Dark Justice: A Supernatural Thriller

by Donnie Light

  “I’m not an alcoholic!” Paxon shouted. “I’m a respected professor and this will be enough to give me a start!”

  “Paxon,” Galen said, “I’ve only known you for a couple of hours and you can’t even fool me. How do you expect to fool all of those people who have known you for years? Do you think they’re going believe that after all these years you just suddenly came up with a great book?”

  “The book is not all I will have, Galen. I will have the thing itself, the Eater of Hearts! If Gaston believed it was made of diamond, I would tend to believe him! That in itself will be enough. It will be worth a fortune!”

  “I pity you, Paxon,” Galen said. “You’re living in your own little world. You’ll never get away with it.”

  “We’ll see,” Paxon said confidently.

  You haven’t got any idea of how to stop it,” Audra said. “You brought us here just so you can get the ball.”

  “To the contrary my dear,” Paxon said. “I do know how to stop it. I’ve known all along. I just knew you wouldn’t want to hear it.”

  Paxon looked smug in his knowledge. “It has to have its way,” Paxon said with an evil smile returning to his face. “It has to run its course; it has to get its heart!”

  Fear ran through Galen as he realized what this lunatic had in mind. He fought furiously for a moment trying to loosen himself. He would rather die from a bullet than from that thing.

  “Don’t try to free yourself,” Paxon said. Those thin strips of nylon are impossible to break. You’ll only hurt yourself worse.”

  “I cant believe you would kill us over this!” Galen shouted.

  “I’m doing the world a favor,” Paxon said. “Do you know how many people have died because of this thing already?”

  Galen said nothing.

  “Several,” Paxon said. “Probably dozens. Yes, I’ve been watching the papers and the news. There have been several unexplained deaths in the last couple of days. Unexplained to most people that is. But we know what killed them, don’t we, Galen?”

  Galen hung his head, knowing that Paxon, crazy as he was, now spoke the truth.

  “That’s not his fault!” Audra protested. “He didn’t ask for this. What’s he supposed to do?”

  “I agree,” Paxon, answered. “It’s very unfortunate this had to happen. But now that it has, I can end it and put myself in a better position at the same time.” Paxon paused for a moment then added, “You do agree that it has to end somewhere, don’t you?”

  “You’re a sick man, Paxon,” Audra said. “You’re a very sick man.”

  “You know,” Paxon said, “I really know very little about this thing, but I do know that it will stop at nothing. It’s quite marvelous, really. According to the legend, it can go through anything. Brick, concrete, even steel. It makes no difference to this thing. It searches for its prey relentlessly. It never stops. It’s always coming. It toys with the person it is after, chasing them on a hopeless journey through Hell.” Paxon looked at Galen. “Is that how you feel, Galen?”

  Galen sat motionless, saying nothing.

  “Not so funny now?” Paxon said. “Believe me, it’s better this way. I will force you to face the thing and it will soon be over.”

  Paxon took another long pull from the bottle. “I don’t understand how it was reactivated though. I’m sure if Gaston had any idea this could happen he would have taken some kind of precaution against it. It’s puzzling. I’ll have to think about that.”

  Paxon reached into his coat pocket searching for another pack of cigarettes and his hand ran across the cassette tape from his answering machine. He pulled it out and began pulling long segments of the tape from the case. “Wouldn’t want anyone to ever find this,” he said. He lifted the pile of audio tape from the floor and lit his lighter. The mass of tangled tape flamed up quickly and Paxon dropped it to the floor. It sent a small cloud of smoke upward as the tape twisted, shrank and pulled inward - as if alive - from the heat. Paxon stomped it into a mass of ash and remnants with the heel of his shoe. “That’s the only evidence that links me with you,” Paxon said, trying to avoid the noxious smoke.

