by Joshua Grove
“Something is near,” Anish whispered. He closed his eyes. “It does not want us to be here.”
“I would think not,” Anna said. “A penchant for killing people does not exactly make for the best host.”
Anish ignored her. “Yes, it is close to us now.” He looked to Matthew. “Can you feel it?”
“Yeah, it’s oppressive,” he agreed.
Holy crap, I can feel it, Anna thought to herself. There was a slight tightness in her chest that made it more difficult to breathe. Anxiety swelled in her stomach as she wondered what kind of creature might be hunting them.
“Screw this shit,” Jake howled. He pushed past them with his flashlight and sprinted out of sight.
Another breeze blew through the tunnel, this one more forceful than the first.
“We need to get moving,” Anna said. They picked up their pace and, after a few minutes, arrived at the opening where Matthew and Amy had found Michael. Jake was standing at the entrance.
“About time,” he mumbled.
“This is it,” Matthew said, ignoring Jake. “We didn’t get a good look around inside. We were more concerned with getting Michael out of there alive.”
As they illuminated every corner of the damp, underground area, they saw several sets of chains tied to a large wooden beam above their heads. The ground had several dried pools of blood, as well as toenails that had been ripped from someone’s feet.
“This was where Michael was being held,” Matthew said.
“And by the looks of it, a few other people as well,” Anna added.
“Check this out,” Sam called. As more lights shined in his direction, Anna noticed that a small corner of the room had been sectioned off from the rest. Black fabric hung on the dirt walls, along with a bear rug beneath their feet. A massive ebony hutch, boasting many books, knives, and other cultic paraphernalia, sat against the wall where Sam was standing.
“Wow,” Matthew said when he poked his head around the corner.
Anna wasn’t sure what to make of the scene in front of her. She knew in front of the hutch was some kind of altar. That was obvious since there were ceremonial bowls, plates, candles, knives, and strange cards. Well, the whole damn thing seemed strange. Anna wondered what kinds of things Alan must have been doing under his house.
“Can you make heads or tails of anything?” Anna asked as Matthew and Anish scoured through the many items lying around. Anna noticed there were a few books, all of them looking ancient, their pages fragile. A large book stood at what seemed like the center of the altar. Anish walked up to it and thumbed through a few pages.
“Is that what I think it is?” Matthew asked.
“It is a grimoire.” Anish looked at everyone, most of whom Anna assumed didn’t know what the hell a grimoire was. She had heard of it, but couldn’t remember exactly what it was.
“And that would be?” Anna asked.
“A textbook of magic,” Matthew said with an edge of excitement in his voice.
Anish nodded at him with a knowing expression. “What I see here are incantations for summoning, invoking, and subduing certain spiritual entities.”
“Certain spiritual entities?” Anna repeated, shrugging.
“In a word, demons,” Anish answered simply.
“Demons?” Amy repeated. “I took him communion every week. I never would have taken him for a Satanist.”
Anish disagreed. “I would not take him for a Satanist, Amy. At least not the Satanism as portrayed in Judeo-Christian traditions.”
“Okay, so what exactly is written there, Anish?” Anna asked.
“Well, there are a few books of interest,” he said as he picked up the one sitting to the right of the large book in the center. “This is a book about demons.”
“Okay, so why is that important?” Ann asked.
“It is not your typical book on demonology,” Matthew said after he took the book from Anish. “This is very specific.” He read a little further. “Wow. The most specific book I’ve ever read.” He laughed, but it was without humor.
“And what kind of demons are in this book?” Jake asked. Anna nodded.
“It is specific to Algonquin peoples in the northern Midwest,” Anish said as he lifted a new book into the air and began skimming through it. “But we shall return to this in a moment. This is what we need.”
“What is it?” Amy asked.
“It is his personal grimoire,” Anish said. When he visibly realized that no one had understood what he meant, he continued. “It is a sort of diary. In this book, Alan would have explored different spells, incantations, writing down his personal experiences, things of that nature. This will assist us in determining what he has accomplished.”
“What he’s accomplished is done screwed this town up!” Jake yelled. “He got himself killed, and probably Sheriff Kelly, too. We need to find any acquaintances in that book.” He grabbed the book from Anish. “That way we can track this man down and kill him.”
“Track someone down?” Matthew exclaimed. “Are you kidding me? This isn’t some guy living in town who you wave to when he’s outside mowing his lawn. This is not human.”
“Are we absolutely positive that he isn’t human?” Anna asked. “Isn’t it possible that the demon possessed someone? Or perhaps more than just someone? A bunch of people?”
“We are not yet sure,” Anish acknowledged. Matthew agreed with a nod.
“Jake, give that book back to Anish so he can figure out what Alan was up to,” Anna said.
“I can find someone, I know I can. This isn’t some ghost shit.” Jake threw the book at Anish in frustration. “Are you guys shitting me? You’re going to read about demons?” He turned to Anna. “You can’t be serious, Sheriff. You’re going to buy into this bullshit the Indian and priest are selling to us? We’re wasting time and people are dying because we’re holding a goddamn séance.”
