NeverEnding Maddness: A Girl Lost to the World (Frost & Flame Book 3)

by Rick Kueber

  “I'm either really stupid, or really brave...” I said to Theo who watched from below. “...but, honestly, I don't feel very brave right now.” Though I couldn't see his face, I was sure he was grinning in agreement.

  Turning back to the task at hand, I took another step. My head raised above the ceiling just as the rung underfoot made a loud pop. I was sure, once again, that I was about to die, but the rung did not break. It had only cracked, but it was enough to cause my legs to turn to rubber. I took one more step quickly and sat the light on the attic floor. Placing one hand on either side of the opening, I pressed hard against the floor, lifting my weight off of the ladder and rocked back, landing my butt onto the attic floor behind me. The floor looked quite solid. There was an area around the attic entry that was covered in wooden flooring. Ten feet beyond the ladder the rafters were exposed and fifteen foot ahead I could see where the loft turned to the left, which would have been above the front of the building. Several feet behind me was a red brick wall. It, and the underside of the roof structure were covered in a hundred years of spider webs and dust.

  In the middle of the brick wall, and the middle of the wood covered floor, was an open arched doorway, and beyond that was a dark unknown. I can't say if it was actually the temperature, but there was an unnerving coldness that poured out from the bricked opening. I was uncontrollably drawn to the bricked doorway. It was only about four and a half foot tall at the peak of the arch, and I had to duck to peer inside. My light only murkily lit the large space beyond. Instantly I felt I was in the right place at the right time. I was not alone in this attic, the far left corner exuded a frightening presence, but my eyes were pulled to the far right corner. My light brightened that corner only slightly more than the other, but as I scanned the rafters and upright supporting lumber, I gasped. What appeared to be the same shadowy figure peeked out from the blackish-brown uprights and though it had no eyes to be seen, it saw me. I could feel its stare piercing deep into my soul. I had something it desired, something it was confounded by, and yet distantly remembered... I had life. As I fumbled through my pockets to find my camera, there was a low moaning shriek, like the howling of an autumn wind through barren trees. As quickly as I could, I began to snap photos, hoping to capture an image of the ghostly figure, but it had disappeared as swiftly as before.

  From the other corner, I felt the heavy coldness increasing, reaching out from its hiding spot. I turned my camera and snapped two pictures, but even the flash would not penetrate the evil darkness that flourished there. My camera immediately went dead and my light began to slowly fade. Some devilish creature took life from the shadows, the blackness spread across the walls like the spreading wings of a dragon. A monstrous figure formed from shadow, called me out by name, and its eyes were illuminated with a pale bluish glow. Fear was an emotion I was unfortunately familiar with, and this time it had gripped me so deeply, if I could have wished myself home and into my warm bed, I would have. I wanted nothing more than to not be there at that moment, caught in the gaze of this nightmare.

  My light went out, and the beast called out my name once again. Though I felt nothing, I heard the flashlight hit the floor as I turned and ran the few short steps to the ladder and descended it so quickly I didn't have a moment to think of the frailty until nearly half way down when one of the rungs under my left foot broke from my clumsy weight. I paused only a fraction of a second before continuing on and reaching the remains of the floor beneath me. I did not stop, or even pause to check my footing, until I had passed Theo and reached the stairwell, where I met with Mike and Hilary who had just come up to check on us.

  “Hey!” Mike called out cheerily. “Everything okay? It's been more than an hour and we thought we should come check on you guys.” Hilary added, feeling that something had me noticeably shaken and disturbed.

  “I was wondering the same thing...” Theo said as he entered the stairs behind me. “What's the rush to get out of the attic?” Though he surely had some idea of my encounter.

  “There was something up there... I saw this shadow, down the hall in that room you were talking about Theo, then I saw it again up in the attic...” I recalled the terror that had taken control of me, and the beast that had caused it. “There was something else though... I think it may have been the same thing we encountered in the other hallway, you know... before we went in the room, before the collapse...”

