NorthWest (John Hazard - Book II) (11 page)

Still, the experience may not have been enough to prompt his wanderlust until something happened that would open his mind to the possibility of phenomena in this world that simply defied explanation. It had occurred on the second night as they were returning to the hotel from dinner. His father had encountered an old friend along the way and became involved in a very deep political discussion, which seemed as though it would continue for some time.

While Raj waited patiently, he noticed an eerie quiet had settled around them and a bright golden light shining at the end of the alley. He was determined to slip away and get a closer look at the source of the light, even if only for a moment. While his father was in the middle of a long diatribe, he saw his opportunity and made his move.

The cobbled pavement was wet and the stone walls on either side of the narrow street were grimy and old. The aroma of sour garbage overwhelmed him as he slowly walked toward the light. He focused his mental energy to overcome the urge to empty his stomach and add to the oppressive atmosphere.

As he neared the end of the alley, there was a turn to the right. He edged closer to the wall and cautiously looked around the corner. There was a large courtyard-like clearing with a large fire at its center and eight men sitting, cross-legged, encircling the bright flames. The men wore nothing at all from the waist up and only a dhoti, the large white cloth wrapped around their lower torsos.

The gray tone of their skin seemed to come from some type of ash or clay smeared on their bodies and their hair was matted in long, gray dreadlocks that hung down across their backs. Their beards, as long and gray as their hair, were accentuated by the licking firelight and shadow. Large black circles around their eyes gave the appearance of hollow empty sockets in the dim light.

Raj shivered as he stood watching the men rocking forward and back as they stared into the fire. “Nagas, ramas, rengas,” they chanted, repeating it over and over again. One of the men turned and opened a small pottery urn and scooped a handful of powder from it. Then with a slow sweeping motion, he tossed the handful of powder into the fire as the chanting increased in volume.

A fountain of multicolored sparks burst upward out of the flames. Raj retreated in fear as the image of a very large cobra seemed to spring from the fire and rise above the men. It’s head swayed back and forth slowly to the rhythm of the chant. It wound around in a complete circle eyeing each one as it passed by.

Suddenly, with a whip-like motion, it jerked, and the single head became two. With another snap, two became four, and on the third, eight heads extended from the body of the cobra. The snake was now much larger and arranged each of the eight heads to face one of the men.

Raj became aware that he was standing in a puddle where he had wet himself from the shock. He was overcome with shame and turned away hoping to leave unnoticed. This can’t really be happening, he thought to himself.

A loud sound came from behind and he turned back to see what had happened. The snake was growing larger and towered high over the men. Without warning, it struck. The eight mouths openied at once and shot down in a blur. Instantly, each man was swallowed whole.

Raj screamed out loud, and finally found the strength to move his legs and run away from the horrible scene. Behind him only silence, the pounding of his shoes against the cobblestones seemed to echo all the more loudly. As he neared the entrance of the alley, he found his father waiting for him with his arms crossed in consternation.

“So my son, you have decided to assert your independence in this great city. You have the look of one with a new, yet terrible knowledge, and have you wet yourself? Share with me what has happened.”

Raj struggled to catch his breath, embarrassed that his father had noticed how he had shamed himself. He tried to put into words what he had seen. He finally found his voice and, when he had finished his tale, his father looked at him for a moment and then roared with laughter.

“My son, your imagination makes me laugh. The men of the Nagas worship the snake, but the master never eats his servant. Come, we have much to prepare for morning. Let’s retire to our room.”

Raj was stunned by his father’s lack of interest or concern for what he had witnessed. He wondered whether the men had actually sacrificed themselves in the ritual they performed. Was it a grand trick to scare him because he had dared to spy on them?

The next day, when his father’s business was complete, they returned home. Afterward, Raj spent many hours researching the various religious cults and sects of his homeland. Although he rejected most of the religious beliefs he had read about, he had witnessed one of the rituals. It was this single experience, and his studies, that led to his interest in paranormal phenomena.

He believed that this trip would prove to be fruitful. He hoped some secret regarding the phenomenon in the Northwest Triangle might be revealed. Perhaps it would be him who unraveled it. Even so, if his parents ever discovered what he was doing, they would undoubtedly force him to return to India before he was prepared to do so.

Nineteen

“I guess you’ve never seen anything like that before.” John reached for the remote control to turn off the television as he sat on the couch to face Emily.

“No, and I admit I’m a little freaked out right now.” Emily shifted in her seat and pulled the hair back from her face with both hands before letting it fall to her shoulders again.

“Well, it’s like I said earlier, I’ve experienced some weird shit before and that’s how I ended up in the P.I. class. That kind of phenomenon is why we’re going on this trip.”

Now that she’d had a taste of what could be expected, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to go, and it showed all over her face.

John noticed her expression of doubt and felt he should try to put her at ease. “Don’t worry. You’ll get used to the weirdness. With the kind of people we have in our group, there’s bound to be a lot more weird experiences before we’re finished.” Thinking back to Sherri’s ghostly prediction, he added quietly, “Maybe a hell of a lot more.”

“Yeah, but when I decided to come on this trip it seemed a lot safer than dealing with those thugs who were trying to kill me earlier.” Her eyes showed the anxious frustration she felt.

“Look, Em, did Sherri’s apparition, or whatever it was, try to shoot you or anything? Did she approach you in any kind of menacing way?” He sounded calm as he questioned her. “I think this trip will be just what the doctor ordered. Two weeks in the great outdoors. Just think about all that fresh, clean air, bluer than blue skies… and the company of more good people than you’ve known in a while. Well maybe, I guess I really wouldn’t know about that.” He was more than stretching the truth but, for some reason, he really wanted her to go.

