by William King
Elizabeth took a lighter out of her purse to light a few of the many candles that her aunt Cassandra had placed throughout the little shack. The shadows that were being projected from the candle flames seemed to object to our entering her home. I looked as if they had surrounded us at one point, to keep us from moving any further into her house. We could both tell within the dim candle light that some evil supernatural force had preceded us here. It seemed as if something was watching Elizabeth and I, as we rummaged through her aunt’s belongings. Now what that something was, I did not know.
I could tell by the way her aunt had placed her things that she was a woman who liked to keep her things in a
certain order, a place for everything, and everything in its place. I felt somewhat like a thief in the night that was invading her privacy, but it was something that had to be done, unless we would never find out what the hell was going on. I had a weird feeling indicating that her aunt was a protector, a shield, or force field keeping evil forces at bay so to speak. The feeling was strong, like the one I encountered at Elizabeth’s house when I walked into her mother’s bedroom, and instantaneously knew that it had been occupied by her lovely mother.
Elizabeth’s aunt Cassandra protected herby keeping her father’s secrets all those years. Even knowing of all his wrong doings, she had never been persuaded by any means to tell her what he had been up to all those years on that island. This revealed that Cassandra was a strong independent woman who tried her best to handle an awful situation all by her lonesome. Nevertheless, I truly believed that Cassandra had finally come to an understanding with her conscience, and knew that she had to stop Elizabeth’s father from creating anymore evil, whatever the cost.
As I stood there, motionless within the dark and eerie room, just watching the shadows dance around on the walls of the old shack, a chilling breeze suddenly swept through the room, giving me the goose bumps, and making the hair on my arms stand straight up. Then within my subconscious mind, I had begun to see many unpleasant projections of places that I had never been before, at least not in this life anyways.
The once eerie silence that accompanied us vanished as I shouted, “Elizabeth, I have got to see your aunt Cassandra, she knows what the hell is going on, and I am going to make her tell us before it is too late for her to do so. We have to get her to tell us because this is getting dangerous, and cannot be allowed to continue any longer.”
“I do not know Mason. Maybe we should not confront her just yet, as she is already in a frail enough state.”
“Yes Elizabeth, I have to talk with her, or she will not be just frail, she will be dead, along with the rest of us! I must talk with her tomorrow, and I have to do it alone. Your aunt knows this whole ordeal is complicated for you, and the tremendous amount of love you have for your father is getting in the way.”
“Let’s leave this place Mason, close up this old shack and just go back home. I will have it securely boarded up for added protection in the next few days, but for now we will return home.”
“Alright Elizabeth, but don’t you see, this place has an invisible army already here to protect it, one that you have never seen.”
“Nonetheless, lets get out of here. It is cold and I do not feel comfortable being here.”
Therefore, we closed the door to Cassandra’s house, walked over to the Jeep, got in, and were on our way back to the manor. On our way back to the Manor, the ride was filled with nothing but wet mud being flipped up from the tires onto the wheel wells. Other than that, the two of us sat silent, I guess trying to grasp onto the situation that we were both in. I knew that the fear that both of us had endured over the past few days would remain etched in to our memory for quite some time. I also knew that I was no match for the evil supernatural forces that resided within Elizabeth’s two houses. I would have to get the help from someone, or something. If not from Elizabeth’s aunt, and not from my guardian angel Ambriel, then the only other ally I had to depend on was Elizabeth’s mother. I could only hope and pray that even with her help, there would be a sufficient amount of good to overcome the evil ones, but God only knew the power that our enemies had at their disposal. There would surely be a very bitter ending to this battle, and it would take more than just a small undertaking to accomplish the fete, and claim victory over these evil supernatural forces.
We did not get back to Elizabeth’s place until after two o’clock in the morning, and I had already made up my mind that with or without Elizabeth’s approval I was going to try to talk to her aunt Cassandra tomorrow. There was no other choice, and the matter was now out of my hands, as time was quickly running out, and she was our only hope. Our last piece of the puzzle, and if we did not get any information from her, all would be lost.
