by G Oldman
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Welcome Packet
Chapter 1: Something Wicked
Chapter 2: Calling the Watchman
Chapter 3: On the Case
Chapter 4: Big Eds
Chapter 5: Spaghetti for Dinner
Chapter 6: Back on the Case
Chapter 7: Next of Kin
Chapter 8: History Lessons
Chapter 9: Stone Cutters
Chapter 10: Clues and False Leads
Chapter 11: Follow Up
Chapter 12: Case Closed?
Other Hemisphere Stories
The Hemisphere City Planners can be contacted at
Please Help
The Rise of the Watchman
A Hemisphere Story
G. Oldman
Copyright © 2017 G Oldman
All rights reserved.
To the Sprinters, Good friends one and all. Thank you for making Hemisphere happen.
A Public Service Announcement from the Hemisphere City Planners
Welcome to Hemisphere. We are a quirky little town created by four writers who followed along when Billy Baltimore asked, "Hey, let's do a series set in this odd little town." Being like minded about it, we all agreed. We all agreed to pen names as what we are writing about falls outside of what our regular readers expect from us. It was Billy's idea, again.
To navigate the strange streets of Hemisphere, it would help to get a copy of the HEMISPHERE ORIENTATION AND NEW RESIDENTS PACKET. Yep, it is a long name for a pretty important thing. If you like things that go bump in the night, this little gem will help you with that. Everything you need to know and probably a dozen things you don't are included within.
We hope this guide to our fair city will help you. To get your very own copy, click the link below.
Http://www.subscribepage.com/d8n7d2
Hope to hear from you soon, neighbor.
- G. Oldman
Chapter 1: Something Wicked
The demon heard the voice of its master. Smoke curled around its fangs as it grunted his acknowledgment. The trip to the house was accomplished in a blink. It examined the thresholds. None of the usual things were there. No salt, no circles and no other typical new age nonsense they have been running into lately. There was something else though, much older that was both familiar and frightening to him.
Staying in the shadows, the creature moved and circled the house. The shadow passed under the window. It paused long enough to hear and become uncomfortable.
The demon stroked it's chin and thought how to accomplish his mission. This one will require subtly to over take. Shame and humiliation is the entry way. Yes, that'll be the start. He cracked his warped knuckles and smiled revealing his loathsome teeth. They were long, pointed and jagged. Coated in green filth and anxious to tear into the flesh of his adversaries.
He turned from the window and stared into the chest of a tall man. The demon flexed its fingers and spoke in it's raspy voice.
"You have no..."
The words and its head were cut off by the same fluid motion from the man's sword. With smoke and a flash of red light, the demon disintegrated before his eyes.
He replaced the sword into its hidden scabbard and smiled. This was the fun part of the job. He didn't get to do this nearly enough for his liking. It was time to meet his primary protectee.
He stopped and listened. What he heard made him smile. Finally, he had a watchman worthy of the title.
Chapter 2: Calling the Watchman
Moving to a new town is always disrupts your life. There is so much to consider and unpacking opens memories you thought were locked up tightly in the past. He pulled his dead wife's picture from the box. Daniel Corgan placed it on the bedside table and wept.
He inhaled deeply and tried to resume his normal morning routine. Daniel knelt beside his bed and clasped his hands together. After a few minutes, he turned his Bible to James Chapter one. The highlighted verses stood out as he reread it again and again.
"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord."
He closed the Bible and fervently prayed aloud.
"I know you put me here in this strange place but I don't understand. There are things going on here that just defy explanation. It hurts so bad to not have Danielle with me anymore. Please give me wisdom and guide me through this day."
That was when he heard the footsteps. He dropped his right hand and held his left up with the palm open in a stop gesture. When he opened his eyes, he spun to the side to use the bed for cover and raised his service Glock to point at the intruder.
Ebenezer stood still with his hands open in front of him. He smiled at Daniel and through that crooked smile said, "Fear not."
Ebenezer almost giggled at that. Daniel looked confused to see a man in dark clothing and a trench-coat standing in the doorway to his bedroom. The man was neither handsome nor ugly.
Daniel moved to a two handed grip on the pistol. He stood up and turned his head to the side.
"I'm not afraid. I want to know how you got in my house, uninvited."
Ebenezer nodded his head, "I was invited. By you in fact. Did you forget what you prayed? I mean James talked about a man forgetting what he looks like, but did you just forget what you just asked for? Do you need a little help with your memory as well?"
Frowning in concentration, Daniel kept the pistol trained on the man.
"I was praying to God, not to you. Who are you?"
Ebenezer smiled bigger, "Yep, you are correct. I'm not the boss. Just his messenger. You know, this is the first time I have appeared and someone pulled a gun on me. Good reflexes by the way. I'm thinking with you, if I would've gone all traditional with bright lights and what not, you may've shot first."
"Huh?"
This was getting weird. Even more than the odd he expects in Hemisphere.
"What are you saying?"
