Behind the Lock (volume Book 1)

by Wesley A. Bianchi

  Dom decided to cautiously step into territory aware of his surroundings, with his ears held sharp. Clenching the knife that holstered inside one of his pockets, his eyes move watching everywhere hoping for the best karma in the right place.

  The front entrance was a double door, which held rings attach to a creepy statuette’s mouth. The stone pots held dying plants rotting away with maggots, and the door itself was craft out of hardwood as it contains a few satanic symbols.

  Dom gently pushes the door peeking into it; finding grand atrium behind it, he proceeds to enter feeling a dry sense of isolation.

  Inside, most of its complex seem untouched. There was a significant staircase in the hallway leading to upper floors, with a large painting of a nobleman hung on the wall above the stairs.

  Every step Dom made produced a loud echo throughout the province. The door behind closes itself, due to the high wind coming from outside, and every candle lit, among many chandeliers hanging steadily above.

  Dom felt his shivers rising from his burry fears, as the mansion gave him so many chills. He explores the lobby finding only two doors on each side, both locked. The only options were the upper levels leading to the unknown; Dom gathered the courage to proceed up the staircase, feeling uneasy as the knife moves from side to side in his pocket.

  At the end of the steps, a yellow door stood far as the floors were dark red, and the walls were chisel-leaving cracks of stone, made by unknown disturbances. Standing outside the door rubbing his cold hands and taking deep breaths to make slowly opening.

  Inside the room, he found six human-sized barn owls, which stood steadily on thick perches. Every owl turns their sight on Dom as he enters the room; he was terrified, not only by their size but also by their appearance. Dom stood still thinking if he should move quickly or not since the owls remained motionless. Therefore, he was able to pass by them, while they slowly follow his movement across the room.

  At the middle of the room, a wardrobe stood with a broken handle; suddenly Dom was startled by a noise accompanied by a screech from one of the sitting owls. He kept his vision tightly fix on each of them, making sure they would not harm him if his guard were down; then he opened the wardrobe, and many horrible things spill out from inside.

  By the floor, chunks of flesh including bad ones spill out from the wardrobe. Falling to the ground, in shock, Dom startled the owl next to him. Dom hastily lunges away. However, the smell made him feel sick enough to vomit. Standing up to find a dead body still hanging, by a sharp hook attached to the wardrobe. Dom lifts the corpse head to check his identity and saw no resemblance to his brother. With shaky hands, he pulls the body away from the hook and places it flat on the ground, suddenly the owls themselves hop off the perch, and flew to feast upon the leftover meat laid on the floor.

  Dom felt his stomach sick again, as he witnesses with the horror of the birds chewing away on human flesh, he trembles back to leave the room before the creatures focus on him.

  All of a sudden, he hears footsteps emanated from outside of the room, approaching the door. Dom quickly sprang away and directed himself into the foul wardrobe to hide; he breathes heavily to prepare his pulse, trying not to mind the odors.

  The door open, and a figure wearing red cloth, with a ribbon wrapped loosely around a hat. Shielded by a masquerade that only exposes half of the appearance, the figure’s looks were unknown. “I’m home! How are you ladies doing?” “Please forgive me if I kept you impatient.”

  Dom wonder, “It’s a chick! Impossible!” he was ready to let out a relieving sigh until he found a small peephole on the wardrobe door. He observes the conversation between the woman and the owls, as he heard complete silence from the birds.

  As the woman turns her attention to the wardrobe, Dom saw the woman’s eyes were as similar to the owls’. His heartbeat raise as his suffocation already began.

  “I see…you all ate without me! Naughty ladies!” the woman said while crouching down to sample the blood using her finger, to satisfy her palate. An owl came down from the perch, moving its beak near the woman’s ear.

  “What’s that...No! Really! Ha-ha,” she said in excitement. “Let’s welcome our guest shall we.” Dom quickly backs off the door, and his heart raced as his cover was exposed.

