Evil Heights, Book II: Monster in the House

by Michael Swanson

  "Miss Laura!” he yelled. “Miss Laura! Can't you hear? Charlene's crying!"

  She didn't move.

  Lee reached out and jostled her.

  As though stung, she jolted back to life.

  "Charlene, what's the matter baby?” In an instant, Miss Laura fell to her knees and gathered up the terrified child. Then as she climbed back onto the couch she asked, “Why's it so dark in here?"

  Lee could see she had protectively cradled the frantic child, pressing the baby's face to her breast. “Ed!” she called out. “Ed, what's wrong?"

  "We're okay,” Lee replied. “I think it's over."

  She was becoming afraid. He could feel it. He could just barely make out her features in the gloom, but he knew her bewilderment was changing to fear, even if he couldn't see it.

  "What?” she called out to him, her voice overly loud. “What are you talking about? What's over? Hush, Charlene. Hush, baby"

  In the meager light provided by the night-light, Lee could see his dad's and Uncle Ed's long shadows stretch out, as they came up the hall. When they emerged his dad was carrying Patty, and Uncle Ed had Mary while leading Belinda by the hand. The little girl was dragging a blanket along behind her. All three little girls were sniffling and crying.

  "See, baby,” Uncle Ed said calmly. “There aren't any monsters; you've just been sleeping in a strange place, is all."

  "I saw it daddy! I saw it,” she cried out. “It looked like an Indian. He had big teeth. He was going to bite us. He was in the room!"

  Maggie, having calmed down, moved out of the way, stepping away from the hall and into the near total blackness of the darkest shadows by the wall. The tiny nightlight cast a feeble glow which illuminated some things, making them appear in false half shapes and shadows throughout the room. “What's the matter? Why are all the lights out?” she asked. “Why are the girls crying?"

  "They had a nightmare,” Ted replied as he moved by. “Lee!” he ordered. “Go to the kitchen pantry and get some new bulbs while I get your sister quieted down."

  His dad didn't sound even the slightest bit drunk anymore. And to tell the truth Lee too, felt sobered up completely.

  "Honey,” Ed called out to the darkness at the edge of the couch. “Is Charlene alright?"

  "I think she just woke up scared,” Miss Laura said. “What happened, Ed?” Maybe it was alarm in her voice or only just confusion. “What's going on?"

  Lee bumped into someone in the dark. It was Maggie. She let out a yelp.

  "It's me,” Lee said to her. He could smell the sweat, the sourness.

  "Oh, God,” she quavered. “My heart's beating a mile a minute. Have you seen my Kools?"

  "Don't worry about the damn cigarettes,” his dad called out. “Get those lights back on, Lee! Nobody move. I don't want anyone tripping and falling down."

  It was even darker in the kitchen than it was in the living room. Lee fumbled around in pantry, his hands running over shapes he couldn't see. At last he found the soft boxes on the next to the top shelf. The darkness around him was absolute; a chill, a breath of something rushed past him. He fought back the strong impulse to cry out and run. Every hair on his neck and arms was standing on end; he could feel a trace of it, a lingering of the presence hiding here in the dark. It was damp, cold, and clammy. He'd seen corpses, even touched one once in the funeral home. This was what was hiding here in the pitch-blackness, a touch of the dead, the creep and crawl of cold flesh. Suddenly, he recognized it. It was a remnant of the thing, the thing, which had been with him out on Seminole Road that night. The dark, that was its place. It would always be in the dark. Lee hurried from the kitchen. Coming out into the living room, he crashed into the chair Maggie had left by the table. The girls screamed at the unexpected noise.

  In his pain Lee said, “Shit!” Instantly, he thought, “Oh no, Maggie heard me. I'm in for it now.” But no one seemed to have noticed. Rubbing his barked shin with his fingers, he set the package on the table and reached up under the lampshade to unscrew the bulb of the table lamp with his free hand.

  "Oww!” he yelled.

  "Who's that?” Maggie called out nervously.

  The girls screamed in blind response.

  "I burned my hand,” Lee said. “The light bulb's still hot."

  "Use the doily off the back of the chair,” Ted suggested.

