by Nate Johnson
The Zork sprang to his feet like a bouncing ‘Jack in the Box’ and jumped to the stairs.
Cheevers stuck his head in the basement door at the top of the stairs.
“Guard him,” he said to the Zork then gently closed the door.
The beast looked back at the man in the chair then back to the door and seemed to shake with frustration. Nolan was overwhelmed with the beast’s sense of loss and worry. It was hungry and desperately needed to feed.
Nolan heard the front door open and quickly shifted to Marla’s point of view as she peaked around Washington’s shoulders.
An old man in a black tuxedo opened the door and looked at them quizzically.
“Yes?” he said in a soft British accent. A disappointed let down passed through her mind as the detective pulled out his badge and flashed it to the butler. He glanced back at Marla, who shook her head no.
“We would like to talk to the owner of the house,” Detective Washington said.
“I’m sorry, but Mr. Cheevers is not at home at the moment.”
“Can you tell me if a Mr. Nolan Reed is here? I have reason to believe that he is. That is his vehicle out on the road.”
“No, I can assure you that there is no one here but me,” The old butler said, looking at them as if they were wasting his time. He probably needs to get back to polishing the silver, Washington thought, or whatever it is that old butlers do.
The air seemed to go out of the group as they stood on the porch. The detective searched through his mind as he tried to figure out a way to get in. He knew in his soul that Nolan was inside but years of police procedures held him back.
Marla didn’t have any of those type concerns and did what came naturally. These people were holding the man she loved. She stepped out around the detective and tried to walk through the front door saying, “I know he’s here.”
The man put out and arm and attempted to close the door.
Nolan could see it all. They were going to get turned away. Without thinking, he yelled at the top of his lungs “MARLA!”
The beast immediately sprang from across the room to knock him across into the wall. The wooden chair splintering into a dozen pieces. The pulling and twisting had loosened things up.
Nolan hit the ground with a thump. His hands grasped a wooden chair leg. He needed a weapon desperately. He shifted it to put the heavy end out for a club, being careful not to stab himself with the pointy end.
As the beast approached, Nolan waited, his heart racing as he tried to ignore the yellow fangs. He waited, scanned, and timed it in his head, the beast jumped. Nolan swung the makeshift club around in a big circle, connecting with the beasts head, just below a scraggly ear.
The animal yelped and fell to the side, sliding across the concrete floor before jumping up and coming at him again.
Nolan backed up, keeping the club between him and the beast. Another wooden club. Just one time you’d think he’d get a sword or maybe a machine gun. He felt he was going to need it.
His heart raced, and all thoughts left his head, both his own and others. Total quiet descended as he focused on the monster in front of him. The beast started to circle, then crouched ready to pounce again. His big powerful hind legs gathered as he began to push off.
Nolan tensed and prepared to jump aside, praying those massive jaws would miss him.
Just as the beast left the ground a shot rang out, the loud concussion reverberating off the basement walls. Followed quickly by three more shots. He could see the impact as the bullets hit the animal in the side, pounding into him. Small showers of red/gray blood erupted from the wounds.
Detective Washington stood on the landing at the top of the stairs, crouching down in a policeman’s stance, with both hands holding his pistol in front of him. Looking down the barrel at the twitching creature on the floor.
Nolan looked from the detective to the animal and back again when a blur pushed to pass the detective and flew down the stairs.
“No Marla,” the detective said. His words having zero effect, Marla passed the monster without a glance and threw herself into Nolan’s arms.
“You’re alive,” she said in surprise as if she had really expected him to be otherwise configured.
He laughed and said, “Did you bring any blue Jell-O?” Hugging her back and looking at the two adults as they descended the stairs.
“Thank you,” he said to the detective.
“You read me!” Marla said, her eyes lighting up in joy.
“Of course, I read you, your thoughts are as clear and pure as a summer rain.”
Marla smiled and hugged his arm. It felt as if she would never let go and Nolan was perfectly okay with that.