  Paxon continued to drink for the next several hours. He would babble from time to time keeping the bottle close at hand. Audra and Galen grew painfully stiff from sitting in the same position for so long. About the most they could do was shift their weight from one side of their buttocks to the other and the effectiveness of that wore off after the first hour or so. Audra had already wet her pants, Paxon refusing to let her go to the bathroom.

  Galen continued to work on loosening his bindings but managed only to wear a bloody groove in his wrists.

  Paxon was drinking enough to get six men totally plastered. He held his liquor well. He was accustomed to this kind of drinking; he functioned with it daily. He lit a small propane lamp as the room began to darken.

  Galen was hoping that Paxon would pass out so he could try to pull the whole radiator out of the floor.

  Audra sat quietly, thinking about the loss she was about to suffer. She had hopes for her and Galen. She had pictured them together, perhaps someday, even married. She worried about what Paxon would do to her after Galen was dead. She almost did not care. If Galen died, a part of her would die as well. Let Paxon have her lifeless body, for her spirit would forever be with Galen, wherever he was. She had to admit, however, that the thought of him becoming sexually aggressive with her was sickening.

  Galen began to change his mind about the whole thing. Maybe Paxon was right. He might be doing the world a favor, as he knew people had died. That thing was out there, coming for him. There was no way to stop it. It had all been a cruel lie from Paxon. He began to wash all of the lovely thoughts of his life with Audra out of his mind, facing the fact that the world would be safer with him dead.

  The next few hours went by agonizingly slow. Each of the three kept their thoughts to themselves. Paxon continued to drink and smoke but showed no signs of passing out.

  “How about a smoke?” Galen asked.

  Paxon thought for a moment, his eyes revealing the liquor was affecting him to some degree. “What kind of man would I be to deny the condemned a last cigarette?” Paxon said. He lit one off the end of another and stuck it in Galen’s mouth.

  Galen drew deeply on the smoke and held it in his lungs for a few seconds before letting it out. It had gotten dark hours ago but Galen had no idea what time it was. By his calculations, the ball would be showing up early in the morning.

  Dawn meant death to Galen. He dreaded seeing the sky turn pink in the east.

  Audra had shifted her thoughts back to the ball. Something stuck in the back of her mind; something that she could not pull into a thought. She went over in her head the things she had read, trying to make some sense of it all. Something was lurking there, at the fringes of her consciousness, but she could not grasp it. Audra had a view through a door that faced east and she saw the sky lighten as she wrestled with her thoughts.

  Paxon sat with one hand on the bottle. He had slowed his drinking to a sip every now and then instead of the steady pace he had set earlier.

  Galen stared at his own feet, rocking them back and forth, trying to get the blood to flow through them.

  They all heard a gnawing sound and felt the vibrations course through the hard, aged frame of the house. Their heads jerked in unison toward the sound.

  Paxon jumped to his feet, It’s showtime! he thought and the excitement went through him like high-voltage electricity. He did not know what to do and looked incredibly stupid as he ran around the room. He thought of leaving the room completely but wanted to keep Galen between himself and that thing. He slammed all of the doors closed and went back to the center of the room. The small propane light cast crazy shadows all around. The hideous gnawing, drilling sound continued to close in on them changing its pitch as it chewed its way through the different materials in the house.

  “Jesus Christ!” Paxon said, backing away from one of the doors.
The door shook violently in its frame, shuddering as the Eater of Hearts tore away at the wood.

  Audra screamed. She saw dozens of snakes, ghostly white with iridescent red eyes slither beneath the door. They scattered themselves about the room, covering the floor.

  Galen struggled with all of his might against his ties when he saw flames licking from the cracks around the door. They sought every opening, squeezing their way through, reaching for the other side. He saw burning fingers reach beneath the door, black and bubbling, the flesh dropping off them as they probed. They reached for him.

  Paxon screamed when he saw the bony, white, skeletal fingers tearing at a hole that appeared in the center of the door. Light flowed through the opening, as the skeletal hand reached through, pulling at the remaining splinters of wood.

