The Pit in the Woods: A Mercy Falls Mythos

by Nathaniel Reed

  The dam? Blake thought. Did it break? No, of course not. It was the river all right, but this was where the caverns ended. The end of the line backed into the river bed. Those still alive were dragged along by the current, along with the dead and injured. The surging water rushed over them, pulling everyone out of the room where it wanted, both vampire and human alike.

  Already up to their necks in water, it spread throughout the cave system, forming its own new canals.

  “Blake, look!” Staci cried. He did. “Running water,” she smiled.

  Yes, and he saw the effect it had on the vampires. They were flailing about, panicking. No idea what to do, as if nature itself, and their instinct for survival had fled. As if they’d forgotten how to swim.

  “Running water,” Blake agreed, “They can’t swim. They’re deathly afraid of it.” Blake was treading cautiously along a cavern wall, and saw three vampires flailing helplessly toward him. Splatterer, probably wrecked now, he grabbed for several vials of holy water and smashed them against the rock, just above the water line. The holy water spread out, mixing with the river water, and Blake watched the flesh of the three vampires dissolve and peel off of them like snake skin, leaving only the bones. They shrieked until they had no tongues to make audible sounds.

  Tony saw something in the water; something glinting that grabbed his attention. He swam closer, even as the current tried to drag him in the opposite direction, and saw what it was. A large metal loop on which hung a row of-

  “Keys!” Tony cried out triumphantly. He snatched them up in one large fist.

  “Nice going!” Jeremy said.

  “I think the water is going to take us back where we started,” Myron thought.

  “Dear God, I hope so,” Blake replied. “I’m so tired of walking.” They laughed, nearly oblivious of the vampires floating around them, at least until one of them hopped on Johnny’s back. It was a blonde girl, with apparently some fight still left in her.

  “Fuckers!” she was screaming as she pounded Johnny’s shoulders and head, “You ruined everything!” She was amazingly spry for someone who looked half stoned. Johnny turned, and punched the vampire that called herself Misty square in the face. Blood flew from her mouth and nostrils as she sank back, for a moment floating on her back, then going under.

  “I say we get out of here as quickly as we can,” Johnny said. The others agreed. They swam with the current, possibly toward an exit, potentially toward freedom.

  17

  Each room they left behind filled to capacity, the hastening flow pushing them onward. The six of them realized if they were pushed toward a room with no exit they would be drowned. Blake tried to direct them through what corridors he remembered, backtracking in his head the way they’d come in. The red LED lights around their necks formed an eerie pulsating glow under the water. But when the water put out the torches in the rooms they entered the LEDs served as their only source of light to guide them. Eventually they were close to where they’d started, at least at the lower levels. The ascent was another story.

  They reached the prison room which was already halfway filled with panicky inmates.

  Upon seeing their approach the prisoners rejoiced. One woman shouted gleefully, and the teenage boy Paul Schroeder, that Blake had spoken with earlier shouted, “Here, help us!” This was before they were even sure that they would be able, before they even caught glimpse of the keys. The girl who was perhaps nine or ten squealed, “They’ve got the keys!” as Tony held them up above the water.

  “We’re coming!” Tony said. He swam up to the cage. There

  were at least a dozen keys, but after the third try he found the right

  one. The key turned and the gate creaked open. The water was up to their chests and climbing fast.

  “Thank the Lord!” a middle aged man exclaimed.

  “Thank you all!” another woman sighed with relief.

  “Thank us later,” Blake said, “We’ve got to get you out of here!” If Blake remembered correctly there were about five or six rooms left before they reached the ladder rungs that had led them down here from the descending tunnels. Climbing down had been difficult enough, but climbing back up, especially in their condition, would be torturous.

  They swam with about twenty percent effort, letting the current push them the other eighty percent of the way. The six of them linked hands with the dozen or so freed prisoners, making sure that no one got separated. From here it was easy navigating. They reached the metal rungs in the wall in no time, but even as they started to climb the water was up to their necks again, rushing in fast. They let the shortest and the youngest, the little girl go first, then Staci and the rest of the women. Paul and Myron followed, then the other four of the group with the male prisoners. It was Blake’s idea to let the women go first from youngest to oldest, and then the men, not particularly by age but by chance of survival; although he never would have said as much.

  The last of them, a man approximately forty-nine or fifty years of age barely made it as the water rushed over his head. He grabbed blindly for the first rung and managed to pull himself out, coughing up water. He was assisted by the prisoner above him, a slightly overweight thirty-something, who grabbed his forearm and helped pull him up. The torches went out and the lights dimmed as they climbed the metal rungs. The water appeared to follow them up; filling the narrow corridor they were climbing like the bottom of a test tube. Eventually it seemed to level off and it was no longer rising with them, but diminishing in their sight, into the black beneath their glowing lights.

  18

  Exhaustion threatened to take them. The upward inclines being the worst. The prisoners were faring better. They looked forward to the mobility, even if it was through constricting tunnels, because they knew it meant freedom. When they reached the final tunnel, leading toward the grate they’d entered through, they saw that it was mostly filled with water.

