by Glaze, JH
“Because I am freaked out, Sherri. Do you realize you were just here in my apartment?” John was pacing now. Meanwhile, Emily was peering through the peephole to see if someone was out in the hall playing some kind of joke.
“That’s crazy, John. I was right here. I fell asleep in the chair watching some show on TV. What are you talking about? Have you been drinking?”
“Look, I was just sitting here when you knocked on my door, and I let you in. I thought you looked kind of pale, you know, like sick, and you were saying some crazy shit about pain, darkness and people screaming. Then, when I reached out to touch you, you just vanished. Emily was here, remember her, the camera girl from the interview? She saw it too. I know I’m not just seeing things.”
“Really? I feel kind of tired, but I know I didn’t leave the house. I’m in my pajamas for pity’s sake. Was I wearing my pajamas?”
“Well, you were here. I don’t know what you were wearing. If you weren’t here, then who was?”
“I’m not sure, John. Can we talk about this tomorrow? I think I need to go to bed now. I feel really tired.”
“Alright, we can tell Macy about it tomorrow too. I’m sure she’ll have some insight. See you in the morning.”
“Yeah, okay. Goodnight then.”
“Hey, don’t be wandering around anymore tonight! Bye,” he said and ended the call.
Still holding the phone, he dropped his hand to his side.
“Is this normal? I mean, is it like this every day around here?” Emily asked, squinting at John and walking back over to sit down on the sofa.
“This?” he shrugged. “This is nothing. Hang around a while and you’ll see shit you never even dreamed existed.”
“Really?”
“Really.” And John sat down beside her.
Seventeen
Marcus and Lamont were half in the bucket after several hits from the bong and a couple of glasses of really good cognac. They had settled into a game of Grand Theft ATM, a spinoff of a popular video game. The whole purpose of the game was to steal cars, trucks, and construction equipment, and drive them through the windows of stores to steal the cash machines. Controversial for sure, but a very popular game.
Marcus had just gotten a very large haul of cash. He’d heisted a bulldozer and used it to break through the drive-through window at First Green National Bank. Back at the garage that was ‘home base,’ his crew was cracking the boxes open while they discussed the amount of pussy they could buy with that much cash. That was the reason the box on the game carried a warning for parents – Violence, Language, and Sexual Situations.
Marcus turned to Lamont, “So dawg, who’s the King? Ho-tep gonna party with my bitches tonight.” He waved his arms in a seated victory dance. “Yeah booyyzz!”
“Bitch, ya think yo’ ass got somethin’ now, but when ya’ leave here tomorrow, the kingdom is mine!” Lamont was grinning from ear to ear.
“Fuck that! My people will kick your fat hairy ass if ya’ even try movin’ on ‘em.” Marcus looked serious for a second and then grinned. “Besides, Lamont, you don’t got the hoodoo magic to make it work.”
“I might not have ya’ hoodoo voodoo, Marcus, but I gotta plan.” Lamont said slowly, deliberately baiting him.
“Say what? You serious? You movin’ on my shit, and my bitches? You think your gonna jump onto my porch an’ fight with the big dog?” He waved his arm as if the apartment was his porch.
“No, serious, Marcus. It sounds like some dangerous shit livin’ up in them woods for two weeks, yo! I seen Survivor Man on TV, an’ I can’t see ya’ll eatin’ no scorpions and bugs just to survive.”
“Ain’t no scorpions up in them woods, man! Your thinkin’ ‘bout the desert. And bugs ain’t so bad if you pull the legs off first.”
“That’s what ya’ll gonna eat then if somebody steals ya’ food an’ shit!”
“Listen, Lamont. All we gotta worry about is bears and wolves and shit. Well I got something for them if they even think of sniffin’ round…” He reached under the cushion of the sofa and pulled out a very large pistol. “See. Me an’ Dirty Harry here got the Magnum Force, dawg!”
“Daaaamn, Marcus! A fo’ty-five? That’ll make a bear shit in the woods!
“Yeah and then fall in it’s shit face first when I blow his fuckin’ balls off!” He held the gun up as if he was aiming the pistol and shooting, and they both started laughing.
“Hells, yeah! That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” Lamont turned back to the game on the television screen. “Let’s take the money from this ATM an’ go celebrate at the strip bar!”
“I gotta finish packin’, man, but you go ahead. Getta lap dance from Crystal for me.” He stood and walked toward the bedroom with the gun still in his hand.
“You know it! Get ready, my bitches-s-s!” Lamont hissed as he worked the game controller.
Eighteen
It was just past dark and the streetlights cast a shifting shadow as Rajesh walked down the darkened road. His thoughts were occupied with his wilderness adventure that would begin tomorrow morning. He wondered what Taya, his betrothed back home, might say about it if she knew. It had been a long time since he had seen her, but he thought about her often.
When they were children, his mother and Taya’s had arranged their marriage, as was the custom in his home village. Spending time with Taya was so enjoyable during those innocent years that he had wanted the arrangement as much as his mother did.
Years passed and, as they began to mature, they grew apart as their interests led them to travel separate paths. Shortly after his sixteenth birthday, he went with his father on a journey to Bombay. For his father, it had been a typical business trip, but for Raj, his first great adventure.
