The Golden Talisman

by J. Stefan Jackson

  “The cloud towered more than a hundred feet in the air, and bolts of lightning were thrown from its midst into the surrounding area below. It finished lifting itself up out from the pool and rock formation. As it did so, I imagine the bubbling water probably grew quiet, as the true source of its heat had now abdicated from its depths. The dark cloud headed east, in pursuit of Jeremy’s buddies, who were looking over their shoulders from the eastern edge of the clearing before racing into the woods. Plants wilted and trees fell aside, and the air was filled with the popping sound of fireflies and other insects that ventured too close to the cloud.

  “Freddy and Ronnie followed the same overgrown path we had traveled along, stumbling here and there as the cloud followed close behind them. Like a depraved stalker, it mimicked their exact footsteps, angling back and forth as it pursued them. It continued this bizarre behavior until they neared the river’s edge, where they dove for cover behind a thick blackberry bush. The cloud crept toward them, but then stopped once it reached the foot of the bridge.

  “The cloud remained there for a moment, as if contemplating its next move. Then it drifted down to the water’s edge, just a few feet away from Freddy and Ronnie ‘s present hideout. It began to spin rapidly by the Tombigbee’s bank, and soon took on the funnel-like appearance of a cyclone, whipping the water in front of it with tremendous force. The river’s instability increased, churning powerfully with huge waves slamming against the fragile bridge and shoreline. When the Tombigbee seemed pushed to its final limit, the water suddenly shot upward, climbing high into the air and leaving a sizable passageway in the middle of the riverbed.

  “Like the story of Exodus, where the Dead Sea parted for Moses, the spinning cloud crossed the riverbed and returned to its original form once it reached the eastern shoreline. The unfortunate fish, snakes, and snapping turtles in its wake were torn apart, while the grass and plant life on the eastern bank withered and died as soon as the cloud’s swirling edges touched them.

  “The twin walls of water remained high in the air until the cloud safely cleared the river. Each wall somehow absorbed the Tombigbee’s powerful southern thrust toward the Gulf of Mexico. Once the cloud reached the eastern bank, hovering above Black Warrior Road

  , the walls of water crashed back down upon the earth below. The crushing force from this completely destroyed the bridge, and the river overflowed its banks in either direction for several minutes.

  “Meanwhile, Freddy and Ronnie scrambled up the bank in terror. The water’s force threw them both to the ground, but they managed to climb away before it could pull them down into the raging current. They turned and watched the towering cloud move swiftly toward the hill. It ascended the path along the hillside, scorching many of the flagstones with lightning strikes along the way to the top. While the river steadily began to grow calm once more, the cloud moved into the charred remains of the woods behind our home.

  “Freddy and Ronnie were relieved the cloud was no longer interested in them. But when they realized where it was headed next, they panicked because there wasn’t time for them to warn Kyle or any of us in our house that it was on its way. Since the bridge was gone and the water’s current too swift, they had no choice but to travel at least a mile through the densest woods in the region to reach Bailey’s Bend Road

  . Taking them nearly two hours to reach our house, they arrived only after it was all over.

  “Once the cloud emerged from the woods, it headed for our house, wilting away the tall grass and weeds in the field that separated our property from the woods. It threw an old weathered signpost from the field against our back wall that flipped over into the Palmer’s backyard. Kyle was terribly afraid but peered over the wall anyway.

  “I imagine he was overwhelmed by a mixture of fascination and terror. The towering cloud that slowly swirled before him seemed to shimmer in the moonlight as it hovered at the border of our property. Even as naïve and frightened as he was, Kyle knew right away the cloud’s glow wasn’t caused entirely by the light of the moon. It was as if the thing had actual emotions, like it was alive. All Kyle could feel was what emanated from the twisting mass...hatred.

  “Kyle heard Banjo whimper on the other side of the wall, just a few feet away. As was Banjo’s custom, he usually slept in the northern corner of our backyard, since it normally was the coolest spot available. Kyle climbed up the side of the wall to gain a better vantage point to check on him. A barrage of lightning bolts suddenly flew from the cloud to the ground near Banjo. Kyle watched him cower deeper into the overgrown grass and weeds, trembling in terror as a trail of smoke rose from the strike.

