(This is a work of
fiction and any resemblance to any
person living or dead is purely
coincidental.)
I don't remember
the first time I saw the shack out
back, but I remember the first time
it saw me. Yes, I said that
correctly, it saw me. I know, it
sounds crazy and perhaps it is but
crazy or not, it happened.
Now there is
nothing unusual about this small
building structure sitting in the
back corner of the property that I
own. It was apparently a storage
shed at some time in the past. I
never gave it a second glance when I
acquired the property and I didn't
bother to explore it till after I
moved into the house.
I had only lived on the
property for less than a month now and I was
trying to adjust to a new place. You know how
that is. Unpack this here, put this there. It
was a tough job for a guy alone. I was also
trying to adjust to being alone after ending a
24 year marriage to my high school sweetheart.
Our union bore no fruit but we had been happy
until Janine found herself. I guess that
meditation instructor had something to do with
that.....and he found her too. Several times
from what I understand. So we got divorced and
now here I am, Mark Weston, with my own place,
alone again after 24 years.
The purchase of this property was done quickly
with little thought to long term goals. I just
needed to get away. So I got away, clear across
the country from Northern California to
Maryland. A radical change for sure but that is
what I needed. With the sale of my property in
California and some very lucky investments in
some stocks I had enough money to last me at
least five years even after buying the property
if I didn't go nuts on the spending.
My job with a research and development firm had
also gone very well in the past 15 years so I
had some income from the products I helped
develop for them. At 49 years old I am
essentially retired with a comfortable living
and time on my hands.
Time.....just what I need when I have to think
about all the bitter moments of the last couple
of years. The hurt is still there but hey, I am
working on it. I have dated some but I just
can't get into that scene yet. Too much, too
soon.
So for now, I have a new place to work on, all
this stuff to put away, some minor things to
repair, some new neighbors to meet (my nearest
neighbor is at least 3/4 mile away in one
direction and 1 1/2 miles in the other). Then I
got the shack. The shack. That damn shack that
looks at me and sees me. I know it does! I feel
it!
The shack itself looks to be about 20ft X 8ftX
8ft. It has a sharply slanted metal roof, some
type of luan for walls and doors hanging open
with a dark maul of an opening that you can't
see into. There are briars and brambles and
small trees, bushes and all manner of weeds and
growths around it. It hasn't been used since who
knows when but I know it is alive. The darkness
in the doorway is impenetrable except when the
light appears. It has a shimmering, wavering
violet hued vortex with what appears to be eyes
floating in it. It can see me when I get too
near to it and I have seen it.
I know, you are thinking that I am crazy but I
swear to you that I am not. I am going to go out
there and try to figure out what this thing is
and why it is watching me. I will go this
afternoon.
Man! That was close! I thought for a second that
it had me. I know....I need to settle down,
catch my breath and tell you about it in a calm
detailed manner but Holy Crap! Ok.....I'm ok.
Here we go.
I had prepared (I thought) for my little foray
out back by taking along a flashlight, a 25ft.
length of rope and a tire iron. I am still not
sure why I took the tire iron but it seemed like
a good idea at the time. I don't know what I
thought might come out of that shed that I would
have to use it on but if something did, I wanted
to be ready. I had approached the shed or shack
or whatever you might call it with all due
caution. If anyone had been watching me I know
they would think I had lost my mind but at the
moment I didn't give a damn. This was my life
(did I really think in terms of my life) and I
wasn't taking any chances. When I was within
about 15 feet of the front side of the shack
with the doorway blackness yawning I stopped,
looked and listened. I couldn't see a damn thing
inside even thought the afternoon sun was
shining brightly. The blackness seemed a solid
mass and impenetrable. I steeled myself and
stepped closer to maybe 7 to 8ft. from the
doorway. There was still no details that I could
make out inside so I thought I would be brave
and I stepped right up to the doorway. OK...here
I am now standing at the threshold of discovery,
where is my reward? Still nothing.
