Maddie Ann s Playground

by Mackenzie Drew

  The glowing circle outlined the invisible tunnel to the farmhouse. Claire fell to her knees, looking heavenward with hands clasped in prayer. “Maddie Ann, I’ll never give in to you and that's a promise,” she shouted for the entire world to hear. “Soon we will confront each other again, and when we do, I’m sending you back where you belong—straight to Hell.”

  Claire stood and readied herself for the journey. In her mind's eye, a warm smile on her grandfather’s face welcomed her back. She placed her hand around the rim of the tunnel to balance her step as she prepared to slip inside. Before she had the chance, it disappeared. Claire’s face creased with confusion as she fell to her knees. It hadn't been near twenty-four hours yet! She felt around where the opening used to be. Nothing. Right away, she knew Maddie Ann had locked her out. She panicked. What about her grandpa? Where would she to go now that she couldn’t get back?

  In agony now, the world around her, spun. It spun so fast, her feet ascended from the ground, taking her up in the night air and whisked her over the tops of the tall trees. As she flew, she glanced down and sighted someone running in the same direction the wind carried her. Forcing her eyes to focus much harder on the subject, she saw it was Jennifer racing toward the cemetery, and an overload of anxiety hit her. What are you thinking? Please be smart and go back home, she whispered. Maddie Ann will kill you! The only way to keep her from venturing inside the cemetery was to risk her own life and meet her at the gates.

  Chapter Twelve

  Jogging up the narrow dirt path the girls had traveled that dreaded night, Jennifer soon stood before the old rusted gates boldly jutting forth, like the prow of a ghostly ship. Once her eyes caught sight of the Old Creek Cemetery, she remembered even more about this evil place—the wooded surroundings, the detail sculpted in the rusty iron fence, the little hidden keyhole in the century-old padlock. Was it by mistake she remembered so much? After all, Maddie Ann had told her she wouldn’t remember any of it.

  Jennifer pushed aside a bush decorating the old wrought iron fence with its tiny limbs. The sound of crackling leaves and twigs beneath her feet echoed in the silence as she crept forward. Jennifer inched her way toward the old rusted gates, peering in through the bars at the lonely graves. There it was, across a wide grassy expanse—the grave Claire worshiped, or so Jennifer thought the night they lost their way. Maddie Ann's grave. She jumped at a rustling from behind, her face scrunched in confusion, but saw nothing. Must be nerves, she thought. Why did she pick this place to scare our friends on Halloween, of all nights? It scares me! I wish Claire could tell me why this all happened to us.

  Jennifer had many questions to ask, but who’d be the first to answer them? No one told her the truth these days, trying, she supposed, to 'protect' her. She couldn’t even trust her parents to tell her about her friends. A stranger told her. Claire’s mother had enjoyed scolding her as if she was some beastly criminal. Her mother cared more what the neighbors thought than her pain. Tears born of frustration rained down her tired face.

  Outweighing her sadness, Jennifer’s anger grew like a living beast inside her. She missed her friends, but there was more to it than that. She was angry with herself, sure, but they left her behind to endure all these troubles alone. She'd take the fall willingly for their deaths, which is why she had to return to the cemetery, but resentment built, nonetheless. If she ever saw any of them again, they'd sure get a piece of her mind. How dare they all die and leave her here alone? Especially, Claire.

  Jennifer stepped back away from the gates and mumbled a prayer to whatever gods occupied this place. She didn’t whisper nor did she think she needed to be quiet. This was her time with the enemy or enemies, because she wasn’t sure how many demons or wild beasts Maddie Ann had under her control. Just because she had not seen any in her previous trip, did not mean they were not in there now. She had to prepare herself.

  Clearing the phlegm from her throat, she said, “Little girl, I know you hide in this shit hole you call home, but I’m not afraid of you. You invaded me in my home and now I’m doing the same to you.”

