Cold Fear

by Timothy Friesenhahn

  With each passing day, she knew there was a chance that the smiling man would come for the girl. She was to become his protégé and continue the demon’s legacy.

  The baby girl was so innocent; how could Moloch want to corrupt her?

  Time was running out; she could feel it in her very bones. Tanner had never known about the smiling man, the crystal ball, or that his grandmother, Mathelda, was bound to an evil being from another world.

  Cici had lost both her parents and Mathelda all in the same week. No one that she lived around for so many years was left. All she had was Tanner and Sophia, and she knew it was the same for Tanner. All they had was each other. Their baby girl was special, she possessed a uniqueness that, yes, most parents over glorify the first born; but she knew this child was different. The child had showed her. Only once did the baby girl give her the image of what was to come, but once was all it took.

  When the baby was only six months old, the image came. The small baby was cradled in her arms when she raised her hand and placed it on Cici’s face. First, a wave of awestruck emotion flooded her soul and tears welled up in her eyes, then the vision came. Tanner and she stood watching their daughter hover above them. The girl was envelope by a dark fog. The fog resembled smog that encompassed an overpopulated third world countries. The smiling man was there but, in the vision, he wasn’t a man any longer. It was a female body that stood beneath the floating child. The woman was bald and was as toned as a fitness guru. The bald lady’s hands were raised as if inviting in an invisible forcefield. Her arms were out like a farmer embracing rain after a yearlong drought. The child grew into a beautiful teenage girl and landed before Cici and Tanner. The bald lady never turned to face them, snapped the finger of her right hand and the empty white void they stood in changed. The room now looked exactly like the basement of the house they lived in.

  Yes, it was the basement of Mathelda’s house; now her and Tanners.

  From the far wall she could see a light peering through the bottom where the floor met the wall. Sophia, now a teenage girl, was nude and staring at them both. Cici tried to turn and look at Tanner, but she could not. Their nude daughter then, suspended effortlessly a few inches from the floor. As she levitated, the bald lady snapped her fingers once more. The wall opened like a portal on a sci-fi movie and through it came Tanner and herself. She could see the look of tiredness and hopelessness on their faces. Behind them, they were dragging a teenage boy who cried and flung himself around relentlessly. The Tanner that came through the wall turned and kicked the boy hard in the side. Their daughter descended from the air and approached the other Tanner and Cici. With her arms she motioned them away from the boy lying and crying on the floor.

  The girl kneeled next to him, and Cici could hear her whisper, “it’s all going to be okay now, it’ll be over soon.”

  Teenage Sophia stood above the crying boy and opened her mouth unnaturally wide. Her beautiful brown eyes went full white and a swooshing sound entered the basement. The skin on the boy’s face and arms began to stretch and the horrid scream the boy let out terrified Cici, even within the vision. Sophia sucked the skin from the boy’s body. The skinless boy screamed and flopped around in unimaginable pain. The girl kneeled beside him once more and ripped the flesh from his neck with her mouth. She turned to Tanner and Cici who were now the only other ones in the basement with the teenage version of their daughter.

  “When I say it’s time for me to be fed, I mean it mother, its time,” she growled.

  The vision was over, and she stood cradling her baby girl once more. Cici had tried to shake the vision but the task was impossible. Hope that the smiling man would not return seemed diminished.

  How could they resist Moloch?

  He was surely going to get their little Sophia; he was going to get his protégé. All hope was lost, and as each day passed, she felt like she was crumbling from the inside out. Desperately, she wanted to tell Tanner her secrets, but she couldn’t. He never questioned her about anything, but she was sure he would question her about the secrets she kept.

  Springtime was beautiful, and the day was as pleasant as a day could have been. She and Tanner stood watching their cute baby girl play in the green grass when she appeared. The Goddess-like woman who looked just like Mathelda when she was younger. The woman called herself Em.

