by Sean Erik
THE DEMON PHONE
by
SEAN ERIK
Copyright ©2017 Sean Erik.
Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Names, characters, and places are products of the author’s imagination.
Front cover image by Van Mendoza on Unsplash
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portion thereof in any form whatsoever.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
AUTHOR’S NOTE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ONE
February 10, 2010
Rolling waves crashed against the rocky shore as the moonlight danced over the water and lit up the beach. A gentle breeze billowed around me as I reached the cave. I could see the steel grate that the city of Colt Texas had put in the mouth to keep anyone else from drowning.
It was low tide and the grate was almost fully exposed. If the old surfer Braden was right some of the bars on the bottom right had been strategically removed. I moved into the water, going low and immersing myself. It was still winter and the Gulf was frigid. I felt like I was in a cartoon as my teeth started to chatter but I had no choice. My fingers roamed around over the cold steel. My pulse started to race as I found the gap he had mentioned. It was underwater, even at low tide. Unless you did some exploring the mouth to the cave would look impenetrable.
I was about four miles outside of the city. I had to ride northeast along a bumpy access road until it dead-ended. A short climb down and nearly a half mile trek later I had made it there.
Something felt wrong though. My stomach was doing the Macarena, I kept looking around for whoever was watching me. I was alone but the unease never went away.
Local lore called it Cavenagh Cave, after a long-dead local named Robert Cavenaugh. Story was he worked with the Confederacy and used the cave to hide supplies and messages, sometimes people. I don’t know how true that is, you know how local legends are. In the Thirties bootleggers used it to store smuggled booze. After that it became a popular haunt for teens to explore a great many things, not just the cave. That came to an end in 1983 when five teenagers were found drowned inside. Stories were not all consistent and Braden swore they hadn’t drowned.
After the outcry the city had the grate put in place to prevent future accidents. There might have been no more reported drownings but a handful of people had vanished every few years and their last known whereabouts was Cavenaugh Cave.
The biker leather I wore was protective from many things but immersion in seawater wasn’t any of them. My left boot got caught up on the bars but after a gentle twist I was through. Whoever cut the opening didn’t have guys my size in mind.
Near darkness swallowed me as I came up and took a deep breath. Some light from the moon had managed to sneak past the bars but nothing useful. Good thing I came prepared. I pulled out my handy-dandy Maglite and flicked it on. The beam sent the shadows packing but they were there, just outside, watching, waiting. My breath appeared before me. It was cold outside, but not that cold.
The stories I had read about the cave didn’t do it justice. The roof was well almost ten feet up and the cave continued back farther than my Maglite could reach. The waves were still loud, crashing relentlessly outside. Graffiti was painted on the walls, though no gang tags I had ever seen. Instead there were weird symbols like you’d see in books. They glowed with a gentle light as I ran my Maglite over them.
I don’t know if Nadia was here but Janis’ partner had come looking and never came back.
I slogged through the water making my way further into the cave. The air was cold and stale. I shivered but soldiered on. I had to find Nadia, or barring that, find the phone Lilith had sent me to recover. That was the reason I was here.
Lilith. I had sold my soul to her a few weeks ago. Not figuratively or metaphorically, but literally. A signed paper contract, the whole nine yards. I didn’t sell it for money, for fame, or anything so mundane. I sold it because Lilith had promised she could help me with the trouble my sister was in. I won’t bore you with the details but long story short whatever she had done worked. I was able to rescue my sister but I didn’t realize the soul I had sold her was real.
“So you are my replacement, Lilith’s new plaything?” a voice called from the darkness.
The beam from my Maglite flew around but found nothing but rocky walls and water. Ahead the cave opened up, probably into the rocky hills that formed the coast.
“Something like that,” I yelled back. I could feel my veins pounding and a sweet scent wafted through the air. I was shivering now. A low fog rolled in diffusing the light.
“She sent you to kill me, didn’t she?” the voice accused, echoing everywhere but coming from nowhere. She must have had a PA system or else she was a banshee.
I shook my head. “No, I’m just here for the phone.”
Laughter filled the cave and there was nothing pleasant about it. “Just the phone? I doubt that.”
“Just the phone,” I repeated, continuing to looking around. It felt like I was walking through a Discovery Channel video, except the fear was palpable.
“Oh no, she wants more than the phone,” the voice said. “Did she tell you about me?”
“Not much, only that you won’t return her property,” I called back.
“Oh, there is so much more. You can’t have the phone. I need it,” she said.
“For what?” I asked.
“Oh, it connects me to her,” the voice laughed. I wanted to say ‘no shit, it’s a phone’ but I had a feeling it was more than just that.
A figure appeared ahead through the fog. The silhouette was a very curvy woman. She stopped maybe twenty feet away. “Nadia I presume?” I said.
Despite the darkness I could imagine her smiling at me. “Who am I going to have to kill for telling you about my home?”
My Maglite moved over Nadia as I continued closer. She was rocking tight black pants and a halter top showing her midriff. Pitch black had nothing on her hair, let alone the lipstick she wore. Dressing Goth could be gauche, but also sexy as hell. “No need for anyone to die.”
