The Pit in the Woods: A Mercy Falls Mythos

by Nathaniel Reed

  She shook him off. “I want to see my mama!”

  “We’re going to take care of her okay?” Staci said. “Johnny, go with Jeremy. Myron and I will watch over her until the ambulance arrives. Take Betty to the car and we’ll meet up with you, three blocks down, on Pine.”

  It was too late, despite Staci’s attempts to cover her up. Betty saw her mother. “Did I…?” And she understood. Myron was overwhelmed by the wave of grief and despair that washed over him.

  He felt her about to faint, and in the process almost fainted himself.

  She fell between Johnny and Jeremy’s arms like a marionette whose strings had just been cut.

  “Oh no!” Staci said. She looked to her side, saw Myron’s eyes roll up into his head. “Myron?”

  She shook him. Myron snapped awake.

  “God, don’t scare me like that,” she said.

  “I want to go with her,” Myron said.

  “Why?”

  “Because I know what she’s feeling. And I’ll know if she’s about to change back.”

  “All right, go!” Staci said.

  Tony rushed down the stairs to see them dragging Betty out the door.

  “What?” Tony asked, confused, “Is she all right?”

  “For now,” Staci said. “The mom’s not doing too good though. Shallow breathing. The father?” she asked.

  Tony shook his head. Staci sighed.

  “There was one of them up there,” Tony said. “One of the grey ones, like at the club.”

  “Are you…is it…?”

  “I’m fine,” Tony said. “It’s gone. It was…” he grimaced, “feasting on the father.” His ears perked up. “I hear sirens. They’ll be here any second now. You still think we should leave?”

  “No,” Staci said. “I want to stay with her mother. Tony, Myron, you should go. Take Betty to the car, we’ll stay here.”

  “But what are you going to tell them?”

  “I’ll tell them whoever it was that took Betty the first time must have broken in again, attacked the parents, and taken Betty.”

  “But why are you here?” Tony said.

  “Because, because we came back to check on her. We heard screams, so we let ourselves in. Now go!!” They left with Betty, not a minute too soon. The knock on the door was followed by a man’s voice shouting, “Hello, Paramedics!”

  "Yes,” Staci said. “We’re in here!”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  LEAVING HOME

  (2014)

  I

  1

  He’d gotten up to make coffee and he looked across the room at her as he brought back two full cups. Eve was watching him. Jeremy wasn’t sure if she wanted to have sex with him, or eat him. Perhaps it was a bit of both.

  “So you said you hadn’t killed anyone? Have you fed?”

  “You mean have I drunk human blood?” she said. “No.”

  “How have you survived?”

  “Pig’s blood.”

  Jeremy’s face wrinkled with disgust.

  “Yeah, I still haven’t gotten used to the taste. But it’s the only thing that seems to stop the hunger.”

  He handed Eve her cup of coffee. “So what does this do?” Jeremy enquired.

  “Not much. Tastes good. That’s about it. I learned quickly to stay away from anything not in liquid form; passes much more easily. Guess I should look at the bright side. I’ll never need to shit again.”

  It was a good thing Jeremy had just put down his coffee, because that really sent him over the edge. Amazing to think he was backing away from her in fear less than an hour ago.

  He noticed her in the mirror behind the sofa for the first time. “Wait a minute. You cast a reflection.”

  She looked back over her shoulder. “Yeah, I’ve been wondering about that myself. I guess it’s ’cause I’m a newbie. Not entirely evil. Good thing too, ’cause there’s mirrors all over the place at Sandy’s.”

  “Why’d you pick that place to work?” Even before the question was out he already knew.

  “The hours of course. Where else can I work at night and sleep all day? It’s perfect.”

  Eve smiled warmly. There was nothing menacing about her now.

  “Kind of different to you now that I’m not talking to you in your head?” she asked.

  Jeremy stared at her. “Did you just read my mind?”

  “No, I can’t read minds. I can send you thoughts, but I’ll only hear you if you send thoughts back. It was in your eyes.”

