Chapter 13

The wind outside moaned in protest to the rising sun, which had broken through the fog with a vengeance and sat warding the clouds of its presence in the sky. 

Jacob had searched the house from top to bottom, unable to find where Erin had vanished too.  It was safe to say panic was setting in and his mind raced to find any possibility of her disappearance.  The dust that covered the floor in every room remained untouched, aside from his personal boot prints. 

She had been right behind him, as he stared down the hall, concentrating hard on a picture hanging on the wall.  It had wrapped his attention and drew him, as the figure head stared back at him, smoothed by time and disfigured by the moisture of the old house.  Although it was cloudy and questionably 50 years old, he could not shun the idea that the man in the portrait looked very similar to him. 

When his thoughts rushed back and brought him from the trance of concentration, Erin was gone.  He could not understand how she could just vanish, or why she would have left him along in the house without something terrible happening. 

That thought did not help to settle his mind. 

The house had 5 rooms upstairs, each Victorian in design and wrapped in age old wallpaper that was yellowing and crumbling with age and humidity.  The downstairs of the home was wrapped in one giant semi-circle, first the foyer, which opened into the seating area, and across which lead to a study of sorts with a large oaken desk at its center.   Books lined the walls of the study and appeared to be periodical listings of history and ancient wars. 

Nothing in which drew Jacob’s attention with the absence of Erin.

He proceeded down the hallway into the kitchen, which sat directly off from a side dining room and a large open area pantry with old jars of miscellaneous canned foods, long past their due dates.  He saw no doors leading to a basement and no trap doors leading to an attack above, though by the design and nature of the home, he was sure there had to be something above the second floor.  Its large cascading pillars lifted a roof far above the ceiling of the second floor, though he was no architect. 

Jacob decided, after resting a moment on the couch and thinking soundly, where Erin may have went too.  He had not done a walk around outside and although it seemed pointless in the darkness, he now knew that dawn had broke and that the light outside would have drove those fowl creatures away into hiding for the time being. 

One helpful thing Jacob did find was a gun.  It was not a modern, lever action rifle with a 40 round clip like he had hoped, but rather a shotgun with a single shot chamber and rough wooden stock.  It was aged and not kept clean with oils and showed some signs of disrepair and rust, but it was crafted well and luckily he had also found a couple boxes of copper plated rounds, which were sealed and in perfect condition. 

He strapped the rifle across his shoulder, using some old rope he found, and ventured out the front door onto the porch.  Across the driveway, there was a barn with a stable at its front.  It was an open area, with old ropes and hooks hanging from the wooden roof that arched in the front and provided a peak in which the horses or cattle could stay dry if a storm hit too quickly. 

The open access carried the smell of decayed hay and straw across the yard and Jacob decided that that was the best place to start his search.  As he left the porch he felt a wave of déjà vu come over him.  It was not the subtle, “I remember something like this” feeling but rather, I remember this exact event.  It was strange and catching to the tune of paucity.

Jacob continued on, more pressed to find Erin than to worry about the smaller nuances that seemed to occur almost hourly on this island and place.  He entered the side of the barn and took note of the various barrels and rotting farm tools.  In truth, the whole barn seemed to be ready to cave in at any given moment and that left Jacob wary about continuing too deep into the darkened corners of the 30 foot high ceiling. 

“Erin!?” Jacob called out, and heard no answer in reply.  He turned to walk back out when a face appeared in the upstairs bedroom of the home.  It was the face of a girl, around 10 years old.  Its eyes were not sinister or evil, but rather those of pure and true terror.  Her face looked oddly familiar.  

Her hair was pulled into a tight pony tail.  He began a quick pace towards the front door, and as he did so he saw what looked like a shadow, appear behind her.  It was larger than any normal person, but held a shape similar to one.  He watched, frozen and unable to comprehend what to do.  He wanted to run up to the second floor and try to help her, but he somehow knew that if he did, he would not find her or that thing there.  It was as if he was watching an old movie screen, and the things within were not to be found when you turned your head away, if only for a moment. 

The creature wrapped its long fingers over the girls head, and squeezed at the top.  Jacob watched as blood ran down her forehead, the look of fear on her face suddenly replaced with pain.  He saw its nails scrape and dig deeper into her flesh.  He watched as her body went from fragile and full of life, to limp and lifeless before his eyes.  The creature studied Jacob, shadowed by the darkness of the room behind.

Jacob suddenly remembered the gun on his shoulder and brought it up, thanking himself silently for loading one bullet into the chamber beforehand.  He brought the tiny metal ball at the end of the barrel above the girl, and fired.  The hammer struck the bullet with a vengeance.  The bullet sailed through the air at warp speed, cutting through the glass of the window and shattering the image like a TV screen on impact. 

What was left in the window was not a little girl, or creature, but rather emptiness.  Silence followed the echo of the gun shot, that bounced off of the neighboring hilltops and filled the valley with the sounds of fluttering birds. 

In a quickened dash, Jacob jumped onto the porch and headed up the stairs.  He took each two at a time, and ran straight into the first room in which lead to the window he had just witnessed the entire event within. 

He went to the window, staring down at the glass underneath his boots, and as he gazed upon them, one larger piece still remotely intact held within it an image of a girl.  Her eyes were now closed and her body was limp.  Her face no longer showed fear and anguish, but rather the peaceful look of death. 

