by Sam Williams
With that, the redheaded young man started to sprint away.
“Hey, what's your name by the way?” Dan asked, trying to be quiet but still be heard. The boy stopped before turning the corner.
“It's Josh, you're Dan right?”
“Yeah.”
“Nice to meet you Dan.” Josh walked around the corner and was gone.
Dan looked back up at the picture of Agnes and turned away. He started to have second thoughts. He went back to the table before he could talk himself out of the evening's adventure.
***
Sneaking out proved to be easier than he thought. His mom had complained of suddenly feeling ill when they got home. She took some night time cold medicine and was out before ten. On the bike ride to the library he didn't see one car. Dan had an odd feeling things were working out too well.
A cold breeze blew through the trees in front of the library. Dan looked up at the tower in the moonlight. The two sinister windows felt like Agnes's eyes looking down at him. The old place was uninviting in an almost literal sense. He hoped for a disembodied voice to tell him to leave as he ascended the steps, but none came.
His heart raced when a creak frightened him. It came from one of the large wooden and glass doors. The door opened before he made it close enough to knock. Josh poked his head out and whispered he was glad Dan made it.
The inside wasn't any more welcoming. The interior was beyond shadowy, becoming pitch black at the ends of the many halls that were within the boys view. Dan produced a small flash light from his pocket but Josh insisted he not use it until they were downstairs or else someone outside might see.
“We're going to the basement?” Dan asked hesitantly, not sure he wanted the answer.
“That's where she'll be. You're not going to chicken out, are ya?”
Dan wasn't going to go back after getting this far and told Josh to lead the way. Not far behind the librarian's desk was another staircase, this one leading down. In the passageway, Dan noticed an unpleasant smell. He recalled smelling it earlier and now decided it was coming from his new friend. It reminded him slightly of the dead cat he had once found in his back yard. Not wanting to hurt the guy’s feelings, he didn't say anything as they made their way down.
Josh opened a door at the bottom of the stairs. Dan was surprised to see a fluorescent light on. Hanging from the ceiling, it flickered and partially illuminated the room. Some boxes and a rusted cart lined the wall but other than that it was mostly empty. In the center of the room were two small circles drawn in white chalk on the concrete floor. Around the circles were black candles, their flames seemed to burn an odd blue.
“What are those for?”
“They are protection circles; as long as you stand in them she can't harm you when she comes.”
Dan wondered where his friend learned to make such things. He also started feeling quite a bit out of his league. Suddenly the room got very cold. Before he could comment about it, the door slammed shut behind them.
“Hurry Dan, get into the circle, she's coming.”
Dan didn't need any more encouragement. He stepped into one of the circles, which were just big enough for him to stand without touching a candle with his foot. He watched as Josh did the same. He found it odd that Josh was grinning almost ear to ear, but before he could think about it much the light went out. It was pitch black around him except for the candles, whose blue flames didn't seem to illuminate more than a foot in any direction.
Dan stood there in silence for a moment, then called Josh's name; a peculiar hush was the only reply. Then, after a moment of more silence, came a strange clacking sound. The sound got closer and louder. Every hair on Dan's body stood on end and a chill ran down his spine. Then the candle flames grew and a face came into view outside Dan's circle, it hovered a few inches from his face.
It was Agnes and she stared at him with the same black eyes from the picture. The clacking noise was coming from her teeth, which she bared while chattering them together. The way she looked and clicked her teeth gave her an inhuman and lifeless appearance, like a puppet.
Fearing breaking the circle, Dan pulled his arms against himself tighter. Not able to look at the horrible apparition anymore, he turned and looked towards Josh who was now illuminated by the ever growing flames that surrounded them. Josh's flesh was falling from his face and arms like melting wax, exposing something hideous underneath. As each bit of Josh's true flesh underneath was exposed, it turned to dust and floated up into the air. Dan then saw the same dust was falling on him inside the circle. It was causing his skin to burn and itch.
Dan let out a crying scream, “What is happening?”
A ghastly woman's voice replied from the darkness all around him, while the witch continued to chatter. “My familiar needs new flesh. We need your flesh Daniel.”
The flames were very high now. Dan tried to kick the candles but they didn't move. In desperation he turned and jumped through the flames. He found his way in the darkness beyond the light of the blue flames to the door. He struggled to get it open while the chattering got closer.
“Clack, Clack Clack”
It now sounded inches from his ear. Finally with a hard pull that left his arm sore; the door opened.
Tripping on the stairs, Dan remembered his flashlight and pulled it out. He didn't hear anything follow. On the top landing, he turned and shined the light down to make sure. Just a couple of steps down, was the top of Josh's half dissolved head. He was slowly but steadily making his way up without a sound. Dan bolted back out through the lobby and out the front door to the bushes where his bike was hidden.
Dan rode his bike home faster than he ever had before. He had to take a break on his porch so his heavy breathing wouldn't wake up his mom. After quietly scrubbing his skin in the kitchen sink, he peered out the front window. The street seemed dark and silent. In his bed, he lay thinking he would never sleep again. Dan fell sound asleep when the comforting rays of sunlight came through his window.
