Twice as Dark: Two Novels of Horror

by Glen Krisch

  One of those Borland brothers wore a wicked grin, the barrel of his weapon threading smoke through the air. The blast had catapulted Mabel Banyon into a wall. She slid to the floor, painting the wall with a crimson streak like a misplaced shadow.

  Charles was still alive. Barely. Flayed bands of flesh trembled on the floor next to Mabel. It disgusted Jimmy to see him still trying to get at that Borland brother. His loyalty to his wife remained even though she had effectively killed him.

  Borland laughed and launched a shit-brown gob of spit in Charles's face. He waited until that hopeless mess on the floor got real close, then placed the gun barrel against his forehead and pulled the trigger. The concussion of the blast and barrel flash assaulted Jimmy's senses.

  Charles no longer moved. When the ringing in Jimmy's ears dissipated, he could hear Borland laughing even harder.

  Mabel's knife-sharp fingernails stopped his laughter. At once, the sound seized inside him as if he were choking on a hambone. Mabel had circled around to his side so he couldn't see her movement in the shadows (how a beast can be so cunning but can't properly rock a baby, Jimmy thought), then jammed her nails into his chest, wriggled them with a twisting motion, impaling him to the third knuckle. She coiled her wrist as if searching for something, and Borland let out a bewildered shriek of pain. Mabel probed some more, each movement punctuated by a more perplexed yet fading cry from Borland.

  Jimmy didn't wait for Mabel to notice him. He turned back, heading toward Jacob, Ellie and… Louise. He had almost forgotten about Louise. How could he forget about Louise? His love, his child's mother. She had died in his arms. Only minutes ago.

  Now she could never leave.

  What had he done to deserve this? He was damned to never leave this place as well, to never walk under the warm sun, never enjoy the fragrance of spring carried by the wind. And his family, stunted before it could find its roots.

  Sprinting through the near-dark, he resolved to not spend his damnation alone. Louise was dead, but would she have yet risen? The thought gave him the briefest, dimmest spark of hope. But he clung to it as if it were a blazing nova. It was all he had.

  15.

  Within seconds Cooper would loose consciousness, and once that empty black wall descended on him, he would never wake.

  Pinned beneath him, Jane moaned. Through the murk, he reached out to touch her face. The rock that had hit her above the right eye had left a nasty welt. His fingers came away bloody, but she was twitching below him. Remarkably, her eyes flickered open.

  "Don't move," he said, the dark veil of unconsciousness thrown aside.

  "I don't think I could if I tried."

  "If we don't move, they'll think we're dead."

  "My skin--"

  "It's tingling?"

  "Yes. What is it?"

  "I think, somehow, it's healing. I feel it, too."

  "What is this place?"

  Cooper didn't have a chance to respond. A concussive blast trembled through the cave floor, through the walls, shook the ceiling until still more rocks and still larger boulders, collapsed in on them. The air itself vibrated with violent energy. A blanketing wind throttled down the tunnel, came crashing full-tilt into the people gathered at the lip of the pit, sending a handful over the edge. Screams rose from above; rocks fell; people flailed against each other to get away. The world was chaos. The ground trembled, then again with less force, and then a final time a faded echo of the first.

  "What happened?" Jane huddle against Cooper's chest. While the ground no longer quaked, boulders still dislodged from above, thudding to the floor nearby.

  Many of the torches had gone out. He could barely see. "Some kind of explosion. The walls are coming in." He grabbed her as he stood, pulling them both flat against the wall, trying to make themselves as small a target as possible for falling debris.

  The crowd was recovering. Dust showered down now with only intermittent stones. Whatever caused the explosion, it seemed to be behind them.

  Four others were in the pit. Two women stood together, crying. An old man cupped his hands around his mouth, shouting for help from above. The women held one another, scurrying away when they noticed Cooper and Jane on the far side of the pit. They looked like they expected to be attacked or bludgeoned.

  The fourth person was one of the bounty hunters who chased them from Greta's house. Blood flowed over his face from his gashed scalp, coating him in a red mask. His wicked grin was made more wicked by debris that had shattered most of his front teeth. He spit out the remains of teeth, and oblivious to the surrounding chaos, he advanced on them, flicking a machete at his side as if testing its weight.

