THE WIND Conclusion

Copyright (c) 2018 by Randall R. Peterson ALL RIGHTS RESERVED This is a work of fiction. All persons, locations and actions are from the author's imagination or have been used in a fictitious manner.

     

By R. Peterson

            It didn’t take Sheriff Walker and his deputies long to locate what the terrified residents of Cloverdale were calling Hodemedod.  Doors had been ripped from houses and sometimes entire walls blasted apart as the scarecrows-come-to-life rampaged through the city. The police only had to follow the bodies, broken-boards, blood and bricks littering the deserted streets. Screams told the sheriff his monsters were on the next block.

            Amazingly there were still several groups of costume-wearing children going door to door extorting the residents with what would happen if their sweet-tooth demands were not met. Trick or treat! It was Halloween night 1936. The sheriff rolled down his window and ordered a glaring witch, two spiders and a four-year-old crying goblin to go home and lock their doors. He barely got the widow up before a rotted tomato and several eggs spattered the glass.

            The sheriff’s county car careened to a stop in front of a partially demolished house on West Garlow. A city patrol car and two state police cruisers, all with lights flashing, slid to a stop behind. The sheriff jumped from his vehicle gun drawn and almost fell as he stumbled over broken picket fencing littering the street. The front porch of the white-frame house appeared to explode as a Hodmedod crashed out of the dwelling holding an unconscious man and a screaming woman under each arm. John Walker fired as the monster flung the already dead man to the side severing a straw-filled arm just as the attached clawed glove found the woman’s throat.

At least a dozen scarecrows appeared to be ripping apart a small chicken coop behind the under-siege residence. The ground shook as if an artillery shell had just landed nearby. The sheriff turned in time to see a second state police vehicle lifted in the air and slammed back down wheels in the air by a mob of the rampaging nightmares. A second later, the first overturned vehicle burst into flames and fingers of fire spread outward in all directions as the ruptured gas tank exploded.

            State patrolman Glen Young, whom Sheriff Walker had shared a flooded trench with in the Marne during World War I, opened fire from a crouched position in the street with both hands clutching his police revolver. The thirty-caliber bullets tore jagged holes through the back of the scarecrows sending bits of straw, shattered bone and moldy cloth to settle on the yellowed grass surrounding the homes. The monsters charged forward ignoring the gunfire that did so little damage. “This is no riot! This is a war!” he screamed.

            The spreading lines of burning gasoline flowed between Young and his assailants. The Hodmedod halted … then stepped back … hesitant to charge through the flames. Sheriff Walker used the opportunity to jerk his two-way radio from his car. “Officers need assistance!” he yelled into the handset. “Police under fire in Cloverdale! All units respond!”

-------2-------

            Melania, Dorothy and Bolger stood in the garden and listened to the sound of police sirens and gunfire coming from the other side of town. About half the women attending the Dance of the Scarecrows had already left, roaring away in expensive luxury automobiles wanting to know for sure that the violence infecting the city was confined to the working-class streets and not seeping into their more affluent neighborhoods. “I don’t know what’s going on tonight but I’ll bet Lavar Hicks has got something to do with it!” Dorothy had both arms around her just-brought-back–to–life scarecrow husband and was not about to let go.

            “I’m sure Hicks planned his own carnage with the stolen WIND card,” Melania said.  “But with Demilune possessing the body of Tommy Lee you can be sure that ever resourceful demon is the one in charge.”

            “How could this have happened?” Dorothy moaned. “All I wanted was my husband back … now it sounds like the entire city is being destroyed … and poor Brian is somewhere out there!”

            “Mother always warned me about the balance of power in all magic,” Melania told her. “When I tapped the rim of the last goblet and found an answer to the “D” tone in the locked chest in the attic I should have been instantly on alert. The “D” sound deals with secrets … but it can also stand for demons or Demilune!”

            “I don’t understand how he escaped!” Dorothy was pacing the floor obviously worried about Brian.”

            “In 1920 when Demilune caused a car to go off the Townsend Street Bridge in the dead of winter, he tried to take over the body of Johnny Lang who dove in the freezing water to save the trapped family but Elisabeth Walker and Thomas Lang’s illegitimate son was too strong to be possessed … so Demilune caused him to drown. Demilune was greatly weakened and Joseph Callahan and Sheriff Walker were able to secure him in the seaman’s chest. Tommy Lee was weakened when Lavar Hicks cut off his braid of hair and Demilune, under the power of an almost full moon, was able to manipulate him into releasing him and then switched bodies.”

            “Brian said that one of us would die,” Dorothy moaned. “We’ve got to find him!”

            “The last lady guest just left … so how do we stop this spawn from Hell?” Bolger came in from the garage where he had Joseph Callahan’s car running.

            “Demilune is only weakened for a short time when he takes the life of an innocent,” Melania said grabbing her coat. “I’ll walk Dorothy out to the car and she can hold Tommy Lee the marionette on her lap then I’ll come back and help you pack out the chest.” She was half-way across the kitchen when she remembered the Ombré and took it from the cabinet above the sink along with a silver spoon and a wine glass.

