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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey, welcome to Scary Stories and Rain.
I really hope you enjoyed this episode.
And don't forget you can subscribe to this podcast for
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(00:21):
the description to this episode.And one last thing, thank you so
much for being here. I really hope you enjoy.
The four of us walked down the deserted St.
Wallace, Kim, Roger and I. It was 4:00 AM and we had
finally grown tired of the bars.We had been celebrating Kim and
(00:45):
Roger's marriage. The reception was long over, but
the four of us were still going strong.
We were walking to nowhere in particular, still wearing our
wedding attire and reveling in drunken intimacy.
The balmy Louisiana air felt delicious against my skin, even
in mid-december. The blackness of the sky was
(01:05):
comforting, draping around us like a velvet blanket.
The yellow globes of the street lamps held it up, keeping it
from falling and suffocating us.It reminded me of when I used to
read under the covers as a child, my knees acting as tent
poles while I held my flashlightbetween my shoulder and my
jawbone. A mystery novel engrossing me so
(01:26):
much I didn't register the discomfort.
Even now, 60 years after that night, I feel the pain in my
jaw. Not the pain of a full life, but
the pain of my decaying body. Arthritis creeps through my
bones like frozen tendrils, leather whips that wrap tight
around each joint, squeezing andsqueezing, leaving me stiff, a
(01:49):
prisoner in my own body. I'm sorry, I seem to have gotten
a bit flowery with age, as if these similes and metaphors
could keep death at Bay, distract the guy long enough for
me to have a few more agonizing moments of life.
There I go again. We walked down the deserted St.
(02:11):
I think it's snowing. Kim whispered, awestruck.
The four of us stopped our trek.I looked up to see small white
flakes drifting lazily around us.
That's impossible. My voice was quiet, meeting the
soft reverence of Kim's tone. We rarely got snow this far
South. I tilted my head back and stuck
(02:33):
out my tongue. A small flake danced down from
the heavens to land on it, dissolving at the gentle touch.
I looked in shock at Kim, who ismimicking my behavior.
It's salt. Wallace raised an eyebrow at me
before cupping his hand out in front of him.
White flakes began to collect inhis palm, but they did not melt
(02:56):
at his touch. What on earth?
Roger asked. The sky guys, Wallace said, and
I looked towards where he gestured in front of us.
The salt was beginning to collect.
Within seconds, thousands of particles had gathered into the
form of two feet, then two legs.A torso, arms and neck followed,
(03:20):
And then before us stood a man. A large man made entirely of
salt. His salt eyes stared at nothing,
yet I could feel his gaze on my skin, and my arms prickled with
goosebumps. He beckons to us.
I turned to Wallace, who stood motionless, his eyes wide with
(03:42):
shock and incomprehension. He swallowed and stepped
backward, shaking his head, and I looked back to the salt man.
He was upon us, mere inches for me.
I opened my mouth to scream. He grabbed my wrist and
everything immediately went black.
I awoke to a dull whiteness. I blinked, trying to clear my
(04:02):
vision before realizing that there was nothing to clear.
I was in a large white room, dimly lit with white light.
The walls arched high above our heads.
I looked down and saw that I waslying in the loose white powder.
My nostrils stung and I sat up, brushing the loose salt from my
(04:22):
bare arms. My green bridesmaid dress looked
stained in the faint light. I looked back up and realization
hit me with horror. The old salt mines.
They ran under the rural part oftown like a maze.
Our family owned large shares ofthe mining company, so our
fathers brought us down on toursa few times to see our heritage.
(04:45):
I reached and touched the earthywhite wall beside me, the hard
substance beneath my hand rough.The air inside the mines was
heavy and dry, sucking at the moisture inside my skin, my
body, draining me slowly. The room was lit by an unnatural
white glow. The salt man stood in front of
(05:07):
us, emanating the supernatural luminescence.
A hand grasped mine, and I looked down to see Kim's thin
hand, our grandmother's emerald wedding band, washed out in the
white light. I squeezed, and she squeezed
back. Just like when we were little
cousins in blood, with sisters in spirit.
(05:30):
The salt man turned and began towalk deeper into the mine.
As he left, his light followed him, and the room around us grew
dark. A darkness so complete, so
black, that it threatened to suffocate me.
I stood frantically, dropping Kim's hand and stumbled forward,
following the man and his light in desperation.
(05:54):
I could hear heavy, unsure movement as Kim, Wallace and
Roger stood and followed. We followed the man in silence
through several white tunnels. The ground was at a slight
decline and we went deeper and deeper into the earth.
The ceilings grew lower and I had to Crouch.
After what felt like hours, we stopped outside a small cavern.
(06:18):
I held my heels in one hand, having taken them off miles
before. My expensive stockings were torn
and soiled from sweat and salt. My throat stung and I was in
desperate need of water, my tongue large, tacky and stiff.
I tried to swallow but felt no relief.
(06:40):
Inside the cavern was a chest, the wood warped and rotten.
A heavy black lock hung at the front, long rusted.
I was pushed aside and Wallace stepped forward into the room,
Roger behind him. I looked at Kim, who looked as
bad as I felt. The bottom of her wedding dress
(07:00):
was tattered, the delicate lace falling from the skirt, her once
sparkling white dress now dark and tarnished like the walls of
salt around us. She reached a hand out towards
me and I grabbed it. Wallace knelt in front of the
chest. The salt man stood to the side,
watching. It looks old.
(07:22):
Said Wallace, who always had a knack for stating the obvious.
He pulled at the lock once, testing its strength, then again
harder. It came apart with a rusty
crunch. Wallace twisted the once heavy
lock and tossed it on the groundbeside him.
The lid of the chest opened witha dry crack.
(07:43):
I expected the insides to glow, but instead the gold bars
appeared dull and red in spots. Roger pushed Wallace aside and
reached into the chest, Grabbingone of the bars, he examined it.
These are stamped with a royal seal, They're from Britain, how
(08:03):
did they end up here? Pirates.
Kim whispered, her eyes wide, staring at the salt man Wallace
and Roger seemed to have forgotten about.
I shook my head at her. There was a rumor in our family
that part of our great grandfather's wealth had been
stolen by pirates, but it was just that, a rumor.
(08:26):
The salt man opened his mouth ina wide, toothless grin before
grabbing Wallace by the back of the neck.
Wallace cried out in surprise, his voice close and hollow in
the small chamber. The small man pushed his head
into the rotten chest, the wood cracking under the force.
He brought his head up and looked with horror at Wallace's
(08:47):
face, broken and bloodied. His right eye was closed and his
other eye looked at me, begging for help.
The salt man brought his head down again and again, the cracks
turning wet as Wallace's blood exploded against the dull white
walls. The salt man himself was stained
(09:08):
pink, and soon Wallace's cries died out to nothing.
Roger, mouth agate, still holding the gold bar, stared at
the salt man. I turned and began to run,
trying to lead Kim by the hand down the salt tunnels behind us.
She dug her feet and resisted. Roger, she cried.
(09:30):
He turned to look at her, then down at the gold bar.
He nodded absent mindedly beforereaching toward the chest for
another. Come on, Roger.
His new wife screamed, her voicewet with phlegm and fear.
His hand reached around another bar as the salt man dropped
Wallace's lifeless body to the ground.
(09:51):
I pulled harder on Kim, forcing her further down the tunnel as
she reached for Roger. He turned and started to leap
from the room when the salt man's hand grabbed him.
Kim's scream filled the mines and I tripped with a sudden
force of her stop. Her hand slid from mine as I
fell, the hard salt grinding against my face like sandpaper.
(10:14):
I sucked in air sharply as the salt seeped into the fresh
wound, stinging like Wasps. I turned back to see Kim banging
at the salt man's chest as he held Roger up by the neck with
one hand. The other hand came up and
grabbed Kim's left wrist, holding it up so that even I
could see the emerald wedding band shine in the supernatural
(10:36):
light of the ghostly pirate. He howled, the sound of sand
through a rain stick, Thunder and anger.
He squeezed, and I heard the crack of Roger's neck as he went
limp. He fell to the floor like
Wallace had, his friend's blood,which covered the room, pooling
(10:56):
around him as if it were his own.
Kim, face red and wet, reached for his body, screaming.
The salt man lifted her wrist higher, keeping her close to
him. He brought his now free hand
over her ring finger. I inhaled the thick clowing air
around me, tinged with the coppery smell of blood, and I
(11:17):
got to my knees. I dragged myself forward and
then hesitated. I looked from Kim, my cousin by
blood, my sister by choice, and then to the salt man who held
her in his grasp, wrestling her wedding ring from her finger.
Kim's wedding dress was ripped and stained with salt, sweat,
(11:38):
tears and blood. She pulled feebly against the
salt man, but it was obvious shewas no match.
I hesitated, debating what to doas I watched them struggle.
Then I turned and fled. Kim's cries of pain and fear
followed me for several turns before fading to nothing.
(12:00):
I would stop from time to time, listening for any sounds, but
never heard anything but my own heavy breathing.
I was in the mines for many hours before I found an active
tunnel. By the time I was above ground
again, it was late evening and Ispent the night in the hospital
as the doctors treated my severedehydration and shock.
(12:23):
I tried to explain but no one believed me.
They assumed we got drunk and snuck down into the mines for
fun. We got lost and I was the only
one who was able to find my way again.
No one ever found Kim or the bodies of Wallace and Roger.
Eventually the memories of that night became distant and faded
(12:45):
till one day years ago, I went into my ensuite restroom to
freshen up before breakfast and as I turned the faucet handle,
all I heard was a dull roar, like sand falling before white
salt poured into the basin. It fell for several seconds
before it stopped. Resting on the pile was my
(13:08):
grandmother's emerald wedding ring.
And with that, my brief story has ended.
I wish there was more to tell. Unfortunate really.
Despite the arthritis and the pain, I want to live.
But he has finally come for me. He still does not speak, but yet
(13:29):
I understand. He's giving me time to write my
story, and then my time will have to come to an end.
My last word will be my last breath.
My hands are heavy on the keys. Grandmother's emerald band
shines on my right middle finger.
I never married, but I kept the ring.
(13:50):
A reminder of family, of love, of promises, of blood.
I know now why the pirate. Let me keep my ears, let me live
my life for all this time. I feel the dehydration from that
night again, my saliva and bloodbeginning to run dry.
(14:11):
The salt man knows this tale is almost over, and so he has begun
to take that which he claimed all those years ago.
My fingertips are white. At first I thought it was
calluses, but then I recognized that particular natural white,
the white of the salt deep in the mines.
(14:32):
I can feel my blood crystallizing, can feel my
cheeks absorb my tears. My life was not a fun one, but
it was mine, and he let me live it.
I do not wish to lose it, even now, when my body aches and my
fingers struggle to type as my joints stiffen.
(14:53):
He bought me with years, sparingme then so he could fully take
me now. But I do not want to go.
