Darlington Woods

by Mike Dellosso

  "That's not very reassuring."

  Like Jacknife Road, the dirt lane began to twist and turn and dive and curve, rattling the car's frame like an old wooden roller coaster. Eventually it too leveled and widened some. The grass median faded, and the trees on either side became more sporadic. In front of them, the road straightened and stretched through a valley of meadowland splashed with goldenrod for at least a mile. In the distance, like the wall of a fortress, another tree line stood.

  "We're almost there," Juli said.

  "How do you know?"

  "Just on the other side of those trees up ahead."

  "Are you sure?"

  "Pretty sure."

  Finally the road met the tree line and pierced it like an arrow. Whatever sunlight was left was swallowed by the thick foliage, so Rob had to turn on the car's headlights. Immediately, that familiar fear was birthed inside him and began to grow. He gripped the steering wheel a little tighter.

  As if she saw the fear on his face or simply sensed it from him, Juli said, "It's only a mile or so before we hit another clearing, then we'll be in Darlington."

  Rob said nothing. The steering wheel was slick under his sweaty palms. That mile or so couldn't come soon enough.

  Eventually the woods opened its mouth and let in the waning sunlight. Kicking up a rooster tail of dust, the car exited the trees and headed for a small clump of houses in the distance.

  "Is that it?" Rob said.

  "Darlington."

  "Not much of a town. No wonder it wasn't on the map." It looked to be maybe ten or so homes and a couple other buildings. A church steeple rose like a dagger above the other structures.

  "That's not the only reason."

  Less than a minute later, the dirt road gave way to a strip of faded asphalt. By the side of the road stood a wooden sign, sunburnt and chipped, that read:

  WELCOME TO DARLINGTON

  Then below that in smaller letters:

  SHINING OUR LIGHT

  At the sight of that sign, a quiet feeling of dread washed through Juli, not like a tidal wave crashing over her but more like a slow infusion. It was that feeling again. Something was wrong. As a kid, while visiting her cousins outside Baltimore, she'd paid the three bucks to walk through a haunted house on Halloween. The first hallway was empty and dark, but a feeling accompanied it that was anything but peaceful or fun loving. It was fear mingled with the unknown yet expected. But that was a manufactured feeling, produced by fancy lighting and spooky sound effects. This, in Darlington, was real. As real as the hair standing up on the back of her neck.

  Shining Our Light. She remembered that from the last time she visited too, when she was fifteen and stupid. The condition of the sign itself testified to the mockery of those words. There was no light in Darlington. Maybe there was at one time, but that time had long passed. Darkness ruled here now. All kinds of darkness.

  Sitting in the car next to Rob, her right hand squeezing the circulation out of her leg, Juli pushed back that feeling of dread. Regardless of what may or may not reside in Darlington, she would not be overcome by it. She would not be overcome by fear. She had to believe that, had to trust it to be true. Rob needed her. She knew that now more than ever. Her doubts about her ability to do this would have to take a backseat to the truth: that she had to do it.

  She looked at Rob. He had no idea what was coming. Really, she had no idea either, only that it was coming. She could feel it like she could feel a major thunder boomer approaching by the change in barometric pressure. It was a weighty feeling, ominous and foreboding.

  A sense of expectancy and tension was in the air all about her. All about Darlington.

  Darlington appeared to be a town asleep except for the lighted windows in every home. The main street-and the only street-was lined with five homes on either side. A small grocer was positioned at the beginning of town and a church sat at the far end of the road.

  At first glance it looked to be a quaint northern Maryland village, but as Rob advanced the car slowly down the street, he noticed the state of disrepair the homes were in. Roofs sagged, shutters clung to windows by single hinges, paint curled and peeled like dry skin, and uncut lawns stood knee high. If not for the glowing windows, he would have assumed the town had been abandoned long ago and left to decay. He could hear Kelly.

  "This place gives me the major creeps."

  And Jimmy.

  "Is it a ghost town, Daddy? Like in the cowboy movies?"

