The next morning I woke up with my face throbbing with every heartbeat. I must have been given something to make the pain bearable the day before. I rose from the bed begrudgingly and headed to the bathroom. As I stumbled in, I tried not to look at my face but was unsuccessful; it was the first thing I saw in the mirror this time. I took a closer look at it, but unlike before the cuts didn’t seem quite so deep. I imagined once they healed only the two middle ones would scar. Still, that was one too many for me. I never considered myself a vain person, but I found myself terribly upset at the thought of my beauty being marred and I felt guilty for feeling that way. The lost eyesight was only cursory.
I took a washcloth and began to slowly and carefully clean the wounds. It stung like fire and made the throbbing heartbeat stronger. I tried my best to clean up without causing it to bleed again. Thankfully I was able to finish quickly enough without causing myself any undue pain. I finished with my morning routine, minus the makeup, and continued to get dressed. I put on a regular old, baggy t-shirt and a pair of leggings, nothing fantastical or flashy, but certainly comfortable. Then I headed downstairs.
On the lobby’s front desk sat a note and two pill bottles, one blue the other red. The note read:
I am so sorry we couldn’t save your eye, but I’m glad to know you are feeling hopefully some better. have left you a blue bottle of pain medication to be taken every 8 hours and a daily antibiotic in the red bottle. Hopefully this will prevent infection and help with the pain. Hope to see you soon.
-Your Friend the Candyman
I quickly grabbed the half empty glass of water that sat on the front desk, and took one of the pills from the blue bottle and one from the red. I swallowed them down with the water and hoped they would kick in soon. I had decided that even though I wanted to rebuild the town, but that would have to take a backseat for now until Lilly came back, until then I planned on finding everything I could about the demon creatures that walked the earth at night. I decided the first person I’d talk to was Jasper. If nothing else he could help point me in the right direction to find out more about the creatures of the night.
I got to the post office in time to see Jasper with his back turned to me presumably locking the post office door. I supposed he didn’t want a repeat of what happened the few days prior. As he finished he turned around to see me standing at the foot of the stairs. I had startled him a little, he jumped and clutched his hand to his chest.
“Why so jumpy?” I asked.
“Well if you weren’t as quiet as a mouse I would have heard you coming.” He responded beginning to come down the stairs.
“You always know when I’m coming; you have like, a sixth sense or something.” I said eying him looking for any further signs of bewilderment.
“Well I guess things have gotten me a little on edge and not quite myself.” He said looking down to the ground, his mind elsewhere.
“I can to ask you a favor, well not a favor, more for information than anything. I’m gonna kill that thing that did this to my face.” I told him as I pointed to it, “I just need to figure out how.”
“That’s……that’s not possible, at least I don’t think it is. Plus it’s way too dangerous.” He answered.
“My mind is made up Jasper; you’re not going to change it. I just need you to tell me all you know about them or where I can find out.” I stated getting defensive. He wasn’t going to tell me what to do.
He sighed deeply and said to me, “I guess I can’t, can I? Well if I can’t change your mind then the least I can do is tell you all I do know so you don’t run off half cocked and get yourself killed. Come on in and let me get some coffee started for us.”
Once inside I walked over and sat down at the table where the tin still sat in the middle. My stomach churned with the thought of what I had seen and felt from eating that slice of pie. I waited for Jasper as he prepared the coffee for us. It only took a few moments and once it was done he poured two cups. Walking over he sat one of the cups before me. It was one of those old tin cups, the kind that actually kept the coffee warm for a bit. We sat there in silence for a while just staring at our cups, both of us lost in thought. After it had cooled some I took the first sip. Before I could even speak to ask my first question Jasper blurted out.
“I’m so sorry again Autumn for what happened. I made such a simple and stupid mistake and I almost got you killed and I……”
I stopped him right there. “Jasper. It’s ok. I know it was an accident. I don’t blame you and I certainly am not angry with you, so stop apologizing. I know you want to help and you have, but now I need to get rid of that……thing and keep it from hurting anyone else. I’m just hoping there is a way to.”
He sat there for a minute letting my words sink in. “I just want to make sure your ok first. I know it has to be hard, not just looking at yourself, but coming that close to death is enough to cause the bravest person to crumble and you’re so……so small and I thought, fragile. I guess I was wrong about you after all.” He ended with a slight chuckle.
I have to admit I had to laugh a little too. I had been so mad at him the first time we met when he unrightfully judged me without knowing me. I had to also admit that this was a new side of me that I hadn’t even seen. I was hoping, however, that it would dissipate once I could get rid of those spirits that walked around at night. Meanwhile I was going to do my best to find out all I could about them.
