The Bad Country

by Hervey Copeland

  She braced herself mentally for what she thought was about to happen next. The loud voice demanding to know who was behind the trees, and the sound of the person moving rapidly toward them. She knew she would have to break away and run if that happened. But no words were spoken, and no one started making their way into the tree line. And in the end it was David who broke the silence when he turned toward her and said in a low voice.

  “There is no one there. I guess they went back inside again.”

  Mary let out a deep breath and felt an enormous sense of relief.

  “I don’t think he saw us,” David continued. “If he had, he would have come over and confronted us.”

  Mary nodded.

  “So what do we do now?” she asked.

  David stuck his head around the tree again for a few more moments, before he turned back and addressed her again.

  “I say we start making our way back to the B&B and call the cops. We can use the phone in the reception area. Then we go back to our room and sit tight until they arrive.”

  He began studying the area behind them. They could be no more than a hundred yards away from the lake, and it would only take them a minute or so to reach it. Then they would have to follow the trail around to the other side and hurry back to the B&B.

  The trees were only spaced a few feet apart in here, and the low hanging branches would brush up against them when they made their way out of there. But at least they would get away undetected. It was the only option available to them. Walking back toward the path was out of the question. If the people inside suspected that there were intruders lurking around in the area, they would keep the path under observation and spot them the second they broke cover.

  “We really need to get going,” David said.

  Mary nodded, and after a few moments of trying to compose herself, she followed after him.

  It only took them a couple of minutes to reach the lake, but before they broke their cover, they spent a few more minutes studying the area, making sure no one was out there looking for them. And no one was as far as Mary could tell.

  They were about fifty yards or so west of the path that had led them to the satanic church, and they quickly turned right and began walking away from it. Five minutes later they reached the far end of the lake.

  “We’ll have to go back into the forest again,” David said as they studied the trail that led back to the park entrance. “If we don’t, and they’re keeping an eye on the area, they’ll see us.”

  He looked at her with some concern, not convinced that she would be able to cover that distance through the dense forest.

  Mary gazed at the trees lining the trail. It had been difficult enough to walk through the forest separating the building and the lake. And that had only been a mere hundred yards or thereabouts. This time they would have to walk at least half a mile. The idea of having to bend her head, push branches out of her face and crouch for the next half hour didn’t exactly appeal to her, but she realised that David was right. They had to stay off the trail. And despite being tired and despite realising that the walk would wear her out even more, she desperately wanted to leave this place behind her as quickly as possible.

  She momentarily closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Then she turned to face David.

  “Don’t worry about me, I can manage,” she said.

  She was by no means convinced that she was telling the truth, but she wanted to stay strong for David’s sake. She didn’t want to upset him more than he already was.

  “Are you sure?” David stared into her eyes for several seconds, his face almost matching the colour of his irises.

  “Yes, I’ll be fine.”

  They just had to go for it and hope for the best. Everything was in the hands of the lord now. He would guide her, and she would go wherever he wanted her to go. That was the way it had always been, and thinking about it filled her with new strength. If it was part of his plan, he would keep a watchful eye on them and make sure they got out of this nightmare unscathed. If not, well ... she decided she would rather not think about that.

  They slipped back in among the trees and began making their way back toward the entrance. Mary had to stop several times to catch her breath, and towards the end, she was convinced she wouldn’t be able to make it out of the forest on her own two feet. She felt like she was walking with a bungee cord strapped to her back. And whenever she pushed the branches aside, they seemed to push right back at her.

  But there was something inside her that kept her going, and she was convinced it was the lord giving her a helping hand. It was as if she was given access to some untapped energy just as she was about to throw in the towel. His hand pushing her gently along. And then finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she could see the path leading out of the park through the branches. Then a few moments later, the big wooden posts and the curved sign that they had passed underneath on their way in less than an hour earlier appeared.

  They kept pushing forward, and then they were finally free from the tight embrace of the forest. Mary wasn’t sure whether it was the strenuous walk, or the fact that they had made it this far undetected, or maybe it was just a natural delayed reaction. But the moment her feet touched the path, all the tears and emotions she had managed to keep at bay erupted from somewhere deep inside her. And she placed her hands over her face and let the tears glide down her cheeks.

  David hurried over and wrapped his arms around her.

  “I know, Sweetie. I know.”

  He pulled her tight and patted her hair, while she got some of the horrors they had been exposed to out of her system. They both knew there would be countless moment like this in the following months, where bitter tears would be shed and difficult emotions that no person should ever have to deal with would have to be tackled head on.

  “I just cannot fathom that anyone would want to do such a thing to another human being,” Mary said after having let the tears roll down her cheeks for almost two minutes. Her voice was choked and brittle.

  “Those poor people must have been so terrified, and they must have suffered so much.”

