by Eden Laroux
Eli looked to the prisoner that spoke-a rail-thin example of a man. That, and his jittery nature, seemed to scream drug dealer. Though with all the weirdness around lately, the jitters could just be anxiety.
"Whatever you have to say, make it quick."
"Have you checked on that Buffliro guy? My cell is... was, right next to his. And let me tell you, I've heard some weird shit coming out of there."
"Like what?"
"At first, nothing too weird. He seemed normal enough for a guy who hit his kid. But around three weeks ago, he started saying weird shit. Talking to himself at the beginning. Blaming his kid for him ending up in here, stuff he would like to do to the cops. Dark stuff but nothing completely out of the ordinary. But then the whispers started up."
The mention of the whispers caught Eli's interest. His attention was fully on the prisoner's words now.
"Whispers?" Eli asked.
The man nodded. "Yeah, whispers. I know it sounds insane. But after that, we all started to hear whispering. Horrible stuff. More than once I thought of doing anything, and I mean anything, to stop it. Then Buffliro, he started repeating the stuff the whispers were saying. He spoke to that embezzler that used to be in the cell on the other side of him. The next morning he was dead."
"So you're saying Buffliro had something to do with the deaths going on?"
Another nod from the man. "I believe that with every ounce of my being. Maybe he's the cause or the puppet or something. I don't know and I don't care. My suggestion is put a bullet in his brain and be done with it."
Eli had no comment on the man's suggested action plan. Instead he waved the guards on before looking towards the cell where Buffliro was being held.
It had been oddly silent all this time... eerily so.
Turning back to the guards, Eli motioned at two of them.
"Erickson and Rhodes, with me. And keep your weapons drawn. We're moving Buffliro personally." Even with as much as I wish I could legally leave the man in there to rot. Anyone who goes around hitting kids deserves any ill he gets. Especially if the kid is his own. But they had to follow the law.
There was another reasoning as well.
If the tragedy that had happened in the cell block was to follow after Buffliro after placing him elsewhere away from his old cell block mates, then there would be more proof to Eli and to others that Buffliro had something to do with this. It was not evidence admissible in court, but it would be a start.
With the guards' weapons drawn, the cell door was unlocked. Funny... Eli didn't remember the cells being this dark and dingy... or cold. It was as if winter itself was breathing down his neck.
In the corner of this cold and dark area was Davis Buffliro-a pale, lump of a man, even before he had arrived at the prison. Now he was almost pale enough to glow in the dark.
His hair was greasy and limp, as if he had not bathed in weeks. As far as Eli knew, that was not the truth as, even though they were scum, he didn't take well with prisoner abuse. Whatever this was, Eli was sure it wasn't at his hand.
"Davis Buffliro, you're being moved," Eli called out.
The whispers started up again, louder and more insistent. Buffliro himself didn't even look up. Instead, he stared down to the ground, his mouth making movements but no words coming out.
"Buffliro! Did you hear me?"
"I heard you," Buffliro said, his voice a little more than a whisper. "Not that it matters to you. You're all just searching for any excuse to shoot me now. Well, let me give you that reason. Those men who died? They're dead because of me-me and the whispering thing."
For just a moment, Eli thought he could see a dark mass behind Buffliro. Something of all smoke and green slits for eyes.
But then, in a blink, the darkness was just darkness.
The man, however, was still a mad man-a frightening thing but still just a man.
Chapter Nine
"YOU KNOW THAT admitting to murder, no matter how fantastical the situation, will give you more time," Eli asked.
"Not that you mind," Buffliro answered. "But yes. I am more than aware of that fact. And, at one time, I might have cared about it. But nothing scares me anymore. Not you and not the law."
"Mind telling me why that is?" Eli asked.
Buffliro grinned. Or at least Eli thought it was a grin. There was an air of twistedness to the action that should have been only for positive emotions. But there was nothing positive in this room.
"Because of my imaginary friend, of course. Don't tell me you never had one? No companion for those moments when you were bored or none of your friends was around? I'm sure you had a lot of those moments after that horrible incident when you were seven."
Eli froze for a moment before his eyes narrowed. "What incident are you talking about?"
"I think you know which one I'm talking about. But if you really want to draw this out, I'll play your game. How hard it must have been for you. For everyone involved really. Losing a friend, and so young, to one violent act. It's why you do what you do today. To make sure scum like me don't hurt anyone like that boy you called friend before he was gunned down."
Keeping his temper in check, Eli didn't speak for a time. In the moment of silence, the dark mass flickered for a moment and hissed. Only the lightest of echoes of its hiss was heard. The malice behind it was thick in the air, almost palpable to choke on.
"I don't like this," Erickson said, leveling his gun at Buffliro.
Eli almost wanted to go ahead and let Erickson shoot, save the world from a poison that it did not need. But morals won again. With his back ramrod-straight and his fists clenched, he managed to get the words out in a calmer manner than he felt.
"How do you know about that?" Eli asked.