  Lee snatching up the doily to shield his smarting fingers as he unscrewed the bulb. Twisting in a fresh one, it was but moments and he had one light restored.

  Almost magically, all three girls and the baby settled right down, though their eyes were red and their cheeks streaked with tears.

  With the return of that one light everything changed. Lee exhaled mightily. “Do y'all think it's over?"

  Maggie had stepped up and taken Patty from Ted. Uncle Ed and the girls had joined Miss Laura and Charlene on the couch. No one seemed to have heard him. With light restored all trace of the presence had vanished.

  "Didn't y'all feel it?” he asked incredulously.

  "Feel what?” his dad asked.

  "The...” He brought his hands up trying to explain. “The ... It was in the dark. Are y'all crazy?"

  Everyone was looking at him.

  "What are you talking about?” Uncle Ed asked. “Damn, you're white as a sheet, boy."

  "Am I the only one here who's not nuts?” Lee blurted out; incredulous at the looks he was receiving. “Didn't y'all feel it? When the lights went out. It was here. The baby,” he pointed at Charlene, “She was screaming, I mean screaming!"

  "I think when the bulbs burned out the sudden darkness woke up Charlene,” suggested Miss Laura. She had the baby clutched to her and was rocking her back and forth. “That's what I remember. I was talking about the Captain, and it just went dark. Then the girls started crying down the hall."

  Lee stepped over to the lamp between the two chairs. Using the doily he began unscrewing the bulbs. “Dad?” he asked. “Don't you remember? You and Uncle Ed, y'all were, well ... y'all were ... crazy."

  His dad was standing near the end of the couch and had wrapped his arms protectively around Maggie and Patty both. Patty was rubbing her eyes with her fists, yawning, and looking every bit as young as Charlene.

  "I don't know what's going on, son,” he came back. “We've had a few beers, but I don't think we're getting crazy, except for that wrestling bit. In fact, I don't even feel the least bit drunk.” He looked at Uncle Ed. “Ed?"

  "I'm fine,” he said. Uncle Ed was occupied with both girls. He had Mary over one shoulder and Belinda cuddled up against him, her face in his chest. “I'm a little sweated down, but that's about it.” He nodded. “Look at that, that's why, the front door's closed."

  The sound of the attic fan straining was pervasive as it tried in vain to suck in the night air from around the closed door.

  The sniffles from just moments ago had settled into nothing more than softly alternating sighs and deep breaths. It was all gone, a delusion in the darkness. Even that smell was gone, vanished. Lee screwed in another new bulb, and with the additional light the room was coming back.

  "But when it went dark,” Lee continued, searching for words to make some sense of it all. “Didn't y'all feel it?” He put down the doily and stepped quickly over to the front door. He opened it, and a blast of cool night air poured into the room.

  "Feel what?” Uncle Ed grinned at him. “You're not going to tell me you thought there was a boogey man?"

  Lee put his hands to his hips and glared reproachfully. The manner in which Uncle Ed said “boogey man” he couldn't help but feel embarrassed. He was forced to change his tack. “How'd the front door get closed? It can't shut by itself when the attic fan is on. And what could have caused all the light bulbs to go out at once, huh?"

  "Somebody probably bumped into the door when we were rushing around in the dark.” Uncle Ed twisted to face Ted. “You know, I think you've got yourself a real power problem."

  Lee left where he was stand
ing by the door and came around to stand under the ceiling fan. Reaching up to his fullest, he began working one by one at each of the four bulbs in the tulip shaped light fixtures. With the replacement of the second one the room brightened up considerably, appearing almost back to normal.

  "I think we've burned out twenty bulbs in the last few weeks,” Ted said, letting go of Maggie and walking around the coffee table. He sat down heavily and picked up his beer. “When we started having this problem after we first moved in, I thought the original bulbs must've just been old or defective. But in some of these lamps we've replaced the bulbs four or five times in less than a week.” Catching Lee's look he asked, “What?"

  Lee didn't know where to begin.

  "Are you sure you're okay, Dad?"

  "Sure. I'm fine. Like I've said, I've had a few beers, but I'm alright.” He must have noticed Lee's awed expression because he added, “What about you? Are you all right? You do look a little pale."

