The Devil's Grip: The Curse of Stone Falls

by Steven Swaks

  “That would be cool.”

  “What happened wasn’t right. We want to get that psycho.”

  “Me, too. So, I guess my boyfriend won’t have to beat you up.”

  The Leader nodded, “Not today, at least.” He glanced at his two friends farther down the small lot and turned back to her. “You know, with the texts and all, we were just big mouthing to mess with you. We didn’t want to do anything. We don’t touch girls.”

  “I figured that one.”

  “Get out of here, your pit bull is waiting.”

  Cabin in the Woods

  Beside the small log cabin, bright green spruce trees rose high beneath a radiant blue sky, their thick branches gently swaying in the light morning breeze. Taking its source on snowcapped mountains, a shallow stream ran down a waterfall and flowed nearby. Clear water caressed smooth rocks, sometimes spilling over polished boulders. Once in a while, a small fish passed by.

  Tall blades of grass danced an invisible ballet with the fine air. A small white rabbit stepped out of the woods. Its nose wiggled, smelling a scent of pine floating above the forest.

  A light cracking sound came from a wood cabin.

  Its ears rose to identify the source of the sound. Old habits die hard, but where they were, there was nothing to worry about.

  The plank door opened in a gentle complaint. Bare feet and dressed with a long night gown, Jessica Miller walked onto a narrow porch. She glanced at the pure beauty surrounding her and sat on a rocking chair.

  An older man walked out of the woods, hands in his pockets, humming a tune.

  Jessica couldn’t recognize the melody, but it sounded familiar. It was the same for the man. She knew him, but she couldn’t tell where she had met him. He might have been in his early sixties, with gray hair protruding beneath a small hat. He looked friendly, not to say fatherly with a slight belly. He wore a cardigan over a light sweater and older style slacks.

  “Howdy, young lady!” he said with a genuine smile.

  “Hi,” Jessica answered, unable to figure out what else to say.

  “May I sit down?” He asked showing a second rocking chair.

  “Uh, of course, yes, please.”

  The man sat and laid his hands on the armrest. The warm wood felt good under his wrinkled skin. He looked around him with a satisfied eye. “What a beautiful morning, isn’t it?”

  “It is.”

  They stayed silent for a moment.

  “I was wondering… have we met before?”

  “Oh, yes, we have.”

  She frowned, visibly unable to remember.

  “I watched you growing up,” his right index and thumb almost touched, “from a tiny spec to the beautiful young lady you have become.”

  “But, I’ve never met you.”

  “Oh yes you did, many times–”

  “But... I… I don’t remember…” her eyes transpired remorse.

  “You weren’t paying attention, that’s all. Look!” The man pointed upward.

  She looked up. A bald eagle was soaring in long and lazy circles.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “It is, isn’t it?”

  “What’s your name?”

  “You may call me John.”

  “I’m Jessica.”

  John smiled. “I know. I told you, I was there throughout your life.”

  She slightly cocked her head and frowned. “You?”

  “Yes?”

  “Were you there when…”

  “I was.”

  “You gave me peace.”

  “I did.”

  “Are you?”

  “You know who I am.”

  “I do.”

  “Why don’t you say it, Jessica?”

  “You’re my guardian angel.”

  “I am.”

  “But… why?” She shook her head.

  “Why didn’t I help you?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “Because it was your time. It was not up to me to decide.”

  She paused and pondered on what the man was saying. She listened to the sounds from the forest, the distant melody of the waterfall, birds chirping, the wind in the trees, even the cracking wood floor had a warm feel. “Is this?” She asked.

  “Yes it is,” John said with a gentle smile. “It is beautiful, isn’t it?”

  “It’s amazing. It’s even more beautiful than what I had pictured.”

  “And you haven’t seen anything, yet,” John said with a wink. “Wait until I take you to the city.”

  “When will we go there?”

  “When you are ready.”

  “Ready?” she asked with a slight frown. “What do I need to do to be ready?”

  “Jessica, it is not up to me to tell you. But you will find out, in time. Then you will go.”

  Her eyes brightened. “Will I meet Him?”

  “He is everywhere. He is here, with us, as He was with you on Earth.”

  She put her hand on her mouth for a second. “What about Jesus, is he here?”

  “Of course,” he smiled, “and yes, you will meet Him, in person, when the right time comes.”

  She could hardly contain her excitement. Her smile vanished. “Will I see…”

  “Todd?”

  “You can read my mind.”

  “It does not take a clairvoyant to figure what a young woman in love thinks about.”

  “I’m not in love!” She said unable to hide her smile.

  John cocked his head.

  “Maybe, perhaps, a little.” She intently looked at him.

  “There is a time for everything. There is a time to live and a time to pass, a time to love, and a time for selflessness.”

  “John, I feel weird. I don’t even know why.”

  His face darkened.

  “John, please… tell me. I feel it, down in my heart, something is wrong.”

  John looked down, “We shouldn’t be talking about this.”

  “Why?”

  “Jessica, this isn’t wise.”

  “Please, John,” she pleaded.

