Mind Fray

by Alexie Aaron

  Lee watched as the woman withered. When she stopped, he felt his will returning to himself. He pulled the ropes off and got up. The milling crowd of hysterical people pushed wildly. He found himself being taken along in the rush towards the stage exit. He felt a rumble underneath. The stage collapsed around him. People fell on top of him, and then there was nothing.

  He remembered a light. He got up and walked towards it. He thought he heard his grandmother calling, “Lee, come to me, Lee.” He joyfully walked towards her. Suddenly something snatched him back. He looked down, and the gnarled hand of Uta held on to his leg.

  “Not yet, not yet. Cezar, your vessel is here!”

  He turned from the light to see a black image backlit by a red glow. Could the devil be coming for him? He turned back to the light, but it had vanished. He only had the gypsy woman at his feet now in the hollow place where he stood. The black image moved quickly towards him. He backed away and fell, forgetting Uta’s hold on his leg.

  A maniacal scream filled the air. “You call this a vessel! I’d sooner be housed in a pig.” The man leaned down, and Lee screamed. The man’s face was the same as the one in the handbill. He wished to god he had never laid his hand on that paper. The man picked him up and dragged him along with the clinging Uta. In the other hand was Anatolie. The magician looked over at him before dropping his eyes in shame.

  “Cezar, Cezar,” Uta called. “There are others with the papers. Choose one of them!” she screeched.

  He tossed the three of them on a heap of others. “First, I feed,” he said.

  Lee watched as Anatolie was snatched up as if he were a rag doll. Cezar’s hands glowed where he touched the magician. Lee watched as whatever energy was left in Anatolie was drained out.

  “Careful, Cezar, not too much. He can be used again,” warned Uta. She raised herself and presented her body to Cezar. “Take me, my god,” she said.

  Lee saw the unholy glee cross the woman’s face as Cezar touched her, drawing out her energy. She fell down on the heap.

  “Now for my vessel. Come here, pig,” he commanded.

  Lee refused. He curled up in the fetal position, praying to be invisible. He felt rough hands upon him. The burning started where the hands touched him and then moved swiftly through his body.

  He didn’t remember much after that until he was pulled through a doorway and hung on the walls of a little girl’s room. He seemed to gain energy, but before he could escape, he was drained again. This time another man was added to the line. Another doorway opened, and he found himself in a small apartment. The draining was repeated. A series of doorways and drainings were repeated again and again until he found himself here, rescued from the line.

  A large beast of a man held him while a small man laid a hand on his brow. What new hell awaited him?

  “Did you get all that?” the small man asked the larger.

  “This poor man was snatched from the light,” the large man lamented.

  “Don’t worry, Lee Heinz,” the small man said. “You help us, and the light will come for you again,” he promised.

  “We are going to give Anatolie a potion. He will save you,” the large man told him. “All you have to do is wait.”

  “In the meantime,” the small man told him, “I’ll give you something for the hollow pain.”

  Lee felt a surge of energy pulse through his body. Not enough to escape but enough to feel numb instead of constant pain. For that he was grateful. The large man picked him up again. They left the confines of the strange house and walked back to the line. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but he was once again hanging there. But this time he could raise his head and look around him.

  The large man retreated, and soon a strange machine rolled by him. He looked down the line at his future savior Anatolie, but he had his head low. He looked further and saw the others, too, hung with their heads low. All except one, and she was now staring into his eyes, probing his mind. He lowered his head, hoping against hope that she didn’t already know the plan.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Angelo’s driver searched frantically in the trunk of the limo. He had meticulously taken each item out, looking for the red knife Audrey had requested him to find for Angelo. Audrey watched, worried about the amount of time she was away from the house.

  The driver covertly gazed at his watch. He had passed the allotted time for the red knife ruse. He and Angelo had come up with this method of stalling people. If Angelo wanted to rid himself of the company of someone for a few minutes, he would send them to the driver to find a special red knife he needed. When Audrey asked the driver for the red knife, he questioned why anyone would want to be rid of this striking red-haired woman’s company even for a minute. But orders were orders.

