The Dark Sacrifice: A Horror Novel

by Jay Bower

  Meagan’s face flushed. “Excuse me for being social. I didn’t do anything wrong. Sara and I were just talking. I don’t need a lecture from you now. I need your help!” Her eyes glistened, and she wiped the tears away. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d hurt her.

  He shrugged. “You go that way. I’m going over there. Call me if you see anything. Got it?” She nodded, and he took off down the left side of the crowd as she went along the right. She saw several officers making their way through the crowd. Somehow, seeing all those people searching for Noah made her more anxious than before. She needed to get to him fast.

  ***

  SOON AFTER NOAH and Eric left to go play by the large rock, Noah heard a voice calling to him. He ignored it at first, thinking it came from inside his head and not from anyone in the crowd. He didn’t want another episode like what happened at his grandparents’.

  The more he ignored it, the more it grew. The voice didn’t get louder like a shout or yell, but stayed at a whisper, only magnified in intensity. It called to him, “N-O-A-H…” in a slow, breathy voice. It sounded like wind blowing through bare tree limbs. It called to him over and over, “N-O-A-H…N-O-A-H…N-O-A-H…N-O-A-H…”

  “Who are you?” he said aloud.

  “I’m Eric,” his friend said, giving him a strange look.

  “I know that! Don’t you hear that voice calling me? It’s calling ’N-O-A-H’ over and over again.”

  “Um, dude, I don’t hear a thing. Are you all right? You aren’t bugging out like you did in my backyard the other day, are you?”

  “No! And I didn’t bug out. I saw something back there. I don’t know what it was, but I did.”

  “Yeah, sure you did. Just like you hear something now,” Eric said. He stood with his hand to his ear. “All I hear is that stupid music. I wish they’d cut that out and just get on with the fireworks.”

  Noah heard it again.

  “N-O-A-H…”

  He heard it beyond the rock. “There! Did you hear it then? Just now, it did it again!”

  Eric looked at Noah, shaking his head. “Nope, I didn’t hear it. I think you’re making this up.”

  Noah walked around the rock and heard it again, this time farther ahead. He followed the whispers, running fast. Eric ran right behind him. Noah followed the sound until it took him past the stage and down to an old dried-up riverbed. The sound of the music and the crowd faded away. The voice grew more urgent there and he stopped moving. He stood in the center of the riverbed, and suddenly the voice was silent.

  “Can you not hear that?” he said to Eric. Panting, his hands on his knees, Eric shook his head.

  “Noah, I don’t hear anything. We need to get back. Our moms are gonna kill us!”

  Noah didn’t know what to say. He heard the voice clearly, as though it were right next to him, but he didn’t see anything.

  “Eric, I don’t know. I heard a voice calling me. It stopped just now. Are you sure—” he started. In front of him, in the fading light of day, stood a frightening image.

  A blood-red creature with dark black veins pulsing loomed about a foot taller than he. It stood within feet of him, discolored claws and eyes a vibrant yellow with dark black irises. Its mouth hung open, blood and drool dripping. Slowly, its mouth opened and exhaled the word. “N-O-A-H…”

  Noah froze.

  Eric saw his friend standing there, transfixed on nothingness. “Noah, are you all right? We really need to go.”

  Noah didn’t reply. He didn’t move. Eric fidgeted, pacing like he had to go to the bathroom.

  Noah couldn’t take his eyes off the creature. Slowly, wings began to unfurl behind it. They were thin membranes, a lighter shade of red than the rest of the body, with long bones forming ribs. They reminded him of pterodactyl wings, or how they were illustrated in books. Its black hooves dug deep into the ground.

  Fear rose within Noah. He knew he shouldn’t be afraid, but he couldn’t help himself. This beast was something he’d never imagined. The sulfur-colored claws were menacing. He knew what it wanted.

  “Noah, come on!” Eric said as he grabbed Noah’s shoulder. The boy didn’t budge. “Noah, you’re cold. Come on, dude, stop it!”

  Noah stared at the creature, waiting for it to devour him with its snarling mouth, though he knew it wouldn’t. It couldn’t. The piercing yellow eyes gazed longingly at Noah. It licked its lips with a forked tongue.