  “Aw hell no!” Hillary expressed all of our feelings with perfect bluntness.

  “We'd better go before the whole damn place falls in!” Mike motioned with his light toward the stairs. Without question, or hesitation, we all descended the stairs and exited the Infirmary, never saying a word until we had reached the truck. Even then, we said very little as we loaded up and piled into the truck as it warmed up. Mike quickly backed the truck out of its parking spot, skidding to a stop and the tires spun slightly in the loose gravel of the parking lot when he switched to drive and sped forward out of the lot. We bounced onto the road and had a few miles behind us before Mike eased up on the accelerator and we finally began to talk.

  “So, what the hell happened back there, and did you get any pictures?” Hilary asked. “I took some, but I don't know how they turned out yet.” I thought a moment and disappointingly said, “Well crap! I totally left my recorder in Maddie's room.”

  “I don't know if it's going to be a help, or if we'll catch anything, but I grabbed your recorder and had it going almost the whole time.” Theo chimed in.

  “Nice... It's got to be some help.” I replied.

  “Anyways...” Hilary sounded sarcastically annoyed. “Whatthe-hell-happened?” I went about telling the tale of the shadow person appearing to me, watching me in both areas. They all listened intently as I spoke in great detail of the feeling I had during the encounters and how I felt compelled by the shadow, as if it needed help, but were afraid to make contact. When my story turned to the black winged beast, I thought that if it weren't for his seat belt, Theo would fall from his seat. There was definitely an evil presence at the infirmary. Whether there was any correlation between it and the murderous inmate who was diagnosed with a demonic possession as the reason for his sudden killing spree or not, I couldn't be sure, but what I did know was that this THING was almost definitely the same shadowy entity that we had encountered in the opposite corridor; the one who seemed to be in control of so many of the spirits trapped in that forsaken place. We spoke the entire way back to Mike and Hilary's home about the encounters, the collapse of the building, and the freezing cold. My thoughts and my input always circled back to the short chest of drawers and the bottom drawer that refused to open. I was certain there was some reason I was drawn to it, and I wouldn't be satisfied until I was able to open it, even if it was empty and contained no clues or answers.

  My thoughts also returned to the moments when my life literally hung in the balance and the only person I could think of was Tabitha. During our conversations, I sent a social media text message to her. It simply said

  'Want to go for coffee sometime this week?'

  She had always been a night owl and a second shifter, so I wasn't surprised to get a response before we made it back to their house. 'Penny Lane? :) Sounds good. Probably have to be next weekend... I work all week.' Penny Lane Coffee Shop was where we had met the first time and I couldn't control my smile. I answered her back quickly before putting my phone back in my pocket.

  'Awesome! I'll talk to you this week and we'll figure it out.” Photo by Hilary Lee

  Photos by Rick Kueber

  Chapter 8 Dream a Little Dream

  Theo and I were invited to stay at Mike and Hilary's for a bit of sleep before our long trek home, which is exactly what we did. It was nearly 4 am when we arrived, and though our minds buzzed, we all were exhausted and fell into deep sleeps quickly...

  ***Rick*** The couch proved to be very comfortable, and while I thought about the mysterious and terrifying experiences at the Infirmary, I dozed off into
an eerie dreamland, where I feel I had been invited. This dream seemed to have a purpose. It was not just a dream; I was being shown a vision, and I knew exactly who was showing me these things.

  I was standing on a grassy hill, sparsely dotted with maple and pin oak trees. The sky was a beautiful blue and the leaves of the trees rustled quietly in the spring breeze. I turned slowly to gaze down the hill to see the Infirmary and poor house below in the height of their existence. Common folks, paupers, and transients bustled about, tending to their chores, working the farm, and over all being content with their meager lives... simply grateful to have a dry place to sleep and food enough to avoid starvation. An occasional man or woman in white uniforms would appear near the infirmary, some escorting a patient or inmate. Over all, considering the oppressive circumstances, it appeared to be a decent place full of kind people.

