Erebus

by Linda L Barton

  “I told her that I didn’t deserve to be with her, but she said she didn’t blame me. She said someday my name would be cleared, and that people would know the truth.”

  Mac sat listening to John, and she wondered if anyone would be waiting for her when she died. She closed her eyes when the image of her little brother formed in her mind. “Matty, is that you?” she whispered.

  The ghostly figure moved forward slowly until it was just inches away from her. “Yes, it’s me, Sis.”

  Mac could no longer hold the tears from flowing down her cheeks. “Oh Matty, I have missed you so much. I’ve been so alone without you.”

  The look in his eyes told her that she would never be alone again, “I love you, Sis, and we will be together soon.”

  Suddenly the vision began to fade. “Don’t leave me, please,” she cried, as he vanished into a swirling mist.

  “Mac, are you all right?” John could hear her crying out for someone, but no one else was in the room.

  She wanted to tell him of her vision, but she decided to keep it to herself.

  “I’m just so angry about everything, that’s all,” she lied, praying he would believe her.

  “Who’s Matty?”

  “He was my little brother.”

  “He came to you, didn’t he?” John’s voice was soft and full of compassion. “Don’t worry, you’re not crazy, he didn’t want you to be afraid.”

  “John, he promised me that I wouldn’t be alone anymore,” she cried.

  “I know that Kathy and I will be together soon,” his words seemed almost joyful, as he closed his eyes and prayed for her return.

  “John, I know that Erebus will believe he has won, but I am not afraid to die,” she smiled, as a peaceful feeling flowed over her body.

  John laughed softly, “Neither am I.”

  ***

  Erebus watched as they shared their fears of what was to come. “Poor John, he believes he can prevent the inevitable,” he laughed, as he watched his guests struggle with the idea of their own mortality.

  ***

  Tom rushed across town, praying he could make it there in time. The site of John and Mac, tied to those chairs and facing certain death, made his mind spin. “Please hang on, John; I’m coming as quickly as I can.”

  When Tom had rushed out of the house, he had called the department and ordered backup. He knew it was more than likely a trap, but he had no choice. When he turned down the road to the old, abandoned warehouse, he noticed the squad cars with their lights flashing about a quarter of a mile in front of him. He pushed the accelerator to the floor; closing the distance between them.

  “Hold back,” Tom shouted, as he climbed out of his car. “We need to check for any booby traps when we go inside. I don’t want any accidents because we were careless.”

  “What do we have here?” Officer Dale Chantry asked when he walked up to Tom.

  “It’s a double kidnapping, and they’re wired to a shotgun that will kill them both if we aren’t careful.”

  “Damn, so what should we do?” Dale asked.

  Tom sighed, “I have to go in there and get them.”

  “But sir, that is not proper procedure, you know that.” He knew Tom would ignore his words, but he had to try.

  “I know, and I will take all responsibility for whatever happens. If I don’t follow his instructions to the letter; they will both die,” Tom fought to hide his fear, but the tears in his eyes betrayed him.

  “You know these victims, don’t you?” Dale could tell this was very personal to Tom, and he prayed they would be successful.

  “Yes, one is a detective from Houston, Texas, and the other one is John Cooper.”

  “What, did you say one of them is John Cooper? I had heard that he was kidnaped from the hospital, but I couldn’t understand why someone would take him,” Dale shook his head in disbelief.

  Tom did his best to remain calm, “The sick bastard, who destroyed his life came back to finish his game.”

  Dale looked at Tom, “You mean all that crap about a mystery man, was true? Damn, that is insane.”

  “You have no idea how right you are.” Tom did his best to push his fears aside, as he walked toward the warehouse. “It’s time to end this one way or another.”

  ***

  “Good evening, Tom, I see you have brought some friends with you to our little party,” the voice boomed from one of the windows on the upper floor of the warehouse. “I’m sure that John appreciates your effort to get here so quickly. His arm must be getting quite tired by now.”

