by A. I. Nasser
“Do you deny me?” Copper’s voice hissed. “Do you deny me what is mine?”
Daniel Cole pushed himself to his feet, his shoulder aching from his collision with Deborah, his bones unaccustomed to the strain. He could barely hear the monster’s voice, but he immediately knew what was happening. A rush of urgency hit him as he stumbled forward.
“Don’t do it, Carter!” Daniel yelled.
Copper Tibet’s hand tightened on Alan’s ankle and forced him to scream in agony. Blood was rushing out from his pants leg as nails cut deeper into the flesh.
“Do you deny me?” Copper’s voice seemed to scratch the inside of Alan’s head.
“No!” Daniel Cole yelled, grabbing the edge of the couch and lifting.
Alan watched the Chairman lift the couch up from one end, and with a grunt, hurl it over.
Copper Tibet was gone.
From the Journal of Jeremiah Carter.
Melington. October 23rd, 1826.
I have made a terrible mistake.
My mind is rattled, and I cannot make sense of the feelings coursing through me. It is as if a heavy weight rests on my chest, suffocating me. I cannot shake this feeling away, this dread, this secret that I carry with me.
We rode into town today, my Abbey and I, and were welcomed heartily by the Council members. They ushered us into the small room where they had stored the found evidence, and I almost fell to my knees when I saw it.
Allison’s dress. Her favorite dress, drenched in blood, muddy and torn. Abbey immediately cried out in anguish, grasping the dress and holding it to her bosom as she screamed in fury.
It was all the Council needed to reach an immediate verdict. We sat in silence, Abbey and I, as the Sheriff was dispatched to arrest Copper Tibet. My wife was rocking back and forth, the dress clenched tightly in her hands as she wept, and it was then that I realized it.
The dress. My God, the dress!
Memories rushed through my head, and until this very moment, I am at odds with what I feel to be true. I have brushed it off as the tricks of an aging mind, but I believe I am just blind to the realities. I want to believe that I am wrong, but it is difficult to do so.
I remembered Abbey’s singing, a tune she had often sung to our Allison at bedtime. I remembered Abbey’s eagerness to learn how to slaughter, and her immediate undertaking of the task even when I had been around to do it myself. I remembered her trip into town and her return with nothing more than a few trinkets that were of no urgency. I remembered Abbey cleaning out our daughter’s room, slowly and methodically, organizing everything into neat piles as she carried them away.
I remembered the dress.
Our daughter had not been wearing that dress when she had disappeared!
Have I allowed an innocent man to be condemned?
Chapter 17
Sheriff Fiona Bright parked her cruiser and turned off the ignition.
She looked out at the small two story house, taking in a deep breath as she steadied her nerves for what she had to do. It was times like these she wished she could have been as clueless as the rest of Melington’s population, unaware of what was happening around her. Still, she knew it couldn’t be any other way, and she reminded herself that if it weren’t for her part in it all, things could have been much worse.
She braced herself, stepping out of her car and slowly closing the door behind her, her eyes scanning the second floor windows for Jamie Drew’s room. Fiona knew what was happening up there, and it scared the living hell out of her. Her father had not been gentle when he had broken the news to her, explaining her duties and what was required of her. As Sheriff, she was one of the most important players in this whole ordeal, and it was vital that she handle each task carefully and vigorously.
There could be no mistakes.
Fiona walked up the driveway, frowning as she tried to calm her nerves. Losing Doctor Fanning, as well as Alan Carter’s unexpected presence at the Collins’ apartment, had put her in a very delicate position. She knew Daniel Cole well, and the man was very good at keeping score. He wasn’t going to let her get away with another slip-up.
She noticed the lights on in the living room with the soft sound of the television playing in the background. Fiona felt a slight relief, knowing that as long as Jamie’s parents were downstairs, what was happening upstairs would continue undisturbed. Not that it mattered to Fiona. She was tasked with handling the back stories, and as she made sure to release the safety on her gun, she gently rapped on the front door.
