Edge of End (17 page)

“
I can feel something
weird,” Elizabeth said, gazing down at her palms.

“
The house?” I asked
worriedly.

“
No, not that. Something
else. It rushes in my hands.”

“
You’re possessed by the
inhuman power,” I guessed pleased.

“
She should be,” Malcolm
heard us talking. “But her power is weak. Sure she would handle a
lone dog, but, as I mentioned before, the dogs are only a piece of
sweet cake.”

“
Thanks for your support,”
Elizabeth shot back at him.

“
You’re welcome anytime,
sweetheart,” Malcolm chuckled smugly.

“
Never mind him,” I said
in a low voice. “He’s an old man who’s been stuck in hell longer
than any of us. His mind…” I put my forefinger on my head. “You got
it, didn’t you?”

A broad smile curled her lips and she
giggled cupping her mouth.

“
Hey!” I jerked as Malcolm
called to me loudly. “I can hear you.”

“
You have sharp ears,
indeed,” Elizabeth was still giggling.

“
Keep your opinions about
me to yourselves,” he said displeased.

Elizabeth and I smiled at
each other. She reached for my hand and for several houses, we
marched by in silence. Malcolm was deep in thought and walked a
step ahead leading us into the heart of the
town
.

I, on the other hand,
walked with my eyes wide open, scanning the surroundings. Stressed
out, I continually clenched and unclenched my fists. I scoured the
landscape looking everywhere for those hidden abnormal animals or
demons. But we appeared to be lucky as they seemed to have
disappeared, leaving us to wander the
town
alone.

“
Malcolm,” I picked up my
steps. He was humming to himself and didn’t look at me. “The dog at
Elizabeth’s house didn’t attack me,” I continued despite his lack
of acknowledgement. “It watched me and allowed me to enter. I have
a feeling it was afraid of me.”

“
I doubt it. It felt your
power. It knew very well that its strength was much weaker than
yours, but,” he sucked in the humid air and turned to look at me,
“It might come back with its friends. These dogs aren’t as strong
as anything else in this town, but they can seriously be pain in
the ass.”

A high-pitched shriek came from the
house on the right as we passed by. The piercing sound stopped us
in our tracks and got our attention. With glassy eyes, Elizabeth
turned towards the house.

“
Don’t freak out at every
scream or squeal you hear,” Malcolm prodded me from behind. “It’s
natural in this town.”

“
But someone needs help,”
Elizabeth proclaimed grumpily. “We can help–”

“
We’re running out of
time, Elizabeth,” I interrupted her, feeling Malcolm’s displeased
eyes on me. “We can’t help everybody here.”

Elizabeth understood my words all too
well. She kept on walking along, following Malcolm and I. Another
wail reached us from that house.

“
Jonathan, I remember the
monster that attacked me in my house,” she said as we were on the
way again. “What would I have done if you hadn’t appeared?” She was
just asking, her expression told me she didn’t require an answer.
“I just wonder what is going to happen to that resident,” she
pointed at the house where the shriek had come from, “if the same
monster is there.”

“
We’d better avoid it,” I
warned.

“
Yes, you better,” Malcolm
added.

“
What is it by the way?”
Elizabeth asked curiously her eyes on me as she refused to look at
Malcolm.

“
He’s like us–human,”
Malcolm replied thrusting one hand into his coat pocket. “He is an
old resident. His house is the first one on the road.”

“
He has reached a great
power, I guess,” the words left my mouth with some
angst.

“
Yes, he’s too strong, but
just like the others, he made a mistake and was seduced by
visions.”

“
He entered his house,” it
wasn’t hard for Elizabeth to guess. “But his face…” I recalled his
look–dark-gray skin with a ripped and worn face. “He is not like
you and Jonathan; he is not like a human at all.”

“
You haven’t spent as much
time here as he has. You don’t know what the real torture of the
town is. And as Jonathan has noted correctly, a good soul has
nothing to do here. He’s very wicked. His soul is evil and as time
has passed he’s made this town his game.” Malcolm slowed down his
pace, and as he spoke, he looked at me fiercely, “He likes to stop
people who’re just like you Jonathan; he doesn’t want people to
reach the light. I’ve been trying to tell you this, but you’ve paid
no attention. He’s found a way to suck on the others’ power and
make himself stronger. He’s like a demon from the human world. He
loves this game he’s playing, much more than anything
else.”

“
You’re talking as though
there is something else that can be adored,” I said sarcastically
looking around at the seemingly abandoned houses with their rusty
cars parked on the road. What else could be adored in a
town
of outcasts? And we
were outcasts, stuck somewhere between life and death. We had
nowhere to go until the time came when our bodies died on Earth and
freed our shallow souls from the grasp of the
town
. Though, the only way out of
this
town
surely
led to hell.

“
You’re underestimating
him Jonathan.”

“
You said my power grows
faster and mightier. I’ll be able to fight him if he tries to stand
between us and the passage,” I said boldly ignoring the following
condescending sneer from Malcolm.

“
You don’t understand.
This game is his second nature; he knows how to torture the other
residents. That’s all he knows.” Malcolm’s smile faded as quickly
as it had appeared, and his eye darkened becoming serious, black
and bottomless. “You’re a rare thing in this town, Jonathan. You’re
a new game. That’s why he hasn’t killed you yet. He’s patiently
waiting until you’re strong. It will be more of a challenge, it’s
more fun that way.”

Great! I had become a play thing for a
crazy son of a bitch.

“
But it was you who saved
us from him,” Elizabeth reminded Malcolm. She was walking on my
left. “If you hadn’t come to our aid, he’d have destroyed
Jonathan.”

“
No, dear, he didn’t even
try to fight back. He didn’t need to, but now–” he stopped
mid-sentence thinking that we must know how it was going to
end.