Elizabeth parked the Jeep under the carport so we had a short walk through the mud again before getting to the porch. Once she unlocked the door, Elizabeth and I went directly to our bedrooms to get some shuteye if we could, waiting for the Witching Hour to be over, still in total disagreement over my intended visit with her aunt Cassandra tomorrow at the hospital. The house seemed to hold a strange sort of silence to it. One could almost swear that it was empty. I glanced at the portrait of Elizabeth’s mother right before climbing into bed, and sure enough, it started happening all over again. The portrait of Elizabeth’s mother seemed to be weeping, but instead of crying tears of joy, her face was now grim, and terribly saddened. Unfortunately, my gut feeling told me that this was a very bad omen of what Elizabeth and I was yet to experience, but hopefully it was not tonight, as I was dead tired.
I turned out the light and listened for anything, but there was nothing but a vast silence that engulfed the room, a silence filled with evil, the kind that could drive a sane person made. When suddenly and unexpectedly I was awakened out of the peaceful deepened state of sleep that I had managed to fall into by a sound that I believed was the ringing of a telephone that seemed to be coming from somewhere within the house. I sat up in bed to listen more closely when the loud ringing echoed once again throughout the silent house and then into my room, sending a cold chill down my spine. I quickly jumped from the comfort of the bed, wrapped my robe snugly around myself, and made a mad dash for the telephone that was located in the kitchen to make sure that I did not miss the caller. It seemed as if it had only taken me a split second to get to the kitchen, grab the phone, pick it up, and say, “Hello, may I help you, who is this?”
The woman on the other end responded with a stern and to the point voice, “This is Sandy Mays, and I am a nurse from the Cranston General Hospital, may I speak with Elizabeth Blackwood.”
“She is unavailable at the moment, but whatever it is concerning, you can give me the message, and I will be sure to relay that message to her as soon as possible. Does this have something to do with Elizabeth’s aunt Cassandra Vablatsky?
“Yes it does, Cassandra Vablatsky is fading fast, and Elizabeth needs to get to the Cranston General Hospital as fast as she possibly can.”
I replied unpretentiously into the receiver, “Got it! We will be there right away.”
I hung up the phone and ran upstairs as fast as I could to inform Elizabeth of the phone call that I had just received. Once I got to her bedroom door, I knocked several times, but when there was no answer, I slowly opened it and walked inside. I did not know exactly how to grasp what I was seeing. I knew that it was the evil supernatural forces that I was witnessing, but I did not know how to comprehend it. My mind seemed to have stopped working. I saw Elizabeth seated within a large chair, and standing right in front of her was none other than Bastelet herself. I do not actually know how I knew that it was her for sure, but somehow I was succumbed by an eerie feeling, which gave me the answer I dreaded. It seemed as if Elizabeth had been hypnotized, she was in some sort of a frozen state of being, a trance of some sort. At that moment, Bastelet turned around, making direct eye contact with me, she gave me an evil smirk, and suddenly disappeared right before my eyes, as if she had neve
r been in the same room with us at all.
Once Bastelet vanished into thin air. I ran over to Elizabeth and put my hands around her, squeezing her tightly. It took some time before I could get Elizabeth back to her usual self again. However, once I did, I told her about the phone call that I had just received from the nurse at the Cranston General Hospital. As soon as I finished Elizabeth said, “Let me get dressed and I will meet you downstairs.” Therefore, I left her bedroom so she could change out of her bed cloths, and anxiously waited for her downstairs. In less than ten minutes, she was down stairs with her purse and keys in hand, and we were out the door.
The once muddy and slick path to the carport was starting to dry up, making it easier and faster to get to the Jeep. Elizabeth started the Jeep and unlocked the doors with her key fob before we even left the house, creating a warm and inviting environment when we got inside. Additionally, the Jeep was already warmed up to its operating temperature, so Elizabeth put the Jeep in drive and took off like a bat out of hell, on our way to the Cranston General Hospital. Elizabeth drove as if she was on a mission to save the entire population of people on the planet from hunger. Elizabeth was driving so fast that the tires screeched as the Jeep lost traction and slid sideways going around the sharp hairpin turns.
