8 the Glowing chapter 8

Chapter 8

2013 summer

Austen lays down on the couch after Kirk has left and Phil has gone to bed, light from outside reflects off the TV, Austen clicks on the radio to calm himself, his hands and legs pulled into his chest, he is sweating. His eyes watch the reflection, movement out of the corner of his vision draws his eyes, the sounds of traffic outside grows ever more distant. Soon the sound of Austen's breathing seems to be louder than anything else he can hear. The darkness, the stillness, it is torturing.

The light, the glowing in the reflection of the TV, it moves discreetly across the room, but this does not escape Austen's gaze. "I see you," Austen whispers.

Hands reach over the pack of the couch compressing the pillow slightly, a childlike voice whispers back "I want to be seen." A rattling sound jingles in the dark.

"why do you hide at the edge of my vision?" Austen tries to talk to the darkness.

"I can only move as close as you will let me." It explains

"what did you do to Randi?" Austen starts to feel emboldened

"what makes you think that was me? Randi had her own demon hunting her, just like Jake and Bobby had their own."

"then you are real." Austen sits up leaning into the TV as if that was the sources of the voice.

"Is that what you think?"

Austen points angerly "I know you are real, Joe saw you, Rob saw you! Why do you do the things you do? Why do you harm people?"

The hands behind the couch pull upwards, the eyes of the glowing one peeking out from that place, the hands growing out off the back of its head still hiding its face. But this time it will not speak, this time it sits and watches, waiting.

Austen looks away from the TV "I bet you when we were kids."

The glowing one crawls closer, it presses its face to the glass of the TV looking out at Austen "Did you?"

Austen spins around and holds up his fist ready to fight "July 4th, 1994. We chased you into the mirror!"

The glowing moves from the TV to the window looking into the room from there, "Really?" the living darkness asks as if he doesn't remember the event in question "what happened after that?"

It has begun at this point to dawn on Austen how odd this is, he is talking to shadows. A brightly light passes in front of the window, the smell of burning metal fills Austen's nose. The shadows creeping around the room shatter Austen's resolve. Filled with unreasonable fear he cries out "Phil!" Austen staggers backward, something touches the back of his neck Austen screams out nonsensically and runs out the door half naked and bear-footed.

Lights flash, shadows dance, Austen staggers down the hall and out the door, the sounds of singing echo all around him. Strange red lights blink at his sides. Austen is at full alerts; his mind has black-zoned full panic has set in, and running is the only thing Austen can do.

Every time Austen blinks he feels a shock of electricity. He throws himself at the back door falling out of it and into the backyard of the apartment. Two-man sized centipedes sit on the steps, Austen thrust himself at one throwing it aside as he runs out into the park screaming.

Austen runs up the hill, past where he had Phil had first met then down the other side running in the direction of Aquila school, and Lack Victoria, the water in the distance spilling over with mystery white smoke, Austen is being pulled by an unseen leash around his neck. The water whales and sings, a semi-human shape in the darkness beckons him onwards.

***

Phil hears the cry, he jumps to his feet and looks around "Austen?" he calls. The crash of the door being swung open tells Phil everything he needs to know. Austen has just run outside. Phil grabs a pair of boots and rushes out the door following.

Austen moves with surprising speed for such a large man. Austen leaps down the steps four at a time and throws himself out the fire door. Phil chase after falling behind quickly, Phil shouts "Austen!" Phil runs out the back door. Two black men are standing in the backyard. One looks like he has just had a close encounter with a wall.

Phil brakes his stride for a moment to check on the two men "are you good?" Phil offers a thumbs-up.

The bleeding man wipes his face clean "yeah, some ghost ass looking cracker just slapped the shit out of me…"

Phil looks back and forth jumping "what way?"

The other man points up the hill.

Phil nods "thank you!" he runs to catch up. Phil knows where Austen is going, he doesn't know why, but he knows. The lake, the fear Austen feels of it, but still, he would keep going there. The lake has some power over Austen. It is a short jog, three blocks if you follow the street, two if one follows the greenway. Austen is taking the main road.

***

Austen pushes his way past the trees and walks to the waterfront, there is a small stone platform that leads a dozen paces out into the water. Flashing lights in the distance are blinding, Austen keeps his head down, he looks down into the muddy water.

Bobby, the last time Austen would ever see Bobby was here. The winter of 93. The day after the fire at Jakes house. Austen sees him again Bobby is under the water looking up at Austen, Bobby punches the surface of the water as if it was Plexiglas, a low rumbling sound echo's. Bobby is trying to tell Austen something, but no sound can break the surface of the water.

Black tendrils of hair wrapped around Bobby cocooning the boy then he is sucked deep into the mud and out of sight. Austen watches in a trance. Austen is somewhere in-between sleep and wake. This isn't a dream, it isn't a memory. It is almost like a message from another world trying to find him.

The hair comes back, it reaches out of the water reaching slowly for Austen. A girl comes into sight laying in the water, this nude child holds her arms out looking for an embrace. Black hair, white skin, blue lips, stained fingertips. She is almost human. Austen reaches up gripping himself by the sides of the head, he shouts trying to pull himself out of this perverted fantasy.

The hair coils Austen and pulls on him, he falls face first into the water. The strange naked child wraps her arms and legs around Austen gripping him tightly, her legs around his stomach her arms slide around his head, the child acts like a weight. He sinks slowly into the deep, Austen can do nothing to fight

The beast pushes her head into Austen's neck, soft red light fills his vision. The water becomes impossibly dark, the world, overhead, fields away, the ground is water, water is air a strange space divides them. Austen moves ever closer to the red light below.

Two yellow globes float at the base of the lake, a pink mouth bridges them, dark red tendrils grow out of one side of the orbs then disappear into the warm glowing skin around the mouth. Soft shadows press to the lights, human-like creatures pass by.

The childlike beast moves down pulling Austen into the toothless mouth, the cavity starts to shut, the light begins to fade, warmth overtakes Austen. His eyes closed. The darkness becomes soothing. The hole tightens, the mouth becoming a blanket smothering Austen. Something strikes Austen in the back of the head.

A hand grips Austen by the back and pulls on him. The warm darkness gives away to cold light.

***

Phil watches as Austen falls into the water. Without a second thought, Phil dives into the lake with his friend. Struggling Phil grabs Austen and drags him to the shore. Phil grabs Austen by the caller and shakes him "Austen!"

Austen coughs and takes a sharp breath. Austen looks around lost for a moment, he reaches his arms out and grabs Phil, Austen pulls his friend in holding him Austen mumbles and cries incoherently. Phil holds him and waits for Austen to calm down.

The two walk home. Phil sits up with Austen for hours. Austen can't sleep, he needs to talk

Phil, as the sun is rising, falls asleep in his big papasan chair. Austen is still shacking. He reaches into his backpack and pulls out his computer. Austen opens a new folder and starts writing again. It has been some time since he felt this type of fear.

He types his first words in this new manuscript "It is Friday…"