I do not want to die and join him deep in the minds his tomb,
even now, as each breath burns and my mouth puckers with the
brining of my own flesh. I want to stay.
(15:15):
But that is the nature of the world, is it not?
To breathe and to die. To consume and to be consumed.
Our lives revolve around it. Breath and death, both constant
and eternal, as ubiquitous as salt.
(15:53):
Let me preface this by saying that I am or was severely
visually impaired. At the time this story takes
place, I was considered legally blind.
Over the years, my vision has improved and my vision now sits
comfortably at 2080. This is important to the story.
(16:13):
When I was roughly 10 and my sister was 7, we moved close
enough to school that I made thedecision that I wanted to walk
home instead of going to my aunt's house after school.
My parents allowed this, seeing as we'd be walking down busy
roads and we knew the way home. Despite me being the older
sibling, my sister would often have to stop me from crossing
(16:35):
the road at inopportune times onparticularly sunny days when I
could barely keep my eyes open. I have an embarrassing story.
When my sister was sick and I approached a car who had been
stopped and was waiting for me to cross because I thought it
was my Nana's, my sister was essentially my eyes.
(16:57):
On our walk home one day we had passed by this flower Bush.
The Bush grew along the sidewalk, not in or on anyone's
property. We, being the young kids who
liked all things pretty, decidedto pick a few and create what we
thought was a beautiful trail back home.
I remember thinking we would sprinkle the rest of the petals
(17:18):
along our long dirt Rd. so I used my pedals sparingly.
About halfway between this Bush and our house, my sister starts
looking behind her and says thatsomeone is following us.
I look, but obviously I don't see anything.
At this point in our walk I was walking slowly as I was feeling
(17:41):
exceptionally tired. We were almost completely up the
steep hill our house was on so Ihardly thought much of it.
Despite the rest of our route being through main roads.
The street in the hill our housewas on hardly saw traffic and I
could probably count on one handhow many other people walking we
(18:01):
had come across during our yearsliving there.
After a while my sister looks behind her and because we were
walking closer this person is way.
Closer to us now. She drops her flowers and tells
us that we need to run. I look behind us and I could
actually see a figure. They weren't close enough for me
(18:22):
to make out any features, but the fact that they were now
close enough for me to see had me nervous.
So without thinking twice, I dropped my flowers and ran with
my sister despite how tired I was. 5 seconds.
Ago. It was like all of that was
forgotten as I ran as fast as mylittle legs could carry me.
(18:44):
We turned into our long dirt driveway, grabbed the spare key
from the flower pot and ran inside.
That should have been the end, but it wasn't.
A bit after our parents came home, there was a knock on the
door. I hardly thought anything about
it, Maybe it was our landlord, But then me and my sister were
(19:06):
called over to the door. I didn't recognize the woman,
but my sister did. It was the lady that followed us
home. Now it's important to note that
we arrived home way sooner than either of my parents.
It would be an hour or more before either of them returned
home. From the time we got home
(19:27):
because of us running home, it would be even longer.
So this lady actually waited outside of our house until one
of our parents came home before knocking on the door and telling
them all about what horrible children we were for picking her
flowers and whatever. Apparently she was staring at us
(19:48):
from our window as we picked theflowers, and when we started
sprinkling them on the sidewalk home, she started to follow us.
I remember my sister was crying,but all I could do was stand
there dumbfounded because even Icould see that the Bush wasn't
on anyone's property. And I was practically blinded by
the sun that day. After 10 minutes or more, we are
(20:11):
forced to apologize. The lady leaves and my dad
closes the door. He scolds us for going into
someone else's property and we tell him that we couldn't have
known that they were any ones because of where they were
placed. A day later, after driving home
and seeing exactly what Bush we were talking about, he and my
(20:33):
mom both agreed that it was not on her property and apologized.
This wasn't the first time I wasfollowed home while living in
that house, but I wouldn't be aware of that until nearly seven
years later. All of this makes me shudder
thinking of how many other timesI could have been followed
without realizing it because of my poor vision.
(20:57):
If it weren't for my sister thatday, I probably wouldn't have
even noticed that Lady until it was too late.
(21:22):
Being an overnight visitor at the hospital with my mother at
the JCMC Johnson City Medical Center, I was on about day nine.
You know how you can't sleep well in the?
Chairs the visitor has to sleep in at the hospital.
Well, I was so tired and felt kind of delirious, in pain and
numb. I wasn't about to leave her
(21:43):
there alone and there was no onewilling to come relieve me so I
could go home and rest. It was about 3:00 AM and I
thought I saw someone out of my peripheral vision.
I shook it off and continued to mindlessly watch Golden Girls.
I hear a cabinet door slam and Iat that point was used to all
(22:04):
the weird and random sounds the staff and the other patients
made so I didn't really think too much about it.
For a bit of perspective, we're on the 4th floor and all the way
down a hallway of at least 26 orso rooms.
Out of the four hallways on thatfloor there are about 100 ish
rooms per floor. I'm starting to doze off when
(22:25):
the door slams shut and those doors are loud, very heavy wood.
I always kept the door cracked abit so I didn't wake mom.
Every time I wanted to go smoke or go to the cafeteria, I jumped
up and went to open it and all the nurses were standing outside
the rooms where their substations are.
(22:46):
They tell me to shut the door and keep it shut, that there was
someone in the building and for safety to stay in the room.
I obliged and went to sit back down, but this time I turned off
the TV mounted in the corner of the room.
I wanted to hear what the nurseswere saying.
I no longer could sit as tired as I was, but due to HIPAA they
(23:08):
couldn't tell me what was happening and I'm not only nosy
but bored and really wondering what's going on.
The horrific thing that happenednext was beyond my expectations
of what was happening with an intruder.
A psych patient from across the street at Woodridge Mental
Hospital had somehow managed to escape.
(23:31):
And this wasn't your normal crazy person.
This was a lunatic that was smarter than most and very
questionable. He was due to be shipped to an
asylum like place. Two days later he came into the
hospital where my mom was. My skin was crawling as I had
the TV off and standing at the door I looked at the TV and I
(23:54):
saw movement. It was the shower curtain
through the crack where my bathroom door was ajar.
I kid you not, out of all the rooms, he.
Was in my mom's. I was so tired to the point that
he got past me and into the bathroom.
I calmly hit the call button on the TV remote and the nurse
(24:16):
popped the door open and I pointed toward the bathroom.
When she cracked the door to seewhat we needed.
Her eyes were as big as golf balls and she left the room door
open like a champ, Unlocked my mom's bed, unhooked her oxygen
and monitoring stuff and rolled her into the hallway.
And die at that point was sitting at my mom's feet Indian
(24:38):
style and having a panic attack.They had several nurses and
staff from Woodridge go in and detain the man.
They wheeled him out as they gave him some type of strong
sedative. My mom stayed for another four
days. The nurses never told me the
guy's name, but they did tell meabout what he did and how it all
(25:01):
happened, and it's not somethingI really wish to repeat.
(25:21):
I'll never forget the Christmas Eve Blizzard of O9.
I've gone to town seeking the perfect gift for my wife Lucy,
and on my way home the snow had begun to come down hard.
Instead of the Interstate, I took the dark, lonely 2 lane
through the countryside. The snowflakes whisked past
their windshield against the backdrop of a pitch black sky,
(25:43):
and the high beams faded to a dull glow below the horizon of
the distant Gray mountaintops. As I drove through the storm,
the night's simple beauty seemedto draw me in until nothing else
existed. Suddenly the steering wheel
began to vibrate and the car lurched off course.
I snapped out of the trance justin time to veer to the right,
(26:06):
doing my best not to overcorrecton the icy Rd.
After a tense moment where I wassure the car would slide into
the ditch, the tire shifted fromthe rumble strip back onto the
pavement, regaining traction once again.
My heart pounded hard and fast, but my eyes were still tired
from the hypnotic snow that seems to be flying towards me.
(26:29):
Instead of falling, I rolled down the windows, hoping that
the wind would restore my senses.
It had been a close call, and I considered stopping until the
snow let up, but that road was hazardous even without patches
of black ice. Over the decades, too many
people had been killed around that section of the Pines, and I
(26:50):
did not want to be one of them. Not three years past, my
neighbor Paul Vickers, swerved to avoid what was probably a
deer and lost control of his truck.
One of the deputies had found him the next morning, dead.
Of course it wasn't instant, Chief Royce had said to me,
shaking his head. Paul had the same terrified
(27:13):
expression etched into his face as those dead hikers who would
spend a week lost up in the mountain pass.
Like them, he knew he wouldn't make it out alive.
I didn't tell him this, but I was glad Paul died.
His neck had broken during the wreck and he would have been a
quadriplegic. If he had lived.
Yes, it's a shame he suffered through the night afraid and
(27:35):
alone, but truth be told, maybe his neck wasn't the only reason
I never shed a tear over his passing.
He wasn't a nice guy, known for always starting fights down at
Carol's Pub, and when Carol would throw him out, he'd go to
beat on his old lady. More than once.
The beating was bad enough to put her in the hospital.
(27:57):
Good riddance if you ask me. But a year after that untimely
demise, Jen Harper's little girl, Susie, she died too.
The toddler had woken up in the middle of the night and she must
have seen the fresh blanket of white, then decided to go
outside to play. People in town still whisper
(28:17):
about that tragedy. They say the driver of that rig
that crushed her skull must havebeen snow blinded.
He never stopped, just kept on trucking.
I was at Carroll's when Chief Royce and Jake tracked the
driver down. As soon as he had heard that he
had killed little Susie Harper, he dropped to his knees and
(28:37):
banged his fists into his forehead.
I could smell the sour whiskey stinking on his breath.
Please, Sheriff. He had cried, drool dripping
from the corner of his mouth. You got to believe me.
I never saw her. I I go God.
Jake slapped on the cuffs and Chief Royce led him away.
(28:59):
Later at the arraignment, the driver claimed he remembered
hitting a bump of ice in the middle of the road, but not a
child, as if her body had been laying on the pavement long
before the tires of the 18 Wheeler did their work.
Even though his version didn't add up, Judge Davis had ruled it
an accident, and almost everyonein town figured his excuse was
(29:21):
some sort of mental block to protect him for what he had
done. I was skeptical, but Lucy had
believed him. Lucy.
I sighed, checking the dashboardclock.
It had gotten late, and she was probably worried sick.
Headlights appeared in my rear view, and within a few moments,
a pickup whipped past, honking at me.
(29:43):
I shrugged. He probably thought I was some
old man who didn't know how to drive.
True, I'm old and a little more cautious than most folks.
I wanted to get home quickly, but kept the speed well below
the limit so that I could get home at all.
I switched to the right lane andadmired the snow covered Pines
(30:04):
as I passed them by. The storm seems to generate a
peaceful serenity, an absolutelymagical feeling that replaced
the anxiety over the near accident.