  Cooper stepped in front of Jane. They circled the pit as the bounty hunter stalked them with deliberate slowness.

  Having heard the old man's screams for assistance, a kind soul tossed a thick rope down into the pit. Immediately, the two women began shoving each other to gain an advantage in reaching the rope first. They were soon scratching and clawing each other over who would first receive a lift to freedom. It was a catty thing, more bluster than anger, until a fingernail of the shorter of the two dug a furrow in the cheek of the other. This ended any possibility for a civil ending. Fists were thrown and landed with meaty thuds, hair was pulled and came loose at the bloody roots. The two ignored the saving rope, scourging one another during the time it would take to hoist both to safety one after the other.

  After staring at the fight for a moment, the old man looped the rope around his waist, and with the help of those above, he crabbed walked up the wall. As his spindly legs disappeared from view, a sound with the sudden ferocity of a dozen locomotives nearly deafened Cooper.

  He covered his ears instinctively, but his eardrums popped as the tunnel's air pressure abruptly changed. Jane cried out, and though she stood just behind him, the sound came as a whisper through a paper cone.

  The bounty hunter was ten feet away when the uproarious sound ripped through the tunnel. After briefly hesitating, he quickened his advance.

  There was no place to go. No hiding place. This is the last second of my life, Cooper thought morbidly. The machete glinted through an upward arc, leaving Cooper with only enough time to meet the blade with an upraised forearm. He waited the inevitable bite.

  It didn't come.

  What did come was water. A raging flood as mighty as Neptune's thrown fist, it hurtled down from the tunnel above, pouring into the pit, catching the bounty hunter squarely in the chest. The force bent him in half backwards, and if not for the water's beast-like roar, Cooper would hear a dozen bones snapping. The man disappeared in a flume of white water that crashed into the far wall. The curve of the pit redirected the water's energy, swirling it around to scour the edges, flooding higher.

  The water had lost some of its punch, but it still upended Cooper when it reached him. He lost contact with Jane, and as he struggled to keep his head above water, she went under, her face falling forward as if she had simply fallen asleep. The water lapped over her, still higher, rising to fill the pit. If Cooper didn't find her within seconds, she would never survive this.

  16.

  Jimmy carried his dead son wrapped in the soiled rag. He heard their voices--bewildered and frightened and escalating in volume--long before he came upon them.

  So Louise had risen.

  He had hoped to reach them before it happened, if for no other reason than to prepare his brother and Ellie. But he was too late. Too late to save his son (his son… his son, would the boy ever have a name?), too late to shield Jacob and Ellie from the awful sight of Louise rising from the dead. His mother, she was down here too, and she'd been screaming in pain. Would he be too late to save her as well?

  "Jimmy?" Louise's voice was stronger now than during her life's final moments.

  There was a hesitation, but then Jacob said, "He's… he's not here. He left."

  "Where? Where's Jimmy? I need him. Our boy, he was taken… taken by Banyon." Louise spoke the words Jimmy
was hoping to never hear again, words he hoped Ellie would never have to hear.

  "No, not Daddy. He would never. No! NO!"

  Jimmy sprinted into the tunnel, the trio awash in meager light. All at once their gazes fell on him. Pinning him in place. Those stares seeking knowledge, truth, coherency. And then, as one, their eyes fell to the bundle in his arms.

  "Jimmy!" Louise shouted and ran to him. He held her against his chest, the dead thing held between them.

  She felt the bundle between them, understanding what it was. "Jimmy! You found him!"

  "No. No, babe, I was too late. He's gone."

  Ellie stepped toward them. "It's a lie, Jimmy. Why would she say something like that? Daddy would never do something so…" her own choked sob cut her off. Because she knew. No matter how hard the man had tried to live the straight and narrow, the gravid pull of darkness had an even stronger magnetism. Simple enough: she alone was not enough to keep him good.