  They were all aware of the light as it passed through the door, bringing their individual fears to life. The light hovered in the center of the room, seeking its prey. It toyed with its victim. It would show Galen the worst of his fears before finishing its quest.

  Galen could feel the heat of the flames on his face. He imagined his flesh starting to burn, first bubbling, then turning black. The burning people beckoned to him, please, Galen, help us!

  The fear leaped into his throat and he screamed. The ball moved slowly closer.

  Audra tried to kick at the ghostly snakes. They crept over her legs and slithered beneath them. One of the snakes coiled on her lap. She struggled to shake it off, but could not move enough to dislodge it. The evil looking serpent lifted its head and bared its fangs. Audra screamed and threw her head back.

  Paxon found himself trapped in a corner by the Grim Reaper. His biggest fear, it seemed, was the fear of dying.

  It’s a mirror of fear, and knows what’s in the hearts of men. The skeletal face sought him out. The dark robe it wore seemed like a shadow. The eyes glowed dimly red like the flames of Hell. It reached for him with a bony hand, its fleshless jaws locked in a perpetual grin. He could see the ball behind it, through it. It shimmered beautifully in its own light. The many facets upon its surface scattered the light in all directions. It was gorgeous. It hovered in the air, slowly making its way toward Galen.

  In the middle of all that commotion, Audra’s lost thought exploded to the surface of her mind. The gift! Gaston had left all of his possessions to Galen. The inheritance was like a gift. She looked back at the snake, still poised in the striking position on her lap. “Galen!” she screamed.

  Galen was hardly aware of Audra’s shouts. He saw Paxon, cowering in a corner, screaming. He turned his head and spotted Audra through the flames. He could tell she was shouting at him, but the heat was growing unbearable. He shouted back at her. “Audra!”

  “Galen! Give him the ball!”

  He looked at her, not understanding her intent. “What do you mean?” he screamed back.

  “Just give it to him! The gift, the gift!”

  Galen wasn’t sure what she meant, or that he heard her right.

  “You own it Galen! It’s yours GIVE IT TO HIM!”

  Galen caught on. “Paxon!” he shouted, trying to turn away from the flames.

  Paxon looked at Galen, tearing his gaze from the beautiful ball.

  “You want that thing Paxon?” Galen shouted.

  Yes!

  “It’s yours Paxon! Take it!”

  Mine!

  At that moment, the Eater of Hearts changed its course.

  Paxon saw the Grim Reaper turn away from Galen. The glow in the eyes of the skull-face terrified him. He screamed again as the Reaper raised his sickle, and as if in slow motion, brought it down into the center of his chest.

  Audra saw the snakes recede from her and Galen’s wall of flames disappeared before his eyes.

  Paxon shriveled in the corner, the ball chewing its way into his chest. His body vibrated madly as the thing clattered against his sternum. After clearing the bones, it entered the softness of his chest cavity. Blood spewed forth from the gaping hole. A gush of air left his chest in a rush as one of his lungs was punctured. Paxon’s dead body continued to shudder for a moment longer as the ball tore into his heart, finally coming to rest, its quest now over.

  § § §

  Galen and Audra sat staring at Paxon’s crumpled body. Blood had splattered onto both of them, onto the wall, and even the ceiling. The room looked like a map of the universe done in red. Great galaxies of crimson here, small red planets there and the big bang itself lay beneath and behind the dead man.

  Galen and Audra looked across the room at each other, their eyes bright against the background of their blood-speckled faces. They sat quietly for a while, each consumed by their own thoughts. Most of their thoughts could be summed up in one word - disbelief. They both still wondered if this could be real, or, if they were both sharing a nightmare.

  Galen finally asked Audra is she was alright. He knew she was when she answered, “my butt is completely numb.”

  Galen began to fight the ropes more aggressively, now that Paxon was no longer keeping watch over them. Galen looked around and noticed the card table Paxon had set up. Overturned during the commotion, the box had fallen onto the floor. Galen noticed a utility knife had spilled out of the box, and maybe, just maybe, he could reach it with his foot. He tried several times but could not bring the knife any closer to his hands.

