Author: K.L. Barnes
Category: Suspense
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Just as he came even with the old adobe shed he heard the slamming of a screen door. He dropped to the ground and kept himself out of sight behind a fallen tree, watching the rear of the house and the two men who stepped from the rear deck.
A smallish man walked with his head down, slightly in front of the boy who had answered the door yesterday. His steps were slow and he seemed to be limping, placing each foot carefully before he took each step. Neither spoke during the short trip to the shed but something seemed a little bit off to Ben. He held his breath while he waited for them to go back to the house.
A long time passed while Ben lay on the hard ground, the darkness moving in to lay over everything like a heavy blanket. At last he heard the door of the shed open and then close again, followed by a shuffling of footsteps that ended back at the cabin. Ben couldn’t see very well in the utter blackness, but he would have sworn he saw one shape, Could only hear one set of footsteps returning from the shed. He waited a while longer, then slithered on his belly, working his way to where he was hidden from view of the house by coming around behind the shed. He very quietly crawled around the corner, searching the walls overhead for a window or another door that wasn’t directly facing the main house.
Ben turned around and crawled to the back, turning again to come up the other side. The white pickup truck was parked next to the old adobe building. This wall framed what had once been a large window high up near the roof. What little glass remained was filthy with years of dirt and grime. If he climbed into the truck bed he would be able to crawl in through the window, but the camouflage clothing that had served to conceal his presence in the woods wouldn’t keep him from being outlined against the lighter white paint of the vehicle.
Deciding it wouldn’t be much of a risk since the kid was already there and gone, he crawled over the tailgate and crouched down using the tool chest behind the cab for cover. Ben had expected to see some sort of light coming through the window but the darkness was unbroken, not even a flashlight beam could be seen flickering around inside.
Had both men gone back to the house? Or was the second man standing there in the dark? That didn’t make any kind of sense and he waited for an interminable time, listening for the sounds of breathing or the scrape of a shoe, anything that would tell him the location of the second man.
Nothing. There was no sound at all coming from inside so Ben stood up, pressed his body against the outside wall, and threw his leg over the sill, then lowered himself by his arms and dropped quietly to the floor on the inside. He made a futile effort to search the interior but his vision was useless in the veil of darkness. He finally gave up, finding nothing of any interest, and pulled himself back up to the window, repeating the process of quietly lowering himself out the other side. His feet had barely touched back down in the truck when he heard the screen door slam again and those same shuffling footsteps approaching in the dark.
Ben knew he would be spotted if he tried to make a break for it, so he did the next thing that came to mind. He laid out flat behind the tool box and burrowed into the shadows. The drivers’ side door opened and the truck bounced once as someone hopped onto the seat, then the door closed again as the engine turned over and the truck began to move.
*****
Glenn was in the cellar breathing through his mouth in an attempt to avoid inhaling the acrid smell of urine and feces that burned his nostrils.
He hadn’t told Maeve about the conditions he was forced to live in down here. The fact that he had no heat, bed or bathroom facilities wouldn’t make a difference to their plans. Glenn could hear Carl moving the heavy cistern pump they used to conceal the presence of the cellar, and then after a while there was nothing but silence.
If he were to stay down here much longer Glenn knew he would eventually lose his mind. As a matter of fact, that was probably exactly what Joseph was counting on. The only thing that kept him alive was the knowledge that Maeve and the kids needed him, and that tonight would be the last time he ever saw this detestable hole in the ground.
Hadn’t Carl said as much tonight with his taunting remarks? “Just think, Doc, this time tomorrow you’ll be visiting with the spirits. You just might like it so much you decide not to come back.” A depraved light was clearly shining in his eyes and Glenn blanched visibly at the deadly insinuation.
It had only been ten minutes or so since he heard Carl leave, but now he could hear him again, walking ever so quietly around the dusty floor above him. Maybe he’s come back to kill me tonight, Glenn thought. He had no weapon to defend himself, but he wasn’t going to give up without a fight. He quietly moved to a corner where the light from above wouldn’t immediately betray his position and he waited.
After a few minutes the shuffling above his head ceased and everything was quiet again. But while he had been waiting, Glenn had an idea that might add an edge to tomorrow night’s contingency.
*****
Chapter 24
Carl went back to the house after covering Makula’s only possible egress and checked with Joseph for instructions before he went scouting. Joseph paced slowly while pulling on his lower lip, his brow wrinkled together thoughtfully. His mood was pensive and he said solemnly, “I have been considering tomorrow night’s ritual.”
Carl felt his hands trembling, partially due to the anger directed toward his father for robbing him of his part in the sacrifice and partly because of the excitement he felt at the thought of choosing his first young victim.
They had always performed the rite together, combining their eagerness and bloodlust to instill utter terror in the hearts of their prey. This time would be different and he wondered if the feeling of power would be diminished somehow. Or would it possibly be more fulfilling?
The anticipation was building to a point that Carl could hardly contain himself, but he practiced the exercises his father had taught him, breathing in and out deeply and telling himself to be patient.
