“You
have nothing, everything is gone… and you are justified in leaving it all
behind you.” The voice spoke softly.
“I
haven’t left anything?” The man replied
as he checked his phone for a small signal verifying activity
The
voice was silent.
The
man slowly walked as he stuck his phone in his pants pocket. He struggled to remember the events from the
night before and gave up when only the same tiny bits and pieces kept running through
his mind playing like a broken record.
It
had started raining outside and the man cursed as he realized he had forgotten
his jacket. The day was forecast to be
bright and beautiful. He scoffed as he
thought about the weather center on the weather channel. All this new technology and they still can’t
make a fucking decent forecast. May as
well give a fortune teller a buck or two for a half assed prediction it might
work out better.
Dark
clouds hung over head and a cold chill ran up the man’s spine and down the
length of his body. It was odd that it
was the middle of July and it would turn so cold so suddenly. Then again it was Seattle, but still. He paused for just a quick second to light up
a cigarette while under an overhang the man took in a long drag and blew it out
slowly he continued to walk up the sidewalk toward his home.
A
burnt out neon sign sparked with a small trace of luminescence and then died
again. That small glimmer of light
caught the man’s attention. He turned as
he heard a light clanking behind him.
Sure that it was someone trying to pass he moved over but the clanking
continued steadily behind him. He
stopped and the sound stopped. He gazed
down at his watch 6:20 in the afternoon it read. He continued on his way and no sooner did he
take a step than did the person behind him.
Soon the steps behind him grew a little closer. He wondered what would make such an odd
clanking noise. What shoe would do
that? A tap dance shoe perhaps even a
combat boot maybe? He tried to recollect
what sound those shoes made. Looking
down he saw his sneakers and decided that he had no clue what a tap dancing
shoe would sound like.
Still,
the clanking grew a little louder as it grew closer. Deciding that he could not take it anymore he
spun on his heel to confront his stalker only to meet dead air give for the
rain that poured down. The man took
another drag of his cigarette and tossed the remnants to the ground. His long black hair was soaked as was the
rest of him. Running his hands through
his hair he looked around to see if there was anywhere for a place to
hide. His eyes found an empty parking
lot to a building long been demolished.
Other than that there was empty land from all angles. He looked back down at his sneakers and realized
that the pavement he had been walking on had turned to a dirt road which means
he must have taken a wrong turn somewhere.
Of
course then it dawned on him that shoes would not make a clanking sound on dirt. For that matter he hadn’t even taken any wrong
turns anywhere. He had never
turned. The road from his shop to his
home is a straight one and he scratched his head as he tried to remember if he
had turned. He looked around and
realized that nothing looked familiar.
There are no dirt roads in the suburbs where he has spent his whole life
growing up in. He turned around and
resumed walking. Perhaps he could stop
at that little hole in the wall bar and find use their phone.
No
sooner had he started walking then he heard an all familiar clanking noise. He stopped and it stopped he moved and the
noise continued. He spun back around and
met cold emerald eyes looking up at him.
He gasped stumbled backward and fell as he lost his footing. The source of the clanking let out a giggle.
“Wha...
Wha..?” The man stammered and he
attempted to back up further scooting himself on the ground. His ass had fallen on a great deal of his
hair and scooting back pulled his head back painfully.
He
examined the person before him. Shoulder
length black hair as thick and brilliant as his but not nearly as long, a soft
face that came to a delicate rounded point at the chin. She had high cheek bones and he wondered for
a moment about her place of origin. Her
body was dressed in lose fitting full length dress type wrap which was black
and trimmed in silver. On her feet were
silver slippers trimmed in black. She
was petite, breath taking, and smiling like an imp.
The
woman moved toward him and her shoes hit against each other making a clanking
sound. She bent down offering him a hand
up. “You have finally come.” She smiled as he lifted himself off of the
ground.
He
looked confused “Do I know you?”
“My
name is Gilda”. She said “You do not
know me but I know you.”
“How
do you know me? Where am I?” The man asked as Gilda took his hand and
proceeded to walk
She
giggled slyly. “You left finally. After
all these years you finally left and I am so proud of you for it.” She looked
directly into his eyes and her smile vanished. “I just know you Theus”.
Theus
focused on the road trying to remember what he left, what she was talking
about. He wasn’t quite getting the jist
of the whole conversation if there was one anyway. He glanced up and noticed that neon sign
again. Theus looked at his watch and was
stunned to see that 5 hours had passed even though he could have sworn he had
just looked at his watch just moments before.
He sighed heavily as the clanking from Gilda’s shoes seemed to
intensify. Scratching his head in
aggravation he pulled his hand out of the woman’s hand. His wife would surely kill him for being out
this late and with an attractive woman to boot.
