Weirder Than Weird (8 page)

A TALE OF THE DAMNED

   
The disappearance of Keith Tuttle remained a mystery. A week had passed now and still no clues surfaced as to his whereabouts. All sheriff Moran really had was a bizarre tale to extrapolate from, one so queer that he would certainly have passed it off as pure lunacy had it not come from such a professionally distinguished person.

   
Doctor Williamson was the head of psychiatric medicine at the Shilo care facility in Washington state, a hospital of unrivaled excellence, or, in layman’s terms,
“The best of the
loony bins.”
On this particular morning, the doctor made his usual walk down the long disinfected hallways of the hospital on his way to his office, only today he elicited some unusual stares and more than one compliment was given to him in regard to his healthy appearance. Arriving at his office, he found the Sheriff waiting for him.

   
“Morning, Doc! I hope you don’t mind this early intrusion.”

   
The Sheriff awkwardly lifted his ponderous frame, his wrinkled uniform looking as though it had been slept in and himself looking thoroughly exhausted, quite the contrast to when they had spoken a week earlier.

   
“Why Sheriff Moran, I wasn’t expecting to see you back so soon. How’s the investigation going? Any new developments?”

   
“That’s why I’m here, Doc.  We’ve been searching high and low but keep coming up empty.” 

   
“Did you search the cottage?”

   
“Yes, sir, we did.”

   
“And?”

   
“Absolutely nothing.”

   
The Doctor looked perplexed. “What about the fireplace, Sheriff, was it as Keith said?”

   
The Sheriff shook his head. “You know, Doc, that fireplace was a bit odd, it seemed to be out of place somehow but I couldn’t really find anything wrong with it.” He scratched his head. “This whole mess just doesn’t seem to add up, that’s why I’m here Doc, I was hoping that you could give me your version of the story one more time just in case there was something that I overlooked.”

   
The Doctor glanced at his watch. “I don’t start my rounds for another hour, but I don’t think I can add any more to what I’ve already told you.”

   
“Just be as thorough as possible, Doc, don’t leave out any details,” said the Sheriff. He took out a small tape recorder from his pocket and placed it on the table in front of him.

   
“Anytime you’re ready.”

   
The Doctor leaned back in his chair and gave a thoughtful pause. “Well, let me see… Keith was an orderly at the hospital for about two years, but one day last month he just didn’t show up for work. We made numerous calls trying to track him down, but we simply couldn’t locate him. It was decided that more than likely he had his fill of the place and moved on. You see, this vocation can be very stressful and we’ve had the same thing occur in the past with other workers. This is what we all thought happened to Keith, that is, until the day I got the phone call.

   
“Keith was calling from a pay phone and sounded extremely distraught, but I managed to get an address and drove out to pick him up. Now, Keith had always been a muscular and vibrant young fellow, but the pathetic creature I picked up that day was anything but that. He was filthy from head to toe and very emaciated with a sallow complexion and sunken eyes. It was obvious that he was suffering from exhaustion and some type of trauma so I immediately drove him to the hospital where he stayed with us for three days. Those first days were difficult. I tried speaking with him on a number of occasions, but he was a bundle of nerves and reluctant to open up. Finally, on the third day, I was told that he wanted to see me so I had an orderly bring him to my office. Despite his agitated demeanor, he was eager to relay his story to someone he could trust, and what followed was a very strange tale indeed!

   
“ ’Keith, I said, ‘I’m so glad you’re  feeling better. You know, we were extremely concerned about you leaving us so sudden.’

   
‘That’s just it, Doc,’ Keith said in a trembling voice, ‘I didn’t leave, not intentionally anyhow.’

   
‘Well then, tell me what happened to you, lad. You’re in the company of friends here.’

   
“Keith’s features relaxed somewhat. ‘I’ll tell you everything Doc . I just got to get this off my chest, only this story is going to sound crazy, but so help me I swear it’s all true!’

   
‘Ever since I’ve worked here, me and the other orderlies have been accustomed to hearing some rather bizarre stories from the patients, like old Mrs. Feldspar in room 224. She would occasionally talk about her husband, it seems that he just up and disappeared one day and hasn’t been heard of since. I always felt sorry for the old girl because I know she mourned him awful but there was something else that she frequently talked about and little did I realize that it would play a part in my own nightmare. You see, the old gal talked incessantly about her life at the cottage and her ‘guardian angels,’ as she called them. She would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and see tiny men sitting at the foot of her bed just staring at her. She felt that they were her protectors but we all just passed it off as unbalanced chatter and had quite a number of laughs over it, only I couldn’t get her stories out of my head so that’s when I decided to do some checking on my own.

   
“It turned out that Mrs. Feldspar was right about her husband, it’s been a good twenty years since he went missing and they haven’t found hide nor hair of him. Knowing that she has no living relatives to speak of and that she still owns the cottage in the woods, an idea suddenly came to me. I’m not proud to admit this, Doc, but recently I’ve gotten myself into a bit of a financial fix so I decided to take a trip up to the cottage and do some rummaging around since it’s long been abandoned, you never know what treasures are hoarded away by old folk, so that’s just what I did.

   
“It took me quite a bit of the afternoon to find the place, it being secluded and nestled deep in the woods. I had to park my car a good distance from the cottage and walk the rest of the way on broken paths, but once there I busted the front door window and let myself in. There were a treasure trove of antiques all about the place but I was only really interested in small items that I could carry off easily. After much searching, it looked as though my hope of finding something of real value was in vain, so I wandered into the bedroom and picked up an old photo album I found on the bureau there. I stretched out on the bed and leafed through the album, but I felt a weariness come over me and I soon drifted off to asleep. At some point I felt a depression at the foot of my bed and being a light sleeper I awoke and glanced down. To my astonishment I could see the outline of two small figures with glowing green eyes staring back at me. I yelled and jumped to my feet. Hours must have passed because the room had grown dark but I was able to discover a candle on the night stand and with a shaky hand I somehow managed to get it lit.