  Chapter 5

  Before she had ever approached her grandson and Cici, she stood silently watching from afar. The small toddler that would have been her great granddaughter played happily in the grass. Her parents watched after her, obviously, proud and pleased with what they had produced.

  Em was the name she would use as long as she was alive and in her younger body; she hoped it wouldn’t be for too long, though. She had already embraced death. Her life had been long enough and full of regrets to fill two lifetimes. A second lifetime she was never supposed to live, but there she stood reminiscing a time when, for a little while, things seemed a simpler.

  All Em could do was remember raising Tanners mother. Amanda had been such a sweet girl, never showing any signs of weakness. The girl had not once been severely sick, just the common cold here and there, or maybe the sniffles. The girl had lived a happy life which was cut short by unfortunate circumstances. Her death was a thought she removed from her mind as fast as it had entered, it was irrelevant to the current situation, so no need to dwell on it.

  The little girl, Sophia, was in a danger far worse than death. Moloch was planning to curse her with an eternity of cannibalistic feedings. Em knew Cici would more than likely recognize her and there was nothing to be done about that.

  The only thing that Em was sure would help her cause was the fact that Cici knew what Moloch was planning. Whenever the old lady’s spirit had crossed through the portal made by the smiling man, something had changed within her. She felt different, like a hidden gift was stored within her. If what Moloch spoke was true, then being a descendant of him and Lilith had to mean something. Whatever it was, however, was doing a good job of eluding Em’s thoughts. She had to approach her grandson, Cici and the baby.

  As she approached the happy couple and child, she noticed right away that Cici had recognized her.

  Tanner was the first to speak, “hello ma’am. Can we help you?”

  Not wanting to deal with small talk, but afraid of frightening them by jumping right into what she came to warn them about she replied, “oh, I just noticed how cute your little girl was and wanted to come over and just get a closer look. I mean, if that’s okay. I’m not a weirdo, I promise.”

  Cici stood with her stare locked on the beautiful woman, she knew who she was indeed.

  “Excuse me miss,” the young Hispanic mother said. “Is your name, by any chance, Mathelda?”

  Em realizing the small talk was ending quicker than she wanted.

  She tried to maneuver around the question, though, “no, my name is Em. I am … well, I’m new to the area.”

  Tanner was looking from his child to his wife to the beautiful woman that stood before him, and he couldn’t help but wonder what had possessed Cici to ask such an unordinary question of a stranger. The two women stared at each other, and Tanner thought he could feel a tension rising. It wasn’t a hostile tension, but it was tension, nonetheless. He was going to try and break the ice that was invisibly freezing between the two women’s stares, but his wife cut him off.

  “I don’t how, but I am pretty sure you’re Mathelda, hell, stranger things have happened over the years. I just have this feeling that you are some… some reincarnation of Tanner’s grandmother, I can grab a picture if you want.”

  Em stared at Cici for a moment before replying, “that wouldn’t be necessary hun, you know the truth; the hard part is getting him to believe it.”

  Em stood as she pointed in the direction of her grandson who was now older than he was the last time she saw him. Cici stood still for a brief second, and then her beautiful face smiled as wide as the Grand Canyon as she ran to th
e beautiful woman and embraced her happily. Em returned the embrace.

  Tanner stood, dumbfounded, thinking, what the hell is going on right now?

  The words were forming in his mind, but they would not leave his tongue. His wife was almost gliding through the grass with happiness as she picked Sophia up.

  Turning to the charming stranger as Cici handed her the baby while speaking, “here’s your great granddaughter, Sophia. I know now you’re a little young for a great granddaughter, but here she is Mathelda.”

  Cici couldn’t stop smiling as she handed the lady her great granddaughter, “please just call me Em now. Mathelda was a name from another lifetime.”

  Em held the baby in front of her, chuckling with delight, “Sophia, such a beautiful name for such a beautiful little girl.”

  She rubbed her nose gently on the baby’s belly as she cradled her. The bond was instant. Her and the baby were instantaneously connected. Acting as if something was stuck in his throat, Tanner made a noise as if he was clearing it to get the women’s attention. They turned to look at him, both smiling as if to say he was a dumbass for not knowing what was going on. His mind raced and he wanted to know just what was going on.

