2

Knocking on the door was beginning to make Kailie’s hand go numb. The wood was old and broken, much like the other homes on the road. Small splinters crept near her palm, but she kept going. She knew someone was in there, otherwise, she wouldn’t waste her time. Open up, d****t! We need help! What she saw earlier, from a distance, looked like cat’s eyes. Without a flashlight, she couldn’t see anything else at the time.

“Obviously, there’s no one home,” James sighed, irritated.

“There is,” Kailie insisted. “I know what I saw.”

Right as she said that, James froze with his mouth wide open. Kailie waved a hand in his face, he didn’t respond. She looked over in his direction, and was equally terrified. Through a hole in the door, a long, thin black cylinder was pointed directly at her stomach. One didn’t have to have a Ph.D. to know what that tube was connected to and what was inside it. Despite her mind screaming No!, Kailie’s hands couldn’t stop shaking. Back away, d****t! Back away! Just run! Don’t speak, just run like hell!

Suddenly, a window next to the door slammed open. An old woman, looking around sixty five, stood there, eyeing Kailie. Around five-foot-two, gray hair surrounding her head, just covering her neck, wild, light green eyes, like a lioness, a look so savage, Kailie thought this woman would eat them. As she opened her mouth to speak, it was as if she had never heard of a dentist in her life. Bony, white fingers lightly tapped the boards, nails so long, they were more like claws. As she reached a little further out the window, the black cylinder disappeared and the door was thrust open.

Equally terrifying, a man, about six feet, around seventy, stood before her. Bald, brown, almost black, hollow eyes, and he too, looked like the word “dentist” was never in his vocabulary. His nails weren’t as long, however, but Kailie couldn’t tell since his hands were still wrapped around the rifle. Thin and pale, they both looked as if they were starving themselves as their house was rotting.

“What do you want?” the lady cracked. Her voice reminded Kailie of the Wicked Witch of the West. The only things missing were the green skin and a broomstick. Eyes still on the rifle, Kailie found it difficult to even breathe.

Slowly, James stepped forward, arms wrapped around her. She could feel his arms shaking like leaves on a tree. Kailie, however, was frozen, feeling the soil move within her shoes. With the winds picking up, it wasn’t too difficult to stay in one place.

James swallowed, clearing his throat. “We need a little help.” His voice was so soft, Kailie was amazed they could hear him. Maybe it was just her loud, fast heartbeat in her ears that made anything else uneasy to hear.

“We, uh… were in an accident and are in need of assistance at the moment. Our phones were in the car when it was smashed.”

The lady kept eyeing James like a piece of meat. The man finally lowered his gun away from Kailie, enough for her to breathe briefly. She could tell James wanted to get away from this area. She also knew, however, that if they made any panicked moves, Theodora’s husband, here, could simply blow his head off.

“Do you have a phone we could use?” Kailie asked as politely as she could. She knew her voice would be shaking any time she felt she had to speak to them.

The lady lightly tapped her foot on the splintered wood on the porch. Filthy and pale, her feet had scars all over the toes. Nothing Kailie had ever seen before. They looked more like scars from lashes. Opposite her fingernails, her toenails were chewed to the bone. Tapping her feet, Kailie notice blood slowly seeping out of the nail. Shaking her head and looking away from the lady’s feet, she tried looking her in the eyes.

“We know what happened to you,” she croaked. “And we can’t help you.”

“Please,” James begged. “It’s freezing out here!”

A smack, then, cracked across James’s face with the butt of the rifle. Kailie could have sworn that the old man’s eyes were completely black by then. Spitting up blood, James keeled over a bit in the grass.

The lady shook her head slowly. “There’s no need to shout, young b*****d. This is our home, you will not behave that way.”

As Kailie went to help James, in the corner of her eye, she noticed the woman coming closer to her. Ironically, fear was the last thing on her mind. As the woman drifted, Kailie found herself looking, once more, at her feet. With each step she left red footprints. Neither of them seemed to notice. Pointing the rifle at them once more, the old man motioned for them to leave.

