99 Souls

by Thomas Malafarina

  “Not likely,” Coogan reassured. “We did some preliminary drilling down from the surface as you know, and none of the air samples showed any signs of toxic gases.”

  McHale said with confidence, “Well that certainly is good to know. I don’t know why I am being so apprehensive. I doubt very much that the owner of the company, an important man such as you, would be going in along with me into that mess if he thought he might be risking his own life.”

  Coogan replied, “You are right there, John my boy. As you know, I have too much to live for to take any such foolhardy risk. I believe that we can wrap this up quickly, get out of there safely and get our plans back on track.”

  McHale and Coogan stopped talking for a moment looking up toward the mine. Coogan sighed apprehensively, “Well, I guess we better be on our way and get this over with.” The pair began to make their way toward the entrance of the mine.

  Chapter 29

  Elizabeth Matthews was busy working in her Philadelphia office late into the evening. The room was in complete darkness except for the green glow of the banker’s lamp on her desk. Elizabeth sat listening to the replay of her interview with Willie from earlier in the morning, jotting down notes while starting and stopping the recorder at key spots.

  For now, she was only using bits and pieces of her interview with Willie for quotes to add some local color to her official news story, but she knew that she would find the time to get his entire story down on paper very soon.

  She had told Willie that it had been a good story worthy of documenting, but he had no idea that this story would be the anchor story for her book on Pennsylvania folk stories and legends. She had compiled a large number of such stories, many of which she had hoped to someday use in her book, all of them interesting and a few with an air of mystery about them, but not one of them had packed the power that Willie’s tale did. The fact that he and many others actually believed the legend, only added more punch to the story. She believed that it would become the focal point of her collection when published and would be the primary reason that her book would be successful. She smelled a best seller.

  As she listened to the interview repeatedly, she began to have a troubled feeling that she could not quite identify. She pressed the play button listening to Willie’s voice. “This is the part of the story that it took my father years to be able to tell and even then he could barely get through it. He finally told the whole thing to me one night just before he………. well… before he died.”

  She pressed the stop button, jotted down a few quick notes then pressed the fast forward button. She watched the counter on the tape recorder until she got to the spot she wanted, pressing the stop and play buttons.

  Once again, she heard Willie, “Needless to say, my brother's death set my Dad off all over again. It drove him crazy. He began to remember everything from that day at the mine, and his mind couldn't handle the memories. It just broke him.”

  She jotted down a few more notes then forwarded to her next marked location and could hear herself and Willie speaking.

  Elizabeth said, “So you believe now that the creature is still alive and in that mine?”

  “Yep,” Willie Replied, “And he is just waiting for his time to get out.”

  Elizabeth could hear herself pondering aloud, “…. waiting to get his ninety-ninth soul, and to win his freedom.”

  Then she heard Willie’s ominous reply, “And God help us when he does.”

  Once more, she pressed stop then fast forward. She watched the counter pressing stop then play. She listened to their final exchange. “So now what? Willie, what happens next?”

  “I just don’t know,” Willie said, “The mine still belongs to Coogan. It’s his property. Maybe he will seal it back up. He would be wise to do so, but I doubt he will. I just don’t know what will be done…. But I suppose someone is going to have to do something…something”

  She pressed stop then rewind to replay that final portion of Willie’s statement again.

  “…. But I suppose someone is going to have to do something…something.”

  Repeatedly, she rewound and replayed this portion of the interview and she listened to Willie’s final declaration.

  “…. But I suppose someone is going to have to do something…something.”

  “…. But I suppose someone is going to have to do something…something.”

  She stopped the tape and stared for a few minutes into space. Unexpectedly, a realization came to her as her expression changed to one of sudden understanding and concern. She quickly spun around, picked up the phone and dialed.

  She spoke urgently into the phone, “Please, I need the number for the Ashton Pennsylvania Police department; hurry please, this is an emergency. I need to speak with Police Chief Seiler.”

  Chapter 30

  McHale and Coogan approached the abandoned mine and stood to the right of the mine entrance next to the telephone pole, with McHale closest to the mine and Coogan behind him. They both stared uncertainly at the mine opening.

  McHale inquired, “So, Boss. Do you think that animal is still in there? Do you think it might have come back?”

  Coogan thought for a moment replying, “It’s hard to say for sure. I suspect that if it isn’t in there yet, it will be back soon. The best thing for us to do is to go in after it, and if it isn’t there we can lie in wait and shoot the damn thing when it does get back.”

  Coogan raised his right hand to show McHale that he was holding a pistol. McHale saw the pistol and had to comment, “So, I see you’ve come prepared as well.”

  “Well, Johnny,” Coogan replied, “It’s not that I don’t trust your marksmanship. I just figured it would be better for me to be safe than sorry.”

  “Amen to that one, boss. So let’s get moving,” McHale replied.

  The two would-be hunters entered the mine, McHale with his rifle at the ready, flashlight taped to the barrel, Coogan walking behind him with his flashlight in his left hand, pistol in the right.