He looked around as Gilda slipped off into the bar and steadily he
followed in after her.
The
place was dead give for two people sitting at a far corner table. The solemn looks on their face were fixed on
him. An eerie sadness permeated the
entire room. Gilda had skipped toward
the pair and as she approached they winced and retracted as though she was made
of flame and her nearness scorched them.
Theus sat in chair far from the stares of the other two and away from
Gilda. He grabbed the glass from in
front of him and poured the contents of a decanter from the table at his
side. He smelled the drink and his
memory was taken back.
“Do
you still love me”? His wife had cried as he sat on his sofa trying his best to
watch television. She had screamed
through their one bedroom apartment letting all the neighbors hear her
hysterics.
He
had grunted and tried blowing her off but her insistent behavior had seriously
tugged on the last piece of restraint he had.
Theus had turned his head to face her as she sat behind the sofa
cowering like some rabbit looking to get slain.
He glanced down at her and smiled deviously. “What is there to love”? He asked. “I see nothing”. With that he turned back toward the
television.
She
seemed to melt into the floor and such a terrible groan had escaped her
lips. Her heart had shattered again and
she crawled toward the bathroom.
Theus
got up from the sofa. He went into the bedroom
to grab his shoes and put them on.
Sitting on the bed he looked around at the room he absolutely hated the
décor that his wife Sheila had picked out.
He got up and felt a hand on his ankle.
Looking down he saw Sheila begging at his feet to stay. “Stop being so pathetic.” He had said as he shook her off with his
foot. She cowered backward curled in a
fetal ball on the floor. On his way out
the door he gazed back a slight twinge of pity tweaking in his brain. “I have to go to work”. He said flatly.
Theus
downed the rest of the drink in his glass and poured some more. He was going to have to call home to find out
exactly where he was and that was something he was not looking forward to
doing. Just the sound of that woman’s
voice was enough to send him spiraling into an eternal state of annoyance. He threw back the glass of fluid and made his
way to the bar.
Gilda
walked up beside Theus and pulled his hand to hers. He quickly jerked it away. She giggled again and slid off with her voice
trailing behind her. “There are no phones here Theus.” Her giggles turned into a series of sinister
laughs and for the first time Theus was afraid for his situation.
Theus
lifted his head up and searched the room again and noticed the two people that
were there before were now gone. Turning
around he started off down the hallway following Gilda. A great amount of apprehension filled him as
he searched empty rooms for her. It was
as if she vanished. He had reached the
end of the hallway and a big flashing EXIT sign met his gaze and below it was
obviously the back door. He pushed it
open and it slowly creaked as the bar seemed to give despite an overabundance
of rust.
It
was snowing out and Theus let out a heavy curse. First cold and then snow was getting a bit
too much for him to handle. His tall and
sturdy physique shivered as the snowflakes hit is exposed shoulders and caused
his light tank top to become saturated with wetness even after only
moments. The blood rushed out of his
face and left him with a pale complexion as he stared in terror at the sight
before him. On the ground were what
appeared to be the two people in the bar earlier. Blood covered the snow encrusted ground in
torrents. Theus staggered backward
trying to feel for the door. Nothing met
his touch and when he turned around the bar was gone, vanished. There were only empty plains before him
blanketed in thick snow. He turned his
head back toward the corpses and panicked as they too were gone. He let out a
howl as his head dropped into his hands.
Opening his eyes he stared into his palms which were filled with
blood. His howls turned into a silent
scream as he is saw droplets fall. He
touched his fingers to his eye lids and to the corners. When he looked at his fingertips they were
strained in bright new blood. He closed
his eyes and screamed again.
“Really now? What
in the world is wrong with you?” Asked
an all too familiar giggling voice
Theus turned around and was once again standing by the
back door of the bar. A skinny teenager
brushed by him mumbling some apology and dumped a bag of trash into a nearby
dumpster. Theus blinked hard trying to
understand the situation but try as he might he could not. He looked around and noticed all the snow was
gone and the weather outside was warm.
He turned toward Gilda who was motioning for him to come inside.
“I would like to dance.”
Gilda playfully stated as she stared at Theus waiting for him to
respond.
“What is going on here?”
Theus charged “What the fuck is going on?” He was getting more
frustrated
Gilda’s
green eyes sparkled brightly in the moonlight and her hair glistened. Her smile was entirely enchanting. Had Theus not spent so long despising the
entire female race he might have actually found her appealing? That was a long time ago and before his
nightmare of a marriage had taken its toll on him along with his and his wife’s
crazy as hell mothers and sisters. When
he looked at Gilda all he could see was the ways she would lie to him, deceive
him, trick him, use him, and inevitably cause him more misery. Giggly voice and sparkling eyes aside, fuck
women.