He woke moments later to pitch blackness and a horrible smell. Somewhere in the darkness, he heard a chatter.
Two Crows
Michael couldn't believe he was in his old neighborhood. He had spent most of his life putting distance between it and him. A task that wasn't always easy, money was sometimes tough, but it was guilt that proved to be the biggest barrier. Especially after his dad passed, not a day went by that he didn't get a call from his mom to remind him he was all she had left.
He strolled down the street looking at the crab grass growing between the uneven sections of sidewalk, occasionally looking up at the houses as he passed. Most gave the illusion of being unchanged by the diligent upkeep of their owners. A few weren't so loved and showed their true age impudently, and all seemed to stand ominously under the afternoon sky.
The field was three more houses down. He hoped to find a new development there, at least new to him. With every step it was clearer; things didn't seem to change much here. Once he was past the last house, he could see the field as he had seen it in his nightmares his entire life. It was a large dirt lot, big enough to build ten more houses. Why they hadn't was anyone's guess. It had been his playground up until that day. Many imaginary battles had been fought and bicycle race tracks engineered on its sage spotted surface.
He felt uneasiness, but it was endurable, until he saw them. Out in the middle of the field, perched on the leafless limbs of the only tree, were two crows. They sat there seemingly unaware of Michael. Just the sight of them was enough to bring back the horrid memory he had been hoping to denounce by coming here.
It was twenty eight years ago almost to the day, the summer after fifth grade. He and Cameron had come to the field to shoot cans with Cameron's new pellet gun. They had walked their bikes to the fence line behind the houses on the far side. Standing there they took turns calling out targets for the other to try to aim at. Cans, rocks and an old TV someone dumped. Then Michael pointed out the large black crow which had
just landed on the old tree.
Michael remembered Cameron asking for a new target. His own morbid curiosity got the better of him and Michael teased and prodded his friend. Just as Michael was about to give up and point out a new target, a loud pop echoed across the field and the bird fell to the dirt.
“You shot it.” Michael remembered saying in disbelief. Without a word both boys grabbed their bikes and headed towards the tree to inspect the kill. Their progress towards the tree slowed when another crow landed where the other had been perched. Then another and another, soon the entire tree fluttered with black plumage. As the tree filled so did the air with relentless squawks.
The boys decided to take a wide route around the tree and head back to their street. Once past the tree, a single crow took to the air towards them. Michael and Cameron jumped on their bikes, standing down hard to get traction in the soft dry earth. Michael pedaled with all he had, the street almost under his tire when he heard his friend screaming. Looking back he saw Cameron's bike lying in the dust and stumbling towards him was a huge black ball of flapping wings. He turned and road harder but the screaming behind him started to fade. Stopping, Michael turned and looked up to see a large orange sun and in front of it, being carried off into the sky by its outstretched arms, was a boy's corpse. The orange rays showed through the picked clean portions of the carcass.
No one ever believed Michael's version of what happed to Cameron and he spent a good portion of his youth in therapy trying to disbelieve it himself. Standing now in front of the field and the two birds, he wondered if they remembered that day as well.
Thinking of all the things he still needed to attend to for his mother, he turned to head back to the house. He got about three steps before hearing the ear piercing caws from just behind him.
Bad Drugs
Tony said things were about to get real fucked up. I wish I could have comprehended what he meant. I looked into Emily's eyes; her chemistry intake seemed to have already peeked for the night. I thought for a moment, wondering if she was still ok to ingest Tony's offerings. I felt guilty for a brief moment, then reminded myself I wasn't her father.
The hum of pure base saturated the walls of the VIP room. An excitement built in me. I loved the rave scene. I loved the crowds, the spectacle and the journey. The make shift lounge illuminated by bright florescent lights gave no hint, other than that low frequency thump, that madness ensued beyond the single door.
I sank into the couch feeling weighted like a sack of rocks. Tony stretched out an arm, holding his fist in front of my face, then he opened his hand with the flair of a vaudeville magician- displaying two tiny blue pills that seemed to glow like sapphires.
“What did you say it was called again?”
“The hit” Tony said.
“What's it called Tony?” I asked again, not satisfied.
“It just is man, its alpha and omega, you'll love it.”
Tony's smile was both disconcerting and reassuring in some odd way. I took one of the little pills from his palm. Without a second thought I put the flimsy plastic cup of beer to my lips and washed it down. Pushing my head back into a cushion I stared at the unnatural glow of the fluorescent lights. I expected a bit of wait before I felt anything, if I did at all.
Not more than a few seconds went by and I was thinking about plan B. Maybe a hit of E would keep the party going for me, but then…
Flickering, the light started flickering. A chubby but attractive woman who had been carrying on a conversation in the opposite corner walked over. She seemed concerned. The color of the room was off, an unnatural orange haze lingered. Putting a hand on my knee and bending over, the woman asked if I was ok.