"Simple. The whispering thing told me. It tells me a lot of interesting things. Which reminds me..." Buffliro paused long enough to look up at Erickson, who winced at the man's gaze. "Do you really think you should be one to be handling a gun? It's a bit of a temptation for you to pull the trigger, isn't it? Not that it makes you any different from everyone else in this room. What concerns me more is that you've lost to your temptations before. I don't blame you for pulling the trigger. He was a sicko."
"Shut up!" Erickson hissed.
Frowning, Eli glanced over at Erickson. The younger man was shaking already. Whether from being unnerved or angry, Eli wasn't sure. He foresaw a problem either way.
"Maybe you should leave," Eli said.
"Yet, you battle with yourself constantly over what you did. Conscience gets to the best of us, I guess," Buffliro continued.
"I said shut up!"
"Erickson, stand down!" Eli ordered.
Erickson ignored the order and kept his gun aimed at Buffliro, even though that aim was shaky. Buffliro clearly knew he was in danger but kept his gaze on Erickson and kept talking.
"So, are you going to pull the trigger now? We all know you want to."
Whatever self-control Erickson had left was gone. Ignoring Eli and Rhodes, who now made a move to stop him, Erickson started to pull the trigger.
Suddenly his grip loosened on the gun and he was staring in the dark with wide eyes.
"What is that thing?" Eli heard Erickson whisper.
Eli saw nothing but the dark. Yet, he knew hell was about to break loose.
And it did.
Chapter Ten
ERICKSON SCREAMED SUDDENLY, his hands reaching out to his neck. If not for that action Eli might not have noticed the pin-prick bites that just appeared in Erickson's neck. Though small, any man could see the green venom droplets oozing from the wounds.
"Shit!" Eli heard Rhodes exclaim as Erickson dropped to the ground and started to convulse.
Only minutes later, Erickson stopped thrashing and it was clear he was dead. Already, his skin was turning that odd green tone. There was no time to mourn the man before a gunshot was heard and Rhodes went down.
Buffliro stood holding the gun Erickson had dropped only moments ago. A
nd it was now aimed at Eli.
"Nothing personal," Buffliro said. "But I really need to have a talk with my son. And since he won't come here... well, you get the idea."
Eli said nothing.
Not even when he thought he glimpsed the whispering thing just moments before he was shot.
THE CHILDREN'S ROOM in the library was blessedly silent and empty that afternoon. Tony felt more at ease when searching the web without prying eyes. Not that anyone would see what he was looking up as wrong, or even know why he was looking it up.
From what the librarian had told Tony, there were not many copies of the book that had brought Bruce into existence. Only three libraries in the area carried it. Two, if he kept in mind the fact he had ended up keeping the copy he had gotten from his library.
Finding contact information for Miss Deborah was easier than Tony had anticipated. Her website, though appearing to have been set up during the nineties and not updated much since then, was informative.
Her picture showed a woman in her fifties with a large dog sitting next to her. An expression of amusement was on her face. Even the dog seemed to have a glimmer of something that suggested a mischievous nature. As if both knew something he didn't. It seemed right for a writer of a book about imaginary friends.
Finding the e-mail address was easy, too. How to compose this e-mail was an issue though. It wasn't as if what he wanted to know was normal. Even though he had the suspicion she knew what would happen when the poem was read aloud, it didn't mean it was true.
So the question of if he should even send the e-mail came up in his mind many times. And no matter how many times he reworded the e-mail, it still sounded strange.
He realized that no matter how he wrote it, the whole story was going to sound like the ravings of someone who was not one hundred percent there.
What would be the harm in just deleting the text and forgetting this whole silly idea?
For all he knew, she couldn't help him even if she knew about the effects of her poem. It was the possibility of knowledge, though, that kept him from abandoning the whole thing.
Knowledge that could help Bruce, and possibly Meg as well.
As awkward as it was, he had to take this chance.
He hit the send button. Dread formed in the pit of his stomach seconds later.
What if she thought he was insane? That, itself, would be bad enough. It was worse than not getting the answers he was seeking.
But nothing could be taken back now that he had sent it.
~ ~ ~ ~
Read the next book by Eden Laroux:
If you like this book, you will also like Questions And Whispers...
He sees him...and later on, so does she
IMAGINATION BEGETS CREATION
Foster parent Meg Suther’s new foster child Tony has an odd quirk. He talks to an imaginary friend. However it turns out the friend is not anything close to pretend. Bruce exists. Bruce is a friend to Tony and is the father figure Tony wishes he had.
Meg finds this out very soon when she reads from a book she finds in the bottom of Tony's bags. The book contains a rhyme to summon an imaginary friend. Something about the rhyme catches Meg’s attention.
She reads aloud from the book and finds herself able to see Bruce. After a misunderstanding and almost harming Bruce with whatever she has on hand, Tony explains about Bruce.
Tony created Bruce when he had found the book in a library and the rhyme caught his own attention. For years Bruce served as support and a beacon of hope for Tony during his years under his abusive fathers care.