The drive to the hospital was very awkward to say the least. It seemed as if that evil bitch, Bastelet worked her magic on Elizabeth very well, as she never spoke a word during the entire trip to the Cranston General Hospital. I asked Elizabeth repeatedly on the way to the hospital if she remembered anything that had happened to her back at the house, but never received an answer.
When we arrived at the hospital, Elizabeth parked in the Emergency room entrance and we quickly walked to her aunt’s room. Once inside the room Elizabeth tried talking to her aunt. However, almost all hope was gone. Cassandra had said only a few words to Elizabeth with her last breath, and she only had enough strength left to repeat them twice, “Bartholomew, the Devil’s Island, Elizabeth your father Bartholomew, the Devil’s Island, Elizabeth your father,” then all life had passed from her body, and with her, the truth about her father would be concealed forever. Cassandra’s last words did not help us one bit with trying to figure out what the hell was going on, and held no meaning whatsoever to neither Elizabeth or I, so the only remaining help would have to come from her mother.
Elizabeth had to fill out and sign some paper work regarding her Aunt Cassandra death, as she was the only living family member able to do so. After all of the paper work was filled out, Elizabeth handed it to the attending nurse and sat back down in the chair next to me with a saddened look on her face and started to cry. I got up out of the chair, knelt down in front of her, put my arms around her, and comforted her the best that I could under the circumstances. I waited a while for her emotions to settle before suggesting that we should go into town and get a room at the hotel, which would give us time to calm our emotions enough to do some critical thinking about Cassandra’s last words. Furthermore, it would hopefully be without any unwanted interruptions from the evil supernatural forces that had followed us to England and possessed Elizabeth’s home.
Elizabeth eventually gave in to my idea about staying at a hotel in town without an argument, but said, “Lyle and Hillary will have to stay at the MacDougal’s house until our return home for their own safety.”
“Not a problem Elizabeth, that is fine by me, and I believe it is the best place for them at the time being.”
Elizabeth got up out of the chair and said, “Alright Mason, lets go into town and get a room at the hotel, time is wasting.”
We walked through the hospital, out the emergency room doors to where Elizabeth had parked the Jeep, got in, and headed into town. The ride into town was silent, not one of us said a word in the thirteen minutes that it had taken us to pull into a parking space in front of the hotel. We opened the doors and got out, and still not one word was said between the two of us. It was not until I opened the hotel entrance door for Elizabeth that she had broken the silence and said, “Thanks Mason.”
I replied, “You are welcome Elizabeth.” We walked inside, up to the counter, rung the bell for service, and waited. In what seemed to be a blink of an eye, the manager of the hotel walked out of the back room and up to the check in counter. Which was exceptionally quick, due to the fact that it was so early in the morning. Good grief, most people are asleep at this time in the morning.
The manager asked us if we needed a room and Elizabeth shook her head and said, “Yes, for a couple of nights.” He asked how we would be paying for the room and Elizabeth got out her wallet, pulled out her American Express Card, and sat it down on the counter. Not much was said as the manager charged the card for the stay and returned with the receipt and room key, in which he put down on the counter. A weird feeling seem to come over me when I noticed that the room number was thirteen. Not saying a word about it, Elizabeth grabbed the receipt and room key and we headed for the room.
For a small hotel with only thirteen rooms, it sure had a hallway that seemed to be endless, and what a coincidence, the light was out at the end of the hallway, making it even creepier. Our room was the last room on the right, and once we were in front of the door, I had to shine the light from my cell phone on the door key pad so Elizabeth could see where to swipe it. Once she swiped the key, the green light came on and we walked inside. Once, we were both settled into the hotel room, I asked Elizabeth for the MacDougal’s phone number, and she replied, “The MacDougal’s residence, why do you need their phone number Mason.”
