by J. Thorn
He had transitioned through the various Portals, which would have been considered the past by those on the plane not attuned to the multiverse. Besides the Italian Renaissance and the Pacific Theater in World War II, where he had injected the blood curse through Drew’s maternal grandfather, one other Portal had revealed the depths to which humanity would sink even without Gaki’s interference.
The demon felt the time nearing. The lines of energy now converging on the ridge above Pine Valley would be sent out as a beacon to those in the Realm and beyond. Gaki licked his lips and waited inside the crypt, careful not to push for what would inexorably happen. His reign was coming, and it would be gloriously decadent.
***
The voices coming from outside were as real as anything else Kelly had experienced in her life. She no longer cared about the corpse at her feet or her naked body. Kelly no longer thought about sitting in her own waste or the feral look in her eyes. She felt the time to decide was at hand. She would have to choose sides, one way or another. Kelly was a survivor, and allowing the universe to make that decision for her was not an option.
There was a man and a woman. That much she could tell. They did not whisper, a sign that they expected a confrontation and knew they could not hide their approach from the dark forces surrounding Williams’ Place. Their voices wavered as if they were speaking underwater. The conversation carried across the front porch and then reverberated back to her from the side of the house. Kelly debated on whether or not to scream and then decided not to. They would enter the front door, and when they did, the scene before them would be all the attention she would need.
Kelly thought about her conversation with the apparition and the explanations that had done more to scramble her head than clear things up. She felt some kinship to the woman, yet she had a sense of being manipulated at the same time. The ghost had suffered, and hence suffering was the world in which it had existed since. Kelly was not sure if the promise offered could ever match up. She had always thought that desire was uniquely human, for better or worse. To remove desire from the soul would be subhuman, and Kelly was not sure if that was a line she could cross. If one always fulfilled desire, what point would there be in existence?
The conversation inside her head became too philosophical, too esoteric. Her physical needs began to tax her body in a way that made it more and more difficult to rationalize. She was close to the point of going to extremes to preserve her life, much like the rock climber who had cut his own arm off with a knife to escape death. Kelly would need to apply a dull, thin pocket knife to her psyche, and the will to sever the humanity from it would be just as challenging as slicing through tendon and bone. The question as to how her mind would survive would be answered in a matter of moments, and she clearly could not think about it any longer. When the man and woman came into the room, Kelly would decide, and she was prepared for the consequences as long as the pain ended. Kelly could not suffer any longer. She desired release, physical and spiritual.
The house shook as the two entered, and Kelly bit her lip when the man spoke.
“Over here.”
***
By the time Jones circled the house and had come around the other side, night was in full force. The crickets came alive as they enjoyed their last few weeks before winter would meander down from the north and subdue them until spring. He did not see Frank, but the truck was gone, too, so Jones thought he was possibly tending to other business.
Other business, he thought. Like babysitting those hideous fucking monsters that used to be boys.
Jones pushed that thought out of his head and remembered that he had a job to do. He was loyal to the badge, and if Pine Valley ever needed his strength, it was now.
The sound of an engine struggling up the switchbacks brought him out of his thoughts. He saw the hard beams of headlights cutting through the darkness as the vehicle came to a stop in front of Williams’ Place. Officer Jones hid behind a tree. He stood a hundred yards into the woods on the northeast corner of the property. He thought it was as good a place as any and was satisfied with his position until he remembered that Frank had wanted him to sweep the house, too.
Fuck. Gotta hope it’s as empty as it’s always been, except for the dead souls haunting the place.
He watched as two people got out of an ordinary sedan, its color and features masked by the night. Jones could tell from their height that there was a male and a female. They walked up the path with measured movements, and he could see their heads turning from side to side. Peter decided to let them enter, and then he would get to the front porch and apprehend them both as they came out. Logic dictated that they would exit from the same door they entered, and without hearing another vehicle in the vicinity, the two would have their guard down. Jones would startle them into an arrest.
Jones leaned his head sideways to his shoulder to get Frank on the radio and tell him the plan when he remembered that Frank wasn’t on the force and that they had not decided on the second step. Jones would secure the house and he would immobilize the perpetrators, but then what? Frank had been vague about who they would turn Doug over to, yet Peter had known all along it would not be the law. Gaki was the law now, and Peter would serve him.
As Doug and his unknown female accomplice entered the house, Peter’s training and experience on the force took over. Jones would do his duty, serve Gaki, and hope for a reward of his own. He would have to decide what that was, but the more he thought about it, the more he liked Frank’s idea.
Ain’t nuthin’ wrong with some young pussy.
***
Frank tossed the stub of his cigar to the ground and stomped on the ash more out of habit as a firefighter than concern for the well-being of the forest. He didn’t care about the glowing ember or the distinct aroma of that good ol’ Virginia-grown tobacco. The truck was hidden from the road and far enough away from the house that the smoke would dissipate long before it reached curious noses.