  Louise was still trying to pull away, stunned by knowing what he held in his arms. But he didn't let go. If anything, he held her more vehemently. He didn't want Ellie to see any more. Didn't want to let go of his first and only love. He wanted to never leave her side, he realized. He would never let her go.

  "Ellie, please, don't." Jacob took hold of her arm.

  She regained her voice. She trembled and stepped closer to him, "Say it, Jimmy. Say he didn't do it!" she screamed through streaming tears. Her wounded voice quaked. She was daring him to lie to her. As if lying to protect her feelings would confirm that her father was an evil man more so than the outward truth. She was challenging him, waiting his answer.

  Jimmy didn't have a chance to speak. The explosion hammered through the tunnel, sending everyone sprawling.

  Jacob fell atop Ellie and covered both their heads. Jimmy held fast to the unmoving bundle, Louise also still in his grasp. He didn't know what was happening, but if this was a final judgment sent down by some higher power, he didn't want to lose contact with his family. Jimmy leaned over--rocks peppering down in a violent hail--and pressed his lips against Louise's. She kissed him back, and her lips were still death-cold, leaching the warmth from him. A trail of blood had dried across her mouth, and he tasted the coppery tang, but he didn't care.

  The explosion grumbled and growled, losing its strength. A nearby wall had partially collapsed, but for the most part, the area was clear of debris. Dust billowed from one far end of the tunnel, sweeping across them in a cool wash. It passed by and continued on, as if compelled to escape some further calamity.

  "Is everyone okay?" Jimmy called out.

  Jacob answered, walking from the settling dust toward Jimmy's voice. He had his arm around Ellie. Their faces were powdery white, like actors painted as ghosts for a stage play.

  A thundering noise shook the walls; it was the violent rush of water, undoubtedly, as loud as Jimmy imagined it would sound going over Niagara Falls. Jimmy had always considered it the most daring feat to attempt, and he'd often dreamed about surviving the foolhardy plunge, but now with the sound so close, the idea seemed absurd.

  He handed the baby to Louise, who held it close to her bosom. The walls themselves were shaking. He touched the rough surface, and he could feel the water rushing just on the other side of a thin rock wall, pounding, gouging, seeking further avenues to drown and scourge.

  "This wall is gonna come in. Get moving!" Everyone followed him down a tunnel he knew would take them to higher ground. The wall wouldn't last long assaulted by the force of that water.

  He reached out, held Louise's hand. "I thought I lost you."

  "Never. Everyone said you ran away. That's what everyone was trying to tell me. That you went off to the army. But I didn't believe it."

  "I'd never leave. Just wanted one last adventure. I'm sorry I was so stupid. I've ruined everything."

  Every ten seconds or so Jacob looked back to make sure their group was intact. The way his little brother was handling things, Jimmy knew he could lead their family once aboveground. He was growing up. Maturing into a man. Much faster and less reluctantly than he had managed. It was a small comfort.

  Jimmy nodded to him, urging him on. Jacob kept his arm around Ellie. She was holding up as good as could be imagined. Her family was gone now, too. And she'd just learned her father was a killer. Whatever came of this, he'd never let her know he'd also killed him, despite Benjamin's best effort to thwart his attack. Some things were better left unsaid.

  He was damned to stay in this hell forever. But Louise, he still had Louise--

  With distance, the roaring water diminished, but now the sound was intensifying again, increasing rapidly. It was so loud Jimmy didn't realize Louise was trying to speak to him. She yanked on his arm to get his attention.

  He leaned over so she could yell into his ear. Even at such close proximity, it was hard to make out her words.

  "What!"

  "The baby's moving!"

  No, no, I can't let this happen. To me yes, if it has to be anyone, let it be me, and Louise, if that's the only way I can be with her, let it be so. But not the baby. Not my boy!

  His mind was jumbled with conflicting thoughts. He had to sort through the clutter, figure out how to handle this. All of this. It was nearly too much to take in at once.

  The tunnel was splitting ahead. Jimmy knew where they were. There was a way to the surface in either direction.

  Frightened by the coming violent wave, the group pulled tighter. "What's happened?" Jacob asked.

