The Dark Sacrifice: A Horror Novel

by Jay Bower

  Meagan nodded but stayed silent. He held her tight, letting her cry it out. She carried on for a long time, long enough that Patrick thought she’d wake Noah, but he didn’t get up. Still, for the next several days, she chided him about moving; never letting up.

  The guitar solo kicked in, breaking Patrick’s thoughts. The music and Meagan’s voice fought with one another in his head until he turned off the radio. He couldn’t handle his distracted attention and drove the rest of the way in silence.

  His shift started uneventfully. He checked in and caught up on the most recent events. When his partner Luis showed up, they were off to patrol East St. Louis.

  About half past eleven, they received a call of a domestic disturbance at a home about four streets away. As the closest, they called in and were soon on their way, lights blazing and siren screaming. Patrick pulled up to the residence where a local police car was already on the scene. The blue lights of the car illuminated the run-down homes with broken windows and barred front doors. The cop turned back, relief visible on his face when he saw them pull up.

  Patrick and Luis ran up next to the officer. “Thank God,” the officer said. Patrick recognized him. Ron Woodson, an officer of the East St. Louis Police Department. He’d been invaluable in an earlier domestic Patrick caught a while back.

  “What’s the problem, Ron?” Patrick asked. He looked toward the house, with its sagging roof and battered siding.

  “Damn kids inside beating the hell out of their mom. I tried to mediate, but one of them pulled a gun. I’ve been out here ever since. I ain’t going in there alone, that’s for damn sure.” Sweat dripped from Ron’s forehead down his dark face. Patrick admired the man’s dedication to the streets of East St. Louis. He saw it as a job, while Ron wanted to make the city a better place.

  Patrick patted Ron’s shoulder. “Okay, Ron, we got your back,” Patrick said. Luis nodded agreement, his hand resting on his sidearm.

  “Yo, you pigs betta get outta here! This ain’t nothing to do with you!” a voice from inside the house yelled.

  Ron furrowed his eyebrows. “Yes, it does, boy. You need to relax and put down your weapon. There ain’t no need for guns today,” he yelled back. A shot rang out and all three men dropped to their knees behind the cars. They heard a laugh from inside.

  “Look at them little piggies hide!” the voice yelled.

  Patrick was angry. An image of Noah floated in his head. His sweet, innocent boy. At that moment, he hoped for nothing more than to raise him free of violence like this. He knew he could do better for his son. He had to. Noah was everything to Patrick. Patrick pushed the thought away. He’d need to focus so they would have a positive outcome here.

  Patrick looked to Ron and motioned that he and Luis would circle around the house to survey the scene and end this. Luis went along the left side and Patrick went to the right. He crept along the driveway, hiding behind two cars parked there. Once he made it to the house, he drew his weapon. Arguing voices rose higher. He crept closer to an open window. The unmistakable funk of meth drifted out.

  A sound in the grass caught Patrick’s attention. A small boy not a day older than his own son stood staring at him. Patrick raised his finger to his mouth for the boy to stay quiet. The boy stared at him, his large eyes widening. He raised his arms, and before Patrick could speak, he saw a bright flash accompanied by a loud bang as the boy pulled the trigger.

  With a sudden, intense pain in his chest, Patrick was knocked into the house. He slid to the ground, a trail of crimson streaking the siding. The boy dropped the gun and ran off into the dark.

  Someone inside the house screamed as another gunshot sounded. Luis and Ron ran to Patrick. He was slumped down on the ground with a large hole in his chest. He barely noticed them looking at him. His mind kept returning to Noah. He couldn’t die here in a strange neighborhood. He had to stay alive for him. He had to make things right for his son. Patrick wasn’t the man he should be.

  Breathing came hard now. Air escaped the hole in his chest. Something oozed down his shirt. He tried making out what Luis and Ron were saying, but everything jumbled together. Before long, his world went dark. His last thought was of Noah.

  Patrick woke to his heart beating a steady rhythm. Sharp blips and an antiseptic scent told him where he was. It took his eyes several minutes to adjust to the bright white lights around him. He found it difficult to breathe, and something protruded from his nostrils.