“You get the hell off our property! We see you again, we won’t hesitate!”

This time, Kailie knew she had to be seeing things. The man’s eyes were completely black and his voice was slightly lower in octave. It was as if it wasn’t him talking. It was like… there was someone…or something… talking through him. With him shaking at the voice, otherwise, it seemed unnoticed. Shaken away, like waking up from a nightmare. Glaring at the bottom of the house, she noticed that the area was open a little more this time.

Whatever’s down there is trying to break out. The dirt was disturbed, the wood was spread out, and the hole was bigger.

“Are you deaf?!” the man screamed.

“Kailie, let’s go,” James whispered. Out loud he said, “Sorry to bother you.”

#

“You saw it, right?” Kailie insisted as they were rushing toward the cemetery. She was shaking from head to toe by then. She kept looking behind her, hoping to find the human… or creature… what or whoever it was.

James shook his head violently. “No. I didn’t see s**t, Kailie. Now keep moving!” Grabbing her wrist, he had to yank at her to keep her moving. Moving her was like moving cinderblocks.

“Let go of me!” she yanked her wrist out of his grip. Walking back toward the house, Kailie couldn’t tell where her feet were. Except for the house, Kailie was blind. Who are you? That voice was screaming in her head. Who are you? Why are you there? Who are those… creatures?! Those people aren’t even people, she convinced herself. The woman: eyes and claws like a lion… the man: blackness in his eyes, his face a, otherwise, blank sheet. Who are you?

“I’m not just talking about the house,” Kailie insisted. “You’re telling me you didn’t see the woman’s feet or the man’s eyes?!”

James continued shaking his head. It was more like he was trying to shake himself awake. The last time Kailie saw him shake like that, he was having a nightmare. “No. I didn’t see anything… Now, let’s move!”

Wheezing… that’s all Kailie heard while James was talking. Like someone was being strangled near them. Heading toward the cemetery, Kailie once more felt the gooseflesh… going up her back delicately as if she were a snake shedding its skin. What was just as strange was that, literally, right after they left the porch, the wind immediately died down. Granted, the sky was still gray, but that was to be expected. The trees around that very house sagged a bit as if they didn’t have enough energy to hold anymore. And still, the wheezing continued.

James nodded. “Ok. That, I hear.”

It was getting louder and it seemed to travel with the wind. That was why he ignored it at first, because of the thought that it was just the wind. But the further they were away from that house, the louder the wheezing became. Words. That’s what James started to hear. They weren’t clear, but they were definitely human. Inhale… Speaking… Rough exhale. With the wind, cold and blowing all around his face, James felt he was going blind. Just walking a plank. Then, he realized it wasn’t he who was losing sight. Cold, wet fog started circling around him, wrapping him up like a cocoon. Before he realized what more was happening, nothing was visible in front of, or behind, him. Only auditory processing was possible when he heard Kailie gasp.

“James?” she called. Her voice seemed a lot farther away than just a few feet.

Panting, James started running. What’s going on?! “Kailie!” he screamed.

Without warning, he felt hands violently push his back. He quickly turned around, but couldn’t see anyone. When he called for Kailie again, there wasn’t any answer at first. While running, he was slowly losing his balance, and kept being pushed, by what, he didn’t know. Whoever was out there was playing a form of hacky sack with his body. Trying to fight the entity, or whatever it was, off of him, James started getting dizzy. Screaming for Kailie didn’t seem to effect the situation, for better or worse. There was screaming all around him. Not Kailie’s voice, but female, nevertheless.

The screaming grew louder, the faster James moved through the land cloud. Where the hell is she?! Under dizziness and stress, James finally collapsed to his knees, covering his eyes to stop the headache. Once he did, another hand gently touched his shoulder. As he was about to grab and yank it away, he realized who it was.