Jacob went over to the bed and sat down.  His heart was still racing and his eyes began to water uncontrollably.  He placed his hands over his face and cried.  The anger, fear, and stress of all that had happened to him finally took its bony grip on his mentality and erupted with pure and raw emotion.  He cried, wailed at times, for the situation he was in.  He cried for Erin.  He cried for his daughter which he may or may not ever see again.  He cried for the little girl who he had just seen murdered; though in the weirdest of circumstances.  Most of all, he cried for the tiny flicker of flame that he had ignited, that tiny strand of hope that was quickly and harshly burning out. 

As if on cue, a muffled moan sounded from within the walls of the room.  It was feminine, or at least appeared to be so.  The wallpapered room was not entirely in the square shape one would usually find in old farm houses, or rather in most houses.  Jacob looked about the room, for once taking in the architectural design of the room and something was off.

He went to the first wall, nearest the door and began running his fingers along the wallpaper.  He came to a crease just feet from the window.  A crease that either signaled an exposed board for the wall, or a door behind the wallpaper; and Jacob had his assumption as to which is truly was. 

He pulled a knife from his belt and began to cut along the crease.  He shoved the point where his fingers pressed deep into the crisp and yellowed wallpaper and followed it to the floor.  He pried with his fingers at the rough texture and eventually and crudely a square door began to take shape.  There was no handle, and instead the door itself seemed to move on a running metal strip on the floor.  He slid the door, with all of his strength off to the side and with a loud crash it toppled out onto the floor.  Dust flew up and saturated the room in a brown cloud of particles.

Jacob stepped back, coughing and bringing his forearm up over his face to shield himself from the inevitable barrage of dust and debris.  The dust settled moments later and all he saw was a rectangular blackness where there was once a wall.  He could hear the muffled moans once again and stepped inside the gaping hole.  Inside was another room, not as big as the one he was just in, but equally as grotesque with more floral wallpaper and another bed.  This bed was much different though. 

Leather straps held the braces in place, wrapped along the sides of metal bars that encircled the old mattress.  The mattress was stained with large brown splotches and was elevated at an angle beside a small table.  It looked like the table from the Frankenstein movies, though with less mad-scientist vibes.  This was something altogether different.  Jacob searched the room for any signs of the source of the muffled sound, hoping that it was Erin and that she was without injury. 

Erin was nowhere to be found.  Instead there was another door off to the back of the room and a large cast iron padlock held it fast to the wooden framing.  As Jacob walked to the edge of the room, a familiar and putrid smell hit him hard and he turned at once to see the boy, staring at him from beside the bed. 

“Hello Jacob.” 

“Who are you?” Jacob managed to squeak, the smell once again stealing his breath and causing him to swallow a small bit of stomach bile. 

“I see your memory has not returned.  I am afraid I cannot wait any longer for you to open your eyes to what is happening and what has already happened.  There are things you need to know before you continue on.” 

With a loud thud and cracking, the padlock fell from the metal ring that held it fast and in place. 

Jacob turned to acknowledge the door and turned back to see the boy closer to him now; only a step or two away.  Jacob attempted to back up, but the boy held out his hand and as Jacob watched, offered his palm in a nonthreatening way.  As if by some force, Jacobs arm moved forward, his hand outstretched to take the boys and as he touched the cold and pale leathery skin of the boy, he fell to his knees. 

The world around him moved through time like a reel from an old camera on fast forward.  Lights whipped to and fro and burst into a blur of colors and sounds.  The boy was no longer standing with him, or holding his hand, but he was lost and dizzy in the confusion and could not bear to stand up. 

The lights stopped and Jacob saw a small girl playing beside a dollhouse in the far corner of the room.  It was the same room he was in before, only this time the wallpaper looked newer, fresher and less faded by time.  The house no longer appeared weathered by time, but rather stood fresh, clean and brilliant in appearance. 

Jacob stepped forward and kneeled down beside the little girl; she was humming softly and combing the hair of what looked like a hand-made doll with long strands of yarn for hair.  It had two large red buttons for eyes and a crooked stitched line for a mouth. 

“Hello?”  Jacob called out, and at once the humming stopped.  The little girl started shaking slightly and Jacob suddenly realized he was a stranger in her room and that she might be afraid. 

“I am not here to hurt you; it’s okay.  Is your parents home?” Jacob said, trying to sound sincere and do his best not to scare her.  

She turned her head towards him, staring with blue eyes through her long brown hair.  She did not speak and in fact looked too afraid to speak, which Jacob thought was completely understandable considering he just appeared before her in her room with no acknowledgement or warning. 

She pointed at him.  Her small fingers were shaking and then put her head back down.  Jacob stood up, alarmed by what she was pointing at and turned to look behind him.  There was no one there.  He turned again and the little girl had turned back around and was playing once more with her doll. 

“Is someone else here with us right now?” Jacob said, with obvious fear rising in his heart and mind.

She never turned back around and continued to play.  Jacob did not want to press her and he did not want to frighten her any more than she already was so he walked out of the room and back into the bedroom.  The four poster bed was now covered in fresh linens and a neatly folded quilt.  The wallpaper was in pristine condition and looked freshly applied to the wooden walls.  There was now a small desk beside the window and on top of the desk sat a vase with a freshly picked yellow flower within it. 

Jacob walked out into the hallway and stood just above the foyer.  The staircases wrapped down along both walls, each with paintings and portraits in a semi circle along the border.  The wooden craftsmanship of the railings was exquisite and exhibited a talented artist that knew his art well. 

Jacob walked down along the left side, taking note of some of the portraits as he passed by. 

What or where did the boy send me?