“So what do you know about those creatures? Lilly called them evil spirits that walk the earth due to all the atrocities that happened here. Is that true?” I began.
“As far as I know that’s what they are. There is no reason to believe otherwise. Where they came from is anyone’s guess. All I know is they showed up after the Natives cursed the land. They would only ever come at night, in the dark, never in the light. They hate the light, I don’t know if it does anything to them but they just stay clear of it.” He answered after taking a pretty hefty swig of coffee from his mug.
“Is there anything that stops them or makes them go away? Do they even have names? I know you said names were powerful to them or was that only in relation to people?” I further inquired hoping to learn of their weaknesses.
“To my knowledge, there is nothing that can kill them if that is what you’re asking. But……you can fend them off with light and burning sage. They hate the smell of it, it drives them away and they can only ever enter a room when it’s unlocked or you allow them in.” He took another gulp of coffee. “As far as what they are called…..that I don’t know. We only ever called them…..well them. I don’t know if they even have names, but the best person to probably ask would be your friend Deb.”
I took a sip from my mug and thought for a minute. “I think I may do that. Especially since Lilly and you both said they only ever appeared after the curse. It may very well have something to do with that.”
We both sat there a few moments longer finishing our coffee. Once we had finished, I got up to leave and he stood with me. “Autumn, I just want you to know if you ever need anything I’ll be here. Just don’t do anything stupid or too crazy alright?”
“I won’t. You’ll probably be the first person I tell if I decide to make a move on these things. I may need all the help you can give before it’s over.” I said seriously while trying to sound lighthearted towards the end.
I left then to head back to the hotel. I figured a call to Deb was in order. I knew she probably knew more about these things than Lilly, Jasper and I combined. Once back at the hotel, I walked over to the phone, picked it up, and dialed her number. It rang several times before it finally rolled over to voicemail. I left a brief message asking her to call me back on my cell. Then I put the phone back in its place before making the decision to head over to the library to see if there was anything about them there.
I got to the library pretty quickly, looking over my shoulder the whole way. I swore I had seen something lurking in the shadows in one of the alleyways, but I was sure those things wouldn’t be seen in the light since they waited till dark to come out. My mind was just playing tricks on me causing extreme paranoia, that’s all. At least I was hoping that was what it was. I entered the building and walked directly over to the librarian.
The librarian looked up from her newest stack of papers and records and gasped when she saw my face as her hand flew to her mouth. She quickly pulled it away to not offend me and she averted her eyes so as not to stare. I appreciated the gesture but understood this was probably going to be most people’s reaction to seeing my face. It was quite horrific, I couldn’t blame her. Once she had calmed down a little she asked me,
“How…..how can we…I mean I…..How can I help you today?”
“Can you tell me where I can maybe find information on the creatures that walk through the town at night?” I answered her.
“Umm….well that would be in the nonfiction section, probably upstairs with the town records.” Then she added, “Plus you may want to take a look at the old caretakers binders in the cases. They wrote about them all the time.” She handed me the key from the drawer and I took it from her hand. I started to walk away as she stood and said, “I’m so sorry about the pie…..”
I turned to look back at her and smiled so as not to offend her. “Don’t be. It was the best pie I’ve ever had….minus the paralysis.”
She smiled sheepishly as a warm blush began to creep up on her face and sat back down. I headed back up the now familiar steps to the records section. It seemed as if I was spending a lot of my time here as of late. I poked around at various town newspapers and found very little regarding the creatures there, at least nothing I didn’t already know, and so I started looking in the main town records. With no luck there either I began to open the cabinets and one by one look through the worn pages of each binder, scanning them as I went for any mention of the evil spirits. I hit the jackpot in the third binder, belonging to Annabelle Lee, about the middle of the way through. In its pages it documented a conversation between Annabelle and what I assumed had been one of the tribe’s members, possibly even one of Deb’s ancestors. Here is the section of the written log:
October 31st 1870
Saw another one of those creatures today. That makes 12 this week. They come at night and tap on the windows, calling out in the dark to be let in or muttering or talking in the voices of people we know. They even are becoming bolder, coming out at dusk and hiding in the alleyways. Jasper says to lay low for a few days. He installed locks on all the hotel room doors for added protection in case I forget to lock the front doors. I can hear them now as I write; they are coming closer to town with each minute that passes. I can’t stand the way they look. It took one guy last week when he went to take the trash out after dark and it got one of the travelers that came to town the other day. I saw the whole thing.