Footsteps approached, and Fiona smiled at the tall blonde that greeted her.
“Sheriff?” Mr. Drew smiled awkwardly. “This is unexpected. Is something wrong?”
“Nothing serious,” Fiona said. “Can we speak inside?”
The man nodded eagerly and stood to one side, letting Fiona in.
***
“What the hell was that?”
Alan tried his best to keep his mind focused, ignoring Deborah’s frantic questions and need for instant explanations. It was unfair, but right now, all that mattered was Jamie Drew, and he couldn’t lose sight of that.
His ankle burned from where Copper Tibet had grabbed him, but Alan fought through the pain. He still couldn’t shake off the feeling he had when he looked into the monster’s eyes. The sudden terror that had overtaken him in the few seconds before Daniel Cole had jumped to the rescue.
Alan still couldn’t understand what it all meant, Copper’s questions lingering in the back of his head, taunting him. He had wanted to press Daniel Cole for answers, but he knew that the man would be uncooperative, despite having saved him from the monster’s hold. Besides, all that mattered now was Jamie Drew.
“The hand,” Deborah shook her hand in disbelief. “There really was a hand.”
“What?”
“I believed you about the children disappearing, but I assumed it was Daniel Cole being a sick psychopath. I didn’t think there was an actual hand!” Deborah stared at Alan in shock. “What was that?”
Alan hesitated.
“Alan, answer me!”
“Not now!” he shot back, pressing down harder on the gas pedal, wincing as his ankle throbbed. “Jamie first, explanations later.”
Alan could sense her frustration, but she would just have to deal with that on her own.
They had to reach Jamie in time.
***
Fiona closed her eyes.
There were no sounds coming from upstairs. Actually, aside from the gagged sobs of protest coming from Jamie’s mother, the entire house was eerily quiet. Fiona looked at the crying woman tied to her chair, her mouth covered with duct tape as she pleaded to Fiona with her eyes. Mr. Drew lay completely still at his wife’s feet, bleeding from the back of his head where Fiona had slammed the butt of her gun into.
The Sheriff glanced at her watch, then at her cell phone, her patience slowly waning. She had expected a call from Daniel a half-hour ago. She looked at the staircase, pondering whether or not she should risk a look upstairs. There were more gagged protests from the woman in front of her, and Fiona quickly slapped her across the face.
“Shut up,” Fiona hissed.
Beams of light shot through the living room drapes, and Fiona frowned as she made her way to the large windows. Her hand automatically reached for her gun as she cursed under her breath.
“Are you expecting anyone?” she pointed her gun at the woman.
The woman quickly shook her head, and before Fiona could push further, her cell phone rang. She quickly pulled it out as she heard car doors slam shut outside.
“Stop them!” Daniel Cole screamed into her ear.
“What the hell is going on, Cole?” Fiona asked as she pulled the drapes slightly open and saw Alan Carter racing towards the front door with Deborah behind him.
“I just broke free!” Daniel shouted. “Stop them!”
Fiona hung up quickly, her mind racked with questions that would just have to wait for later. She quickly raised
her gun and rushed towards the front door to intercept her unwanted guests.
***
Alan didn’t bother knocking.
Picking up speed, he raced up the Drew’s front steps and slammed his weight against the door. It flew open against the assault and crashed against the wall, Alan staggering as he tried to keep his balance while rushing forward.
“Hold it, Carter!”
Alan looked up at Sheriff Fiona Bright with her gun aimed directly at him. Her eyes said it all.
She would not hesitate to shoot him.
***
Jamie Drew sat up straight, her back pressed tight against the headboard of her bed as she stared in horror at her closet door.
The sounds had returned moments before, and this time she knew that whatever was behind that door, it had come back for good. She had been frozen in fear since she had last seen the hand reach out from the darkness of her closet, unable to move, fighting to wake up from the nightmare she was experiencing.