  "The wall is gone, the tunnels are flooding."

  "Oh no," Ellie said in a deflated voice.

  Jimmy shouted to be heard, "You have to go. I couldn't live with myself if you didn't make it out of here."

  "What do you mean? You're coming with, right?"

  "Not yet. I want you two safe, but I still need to get Mom, not to mention Harold and Edwina. You get Ellie to the surface, get help, whoever will listen. Let them know what's happened."

  Jacob looked like a child who was just told Santa didn't exist. His lip trembled. "But…"

  Jimmy shook his head. Louise cried out at his side, and Jacob looked at the writhing bundle in her arms.

  He understood immediately, even if he didn't comprehend the nature of the Underground. "Okay, Jimmy, but you better be right behind us," he said nervously, trying to be brave.

  "We'll catch up to you."

  "We can't leave you," Ellie said.

  "We'll be fine. I know these tunnels and what paths to take to be safe. All you two have to do is stay left, stay left and keep climbing through to higher tunnels. You'll reach the surface in no time. Now go. I'll see you topside."

  Before Jacob could be dismissed, he hugged Jimmy. He said something into his ear, but the rushing water was too loud for him to understand.

  Long after Jacob and Ellie had turned away and were swallowed by the shadows, Jimmy wondered what those final words had been.

  17.

  Jacob labored climbing the tunnel's steep incline, and while rosy-cheeked and panting for breath, Ellie seemed to be holding up fine. Looking at her, you'd never think someone so young and frail-looking would be so resilient.

  But she was pushing him to keep up with her. Surging water roared behind them, still gaining ground with the passing seconds. The prospects for escaping seemed so remote; if Ellie weren't here with him, he might have given up by now.

  Remembering Jimmy's advice, they stayed on a leftward path, even when the direction seemed misguided. They reached an alcove that contained a pond lapping at a steep stone shore. Jacob searched the room, but could find no other way out. The raging water was once again nearly deafening.

  He expected to see fear or possibly resignation in Ellie's eyes. Instead, the girl left his side, making her way to the water's edge.

  "Ellie, what are you doing?"

  "This is the way," she said, stepping into the water. Her face bunched up at the cold, but she took another step. She was thigh deep, and not turning ba
ck.

  "There has to be another way."

  "This is the direction Jimmy told us. Besides, those waves in the pond have to be coming from somewhere. They come right from that wall. There's a hole there, and since the waves are coming from inside it, it must be a tunnel. A way out." She kicked into a fluid swimming motion, not waiting for his response. In a few quick strokes, she was halfway to the tunnel.

  He was unsure what to do. He wasn't the best swimmer, and they weren't certain that this was the right way to the surface. The sound of the approaching water made it hard to think.

  "Will you look at what I've found," a voice said from behind him as a hand gripped his shoulder. Jacob didn't recognize the beady-eyed pudgy man. While the man smiled innocently enough, an axe handle swayed in his hand, while his grip tightened on his arm. He was no friend. "I thought I was the only one making a run for it."

  The stranger raised the weapon and smashed it across Jacob's chest before he could react. The wind left him, and he curled up on his side on the floor. Ellie disappeared into the tunnel, unaware of the attack. If he had the breath to shout a warning to her, she probably wouldn't hear him over the raging water.

  The water.

  It was coming, finally flooding the lower tunnels (Oh, Jimmy, Mom, please, be okay), rising higher, ready to sweep them into its roiling slurry. He had to act. Now.

  Fear chased away the clenching pain in his chest. If he didn't get away from this maniacal stranger, the water would certainly kill him. He had to move.

  He stumbled from his stomach to his hands and knees, scuttling along as fast as he could toward the water.

  Behind him, the man laughed. A couple strides and he lunged for Jacob, easily grasping his foot.

  Jacob fell flat on his face. The man wrenched his ankle as if they were wrestlers performing at a carnival. Pain twisted him until he flipped to his back. Blood flowed down Jacob's lips, and his nose throbbed, possibly broken. He didn't feel it.

  He looked up, seeing the man reel back with his axe handle.