  Tom stopped and looked up toward the window. “Are they still alive?”

  The laughter echoed across the parking lot, “Of course they are, John is a very determined man.”

  Tom motioned for the SWAT team to take their positions then he began to walk toward the warehouse again.

  “Oh Tom, you are entirely predictable,” Erebus smiled. “Let’s see if they can find me.”

  Tom did not look up as he continued toward the large door.

  Tom was about to reach for the handle, when he heard, “STOP! I must warn you to be very careful. Once you go inside you will find three doors that have been painted red. The first two doors, if chosen will explode, and then will ignite the barrels of chemicals I have left for you. The last door will lead you safely to John and Lucinda. For this reason, it’s up to you to choose the correct door and save our friends.

  Tom drew in a deep breath and opened the door. The large room was unsettling with the evening sun casting shadows through the windows that lined the front of the building.

  “Follow me.” He motioned for the group of officers to stay behind him then he slowly walked toward the three doors on the other side of the room.

  “So, which one do you think they’re in?” one of the officers whispered.

  “I don’t know. Stay back,” Tom waved his hand, and then walked closer to the doors.

  Tom knew he only had one chance to save them and everyone inside the warehouse. He walked up to the first door and gently pressed his ear against it: silence.

  He stepped to the next door and placed his ear against it: silence again.

  Tom had thought Erebus might have taped their mouths to keep them from alerting anyone, but for some strange reason, he had a gut feeling they would be allowed to speak. He stood in front of the last door and held his breath before placing his ear against the door. Oh, my God, it’s them. “John, it’s Tom; I’m here to take you home.”

  “Did you hear something,” John thought that he had heard Tom, but surely, he only imagined it.

  “Yes, I think it’s Tom,” Mac cried out, excitedly.

  “John, if you’re in there, please let me know,” Tom pleaded through the door.

  “Yes, we’re in here, please hurry! I don’t know how much longer I can hold on.” John suddenly believed they might walk out of this game alive.

  “Hold on, I’m coming!” Tom cried out, reaching for the doorknob then pushed the door open.

  BANG! The shot rang out, causing the officers gathered behind Tom to drop to the floor.

  “NO!” Tom collapsed to his knees, as the nightmarish vision played out before his eyes.

  In that brief second before the shotgun fired, his eyes met those of a relieved John and Mac, who believed their rescue had arrived.

  “Oh, my God, I’m sorry,” he cried helplessly.

  “Holy shit, it blew their heads off,” Dale groaned, reaching for his radio.

  Tom covered his eyes, as he swayed back and forth on his knees. “It is my fault. I should have known he would never allow them to live.”

  “Sir, why don’t you let us handle this, you’re in no condition to go in there,” one of the officers reached down and helped Tom to his feet.

  He pulled away from the young man. “No, this is my case; now get out of my way!”

  Tom walked up to the headless bodies of his two friends. He knew their last thought must have been one of relief bef
ore the shotgun stole their lives. He looked at the splatter of blood and brain matter spread across the wall, and he wondered if they had felt any pain when the spray from the shotgun ripped their heads from their bodies.

  “Sir, are you all right?” Dale saw that Tom’s face had turned a strange white color, and he appeared to be sweating profusely. “Maybe you need to sit down.”

  Tom turned on the concerned man and shouted, “Leave me alone! Don’t you understand what has happened here? I couldn’t save them, so now they’re dead!” Tom’s eyes were wild with fury, but as he took a step toward Dale, he collapsed to the floor.

  Dale grabbed his microphone attached to his shirt, “Shit! Send an ambulance, Captain’s down!”

  ***

  The sound of the monitor beeped a steady tune with each heartbeat. The heart specialist had confirmed that Tom had suffered a massive heart attack, but with rest and continued care, he could expect a complete recovery.

  Marge stayed by his side once they had moved him out of intensive care. She had wanted to be with him when he regained consciousness, so she was thrilled when he finally looked up at her and smiled.

