The Chronicles of Beast and Man

by J. Charles Ralston

  “Someone was tormented by its wrath, your men have simply not discovered it yet.”

  “What are you talking about?” Rod asked in a very cross and serious voice.

  “I do not know why, but this is not going to end as easily as before.” He said speaking in strange riddles again.

  “If you know something about an incident that has occurred, you have a moral duty to tell me exactly what it is.” Rod said while gazing intensely into Xerxes’ dark eyes.

  “I only know that the problem that has been brought to your town is not over. It will not be until the ancient possessor is put to rest.”

  “Ancient possessor, can you just speak to me like a goddamn person?”

  Xerxes was confused by Rod’s words.

  “I just want to know, if there was an incident and if so, where about did it happened?”

  “I do not know where it happened, but I do know that it did happen. I could feel the ancient one’s soul rejoice from feeding.”

  “The ancient one, are you saying you can feel this thing’s presence?” Rod asked and at the same time did not know why he was interested in anything the man had to say.

  “I can only sense it when the moon is full and he has transformed.”

  Rod listened to him speak his strange words in a way that only someone who deeply believed in them would. It puzzled him a great deal. Was this man crazy, or was he only being honest? It was so hard for Rod to judge this man.

  “I don’t understand you, I don’t even really want to either. But, if you have something to tell me, tell me now.” Rod said with anger in his voice.

  “I can only tell you that it occurred to the north of town.” Rod got up and began to walk away. “Oh, and there were two victims.”

  -

  After hearing Xerxes’ dreadful words, Rod drove a little further north on his patrol. He looked all around for any sign of a struggle or anything out of the ordinary for that matter. Nothing happened to catch his eye, he was not surprised. He was acting upon the lead given to him by a certain crazy person. Then again, something still told Rod that Xerxes was correct, and that everything was far from over.

  Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Matthew Russell was driving through Rod Truex’s neighborhood. It was not hard for him to locate Rod’s house. In a town where everyone knows everyone’s business, it was easy to acquire most information about people. Matthew sat in his car for a long moment, simply gazing out at the small house. He tensed up and a vein began to bulge out from his neck. This always occurred whenever Matthew was stressed out or angry.

  “Tonight,” Matthew said to himself as he continued to peer over at Rod’s small home. Soon he would reveal that he knew about their little secret.

  -

  Rod was surprised later when he found that the autopsy report on both Duane Ensig and Ryan Lovett were back. Rod studied them for a moment, only to see that for the most part they were exactly like the others. Obvious gnawing on flesh and bone, and canine hair located on body.

  Same goddamn bullshit as the last, Rod thought to himself. He began to wonder if the Xerxes character was correct, and more than likely it wasn’t over yet. The only reason he thought it was over was because he had no evidence of a murder yet. He had thought the same thing last time before Ryan’s wife called the station to say that he was missing.

  He is probably right, Rod thought. How could I be so naïve to think it might be over?

  Of all the awful things that possibly happen to the community, why this? Then again, who is Xerxes, and why in the world should I listen to him? Rod thought deeply to himself. But the rest of Rod’s day would remain under a black cloud. He could not get rid of the sick, dreadful feelings that plagued him. Knowing what he knew then, or at least what he thought he knew, or what he was convincing himself to believe: He felt as if he had let down the people of his town. This thing had sprung up again, and began to feast upon living, breathing people. He thought that if he had let himself jump to conclusions, (or thought outside the box) maybe some of this could have been avoided.

  That night when Rod left the police station, he made a note for the night shift to patrol heavily. He let them know that he didn’t want anyone sitting around, and that they still had a situation on their hands. It was a lonely ride home for Rod Truex, at that moment he wished he had someone to come home to. Someone to listen to him and understand him, a little bit of love making would be alright as well.

