by Jack Phoenix
“Well, either way, I think you should be careful. Now, are you ready for those numbers?”
As Elizabeth took down the numbers for the various psychiatric experts in the area, she couldn’t help but wonder if she were overreacting. Suppose that he was just strung out on drugs or it was just simple stress that was doing this. If she got the authorities involved he could get into serious trouble for drug use, and he’d never forgive her if she called the police when all he needed to do was to let out some steam. But still, that terrified look in his eyes at the party and when he’d come home earlier; he was truly frightened of something that he thought he saw.
As the sun began to set, she called her husband’s cell phone again. She heard the recorded message, indicating that he was not available. She hoped that wherever he was, he wasn’t causing trouble.
* * * *
The night air was cool and moist. All was quiet, even the night fauna. He jumped as the fence gate creaked at his touch. The wet grass squished under his steps as he approached the Mound, the bulldozer and other Caterpillar equipment were stark metal hulks, like sculptures at a museum. His stomach rumbled loudly, but he pushed aside thoughts of food. Roderick stopped at the base of the Mound, and reached into the bag he carried. He had a suspicion as to why this was happening to him, and he meant to put it to the test.
“Okay,” he shouted in the air, standing with his crucifix and holy water in hand. “Here I am. I just want to talk. Show yourselves.”
All was silent.
“I’m just here to say,” he continued, “that I know why you’re, uh, upset with me. So, you can just…leave me alone, alright, I’ve learned my lesson. Just leave me alone, please. I promise to stop this.”
There was still nothing but the sound of his weary breathing.
“Hello? I know you’re out there. You’ve been following me. You’re here somewhere!” He surveyed the darkness around him when there was no reply, whispering, “I guess that’s it, then.”
He turned to leave but stopped in his tracks when he heard a deep growl coming from behind him. He turned, and squatting on top of the Mound was an enormous red dog, unlike any dog he’d ever seen. Other than the sheer size of the brute, the dog’s three snarling heads had drool dangling from their fanged mouths, and a gob of writhing snakes instead of a tail. Pieces of decaying flesh hung from its entire body like loose, rancid roast beef.
Roderick dashed and heard the three-headed dog give chase behind him. He moved his exhausted, sleep-deprived legs as fast as they would go to the fence, not daring to look back. He heard the monstrous paws hitting the ground as it galloped towards him, its three heads barked and howled. As he crossed the fence, the sounds of the devil dog ceased. He slid quickly through his car door, and put the keys in the ignition. He took a quick glance out his windows and saw no sign of the brute, but this didn’t stop him from firing up his Jetta and bursting into drive at top speed.
He blazed down the long stretch of curvy road, crying his fear and confusion, allowing his voice to escape out the open driver-side window. He struggled to catch his breath, and glanced into his rear-view mirror to see three skeletal faces with heads of red hair in the backseat. He cranked his head in alarm, but found the backseat empty. As he did, he missed the sharp turn ahead. The car went airborne. All colors, images and sounds blurred together. He couldn’t determine the severity of the impact when the car landed upside down with a crash, shattering his windows.
He grunted and groaned for several minutes as his feet pedaled air. At least nothing seemed broken. He slid out of his window, his brow bleeding profusely. He was too dizzy to lift himself off the ground. He painfully turned his head and saw the wreck of his lovely car, its wheels still spun like the legs of a dying insect on its back. He dragged himself along the wet grass until three pairs of hideous, scaly clawed feet appeared before him. His eyes traveled up the thin, bumpy legs to see a trio of creatures with the lower bodies of birds and the torsos and heads of women, long red hair resting at their shoulders.
“Foolish sinner,” the first said sardonically, her voice scratched his ears. “You cannot run from us, any more than you can run from your guilt.”
“He flees us?” hissed the second. “Even after the fun we’ve had together?”
“Why?” Roderick cried, “Why are you doing this to me?”
“Justice,” answered the third.
“Justice?” He wept. “Justice for what? What did I do?”
“Audacious creature!” the first one’s voice scorched. “You dare ask? It is not for us to list your sins, child, they are yours. You know the evil you do.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about! What have I done?”
“Amazing, isn’t it, Sisters” commented the second, “the capacity of these humans to believe their own deceptions.”
“Please,” Roderick pleaded. “Tell me what you want from me.”
“Retribution,” the three squawked in unison.
“What the hell are you? Just tell me what you are.”
“We are agents, child. Agents for a greater cause,” said the first.
“We will administer retribution for your crimes,” said the second.
“It is our divine purpose,” said the third.
“Who are you? What are you…to judge me! You’re monsters! This is cruel!”
One of the creatures leaned forward, her pointed teeth inches away from his face. Her breath burned his nose as she said, “Confuse not justice with cruelty—righteousness with benevolence. We are not good or evil.”
“We are mirrors,” added another.
“Look upon us, and see yourself,” the other finished.
“Please…just fucking kill me then. If I’ve done something so horrible…why don’t you just fucking kill me then!” Roderick yelled at them, defiantly.