  She had fallen asleep in the chair by the window when the night nurse came in to administer his medication.

  “This will only take a moment,” the man’s voice was calm and soothing, as he emptied the contents of the syringe into the IV tube.

  Tom looked up into the face of the man and suddenly had the strangest feeling come over him. “I thought my nurse was a woman,” his words were weak and shaky.

  The man smiled and then leaned down close to Tom’s ear. “Hello, Tom, it’s nice to meet you finally. I wanted to tell you how I admired your heroism at the warehouse. However, it was all in vain was it not? You see, when you kicked in the door, you caused the gun to fire. It was quite ingenious, and poor John thought if he kept his hand up it would prevent their deaths,” he smiled.

  “You see the wire attached to the trigger was also attached to the door. John had nothing to do with the gun firing, it was you, and when you opened the door. I thought you should know that it was you who killed them before you die.”

  “Erebus?” Tom felt his body growing numb.

  “Yes,” he smiled, as he watched the look on Tom’s face change from confusion to fear. “I thought we should meet before this game concluded.”

  Tom felt a strange burning sensation move through his body, as he held his gaze with the man of his nightmares.

  “Goodbye, Tom, it has been a pleasure.”

  Tom heard these last words, as he slipped into eternal darkness.

  Epilogue

  The mood at the station was dark and somber. Rick had received a phone call from Marge, informing him of Mac’s death at the hands of Erebus.

  Rick sat motionless, as she told him of how Tom while trying to rescue them, opened a door, which triggered a shotgun that killed both John and Mac instantly. Then she told him how after that Tom had suffered a massive heart attack and did not survive. She said that she pleaded with them to find Erebus before he did it again, but she knew they would never find him.

  “I’m so sorry for your loss. I understand that your husband was an honorable man. Mac had spoken highly of him.” Rick could not imagine what she must be going through. To have lost her husband because of his devotion to John must be unbearable.

  “Thank you, that’s very kind of you. I want to tell you how privileged I feel to have gotten the chance to get to know Mac. She was quite the remarkable young woman.”

  “Marge, I want to thank you for making the arrangements to have Mac’s body shipped home. I know she would be pleased because she had always wanted to be buried next to her little brother,” he fought back tears but felt the moisture on his cheeks.

  Marge had paused a moment before she continued, “I know how important it is to respect the wishes of those we’ve lost. They will lay John next to Kathy tomorrow. They had purchased the lots when he started at the department. I remember how he would always joke that Kathy would be stuck with him for all eternity…,” her words trailed off as she thought back to happier times.

  Rick understood her sadness because his heart was also breaking. “I want you to know how sad I am about Tom; I can’t imagine how I could go on if I lost Sharon.”

  “We had many wonderful years together, and I know he would want me to go on,” she tried to sound optimistic, but the sadness in her voice was unmistakable. “They’re having quite a funeral for him, so I know he would be pleased. Well, I need to go because some of his family is coming in today. My prayers are with you, Rick.”

  “As are mine, goodbye,” he hung up the telephone and wiped the tears from his eyes.

  ***

  On the morning of the funeral, the rain fell like tears from heaven from a dark, cloud-filled sky. Rick had struggled with what he would say about Mac the last couple of days, but how do you put your feelings into mere words. “Damn, why can’t I come up with something better to say?”

  Sharon knew this was painful for him, but he was her best friend, so everyone expected of him to deliver the eulogy. “You will do fine, sweetheart. Stop questioning yourself. Now come on, we need to get going, or we’ll be late.”

  Amanda walked up to Sharon and wrapped her arms around her mother’s waist. “Mommy, is Mac in heaven?”

  Sharon looked down into the tear-filled eyes of her youngest daughter, “Yes, she is.”

  “But why? I want her to stay here with us!” Amanda cried.

  “Sweetheart, sometimes people have to go to heaven. God needed Mac there, so she had to leave us, but she’s happy, so we need to be happy for her.”