  “Here it is!” the driver said triumphantly. “Why it was in the first aid kit instead of the weapon cache is beyond me. I trust you will not tell my boss of what has to be my stupidity,” he said, giving Audrey his best hangdog look.

  “Oh, no. I’m sure I wasn’t missed.” She took the knife and all but ran back to Irma’s house.

  Mia looked at the camera feed. “Why is Cid filming the floor?” she asked Ted.

  Ted opened the com and called, “Cid, come in.”

  There was no answer.

  “Mike, Cid’s hallucinating,” Ted warned.

  Mike looked over and watched the young tech lifting his legs up as if he was climbing out of something. He had his hands out and his eyes squinted. Burt was lying on the floor withering, and Father Santos was gone. “I have two down, and Father Santos is missing. Send in help,” he requested.

  Paulo Santos once again faced the large hands. They pulled at his clothing, and as he struggled, he felt himself being pulled away from the others. He saw Burt hit ground, and Cid was blinded by whatever demon he was facing. Before he could call out to Mike, another hand, this one not belonging to a reaper, was placed over his mouth.

  “Come, priest, I have a special trick waiting for you,” hissed Cezar. “You will make the best vessel. No one would dare exorcise a priest!”

  Bev burst through the door with Murphy at her back. She knelt beside Burt and called out, “I’ve got Burt. You find Santos!”

  Murphy moved through the house, not bothering with walls. He came up empty. He searched the kitchen again and saw the door to the stairs standing ajar. He raised his axe and moved silently downward through the floor.

  “Come on, snap out of it!” Bev said, shaking Burt roughly. “It’s just a hallucination.”

  “Mia warned me, I didn’t listen, Mia warned me, I didn’t listen,” he repeated over and over again as if it were a mantra.

  Mike, having just put an imaginary blanket over Cid and sent him out the door, rushed over to help. “I think he thinks he’s trapped at the church again. Give him some salt.”

  Bev gave him a look. “I don’t have any,” she snapped.

  “And you call yourself a ghost hunter. Move!” he ordered. “Burt, here’s some salt. It will make the ghosts let you go!” he yelled, putting a battery he found in his pocket in the man’s hands.

  Burt opened the salt container, flinging it towards his legs, and whatever held them released its grip. Silently, he thanked Mia and her salt obsession as he tried to get up.

  “Burt, it’s me Mike. Ted and I are going to get you out of here.”

  Bev turned around and didn’t see Ted. “Oh, I’m Ted,” she realized.

  Burt groaned and tried again to stand up. He threatened something out of their sight with the battery. His eyes were wild. “Keep them away from me,” he pleaded.

  “Burt, everything is okay,” Bev said gruffly, imitating Ted as she grabbed ahold of him. “Can you stand?”

  Burt looked past Ted to the corner. The entity had vanished. “Yes, I think so.” He accepted Ted’s and Mike’s assistance, and soon he was on his feet.

  “Let’s get you out of here,” Mike said.

  ~

  Uta sensed some
thing was amiss the moment she felt the second tug of the tether. She looked for that pesky little machine, but it wasn’t doing much but rolling it’s self into a strange looking ball. She looked to her right, and the spirits were moaning in pain but, for the most part, docile. She looked at Anatolie, and he was taking on some energy. It could have been an insect blown into him. Yes, her cousin would sink that low and take the life energy from a bug.

  “Anything to survive,” she said, laughing at the obvious distress of the man. Something caught her eye. She saw the retreating form of a large beautiful man. He made her hunger for her earthly body. She vowed to have him when Cezar gave her a body to possess. She wondered why the man was there. She examined the spirits beyond Anatolie and caught Lee Heinz looking at her. She supposed she would always attract men, even in her present state. She was a Gabor daughter, known for their beauty.

  Uta was surprised when the pig looked down. Was he suddenly being shy? Was he hiding something? She pushed out with her mind and connected with the weak-willed man. It didn’t take long to realize a mutiny was in progress. No wonder Anatolie was gaining energy. Did he think he could best her and Cezar together? What was this potion? She would get to it first. She would drink it, and Cezar would see how beautiful she was again, and together they would leave this place.