He made it to the first floor landing just in time to see a familiar face in one of the portraits.  As Jacob studied it closely, the others took familiarity as well.  It was a portrait of him, sitting in a chair.  Standing beside him was Erin, her eyes fixed in a tight and almost forced smile and sitting beside her was the girl he had seen upstairs. 

Jacob looked back up to the second floor and noticed the little girl was peaking through the railings watching him.  Her eyes were solemn and sad, with a tinge of fear and knowing.  It was as if she expected something. 

He heard a loud crash outside and walked to the window beside the front door.  Outside in the barn a man emerged, one who looked exactly like him.  His eyes locked with Jacobs across the yard and he broke into a run.  Jacob stepped back, confused and alarmed and unsure as to what to do or where he should go. 

The man entered and looked right passed him up to the top of the stairs.  His eyes held within them an evil Jacob had never seen before, an evil that was estranged and at the same time, familiar.

 The little girl stood and backed against the wall, afraid and cringing.  Jacob watched in horror as the man went up the stairs and stood on the landing, waiting for what he knew would happen.  The little girl looked back down at him and tears appeared on her cheeks as she waited for the inevitable to happen.  The man raised his hand and just before he brought it down on her face the room once again began to swirl in a mixture of bright lights and mixed colors. 

The room returned to a rough and un-maintained foyer with crumbling wallpaper and layers of dust and cobwebs. 

Jacob fell to his knees, his emotions burning within him.  He felt the anger and savage nature of what he had just witnessed and wanted to strangle the life out of that man for hurting the child.  Then he remembered, as if by some Twilight Zone event, that that man was him.

Chapter 12

Her white dress was draped over her body in a way that instantly brought Jacob’s heart to a stop.  His emotions had hit a wall and her smile and beautiful blue eyes had him begging for release from her otherworldly grip on his psyche.

She approached him, her pale but flawless skin saturated by an aura of sexual tension and earning.  She smiled at him, and casually brushed the back of her hand across his face.  Jacob could smell the sweet smell of the ocean and an essence of summer wind as her hand glided across his cheek.  He could feel his knees growing weak and he found himself completely lost in her eyes. 

They burned with a power he had never known. 

He wanted her. 

He needed her. 

He loved her?

Her fingers were now running through his hair, and he could feel the burning passion hiding within him fighting to break free.  In his mind she was no longer wearing clothes but rather standing before him, begging him to take her and he wanted nothing more than to make her desire come true. 

As if she could read his mind, she took his hand and brought it to her neckline, using his fingers as if they were not his own, but rather a mechanical toy for which she had full control.  She used his hands to push the thin strap from her shoulder, and at once, as if by some magical force, her dress fell to the floor.  His heart raced faster and faster in his chest the blood was pumping faster than he had ever thought possible. 

Her sexual aspects were present, outlined and visible in the pale glow of the candle-lit foyer.  Her breasts were displayed, perfect in every way and his burning lust was beginning to overtake him.  She slowly worked his fingers downward, gliding them into between her bare chest and back up.  He stood, frozen in time, as she slid in closer to him, pushing her naked form against his body. 

Jacob was no longer clothed, but standing naked as well.  His back was against the door and she was massaging his chest with her tongue, running her nails down his arms in a painful, but sexual way.  Jacob could feel his grip on reality and pain slipping behind a wall of content desire.  His arousal was more than attentive and she gripped it with strength and determination.  He closed his eyes and fell into a dream of passion, letting him be taken control of and releasing the last strand of sanity into this moment. 

His eyes traveled to the ceiling, and the dancing candle-light displayed shadows on the ceiling like an old movie screen.  His blood was pumping so loud now that his ear drums were throbbing with extreme fortitude.   His body was convulsing.  Her hands were on his buttocks, gripping them in a greedy and wholesome way.  He could hear the sound of her breathing, labored and determined and the sounds of her lips as she gave him exactly what he wanted. 

As he braced himself further against the wall, he knew the moment was briefly approaching, roaring through his core like a wave of release.  His teeth were gritted and his moans were louder than he realized.  His whole body stiffened and as he screamed, he felt his worries drain with his orgasm.  His body was like Jell-O; his knees were nearly buckling under his weight and he couldn’t remove his eyes from the ceiling. 

His breathing was more labored than ever and as he watched the candle-light above, the shadows took form.  They were no longer abstract shapes dancing about, but rather claws and terrifying eyes.  As he stared, transfixed on the deadly visages above, something dripped from the rustic plaster, falling directly onto Jacob’s forehead.  It was soon followed by more and more droplets, and as he brought his hand up to wipe it clean, he noticed it was a deep and morbid red color. 

It was blood.

His eyes instantly traveled down to the ground, hoping the images above would disappear and he noticed she was still there.  Her face buried into his thigh, her naked body still shaking under the stress and exertion.  He knelt below and lifted her face up to meet his, and as he did so, he stared directly into the face of horror.  Her eyes were sunken pools of darkness, with lines of red and yellow slits.  Her skin was no longer pale and beautiful, but a decayed mass of skin draped solemnly over a skull.  Her mouth was un-moving and the tears in the facial skin shown bright glossy bone beneath.  Her face was shapeless, as if no meat were between the skin and bones and her matted hair fell eerily across her left eye. 

She moved closer to him and he fought to push away.  Her hands were still on his thighs and he could feel her nails pushing deeper and deeper into his skin.  He could feel the warmth of blood draining from the wounds and her breath was a horrid mixture of rotten decay and sex.  She inched closer, as Jacob struggled to break her grip on his thighs.  He noticed her entire body was one similar to the creatures that had chased him, and her blood soaked, matted hair swung like pendulums just inches from his face. 