   
“I nervously looked around the room and finally realized that I was all alone. It had only been a nightmare, I thought, one more than likely induced by the stories from the old woman. I was suddenly aware that the cottage had grown cold so I made my way into the living room with the intent of starting a fire. As I sat a few logs onto the hearth I noticed a thin line of light peeking out from the back of the fireplace. ‘How odd’ I said to myself as I placed my hand upon the rock. To my surprise, it moved as if hinged, exposing a tunnel of some fashion with an intense light at the very end. My mind was reeling. I thought for a moment and decided that I didn’t come all this way to go back empty handed, so I started to crawl upon the Earthen path toward the source of the light.’

   
“A steady downward slope was my trek, on and on I pushed with much effort to keep my claustrophobia in check. At one point I felt panic building inside me and I attempted to change direction but my chamber was simply too tight, I had no choice but to go forward. At one point, I felt a rush of warm air sweep across my face as if someone had just opened a door on a hot summer day. I crawled a few feet further then abruptly felt my Earthen support below me give way. I fell a good ten feet straight down and landed with a thud.

   
“I was dazed but luckily still in one piece. As I looked up, I realized that I was in the uppermost section of an enormous chamber of some type. I would later learn it was an immense cavern the size of a city. Gathering myself, I soon became aware of noises emanating from its lower parts and with it came the distinct sound of voices. My heart beat furiously as I peered over a crag of rock to get a better look. I saw what was generating that spectacular amount of light: far below me was an enormous bowl shaped crucible that was hinged on both sides by rock pillars. The bowl was filled with a luminous golden liquid that gurgled and spat over the sides. The whole fixture was being superheated by fires below it and those fires were being stoked by the same little men I saw in my dream!

   
“I sat transfixed as I watched those diminutive demons go about their business. From my vantage point, they all looked the same with their long beards and dark tunics. I attempted to count them but they moved around in such great haste that I found the task impossible. Some of them tended the fire while others tilted the great bowl, spilling its contents into large rectangular forms carved out of stone. The forms were taken to a nearby pond and immersed, causing a great plume of steam and acrid stench to rise up. After a brief time, the forms were pulled up revealing an amazing transformation. The large golden ingot that went into the water was now a deep green color and only the size of a small brick. These bricks were placed on a wooden cart and pushed over a hill and out of sight.

   
“My curiosity would not be denied. I made my way carefully down to get a better look. Enormous spectral shadows danced upon the cavern walls enhancing the little men’s activities as I made my way. I stumbled from rock to rock, all the while barely breathing when at last I finally caught sight of the men and their cart. It had stopped in front of a large cave-like opening in the side of a rock wall. I maneuvered closer and hid behind a boulder. I observed a curious scene: the little men hurriedly placed the stack of bricks upon the ground, then one of them plucked a curved horn from his belt and blew three short blasts. The group made a hasty retreat down the hill with cart in tow. I heard a noise from deep within the cave. The sound grew, along with my anticipation, as an odd scrunching emanated from the front of the cave.

   
“The source of the commotion soon revealed itself: It was none other than a gigantic worm! I was instantly startled and fell on my backside. I was in awe of its enormity, which seemed to fill the entire opening. It hesitated as it sensed the outside then began to take in deep droughts of air, sniffing perhaps, turning its slimy features from one side to another. I was in fear of being detected by its cautious nature but it continued forward in an undulating motion, first stretching then contracting until it was upon the stack of bricks which lay a good twenty feet or so from the cave opening. Its true length could only be guessed at since part of its body still remained hidden. Were it not for the eerie green translucence of its body, it would have resembled the common earthworm except of course this one being the size of a bus!

   
“I was contemplating what role the bricks played in all of this and immediately became aware of the answer… food! Sensing the bricks, the creature opened an unseen mouth, displaying long rows of jagged yellow teeth. A high piercing wail soon followed, which forced me to cover my ears. Its head snapped down upon its feast with a vengeance, enveloping and engulfing all in one motion. Satisfied with its bounty, the creature wasted no time retreating back to where it

came from
. A few sharp contractions and it was once again out of sight, leaving a trail of slime in its wake. Both my heart and my mind were racing. ‘I have to find a way out of here!’ I thought to myself. That’s when everything went black.

   
“How long I was unconscious, I could not tell, but I awoke in another location to the pain of tiny feet mercilessly kicking at my sides and my head feeling as though it were on fire.

   
“I looked up through clouded vision at my assailants. ‘It’s about time, human!’ one of them said in a gruff tone. ‘We don’t think kindly about spies now do we Krunk?’

   
“The other let out a laugh then spit on me. I immediately became enraged and attempted to push them away but to my astonishment I could not budge them an inch. They both let loose with a hardy laugh, mocking my physical inferiority.

     ‘Save your strength, human,’ one of them said. ‘You’re gonna need it for what’s in store for you!’

    “I was immediately put to work mining the gold substance that streaked the cavern walls and fed their mighty crucible. At first I thought it gold; only it was not ore, but more organic in nature with a rubbery consistency. I must have mined tons of the stuff in the days following. I was only allowed brief hours of sleep and was always awakened by a slap in the face or a kick in the ribs. My anger grew to new heights but I was getting weaker all the while; my only form of nourishment came from a tankard of very strong beer given to me twice daily. The little folk, however, seemed to drink it continuously which added to their spirited demeanor. They joked and cussed and frequently took part in some terribly vicious fights among themselves.