  "Hell,” Uncle Ed came back. “He looks like a ghost. Why are you so white? Cause you bumped your head?” He pulled at his sodden sport shirt. “And why's it still so damn hot in here?"

  "It's cooking, isn't it?” Ted replied.

  "I'm telling you,” Ed added. “It feels like that fan must have been sucking in the heat from a blast furnace. There's no way it could have been this hot outside."

  "See!” Lee shot back. “Something weird is going on!"

  Maggie had finally sat herself down in a chair. She really was a mess. Her pink lipstick was smeared and her hair was all in a tangle. She'd found her Kools and already lit one up. “Ooh, I think I drank too much,” she moaned. “I really don't know what's goin’ on. What's all the commotion? Somebody tell me what's going on."

  "Nothing, honey,” Ted picked up his beer and walked over to the screen door. “You didn't miss a thing. Miss Laura was just telling us about the Captain.” He stood in the draft of the doorway just behind the screen, and then looked back to Ed. “Well it's cool here. Feels maybe twenty degrees cooler than it does where I was standing.” He came back and sat down. “Pretty weird, Ed. But you can feel it. It's cooling down. Can't you feel it?"

  Ed nodded. “Yeah, the place is cooling down."

  Maggie appeared to be dazed. “I heard sounds like arguing,” she said, “then the babies crying. It woke me up. What happened to all the lights?"

  "I think it had to be a power surge,” Ed offered. “Ted you're going to need to call Southern Lighting and Power and report this. At least have them send a man out on Monday to check the hook up to your line. I'm telling you,” he held his beer and pointed with his finger, “it's a damn lucky thing you didn't have your new TV set turned on. It probably would have blown out the picture tube."

  "I want Mommy,” Mary mumbled, more than half asleep.

  "Are we going home now?” Belinda asked, squirming in Ed's lap. “I'm hot. I want to go home."

  "In a minute, baby,” replied Ed, moving his shoulder so Belinda could turn around and scoot down to the floor. She immediately scooted over to her mother and pulled up on her lap, squeezing in with Charlene.

  "Oof,” groaned Miss Laura. “You're getting too big to jump on mommy like that."

  "So no one but me remembers what was going on?” Lee looked around incredulously.

  "And what was that?” asked Ted. “I know it got a little crazy when the lights went out with the babies cryin’ and all. I think I bashed my shin on the coffee table."

  Lee could only stare. “Am I the only one who isn't nuts?"

  Ted shifted so he could look at Lee. “I think you've had a few too many Cokes and junk tonight. Is your stomach all right? How's that bump?"

  "Yeah, dad. My stomach's fine. My head's okay.” Lee was starting to feel strangely angry. “It's y'all I'm wondering about."

  "Daddy, I had a bad dream,” Belinda mumbled. “I wanna go home."

  "I said in a minute, baby.” Ed picked up his beer and swirled it around before taking a big drink. “Let daddy finish his beer."

  "Doesn't anyone remember what happened?” Lee's irritation was becoming stronger as everyone seemed totally oblivious to what had just taken place.

  "I know what it is,” Ed said to Miss Laura. “I think you put a bug into Lee with your story about the Captain. I mean, I didn't expect a cannibal, not even for a Yankee."

  "What's a cannibal, daddy?” Belinda yawned.

  "He's a man that works for the IRS and takes all of daddy's money.” Ed winked at Ted.

  "Damn right there,” Ted agreed.

  Lee couldn't believe it. They're joking. It made him feel more than a little dizzy. A moment ago they were about to kill each other, and now it was as though absolutely nothing had happened. He tried to think of some way to begin, but couldn't think of a thing that wouldn't sound stupid and childish here under the lights. Remembering Uncle Ed's “boogey man” he could just hear how he'd sound: “It really was a monster, dad. It came out of the dark. It wanted me to eat Charlene. No, really. The other night it chased me down the road. It was in the caboose today and wouldn't let me keep kissing Phoebe. Yeah, right."

  "In my own defense,” Miss Laura spoke up, her drawl as soft and sweet, as ever, “every word was true. I did a thesis paper on the history of the Union occupation of Parson's County.” All her primness and propriety was back. She was Miss Laura. “I earned an A plus for it, too."