  Jeremy nodded. “How old are you, twenty-two, twenty-three?”

  “Twenty-three,” she said. “Good guess. I suppose I’ll be twenty-three forever now.”

  He wasn’t sure whether that comment required a smile or a frown.

  “How long?” Jeremy asked.

  “How long have I been a vampire?”

  “Yes.”

  “About three months.”

  “God, it must be killing you. The hunger, I mean.”

  “It gets easier. Sort of. The pig’s blood gets rid of the hunger pain, but the desire for human blood, warm blood, still pumping from the vein…”

  Jeremy was making faces.

  “Sorry,” she said. “I won’t bring that up again. Unfortunately, that’s not the only hunger. Sexual appetite is greatly increased. It might have something to do with the amount of raw energy coursing through the body. Does something to the libido.”

  Jeremy gulped.

  “Sorry, again. That’s why I was coming on so strong.”

  “Yeah, I figured. Of course, that also increases the desire for blood, being so close,” he remarked.

  “Oh yes! Absolutely! That’s another reason I took the job I

  did. Gives me the opportunity to be sexual without actually doing anything. It’s my safe sex, I guess. And I have all these people around me. I can’t do anything rash.”

  “Like bite someone.”

  “Yes, like that. Of course, I have to take care of myself afterwards.”

  Jeremy looked away, red-faced.

  “C’mon, some of your girlfriends have used vibrators, I’m sure.”

  “Thanks.”

  Eve smiled. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

  Satisfied that she was on the up and up, he said, “I haven’t had too many girlfriends.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “It’s all right.”

  “I could be with you tonight, if you’d like.”

  He didn’t know what to say, and wasn’t entirely sure if he was joking or being serious when he blurted, “Wouldn’t that require a mouth guard or something?” but she burst out laughing so hard he had to actually shush her, the way she’d done to him at the club, for fear of waking the neighbors.

  “Oh my God!” She was tearing up. “Oh wow! Jeremy, I haven’t laughed like that in a while. Thank you.”

  “Um, you’re welcome?”

  She looked at his face and snorted. The sound of it sent her into another wave. “Oh Jeremy, I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay.”

  She looked at him more seriously now. “I mean it Jeremy, really. And I swear I won’t bite,” she winked.

  “Unless I want you to?” Jeremy suggested.

  Eve held her mouth to restrain another burst. “Really Jeremy, you’re the most charming guy I’ve talked to in years. I don’t know what these women are thinking.”

  “Well, it’s not every day I get to talk to a sexy vampire.”

  “This is true. You really think I’m sexy?” she said coyly.

  “Very.”

  “Then why…?”

  He interrupted her. “As much as I’d like to, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  Jeremy saw a future as an even more sexually starved vampire.

  “Okay,” she said, “I understand.” She simulated writing with her hands, “Do you have pen and paper?”

  “Yes,” he said, “I’ll go get them.” He was looking at her unsure. He thought perhaps vampirism ma
de you slightly schizophrenic. She wrote down her number.

  “Call me Jeremy, please, whatever you decide. About going back, of course.”

  “I will. I’ll probably need a few days, at least, to locate and contact everyone.”

  “Yes, I know.” She walked up to him, and he began to back away, thinking she would kiss him, or try to seduce him again, but she pulled him to her and hugged him tightly. As they separated there was a great sadness in her eyes.

  “Take care Jeremy. You’re a great guy. I hope I’ll see you soon.”

  2

  The incessant braying of the phone forced Johnny to shake himself awake. He stretched his arm out toward it and mumbled into the mouthpiece.

  “Hello?”

  “Johnny, is that you?”

  He perked up a little. “Yeah, who’s this?”

  “Oh, thank God! You’re the first person I’ve been able to reach. John, its Jeremy.”

  He sat up now. “Jeremy, from high school?”

  “Yeah, that’s the one.”

  “Holy shit! Well, how’re you doing man?!”