  “Excuse me babe,” he said, looking at his wife. “What the hell is going on here? Why do you think that woman is my dead grandmother? I mean, how do you even think it’s possible this lady, I mean this girl, is no older than twenty-four maybe twenty-five.”

  Before his frustration could further settle into him, Em spoke, “Tanner, do you remember when I, your grandmother, visited you? It was the one and only time? I gave you something that day, something only you and I know. I gave you a crystal ball.”

  Tanner stepped away from the woman. His mind shot in a million different directions at a high speed.

  His vision seemed to go blurry and he thought he heard his wife say, “you mean the one I destroyed?”

  Em was disoriented for a mere second, “what do you mean destroyed?”

  “It was simple, I just wished for the crystal ball to basically self-destruct and it was gone.”

  “Did it get rid of you know who?”

  “That, I don’t know, and I am pretty…” Cici spoke softer, hoping Tanner wouldn’t be able to make out what she said. “He isn’t destroyed. I feel like Moloch could return any day now. You do know what he wants?”

  “He wants the child,” Em answered as she cradled Sophia in her arms.

  Tanner was now frustrated and confused.

  “Hello, am I the only one who thinks this is ridiculous? I mean, what is this shit you two are talking about? How did you even know about the crystal ball?” He asked, holding his hand out limply in Cicis direction. “Besides, it was just a fake ball like all the ones you gypsy ladies have. Wasn’t it?”

  Certainty was leaving his voice, and as he spoke, so was frustration. Having no clue what they were talking about, he found himself from where he was standing to sitting on the front porch.

  How had he got there so fast?

  Noticing as the two women were approaching him, quickly, with astonished looks on their faces.

  He heard his wife ask with excitement, “how did you do that?”

  “Do what?” He asked.

  “Move from where you were standing like sixty feet away to the porch so fast. Me and your grand…. I mean Em never even saw you move.”

  “I don’t know what you are talking about. I was standing and all the bullshit y’all are talking about made me feel funny, so I came here to sit down.”

  “Yeah, but that’s just it, you just didn’t walk over there. It’s like you vanished for a second then reappeared on the porch.”

  The two women were awestruck, and Tanner watched them as he got nauseated.

  What was the day turning into? What were the women talking about?

  He noticed the lady that was supposedly his grandmother was standing completely still. She was so frozen, in fact, that he couldn’t tell if she was even breathing. Sophia had one small hand on the woman’s face. Tears ran like small rivers down the Goddess-like woman’s cheeks.

  What the hell is that all about? he wondered silently.

  Then he thought to himself that maybe he did, somehow, vanish and reappear. The more he thought about it the more he couldn’t remember moving at all. It was like the two other times he had moved out of the way unknowingly. This time he wasn’t in any immediate danger. So why had he moved so quickly, like the other times.

  Cici watched Em cry. The baby’s hand on the woman’s face told her that she was being shown something, just like Sophia had shown her. Whatever the toddler was showing the woman was making her quite emotional. Tanner sat quietly and watched. Cici stood watching, as the lady soaked in whatever Sophia was showing her within her mind.

  Moloch was near, he was coming. The turn of events for the day, made her aware of that. Time was running out, and the smiling man would want his payment. At the same time, she was worried about the arrival of Moloch, she couldn’t get the image of Tanner disappearing and reappearing out of her mind. The speed in which he moved to the porch was inhuman. It was otherworldly. Goosebumps formed on her arms and the hairs on her neck stood, the smiling man would be making his appearance very soon, she was certain.