He could feel the magnetism of the place. Frank had felt a touch of that when he pulled Drew from the rubble—or pulled Gaki from the rubble, a more accurate description. The feeling of disequilibrium and being lost in one’s own inner torment surged through his arm when Drew had grabbed it. Williams’ Place had that feeling a thousand fold. He had been up here as a teenager, throwing rocks at the windows like most of the Pine Valley kids had done back then. They hadn’t thought much about their actions, but nobody had ever wanted to go inside. Every neighborhood had that one house that kids called “haunted,” but Williams’ Place was very different, so different that they never discussed entering it. Frank was sure that a handful of kids a few years ahead of him at Pine Valley High had gone inside, and the story had never been told the same way twice. Some versions had a kid disappearing, although Frank never remembered hearing that on the news. Other versions were wrapped in urban legend. They spoke of apparitions moving through the house and a force that would pull people in harder the closer they approached. For most of Frank’s life, he had chuckled at the stories and even ridiculed his own children when they spoke of it. But now he was here, and everything was different.
He’d made a deal with Gaki, and that would result in him putting his hands on Kelly Swift. If that meant going into the fucking abyss, he would. Frank had had a virtual taste of her in his shower, and now the hunger for the real thing was gnawing at him from the inside out. His lust for Kelly was like that of a teenage boy, but with a more sinister feel. Frank was going to fuck her for sure, but he had other thoughts, too, ones he was almost ashamed of having. With Doug in Gaki’s hands, Frank would be able to explore the recesses of his own depravity that he had contained for so long. The cop was here to serve, and he most likely would, but Frank ultimately did not care what happened to the man. He’d always thought Jones was an arrogant prick, and seeing him suffer and die would not move Frank one way or the other. The more he thought about it, the more he hoped Gaki had some brutal end in mind for the starting quarterback
of the 1988 state championship football team.
At least you had that moment, asshole. You and the majority of this town left your best memories back in high school. You taunted and teased us and then ended up in the same redneck, shithole town as us. How ya like dem apples?
The house brought his attention back to the moment, and he began to realize that although he could feel the vibrations coming from it, the waves of energy were being channeled from the crypt. That was the source of the energy that magnetized the entire place. The stone burial ground in the family graveyard was the origin. Frank knew that Gaki was there with an intention that was beginning to unravel like peeling an onion. Layer by layer, Frank understood the enormity of what was about to happen. Gaki needed Frank to prevent Doug from closing the Portal. He also needed to open that valve as wide as possible to let the other forces through and into this plane. Frank’s eyes twitched, and for a split second he worried that Gaki might go back on his deal and that Frank wouldn’t be allowed to enjoy Kelly. It was always a possibility, but Frank had to believe that Gaki would allow him the spoils of war. Otherwise, what was the point?
It had been an hour or so since he watched Jones walk into the woods, and Frank hadn’t seen or heard from him since. He didn’t feel the need to be any more specific about it. After all, Peter was the cop. He would know how to secure and apprehend a suspect—Frank had to stay out of the way. He looked to the sky, where the first stars appeared on a backdrop as black as tar. The chorus of the crickets swelled, and when Frank turned back to look at the road, he saw a vehicle approach.
“The Hunter and her new apprentice.”
Frank jumped and spun to see Gaki standing a few feet behind him. His heart lurched in his chest, and he coughed out the smoke still lingering in his lungs. “What the fuck?”
“The time is drawing near. I need him alive. The woman is inconsequential but will need to be neutralized. I do not care how.”
Frank stared at the demon. The creature’s translucent skin and oblong head stood in stark contrast to the dark green and black tints of the forest. Frank laughed and wondered how many “alien abductions” had really been Gaki and his minions. In a way, they were alien, but they didn’t need a silver disk and access to an interstellar wormhole to reach Earth. They had been here all along, inside of all of them the entire time.
“Kelly?”
“As promised, when I have the Hunter.”
Frank nodded and watched as Doug and his mysterious female apprentice walked through the yard and into the house. He waited, anticipating shouts, or gunfire, or both, but heard nothing. He would have to trust Officer Jones, although Frank’s raging hard-on was making him impatient. “You’ll get him. Jones is a fucking asshole, but he’s a great cop. He’ll get you Doug and take care of the woman in whatever way it needs done.”
“He’d better. Your soul is now entwined with mine. My fate is yours.”
Frank didn’t care anymore. His dick ached with anticipation, and over the past twelve hours he had let any semblance of the man he used to be wither beneath Gaki’s dark powers. “You’ll get your man.”
Gaki came closer, and Frank could see the dried feces caking its pinhole of a mouth. The demon reeked of decay and decomposing flesh. The odor was so rank that Frank tasted rotten eggs in his mouth.
“And you’ll be mine if I don’t,” Gaki said.
Frank watched Gaki dissipate into the woods and felt the demon’s presence leave him. Frank had never been in outer space, but he thought that this must be what an eternal, black void felt like.
***
The demon felt the man’s soul commit. It was an energy he had detected thousands of years ago when the first humans on this plane succumbed to his powers. It couldn’t be sensed in what they said but in what they projected. Knowing that Frank would follow through, Gaki returned to the cemetery to make the final preparations for expanding the Portal to its full capacity.