  Amanda tipped her head to the side, as she thought of what Sharon had said, “So, God needed a policewoman, but I didn’t think there were bad people in heaven?”

  Rick looked at his precious daughter and couldn’t help but laugh, “That’s right, Mandy. God needed Mac to make sure none of the angels flew around heaven too fast.” He scooped her up in his arms and held her tightly, as she giggled.

  “Okay, you two, it’s time to go. Rebecca, Ashley, come on girls, it’s time to go!” Sharon yelled down the hall toward their bedrooms.

  “We’re coming,” Rebecca called back.

  Sharon looked at Rick. “I’ll take Mandy, and put her in the car seat, and if those two aren’t ready in the next few minutes, you need to go drag them out of their rooms.” She smiled, seeing the mischievous look on Rick’s face. “Behave yourself, all right?”

  Rick tried to muster up an innocent face, but he knew Sharon saw right through it. “I will,” he smiled.

  “Come on, Mandy, let’s leave your daddy to stir up some trouble,” she rolled her eyes and led Amanda out of the kitchen door to the garage.

  Rick walked to the entrance of the hall and stood for a moment before he spoke. “Girls, you have exactly three minutes to get your butts in the car, or you’ll be going as you are right now, am I understood?”

  “But dad,” Ashley whined from her bedroom.

  “I’m not joking; I don’t care if you go naked because we’re leaving in two minutes and thirty seconds!” Rick chuckled to himself.

  Okay, I’m ready!” Rebecca groaned as she stomped down the hall, with Ashley following closely behind her.

  ***

  There was not a dry eye in the church during the service. Rick had delivered a touching eulogy, and several others had stood and shared their memories of Mac. The procession to the cemetery took more than an hour to make because of all the squad cars from the numerous departments around Houston.

  Rick had marveled how beautiful the casket was with the flowers draping over it and smiled when a small hummingbird hovered over the succulent blooms before it flew away.

  “Look, Mommy, the little bird, is saying goodbye to Mac,” Amanda pointed to the hummingbird, excitedly.

  The graveside service was solemn, as everyone thought of the brave, young woman taken before her time.

 
Once the service was complete, Rick looked at Sharon and began to walk toward the car. He needed to go home and clear his mind because the last few days had been an emotional drain on him.

  On the walk to the car, Rick had the strangest feeling come over him. He could not explain it, but it was as though someone was watching him.

  “Rick, are you all right?” Sharon asked, noticing the strange look appear on his face.

  He shook his head and then took her by the hand, “Yeah, I’m fine, I’m just tired.”

  During the drive home, Rick could not seem to shake the strange feeling consuming his soul. What is wrong with me? He thought to himself, as he pulled the car into the garage.

  “Girls, I want you to change out of those clothes and go ahead and put on your pajamas.” Sharon could see that something was upsetting Rick, and she hoped he would open up and talk to her once the girls had eaten dinner and were watching a movie for the evening. “How about I order a pizza?”

  Amanda’s eyes lit up, “Pizza! I love pizza!”

  Rick looked at Amanda and smiled. “Well, I guess you’d better order some pizza for this little girl because I believe she’s hungry,” Rick grinned, when Sharon carried a giggling Amanda into the house.

  He decided to sit out in the car for a few minutes and try to figure out what had him so shaken.

  “Mac, I could sure use a few of your great words of wisdom right about now,” he said aloud, as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

  He decided to get out of the car and go inside the house when his cell phone rang, “Hello.”

  “That was a beautiful funeral today, but it’s a shame that a closed casket was necessary. She was a fine looking woman with her bright, green eyes.”

  Rick felt his body grow numb, “Who is this?”

  “I have to say, it was nice to see your precious daughter is doing so well.”

  NO, it can’t be him! Please Lord, no! The words slammed into Rick’s mind. “You have no reason to call me. You finished your game; you won!”