Into Darkness (The Guardian Book 2)

by Jason Davis

  She wasn’t ready to return home. Her chest threatened to close in upon itself, tears lingering on the fringe. It was so much easier to just close off the pain.

  “Seems like a lot of people here.”

  Ally looked over at Leannette, who had given her a ride. She really didn’t think she could have driven herself from Chicago. Not with how lightheaded she felt. All it would have taken was someone running across the street or a red light when she wasn't paying attention.

  “Yeah. They're probably all out looking for Bobby,” Ally whispered.

  “So you don’t think they’ve found him yet?”

  Allison pulled her phone out and looked at the dark display. She tapped the little button on the side and the screen lit up, displaying the time, but no new notifications. She shook her head as she looked back over at her friend.

  “We’ll find him,” Leannette said, reaching out to place her hand on Allison’s arm. Allison gave her a brief smile and a nod. “Do you think your dad’s here?”

  Allison quickly turned her head and scanned the cars. For a brief moment, her heart leapt into her throat.

  She sighed. “It doesn’t look like it.”

  “Okay, well, we’d better go in, don’t you think?”

  Allison nodded. They got out of the car and moved slowly to the front door. Allison paused. This didn’t feel like her home anymore. Should she just walk in or knock? She paused, uncertainty taking over.

  She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and opened the door, ready to walk into chaos. To her surprise, it was quiet. Even though there were cars outside, the house was nearly empty. She heard a chiming, like a little bell, coming from the kitchen. Knowing there were no bells in the house, and considering the fact she smelled freshly brewed coffee, she guessed someone was stirring a cup of coffee.

  Then she heard a sniffle. “Allison?”

  She turned and saw her mom lying on the couch. It was dark, all the lights off, but the filtered sunlight showed her how rough her mom looked. Her hair was a mess, her eyes dark and puffy, her face flushed. She tried to sit up, despite her apparent tiredness.

  “Allison, you’re home.”

  Her mom made no move to stand, holding her arms out, but Allison didn’t go near her. That sickness she often felt toward her mother was overwhelming. How could she be so weak? Why was she lying on the couch and not out looking for Bobby?

  She watched the glow of her arrival fade from her mother’s eyes as she looked past Allison, her arms lowering.

  “Who’s this?” Wendy asked, appraising the black woman behind her.

  “My friend.”

  “Hi. I’m Leannette. I live in the same dorm as Allison.” She stepped into the living room, holding her hand out to Wendy. She looked at it for a moment, then slowly reached out, shaking it gently. Wendy looked past her at the television and the DVD player, as if checking to see if they were still there.

  “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “David around?” Allison felt the blood rushing to her face, barely able to stop her teeth from grinding together.

  “I think he went home for a while. He was out all night looking for Bobby. They don’t know where he is.” Wendy sniffled as she reached for more Kleenex. The floor was covered in the discarded remnants.

  “Allison!”

  She turned just in time to see arms pull her into a hug before she even saw the white-haired older woman.

  “Hey, Grandma,” Allison said. For the first time, she felt a little happiness at returning home. She felt the hard exterior, which came so easily when she was around her mom, soften as she returned the embrace. She enjoyed the warmth and felt safe in those arms. They offered her protection. Now, she really was home.

  “Thank you,” her grandmother whispered into her ear. Then she pulled back, studying the woman standing behind her. “And you must be Allison’s friend.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Leannette said, unsure of herself after the cold greeting she had just gotten from Ally’s mom.

  “Well, the more the merrier.” She reached out and pulled her into a hug. Allison had to fight to keep from laughing at the surprised look on Leannette’s face as she was engulfed by the woman. “Here. Come into the kitchen. I just brewed up some coffee.”

  Leannette allowed herself to be led by the older woman, and Allison suddenly found herself alone with her mom.

  “Why is she here?”

  Ally glared at her. “Who? Leanette? She offered to give me a ride home. Probably not a good idea for me to drive myself.”

  “Yeah, but her?”

  Allison crossed her arms. “What don’t you like about her? She’s my friend and she gave me a ride.”

  “But now I gotta worry about things going missing.”

  “Why? Because she’s black?”

  “Because she’s a stranger.”

  “Whatever.” She wanted to get out of there. Maybe there would be a little peace in the kitchen. She turned away from her mom.

  “Hey, Ally?” she called. Ally sighed, turning back around. “How is school?”

  “Fine. How’s Kurt?” Allison asked, taking a little pleasure in watching the brief reflection of pain in her face. Her mom looked down, suddenly studying her hands. “Has he been around?”

  “Kurt? No. The police found him. I guess he’s over in Ottawa. There were no signs he came for him. I think he’s just happy not to have to worry about ‘those bastards’ anymore.”

  “He can’t even come home to help find his son? What… Lose one son and just take off. Who cares if the other one comes up missing? What the fuck is wrong with this family!?”

  “Kurt was never their father..or yours.”

  It was said so quietly, Allison almost missed it.

  “Wait… What?”

  Shocked, her knees went weak. She dropped into the closest chair.

  Wendy shook her head, biting her lip as a fresh wave of tears trickled down her face.