  Outside Rod slowly walked away from his truck, and up his narrow sidewalk. He walked through the door and into the kitchen without turning a light on. There was a small night light beside the sink which provided him with enough light to do what he needed. He immediately took off his belt and holster and slung it over the kitchen table chair. Rod then walked over to the sink and began to let the water run out from the faucet to let it become colder. As he did this he found himself a clean cup from the cupboard. It was then that he heard it, the sound of a bolt action rifle being loaded.

  Matthew Russell was now standing six feet away from him aiming the weapon at his head. Rod slowly turned, but was unable to see who the mysterious trespasser was in the dark corner of the kitchen.

  “I don’t usually turn all the lights on when I come home, but I don’t usually have unexpected guests. When I do they usually don’t bring guns either.” Rod said sarcastically.

  Rod’s mind began to go into a spinning whirl wind…He thought of Daniel Montvale, Gabrielle Parker’s parents? He then thought of Marcy. Could it all be part of some crazy love triangle?

  “You don’t turn on the lights when you come home at night?” A voice asked in return.

  Right away Rod knew that it was Matthew Russell’s voice. After the way he grilled him at the town hall, Rod wasn’t going to soon forget it. Hearing Matthew’s voice confirmed two things: Matthew did indeed know about the affair, and if Rod didn’t think fast, he could possibly die tonight.

  “Matthew, I think you need to calm down.”

  “You are in no position to tell me what you think I need to do.” Matthew snarled back. Rod felt a little bit of spittle hit his cheek.

  “Okay, I understand.”

  “The hell you do. You are a piece of shit.” Matthew vengefully yelled.

  Rod raised his hands up the air slowly, hoping that doing so might calm Matthew a little. Perhaps he would realize that Rod wasn’t going to try anything violent. Or at least he wouldn’t until he had the perfect opportunity.

  “I deserve every bit of what you just said; it isn’t right what I’ve done.” Rod said slowly, still hoping to calm the tense situation. “I should have known better Matthew, I am an awful, and dreadful, scum of the earth.”

  “It’s my wife you son of a bitch!” Matthew said back in return.

  Matthew hadn’t lowered the gun, but Rod still thought things were starting to get better.

  “I never did anything to you.”

  “It was never my intention to hurt you, I didn’t go out of my way to cause you pain. I know the things I say don’t mean anything, but I am sorry Matt.” Rod said as he edged slowly toward the kitchen table hoping the get close enough to the chair where his pistol rested in the holster.

  Rod thought he had made this motion slow enough that Matthew wouldn’t notice, but he was wrong. Matthew quickly moved to the chair and grabbed the pistol and aimed it at Rod and placed the rifle up against the wall.

  Why in the hell would he do that, his finger prints would be all over my pistol. Rod thought, until he noticed that Matthew was wearing latex gloves.

  This asshole is going to kill me, and he might even get away with it too. Rod thought as he gritted his teeth together.

  It was then that Rod's cell phone began to ring. He quickly reached into his pocket hoping that his actions wouldn't cause Matthew to shoot.

  "Hello!" Rod said loudly.

  "Hey Rod!" It was officer Stevens on the phone. "I just got a call from Chapman, sir. It looks like it happened again."


  As awful as the sound of those words were, Rod had to find a way out of his current situation. Matthew was beginning to sweat heavily and had a wild look in his eyes.

  "Do you remember Matthew Russell?" Rod asked Officer Stevens.

  "Umm…yeah." Officer Stevens answered. "Why?"

  “Oh, never mind. It was nothing.”

  When Matthew heard Rod say his name over the phone he felt like a fool. Any action that he might take against Rod would now probably lead directly to him.

  How had this plan gone so terribly wrong? Then again what had his plan been in the first place? He was going to show up, with rifle in hand, and then what? Just scare him, scare the living crap out of him so he would leave his wife alone. Now he felt like a damn fool.

  "I understand, Officer Stevens." Rod said the Officer’s last name just to let Matthew know who was on the other end of the line. "Where am I headed then?"

  "440 East 1450." Officer Stevens choked out the rural route address.

