The Pale Man Rises

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

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He heard the door of the vehicle slam shut and within seconds the sound of its occupants crossing the porch approaching the door of the house. There was a knock on the door, which was followed by a female voice calling out. "Come in." said the voice. The sound of the door opening came next."Yo it's me Max–Maxwell Lewis." said the man who was entering the hallway.

"We're in the living room Max." the female voice instructed. It was a voice that was unfamiliar to Max. He hadn't known the Watkins that long, only the brief time since June Bug had contacted him telling him that he had finally gotten paroled from Central. But in that short time he'd come to know his brother Jasper and Jasper's wife Faye. He had never seen an older woman in residence the few times he'd been out here, but he guessed it could be a relative who had come for a visit.

"You folks really ought to get a telephone!" he was saying as he moved down the hallway. "I could've saved myself a trip over here if you had one." he now said as he moved over the threshold that led into the living room.

At first he saw no one as he did this and thus he was unprepared for the ambush. As he stood there Crumpler and Reese accosted him from their hiding places on either side of the entrance to the living room. They grabbed his muscled arms and held him tightly.

"WHAT THE HELL?" he said as he looked on each side of him and saw the two men who had a hold of him. They didn't look as if they could be capable of such strength, but they were. They looked ill their faces were so darn pale.

One man was at least 50 plus years of age. He wore a dark blue uniform shirt and Max would have taken him for a cop if it hadn't been for the baseball cap he wore. Printed across the face of the cap in bold white letters were the words CAROLINA SECURITY CO. The person to his right was a mere boy it seemed dressed in a dirty T-shirt and equally dirty khaki slacks. But he too had the strength of a bull. He battled fiercely with them, but it was to no avail and they at last forced him to the floor. 

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 The carpet burned him as he squirmed to free himself from their grip. "WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?" he cried out. "WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?" "You will know soon enough." said the pale man who appeared from the door of the master bedroom. 

 Maxwell Lewis was awestruck with the sight of him. This was the strangest looking white man he had ever laid eyes on. He had long white hair that fell to his shoulders. He was dressed totally in black and was wearing likewise black sunglasses with round lenses, Granny glasses they called them in those days. His flesh was as white as his hair and when he smiled at him Lewis could only think he became even more fearsome looking. With the sight of him Max was utterly afraid. "Damn–goddamn you guys are the whitest white men I have ever seen!" he exclaimed. "Who...who are you?" He almost whispered. 

 The creature came to within a few feet of him."You are in no position to ask questions of me." he said using Vernon Reese's voice. "FUCK YOU!" Max said as he continued to squirm against the hold of the other two men.

Even though he was absolutely afraid of these people he had decided that his only option was to keep resisting them. In his desperation he managed to get his legs in front of him. He then kicked out at the pale man. The pale man moved back a few feet startled by the audacity of the black man. Max attempted to close the distance between them and kicked out again. This time however, the pale man did not move, he caught the black man's feet and twisted them outward causing the most excruciating pain Max had ever felt. He screamed in agony as his back bowed upward like it was a branch that was being bent. "If you do not wish to die now, right now, you will stop struggling!" the pale man said to him.