  “You have always been sensitive. Not only do you care for others, but you’re in tune with the world. He made you that way. Maybe that’s His will after all.”

  “Tell me.”

  “Things have been happening in Stone Falls.”

  “Things from the other side?” She asked leaning forward.

  “The dark side, yes. Jessica, are you familiar with the name Gina Hawkins?”

  “I have heard of her.”

  “She has been causing turmoil.” John rubbed his hands on his pants. “Jessica, we shouldn’t be talking about this. It’s not right.”

  “I feel we should, John.”

  “I have never talked about this before. It’s the soldiers’ job to deal with this. I’m only a small guardian angel. I look after people. I protect them whenever I can. I suggest the right path, that’s all. I have never even seen them.”

  “Them? You mean, the demons?”

  John pouted. “Yes.”

  “I feel that I have to do something. I need to do something.”

  “Jessica, this is not your job.” He glanced around. “Look around you. Isn’t this marvelous? Soon you will go to the city, and you will meet Him. Shouldn’t you be content?” His eyes were warm and fatherly.

  “John, I can’t wait to meet Him, but I feel I have to do this.”

  “Do this? You don’t even know what you have to do.”

  She smiled. “You can help me!”

  “Did somebody ever tell you that you’re stubborn?”

  “Many times! But God made me that way!”

  “Jessica, you would have to go to the dark side to face her, but you can’t do that. There is a bottomless chasm that you cannot transgress beyond those trees.” He pointed in front of them. A tall cliff spread at the edge of the forest like an infinite wall. A small opening with a narrow ledge gaped into a dark tunnel. “You cannot go beyond the edge of the forest. Nobody c
an.”

  “What about that tunnel,” she asked. “Does it lead to the other side?”

  “It does, but nobody can access it.”

  “Could anybody from hell come here?”

  “No, not even demons.”

  “John, if I can’t go there to find Gina, what can I do?”

  “You have to trust Him, Jessica. The answer will come to you.”

  Desk Work

  Delano closed the Miller file in a quick snap. He had nothing. He used to leave his office door opened, but not anymore. Anytime he met Chief Burns, it was the same innuendos. It was not about the weather, issues with officers, or other current cases. It was about Jessica Miller. The poor gal was hardly buried, but they wanted results.

  Who had murdered her? He didn’t have the slightest idea, not even a lead, nothing.

  He picked up the phone and called Clarence Whitney, the Leader. Perhaps he had heard something. It was a shot in the dark, but at this point, Delano had nothing to lose.

  “Hey, cop,” the caller ID had killed any sense of suspense.

  “Hey, Churros.”

  “It’s Chongo. How many times do I have to tell you?”

  Delano chuckled without emitting a sound. “Another few times it seems.”

  “You didn’t call to be social. What do you want?”

  “I want a cheeseburger, fries, and a large coke. You know what I want. Spit it out, what do you got for me?”

  “Nothing.”

  “What do you mean nothing? You didn’t hear anything? No people talking, no rumors, nothing?”

  “No, homie, I told you, nothin’.”

  “It’s Detective Delano for you li’l buddy. I’m not your bro, your pal, or any of that lingo-garbage, got it?”

  “Sure, whatever you say, Detective Delano,” the last two words blurted out as if they were filled with bile.

  Delano decided to ignore it. “Keep me posted… Chongo.”

  “You cool, cop. I’ll call you if I hear somethin’.” He hung up.

  Detective Delano sat back in his deep office chair. What if those three kids were in on it? No way. With a direct witness confirming their whereabouts, they were as clean as a baby’s diaper on a store rack. Besides, they were not the murderous type. No, his bet was still on Simons, but the jerk had a bullet-proof alibi.

  A big question mark was the last option, a third character roaming Stone Falls as he was churning in his office chair. A transient perhaps? He didn’t think so. It was somebody who knew her. That was another cop instinct. He could be wrong, but he doubted it. Somebody knew her and coveted her. Who? He was back to square one with no significant proof or leads from the scene.

  On top of this crime, there was all the weirdness going on in town, the strange suicides and accidents piling on top of the good law-abiding citizen deciding to play with a hammer on his wife. To top it off, she hurried up and died in the hospital from apparent non-life-threatening injuries.

  At least the Gina Hawkins’s case had been easy. The nutcase had left enough evidence for a boy scout to figure out. She had been cooking in her lunacy for ages before she’d made a move. True, the department should have done something about it sooner, but at least she’d had enough brain to kill herself and her mother. Stone Falls was only better off that way. Nobody would miss them. Their house would be sold in auction. Some investor would pay nothing for their dump and would level it to build a mansion. Case closed.

  Delano reopened the Miller file. He was missing something. A critical piece of info was bound to be there. He only had to find it. The Detective opened the top drawer on his desk. 10:07 in the morning was not too early for a Snickers bar. His thick hand dove into his desk, his finger feeling for the treat while he read the same report for the tenth time.

  The drawer closed onto his hand with the violence of a jaw trap. In blistering pain, Delano pulled his digits back and cradled his throbbing hand onto his chest.

  “What the hell was that?” His gaze locked on the drawer, as if he was expecting something to jump out.

