The Devil's Grip: The Curse of Stone Falls

by Steven Swaks

  “What cop? What are you talking about? I didn’t intervene in anything.”

  “Don’t play dumb. You didn’t directly intervene, but you dispatched some of your friends.”

  “What friends?”

  “Last night. You kneeled and prayed to your ridiculous God about that bad vibe of yours.”

  Jessica’s mouth parted. “I did…”

  “My master came to observe you while my disciples went down. But of course, you picked up on what was going on in Stone Falls. You weren’t supposed to. You see, that’s my problem with you, sweet Jessica. You’re causing too much trouble. I told you to back off, but you didn’t. That cop should have died, but he didn’t, and my master is not very happy about it. Now he doesn’t trust me anymore, and he wants to teach you a lesson.”

  “Teach me a lesson? He can’t do anything to me.”

  “He can’t do anything to you, but your sister is fair game.”

  “What do you mean? What is he going to do?”

  “Your sister is not such a good driver, is she?”

  Jessica leaned forward. “Don’t you dare threaten my sister!”

  “Ooh, we’re feisty, aren’t we?” Gina said enjoying the rise.

  Jessica picked up and threw a small rock toward her.

  “Hey! You can’t be angry. You’re in Heaven, you can’t sin in there.”

  “Anger’s not a sin if it is for an injustice!”

  “Now you’re getting technical.”

  “Tell him to leave my sister alone!” She said pointing her closed fist toward her.

  Gina smiled, “Oh, it’s too late, he’s already with her.”

  ~

  Gina’s master, Valaxahr, was almost a gentleman. Well, he would have been if he was not a demon. He liked his job, which was a paradox working for Lucifer. Killing people was fun. It never got old. There were so many options and possibilities. He could coax other humans to do it for him, or he could do it himself. Even then, the possibilities were infinite. Just like for that young human, that Tracy Miller. He was still wondering how he would do it, so many possibilities indeed.

  It was such a shame to die so young. Sob, sob. Not really. He was still considering his options. A few suicidal thoughts and bye bye, she would drive herself into the ravine. He could sabotage the car, and let nature run its course. No brakes down a canyon road would well exceed anybody’s driving abilities, or the laws of physics.

  For now, Valaxahr liked to watch Tracy driving. She looked serene, for she couldn’t see him. He knew he would have been distracting. After all, driving with a demon in the passenger seat might cause a slight decrease of focus. Not that he was truly frightening–ok, maybe he was–but at least he was not as repulsive as so many of his reptilian compatriots. He could have been good-looking, a true gentleman, if it was not for his leathery skin, triangle-shaped teeth, and sunken eyes.

  Valaxahr continued watching Tracy. There was something beautiful about youth, something pure and innocent, even under her massive black makeup. Her imminent death made her even more charming than ever. Lucifer would be pleased.

  No brakes it would be. He had a heart after all, even if it was not beating. At least, she would have a slight chance to survive. If she could handle that downhill canyon road without brakes, she deserved to live.

  Valaxahr snapped his fingers. The Honda’s brake line split open, a thick fluid seeping out. For almost half a minute, Tracy didn’t realize what was happening. She approached a curb and pushed on the brake pedal. The car slowed down, as it was supposed to. She used the brakes another few times. At each squeeze, the precious fluid squirted out onto the road zooming by beneath the vehicle.

  For the first time since her sister’s passing, Tracy could see a future. She knew the road would be challenging, but she was strong. She pushed on the brake pedal with no result. Her heart sunk.

  She pushed one more time. Her black-booted foot travelled all the way down to the rubber floor without any resistance. Her heart started pounding through her chest like an ancient Japanese drummer. A curb was approaching, but she stayed calm. Panic was useless. It robbed the mind of its capabilities and left the soul by itself, abandoned in a sinking ship.

  She slowly applied the handbrake.