He wanted to scream, but the horror of what he was witnessing was too great.  It stole every ounce of courage from his mind and replaced it with child-like fear.  He fell, naked to the floor and she was at once on top of him.  He struggled as much as he could; now realizing her grip was released as they fell.  She was clawing at his chest and laughing a familiar and unworldly cackle.  Her mouth dripped with drool that fell onto Jacob like hot wax. 

He reached around for something, anything that could help him get away.  His hands, fighting blindly to find anything, grabbed hold of a solid cool metal box.  His fingers wrapped around it, his grip solid, and he swung it as she brought her mouth up to rip out his throat and with a meaty thunk; he found his target.  Her body fell limp to the ground and he slowly inched his way towards the far wall.  His legs were like anchors, with little to no strength left in them to do anything more than crawl like a child into the next room. 

He fell, rolling to the side as he did so, the splinters of the old wooden floor wrapping him in painful, bloody pricks.  He pulled himself onto the soft, dust covered sofa and as he fell into the chair, he noticed she was gone.  He knew if she came at him, he could not fight her off.  He sat there, still holding onto the metal box he had found by the front door and waited for her to finish him off. 

He heard noises from down the hall and a dragging sound coming ever closer.  It sounded like a body was being dragged.  There were no places to hide, no places to run, and he lacked the strength to do either. 

The sound came ever closer, now only a few feet from the opening to the living area.  The candle light brought little light into the room and he could see only shadows in the hallway outside.  A figure appeared in the doorway, shadowed by the light and it stood staring at him with curiosity. 

“Jacob?” Erin’s voice broke through the terror and fear, cutting directly into Jacob’s mind.

“Erin!” Jacob tried to stand but was tackled. 

Erin sat on top of him, holding him closely in her arms. 

“I thought you were dead!” they both said, in exact timed unison.

They sat there for moments un-ended.  Peace slowly started to fill Jacob’s heart once more.  Erin finally pulled away and gave him a look of curiosity.  He remembered at once he was still naked, covered in his own blood and in obvious pain. 

Jacob’s eyes met hers, searching for compassion and caring and as tears ran down his face, he began to tell her about the woman. 

Erin listened to every word, obviously hurt by his sexual experiences with this mystery woman, but never once telling him or stating it out loud.  Then came the part of her turning into one of the creatures and trying to kill him, and with that she gave him a “serves you right” kind of look.  She could see he was ashamed and afraid and that he truly felt that what had happened was not something he had any control over. 

His eyes were glazed with an almost drugged kind of appearance.  He lingered on each syllable with a hidden apprehension, afraid of her reaction to his crazy story.  As he finished the last part, just before he sat down in this chair, he began to wince as she moved onto his legs. 

Erin sprang to her feet quickly; forgetting that the story he just told was only a few moments before and as she looked down at the wounds, she watched in unbelievable confusion as they slowly but surely began healing right in front of her eyes. 

Jacob met her gaze and looked down, also as perplexed as she.  The blood had stopped flowing and the wounds had already closed over, now appearing as nothing more than light pink scars.  Erin’s eyes looked slightly afraid, but more curious. 

“And how long have you been able to do that?” 

Jacob’s eyes met hers once more, “I noticed it the first time when I fell in the lighthouse.  I could hear my bones breaking and reassembling and my whole body seemed to go on autopilot.  I should have died down there.  The sane part of my mind knew it, but I was so caught up with everything else that was happening that I didn’t have time to think back to that moment, until just now.”

Erin sat, deep in thought, mulling over the onslaught of confusing information Jacob had laid on her.  She was accustomed to strange men, attracted to them in a weird high school girl manner, but this was probably the weirdest man she had ever met.  She looked up and saw he was once again lost in that state of confusion and thought when it suddenly occurred to her that she had one more question.

“Where are your clothes?  You didn’t tell me the part where you took them off, though I can venture a guess as to why you did.”

“Actually, I haven’t the slightest clue.” Jacob returned, suddenly aware that he didn’t have a single piece of clothing on.  “All I remember is blanking out temporarily and when I came to, I was completely naked.  They have to be around here somewhere though.” 

The room was a small room, not much bigger than the room they had stayed in at the lighthouse.  The dank odor of dust and grime was evident, though the house had held up to the wear of time.  Jacob stood up, still embarrassed of being nude, and walked over to the foyer to look around for any signs of the woman.  He saw none.

He stepped out and looked around for his clothing, noticing them at last neatly folded on the staircase that lead to the second floor.  Although he knew the house was old, the wooden craftsmanship that went into the elegant designs and molding of the entry way was something seldom seen any more.  It was a masterpiece.  Though dust and cobwebs littered the hallway, he could see the splendor of the room by the light of the candles. 

He put on his clothes and walked back into the room, plopping down at last beside Erin on the overstuffed floral sofa.  Dust flew up in a cloud, causing them both to start coughing. 

“Sorry.” Jacob said, not meeting her eyes once more due to embarrassment. 

Erin gave him a curt smile and shook her head. 

“You never told me what happened to you.” Jacob said, suddenly remembering her disappearing in the woods.

“I was running, right behind you, when I tripped over something in the darkness.  As I fell to the ground, I could hear those things running beside me on all sides so I leaned up against a tree and prepared to die.  I kept my eyes closed, not wanting to witness the inevitable end that was soon to come when I heard the last of them run by me.  I was too scared to get up and feared that you were dead. 