  As soon as the pair entered the mine, they could see that things were not what they might have expected. Instead of being a mineshaft with broken timbers, roof supports and tracks, they found a huge circular tunnel about fifteen feet in diameter. Somehow what they thought might be the old main mine shaft had been replaced by this strange tube-like structure. Not a single piece of timber or mine car track or a single sign of its former appearance existed; just an enormous tunnel. It also seemed to head off at a slightly different angle from where they assumed the main shaft would be located.

  The light from their flashlights reflected off the walls and ceiling of the tunnel. McHale turned and spoke with surprise, “What the Hell! Where are the timbers? Where are the tracks? Where is the rubble? This doesn’t look like anything like any mine I’ve ever seen. It looks like a tunnel or something. What the hell is going on here?”

  Coogan looked back at McHale in apparent disbelief, “I… I don’t know. I don’t… I don’t understand. This whole place should be a mess of debris… but look at this… it’s amazing. Where could it have come from? How could it have been made?”

  McHale projected his light on the walls, jumping back in surprise seeing what appeared to be claw marks gouged into the walls. “Look at these walls. They look like they were dug out somehow. I thought you said that we didn’t start mining in here yet.”

  Coogan looked on in concern saying, “We didn’t. Besides, if we had, we never would have dug a tunnel like this. Look, there are no supporting timbers or anything. I have no idea how it is it keeping its shape without collapsing!”

  The two directed their flashlights forward staring into the belly of the mine. As they looked downward, they saw that the tunnel seemed to go for quite some distance down into blackness, further than the light of their flashlights could project.

  McHale was in awe, “This is utterly amazing! My God, I can’t believe what I am seeing. How far do you suppose this goes down there?”

  “I have
no idea,” Coogan said, “It appears like it might go on forever. It doesn’t seem to be too steep of a grade. Let's work our way down a bit. Are you sure you have enough ammo with you? With a tunnel this size, God knows how many animals we may find down there. Moreover, we should keep our voices down from here on as well. We don’t want them to find us before we find them.”

  McHale spoke just above a whisper, “Don’t worry about that, Boss, I have plenty of ammo. But I doubt that any animal could have dug this tunnel.”

  Then McHale got an idea, “Hey, I wonder if someone has been bootlegging this coal right out from under our noses for the past several years. That might explain why that boy was killed last night. Maybe the bootleggers killed him and staged it to look like an animal attack. They may have known about that legend and did it to get the whole thing started again to scare people away. For all we know there could be a whole crew of men that have been working this mine and robbing you blind.”

  Coogan thought for a moment, his face growing red with anger. He said, “If that is true, those coal thieves will find out the hard way what happens to someone who tries to steal from Bill Coogan. If they are down there McHale, I plan to make sure they stay down there. Are you okay with that, McHale?”

  McHale thought for a moment then said, “I have no problem with that at all, Boss, but perhaps you could provide me with some additional financial incentive in the event that such an unfortunate situation should occur.”

  Coogan agreed, “Well I did promise you ten grand to bag the wild beast. So I’ll tell you what. If there are several two legged animals down there that need bagging, I suppose I could offer you ten grand for each one you nail. Agreed?”

  McHale looked at Coogan conspiratorially and said, “Agreed, boss. But if there are men down there stealing your coal, we will have to make sure that they are never found and that could mean that there won’t be any front page newspaper story for you.”

  “Not a problem, Johnny,” Coogan said, “One phone call, and I can get us a dead bear, cougar or elephant for that matter if we need one to show to the press. We will get our story. I always get what I want. Right now we need to find out what is behind all of this and take care of business.”

  They began to ease their way down looking around at the incredible size of the tunnel. As they got a good distance down the tube, it began to level off. McHale noticed something on the right side wall and whispered, “Oh my God boss! Look at this! These walls and the ceiling are a solid vein of coal. We are actually inside of a giant vein of solid coal.”

  “That explains how it this tunnel has managed to keep its shape. This must not be the original mineshaft. This is just off to the side a bit from where your grandfather’s maps showed it was located. This tunnel goes directly through the main vein of coal! How can that be? And look at how large this vein is. The mine maps your grandfather drew didn’t do this justice. They had missed the main vein somehow. The value of this coal must be at least ten times what we originally thought based on the maps.”

  Coogan exclaimed, “This is incredible! Think about this, McHale! Ten million dollars! And this tunnel has already been dug for us…. I don’t know how or by whom, but it has been. All we will have to do is add supporting timbers and start blowing out sections of coal from the bottom of the mine. Then we can just work our way backwards to the top allowing the mine to collapse one a section at a time until it is emptied. Unbelievable! Our costs will be a fraction of what we thought they would be and our profits will be increased at least ten fold.”

  “But how in the hell can this be?” McHale questioned, “And where is the coal that was dug out of here to make this tunnel? Just imagine how much money the bootleggers have already made from the coal they have stolen. Let’s go further down and see just how far this tunnel goes. But be on your guard. Those bastards may be further down in the mine.”

  The two continued their journey downward, as the tunnel began to turn off slightly to the right.

  McHale questioned, “Is it my imagination or is this tunnel turning off toward the right? And why would it be turning off like that?”