  “Then who’s our dad?”

  “Your dad was a great man. I wish you could have met him. He would have done anything for anyone. Henry was my high school sweetheart. He died in a car crash a few days after you were born.”

  “Woah… Wait, wait. Then who-”

  Wendy continued. “When I met Kurt, he was a nice man. He would always come to work and make sure I made it home safely. But he liked to drink, and when he did, he would get into fights. I thought if we got married, maybe he would calm down. He really acted like he loved me. He didn’t run away when he found out I had you. You were only a year old when we got married.”

  “So how is he not their father?”

  “Kurt can’t have kids.”

  “Wait. You were cheating on him? You were cheating on him, and so every time he got drunk and called you a lying, cheating whore, you actually were sleeping around?”

  Wendy tried to answer, giving up as a fresh round of tears formed.

  “Do you know who the dad is? Could he have taken them? Do they even have the same dad?”

  “They do, but he would never claim them. He’s a soulless bastard who I hope rots in the hell he has created.”

  “Who is he?”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Mom!”

  “No!”

  Allison jumped to her feet, towering over her mother. “Who…is…it?” She saw her react, pulling into that ball she would go into whenever she expected to get hit. Allison realized she hovered over her mom like Kurt used to, suddenly feeling like something inside her died. Something in her chest collapsed, the world around her seeming to dull into numbness.

  Allison fought against it and turned away from her mom in disgust. She had to get out of there. She couldn’t stand to look at this person anymore. How could she ever have shared genetics with this woman? She brushed past her grandmother and Leannette, who had come out of the kitchen.

  “Allison?”

  She didn’t look back as she slammed the front door closed.

  Wh
y did she even come home? Bobby had always been a nuisance. She didn’t really want to find him, did she? Yes, he was her brother, but the little bastard was just that. She couldn't think of a time they ever got along. Mikey had been the good one. The one she would have gone to the ends of the earth to try and find. So why had she come back?

  She could only think of one reason. David. She really wanted to see him again, not realizing how much she had missed him. Right now, she needed him.

  * * * *

  “When the darkness comes, how will ye find the light?” Pastor Amery said to the dark room. Then, with a twist, the light bulb illuminated, flooding the little pantry with light. He wobbled as he stood on the little stool.

  “There we go,” he said, slowly stepping down.

  “Oh, Pastor Amery, you should have asked me to change that. You don’t need to be climbing up on ladders. You're likely to hurt yourself.”

  He turned to see a younger woman in her mid-twenties standing just outside the door to the pantry. Olivia, a regular at his parish, had been walking by when she had seen him. She held a large sheet pan in her hands, the smell of freshly baked cookies wafting from it.

  “Everyone must face time in the dark; otherwise, they don’t appreciate the light when they find it,” he said, wiping his hands, which were now dusty from the bulb, on his pants. She gave him a distasteful look, but knew she wasn't going to say anything about it. He nodded at the pan. “What are those for?”

  “I thought I would cook up something nice for the bible study tonight. That way, we’ll have something more than just those little finger sandwiches Linda always makes.”

  “Ahh… Well, they smell good. Did you make plenty? I’m expecting a big group tonight.”

  “Really? I’d think people would be out searching.”

  “Heathens. No. I think that when people realize those boys were evil devil spawns, taken by their lost nature, they will turn to the one true God and come to study in his words.”

  “Shouldn’t everyone be able to find God?”

  “Some will never find the light, no matter how much they are shown.”

  They entered the little kitchenette. Olivia quickly made her way around, pulling out a platter for the cookies.

  “Why didn’t you put them on a platter at home?”

  “They needed to cool, and I wanted to join in the search.”

  The pastor shook his head. “Olive, don’t search out evil. Evil tries hard enough to get into our souls. We don’t need to seek it out.”

  She continued putting the cookies on the platter. Her light fingers moved quickly, the cookies peeling from the pan. Olivia made sure all of them were in a neat, circular pattern before looking up at him.

  “Pastor, he’s just a boy. Then there’s the police chief. They are people.”

  “Sin to sin. One is just a person. Everyone is a vessel for the soul.”

  “I understand. I’m sorry, but Robert is a friend of my daughter’s. I can’t just not look for him.”

  “I will pray that the darkness does not touch you.”

  She reached out and put her hand on his arm. “Thank you.”

  Giving her a weak smile, the pastor put his hand over hers, then brought it to his lips for a brief kiss.

  “I will pray.”

  * * * *

  John watched Olivia walk out the back door and into the afternoon sun. She was a good woman, and he always liked to watch the round shape of her tight ass, especially when she came to the church dressed in tight spandex right after her afternoon jog. It was hard not to admire what a form of beauty she was.

  He bit down on one of the cookies, grimacing. As good as she looked, she was never going to win any baking awards. It was probably another one of those vegan recipes. No meat, no dairy. How could anyone ever live off such a diet?

  Turning away, he reached to close the pantry door, stopping. The light was out again? He’d just changed it. How was it already burnt out?