  “I know,” David said and pulled her even tighter. “I wish to god that we could have prevented it, but it just wasn’t meant to be. I know it’s not much of a comfort, but at least we’ll see to it that they get some justice. The ones who did this will face the full force of the law.”

  He let out a deep breath and opened his eyes, and began scanning the street that ran parallel to the park and found it to be just as empty as it had been on their way over to the park earlier that day.

  Mary pulled her head away from his chest and began drying her eyes, which were bright red, with the palm of her hands.

  “I will never be able to understand it,” she said and shook her head.

  “I know,” David said. “It’s evilness just for the sake of being evil.”

  “Why do you think they did it?” she said

  David shrugged.

  “It was most likely some type of depraved ritual involving human sacrifice,” he said. “Who knows what goes on in the mind of people like that? At least I got a good look at the guy who came out of the building. I’ll be able to give the police a good description of him.”

  David placed his hand on her lower arm and started escorting her toward the entrance.

  “Listen, we can talk later on,” he said. “Our number one priority right now is to contact the authorities and let them know what has happened.”

  The clouds kept drifting in from the south and had now completely obscured the blue sky and the sun that had been shining down from it when they first pulled into town. And as they were hurrying back toward the B&B and a telephone line to the outside world, the rain started falling. At first it was only a few drops, but then it increased in strength and by the time they raced up the stairs to the porch, they were thoroughly drenched.

  Mary had suggested that they simply knock on one of the doors of the many houses borderi
ng the road and ask to use a phone, but David had dismissed this idea outright.

  “How do we know whether we can trust them or not?” he had said. And after having given it some thought Mary had had to concede that he had a point. They had no way of knowing who to trust. For the time being they had to assume that anyone they met could have been involved in the murders, and that they would have to keep it a secret for the time being. David had tried his cell phone again, but there was still no reception in the area. The town was literally situated in a cell phone dead zone. Their only option was to get back to the B&B and use the landline phone.

  David raced up to the door, taking two steps at the time and jerked it open with such force that Mary was convinced it would come off its hinges. Then he bolted over to the phone located behind the counter and put the receiver up to his ear. Mary followed behind him and planted her forearms on the counter. Then she rested her tired head in them and closed her eyes. The exertion of the last hour had taken its toll, and she felt like she was going to collapse. All she really wanted to do was to go up to her room and lay down on the bed. But she remained where she was.

  She knew she wouldn’t be able to relax until David had contacted the police and told them about what they had seen. Once that was taken care of, and once she knew the police were on their way, she would lie down and rest. She raised her head slowly and opened her eyes at exactly the same moment that David slammed the flat of his fist against the cabinet where the phone was located.

  “Dammit, the shitty thing isn’t working,” he exclaimed and threw his hand out in the air. Then he quickly lowered it again and started tapping the black button positioned in the top half of the recessed cradle.

  Mary looked at him, her mouth agape.

  “It’s not working?” She felt the air in her lungs rush out and found it difficult to replace it with fresh air.

  David turned and looked at her, and shook his head before returning his attention to the phone.

  “What on earth do you think you are doing?” The words were harsh and spoken quickly, and they made Mary jump. When she turned toward the opening in the wall, she could see the old lady glare at David. The forced and disingenuous smile was no longer there, and she seemed visibly upset at David for having taken the liberty to use the phone without her permission.

  “The phone isn’t working,” David said and slammed the receiver back in its cradle. Then he marched over to her. And the haggard look on his face must have scared her, because she took a cautious step backwards.

  “We need to use a phone right now,” he continued.

  The old lady swallowed hard and shot Mary a quick look before she redirected her attention back at David again.

  “And why is that?” she said as she took another step backwards.

  David didn’t answer, just kept twisting his lips and with his eyes told the old lady to point him in the direction of a working phone. To Mary it seemed like he was debating with himself whether to tell her about what they had seen in the park or not.

  Mary remembered what he had told her on the way back to the B&B. There was no way to determine who they could trust, and who they couldn’t. Could they trust this woman, or had she been involved in the murders too? Mary felt the desperation return, and she was at a loss as to what to do next.

  “Listen,” David said after he had taken a few deep breaths. “We really need to use a phone. Is there another phone somewhere else in this house, or close by?”

  “Well, I’m not going to tell you unless you tell me why you want it. And I certainly don’t appreciate being spoken to in that insolent tone Mister.”

  She brushed past David and walked over to the phone and picked up the receiver, and put it to her ear.

  “If you’ve damaged anything, I’ll add it onto your bill,” she said in an angry voice and gave David a sour look.