  The grocery store was empty and dark, its glass frontage marked with large duct-taped Xs. The sign that read Darlington Shop 'n' Go sat at an odd angle above the double doors. Weeds grew up along the sides of the building and through the cracks in the sidewalk.

  Stopping the car in front of the church, a sad little clapboard building that had been left to suffer the abuse of weather by itself, Rob looked around the town. It sat in a clearing and was surrounded by trees on every side. In front of him the road stretched forward and disappeared into the woods a quarter mile away. No cars were parked along the street.

  "Where's that road go?" he asked Juli.

  "Nowhere."

  "What do you mean? It has to go somewhere."

  "Nope. It just fades away in the woods. I told you, there's only one way into Darlington and one way out."

  Rob thought of Jimmy in this place. Was he in one of those homes? Did someone in this town know where his son was? He looked back at the church. In black snap-in-place letters, the sign in front announced:

  WELCOM TO DARLINGTON METH CHURCH

  WHERE GODS L GHT SHINES IN EV RYONES

  HEART.

  SUND Y APRIL 29 1987

  SERMON WHAT S LOVE

  PA TOR ASHER WIG INS

  Something about the church was familiar. He had a cloudy feeling of deja vu, but not quite. Not like back at Wilda's house. This was more like a distant memory or lingering dream feeling. "They haven't had a church service since eighty-seven?"

  "Either that or their sign person's been asleep on the job."

  "Not for that long. This place is-" Rob caught movement in his periphery. He snapped his head around toward the little single story across the street. A curtain fell into place. "Strange."

  "Stranger than strange," Juli said. "You haven't seen anything yet."

  Rob watched the windows of the house until the front door opened slowly and a thin man of around sixty stepped out. Wearing baggy khakis and a sweat-stained T-shirt, the man looked both ways, turned his head toward the setting sun, checked his watch, then headed across the street and straight toward Rob and Juli. He walked with a little hitch to his step and cocked his head sideways when he reached them, studying them like they'd just fallen from outer space. "You folks lost?" He appeared to be nervous, checking his watch then the position of the sun again.

  Rob shook his head. "No. This is Darlington, right?"

  "If you say so."

  "The signs say so." Rob pointed back at the Welcome to Darlington sign, then at the church sign.

  The man thought for a moment. Rubbed the patchy beard that covered most of the lower half of his face. "I s'pose they do."

  Rob stuck out his hand for a shake. "I'm Rob, and this is Juli."

  The man neither offered his hand nor introduced himself. Instead, he eyed the sun one more time then said, "Sun'll be disappearing soon, then the darkness'll come. You folks best be turning 'round and headin' back to where you come from. No good driving through them woods in the dark."

  Rob had no time to argue with the guy. "I'm looking for my son. Jimmy. 'Bout four feet tall, five years old, brown hair. Looks a lot like me."

  The man eyed him curiously but showed not even a hint of empathy. He glanced at his watch. "Mister, I'm gonna have to ask you to either get in that there car and drive outta here or"-he paused to steal a look at his house-"come inside with me."

  Fact was, Rob wasn't excited about getting stuck here in the dark. Something about the single-street town (one way in, one way out) gave hi
m the creeps and the urge to flee. But for Jimmy he'd stay. And for Kelly. He knew she would want him to do everything within his ability to find their son and bring him home again. And he couldn't disappoint her.

  Rob looked at Juli, who looked at the man. "Leaving isn't an option," she said. She shot Rob a look that said trust me. "But getting indoors certainly is."

  The man looked over his shoulder again and this time nodded. The first part of the sun touched the top of the trees and, surprisingly, didn't set them aflame. He met Rob's eyes, then Juli's. "Better get inside."

  "Good idea," Juli said.

  They crossed the street together, Rob sensing a need to stay close. When they reached the front stoop of the little home, the door opened and a woman greeted them in a blue housecoat and slippers.

  Inside the house, the door was shut and the deadbolt set in place. The interior was bathed in the yellow glow of several well-placed oil lamps. The windows were shut and curtains pulled. The man turned and in a very serious tone said, "I'm Norm Tuckey, and this here is my wife, Rose." Rose, a stout woman as wide was she was tall with a wide mouth and eyes that looked much too small for her face, made no sign of welcoming the strangers into her home. She stared at them with the most deadpan look Rob had ever seen.