I've driven through a lot of blizzards, but that night was
different somehow. It was like experiencing lucid
dream in my bones. I knew that something special
(30:26):
was going to happen, a Christmasmiracle like in those old black
and white films. I took in another deep breath of
the crisp night air, smelling the Pines and smiled.
Perhaps it was the snow coming in through the window and
melting on my face that it made my skin tingle.
(30:47):
Sure is going to be a white Christmas, I said, then laughed.
Despite the weather forecast each year, it always snowed on
Christmas in our little town. Turning around the bend by the
abandoned Diego farm, a Halo of white light from town stretched
across the horizon. I yawned, exhausted from
(31:08):
shopping in the city. All I wanted to do was to climb
into bed with Lucy and sleep. A moment later, I drove past the
old cemetery, approaching Ian Thomas's little shack.
Ian had surprised me by putting up decorations.
He had never done that before, so I waved at the air filled
(31:29):
Frosty the snowman, thankful that Ian had finally taken an
interest in the town celebration.
I was sure his wife Martha wouldhave been happy if she had still
been around. Some people thought foul play,
but others claimed she had run off with another man.
The latter didn't surprise me none.
(31:49):
She seems to be the wondering type.
Good old harmless Ian had probably gotten to feeling
lonely. I shook my head and decided to
ask Lucy if she would bake him abatch of her famous oatmeal
Raisin cookies. Our little community didn't have
much to offer, but we sure did try to come together on the
holidays. Passing into town limits, Main
(32:12):
streets appeared empty and everyshop along the three block
stretch had been decorated. It was a real treat seeing
downtown lit up with all the people distracting from the
view. I've never seen the stretch
without at least a few dark buildings.
The hardware store belonging to Mr. Roth had shone brighter than
every other business front. Like Ian Thomas, he'd never
(32:36):
participated, though it had beenon account of his religious
differences. I wondered what had changed his
mind, then remembered that sly Missus Roth had put an end to
Mr. Roth a few months back aftershe had found out that he
enjoyed the company of the evening ladies.
I'm not one to speak I'll of thedead, but if the rumors were
(32:58):
true, he would drive out to the city and dip his Wick once in a
while. When Jacob pulled the small 22
pistol out of Missus Roth's trembling hand, she claimed it
wasn't her which shot her husband, or at least she hadn't
remembered shooting him. In any case, Missus Roth had
hung herself in jail, Mayor Wayne had purchased the hardware
(33:20):
store in a tax auction, and thatwas that.
Taking in all of the Christmas cheer added to the strange
emotion brought about by the thick white flakes.
I remembered being a young boy anxiously awaiting the presents
on Christmas morning. It was a memory I didn't know
I'd lost, and my eyes were wet from tears.
(33:41):
This is what the holidays are about, I said, grinning so much
it hurt. This is what it means to be
merry. As I made a left on Maine, I
turned on the radio and began humming along to that old
classic Jingle Bells. It hadn't always been great
during the holidays. 20 years ago, the enthusiasm wasn't
(34:02):
there. Fact is, the town didn't
celebrate the holidays at all. No one could say what changed.
But when change came, it was forthe better.
Each year more and more took part until practically everyone
had become involved. Mr. Everett was the person most
responsible for that turn around.
(34:23):
He had taken the town tradition very serious.
After moving in. He had done up his whole house
in a spectacular fashion, winning the town papers contest
that year, then took home the title the next 21 years in a
row. When I turned onto West St. it
was no surprise that the bright flashing lights were coming from
(34:45):
Mr. Everett's place, only instead of red and green
Christmas lights reflecting off the falling snow, the colors
alternated between red and blue.I wondered what new scene the
white haired, long bearded man had set up in his yard.
But it wasn't decorations flashing.
No, it was 2 police cruisers parked alongside the curb.
(35:08):
The small gift for Lucy sat on the passenger seat and I
imagined her face lighting up when she noticed it tucked under
the tree. Frowning, I said few more
minutes, won't matter much now and pulled into Mr. Everett's
driveway. A figure standing in the yard
yelled. Hello Hank, you're out late.
(35:30):
I couldn't tell who it was at first.
The snow covered black uniform camouflaged his features, so I
squinted and leaned my head out the window.
Oh, hiya Jake, is Mr. Evert all right?
Jake walked over to my car door and knelt down face to face.
Don't rightly know he's getting up there in age.
(35:50):
No offense, of course. I laughed.
None taken. Just you and your dad out
tonight. Didn't need an ambulance.
Jake sighed. Well, we found him wandering
around in the Campbell's house down the ways.
He triggered the silent alarm when he walked through the back
door. I shook my head.
(36:10):
Sounds like Alzheimer's. Yeah, sounds like the Campbells
aren't pressing charges, are they?
The family had been new to town from some metropolis out West.
They had moved into the Sanders place after Jack Sanders took
his life with a circular saw. Neither Mr. or Missus Campbell
or their teenage son had gone out of their way to introduce
(36:32):
themselves, let alone make friends, so none of town folk
had any idea what kind of peoplethe Campbells really were.
They're away for the week. Jake said.
We'll need to tell them when they get back, but no harm done.
So I wouldn't be surprised if they had a weapon, them being
from the big city and all. Have they been home?
(36:54):
It might have been Mr. Everett'sbody you'd have come out to
collect. Jake nodded.
Hey, why don't you head inside? Hank pops in there talking with
Mr. Everett now. You know we don't want to send
them to the hospital on Christmas.
Maybe you could keep an eye on him until his head clears.
It's a lot to ask. If you can't, I'll stay myself.
(37:14):
I glanced at the gift on the passenger seat once more and
whispered. We come together on the
holidays. What's that?
Nothing, Jake. Sure, I can stay.
Don't mind at all. Jake led the way into Mr.
Everett's house. Hank's here, Pop.
He can stay. Be right out.
Chief Royce said. Jake waved me inside.
(37:38):
Go on in, they're just finishingup in the kitchen.
Thanks, Jake, Take care, Jake said and then stepped back out
into the snow. Mr. Everett had filled his
living room with Christmas ornaments from all over the
world. Some appeared to be very old and
very valuable. I stacked and unstacked a set of
antique Russian nesting dolls while listening to Chief Royce
(38:00):
in the other room, explaining toMr. Everett that someone needed
to stay with him for an hour or so just to make sure he wouldn't
go wandering off again. A few moments later he stepped
from the kitchen and tipped the brim of his Stetson.
Hank Junior and I need to get back to watching the roads.
It's already halfway to nasty out there.
And I don't want anyone getting stuck.
(38:22):
I appreciate your help. Sure thing, Chief.
Lucy's already asleep. She won't mind.
After giving me a firm pat on the back, he turned toward the
kitchen. I'll stop by tomorrow to make
sure you're OK. Mr. Everett, you have a Merry
Christmas. He shook my hand and then
slammed the door as he left. I watched out the window as the
(38:44):
two police cruisers faded into the snowfall.
Mr. Everett walked up behind me,said something under his breath
that I couldn't make out, and then walked back into the
kitchen. I lingered at the window,
admiring the Christmas decorations and all the houses
along the block. Only the Campbell's place sat
dark, like an ink stain on a fine suit.
(39:08):
Ain't going crazy, Mr. Everett yelled.
I sighed, then went into the kitchen and sat at the table
across from him. I don't think you are.
Mr. Everett shook his head. One of my ornaments ran off.
Found her snooping around in that Campbell house.
Is that so? Yeah, and I'm glad they weren't
(39:31):
home. It would have been bad.
Very, very bad. I nodded in a low whisper.
Mr. Everett said they'd have been killed.
Yeah, you got luck. Wait, what did you say?
Mr. Everett shook his head. Wasn't nothing important.
(39:51):
He pushed his chair back from the table.
Need to piss? He left the room through the
country door leading to the parlor.
The door swung closed but didn'tlatch.
The left side slowly creaked open a few inches.
A brilliant kaleidoscope of lights twinkled through the
crack. I furrowed my brow and stood,
(40:12):
pushing the door open. A rainbow of color lit up the
walls, the spectacular lights emanating from a massive pine
tree in the center of the room. Gold and silver flashed and
sparkled. Shades of red, blue, and yellow
twisted, turned and collided. Purples, greens and oranges
(40:33):
brightened, dimmed, and merged. Though it was the most wonderful
sights these old eyes had ever beheld, it took a moment before
I could look directly at the tree.
My gosh, I said, reaching for a branch.
The display was more like a shrine to Christmas than a
symbol. The surreal lights radiated from
(40:55):
these hanging translucent orbs. I squinted and tried to see how
the bulbs worked, but none seemsto be connected to a power
source. Between them, dozens of ceramic
figurines adorned the pine needle.
The lifelike sculpture seemed tomove in the shimmering colors.
I leaned closer. The figurines were moving.
(41:20):
A replica of Paul Vickers reached at me.
It's tiny arms clutching at the air, the little face twisted in
agony as it spat silent curses. I stumbled back, a scream caught
in my throat, but it was too late.
In the blink of an eye, I'd seenthem all.
Susie Harper. Her head and chest caved in,
(41:43):
body twitching. The Diego family, faces blue
from carbon monoxide poisoning. Martha Thomas, throat cut,
gasping at a breath. Mr. Roth, blood dripping from
several bullet holes in his chest.
Missus Roth ruptured, eyes bulging.
Jack Sanders, covered in blood, holding his own intestines.
(42:07):
There were others, too. So many others.
Beautiful, isn't it? Mr. Everett said from somewhere
behind me. I spun toward his voice, saw the
flash of a baseball bat, and felt searing white pain through
the side of my head before everything went black.
(42:27):
I don't know how long I was out,but when I awoke, my whole body
buzzed and I couldn't move my arms.
Something thick and wet ran downmy right ear.
Whoa, what in the Mr. Everett and I were back at the kitchen
table. My arms and chest had been duct
taped to the chair. You can't hurt him.
(42:49):
You can't hurt him. My double vision cleared and I
focused on a figurine 4 inches tall, standing in the middle of
the table facing Mr. Everett. Green and red felt.
Draped over his rigid shoulders.And a golden Santa hat sat at an
angle on its head. Everett.
(43:12):
Mr. Everett shook his finger at the figure.
Hank's not one of them naughty people, so you won't take him.
You've taken enough anyway. Let me go, I mumbled.
No, Mr. Everett screamed. I'm not going to kill him
either, you little freak. I heard a small ringing noise as
(43:34):
the figure turned around, tiny bells on the tips of its
moccasins. The figure, an ugly little
creature, cocked its slimy head to the side.
It narrowed its Forest Green slitted eyes until only the
black pin sized irises were visible.
It grimaced and a mouthful of sharp pointed teeth ground
(43:56):
together with a metallic like scraping.