  “We’ve just discovered five dead bodies behind the satanic church in the park,” Mary said. Her voice was collected and calm, despite her chaotic state of mind. It was something that happened every now and then when she was agitated. For a brief moment she would be able to take a step back and describe a troubling situation with great care and accuracy without being stressed. Then afterwards, chaos would resume and she’d go back to feeling overwhelmed.

  She looked the old lady in the eye, trying to gauge her reaction, while feeling her calm demeanour slipping away. The old lady held her gaze. She was squinting and the crow feet behind her eyes became more pronounced, giving her an almost scary appearance. She was exhaling through her nose, while wetting her lips. Then she turned her head and looked over at David, before returning her attention to Mary. Then she placed the receiver carefully back in the cradle.

  Mary could feel David’s eyes locking onto her like a heat seeking missile locking onto its target. And she immediately began to wonder whether she had made a mistake telling the old lady about what they had seen. But it was too late to do anything about it now. They just had to hope that she wasn’t involved.

  “Is this some kind of a sick joke?” The old lady glared at Mary and pointed an accusatory finger at her. “There is no such thing as a satanic church in town, and I doubt very much that there are any dead bodies in the park.”

  “No, it’s not,” David said and moved over next to his wife. “We just returned from the park, and there are five dead bodies crucified in the garden behind the church.”

  He then told her what had happened. How they had ended up in the park in the first place, and how they had discovered the church and the bodies. He told her about the man who had come out of the building and had asked if anyone was there, and how they had managed to get away. The old lady didn’t seem convinced, and she kept studying them both closely. And at the end of David’s monologue, she leaned her back against the base cabinet and shook her head slowly.

  “Listen, I know how this must sound to you,” David said. “But I guarantee you, we are telling the truth, and we do need to contact the police. There are some very bad people in town, and we have to stop them. So I’m asking you once again, is there another phone in the house, or one nearby that I can use to contact the police with?”

  The old lady looked at him for a long time, and Mary could tell she was debating whether to take him seriously or not. What would she have done in a similar situation? Would she have called the police? Yes, she would have. She would have called them, because there might just be a tiny possibility that they were right, and she was wrong.

  “There are no other phones here,” the old lady said eventually. “At least not any phones that are working that is. There is something wrong with the telephone lines. They were working just fine up to about an hour ago, but then the phones just stopped working for some strange reason.”

  She paused for a few seconds before she continued.

  “The only way to contact the police without leaving town, as far as I’m aware, is to use Terry Rotherham’s shortwave radio.”

  Mary and David looked at each other.

  “And where does this Terry live?” David asked.

  The old lady hesitated for a few seconds, and Mary thought she wasn’t going to tell them. But she must have changed her mind, because after looking down at the floor for a couple of seconds, she started talking again.

  “He lives at the end of the block. There is a big antenna in his backyard. I guess I could pop around and tell him to get in touch with the police in Henderson. It shouldn’t take them more than forty minutes or so to get here.”

  Then she tilted her head backwards and looked up at the ceiling for a while, before looking back at David again.

  “But don’t expect me to take the blame when the police discover that it’s just a giant hoax, and that they have come all this way for nothing. I’ll make darn sure to let them know that it was you who insisted I contact them, and I don’t think they’ll be too pleased when they can’t find any dead bodies.”

  David nodded and put up his palms.

  “Th
is is not a joke Mam. Now let’s go and talk to this Terry guy and get this over and done with.”

  The old lady shook her head and wagged her index finger in the air.

  “I don’t think so. I’m going over there, but you’re staying right here,” she said. “Old Terry doesn’t like strangers, and especially not the kind that look like you.”

  She let her eyes glide up and down David, who had moved over to the entrance door and had his hand resting on the door knob.

  “Besides you need to look after your wife. She doesn’t look too well and should probably go upstairs and have a lie down.”

  David looked like he was about to protest, but before he could get any words out the old lady put a hand up and cut him off.

  “It’s not up for debate,” she said in a dismissive voice. “I either go alone, or I don’t go at all.”

  Then she crossed her arms and leaned back against the base cabinet again and looked at him with something that Mary interpreted as pure disdain.

  David stared at her for a few moments before lowering his gaze and twisting his lip. And Mary realised that he knew he had lost the debate before it had even begun. He filled his lungs with air and sighed, before turning around and facing the door. He was still holding onto the doorknob, his eyes studying his hand. His shoulders were rising and falling. The old lady was sitting on all the trumps, and she had made her decision. She would not bring him along, and nothing he said could make her change her mind.

  Mary could tell by looking at the old woman’s eyes. There was a determination there that couldn’t be swayed or reasoned with. She also felt it was important to try to defuse the tense situation before the old lady changed her mind completely and refused to go at all.

  She walked over to David and put her hand on top of his.

  “Let’s go upstairs while this lady contacts the authorities,” she said in a soft voice. “It doesn’t make any difference who makes the call, as long as the call is made.”