  Rod knew the road, but was not familiar with the house. After taking a mental note, Rod hung up the phone.

  "I have serious matters to take care of, I think you can probably guess how serious." Rod said as a jab not only to Matthew's self-esteem, but to the little argument he stirred up at the meeting less than a month ago.

  Rod began putting his belt and holster back on, he then extended his hand for Matthew to give him back his pistol.

  Matthew thought long and hard about not returning the pistol. He could easily fire off a shot and spread Rod's brains all over the kitchen wall. He imagined it, the feeling of the blast, the blood and skull fragments splattering on the kitchen wall.

  Rod could see a speckle of insanity in Matthew's eyes, perhaps this is going to take a turn for the worse.

  It was a moment that lasted no more than a few seconds but seemed to last much longer. Matthew placed the pistol down in the palm of Rod's hand. Maybe it was the idea of stopping the man who might be able to help the town with the deathly situation at hand. Or maybe it was that he knew he had never intended to kill Rod in the first place. Whatever it was, it stopped Matthew from hurting anyone.

  "Rod…stay away from my wife." Matthew said sternly and a bit sincerely as well.

  Rod paused for a moment as he prepared to leave. "I will Matthew, I won't mention any of this to anyone else either. It might be a good idea for you to do the same."

  Rod walked out the door of his house, got in his truck and drove away, leaving the broken down Matthew Russell inside his house to settle up with himself.

  When Rod got to the scene, it was pure chaos. The coroner, several State Police Officers, and half a dozen reporters were already scoping things out. Rod quickly let everyone know that he and his men would handle the situation, and everyone else needed to back off. It was a request that some responded well to, and others simply agreed to because they did not wish to make a scene. Rod had been losing respect and confidence not only in the local towns’ people, but in the other law enforcement departments as well. Everyone seemed to think that he should have had the situation wrapped up already.

  When Rod walked through the door of the cabin he thought he understood how serious all of this was. When he saw the revolting mass of carnage he changed his mind. The walls were splattered with blood, chunks of flesh and mangled body parts were all about. At one point someone said it looked as if a bomb had gone off. It made Rod think of an image he had once seen in Time magazine. The image was from the War in Iraq, it was a dirt street and what was left of a car after what appeared to be a massive explosion. There were several body parts about, but the image was taken close to a human arm most likely a females. The image disturbed Rod when he saw it. The scene before his eyes reminded him of it in a very immense way.

  Rod had certainly not been prepared for this.

  "The property is owned by a Bartholomew Wadd." Officer Chapman began to explain.

  "Yeah, there should be a female victim too. Batholomew was an author." Rod said as the situation unfolding became more serious.

  "Yeah, how did you know that?"

  "You can call it good police work." Rod said not willing to explain. He was still shaken by the carnage.

  "Chief Truex?" A sober voice called out.

  "That'd be me." Rod said turning to see a middle aged man in a pin stripe black suit.

  "Agent Rosen, FBI. I need to have a word with you."

  Rod was not surprised by this, he had wished that no one else would get involved and let him solve the case, but when the FBI tells you something, you more or less have to listen.

  It was then that Agent Rosen made it all very clear. The FBI would be taking over the investigation, and all files, and information in relation to the case would have to be handed over as soon as possible.

  Rod agreed, which left a terrible taste in his mouth, but he had no choice. He certainly was not going to give up the case without a fight. Just because they would have all the files did not mean he would not be able to continue forward. Rod knew more about the situation then the FBI ever could. It was time to prepare for a battle of incredible proportion. He was going to have to hunt this thing down and kill it at any cost. Even if it meant that he might lose his own life in the process. If that was what it was going to take to make the bloodshed stop, then so be it.

  -

  After Rod left the house, Matthew sat alone in the dark to think about his life.