  Dom anxiously equips his knife, but the woman instantly opens the wardrobe. He swung his blade, but she grabs his arm and shoulder then threw him on the floor. The knife spun across the floor stopping near the door; Dom struggles to reach the blade, until the woman reaches him to smack his head against the floor, sending him into unconsciousness.

  Chapter 4

  The Old Man

  As Dom awakes, he felt a leak coming from the back of his head. “Aw!” He finds himself held by a single thread that bound to his ankle, while his head faces to the ground.

  The thread was tied to a massive tree; Dom panicked slightly as his fear of heights has not gotten any lighter.

  Behind the dark leaves, skeletons, even fleshy ones hung up on the branches, many without limbs and their jaws remain wide open.

  Dom squirmed as fear fogged his mind, “You’ve gotten yourself into some deep poop ha ha ha!” A voice said. Dom looked everywhere, until finding the masked man sitting on one of the branches taunting him. “Surprised, you are…what! You thought I didn’t exist, then you are such a jackass,” Ramon said, “I gave you a simple task…and this is what happens for trusting a pathetic, useless man like you.”

  “Listen…please help me from this branch...”

  “HELP YOU! Ha! Do you have my owl statue?” “…”

  “I guess not, well isn’t this such a turn of events right gringo? From now on, I’ll release you from your duty…so good day,”

  “Wwwait! Don’t!”

  Ramon points his cane to aim at the thread, but suddenly flocks of owls were approaching towards the tree from a horizon.

  “Well…isn’t this a surprise,” Ramon said, “I leave it to the birds to finish you off, adios…Amigo!”

  Ramon fell from the tree and disappeared, meanwhile, Dom was at the mercy of many owls coming to feed on him. He tried thinking quickly, how to overcome his limited choices, swaying his hands around then swings his arms to reach the thread.

  Trying to reach the thread, he struggled to pull his weight up the branch. His palms quickly felt tired of grip and soon gave into excruciating pain, as he squeezed it tightly.

  Wrapping his legs around the branch, he tries hard to release the thread, but its thickness made it hard to rip it away from the wood. Dom could hear the flock closing by as he pulled himself with all of his strength, even making his hands bleed from the cuts.

  The thread finally broke off ripping his ankle binds, but the flock closed in. Then, he fell off the branch, the strings spun and caught him before impact; the thread broke lose releasing him into the ground, few bones crushed as his body took the latest plunge.

  He was not able to move; every attempt resulted in the most agonizing of pain. The owls followed him to the ground as they cawed. Dom closed his eyes, resigning in his destiny and faith, hoping his death would be quick.

  Out of nowhere, a gunshot exploded into the air, one of the birds fell out of the sky, and the rest of the flock scurried away. Dom slightly turns to find the old man of the woods, holding a weapon and rushing to his aid, the inner wounds almost made him faint, but trying hard enough to stay conscious of avoiding death.

  “Don’t you worry hijo…God will not make this the end for you,” The old man said.

  Lifting Dom off the ground as the sound of grunting and moaning from the broken bones in his torso, he begged the old man to put him down, but he ignored him.

  Meanwhile, a dead owl transformed while it dissolves; Dom noticed and kept his sight on the steam coming from the owl. A woman appears from the steam dead naked with the bullet hole stretched across her chest.

  Before evacuating the province, Dom could see the woman in the red cloth gazing deeply at him with a sin
ister grin; her eyes change into a standard color, and her face was not cover by a masquerade anymore. After Dom blinks, the woman disappeared leaving him to wonder.

  Journeying through the forest, the old man decided to let Dom rest for a moment and check the gravity of his injuries; he rolls up his sleeve and pants to find sore spots on his joints. “Please hold down; this will hurt,” The old man said. “Ahhhh!” Dom grunted. “Well…the rest of your injuries are too severe, I can’t heal you immediately, so I must take you back with me.” Dom tightens his eyelids to withstand himself from squealing, as he tries to avoid suffocating from his blood.