  Sitting next to her, Valaxahr smiled. She was a smart girl. She was collected, and she could think for herself. Too bad he was a demon, and too bad she was about to die. Maybe he would go visit her in Hell. She would be able to use a friend down there.

  The handbrake didn’t engage. It swung up and down freely as if it was not connected to the brake assembly–complements of Valaxahr.

  “No, no, no, no…” she said to herself, shaking her head. She looked out her window for a second. The outdoors seemed so quiet and peaceful. She didn’t want to be in that car. She wanted out.

  Sweat dripped down her forehead into her eyes. She wiped it in a quick move, smearing her black makeup.

  Valaxahr kept on watching. She is a fighter, he thought.

  A sharp curve to the left was fast approaching. The demon glanced at the road, and looked back at her. How would she handle it?

  Tracy watched the embankment running by on the right of the road. She saw the spruce trees and the river down the ravine. There was no railing. The only one was along the next curve, but she knew the flimsy railing and wooden poles would not handle a direct hit. Her only chance would be to start from the outside of the curve and negotiate the inside of the turn, that’s if nobody came in the opposite direction. She might even be able to use the rail to slow down.

  She held her breath, her sweaty hands clutched on the steering wheel. She held on and waited. It wouldn’t take long, another few seconds and she would reach the curve.

  Valaxahr couldn’t help but watch the show with excitement. This was great. Fantastic. Better than Hell and the same recurrent screaming. There was a true alternative, life or death–well, most likely death–but he was enjoying himself. He sneered in delightful pleasure.

  Now, Tracy would know. She turned left into the curve. The car held onto the road as she had hoped. Joy spread throughout her face. She could do this.

  The car gripped on the road, until it hit a patch of loose gravel. The rear tires gave first, and swung the back of the car toward the guardrail. The front tires followed. Out of control, the small Honda skidded sideways and hit the rail on the right side. The guardrail held, but the car cartwheeled over and dove down the embankment.

  For an instant, Tracy didn’t feel anything. She was detached. There was no fear, no pain. She watched the outside world tumbling through the windshield, the broken glass floating throughout the car as if she was an astronaut in a space station. The thought was almost amusing. She watched her hair floating in front of her face amidst a cloud of dust.

  Her arms flailed in the air until the sedan hit the bottom of the ravine. The splashing cool water felt good for an instant, but her new perspective was strange. She tried to understand what she was looking at, but couldn’t make anything of it. Water and gravel were at the top of her window.

  A searing pain travelled through her right leg like a spear transpiercing her flesh. She screamed in agony. She took a deep breath and panted like a wounded animal.

  Out of breath, as reality set back in, Tracy looked around her. She was upside down, hanging on her tight seatbelt. The roof had caved in. Worse, cold water was rushing into her car.

  ~

  Gina sighed in an exquisite cocktail of relief and pleasure. She didn’t know the details, but she suspected that by now, the job was done.

  “What did he do?” Jessica asked in tears.

  “How would I know?” she asked with a light shrug.

  “What did he do?!” Jessica repeated, her nerves spasming in anger.

  Gina was enjoying this. “Fine… my master went to pay a visit to your sister. His name is Valaxahr, by the way. You should meet him, a real gentleman, when he doesn’t kill people. Too bad your sister couldn’t see him–so
me people do, but it’s rare, and when they do, they die soon after–she would have had a heart attack if she did,” she said, amused.

  Jessica stepped back, in sheer horror. She buried her face in her hands and looked up. “God! Please! Save my sister! I know you can do this,” she implored in tears, “please!”

  “That’s nice and all, but… I think it’s too late,” she shrugged one more time, “sorry,” Gina said as if she had only spilled a drop of water.

  ~

  Brady Butler–BB for his friends–was heading away from his office after work. Office was an overstatement, as it was more of a tiny cubical among so many others. BB was an accountant by trade, but his lack of personality had led him nowhere. That was one of the reasons Brady liked numbers, because they didn’t put him down or make fun of him.