  ~

  Tom ran to assist Mike and Bev. Mike followed Cid, guiding him away from the house. Cid stopped and seemed stunned to find himself outside.

  “We have to get Burt past the line of influence,” Bev called, struggling with Burt who had his hands on her shoulders. “Why the hell does he keep trying to climb me?”

  “He thinks he’s in the church foundations,” Mike called over. “We had to climb a ladder to get out.”

  “Oh for fuck’s sake,” she said, exasperated as he had a foot on her bent knee. “How about I punch you in the groin, fella,” Bev threatened. “That’ll wake you up.”

  Tom pulled Burt off Bev and perp-walked the big guy to the edge of the sidewalk. There, Burt shook off the effects of the hallucination, asking, “How the hell did I get here? Where’s Santos?”

  “I sent Murphy after him,” Bev said, catching her breath.

  “Mike, Murphy can’t be in there alone,” Mia said in his ear.

  “Bev, come on,” he urged.

  “Like you, she can’t see the entity,” Mia informed him.

  “Tom, how would you like to be promoted to redshirt?” Mike asked.

  “Not if you put it that way. But I’m coming. Murphy did me a solid. I owe him,” he said.

  Bev, Mike and Tom ran into the house.

  CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

  “Shit, the big guy’s in trouble,” Bev said, running towards the sound.

  Murphy faced off the line of buffalo-skin-covered warriors moving quickly down the hillside towards the road. He felt Mia at his back, and he was damned if she would die, slaughtered by Iroquois and Fox warriors.

  “Murphy, it’s not real,” Mike called from the stairs.

  “Have to save Mia!” he shouted, swinging his axe at whatever was worrying him.

  Mike pulled out his earpiece and shoved it in the ghost’s direction.

  Ted frantically adjusted the sound and nodded to Mia who shouted, “Murph, I’m okay. It’s not real. Put your axe down!”

  She heard Murphy comply. She was about to tell them to retreat when she heard Orion’s voice.

  “Mia, this is Orion. I’ve developed a bicycle rash. Can you recommend a good chemist?”

  Mia’s mind was flooded with information.

  Ted worried when Mia didn’t respond. He put a hand on her face. “Come back to me, pumpkin. I’m sure the little feller will survive the rash. I wonder if it was a tricycle…”

  “Stop calling me pumpkin,” Mia said, coming out of it. “Please connect me with the interior PEEPs only.”

  Ted looked at her oddly but did so in a few keystrokes. He nodded in her direction.

  “Guys, I know it’s going to be a bitch, but we’ve got to wear Cezar down to the point of exhaustion,” she told them. “Orion has a plan, but we have to make sure Cezar leaves to feed on the line of spirits,” she instructed.

  Ted looked at her and asked, “Please?”

  Mia laughed, “I say please…”

  “Only if you want my dessert.”

  “It must have been Orion speaking,” she said, rolling her eyes. “The tricycle crack is going to get you a timeout,” she said, wagging her finger.

  “No time for timeouts. I’m pretty busy with Curly and all the communication.”

  “Let Jake handle Curly,” Mia suggested.

  “Shush, he’ll…” Ted stopped, watching a little cheerleader dancing at the bottom of the monitor. “Look, honey, he’s spelling out my name,” Ted said.

  “Let him loose,” Mia suggested.

  “Go on, just don’t fry any of the good guys,” Ted instructed, releasing Curly’s control to Jake.

  “Anyone have eyes on Father Santos?” Mia asked.

  “I see him!” Tom shouted, running over to a cowering Santos who kept muttering, “Deer-woman, deer-woman.”

  Tom put a calming arm around the priest affirming, “It’s just a nightmare. You’re fine, absolutely fine. Come with me, Father.” Tom got him as far as the stairs when he saw Mrs. Brown, his 3rd grade teacher. “Oh no. Mike, the entity is at eleven o’clock.” He saw the investigator’s puzzled expression and shouted, “In the corner in front of you!”

