«Nothing. Spike never bothered. It was she who…».
«He stole your affection. You care more about your dog than your mother».
«It was she who wanted it! She repeated it all the time, I had to deal with him!».
«How did you get it?».
«Are you wondering if I killed her for that? No, I didn’t do it. It was not the first time she was threatening me, but I was used to it. Dad would never let him go».
«I wouldn’t be so sure about this. Your father allowed her many things. All the movings are there to show me that».
«But Spike no. He liked him too».
«He must wanted her more then the dog».
«No. Years back, perhaps, but he couldn’t stand her anymore».
Delfi drew a long sigh. «You have never said anything before. Do you realize that you have provided us the motive we have always been looking for?».
«You said that it wasn’t me. That you don’t want to arrest me».
«Not me. It is the diary that frees you, but it’s not reliable».
The boy was waiting for him. «Is it a trap then?».
«Nothing at all, it’s good to start telling the truth. The diary is not reliable ate the moment, but you can help us to make it so».
«Why is it not reliable?».
«First of all because the girl who wrote it doesn’t exist. As far as we tried we couldn’t find her».
«But there’s more, right?».
«The solution she gives of the crimes is somehow… bizarre. I don’t think it would stand in a court».
«So it’s all worthless, anyway».
«That’s not what I said, keep reading, help me understand».
He turned the page and jumped. «It’s different», he said.
It was very different. «There is no more Dear Libby».
The header was changed, and even the writing. No ghosts, no smudges. She had to be out of her mind.
The first sentence was disturbing.
Bitch! Why did you do that?
She watched Delfi. «What does it mean?».
He was literally giggling under his mustache. «Go ahead, go ahead».
PALM TREES
SF-Horror Novella
PLOT
At the end of the city, at the bottom of a ghostly street, which only one year ago was inhabited and full of life, there was a tall black wall. That place is where she would like to go, something about that wall attracts her. Something so strong that can make her rip her life apart and go to a tropical island. On a beach surrounded by palm trees where the sand is pink. These moments of losing consciousness are destroying her life, she would do anything to block them. Also get into the factory where everything started. Only one year ago there was a catastrophe of enormous proportions, the consequences of which are still evident. It looks abandoned but it is not, its enemy is there. Something unexpected, totally alien, deadly and dangerous, which cannot forgive her, because its only desire is to devour her.
EXTRACT
1
«This is the last one, I have already opened three of these for you! If you don’t want to eat, fine, but remember that I will not come back home until tonight! It is useless for you to complain, then, when there is no more food around. We cannot go this way, Rudy, you have to understand, you’ve become only skin and bones!».
I took him in my hands, because I was really worried, despite the harsh tone with which I spoke with him. Rudy was so hurt, he did not eat much. And in the evening when I came back, the situation was even worse, he waited for me in despair, and then everything started again. I had to open four or five different boxes before he could find something of his taste, and then he just ate two morsels before he began to complain again.
I just didn’t know what to do, just a year before Rudy was a very cool kitten, with a gray shining hair, but then the trouble started. I could not find anything he liked. As always, he would just discover the right box, then he would immediately lost interest! Could I be unluckier?
I brought him to the vet, did all kinds of examinations, but the answer was always the same: Rudy is a very nice cat; there is no reason why he had stopped eating. And he was not even old; he was only five years old.
«Oh Rudy, Rudy, what am I going to do with you!».
He looked at me with his desperate eyes. «Meow!».
Assholes! No one even thought of standing up in that damn bas! And it was full of young and strong men, they saw that the poor old lady could have been their grandmother, and no one bothered to stand up and let her sit.
Even that delinquent next to me. How could you put on yourself that many tattoos and pieces of iron! Piercing, they call it. I shivered from disgust when I saw holes everywhere, on the lip, on the nose, even on a nipple!
«Hey», I said to him! Don’t you see that the lady needs to sit down? You could give her your place!».
What kind of doped eyes! Why would you shave your hair that way! Wasn’t he cold? It was a strong winter outside!
«You get up, if you feel like. Why me?».
In the tongue! He even had piercings in the center of the tongue! And he spat while talking! I wondered who would have the courage to kiss him and be fond of him.
«Sit down, lady, come here, please!». I spoke pretty loud, to make sure everyone heard me. «Now a days men no longer serve anything! They don’t bother to do even the smallest favor».
And she said: «Oh thank you, my dear. But no need, I’m already here, I’m getting out on the next station!».
A pink beach, full of fine sand, a cobalt blue sea, calm as it was almost not moving at all, a blue sky. It seemed to me that I had entered a postcard.
I felt a warm wind on my skin, the waves coming almost to my feet. I was dreaming, yes I knew, I closed my eyes and dreamed. It was pleasant anyway, I felt the warmth of the sun on my body, yet a moment ago, on that bus, I was trembling from the cold.
I felt someone’s breath on my shoulder, I was not alone. I turned around. The beach was deserted. There was no one around, only a row of palm trees lining up. They were disguised in the darkness, I only saw their silhouettes. The darkness beyond them was impenetrable.