"My name is Ebenezer. I'm one of the Barachiel, it is the order of the guardian angels. I'm assigned to Hemisphere. Some days it feels more like trapped here. I was sent to lay some wisdom on you. Even though you didn't read the manual."
"You're an angel? You don't look like the ones described in scripture. Sorry for not believing an intruder who just broke into my house."
Daniel sighed, "Manual? Everyone's all excited about that manual. You mean that book they gave me when we bought the house? It's just normal tourist junk about the town, its businesses and the like. Stopped reading two pages into it."
Ebenezer shook his head. He looked up and sighed. "Nil facilis est."
"What? Was that Latin?"
"Yeah, means nothing is easy. Which since the Sixties has been my motto. This job is such a pain in the ass."
Ebenezer reached into an outside breast pocket on his duster and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and the match box. To Daniel's amazement, the man just lit the cigarette and started smoking in his house.
"Excuse me, what are you doing?" Daniel said in his best police sergeant voice.
"Look, I'm not Gabriel or any of the big name messengers. I am just a lowly Barachiel. Your family was chosen to be here. You are a born protector. That is why you became a policeman to begin with. You want justice done and help people in need. This town needed someone called to the position. Most of the guys on your force collect paychecks. They do their job, but they're not called to it. You do. Please put the gun away."
"How can I trus
t you are who you say you are?"
"You are supposed to walk by faith and not by sight, remember? Besides, do you think angels carry around Angel Badges for ID? Do you want my help or not?"
He started to feel ridiculous. Daniel lowered the pistol but kept it at his side.
"Better. Now, here is the scoop on this town. The place is a nexus between heaven and hell. There are gateways here that allow things to enter. Like the dog case you had last week. That thing was a hell hound and did have two heads. You can ask your kids about it, they were there."
"Wait," barked Daniel, "my kids saw it?"
Ebenezer shrugged and took a deep pull on the cigarette. "Yeah, when they did their night walk through the park. Because you haven't read the MANUAL, they weren't aware of the safe spaces in the plaques or how to use them."
The last sentence was stated rather harshly.
"How do you know this? My kids said nothing about it."
"Yeah, they are going to. They are still trying to wrap their heads around everything. They're pretty good kids. You've done well."
"OK, so I need to read the manual. What else?"
Daniel put the pistol in the small of his back to free both hands.
"As I said, this place is a nexus. Strange things happen here. There are powers at play physically and spiritually in this place. Most of it is harmless, but there is some that will get people killed. You are doing good work. You are helping people I can't. I am the guardian angel but I can't help those who are in trouble due to their own sin."
"I guess that makes sense, but I am still not sure what to make of you."
"That I can understand. These things take time. There are concepts you will have to deal with that are outside of the purely physical. To fulfill your role as a watchman, you need to see what you are dealing with."
Ebenezer reached a hand out and touched the sunglasses in Daniel's breast uniform pocket. They glowed for a fraction of a second. Daniel looked up at the angel in confusion.
"What was that?"
"I allowed you to turn off the gift. I have found over the years that some watchmen grew mad constantly seeing what is in the other realms and their own. If you wear your glasses, you will see beyond the physical and into the true nature of things. Constant awareness is a curse as much as a blessing. We'll talk again later."
"Wait, I have some questions for you."
Ebenezer smiled and pointed to the cheap clock radio on Daniel's bedside table, "You don't want to be late for work."
Daniel popped to his feet and noticed the time. When he turned back, Ebenezer was gone. He ran to the hallway, and he wasn't there either.
He rubbed at his temples and muttered, "Must be going mad. It's probably a tumor."
Then he laughed as that line from that bodybuilder turned actor turned politician came to him. He duplicated the accent and rumbled out, "It's not a tumor."
Well you had to have your fun where you could find it. Otherwise this world will make you cry. He grabbed his gear and left for work.
Chapter 3: On the Case
Daniel was slowly sipping the coffee he picked up from Big Ed's. It was perfect. It didn't taste burned like some of the chain stores can. He delighted in the warmth it sent through his body as he relaxed for a moment in his squad car. It was still early morning and seemed to be a peaceful day. As a police officer, Daniel loved those kind of days.
The radio crackled to life. "Any unit, please respond. We have a 459s at the corner of Brown Street and Maple. This is a code 2 response. Proceed with caution."
Daniel grabbed the radio transmitter and responded, "10-4, Unit 18 responding."
In that brief exchange, a considerable amount of information given. A 459s is a silent burglar alarm activated. A Code 2, requires responding officers to respond with urgency but no lights or siren. Daniel set the cruiser into gear and charged off to the destination.
He had been reviewing maps since he arrived in town to learn his way around. He found that he learned best with physical maps and not a computer with GPS on it. His knowledge paid off, and he was at the location in minutes.
This was a corner store with a sign above the entrance Laughlin Family Jewelers, established 1894. Cut into the corner of the building was the doorway. The front door was glass but there was a steel rolling door behind it to protect the contents inside. Instead, the glass door lay smashed and the steel door looked as if it had been ripped open by a super hero. Something had gotten its hands in between two of the horizontal slats and pulled them apart to allow for a human to step through.