  He stepped into the darkness. Suddenly, it was all around him. Even the daylight outside had disappeared. Everything was just black…

  He saw a shape in the darkness. It was faint, looking farther away than where he knew the wall was. He could see it, but couldn’t quite make it out.

  Then he was gone, the pantry empty, the light overhead pushing back the shadows.

  Part II

  The creature’s sleep was interrupted. It had no knowledge of how long it had slumbered. It was well beneath the earth, civilization growing while it slept. Time had passed and it had not been a part of it. What had happened while it was dormant? Had the darkness returned? Was it able to be a part of it again?

  It didn't know. It was barely awake, not fully extending beyond its tiny cave. It wanted to stretch out and see what was above, but it could wait until later. The creature was still tired. It wasn't ready to leave its isolation. Maybe it would just fade back to sleep.

  It had only been awake for a few moments, like that brief moment in the middle of the night. You wake, get up, and dress, but then realize it is the middle of the night and your bed just looks too comfortable to leave. You nestle back in and, within seconds, fall back to sleep.

  The creature would have returned to its hibernation, but it realized it was not alone. There was something else down there, calling out, crying. The creature moved toward the voice. It had to burrow through dirt that had long since collapsed on the entrance. As it did, the voice continued.

  The creature had not heard a voice before. It had never met any of the things living in the light. It was not of the light and shied away from these things.

  He came to where he found the little creature. It was pale and lying in the dirt. It wore torn rags, a red substance flowing from it and into the dirt. When the creature smelled this, he felt a hunger he had not felt since before...

  The creature wanted to sleep, but found it needed sustenance to do so. It was so hungry, it doubted this little thing would be enough. Maybe if he devoured slowly, taking more of it to be a part of itself, it could stave off the hunger while it drifted off again.

  It pulled itself to the thing, surrounding it. As the creature did, it heard a sobbing noise, a word the thing cried out. It did not know the meaning yet, but understood it was a word. As the darkness folded around it, the thing cried out, "Mommy!"

  CHAPTER 9

  An hour of sleep was all he got before he had to go out on another call. Maybe that was why the chief disappeared. He knew today would be the day from hell. The old man had decided he was done dealing with all this crap.

  Knowing he shouldn’t think that, Rob grimaced as he climbed out of the squad car. He hadn’t taken the time to get into uniform. At least the county had done what they’d promised and parked the squad car in his driveway when they were done with it. He kind of wished they hadn’t. It was just another reminder that the man who had given him a chance here was nowhere to be found.

  The sun burned his eyes, but he didn’t feel it was bad enough to keep his glasses on. He placed them on the dash and looked at the flower shop on the corner, Flowery Dreams. He hadn’t been in there before because it was new to town, although he heard it was supposed to open soon. Since he had gotten the phone call saying there was some kind of disturbance, they must have finally opened.

  He walked in, a small bell over the door chiming. His first reaction was to wince, as every high-pitched sound felt like screaming banshees inside his head. He was sure while the bell alerted the owner, it was also there to give a feeling of nostalgia. He noticed it fit well with the shop. The owner made good use of the windows on both sides of the building, the sun seeming to dance in little mirrors placed throughout the store, making it feel bright while not overpowering the senses. Prisms mingled with the light, rainbows sparkling on the reflections and on little puffs of mist around some of the flowers.

  The air was sweet with the aroma of freshly cut blossoms. Was that jasmine? He wasn’t quite sure because there were other scents hanging in
the air, tickling his nose.

  He closed his eyes momentarily to bask in it. His head cleared of the grogginess he hadn’t even realized he had been carrying with him. His senses seemed to sharpen.

  “Hello. Can I help you?”

  He opened his eyes and looked at the woman behind the counter. She was tall and thin, her long black hair falling around her shoulders. She had full lips, small nose, and her bespectacled eyes were blue and cheerful. He felt like he could swim in those eyes for the rest of his life. All he wanted to do was stay lost in watching them.

  “Yes, I...” He couldn’t remember why he was there. “Yes. I got a call. Some kind of disturbance?” It felt as if he were stumbling over himself. He looked around, trying to find something out of place. The flower shop was picturesque in its pristine and calming façade.

  He looked at a deep blue flower in full bloom. The blue petals swayed, dancing on the breeze. He was lost in its intoxication.

  “Yes.” Her voice seemed to be barely above a whisper, but he could hear her as though she were speaking into his ear. He could almost feel her moist breath on his neck and her lips brushing his cheek as she continued. “Are you the police chief?”

  Rob felt himself shaken back to reality. He blinked and looked at the woman…who still stood behind the counter across the room.

  “No, I’m a deputy. The chief is unavailable.”

  She seemed perplexed by that, then nodded. “Okay. I want to file a complaint about that...that crazy person next door.”

  Rob hadn’t noticed her heavy European accent before. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, but guessed it to be either German or Polish.

  “What? Who?”

  Her hands on her hips, she pushed her chest out, which he noticed was pretty pronounced compared to her thin waist, stretching the fabric of her shirt. He caught himself and pulled his eyes back to hers. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw a faint smile on her face before it disappeared, her annoyed glare returning.