  As if on cue, a large man of about forty rounded the corner and stood in the doorway between the living room and kitchen. His shoulders were so wide they nearly touched the jamb on either side, and he had to duck his head slightly to avoid hitting the lintel. "And that there's Carl, our son. He ain't too bright but he's harmless."

  Outside the light was fading quickly and darkness was moving in. In the distance, from somewhere deep in the woods surrounding the town of Darlington, a woman's scream raced across the meadow and pierced the walls of the house.

  Five

  HE OIL LAMP FLAMES FLICKERED AS IF THE SCREAM carried with it a breath. In the corner of the living room Carl started moaning. Rob looked at him and then at Norm. "What was that?"

  Norm was a ball of frayed nerves. He looked at his watch, mumbled something about it not being time, then parted the curtains on the western side of the house and peeked out the window.

  Rob's heart picked up its pace. "What was that scream?" He looked at Juli as if she had the answer. She stood by the closed and locked door, hands clasped in front of her, eyes closed like she was deep in prayer and hadn't even heard the scream.

  Rose stood frozen in the kitchen; Carl continued his moaning in the corner.

  Another scream ripped through the evening air, but this one was obviously from a different source. It had a different tonal quality about it than the first one.

  "Are there people out there?" Rob asked. He was getting panicky. What if someone needed help? He headed for the door but was cut off by Norm. Juli stepped out of the way.

  "You ain't goin' out there, son."

  "Does someone need help?" Rob's voice was rising.

  "Not yet, but you will if you go out there. Now, just have a seat on the sofa and let's talk about this."

  More screams erupted from the outside world, some higher pitched than others, some sounding closer than others. It seemed they were on the move, maybe in the meadow by now.

  Norm motioned to the sofa again. "Go on now, have a seat." He turned his head toward Rose. "Mommy, get our guests some blankets. They'll be staying the night."

  Rob started to protest then stopped when Juli's hand found his arm. She was standing beside him. "Going out there isn't the best idea right now," she said.

  "You know what that is?"

  Juli looked at Norm then back at Rob. "Darklings."

  More screams, this time close enough to be across the street. The sound made the hair on the back of Rob's neck stand on end. In the corner of the room Carl had stopped moaning.

  When a pause in the screams came, the void was filled by a child's voice, hollering. Rob couldn't make out what was being said, but he recognized the voice-it was Jimmy's.

  In one quick, fluid movement, Rob moved for the window and threw the curtain back. Across the street, between two houses, he caught the silhouette of a child running. He knew that run, so familiar it immediately put a knot in his throat. Jimmy.

  Dashing for the door, he flipped the deadbolt and yanked on the knob. He heard Juli holler something, then Norm cursed. The door opened, and something grabbed at his pants leg until it took possession. A scream let loose and stung his ears. Then arms were around his torso, pulling him back into the house.

  "No," he yelled. "Jimmy!" He fought to escape the doorway and find his son, fought to break the hold the arms had on him. Another hand groped at his pants, and something scratched at his leg. "Let me-"

  He was suddenly yanked backward hard, losing his footing on the floor and falling on his butt. Norm leaned against the door and pushed it shut. But just before the door met the frame, a hand-small, bony, the gray-brown color of an earthworm, with elongated fingers-made one last attempt at Rob's sneaker, then pulled back and disappeared into the darkness.

  A pitiful yell involuntarily escaped Rob's lungs.

  The door closed with a solid thunk, and the deadbolt clicked into place.

  The old woman was once again on her patio, standing tall, shoulders back, head tilted, studying the stars. They awed her. The power contained in just one of them was beyond comprehension, and yet they appeared so small, so insignificant, so ... unnecessary. Just pinpoint lights. No common person would even notice if one went out. And yet to God, each one was precious and absolutely necessary.

  So how much more precious and necessary are we?

  These thoughts and more walked through her mind, and she took the time to stop and contemplate each one.