  It couldn’t touch him, he kept telling himself.

  Suddenly, it rose in the air. Hovering in front of him with its red veiny wings, it snarled. Again, it taunted, “N-O-A-H…” For a moment, Noah thought it was smiling as it flapped its wings with a tremendous effort and flew right at him. It screeched with outstretched claws and mouth open wide, exposing several rows of rotting, razor-sharp teeth.

  It couldn’t touch him, he told himself.

  Noah’s vision went black.

  Eric watched his friend suddenly drop to the ground in a lump. “Oh my God! What’s wrong, Noah?” He turned away and ran until a police officer caught him.

  “My friend Noah…back there,” he pointed, “he needs help. Please!” Eric’s body shook like a jolt of electricity coursed through him.

  The officer grabbed his mic. “This is one-two-thirteen. I’ve found the boys.” Silence came over the air.

  “Patrick, I’ve found them.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  PATRICK GRABBED MEAGAN and they ran to the riverbed, Meagan’s face streaked with tears. When the call came over the radio, the officer didn’t sound exactly sure of what he was saying. It was more like the call that came in when a dead body was found when you expected a survivor. Maybe he thought too much into it. He’d know soon enough if his fears were valid.

  Several officers surrounded the boys, some in plain clothes, others in full uniform. Patrick ran and pushed them out of the way. In the center lay his son, convulsing on the dry ground. “Get some help, now!” Patrick yelled. Meagan joined him, and they frantically tried to calm Noah. He’d never had a seizure before. “Come on, get some help, dammit!” Patrick yelled again. He tried to soothe Noah, tried to calm his shaking body, but nothing he did helped at all. Meagan choked back her tears and stroked Noah’s hair. Her arms shook as she tried her best to calm Noah. “Give him room, will you?” Patrick snapped at her.

  “I’m his mother. I will do what I damn well please,” she snarled back. Patrick saw red at the edges of his vision, his hands balling into fists.

  “He’s my son, too,” he growled through clenched teeth.

  He looked up at the assembled officers. “Are any of you getting medical assistance?”

  “Patrick, we called as soon as we got here. They’re on the way. See, there’s the ambulance now,” one of the sheriff deputies said. In the distance, the all too familiar sound of blaring sirens came closer and closer. The ambulance followed along the dried riverbed in the middle of the grassy fields and stopped in front of the assembled responders.

  In the middle of the chaos, Patrick noticed Eric standing to the side, talking to one of the other deputies. “Eric,” he said, “what happened? Where did you guys go? What did this to Noah?” He needed answers, and he needed them now.

  Timidly, Eric stepped forward, the deputy remaining at this side. “I…I don’t know, sir. He heard something, sir. I thought he made it up. I didn’t hear a thing. Sir, I’m sorry. We should never have run off like that.”

  “No, you shouldn’t have,” Patrick replied. The paramedics wheeled a gurney to Noah. With Patrick’s help, they carefully slid Noah over and raised it. Meagan followed them, jumping into the ambulance after they loaded Noah in. His convulsions receded just a bit and she slumped into a seat next to him opposite a paramedic. Patrick stared at them, his breathing heavy, and anger on his face. The other paramedic shut the door, and they were off to Brownsville General.

  Watching the ambulance taillights, Patrick stood dumbfounded. He tried to understand what happened
. He knew he should follow them, but he also knew this would be the best time to talk to Eric.

  “Eric,” he said as he walked back to the boy, “you aren’t in any trouble, at least not from me. Now, from her…” he said, pointing to Eric’s mom, who had an escort of deputies bringing her over, “she might be a bit upset. But I need to know. It might help Noah. What happened here? Why were you here? Why did Noah have those convulsions?”

  “The what…oh, the flopping on the ground? I don’t know. He said he heard a voice calling his name. I think he made it up because I didn’t hear anything. Then once we got here, he stood still like a statue.” Eric snapped himself to attention, rigid. “Like this.” He stood for a moment before continuing. “Then the next thing I knew, he went to the ground like how you found him. His face went white. And he had spit coming from his mouth. Is he okay?”

