The Creature From Below

The Creature From Below

'-JUNE 12th, 1978- Jimmy Barker, age nine, mysteriously vanished earlier this month on the Third of June. The fifth child to do so in the last three months, Suzie Inktin went missing on Monday the Thirteenth of March, Lupe Garza vanished on Monday the Twentieth of March. Little Floyd Cross disappeared on Friday the fourteenth in April and Timmy Hwan vanished on Wednesday the twenty-fourth in May. Without any clues in any of the cases about what may have happened, police are baffled. Parents of children all over the small town of Sleepy Falls are terrified, the chief of police has issued the usual safety guidelines such as the buddy system at all times.'

I leaned back from the typewriter in my wooden high back swivel chair and sighed deeply. Being a freelance reporter meant that I could write stories about whatever I wanted, but something about this missing children's case was bothering me something fierce. Something was deeply wrong about these disappearances, in other missing person cases, there was always some kind of clue left behind about what may have happened or why they might have run away. In this case, the best lead anyone had was the friends of the missing claiming they went to the creepy old abandoned Thompson house on the hill that is practically falling apart. The story was a dare had been made to enter the place and bring something out to prove it but the kids that accepted the challenge weren't seen again. Maybe I like a challenging mystery, my office does look like it belongs to a private eye straight out of a noir film. Maybe I felt like a lost soul myself. Regardless of the reasons, I always found myself returning to this case. I had interviewed the kids that went up to the house for clues with each disappearance. Every time, the kids involved said they could hear some kind of squishy noises and had a feeling of dread. The children hadn't gone inside to investigate, they ran screaming in terror and felt terrible for daring their friends to venture inside. Police have since cordoned off the perimeter and patrols have been keeping an eye on the place to keep kids out, even they seem uneasy about going inside. An investigation within the husk of the home took place of course, but there the trail runs cold.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, I see the time is quarter to nine in the evening, which meant that I had two options. Go to bed and have the same nightmare of the night my wife left me for the heavens or attempt to investigate this case further. My friend Fred would be the first on patrol tonight, he might let me into the house to investigate the scene on my own. Opening the bottom drawer on my desk, I pull out a bottle of aged whiskey and crystal glass. I pour myself a little of the liquid courage, chuckling to myself. Like a P.I. office indeed, right down to the hidden bottle of whiskey and the broken investigator. I don't consider myself an alcoholic, I just need a nip now and then to deal with an intense story lead or to help soothe myself to sleep. I believed this qualified as one of the times it would be needed to settle my nerves. Looking back, I probably needed something a whole lot strong. Just relating this story has me questioning my sanity.

Twenty minutes later, I parked my dusty and slightly rusted dark blue pickup at the base of the hill leading to the decrepit house on the hill. Looking at it from this distance, I could see the attraction for the kids to want to dare each other to enter the forlorn place to test their courage. It was creepy looking with the sun behind it, enough to send a shiver down my spine. Maybe it was the tales told about the place even from the times before kids started vanishing, but I could swear the place just felt wrong, like a heavy presence of evil was perched on the collapsing roof ready to reach out and grab any unfortunate souls who got too close. With a sigh, I walked slowly up the hill to the police tape looking for my friend. I spotted him a ways off, looking a bit paranoid the way he kept glancing around like he was expecting an ambush. That was just the poor man, he fought in the Vietnam war so he was always expecting to be attacked. Whatever he went through over there, he kept it close to his chest. Jumpy as he was, he was still extremely careful not to shoot on instinct.

"Good evening Fred, it's a nice night, isn't it?" I greeted him as I approached.

"Evening Paul, I suppose you'd expect me to believe you are out here just for a friendly chat?" Fred's blue eyes were stern, he had no time for beating around the bush, he was on duty and mincing words wasn't his style.