  “The rain,” Blake said, “Must be flooding.”

  “Flooding above and flooding below,” Johnny said. “Wonderful.”

  They pushed through, doing a swim/crawl through the last of tunnel, their faces bobbing in and out of the water with little more than an inch to spare between the top of the water and the top of the tube. Many of them struck their heads on the ceiling several times.

  “I see the opening!” the little girl said, “It’s a grate!”

  “Can you push it out honey?” Blake called from further behind.

  The girl tried. She made a few strained grunts, then shook her head, “No.”

  Staci, who was behind her, scooted her aside in the little space they had. “Let me try sweetie.” When pushing with both hands didn’t work, Staci strained her body completely around, forcing the little girl to move behind her, and she kicked out with her feet. She bent at the knees, kicking out with all her might, which was hard to do under the water, her feet firmly planted on the grate. On the third try it gave. What would have normally been a dull clatter onto dirt and grass below became a big sploosh. The water on the ground was almost level with the opening; just under it. They would later find out that there were four feet of water on the ground. The river had overflowed and the water levels were at least two feet in most parts of town, but here, in the woods, and other parts of Mercy Falls where the land dipped, it was worse. They jumped out of the opening, wading through the water, one by one. At least the rain had finally

  stopped, they could be thankful for that. It was dark out, a few stars

  and a partial moon lighting most of the way. In this instance the lights they wore actually helped. The little girl fanned out her arms and paddled, keeping her head above water. The water stopped at Staci’s torso, and she put her arms under the girl to keep her from sinking. It reached just above the waistline on most of the men, and they walked through it easily, although slowly. Despite the resistance, the feel of the water after the arduous hike, was like a balm on their limbs.

  It was a little after nine p.m. It
wasn’t until early morning they were found, passed out, some on their feet, some floating on their backs, half in and half out of the water. A small fleet of canoes, searching for missing persons came upon them- A volunteer crew of two persons per vessel, in five wooden boats.

  It turned out there’d been exactly thirteen prisoners, plus the six of their rescuers. The canoes weren’t enough to hold all of them, so they called for reinforcements on their walkies. A small barge was sent with food, first aid kits, and medical supplies. Two doctors from the hospital were on board. Still unconscious, all nineteen of them were placed on stretchers, taken on board and bandaged up. There appeared to be no permanent damage, although the one named John Winter would be found to have a mild concussion. What they were doing there, they found a somewhat rational way to explain. The weapons they would find under the water once it dried and settled would be a little harder to explain. But for now they were on their way to Mercy General Hospital, where they would be treated to some of the finest care, and would soon be welcomed by concerned parents.

  19

  Who was Blake, and what had he been doing with these boys and this girl? And why were they wearing strands of garlic and belts with holy water, and crosses; not to mention the four grenades Blake still carried? (The stakes and other weapons would be found later). Those were some of the questions they were asked of by police while they lay in their hospital beds recouping.

  They were there to get Betty. That’s what they all said, nothing more. They were all in separate rooms and couldn’t corroborate each other’s stories, and they knew that was how the cops wanted it, so they said as little as possible. Blake added that they followed Betty into the tunnels, and that the kids had nothing to do with it. It had all been his idea. They kept silent on everything, except that they’d released the prisoners, there was no denying that, and that would end up working in their favor, especially when the families were reunited with their missing loved ones.

  None of the injuries were life threatening, and they would all be released in the morning. But no one was to leave town, pending an investigation. They couldn’t control what the prisoners might say, but telling the police they’d been vampire hunting wasn’t on the top of the list of believable stories.

  Of all of them Blake was the least injured. He knew he couldn’t answer their questions or stay around. Jeremy found the note tucked under his sheet when he awoke. It said:

  I have to disappear for a while. There are too many things I cannot explain away. You are all minors and have done nothing wrong. Tell them nothing. It was an honor working with you.

  Blake

  20

  Jeremy’s parents came to pick him up the next morning. They took the elevator down to the main floor lobby, and the rest of the group and their parents were milling about.

  “Mom, Dad, do you mind if I talk to my friends for a minute?” Jeremy asked.

  They looked anxious about this, as if they didn’t want to lose him again, not for a single second, but they conceded. Jeremy got the others to separate from their parents. They all hugged each other, much as their parents had done with them, happy to be together, happy to be alive.

  Jeremy showed them Blake’s note. They sighed when they read it. Poor Blake, if there was anyone they needed guidance from right now it was him, although they completely understood why he had to leave.

  “What do we do now?” Myron asked.

  “Nothing,” Jeremy replied, “Just like Blake said. The worst is over.” He couldn’t know how wrong he was.

  21

  While the rest of the town went on blithely ignorant of what was going on, the five of them were finally getting back to some semblance of a normal life, although the rash of disappearances and the odd things that had been going on left some in Mercy Falls a little uneasy. A few believed there was something supernatural or out of the ordinary happening, but no one had the words for it. But even that odd sense of unease too went away. The cops eventually stopped questioning, and so did their parents. That was good.