“They
have a phone. You said you needed
one.” Gilda winked at him as she turned
to go back inside the bar.
Theus
followed her. He needed the phone so he could
call his wife for an idea as to where exactly he was at. How exactly he had gotten so lost was beyond
him and this part of town was new to him even though he had lived in it his
entire life. This was definitely not a
part of his suburb. How far did he walk?
Theus
reached the bar and ran his hands though his long black hair. “What is the name of this place and may I
please use you telephone?” He asked the
bartender
The
bartender handed a gentleman a pint of beer and picked up the phone and handed it
to Theus. “Jerry’s Tavern.” The
bartender replied
Theus
nodded and dialed his home number. It
rang twice and a woman picked up. She
was out of breath and her voice barely audible.
“Hello”. Theus spoke quickly into the phone hoping to get the conversation
over with. Listening to his wife bawling
her eyes out was something he was not in any kind of mood for.
The
voice on the other end was shaky and low.
“Hello?” She replied “Who is this?” She added
“Sheila.”
Theus said sharply. “This is no time for
your ignorance. I need you to get online
and find out where Jerry’s Tavern is located and tell me the quickest route to
the house. Be quick about it.” Theus had
always had a niche for getting to the point and not leaving space for pointless
conversation. Sheila liked to babble
about everything and none of it ever had any substance. Even when he first met her she would babble
continuously about absolute dribble. He
found himself wondering why he had settled for something at such a young
age. He just kept telling himself it was
because of his need for someone to take care of his personal life which he had neither
time nor patience to do. If she was one
thing Sheila was good at taking care of house and performing trivial tasks that
would bore the hell out of any normal person.
She didn’t complain about it either.
In other areas of life she was boring and aging was not doing her any
favors. He compared her once to a bottle
of wine that was subjected to a small air leak during bottling and was aging as
vinegar instead of wine. A friend of his
had laughed hysterically at that comparison but Theus had not meant it as
humor. After all he was married to her. There was nothing funny about that.
“Who
are you? Why are you doing this to
me? Leave me alone?” Sheila was getting into hysterics on the other
end of the phone. She began crying
inconsolably.
The
line went dead and Theus just stood there holding the receiver. “Bitch!” The only word he could manage to
say. He handed the phone to the
bartender.
“Do
what you need to get done?” the bartender asked
Theus
shook his head “Uh... yeah.” He sucked in a deep breath and let it out and
leaned over the bar trying to get his bearings a little better.
Two
hands moved up his back onto his shoulders.
He twirled around and saw a tall blonde woman staring straight at
him. She was nearly as tall as he. The woman smiled warmly at him.
“Buy
a girl a drink?” She cooed moving her hands down his bare muscled arms. Slowly,
sensually she slid her hands down until her fingertips touched his own.
He
turned around toward the bartender and he was gone. Theus turned around to the woman who had also
disappeared along with the rest of the crowd in the bar. He saw Gilda sitting at a table with another
woman. His eyes were transfixed to the
other woman. She looked almost just like
Gilda but she was more mature with the body of woman instead of that of a girl
as Gilda was. The woman stared at Theus.
“Are
you sure?” Gilda asked the woman
“Darling
I am. He has what I need. He has the gift of sight. We need him.
You can’t kill him.” The woman
said. She smiled at Gilda “At least not
yet”.
Gilda
looked impish and entirely evil for a split second. She looked at Theus who looked completely
beside himself with confusion. “He looks
lost mother.”
The
woman took in a heavy breath. She stood
up and walked toward Theus who still stood semi-entranced. She smirked and rolled her eyes as she made
her way to Theus. She held out her hand
toward him palm down.
Theus
reached out to take shake her hand and the woman quickly retracted it as if in
disgust. Her hair was as long as his and
a deep black/blue that shone vibrantly it was thick and full of curls that
framed her face. Her neck was long and
she kept a wide chocker around it. She
wore a billowing black blouse that hung off her shoulders and a pair of jeans
that hugged her hips beautifully. She
smelled of the night and of the flowers that bloom under the moonlight. Intoxicating and he could feel himself be
drawn in.
The
woman reached out and took his wrist in hers and powerful images flashed
through his mind. Images of worlds, of
places long dead to man, and of rituals of magic long forgotten. He screamed out as his brain felt like it was
about to explode. Visions of the woman
and of a man murdering, torturing, and ransacking place after place filled his
mind. Blood and death and a vision of a
world, Earth, barren, a wasteland with massive gates surrounding a palace as
big as a city lush, living, and vibrant inside.