It had to be a nightmare. There was no other explanation. She had tried calling out to her parents, but they hadn’t heard her, and there was no way she was getting out of her bed.
She was safe here. Under her covers and away from the opening closet door, she had to believe that she was safe.
Jamie watched in horror as the closet door swung all the way open, and in the darkness, eyes stared out her. She felt a chill run through her entire body, her eyes filling with tears that flowed freely down her cheeks. A soft chuckle emanated from within, and slowly, covered in shadows, a large silhouette trudged out.
Jamie felt her heart stop as she gazed upon the grotesque figure in front of her, skin hanging loosely from its body as its chest wheezed with its every breath. It seemed to blend in with the shadows around it, and if not for its eyes, its red burning eyes, Jamie would not have been able to tell it apart from the rest of the darkness. The room suddenly felt very heavy, as if everything had been enveloped in a bubble of vacuum.
“Jamie.” The thing’s voice cut through the air like a knife. “We’re going to have so much fun.”
Copper Tibet’s mouth curled into a smile, and in the darkness, Jamie screamed.
***
Fiona’s head snapped around at the sound of the little girl screaming upstairs, her guard dropping as her skin crawled at the sound.
Alan Carter didn’t hesitate.
Throwing caution to the wind, unwilling to let the opportunity slip past him, he charged the Sheriff and threw his body against her. She dropped her gun just as she slammed against the wall, Alan’s attack knocking the wind out of her. She fell to her knees, grabbing out blindly as she desperately tried to get a hold of her attacker. Alan pulled back and quickly slammed a fist into the Sheriff’s face, sending her crumbling to the floor.
“Upstairs!” Deborah yelled at him as they rushed into the living room.
Alan hesitated, the sight of Jamie’s parents shocking his advance for only seconds before Deborah pushed at him.
“I’ve got this!” she yelled. “Go!”
Alan rushed toward the stairs, taking them by twos as Jamie’s screams filled the house. The adrenaline pushed him forward, past the memories of his sister’s identical screams so many years ago. He fought through the pain in his ankle and quickly made his way to the only closed door on the second floor landing.
Alan Carter burst into Jamie’s room, and in the light that followed him through, he stared directly into the dead eyes of Copper Tibet.
“Carter.” Alan froze in his place, the monster’s smile sending cold shivers through his body. “Are you here to play?”
Alan charged in.
***
“Jamie!”
Deborah grabbed Jamie’s mother by the shoulders and shook her furiously. It had taken seconds to get the woman out of her binds, but trying to keep her away from whatever was happening upstairs was a completely different hassle.
“You can’t help her,” Deborah yelled.
“That’s my daughter!”
“And Alan’s doing everything he can to save her,” Deborah shook the woman again. “You’ll only be getting in his way. I need you stay here with your husband until I come back.”
The woman looked at her with fury, but quickly calmed down when she saw the determination in Deborah’s eyes.
“Stay here,” Deborah repeated, and waited until the woman nodded before letting her go and racing after Alan.
***
Alan was dying.
Copper Tibet’s hand was wrapped around his neck, suspending him in the air as Alan’s feet kicked to break free. The vice-like grip was suffocating him, and all Alan could consciously register were the burning red eyes that bore into his.
“Carter,” Copper Tibet breathed, Alan forced to gag on the rot that escaped the monster’s mouth. “Alan Carter. Why are you here?”
Copper’s voice felt like knives in Alan’s head, cutting away at him, ripping apart his sanity. Alan slammed his fists against the beast, but it was useless, like hitting a wall. Copper chuckled at the effort, tightening his grip around Alan’s neck.
“Do you deny me?” Copper hissed, the raspy echo of his voice too close to Alan’s ear for comfort.
Alan gasped for air, his hands clasping onto Copper’s grip as he helplessly tried to loosen it. He was losing air fast, already feeling lightheaded and faint. He could barely keep his eyes open.
“Do you deny me, Carter?”
“Alan!”