I sat there in the darkness, suddenly aware that I had nearly broken my toes on my right foot when I fell.”

She took off her shoe, which had scratches and a series of large gashes in the thick leather.  She removed her sock and her toes were a mass of swollen and bloody appendages.  It looked like she had run over her foot with a lawnmower, Jacob thought.

“I limped along in the darkness, too afraid to cry out or scream for you when I came to the clearing in the field outside.  I could see the house in the distance, and saw what I thought was a light.  I had just made it here, and came through the back door when I found you.”

“Did you see the fire?”

“Yes, it was all around us.  What kind of question is that?”

“No, I mean the camp fire.  That is where I was headed when I lost you.”

“No, I didn’t see the fire.  I must have fallen down before you saw it.”

Jacob stood, brushed the dust off of his clothes and provided a hand to Erin to help her to her feet. 

“Well, regardless, I think we should check this place out.  I want to see if there is anything we could use as a weapon, or if nothing else, maybe there is some old radio that still works so we can get out of this hell-hole.”

Erin could hear the tone of fear within Jacob’s words.  She was afraid too.  Nothing made sense and somehow they were both entangled in this web of confusion, horror, and fear of what was to come.  She took Jacobs hand and with ease he brought her to her feet.  She felt, though temporarily, that feeling of power resonating off of him as he held her hand.  The energy was electric and almost raw.  It was that feeling similar to getting shocked when one grabs a metal door handle or railing after wearing socks, only less instant. 

Jacob led the way, back out into the hallway and front foyer.  The staircase wrapped along both sides of the room, leading up onto a balcony above.    In between the stairs and directly below the balcony was the hallway that led into the kitchen and in a straight parallel line was the back door.  The door appeared to be shut, but as Jacob’s eyes studied it, he could almost see the outline of a face in the glass, though it quickly faded and disappeared. 

“I think we should check the upstairs first.” Jacob said, with slight hesitation in his voice. 

They each grabbed one of the lit candles off of the stand and walked up the left side of the staircase.  Its design was beautiful, with a cherry banister that surrounded and encompassed the twin staircases.  Above the foyer was an old fashioned chandelier that was not electric, but rather had pedestals for larger and brighter candles to be set upon them.  Some were still there, though they were half burned. 

Jacob made a mental note, that if they decided to stay in this house; they would do their best to light them all in order to prevent any of the creatures from outside from getting in or coming near the house. 

As they reached the landing above, the balcony led to a narrow hallway, that was lined with doors and old fashioned portraits covered in dust, they noticed more candles were light at the far end, on either side of a large wooden door. 

“I don’t think I recall you mentioning which way she went after you hit her.” Erin spoke, softly just inches behind Jacob. 

He could tell by the way she was shaking and the closeness of her body that she was more than afraid. 

“I didn’t see which way she went.  I thought she was coming back after me when I saw you.  In truth, I don’t think I heard a door open or close, which means she may still be here.  Keep your eyes open and watch our backs.   There is a door to the left I think we should try.”

Erin’s eyes followed his arm as he pointed at a smaller door, which led to either a bathroom or a closet as she was guessing, though it was closed from their view.  Jacob walked forward, inching his feet along the floorboards as to not make much noise.  Although this house was finely crafted, age was still present in everything.  The floor squeaked and moaned relentlessly under their weight.

He opened the door, which opened towards them and into the hall and stood staring into the gaping black hole, waiting for some of the dust to clear.  The room smelled dank and musty and had obviously sat undisturbed for many years.  It reminded Erin of the way her grandmother’s house smelled, when they found out she had Alzheimer’s and had been living alone for 2 years. 

As she stood, ever still in the hallway, she saw a rocking chair gliding back and forth in front of her.  There was someone sitting in it.  A tight grey mass of hair was pulled tightly into a greasy bun on top of this person’s head.  Erin felt for Jacob’s hand in the darkness, but he was gone. 

She walked forward, inching her feet along towards the person sitting in the chair.  There was a piano playing, somewhere.  It cast a melancholy aura to the atmosphere.  It was suddenly sunny outside, as rays of pure golden light poured into the room through clean white lace curtains and danced across the bright yellow wallpaper that lined the walls on all sides.  At an instant the person started humming along to the tune of the piano.  It was the voice of her grandmother.

Erin approached the rear of the chair, just two feet from the back before stopping.  Her heart was a raging inferno of fear and curiosity.  The smell of lavender and wintergreen filled the air and resonated through Erin’s memories of her past.  She could almost picture her grandmother, turning towards her to smile and hand her one of her famous white wintergreen mint candies that she so loved. 

Her fear subsided at this thought and she tried to form words in her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.  It was as if she had forgotten the past few weeks of her life and was once again spending her summers on her grandparent’s farm. The piano drudged on from all around, placating the memory like a movie script.  She moved her arm out to reach for the back of the chair, but was suddenly aware of her height and how short her arms were.  She was no longer a young woman, but instead a pre-pubescent child once more.  Her fear once again returned, finally aware that this was not a memory she was remembering, but rather one she was reliving. 

The chair squeaked in an old fashioned groan and began to turn.  Erin stepped back and tripped over something lying on the floor.  Her grandfather’s legs were twisted behind him, as he lay face down on the center rug.  The floorboards, splintered from age, raked at Erin’s palms and made them bleed and shot sharp pains up her arms.