I came back. The effect was strange, as if there was the day before me, and the night was behind.
«Come on… I’m waiting for you…».
It was just a whisper, but I turned around. Everything was motionless, only the pinnacles of the palm trees were moving on the wind.
«Who are you? Where are you? «I yelled.
The voice was too weak for me to understand which direction it came from. «Come to me… I’m waiting for you… you have to come…».
Then everything became worse, a hell of a day.
If the episode on the bus seemed bizarre and I had attributed it to my fatigue at that particular moment, I would not know how to define all the rest of the events coming up.
The owner of the book store was quite angry. «If you do not feel well, Elena, go home!». But his tone was far from gentle.
I could not figure out what was happening to me.
I had found myself sitting at the counter and looking at a travel atlas, without even remembering how and when I got it I my hands. The page on which the atlas was open was a perfect reproduction of my dream. HAWAI, it was written in the caps locks, and then a title: THE CHARMING PARADISE.
I closed it and pulled it away with disgust. Did I need a vacation? Was that the reason?
Unfortunately, it was just the beginning. The whole day was full of dark moments, in which I was trapped, lost in my dreams. That beach persecuted me, it has become a part of my reality. It was enough just to step forward and the bookshelves disappeared: I found myself walking on the beach. And it was nice, very nice, if only…
The voice coming from the dark was hypnotic, obsessive, and every passing hour became increasingly intrusive. The voice did not ask, it ordered.
I couldn’t come back to myself, I couldn’t find the books that were asked from me, I brought
to the bank absurd titles like «Come from me», «I expect you», «I need you» in front of the horrified looks of the owner and the clients.
Then my boss kindly said to me, «Take the afternoon off, Elena». But then he added, «Go and consult a doctor».
In the cantina where I usually went, I put my glasses on and with a book in front of me; I tried to concentrate, not to fall back into that absurd daydreaming.
Devil! I was not a fading little girl with her head in the clouds! I already was well above forty years old, and I did not have any kindness. I did not wait for the blue prince; I have never searched for him. I was satisfied with my life. Well, no, no, no one can be satisfied when they live accompanied only by a psychedelic cat, but I had a reason for it, I accepted it. I was a little bit sour, yes; everyone noticed that, they said I was a bitch. So? I was!
My dreams were not populated by strangely obscure, scary vampires, but I was too practical to believe in fairy tales. So what could this mean? I detested the doctors, especially those who said they knew how to dig into the brain, I found them useless, I was convinced they were just charlatans. I did not believe in the existence of mental illness, I was convinced that the madmen would only recite, for interest. Damn it, how does one losses his mind so badly? It’s impossible!
But at that moment it was happening to me!
No, no, I was just tired; it was Rudy who was destroying me! Some nights he cried for hours, asking for food I could not give him. As far as I loved him, I had to find a way to get rid of him before he became really crazy.
I turned a new page.
2
«Where should I take you to, ma’am?».
«Palm trees», I said.
Then I looked around. I was in a taxi!
Dammit, what am I doing there? I was at the cantina, just a second ago, I was reading! Is this a dream? Another damn dream?
No, damn it! This is just a smelly taxi, with dirty seats. Who knows what kind of people drove in this taxi! Who knows what kind of illnesses they had! Drugs, infections of all kinds, even AIDS! I could get AIDS here!
«Road of the Palms?».
Palms? Which palms? I would have exited the taxi, but the chauffeur already started driving. I was about to start screaming when I realized I’d look crazy. Somehow I must have entered that taxi, even though I did not remember it now, I could not recreate the scene.
«Is there a Road of the Palms?», I asked.
The taxi driver looked at me through the mirror. He was an older man, older than me, and incredibly fat. I was disgusted instantly.
«You told me to bring you there, didn’t you?».
What an asshole! Is this a way to address a lady? I was a paying customer, and I had all the reasons to…
Money! Damn, did I have any money? I looked around: the purse had slipped down from the seat. I picked it up and checked the wallet. Everything, more or less. «Where the hell is it?», I pushed.
«Road of the Palms? Out of town, on the outskirts, in the industrial area. For centuries I haven’t brought anybody there».
I’ve never been to that part, that’s why I’ve never heard her name.
«Then? Is that the right address?».
«What address?».
«Are you kidding me? If yes, you can get out of here. I already have too much going on in my house, so I don’t have to endure this too!».
I ignored his vulgarity. «What’s in the Road of the Palms?».
«How come you don’t know, you wanted to go there!».
Did I want to go? Did I give that address to the taxi driver? Why? Maybe I did not give any address, maybe I was still on that beach, surrounded by palm trees, sun bathing. So why did I enter a taxi?
«Then? Did you decide?».
«Go! Go!», I mumbled
I’m crazy!, I thought. And I was scared. What does all of this mean? Where was I? Why don’t I remember anything? My God, somehow, I had come to that taxi, maybe even crossed the street like a sleepwalker, I could have been hurt!