“Jake, I think you need to calm down for a moment,” Anna said, trying to sooth him before he freaked out. “This is hard for all of us to digest.” She looked at Anish. “Okay, most of us.” Anna tried to laugh. Matthew chuckled.
“I am not doing any such thing!” Jake barked. “I don’t recognize you as Sheriff. I am taking over this investigation. And this time next year, I will be taking over your job.”
“Now isn’t the time, Jake,” Anna insisted.
“Now is the perfect time. This isn’t some demon. It’s men. People working together. And from what I’ve seen, they don’t have guns. I’ve got mine and I’m going in after ‘em.” Jake turned and walked past where Michael had been hanging only a few hours earlier. He was headed toward what looked like an exit on the opposite side of where they had entered.
“Jake, don’t do this,” Sam said, surprising everyone. “You go out that door, where none of us have even been yet, you may not come back.”
Jake laughed. “Grow up, Sam. You sound like that dumbass teenager. There’s no such thing as werewolves.” Jake laughed again, this time in a mocking tone. He walked out of the room and his light faded in the distance.
“What an ass,” Sam said. “Should we go after him?”
“He’ll be back,” Anna said with confidence. Not thirty seconds later, Jake returned.
“I think there’s something out there,” he said as he panted heavily. “I can’t do this alone.”
“And so you will wait until we find out exactly what we are dealing with here,” Anna said. “Good luck in the election.” A small smile formed in the corners of her mouth. Sam noticed, and he smiled with her. Anna was finally finding her feet again, taking charge in a difficult situation without fear.
“Yes, Sheriff,” was all Jake managed to say.
“As I was saying prior to being interrupted…” Anish said with some level of annoyance. Having picked up the workbook that Jake had thrown to the floor, Anish began reading it aloud.
September 30, 2011
ü I summoned Lilith tonight. She appeared in front of me
like never before. After my previous failure summoning Beelzebub, I thought for sure the Princess of Hell would not hear my call.
ü She told me to be ever mindful that I do not roam outside the gates of Hell. What a strange thing to say. What else could there be? Are not all demons under the dominion of Hell?
October 1, 2011
ü I spoke tonight with Lilith. This time it was through the mirrored portal. As I do with many of my demon contacts, I asked to see my future. She showed me a rock with blood on it. When I asked her what it meant, she just said, “I only reveal what must be known.” What the shit does that mean?
ü Tomorrow I am going to summon something outside the gates of Hell. If I can handle Hell, then anything is possible.
October 12, 2011
ü I am ready now to summon it. I spent the past several days studying my family’s background and our powers. I know now that if I am to understand and one day become part of the afterlife of damnation, I must encounter all the spiritual realms.
ü I think it was successful, but I am not sure. I felt weird for a while. It’s like I was so hungry I almost couldn’t handle it. This lasted a few minutes, but then went away. Then I heard heavy breathing, kinda deep. And it rattled.
October 18, 2011
ü I have summoned it every night. I know the incantation is right. I tried to scry for Lilith tonight, then Beelzebub, then others, but none would answer.
ü Sometimes I think there is something down here with me, and sometimes in the woods. I see things sometimes, a shadow. I wonder if it could be him, but I thought he was supposed to come to me in my dreams. And I haven’t dreamed. At least I don’t remember dreaming.
ü I’m trying again one more time. Tomorrow I am going fishing behind the house. It’s getting cold and soon I won’t be able to fish anymore. While I am fishing I will try to figure out a new incantation to summon it.
After Anish finished reading, he closed the book. “And that is the last entry Mr. Brickton made. As we know, fishing did not end well for him.”
“You can say that again,” Sam agreed.
“This also explains why he had the book on Native American spirituality,” Matthew added.
“Can you determine what he was trying to summon by having read that?” Anna asked. “That, coupled with that demonology book there, should give us a pretty good idea.”
“So would this,” Amy said. She was standing over the grimoire at the center of the altar. “Look.”
Matthew walked up to the book and quickly read the incantation spell. It was then he saw the name of the demon on the page.
“Wendigo,” Matthew read aloud. “He was trying to summon a Wendigo.”
“What the hell is a Wendigo?” Anna asked.
“It is as I feared,” Anish said.
“That’s comforting, but it doesn’t answer my question,” Anna said.
Anish closed his eyes again. Every time he closed his eyes it seemed that something bad was either about to happen or already had.
“Death is in the woods tonight,” Anish informed them. “It knows we are here, and will now attempt to stop us.”
“That’s even more comforting,” Anna echoed herself.
“We need to find out all we can while we have time,” Anish said.
Anna sighed, committed to figuring out this mystery. So together they prepared for the Wendigo, whatever the hell that meant.
* * * * * *
2
Dogs were barking and people were beginning to talk loudly throughout the yard. Tim wasn’t sure how to manage the growing hysteria, especially since the Lofton family decided to run into the woods, start screaming, and scared the shit out of everyone.
“Everything is going to be okay!” Tim shouted to the growing crowd. “We need to hold this line!”
The line became difficult to control. The dogs that Dean and Dylan were leading suddenly ran past Tim and Geraldine, stopping in the middle of the yard and lying down. Everyone could hear the screams coming from the Lofton brothers, accompanied by a terrifying shriek that didn’t sound human. Tim shuddered when he remembered the face of the killer that had stared at him through the ladder. People began running through the yard toward the house.