The chair was in view now, as if watching by the side and she could tell already that this was not the memory she had thought it was.  It was all coming back to her now.  Why she had stopped going to her grandparents farm during the summer and why she was never around on the holidays and to see her off on her voyage with Mark. 

The chair came into full view, rocking back and forth slowly before her like a pendulum of horror.   Her eyes met the empty and brooding gaze of her grandmother’s, suffocated and sunken.  Her body was frail beyond belief and blood soaked the front of her blue floral dress.  The smell of wintergreen was replaced by the stale smell of blood.  Erin tried to scream out, but something was around her neck preventing any sound from escaping. 

Someone’s hand was grasping at her, choking her and pulling her backwards towards a closet that was open.  She fought the thing that had her, but it was much stronger than her 10 year old self and she was losing the battle.  Before she disappeared into the blackness of the closet, she noticed the piano was still playing and her grandmother’s mouth humming along in a hollowed pitch, her mouth moving ever slightly behind a twisted grin.

 

Chapter 11

The smokescreen-esque landscape was rough and harsh.  The drooping jungle canopy did little to saturate the burning landscape, as the flames roared across the plant-life like a stampede.  The black soot fell in clumps from the burning trees above, their embers masked by the thick black fog below. 

Jacob’s eyes stung with intensity.  He searched the surrounding area in a maddened panic.  Erin had revived him from his shocked state of fear and confusion and together they had ran through the trees away from the lighthouse and crash-site, only to be rained upon by more and more debris from the sky above.  The jungle itself was now ablaze with burning vegetation and in the turmoil and surreal aspect of the raining fire; Jacob had lost Erin in the thick and dense blackness.

He screamed out, only to realize that his voice was a squeak in comparison to the cracking thunder above and the torrential roaring fire below.  He ran in circles, or what he thought was circles, trying to cover the area in which he had lost her.  As he ran, something had caught hold of his feet and sent him spiraling down into a pit of black marsh.  The leaves and muck sucked him in like a greedy child eating the last piece of cake after dinner. 

He wanted to scream again, but knew that to open his mouth meant that the mud and rotten jungle flora would enter the second he tried.  He managed to get his head above the surface, gasping slightly for air as he did so, but not so much as to lose his momentum in the cruel black pond.  The water swirled like a gaping maul ready to swallow him whole.   

He moved his arms slightly; attempting to move to the side and grab hold of something—anything he could get his hands on.  The stagnant black pool enveloped him, and the stench of decaying earth and blackened mud resembled the smell of raw sewage.  His fingers searched the muck for something strong and at once grabbed hold of something.  He pulled with all of his strength and was moving up onto a surface with more density.  The mud was still black and putrid, but it was thick enough to support his weight as he inched along the surface. 

He turned and sat down, suddenly on ground solid enough to do so.  As he turned and just for a brief moment, he saw what looked like fingers sliding back down into the murky blackness.  His thoughts raced, settling on the idea that maybe that was Erin and he began to strip his clothes and boots, trying to reduce his weight as much as possible.  If she had fallen in saving him, he would never forgive himself.

As he got his pants off, Erin’s voice sounded from behind him.  “Perhaps we should worry about getting out of the fire before getting naked again.” 

He turned and was at once relieved, then frightened. 

Whose fingers were in the mud? 

As if to answer the question he had just asked himself, laughter broke out through the torrential fires and booming storm above. It was a sinister, evil cackle that made both Erin and Jacob freeze in their tracks. 

“What was that?” Jacob asked, searching in all directions for where the sound had come from. 

“I believe that was our cue to get the hell out of here, and fast.” Erin said, anxiously searching for the best exit.

Jacob began to put his clothes back on, holding his boots in his hands for the time being, and they began their run once more.  Erin stayed close behind him this time and soon the roaring fires began to diminish and they broke out onto a clearing of jungle that hadn’t yet seen the power of the fire close behind. 

Erin’s labored breathing was loud amidst the quiet night air.  Jacob’s lungs ached from the smoke, but he was not as out of breath as he thought he otherwise should have been.  His chest rose and fell with ease and not at a rapid pace, though he could feel his pulse racing and his heart beating like a native drum line. 

“So what did you mean that was…your plane?” Erin said, stopping in between words to catch her breath.

“I’m not really sure,” he said in return, plopping down next to a tree on the other side of the clearing to rest.  “I got this weird feeling just before it fell, like something was about to happen or that I had experienced this moment before.  It was very déjà-vu.  Even when I saw the number of the plane, my mind still didn’t want to believe what I was seeing.  Then the man…”

Erin could see that similar look of confusion and contemplation that Jacob always had on his face.  She also knew that to pry answers out of him right now wasn’t going to happen.  She wanted to prod him for as much information as she could, but she knew in vain that he knew little more than she did.  The whole of the situation made little to no sense at all. 

“…the man was on the plane.  He sat behind me a few rows back.  I didn’t recognize him from how he looked as he was obviously…” his voice trailed off, not wanting to form the words of that grizzly experience.  Somehow he thought that saying them out loud made the event come to life, and if keeping them hidden inside would somehow keep the whole incident as nothing more than a bad dream.  “The man was wearing the same shirt.”

Erin stared at him in disbelief.  “So you mean that he wore the only shirt that was ever made by that designer?  This could all be coincidence and the horror of what we just witnessed could have been playing tricks on your mind.”

Jacob’s eye shot up in anger.  “Don’t you think I want to pretend I didn’t just see that?  I would not make something up or try to drive more terror and confusion into this already fucked up situation if I wasn’t certain.”