  Her thoughts were interrupted as Em spoke while handing Sophia back to her, “here’s this little cutie. We don’t have too much time, I feel. Whatever time we do have we need to explain to Tanner what is going on. He needs to be caught up on all the details. He knows nothing. If he holds some sort of power, which after seeing what the little cutie showed me, I am sure he has some sort of gift. I believe I may possess a power myself. All we can do is hope that it’s enough to defeat Moloch when he arrives. I would say we should run, but I don’t think it would matter. Some day he would find Sophia, no matter where she is.” Em looked towards Tanner and continued, “you have a right to know what’s going on, and I’m so sorry it’s come to this. I blame myself, even though at that time, I had no idea what I was doing. I was like you, my only grandson, unaware of the truth.”

  Tanner couldn’t speak, he was lost within his mind. Cici had nothing to say, because she was driven by curiosity. She wanted to know what Sophia had shown Em, the young beautiful restored Mathelda.

  As they walked into the house, Em thought about what the baby showed her. The vision was a nightmare. It was the last thing she would have ever wanted to see. If it came to be, then so be it; but it would be a terrible price for such innocence to pay. Death would be a solution invited willingly by Em, but the problem would not be fixed by it.

  Chapter 6

  Even though the lifestyle she had chosen was questionable, and her decisions gave her a weak demeanor, her mind was strong. The green haired floozy went from average night on the town harlot to psychopathic maniac. Moloch had not expected the girl to enjoy murder as much as she had. If it were a different scenario, he may have fallen in love with her. Over his many thousands of years of existence, his mind had twisted between what is right and what is wrong. Life had become meaningless to him, and he only fed because he was cursed.

  Poor Hannah believed what he had told her. Within her mind he could feel that she truly trusted him. That was a mistake on her part, and he needed to complete his plan. The child of the old hag’s grandson would be his. He would raise her to be wiser and more powerful than even he was. Inside the psycho girl’s mind, he knew he would be weaker on the interior of the shell that was her body. Once he fully took over her mind he would have to feed. The smiling man sat within her mind watching as she murdered and had ravenous sex with her victims. The time had come, her body, mind, and soul would belong to him. She would be forever lost within a dimension unknown to man and God’s alike. The cute little bimbo would suffer the price of lust and murder. Her loss of existence would be a far worse price than death, and he needed the child.

  Grooming a protégé was his one and only mission. His time was finally being allowed to end. His soul, if h
e still had one, would be able to rest. Hell would have a special place for him where he could move about as he pleased. Torment and damnation for eternity was off the table, he paid for the lust of another and his payment was almost fulfilled.

  All he had to do was give the devil what he wanted. The devil had hordes of demons that did his bidding, some did mundane doings like taking items of value from materialistic people. Some, however, did worse biddings; killing, and raping and possessing. The devil had cursed him with thousands of years of eating bad teenage boys, and now he wanted someone to replace him. If Moloch was to rest and forever forget his time as he wandered earth and the under realm, he would have to raise a protégé. It couldn’t just be any child he took, that would have been far too easy. The child had to be of his lineage, had to have a relation to the Gods themselves. See, all the hordes of demons were born from the tongue of the devil himself. Only a few were born from the devil’s actual loin, though. The child he knew was alive and well, he could feel it, and the time had come to retrieve. After he fully took over Hannah, he would find a bad boy to devour and his strength would be semi-restored.

  With his powers, he knew he would have little time to take the child and open a portal to somewhere briefly forward in time. Tanner and Cici would not be able to follow. He was sure that Tanner, being of his lineage, had some sort of ability; but it was unlikely that he had ever discovered it. Out of all the thousands of years he had been alive, he had never come across anyone with significant power; but to be fair he had never really looked. The one time he had met someone of his bloodline, she had possessed extraordinary power. Though, when he found the girl named Penelope, she was unaware of it. Over the years of her unusual long life, she discovered just how powerful she was. None of that mattered, though. The only thing that mattered was the task at hand. Within the girl with green hair’s mind he stood up. She was asleep and it was the perfect time to take over her being. Inside her mind he closed his eyes and stretched his hands out. Spreading his feet as wide as he could. He let out a scream that, if he were standing in reality, would have been heard miles and miles away.