  As I watched the daily lives of folks over a hundred years ago, a small hand reached up and grasped mine, taking me by surprise. I lowered my eyes to see who had joined me on this beautiful antebellum day. A sudden sickness hit the pit of my stomach when I recognized the child beside me, the child holding my hand, to be young Ashley Sue Helmach... the burning girl. My first thought was 'Why the hell is she here?', but I spoke not a word. Her piercing blue eyes stared deep into mine with a solemn sadness and without saying anything, and no cues, we both turned our gaze back to the Infirmary.

  The Sky had grown dark and everyone had vanished. A light misting rain had begun to fall and the warm summer day had somehow changed to a dreary and cold, late autumn evening. A woman appeared from a distance struggling to carry a load that was almost more than she could bear. Without warning, I found myself, and Ashley, now standing near the front entrance to the Infirmary. The young woman, no more than twenty years of age, approached. Her faded blue cotton dress was ragged, torn, soiled and stained. Desperation and sorrow poured out from the woman like the putrid smell of death and rot one might experience far before finding a long dead animal on the side of the road. Raven black hair covered her face and was damp and matted. Raspy sobs of an unimaginable pain billowed from behind her mess of hair. We watched as she made her way slowly up the stairs, across the short, white bridge and to the massive, main entrance doors.

  Unloading the mass from over her shoulder, I shuddered with remorse, seeing it was the body of a young boy. He lay there in the rain which was growing more steady. The desperate young woman beat her fists against the wood of the doors, trying to gain entry. She leaned over the boy and spoke to him with a voice hoarse from crying and sickness.

  “Don't leave me Jacob... Please child. It's mum... stay with me a bit longer.” She spoke as loud as her sore throat would allow as she began to beat on the door once again.

  Relentlessly she pounded against the doors, and cried for help, each word shredding her throat more and more. The hours flew by, and with the passing of time, the night grew deathly cold. In spite of the cold, and her own sickness, the young mother pummeled her fists against the doors without relief, until Ashley and I could begin to see red marks of blood on the white painted front doors. A man peered through the window to the right of the door several times, but never unlocked or opened the door. My heart broke wishing I could just walk up and open the door for her, but I knew I was not part of this scene, only an observer of an occurrence long past.

  I glanced to Ash, hoping somehow she could help, but when her saddened eyes met mine, I knew this situation would not be improving. Eventually the woman collapsed from exhaustion and we watched as the dawn began to break. Just before the sun rose, the front door opened and two men rushed out and dragged the young woman inside, leaving the boy behind. A short time later, the door opened again and another man exited, covering the child in a sheet and throwing him over his shoulder, he proceeded to walk around the eastern corner of the building to the caretaker's shed where he laid the boy in a wooden wheel barrow and placed a shovel in as well. Grasping the handles, the disheveled old man pushed the wheel barrow across the muddy road to a clearing near the woods and began stepping off paces, measuring a distance from the edge of the road and the woods. He stuck a stake in the wet ground and then grabbed up his shovel and began digging.

  The grass and soggy ground turned easily beneath the weight of the untidy man and he soon had a hole two foot wide by four foot long dug. It was barely knee deep when he stopped and threw the shovel to the side. With cold hearted and careless apathy he snatched up the child and tossed him into the shallow grave. Once in the wormy hole, the man withdrew the sheet and placed it to the side while he shoveled the mucky dirt back into the hole saving the grassy bits for last, making sure to put them on top, grass side up so as to make the grave blend in more quickly. No marker was placed, no funerary rights were given. There was only the metallic scraping sounds of the shovel as it penetrated the loose soil and the grunts and groans of the weathered old caretaker as he added another shallow grave that would soon be forgotten by all except for a mourning mother who was not given the chance to say farewell to her only son.