  “He’s awake!” a small voice cried.

  Noah? he thought.

  His head hurt and it was hard to focus. There was a dark figure in front of him. His eyes adjusted, and he recognized Meagan’s face. She had tears on her cheeks and her hair appeared like she hadn’t brushed it in days.

  “Patrick, I thought I lost you!” she said, caressing his head, wary of disturbing the array of wires and tubes. Several figures in white coats and colored scrubs appeared at the edge of Patrick’s vision. Meagan smiled at him, and everything faded to black again.

  When he awoke, his nose was free of tubes. Breathing still hurt. He felt like he’d been stabbed in his chest. He took a deep breath and pain shot through him, so he breathed shallow, quick breaths until he calmed down and the pain subsided. Several days later, they let him go with a long list of meds. He didn’t like taking pills and drugs. They made him feel inadequate, like a crutch.

  After the incident, Patrick received paid leave for physical and mental recuperation. The shot caught him to the right of his heart, puncturing his lung. Fortunately, the paramedics got there in time to stabilize him and transport him to the hospital. He faced several weeks, then months of vigorous rehab. He hated feeling weak; hated having to lean on someone else for strength, but he pushed through, knowing soon he’d be back on his feet and taking care of his family again.

  The nights were the absolute worst part for Patrick. He often woke in a cold sweat, fearing a gunman in the shadows of their bedroom. More than once, Meagan held him close to her, rocking gently, trying to calm and reassure him. He couldn’t have made it without her.

  ***

  MEAGAN BECAME HIS backbone, his rock, his everything. She cared for him more than he deserved. She slept very little those first few weeks. With his constant waking and night terrors, she couldn’t sleep, so she did the only thing she could. She comforted him and held him close.

  Meagan didn’t want Noah to see Patrick weak and afraid. She’d raised Noah to be strong, self-sufficient, and courageous in tough times. Seeing his father weakened would do so much damage to the little man Noah was becoming. She watched as Patrick struggled with not being strong, but in her arms, she hoped to give him her brother Todd’s strength; the strength her mother raised them both with. In her mind, Todd was the bravest boy and strongest person she had ever known, though she’d never told Patrick about him. Secretly, she hoped Noah would be like him. First, she needed to get Patrick back on his feet again.

  ***

  SEVERAL MONTHS AFTER the incident, Patrick was ready to get back to work. He conquered his fears with Meagan’s help and appointments with a shrink the department required him to see. He worked through his terrors and could get close to people again without a constant nagging fear that someone had a gun trained on him. On one of the days leading up to his reinstatement, Meagan approached him with an opportunity her mother had brought to her attention.

  The police department in Brownsville needed an officer. Someone had transferred out, and they had been running shorthanded for a while because of budget cuts. They were now able to hire someone, and Meagan thought it would be an awesome opportunity if Patrick could transfer to Brownsville.

  “Just think about it, baby,” she said as he sat at the table drinking coffee and reading on his tablet.

  He gazed up at her. “Well, I guess I could check in to it. I doubt they pay as good down there, but if you’re fine with us eating ramen noodles and drinking generic soda, then maybe we can do it,” he replied. He had been warming to the id
ea ever since the shooting. Surely there wasn’t as much crime or as many shootings as East St. Louis. He rubbed his chest, feeling the scar.

  “What about Noah?” he asked. The boy had few friends and only knew city life.

  “What about him?” she replied. “He’d be far better growing up in a small town where people recognize him. Besides, it did me good,” she said. She winked and kissed his forehead. “Just think about it, please? Living here and what it’s done to you, well…” she paused. “This place has done more harm than good. We need to think about it. My family is there. They can help with anything we need.”

  He hesitated, his coffee cup raised to his lips, then took a sip. “Yeah, I guess so,” he said. The thought of having to ask her father for any kind of help rankled him. He’d do it on his own.