«So what’s in the Road of the Palms, what does it mean?».
«Nothing», replied the taxi driver abruptly.
«What does it mean?».
«He’ll see!», he replied. «We’re almost here!».
I was looking through the window with my eyes wide open.
«They have given you a wrong address. Should I take you back?».
There was a wide road in front of me, a few hundred yards long, and on both sides there were American villas, all of which were identical, on two floors and with a meadow up front. They were surrounded by strictly white fences, and in front of each there was an old letter box with a vivid red firefighter.
There were no palm trees nowhere around.
The whole road was abandoned, it was obvious that all homes were uninhabited. At the bottom, far away, there was a completely black wall.
«What is it?», I asked, puzzled.
«They closed it», the taxi driver replied. «Don’t you read the newspapers? That’s why they all went away».
His words had no meaning.
«Are you satisfied? Should we go back?».
The scene before my eyes changed. The asphalt turned into pink sand, and the light grew intense. The sky became evenly blue. The houses resurfaced, the meadows grew green, the fences were clean. New curtains appeared at the windows.
And palm trees. Two rows of palm trees at the sides of that rosy beach. Even they were absorbed by the darkness, simple silhouettes set against the blue sky.
Beyond the road there was no wall anymore, there was nothing. Cute little dogs ran on the meadows, barking festively.
«Curs!», yelled the taxi driver. «They all killed them!».
The vision disappeared. I saw a group of dogs running around the street fighting each other. They were not at all festive, they seemed threatening.
«It’s always full of strays from these parts! Other than a kennel, we would like poisoned bites!».
And as he mumbled, he started the car.
«What is he doing?».
«Let’s go, no? You don’t want to stay here, I hope! You saw the place!».
I opened the door and put a foot on the floor.
«Look, I do not look! If you want to stop here, arrange it!».
I could not bear to stay on that taxi for a second. I had the phone with me; I would have called another one to go back. Or I would have tried the bus.
«What do you hope to find here? There is no one anymore!». And then, emphasizing the syllables, he said: «It’s a-ban-do-ned!».
But I was already paying him because I found that neighborhood more and more hateful.
Where the hell were the palms? What kind of twisted mind had called Road of the Palms a street where there is not even a shadow of a palm?
The abandonment was total, absolute. Most of the houses had their doors open, wide open, almost indicating that this is not a temporary situation and nobody will ever live there again. And they were new; none of those homes could have been over a dozen years old.
The meadows had become full of weeds, the fences were all scratched. I recognized signs of claws, as if some gilded bears went around the area. I felt mumbled and I came nearby. In the middle of the grass, two skeletal cats were making weird sounds. When they saw me, they thought I was their rival, so started throwing themselves at me and mewing.
I was forced to run away.
There was no life, except those beasts. I saw dozens of dogs and cats, one bitterer than the other. Fortunately, most of them tried to avoid me. Some barked against me, too scared to get close. What was the thing about that place? What I was doing there? Who had built Duckburg and then abandoned it? What did that horrible wall hide behind?
I kept watching, until I started to feel like something was burning.
Nothing metaphorical, something was really burning.
I turned to the point where it smelled, and…
«I want what’s mine! Give it back to me».
Two palm trees. But even at that distance they seemed to me just like silhouettes, completely black figures.
«Who are you? Where are you?».
3
«Who are you, rather? Didn’t you see this is a private property?».
I did not wonder how I got there, I was getting used to it now, and that was serious.
I was in a kitchen. Let’s say in what was supposed to be a kitchen. Have I entered into one of the houses? From the window I could see the road, I was not far away.
There was a lit stove inside which was producing a frightful, an uneven table and two chairs. Some crockery was thrown to the ground, in a row over a cloth. The man who spoke to me did not look better than the animals I’ve met so far.
«You have no right to be here! You are an intruder!», I said.
It was easy to deduce, no one else would have agreed to live in such pitiful conditions.
He was not scared at all. «It’s my home!», he yelled. «I’ve been here for ten years!».
But he was right and I understood that from the tone he used.
High and slim, I think he was ten years younger than me. He seemed so thin that even I would have been able to knock him down by simply blowing against him. «It is strange they haven’t eaten yet, perhaps they realized that there are not so many things to include in the feast».
«Are you trying to be funny now? What are you doing?».
I looked around. «What kind of a place is this?».
He snorted, licked, as if he had something to boast about. «Do you think you are the first? I have seen dozens of vultures like you! Go away!».
I bite my lips, like when I’m angry. «What if I tell the police about you?».
He tried to laugh. «No one longer cares about what’s happening to anyone here».
«It’s private property, he said!».
«They will never sell it. I don’t have to worry about that. Only a fool would stay here».
I kept looking around. In the next room I found a mattress knocked on the floor and a bag full of clothes taken out of the closed. I did not hide my disgust.
Lizzi Bizzi and the Red Witch Page 87