Then it hissed and jumped from the edge of the table, landing
on my chest. Geez, Everett, get it off me,
get it off me. I twisted violently, trying to
shake off the creature as it scurried upward, lunging and
snapping at my face. Hank, stay still and she won't
(44:17):
hurt you. I clenched my fist and held my
breath as it held onto my beard and leaned in close to my left
eye. It laughed and then somersaulted
from my face, hit the tabletop and rolled.
To its feet. Bells Jingling, let me go home
to Lucy Everett. I swear I won't say anything to
anyone about your pet. Word to God I won't.
(44:39):
She wanted that Campbell boy, that little sneak thief.
He's been stealing ever since his family moved to town.
Had he been home, she would havelit the house on fire.
My jaw dropped. You were going to kill the
Campbell boy? No, no, of course not.
(45:00):
Everett laughed and pointed at the creature.
She was going to kill him. I tried to stop her, hell, I
tried. I always try, but it's no use.
If someone in town is a rotten egg, she'll go after them.
Boys and girls too. It don't matter.
Hey, don't look at me that way. You know as well as I do that
(45:22):
Susie Harper was an insufferable, mean brat.
She would have grown up to be a terrible person and deserved
what she got. They were all bad people.
I tugged at my restraints and the arms of the chair creaked.
This can't be happening, Argentina in 1954, Mr. Everett
(45:44):
said, slouching in his chair. That's when she found me.
And honest to goodness, Christmas elf Hank, that's what
she is. It's a monster.
The creature lunged at me again,teeth bared.
Mr. Everett. Slammed his first on the table.
Now leave him alone, The creature pointed at me, then at
(46:07):
the tree in the parlor, bright lights still gleaming.
I don't give a Dang, Mr. Everettsaid, waving his hand
dismissively. Go tend to the important
business in the other room and leave us men alone, the creature
hissed. Now the creature raised its
(46:27):
fists and shook them above its head.
Mr. Everett folded his arms across his chest and stared
until the creature climbed down the tablecloth and shuffled into
the parlor. He sighed and then said matter
of factly. Those figurines hanging from the
tree are the trapped souls of the bad Folk.
(46:48):
She used to eat them up quickly,but for the past few years she's
been hoarding. You wouldn't believe me if I
told you why. I swallowed hard and tested my
restraints again. Please, you got to let me go.
I begged. The chair cracked again.
(47:08):
Surely it hurt at that time, butI knew with one more good pull I
would be free. Something shattered from in the
parlor, quickly followed by another loud crash and another.
Mr. Everett raised his wrist andlooked at his watch.
It's Tom. Hank can't stop it now, even if
(47:30):
you wanted to. I've been looking over her for
decades, and this is the Christmas it's finally
happening. He stood slowly, holding a
butcher knife in his hand, and took a step toward me.
His eyes went wide. Light from the ornaments
reflected off the blade as Mr. Everett swung it in a downward
(47:51):
arc. I leaned back and heaved my body
up just as the tip sliced past my arm.
The left side of the chair cracked and broke away, and I
put my hand out in an effort to block the next attack.
Mr. Everett chuckled and pointedthe knife at me.
I looked down, confused that my right arm was free, then
realized he hadn't tried to cut me, only the tape.
(48:17):
Done being violent with me, Hank, I'm letting you go.
Thank you. I nodded, but tensed as he came
closer. Now about the L.
You saw what she did for this town, How happy these people
have been all these years. Unfortunately, now you know why.
(48:40):
Always found it funny myself. As he sliced the tape from my
ankles, I said. There isn't anything funny about
that monster. He walked around to the back of
the chair and began to slice through the last of the tape.
Well, elves have been known to spread holiday cheer, but who
(49:00):
would have guessed? They do.
By removing the bad hearted and non joyful bumpkins, elves can
see who we really are, what we've done, even what we're
gonna do. They know us and they judge us.
Another series of crashes came from the parlor.
(49:20):
It's too late for me, but you can tell them if you want, Mr.
Everett said. Make sure they all know to be
merry, or else an elf might come.
The instant the pressure of the tape gave way from my chest, I
kicked the chair backward and took off toward the door.
A much louder crash came from inthe parlor, sounding like the
(49:42):
tree had fallen over, and I turned to see the creature
standing in the doorway, snapping its jaw.
The stench of rotten pine needles hit me as I crashed into
the front door. It flung outward, frame
shattering. I slipped on the porch stairs
and fell into the snow, I stinging my hands and face.
(50:03):
Mr. Everett yelled from inside the house.
Sorry I hit you, Hank. It was my job to protect him.
Can't fault me for that, can ya?I ran past my car, digging in my
pocket for my cell phone. I dialed 911 and pressed the
receiver up to my ear, cringing at the pain.
(50:24):
Chief, please come quick. Hank, are you OK?
Just hurry. I ended the call and ran the two
blocks to my house. Lucy was asleep on the sofa, a
thick novel resting on her lap. The cold air blowing in swept
over her and she opened her eyesand shivered.
(50:45):
She yawned. Hello dear, you were out late.
I slammed the door, locked it in, and looked out the window.
Through the white mist, I couldn't tell if Mr. Everett or
the creature had followed. Lucy gasped.
Goodness, Hank, you're bleeding.I ran throughout the house,
checking each window for signs of forced entry.
(51:07):
No signs of a break in, but I wish Chief Royce would hurry.
You're scaring me. Lucy grabbed my arm and pressed
her warm hands against my cheeks.
Tell me what's going on. I realized how crazy I must have
seemed, but there wasn't time for me to explain everything.
It's Everett. I gasped, still out of breath.
(51:30):
Something happened. Chief Royce is on the way, what
can I do to help? Nothing.
I said, gently taking her wrist.I let her back to the sofa.
Wait here and don't let anyone in or anything.
I saw the question forming on her lips and held up a hand.
(51:51):
Please, Lucy, don't open the door, no matter what you see or
hear out there. She nodded and I ran off to
check the rest of the house. The small creature could have
gotten inside a million different ways, so after a quick
sweep, I grabbed the Remington from the closet and sat in the
recliner next to Lucy, the weapon lying across my lap.
(52:13):
Despite my protests, Lucy went into the kitchen and grabbed the
first aid kit. She bandaged up my ear while I
kept eyes glued to the door and my finger firmly on the trigger.
By the time she finished, a series of flashing red and blue
lights had appeared outside. A figure walked past the porch
window and knocked on the door. I levelled the weapon and nodded
(52:36):
for Lucy to open the door. Good evening Luke, she's.
Royce's eyes widened and he reached for his weapon on his
hip while pushing Lucy to the side.
I had lowered the weapon before he had even finished speaking.
Chief. Are you alone, Chief?
Royce looked to Lucy and then back to me.
(52:58):
What in the blaze has happened to your ear, Hank?
And why were you pointing a weapon at me?
I'm sorry, I didn't know who else was out there.
You've been back to Everett's right?
Yeah, we found him. I'm sorry, Hank, we should have
called the hospital after all. I shook my head.
What? Jake's guessing a heart attack?
(53:22):
Everett's dead. Chief Royce gave me an odd look.
You didn't know, but you're the one who?
I dropped my weapon next to the recliner and pushed my way past
Chief Royce and Lucy. The snowfall had let up enough
to see down the street outside of Mr. Everett's house.
An ambulance had parked next to Jake's cruiser.
(53:44):
I ran toward the house, Lucy andChief Royce chasing after me,
yelling for me to stop. When I came to a halt behind the
ambulance, the paramedics were loading Mr. Everett's body.
I noticed the smug grin etched onto his dead face before the
doors closed. Jake walked up next to me.
(54:07):
At least he made it to Christmas.
I checked my watch. 12:30 AM. Where's that little monster?
Did you see it? Jake narrowed his eyes.
Does he have a cat or something?I shook my head.
Or something. Walking into the house, I
(54:28):
listened carefully and scanned the room for any movement.
The foul odor of deadpine still lingered, but seems to be
fading. I stepped into the dimly lit
kitchen, expecting the creature to attack, then noticed that the
chair I've been duct taped to was no longer there.
(54:48):
Also, the parlor door had been closed.
I placed my hand on the wooden handle and hesitated.
Chief Royce, Jake and Lucy had all caught up and stood behind
me, sharing worried whispers. I swallowed hard and pushed to
the door open. The large pine had been
(55:09):
overturned and every one of those brilliantly glowing orbs
had been shattered into tiny glass shards.
All the figurines had been smashed beyond recognition, most
crushed to nothing more than powder.
Underneath the tree lay the broken kitchen chair.
Jake put a hand on my shoulder. That's where we found him.
(55:33):
Looked like he tried to hang an ornament and his heart gave out.
Must have pulled the tree down on top of himself.
Poor guy. I choked back a scream, looking
around the room, thoughts racing.
I felt the answer clawing at theback of my mind.
The crashing, the shattering, the smell of dead Pines, and Mr.
(55:56):
Everett's final words. All of it rang over and over in
my head. Jake said, kneeling.
Wonder what this sludge is? Lucy smiled.
Looks like pine SAP to me. Mr. Everett died doing what he
loved, Chief Roy said. Hank, thanks for being with him
(56:19):
in his final moments. He pointed at my bandaged ear.
Looks like that tree got a pieceof you as it failed.
Huh? I guess it rung your bell pretty
good, Bells, I said. Somewhere in the distance I
could hear a faint ringing. Lucy hugged me.
(56:39):
Why don't we get you to the hospital?
You might have a concussion. Bells, I said again.
You don't hear them. I stared at the puddle of SAP
that seems to have spread towardthe back door.
I walked across the parlour to the window and scanned the
pristine snow, listening for thefaint ringing.
(57:01):
The world outside was white still and quiet.
The world was wrong. Movement caught my eye.
The creature stood at the tree line, watching me from amidst a
huge mass of bright green pine needles.
It waved, and my blood ran cold.The tree came down hard.
(57:26):
I whispered absent mindedly. Caught me in the side of the
head and I think I got a little confused.
I turned away from the window. Come on, Lucy, let's go home.
I nodded to Chief Royce and Jake, then Lucy and I left them
to their work. She didn't ask any questions as
we treaded through the snow, andwe never talked about that night
(57:50):
ever again. Some people in town say it's
best to let the past stay in thepast.
I tend to agree, though. Every December I'm reminded of
that snow and what I saw at the edge of those woods.
Each year when the decorations start to go up, I wonder if I
should finally tell someone the true secret of Mr. Everett's
(58:13):
Christmas ornaments. Now that I'm old and now that
Lucy's gone, I think it's finally time.
As I stood next to the fallen pine, my eyes followed ASAP
trail of countless tiny footprints leading into the
forest. You see, those figurines weren't
(58:34):
the only decorations that shouldhave frightened me.
The beautiful glowing ornaments were something special too.
Those orbs were eggs and thousands of pine needle baby
elves had hatched and fed in thefirst hour of Christmas morning.
Merry Christmas. Henry Van Ways, December 2014.
Hey, welcome to Scary Stories and Rain.
