Chapter 14
Jeff quickly snatched the book off the tabletop and rested it on his lap, out of sight. “This is what you were reading?” he barked, clearly annoyed.
“Yes, I couldn’t help it. I saw it there on the table back in the diner and… I don’t know how to explain it. It just sort of called to me. Right from the second you walked in I was drawn to it, but I didn’t know until I actually saw it. What is it?” Dawn’s voice was melancholy and her face rigid.
“It’s… well, it’s… okay look, I’ll explain from the beginning. I think that’s the only way it will make sense, if that’s even possible. I’m not sure I even understand it and I was there” Jeff wiped his forehead with a napkin from the table and then grabbed another shot of tequila.
He hesitated for only a split second and then downed it. He was afraid of losing control. He knew his alcohol addiction would most likely leave him in prison or face down in the back alley, before the night was over. Now, with this cursed book in his hands, he wasn’t sure where he was headed. In the end he decided that something bad was coming and that he would rather be drunk out of his mind when the shit hit the fan.
He was also facing the harsh reality of knowing why Dawn was so interested in him. It made more sense that a gorgeous young woman was being seduced by the power of demonic forces than his bumbling flirtations and shaggy physique. Still, she was there and that was good enough for now.
“Please keep in mind that I know some of this is going to sound ridiculous and I understand that it may mean I am clinically insane. But here it goes. I was driving down the interstate, maybe a bit tipsy and definitely way too fast. Some cop starts chasing me and we got into an accident. Both cars ended up wrapped around trees at the edge of a forest” Jeff stopped to down another shot. Each one was getting smoother and smoother. “My car was a red Mustang. I called her Suzy. God I loved that car. Anyway, that was also the car I was a hundred percent sure I drove into town in, until you showed me otherwise”.
Jeff was staring intently at Dawn as he spoke, trying to imagine what she was thinking. But her expression never changed. “Anyway, I stumbled about through the forest. It was pitch-black and I had no idea where I was. Eventually I ended up out front of some old rundown chapel. I figured it was a good place to cool off and that there had to be some kind of road leading from it. Only, once I got in there I started hearing and the seeing things”.
His voice was trembling as badly as his hands as he recalled some of what he had witnessed; the things he had done and taken part in. Dawn was as still as a statue. It gave Jeff a little bit of confidence knowing that she wasn’t easily run off, but it was also a bit disturbing how she seemed to be so engrossed in what was truly an impossibly insane story. That was when he decided to stop holding back on the details. If it was details that she wanted, than that was what she would have.
“I saw my son, Owen. Only he’s been dead for ten years” Jeff’s eyes welled up at the mention of his son’s name but he continued, “I mean, it wasn’t really him, I know that. but it wouldn’t stop, it was relentless. It just kept on squeezing my mind, twisting my thoughts. I couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t. I think I killed a boy. Maybe even a police officer. But I have no idea. I don’t know what was real and what wasn’t. I don’t even know if this is real. Maybe I am still stuck in that disgusting cellar; being toyed with”.
Dawn spoke for the first time since handing over the book. “Cellar? What do you mean, a cellar? Please, it’s important” she begged and reached her arms across the table to hold Jeff’s hands.
Jeff was bewildered by Dawn’s lack of interest in any of the details. He had just admitted to hallucinations and potentially murdering two people, and all she wanted to know about was the cellar? Then again, he realized that the fact that she is even sitting there with him was insane. The bar had filled up quickly. Jeff was certain that whatever the fire code limit was, there were at least three times as many people as that.
“Uh, let me think. Well, it was dark, damp and depressing. There was a desk; that was where I spent my time. I swear it took days to write this thing” Jeff said as he waved the book for a second and then hid it back on his lap. Dawn’s mouth gaped in shock and her fingernails dug into his hands but she stayed silent and nodded slightly for Jeff to continue. He was beginning to get the feeling that Dawn knew a lot more about this than she was letting on.
“There was an altar. I remember that. And a lot of bookshelves, although the books were all ruined. It was just so damp that everything was soggy and moldy. I don’t know. Like I said, it felt like days down there but when I got to town today I found out that it’s only been about forty-eight hours since I left home” Jeff wanted another drink so bad, but he didn’t want to let go of Dawn’s hand to get it.
“Is that all?” Dawn asked and as if reading his mind, she pulled a hand away, grabbed a drink and slid it over to him. “My dad used to drink a lot. I can tell by the way you move your lips when you’re dying for another”.
“I think so. There were these visions though. It was like I was actually there, in different places, doing horrible things. It wasn’t just a nightmare; I mean I could feel everything I touched and could smell everything around me”. Then Jeff had a sudden bout of intuition. “There was one other thing about the cellar. I saw a woman. A priest and a nun dragged her down there and tied her up. Then they exorcised a demon out of her. I think that’s why everything happened. I think that demon was trapped there”.
Dawn’s face finally broke and tears burst from her eyes. After a few seconds of silence, she composed herself enough to speak. “My great grandmother. I never met her, but I’ve had dreams about her my whole life. It’s always the same; I see her trapped in some dark cellar, next to an altar, but I don’t know where or why. She’s always begging for me to help her. I’ve had that nightmare thousands of times”.