Daniel glanced into the hole and saw that the room was dark. He keyed his radio transmitter hooked to his shoulder, "Unit 18, entering premises. Request backup."
He drew out his flashlight. It was a modern LED flashlight that fit in the palm of his hand and output a crazy amount of light. He turned it on and used the magnets he mounted on it to snap it to the rail on his service pistol. This was his preferred mount as he could keep the flashlight mounted or keep it in his hand instead.
He shined the light in the hole in the rolling door making some of the room visible. A long glass case to the right extended across much of that side of the room. There were two rectangular cases in the middle of the floor and Another long case along the wall to the left. Separating the back of the room and the rooms beyond was a third long case that made an 'L' shape with the case from the left side.
Daniel didn't see any further damage inside. He stepped in through the hole. There was additional glass on this side that crunched under his shoes. He swept the room looking for what would have caused the damage. Nothing seemed out of place or broken inside. As he moved past the free standing displays, he could hear muffled noises coming from the back room. That is when his flashlight picked up the pool of blood. It came from the gap between the 'L' display cases and the one on the right.
"Dispatch, we have a code 10." Daniel informed them they'd a critical trauma case.
Dispatch responded, "Understood. 11-40?"
This question asked if an ambulance was needed.
"Negative, dispatch. 11-44." This code informed dispatch to send a coroner.
Daniel's light played across the body of a man laying on his back with his hands up as if surrendering. Its eyes were wide with shock and fear. The victim's throat was ripped out, and he lay in a pool of his own blood. Daniel assumed the deceased is Mr. Laughlin, the jeweler.
From the back, muffled grunting noises sounded. Daniel raised his weapon and finished clearing the room before entering the hallway behind the counter. He had to slide along the edge of the counter to avoid the pool of blood.
The short hallway has a door way to the right, left and an entranceway to a back room. The doors to the right and left were solid wood with no windows in them. Daniel opted to clear the back room first. He stepped quickly into the room and scanned it. It was an empty storage room with a closed and locked back door with the safety chain still in place. A stairway led upstairs to the owner's apartment, at least that is what Daniel guessed.
He stepped back into the hallway. The noises came from the room to his right. Switching to a one handed grip he opened the door with his left hand and pushed it into the room.
It was a small room dominated by a large safe. So large that several people could probably fit inside of it. A man worked feverishly to get his fingers into the groove and yank it open. A task that Daniel assumed was impossible. Dressed in khaki pants and a long sleeve shirt, his hair appeared long and reached his upper back. Daniel moved the light and pistol to cover the man.
"Freeze, police! Put your hands up." Daniel barked in his most authoritarian tone.
The man turned. Well he thought it was a man but not like any he had seen before. The man's face was hairy, probably over two weeks worth of unkempt beard growth. Through the open shirt, his chest sprouted a serious growth of hair as well. But what Daniel noticed the most and surprised him was the fact that the man's fingers all glinted with metal at the
tips. They guy wore some kind of Freddy Kruger glove or those claw things from that superhero with the animal name.
The man leapt at Daniel. Daniel back pedaled and tripped on the door jamb. He fired his pistol once. Then man's arm swiped down at him and threw Daniel the rest of the way to the floor. He darted past Daniel into the back room. Daniel rolled over on to his stomach to attempt to get another shot but the man had moved out of his line of sight. He heard glass shatter and wood splinter as the man must have run directly into the door.
From outside, someone yelled, "Freeze, police."
Apparently the person didn't obey as shots rang out.
"Shit, did you see that?" cried out the same voice.
"Corgan, are you in there?"
Daniel got to his feet, "Yeah. I am. I'm OK. Did you get him?"
Officer Dobbs entered the back room and rushed to Daniel's side. He helped him stand.
"I think I may've hit him once, but he plowed right through me."
"You think that is something, Sarge, this guy must have been one of those parkour freaks. He vaulted a car, jumped up and took three steps on a wall, landed on a dumpster and sprinted off. I took a shot at him but missed. Mrs. Gillespie will be pissed. I shattered one of the bricks in her wall."
The pain struck him all at once. Daniel glanced at his left shoulder. Four ragged cuts that ran parallel to one another for about four inches across it. It was beginning to bleed rather freely.
"Well, that sucks." Muttered Daniel.
"Come on Sarge, lets get you out of here and patch you up."
Daniel didn't resist and was led out of the building.
Chapter 4: Big Eds
The paramedics arrived rather quickly and began to replace the bandage that Dobbs had placed on his shoulder. Daniel's destroyed uniform shirt was hopeless between the blood and the cuts.
"So, what exactly cut you?" asked the too young looking paramedic.
"You wouldn't believe it. The guy was wearing some Nightmare on Elm Street type glove. He just pushed past me. I don't think he actually took a swipe at me. If he had, I'd be dead. Honestly, this was just a scratch from him."