“Where is Cheever’s,” Detective Washington asked.
Nolan closed his eyes and lowered his barriers. It was easy to pick up the alien’s thoughts. The strange vertical picture showed the upstairs bedroom. The man’s heart was racing, he’d lost contact with his pet. A thousand thoughts flew through his mind. He had to escape. The entire mission depended on upon him getting to the rendezvous. If necessary, he had alternate means of escape. They were far from here, but if necessary they would work.
“He’s upstairs,” Nolan said as he started to follow the others up the basement steps. “If he escapes we will never catch him,” he added.
The picture in his head of Cheever’s thoughts slowly started to change. The long vertical shifted to horizontal. The upstairs bedroom shifted to the site of the four of them on the stairs. A cold chill ran down Nolan’s spine.
Marla turned to look at him, her face turned to stone. Her eyes grew fourteen times bigger as she screamed.
Nolan spun just in time to see the beast rising from the floor. He felt the hunger inside the beast, the need to kill. His master had told him not to hurt the boy, but the boy must die, as must the others. It would rip the throat from each of them then begin to feed.
With two quick bounds, the beast crossed the basement and leaped towards them. Its fangs dripping, its eyes on fire. A monster, Nolan realized. A monster from the human species nightmares. He couldn’t believe the beast lived, his mind had trouble processing what he was seeing.
The bullets, he realized. Regular, normal lead bullets. They needed to be silver. Why hadn’t he realized? The myths, the stories, the only thing that could kill a werewolf were silver bullets. And this thing was as close to a werewolf as you could get.
Throwing an arm out, he pushed Marla aside, then shifted his wooden club to bring the pointy end to face the beast. The wooden chair leg looked puny and insignificant in his hands, but it was all he had. The thoughts running through the beasts mind were bone chilling and sickening. He would not allow that to happen to Marla. Nothing must be allowed to hurt Marla.
Realizing he had no choice, he screamed and jumped towards the beast. The beast roared and jumped towards him. They met with a mighty crash in mid-air. Two animals coming together, both determined to end the life of the other.
Using both hands, and all of his strength, Nolan thrust with his wooden stake.
The beast snarled and tried to bring its fangs in for the killing stroke.
The stake struck true, square in the beast’s chest, the animal screamed with pain and tried to rip at his arms with its fangs. Its breath was a sour, a rotten meat smell that reminded Nolan of a butcher’s garbage can in the summer. The kind of smell that could make a person lose their lunch.
Nolan shifted, and dodged while he twisted the wooden weapon in his hands. This must end, it must end now. A fierce determination flowed through him. His only focus, his only reason for being on this earth, was to kill this alien animal now and forever.
The beast let out another roar, its eyes searching his, unable to comprehend what was happening to it. Once again it had lost. Red blood soaked Nolan’s hands, he wondered if it would be enough.
At last, with a heavy gasp, the beast collapsed to the floor. The wooden chair leg sticking out of his chest.
>
Wiping the blood from his hands, Nolan watched the beast, waiting for him to move. Wooden stakes were for vampires, not werewolves, he reminded himself. Would this keep the animal down? Would this ever end?
A sickening doubt washed through him. He couldn’t risk it. The thing might very well jump up a minute from now and rip their hearts from their bodies. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the Manila rope used to bind his hands. Rushing over, he grabbed the rope from the floor and returned to the beast. Within seconds, all four legs were trussed up, and the snout wrapped tight.
He checked his work. Even if the beast came back to life, he wouldn’t be able to do anything. He was tied up tighter than a Christmas goose. Sighing to himself, Nolan turned, none of the other three had moved, they were looking at him as if he were an alien, an object of the unknown, an other being. He had seen that look in people’s eyes before. It was a look he hoped to never see again.
Swallowing hard, he said, “We need to hurry, Cheevers knows were coming.”
“Can he read our minds?” Mrs. Jackson asked.
Nolan shook his head, “No, he needed his pet. The Zork would read the minds, then Cheevers would read the animal.”
