The Unseemly

Chapter 15 - Interference

Chapter 15 - Interference

Barbie opens the book and begins showing her father the text and explaining exactly where the book had come from. She filled him in on all the information the gang had gathered, each of them telling their stories. Peter Jenkins stood shocked, speechless. Nicholas Harrison, on the other hand, had a stern solid look upon his face. As if none of their stories seemed out of the ordinary to him. Which they hadn't; over the years, he had encountered creatures of the night, the one's children had nightmares about. Harrison then filled them in about the Kludde and his intentions with Douglas.

"This explains why we're so close, Barbie; I always knew you'd be special." Peter Jenkins says, hugging his daughter.

"Dad stop, we can talk more about that stuff later. Now we have to figure out what we're going to do about Douglas. He might be a Wendigo, and a Kludde is also tracking him." Barbie explains. "Mr. Harrison, we have a book you might want to take a look at. I'll be right back." Barbie runs out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her room.

Douglas approaches the table and snags his book off the table, glaring at Harrison the entire time. Barbie returns with The Dark Compendium and places it on the table in front of Harrison. He puts his hand on it, and suddenly his body stiffens.

"You look just like your whore mother!" Douglas says abruptly, eyes still locked on Harrison.

"What did you say?" Harrison said.

"That bitch spread her legs for any man who came her way! I used to rent her out to my buddies. You were so young back then." Douglas says, but now his voice was no longer his own.

"Who are you?" Harrison says sharply.

"You know who I am, boy!" Douglas shouts, slamming his fist on the table. "You ain't ever gon' find me. I left you and that cunt the first second I had."

"That's not true. You're not real," Harrison says, walking towards Douglas. Jenkins holds him back as Douglas continues to rant.

"I have to admit, you got close a few times, finding me, I mean. How is your mother, by the way? You should really call and check on her these days. I bet that pussy is as sweet as I remember. Top dollars were paid for her service." Douglas says.

"My father is still alive; this is the Wendigo talking," Harrison says.

Suddenly, Douglas' eyes turned black, and his skin began turning a pale grey. Before Chimmy could get a firm grip, Douglas slips away and runs out the Jenkins house's front door. Everybody races after him, dazed by what just happened. After running to the corner of Marble and Morris Road, they had lost him.

"Fuck! He got away." Chimmy says, catching his breath.

"Language kid," Peter Jenkins says. "See which way he went?"

"No. Let Douglas go; we know where he'll be. We don't have time to worry about that now. Our first priority is the Kludde." Barbie tells them.

"What do you mean Douglas just went full demon and ran away," Rozzi says, panicked.

"Him leaving was for the best. Douglas was no longer in control; the Wendigo took full control of his body." Harrison says, telling the others.

"He's our friend; we can't just leave him alone in the woods--again," Chimmy says with concern.

"Let's continue this conversation back at the house; we need to look over that book kids got. Maybe you can take me to this library of yours." Harrison says with excitement.

When they get back into the house, the kids huddle in the corner and discuss their next move with the adults.

"How come your dad and this guy can see these creatures? All the other adults in town seem to be under some spell." Gilly whispers.

"I'm not sure," says Barbie. "Maybe it's because my dad and I are psychically linked, and this Nicholas Harrison is from out of town."

"That's good for us, but can we trust them enough to take them to the library?" Chimmy asks the group. They all nod in agreement.

Chimmy led the way, Peter Jenkins followed and signaled for the rest to trail behind. Chapman Street was empty, not a soul to be seen. On a typical day, children would flood the streets, and parents would be gardening or washing their new cars. Not lately; not since Douglas let them out, not purposely. The trees looked suffocated in the damp, cloudy air; Chimmy felt as if he and the rest were inside a giant bubble, trapped. Maybe they were trapped.

The oversized Red Maple trees look brown, and the Northern Red Oak stood slanted and dull with life. A veil seems to linger through the air, draining energy from whatever it could. What typically would take Chimmy and his friends no time to get to the falls adults' now took what seemed hours. Never has the town been so quiet, even at night when Chimmy and the gang would sneak out and get an early start building their spot. Seeing Douglas with those eyes really scared the hell out of him, but he couldn't show weakness, not right now.

When they arrive at the waterfall, the sun is just beginning to set. Rozzi asks them all to stand in a circle holding hands and to close their eyes.

"Follow me," Rozzi says.