I threw back my head and said "HAH!". Making fun
of my fears could help me get over them I guess
since nothing was happening. WRONG MOVE!!
Suddenly a small violet hued spot appeared in
the middle of the inky blackness and rapidly
grew to about 10ft. in diameter. Swirls appeared
in the circle making it look a lot like our
pictorial representation of a swirling galaxy
with its spiral arms. Located in the upper
section about 3/4 of the way up there opened
what appeared to be wispy eyes and they were
looking AT ME! My breath caught in my throat.
This had all happened in the span of maybe 3
seconds and I had not even time to move and when
I tried I found that I was routed to the spot. I
took all this in in an instant noting that there
were no other facial features other than those
damn spooky eyes. I stood there staring into
those eyes seeing the pain and misery that
lurked there. The eyes were no particular color,
they were like mere outlines within the swirls
of the violet mist of the vortex but the
suffering was there, very plain, very stark.
Those eyes pleaded for help, pleaded for MY
help. What could I do? How could I do anything
with that misty substance, that viscous swirling
substance of the cosmos?
I then remembered the rope and the tire iron. I
thought that if there were someone trapped
within that mist perhaps by throwing them a rope
I could pull them out and that way end up a
hero! So, being the brave stout fellow that I am
I tied the rope around the tire iron and took
the tire iron in hand, made sure my rope would
feed properly and let it fly. The iron arced out
gracefully through the air and when it reached
the misty swirl the solid form of the metal of
the iron took on a shimmery ghostlike appearance
then entered the mist just below the eyes.
BULLSEYE! (So to speak.) There was a coldness
that shot up the rope and into my hands that was
so unexpected I almost dropped the rope. The
forward motion of the iron seemed to have
stopped but I had not felt a thud of it landing
or anything other than the intense coldness. I
braced myself to give a big yank on the rope by
wrapping the rope around my forearm several
times. All of a sudden the rope pulled me nearly
off my feet causing me to run across the lip of
the shack door a couple of feet into the
building then I caught my footing and planted
them against the floor and pulled back for all I
was worth. Just for a moment I was convinced
that I was going tumble into that horrible
coldness. I gained my footing back enough to get
some slack and dropped the rope. I can tell you
now that the tug of war going on in the shack
was as close as I ever want to come to losing
anything in my life. At that moment I glanced at
those eyes and what I saw absolutely terrified
me beyond all measure. They contained what I
would call pure glee. I could not have been
mistaken about this at all. I was certain that
they had suckered me into this situation and I
do not know why but the why really doesn't
matter. I had only avoided becoming its next
victim by the skin of my teeth. I finally found
my feet and turned and ran like the 7 Hells were
pursuing me and perhaps they were.
I know that my ordeal in the shack is not over.
I must do something about it or who knows what
could happen? I don't want this responsibility
but who else is there? Who else knows what I do?
I just have to figure this out.
OK. I think I have a plan. I am not going to
detail it here until I get back from the task of
ridding the world? worlds? (what would be the
right terminology I don't know) of this thing.
Wish me luck.
Excerpt from Crofton-West County Gazette:
Local- The Chief of Police announced today that
they are in an ongoing investigation in the
disappearance of are in an ongoing investigation
in the disappearance of county resident Mark
Weston who had moved here a short time ago from
California. The Chief says that Mr. Weston was
reported missing after relatives from California
failed to reach him by telephone and neighbors
tried to raise him by knocking on his doors. Mr.
Weston's home seems intact with nothing missing
and it was as though he just walked out and
vanished into thin air. Police conducted a
thorough search f the property and surrounding
area and found nothing. One Deputy did say that
while searching the back part of the property
near an old run down shack that he had thought
he heard a faint call for help from inside the
building. After he looked inside and found
nothing he determined that he had probably not
actually heard anything at all. There was an
unusual ozone type smell from around the back
area of the property but they could not link
that up with any reason for the disappearance.
The investigation is continuing.
Copyright 2014 William M. Ward
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