            “We’ve got to find Tommy Lee’s braid of hair or he’ll never be able to get his own body back!”

            “You trust me to drive after what happened last time?” Bolger started up the stairs for the chest.

            “No one explodes in a car twice,” Melania told him as she reached for the puppet hanging on strings in the parlor. “At least I hope not!”

-------3-------

            It was hard for Brian to think. The children were packed into the cage in the back of the milk-truck like sardines and they were all screaming! “How could I ever have thought this thing was Mr. Lee,” Brian moaned.

            Brian watched from a tiny window imbedded in the door at the back of the truck. They were almost to the west end of Townsend Avenue when they crossed the bridge they would be out of town and going much faster. If there was any chance of escape, they had better do it now!”

The thing possessing Tommy Lee braked hard when he saw another half dozen costumed children walking past the Royal Theatre with trick-or-treat bags in hand. There was a witch, two spiders and a goblin. “There’s no way he can squeeze more of us into this tiny cage,” Brian whispered. Then suddenly he had an idea. “If you want to go back home to your parents, you have to listen to me and do everything I say,” he told the children …

            The children were now so quiet after his instructions Brian could hear the milk-truck door opening and the monster luring more innocents to their doom. “I’ve got boxes and boxes of candy in the back … climb in and fill your bags …”

-------4-------

            Hicks, Fowler and Poole were watching the rampaging Hodmedod safely inside Lemont’s truck parked behind one of the ravaged houses. “This is one nasty army you got here,” Fowler said watching the scarecrow monsters battling the police. “Too bad they shy away from flames!”

            “The fire is protecting them from us … but it also protects us from them,” Hicks said. “I saw the milk truck with the Chinaman driving turn onto Townsend a minute ago he said. “My orders were to have my army fight only until our master was back out of town and then lead them all back to the farm.”

            “These scarecrows have gone crazy with blood-lust,” Poole said. “They’ll never follow you anywhere!”

Lavar laughed. “They’ll follow us,” he said. “You just have to know the secret!” He reached into the back of the pickup bed and thumped his fist into three large burlap bags. From the squawking sounds coming from inside … each bag must have held a half-dozen live chickens.

            “You two ride in the back and make sure the Hodmedod know what tasty treats you’re holding in your hands. I’ll drive slow enough to lead them … but if they get too close let me know and I’ll give it some lead-foot!”

            “How come we two have to ride in the back with these things trying to get at us?” Fowler complained as he climbed in the back.

            “Cause I ain’t stupid!” Hicks laughed.

-------5-------

            When the thing that used to be Tommy Lee opened the door, all the ghosts, spiders and witches crammed inside the cage exploded like firecrackers stuffed into pumpkins. For a moment Brian thought they might actually escape. Then the Chinaman raised his clawed hand toward the moon. “Mettere fine a!” he screeched and everything stopped. Blackbirds startled from a Maple tree halted their flight in midair.  Clouds sweeping past the moon were frozen in time. Brian had one crow-foot raised to step up onto the curb and it hung motionless.”

The Chinaman walked slowing to the front of the escaping statues and smiled. Brian thought he looked like a crocodile even without a costume. “Now everyone back in the cage!” he screamed.

Brian and everyone else could now move but the situation was hopeless. He was turning to walk back to the milk truck when he saw something in the gutter. Brian pretended to fall and when he stood up again, after receiving a vicious kick from the Chinaman … Tommy Lee’s severed braid of hair was hidden under Brian’s black wing feathers.

-------6-------

            “We’ll make sure these fires are out … and then we’ll go after them!” Sheriff Walker told the hysterical crowd of citizens. Melania, Dorothy and Bolger had just arrived in Callahan’s car.

            “Have you seen Brian?” Dorothy was near hysterical. “We’ve looked everywhere!”

            “We have reports of about two dozen missing children,” the sheriff said. “Most were last seen climbing into the back of Tommy Lee’s milk truck!”

            “That’s not Tommy Lee driving the milk truck,” Melania told him. She gestured toward the passenger side of the car where the marionette stood propped against the seat back. The human eyes inside the wooden head were scanning the crowd.

            “I figured as much,” the sheriff sighed. “Any idea how we’re going to get Demilune back inside the chest?”

            “We’ll let the night lead us where she will,” Melania told him as she stared up at the moon. “We’ll keep our eyes open and pay close attention to everything bending starlight. An answer will come … if we call to it!”

            “You’re beginning t sound just like her!” Sheriff Walker said.

            “Who?”

            “Your mother!”

-------7-------

           

            Demilune was guarding the children behind Lavar Hicks’ house near where the impassable Motha Forest began. They were in a circle tied with a single rope. The Hodmedod were clawing at the close-growing trees trying to make entry into the forbidden woodlands.