“The woman knows exactly where the power is greatest, that is why she asked for the divination to take place in the open.” He seemed to be worried about something as he continued to pace the room.
“She must know something that we don’t,” he thought aloud, apparently deciding to accept the challenge, whatever it might be. He would just have to prepare and keep his eyes open if he wanted to be the victor in her little game of enchantment.
The thrill he felt at facing a true adversary was an unexpected surprise to him and he focused his full attention on the feeling of pleasure, not even realizing that Carl had left the room.
*****
Dennis was puzzled and more than a little concerned over his inability to track down Ralph Ralston. He owned the cabin where the two strangers were staying and Clark had never heard of him leaving for the winter, or any other time in all the years that he had lived in the remote cabin.
Clark assigned the dispatcher the duty of locating the long time resident, but so far hadn’t gotten any word from her regarding his location. He kept reviewing the scene at the Ralston cabin, but couldn’t find a single detail that would point to suspicion. He knew that something there just felt wrong. Ralph had always kept that enclosed loft full of old photos and dusty furniture, but it was empty now, so maybe he had gone off for a while and moved all that junk out to make room for the renters. Nothing was a secret in the tight knit little community. Ralph had always been somewhat of a loner, and his cantankerous behavior kept most people at arm’s length, but it just didn’t add up that he would be able to make this kind of a move without someone knowing about it.
He’d done a little asking around but even Marge didn’t know what he was talking about. She was the hostess and head waitress at the local diner and she didn’t miss much when it came to gossip. It wasn’t all that curious that she hadn’t seen him in over a week. Sometimes she didn’t see him for a month at a time and it wasn’t really much cause for concern.
“He stopped in here a while back and said he might be gone a couple
of days. Said he was heading down the mountain to make some arrangements for winter. Maybe he meant he was making plans to leave for a while but I wouldn’t really know about that.”
“Now if you want to talk about that hunk that was in here the other day,” she crooned, hoping that she might spark a jealous interest from the good looking deputy. “I can tell you that he was real wound up about some goings on up at Lost Lake.”
Clark thanked her but said he already knew about the concerned citizen and then made a quick get away before Marge could really sink her teeth into the story, or in to him.
He had even gone so far as to talk to Baker about a search warrant. The town’s answer to a sheriff had argued against it based on the complete lack of evidence and determined that another invasion of the man’s privacy would be unwarranted.
Clark reviewed his conversation with Jameson again and decided once more that both of them couldn’t be wrong.
Turning the SUV around, Dennis drove back out to the lake area, then took a back road where he could pull over and observe the cabin from the cover of thick evergreens bordering the overgrown trail. He hadn’t been situated more than five minutes when he spotted the kid leaving the cabin.
He pulled the white 4x4 out from behind the shed and surprised Clark by turning onto the little used road only a few hundred yards from where he was parked. Dennis held his breath and waited for the pickup to pass by, hoping he was far enough back in the trees that he wouldn’t be spotted. Fortunately the boy was focused on navigating the rough terrain and passed by the deputy without taking his eyes off the road.
Clark waited thirty seconds before he eased back onto the road. Carl’s taillights were still clearly visible in the distance.
The moon was nearly full and it cast enough light for Clark to see without his headlights, so he kept as much distance as possible between himself and the slow moving pickup. His quarry kept moving and after passing several turns that would have taken him back to the main road, Clark came to the conclusion that they had to be on their way out to Land’s End.
He also surmised that the kid was about to do a little out of season hunting, which would give authorities the perfect excuse to get a better look at the property.
The area around the Ranger Observatory was wide open and offered almost no cover, so Clark pulled over and left the cruiser behind a stand of trees. He moved quietly on foot until he reached the edge of the woods and peered through a set of binoculars at the unusual movements of the young man.
*****
Carl stopped the truck and stepped out, then walked around to the passenger side. He leaned inside and picked up the heavy sledge hammer and iron spikes that he had left on the floor board earlier in the day.
He wasn’t worried about some tourist discovering the so called sacrificial setup, nobody came out here when the weather was cold and anyway, they’d probably just think it was some ancient Indian artifact left over from the days of the Meeker Massacre. Some people were just that stupid.
He carried the heavy tools over to a low stone wall that had been there for a hundred years or more and dropped them on the ground, looking up at the blanket of stars and the bright silver moon that hung like a globe in the expansive sky.
A few months ago, Joseph had begun acting very strangely. All of a sudden it was like he had become part of a religious cult or something. Carl couldn’t care less about his father’s weird belief in the spirits or the position of the planets and their effect on human behavior. He only cared about the power he felt growing inside him each time he watched some pathetic, terrified loser begging for his life under the flashing blade of his father’s knife.
He ran his hand reverently over the top of the wall, imagining the feel of blood on the stones and hearing the cries of pain and anguish as flesh was parted from bone.
Tomorrow would be special for him. It was to be the first time he would use his own knife to separate the shining mass of hair from the most delicate brow. He laughed out loud as he pounded the heavy spikes into the ground on either side of the wall and then spread the dried herbs across the sacred altar.