He blinked and the headache was gone.
He turned his head and vomited everything that was in his stomach.
“I
am going to give you a choice. You can
take my way or I promise you will die a most agonizing death.” The woman pulled her hand away from his again
and shook her hair out of her face.
“Huh?” Theus looked confused
The
woman rolled her eyes “Well aren’t you the quick one?” She mocked. The woman walked to his side and just stood
there. “You have a … gift as it were and
I need to make use of that gift.
Theus
looked at the woman unable to help himself from staring down into her
cleavage. “What gift?”
The
woman smiled at him and her eyes gleamed.
“You have a gift of sight. I am
looking for certain objects that will help me and my… uhh... husband in our
endeavors and it seems you are one of the only people around who can help me
find them.” She elbowed Theus lightly in the side.
“What
makes you think I would help you? I saw
those visions. You are a monster.” He
retaliated more calmly then he had ever since this creep show started. His eyes averted back toward Gilda who was
amusing herself with her necklace.
The
woman smiled. “Because I know a secret
about you Theus. A deep dark secret you
don’t want anyone to know.” She moved her face closer to his and her lips
touched his ever so gently.
Theus
could smell honey on her breath and apples on her lips. He licked his lips and in so doing tasted
hers as well. Her taste shot though him
like a thunderbolt and he swallowed a lump building in his throat. He gasped as her hands slid down the front of
his pants just out of reach from a cock long since dead but twitching with new
life. He could hear his heartbeat in his
ears its crescendo increasing with every beat with every breath this woman
made. Every inch her hands slid down
into his pants. His heart beat faster
and faster and as his quickened he could feel hers quicken too.
A
hand pulled her away from him and grabbed him roughly by his neck lifting him
into the air. Theus’s eyes met those of
a fierce predator, protectant over its mate.
Theus could see his world turning black.
Just before he blacked out entirely he was hurled to the ground. He gasped for air and Gilda ran to him. She giggled as he lay there. She squeezed his cheeks and kissed him too
but much more of a child like peck than anything else. She began to undo his pants but the woman had
stopped her.
“Gilda.
No.” The woman said sharply.
Gilda
looked cross for a split second and then resumed her cheerful demeanor “I just
wanted to see it.”
“See
what you’re teaching her.” The man accused
The
woman cocked an eyebrow at him. “She was
curious she is at that age you know.”
She shrugged and turned away.
He
turned her back around to face him. The
man kissed her fully on the mouth and trailed kisses down her neck nipping her
along the way drawing droplets of blood into his mouth as he did. He smelled deeply of her and lightly brushed
her shoulder with his fingertips. “Oh
Cathlina I have missed you.” He kissed
her again and turned toward Theus who had managed to make it up on his knees.
He
thundered toward Theus and lifted him up to his feet by his neck. Gilda stood with him a big smile across her
face.
“Are
you going to kill him daddy?” She
sounded overly excited. She loved it
when she got to see her parents kill.
Her life had been one of training and learning. Learning how to best get information, how to
best kill, how to torture, and so much more.
She remembered when she was a very little girl. How her mother had taken her out into the
woods with Gilda’s best friend. Her
mother had told her that she was special but in order to be special she would
have to open up who she was. Gilda’s
first kill would do that. That first
time she would taste the blood of a pure thing she would be able to be like her
mother. Still, as a young girl she
didn’t quite understand. So her mother
had bit into the other child’s leg only shallowly though so that the child could
run away. Gilda remembered that smell
and how it drew her to it. She had ran
after her friend finding her by the smell of her life force, her beating heart,
her blood pumping and spilling. Gilda
was too sloppy that first time and had gutted her friend sucking the blood from
her entrails and biting into the heart itself to get everything she could. She was sloppy, it was sloppy. She had seen how proud her mother was of her
though and she knew that she would get to be like her someday.
“No”. The man replied. “I am not going to kill him. Though I
should.” He growled low in his
throat.
“Giuseppe...”
Cathlina began
The
man looked at Cathlina and smiled. “Of course I am not going to. I know his value.” He looked back at Theus “For now anyway. Although I have been known to be unreasonable
at times.” He smiled wickedly at Theus.
Cathlina
walked up next to Theus and touched his shoulder. She moved to his ear and whispered into
it. “You are a murderer Theus. You’ve been discovered. I am keeping you hidden. If you do not do as I say I will deliver you
to those who seek their own type of justice.”