Alan felt an alarming rush of fear at the sound of Deborah’s voice behind him. She stood in complete shock as she gazed at the scene before her. She felt her knees buckle, and she quickly grasped the bedroom door’s frame as she steadied herself.
Copper Tibet tilted his head to a side as he stared at her and smiled.
“Jamie!” Alan gasped, his voice hardly a whisper. “Get Jamie!”
Deborah couldn’t move her legs, locked onto the eyes of Copper as she felt him beckon her to him. She felt stuck in a trance, unable to break free from his stare. Goose bumps broke out all over her skin and she felt a sudden cold race through her.
“Jamie!” Alan called out, louder this time and breaking through Deborah’s daze.
Deborah shook her head and quickly raced to the bed where the little girl had covered herself completely with her blanket and was shivering in between screams. Deborah tried to grab her, but Jamie kicked at her frantically.
“Jamie, stop, it’s me,” Deborah yelled over the incessant screaming. “It’s Miss Adams.”
Jamie continued to kick, and only when Deborah roughly pulled the covers away and brought the girl to her, did she finally allow herself to be led away. Deborah covered the girl’s eyes and quickly pulled her out of the room, glancing at Alan and making sure that Copper was not coming after them.
Alan saw them escape from the corner of his eye, momentary relief washing over him as he wrestled with the hand around his neck. Jamie was safe, and that was all that mattered. Whatever Copper Tibet decided to do with him now, it wasn’t as important as making sure the girl was safe.
“She’s gone, Copper,” Alan gasped, giving the monster a smile of his own.
Copper’s eyes bore into Alan. “Are you denying me what’s mine, Carter?”
Alan tried to look away, but Copper held him fast. “Look at me!” the beast hissed. “Are you denying me?”
Alan scowled at the beast in front of him. “You’re damn right I am!”
Copper Tibet chuckled merrily, his mouth opening and closing in a grotesque wave of scars and flesh. “Excellent!”
Copper Tibet’s eyes changed, and Alan felt the world around him shatter into a million pieces.
From the Journal of Jeremiah Carter.
Melington. October 25th, 1826.
This will be my last journal entry.
I cannot write anymore, knowing what I know. I feel compelled to say something, anything, but I fear the repercussions. The Council will see Abbey punished for this,
and I can only imagine the look of silent contempt on the faces of every townsperson from now until the day I die. My family will be scorned forever.
They will hang Copper Tibet tomorrow, and I cannot stop them.
Oh, Abbey, what have you done?
Chapter 18
Fiona Bright sat quietly in the chair opposite Daniel Cole, her hands wrapped together in her lap as she avoided the man’s cold stare.
“I don’t think I need to tell you how much of a mess this all is,” Daniel said, the contempt in his voice cutting into Fiona. “I expected more from you, Sheriff. We all did.”
Fiona shifted in her seat and shot Daniel a look of pure contempt. “This wasn’t my fault. Alan Carter got in the middle of it all.”
Daniel slammed his hand down hard, forcing Fiona to flinch. “Do you have any idea what we’re going to be dealing with now? Do you realize what your incompetence has led to?”
Fiona looked at the Chairman silently.
“Where is Carter now?” Daniel asked.
“He’s at Melington Hospital,” Fiona replied. “He won’t be a problem anymore. The real issue is with the Adams girl.”
Daniel scoffed. “The real issue is far greater than you can ever fathom. Copper Tibet was denied. Do you know what that means for all of us?”
Fiona did, and the thought of it sent shivers up and down her spine. Still, she needed to maintain her calm in front of Daniel Cole.
“I have someone following the Drews,” Fiona said. “We can bring the girl back and wrap this all up.”
Daniel laughed incredulously and shook his head. “You really don’t understand, do you?” he said, looking out the large window behind him. “It’s too late.”
***
Deborah woke up to a gentle shaking, her eyes fluttering open as her eyes focused on the figure of Rachel Adams standing beside her.