  The rain was drenching, cold and cruel, while I watched the travesty unfold. I felt as if my heart would break and the coldness would never leave me, when a sudden warmth filled my hand. Looking down, Ashley smiled up at me with watery eyes. The warmth of her grasp was comforting at first, but quickly the comforting warm became unbearable and I watched as the young girl burst into flames along with everything that surrounded us. I awoke with a start, covered in sweat, and noticed the sun was already up, though no one else seemed to be.

  ***Theo*** Theo, being a medium, had seen more than the rest of us during the investigation, and had experienced what we had, but more clearly. Despite all of the information to process, like us, he was utterly exhausted and soon fell into a near comatose sleep. Less than an hour into his slumber, his mind was awakened in a dream.

  Theo found himself in a place most of us would not comprehend. It was not a physical place, but a place of emotion and energy. Swirling mists of every shade and hue imaginable filled this 'place'. Each unique mist represented its own emotion, feeling, and the energy type that was associated with it. He was aware as some brightest mists of the same type began to combine, representing love and happiness as fantastic events of joy took place; marriage, births, and the like.

  This caused Theo's spirit to be uplifted, but the feeling was short lived as he watched the darkest grays and blacks also draw together creating some of the most concentrated negativity he had ever imagined. These dark mists represented events like death, fear, hatred and more. He watched as one of these energies became more and more concentrated and nearly became solid and physical. It began to draw other negative mists to it, like iron filings to a magnet. The stronger it grew, the more the positive energy mists seem to dissipate in an uncontrolled chaos.

  As the positive mists weakened, Theo found himself back in the physical world. Dawn was near and Theo stood in the midst of a forest. Bodies were strewn about in a most heinous way. In the middle of the apocalyptic scene stood a devilish presence. This young evil was reveling in its newly found power. Only one out of many men had managed to survive and escape. Theo knew it must have been intentional, as this evil being could have so easily destroyed this man as well.

  The scene blurred and a brightness appeared that washed the colors from everything. When the brilliant light dimmed, he was now standing in the main corridor of a medical facility... the Infirmary. It was alive and bustling with medics and orderlies, inmates and visitors. He watched as the day and the people flew by in fast forward. Alongside him, he also watched the concentration of negative energy that had become a conscious entity of its own studying all of the passersby.

  Theo watched in amazement and a new understanding as he saw blackish ribbons of mist leave this 'demon' and begin wrapping around and entering the bodies of the inmates and even some of the staff of the Infirmary. The beast had been weakened, but remained strong enough to retain its form and consciousness. An inmate
passed by, escorted by an orderly and an attending psychiatrist. The attention of both Theo and the beast were caught by the inmate, realizing this was the same man who had been allowed to escape the forest scene. The beast let out a chuckle of the most unnerving nature and began to pursue the doctor and inmate. The doctor was quickly enveloped in the ebony monster and he stared in awe as the creature was seemingly absorbed by the unsuspecting psychiatrist.

  Everything returned to fast forward mode, and escalated until the days and nights became like a flickering strobe light. When they slowed again, Theo knew that years had passed as he saw many of the same inmates and staff, but also some that were new. When time had slowed to nearly normal, it was night and he looked on as the beast left the body of the psychiatrist and began collecting his ribbons of evil as each of his hosts passed by. Their lives had spiraled over the past few years, pulled into despair and mental instability by the negativity that had been bound to them. Their expressions seemed to change in a positive way when the negativity left their bodies, but the years had taken such a toll on them that they would never recover.

  The demon began to search for the man from the forest until he found his room. The beast passed straight through the door and the entirety of his evil being entered the man. The door to the man's room, though locked, burst open and the man rushed out, with a crazed look in his glowing blue eyes. Theo's spirit followed the man as his rampage was unleashed on the Infirmary. He seemed to be on a mission... a mission to destroy someone in particular, and he would not let anyone stand in his way.