Tandem of Terror (28 page)

Frank gave in easily enough and soon the four
men sat around a small fire with coffee and bacon warming above its
flames. Marcus sat cleaning his Colt .36 while Jeff snored
peacefully beside him. Frank watched David carefully. The young
indian met his gaze as if reading his thoughts.

"
We're close sherriff. It
can sense us now, as I feel it."

"
So you think he knows we're
after him?"

"
It does," David drew a long
hunting knife from the sheath on his belt. Its blade gleaming in
the light of the fire. He carried no gun. "It may come after us
this night. It would be best if we were ready for it."

Marcus snapped his revolver back together,
its chamber fully loaded as a howl sounded in the distance.

Then before even David realized what was
happening it was upon them. It came charging out of the trees to
the west of the camp, the oppsite direction from which the howl
came. Bright yellow eyes shinning in the darkness above its
tattered clothing. Marcus tried to get to his feet but it grabbed
him and lifted him effortlessly with one hand and threw him across
the camp. He struck the dirt with a loud thud and the cracking
sound of breaking bones. Jeff awoke screaming as it plunged a foot
through his chest to touch the ground upon which he slept. Red
bubbles formed on his lips as he continued to try to scream.

Frank whipped his own gun around towards the
thing but David was already between them. The indian moved like
lightening, muttering in some tongue that Frank couldn't even guess
at the origins of. David lashed out with his blade cutting a deep
gash in the creature's left arm. It batted the knife from his hand
and slapped him so hard David went tumbling towards the horses,
where they shrieked and thrashed against the ropes they were tied
with leaving Frank alone to face its fury.

Frank's colt barked and spat hot lead. The
first round hit the thing in the throat. It reared its head back
making an awful gargling sound as two more bullets tore into its
stomach. Leaving a trail of blood behind it, it vanished into the
night as quickly as it had came. Frank sat staring after it in
disbelief.

When David awoke the sun was high in the noon
day sky. His throat burned with thrist and a large bruise scarred
his face. Marcus lay nearby, one of his arms resting in a makeshift
sling. The deputy made soft groaning sounds that bespoke the pain
he must be in. The bulge of a broken rib could be seen through the
flesh of his shirtless torso.

Frank walked into view carrying a small
shovel. The sweat of hard labor dripping from his brow and soaking
his hair. He threw the tool away in disgust and watched as David
propped himself up.

"
So that was your
Wendigo?"

"
We are lucky to be alive.
The demon seldom leaves any of its prey to tell others of its
existance."

"
Not one word about us
giving up," Frank snarled. "That thing is going to pay for what
it's done."

"
You saw it with your own
eyes, sherriff, and still you persist? You are either very brave or
very stupid."

"
I shot it three times last
night, more than enough to kill any man yet it just ran away as if
nothing had happened. I'm willing to accept that it's not human.
I'll even call it a demon too, if you like, but you have to tell me
how to kill it, David."

"
It bleeds and dies just
like us. It just takes more to stop it. It is incredibly strong. It
must be immobilized and wounded so badly it has no strenght left
then its remains must be burnt and scattered upon the
wind."

"
It moves so fast and I sure
can't see any way to hold it. Look at what it did to Marcus and
Jeff." Frank sank to the ground resting his face in the palms of
his hands. After a moment, he looked up. "It's like an animal. Does
it think like one too?"

David nodded wiping at the dried black ooze
on the blade of his knife with a piece of cloth. "It is not like
us."

Frank smiled. "I think I have a plan."

Frank and David fashioned a sort of stretcher
to haul Marcus on and tied it to Frank's horse. The group moved at
a slower pace with Marcus drifting in and out of consciousness
leaving Jeff's unmarked grave behind them. The day was long despite
their late start but David had no problem tracking the creature. As
the day began to give way to the twilight, they came upon a cabin
in the distant woods before them. David sensed instantly this was
the demon's home and place of birth. Even from where they stood,
they could see piles of bone littering the cabin's yard and two
bodies hung from crudely fashioned meat hooks on the cabin's porch.
Each was fully stripped and skinned, forms so mutilated that even
their gender was hidden.

Sweat poured from Frank's brow. The heavy
coat he wore about his body hot and uncomfortable even in the
setting sun. It made him look fat and slow.

"
Should we just go up and
knock?" David joked without taking his eyes from the cabin's
door.

Frank drew his pistol and led the way down to
the house, staggering under the weight wrapped around his body
beneath the heavy coat. The bones crunched under their boots as
they made their way towards the door. David held his knife ready
though he felt only the creature's lingering evil. Apparently, the
demon wasn't home at the moment.

Frank held a cloth over his mouth as he
examined the dangling corpses on the porch. "Why does it do this
David?"

"
It's angry. Angry at the
white man for invading our land, angry at my people for their lack
of faith. It was born of hatred and rage. That is all it
knows."

David pushed open the door which creaked on
its rusty hinges and peered inside. Feces and dried blood covered
the cabin's walls. There was nothing else inside except for a
half-skinned corpse upon the floor.

Frank followed David inside as the Indian
knelt beside the body. It was a nineteen year old boy, face locked
in an eternal expression of terror. The top of his head had been
gnawed into and red brain matter leaked from the jagged teeth marks
onto the wooden floor.

Frank grunted with disgust, turning away as
he raised a hand to cover his mouth.

David let go of the boy and stood up
suddenly. A scream ripped through the growing darkness outside.

"
Marcus!" Frank shouted
already racing outside.

The Wendigo stood in the yard staring at
them. It held Marcus's skull in its hands. Blood dripped from the
remains of Marcus's throat where the creature had torn his head
free of the deputy's body.

