Coming Undone

Gavin Hughes

Description

Dan Weston is a simple, hard working family man. That quickly and violently changes when he is forced to watch the senseless murder of his wife and child at the hands of demons hiding in human form. As the man/demon responsible toys with Weston as if he were a simple pawn, Weston swears a vow of vengeance on all of the demon kind. With nothing left to lose, he immerses himself in the dangerous world of preternatural creatures.

On his quest to find some inner peace, Weston begrudgingly accepts help from the beautiful demon, Lucy. He finds comfort in conversations with an old war vet and Weston's longtime friend, Father Robert tries to right Weston's sinking ship of morality.

In a battle that seems to be stacked against Weston, he fights not only for the memory of his wife and child, but also to keep from losing his humanity and becoming a monster himself.

Sujets

• Horror
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 22 mai 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781456616755
• Langue: English

Extrait

Coming Undone
 
by
Gavin Hughes

Copyright 2013 Gavin Hughes,
All rights reserved.
 
 
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
http://www.eBookIt.com
 
 
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-1675-5
 
 
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
I remember the scream. Like a word that has many variations of itself, a scream is many things. It can be a shout of excited enthusiasm at the fairgrounds as kids fly in circles on a roller coaster. It can be yelped as we are scared by a friend, or it can be abysmal, the dirtiest, nastiest thing we could ever produce.
I remember the scream. I know You do too, but I have to explain. I don’t know why. I don’t even know if You stopped listening a long time ago. It feels like You have.
The Beginning
“Hurry up Dan, we’re going to be late. The movie starts at seven!”
I checked my watch and smiled to myself, it was only six twenty. Lisa had arrived at the church an hour and a half before any of the guests at our wedding, knowing she would be safely indoors if there was an act of God or anything else that might prevent her from being there on time. Ten years later and old habits died hard.
I went into Arianna’s room; she was surrounded by butterflies and a lush green field painted on her walls. Lisa and I had spent many sweaty nights before Arianna was born trying to get that wall just right.
“You ready to go little girl?”
She looked at me with frustration plastered on her face. Mouth in a grimace, nose wrinkled and baby teeth showing partially through her lips she exhaled, “the loops don’t seem to be working daddy.”
“Do you need some help?”
She rubbed her nose and her face read defeat. “If mommy wants to go right now, then, yes please.”
Sitting in the theater a while later I realized I cherished those evenings as a family, watching a movie and then spending quiet time afterwards. I took a moment to look away from the screen and stare at my beautiful wife, hiding her soft and comforting body underneath a giant wool sweater. On my other side was our pride and joy, Arianna, whose silvery blue eyes revealed a deep rooted wisdom that was ages old. They twinkled with knowledge and love, and when she smiled at me, for an instant I believed that all the worries in our world had disappeared. Work, mortgage, car payments, they all melted away and behind it I saw the possibility of living on love alone.
We drove home afterwards and the river was dark as we crossed over the bridge. The city was cut in half by the Motabique River. The busier part of Haydensburg lay on the south side, providing access to the shopping district, hotels, the University and a wide variety of restaurants. We lived on the north side; the side where most of the townies resided.
I carried our sleeping beauty in from the car. She stirred only once as I laid her little body onto her bed and pulled the covers up safely to her neck. Out of habit I closed her closet door tightly, securing my baby from any monsters that might want to get to her.
From the door, I glanced back and I watched as her eyes flickered behind her closed lids, and her little mouth twitched as if caught in the midst of a dream, and I prayed it was one that was filled with laughter and joy. Four years of memories swirled in my brain and I grinned. Arianna, in the backyard wearing just a diaper as she struggled to kick a soccer ball to me; the look of unadulterated triumph as she came out of the bathroom by herself, after mastering potty-training; the way she clung to my leg and sobbed, saying that if we truly loved her we wouldn’t send her to pre-school.
God’s gift.
Lisa and I made slow, quiet love that night. Afterwards she curled herself up into the area underneath my right arm and spoke in a whisper as we lay naked.
“Andrew called this morning.” She kissed one of my ribs. “He wanted to know when it’s okay by me you can join him for a beer?”
I stroked her hair. “That’s nice.” To be in her arms, for even the briefest of moments, was something I would have walked through hell and back for.
We first met after Lisa finished college. I was twenty-four and in the construction business, a dust and sweat covered grunt, building a Tim Horton’s when she showed up on the site with the head architect. Her boss and my supervisor had gone into a corner and were engrossed in shop-talk when I met her gaze; a young lady in a business suit and a yellow hard hat. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was business-like, yet there was an aura of sensuality about her. I could see her face glow every time she smiled.
As she was leaving, I dropped my tool belt and made a slow jog after her. Lisa had been hesitant at first, knowing what some construction workers were like, but she gave me a chance. A couple of years later we married. In our sixth year together, Arianna was born and everything was perfect.
I should have known that nothing perfect lasts forever.
“Did you hear that?”
I smiled. She had always been a worrier. I was a risk taker by nature, but opposites attract.
“I didn’t hear anything baby.” I pulled the covers over our heads and nibbled at her neck.
“Dan stop.” She held her breath. “It sounds like someone’s roaming around downstairs.”
I squinted my eyes and cocked my head. I couldn’t hear anything.
“It’s probably Arianna getting a drink.”
I fluffed up my pillow as Lisa sat up and the sheet fell away, revealing her form.
“Well I’m going to make sure the door is locked.”
“I locked it as soon as we got in.”
“Well, then I’m going to grab a drink.” Damn she was stubborn.
“Fine but don’t come running to me if the boogeyman cops a feel at you in the dark.” I gave her a little tickle which she returned with a look of disgust.
I rolled my eyes and sighed as she tied her robe around her. “Don’t be long.” I patted the side of the bed beside me.
She padded out of the room and our perfect life came to an end.
There was silence as Lisa went downstairs. And then it came, that scream. The piercing exclamation that rocked our silent house was primal, filled with raw fear and panic and it left me windless.
I got my leg caught up in the sheets and almost fell on my face. Regaining my balance, I made a quick scan for my underwear. I threw them on and raced towards the stairs. My core filled with adrenaline and my mind danced around the many reasons for a scream like the one I’d heard. I was thinking too much, my mind filled with ‘what ifs’, so I never saw the shadow off to my left. There was no time to react. I have seen him there every night since and what I could have done differently.
He hit me in the soft spot just below my skull. I fought unconsciousness and lost. I remember pain and the thought, as darkness came, that I would kill anyone who tried to hurt my family.
 