"You got me, I am hoping for a look around the place for an article I'm writing. I don't want to break any laws though, so I am asking for permission," I responded, deciding to just come clean about my intentions. "The only lead about the missing kids is this house, you know I have a good nose for sniffing out clues. How many times have I helped you out on your cases when you got stuck? I didn't expect credit for the discoveries that cracked those wide open, just the honor of writing about it. I am here to offer my services again since this story is about as juicy as they come.”

Fred stood stock still, staring at me with a hard gaze. He suddenly laughed and shook his head suddenly as if something I had said struck him as funny. "Paulie, you're about as much of a saint as any man can be, ain'tcha? You're worried about the kids, it ain't about the stupid story."

I don't know how this man does it, but he sees through every line thrown at him to the truth beneath. "You're right, it is about the kids. I don't have any of my own, but this community is like a family to me, and seeing people getting heartbroken and devastated from something like this is tearing me apart. I want to help any way I can," I laid it out earnestly, my home felt like it was under attack and I wanted to defend it.

Fred rubbed his jaw a bit in thought, then nodded. "Alright Paul, I'll allow you to pass. You have twenty minutes, then I will be forced to call in backup to search for you which will get us both in trouble. Better make it count, I can't let you contaminate the scene repeatedly."

We both look at the ruin, it had a beauty of its own in the dusk hours with its silent decay. Thick vines climbed the walls like veins, shutters half-broken, a couple barely hanging on to the frames added to the creep factor. The hill was slightly overgrown and the path leading up to the house was cracked and broken.

"Twenty minutes I got it. From the minute I go through the door, give a yell at the two-minute warning, will ya?" I start approaching the house apprehensively, the kids who went inside must have been scared senseless, I am quaking in my boots as I draw closer. Reaching the door, I turn back to Fred who is rooted to the spot looking grimmer than before. With a curt nod, I check my watch and took note that it read nine-ten.

With a deep breath, I forced myself into the darkness beyond the threshold. I fumble with my flashlight a bit, locate the power button, and click it on. Slowly sweeping, I see the house is even worse inside. The stairs leading upstairs were broken beyond safe use, a ladder presumably left by the officers leaned against the second-floor landing. Dust was everywhere, but it was disturbed by all of the recent activity. I wasn't expecting an easy trail to follow, but it was starting to seem like this was a waste of time. "Get a grip, man. There is always a trail to follow, trails the police can't pick up on. Find it and you're golden."

Following my advice, I open my mind to the spiritual nature of the house then just as quickly close the connection. There was far too much happening all at once. Terror, pain, and hunger were just the strongest in the well of emotions in this place. I gripped the wall, trying to catch my breath. No one in this town knows I have Medium tendencies, most people think psychics are fake, and even if you present evidence they call you a liar. It was easier just to hide it and use it to my advantage rather than be treated like a sideshow attraction for the circus. I wandered into the kitchen, looking around for any kind of clue of what might have happened. The room is quaint, to put it nicely, other than the trash and dust and broken cupboard in the corner. Hearing a creak, I turn to the left and see a door with peeling white paint swinging open of its own accord.

My eyes swivel from left to right, looking for a possible mundane explanation, but finding none I cautiously step towards the door. Standing on the landing is a boy of about nine years old, silently staring at the floor. His face was bluish-white and his dark brown hair was a mess. His light blue and white striped shirt looked a bit dirty.

"Is your name Jimmy, by chance?" I inquired. Just a hunch I had, this boy fit his description perfectly.

The apparition looked up and smiled slightly in a disconcerting way. "You can see me? No one else can see me, I thought they were playing a mean joke, but then I tried to grab them, I couldn't mister. I went right through them, and they never noticed me. I tried to go home, but I get lost and end up here every time I try. Can you help me, please? My parents must be missing me something fierce," Jimmy whispered, his voice like a twinkling bell on the wind.

I nod slowly, processing this information. Poor Jimmy here doesn't know he died, or he has denied the truth of the matter. Either way, meeting a ghost was vastly different from sensing echoes. "I'm sure they are son, I'm here looking around for information. Can you tell me what's down in the basement?"

