“Let’s roll!” Johnny hopped on the bike and took off. Dana gave the parasol to a little girl and followed. The bridge was so steep Johnny had to shift his weight back when hitting the brakes to keep from pitching forward. The brakes squealed in protest. The Lambo was a few lights over. They crossed the street and started riding hard to stay ahead for as long as possible, but soon they were at the same light as the car.
Johnny glanced over through the heavily tinted windows. A sixty-ish man was behind the wheel. He was wearing a sport coat over a dress shirt with a bolo tie. His hair was thinned, and permed. “Brillo pad is right.” Johnny said to himself. The V12 rumbled as the car slowly pulled away up Demonbreun Street, a hillside road that was lined with shops and restaurants. The license plate was “PRDCUR”.
Dana shouted out, “let’s stop here.” They put the bikes in a rack and waited for their ride. Ten minutes later Robbie and David picked them up.
Chapter Eighteen
Matt fixated on one of the entries in the Randolph notebook. Randolph wrote, “the veil is thin in certain places… had profound experience at Serpent Monument.” The Serpent Mound State Memorial was only about an hour away, and he drove along in that direction.
He’d been formulating and refining a theory for a few years--that the other side was accessible through the brain, which acted as a kind of receiver. He started thinking about it in terms of radio signal demodulation.
The mystics, authors, and researchers that were involved in the occult tended to be poetic and artistic in their descriptions, and old lore that was written by men like John Dee, who had a methodical, even scientific bent, were written in archaic, or encoded terminology that didn’t translate well. Matt had been filling in the gaps in their method one scrap at a time.
He realized the mind, as a demodulator, needed to apply a matched filter to extract signals from the background noise. The methods long employed by occultists--smoke gazing, scrying with magic mirrors or crystals, even the modern practice of listening to static--suggested the conscious mind interfered with this dormant ability to tune in the signals. Some stumbled on it as children, others found it through long practice, and still others found it after accidents or illness. Matt, as yet, failed to even a glimpse the shadow of the other side.
He pulled into the State Park. The sky was getting a little overcast, but the weather was still pleasant and warm. The park was quiet, and the only sounds were bird song and the wind in the trees. A few other people were walking around in the park. He wandered around the trails and chewed on the problem. He tried to picture the ceremonies in ancient America, and his mind flitted around to the other ancient monuments, Stonehenge, the pyramids.
Maybe, the structures were something like the reflector on a satellite dish. He followed the path to what might be the focal point, at the head of the serpent, sat down and cleared his mind and waited for any signal. He didn’t really know what to expect, he’d long assumed that the connection, once it was made would be a completely novel experience.
A high school group wandered the path as Matt sank deeper into meditation. The group split up and strung out into two long lines on either side of the monument. As they flanked him, Matt felt a sudden shift, almost a sensation of expansive motion as his mind opened and his imagination shifted color--instead of ‘seeing’ nothing but black with his eyelids closed, he experienced a vague kaleidoscope of mottled gray forms. He gasped and opened his eyes and lost the feeling. He had one thought upon returning to a normal frame of mind, “Bananas Foster”.
He wasn’t sure how to interpret the experience. He started walking back toward the car. The kids filed past him behind their teachers and a park ranger. Two of the girls were wearing the same T-shirt, a cartoon of a banana with a startled expression running away from a cartoon dog. The words “Bananas Foster” were written in script characters under the picture.
He stood by the path as the kids walked past. He looked back toward the serpent’s head and saw the kids on either side and finally, he understood how it worked. “Ahhhhh….” the epiphany was sweetly satisfying.
He got out his own notebook and quickly noted an entry.
June 16, 2004 -- Serpent Mound State Park, Peebles, Ohio
Made first connection to the other side. The monument acts as a reflector--the geometry of the monument might be important and help focus the signal; the connection is actually made through the minds of a group of people. I made the connection through a high school class field trip. Gives new perspective to religious ritual and mega structures. Some might be in hands of real practitioners, others a cargo cult imitation.
Chapter Nineteen
Robbie stopped the car on the curb. The yellow Lamborghini was in the lot of a small brick office building with a subdued sign in the front ‘Transcendent Productions’. They waited for about 20 minutes and nothing happened.
David said, “Well… maybe if we had two cars, we could cycle through watch duty.”
Robbie scratched his beard, “by the time we get a second car, we could miss him leaving. Who knows where they’re going to go?”
David responded, “This might be a long haul… waiting. I’m not really sure how often they do the blood thing.”
Dana was inspecting the ends of her hair and lounging on Johnny’s chest. She spoke up, “I think something’s going to go down soon. Be patient.”
Only a few minutes after she spoke, a limo pulled into the lot. Two men got out. One of them was in his early thirties, and short, maybe only 5’ 4”. He wore a dapper charcoal suit with a blue tie. The other one was tall, older, and had wispy white hair.
Robbie laughed, “that’s definitely Vampire Elvis.”
Dana pointed, “Man, check out that ring, it’s like he’s doing curls.That left bicep’s got to be toned!” she laughed.
Robbie said, “Johnny! bust out the mic, I’ll patch it through the car speakers.”