“So I could inform Lyle and Hillary about your aunt’s passing, and tell them that we are going to stay in town at the Moonlight Hotel until she is buried.”
“Oh, alright, it is 99966 666666.”
Once Elizabeth had said the numbers aloud, my face seemed to tighten up, and it was hard for me to speak. I asked Elizabeth to repeat the numbers just in case I heard them wrong. But, to my surprise, they were typed into my phone exactly how Elizabeth had read them off to me. I thought, what is up with these occult numbers? Nonetheless, I called the MacDougal’s house and to my surprise Hillary’s voice came through the speaker as she spoke, “This is the MacDougal’s residence.”
I answered, “Hillary, I wanted to inform you and Lyle that Cassandra has passed away, she is gone. Elizabeth and I will be staying in town for a few days until she has been buried. Elizabeth wants you and Lyle to stay at the MacDougal’s until we return.”
She did not say very much at all, but I knew she and Lyle lacked the understanding as to my authority to tell the both of them to stay at the MacDougal’s residence until we came back.
“Hillary, Elizabeth is very despondent and fearful for your lives, and asked me to convey the message to the both of you.”
“Alright Mason, if that is what she wants us to do, tell Elizabeth that her wishes will be carried out.”
I hung up the cell phone and wondered if Elizabeth had remembered anything at all about the visit she had by that evil bitch Bastelet earlier this morning. I knew that I would have to hold off on asking her for the time being, as she had a lot on her mind at the moment, and I did not want to add this to her many other worries. I would have to wait until after her aunt Cassandra was buried, which then brought up another question that was lingering within my mind. I wondered just how long it would be before her aunt would join the rest of the unwanted evil supernatural forces at the Blackwood Manor, and at her residence here in England?
Elizabeth was sitting on the sofa looking out the hotel window when she turned and looked directly at me with a sorrow look on her face and said, “Mason, she wanted me to take my own life! She was insisting that I take my own life. I am not quite sure what would have happened if you had not come into the room when you did.”
I stared at her in disbelief, not knowing exactly what to say in return. I felt that we must have been getting close to the truth for Bastelet to try to convince her to take her own life. I knew now, mor
e than ever that she would have to be carefully guarded from now on. I wondered, since her aunt had entered the realm of their domain if they would somehow force her into doing their evil bidding.
“Elizabeth, do you know the exact name of the island that your aunt Cassandra and Uncle Laurence had been stranded on for sixteen years?”
“Yes I sure do Mason,” looking at me rather strangely. “The place was called Devil’s Island. I have told you this before. However, I do not know the exact location. All I do know is that it was located somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Mason, I cannot imagine what in God’s name you really think we could find there? So many years have passed since she had lived on that island.”
I took a long hard look at Elizabeth for the first time since her nightmarish encounter with that evil bitch Bastelet, and noticed a change within her. However, I could not put a finger on what that change was that has taken place within her. Nonetheless, there is one thing that I do know for certain, and that is Elizabeth seemed to agree with most of my suggestions that I made to her. I wondered how many more changes would take place within her before this whole ordeal would be unraveled.
I knew that things would be even harder for me now, as I had mysteriously fallen in love with Elizabeth, and for the first time it seemed as if I was love struck. I was so involved with her that all my thoughts and decisions had been nothing but a blur. I suppose that I should be entitled to some mistakes, after all, I was only human. I had waited twenty-two years to fall in love for the first time, which is sad in a since, but at least it has finally happened to me.
A few days had past, and it was time to officially lay Elizabeth’s aunt to rest. Cassandra’s funeral was small and simple, with only a hand full of mourners showing up to pay their respect. It had included Lyle and Hillary, the MacDougal’s, Clarence, who was the manager from the town’s bank, Bartemius, Eleanor, Elizabeth, oh and I cannot forget myself. I did not know whom I expected to see at the funeral, but I certainly expected to see more people at the old lady’s funeral than this. After all, I had been told that Cassandra was a caring and lovable woman, even if she had been an eccentric and senile old lady. I suppose that I had expected to see more curiosity seekers, but there were none in this small town.