  "Okay. Okay. I think y'all are all crazy,” Lee said, giving up.

  All the adults were looking at him. Their condescension was almost more than he could bear.

  "Honey, it was only a little story about some history,” Miss Laura smiled sweetly. “I didn't expect you'd get so upset."

  Lee shook his head. He really did feel a little dizzy; maybe it was the rum coming back on him. “Okay, okay! I was just a little rattled. Tell me though, what happened after they discovered all the-?” Lee looked around at Belinda. “You know, the things the soldiers found down in the cave."

  "They sealed up the cave with earth and burnt down the cabin, and that was the end of it,” Miss Laura replied matter-of-factly.

  "What about Captain Limpkins?"

  "He was dead. His body was embalmed and shipped back up north to Delaware. He has a simple gravestone in a military cemetery outside of Wilmington."

  "They didn't call the police? They didn't—"

  "There weren't any police, Lee, honey. Not even a sheriff, it was just the soldiers."

  "So nobody did anything?"

  Miss Laura shook her head. “What was there to do? Limpkins was dead."

  "And the little black girl?"

  Miss Laura shrugged.

  Lee couldn't believe it. He felt like some kind of trick had been perpetrated on him. One thing he did know was that he could feel and see the burn mark on his palm. He opened his hand. There was a blister the size of a dime. “Look at this,” he called out holding up his hand. “The eye, it burned me."

  His dad cast a placating look to Uncle Ed and then said, “You sure that wasn't the bulb a moment ago?"

  "No!” Lee protested. “The eye, it was freezing when I snatched it away from Miss Laura."

  "Freezing?” Uncle Ed asked. “Yeah, right, there isn't anything in here freezing.” He took another long swig. “Hell, my beer's even hot."

  "The room's cooling down, though,” Ted added. “Feels a lot better than it did just a minute ago.

  "You should get yourself an air conditioner,” Uncle Ed came back. “They've really come down in price here recently. We got one for our bedroom. It's like heaven."

  Looking over at Miss Laura, Lee noticed the hand she'd held the eye with; she was rubbing the tips of her fingers with her thumb. “Are you alright, Miss Laura? Did it burn you, too?"

  "Strange,” she said vacantly. “It's my fingers. They feel all dried out. You know, that chalky feeling like you get in the winter sometimes. I must have been holding my glass too long as they're chilled to the bone."

  "Here.” Ed reached out
for a touch. He raised his eyebrows. “Damn, they are cold. I think we'll have to run those under some warm water before we get to bed tonight. They're almost as bad as your toes in the winter."

  "You've got that same problem, huh?” Ted asked, then tipped his beer in salute. “Maggie's feet are like ice. I'm telling you, just like ice."

  Miss Laura had begun looking around, bending low and attempting to peer under the coffee table as best she could with the girls in her lap.

  "Did you lose something?” asked Uncle Ed.

  "The glass eye,” she said worriedly. “I was holding it, and it must have slipped when the lights went out.” She looked up at Lee. “I'm sorry, Lee honey; I think I lost your eye."

  "It's got to be around somewhere,” Ted replied.

  "I'll probably step on it,” Maggie said. “Break my foot."

  "You didn't lose it,” Lee said, almost starting to doubt his own memory in the face of everyone else. “I took it back. When it went dark. I threw it."

  "See how he treats his things?” Maggie was pulling at her tangled hair trying to get it behind her ears, smoke her cigarette, and not drop Patty all at the same time. She glared at him. “If I find it, it's going in the trash."

  Ed finished the last of his beer and scooped up his nearly empty pack of cigarettes from the table. “Well, as they say, it's been lovely. I guess we'd better be getting on home."

  Miss Laura scooted the girls off her lap, depositing Charlene shakily on her feet. The little girl held on to the coffee table and stared out across the room. Her eyes were still puffy, and her cheeks were red and streaked with tears. She looked up at Lee and smiled. He could see her two new teeth brightly on display.

  "Oh, look at that,” Maggie oohed. “She's standing."

  "Walking some, too,” Miss Laura offered proudly while kneeling and stuffing items into the diaper bag.