  Photography was his release, and the mountain his playground. He couldn’t get enough of the old wood bridges or the sunsets, the tall trees and the small log cabins hidden in the woods or next to a meadow. For lack of family pictures on his apartment walls, Brady displayed his photographic creations, symbols of another universe away from his sad and plain reality.

  Brady wasn’t a lady’s man. He knew that one, too. He wasn’t repulsive, but he shut down at the very sight of a girl. Perhaps the answer was lying where muscle mass should have been.

  He liked driving up the mountain. Except for a few busy weekends during the summer and winter, the drive was mostly without much traffic.

  His right fingers were tapping on the steering wheel to the rhythm of Taylor Swift. As a grown man, he wasn’t ashamed of listening to her. After all, she was a great singer.

  A dark object down the ravine caught his attention. Brady slowed down to take a better look. His little sweet world crumbled at the terrifying sight. A car was resting on its roof, wheels pointing to the sky. A powerful torrent of gushing water was slowly pushing the vehicle toward a wider section of the river. Soon, the car would be completely submerged. The logic was simple.

  Brady pulled over. He walked out of his car, frozen in surprise and sudden fear. The sight was surreal. He shoved his hand in his jean pocket and retrieved his undersized cell phone.

  The next minute was calming. He focused on the task and called 911. He took a few deep breaths and explained what was happening. The female voice on the other side was reassuring, almost motherly. That’s what he needed.

  He hung up. He was by himself on this lonely canyon road, staring at a sinking car. He couldn’t think about what was inside. He was Brady Butler, BB. He was no hero. He couldn’t go down the ravine and investigate. What if he tried and fell down the rocks only to realize that there was nobody in the car? What if there was somebody? What if there was a mother and her children?

  A piercing scream rose from the stream. Now he knew. There was somebody, a young woman. Brady made a step forward. He couldn’t stay at the edge of the road. He had to do something. Rescue 101, it was not wise to risk your own life to try to save somebody. There would be two victims instead of one.

  ~

  The cold water was gushing inside the car. Still upside down, Tracy felt for the red seatbelt release button, but she was unable to find it. Where was up, down? She was in a wet and inverted world. She grabbed on the belt and followed it to the release. She pushed the button and fell on the roof in a muffled thump in the rising water.

  Her right leg was broken. She didn’t need a doc to know that one. Her body was sore. She had a massive headache, and blood was blurring her vision in one eye, but she had no other obvious injuries. She palpated her face and head with her wet hand. She found a small laceration on her forehead, just above her right eye. She felt it and looked at her hand. It was covered in blood.

  The water was hardly rising, but she could feel the car trembling under the continuous assault. She looked at her door. The window frame had crumpled under the force of the impact and the weight of the car. Tracy looked at the other three windows. They were in the same condition, a jumble of twisted metal and a small opening much too narrow to escape. A boulder blocked the front windshield. The back one was as crushed as the windows. I am going to drown, she thought.

  ~

  Brady had called 911. That was it. He had done what he was supposed to. He was a Good Samaritan. There was nothing else he could reasonably do. The young man watched the wounded car in the stream, tires pointing toward the sky like an upside down turtle.

  He was calming down. Soon, the cavalry would be there to save the day. The firefighters would climb down the embankment and go save the damsel. That was their job. They were trained for that, and they knew what they were doing. Brady knew how to balance a budget or take a decent picture, but that was just about it.

  Brady felt better about himself. He had done the right thing. Text-book plan of action. Marvelous.

  He listened for sirens. He heard none. The water tinkling down the ravine was the only sound reverberating throughout the quiet valley.

  The fire department didn’t use sirens in a deserted road. What for? To scare off the deer?

  The man couldn’t get his eyes away from the car. She would be saved. He knew that.

  Perhaps she wouldn’t. Perhaps he was watching her drown. Perhaps he was her last hope and she was seconds away from death.

  “Help!” another scream emerged out of the car.

