“This is bad,” Chaos said.
Paolo nodded. His dark eyes showed nothing but compassion. “Then why don't you come out here on the porch and tell me a story.”
Paolo stepped back and gave her some space. He smelled like fresh air, the scent of the bar had all but left his clothes. The benefit of riding a motorcycle, she thought. Pulling the blanket tight around her body, Chaos tugged the door closed behind her and sat beside Paolo on her front porch. The night was crisp and cool, like a good fall night in New Mexico. The stars twinkled in the sky overhead despite the competition from Santa Fe's urban illumination. Crickets chirped, and a cool breeze rustled the few leaves still remaining on the trees in her yard. She stared at her feet. She still had one work boot on and one bare foot. Rust colored blood caked between her bare toes. She turned to Paolo who waited patiently for her to share her story. “Hypothetically?”
“Si,” he nodded.
“Hypothetically a man showed up at my door tonight, pushed his way in and attacked me. I killed him. I didn’t mean to.”
“How?”
He didn’t shake his head. She didn’t see any judgment in his eyes so she continued. “I smashed a lamp over his head while he was on top of me. It didn't stun him much but it shattered. I used the glass to slit his neck.”
“That would explain all the blood. You’re covered in it.”
“I think I hit his jugular. There was lots of it.”
“You okay?”
“I think he broke my wrist. It hurts.” Chaos knew he meant emotionally but she wasn’t ready to go there yet. She couldn’t even think rape, let alone say the word. She held up her arm for him to see. Even in the dim porch light she could see it was red and swollen to three times its normal size.
“Looks like it. You need someone to set it?”
She did but Dead Bill seemed like a bigger problem than her broken wrist. “I need to get rid of the dead asshole on my floor. Hypothetically.”
“No cops?”
“No. I have a reputation with the police force here. They don’t like me and I don't trust them. I will not risk my freedom for that prick.” The last time she’d been at the police station they’d called her “Black Annie.” Trouble and death followed her. She wouldn’t get any help from them.
“You killed him in self-defense, no?”
“Yes, but I'd have to prove it. I know how the system works around here. I have a shitty track record. The chief still blames me for his wife’s death.”
“Trouble follows you,” Paolo agreed.
Chaos sighed. “It knocks on my freakin’ door daily. I can't afford to defend myself in the court system. Not financially. I’d have to sell my business and it’s the only thing I have. It’s my life.” She stopped and took a deep breath. She wouldn’t cry. Not in front of Paolo. Not now. “Honestly, I just don't want to do it. He attacked me and I'd have to spend the next year forking over my life savings to lawyers to defend me. I understand if you don't want to help me. I really do. It’s probably better if you just walk away. People who get close to me have a habit of regretting it. I can figure it out for myself.” Though she honestly had no idea how to get rid of a dead body. She put her hands on her knees and prepared to stand up.
Paolo put his hand on her shoulder. “I’ll take care of it for you.”
“You sure?” Relief filled her from head to toe.
“Yes. It’d be my honor. As for getting close to you, we’ve worked together for three years now and I’m still here. No harm has come to me.” He showed her a bracelet on his wrist. A small charm hung from the bracelet.
“A skull?”
“Yes. For protection. My grandmother practices Santeria. She gave it to me.” He slapped his knees signaling his readiness to get to work. “You know where his car is?”
“Bill’s?” Chaos realized that there was no other car parked in her driveway. “I don't. He lives...well, he lived next to Smithy. You remember what kind of car is usually parked there?”
“Yes. A black Monte Carlo. He lives alone. That’s good. No one will look for him. I'll be back. You shower and get dressed. I'll make some calls.”
Trusting her situation to Paolo, Chaos gladly left the task to him. She’d have to give him a huge bonus for the holidays. Like mega huge.