  Jennifer lunged toward the gates, kicking the bottom portion of the bars, bending them inward. Rust flaked off and fell to the ground, showing a weakness in the metal. It should be easy to knock a hole in the bars if she fought hard enough. She looked around for a stout branch to use for leverage.

  ***

  Claire hovered above, watching Jennifer attack the gates. “Please stop, Jennifer! The black souls will kill you,” Claire shouted, but it made no difference; Jennifer couldn’t hear her. “Jennifer, I know you’re angry and I wish I could take it all back, but I can’t.”

  Even though Jennifer couldn’t hear her voice, Claire whimpered, “I did this to you, it’s my fault. But how did you escape? What happened to you in there?”

  She kept a close eye on her, watching her face change with her different moods and could only imagine what ran through that thick head of hers. Rehashing the memories of their exile, Claire wept. If only…woulda-coulda-shoulda. No excuse in the world could lessen what had happened.

  “We'll get our justice, Jennifer, wait and see my dear friend…it will happen,” she whispered. “But you have to go home.”

  Claire looked away, taking her eyes off Jennifer's frantic effort to bash in the gates, ashamed of herself. Maybe if she didn’t study the pain obvious in Jennifer's face. Maybe if she didn’t read desperation and anger into Jennifer's every action, her guilt might take a turn and somehow subside. Not likely, because Claire knew this killer headache and the troops practicing maneuvers in her stomach were here to stay.

  Trouble followed her everywhere she went. This was it—her punishment to endure until she took her last dying breath, reminding her over and over how she disrupted so many peoples’ lives, and for what? Pure, selfish delight in scaring her friends by doing stuff the adults forbade. But none of the harebrained schemes she and Jennifer did in the past matched the sheer stupidity of this prank. Fury took hold; the fire in her soul came alive.

  She gazed at the deepening sky with her fists clenched shut. For the wicked to hear, she bellowed, “Punish me for what I have done, but not Jennifer, it was all me, not her. Let her be. She doesn’t deserve this. Do you hear me? Let her go in peace.”

  Begging the black entities for mercy, Claire cried and pleaded for her best friend’s soul. They'd torture her, either by ripping out her heart or filling her with their poison, the poison that turns your soul black. They'd turn Jennifer into a cold-blooded killer like Maddie Ann, taking innocent lives, mangling them and holding them captive forever. Claire couldn’t live with herself knowing this. She couldn’t bear to witness another gruesome death, especially Jennifer's death.

  Jennifer didn’t understand how vicious these demons were. If they took her captive, they’d rip her to pieces. She’d beg for mercy, but they’d still torment her regardless of how much she’d beg and plead for them to stop. She noticed the orange moon rising behind the hills. Claire had to get Jennifer away from the cemetery—now, before the moon rose any higher in the sky. She needed to get Jennifer's attention. But how? Despair shook her.

  As Jennifer kicked and pried at the gates, eager to get in, Claire circled about the grounds looking for a way to communicate, but found nothing of any use. Claire’s face turned white, she lost all concentration and became hysterical. She cowered behind a large bush, sobbing. Any minute now, the black souls would come out to play, taking Jennifer as their next victim, and she was helpless to stop it.

  “Grandpa,” she prayed. “If you can help me, let her see me.”

  ***

  Chanting whispers circled overhead like hungry vultures waiting to attack. Jennifer whirled from her assault on the gate, feeling a rush of air from beating wings. Placing her fists on her hips, she taunted them.

  “Who’s there? Show yourself!”

  The night stood calm. Not a single autumn leaf danced on the ground, no birds roosted in the trees above. Dangerous-looking cl
ouds rolled in, smothering the light from the orange moon. Reaching down in her bag, Jennifer pulled out a flashlight, shining it in front of her. She wasn’t about to back down. She came for revenge and she wasn’t leaving until she got it.

  “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” she whispered, teasing her attackers. “You know you want me, so come, and get me. I’m waiting for you.”

  She reached her arms high above her head, closing her eyes as if she wanted it, and spun around like an innocent child, beaming the light into nothingness. Jennifer knew she wasn't alone anymore. She begged for attention.