Johnny took out the I/R audio transducer and aimed it at the plate glass windows and robbie turned up the audio.... there was horrible feedback. “Oh shit…” Johnny said.
“There’s a wheel there on the side to cancel out the local vibrations. Lemme turn this down while you dial her in.”
Johnny tried again. They heard the men talking. It sounded like an old time wax cylinder recording. Vampire Elvis and Brillo Head embraced and warmly greeted each other.
Vampire Elvis spoke, “Tony, you know Jeff Goldstein, right?”
Tony shook the dapper man’s hand. “I sure do. He helped us out in New York--made for a memorable night.”
Jeff smiled a robotic smile, “Well, we aim to please. Our customers are always satisfied.”
Vampire Elvis put his arm around Tony’s shoulder. Vampire Elvis was a skyscraper. He was at least 6’ 2”, and in his youth had probably been 6’ 4”. Age was compressing him, but he still moved well and had an animated face and bright eyes.
“What are you gentlemen in the mood for tonight?” Jeff asked.
“We’ve been talking about this all week… The anticipation is delicious.” Tony said.
Vampire Elvis said, “We want a couple of girls--tweens--that’s what they say now. One black, but not too black.”
Tony threw in, “Caramel.”
“Right, caramel,” Vampire Elvis said, “and a white, really pale one. Some freckles would be nice. Not slutty girls. Good, wholesome girls. Fresh.”
Tony added, “Oh and a red headed boy--young, like 8 tops. Any kids with pets?”
Jeff replied, “Yes, I have just the boy, he’s got a rabbit. Loves it.”
Vampire Elvis said, “Oh that one’s all mine…”
Tony laughed. “Oh man, you with the boys. What’s up with that?”
“It’s an acquired taste… Give it another couple decades and you get tired of the snatch and start to explore.”
Jeff just nodded. “Party supplies?”
Tony said, “yeah, why not? I already got a guy, but if you can handle it, great---just don�
��t fuck us on the price.”
Jeff responded, “Oh I wouldn’t dream of it. And this is a ‘fountain of youth’ treatment, too?”
“That’s the highlight of the night!” Vampire Elvis said. “It’s such a good way to wind down.”
“OK.” Jeff said. “You’ve got the address?” they nodded. “How about 9?”
“Sounds good. We’ll get warmed up and meet you there.”
Jeff walked out of the building and climbed back into the limo. The limo backed onto the street and pulled away.
“What the fuck was that?” Johnny said.
“That sack of shit.” Robbie pointed at the limo, “is Jeff Goldstein. He’s a pimp for these freaks. I’m not sure if he’s one, or just a servant. I’d like to get that guy, too.”
David interjected, “The ‘Empire’ is really big on the flesh trade, especially the fringe freak stuff.”
Dana said, “if you didn’t catch on, they’re going to rape kids and transfuse their blood.”
Johnny said, “I got that… Jesus Christ… I mean, why don’t we call the cops.”
“We are the cops on this one.” David said.
“Can’t trust Five-0, son.” Dana did her best gangster rapper voice.
“She’s right.” David said, “we might get lucky and there’d be an investigation. Or we end up arrested on a bogus charge. Or these guys get arrested and pay a shitload of money to bribe everyone involved in the prosecution.’
Dana said, “Don’t you get it yet, we’re out on the frontier fighting these fucks. No law out here.”
Johnny’s eyes hardened. “OK. I get it now.”
Chapter Twenty
8PM rolled around. Vampire Elvis and Tony piled into another limo. They were both already really warmed up on cocaine and shots of bourbon. The limo pulled away. Robbie waited for another car to pass before pursuing them.
Dana pulled out her 1911 and checked the chamber and the clip. She pulled out a second clip.
David said, “whoa, whoa, whoa. That thing’s too loud.”
She pulled a short compound bow from the duffle. “The gun’s the back up. Always need a plan B.”
Robbie said, “Remember, we film first…”
Johnny said resolutely, “We’re not letting these guys fuck kids. No way.”
“Right, of course, no way.” Robbie said, “But, trust me, they’ll take their time. We want to record as much as possible before we go in.”
They followed the car down Hillsboro past a few mansions. The limo pulled into a house with a high wall and a wrought iron gate. The gate was swinging shut as Robbie drove past. He circled around the block and parked on the side of the road at the rear of the house.
Robbie laid out the plan, “Johnny you get over that wall with the camera and laser, and start recording. If you get caught, you want to make a scene. Here take this.” he handed Johnny a handgun with a silencer. He pointed, “safety on/off. A round is already chambered. It’s a semi auto, just point it and pull the trigger.” Johnny nodded. Robbie continued. “If you get found out and fight back, they’ll get spooked. You get out of there. They won’t call the cops, obviously. We’ll follow them and do the rest in that case.”
Robbie continued to lay out the plan. The rest of the crew would move into position, and wait until Johnny texted them a message, then they’d get inside. Johnny was going to mop up any stragglers.
“Oh, and don’t film us!” David said.