A small, relieved grin came across his face as Kailie gently helped him to his feet. She looked at him like they haven’t seen each other in years. Without warning, she wrapped her arms around his waist, gently exhaling. The behavior was like a young child finding her parent after a nightmare. Gently exhaling as well, James helped her to move closer to him.

With the fog still surrounding them, they slowly moved down what they figured was the road. Not a word came from their lips for minutes at a time. Just pale faces and wandering eyes, hoping to see a clear pathway, sooner, rather than later. The fog was too thick for James to breathe every once in a while. He claimed it was as if there were hands --- no, claws --- wrapped around his throat. All Kailie could do was keep an eye on him.

Suddenly, the feeling simply let go and the fog began to thin. James was breathing normally once more, and they could see more in front of them. The dark clouds were still there, and the sun showed no signs of appearing. But the fog simply vanished. There were no signs of dampness to suggest that it ever was there. As they moved slowly toward the cemetery, they froze in their tracks after only three steps.

A man stood just five feet in front of them. He looked about six-foot-two, extremely thin, pale skin, light brown hair and medium-colored blue eyes. Around forty, Kailie guessed, wearing the filthiest rags she ever saw. She couldn’t help but notice a small pendant wrapped around his neck. It was sapphire blue with what looked like horse hair to hold it. Even with the sun hiding, it seemed to glow somehow. It was as though it was blinking at them whenever the man switched bouncing feet.

“You don’t want to be going in that direction,” he whispered, pointing toward the cemetery. “Bad news.”

His hands were shaking and there were dark circles around his eyes. Sleeping didn’t look to be a part of his routine. The rags were so filthy, James could swear he saw the dirt climbing up and down his legs. His hair covered only the first half of his neck, strangely neat, compared to the rest of what James saw.

As if by instinct, James stepped slightly in front of Kailie as a form of protection. Too much had already happened within the last hour, and nobody was going to hurt his friend without a fight. This strange man, whoever he was, didn’t look like he lived in any town James was familiar with… More like a woodsman of sorts. The dead branches left over on the road smacked at the man’s bare feet, which were turning a bit purple. The middles of his toes were bleeding from the jagged edges in the stones on the road. His toenails seemed normal, as well as his fingernails. The man’s eyes seemed frightened as he stared from the clouds, to James and Kailie, and then back and forth. Finally, as they continued staring, the man spoke once more.

“We should get a move on as soon as possible,” he insisted. “It’s getting late. Don’t worry. I have a place nearby. As I said, though, the cemetery is the wrong place to be at this time.”

James didn’t move an inch, and he wouldn’t let Kailie… Not just yet. Shaking his head, he put his hand out as if to stop the man in his tracks.

“Who are you?” he wanted to know. “How long have you been here, and what do you want?”

The man’s eyes kept scanning the area they were standing in. It was as though something was hiding behind the trees or within the grass… Something only he could find. When James and Kailie were knocking on doors for help, nothing was really noticed.

Nervous, James backed himself and Kailie a few more steps away from the man. When he finally looked back at them, his eyes were full of confusion. Gently reaching his hand toward them, James punched it back.

“Don’t you touch us!” he yelled.

The man nodded in agreement. The look on his face still reminded James of a lost child. Never underestimate the weird ones, he told himself. As he watched, the man slowly put his hands in his pockets and continued searching the sky and ground. The movements were more like nervous twitches, except they were voluntary. Lost. That’s the only word James could think of to describe this man.

Finally, he stared right at them, still as Lady Liberty. Except for the wind moving his hair, he wouldn’t move an inch.

“I couldn’t help overhearing,” he said. “You need some help? I have a little place through there, only about a mile from where you’re standing.” He pointed toward the trees. James guessed it was a small wood. He couldn’t ask Kailie, because of her grandfather’s tall tales.

Impatient, James lightly stomped his foot to shake off the cold. “What’s your name?”

He swallowed. “I apologize. My name is Stephen. Stephen Williams.”