  “I know you’re there. I can feel your strength and power as I breathe you inside me!” She giggled as she stabbed her flashlight at one darkened bush after another, a pretend Luke Skywalker with his light saber.

  Humming a soft tune while she frolicked about in the heavy gloom, she called the black souls to play their demented game. She kept her eyes peeled for any hint of movement in the underbrush. When she least expected it, a powerful gust of wind blew right through her. It flung her backwards, causing her to smack her head on a rock half embedded in the ground. Her flashlight went flying into the underbrush and went dark.

  Jennifer moaned as pain bloomed in her head. She didn’t move. Opening her eyes, she looked above and saw shadows reaching for her, their long skeletal fingers with razor sharp claws about to pierce her flesh. Scared senseless, she rolled and got to her feet, then stumbled around, dazed. She pawed at her face as the dizziness intensified, and fell into a sticker bush.

  She pulled her body off the prickly limbs stabbing her in the back. A wave of nausea hit her. Jennifer turned to her side and vomited. Tears welled in her eyes as she spit the foulness from her mouth. She tried to wipe the blur from her eyes and stumbled forward. She needed to shake off the sick feeling settling in her stomach. If she could find her backpack, she'd brought Aleve and Rolaids.

  She looked near her feet, but it had disappeared. Where did it go, she wondered. It was right here. Jennifer tensed up. She went to her knees and felt around for it. Thinking she found it, she recovered part of it, the strap. “Damn it,” she snapped.

  She shuddered as the bitter tasting acid settled in her throat. She gagged, trying to cough it up, but it refused to go any further than the flap in the back of her throat. It burned into the roof of her mouth spreading into her nostrils. Jennifer retched as her eyes watered. When the evil feeling subsided, she crawled through the darkness once again, searching for her bag. Her hand hit something cool and cylindrical. “The flashlight!” She cheered as if she had struck gold.

  At this point, the flashlight was worth more than any amount of money. Turning it on, she held it out in front of her and found her crumpled backpack and her belongings scattered about. She found headache pills and downed two with bottled water.

  She gathered her stuff in a pile, tossing it in her bag. Snapping it closed and slinging the one remaining strap over her shoulder, she rose. She used the flashlight to her advantage, shining it everywhere she heard the slightest noise, looking deep into the shadows tormenting her.

  “ Where are you, you cowards? What…a tiny bump on the head is all I get,” she shouted, questioning their ability.

  A blow to the side of her face sent her rolling across the dirt. The flashlight went flying again as the backpack rolled to rest against a large oak. She reached for her face, rubbed her fingertip along her cheekbone, and drew back her fingertip covered in warm blood. Jennifer turned toward the cold insensitive laughter now ringing through the treetops. She scrambled to grab the light, aiming it frantically here, there, everywhere. Her temper mounted as she got to her feet. “What do you want from me,” she demanded. “Let me see your face.”

  Suddenly, a cold presence swished in front of her, washing her with goose bumps. Something inside her snapped; she went ballistic and charged toward the gates. She clutched the bars, yanked on them back and forth, until the padlock gave way.

  It fell with a loud thud. She exulted. Grabbing the handle to open the gate, something strong shoved against her chest, sending her sprawling backward. Her eyes widened. Gripping the flashlight, she raised the light and saw the padlock move through the air, forcing itself back through the holes and snapping back in place.

  “Jenniferrrrrrr,” she heard a voice behind her. It sounded like Claire. Was Claire here?

  Startled by a loud bang, she turned around and saw an electric blue light, and the silhouette levitating in front of it. Her mouth gaped open as it moved closer. She tried to run, but it knocked her off her feet. She slammed to the ground. A hideous creature loomed above her. The shade of its lips wore a transparent blue as well as the flesh on its bones. Its long ebony hair, dirty, with dried leaves and crusted dry blood matted within its strands. Lesions’ lye open along its face and neck, as well as track marks down its shoulders and arms. The fiend’s legs looked gnawed on, bite indents all the way down towards the ankles.