“So we can surprise him?” Washington said.
“He knows the beast is down. He knows I am free, and that you helped me escape. He is gathering things and planning to flee. We have to hurry.” With that, Nolan ran up the stairs and through the door. Leading the way to the third floor bedroom.
As he ran, he continued to scan Cheevers. The alien was lost without his pet, he felt blind, unable to make a decision. Should he leave or should he retrieve the beast? Should he kill the intruders or did he risk defeat by staying? He needed information, he needed his beast, for both the information and the protection.
Nolan’s hand grabbed the third floor newel post and swung around into the hall. Cheevers was in the end room, gathering equipment. Nolan could hear the others hurrying up behind him. He held out a hand to have them stop.
“The butler,” Nolan said. “He’s in the kitchen, he’s got a gun. He doesn’t know what the hell is going on, but he thinks he’s supposed to do something.”
Detective Washington glanced back down the stairs. A hesitant look crossed his face, a man trapped between a rock and a hard place. Taking a deep breath, he said, “You guys stay here.” Looking at Nolan, he stared seriously. “I mean it. Right here, I’ll be right back.”
No one said anything as the detective started back down the stairs.
Nolan waited until he was on the second floor before turning and starting for Cheevers.
“Nolan,” Marla hissed. “Detective Washington said to wait.”
“She’s right. You should stay here,” Mrs. Jackson added.
Nolan halted and turned. He had to win this argument. “Cheevers is leaving. If he gets away, we’ll never catch him.”
Cheevers’ nervous energy pumped through Nolan’s skull. The gray man was stuffing equipment into a black suitcase. Like he was planning to take an airplane to Florida for the weekend. He’d lost something and couldn’t find it. He searched the room looking for the analyzer, it held the data he needed. Behind it all, the thought blindness was driving the alien mad. His inability to know what was going on away from him was terrifying. They could be approaching, and he wouldn’t know.
“Escape, it was the only answer,” the alien thought. “It would mean leaving his pet, permanently, thought blindness until he could return home. But, he would be a hero, an asset, surely they would assign him another beast.” Looking at the window, he wondered if he could lower himself to the ground. If he could make the trees, they would never get to him. There were ways to make the rendezvous. There were those who could help.
“You guys stay here,” Nolan said. “He’s going to run. I can see what he is going to do, you guys will just get in my way.”
“No way,” Marla said as she began to climb the remaining stairs.
“Marla, he could use you. If he got ahold of you, he’d be able to control me. Please, please, I need you to stay here.
“Marla,” Mrs. Jackson said as she grabbed her daughter's shoulder. “He’s right. We will just get in his way.”
Marla looked as if her mother had just become a different person. Her eyebrows rising in shock.
“But …”
Nolan seized his opportunity. “I promise Marla, I’ll be right back. Please, stay here.”
She looked back up into his eyes. He could see her wrestling with the decision. His heart stopped as he waited. At last, she too nodded for him to go ahead. She mouthed the words “I love you.” Then stepped back on the stairs.
Nolan took a deep breath, this was between him and Cheevers now. A phantom pain on his back and legs reminded him of the metal whip and the glee in Cheever’s eyes. The alien had played with him like an evil psychopath playing with a lab rat.
It was time for revenge.
Chapter Fourteen
Nolan’s hand hovered over the doorknob as his heart pounded in his chest. This could go so wrong in so many ways. He flashed back to the last time he had entered this room. Cheevers had fooled him. He had projected false thoughts and tricked Nolan to believe he was harmless.
But he didn’t have the beast with him. The animal had been unable to read his thoughts, but he had known where he was. Been able to track him and knew when its mind was being read.
Surely, Cheevers couldn’t see him now. Didn’t know what waited for him.
Taking a deep breath and holding it, Nolan slowly opened the door.
Cheevers stood on the other side of the room, bent over a black bag. His thoughts had been true, not false projections.