On her way to the shower, Chaos opened her medicine cabinet. She'd torn cartilage in her knee last year trying to remove a tree stump and still had some Hydrocodone. Actually, she had a full bottle since she'd never taken it for her knee. Despite the Tequila, the pain in her wrist was dreadful. Getting the bottle open with one hand was impossible. Dropping to the bathroom floor, Chaos held the bottle between her knees and used her good hand to try and open the bottle. It didn’t work. She couldn’t get it open.
Frustrated, Chaos set the bottle back into her cabinet. Standing up, she caught her reflection in the mirror. Her eye was swollen and purple and her throat was red. Why did bad things always happen to her? Why did so many people die because of her? It’s not like she asked for this or anything else for that matter. Bill had said she asked for it. “Asked for it my ass,” she grumbled.
Unable to use her left hand due to her broken and now completely swollen wrist, it took Chaos a bit of wriggling to get out of her bloody t-shirt. She climbed in the shower and turned on the faucet, not caring that the water was freezing cold. It warmed up quickly and she let the water clean the cretin's blood off of her. As the water at her feet turned red, then pink, and then ran clear, she felt the emotions begin to sneak in. Anger slid away and fear surfaced. Building up during her attack it had to get out. She knew that and yet she didn't want to experience it. She didn't want to feel anything except the anger. It was easier that way.
Her emotions paid her no mind. Sobs of fear, grief, and guilt erupted involuntarily from her. “Damn him,” she cried, not knowing if she meant God, Bill, or someone else. Chaos sank to the bottom of the tub and stayed there until the water turned cold.
Wearing navy sweats and a man’s white under-shirt, that were a real challenge to put on one handed, Chaos found Paolo sitting at her dining room table. There were two other men with him. She stopped short and sent him a questioning look. More people involved meant more risk to her. Nodding, Paolo poured her a shot of the Tequila now sitting on the table in front of him and handed it to her.
“You take something for that wrist?” he asked as she took the shot.
“No. Couldn’t get the bottle open.”
“My friend here is a doctor, a real doctor at St. Vincent Regional. He can set your wrist for you.” Chaos stepped back a few feet and peered over her shoulder into the living room. The body was gone. A puddle of blood was all that remained on her oak floor.
“You can set it without X-rays?” She asked, stepping back into the dining room.
“Yes,” he said. “It might not be perfect, but I understand you don't want to raise suspicion.”
“It was self-defense.” The doctor, if he was a doctor, shrugged like he didn't care. “Fine.” She sat down at the table and held her left arm out for the doctor.
“What did he do? How did he break it?” the doctor asked, cradling her wrist in his hands.
“Two hands,” Chaos said. “Like he was wringing out a dishrag. I had a hold of his testicles.”
The doc frowned. Two caterpillar eyebrows met in the middle of his face. “Messy. You might have more than one break.”
This time it was her turn to shrug. Messy was an apt description of her life.
“Give her the bottle,” the doctor said, not really looking at anyone. He was busy studying and manipulating her wrist.
Paolo handed Chaos the bottle of Tequila. “Thankfully, I’m right handed.” She took two long gulps and then set the bottle down on the table beside her.
“You still have blood in your braids,” Paolo said.
“I couldn't undo them with only one hand.”
“I can undo them for you if you want. You can wash it again.”
“Broken radius,” he said as if that explained the horrendous pain in her arm.
A tear escaped from her eye. She swiped it away. “You fixed it? I can't feel my fingers.” Chaos wiggled her fingers trying to feel something. They were numb.
He shrugged again. “Swelling. You have pain pills?”
She nodded. “Hydrocodone.” Paolo had finished undoing her braids and moved over to stand by her kitchen counter. She was getting sleepy. She didn't want to fall asleep with three men in her home, even if they were risking their freedom to help her.
“Ice. Pills. I did what I could. Don’t move it or use your hand for a few weeks. No cast unless you go to the hospital, but I will wrap it. Don’t drink anymore if you take the pills. You won’t wake up.”
