realized what he was doing. He got in his Lincoln and sped across the fields to the edge of the old road. His headlights lit up the old road. He could see the dozer but not the trees. He saw the face and a hand. It had long fingers with long sharp nails. He watched it cast a bright force of light at the dozer. It exploded in flames. It was like a beam out of the monster’s hand. Then, it looked at him, “Come to me, come to me.” Colt sped back to Harris’s house and sat there in his car. He had never been up against anything like this. He passed out. Harris woke up to Sarah shaking him, “Daddy! Daddy! Colt’s in trouble!” Harris jumped up out of bed. Betty comforted Sarah, who was still screaming about the monster after Colt. Harris ran outside and found Colt in his car. He jerked the door open and pulled him out. Colt wake up! “Colt are you okay? What happened?”

  “I went over to the old road, it destroyed the dozer with a beam of energy. The beam came out of its hand. We have to kill it, Harris, we have to.”

  “Okay, let’s get you settled down. We will have some coffee, it’s not long until we meet Fred.” Harris and Colt went back inside. Harris was not letting anyone know, but he was having trouble with shortness of breath. He did not feel like he could roam through those woods on foot. He lost control in that fight and he needed to settle down. He worked too hard on that barn because they needed the money. Harris felt like he needed to rest for a few days. Colt finally got a little sleep. They had breakfast, and it was time for Fred. It was 9:05 a.m. when Fred knocked on the door. Harris opened the door. “Come on in Fred.” Fred stepped in and to Harris and Colt's surprise, Fred had a woman with him.

  “Hello Harrison, let me introduce you to Elizabeth, Elizabeth Hope,” said Fred.

  “Hello Elizabeth, a pleasure to meet you,” said Harris.

  “Just call me Beth, Mr. Blackstone, it’s a pleasure to meet you too.”

  “Have a seat, Betty, Fred is here, and he has a friend with him.”

  “Hi there, you must be Colt, a pleasure to meet you Colt, Fred told me about yesterday.”

  "Hello, Miss Hope, good to meet you." Beth could tell Colt had been upset, but he was blocking her from knowing anything. He seemed terrified. Fr
ed and Beth sat at the table. Harris and Betty came in. "Betty, this is Beth, Fred's friend."

  “Hello Beth,” Betty smiled.

  “Hello Betty, a pleasure to meet you.” Beth was 52 years old. She was a beautiful woman, with long black hair and dark skin. Beth had big brown eyes and full lips. She looked twenty years younger than her age. Betty noticed how attractive she was, and she wondered how Fred met her. Fred asked whether Harris and Betty had talked about what was going on. “No Fred, I don’t know anything. I think it’s about time someone told me about this.” Snapped Betty.

  “Have they talked to you about Sarah?” Beth asked.

  “No, what about Sarah?”

  “Beth is an herbalist and a mystic, Mrs. Blackstone, she is a psychic. Colt was telling us yesterday that Sarah is psychic. Beth wanted to meet her.” Said Fred.

  “A herbalist and a mystic? Are you a witch, Beth?”

  “Yes, Betty, yes I am a witch.”

  “Oh, okay Fred, why did you bring a witch into my house?”

  “Betty, I am here to help you and Sarah. I want to help your family.” Said Beth.

  “Okay, so help me start packing because I have had it, Harrison! A witch in my house!”

  “Betty Ann, settle down and listen, okay?” Said Harris as Sarah walked into the room. She walked over to Beth and put her arms around her. Beth hugged Sarah.

  “Awe honey, you are so beautiful, it's going to be okay. Yes, baby, I know he is scary, but he can't hurt you here.” Said Beth.

  “Momma Betty, she is not bad, I promise momma, she is not.”

  “My precious angel, Betty gently pushed Sarah’s hair out of her face. Beth, you are welcome if you want to help us. I hope, Miss Hope, you will talk to me, and tell me what’s going on.”

  "Yes, of course, Betty, I am sorry they have not told you anything."

  "Why don't we step outside and let these girls get to know each other." said Fred. Fred, Harris, and Colt all stepped outside. Beth began to explain to Betty what she knew about the dark woods, the Adderley's, and Fred's barn. She explained what she knew about all that happened the day before. Beth's grandmother knew Amelia Adderley. She knew her when they were mining silver and even before. The Forsythe suspected Amelia had wanted the tunnel. That was not true. Amelia did not even want to come to Kentucky. Stories of silver treasure buried in the hills of Kentucky convinced Bryce and Jared to move to Kentucky.