  Patrick hung his head, running his hand through his hair. “I don’t know, Eric. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

  Sara made her way to them and clung to Eric, sobbing. “I thought you were gone! I thought I lost you. I’m so happy you’re okay.” She cried tears of joy at having found her son alive and well. She turned at Patrick and then took a quick glance around. “Where’s Noah? And Meagan?”

  “They’re on their way to Brownsville General. When we got here, we found Noah convulsing on the ground. We don’t know why yet. Meagan went in the ambulance with him.”

  Sara hugged Patrick. “Thank you for finding my boy. I just know yours will be well.”

  Patrick hoped so.

  A hand grasped his shoulder and he turned. “Come on, Patty. You aren’t in any shape to drive. I’ll take ya to the hospital.” Benny stood there, his face rough leather with a wad of chew in his mouth. “Come on, Patty, you need to be there for your family,” he urged.

  Reluctantly, Patrick followed him to the car. He flung himself in the passenger seat and covered his face with his hands. “Benny,” he said quietly, “it’s so much easier when it’s not your own. This has never happened before.”

  Benny patted him on the leg.

  “It’s all right, Patrick. He’ll be fine. Whatever happened to him, I’m sure they’ll take good care of him.”

  Patrick flung his head back, staring up at the roof of the car. “She should have been more careful, you know? She didn’t keep an eye on him and this happened. She got caught up in so much gossip with that…Sara, and now this.”

  “Patty, it’s not healthy to blame her. She’s trying the best she can. The only way you guys are going to get through this is by sticking together. Don’t get all mad at her, at least not now; not while Noah needs you both. Just support her. She needs a strong man. She’s probably beating herself up a lot and doesn’t need anyone else doing it, too. It can’t be easy for her. What she needs is you.”

  Patrick wanted to argue but couldn’t come up with anything to refute Benny. For an old, weathered man invested in his chew, he made lot of sense then. Patrick nodded and stared blankly out the window.

  Before long, they whipped into the parking lot of the hospital. “I’ll be in the lobby if ya need anything,” Benny said. He dropped Patrick off at the doors of the ER and went to park the car.

  Patrick rushed inside, greeted by a nurse.

  “Can I help you, officer—oh!” she said. “You’re Noah’s dad, right? Come back this way.” She took him to Noah and Meagan. A nurse finished getting Noah’s vitals and walked out of the room. The boy lay on the bed, eyes closed, but at least the convulsions had stopped. Meagan looked up at Patrick with bloodshot eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Patrick, I should have been more careful.”

  He went to her and put his arm around her. “It’s okay. We’re together now. We can get through this. It’ll be fine.” He held her close as she let out a new series of sobs. “It’s okay, Meg, I’m here.” A few minutes passed before a doctor walked in. Patrick recognized him. He had seen him one other time when he dropped off a drunk that had cut himself pretty bad. The doctor acknowledged him as well.

  “Officer, is he your boy?”

  “Yeah, that’s Noah. This is his mother, my wife, Meagan,” he nodded toward her.

  “Well, Mrs. O’Shea, I’m sorry to meet you under these circumstances.”

  She nodded in reply.

  “Let’s have a look,” he said as he moved past Meagan and Patrick. He took out his stethoscope and listened to Noah’s chest.

  “Hmm,” he said, but nothing more. After examining Noah’s eyes and in his ears, he turned to the two of them. “Do you know what happened? His vitals are just fine. I’ll have the nurse take some blood, but nothing appears to be wrong. In fact, I’d say he’s the healthiest patient I’ve ever had come through the ER doors. Nothing’s broken, and nothing immediately indicates why he had the seizures.”

  “What are you saying, Doc?” Patrick asked.

  “What I’m saying is that he doesn’t show any signs of ill health. Nothing is wrong with him. Again, that’s a quick diagnosis. I need to check his blood. There very well may be some type of virus affecting him, though nothing indicates he’s contracted anything. His breathing sounds great and his heart rate is not elevated. He actually appears to be…sleeping.”

  “How…how can that be?” Meagan asked through her tears. Patrick saw Noah’s convulsions in the park. He found it just as hard to believe as Meagan did what the doctor was saying.