  Hadn’t he done all the right things? He asked himself. He had created a business out of nothing, only pure effort and insane drive. After that he found his own loving and honest sweetheart. They had even built a family together, and now their relationship was in question. It did not make sense to him. He did not want to believe it was true. Matthew opened Rod's refrigerator to find a six pack of Coors Light. Matthew grabbed one and chugged it down quick. The taste of the beer was refreshing, he quickly drank another.

  As he drank he thought about his situation. In all his life Matthew had not felt like such a fool, he had to have compensation. It was something he was obviously not going to get through Rod. He would have to resolve his emotions with his wife.

  It was not long before he had drank all of Rod's beer. Then it was time to go, he would leave the mess for Rodney Truex to clean up.

  -

  Marcy heard Matthew recklessly pull into their drive way. As fast as she could, she got up from the bed and peered out from behind the blinds. She saw Matthew stumble slightly, something was wrong, she thought. It appeared as if maybe Matthew were intoxicated. That did not make sense though. Matthew did not drink often, let alone drink and drive.

  Marcy threw on her robe over her night gown and hurried down the stairs. When she arrived at the door, she found Matthew had already walked in. He gazed upon her with such power, that she had never seen before. She then noticed the unpleasant smell of alcohol coming from Matthew breath.

  “Matthew?” She had no more let his name slip out of her mouth before he slapped her across the face.

  Matthew had never hit Marcy before. This came as a most unpleasant shook. She dropped to the floor, and then turned to make sure there would not be a second attack.

  “What in the hell did you do?” Matthew asked.

  “What are you talking about?” Marcy asked as she began to sob.

  “You bloody damn well know what I am talking about.”

  Marcy was just about to speak when she felt Matthew grab her by her hair. He pulled her close and balled up his fist. Then to her surprise he let go of her, dropping her back down to the floor.

  “You have no excuse for yourself, you might as well leave me. Leave me and your kids, be with him.” Matthew spit the words out at her as if they would catch fire.

  She laid there on the floor, knowing exactly what Matthew was so angry about. For a moment she wondered how in the world he had found out. Then she realized that it didn’t matter. However he had figured it out wasn’t going to make a bit of difference, he had and now it was over. S
he had taken her own selfish craving, hurt her family, and perhaps Matthew’s actions were just punishment. It was then that Marcy heard a most unexpected sound. She turned to see Matthew sitting in his recliner with his hands over his face sobbing. Slowly she crawled across the floor, when she reached Matthew she crawled up onto his lap and held him tight.

  “I am sorry.” Matthew said to her in a trembling and hurt voice.

  “I know.” She said in return.

  She began kissing Matthew on the forehead softly. Marcy was now going to have to do her own damage control. She would have to take care of everything around her and see to it that she could earn Matthew’s trust again.

  Young Freddy Alexander placed his hand on the wooden fence and ducked down. He was just out of Xerxes’ view. Freddy had been driving through the country on a back road when he noticed Xerxes walking through the woods. He had parked his car on the shoulder of the road and began to secretly follow him. There was something about this monsterous man that intrigued him; he was easily the most unusual person he had ever seen.

  Freddy watched as each muscle shifted in Xerxes arm as he reared back and launched out a throwing knife. The knife weaved through the air at an inconceivable rate of speed, and landed dead center in a thin tree trunk. Despite the freezing cold weather Xerxes had removed his long black coat to practice. Freddy found this man to be so dark and mysterious, that he could not help but be spellbound.

  After throwing seven more knives Xerxes stomped over to the tree and promptly removed them. He would then walk back and proceed to do the same thing again.

  “Come on out, young one.” Xerxes commanded loudly.

  Freddy was terribly confused by Xerxes’ words, he had to have been speaking to him, but Freddy was certain that he had not seen him follow.

  “I said come out young one, I will not say it again.”

  Freddy would not respond.

  With a snap of his wrist Xerxes released a throwing knife from his large hand. The throwing knife spun with the fury of a vengeful tornado. It smacked down hard into the very fence post Freddy had been hiding behind.