James nervously glanced at Kailie. She didn’t seem nervous at all… Rather, intrigued. From what James noticed, she couldn’t take her eyes off of this Stephen. He only looked forty, but his eyes looked older and haunted somehow. The eyes reminded of James of his mother when she died. Her eyes were wide open, misty, but still haunted. However it happened, something, literally, scared her to death. That’s the same look Stephen had. The reasons for him looking around, up and down. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that there really are poltergeists around here.

Kailie grabbed James’s hand in the middle of this thoughts. “I’m Kailie, this is James.”

Stephen nodded politely, still looking around. “Nice to meet both of you. Now, I hate to rush you, but if we’re going to go, it needs to be now.”

#

Just as he said it would be, Stephen’s home was just over a mile from the road. It was more of a shack, by the looks of it. James was in the cold for so long, once they made it in the shack, he felt like the warmth was melting his face. It was a simple, tiny place that reminded him of Yoda’s hut on Star Wars. It simply had one bed, one couch, one bathroom, and a kitchen. The walls were made of old wood from the trees around Bethesda. James could swear that he saw spiders going up the walls. Either way, it didn’t seem to bother this man in the slightest. He continued stoking the tiny fire with boiling food. It smelled of Irish stew.

As he filled their bowls, Kailie’s smile was little, but polite. All the while, James wouldn’t take his eyes off of her, guarding her like a lion and his cub. With the exception of the fire crackling, the house was completely silent. Stephen was less frightened as they entered his shelter.

Grinning politely, he finally spoke to them. “You don’t have to worry, sir. If I wanted to hurt either of you, I would have done it already.”

Those words were of little comfort to James. It was his turn to shake uncontrollably. Stephen’s face seemed to return to a normal color once he warmed up his hands. Clasping them together, for a few more minutes, he watched as James and Kailie ate what they could.

“We can’t thank you enough,” Kailie exclaimed. “I thought we were going to turn into ice cubes.”

Stephen’s grin widened, his eyes completely exhausted. “I had to. You had no vehicle, and you were in dangerous territory.”

James’s eyes widened, and he accidently dropped his bowl. Quickly picking it up before anything fell out, he could feel his skin get even hotter. Damn fingers. No one said a word. Stephen didn’t seem to realize what happened. His eyes were closed and his lips were moving. However, nothing was audible. It was like he was counting something.

“What do you mean, ‘dangerous territory’?”

Stephen opened his eyes delicately like waking up from a deep slumber. He looked around at James and Kailie the same way he did when they met on the road.

“Bethesda Road has been dangerous for thousands of years. Even before it was officially founded by settlers. You ever notice that when people go down this road, not too many are seen again? My parents are one exception because they never set foot in the cemetery.”

“Your parents?!” Kailie’s eyes looked like they would pop out of her head.

He nodded. “They were the ones you talked to earlier. I’m sorry if they hurt you.” He kept staring at James’s check. A bruise was being born, millimeters above his lips. Shaking his head, Stephen slowly sat a couple feet away from them.

“They’re your parents,” James confirmed. “Have they ever hit you?” He hated asking such questions to total strangers. A part of him kept thinking that it was none of his business. But then again, I do have a heart. The patience and the manner of how he was hit suggested that it wasn’t the old-timer’s first time striking a blow.

Stephen slowly nodded. “Especially when they learned about Kana being on Bethesda Road.”

At that name, James suddenly turned to Kailie. Her stomach must have dropped far below the ground. Her eyes were wide open and her movements slowed down to almost nothing. She looked as if she had been sculpted out to specifically have certain emotions lay across her face. However, one slight movement from James, and she would most likely get angry.

“Kana,” she whispered. Her eyes were moving almost as fast as REM in sleep mode.

“Yes,” Stephen answered. His face slightly twitched at the name. There was no mistaking what he said. His pale look told them everything. He knew about Kana. They weren’t sure how much he knew, but he knew, nevertheless.