*****
Ben had been watching quietly from the bed of the pickup where he was stowed away, and he felt every hair on his body stand on end at the sound of the eerie laughter ringing across the open plateau. He ducked back behind the tool chest as Carl turned away from the wall, putting an end to the strange scene. Crunching footsteps approached and Ben settled in for the bouncing ride back to the cabin in the woods.
Clark was disappointed when Carl failed to produce a weapon of any kind, but he continued to watch the boy’s disturbing behavior from the cover of darkness.
He had focused his attention on the antics of the youth and never saw the head of the man who watched along with him.
Clark never took his eyes off of the curious young man as he drove back down the road toward Lost Lake. There wasn’t much sense in following him any longer tonight, and besides, he wanted to check out the wall and see if he could figure out what this was all about.
He walked across the open plain and bent down to study the rusted metal stakes that were pounded solidly into the ground.
He tugged and pulled but was unable to budge the first spike. The kid obviously wanted to make sure there was no way they would come loose easily. The second one was set into softer soil and after pushing it back and forth and twisting it around in a circle a few times he was able to yank it free. They looked basically like old railroad ties that had rings crudely welded to the top and seemed like something you would use to tie down a large tent with.
Clark jabbed the makeshift post back in the hole and picked up a handful of dried leaves and twigs that were spread out on top of the wall. Crumbling the dry leaves between his fingers he raised it to his nostrils and recognized the pungent aroma of sage along with lavender and maybe fresh cucumber. Probably borage he decided, and wondered what the significance might be. The mixture of herbs had obviously been left as some sort of offering, but for what? An alarming thought began to take shape in the back of Clark’s mind as he surveyed the scene. He suddenly felt the urge to run back to his vehicle where he wouldn’t be so exposed, and where he could use his radio to call in for backup.
He wanted surveillance around the area for the remainder of the night, just in case the kid and his father came back to worship under the stars. The way things were shaping up, if the Binyon’s were in fact holding the Tidewells, this set up didn’t bode well for them. It didn’t bode well for them at all.
Maeve was always relieved to get back to the girls where she could see that they were healthy and unharmed. Tonight was no different but she was feeling increasingly anxious about their safety during tomorrow night’s escape.
There were so many things to consider. The biggest part was keeping them out of the line of fire, and making sure they didn’t get lost in the vast mountain range. And what if she and Glenn didn’t make it and the kids had to fend for themselves out there in the cold and the dark?
She was terribly concerned about Glenn, too. None of them had bathed since they’d been brought here and they were all starting to smell pretty bad, but Glenn had been here longer and by the looks of his feet he was being treated less kindly than Maeve and the girls. They had started to swell and sores were forming on the bare soles, adding to Maeve’s doubt that he would be able to travel any distance on foot.
She had to stop thinking about all of the things that could go wrong and start focusing her energy on making sure they all got out of this alive.
The girls were talking quietly on the bed when Maeve entered the room and they fell silent as she came down the stairs.
“What’s wrong?” Claire asked, her voice full of concern over the tense expression on her mother’s face.
“Nothing’s wrong, honey,” she soothed as she sat down between the girls and hugged them close.
“Glenn and I have been working all day on getting us out of here and I really think it�
��s going to be okay. I’m just a little scared and worried, that’s all.” She tried to explain through the tightness in her chest.
“We talked to Faye and Joe, Mom, and they will be right there to help us when it’s time,” advised Torei.
“Joe says his dad trusts him, sort of, and that’s why he has a gun like Carl,” added Claire and then she said with complete conviction. “And he says he’ll shoot Carl before he lets him hurt any of us anymore.”
“I’m worried about Joe, though,” Torei said, her voice full of worry for the tender hearted boy.
“He’s not getting any better, no matter how hard I try, and I’m not sure how much longer he can hold on.”
“We’ll get him help as soon as we can.” Maeve was more determined now than ever to put an end to their imprisonment.
“The thing is, he won’t let go of what’s making him sick.” Torei tried to offer some enlightenment on the subject of Joseph’s continuing illness.
“He won’t do it because he thinks it will be bad for you,” Claire said, and Torei just nodded in agreement.
Maeve spent the next hour going over the plan of attack with the girls, trusting that they would relay the information to Joe and Faye tomorrow. The time was almost here and they only had one day left to make sure everyone knew exactly what to do.
Then they talked of other things. Glenn’s decision to get married when they got back home, the cheerleading tryouts that were coming up, and sweet memories of growing up surrounded by love and commitment to family.
The girls eventually fell asleep, but Maeve lay awake for a long time going over the possibilities in her mind and hoping that she would be able to send one final message tonight in her dreams.
*****
Chapter 25
“Mark, I need to talk to you,” Jason said quietly as the two walked into the bedroom. He closed the door quietly behind him to make sure they had their privacy and walked over to the window where he stared out at the brightly gleaming moon.
“What’s up?” Mark said, the wariness in his glance belying the laid back tone. Jason knew Mark had been trying to get a read on his mood all afternoon, mainly because Mark was doing a really lousy job of hiding his curiosity.