I really hope you enjoyed this episode.
And don't forget you can subscribe to this podcast for
just 299 a month. You can get rid of all of the
irritating ads and be automatically entered to win a
Nintendo Switch to Mario Kart bundle.
Only 299 a month, no more ads. I have all the info you need in
(00:21):
the description to this episode.And one last thing, thank you so
much for being here. I really hope you enjoy.
The four of us walked down the deserted St.
Wallace, Kim, Roger and I. It was 4:00 AM and we had
finally grown tired of the bars.We had been celebrating Kim and
(00:45):
Roger's marriage. The reception was long over, but
the four of us were still going strong.
We were walking to nowhere in particular, still wearing our
wedding attire and reveling in drunken intimacy.
The balmy Louisiana air felt delicious against my skin, even
in mid-december. The blackness of the sky was
(01:05):
comforting, draping around us like a velvet blanket.
The yellow globes of the street lamps held it up, keeping it
from falling and suffocating us.It reminded me of when I used to
read under the covers as a child, my knees acting as tent
poles while I held my flashlightbetween my shoulder and my
jawbone. A mystery novel engrossing me so
(01:26):
much I didn't register the discomfort.
Even now, 60 years after that night, I feel the pain in my
jaw. Not the pain of a full life, but
the pain of my decaying body. Arthritis creeps through my
bones like frozen tendrils, leather whips that wrap tight
around each joint, squeezing andsqueezing, leaving me stiff, a
(01:49):
prisoner in my own body. I'm sorry, I seem to have gotten
a bit flowery with age, as if these similes and metaphors
could keep death at Bay, distract the guy long enough for
me to have a few more agonizing moments of life.
There I go again. We walked down the deserted St.
(02:11):
I think it's snowing. Kim whispered, awestruck.
The four of us stopped our trek.I looked up to see small white
flakes drifting lazily around us.
That's impossible. My voice was quiet, meeting the
soft reverence of Kim's tone. We rarely got snow this far
South. I tilted my head back and stuck
(02:33):
out my tongue. A small flake danced down from
the heavens to land on it, dissolving at the gentle touch.
I looked in shock at Kim, who ismimicking my behavior.
It's salt. Wallace raised an eyebrow at me
before cupping his hand out in front of him.
White flakes began to collect inhis palm, but they did not melt
(02:56):
at his touch. What on earth?
Roger asked. The sky guys, Wallace said, and
I looked towards where he gestured in front of us.
The salt was beginning to collect.
Within seconds, thousands of particles had gathered into the
form of two feet, then two legs.A torso, arms and neck followed,
(03:20):
And then before us stood a man. A large man made entirely of
salt. His salt eyes stared at nothing,
yet I could feel his gaze on my skin, and my arms prickled with
goosebumps. He beckons to us.
I turned to Wallace, who stood motionless, his eyes wide with
(03:42):
shock and incomprehension. He swallowed and stepped
backward, shaking his head, and I looked back to the salt man.
He was upon us, mere inches for me.
I opened my mouth to scream. He grabbed my wrist and
everything immediately went black.
I awoke to a dull whiteness. I blinked, trying to clear my
(04:02):
vision before realizing that there was nothing to clear.
I was in a large white room, dimly lit with white light.
The walls arched high above our heads.
I looked down and saw that I waslying in the loose white powder.
My nostrils stung and I sat up, brushing the loose salt from my
(04:22):
bare arms. My green bridesmaid dress looked
stained in the faint light. I looked back up and realization
hit me with horror. The old salt mines.
They ran under the rural part oftown like a maze.
Our family owned large shares ofthe mining company, so our
fathers brought us down on toursa few times to see our heritage.
(04:45):
I reached and touched the earthywhite wall beside me, the hard
substance beneath my hand rough.The air inside the mines was
heavy and dry, sucking at the moisture inside my skin, my
body, draining me slowly. The room was lit by an unnatural
white glow. The salt man stood in front of
(05:07):
us, emanating the supernatural luminescence.
A hand grasped mine, and I looked down to see Kim's thin
hand, our grandmother's emerald wedding band, washed out in the
white light. I squeezed, and she squeezed
back. Just like when we were little
cousins in blood, with sisters in spirit.
(05:30):
The salt man turned and began towalk deeper into the mine.
As he left, his light followed him, and the room around us grew
dark. A darkness so complete, so
black, that it threatened to suffocate me.
I stood frantically, dropping Kim's hand and stumbled forward,
following the man and his light in desperation.
(05:54):
I could hear heavy, unsure movement as Kim, Wallace and
Roger stood and followed. We followed the man in silence
through several white tunnels. The ground was at a slight
decline and we went deeper and deeper into the earth.
The ceilings grew lower and I had to Crouch.
After what felt like hours, we stopped outside a small cavern.
(06:18):
I held my heels in one hand, having taken them off miles
before. My expensive stockings were torn
and soiled from sweat and salt. My throat stung and I was in
desperate need of water, my tongue large, tacky and stiff.
I tried to swallow but felt no relief.
(06:40):
Inside the cavern was a chest, the wood warped and rotten.
A heavy black lock hung at the front, long rusted.
I was pushed aside and Wallace stepped forward into the room,
Roger behind him. I looked at Kim, who looked as
bad as I felt. The bottom of her wedding dress
(07:00):
was tattered, the delicate lace falling from the skirt, her once
sparkling white dress now dark and tarnished like the walls of
salt around us. She reached a hand out towards
me and I grabbed it. Wallace knelt in front of the
chest. The salt man stood to the side,
watching. It looks old.
(07:22):
Said Wallace, who always had a knack for stating the obvious.
He pulled at the lock once, testing its strength, then again
harder. It came apart with a rusty
crunch. Wallace twisted the once heavy
lock and tossed it on the groundbeside him.
The lid of the chest opened witha dry crack.
(07:43):
I expected the insides to glow, but instead the gold bars
appeared dull and red in spots. Roger pushed Wallace aside and
reached into the chest, Grabbingone of the bars, he examined it.
These are stamped with a royal seal, They're from Britain, how
(08:03):
did they end up here? Pirates.
Kim whispered, her eyes wide, staring at the salt man Wallace
and Roger seemed to have forgotten about.
I shook my head at her. There was a rumor in our family
that part of our great grandfather's wealth had been
stolen by pirates, but it was just that, a rumor.
(08:26):
The salt man opened his mouth ina wide, toothless grin before
grabbing Wallace by the back of the neck.
Wallace cried out in surprise, his voice close and hollow in
the small chamber. The small man pushed his head
into the rotten chest, the wood cracking under the force.
He brought his head up and looked with horror at Wallace's
(08:47):
face, broken and bloodied. His right eye was closed and his
other eye looked at me, begging for help.
The salt man brought his head down again and again, the cracks
turning wet as Wallace's blood exploded against the dull white
walls. The salt man himself was stained
(09:08):
pink, and soon Wallace's cries died out to nothing.
Roger, mouth agate, still holding the gold bar, stared at
the salt man. I turned and began to run,
trying to lead Kim by the hand down the salt tunnels behind us.
She dug her feet and resisted. Roger, she cried.
(09:30):
He turned to look at her, then down at the gold bar.
He nodded absent mindedly beforereaching toward the chest for
another. Come on, Roger.
His new wife screamed, her voicewet with phlegm and fear.
His hand reached around another bar as the salt man dropped
Wallace's lifeless body to the ground.
(09:51):
I pulled harder on Kim, forcing her further down the tunnel as
she reached for Roger. He turned and started to leap
from the room when the salt man's hand grabbed him.
Kim's scream filled the mines and I tripped with a sudden
force of her stop. Her hand slid from mine as I
fell, the hard salt grinding against my face like sandpaper.
(10:14):
I sucked in air sharply as the salt seeped into the fresh
wound, stinging like Wasps. I turned back to see Kim banging
at the salt man's chest as he held Roger up by the neck with
one hand. The other hand came up and
grabbed Kim's left wrist, holding it up so that even I
could see the emerald wedding band shine in the supernatural
(10:36):
light of the ghostly pirate. He howled, the sound of sand
through a rain stick, Thunder and anger.
He squeezed, and I heard the crack of Roger's neck as he went
limp. He fell to the floor like
Wallace had, his friend's blood,which covered the room, pooling
(10:56):
around him as if it were his own.
Kim, face red and wet, reached for his body, screaming.
The salt man lifted her wrist higher, keeping her close to
him. He brought his now free hand
over her ring finger. I inhaled the thick clowing air
around me, tinged with the coppery smell of blood, and I
(11:17):
got to my knees. I dragged myself forward and
then hesitated. I looked from Kim, my cousin by
blood, my sister by choice, and then to the salt man who held
her in his grasp, wrestling her wedding ring from her finger.
Kim's wedding dress was ripped and stained with salt, sweat,
(11:38):
tears and blood. She pulled feebly against the
salt man, but it was obvious shewas no match.
I hesitated, debating what to doas I watched them struggle.
Then I turned and fled. Kim's cries of pain and fear
followed me for several turns before fading to nothing.
(12:00):
I would stop from time to time, listening for any sounds, but
never heard anything but my own heavy breathing.
I was in the mines for many hours before I found an active
tunnel. By the time I was above ground
again, it was late evening and Ispent the night in the hospital
as the doctors treated my severedehydration and shock.
(12:23):
I tried to explain but no one believed me.
They assumed we got drunk and snuck down into the mines for
fun. We got lost and I was the only
one who was able to find my way again.
No one ever found Kim or the bodies of Wallace and Roger.
Eventually the memories of that night became distant and faded
(12:45):
till one day years ago, I went into my ensuite restroom to
freshen up before breakfast and as I turned the faucet handle,
all I heard was a dull roar, like sand falling before white
salt poured into the basin. It fell for several seconds
before it stopped. Resting on the pile was my
(13:08):
grandmother's emerald wedding ring.
And with that, my brief story has ended.
I wish there was more to tell. Unfortunate really.
Despite the arthritis and the pain, I want to live.
But he has finally come for me. He still does not speak, but yet
(13:29):
I understand. He's giving me time to write my
story, and then my time will have to come to an end.
My last word will be my last breath.
My hands are heavy on the keys. Grandmother's emerald band
shines on my right middle finger.
I never married, but I kept the ring.
(13:50):
A reminder of family, of love, of promises, of blood.
I know now why the pirate. Let me keep my ears, let me live
my life for all this time. I feel the dehydration from that
night again, my saliva and bloodbeginning to run dry.
(14:11):
The salt man knows this tale is almost over, and so he has begun
to take that which he claimed all those years ago.
My fingertips are white. At first I thought it was
calluses, but then I recognized that particular natural white,
the white of the salt deep in the mines.
(14:32):
I can feel my blood crystallizing, can feel my
cheeks absorb my tears. My life was not a fun one, but
it was mine, and he let me live it.