  Coogan looked at the contour of the tunnel, then at the sidewalls and replied, “It is bearing slightly to the right. See why? Look up there!”

  Coogan pointed up at the curved ceiling of the tunnel, “This tunnel is continuing to follow the vein of coal. The vein runs off to the right and the tunnel follows it. This is phenomenal!”

  Then as they walked, they discovered that the tunnel ended against a solid wall of coal mixed with rock. McHale exclaimed, “Look boss, this is where the tunnel ends. Right here against this wall.”

  Coogan looked over to his immediate right into blackness pointing and shouting in surprise despite his desire to remain quiet. “No, no it doesn’t. Look, McHale. It just appears to end here, but look over there; the tunnel takes a sharp right turn.”

  “A sharp right?” McHale said with obvious concern, “At the bottom of a tunnel? I don’t get this at all? What do we do now? Keep going deeper or should we go back and get some help?”

  Coogan thought for a moment then said, “Well I guess maybe we should….”

  Coogan’s statement was cutoff mid sentence as the two stopped in their tracks hearing what sounded like a low guttural growling noise coming from the pitch-dark area of the tunnel to the right just ahead of them.

  Chapter 31

  Although heavily armed, McHale was genuinely frightened. “What the Hell was that?”

  Coogan backed up slightly replying at a near whisper, “I’m … not sure.. wa…”

  The two began to back up in unison from the darkness of the tunnel before them. In the beams of their flashlights, they could just make out two yellow-red eyes glowing in the darkness. The animal growling increased.

  McHale shouted, “I don’t know about you, boss, but I’m not waiting any longer.” Then he began to open fire on the creature within the darkness, no longer caring if it was man or beast; his natural survival instinct taking over.

  The rifle barrel flashed in the near darkness as the light from the flashlight bucked with each recoil of the rifle bouncing the light about the tunnel, creating a strobe like effect. The pair could see brief glimpses of what looked like an incredibly huge animal in the flashes. The sound reverberated in the close confines of the mine.

  McHale emptied his gun and began to insert another clip, hesitating for just a second when suddenly the pair heard a deafening howl followed by a loud swishing sound.

  McHale’s rifle was torn from him, along with the unsuspecting man’s right arm, which was ripped completely out of its socket. The rifle and arm flew back into the blackness. Coogan heard the rifle clang against the cave floor then saw the light from the barrel-mounted flashlight shining out of the darkness back toward them, illuminating them in its eerie glow.

  Coogan had backed up pressing tightly against the cave wall while McHale stood frozen in his tracks.

  Blood splatter covered McHale’s face and the front of his jacket. He was standing for what seemed like an eternity, in shock, blood spurting from his arm socket. Coogan continued sliding away along the back wall of the cave, his mouth hanging agape, and his flashlight still pointing absently at McHale.

  McHale slowly turned as if in a dream and looked at Coogan, as if confused as what to do next. He stared at Coogan without actually seeing. His lips were moving as if speaking, but made no sound. Blood continued to spurt from the stump where his arm once had been.

  Suddenly the creature sprang forward, backlit with the light shining out of the darkness from the fallen rifle flashlight.

  With one great swipe of its enormous clawed hand, the creature severed McHale’s head from his body. The headless body stood upright in place for a moment, then dropped vertically to the ground in a dead heap, blood pooling around the stump of a neck.

  The head flew across the cave striking the wall with a thud right next to Coogan before landing at Coogan’s feet. Coogan stared down a
t the severed head in the light of his flashlight. McHale’s terrified dead eyes looked lifelessly up at him. Coogan turned his head and vomited.

  In the near darkness the creature raised up its head, lifted its arms and produced a deafening roar, which echoed throughout the cavernous tunnel.

  Chapter 32

  The creature stopped in its tracks sniffing the air. Then as if in recognition the beast spoke into the semi darkness…. “Coogan. How good of you to come and visit me again. It seems like it has been a long while.”

  Coogan staggered to his feet, still gagging but starting to recover his composure, wiping the remnants of vomit from his mouth.

  In a raspy voice he shouted, “O’Boyle! You… you… fool. What the Hell are you doing? You… you said I would never…. have to witness this …one of… one of these attacks. Are … are you completely…. mad?” Then Coogan turned retching violently again.

  From the shadows, the creature spoke, “Mad…No, not at all, my filthy little human. I just thought it might be a good time for someone as high and mighty as William Coogan himself, to actually get his hands dirty. I thought it might be nice to have you play in my world instead of always standing off to the side.”

  Recovering somewhat, Coogan became angrier, “O’Boyle…. You…you are a mindless animal. What in the Hell is wrong with you?”

  Then Coogan pointed at the bloody remains of McHale, “And, look what you’ve done. Not only did you kill my assistant, but also you’ve just wasted a perfectly good opportunity to gather another soul. Look at this stinking mess! You can’t afford the luxury of a wasted opportunity like this.”

  “Nonsense, Coogan!” the creature continued, “There are plenty more humans where he came from. I know I can always count on you to supply me with another… eventually. After all, that is part of our bargain, isn’t it? …. Partner.”