Erin stood ready to argue and as she opened her mouth, her voice was trumped by another loud cruel laughter.  The sound was coming from all directions, seeming to bounce off of the trees like a ping pong ball.  Jacob’s heart lurched with each gruesome echo like a vehicle stuck in too low a gear.  He stood, after putting his boots on, and after grabbing Erin’s arm, he pulled her into a jog once more. 

They ran through the jungle, blind to any light shadowed by the canopy above.  The moonlight only broke through in spots, making the entire flooring one giant obstacle course and one that must be traversed seemingly blindfolded.  Jacob’s eyes still stung from the smoke and he could still hear the footfalls of Erin close behind him.  It comforted him to know that she was so close and that he did not have to go through this nightmare alone.

As his thoughts provided him comfort, there came something else that broke his train of thought.  There were more footfalls behind them.  Erin’s breathing intensified and he knew she was also aware they were being followed.  A low growl erupted from the trees and they at once picked up pace, now running for their lives through the darkness. 

Jacob’s mind searched for some sort of plan, some action that might save his and Erin’s lives and get them away from their pursuers.  There were eyes within the blackness that seemed to dart behind trees and appear once more from different areas; hundreds of tiny red spectacles in an otherwise complete blackness.   

He heard Erin scream and as he stopped to turn, something had overtaken him and violently threw him to the ground.  He could feel the weight of some creature pressing him onto the ground, the roots and rocks of the ground grinding into his body.  He could barely breathe with the weight of the creature standing on his back.  He felt claws gripping into his back, piercing through the skin and grinding deep into the muscle tissue.  He wanted to scream, if only his face wasn’t buried deep within the dirt. 

He heard Erin’ struggling behind him, assumedly in a similar situation.  He felt a ping of guilt.  He couldn’t help her and he wanted nothing more than to come to her rescue.  He felt powerless and angry at letting this happen to them.  The anger within him grew, and his heart beat slowed to a steadier more constant pace.  He could feel the muscles in his arms tightening as he felt the stinking breath of the creature just inches from the back of his head. 

Drool dripped onto his neck and the slime ran down his shoulder and onto the ground.  The weight of the creature seemed to be less suppressive now, and it felt as though the creature itself were much smaller.  His hands dug into the ground, his nails plunging into the hard surface for a good grip.  He began to push with all of his strength against the earth and was soon able to lift himself an inch or so off of the ground before the creature pushed him harder back onto the surface. 

He could feel teeth diving deep into his shoulder and he knew the pain must be extreme, but his mind blocked out the pain and only drove him onward.  He tried once more to lift himself off the ground, this time doing so with ease.  The creature, now evident in the darkness to be that same childlike demon he saw in the basement of the lighthouse, backed away from him.  It turned its horrid face to the side, studying Jacob like a concerned parent.  It walked around him, not taking its eyes off of him, as bloody drool dripped from its cruel and twisted mouth. 

He could hear the creature growling and he suddenly felt less afraid and more in tune with his surroundings.  He knew this creature didn’t stand a chance.  He walked towards it as the creature once again lunged at him.  The claws gripped his arms and he could hear his muscles ripping beneath the skin and the creature’s mouth was about to take hold of Jacob’s throat when it was caught by his hands.  It struggled to break free to take another gruesome attempt only Jacob’s strength held it tight.  Jacob squeezed and as the creature’s claws released themselves from his arms, he felt the bones snapping and popping inside of its head.  He could see its eyes bulge, their tiny black marbles sliding down with black blood from its sockets and he pushed even harder.  The creature was twitching, like a sick puppet under his strength and as suddenly fell limp and unmoving. 

Erin screamed and he suddenly remembered there were more of them.  He dropped the creature and ran towards her scream.  He broke through some trees and saw what appeared to be a larger version of the creature he had just killed.  It was toying with Erin like a sick game of cat and mouse.  It circled her, swinging every so often to slice tiny gashes across her arm or abdomen.  Jacob’s rage ensued.  This time, catching the creature off guard, he twisted its head almost clean off before it even had time to notice he was there. 

There was a howl that sounded at once all around them, and he could hear that same familiar sound of feet gripping the earth all around them.  He could hear the growls and anger that emanated off of them.  He was surprised at his ability to kill two of them, but knew there was no way he could handle that many.  He grabbed Erin once more and off them went, running through the trees as their pursuers were only a few feet behind.  Not daring to take a look, Jacob estimated by the sounds of their feet and claws gripping the earth that there were at least ten of them. 

Like a light at the end of the tunnel, Jacob could see a fire ahead of them.  He ran as fast as he could, his arms and legs burning under the strain and he only hoped that Erin had also noticed the fire and that she was somehow able to keep pace with him.  He was unsure as to the extent of her injuries, but if adrenaline counted for anything, she wouldn’t fall behind. 

As the fire came closer into view, Jacob jumped through the trees into the light, knowing the creatures would not be able to follow him.  He landed hard against the rocky soil and rolled onto his knees as he did so.  He searched behind him, but saw nothing. 

Erin was gone.

His mind was a swimming pool of emotions.  Fear stung his heart and guilt pained him more than the claws from earlier.  He looked around for anyone but saw none.  The fire burned in the middle of a circle of stones, but there was no one around to have started it.  At least by what Jacob could tell. 

He called out in loud screams for Erin, to hear some sign of her in the jungle from which he came.  Only silence greeted him.  He founded a stick and ripped his shirt into tiny strips, forming a tight bundle around one end of it and dipped it into the fire.  Although he knew the shirt would only last a minute or two at most with no fuel source, he had to go back and try to find her. 