  “Audra, he said, “I think I might be able to kick this over your way.”

  She looked up and nodded. Galen lined up his shot and kicked the knife. It clattered across the uneven hardwood floor and came to rest against Audra’s thigh.

  “Nice shot,” she said as she began to wiggle around to see if she could get her bound hands on it. After several attempts, Audra managed to get the knife into her right hand. It was an awkward angle, but she managed to get the blade against the rope and after what seemed an eternity, the ropes finally let go. She stood up on wobbly legs and waited for the blood to return to her lower extremities. Her hands were still bound behind her by the nylon wire ties. Using the knife behind her back, she eventually managed to cut the rope holding Galen. After a few more minutes of tedious cooperation, they completely freed themselves.

  Galen decided they had to get the thing out of Paxon’s chest and dispose of it where no one would ever find it again.

  They completed the task in only a few minutes, since the thing had ripped such a large hole in his chest. Galen was still afraid of the ball, but wanted to make sure nobody else would experience what he and Audra had.

  They washed up at the farmhouse and changed their clothes. They considered taking Paxon’s body out and burying it, but decided not to. They wanted to get back on the road back home. There was nothing either of them could think of that would link them to Paxon’s death except the messages Galen had left on his answering machine, and they were now ashes. They gathered up the papers and things they had brought, the food and anything else they had touched and loaded them into the Mustang. They then headed for home.

  Somewhere in the Smokey Mountains, Galen stopped on a high bridge. He and Audra stepped from the car and looked into the turbulent water below. They nodded to each other and Galen retrieved the ball-thing from the trunk of the car. They watched as it hit the surface and sank into the murky waters. They hoped it would never again be seen by human eyes, but knowing the nature of humans, doubted there was any place on Earth that could hide the thing forever. They drove back toward The Willows, stopping again at the same motel in Louisville and making love again on the same bed.

  – Chapter 20 –

  Although neither Galen nor Audra said it aloud, neither had ever been so glad to return to the Willows. What had always seemed to them such an ordinary place, was now a wonderfully ordinary place. After such an extraordinary experience, both Galen and Audra reveled in the common sights and sounds that made Willow River feel like home.

  They both went to Audra’s apartment where Galen called the fire department and told them he would resume his regular
shift at the next shift change. Audra made arrangements to take a couple of days off, just to pull herself together.

  They continued to see each other and were soon discovering what the other was like under normal circumstances. They generally liked what they discovered about each other, and would independently realize that nobody was perfect. Audra realized that Galen was who he was. She loved him for who he was. Of course there were little things that Galen did that did not fit Audra’s image of the perfect man. To change those small things might also cause changes in the things about Galen that she cherished. She dared not take that risk. She fell in love with the man, and whether good or bad, those little things were a part of him.

  Galen came to many of the same conclusions as Audra had. After spending those days with Audra while they ran for their lives, Galen realized he missed having Audra with him whenever they were apart. He could feel her love for him when they were together, which made him love her all the more.

  Upon his return to work, Galen faced making some very big decisions. He could no longer say he loved his work. In fact, it seemed more of a chore each time he reported for duty. Once again, Audra was there to help him through this. Galen explained to her that while he did like helping people, and was good at what he did, he did not want to do this for the rest of his career. He told her he saw what he did as necessary, not desirable. How could anyone enjoy being the first on scene at terrible accidents and fires? He knew plenty of firefighters who loved their jobs and would never think of doing anything else. Galen was grateful for those people, but never understood them.

  Audra told him she would support him in whatever decision he made. She would love him just as much whether he was a firefighter-paramedic or an accountant, or anything else for that matter. Her only argument was that she felt it such a waste of his talent and training to abandon his career at this point. She was still learning to be an Emergency Medical Technician, and had every intention of furthering her skills and volunteering on the fire department.