Chaos was aware of him setting a large black bag on the table. The last things she remembered were an ice pack being placed on her wrist, the cold table on her cheek, her wet hair hanging in her face, and the fading thought that she needed to clean up the blood on her floor before it stained.
Chapter Two
Sunshine Woman
Dakota strained to see something, anything, in the dark hallway. Tapping his Maglite on his leg, he tried to jiggle it back to life. He’d been in the old school building for less than five minutes and already he’d gone through two sets of batteries. Fresh ones were in the van. He should turn back and get some new ones but he knew as soon as he put them in the flashlight, they’d be drained too. Something was in this hallway, and it was strong. “And getting stronger,” he mumbled.
A chill passed through him and he stopped moving. Planting his feet, he scanned the darkness. In the pitch blackness he couldn’t even see his hand in front of his face let alone any dark shadows or other people. But he could sense them. He wasn’t alone. He fought a shiver. It was as if someone or something was surrounding him and sucking the warmth from his body.
Dakota considered his options. They boiled down to fight or flee. He was accustomed to spirits and the cold sensation they could cause but this was something different. It was circling him, almost as if it was taunting or offering a challenge. “Show yourself. Make yourself known,” he said, his booming voice echoed off the walls and down the long corridor.
A deep rumble of laughter vibrated off of the walls. “Shit.” He pushed the call button on his walkie talkie. “Linda, Sheila? You guys there?” He wasn’t about to call them into the building and put them in danger, but he could use some guidance. Maybe they could see something on the monitor. They had a video camera positioned at the end of the hall. In fact, if his guess was right, he should be facing it directly. And you should be able to see the light on the recorder too, he thought. But he couldn’t see a damned thing. It was as if something was blocking out all the light.
“Kat?” He pushed the call button again.
“Copy. What’s up, Dakota?”
Dakota exhaled in relief. “Where are Linda and Sheila? Where are you?”
“I’m in the van. Linda and Sheila are in the basement.”
“Can you see them?”
“Yep. They’re doing an EVP session by the boiler room. This old school building is freakin’ off. Freddy Krueger creepy, you know? There’s writing on the walls in the boiler room like children were locked in there. I’m glad I’m not alone in there.”
“Yeah,” Dakota agreed. He was glad she wasn’t alone in here, too. Who knew what this thing would do? “Keep an eye on Linda and Sheila, okay?”
“Always ready to save the day, Tonto,” she chided. “They’re fine. You okay?”
“Not sure,” he said. If anyone else had called him Tonto he’d be tempted to punch their lights out. Coming from Kat, he tolerated it. Like a pesky little sister, it was her way to push people’s buttons. It was an obvious button for her to push and he had better things to focus on at the moment. “My flashlight keeps dying and I can’t see the camera at the end of the hallway. Is it working?”
“Yep. I can see you perfectly.”
“Good. You see anything else? Shadows? Anything?”
“Nope. Just you standing in the middle of a junior high school hallway.”
“How far away from the camera am I?”
“Wow, what’s going on, Dakota?”
He could hear anxiety creeping into her voice and didn’t want to alarm her. “Just tell me how far away the camera is. I can’t see the light.”
“About thirty feet. You’re facing it right now. Just walk straight ahead and you’ll run right into it.”
“Thanks.” Dakota was grateful for his sense of direction. Maybe it was something handed down by his ancestors but he never got lost or turned around. He was like a walking GPS. A whisper of a breeze stirred the hair at the nape of his neck. Strands of his long hair floated across his face. Snagging a rubber band from his wrist, he pulled his hair back into a ponytail. The last thing he needed was hair in his face distracting him from the presence in this hallway. He felt, deep down in his gut, that he needed to be on high alert.