“Oh there will be plenty that die,” Nadia said and started walking backwards the closer I got. Her legs moved fluidly, keeping pace with me. Something was off but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Her lips dipped briefly then spread wide. “You sold your soul to her, didn’t you? Don’t try and deny it.”
“What if I did?” I asked.
“She owns you now. Not just your soul. She’ll use you and then discard you at the first convenient opportunity,” she said and her eyes tore into me. “What should I call Lilith’s newest conquest?”
“You can call me Vince,” I said.
“Vince. You look like a Vince,” Nadia said as her tongue moved out over her bottom lip.
I picked up the pace quickly catching up to Nadia. She watched me and continued her infuriating smile.
“This is just a job, sweetheart,” I said.
“Oh, it starts small. What is it they say, the first one is free? But each one after gets bigger, she sucks you in more,” Nadia said, her voice becoming low.
“I’m a big boy,” I said.
“Oh, are you? How big?” she laughed, a mocking sound.
“She’s giving me freedom,” I growled.
Nadia tossed her head back and lost it. “Freedom? You are a slave. She owns your soul. She owns you. You can’t get it back, not unless…” the laughter died down. “You’ll have to kill her.”
“Keep talking,” I said and reached for her.
“Don’t touch me!” Nadia yelled.
A ton of bricks hit me from behind. My legs couldn’t hold the weight and down I went. Saltwater burned my eyes and I pushed up as hard as I could to get my face out of it. Something loud and clicking was on top me and. My Maglite lit up the water but did little more than add to the creepiness.
“Let’s see how well Lilith’s plaything does, shall we,” Nadia hissed behind me but her voice was distorted, hollow, sounding like dozens of her were speaking at me. The back of my head began to burn as something dropped onto it. If I didn’t shave my head the hair would probably be smoldering. It took all my will to not let panic slide into the driver’s seat. I controlled that primal fear, channeled it, made it work for me. The adrenaline flooding my system was an old friend. I twisted as hard as I could and shoved my elbow back. I hit something solid and Nadia groaned and the pressure on my back was gone.
I scrambled as fast as I could to get out from underneath her. Rolling over I shined my light up and about shit myself. Nadia was there, or what was left of her. Where her legs had been was a swollen abdomen with a giant stinger. A giant hairy leg jutted from each shoulder and hip, she was walking on them. I’m not talking hairy like some hippie or pre-spring shorts weather. No, there were course bristles up and down all moving. Each leg was tipped with a wicked looking claw.
Nadia, herself, was naked. I’m a fan of the naked body, male and female, and try not to discriminate. I drew the line here, though. Her body was bloated and covered in stretch marks and tears. Two serrated fangs had torn through the skin on either side of her mouth and in place of her eyes were hundreds of onyx facets, all glaring at me. This wasn’t what I had planned on when I started this job.
TWO
So how did I wind up in a cave fixing to go toe to claw against a giant spider monster? It was a paying gig.
A few days before I had been staying in a seedy motel on the outskirts of Colt. It was the kind that only takes cash, has the option for hourly rates, and if you never want to feel clean again bring a black light. Lilith had put me up there after she had helped me with my family issues. Told me to wait for her call. So for nearly a full week I had laid in bed, watched the static on the TV, occasionally going to clog my arteries at What A Burger or getting a pack of smokes from the 7-11.
I was still coming to grips with what I had done. I had sold Lilith my soul. I mean, it was just taking up space and I had no idea it was real. In return she gave me something, maybe awakened it. I found my senses sharper, my reflexes faster, and I was more sensitive to things around me. I felt stronger. I had never felt more alive but it wasn’t all fun and games. I saw things. Dark things. Scary things. Things that should exist in a bad acid trip or a movie screen but they were there in full Technicolor.
I had just been thrust headfirst into the world of the Unseen while trying to get my sister out of a bad place. I had failed miserably at first. Wound up in the hospital. The cops were no help. My memory was fuzzy and none of the things I told them stacked up. I had hit bottom. That’s when Lilith showed up.
I don’t know who she was or why she found me, but when offered a way to save my sister I jumped on it. With her gift I was able to rescue my sister. I also killed for the first time though they weren’t fully human. When it was done Lilith told me she saw potential me. I was a diamond in the rough, made valuable by intense pressure. She would mold me, carve me, make me truly valuable. I just needed to wait for her call.
So I waited at this motel. And waited. And waited until my cell phone rang.
“Vincent, I trust your accommodations are acceptable?” Lilith asked.
“Yeah, except I feel like I need a round of antibiotics just sleeping here,” I said. I didn’t correct her about my name. I hated Vincent. I preferred Vince.
“Well, as it so happens I have that job I promised,” she said.
“Don’t leave me in suspense,” I replied, ready to do anything more than sit on my ass. Sitting around doing nothing sounds fabulous until you’ve done it for a few days and cabin fever set in.