  As both men travel through the woods, Dom became soon unconscious, and the old man remained alert as his ears gather forest sound. Soon, they reached the old man’s cabin, which was shield by leaves and vines, the cabin had many charms attached to its ceiling, and the door had a symbol drawn in the middle.

  Resting Dom on a bed, as he went to a separate room to retrieve potion vials along with a straight blade. He pours one of the containers into a small teacup and forces it through Dom’s lips. Using the knife, he carefully slices open his knees; the old man uses another jar to pour a drop on both cuts.

  Minutes later, his skin recuperated erasing the black spots; bones were snapping back together, and the cuts healed.

  The old man flipped Dom onto his back, finding his spinal column broken off with a curved end in a hunchback way. The old man knew it was instant death, even though this medicine is useful, it never had the tendency to act fast on such injury, it surely cannot bring a full recovery.

  Then, he remembered another option but never thought it would be required at this moment. Exiting the room, he grabs his bag filled with red dust, a leaf with a dark spot that covered most of its natural color, and a spell book. Returning to the room, he places a leaf on his tongue, then spreads the red dust over Dom’s broken spine.

  “Ancestors, release my inner bindings and lend me the strength to give.” Opening his spellbook, he spoke in his language. Soon enough his eyes turn blank, and his nails grew long until they became dark as shadows. He stuck his nails into Dom’s torso releasing a black fluid into his veins.

  Suddenly Dom’s spine snaps together, regenerating in seconds, along with his replenished skin. After that, the old man fell to the floor unconscious, his eyes return to normal along with his nails slithering back to a small size, diminishing the dark color.

  In his sleep, Dom inhaled slowly returning to a healthy state. The old man awoke slowly to lift himself off the floor, rolling one of his sleeves; he discovers his arm slowly rotting away, as a dark acid dissolved a fraction of his skin reaching to his muscle.

  The old man went outside, leaving Dom to rest, concerning a way to stop his muscles from creating a loss of blood.

  The forest just began its night shift, as the light went away quickly by the covering leaves, and its dark clouds are hovering over the skies.

  Midnight, Dom rises to consciousness wondering where he is, and how the pain ceases. He stands up and observes the room astonished by all the potions and herbs on the shelf; suddenly remembers the events at the manor, the visions of owls coming to feast on him came back.

  Dom leaves the room, finding the old man sitting on a chair smoking a long thin pipe viewing the night through a window.

  “You’re finally up? Thought you would sleep through a day or so,” The old man said.

  “I thought my death was inevitable,” Dom said.

  “Somehow my body is fully healed…even the agonizing pain in my back! What is this? How did it come to be?”

  “You were near death; you’re lucky I found you.” The old man said.

  “You didn’t answer my question,”

  “Never mind that! All that matters is you’re alive,”

  “…you’re hiding something old man,”

  The old man takes a puff, turning his chair around to face Dom.

  “What the hell is going on here, and you know those people at that place, right?” Dom questioned.

  “Please, I do not mean for you to panic, but…we are in Purgatory,” The old man said.

  “This is a joke…right?” Dom laughed.

  “Let me explain, it is a realm where souls are trapped between life and death, the token of the sanctuary is rarely found here, as it is meant to be one’s final destination.”

  “If it is a realm of never-ending misery, where is the devil in all of this?”

  “It is made of sorcery and run by the Amora family,”

  Dom became conflicted by so many mentions of the family “Amora,” that his mind could not reach an understanding of how dangerous this can be.

  “The woman you encountered at the mansion was one of them, Madame Emilia Amora, she and her owls are cursed witches who can transform.”

  “That explains that sudden experience,”

  “Indeed,”

  “Wait! Please forgive me for asking but…I still don’t know who you are,”

  “I am Pedro, a Mayan descendant of a powerful priest member of the quiche royal court.”

  The old man cuts his answers short, trying to find a different subject.