The three creatures exchanged glances between green pupils, smirking, and exposing pointed teeth. The shorter between the taller two reached out her hand and stuck her gangly forefinger right between Roderick’s eyes.
At this contact, there was a flash of blinding flame, and Roderick suddenly felt himself being lifted, transported at a rapid pace, inside a living cave. Its walls pulsated and oozed a red substance. When the motion ceased, he felt the pulpy surface beneath his feet, as though he were standing on mashed fruit full of worms. The organic walls around him continued to secrete the mysterious red fluid from their spongy visages.
When he finally regained his balance, he was able to peer about his new environment with greater attention. He stood amidst a burnt-stricken landscape, covered in burping hills and rocks. Amidst these hills and rocks were people, hundreds, maybe thousands of people; all nude and stationary. Each was being molested by thin, mobile branch-like structures that were sprouting from the ground, gripping them like hands.
He could see a woman in the distance, being held in place by the branches while another one mercilessly pulled on her tongue, stretching it to painful lengths. Tears streamed down her face as it looked like it would soon be ripped from her mouth. He saw a man; helpless to defend himself, the flesh of his back was removed one strip at a time, like the quick pull of a Band-Aid. Another man was hanging upside down with the branches entering his mouth and then exiting out through his skin from the more sensitive areas on his body.
He sobbed when he heard the three familiar voices of the creatures emanate from an unseen source, and echo all about him, “You believe Death will keep you from us? No, you belong to us now. For all sinners who embrace death without repenting whilst under our pursuit, a part of them remains with us forever. These are the essences of the ones you see before you.”
“Then what can I do?” he whimpered. “What can I do to make this stop?”
“You will suffer for your sins, child. You will suffer.”
“I am suffering! Goddam
nit, I am suffering, look at me!”
“Yes, you are indeed a pathetic and cowardly creature.”
“No earthly authority has brought you to justice—your crimes, unseen. Therefore, the task falls to us.”
“Is it the Mound? Is it?” he begged to know.
“Within yourself lies the answer, child. Ask us no more. You belong to us.”
As the voices fell silent, another voice from the living inferno emerged; another familiar voice. It was a man’s voice, “Roddy?”
Roderick looked about him, following it. A short distance to his left, he came upon a small pit and in it was a familiar face. Roderick could see the image of his father, on his back. It occurred to him that he hadn’t seen his father’s true face in so long, that it was quite a shame to see it only in his nightmares and now in such pain. The branches had split open his flesh from his genitals all the way to his sternum, and they held the skin apart like curtains, fondling his entrails like the tissue from a box.
“D…Dad…” he stuttered at the sight.
“Son,” his father cringed in pain, “I thought I heard your voice. So, they got to you too, huh?”
“Wh…what have they done to you?”
Robert Whithers lifted his head and nonchalantly examined his mutilated person like a sixteen-year-old looking over a new outfit. “Only what they thought I deserved.”
“Is it…is it really you? This is just another nightmare.”
“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, kid,” he said, laying his head back down.
Roderick looked at the actions of the strange branches and briefly entertained the thought of attacking them to end his father’s anguish. “Is…is this Hell?”
“I’m honestly not sure. I don’t think so, but I’m not sure.”
“Dad, what’s going on, what the hell are those things?” he questioned, and his father knew that he was referring to the three creatures that had sent him.
“What, they didn’t give you their spiel yet?”
“Not exactly,” he gulped.
“Well, they’re creatures of divine justice or some shit like…” he was disrupted by an exceptionally painful pull from one of the branches.
“Dad!” his son shouted, reaching into the pit.
“I wouldn’t do that, if I was you,” Robert informed him as a branch began to reach for Roderick’s outstretched arm.
He yanked his arm back; he said to him, “They said they want to punish me for something I’ve done.”
“Duh,” the old man sneered. “You haven’t figured that out yet?”
“It must be the Mound. They must not want us to dig the Indian Mound. You started the project, and now they’re after me.”
“Oh, Jesus, you really are fucking stupid, aren’t…” and another angry pull by the branches made him cringe again.
“What can I do?”
“Other than move somewhere where it’s always daylight…I don’t know. You have to face your demons, Son.”
Just as Roderick was about to demand clarification, the creatures shouted, “Enough!” He felt himself in motion again, being pulled away, his father’s face shrunk in the distance.
In a blink, he was back in the grass in the night air, lying down, his wrecked car still a few feet away. The three creatures were still there as well, snickering amongst themselves. With a scowl, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the small flask of holy water. Snapping off the cap with his thumb, he began violently hurling spurts of the liquid at the creatures. They began to flinch and wince as though in great pain. Roderick smiled to himself, a feeling of triumph beginning to overtake him, and he almost stood up. But then the creatures’ wincing turned into smiles and they began to cackle, mocking him.
“Very mature,” the third stated cuttingly.
They let out their offensive scream, and Roderick dropped the flask of holy water to cover his ears. Then, his eyes rolling into his skull, everything went black.