I had noticed her before but something was different. I was put off by her concern. Last thing I needed was this chick sending me on a bad trip but then I realized what was wrong. Her eyes were white as milk, just soulless white sockets. Her mouth opened again, I thought she was going to ask if I was ok, but it kept opening. Seemingly unhinged, it gaped down to her ample chest. The bass from the music outside quit pulsing and became a solid hum. The room vibrated and a beam of darkness shot out of her mouth engulfing my face. All became black and quiet.
Suddenly, as if waking from a bad dream, the room became bright. I looked around. I was alone. I felt weak, but stood and rushed for the door. As I opened it a wave of warm moist air greeted me. Moments before, a thousand dancers had covered the arena floor, an ocean of black lit bodies undulating to the constant pulse of the DJ on stage. Now the floor was empty except for me. The bluish glow had been replaced by an orange hue. A revolting smell made it almost hard to breathe and there was a slurping sound.
Orange haze illuminated sections of the auditorium floor. The light source seemed to be from the exits and cascaded down from the walkways in the upper seating. It was just bright enough for me to see the floor was covered in gelatinous piles. The closest had an arch of bone protruding, like a spinal cord and it was moving. They all were. On closer inspection, I could see it wasn't the piles that were moving but little glistening slug-like creatures that infested them.
Jumping over a few piles, I made a run for the exit ramp. The corridor that wrapped around the first floor of the arena was pile and people free. But the orange glow was so strong it was disorienting and didn't seem to emanate from any source but hung in the air like an unholy fog. I ran to the closest emergency exit and pushed the bar to open it. For some reason I expected it to be barred but the door flew open. Beyond was an unfathomable blackness. Thinking it must be an illusion, I proceeded slowly but as I stepped past the doorway my right foot found no ground below it. I would have lost my balance and fallen into the abyss if I hadn't been holding the doorway with one hand.
Backing up, I turned and ran until I found a restroom. I told myself “You're tripping balls, just splash some water on your face and breathe.” Pushing open the rest room door, I walked in. The orange glow was absent. Instead, a normal dim fluorescent glow illuminated the institutional green walls. Before I made it around the privacy wall, a noise stopped me in my tracks. It sounded like something dragging itself towards me and it was breathing in a forced and inhuman manner. Fear built in me irrationally, every ounce of my being told me to get out of there and I listened.
I found myself in the corridor running again. Just before I thought I had circled the entire arena and was about to be back to where I started, I heard music. As I ran it got louder and then I saw an open glass door on the interior wall. I remember it was the bar I had seen earlier in the night, I stepped inside.
The interior was plush. There was a large intricately carved mahogany bar that stretched along one side of the room. Behind it was a beautiful tall bartender. She had white pixy hair and was dressed in just enough black latex to cover the fun bits. In the center of the room were two illuminated circular platforms each with a dancer so beautiful I truly comprehended the phrase breathtaking for the first time. They both wore what I thought were those cheesy angel wings which had become common sight at parties. But as I walked past towards the music I could see the wings were actually protruding from their skin.
Past the dancers was a black leather couch facing a wall of windows where the music was coming from. I stood in front of the windows and looked down at the party and saw it just as I had seen it before. There was the DJ spinning as lasers and the crowd bounced and rolled. But I knew I wasn't coming down. Looking at the couch, I saw a man sitting, watching the party.
“Come and sit Mike, I want to talk to you” the man said without looking at me.
Although I had never met him before I knew who he was when I heard his voice. He was shirtless, wearing black leather pants with shoulder length hair as black as a raven. When I sat, he leaned a little forward and I caught sight of a bloody wing stump.
“Mike, I have no shortage of appointments so we need to make this quick. I don't like wasting my time. What is it your heart wants?” He moved his glance from the window and looked at
me through sun glasses.
“I don't want anything from you.” I said, my voice cracking and weak.
“Well then I need something from you.”
“What?”
He held a hand out; it contained Tony's little pills.
“I need you to go back to the party and entice someone to willingly take these.”
It took a surprising amount of strength but I said “No, I can't.”
He lowered his sunglasses and glared at me with eyes black as the void I had seen earlier.
“Mike just because I don't have your soul doesn't mean I can't keep you here for a very long time.”
There was an incredible chill to his voice. I grabbed the pills almost without thinking and said “Ok.”
I awoke to familiar sounds. Tony was sitting in front of me. He was just withdrawing the hand with which he had offered me and Emily the pills. I could feel two pills in my own hand. I looked at Tony and said,
“You mother fuc…”
Tony shrugged, stood up, and left. Music filled the room while he opened and shut the door. The look of shame Tony had on his face replaced the anger I was feeling with a dire understanding. Looking over, I saw Emily was already up and talking to some new admirers. She was wearing a new outfit that was showing off an incredible body I would have remembered had it existed before.
What did you do? I thought as I shook my head. No sooner had I thought it and she flashed me an uncomfortable glance. It was very brief but her eyes seemed cold and almost threatening.