  “This reality is like a playpen for the family; we only are toys…and precious ones,”

  Dom began thinking of the message back to the cottage, but his thoughts are still unclear of his brother’s note or if it was a trap.

  “Excuse me Pedro, but you mention a white man before,”

  “Yes, did you found him?” Pedro asked.

  “Not yet, it’s very frustrating not to know where he is.”

  “Don’t push your luck; this place also creates tricks that play your mind…Do you know how you got here?”

  Dom digs deeper only finding his arrival at the airport and the driver who transported him.

  “Now that you mention, I got here by plane, after receiving an invitation from my brother to meet him here. The rest is unclear, but it was almost night, and I remember collapsing at that shack,” Dom explained.

  “Interesting, part of your memories are false as I expected. Come along!” Pedro said.

  Leading Dom to a study, filled with antique paper and very dusty old books. He grabs a book from the shelf, handing it to Dom.

  “Read it, and you’ll understand,” Pedro said as he left the room.

  Dom carefully opened the old book finding words written in Spanish; He hardly knew the language since it was never an importance to him, back in his school days.

  His vision for some reason became blurry, and his headache was returning, he closed his eyes trying to find relief, but it only grew worse as his heart palpitation raised against his chest, while his hearing lost its sound.

  Suddenly everything stopped, Dom opens his eyes finding English words on the pages. He saw the transition strange, but the book had powers, it read his thoughts correctly, capable of understanding the foreign language; he began to read the first page finding the words written in red ink, and the timeline shown at the bottom corner.

  1525 A.D.

  “For months, we explored the seas until one day finally reaching those new lands, which our captain promised to us. As so, to our surprise we encountered the savages that harness the land. Due to the intentions of our past explorers; they used aggression to force our retreat, shooting rocks at our horses and spearing our men. The natives were strong indeed but had no chance of winning as they surrendered to our numbers. After so, they wished for peace, and I could see it in their eyes the fear, and the anger, which drove them to fight, suddenly vanish as they saw many of their tribe parish among our gunpowder. “After declaring war to very few tribes, the captain looted their temples finding gold and jewelry as the savages sought refuge in the forest.

  1527 A.D.

  A few years later, we had to kidnap a priest who claims he holds the prodigious power of the gods, which if we did not release him immediately, the gods would unchain a great curse among us. I slapped my cane across his face twice to take the
hoax off my ears. Later, I found out he was one of the remaining lords, so I made sure to burn him along with the other traitors at the grounds. This decision show authority, to spread fear amongst the remaining natives.

  His son was the only survivor, watching him made me pity him dearly as his eyes covered in tears, were focused on the burning stake of his father. I had him join the other captives and brand them with my name as my property. I give the boy a new name, Pedro, to replace that inferior culture name, the lad adjusted quickly to avoid trouble with our captain. He seems to respect regime, I saw it fitting, but it was not enough to convince me.

  1528 A.D. At my quarters, a letter abruptly arrived from a wealthy family called the Amoras. They wanted to make a lucrative pact with me about the Mayan land. I responded hastily so I would not miss the negotiation; the next day Pedro prepared my carriage to travel to Cuenca.

  I met with some people outside a cliff that greeted my welcome. The deal, which made my heart rise, hearing about the pounds of gold coins I could obtain if I reserved them land on the Coast of the Atlantic. I agreed with the offer, they were content with my answer and hoped for the best. The Amoras was an estranged family with many secrets; few so dark even my imagination cannot withhold it, especially the lord’s wife and child. The woman spoke in an odd manner also including uncomfortable details; rumors say she was a witch, and her child scratched his toy deeply as if he pretended to torture it.

  Well, no matter, the gold will belong to me as long as I fulfill my agreement and remove some of those Indians of their land, a little accident wouldn’t be much of a sin, but a quick remedy.”

  The journal entry ended with unfilled blanks; Dom knew the rest meant to be a secret, as nothing else reveals more of this past life. He thought of snooping around a bit but wanted to question Pedro about his bizarre life, including the old dates, and the people who were in it.