  His rolling chair slammed against his desk, crushing his chest on the metallic edge. Jack Delano thrust his legs and pushed himself out of the desk. He stood up in terror as much as he was in pain. He looked around him to find an aggressor.

  He was alone. Panicked, he rushed for the door, knocking over his gray office lamp. The bulb crashed to the floor and exploded in minuscule fragments scattering around the office.

  Unable to open the door with his throbbing right hand, Delano grabbed the handle with his left one. The knob rotated but the door was locked. Impossible, he thought, the door should have unlatched from the inside. The detective twisted the lock, but the small knob went a full rotation without unlocking. In fear, Delano jerked the handle unable to do anything else.

  A massive punch hit him right on the cheek bone and threw him backward. The disoriented detective tripped on a soft but invisible mass behind him and lost his balance. His arms flailed in the air for a second before his back crashed on the hard floor in slow motion like a chopped tree falling in the woods. The air rushed out of his chest at the very same second the back of his head collided with the floor in a loud impact sound.

  His vision blurred. He gasped for air.

  A vague dark shadow floated above him. Jack Delano tried to make out what it was, but he couldn’t. His sight was only a jumble of dark dots and splashed colors.

  The sounds bounced in a broken symphony like an underwater orchestra. Delano tasted his own blood dripping down his mouth, while he fought to regain his senses.

  ~

  Startled by the ruckus, Officer Gonzales stopped by the detective’s door. “Detective Delano?” Approaching his ear to the door, he waited. “Detective? Are you all right?”

  A loud thump came from the other side of the door, another cry of pain immediately followed.

  Gonzales grabbed the door handle and turned it without results. Sergeant Berkley stepped out of his office. “What’s going on, Gonzales?”

  “Delano is in trouble!”

  “What do you mean in trouble?” He strode closer, grave concern drawn on his face.

  Glass shattered in the locked office.

  Berkley and Gonzales looked at each other in surprise.

  Officer Jameson and another two blue uniforms appeared at the end of the corridor.

  “Grab the fire ax!” Sergeant Berkley yelled at Jameson.

  The officer scrambled to the fire extinguisher cabinet and broke the thin glass.

  Unwilling to wait, Berkley moved Gonzales aside. He drew his gun and shot the lock twice before kicking the door open.

  Semi-conscious, Detective Delano was lying on the floor, broken glass from a small display casing and small debris scattered throughout the office. Two chairs were overturned and a mini-blind had partially collapsed.

  Delano grunted. He raised a bloodied hand and rocked his head. His heavy arm fell back onto the ground.

  Visit

  The morning light shone through the light curtains. Jessica had been up for a while, sitting on her narrow bed in the timber cabin. She was contemplating her current situation, the magical place she was in, the other side of the mortal world (this new perspective was interesting), her sister, DD’s, her church.

  She mostly felt at peace, because she was finally understanding what she had read in the Bible, and what she had taught her kids at Cubbies. She had never pretended, far from that, but there was a voice once in a while sowing doubt in her young mind. Now, she knew where the thoughts had come from.

  A distant voice echoed. She stood up. The voice spoke again, but she was unable to understand. It was a female voice, but it was too far to hear what she was saying. Jessica stepped to the door and opened.

  A faint voice was calling her name.

  She walked down the few steps and onto the soft grass.

  “Jessica…”

  Yes, a woman was clearly calling her name. She looked around her in silence.


  “Jessica…”

  The voice was coming from the chasm. She walked at a fast pace to the edge of the meadow and entered the forest. She could hear the voice becoming clearer amid the quiet woods. She reached the tree line and stopped at the edge of an infinite abyss.

  The view was stunning with a chasm spreading from her right all the way to her left. In front of her, the tall cliff rose to infinity. She did not dare look down, but John had said there was no bottom. How was it even possible?

  Jessica looked at the narrow ledge where a young woman was standing with the mouth of the tunnel behind her. Even if Jessica was slightly lower than her, she could clearly see her.

  She was young, with long black hair and perfect makeup around intense dark eyes. She was beautiful with an almost intimidating self-confidence. She sat on jagged rocks, her movements slow but full of assurance. She looked at Jessica for a minute without saying a word.

  She finally spoke. “You don’t recognize me, do you?”

  Jessica shook her head. “I… I can’t say I do.”

  “Does the name Gina Hawkins ring a bell?”

  Jessica gasped. Her name had been all over the newspapers in Stone Falls, and she had almost made national news.

  “You have nothing to be concerned about, young lady. We’re both dead, and there’s that little hole between us,” she said looking down. She threw a small rock down the abyss. “That one is going to go for a while.”

  “But–”

  “Yes?” Gina’s voice was calm and almost amused.

  “You–”

  “I?”

  “You killed your mother…” Jessica said in a single breath.

  “Killed is a nice way to put it. It’s almost a euphemism. I’d rather say butchered, or slaughtered. It sounds more accurate.”

  “But… you can’t be here.”

  “What do you mean, here? I’m in Hell, honey.”

  Jessica’s mouth parted, but no words came out.