by Mark Deloy
“The same ones?” he asked.
“Yes, or close enough. Mine were more like smears. I didn’t study them that closely. But that’s not the strange thing.”
I went on to tell him what happened in the woods. I told him about the house in the woods that kept disappearing and reappearing somewhere else. I told him about the black, wolf-like creature and the abnormally large creature I’d seen in the house and how I thought it was the same creature that had taken the kids. The same thing Connor saw and reported to us. I watched him to judge his reaction.
“Yes, I noticed you weren’t nearly as surprised as we were by little Connor’s story.”
“I wasn’t. I suspected the man-like creature in Connor’s drawing was who took them. Either him, the wolf, or the apelike thing I saw in the field on my first night.”
“So now what do we do?” he asked.
“I have no answers, other than we need to find that house. Those kids have to be inside. Or at least, I hope they are. I wanted to go out and look for myself, since no one else has seen it, except for me, but it’s been so crazy the last few days. I thought about going out last night after everyone left, but the thought of going out there in the dark…” I shuddered.
“I don’t blame you, but we have to tell Jensen.”
“No way,” I said. “He’d have me committed. I trust you, but you can’t tell him. I’m new here, basically an outsider. I’m sure people are already suspicious about me. Float a story about some mystery house and a tall, dark man-like creature, and everyone in town is going to think I had something to do with it and used some wacko story to cover it up.”
“You were in the tent when the kids were taken,” he stated.
“They’ll think I had accomplices. You know as well as I do, when something bad happens, people generally blame whoever is new in town.”
Jim hung his head.
“I’d like to continue living here,” I said.
“I know,” he said, looking back up. “What exactly are we dealing with?”
“I have no idea. Gramps never said anything about the house, or the strange animals around the farm, or the tall, dark creature. You’d have thought he’d given me a heads- up.”
“You think he knew?” Jim asked.
“If this was going on while he was here, he would have had to have known about it. He knew this farm like the back of his hand.”
“That’s true. Have you looked around the house? Maybe he left something like a note or a map in his personal possessions.”
“I haven’t found anything, but I haven’t had time to go through everything. Do you want to help me look?”
“Now that sounds like a good use of a rainy afternoon,” Jim said, getting up and stretching his back.
We turned the place upside down. We looked in drawers, bookcases, the big desk up in the upstairs office, but found nothing about any of the weirdness that had been going on. I did find three hundred dollars stashed in the desk, along with several silver dollars in a drawer. There was a map of the county slipped between the pages of one of the books in the bookcase, but it had no markings on it of the farm or anything else. Jim found a shoebox of photographs under my grandmother’s bed and handed them to me. I shuffled through them quickly and then set them aside. Most of them were black and white. It was strange in the age of digital photos and Instagram, how odd and old- fashioned real photographs felt in my hands.
When we finished looking through the house, we sat at the kitchen table and went through the photos Jim had found. There were several of my grandmother and even some of my father as a boy. There were even a few colored photos of me when I was a teenager that had to have been taken before we went out hunting one season. I was wearing an orange hat and vest and leaning on my granddad’s truck. I got to the bottom of the stack and saw the last few were photos of my grandfather, old Hickory himself standing with his rifle in hand, and a large buck near his feet. The photo was black and white and it looked like the light wasn’t very good when it was taken. The background was mostly dark, and then… I saw it, and chills broke out on my arms.
“Oh my God,” I exclaimed excitedly, and slid away from the table as if there was a snake on it, ready to strike. “That’s him! He’s right there!”
Jim picked up the picture, then held it close to his face.
“Do you see him?” I asked. “Tell me I’m not crazy, Jim. Tell me you see him, too.”
I was breathing hard and I could feel my own heartbeat in my temples.
“Yes, I see something, something near those trees. It’s hard to make out what it is.”
I took the photo back from him and looked at it again. Behind my grandfather, between two trees was what looked at first, like a tall man-like shadow. The eye didn’t automatically decipher it as a man. One, because he was too tall, eleven feet, at least. Secondly, the creature standing between the two trees in the background of a picture taken nearly fifty years ago, plus it had no face. I could make out the head, but the face, itself, was completely blank—just as I’d remembered it from my encounter. I took a deep calming breath.
“I know it doesn’t look like a man, but look closer. That’s what I saw in that house,” I said desperately. “Whatever it is. That’s what took those kids. There it is.”
I knew I was instantly making out what was in the picture because I already knew what it looked like.
Jim looked at the picture again. He was silent for a long time. I let it play out, let him really study the picture. Finally, he spoke.
“Whatever that is,” he began, “isn’t human. It can’t be. My first instinct says it’s some kind of demon. God’s Word talks about demons, so I can’t deny their existence. It would make perfect sense based on the symbols that were in the tent. Nature demons, the gods of old. People called them ‘elementals’.
“So what do we do?” I asked, half way expecting him to have a complicated demon- fighting plan.”
“Pray,” he said.
21
After Jim left, I fed Girl and picked at some leftover lasagna. I wasn’t hungry and didn’t want to look at the picture anymore, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted a pill more than anything… for comfort more than for pain.