The man came to town the other day and he didn’t listen when I told him to stay in at night. He said something about stargazing and I assume he went outside to do this, that’s when I heard him scream. I ran from the desk to the window. He was there by the alleyway and one of the creatures had him by the throat. It demanded his name and he gave it. Then before my eyes I saw the creature change into a hideous being out from the shadow it had cloaked itself in. It was a giant man, with gnarled and withered old hands that bent and twisted turning into great horned hands. Prickles began to emerge from its chest just as hair would, sharp as porcupine quills and his arms began to grow and bulge, far more muscular than any living human I’d ever seen. Black and White scales began to grown from his arms as well, shimmering and glinting in the moonlight. Its mouth grew ever wider, till its smile ran from one ear to the other, nearly cutting its head in half. Its face began to swell, causing it to become reddened and puffy. His eye large and unblinking. Tusks began to sprout from him as well, becoming long and yellowed as an elephants would with age and it pulled out the largest flint knife I’d ever seen, positioning it towards the man, but deciding instead to devour him. He grabbed hold of the man, and yanked him up in the air. First he bit into the man’s legs up to his waist, chewing and smacking on the man. I could hear the bones crunch and break between the creature’s teeth as he ground them before swallowing. The next thing I knew the creature too another bite and another, the man screaming the whole time until he was completely gone. As I stood there watching, the creature turned then towards the window and looked me dead in the eye and rushed the window. I screamed and ran for my room, locking it securely behind me. When I went to the balcony doors I looked out but the creature was gone and the only evidence we had of it ever being there in the first place was a pool of blood that had stained the earth a crimson color. I added two new rules to the list, Never forget to lock the doors at night; you don’t want to let them in and only take the trash out during daylight hours. Hopefully this will prevent any more deaths at the hands of those things.
I was appalled by the account in Annabell’s red binder. The man didn’t even stand a chance against those things. I hoped that I would be better equipped when the time came to face these creatures and it sounded like there were quite a few of them. I closed the binder and kept looking but couldn’t find a more detailed account than the one from Annabell’s binder. As I was wrapping up and placing everything back where it belonged, my cell began to ring. I pulled it from my pocket, and answered it.
“Hello?” I began.
“Hey it’s Deb! How are things?” She said sounding chipper.
I didn’t want to blow the wind from her sails, but I also needed to let her know what happened. “I…….I had an accident. Long story short I got attacked by one of the creatures that walks at night or in the dark places where the light can’t touch it.”
“Oh my God are you ok?!?” She half yelled, “What happened and are you ok?!?”
I told her the story, leaving nothing out. Then I told her of what I found in the red binder. She was perplexed by what exactly the creature was. She agreed it was an evil spirit of some sort, but wasn’t sure exactly what it could be. She told me she’d call back after she spoke with her elders and found out what it was as well as any information that would help me get rid of them.
In the meanwhile it was late afternoon and the summer was coming to a close, the sun fading in the sky earlier than normal setting it afire, so I decided to head back to the hotel before it fully set. I got home quick as could be, wasting no time watching the birds as they flew into the horizon. As soon as I was inside, I locked the doors behind me. Nothing was going to get in behind me now or ever again if I could help it. I sat behind the desk, beginning to journal in my own red binder. I figured if things like this were going to happen in the town, I might as well write about them and catalog their happenings. I wrote about all that had passed in the days since my employment, leaving no detail out. Once I got up to date I promised myself to keep it that way. Around the time I finished, the sun had long set and the creatures were on the prowl. My phone began to ring once more and I picked it up and answered it.
“Hey it’s Deb again!” The voice rang out.
“Hey Deb, so what were you able to learn?” I asked closing the binder and getting up to put it away.
“You aren’t going to like it, but I have to tell you especially if you plan on going after one.” She said pausing.
“Go on.” I told her sitting back down in my seat.
She sighed deeply before she began. “The creatures are the descendants of the giant cannibal demon, Atahsaia.”
“Who is that?” I said my interest level growing.
“Atahsaia is in our old stories, he is exactly as you described. The only problem was he was only defeated by the twin war gods, but nothing is ever said about how a human could kill them. After talking with my elders they all agree that to name the creature is to hold power over him. Nothing more is said on how to kill them though. Their best advice is to burn sage and other herbs we’ll send to you, so look out for a package, but they recommend not doing anything about it till we can formulate a plan and maybe getting some people down there. We were the ones that caused the evil spirits to walk amongst the land, let us help to get rid of them.” She told me.
“Alright I’ll wait but burn sage like you said. I think Jasper has some. Then we’ll come up with a plan once you get here.” I said, shifting in my seat.
“It’s a plan then. We’ll head up tomorrow. See you soon and Autumn…..just be careful ok.” She said.
“I will. See you soon.” I told her as I hung up the phone, ending the conversation.
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