Meg takes this all rather well and after a talk over some tea a little more is explained. Not seeing a reason why he shouldn't, Meg allows Bruce to stay.
Tony sees a possible romance between Meg and Bruce and plots to set them up together.
Unravel more of this fascinating book, continue reading Questions And Whispers...
~ ~ ~ ~
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How to Beat Procrastination
Procrastination is the habit of putting off responsibilities until the very last minute. People have different reasons for procrastinating, but the end result is almost entirely the same; work is completed late and of a much lower quality than it would be if completed on time. Some people will claim that they work better under pressure and that procrastination is just part of their genius. This is all well and good if the procrastinator is writing an epic novel or trying to build a ship in a bottle, but when others depend on work being done on time and as requested, it seems unfair to rely on the excuse that genius prevented the work from being done. If it's a boss in a corporate setting who expects work to be done at a certain time and in a certain way, failing to meet expectations could result in professional stagnation, inability to promote, and feelings of "always being looked over" for special assignments. If it's a client in a contract setting, failure to have work completed as requested could result in being unable to collect payment for work done or, worse, losing the client to the competition forever.
Fortunately, like other bad habits, procrastination is a habit that can be broken. It might take a little time and a little patience, but there is no quick fix for habits that have been a part of who we are for who knows how long.
If there's one thing you shouldn't put off, it's reading this guide on improving productivity by eliminating the beast of procrastination from your life. The advice offered is simple to follow and requires minimal effort to implement, even for the the habitual procrastinator.
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How to Beat Procrastination
First, Still the Mind
One of the main reasons people procrastinate is because they feel like they have too much on their plate, or too many responsibilities to manage at once. Even if the person was able to sit down and get started on one of their tasks, he might feel an inability to focus or concentrate because of the nagging feeling that he is neglecting other responsibilities. This kind of response is often brought on by an overactive brain; a brain that tries too hard to work and worry about several things at once.
Relaxation techniques like meditation and deep breathing have been reported by practitioners to be very successful at helping the brain stay cool, calm, and collected, even in the face of seemingly endless tasks.
A few minutes of meditation may not make the workload seem any lighter, but it can keep the person more motivated to finish their tasks by relieving them of the mental and emotional worries they were experiencing.
The type of meditation or breathing technique used doesn't even matter. Any relaxation technique that helps the person calm down and feel more comfortable with the tasks in front of them is a good relaxation technique. One of the most popular techniques is to sit comfortably in a chair, back straight, palms down on the thighs, feet planted flat on the floor, and eyes closed. From this position, which can be accomplished in any office chair, the person will imagine being in front of the ocean, on a beach, watching the water move in and out from shore. Once they have this image in their mind, they will begin to focus closely on their breaths, evenly spacing and drawing out breaths so that each inhale and exhale is the same length. After focussing on their breathing for even just a couple of minutes, and after spending a few minutes in an imagination vacation, the person will notice that they seem less stressed and probably less "on edge" about their daily tasks.
When a feeling of calm is reached, the person can begin chipping away at their tasks one by one. If at any time the feeling of stress begins to creep back, the person can try repeating this phrase, an ancient proverb, as they work:
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
This means that, no matter how daunting and long a list of chores might be, there is no way to ever accomplish them without first taking them on one by one.
Second, Energize the Body
There are no two ways about it; many procrastinators just feel lazy. They probably can't explain why, but unless a deadline is looming overhead, they would rather rest and relax than get down to work. This kind of attitude can often be attributed to a lack of energy in the person. Sometimes, a cup of coffee or energy drink is enough to get a person through their responsibilities, but these are only short term solutions, and it's just not healthy to rely on sugary drinks to get through work.
To give the body more energy to make it through the day and to face the tasks it has to face, a healthy diet should be incorporated into every person's daily routine. This isn't the same as going on a diet, but a strategy for long term health and energy by introducing healthier foods into every meal.
The best source of long lasting energy are raw fruits and vegetables. Unlike processed foods, which are full of empty calories and artificial preservatives, raw fruits and vegetables provide healthy doses of vitamins and minerals that can energize better than any sugary energy drink. However, many people don't' even get their full daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables, much less enough to give them all day energy. This might be because they don't like the taste of raw fruits and vegetables or because they like the tastes of other foods too much. So, instead of trying to replace entire meals with buckets of fruits and vegetables, people looking for more energy throughout the day should infuse raw fruits and vegetables into each of their regular meals. For example, eating a bowl of fruit before a bowl of cereal will give the person energy throughout the morning and will even make them feel more full and less likely to reach for a mid-morning snack. At lunch and dinner, salads before meals have the same benefits; they make the person feel full longer and gives them real energy that they'll feel almost immediately.
Juicing is another way to make sure the body gets all of the fruits and vegetables it needs to stay energized. Juicing is a preferred method of getting fruits and vegetables because it's simple and blends flavors of fruits and vegetables together into tolerable and tasty concoctions that are easy to drink.