“I know she wasn’t here to hurt us, but…” Emily was twisting and untwisting a piece of her hair with her finger. “So you really don’t think there’s anything dangerous about going on this trip?”

“Statistics show, Em, that most paranormal experiences are devoid of danger. Ghosts, hauntings, cold spots, and things like that are usually quite benign. I’ve heard that dealing with shit like exorcisms and demons and dark matter can get a bit dicey, but I don’t expect there will be any of that where we’re going.”

“Really? You’re shittin’ me! You mess with demons?” Emily’s eyes went wide and she turned a bit pale.

“Well, I’ve never experienced the dark stuff, at least not lately. I’m not really looking for that kind of trouble.” He hoped that he wasn’t making her nervous again.

“The thing is, we stumble on things when we aren’t looking for them. The worst experience I ever had with this wasn’t something I was looking for at all, and I sure didn’t expect to find anything like it.” He hesitated trying to think of a way to say what he needed to say without revealing the whole story.

Finally he continued, “It did show me that bogeymen definitely exist out there, and it’s best to be prepared rather than get a surprise in a dark alley.” He watched her and awaited her response.

Emily was waiting for him to tell the rest of the story, but eventually she broke the silence. “I’d prefer to avoid that kind of… well, drama,” she said looking John in the eyes. “How can you protect yourself from that kind of thing? How do you prepare for it?”

“Well, you know those stories about witches and vampires and werewolves and such, and how they use things like silver bullets, crucifixes, garlic and all that? A lot of that stuff is just plain bullshit. Like holy water. From what I’ve read, a vampire can drink holy water if they’re thirsty, and the worst that could happen is they might get heartburn or a bad case of diarrhea.

On the other hand, some things do work: talismans and the like, ancient runes and a lot of various protections have been passed down through time, since man was created.”

Had he just mentioned vampires and werewolves as though they were real? Emily didn’t go there. Instead, she addressed another issue that had captured her attention. “Created? So you do believe in God then?” Emily wasn’t too sure about God. She never really had an inclination toward any religious beliefs.

“You don’t? All you have to do is look around. You think all of this was an accident? I mean, how could there be just some explosion, or some kind of ‘Big Bang’…” John made air apostrophes as he continued, “…that resulted in the world as we know it?”

“There had to be a design or some Creator, don’t you think?” John went on, “And if spirits, ghosts and demons are real, why not God? If the only supernatural, unseen things out there are evil, well, then where would we be?”

“I guess you have a point there, John. I mean, if there really are supernatural things… I mean, aside from the Sherri visitation… cuz that was really strange for sure. If they do exist, it only makes sense that God could be real too. I guess we’re going to have more than a few days to talk about this stuff. Let me try to digest everything you’ve told me so far.” She was holding her palm to her forehead as if holding back a headache. 

“Sure, I get it. It’s a lot to take in. Talking about religion and the supernatural in the same context is one of those conversation killers, right? Kind of like if I suddenly started talking about politics. Most people would rather not discuss it… that’s way too controversial. But I’m not really talking about religion. It’s more like spirituality.”

He didn’t look up to see the expression on Emily’s face as he continued rambling, “Because religion is about rules and every religion has their own rulebook. Spirituality, on the other hand, can be as simple as a belief in a higher power.”

At last he paused and looked at Emily, who was looking at him as though he were some kind of alien with three eyes or something. He took the cue and changed the subject.

“Anyway, I’ve been thinking. You have all your stuff packed in suitcases, and that’s going to be pretty difficult to carry through the woods. I have an extra backpack with some well-padded shoulder straps. What do you say we load all of your stuff into it and see if I can scrounge up some extra food supplies to get you through this trip?  I promise not to talk about the ‘S’ or ‘R’ words anymore tonight. Deal?”

“An excellent idea, John. Deal. You know, I threw everything together so fast I don’t even know what I packed.” She looked at the bulging suitcase sitting next to the wall.

“I’ll be right back.” He went into the bedroom and, in such a small apartment, she could hear as he crashed around in his closet and scraped things across the floor. Emily thought it sounded like he was tearing the room apart.

While waiting, she took the opportunity to walk slowly around the room. She looked, touched and snooped her way through his things. John had a bookshelf filled with books that ranged from science fiction, to textbooks, and other books on topics related to paranormal experiences and investigations.

She was reading the titles of each one when she noticed a piece of paper sticking out of a large hardbound book on the lowest shelf. She pulled the book out, and lifted it up to open it. It was immediately obvious that the piece of paper wasn’t a piece of paper at all. It was a dog-eared photo of an attractive red-haired woman in a bikini with a piece of tape holding a strip of paper over part of the picture.

Carefully she lifted the strip and saw the man standing beside the woman. The photo looked as though it had been through a fire or something. She turned it over to see if there was anything written on the back just as John came back into the room.

“Find anything interesting?” He set the large backpack on the sofa.

“Uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to be nosy.” She blushed as she lied. “I was just looking at your books and this photo fell out.” She held up the photo. “An old girlfriend?”

“Not exactly,” John walked over and took the photo from her hand, placed it back in the book and put the book back on the shelf. “She was the murder suspect in the case I spoke about earlier. Back when I was a detective of plain old normal crimes.”

“She’s very attractive for a killer.”

“Well, I never quite figured out if she was the perpetrator or not, to tell ya the truth. She didn’t live long enough for me to even question her. It’s a long story. Maybe we can add that to the list of things to talk about up in the woods. For now, we should get your stuff into that backpack, and then we should think about getting some sleep.”