  “None of us in our farmhouse had stirred yet, but that was about to change. A portion of the cloud crossed over the wall and began to spread out into the backyard until it touched the sphere. Immediately, the cloud recoiled itself and withdrew to the other side of the wall, like a child touching the red-hot burners on an oven. Kyle said it then pulsed with even more malice, and then swirled faster and faster until it’d regained its tornado-like appearance. The wind from this sudden change whipped across the backyard, sending violent gusts toward our house. The oaks’ solid branches were severely bent and began to break.

  “Kyle noticed the kitchen light suddenly came on, indicating someone in our house was now awake. The menacing cloud spun even faster just outside the gate. Kyle watched it move to the right as it picked a new spot to cross into our yard. But before it crossed over the wall, the sphere rolled in front of it. The cloud then moved over to the left side of the gate and found the sphere waiting for it once again.

  “The cloud began moving quickly from side to side to elude the sphere. Yet, the sphere continued to stay with the cloud, matching its moves perfectly like this was some kind of surreal chess match. The contest continued, but remained a stalemate. Then, just when the cloud seemed to tire of the whole affair, it suddenly juked weakly with its thicker top portion going one way and its lower funnel-shaped portion going in another direction. The sphere followed the top portion of the cloud, and a split second later its pointed lower section jumped over the wall into the backyard. The cloud landed next to the sphere and before it could respond the cloud brought its upper portion over the wall, which had formed a mouth-like opening in its midsection. A rapid series of lightning bolts flew out from this opening and landed directly on top of the sphere, exploding it into hundreds of fiery, meteor-like fragments that flew in every direction.

  “Kyle immediately ducked down, although none of the fragments came over the wall into the Palmer’s yard. When he looked back over the wall, he saw that most of the fragments had reached the backside of our house, where they burrowed through the thick masonry walls and crashed through the windows on both floors. The tornado wasted little time in closing in on us, tearing the massive oak out of the ground and hurling it toward the Johnson’s farmhouse nearly half a mile away. Incredibly, the tree flew like a missile toward its target and scored a direct hit. The building buckled and collapsed on impact, and a moment later exploded as the main gas line to the house ruptured. The explosion sent fiery timbers and debris into the barn next door. Within minutes a fiery inferno engulfed the remains of both buildings, obliterating any evidence of Vydora’s earlier visit there, as you know.

  “According to Kyle, the cloud shimmered brightly, as if delighted by its masterful throw. Next, it picked up the old truck remains and other junk and hurled them at our farmhouse. The truck crushed the back porch, with the bulk of it carrying on into the kitchen, while the appliances were sent flying into Jeremy’s and my bedrooms upstairs. There was a loud explosion in the kitchen and flames soon poured out of the broken windows on both floors. Kyle said he could tell we were frantically scurrying about inside, and as we did so, the tornado descended upon our house.

  * * * *

  “Grandpa was jolted awake by a loud thump coming from the back porch. He’d fallen asleep in his recliner while starting to read what was the latest James Patterson novel. Hi
s reading lamp was still on and his favorite pipe was lying on the floor next to his chair. The television was on, too, although the volume was turned down to its lowest level, and Jeremy was huddled asleep on the couch. Grandpa stood up and grabbed his shotgun, and then went through the dining room on his way to the kitchen, turning on the lights in each room as he made his way to the back porch door. Once he reached it, he peered out through the door’s window.

  “The powerful swirling wind in the backyard was lifting small to medium pieces of wood and other debris into the air. He noticed what was left of the oak tree’s branches being pushed and pulled in extreme angles to where he knew they’d break at any moment. But, it was the train whistle noise and the rusted pail and washboard impaled through the porch railings that commanded his attention, along with the sudden explosion of the security light on the other side of the oak tree. A tornado was somewhere close by and he needed to waken Jeremy and me to get us all safely to shelter before it hit the house, which he realized could be at any moment.