A smell of dust, mold, and a hint of lilac water greeted him. Mrs. Simson used lilac water. Shaking his head, he brought himself back to focus on what lay before him.
The room looked like any other middle class bedroom. A dresser, a fluffy bed with a flower quilt. A bookshelf with knick knacks, a porcelain dog - a spaniel he thought. A small snow globe with the Eiffel Tower. For some reason, he was relatively sure that Mr. Cheevers had not gathered these things as he traveled the earth. They weren’t what he collected. No, he much preferred to gather freaks like himself.
Nolan released his breath, his heart felt as if it was going to pound its way out of his chest. He must not let this thing escape. If it did, it would return to its home planet and tell them that earth had something of immense value.
He, Nolan Reed, was the answer to their problems. Nothing would stop them returning to earth, maybe in force, to get what they needed.
He could well imagin that his own government would look at him the same way. The politicians and Generals using him as a secret weapon.
Shuddering, he stepped into the room. Cheevers spun. His gray face grimacing with surprise.
Nolan stood there and let the alien’s thoughts wash through him. Surprise, fear, desperation. And then, a fleeting hint of a weapon. The gray man tried desperately not to think about it, but he couldn’t hide the fact that a weapon lay hidden in the room.
It wasn’t his thoughts that gave him away though. It was his eyes. They kept darting to a box on the bookshelf. Judging, speed and distance.
Nolan didn’t wait for him to act. Instead, he jumped to the box before Cheevers could make up his mind.
A heavy weight crashed into his back as reached the hidden weapon. Cheevers had moved much faster than he thought he could. The Alien reached around him trying to grab the box from his hands
Nolan threw an elbow into what should have been the man’s solar plexus. It was like hitting a brick wall as a sharp pain ran up his funny bone. All he got for his troubles was a small umph, but still the alien slowed as he tried to grab the box.
Feeling desperation rush through him, Nolan fought with what to do next as he shifted to keep the box from its grasp. All the alien could think was that it must get to the box. With the weapon he could kill this boy, surely there must be
more like him. They would find them, take them, and he would be famous. But first, he must destroy this pest.
Nolan slammed his foot down onto the gray man’s instep, then followed that up immediately with another elbow to his stomach, and finished the move with a backwards head-butt. It was such a big head, how could he miss. He was a rewarded with a satisfying crunch of bone and cartilage as the alien’s nose erupted with blood.
Squiggling free, Nolan jumped to the side as the gray man backed away. His eyes reflected the shock running through his thoughts. It was impossible.
A deep, thick fear raced through the alien’s entire body. For the first time, the thought of possible failure threatened to take hold.
Nolan shifted, and the alien charged. But Nolan could see what he was going to do before he moved. The warning inside his mind was more than enough. Tossing the box away, he stepped to the side while holding out a leg. The alien tripped like a circus clown.
The man fell head long into the book shelf, knocking the porcelain dog to the carpet.
Smiling, Nolan waited for him to rise. This was fun, and he was going to enjoy it. He glanced over at the box he had tossed aside, the lid had fallen open, and a small florescent blue orb had fallen out to slowly roll across the threadbare carpet.
Nolan’s gut clenched in fear as he waited for an explosion. When nothing happened, he was able to relax slightly and shifted once again to face his nemesis.
The Gray man glanced at the door, and then the window, trying desperately to determine if he could make it before being caught.
Nolan laughed, his heart secretly rejoicing.
“Don’t even think about it,” he said with a smile.
Cheevers yelled, bent at the waist, and charged once again.
Nolan didn’t step aside this time. Instead, he swung, twisting his hips so he could put all of his power into the punch. His fist connected with Cheevers’ cheek with a solid thwack. The kind of satisfying sound that could make a man feel like life was worth living.
He had to give Cheevers credit, though. The man didn’t go all the way down. Instead, falling to one knee as he tried to gather himself. Nolan could see the fear filling his mind. Failure meant death. An animalistic desperation flooded his mind as he jumped off the floor and charged once more.