I do not wish to lose it, even now, when my body aches and my
fingers struggle to type as my joints stiffen.
(14:53):
He bought me with years, sparingme then so he could fully take
me now. But I do not want to go.
I do not want to die and join him deep in the minds his tomb,
even now, as each breath burns and my mouth puckers with the
brining of my own flesh. I want to stay.
(15:15):
But that is the nature of the world, is it not?
To breathe and to die. To consume and to be consumed.
Our lives revolve around it. Breath and death, both constant
and eternal, as ubiquitous as salt.
(15:53):
Let me preface this by saying that I am or was severely
visually impaired. At the time this story takes
place, I was considered legally blind.
Over the years, my vision has improved and my vision now sits
comfortably at 2080. This is important to the story.
(16:13):
When I was roughly 10 and my sister was 7, we moved close
enough to school that I made thedecision that I wanted to walk
home instead of going to my aunt's house after school.
My parents allowed this, seeing as we'd be walking down busy
roads and we knew the way home. Despite me being the older
sibling, my sister would often have to stop me from crossing
(16:35):
the road at inopportune times onparticularly sunny days when I
could barely keep my eyes open. I have an embarrassing story.
When my sister was sick and I approached a car who had been
stopped and was waiting for me to cross because I thought it
was my Nana's, my sister was essentially my eyes.
(16:57):
On our walk home one day we had passed by this flower Bush.
The Bush grew along the sidewalk, not in or on anyone's
property. We, being the young kids who
liked all things pretty, decidedto pick a few and create what we
thought was a beautiful trail back home.
I remember thinking we would sprinkle the rest of the petals
(17:18):
along our long dirt Rd. so I used my pedals sparingly.
About halfway between this Bush and our house, my sister starts
looking behind her and says thatsomeone is following us.
I look, but obviously I don't see anything.
At this point in our walk I was walking slowly as I was feeling
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exceptionally tired. We were almost completely up the
steep hill our house was on so Ihardly thought much of it.
Despite the rest of our route being through main roads.
The street in the hill our housewas on hardly saw traffic and I
could probably count on one handhow many other people walking we
(18:01):
had come across during our yearsliving there.
After a while my sister looks behind her and because we were
walking closer this person is way.
Closer to us now. She drops her flowers and tells
us that we need to run. I look behind us and I could
actually see a figure. They weren't close enough for me
(18:22):
to make out any features, but the fact that they were now
close enough for me to see had me nervous.
So without thinking twice, I dropped my flowers and ran with
my sister despite how tired I was. 5 seconds.
Ago. It was like all of that was
forgotten as I ran as fast as mylittle legs could carry me.
(18:44):
We turned into our long dirt driveway, grabbed the spare key
from the flower pot and ran inside.
That should have been the end, but it wasn't.
A bit after our parents came home, there was a knock on the
door. I hardly thought anything about
it, Maybe it was our landlord, But then me and my sister were
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called over to the door. I didn't recognize the woman,
but my sister did. It was the lady that followed us
home. Now it's important to note that
we arrived home way sooner than either of my parents.
It would be an hour or more before either of them returned
home. From the time we got home
(19:27):
because of us running home, it would be even longer.
So this lady actually waited outside of our house until one
of our parents came home before knocking on the door and telling
them all about what horrible children we were for picking her
flowers and whatever. Apparently she was staring at us
(19:48):
from our window as we picked theflowers, and when we started
sprinkling them on the sidewalk home, she started to follow us.
I remember my sister was crying,but all I could do was stand
there dumbfounded because even Icould see that the Bush wasn't
on anyone's property. And I was practically blinded by
the sun that day. After 10 minutes or more, we are
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forced to apologize. The lady leaves and my dad
closes the door. He scolds us for going into
someone else's property and we tell him that we couldn't have
known that they were any ones because of where they were
placed. A day later, after driving home
and seeing exactly what Bush we were talking about, he and my
(20:33):
mom both agreed that it was not on her property and apologized.
This wasn't the first time I wasfollowed home while living in
that house, but I wouldn't be aware of that until nearly seven
years later. All of this makes me shudder
thinking of how many other timesI could have been followed
without realizing it because of my poor vision.
(20:57):
If it weren't for my sister thatday, I probably wouldn't have
even noticed that Lady until it was too late.
(21:22):
Being an overnight visitor at the hospital with my mother at
the JCMC Johnson City Medical Center, I was on about day nine.
You know how you can't sleep well in the?
Chairs the visitor has to sleep in at the hospital.
Well, I was so tired and felt kind of delirious, in pain and
numb. I wasn't about to leave her
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there alone and there was no onewilling to come relieve me so I
could go home and rest. It was about 3:00 AM and I
thought I saw someone out of my peripheral vision.
I shook it off and continued to mindlessly watch Golden Girls.
I hear a cabinet door slam and Iat that point was used to all
(22:04):
the weird and random sounds the staff and the other patients
made so I didn't really think too much about it.
For a bit of perspective, we're on the 4th floor and all the way
down a hallway of at least 26 orso rooms.
Out of the four hallways on thatfloor there are about 100 ish
rooms per floor. I'm starting to doze off when
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the door slams shut and those doors are loud, very heavy wood.
I always kept the door cracked abit so I didn't wake mom.
Every time I wanted to go smoke or go to the cafeteria, I jumped
up and went to open it and all the nurses were standing outside
the rooms where their substations are.
(22:46):
They tell me to shut the door and keep it shut, that there was
someone in the building and for safety to stay in the room.
I obliged and went to sit back down, but this time I turned off
the TV mounted in the corner of the room.
I wanted to hear what the nurseswere saying.
I no longer could sit as tired as I was, but due to HIPAA they
(23:08):
couldn't tell me what was happening and I'm not only nosy
but bored and really wondering what's going on.
The horrific thing that happenednext was beyond my expectations
of what was happening with an intruder.
A psych patient from across the street at Woodridge Mental
Hospital had somehow managed to escape.
(23:31):
And this wasn't your normal crazy person.
This was a lunatic that was smarter than most and very
questionable. He was due to be shipped to an
asylum like place. Two days later he came into the
hospital where my mom was. My skin was crawling as I had
the TV off and standing at the door I looked at the TV and I
(23:54):
saw movement. It was the shower curtain
through the crack where my bathroom door was ajar.
I kid you not, out of all the rooms, he.
Was in my mom's. I was so tired to the point that
he got past me and into the bathroom.
I calmly hit the call button on the TV remote and the nurse
(24:16):
popped the door open and I pointed toward the bathroom.
When she cracked the door to seewhat we needed.
Her eyes were as big as golf balls and she left the room door
open like a champ, Unlocked my mom's bed, unhooked her oxygen
and monitoring stuff and rolled her into the hallway.
And die at that point was sitting at my mom's feet Indian
(24:38):
style and having a panic attack.They had several nurses and
staff from Woodridge go in and detain the man.
They wheeled him out as they gave him some type of strong
sedative. My mom stayed for another four
days. The nurses never told me the
guy's name, but they did tell meabout what he did and how it all
(25:01):
happened, and it's not somethingI really wish to repeat.
(25:21):
I'll never forget the Christmas Eve Blizzard of O9.
I've gone to town seeking the perfect gift for my wife Lucy,
and on my way home the snow had begun to come down hard.
Instead of the Interstate, I took the dark, lonely 2 lane
through the countryside. The snowflakes whisked past
their windshield against the backdrop of a pitch black sky,
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and the high beams faded to a dull glow below the horizon of
the distant Gray mountaintops. As I drove through the storm,
the night's simple beauty seemedto draw me in until nothing else
existed. Suddenly the steering wheel
began to vibrate and the car lurched off course.
I snapped out of the trance justin time to veer to the right,
(26:06):
doing my best not to overcorrecton the icy Rd.
After a tense moment where I wassure the car would slide into
the ditch, the tire shifted fromthe rumble strip back onto the
pavement, regaining traction once again.
My heart pounded hard and fast, but my eyes were still tired
from the hypnotic snow that seems to be flying towards me.
(26:29):
Instead of falling, I rolled down the windows, hoping that
the wind would restore my senses.
It had been a close call, and I considered stopping until the
snow let up, but that road was hazardous even without patches
of black ice. Over the decades, too many
people had been killed around that section of the Pines, and I
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did not want to be one of them. Not three years past, my
neighbor Paul Vickers, swerved to avoid what was probably a
deer and lost control of his truck.
One of the deputies had found him the next morning, dead.
Of course it wasn't instant, Chief Royce had said to me,
shaking his head. Paul had the same terrified
(27:13):
expression etched into his face as those dead hikers who would
spend a week lost up in the mountain pass.
Like them, he knew he wouldn't make it out alive.
I didn't tell him this, but I was glad Paul died.
His neck had broken during the wreck and he would have been a
quadriplegic. If he had lived.
Yes, it's a shame he suffered through the night afraid and
(27:35):
alone, but truth be told, maybe his neck wasn't the only reason
I never shed a tear over his passing.
He wasn't a nice guy, known for always starting fights down at
Carol's Pub, and when Carol would throw him out, he'd go to
beat on his old lady. More than once.
The beating was bad enough to put her in the hospital.
(27:57):
Good riddance if you ask me. But a year after that untimely
demise, Jen Harper's little girl, Susie, she died too.
The toddler had woken up in the middle of the night and she must
have seen the fresh blanket of white, then decided to go
outside to play. People in town still whisper
(28:17):
about that tragedy. They say the driver of that rig
that crushed her skull must havebeen snow blinded.
He never stopped, just kept on trucking.
I was at Carroll's when Chief Royce and Jake tracked the
driver down. As soon as he had heard that he
had killed little Susie Harper, he dropped to his knees and
(28:37):
banged his fists into his forehead.
I could smell the sour whiskey stinking on his breath.
Please, Sheriff. He had cried, drool dripping
from the corner of his mouth. You got to believe me.
I never saw her. I I go God.
Jake slapped on the cuffs and Chief Royce led him away.
(28:59):
Later at the arraignment, the driver claimed he remembered
hitting a bump of ice in the middle of the road, but not a
child, as if her body had been laying on the pavement long
before the tires of the 18 Wheeler did their work.
Even though his version didn't add up, Judge Davis had ruled it
an accident, and almost everyonein town figured his excuse was
(29:21):
some sort of mental block to protect him for what he had
done. I was skeptical, but Lucy had
believed him. Lucy.
I sighed, checking the dashboardclock.
It had gotten late, and she was probably worried sick.
Headlights appeared in my rear view, and within a few moments,
a pickup whipped past, honking at me.
(29:43):
I shrugged. He probably thought I was some
old man who didn't know how to drive.
True, I'm old and a little more cautious than most folks.
I wanted to get home quickly, but kept the speed well below
the limit so that I could get home at all.
I switched to the right lane andadmired the snow covered Pines
(30:04):
as I passed them by. The storm seems to generate a
peaceful serenity, an absolutelymagical feeling that replaced
the anxiety over the near accident.