Before he left, Jim promised to do some research and call a couple friends, in an effort to learn as much as he could about demons. I, for one, wasn’t convinced we were facing a demon. What would a demon want with three kids? And why would a demon have a house in the middle of the Tennessee woods? I had no idea what or who the tall, slender being was, or why it was here.
I tried to watch some television, but the news was on, and it was mostly about the three kids. I turned it off and sat in the dark, thinking.
Did my grandparents know about the house? If not, was I the only one who could see it? Then why didn’t I see it when I was a kid, out hunting?
That last one I could actually answer. I thought before that we had never gone past the waterfall when hunting or exploring, and now I was sure we hadn’t. Now I remembered granddad Hickory had told us not to go past the waterfall. I could remember him telling me it wasn’t safe. Could that mean he knew? Had he seen the house and knew I’d be able to see it as well? And what was the house? Was it real, of wood and stone? I had too many questions without answers. I realized my eyes were getting heavy, even though it was only seven o’clock. I yawned and twisted to crack my back.
“You ready for bed?” I asked Girl. She just turned her head slightly as if trying to understand what I was saying.
She followed me up the stairs and lay in her usual spot. I took that as, yes, she was ready for bed as well. I brushed my teeth and grabbed a quick shower. The hot water both woke me up a little and relaxed my tense back muscles. I dried off and went to bed. I was asleep almost immediately.
22
I had a dream I was on fire. I was walking through the woods and saw the disappearing mystery- house. As soon as I spotted it through the trees, I burst into flames. I started screamin
g and ran toward the house instead of away from it. It wasn’t a very long dream because before I could reach the house—but not before I saw the tall man in an upstairs window looking at me—I woke up.
I sat up in bed and actually thought I was on fire for real, either that, or the house was. I patted my chest and shoulders. I could actually feel heat coming off me. I still smelled smoke. It was acrid and my throat burned. I quickly got up and stumbled as I got out of bed. Girl was already on her feet and started barking.
“I know,” I said, then picked myself up and grabbed her by her collar, ready to evacuate. As I rounded the stair landing and started down the stairs to the living room, I realized it wasn’t my house that was on fire, but whatever it was, was close by. The room glowed and I could see sparks falling just outside the window.
“The church!” I exclaimed and rushed outside. Jim’s church was on fire. I could see it through the trees… the whole structure was ablaze. I grabbed the phone and rushed out onto the front porch, dialing 911 and hurriedly reported the fire, between coughs. The smoke was thicker out here and I could barely breathe. There was also a rich turpentine smell I realized must be coming from the burning of the pine trees, which surrounded the church. .
The fire snapped and popped. It roared like a tornado and the sky was glowing orange overhead. I suddenly realized the fire could easily spread to the woods and then to my own house. I walked to the edge of the driveway and looked up the road towards the church, willing the fire engines to appear.
There was something in the road right in front of the church driveway, and at first I had no idea what it could be. My mind simply wouldn’t accept what I was seeing.
Standing in the road, their faces glowing as fiercely as the sky, were three children. They were holding hands and I could have sworn they were smiling. It had to be the three missing kids. I ran up the road, choking on smoke and rubbing my burning eyes. I stopped when I was within twenty feet of them. How could they be just standing there? They must be in shock. The heat was intense and the smoke was even worse. It was like standing a foot away from a bonfire. I thought my skin was going to melt right off my bones.
I managed to reach the kids by holding an arm in front of my face. I grabbed them with an outstretched hand and half-carried, half pushed them toward my house. Their faces and clothes were covered in soot and their eyes were red and watering, but they made no move to rub them. In fact, they showed no discomfort at all. I silently thanked God when the heat began to dissipate the farther we moved away. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed flashing red and blue lights approaching.
The fire engine pulled up behind me and suddenly I didn’t care about the burning church. I waved my arms, trying to get their attention. I wanted to get the kids to the hospital. Surely their faces and bare arms and legs would have to have been burned. They also probably had inhaled much more smoke than I had. I turned my head to the side and spit into the dirt, trying not to throw up. I can’t remember ever having been that thirsty. My lungs ached and felt like they were filled with smoldering cotton. I started coughing, and then couldn’t stop. My head was buzzing and I finally threw up with my hands on my knees bent over and struggling not to pass out.
The fire truck parked, and three men got out and ran over to us.
“Where were those kids?” one of them asked me. “Why are they out here?”
“They’re the three missing kids. They were close to the fire. So was I, but I’m okay, check them.” I looked over at the kids. Their faces were expressionless now and they said nothing. Their eyes and noses were still watering like mine, but other than that, they didn’t seem to be bothered by the smoke. None of them were even coughing.
Another fireman wrapped blankets around the children and then around me. I had no idea why they did this. I don’t think I had ever been hotter in my life. I wanted to jump in the nearest body of water. I felt like I had the worst sunburn of my life. Even my hair felt hot.
“Are they alright?” I asked the fireman attending to the kids. He had them sitting on the gravel road and he was checking their eyes with a small flashlight.