~ ~ ~
 
The thundering of the equipment on any work site was not quite as skull throbbing as the pain in my head when I came to. My fear was gone for the moment, as I tried to focus my blurry eyes, fight through the veil of fog and ignore the nausea.
I blinked and felt my stomach heave. My black leather couch came into view as well as the huddled and trembling figures of my wife and my daughter, helpless, in pajamas. There was a sadistic vulnerability to the situation. Lisa sat with her knees up to her chest with her arms off to the side clutching Arianna.
I was propped up in a chair, my hands bound with rope behind me; I clenched my fists, and my jaw tightened as I stared at the strangers. Four men, all well dressed, patient and calm. Beasts. I closed my eyes for a moment, my aching head thanking me, as I asked for God’s help. Keep them safe.
One of the men moved silently and sat with my wife and daughter on the couch. They huddled even closer together. My muscles strained against the bindings. Let me out of these ropes and I would tear these men apart with my bare hands.
He stroked the long blond hair of my daughter and I dug my fingernails into my palms. I wanted to break his hands.
“She is a beautiful young lady.” His words were like blows to my face. I could feel blood begin to surface on my palms, I dug my nails in deeper.
He was well dressed and I couldn’t fathom what he might want from our simple, middle class household. He was a younger man, not much more than thirty, beige sports coat, khaki pants, and a golf shirt, the expensive kind. Two more men stood in the shadows in the corner of the room, wearing blue jeans, white button ups, un-tucked and mid length leather coats. They were big men. The fourth seemed to be the outcast of the group; long greasy hair, earrings in both ears and a tight white T-shirt. I could see his thick furrow of chest hair beneath. Those images would be tattooed on my memory forever. Like a wanted poster, I would never forget them; their faces, or the fear they instilled in my family.
I struggled through the throbbing in my head and the rough bite of the ropes. “What do you want?” The man on the couch smiled thoughtfully.
“Nothing really. Well, that’s not exactly true. A game.”
“Let them go. Take me.”
He laughed out loud, very prissy like. The one with the earrings laughed too, a high-pitched howl like a hyena. The beast in the sports coat looked to the two men in the corner. He swiveled his head slowly back towards me, and as he gazed at me I became aware (strangely enough considering the situation) that I was naked except for my boxer shorts.
“They are the reason we are here.” He grinned at Lisa and Arianna like a rich man staring at a suitcase full of bills. He paused and returned his gaze to me. “A gentleman you will meet in the near future wants to play a game.”
This was no time for games. You didn’t screw around with people’s lives. I repeated myself, “take me, leave them alone.”
The well