Raj longed to see and experience more from life and the world before settling down and starting his family. When it came to tradition, he had begun to question most of the things he had been taught in his short life. He felt he wanted to have a choice when it came to selecting his wife. Taya had been an entertaining friend when he was younger, but she was becoming more and more serious over time. By the age of fourteen, she had already planned their wedding ceremony complete with a guest list.
His raging hormones combined with his fascination for the big city reinforced his growing doubt about his future as planned. The many beautiful women he saw in Bombay solidified this in his heart and in his mind. But that was only one of the revelations that came to him on this trip.
His father had booked a room in a grand hotel where the halls were trimmed in gold, and the housekeeping team put chocolate mints on the pillows each night. He was quite fascinated by this kind of opulence and caused him to wonder what other things he might be missing in his small world back home.
Still, the experience may not have been enough to prompt his wanderlust until something happened that would open his mind to the possibility of phenomena in this world that simply defied explanation. It had occurred on the second night as they were returning to the hotel from dinner. His father had encountered an old friend along the way and became involved in a very deep political discussion, which seemed as though it would continue for some time.
While Raj waited patiently, he noticed an eerie quiet had settled around them and a bright golden light shining at the end of the alley. He was determined to slip away and get a closer look at the source of the light, even if only for a moment. While his father was in the middle of a long diatribe, he saw his opportunity and made his move.
The cobbled pavement was wet and the stone walls on either side of the narrow street were grimy and old. The aroma of sour garbage overwhelmed him as he slowly walked toward the light. He focused his mental energy to overcome the urge to empty his stomach and add to the oppressive atmosphere.
As he neared the end of the alley, there was a turn to the right. He edged closer to the wall and cautiously looked around the corner. There was a large courtyard-like clearing with a large fire at its center and eight men sit
ting, cross-legged, encircling the bright flames. The men wore nothing at all from the waist up and only a dhoti, the large white cloth wrapped around their lower torsos.
The gray tone of their skin seemed to come from some type of ash or clay smeared on their bodies and their hair was matted in long, gray dreadlocks that hung down across their backs. Their beards, as long and gray as their hair, were accentuated by the licking firelight and shadow. Large black circles around their eyes gave the appearance of hollow empty sockets in the dim light.
Raj shivered as he stood watching the men rocking forward and back as they stared into the fire. “Nagas, ramas, rengas,” they chanted, repeating it over and over again. One of the men turned and opened a small pottery urn and scooped a handful of powder from it. Then with a slow sweeping motion, he tossed the handful of powder into the fire as the chanting increased in volume.
A fountain of multicolored sparks burst upward out of the flames. Raj retreated in fear as the image of a very large cobra seemed to spring from the fire and rise above the men. It’s head swayed back and forth slowly to the rhythm of the chant. It wound around in a complete circle eyeing each one as it passed by.
Suddenly, with a whip-like motion, it jerked, and the single head became two. With another snap, two became four, and on the third, eight heads extended from the body of the cobra. The snake was now much larger and arranged each of the eight heads to face one of the men.
Raj became aware that he was standing in a puddle where he had wet himself from the shock. He was overcome with shame and turned away hoping to leave unnoticed. This can’t really be happening, he thought to himself.
A loud sound came from behind and he turned back to see what had happened. The snake was growing larger and towered high over the men. Without warning, it struck. The eight mouths openied at once and shot down in a blur. Instantly, each man was swallowed whole.
Raj screamed out loud, and finally found the strength to move his legs and run away from the horrible scene. Behind him only silence, the pounding of his shoes against the cobblestones seemed to echo all the more loudly. As he neared the entrance of the alley, he found his father waiting for him with his arms crossed in consternation.
“So my son, you have decided to assert your independence in this great city. You have the look of one with a new, yet terrible knowledge, and have you wet yourself? Share with me what has happened.”
Raj struggled to catch his breath, embarrassed that his father had noticed how he had shamed himself. He tried to put into words what he had seen. He finally found his voice and, when he had finished his tale, his father looked at him for a moment and then roared with laughter.
“My son, your imagination makes me laugh. The men of the Nagas worship the snake, but the master never eats his servant. Come, we have much to prepare for morning. Let’s retire to our room.”
Raj was stunned by his father’s lack of interest or concern for what he had witnessed. He wondered whether the men had actually sacrificed themselves in the ritual they performed. Was it a grand trick to scare him because he had dared to spy on them?
The next day, when his father’s business was complete, they returned home. Afterward, Raj spent many hours researching the various religious cults and sects of his homeland. Although he rejected most of the religious beliefs he had read about, he had witnessed one of the rituals. It was this single experience, and his studies, that led to his interest in paranormal phenomena.
He believed that this trip would prove to be fruitful. He hoped some secret regarding the phenomenon in the Northwest Triangle might be revealed. Perhaps it would be him who unraveled it. Even so, if his parents ever discovered what he was doing, they would undoubtedly force him to return to India before he was prepared to do so.
Nineteen
“I guess you’ve never seen anything like that before.” John reached for the remote control to turn off the television as he sat on the couch to face Emily.