Elizabeth interrogated him more, “Have
you fought against him before? Have you seen him stopping anyone
like Jonathan?”

“
Yes,” Malcolm confirmed
morosely.

There was more to his vague ‘yes’ than
he was letting on. I stared at him wonderingly. His ‘yes’ concealed
a continuation which Malcolm preferred to keep unspoken.

“
Did he stop you? He stood
between you and the way out of the town, Malcolm, didn’t he?” I
asked. He stopped abruptly and eyed me up and down from head to
toe. “He did, didn’t he? Now, you crave revenge, and that’s why you
need my help, isn’t it? That’s why you’ve taken a keen interest in
me?”

He chuckled, “No, Jonathan, there
wasn’t a passage meant for me, I had my own house.”

“
Malcolm, you obviously
hide something. I don’t need you pulling my leg. Tell me what it
is.”

“
You’ll be disappointed in
me,” he started forward and gestured us to follow. Elizabeth looked
at me in disbelief. I shrugged and moved forward trying to catch
him. I wanted more answers.

“
My house is right next to
his,” Malcolm resumed after a little while. “We used to play this
game together until the day I thought about quitting. There is
still a good part in my soul that convinced me to stop.”

“
You played with him? How
did he let you go?” Elizabeth asked while I was imagining Malcolm
with that monster, consuming other residents for casual
fun.

“
Again the game, dear,”
Malcolm said airily, unfazed. “When I left, he began a new game. He
needs a match that’s worthy–strong, mighty, clever and sly. Every
great and mighty man needs a powerful opposition on the other side
to help keep the balance.”

Game. The word played over
and over in my mind. What if his help was a game too? What if
Malcolm was the part of that monster’s game? He would lead us to
the monster and set me up against him as soon as we reach the last
house. I would remain alone pitted against two old and powerful
residents of the
town
.

And Elizabeth? She would be a pleasant
gift for the monster to suck her strengths slowly and agonizingly
after they finished with me.

I couldn’t trust Malcolm anymore.
Every word he spoke seemed dubious. Every step he took made me
trust him less. I had been wondering why he had wanted to help me.
Could he be changed? Could he do penance for his sins? I doubted
that anybody was able to change himself or herself for the better
in such hellish place.

But you’re changing,
aren’t you?
I heard my mind telling me. I
was ready to risk everything for Elizabeth.
I haven’t been stuck here as long as
Malcolm
, I told myself sternly. I was new,
I hadn’t entered my house;
I was
different
.

“
Why did you let Jonathan
go back to his house,” Elizabeth asked Malcolm. “You could’ve
warned him not to enter his damned house, couldn’t you? But yet,
you pulled back as you sent away the humanoid monster.”

Clever, I have to say. Honestly, the
idea hadn’t crossed my mind.

“
I wasn’t sure of him,”
Malcolm replied tonelessly.

“
Meaning?” that was me
asking.

“
Meaning that I didn’t
believe in your boldness,” Malcolm looked at me from out of the
corner of his eye. “I’ve seen many people avoiding their houses,
but being dogged back into their places afterwards. I had to make
sure you weren’t a coward. Cowards aren’t wanted, you
know.”

“
He could have been swept
from the town,” Elizabeth said and then quickly added, “By the
storm.”

“
Sure. I have to say that
the storm wasn’t part of my plan. But, you know, everything can’t
be planned.”

“
He showed boldness, and
then you decided to help him with his journey,” Elizabeth raised
her eyebrows.

“
Yes. He’s brave and
stupid as well,” Malcolm peeked back at Elizabeth over his
shoulder.

“
I can hear you,”
Elizabeth exclaimed exasperated. “I get what you mean.”

“
I bet on it.”

“
Know what?” she jabbed
her finger towards Malcolm picking up her pace. “I didn’t ask for
your help at all. And as my memory serves me, Jonathan didn’t
either. I didn’t ask anybody anything.”

“
I’m not helping you,
woman,” Malcolm said airily. “I’m helping him and he’s helping you.
That’s all.”

“
Then stop insulting me
and talking as though I’m a ghost,” Elizabeth blew out an
exasperated breath.

“
Hey guys, quit it,” I
stepped in. “We have some other problems here,
remember?”

Both of them shut their
mouths.

The light appeared to be farther away
than I had estimated as we had already covered a mile, but the end
of the road remained out of sight.

Wandering in silence, we passed an
imposing three-storied house. With just a glimpse of it, you could
believe you were at a dark palace. Surrounded by high stone walls
with sharp spikes with a number of handmade statues carved on them
it stood some steps afar, its foundation starting from deep under
the ground as if eons ago a seed had been buried right there that
had grown becoming a palace. The roof was tar-black, and the
windows dull-looking. If you stared long enough into them, you’d
feel your soul being sucked out hungrily by whatever was on the
other side.

The main four columns stretched up
higher than the roof itself, several huge surreal statues of
monsters sitting perched on top of them. Like cruel guardians they
looked down at the street which would come to life as soon as an
inquisitive soul took a step into their reign. As I stared into the
statues’ eyes, I had the strangest feeling of being followed,
examined by their beady stone eyes.

I got lost in looking at the house
and, as I did, inconceivable hisses filled my mind, talking to me,
probably trying to scare me off, probably trying to make me
quit–their huge influence paralyzed me. Standing alone in front of
that palace, I might have lost control on my body and knelt down to
the power of those hisses.

Elizabeth paced next to me and placed
her hand on my shoulder. Her touch broke my connection with the
dark house.

“
What kind of demon lives
here?” Elizabeth asked her steps slowed down with her
uncertainty.

I took her arm and pulled her gently
closer to me, “We’re not going to find out,” I whispered in her
ear.