“The EMTs will be here in a minute. They weren’t far behind us,” he replied, which really wasn’t much of an answer.
As if on cue, white and red lights flashed onto the scene as the ambulance came around the corner. The first fireman waved them to us. Behind the ambulance was a sheriff’s car. It was Jensen. I could see his face in profile as he went past the church and turned to look at the inferno. He pulled up and got out.
“What happened? Where did they come from?” he asked, gesturing to the three children who were now being examined by the EMTs.
“Have no idea,” I said, stopping to cough violently, again trying not to throw up. “I woke up when I smelled smoke. I ran out here and there they were, standing in front of the church staring at it.”
“We need to move them,” one of the EMTs said to Jensen. “They inhaled a lot of smoke.”
“Go! Go!” he urged, then got on his shoulder mic. “Brady, send a unit to each of the missing kids’ parent’s houses. Have them picked up and brought to the hospital. Have the officers tell them their kids are there and they are okay.”
“What? Really?” came the response from Jensen’s mic.
“Yes. Now, please!”
“Right away, sir”
“Are you alright, Hick?” Jensen asked, turning back to me. I was touched that with everything else going on, he asked about me.
“Yes, I think so,” I said. “I breathed some smoke, but I think I’m fine. Those kids were just standing there, as if they were hypnotized. Like freaking moths. Did they get burned?”
“It doesn’t look like it. Why were they standing there? Did they just come out of the woods?”
“I have no idea. When I came out of the house, they were just there. Is Jim on his way? Jesus, he’ll be heartbroken about his church.”
“Yes, I called him as soon as I heard. He should be here any minute. He’ll be happy the kids are back, but he’ll be upset for sure about the church. But, it’s just a building… it can be rebuilt.”
“That’s true,” I agreed, looking back at the burning church. The roof and steeple collapsed, sending another flurry of sparks into the air. They danced there like fireflies against the dark sky.
“Did you see anyone else?” Jensen asked.
“No, no one. Just the kids, but I wasn’t looking once I saw the kids.”
That got me wondering if I had looked closer and looked for it would the tall creature have been skulking in the woods, watching the fire as well? I thought so. The feeling of being watched was on me again.
I saw Jim pull up beside the fire truck, which now blocked the driveway to the church. They had hooked a hose to the one fireplug nearby and were now dousing the remains of the church with water. The fire was now mostly out. Only one wall still stood and I could see the one remaining stained glass window covered with soot and half broken. Steam and leftover smoke rose from the remains. Jensen waved him over, but Jim either ignored him, or didn’t see him. Instead, he walked slowly past the fire truck and stood almost exactly where the kids had been, and stared in much the same way they had at his ruined church—minus the smile. We walked over to him. The fire was less intense now and we were able to approach him easily. One of the firemen tried to get us to go back behind the truck, but Jensen waved him off.
“It’s okay,” he said. “We’ll go get him.”
“Jim,” Jensen said. “Are you alright?”
Jim didn’t look at us. There were tears in his eyes and I couldn’t tell whether it was because of the smoke, or his loss, but I thought it most likely was the latter.
“The kids came back,” Jensen said. That broke Jim’s hypnosis. He finally looked at us.
“Really?” he asked. “Where did they come from?”
“I don’t know,” I said again. “They were standing in front of the church when I came out of my house. They were wat
ching the fire.”
Jim bowed his head, then said very softly, “Thank God.”
“They’re on the way to the hospital,” Jensen told him. “I sent patrol cars out to pick their parents up and take them there.”
“We should go, too,” Jim said.
“Mind if I ride with you?” I looked at Jim.
He shook his head. “I don’t mind at all.” He seemed like he was struggling to wake from this nightmare.
“Are you okay to drive? Maybe you’d better drive,” Jensen said to me, without waiting for Jim’s response.
Jim handed his keys over without a word. We followed Jensen to the hospital, and when we arrived, noticed there were several patrol cars parked out front. I couldn’t begin to imagine the relief the parents must be feeling at the moment.
We went inside and didn’t need to ask where the kids were. There were reporters and police at the other end of the hall, as well as several people who must have been family members.
“How are they, Frank?” Jensen asked one of the officers as we approached.
“The doc says they seem fine,” the tall officer replied. “They got a little smoke in their lungs, but other than that, they don’t have a mark on them.”
“That’s good,” Jensen remarked in relief.
“But there’s another thing,” Frank continued. “They aren’t talking. They didn’t even react when we arrived with their parents and brought them into the examining room. They just sat there staring as if they were in a trance or something.”
“They’ve been through a lot, probably,” Jensen surmised. “They’ll come around.”
Officer Frank nodded agreeably.
Reporters were talking to one of the EMTs. I saw they were from Channel 4 news, out of Nashville, and I wondered who had tipped them off so quickly. I wondered if Lisa would get word soon and show up.
The doctor, who identified himself as Dr. Parks, came out a few minutes later and gave the reporters a statement, and then waved Jensen over and spoke with him briefly. After few minutes, Jensen came back over to us.