“No, and I admit I’m a little freaked out right now.” Emily shifted in her seat and pulled the hair back from her face with both hands before letting it fall to her shoulders again.
“Well, it’s like I said earlier, I’ve experienced some weird shit before and that’s how I ended up in the P.I. class. That kind of phenomenon is why we’re going on this trip.”
Now that she’d had a taste of what could be expected, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to go, and it showed all over her face.
John noticed her expression of doubt and felt he should try to put her at ease. “Don’t worry. You’ll get used to the weirdness. With the kind of people we have in our group, there’s bound to be a lot more weird experiences before we’re finished.” Thinking back to Sherri’s ghostly prediction, he added quietly, “Maybe a hell of a lot more.”
“Yeah, but when I decided to come on this trip it seemed a lot safer than dealing with those thugs who were trying to kill me earlier.” Her eyes showed the anxious frustration she felt.
“Look, Em, did Sherri’s apparition, or whatever it was, try to shoot you or anything? Did she approach you in any kind of menacing way?” He sounded calm as he questioned her. “I think this trip will be just what the doctor ordered. Two weeks in the great outdoors. Just think about all that fresh, clean air, bluer than blue skies… and the company of more good people than you’ve known in a while. Well maybe, I guess I really wouldn’t know about that.” He was more than stretching the truth but, for some reason, he really wanted her to go.
“I know she wasn’t here to hurt us, but…” Emily was twisting and untwisting a piece of her hair with her finger. “So you really don’t think there’s anything dangerous about going on this trip?”
“Statistics show, Em, that most paranormal experiences are devoid of danger. Ghosts, hauntings, cold spots, and things like that are usually quite benign. I’ve heard that dealing with shit like exorcisms and demons and dark matter can get a bit dicey, but I don’t expect there will be any of that where we’re going.”
“Really? You’re shittin’ me! You mess with demons?” Emily’s eyes went wide and she turned a bit pale.
“Well, I’ve never experienced the dark stuff, at least not lately. I’m not really looking for that kind of trouble.” He hoped that he wasn’t making her nervous again.
“The thing is, we stumble on things when we aren’t looking for them. The worst experience I ever had with this wasn’t something I was looking for at all, and I sure didn’t expect to find anything like it.” He hesitated trying to think of a way to say what he needed to say without revealing the whole story.
Finally he continued, “It did show me that bogeymen definitely exist out there, and it’s best to be prepared rather than get a surprise in a dark alley.” He watched her and awaited her response.
Emily was waiting for him to tell the rest of the story, but eventually she broke the silence. “I’d prefer to avoid that kind of… well, drama,” she said looking John in the eyes. “How can you protect yourself from that kind of thing? How do you prepare for it?”
“Well, you know those stories about witches and vampires and werewolves and such, and how they use things like silver bullets, crucifixes, garlic and all that? A lot of that stuff is just plain bullshit. Like holy water. From what I’ve read, a vampire can drink holy water if they’re thirsty, and the worst that could happen is they might get heartburn or a bad case of diarrhea.
On the other hand, some things do work: talismans and the like, ancient runes and a lot of various protections have been passed down through time, since man was created.”
Had he just mentioned vampires and werewolves as though they were real? Emily didn’t go there. Instead, she addressed another issue that had captured her attention. “Created? So you do believe in God then?” Emily wasn’t too sure about God. She never really had an inclination toward any religious beliefs.
“You don’t? All you have to do is look around. You think all of this was an accident? I mean, how could there be just some ex
plosion, or some kind of ‘Big Bang’…” John made air apostrophes as he continued, “…that resulted in the world as we know it?”
“There had to be a design or some Creator, don’t you think?” John went on, “And if spirits, ghosts and demons are real, why not God? If the only supernatural, unseen things out there are evil, well, then where would we be?”
“I guess you have a point there, John. I mean, if there really are supernatural things… I mean, aside from the Sherri visitation… cuz that was really strange for sure. If they do exist, it only makes sense that God could be real too. I guess we’re going to have more than a few days to talk about this stuff. Let me try to digest everything you’ve told me so far.” She was holding her palm to her forehead as if holding back a headache.
“Sure, I get it. It’s a lot to take in. Talking about religion and the supernatural in the same context is one of those conversation killers, right? Kind of like if I suddenly started talking about politics. Most people would rather not discuss it… that’s way too controversial. But I’m not really talking about religion. It’s more like spirituality.”
He didn’t look up to see the expression on Emily’s face as he continued rambling, “Because religion is about rules and every religion has their own rulebook. Spirituality, on the other hand, can be as simple as a belief in a higher power.”
At last he paused and looked at Emily, who was looking at him as though he were some kind of alien with three eyes or something. He took the cue and changed the subject.
“Anyway, I’ve been thinking. You have all your stuff packed in suitcases, and that’s going to be pretty difficult to carry through the woods. I have an extra backpack with some well-padded shoulder straps. What do you say we load all of your stuff into it and see if I can scrounge up some extra food supplies to get you through this trip? I promise not to talk about the ‘S’ or ‘R’ words anymore tonight. Deal?”