  The air was cooler in the evening. A gentle breeze played with the loose strands of hair at her temples. She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of roses. Against the backdrop of her eyelids, she could still see the pricks of starlight. Silently, she thanked her Father for the beauty of something so seemingly inconsequential.

  Her eyes opened again; her thoughts went to the man. He was there, in Darlington now. She knew he would go. How could he resist? After all, it was part of the grand scheme. He had to go because in going he would become who he was meant to be.

  And to think she was silly enough and faithless enough to try and stop him. It was the pale one who had caused her to stumble. Seeing him again. Speaking to him. Knowing what he was capable of. She had hoped the last twenty-two years would have cured her of all that, rid her soul of the guilt and wiped her mind clean of any memory of him. But she was wrong. Boy, was she wrong. It had all come back in a sudden rush, like a sandstorm sneaking up on a sleeping village in the desert.

  But what frightened her more than anything was that they shared the same blood and were so much alike. As much as she loved God, he hated Him. As much as she was determined to stay faithful and do good, he was determined to oppose that and spread hate and fear.

  For added assurance and to put her worrisome mind at ease even a little, she had sent the girl with the man. She wished she could go herself; after all, the battle with the pale one was her fight if no one else's, but her old bones would have none of it. The girl was young, but when the time came, she'd know what to do. She was fearful, and rightfully so, but her faith was strong, maybe even stronger than the woman's. She was the right one to accompany the man; she was the only one who could.

  From her home, there were only two things the old woman could do: hope and pray.

  "Lead them, Abba. Guide them with Your light."

  The man's first test would come tonight. She could feel it as if it were happening to her. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. Her palms went slick. Heart rate hastened, breathing quickened.

  She was afraid, so afraid. For him.

  He had to learn how to conquer that fear, but it had become such a part of his fabric it would take a miracle to separate the two.

  "Abba, show him the way. Show him Your way."

>   She prayed for the girl too, the child. She was stronger than she appeared, a formidable foe for the pale one. But was she strong enough to keep the man from falling? That remained to be seen. The old woman could do nothing but stand by and pray and hope and keep her ears to the ground.

  Lowering herself to her knees, slowly and with much pain, she placed her hands on the brick of the patio and lay prostrate. The bricks still held the heat from the day, and it felt good against her skin. In this position, she fell before the throne of her Father, helpless, powerless, humbled.

  "Abba, guide them, strengthen them, place a wall around them. He is of so much value."

  My grace is sufficient.

  "Thank You, Abba. May You be glorified."

  Suddenly, an image appeared in her mind, flashed through like a gunshot. Dark, lifeless eyes. Bony frames. Barbed teeth. Evil.

  Her eyes flipped open like broken blinds, and she screamed.

  Rob lay on his back on the floor, breathing hard, trying to wrap his senses around the image of that hand and the sound of those screams. Carl stood over him, slowly rocking side to side. He'd taken to moaning again. Juli was there too, kneeling beside him, her hand on his head, eyes closed. She was whispering something unintelligible, maybe praying.

  Shutting his eyes, Rob drew in a deep breath and thought of Jimmy. Memories exploded in his mind like mortar shells. First Jimmy was running in the backyard, yelling for Daddy to watch him jump. Then he was building a house with Legos, concentration forcing his tongue out of his mouth. Here he was riding his two-wheeler for the first time, the wind in his hair, his face aglow with pride-"Look, Daddy, I'm flyin'. Flyin' like the wind!" Then, lying in bed, covers pulled to his little chin, puckering his lips.

  Tears came to Rob's eyes and burned behind his closed lids. He reached a hand up to wipe at them, but Juli was there first, using her thumb to dash them away.

  From the door Norm said, "Mommy, you got those blankets yet?"

  Rob opened his eyes and saw Rose draw near, a pile of folded blankets tucked under her arms. Norm took the blankets and dropped them on the sofa. "You two can figure out the sleeping arrangements. One on the sofa, one on the floor. You decide. You're welcome here for the night, but first light you need to find your way outta here. You done brought enough trouble on this home-on this town-already."