            “You’ll never get through there … those trees are filled with iron!” Lavar said. He tossed several empty bloody bags out of the back of Lemont’s truck. When they stopped at his farm they were forced to feed the live fowl to the army following … or be torn apart themselves. “I’ve worn out a dozen chain-saws trying!”

            “With enough power … a single straw stem can be blown right through an oak tree,” Demilune told him. He raised a fist toward the moon and shook it.

            “My damn electric has been turned off for three weeks,” Hicks said. “So wherever you be gettin’ this power …. better have a real long cord!”

Lavar was amazed when several branches from the trees broke away and were tossed aside.

            “What you plan on doing with those kids once you get them into the forest?” Hicks asked. He didn’t really care about the children he just wanted to be rid of this monster.

            “I’ll see that they get plenty to eat,” Demilune said. “I like to chew on bones that have a little fat attached!”

This time an entire tree gave way and a dozen Hodemedod dragged it away. “Another ten minutes and we’ll have an opening large enough to squeeze through,” Demilune gasped.

Three police cars thundered into the barn yard followed by a dozen more filed with angry citizens. Hicks, Fowler and Poole bolted into the darkness.

            “It’s over!” the sheriff yelled as he jumped from his car. “Release the children and put your hands in the air!”

            “You can shoot me if you wish,” Demilune taunted with a smile. “But we both know it won’t be me lying on the ground bloodied. In three minutes the forest door will open. The children and I will slip inside …. and you’ll never see any of us again!”

Melania, Dorothy and Bolger fought their way to the front of the crowd. Dorothy recognized her son tied in a ring with the others. “Brian! Are you okay?”

            “I’m fine,” Brian told her looking at Demilune. “But we’ve got to do something fast!”

A surge of angry citizens moved forward but were stopped by Demilune’s raised hand. “You only come forward if you’re bidden,” he told them.

“How do we stop him?” The sheriff asked Melania.

“Causing an innocents death is the only thing that will temporarily strip him of his powers,” she said. “That’s why he hasn’t killed yet … he hasn’t had to!”

While everyone else was frozen like statues Bolger found that he could still move. Must be because I’m not really human he shook his head trying to dislodge the thought.

Clouds covered the moon … and there were only shadows moving in the darkness.

The scarecrow monsters had just pulled another tree out of the way. The opening looked large enough to squeeze through. Demilune grasped the rope tied around the children and started toward the path. “No! Bolger screamed. “I’ll not let you take my son!” He lurched forward but Brian was closer. Everyone gasped as Brian pulled the hairpiece from under his costume and held it in pl ace at the back of Demilune’s head. “Your honor is restored!” He was touching Demilune but was staring at the marionette his mother held in her arms.

            The eyes inside the wooden head glowed with a fierceness not seen since the building of the transcontinental railroad began. “No more steal … no more forget honor!” There was movement from the puppet. … Dorothy almost dropped it.

            “You’re a milkman!” Demilune laughed. “No strand of hair will ever make you my equal!” Some of the Hodmedod were already pushing past the wall of trees.

            “My legs … my feet … my shoes!” Tommy Lee insisted staring at the puppet.

Demilune felt himself losing control of the body he was inhabiting and whirled on Brian. “You could have come with me!” he hissed. “I would have eaten you last! Not a lot of fat sticks to the bits of straw under your new skin.” Brian tried to move back but Demilune’s finger touched his forehead and he burst instantly into flames.

“No,” Dorothy screamed and lurched forward. The boy made of straw was now a raging inferno. A torch lit under the light of the moon.

 “I love you!” the voice that came from the fire was calm and almost human.

Demilune turned and vaulted toward the opening in the trees which was already beginning to close. He was no longer fast on his feet but slow and sluggish. The demon was three feet from the path when he collapsed on the ground … no longer in human form but once again an apparition made of tangled string and painted wood.

            Dorothy and Bolger both turned their faces toward the moon and howled like heartbroken wolves. There is no pain in the world equal to losing a child. “We don’t belong in this world … not without Brian,” Dorothy told her husband. Melania reached out, but they were already moving toward the opening in the trees that was swiftly closing.  There was a tremendous flash of ethereal light that blinded everyone … and they were gone.

The trees guarding Motha Forest were once again an iron barrier that only rare magic could open.

            Melania stood stunned … saddened and a little frightened by all that had happened on Halloween night 1936. She watched as Sheriff Walker and her brother Parley stuffed the marionette back into the seaman’s chest and snapped on a heavy lock. Tommy Lee approached her with his head bowed. “I’m so very sorry,” he said.

            “It’s not your fault,” she told him. “Magic touches everyone … when it wishes.”

The clouds covering the moon moved away and in the reflected light Melania saw a bit of paper lying on the ground where Lavar Hicks had stood only minutes before. She picked it up. It was an ancient Tarot card yellowed and ragged from the centuries. On the back was carefully inked instructions in an unusual form of Latin. On the front was a woodcut illustration of a terrible storm …

… and the simple words THE WIND.

THE END?