  “Jennifer, oh Jennifer, why did you come back? Did you love your time in the dried field with me so much, or was it too hard to forget it all and move on with your pathetic little life?” the creature snarled.

  The presence continued taunting her without giving her a chance to defend herself. Scooting backward on her hands like a scared animal, Jennifer screamed, “Claire, if you're here, HELP ME!”

  The creature leaned forward. Its fiery red eyes brightened Jennifer’s image, not backing down a single step. She averted her gaze from the grotesque perversion, and scrambled to her feet. Sneering, she spat at the fiend, but a cold clammy hand clutched the side of her face and yanked.

  “Look at me and kneel before your playmate,” it growled.

  Jennifer couldn’t stomach looking into the unholy eyes of the beast. The smells of sulfur and death hung heavy in the air. Her quivering legs buckled, causing her to kneel in front of this monstrous being. As Jennifer’s hope began to fade, a figure appeared from behind a lilac bush, making its way to stand beside her.

  As Claire approached with her hands outstretched to embrace her, she said, “Don’t be afraid, I'm with you now.”

  The flesh on Claire's face appeared flushed, with redness encircling the thin delicate skin under her eyes. She looks more dead than alive, Jennifer thought. Raising her hand to wipe away the tears, Jennifer turned to hug her long-lost friend.

  A snarl erupted from the darkness. “Well…well…well…if it isn’t Claire Barton to the rescue. I might have known wherever Jennifer goes you’re right behind. But that doesn’t matter anymore, because you can’t do anything to stop me.” Chuckling deep from within, the evildoer shoved Claire aside, leaving Jennifer exposed to attack.

  “Jennifer…you’ve been a naughty girl and now it’s payback time, like I promised, remember? But don’t worry, it won’t hurt too long.”

  Jennifer swallowed the lump in her throat. She closed her eyes. If Claire was dead, she was a beast, too.

  Claire intervened. “Touch her and I’ll….”

  As fast as those words rose to Claire's lips, the beast roared, “Or you’ll do what— kill me? Is that it, Claire?”

  The beast punched Jennifer, sending her sprawling across the leaf-covered ground. “Jennifer, get up because I want to look into your eyes when I begin to gouge your flesh.”

  Jennifer rose on shaky legs, determined to fight the unholy creature that killed her friends. She wiped the bloody spittle from a corner of her mouth. The sweat popped out of her pores and soaked her armpits as the fear in her soul intensified. Her lips and mouth went dry, leaving a cottony feeling easing its way down her throat. Flicking a glance at Claire, Jennifer glared back at the demon with a ghastly look on her face.

  “Why are you doing this? Haven’t you caused enough trouble already?” She ferociously yelled, inching her way closer to Claire. “Let us go!”

  The feeling rushed back into Jennifer’s legs. She backed away, trying to extend the distance between them. Keeping her eyes on the beast, she didn’t notice a
hand reaching for her and wrapping its fingers around her wrist. Jennifer whirled—and faced the same snarling beast.

  “You can't run from me. Don't even try. Don't you remember me? Take a good look at my face and tell me what you see.”

  Too frightened by the bloody, shredded flesh that covered its face and the long jagged teeth jutting from its mouth, Jennifer averted her head, for she couldn’t bear to look any longer. As she placed her hands over her eyes, the beast plucked at her clothing.

  “Don't you remember who I am? Look at this face—look at it good. Do you see any difference? You left me for dead, you and Lisa, to die a harsh, painful death, while you two skipped off into the sunset. How dare you!”

  The color in Jennifer’s face drained and her eyes widened. Her heart raced inside her chest, and she suddenly couldn’t breathe. “Tina…” Jennifer muttered. “This can’t be real…you’re not alive. I saw you die.”

  As Jennifer's gaze shifted from Claire and back to Tina, she stepped away from the gate and tried to run. Hideous Tina yanked the front of her shirt and slammed her against the fence, releasing a shower of rusty iron particles.