* * * *
Samantha squatted on the living room floor, the glow of the television illuminated her and Wade’s face. Another scoop of double chocolate-chip ice cream entered her mouth as the giant ants, with their foreboding whistles, ensnared another innocent civilian into their mammoth mandibles. Another smile, so rare for her these, stretched across her face.
Chapter Twenty-Two
It was an uneventful week for Detective Yost. She had just finished another Sudoku puzzle at her desk, taking some short-lived downtime, when she got the call to come to Virgil Woods. The state park was right outside the city. She affirmed she’d be there immediately. At least she managed to finish the puzzle before the call.
It was her husband who had hooked her on Sudoku. She owed her husband for a great many things. It wasn’t easy for a short and stout woman to make it through the ranks to homicide detective. These days, there were still many obstacles for women to overcome, but she made it. Her husband had supported her all the way, and she loved him for it. A writer and football coach, he had stayed home with their two small daughters while she was at the academy. Over five years, one promotion led to another until she achieved detective.
Her former obstacles no longer presented themselves, or perhaps she was oblivious to them. Detective Yost had an aura of confidence about her. She was often able to command attention and respect when walking into a room full of cops or hardened criminals without a word. Her presence was enough to stop whatever witty banter or arguments in which they were engaged.
Experience hardened her. Her husband offered himself as an emotional outlet, where she could vent the dismay and anger when she saw the atrocities people were capable of doing to each other. This kept her sane, kept her human, and allowed her to still be there emotionally for her children without putting up walls.
She was almost forty-seven, and her kids were growing up. As she drove along the streets on her way to the park, she fantasized about retirement and watching her children graduate and start lives of their own. She realized that this area was rather familiar. No use wasting brain cells thinking about. She’d been all over this town a hundred times over during her career, and sometimes it all looked familiar. She finally arrived at the woods, following the red and blue flashes, and parked her car beside them.
The officer who had made the discovery greeted her, filled her in on the event, and escorted her to the scene. It was obvious to her that the body had been there for quite some time, but not so long that there wouldn’t be any remaining evidence. It was clear to Detective Yost that this was a murder scene. Such a heinous crime hadn’t been committed in or around this city for a while. She envisioned lots of long and sleepless nights ahead of her. She hoped the forensics boys and girls could find something to make her investigation easier.
As she examined the surrounding vicinity, it occurred to her why the journey here was so familiar. She was in this area not long ago, delivering some bad news about a suicide to a grieving family, and she realized that the Whithers residence was just beyond those trees.
* * * *
“His soul will be cleansed.”
* * * *
Elizabeth heard a perky ring in her daughter’s voice that hadn’t existed in a long time. Samantha was practically shouting into the receiver of Wade’s cell phone, but it was no bother. She was grateful to hear from her daughter’s own lips that she was having fun, enjoying herself. Elizabeth didn’t know what to expect from her, being sent to a stranger’s house, but Wade had always been a naturally warm person. Elizabeth heard five different times about how funny the monkeys were.
Once her daughter had finished her elated chatter, she asked her to put Wade on. He, though enjoying her company, had some concerns.
“Is everything okay?” Elizabeth asked.
“Oh sure, everything’s fine,” said Wade. “Just one question thoug
h, is Sam prone to nightmares?”
“No, not at all, she normally doesn’t make a peep at night. I assume she had one or else you wouldn’t ask.”
“This seemed more intense than just any old nightmare. This was more like a night terror.”
“Tell me what happened, Wade.”
“Well, she was fast asleep in the guest room and I was in my living room reading. I started hearing this moaning, actually it was more like a whimpering, so I went into check on her. She was tossing and turning something fierce, pretty violently, like something out of The Exorcist. I touched her shoulder to try to wake her up, and then she just flipped out! She started kicking and flailing her arms like someone was attacking her! She was screaming, ‘no’, and ‘stop’, and when she finally woke up and saw that it was me, she held onto me as tight as she could.”
“Oh my God, I don’t believe it.”
“Yeah, it was pretty scary. And even weirder, when I asked her about it this morning she didn’t seem to remember it at all. She bruised me up pretty good, though.”
“Did she watch any scary movies or have any sweets before bed?” the mother questioned.
“Both,” Wade answered timidly. “But I’m telling you whatever was after her in her dream was way worse than any monster in the movies.”
“I’m so sorry that happened. I’m going to get her some help. I got a referral for a great child therapist and a psychiatrist. I’ll call and make an appointment for her as soon as Rod…” she became silent, not wanting to finish the words out loud.
“You still haven’t heard from him?”
“No.”
“Well, having her here is no trouble, I really mean that. I better get going. We’re going to the library today, and I want to give her plenty of time to browse the books before they close.”
“Okay, I’m sure you know how much I appreciate this. Thank you. I’ll talk to you soon.”
She realized just how much she cared for Wade, and thought of how fortunate she was to have him in her life. She was used to fare-weather friends in the past, but he continued to be there for her as much as he could, even when her life was a pain in the ass. She decided that he should really be ‘Uncle Wade’ to Samantha, and would begin to implement that new title as soon as things were settled.