  “‘Jeremy!!! Jack!!! Wake up!!!’ he called out frantically as he ran from the kitchen toward the front of the house. ‘A tornado’s coming!!! Goddamn it... GET UP!!!’

  Jeremy staggered out into the foyer from the living room to meet him, his long hair billowing wildly around his face as he struggled to get his shoes on. Just then, a barrage of molten rock fragments from the exploding sphere came crashing through the rear of the house. Grandpa and Jeremy dove for cover at the base of the staircase, a pair of basketball-sized fragments whizzing by their feet, barely missing them. The continuous sounds of wood splitting and glass shattering on both floors made it obvious we couldn’t stay in the house much longer, and that any place of refuge would have to be found somewhere in front of our besieged home.

  “‘Jack!!! Are you all right??’ shouted Grandpa. He motioned for Jeremy to take cover and sit tight near the bottom two stairs while he ventured up to the second level to look for me. He hadn’t made it very far up the stairs when I suddenly appeared at the top with my own hair disheveled, and clad only in a pair of blue jeans.

  “‘Get down here, son!!!’ Grandpa shouted at me.

  “Another fairly large fragment came flying through the upstairs back wall and hit the floor not far from me. It flipped up into the air before landing again, and then rolled on over to the stairway and on down the stairs. It finally settled on a step in the middle of the staircase where its molten flames ignited the carpet runner. Within seconds, the fire quickly spread across the stairway as it threatened to join the myriad of other small fires that’d sprung up throughout our home.

  “I scrambled down the stairs where I soon joined my grandfather and brother. Yelling over the noise, we tried to figure out what to do next. Meanwhile, the old truck and appliance remains crashed into the house, sending even more splintered wood fragments and glass shards into the house, and shaking it to its very foundation. We were nearly out of time as the train-like whistle grew louder...closer.

  “Grandpa cursed under his breath that there wasn’t any safe place to hide, either inside or outside the house, and that he’d left the Jeep’s keys sitting on the kitchen counter. As soon as Jeremy understood what Grandpa was upset about, he checked both of his jeans’ pockets and found he’d kept his truck keys inside the left one. He quickly pulled them out, dangling them excitedly in Grandpa’s face to let him know we had a means of escape. Jeremy threw open the front door and we all sprinted to his truck, which sat in the driveway next to the house.

  “The truck was a black beauty, equipped with a chrome spoiler and headers to go with the custom-made wheels for the oversized tires and wheelbase he’d paid dearly for. The interior of the truck’s cab was just as fancy, with plush upholstery and a state-of-the-art sound system, among other extras. The best part for Jeremy, though, was the extra power the expanded engine gave him, and we prayed that fast engine would save us now.

  “We climbed into the truck and shut the doors just as the tornado converged on the house. For the first time, we could see the spiraling cloud in its fantastic magnificence. It was as densely black as coal, but the light afforded by the moon and the frequent lightning strikes emitted by the cloud allowed us to see its details quite clearly. It loomed ominously high above us while it easily dismantled the weakened structure of our house.

  “Jeremy immediately put the key in the ignition and tried to start the truck. The engine wouldn’t turn over.

  “‘My God!’ Grandpa said reverently, his voice nearly a whisper. ‘I’ve never...I’ve never seen anything quite like that before! Not any tornados, anyway—Jeremy!!!’ he shouted as he suddenly interrupted himself. ‘Let’s get the hell out of here, son!!! What’s taking you so damned long to get this thing started, anyway??’

  “‘I don’t fucking know!!!’ My brother shouted back. ‘I can’t get the goddamn mother to start for some reason!!! Wait! There it goes!!’

  “The slumbering engine rumbled to life just as the cloud finished obliterating what was left of our house. Grandpa grimaced at losing the place that’d been his home for most of his life. But our immediate survival was the only important issue right then. Jeremy threw the truck in reverse and we sped out of the driveway toward Lelan’s Road, the tires squealing as the tornado quickly bore down upon us.