  They were back in school and happy. Even Johnny who ordinarily wouldn’t be study- focused was more than happy to hit the books. It was the normalcy of it. The one thing, the only thing they truly missed was Blake. They’d only known him a couple of days, but they’d been through hell together, and it was somehow incredibly unfair that he couldn’t be here with them. He’d been fighting the vampires so long before them that he should be sharing in their victory. But there was one thing that troubled them all, something which Jeremy voiced to Tony when he was dropping him off in front of his house.

  “Do you think they all drowned? The vampires, I mean. Do you think we got them all?”

  “I don’t know,” Tony said, parking and looking off into the

  distance through his windshield, “Haven’t thought of it much since that day.”

  “Yeah, don’t you think everything’s been too quiet? I mean, no more disappearances or anything,” Jeremy said.

  “Well, that’s a good thing right?”

  “Well, yeah, but what about The Others?”

  Tony shook his head. “Oh man, I hadn’t even thought of them. They’re not even part of the pit crew.”

  “Pit crew, that’s pretty good,” Jeremy smiled.

  Tony shot a wan smile back. “I wasn’t trying to make a joke. You’re right; we don’t know anything for sure. They were the ones who attacked at the Rock Spot and one of them killed Betty’s father, I know that much. They’re out there somewhere. Maybe they skipped town, once they got word,” he said hopefully.

  “Doesn’t sound like them,” Jeremy disagreed. “Not from what Blake’s told us. They could just be biding their time, waiting for the next big display.”

  “You sound a little like Myron.”

  “The kid is smart. And what if they decide to stage another large attack, and Blake’s not around to help,” Jeremy added.

  “We survived. We can handle ourselves.”

  “Only because we barricaded ourselves in the club.”

  “I don’t want to think about what could happen. I mean, we’re still here, we’re still alive.”

  A gear clicked in Jeremy’s head, “Which reminds me, there’s something I forgot that I need to do. Don’t drop me off yet. Can you leave me at Staci’s? I’ll walk home from there.”

  “Staci’s huh?” Tony said, raising an eyebrow, and giving him a knowing grin.

  “Don’t do that,” Jeremy said. “Can you just do it please?”

  “I can buddy, no problem.”

  When Jeremy exited Tony’s car and started to walk up Staci’s driveway Tony called back.

  “Hey Jeremy!” Tony said.

  Jeremy turned. “Yeah?”

  “Good luck.”

  Jeremy smiled. “Thanks.”

  PART II

  OTHER GOINGS ON

  CHAPTER TEN

  STACI IN STASIS

  (2014)

  1

  The lights were off and he lay in bed looking at the shadows of trees cast by the streetlamps outside, dancing across the ceiling. No matter how hard he tried Jeremy could not sleep. He didn’t know what time it was when he heard the knock at his door. He had actually started to swoon in and out of consciousness. It had to be after 2:00 because that was the last time he had looked at the alarm clock by his bedside. For a moment he wasn’t sure what he was hearing. He swayed from side to side, shaking off the grogginess, and raised his head to listen. The soft knock came again. He rose and walked to the door.

  “Who is it?” Jeremy Daniels whispered, afraid of the response.

  “It’s me, Tony,” said the voice from the other side of the door.

  Jeremy opened it, relieved, letting the light from the hallway pierce the dark room.

  “Tony, what is it?” he asked.

  “Couldn’t sleep. How about you?”

  Jeremy shook his head, “Nah. Come in.” He walked over to the bedside lamp and flicked it on. Tony walked over and sat in one o
f the chairs near the bed. Jeremy sat on the bed. There was a period of awkward silence. Then Tony said:

  “What are we going to do?”

  “I don’t know,” Jeremy admitted. “We nearly got ourselves killed the last time we were down there.”

  “Right, and we were saved by a flood that time. I don’t think we’ll get that lucky again.”

  “Maybe we’ll be better prepared. I’ve got a chest full of weapons in the closet.”

  “Yeah, what did Eve and Blake leave us?” Tony asked.

  “Don’t know. I’ve been too afraid to look,” Jeremy said.

  “Afraid, why?”

  “If I look inside, it’ll make it all real again. For now I’d like to believe I’m just here visiting old friends.”

  “Understood,” Tony said.

  “It was pretty damn heavy though, even between Eve and me, with her carrying most of the weight.”

  “Right, vampire strength. At least we’ve got a vampire on our side now.”

  “And now we have to do what Blake can’t anymore,” Jeremy said.

  “We have to do what we can,” Tony granted, “What’s happening here is wrong. Someone has to stop it.”

  “Yes, and what’s happening to Blake is wrong. If for nothing else we have to do it for him.”

  2

  Running, running… The boy was running, away from him. Johnny was chasing. He could see the back of the boy’s head, and feel his own heart thumping in his chest. And although Johnny knew what was going to happen next he was powerless to stop it, because this was a dream. The boy fell into the pit, suddenly sinking into leaves and brambles that covered the opening, the earth swallowing him.