He broke back into the trees, now having a light to guide him and he searched frantically.  He could almost see his own footprints and followed them for what seemed like a couple hundred feet.  The creatures had stopped pursuit, as was evident by their sudden turn in the dirt.  He knelt down, searching low to the ground for Erin or any sign she had at least made it this far.  He saw nothing.  He could see the shirt was nearly burnt completely out and what little light he had was fading rapidly.  There was no use in continuing to search for her in the dark, he knew this. 

He trudged back to the fire, once more searching for anyone around that may be able to help or who had left the fire burning.  That familiar state of confusion came back and the growing lump in his throat stuck there when he thought about Erin.  How could they have been separated?  It made no sense that he would have heard nothing behind him, no struggle or scream that would have alerted him to her being caught once more.  Something didn’t seem right.  

Jacob sat down beside a stump, which was within the light of the fire.  He watched as the glowing embers danced and crackled.  If only he had done something more.  If only he could have fought the creatures while she ran and escaped.  If only he could have saved her.

He closed his eyes as tears began to fall.  He opened them once more and a familiar face greeted him with that same sinister and evil resonance. 

“Did you think you could save her?  Did you think you could save us all?”

The boy screamed in anguish and anger, his voice a deepened growl that did not suit him.  It came from all around, like a wave of thunder that roared through Jacob’s mind.  It echoed and bounced off of the surrounding trees.

“I don’t know what you are talking about!” Jacob said, for the first time his voice did not fail him.  The pain and confusion and anger suddenly erupting from him like a tidal wave.  He stood, noticing the boy was no longer looking at him with the expression of evil, but rather pity. 

The boy stepped forward, and that familiar odor of death and decay once more reached Jacob’s nose.  His courage now fading, Jacob stepped back coughing and dry heaving. 

“I think your mind is not the part of you that is confused, but rather your soul.  Nothing around you is as it seems.  Open your eyes Jacob.  Open your eyes and remember the truth.  You are afraid, but you do not know of what.” 

The boy’s voice was now one of pity and sorrow.  He could hear the sound of pain inside the boy’s words like a hidden shadow in a bright room.  He was no longer coming closer, but his booming voice was now only a whisper in Jacob’s mind. 

“Who are you?”

That same evil grin reappeared on the boy’s face and that same rage filled his eyes.  “If I was you, I would add some wood to the fire.”

The soft glow of the fire faded and everything descended into darkness.  Jacob’s eyes searched for any source of light, anything to help him, but found only a thick blackness.  He crouched low to the ground, feeling in the darkness.  Soft wet grass and moist earth greeted his fingers.  He began crawling around, attempting to find the stump that sat next to the fire.  His breath was now loud and labored, as if he had suddenly remembered he hadn’t been breathing.  The fear of the blackness had stripped him of his breath and only his natural instincts of the need for oxygen had returned the notion to him. 

His hands felt something hard and rough, a root or vine of some kind.  He followed it, hoping it would guide him to the stump, but as he crawled onward, it lead further and further away from the direction he assumed he should be headed.  His arm bumped into something, another hard surface, but this time, after carefully moving his finger tips along, he realized it had been hand carved.  It was not a tree or stump, but rather a smoother and squared post. 

A fence?

Jacob’s mind played on the possibilities.  Had there been a fence in the clearing?  There could have been, but in the duress and panicked state of his mind, he could have simply not seen it.  He only knew of the fire and the stump, and they both seemed to hold his attention from anything else. 

He stood up, and using his hands as a guide in the darkness, he followed the fence along, hoping it lead to a house or possibly civilization of some kind.  He inched his way along, careful not to run into anything and using his feet to guide him through the darkness, like an ant’s feelers. 

Suddenly he broke through the dense jungle canopy and the light of the stars above and the moon cast a glow on the ground.  He was in a field.  It seemed to stretch along the upper valley and drop back down between two very large cliffs in a bowl-shaped fashion.  There were lights, nearly a mile away, dancing between curtains of a large farm-style home. 

He broke into a run, finally seeing some signs of life and as he did so, he was joined by something he had hoped he would never hear again.  The silence of the night was broken by the horrifying growls of twisted and tormented creatures.  They broke through the trees, running out into the field, following right behind Jacob as he ran.  His mind was racing as fast as his beating heart and his lungs stung with exhaustion.  Each breath was an onslaught of tiny shards of glass, ripping his chest apart. 

He knew by the sounds of the growls and footsteps that there were at least a hundred of the creatures.  They lapsed into a stampeding force of evil and were closing the short distance between them.  The house drew ever closer as they were nearly upon him, he could feel their growls and he knew he wouldn’t make it.  Their fowl breath of rotting meat and decaying flesh was as ever strong.  He had found a road, which acted as make-shift driveway leading to the front porch of the house abruptly turned down it to make his way to the front door. 

One of the creatures closest to him had tripped by the sounds of the snarling and growling and had fallen into a roll and as he thought this was his chance to make it, the growling stopped.  He jumped onto the porch and the sound of his boots bouncing off of the ancient wooden boards was loud enough to be heard for miles in the echoing landscape. 

He turned the corner, bursting through the front door and shut it closed behind him.  As he turned, he noticed that the creatures had vanished.  They were no longer hundreds of them chasing him down, but rather an empty field, overgrown driveway and a road that lead into the trees at the far side of the homestead.  He turned around, finally away he may be intruding into someone’s home and met the eyes of something that made his heart stop.