  Later that day, while driving to the store for milk and almost getting into a wreck because he mistook a car backfiring for a gunshot, he decided maybe Meagan had a point. Maybe they needed to get out of the city. Maybe a change would be good for all of them. He’d check into it as soon as he got back to work. It certainly would make life much, much easier.

  CHAPTER THREE

  PATRICK HAD BEEN SHOT on a cool mid-October evening. By the time he decided Meagan might be right about moving and he inquired about a transfer, spring bloomed, and the trees had come back to life in a beautiful display of nature’s power. Patrick loved the changing of the seasons. It made him feel alive. When things were cold for just long enough, spring’s thaw brought life to the world. It was one thing Patrick loved the most about living in the northern section of the country. He often marveled how any of the early settlers endured such changing conditions without the aid of modern conveniences.

  Like the seasons, he found himself at a time of change.

  His boss, Captain Lee Smith, spoke to him about moving on from time to time. By the way Patrick had handled himself after returning to the job, his boss quipped how the rural setting might give him the opportunity to rise above his fears and concerns for his family. Smith pulled a few strings, and soon Patrick had a new job waiting.

  It happened so fast. Patrick and Meagan didn’t even have enough time to look for a new place to live until they got a quick weekend free, just two weeks before Patrick reported for duty. Meagan lined up a whirlwind trip to visit several homes in and near Brownsville that she’d flagged after initial online searches.

  “Meagan, do you think this is the right decision?” Patrick asked as they drove along a rural two-lane highway. Trees bloomed green and new along the route. The Mississippi River ran along the right side of the road for much of the way. Sunshine brightened the mood and the crisp air reminded Patrick of early spring rather than late May.

  “Of course, I do, dear. I think you need the change. We need the change. I don’t want Noah to grow up afraid of his neighborhood. I don’t want him to fear you won’t come home because some stupid person took his issues out on you. We almost lost you once. I don’t want that to happen again.” Meagan glanced in the back seat at Noah, who wasn’t paying any attention to their conversation. He was too busy playing with the tablet on his lap. Patrick rubbed the scar on his chest. Meagan was right, but still, the move worried him. Change didn’t always come easy for him. Once, he had to change his sleeping routine because of a shift change, and it almost caused Meagan to leave him. This move could be mentally worse for him.

  “Do you think Noah will fit in?” he asked her, looking at their son in the rearview mirror.

  “Of course. He’s a smart kid. Who wouldn’t like Noah?” she said, smiling. Noah had always been a fun, vivacious child. Patrick loved him dearly. Noah was his little buddy. They did all kinds of things together, from playing video games, something Meagan still didn’t like, to fishing and playing ball. Meagan homeschooled Noah, so they enrolled him in various organizations to keep him socially well adjusted. He was involved in scouts and baseball. He made friends easily. Noah would be fine; Patrick knew it. He was only searching for reasons against the move. He thought he’d almost rather deal with the harsh city environment instead of moving and starting over.

  Meagan’s parents would help with everything, though Patrick didn’t care for them. They always seemed off to him. They had a detachment that Patrick didn’t understand. He didn’t know if he should be wary of them or dismiss it as their personalities. He’d find out soon enough. The three of them would stay with her parents for the weekend, and they would all go on the home tours. He was sure his nerves were in for a workout. He’d never spent that much time with his in-laws before, and on top of trying to find a home, he’d have to figure them out.

  “I bet Noah’s gonna enjoy being closer to family,” Patrick said. Meagan didn’t respond. They drove in silence for a while until Patrick had enough. Meagan usually chatted his ear off, but now she was abnormally quiet.

  “Huh? Oh…yeah, I’m sure he will,” Meagan said after Patrick gave her a look. She stared out the window, watching the scenery go by. A squirrel crouched, ready to chance running in front of the car, then decided it wasn’t worth it and darted off in the opposite direction. Patrick thought it best to leave things alone and didn’t pry. Maybe she was just as apprehensive about the move as he was.

  He clicked the radio on and scrolled through the channels, stopping at an eighties station. He hummed along to Duran Duran, cheering himself up a bit.