  “All right I guess,” he said, avoiding the subject. “It was a bit of trouble tracking you down, but I had to get a hold of you.”

  “What’s this about? It’s not some cheesy high school reunion thing is it?”

  “Well, in a sense, yeah. Except it will just be the five of us.”

  “I hope you don’t mind me saying this bro, but you don’t sound so good,” Johnny said.

  “Yeah, I got a visit a few days ago by a lady.”

  “Yes, go on, I’m all ears.”

  Jeremy chuckled. “She’s a vampire.”

  “Oh.”

  “She was sent by Blake.”

  “Blake, no shit? She didn’t try to kill you?”

  “No, actually. She wanted me… um… us to help her. It’s started again Johnny. The missing children, the murders. We thought we were rid of them, but…”

  “We obviously didn’t get them all.”

  “Right,” Jeremy confirmed.

  “Crap, so she wants us to go back.”

  “Her and Blake.”

  “So why didn’t this start up right away. Why now?” Johnny said.

  “They bided their time, recouped forces, kept a low profile. For the most part; there was an incident in ’99 with the mayor and a town hall meeting… If they didn’t all get wiped out, most of them did.”

  “So we’re dealing with nearly three decades of vamp breeding?”

  “Yeah,” Jeremy agreed.

  “Lovely. Well, you can count me in. I’m up for staking a few of those bastards.”

  “I hope everyone else is as enthusiastic.”

  “Damn, Jeremy, I can’t believe it man. What are you doing with your life?” Johnny asked.

  “Selling used books.”

  “Sounds boring.”

  “It is. You?”

  “I kill and or beat the living crap out of people for money.”

  “You’re a hit man?!” Jeremy said, shocked.

  Johnny snorted. “Nope, bounty hunter.”

  “No way.”

  “Way.”

  “How’s that for a way of life?”

  “Not bad. It has its moments. Doesn’t pay as well as it should. Maybe I should be a hit man.”

  Silence on the other end.

  “I’m kidding man,” Johnny said. “Lighten up.”

  “Sorry, it’s been a really strange week. You don’t have anything lined up for a while, do you?”

  “Um, no calls as of yet. I’ll probably be getting a new a-hole to track down soon, but I can pass it off on someone else.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want you to miss an important job.”

  “Look, do you want me to go or not?”

  “Yes,” Jeremy said.

  “Because you wouldn’t be calling, asking me to go back to that suburban hell hole if it weren’t important, right?”

  “Yeah, I guess it’s definitely not LA.”

  “You could say that. Where you living at?”

  “I moved back to New York City.”

  “Good for you,” Johnny said.

  “Um, I have to let you go, and keep trying the others. I’ll let you know when we’re going to meet back at Mercy Falls.”

  “All right, I’ll stay put.”

  “It was really good talking to you again Johnny.”

  “You too bud. I’ll see you soon.”

  3

  “Hello?” she said again. She heard the caller clear his throat.

  “Oh, um, I’m sorry. It’s just your voice really took me back for a moment. Staci, this is Jeremy.”

  “Jeremy? Oh my God! How are you?”

  “I’m surviving. Listen, this is really hard to say, because I really do want to see you, but I really don’t want you to go where we’re going. I’m just keeping my end of the bargain and calling you.”

  “Going? What’s this about Jeremy? You call me out of the blue for the first time since high school…”

  “I know, I know. But it’s important. I got a message from Blake.” He opted to leave out the sexy vampire stripper this time.

  “Blake?”

  “Yeah. Apparently a few of the bad guys survived. And now we’ve got an epidemic.”

  “Jeremy, you’re not making sense. Bad guys? Wait, you don’t mean…?”

  “Yes Staci. The pit is full again.”

  And no mercy falls on this town tonight, she thought morbidly. The creepiness was back.

  4

  Myron listened to the message. At first there was nothing to listen to. Then the voice he’d heard before, ever so briefly, came through the speaker. That voice that had sounded so oddly familiar.