She laughed. “I want you to get something back for me.”
“Sure, what is it?” I asked.
“A phone.”
My brows went up. “That’s the job? You want me to bring you a phone?”
“Oh, not just any phone, Vincent. This phone has sentimental value to me,” Lilith said, her voice playful. “A former associate has it. I want it back.”
“Sure, I can kick in a door or two for you. Where is it?” I asked.
The laughter that followed was mocking. “Oh, Vincent, if I knew where it was I wouldn’t need you to find it.”
My eyes rolled back in my head, not that she could see. “Okay, what can you tell me then?”
“It’s a special phone. An old phone,” Lilith said. “Ivory and brass. I want you to find it and bring it to me.”
“Fair enough, but I’m going to need more than a description. Who has it?” I asked.
“Her name is Nadia Gallo,” Lilith said after a pause, and then proceeded to give me the last known address of Nadia. I jotted it down. I didn’t know the area other than it was in the Barrio, far East Colt.
“What should I know about Nadia?” I asked. “She dangerous?”
“Oh yes, most assuredly so. I’m hoping she’ll be a dear and just return my property,” Lilith said.
“But you aren’t expecting her…to at least not without a little pressure,” I finished.
Her laugh was soft and light. “Oh yes. Be careful with her. She’s changed since we first met.”
“Could you be any less vague?” I asked as I lit up a smoke. No one has come kicking my door down yet and the ashtrays were overflowing.
“Oh, I could try, but I doubt you’d believe me,” Lilith said.
“What’s the pay?” I asked.
“Oh, I’ll handsomely compensate you. If you do this then I know you will be worth putting effort into,” Lilith said but didn’t give me specifics.
She was loaded. I mean fat stacks loaded. Lilith owned the Dusk and Dawn, the premier social spot in the city. If you have to ask how much an entree is you can’t get in. That kind of place. Money was a tool, something to be used to get things done.
“All right, I’ll find your phone for you,” I said.
“Oh good, Vincent. This will be the start of a very lucrative arrangement,” Lilith said and then the line went dead.
THREE
It was close to eight PM when I grabbed all my stuff, hopped on my Harley, and headed out. I looked at the address Lilith had given me and of course it wasn’t somewhere nice. It was in East Colt.
Back in the day East Colt was where all the rich and affluent people lived. The river was a natural barrier that kept the unwanted away unless they crossed one of the three bridges. That changed at some point after the Civil War. The undesirables were forced east, across the river, when the powerful took over the west of Colt.
Gangs, drugs, prostitution…all on display in East Colt after the sun went down. Depending on where you were you could also do some daytime shopping. The cops don’t patrol there too often and usually will only resolve something with force.
One big issue with that arrangement is the Unseen population had free movement there. After dark people learned the hard way that the things that go bump in the night enjoyed people, and not for their company.
Despite being hidden in full leather and a helmet I was the wrong color for most of East Colt. I was a lone asshole on a Harley and didn’t stop long enough to deal with the gangs who were out. They watched me, waiting to see if I’d start anything. The moved on once I was out of sight.
I found the apartment building easy enou
gh. It was an old building that should have been demoed a few decades ago. Six stories tall and I’m sure during its heyday it was a grand sight. Now it was graffiti covered with many windows covered in plywood.
I pulled into a parking spot and dropped the kickstand. I had at least a half dozen eyes on me, each wondering why I was here and if they could take me.
A big ‘ol black dude in a wife-beater and pants sagging to his ankles lumbered up to me, arms swinging in a well-practiced swagger.
“Whatcha looking for man? Blow? Smack? Some red hot pussy?” he asked. Two even bigger guys moved in behind him, folding their arms and showing that the size of their biceps were probably bigger than their IQ.
I pulled off my helmet and ran a hand over my bald head. “No, I’m looking for Nadia. I hear she lives here.”
The smile fell from the pimps face and he started to sweat. He stepped back twice and swallowed. “She ain’t here, man. Go away.”
I walked forward and smiled. “If she’s not here then I want to check out her place.”
One of the thugs unfolded his arms and flexed. The other dropped a hand to his pants, and probably not to scratch an itch. Pimp Boy lifted a hand and waved them off. “She bad news, dude. We don’t want no trouble.”
“Me either. Let me see her place and I’ll be gone,” I said.
Pimp Boy narrowed his eyes and swallowed. “No, we don’t fuck with her, she don’t fuck with us. Leave or we’ll make you.”
I ignored him and started walking towards the building, skirting outside the reach of Pimp Boy and his friends. I stopped when a half-dozen pistols came out, all were pointed at me.
“You’ve done pissed me off,” Pimp Boy said. “Follow me inside. I’d prefer not to make a public display.” He motioned to the apartment with 9MM in his hand.
I slowly walked past the gaggle of thugs towards the front door. My pulse was racing but I wasn’t afraid, at least not yet. This was getting me closer to where I wanted to go, though a shallow grave might be just as likely. Pimp Boy shoved the barrel of his gun into my back trying to get me to speed up.