I've driven through a lot of blizzards, but that night was
different somehow. It was like experiencing lucid
dream in my bones. I knew that something special
(30:26):
was going to happen, a Christmasmiracle like in those old black
and white films. I took in another deep breath of
the crisp night air, smelling the Pines and smiled.
Perhaps it was the snow coming in through the window and
melting on my face that it made my skin tingle.
(30:47):
Sure is going to be a white Christmas, I said, then laughed.
Despite the weather forecast each year, it always snowed on
Christmas in our little town. Turning around the bend by the
abandoned Diego farm, a Halo of white light from town stretched
across the horizon. I yawned, exhausted from
(31:08):
shopping in the city. All I wanted to do was to climb
into bed with Lucy and sleep. A moment later, I drove past the
old cemetery, approaching Ian Thomas's little shack.
Ian had surprised me by putting up decorations.
He had never done that before, so I waved at the air filled
(31:29):
Frosty the snowman, thankful that Ian had finally taken an
interest in the town celebration.
I was sure his wife Martha wouldhave been happy if she had still
been around. Some people thought foul play,
but others claimed she had run off with another man.
The latter didn't surprise me none.
(31:49):
She seems to be the wondering type.
Good old harmless Ian had probably gotten to feeling
lonely. I shook my head and decided to
ask Lucy if she would bake him abatch of her famous oatmeal
Raisin cookies. Our little community didn't have
much to offer, but we sure did try to come together on the
holidays. Passing into town limits, Main
(32:12):
streets appeared empty and everyshop along the three block
stretch had been decorated. It was a real treat seeing
downtown lit up with all the people distracting from the
view. I've never seen the stretch
without at least a few dark buildings.
The hardware store belonging to Mr. Roth had shone brighter than
every other business front. Like Ian Thomas, he'd never
(32:36):
participated, though it had beenon account of his religious
differences. I wondered what had changed his
mind, then remembered that sly Missus Roth had put an end to
Mr. Roth a few months back aftershe had found out that he
enjoyed the company of the evening ladies.
I'm not one to speak I'll of thedead, but if the rumors were
(32:58):
true, he would drive out to the city and dip his Wick once in a
while. When Jacob pulled the small 22
pistol out of Missus Roth's trembling hand, she claimed it
wasn't her which shot her husband, or at least she hadn't
remembered shooting him. In any case, Missus Roth had
hung herself in jail, Mayor Wayne had purchased the hardware
(33:20):
store in a tax auction, and thatwas that.
Taking in all of the Christmas cheer added to the strange
emotion brought about by the thick white flakes.
I remembered being a young boy anxiously awaiting the presents
on Christmas morning. It was a memory I didn't know
I'd lost, and my eyes were wet from tears.
(33:41):
This is what the holidays are about, I said, grinning so much
it hurt. This is what it means to be
merry. As I made a left on Maine, I
turned on the radio and began humming along to that old
classic Jingle Bells. It hadn't always been great
during the holidays. 20 years ago, the enthusiasm wasn't
(34:02):
there. Fact is, the town didn't
celebrate the holidays at all. No one could say what changed.
But when change came, it was forthe better.
Each year more and more took part until practically everyone
had become involved. Mr. Everett was the person most
responsible for that turn around.
(34:23):
He had taken the town tradition very serious.
After moving in. He had done up his whole house
in a spectacular fashion, winning the town papers contest
that year, then took home the title the next 21 years in a
row. When I turned onto West St. it
was no surprise that the bright flashing lights were coming from
(34:45):
Mr. Everett's place, only instead of red and green
Christmas lights reflecting off the falling snow, the colors
alternated between red and blue.I wondered what new scene the
white haired, long bearded man had set up in his yard.
But it wasn't decorations flashing.
No, it was 2 police cruisers parked alongside the curb.
(35:08):
The small gift for Lucy sat on the passenger seat and I
imagined her face lighting up when she noticed it tucked under
the tree. Frowning, I said few more
minutes, won't matter much now and pulled into Mr. Everett's
driveway. A figure standing in the yard
yelled. Hello Hank, you're out late.
(35:30):
I couldn't tell who it was at first.
The snow covered black uniform camouflaged his features, so I
squinted and leaned my head out the window.
Oh, hiya Jake, is Mr. Evert all right?
Jake walked over to my car door and knelt down face to face.
Don't rightly know he's getting up there in age.
(35:50):
No offense, of course. I laughed.
None taken. Just you and your dad out
tonight. Didn't need an ambulance.
Jake sighed. Well, we found him wandering
around in the Campbell's house down the ways.
He triggered the silent alarm when he walked through the back
door. I shook my head.
(36:10):
Sounds like Alzheimer's. Yeah, sounds like the Campbells
aren't pressing charges, are they?
The family had been new to town from some metropolis out West.
They had moved into the Sanders place after Jack Sanders took
his life with a circular saw. Neither Mr. or Missus Campbell
or their teenage son had gone out of their way to introduce
(36:32):
themselves, let alone make friends, so none of town folk
had any idea what kind of peoplethe Campbells really were.
They're away for the week. Jake said.
We'll need to tell them when they get back, but no harm done.
So I wouldn't be surprised if they had a weapon, them being
from the big city and all. Have they been home?
(36:54):
It might have been Mr. Everett'sbody you'd have come out to
collect. Jake nodded.
Hey, why don't you head inside? Hank pops in there talking with
Mr. Everett now. You know we don't want to send
them to the hospital on Christmas.
Maybe you could keep an eye on him until his head clears.
It's a lot to ask. If you can't, I'll stay myself.
(37:14):
I glanced at the gift on the passenger seat once more and
whispered. We come together on the
holidays. What's that?
Nothing, Jake. Sure, I can stay.
Don't mind at all. Jake led the way into Mr.
Everett's house. Hank's here, Pop.
He can stay. Be right out.
Chief Royce said. Jake waved me inside.
(37:38):
Go on in, they're just finishingup in the kitchen.
Thanks, Jake, Take care, Jake said and then stepped back out
into the snow. Mr. Everett had filled his
living room with Christmas ornaments from all over the
world. Some appeared to be very old and
very valuable. I stacked and unstacked a set of
antique Russian nesting dolls while listening to Chief Royce
(38:00):
in the other room, explaining toMr. Everett that someone needed
to stay with him for an hour or so just to make sure he wouldn't
go wandering off again. A few moments later he stepped
from the kitchen and tipped the brim of his Stetson.
Hank Junior and I need to get back to watching the roads.
It's already halfway to nasty out there.
And I don't want anyone getting stuck.
(38:22):
I appreciate your help. Sure thing, Chief.
Lucy's already asleep. She won't mind.
After giving me a firm pat on the back, he turned toward the
kitchen. I'll stop by tomorrow to make
sure you're OK. Mr. Everett, you have a Merry
Christmas. He shook my hand and then
slammed the door as he left. I watched out the window as the
(38:44):
two police cruisers faded into the snowfall.
Mr. Everett walked up behind me,said something under his breath
that I couldn't make out, and then walked back into the
kitchen. I lingered at the window,
admiring the Christmas decorations and all the houses
along the block. Only the Campbell's place sat
dark, like an ink stain on a fine suit.
(39:08):
Ain't going crazy, Mr. Everett yelled.
I sighed, then went into the kitchen and sat at the table
across from him. I don't think you are.
Mr. Everett shook his head. One of my ornaments ran off.
Found her snooping around in that Campbell house.
Is that so? Yeah, and I'm glad they weren't
(39:31):
home. It would have been bad.
Very, very bad. I nodded in a low whisper.
Mr. Everett said they'd have been killed.
Yeah, you got luck. Wait, what did you say?
Mr. Everett shook his head. Wasn't nothing important.
(39:51):
He pushed his chair back from the table.
Need to piss? He left the room through the
country door leading to the parlor.
The door swung closed but didn'tlatch.
The left side slowly creaked open a few inches.
A brilliant kaleidoscope of lights twinkled through the
crack. I furrowed my brow and stood,
(40:12):
pushing the door open. A rainbow of color lit up the
walls, the spectacular lights emanating from a massive pine
tree in the center of the room. Gold and silver flashed and
sparkled. Shades of red, blue, and yellow
twisted, turned and collided. Purples, greens and oranges
(40:33):
brightened, dimmed, and merged. Though it was the most wonderful
sights these old eyes had ever beheld, it took a moment before
I could look directly at the tree.
My gosh, I said, reaching for a branch.
The display was more like a shrine to Christmas than a
symbol. The surreal lights radiated from
(40:55):
these hanging translucent orbs. I squinted and tried to see how
the bulbs worked, but none seemsto be connected to a power
source. Between them, dozens of ceramic
figurines adorned the pine needle.
The lifelike sculpture seemed tomove in the shimmering colors.
I leaned closer. The figurines were moving.
(41:20):
A replica of Paul Vickers reached at me.
It's tiny arms clutching at the air, the little face twisted in
agony as it spat silent curses. I stumbled back, a scream caught
in my throat, but it was too late.
In the blink of an eye, I'd seenthem all.
Susie Harper. Her head and chest caved in,
(41:43):
body twitching. The Diego family, faces blue
from carbon monoxide poisoning. Martha Thomas, throat cut,
gasping at a breath. Mr. Roth, blood dripping from
several bullet holes in his chest.
Missus Roth ruptured, eyes bulging.
Jack Sanders, covered in blood, holding his own intestines.
(42:07):
There were others, too. So many others.
Beautiful, isn't it? Mr. Everett said from somewhere
behind me. I spun toward his voice, saw the
flash of a baseball bat, and felt searing white pain through
the side of my head before everything went black.
(42:27):
I don't know how long I was out,but when I awoke, my whole body
buzzed and I couldn't move my arms.
Something thick and wet ran downmy right ear.
Whoa, what in the Mr. Everett and I were back at the kitchen
table. My arms and chest had been duct
taped to the chair. You can't hurt him.
(42:49):
You can't hurt him. My double vision cleared and I
focused on a figurine 4 inches tall, standing in the middle of
the table facing Mr. Everett. Green and red felt.
Draped over his rigid shoulders.And a golden Santa hat sat at an
angle on its head. Everett.
(43:12):
Mr. Everett shook his finger at the figure.
Hank's not one of them naughty people, so you won't take him.
You've taken enough anyway. Let me go, I mumbled.
No, Mr. Everett screamed. I'm not going to kill him
either, you little freak. I heard a small ringing noise as
(43:34):
the figure turned around, tiny bells on the tips of its
moccasins. The figure, an ugly little
creature, cocked its slimy head to the side.
It narrowed its Forest Green slitted eyes until only the
black pin sized irises were visible.
It grimaced and a mouthful of sharp pointed teeth ground
(43:56):
together with a metallic like scraping.