  “God, this is getting harder and harder. Myron, if you’re there pick up. This is Jeremy. Remember me?” He laughed insanely. Myron didn’t have to have him physically there to pick up on his state of mind.

  “Your friend,” Donna looked at him, “from high school?”

  Myron shushed her, looking at the answering machine in disbelief.

  “Hmm, guess you’re not home. Call me back when you get

  this. It’s important. My number is…”

  Myron took it down.

  “I look forward to hearing from you.”

  “I can’t believe this,” Myron said, sitting down on the sofa.

  “What is it?” Donna said.

  “I don’t know, but it didn’t sound good.”

  “That was your friend from high school, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes,” Myron said. One of the ones he’d mentioned many times to her, one of the ones who had gotten him through high school. There was also mention of a certain motorcycle gang, but somehow vampires didn’t come into play in his recounting of those days. He had wanted to marry her after all, and he did.

  “What are you going to do?” Donna said.

  “Call him back.”

  5

  Iris looked over at him, as he brought the receiver to his mouth. She didn’t look too happy. She pulled the sheets back and got out of bed.

  “Tony, oh man, I can’t believe it’s you! It is you, right? I mean, I don’t hear the accent, but…”

  “Um,” Tony said, confused. “Wait a minute, is this… Jeremy? Nah, it can’t be.”

  “It is Tony! It’s me! Who else would know about your accent?”

  “Holy crap man! What’s it been, twenty years?”

  “More like twenty-eight.”

  “I never thought I’d hear from you again.”

  “Me neither,” Jeremy said.

  Iris gave Tony a final evil eye and walked off to the kitchen. He didn’t care. This was Jeremy, fucking Jeremy!

  “What in the world have you been up to?” Tony asked.

  “Not a hell of a lot. You?”

  “Own my own business. Carpentry,” he said proudly.

  “That’s great Tony! I knew you could do it! Unfortunately, my friend, I didn’t ca
ll to catch up. There’ll be time for that later, but…”

  “Later? Whatya mean Jere?”

  There was a slight hint of the accent for a moment. Maybe it was the fear talking.

  “In Mercy Falls,” Jeremy said.

  6

  There was a knock at the door. Johnny wasn’t expecting anyone this afternoon. In fact, he was leaving for the airport in about an hour, now that Jeremy had called back with the plan. It was Irma and that redhead he saw on the street from his window the other day, the one with the hieroglyphs. She was wearing a red lace top today under her long black gown; the straps and the top of it poked out from underneath. Irma was in her full black regalia and her thick black frame glasses.

  “Irma, what’s up?”

  “Hey Johnny, this is my friend Rachel.”

  “Hello Rachel,” he bowed. “So to what do I owe this honor?”

  “Well,” Irma said, tilting her head to one side, “We were kinda hoping you could give us a ride. We’re supposed to catch this concert, and the guys bailed on us.” She looked uneasily at the suitcase on his bed.

  “Oh man, I’d love to, but I’m kind of headed off somewhere,” Johnny said.

  “For another assignment?” Irma said enthusiastically.

  He grinned. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

  “Cool,” Irma said. Her friend was apparently speechless, and emotionless.

  “So where’s your boyfriend?” he asked Rachel.

  “Out of town,” she said.

  “How far is this concert?” Johnny asked.

  “About twenty minutes,” Irma said hopefully. He noticed she bit her lip when she was nervous or anxious in any way. No new wardrobe was going to change that.

  “I guess I can do it. I just have to pack a few things. I can drop you off on the way to the airport.”

  “Oh,” Irma said, “Thank you so much! We really appreciate this!”

  “How’re you getting back?”

  “Our parents can pick us up. They’re still at work now. Or we can catch a cab.”

  “Okay.”

  “Thanks man,” Rachel said.

  Johnny smiled. If she were only a few years older, and a little more lively, hoo-boy!

  7

  “Staci, I have to know if you’re on board. If you want to back out I understand.”