“I
haven’t murdered anyone.” Theus retorted
Cathlina
nodded “You have Theus, many people. You weren’t really yourself when you
did. Still, you did.” She tightened her grip on his shoulder and he
could feel something wet trail down his back.
It was wet and warm and he saw Gilda move toward his back. Cathlina moved away and nodded at Gilda.
Gilda
lifted up his shirt and licked the blood from the wound her mother had made and
then becoming overwhelmed she bit deeply into Theus’s back drawing more
blood. Giuseppe pulled Gilda by the hand
away from Theus.
“Don’t
do that again. You have no idea where he
has been.” He said crossly
“It
was good blood father. Not bad.” She
replied
Giuseppe
just looked down at Gilda disapprovingly but Gilda was too cold to care for
very long and began her giggling and went off to play.
Theus
moaned from the two wounds on him. “What
the fuck are you?”
Cathlina
placed one hand on each of Theus’s wounds and they began to heal. “Shut up you sniveling baby. Act like a bite is going to kill you
already!” With that she moved back to
the front of him and pushed him back onto a seat with her foot.
“Here
is the deal.” She said pointedly “You are a murderer whether you actually did
it or not is beside the point. The
police have a video of you murdering a young girl and raping the corpse.” Cathlina giggled herself on that one.
Giuseppe
snickered a little as well. “You did
well with that one. Do you remember
their faces when they saw that?”
Cathlina
smirked “I do.” She looked back at Theus
entirely serious again. “Back to the
point. You’ve been discovered with a
little undercover help. So, you can help
us or you can die. Take your pick but choose now because I am very busy.”
Theus
looked down at the ground. Completely
resigned and not wanting to die “What is it that you need?” He felt broken but the hold Cathlina had on
him was far more than he ever experienced and so with that alone how could he
resist. She had given him in only one
moment what he lacked his entire life.
He looked up at Cathlina and smiled a solemn smile.
Cathlina
smiled back and positioned a chair in front of him. “There are amulets in this universe. Amulets that belong to Gods. There is one pantheon per world and some
worlds contain information to other pantheons, other Gods. They are numerous. Still, they are relatively easy to access if
one just knows where to look. You, my
sweet Theus are a navigational beacon to these amulets. You carry the visions of worlds within you. I have not been able to find anyone else like
you that are living except a few small children. Children however have proven not to be able
to live long enough to help the way we need.”
With that Cathlina looked at Giuseppe who smiled slyly at her.
Cathlina
took a breath. “Plus we have an
overzealous reanimated priest gone wayward trying to track us. We are going to need you as well to help us
throw him off from time to time.”
Theus
stood up and looked down at Cathlina who was still looking lustily at her
husband. “How do I do what you
want?” A hint of jealousy seeping out
Giuseppe
bent down and kissed Cathlina again pulling her out of her chair and pressing
her body into his. He looked over at
Theus and grinned. “We will be in touch. Now go home.” He ordered.
Theus
began making his way out of the bar with the vision of Giuseppe bending
Cathlina over a pool table. Theus’s
dissatisfaction showed heavily on his face as he made his way onto the street. He turned around and the bar was gone. He closed his eyes for a moment and opened
them again and the vision of his street was still the one he saw. Theus began to walk forward and soon he heard
an all too familiar clanking noise. The
noise reminded him that he had not been dreaming. He turned around and Gilda stood behind
him. She smiled with a sinister
cheerfulness.
“Go
home.” He said “I am not in the mood.”
Gilda
walked closely beside him. “Oh I can’t
do that now.” She grabbed his shoulder
and he felt a slight stabbing pain “I have to make sure you don’t do anything
stupid.” She giggled again. “Besides, you taste good and I may fancy me a
snack every once in a while. I am sure you
won’t mind.”
Theus
grimaced as he thought about having a constant tag along. He wondered what his wife would say or what
she would think. Then there was always
the possibility Gilda could eat her. Not
a trace left. If he was a murderer being
hunted then perhaps he could kill Sheila himself and make the hunt
legitimate. So many options.
Gilda
stopped and looked down at the ground.
Theus looked back entirely confused.
“What
is wrong? My home is this way. Let’s go.
I am hungry.” Theus stated
Gilda
just stood there looking solemn and in thought.
She then pepped back up and began walking again. Her shoes clanked as she walked up beside
Theus. “I still want to see it.” She
said
Theus
rolled his eyes. “No.”
“But
I want to.” Gilda reiterated
“You
are not going to see it.” Theus expanding on his original statement
“I
want to.” Gilda repeated
Theus
kept walking “Not in this life girl.”
“Fine. Probably not worth looking at anyway.” Gilda
started thundering her clanking shoes next to him
“Probably
not.”