“I guess there isn’t much chance that this is a coincidence” Jeff pondered out loud and then picked up the bottle of tequila and drank straight from it. There had been a sinister feeling looming over him earlier that made him believe dark things were coming. Now that feeling was wrapped around his throat, choking every last ounce of willpower from him.
“I have to tell you something” Dawn whispered as she leaned closer over the table. “I think something happened when I was reading the book. I don’t think I should have read it”.
The room began to swirl as the tequila worked its magic. Jeff felt like he was sitting in the eye of a newly forming tornado; like he was still and the rest of the world was beginning to spin out of control. “That’s not good” he mumbled and then face planted on the tabletop before blacking out.
He laid in darkness and silence; his consciousness floating aimlessly through nothingness. It was perfect. But that wouldn’t last. Finally he came to when a large hand grabbed the back of his shirt and began pulling him out of his chair. One of the bouncers had apparently taken objection to Jeff’s passing out. Or maybe it was that he had vomited all over the tabletop. Or maybe it was that he apparently urinated all over his pants while unconscious.
Seconds later Jeff was pushed out into the back alley and stumbled into the garbage bins. It had almost become routine for him over the years and he had to laugh at how predictable the whole experience would be. The bouncers always threw him out back so that he didn’t make a mess in front of the bar and somehow, there were always garbage bins right outside the door, waiting for him to come crashing out.
He sat peacefully for a few minutes, trying to get up the nerve to stand. He was feeling pretty good in his head, the tequila had been potent, but his body felt like the garbage he was leaning against. Then it hit him. Dawn was gone and so was the book. “Jesus!” he shouted and wobbled to his feet.
He was standing in a short alley, in a town he didn’t know, with no one to help him and nowhere to sleep for the night. He didn’t even know which car was his. He mentally flipped a coin and headed out one end of the alley, back onto the main strip of town. “Oh god!” a woman’s scream came from across the street, in another back alley that led between a units in a small strip mall.
Jeff’s chest seized with fear at the sound of Dawn’s voice. He raced forward as fast as his unsteady legs would take him. “Dawn!” he shouted and searched frantically but found nothing.
“Oh my god!” she screamed again, just a bit further down.
“Hold on!” Jeff shouted back and headed towards the scream. As he passed, he spotted a partially opened door. There was a light on inside, but it was dimmed or covered, making it hard to see. He was certain that was where the scream had come from. Jeff slowly crept forward, listening. Bravery and heroism were akin to spaceflight for him. They were wonderful dreams, but as far from reality as they could get.
If he knew for sure that Dawn was in there and that she was in trouble, he would probably turn and run without looking back. Unfortunately his curiosity was just as strong as the tequila. He needed to know what was there. Jeff reached his sweaty hand out and pushed the door all the way open. He was so nervous that he was literally panting.
He wanted to call out Dawn’s name, but was terrified he would draw attention to himself. He liked her, but he wasn’t ready to die for her just yet. Cautiously he poked his head through the doorway and looked around. “Ah! Oh god!” Dawn’s voice bellowed from around the corner.
Jeff felt a sudden surge of adrenaline and he quickly shuffle-stepped inside and looked around the corner. There, lying on a table, her clothes ripped and ravaged, was Dawn. She had fabric wrapped around her neck and her hands tied to a large pipe behind her head. A fat, grotesquely naked, man was having his way with her. It was the one she had taken the seat from at the bar. His bulbous body was racked with pimples and perspiration.
Jeff felt seriously ill to his stomach at the sight. He had to do something. Dawn looked straight at him and screamed again, “oh god!” He looked around and found a large wrench on a stack of crates. Without a sound, Jeff deftly crept up on the fat man, who was completely oblivious to anything except his own enjoyment, and smashed him across the back of the head.
The dull but vicious sound of the metal wrench played in harmony with the grisly crack of the man’s skull. Instantly the big man collapsed; dead from severe blunt force trauma. He dropped to his knees and then toppled to his side, landing face up. His eyes filled with blood and his pupils rolled back into the top of his sockets.
Dawn began screaming hysterically and curled her legs up into a ball, trying to hide her face in her knees, only it was impossible given that her hands were still tied up, holding her back. “Shhh! It’s okay! It’s okay!” Jeff pleaded and dropped the wrench. He leaned forward and put his hands on her knees. “You’re safe now! I’m here. He won’t hurt you anymore. Come on, I’ll take you home” Jeff promised and as he moved his head side to side, trying to look Dawn in the eyes.
Suddenly she shrieked again and kicked him in the chest as hard as she could with both feet. Jeff flew backwards and smashed the back of his head on the wall. The jolt rattled his teeth and for a second he thought he might pass out again, but he resisted. “What the hell?” he cursed.
“You’re insane! What the hell did you do? You killed him didn’t you? You fucking killed him?” the woman screamed. It wasn’t Dawn. She wasn’t even close to resembling Dawn. She was short, chubby with long fake red hair and drenched in makeup and cheap perfume. The woman was clearly a prostitute and had obviously been on the job.
“Oh my god” Jeff mumbled.
That was when the woman’s pimp came through the door. He had specific rules. If the fat man was still going, he would have to pay up some more; always up front. He hadn’t had to make up a rule about a third-party murdering a paying customer while using his property, but he would now.
Filed under: The Harbinger