David leapt off the porch at the thing, his
knife streaking through the air at its face. It knocked him aside
like a ragdoll, dropping Marcus's head. Its mouth opened issuing an
inhuman howl as it lunged at Frank. The sheriff made no move to
dodge it and the pair went rolling into the cabin in a mass of
struggling limbs. Frank looked into its eyes and saw the depths of
Hell staring back at him. He struck a match on his thumb and
smiled, pressing it to the fuse end that poked out from beneath his
coat. "Goodbye, you bastard!" Frank laughed.

Outside the cabin, David ran for his life as
the fuse reached the dynamite strapped around Frank's torso. The
explosion behind him lit the night as the cabin erupted into a ball
of flame reaching up for the heavens. The shockwave of the blast
picked David up and hurled him to the ground as a rain of blackened
wood and human remains fell over him.

Then the night was quiet once more. David
tried to get up but pain shot through out his tired body. He had
broken his legs as he fell. Tears burned in his eyes as he prayed
for the Great Spirit to watch over Frank's soul. The effort of
trying to get to his feet had drained him of all he had left to
give and he slumped back to the grass once more and closed his eyes
as a howl sounded in the woods nearby.

Between Mother and Daughter

John Grover

Molly saw the weariness on her mother's face
often; that worn look in her eyes. Her mother seemed constantly
tired and a bit sad. Her daughter could never quite understand the
reasoning behind it but she never questioned it. It wasn't that she
didn't care. It was that she understood it was somehow necessary,
part of being a mother. Dana was more than just a mother and wife,
there was a mystery surrounding her that Molly found exciting.

Dana seemed happy with her life; she loved
Molly and her husband Warren with all of her heart, her home was
beautiful and always kept that way. It was clear she took great
pride in being a housewife. She was the glue that kept the
household together. It was obvious, however, that something was
catching up with her. She never complained but there were times
when she hadn't slept in days...this did not escape her daughter's
notice.

It did escape Warren, Molly's step dad. He
did not quite observe all of this the way his stepdaughter did.
Girls watched their mothers, emulated them, paid attention even
when it seemed they weren't. They shared a bond and this mother and
daughter was no different. They had a link like no other they could
almost see into each other's souls.

Sixteen-year-old Molly Brenner strolled into
the kitchen and dropped her schoolbooks to the counter with
contempt. Her two best friends Joyce and Kevin had just dropped her
off. She had a crush on Kevin since the second grade but he never
knew it, and she meant to keep it that way.

Dana stood at the kitchen sink washing and
chopping vegetables. Molly walked to the sink and grabbed a piece
of broccoli. "

"
Out you, dinner's not for
an hour."

"C'mon mother," Molly returned. "You should
be glad I even like vegetables."

"That's a hard one to argue, kiddo. I'd
rather you snatch broccoli then cupcakes but still dinner's not for
an hour, now scoot."

Molly turned to leave, stopped and stared
back at her mother, studying her. It dawned her that her mother's
dark, straight hair was always about shoulder length and was never
worn any other way, not pinned up, never tied back not as long as
Molly could remember. She could barely remember her mother ever
having it cut.

Again she noticed her mother catch her
breath, resting from her dinner preparations. There were lines
under her eyes---they came and went. Molly parted her lips to inquire
but held back. Something told her it was not yet time. She was not
meant to know what her mother chose to keep within. For now she let
it go and left the kitchen.

The night was again hot and humid, had been
for the last week. Sweat glistened on Molly's flesh as she tossed
and turned, unable to sleep. Her covers were crumbled into a mess
at the foot of the bed and she simply stared at the ceiling for
hours trying to pass into dreamland but it evaded her.

The window fan was of little help instead it
felt as if it was blowing hot air into the room. She got up to get
some ice water to quench a burning thirst and temperature.

She stepped into the hall and saw her
mother's door creak open. She paused to watch as mother stepped out
and walked down the hall. Apparently the water idea was a popular
one.

Molly followed her mother hoping to engage
her in midnight conversation that only a mother and daughter could
share.

Dana walked into the kitchen with cautious
steps, a determination in them, a mission behind her actions.
Molly, lagging behind purposely, spied and tracked her mother's
every move.

Around the other side of the refrigerator
Dana slipped without thought or hesitation, just instinct. In the
corner between the fridge and countertop was the cellar door-closed
and waiting.

She watched her mother open the cellar door.
A cool breeze blew up from the darkness and filled the kitchen.
Molly shivered despite the heat of night and watched as her mother
vanished into the dark.

This was irresistible, something unraveled
right before Molly's eyes and she knew she had to find out what. It
was her duty. The mystery burned inside her and being a teenager
she would not be satisfied until she solved it. Besides, her
mother's behavior was quite unlike her, and even concerned Molly to
some extent.

One step at a time Molly crept down the
cellar stairs, gripping the wooden railing for dear life, a musty
smell catching her nose. She dare not switch the light on and spoil
all her efforts but the dark was all encompassing.

She stepped off the last step and saw a shape
wriggling in the dark. Her eyes strained and began to adapt and as
they did she noticed that it was her mother stirring in the center
of the room. Molly hid among the storage and watched something very
strange transpire.

Her eyes focused in the darkness with the
help of a mysterious, unearthly light that suddenly emanated from
her mother. Dana stood with her back to her and a small orb of
light pulsated on the back of her neck. Molly could see it through
her mother's long hair. It grew brighter and brighter as the
moments passed until the extraordinary happened.

A shaft of pure white light shot from the
ceiling, falling down upon Dana and bathing her in it. She lifted
her arms and basked in it, letting it totally engulf her.

Molly's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She
could not believe what she was seeing. Her heart thumped in her
chest as her palms went damp. Her breathing quickened as she sprung
from her hiding place immediately and screamed but it was too late.
She was alone in the cellar.

Her mother vanished inside the shaft of
light, snatched from the home in the blink of an eye.