  “We need to see what he’s like when he wakes up. He may have a concussion or another neurological problem, but my gut feeling is that isn’t the case. He honestly appears to be sleeping. I know that sounds strange, and I know the first responders found him convulsing. I’ll give a call upstairs to the specialists. Maybe they can find something I don’t see.” He nodded to them and walked out of the room.

  “Patrick, what do you think it is?”

  “Meg, I don’t know. Do you think he saw something again? Or thought he saw something?”

  Meagan shook her head slowly. “I don’t know.” She brushed Noah’s hair off his angelic face.

  “Well, whatever is messing with my son, I will find out. Moving here had so much promise, Meg, and this is not helping.”

  She looked at him, and her eyes dropped to the scar on his chest. “I know, Patrick. Maybe he’s having problems adjusting to this place. I don’t know why he would, but maybe he is.”

  “I thought we’d make a brand-new start,” he said, his voice cracking.

  She hugged him tighter. “It is a new start, Pat.”

  Eventually, the ER doctor—Doc Jones—brought a specialist, and after a thorough examination, he too concluded Noah to be in excellent health. They kept him overnight for observation, but when morning came and he awoke asking for chocolate chip pancakes, he was discharged.

  Meagan and Patrick had stayed up all night keeping vigil over Noah and hardly spoke a word to each other. Their bleary eyes had a tough time seeing Noah so alert and ready to go. They signed him out, and Meagan’s parents were waiting for them in the lobby. June looked up, relieved. Al acted as though they were interrupting something important.

  “I brought the car to take you all home,” he said dryly.

  “Don’t mind him. He’s just cranky because he couldn’t go have coffee with his friends this morning,” June said. They walked out into the bright morning light and went home where Meagan and Patrick crashed hard. June stayed for the day to watch over Noah.

  CHAPTER TEN

  IN TIME, NOAH GOT back to himself again. He never did explain what happened. Every time Patrick approached him about it, he’d go back into his shell and stay there for hours. Not having great patience, Patrick’s frustration with him increased, and instead of taking it out on him, he focused his energy on his work. He became more and more involved with the department, staying late on shifts and volunteering for others, and spending more time away from home.

  “Why do you need to work this shift? Haven’t you worked enough this week already? It’s not like you have a h
omicide to solve or drug cartel to break up,” Meagan chided. She sat down on the couch, her lower lip stuck out and arms crossed. A glass of red wine sat on the table next to her.

  “It’s like I said, we’re a little short-handed right now because of vacations. Besides, think about the extra money. We could use it,” Patrick replied, which wasn’t a lie in either case. He sat at the dining room table tying his shoes. He didn’t look up at Meagan. “I’ll be home later. Don’t stay up.” He rose, gave her a wink, and walked out.

  He stood on the porch, relieved to be free of the suffocating walls of his home. The oppressive humidity weighed on him. Still, it felt better than being in the house. He hoped to drive aimlessly around town. He often got lost in his thoughts on those drives, and he needed it today.

  At the department, he checked in and found he was riding with Benny. Usually, the old man rode the night shift exclusively, but today he was out in the daylight because of the short staffing.

  “So, you gonna scare all the little kids with that mug of yours?” Patrick asked Benny.

  “Ha. I’ll have you know most of these kids need a little bit a scaring. They need a good switch to their backsides, too. I’m getting too old to be their parent.” He spit in the grass as they walked to the car. His mouth bulged near the jawline.

  “Benny, you’re too old, period. When are you gonna retire, huh? Just think about all the wonderful things you could do then.” They stopped on either side of the car, arms resting on the roof, staring at each other.

  “You ask me that again, boy,” Benny said as he spit on the ground, “and I’m gonna knock yer teeth in. Got it?” Patrick almost called him on it. Instead, he shook his head and climbed in the car.

  “Geez, Benny,” he said as they got going, “what’s gotten into you today? Maybe you should stick with the night shift. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m all right. It’s the chief, that’s all. He’s got plans going again. I tell ya, ain’t nothing like old Chief Wayne and his ideas. But things need to be done.”