Johnny looked to see if there were any cars or any people on the sidewalk. They were parked under some shade trees and the spot was inky black. The streetlights only illuminated the front of the house. His heart was pounding as he walked along the tall brick fence through the sultry night air. The corner had ornamental bricks that were jutting out like a ladder. He climbed over and hopped onto the ground behind shrubs that lined the interior perimeter of the yard.
The large manicured yard was softly lit from the interior lights of the house. Every window shone with the yellow glow of incandescent lights. Johnny looked around for any signs of motion lights or security cameras. Nothing was obvious, even so, he struggled to stay between the fence and shrubs and looked for a vantage point from which to film. He could see people through a huge line of plate glass windows. The house was stucco sided, and a terraced garden led up to a big patio at the rear of the home. He saw Tony and Vampire Elvis.
He setup the camera and the laser. He double checked that it was recording, and quickly looked around the front to make sure no LEDs were shining. He plugged in the headphones and hooked up the audio to the camera.
The two men sat down on a huge cream color leather sofa. They were sipping drinks and occasionally doing a line of coke from a silver tray.
Tony said, “whew! that’s some good shit. Do I still have a nose?”
Vampire Elvis laughed, “I know. My face is numb. I’m so worked up… damn.”
“How old’s that body?” Tony asked.
“I think I hit the big 100 a few years ago. I lost count.”
“Damn! That one is holding up well. You might get another twenty years.”
“Maybe. That’s pushing it. I need to start working on a new one.” Vampire Elvis said.
Tony laughed, “No doubt! I remember the black plague. Shit. I ate it before I was ready. I didn’t get back for another three hundred years. Boooring.”
Elvis lounged back, “Hey, uh Tony, I don’t know if you go this way, but man, I got some wood. This one is well hung.”
Tony laughed, “get it out! It’s been awhile since you showed me.”
Elvis stepped out of his dress pants and carefully folded them, “These suits, the tailor is so good. Money’s not a problem, obviously, but you just have to wait.” He was wearing boxers. He slid them down and a giant semi hard cock flopped out.
“Shit son! That’s like a midget’s leg. This guys pretty normal.” Elvis sat back on the couch and Tony got on the floor and crawled over.
“Ever been a woman?” he asked.
“Sure… but only a couple of times. It’s so rare for the women to reach out.”
“I’m going to try to take all that in…” Tony eyed the cock.
“Good luck, fella!”
Tony tried to swallow the enormous member, but gagged and backed away. “Man… Ugh. Too much!”
Vampire Elvis said, “Well at least you got me warmed up. At this age, it takes a while. The coke helps, but still.”
“No problem…” the door rang. “ohhh they’re here!”
Vampire Elvis slipped his underwear back on, which now was like a tent. He sat back down on the couch. An eastern european looking man wearing a black turtleneck ushered three kids into the room. A second man carried a cage into the room. There was a rabbit in the cage. A little red haired boy stood near the rabbit and avoided looking at the men. His eyes were puffy and red.
“Awww, he’s been crying.” Vampire Elvis said. “Give him some of this.” he gave the cocaine tray to the man. The man dipped his finger in the coke and smeared it in the boy’s mouth. The boy spit and backed away dazed. The men all laughed.
Johnny typed the text and had his finger poised on the “send” button.
Elvis took the rabbit out of the cage. “You can pet him.” he said to the boy. The kid held on to the rabbit like a life preserver. “But then you’re going to kill him.” the boy didn’t comprehend. “You’ll do it, too.” Elvis stroked the boys hair.
Johnny clicked send. He held the gun in his hand. It was all he could do not to walk out and shoot the men.
Tony spoke, “Girls, come to your uncle Tony. I’ve got some presents for you.” the girls shuffled over to him. “Take these… it’ll be trippy.” The girls took a pill, and drank water to wash it down. He stroked their hair.
Elvis knelt down, “you’re gonna kill that bunny, boy, then I’m going to wreck you. Then I’m going to take your blood.”
Tony spoke, softly, “did you hear that, girls, he’s going to kill that rabbit w
hile we watch. I’ll be fucking one of you, but you’ll need to watch. When I’m done with you, I’ll take your blood.”
Johnny could hear the sound of a scuffle in the background. The eastern european man ran back into the room. “Go! Go!” he shouted. An arrow lept out of his chest and he collapsed in a heap on the floor.
“Oh fuck!” Tony said. He gripped the girls and hid behind them.
Johnny killed the recording, and then Robbie and David burst into the room. He could still hear the audio. He clutched the gun and watched.
“It’s going to be alright girls.” Robbie urged. He had a gun leveled at Tony’s head. David was holding his on Vampire Elvis.
Vampire Elvis pulled a bowie knife from his bag, and grabbed the boy by the neck. The kid was wailing. He spoke icily, “Everybody stay calm… Don’t move or the kid gets…” an arrow from Dana pierced his head. By reflex, his arm reached up to grab it, but he collapsed to the floor in a quivering heap.
“Wait.. Wait… I can get you anything you want!” Tony pleaded.
Robbie said, “Well, how about you go back to that shithole you came from?”
The Chardon Chronicles: Season One -- The Harvest Festival Page 13