“Everyone stop!” Tim screamed. Most people listened, although a few people managed to make it up to the house, get into their cars, and peel down the driveway toward safety. Tim couldn’t really blame them, but they would probably get earfuls from their families later.
“We are safer when we stick together!” Geraldine shouted. “Now everyone get back here, hold hands, and hold this line!” She yelled with such authority that Tim almost did as she asked without thinking. He smiled at her, appreciating the support.
“Shouldn’t we go out there and help them?” Aaron said in a soft voice so others wouldn’t hear him.
“How smart do you think that would be, considering what has happened in these very woods tonight?” Tim asked. He understood why Aaron wanted to help them. “You do realize that we are probably not going to find Lionel in those trees, right?”
Aaron nodded. “I get that. But now four more people are missing. When does it end?”
“I honestly don’t know, Aaron,” Tim admitted. “We can only hope and pray that it’s sooner rather than later.”
“I second that,” Geraldine agreed.
“Look!” Aaron yelled, pointing into the woods. Tim could see something moving slowly in the trees.
“Where are the floodlights?” Tim asked. “Didn’t Sam say he knew someone with lights?”
“I think he just got here,” George said as he joined the group. “I’ll go up and help set them up.”
“What is that?” Aaron said, still staring into the woods. He pulled the Beretta from his belt and prepared to shoot.
“Put that down!” Geraldine yelled. “That could be one of the Loftons!”
The shadow drew closer, just outside of the lights they were shining into the trees. Finally the figure became clear. It was Dylan Lofton.
Tim and Aaron ran to Dylan, helping him stand. Blood was pouring from his forehead and the back of his neck. His eyes were glossed over. Tim wasn’t sure if he would remain conscious for long.
“Dylan,” Tim said as he slowly turned Dylan’s face toward his own. It took a few seconds for Dylan to recognize Tim. “What happened?”
Silence. Dylan could barely manage to keep his head in an upright position. It kept slumping down as if he was trying to fight off sleep.
“Dylan!” Geraldine said as she tried to rub his back soothingly.
“Alan,” Dylan murmured.
“What did he say?” Geraldine asked.
“I think he said ‘Alan,’” Tim responded.
“Alan Brickton,” Dylan said a little more clearly. “He’s in the woods.”
Tim and Geraldine looked at each other as Aaron joined them.
“Oh, hell no!” Aaron said. “This is what happened in the wine cellar.”
“Don’t go into the woods,” Dylan whispered as he lost consciousness.
“That was a bit eerie,” Geraldine sniffed.
“Yeah,” Tim agreed. He looked around to see who had heard the conversation. Outside of Aaron, only Ralph had been listening.
“Let’s keep this to ourselves,” Geraldine said. “This will only cause another panic, and this time we will lose more people.”
“Shouldn’t we do something about the other Loftons?” Aaron asked.
“Yes, we pray for them,” Tim said flatly. “Now let’s get Dylan up to the house. We should let the sheriff know. Maybe we need to get Dr. Styles out here so if someone gets hurt we’ve got it covered.”
“I’m an EMT!” Jed said as he walked up to them. “I tried to call Jason Styles, but I can’t reach him. I have a few buddies coming. I have an ambulance in the driveway. Let’s go.”
Tim was thankful Jed had arrived when he did. He watched as Geraldine helped him carry Dylan up the yard and into the driveway.
“So what do you think?” Aaron asked.
“What do I think about what?” Tim replied.
“Do you think we’re going to make it out of this alive?”
“Damn straight.” Tim looked into the woods. “We just need to make sure that whatever is in those woods dies before we do.”
“Tim, where are Trevor and Simon?” Geraldine asked.
“Son of a bitch.” Tim scanned the crowd, but even as he did he knew that the teenagers had snuck away and were probably either in the woods or in the house. If they didn’t make it out alive, Anna would make sure Tim didn’t either.
* * * * * *
3
Trevor and Simon breathed heavily as they waited for the shadow to attack. Trevor felt like an eternity had passed since they had shot and killed Lionel Flowers.
“Do you think we should stay here?” Simon asked as he took turns between staring at the body and squinting down the tunnel.
Trevor’s arms shot out, almost losing the grip on his gun. “Did you hear that?”
“Yeah, it sounded like it’s further away now.”
“I think we should start moving toward it,” Trevor suggested. “Just make sure to look above us, too, because it may jump down from a hole in the ground.”
“That would be our luck,” Simon laughed. “This blows.”
“If we make it out of this, we have to start planning our next hunt,” Trevor said.
Simon just looked at him blankly. “We’ll see. You know, we still have high school to finish.”
Trevor nodded, but he was so beyond wanting to go back to the boredom that was high school. He was never challenged by his classes, and he knew Simon was as sick of it as he was. Diplomas, degrees, all of them seemed to lose meaning now. He wouldn’t need any kind of validation from the ivory tower when he hunted werewolves. The only thing he could even think of tolerating would be to study with Anish at the university. Even then it seemed boring.