Then it hissed and jumped from the edge of the table, landing
on my chest. Geez, Everett, get it off me,
get it off me. I twisted violently, trying to
shake off the creature as it scurried upward, lunging and
snapping at my face. Hank, stay still and she won't
(44:17):
hurt you. I clenched my fist and held my
breath as it held onto my beard and leaned in close to my left
eye. It laughed and then somersaulted
from my face, hit the tabletop and rolled.
To its feet. Bells Jingling, let me go home
to Lucy Everett. I swear I won't say anything to
anyone about your pet. Word to God I won't.
(44:39):
She wanted that Campbell boy, that little sneak thief.
He's been stealing ever since his family moved to town.
Had he been home, she would havelit the house on fire.
My jaw dropped. You were going to kill the
Campbell boy? No, no, of course not.
(45:00):
Everett laughed and pointed at the creature.
She was going to kill him. I tried to stop her, hell, I
tried. I always try, but it's no use.
If someone in town is a rotten egg, she'll go after them.
Boys and girls too. It don't matter.
Hey, don't look at me that way. You know as well as I do that
(45:22):
Susie Harper was an insufferable, mean brat.
She would have grown up to be a terrible person and deserved
what she got. They were all bad people.
I tugged at my restraints and the arms of the chair creaked.
This can't be happening, Argentina in 1954, Mr. Everett
(45:44):
said, slouching in his chair. That's when she found me.
And honest to goodness, Christmas elf Hank, that's what
she is. It's a monster.
The creature lunged at me again,teeth bared.
Mr. Everett. Slammed his first on the table.
Now leave him alone, The creature pointed at me, then at
(46:07):
the tree in the parlor, bright lights still gleaming.
I don't give a Dang, Mr. Everettsaid, waving his hand
dismissively. Go tend to the important
business in the other room and leave us men alone, the creature
hissed. Now the creature raised its
(46:27):
fists and shook them above its head.
Mr. Everett folded his arms across his chest and stared
until the creature climbed down the tablecloth and shuffled into
the parlor. He sighed and then said matter
of factly. Those figurines hanging from the
tree are the trapped souls of the bad Folk.
(46:48):
She used to eat them up quickly,but for the past few years she's
been hoarding. You wouldn't believe me if I
told you why. I swallowed hard and tested my
restraints again. Please, you got to let me go.
I begged. The chair cracked again.
(47:08):
Surely it hurt at that time, butI knew with one more good pull I
would be free. Something shattered from in the
parlor, quickly followed by another loud crash and another.
Mr. Everett raised his wrist andlooked at his watch.
It's Tom. Hank can't stop it now, even if
(47:30):
you wanted to. I've been looking over her for
decades, and this is the Christmas it's finally
happening. He stood slowly, holding a
butcher knife in his hand, and took a step toward me.
His eyes went wide. Light from the ornaments
reflected off the blade as Mr. Everett swung it in a downward
(47:51):
arc. I leaned back and heaved my body
up just as the tip sliced past my arm.
The left side of the chair cracked and broke away, and I
put my hand out in an effort to block the next attack.
Mr. Everett chuckled and pointedthe knife at me.
I looked down, confused that my right arm was free, then
realized he hadn't tried to cut me, only the tape.
(48:17):
Done being violent with me, Hank, I'm letting you go.
Thank you. I nodded, but tensed as he came
closer. Now about the L.
You saw what she did for this town, How happy these people
have been all these years. Unfortunately, now you know why.
(48:40):
Always found it funny myself. As he sliced the tape from my
ankles, I said. There isn't anything funny about
that monster. He walked around to the back of
the chair and began to slice through the last of the tape.
Well, elves have been known to spread holiday cheer, but who
(49:00):
would have guessed? They do.
By removing the bad hearted and non joyful bumpkins, elves can
see who we really are, what we've done, even what we're
gonna do. They know us and they judge us.
Another series of crashes came from the parlor.
(49:20):
It's too late for me, but you can tell them if you want, Mr.
Everett said. Make sure they all know to be
merry, or else an elf might come.
The instant the pressure of the tape gave way from my chest, I
kicked the chair backward and took off toward the door.
A much louder crash came from inthe parlor, sounding like the
(49:42):
tree had fallen over, and I turned to see the creature
standing in the doorway, snapping its jaw.
The stench of rotten pine needles hit me as I crashed into
the front door. It flung outward, frame
shattering. I slipped on the porch stairs
and fell into the snow, I stinging my hands and face.
(50:03):
Mr. Everett yelled from inside the house.
Sorry I hit you, Hank. It was my job to protect him.
Can't fault me for that, can ya?I ran past my car, digging in my
pocket for my cell phone. I dialed 911 and pressed the
receiver up to my ear, cringing at the pain.
(50:24):
Chief, please come quick. Hank, are you OK?
Just hurry. I ended the call and ran the two
blocks to my house. Lucy was asleep on the sofa, a
thick novel resting on her lap. The cold air blowing in swept
over her and she opened her eyesand shivered.
(50:45):
She yawned. Hello dear, you were out late.
I slammed the door, locked it in, and looked out the window.
Through the white mist, I couldn't tell if Mr. Everett or
the creature had followed. Lucy gasped.
Goodness, Hank, you're bleeding.I ran throughout the house,
checking each window for signs of forced entry.
(51:07):
No signs of a break in, but I wish Chief Royce would hurry.
You're scaring me. Lucy grabbed my arm and pressed
her warm hands against my cheeks.
Tell me what's going on. I realized how crazy I must have
seemed, but there wasn't time for me to explain everything.
It's Everett. I gasped, still out of breath.
(51:30):
Something happened. Chief Royce is on the way, what
can I do to help? Nothing.
I said, gently taking her wrist.I let her back to the sofa.
Wait here and don't let anyone in or anything.
I saw the question forming on her lips and held up a hand.
(51:51):
Please, Lucy, don't open the door, no matter what you see or
hear out there. She nodded and I ran off to
check the rest of the house. The small creature could have
gotten inside a million different ways, so after a quick
sweep, I grabbed the Remington from the closet and sat in the
recliner next to Lucy, the weapon lying across my lap.
(52:13):
Despite my protests, Lucy went into the kitchen and grabbed the
first aid kit. She bandaged up my ear while I
kept eyes glued to the door and my finger firmly on the trigger.
By the time she finished, a series of flashing red and blue
lights had appeared outside. A figure walked past the porch
window and knocked on the door. I levelled the weapon and nodded
(52:36):
for Lucy to open the door. Good evening Luke, she's.
Royce's eyes widened and he reached for his weapon on his
hip while pushing Lucy to the side.
I had lowered the weapon before he had even finished speaking.
Chief. Are you alone, Chief?
Royce looked to Lucy and then back to me.
(52:58):
What in the blaze has happened to your ear, Hank?
And why were you pointing a weapon at me?
I'm sorry, I didn't know who else was out there.
You've been back to Everett's right?
Yeah, we found him. I'm sorry, Hank, we should have
called the hospital after all. I shook my head.
What? Jake's guessing a heart attack?
(53:22):
Everett's dead. Chief Royce gave me an odd look.
You didn't know, but you're the one who?
I dropped my weapon next to the recliner and pushed my way past
Chief Royce and Lucy. The snowfall had let up enough
to see down the street outside of Mr. Everett's house.
An ambulance had parked next to Jake's cruiser.
(53:44):
I ran toward the house, Lucy andChief Royce chasing after me,
yelling for me to stop. When I came to a halt behind the
ambulance, the paramedics were loading Mr. Everett's body.
I noticed the smug grin etched onto his dead face before the
doors closed. Jake walked up next to me.
(54:07):
At least he made it to Christmas.
I checked my watch. 12:30 AM. Where's that little monster?
Did you see it? Jake narrowed his eyes.
Does he have a cat or something?I shook my head.
Or something. Walking into the house, I
(54:28):
listened carefully and scanned the room for any movement.
The foul odor of deadpine still lingered, but seems to be
fading. I stepped into the dimly lit
kitchen, expecting the creature to attack, then noticed that the
chair I've been duct taped to was no longer there.
(54:48):
Also, the parlor door had been closed.
I placed my hand on the wooden handle and hesitated.
Chief Royce, Jake and Lucy had all caught up and stood behind
me, sharing worried whispers. I swallowed hard and pushed to
the door open. The large pine had been
(55:09):
overturned and every one of those brilliantly glowing orbs
had been shattered into tiny glass shards.
All the figurines had been smashed beyond recognition, most
crushed to nothing more than powder.
Underneath the tree lay the broken kitchen chair.
Jake put a hand on my shoulder. That's where we found him.
(55:33):
Looked like he tried to hang an ornament and his heart gave out.
Must have pulled the tree down on top of himself.
Poor guy. I choked back a scream, looking
around the room, thoughts racing.
I felt the answer clawing at theback of my mind.
The crashing, the shattering, the smell of dead Pines, and Mr.
(55:56):
Everett's final words. All of it rang over and over in
my head. Jake said, kneeling.
Wonder what this sludge is? Lucy smiled.
Looks like pine SAP to me. Mr. Everett died doing what he
loved, Chief Roy said. Hank, thanks for being with him
(56:19):
in his final moments. He pointed at my bandaged ear.
Looks like that tree got a pieceof you as it failed.
Huh? I guess it rung your bell pretty
good, Bells, I said. Somewhere in the distance I
could hear a faint ringing. Lucy hugged me.
(56:39):
Why don't we get you to the hospital?
You might have a concussion. Bells, I said again.
You don't hear them. I stared at the puddle of SAP
that seems to have spread towardthe back door.
I walked across the parlour to the window and scanned the
pristine snow, listening for thefaint ringing.
(57:01):
The world outside was white still and quiet.
The world was wrong. Movement caught my eye.
The creature stood at the tree line, watching me from amidst a
huge mass of bright green pine needles.
It waved, and my blood ran cold.The tree came down hard.
(57:26):
I whispered absent mindedly. Caught me in the side of the
head and I think I got a little confused.
I turned away from the window. Come on, Lucy, let's go home.
I nodded to Chief Royce and Jake, then Lucy and I left them
to their work. She didn't ask any questions as
we treaded through the snow, andwe never talked about that night
(57:50):
ever again. Some people in town say it's
best to let the past stay in thepast.
I tend to agree, though. Every December I'm reminded of
that snow and what I saw at the edge of those woods.
Each year when the decorations start to go up, I wonder if I
should finally tell someone the true secret of Mr. Everett's
(58:13):
Christmas ornaments. Now that I'm old and now that
Lucy's gone, I think it's finally time.
As I stood next to the fallen pine, my eyes followed ASAP
trail of countless tiny footprints leading into the
forest. You see, those figurines weren't
(58:34):
the only decorations that shouldhave frightened me.
The beautiful glowing ornaments were something special too.
Those orbs were eggs and thousands of pine needle baby
elves had hatched and fed in thefirst hour of Christmas morning.
Merry Christmas. Henry Van Ways, December 2014.
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