  For the next hour, he lost himself in the music. He let his anxieties go to the electronic thump of Tears for Fears. His mind wandered to a simpler time of his life. As a boy, all he wanted to do was grow up and be an adult. Now there, he didn’t like it much. No one told him about the immense responsibility adulthood brought with it. He faced challenges every single day. When he was a kid, his greatest problem was when he broke a skateboard and needed to save up money to get a new one. He had everything at his disposal and nothing to worry about. His parents had been there for him and supported him in all his endeavors. He didn’t notice it then, but thinking back, he understood they knew way more than he ever gave them credit for. They did pretty good for parents, though he’d never have told them back then. It was too late to say anything now. They had both died; his mom from cancer, and his dad not too long after from a heart attack. Patrick thought that in their sixties, they were too young to die like that. He missed them dearly, especially his dad. They had been close, much closer than he and Noah. As much as he considered Noah his little buddy, it paled in comparison to his relationship with his dad. Meagan had Noah wrapped around her little finger and kept him too close.

  Patrick had worried that his long hours on the job might lead to an unnaturally close bond between Meagan and Noah. He wanted so much to be closer to his son; to mold him into a man; to encourage the positive masculine traits he’d need as he matured. He didn’t want regrets later in life with Noah, which was part of the reason he’d agreed with Meagan to make the big move. Even though it brought them closer to her family, he figured the slower pace of rural southern Illinois meant he’d be spending less time on the job and have more time at home. He needed that. Not only for Noah, but for Meagan as well. They’d talked of adding to their little family, but he didn’t want to think about it while he was still working in East St. Louis. He saw too much of the worst side of humanity to want to bring another life into it. This move had a lot riding on it, which only added to his stress.

  “Look out!” Meagan shouted. Patrick broke from his thoughts in time to grab the wheel and veer to the right on the shoulder and left back to the road. He narrowly missed a suicidal raccoon. Meagan stared at Patrick with wide eyes. “What were you doing? Didn’t you see that?” Meagan scolded. Noah shouted from the backseat. Patrick gripped the steering wheel with both hands, his heart slowing down after the sudden jolt.

  “I’m sorry, babe. I was lost in thought; that’s all.” He wiped the perspiration off his forehead and tried to calm down.

  “Mom, what happened?” Noah’s small voice said from the back.

/>   “Nothing. It’s okay, Noah. A raccoon tried to jump in front of your father.” She glared at Patrick. Noah went back to watching a show on the tablet.

  “Well, I’d sure appreciate it if you’d not kill us before we get there,” Meagan said in a low voice. She had a fierceness in her eyes. He turned back to the road, eyes straight ahead. They were about forty-five minutes away from her parents’ house and he couldn’t wait to get out and stretch his legs.

  Pulling into Brownsville from the east, the hilly road wound around a bend and beneath a railroad bridge where a coal train idly sat. They drove under the bridge and Patrick slowed as they approached the town. Immediately, he saw gas stations on either side of the road. He looked down at the dash and saw there was still a quarter tank left, so he didn’t stop. Another couple blocks farther and then a right led them through well-kept neighborhoods. The road dipped away from the congested areas, and on the edge of town sat the house where Meagan grew up.

  Patrick’s anxiety grew as they approached the small one-story house. It was a modest home with dark blue shutters against white siding. There was a large grey barn out back where her dad kept his small tractor and assorted pieces of equipment he felt he needed, though they didn’t have a farm, and the property only had two acres. Patrick didn’t know why he worried; they were good people. His heart raced, and he took several deep breaths. He must’ve been loud because Meagan turned to him.

  “What are you worried about? It’s only my parents. You get along with them. They like you! Besides, you’re their favorite son-in-law,” she said smiling.

  “I’m their only son-in-law. You don’t have any brothers or sisters,” he grumbled back a little too harshly. Meagan cocked her head and opened her mouth to reply, then closed it. “Sorry, I’m just nervous. I’ll get it together,” Patrick said. She reached down and squeezed his hand.