  “Just as we pulled onto the road and Jeremy straightened the truck, the tornado uprooted the pair of maples standing in the front yard. It threw them both in the direction of our fleeing vehicle. Jeremy glanced back incredulously after the first one barely missed us. ‘Holy shit, y’all!!!’ he exclaimed in disbelief. ‘I think that mother fucker’s actually aiming for our ass—I really do!!!’

  “He deftly eluded the second tree, although it shook the road mightily as it crashed down right next to us. Grandpa and I turned to look behind us while Jeremy kept an eye on his rear-view mirror. All of us murmured ‘Oh Shit!’ when we saw the cloud suddenly turn and follow us down Lelan’s Road. I was certain then Genovene had something to do with this, and I was pretty sure Jeremy and Grandpa thought the same thing.

  “Jeremy pushed the accelerator to the floor in an effort to try and distance us from the fast approaching twister. It briefly appeared to work, as the swirling cloud grew smaller in the rearview mirror. But within the next ten to fifteen seconds, it picked up a lot more speed and closed the gap to less than a hundred feet.

  “Suddenly, the truck began to slow down. Horrified, Jeremy looked down at the speedometer and tachometer. We were losing speed, but the rpms remained high. The tornado was directly behind us, its train-whistle sound becoming an almost deafening roar in our ears. Jeremy floored the accelerator again, pushing the rpms to the danger level. Yet the truck continued to slow down, and an overwhelming feeling of dread swept over all of us.

  “We murmured in terror amongst ourselves, silently berating ourselves about the fact we didn’t leave sooner. All at once the truck lifted up off the road. It drifted above the ground for only a brief instant and then began twirling in midair, spinning faster and faster around a central point in the cloud while continuing to rise higher and higher into the air above Lelan’s Road. We were frightened beyond anything we could’ve ever imagined—especially from the maddening horror of not knowing what was to come next. All we knew was Genovene’s malevolent nature, and that she probably wanted us dead.

  “Faster and faster we spun around, and all three of us screamed in terror. When I thought we might all faint from fear and our exhaustive panic, the truck was sent flying through the air until it landed violently in the field that sits to the right of Lelan’s Road. Fortunately for us, the vehicle landed upright and remained on its wheels, although the tires ruptured on impact and the truck’s axles were cracked and bowed inward. Despite this, Jeremy made a remarkable attempt to steer the truck. He did this even though the initial jolt severely injured his shoulder and neck, just as it’d also hurt Grandpa and myself. But in the end, his very best effort failed to regain enough control of th
e truck as it careened and skidded through the bumpy field.

  “We flipped over a tree stump, just before crashing head on into an irrigation ditch near the field’s north-eastern corner. The truck bounced up and finally stopped, resting with its back end inside the ditch and its crumpled front end sticking out over the ditch’s bank. My head throbbed mercilessly and my vision was blurred. On my left, my brother moaned in extreme pain. To my right, there was no sound. Grandpa wasn’t moving.

  “The moonlight illuminated the truck’s cab, and I saw the wet splatter of blood from all three of us upon the smashed windshield and the dashboard. I looked over at Jeremy, and saw that he was covered with blood on his right side, though at least he was moving. As I tried to turn and look over at Grandpa, a dark shadow suddenly distracted me. It was the cloud.

  “It hovered above our broken vehicle left stranded in the ditch. The cloud had quieted its spinning, and it seemed to draw ever closer to us. I instinctively tried to push myself back against my seat, but this sent immediate waves of pain through my head. I noticed the back of my shirt was soaked, and knew it was my own blood.

  “Consciousness had begun to leave me and I found it hard to concentrate. I was awake long enough to see a shining image from within the cloud. It was Genovene, guised in all of her voluptuous beauty once more. She smiled curiously at me for a moment, but then stopped smiling altogether, studying me in sullen seriousness. Finally, she shrugged her shoulders, winked, and blew me a luscious kiss.

  “Blood was pooling on top of my head. It began to spill down upon my face in warm crimson droplets. As it did so, she threw back her head in amused laughter. I could clearly hear it, though fortunately for me her cackles soon faded. While blood continued to pour down my face, I tried to look away from her in order to check once more on my grandfather. I never made it,” Jack added with sadness, looking at Agent McNamee.