A cool breeze rustled the weeds that nestled amongst the ancient stone. Gaki noticed that the natural creatures had fallen silent. Like with earthquakes and volcanoes, they could detect the disruption before it occurred and were now waiting for the impending force to burst through the Portal and onto this plane like a swarm of locusts descending from the sky. Time and weather had worn the oldest grave markers down and left the chiseled names looking more like hieroglyphics than English. Several sat cocked to one side, and others toward the rear of the cemetery, in the oldest area, lay flat on the ground as a result of vandals. Gaki stood in the middle of the graveyard and in front of the crypt, which sat like a cosmic beacon amidst the headstones. Hundreds of years before, Gaki had instructed Floyd to build it, and although the man believed it would house his mortal remains, Gaki alone knew the real purpose it would serve. Along with the whispers of demons and witchcraft surrounding the cursed place, the crypt would keep the Portal safe and secure until the time was right. Gaki had not anticipated the blood curse to spread so virulently amongst the Williams clan, nor had he expected the women to be so consumed by the power of the occult. It was a natural alliance of malfeasance that worked to serve his purposes and was also one of the few universal wonders still a mystery to the demon. As the years passed, the legends had amplified, and not only had the crypt remained untouched but the house and surrounding land had, as well.
Drew Green and his grandfather had all been part of the machinery that would pry the Portal wide open. Gaki had not known the exact outcome of such an infestation along that bloodline, but he did know that Green would be instrumental in moving an alignment of forces to these coordinates. Drew had unknowingly led Ravna here, and that would bring Doug and the Hunter to him. Even Gaki failed to grasp the entire scope of the forces at play, but there was little left to chance. Once the Portal was opened and the demons crawled from it to consume the plane, he would gorge in a way that had not occurred for millions of years.
Gaki reentered the crypt to wait, and sensed the Portal beginning to dilate as the time grew near.
***
“Holy fuck!”
Sage looked at Doug and wrinkled her eyebrows at him. “What is it?” she asked in response to his whispered curse.
Before he could reply, Sage stepped around Doug and stood in the middle of the foyer, staring into a room where two bodies lay on the floor.
Doug swatted at the air in front of his face and pulled his shirt up over his mouth. He nudged the man with his foot and knew instantly that he was dead and had been that way for days. He turned and nudged the woman’s leg as well, trying not to stare at her naked, bruised body. She didn’t move, either, and Doug realized he now stood in the middle of a crime scene. Whether it was a murder–suicide or a double murder, the presence of two naked corpses, bonds, and a video camera would add to the horrific mystic surrounding Williams’ Place. He turned to look at Sage when a short scream erupted from the woman’s mouth and nearly knocked Doug to the floor.
“Help me,” she said as if speaking from a throat filled with cotton.
Sage pushed Doug out of the way and grabbed a water bottle from the satchel slung over her shoulder. She unscrewed the cap and held it up to the woman’s lips, careful not to pour too much down her parched throat. “Cut her free,” Sage said as Doug stood, his feet planted to the floor.
Sage took off her hoodie and placed it over the woman like a shawl while Doug used his utility knife to cut the bungee cords on her bloodied wrists. She sagged down the wall, and Sage lifted the bottle again to offer more water.
“Are you okay?” she asked the woman.
Kelly nodded and began massaging her wrists. She kept her head down, and Doug stepped back. He suddenly felt like a dirty voyeur and as if he did not belong. He looked at the tripod, his mind trying to make sense of what had occurred in this room.
Kelly did not answer Sage but took more water until her stomach rebelled and she vomited. Sage waited, knowing that telling her to take the liquid slowly was a stupid thing to say and that she would m
ost likely ignore the instructions. Kelly handed the water bottle to Sage and slipped the hoodie over her head.
“What’s your name?” Sage asked. Doug turned to see the woman in a hoodie and took a step toward her.
“Kelly. I’m Kelly Swift. That son of a bitch abducted me and was going to kill me. I was able to kill him first, but not until he had me tied up. I thought I was going to die in this fucking house.”
“Well, you’re not,” replied Sage. “You’re safe now.”
When the footsteps crossed the threshold of the door, Doug knew that nothing could be further from the truth.
Chapter 13
“What exactly are you damn kids doing in here?”
Sage reached underneath Kelly’s arms and managed to pull her to her feet. Doug stepped in front of the women in an instinctive move to protect them from harm.
“How’s it going, Peter?” he said.
“Doug.” Officer Jones had one hand on his firearm and a heavy-duty department-issue flashlight in the other. He put the beam into Doug’s face and left it there despite Doug shielding his eyes from the powerful flare. “What are y’all doing in this old rundown house? Ain’t a safe place to be during the day, let alone at night.”
Doug stood his ground as Peter walked farther into the house and stopped at the threshold of the room. He moved the beam to the floor, where it illuminated the half-naked, bloating corpse.
“Jesus H. Christ. Y’all best stay put and keep your hands at your sides.”
Doug detected an insincerity in Peter’s voice that troubled him. He could not claim to know the man well, but they had crossed paths many times. Doug thought he was a man’s man, a tough guy. That was fine with him, but now Peter was acting as if he had known exactly what he was going to find when he walked into the house.
“We just got here, me and Sage. Found Miss Swift bound to the wall and practically dead.”