The cold breeze pushed through him again. This time Dakota got the sense that it was male. What was it trying to do? “Who are you?" he asked. "What do you want from me? Speak to me." The words, I want to help that were poised on the tip of his tongue fell away. It was a habit from other investigations to offer his help. That’s what they did. The Spirit Savers helped spirits get unstuck. Sometimes it was denial. Sometimes they didn’t know they were dead and sometimes they had unfinished business. Linda had a mission to help them and he had a mission to protect Linda. Kat and Sheila joined the group a few years ago and together they’d accomplished a lot. But he didn't want to help this thing. He wanted it to go away. He raised his hands in the air. "I command you to leave this place."
Counting his footsteps, Dakota strode to the end of the hallway. Maybe if he had the video camera he could see better - see what he was up against.
"Twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven." Three feet from the camera, he could see the small red light on the side indicating it was recording. Three more steps and he'd have it. The cold breeze passed through him again. This time it didn't just pass through passively. It took something with it. Dakota lurched backward with the force as the entity escaped through his back. He felt it circle him and pass through again. "What’s going on?” He yelled. “Stop. I command you to stop!”
It passed through him again. Like a tornado building right inside him, he felt the entity pick up speed. It was circling him and passing through at a rapid rate now. With each heartbeat he felt it pull more from him. Energy? What was it taking? What did it need? He had to make it stop. If it continued taking energy from him, he was screwed. With each pass it was getting stronger and he was weakening. Reaching for the camera, Dakota tried to move forward. He stumbled backwards as the entity passed through him again. Any second now he'd drop to the ground unable to move. He felt the strength leaving him. Dakota’s mind raced as he struggled to figure out how to make it stop.
Raising his arms, the words for a protective spell flowed freely from his lips. An illuminated shell instantly surrounded him. Egg-like in shape, it glowed silvery violet and encased him from head to toe. How did I know to do that? he wondered. He’d never done anything like that before. A dark mist appeared in front of him. It was inside the orb. He’d sealed the entity inside with him. It was trapped inside. It pushed inside him once again. As it did, Dakota could feel its surprise. Then rage. The rage bubbled up quickly as if fury was second nature. He felt it go still, as
if it were trying to figure out what to do next. It wasn’t a person. It couldn’t be. No person had this much power alive or dead. It had to be a demon. He wasn’t sure he believed in them, he’d certainly never encountered one, but it was the only explanation he could come up with. Now what? What was he going to do with a demon trapped inside him?
"Are you okay?" He heard Kat’s voice on the walkie. His first and last instinct was to protect her. To protect them. He didn't know what he was dealing with and he didn't want any of his team in danger. He also couldn't lie to them. "I’m fine. Dealing with something new. I'll let you know if I need help."
“Okay.”
He could tell she didn't quite believe him and he knew she could see him. Dakota lurched forward and picked up the recorder. He turned it so it was facing down a different hallway. Kat would assume he'd heard or seen something down that hallway and wouldn't question it. At least not right away. It’d buy him some time to figure this out.
Icy fingers raked down his spine. They clawed at his throat and scraped his intestines. Whatever was inside him was getting restless and more violent. He could feel it starting to tear away at his shield. He could feel the sharp claws shredding. It wouldn't break through; at least he didn't think it would. But he'd never trapped something inside with him before. He took a minute to analyze the energy. Male. Hateful. And it didn't belong here. It had somehow become trapped in the school. He wondered how and what it wanted with him. Perhaps a way to get out of the school. Did it need more energy to escape? That’s what it had been doing; stealing energy from him. Maybe it wanted to manifest for them. Or hurt them. Dakota doubled over in pain. He felt like a knife was slicing him in two from the collarbone to his pelvis. It burned. He screamed.
“Dakota?”
Dakota hit the floor. Somewhere far away he could hear Kat yelling for him. He could hear Sheila and Linda running down the hallway calling his name. He saw the lights of their flashlights bounce off the shiny lockers. He couldn't move. The pain was too intense. He could feel his soul being ripped from his body. “No,” he groaned. Lying on his back, the cold tile floor gave him some measure of comfort. If he could feel something solid, he was still alive.
Deadly Chaos Page 2