  His stomach churned in apprehension.

  He was not Brady Butler, even less BB. BB had just died. Brady walked down the steep embankment, his feet sliding on loose rocks, his left hand flying from boulder to boulder. Butler felt liberated, almost joyful.

  His hardly-controlled trajectory led him straight to the back of the car. He held on the rear bumper to collect his thoughts and think about the next move. Downstream side of the car, he could be swept by the current. Upstream, he could be swallowed into the small space under the car.

  At least, downstream gave him more options. Not that he was an excellent swimmer, but he was able to swim a few lengths at the municipal pool. His tennis-shoe clad feet stepped into the freezing mountain water. He gasped. The frigid water felt like acid burning his flesh. He held on to the car and walked deeper into the cold bath. The freezing burble crept up his legs up to his mid-thighs.

  The current was lighter where he was as the car was acting like a dam. He banged on the door. “Are you in there?” Of course, she’s in there! he thought.

  “Help me!” Tracy yelled back.

  “I called the fire department. They’re going to be here soon! You got to hang on!” His screaming voice was hardly loud enough to cover the gushing water.

  “I can’t breathe! Help me! I don’t want to die!”

  “You’re not going to die!”

  Brady kneeled by the front door. The cold water rushed to his chest. He felt for the window, palpating what used to be the bottom of the glass. He lowered his hand to the roof of the car. The space was hardly a few inches high, maybe seven or eight inches, no more. Either way, it was much too narrow to let a person squeeze through.

  His hand found its way to the door handle. He pulled, hoping for a miracle that didn’t happen. He slid to the back door for the same frustrating result.

  “I can’t open the doors! They’re jammed!” Brady yelled.

  “I got to get out of here!” Tracy said, shivering.

  Sirens wailed at a distance.

  Brady looked up. “They’re coming! You got to hang on! They’re going to be here in a minute!”

  The modular ambulance was the first one on scene. Alex and Ben jumped out. Alex looked at the car a hundred feet further down. That one is dead, he thought.

  “Hurry up! She’s drowning!” the man standing by the car yelled to cover the noise of the stream.

  “I guess the driver is still alive,” Alex told himself, and rushed to the back of the rig. “There’s a woman in the car.”

  “Is she alive?” Ben asked, picking up a red trauma bag.

  “She is.”

  “Wher
e’re the engine and the truck?” he asked, fully conscious that they might not be able to take her out without the extra equipment.

  “They’re coming from further than we were. They’re not going to be here for a few minutes.”

  “How are we supposed to take her out?”

  “I don’t know!” Alex said, stress mounting in his voice.

  Ben cupped his hands in a makeshift loud speaker, “Did you try to open the doors?”

  “They’re jammed!” Brady Butler responded in a hardly audible answer.

  “Forget the bags. Let’s go and see what we can do,” Alex said.

  Both medics barreled down the embankment. They reached Butler and entered the water for the same and simple conclusion. The woman wouldn’t come out alive without the Jaws of Life, which they wouldn’t have before the ladder truck showed up.

  Alex banged on the car door. “Can you hear me?”

  Tracy Miller didn’t answer.

  ~

  Jessica was on her knees, praying and imploring.

  “This is getting embarrassing, Jessica. Do you really think your whining is going to change anything? You’re making a fool out of yourself. Come on, get up,” Gina said. She rested her foot on a rough rock and leaned forward on her elbow.

  Jessica ignored her.

  “Look, I know Valaxahr. He doesn’t go half way. He’s a real pro. Your sister is a goner, trust me. There’s no need to beg.” She stood in rising concern. “That’s enough now.” She stepped back, “You stop this prayer non-sense, Jessica Miller, or I’ll slaughter your parents myself.”

  Jessica ignored her and kept on praying.

  “Stop it! I swear, if you continue praying, I will rip their hearts out!”

  Gina looked up, long and silent silver streaks of light traced in the evening sky.

  ~