Turning around and looking down into the darkness, the boy's voice grew more frightful. "There is something down there, mister, something not right and scary."

"Can you tell me

what's down there? Or lead me to the place where I can see it for myself?" I pressed, looking at my watch. Fifteen minutes left, I needed to hurry.

The boy spun on his heel to face me now, his face was just a skull with the jaw unhinged on one side, his shirt had gashes and blood splatter that looked like some kind of twisted inkblot test. "NO! I DON'T WISH TO DIE AGAIN LIKE THE OTHERS. FIND IT ON YOUR OWN AND SET ME FREE" the horror boomed in a deeper than natural voice, then faded away like ashes in a breeze.

More than a little unnerved by this vision, I steel myself and proceed down the stairs. It was cooler down here, wooden shelves lined the walls and were filled with forgotten treasures of the late owner. The floor was made of hard reddish-brown dirt and in the center of the room was a wide circle of disturbed earth leading to a small hole in the center. Walking over to the shelf, I pick up a small cigar box and threw it into the pit on instinct. A reddish-brown tentacle with sharp-looking spikes protruding from it left trail marks in the dirt as it scooped up the box and smashed it against the far wall. A deep rumble emitted from the pit, whatever this thing was, it was angry about its denied meal. I shot up the stairs and out the door like a shot, crashing into Fred which caused us both to tumble down the hill for a few feet.

"What in tarnation is WRONG with you Paul?" Fred barked, regaining his feet. "You're acting like you saw a ghost!"

"I did, I also saw what looked like a tentacle, and whatever it is attached to was angry," I panted. I didn't care how crazy it might have sounded, I needed help to deal with the creature. A journalist isn't trained to deal with things, they simply report the developments.

Fred froze, looking at me hard. "I believe you, Paul. I can't say as I understand you but I believe you. Ghosts haunt me every day, the things I saw during my time in Vietnam plague me as a man possessed, there ain't no explaining that to others. They weren't there, they don't know. Ghosts come in many forms... Creatures lurking in the dark isn't that much of a stretch. Show me where it is, I'll shoot it." By the tone in Fred's voice, he was thinking I saw a cat or maybe a rat, I don't have the strength to convince him otherwise.

Shuddering, I led Fred to the place where the tentacle had appeared. "STOP! DON"T DO IT," the ghoulish apparition shouted at me as I picked up a brick to throw. Fred cried out in terror and pointed his gun at Jimmy, who ignored him completely. "You made it angry before, disturbing it again will cause it to lash out. You can't kill it by hurting an arm. You need to hurt the body, to do that, you have to draw it out and hit the eye. Good luck," Jimmy finished with an echo as he vanished.

"What..? Who...? Who was that, how did he know what we were doing and how did he vanish like that? What is going on?!" Fred demanded in a frightened whisper.

"Let's talk upstairs," I suggested, leading the way. In the ruins of the kitchen, I explained in great detail about my first visit inside, including my hidden talents. There wasn't much point hiding it, Fred has now seen things no one else will ever believe too. "What do you suppose we should do now? We need to kill this thing before it can take any more lives."

Leaning against a wall, Fred scratched the stubble on his chin, lost in thought. "How about we gather up some tools to draw the thing out? Then we can finish it. I have some stuff that may prove useful. Like hand grenades from when I left the service. A small parting gift that I may or may not have taken without permission. I am thinking if we chuck one of those down that hole, it would do some damage."

"Hand grenades? When I threw a cigar box into the pit, that thing threw it against the wall and smashed it. How would we make sure that doesn't happen with a grenade?" I inquired.

"Simple. We cook it first. Every grenade has a four to five-second fuse, pull the pin and that fuse starts. So we pull the pin, hold for two seconds, and throw. I ain't gonna lie, this is an extremely risky operation so if you aren't feeling up to the task, I won't hold it against you," Fred explained, crossing his arms in front of him. "I don't see how this is going to be done any other way."