  Mike pulled out the rock-salt-loaded shotgun and shot both barrels at the corner of the room. Murphy just managed to twist out of the way. He would remind the investigator later to call out a warning first.

  Cezar screamed and released his hold on the priest. The Indians disappeared, and Murphy found himself once again in the basement.

  “Where’s mine, Cezar?” Bev teased the spirit. “Come and read my mind,” she dared.

  “No, my mind,” Mike said as he reloaded. “Come inside. I assure you I have many bad memories for you to exploit.”

  The spirit wavered. He needed to refuel, but his ego was damaged. He needed to show these people who was boss.

  ~

  Audrey walked beside Orion as they followed Angelo into the empty lot. He skirted the foundation stones, and she found herself in front of more than a dozen orbs.

  Orion viewed the withered souls and asked, “Which one of you is Anatolie Gabor?” He saw Anatolie try to lift his head.

  “I am he,” Uta said, dropping her voice. “What do you want, midget?”

  “I am looking for Gabor the Great. You are not he,” Orion said, staring at the female apparition.

  “So you can see me? All the better. Don’t waste your time with Anatolie. He is but a piece of dried toast. Come over here if you want to speak to a real Gabor,” she boasted.

  Audrey felt something odd in her head. She looked in alarm and blurted out, “Watch out, she’s reading my mind!”

  “Leave quickly,” Orion shouted.

  Angelo picked up Audrey and ran with her away from the line of spirits. Audrey hoped it wasn’t too late.

  Uta reached out and dug her nails into the small man. He shrieked in pain. Orion hadn’t expect Uta to be strong enough to leave the line. She jumped on his back and raked her nails at his neck. Orion twisted away and pulled out the bottle of green gas. He made for Anatolie, but Uta was too strong for him. She grabbed the bottle and walked a few feet away. She opened the bottle and took all the gas into herself. She started to flesh out.

  Mike fired again at the spirit. Cezar screamed and disappeared.

  “Mia, he’s on his way,” Mike said. “Murphy, follow him. Make sure he is winded enough to feed,” he ordered.

  Murphy followed the mind reader into the foundations of the old house. He moved ahead and stood between him and the trapped spirits.

  Cezar stared at the farmer and tried to probe his mind. If he could only lay a hand on the ghost, he would be able to defeat these people. The
little man who Uta had pinned to the ground would be fun to deal with. Why did Uta look so good?

  “Your woman has taken your power,” Orion called. “She is now the greatest Gabor in this world.”

  Murphy turned around, curious.

  Cezar took this chance and flew by him. He approached Uta. “Is this true, sister? Have you forsaken me too?”

  Uta dropped the little man and turned to her brother. “No, Cezar. No, I stopped them from feeding the elixir of life to Anatolie. I drank it so… so you could feed off of me. I invite you, come into Uta’s arms and feed.”

  Gerald, Bev, Father Santos and the PEEPs assembled at the edge of the lot, watching. Mia and Ted stayed in the control room, but the others could not help themselves. Those that could see ghosts watched as Cezar walked into Uta’s arms.

  “That’s a big ew,” Mia said to Ted. “Game of Thrones action, if you get my drift.”

  “Ew,” Ted agreed.

  Cezar grabbed his sister and absorbed every ounce of energy she had left. She crumbled to ground. He was surprised as the last wisps of spectral life left her. He didn’t do that. He looked at Anatolie who raised his head and smiled.

  “You killed her,” Anatolie claimed.

  “No, I didn’t.” He bent down and lifted her head. “Uta, what have you done?”

  “Wouldn’t you be better served asking her what she’s been eating?” Orion said, getting to his feet.

  Cezar dropped Uta and moved a step away. Orion sniffed the air. “Smells like brains.” He put up a finger, sniffed and shook his head once, sniffed, then nodded again. Sorry, it is brains. More correctly, your brains, Cezar.”

  Cezar pulsed as he started to understand what was happening. “Why?”