I didn't want to admit it, but I knew Fred was right. I volunteered to keep an eye on the place while Fred went to gather the explosives. In the time he was gone, which was about a half-hour, I paced back and forth while checking my watch repeatedly. "Are you sure you're up to this Paul? You seem extremely nervous and jitters are the leading cause of accidents," Fred inquired, handing me three grenades. "If you're sure you're ready, let's get this done."

As we started towards the battleground, I couldn't help but think back to my childhood. How many times had I imagined fighting foes in glorious battle? Only back then it was make-believe fun. Now, I am marching to fight some kind of creature from the depths of a nightmare. All too soon, we reached the pit. I don't know how long I have been standing here, but it's time for action. "Ready?" I asked, knowing by the look on Fred's face that he was anything but ready. His nod is slow and steady like he is trying to convince himself, same as me. Eyes flashing, Fred signaled for silence. Making motions to signify count of three, pin, and hold, Fred positioned himself on the other side of the pit. Three fingers, two, one. I pulled the pin, counted out two Mississippi's, and threw the grenade into the pit at the same time as Fred, and managed to dive to the floor and cover my head just as a tentacle shot out of the hole and took a swipe at the entire room. I heard Fred cry out in pain and terror, but I couldn't see what was happening from where I was. The explosions from the grenades shook the basement, roars from the creature threatened to bring the entire house down.

Risking a peek, I see Fred suspended upside down unconscious or dead. My eyes followed the tentacle to the body, it was more horrifying than anything I could have imagined. This thing is reddish-brown, the body was one bulbous eye of deep blue and a giant gaping mouth, razor-sharp teeth lining the entire orifice and seemed to have a life of their own. The creature continued to stare at me unblinking, then slowly raised Fred above its muzzle as he woke up.

"NOT today, SATAN!" Fred screamed as he pulled his sidearm and rapidly fired into the eye causing the creature to shriek with pain. Fred hit the ground with an audible thump, the monster started flailing its arms around in every direction looking for something to strike. My fear-induced paralysis broke, I quickly pulled the pins on both of the grenades I still had and threw them into the mouth of the creature as he screamed "EAT IT UGLY!!"

I hit the wall behind me hard as a chunk of the purple blood-covered creature hit me square in the chest. The creature is dead, we won. Then why do I feel so hollow? The glowing blue spirits of the missing children danced merrily as they bowed and waved their thanks before fading away, finally free. Medics arrived to check up out, no one wanted to believe our story but couldn't deny the evidence that lay in pieces all over the floor either. Our town had decided to bury the story and forget it ever happened. Maybe one day it will come to light again, but I hoped not. As I gazed up at the starry night, questions burned brightly in my brain. Where did the creature come from? Was there more of them and would they return? Shaking my head, I walked over to Fred to see if he was alright.

-----

Two beings sat partially in shadow, positioned over the Earth in their spacecraft, watching everything in a globe-shaped viewing device.

"Hmmm, that was most entertaining, but an unexpected turn of events," the large light blue toad-looking one croaked in his language.

"Yes, but I was the winner of the contest. Those two survived, barely, but they did," Squeaked the one resembling a rat dropped in a vat of plum-colored paint in his dialect. "The pot is mine."

"Awww, but I was looking forward to it," whined the Frog. "I gathered so many tasty morsels, can you at least share?"

"Would you share if you had won?" Hissed the Rat. "I'll share a couple of bits I guess." Picking up a garbage can that sat nearby, Rat dug into it and threw a couple of chocolate bars at Frog. "Let's go find another primitive bunch to play with."

The pair laughed evilly as they sped off to another galaxy, looking for a new group to torment and food to find. Perhaps they might make their way back to Earth in the future...Assuming they don't crash into an asteroid first.