horrors2

A_Child_s_Letter.Yellow_Eye.tex

  1\chapauth{A Child's Letter}
  2\chapter{Yellow Eyes}
  3
  4
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  6``I'm not lying, Daddy!'' whimpered Kaitilin Axelplax, a six-year old
  7girl with an admittedly active imagination. ``I promise
  8you---{\em promise} you---that I saw it again! Saw
  9{\em them} again!''
 10
 11
 12
 13Hubert Axelplax smiled his sick and twisted smile while
 14nonchalantly wiping the rust-colored tobacco drippings oozing down
 15his chin. Delicately, he set his Coors on ane Igloo cooler doubling
 16as an end table.
 17
 18
 19
 20``Kai, what've I told you 'bout {\em lyin',} you little
 21{\em bitch!''} Without warning---though she knew it was
 22coming---Hubert, with speed belying his significantly
 23overweight frame, backhanded Kaitilin, sending her flying into the
 24wall. She collapsed in a heap, knocking over a floor lamp in the
 25process.
 26
 27
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 29She stood, fought to find her balance, then, reeling from the blow,
 30vomited profusely all over the threadbare couch. Rust-colored blood
 31seeped wistfully from her gashed eyebrow.
 32
 33
 34
 35``I {\em swear,} Daddy! I saw the thing with yellow eyes! It was in
 36the mirror!'' Again, she threw up. Hubert took three long strides
 37towards his daughter's trembling form and unbuckled his belt in one
 38fluid motion.
 39
 40
 41
 42``You're {\em just} like her, you know that? Just like that
 43{\em whore} of a mother of yours!''
 44
 45
 46
 47He raised the heavy leather strap above his wickedly grinning head
 48and---
 49
 50
 51
 52* * *
 53
 54
 55
 56Luke Bavarious' radio cackled to life: {\em All units, we've got a
 5710-34 near Forty-second and somewhere near Dyer. Possible 10-45;
 5810-52.}
 59
 60
 61
 62Distractedly, Bavarious holstered his Beretta, taking a moment to
 63admire its clean lines, its intoxicating heaviness.
 64
 65
 66
 67Suicide would have to wait.
 68
 69
 70
 71He took one last, long drag on his cigarette, then tossed the
 72remainder out the window of his car. Baravious picked up his radio
 73and responded, ``Dispatch, this is Bavarious. I'm in the vinicity;
 7410-76. I'll check it out. Over.''
 75
 76
 77
 78{\em 10-4, Bavarious. Out.}
 79
 80
 81
 82For the first time in a long time, Bavarious smiled. Nothing like
 83an old fashioned assault with possibly fatalities to enliven the
 84night. He had to admit it: he liked this work.
 85
 86
 87
 88Within minutes, Bavarious arrived at his destination. He parked in
 89an alley and realized he must be the first officer on the scene.
 90Everything seemed eerily quiet---especially for New York. Like
 91liquid, with practiced movement, he unholstered his sidearm and
 92kicked in the door.
 93
 94
 95
 96The apartment building's lobby was empty. Bavarious involuntarily
 97shivered, then made his way up the first flight of stairs. As he
 98walked gingerly through the halls, when he was just outside of
 99apartment 209, he thought he heard muffled giggling. He realized it
100was the only sound he'd heard since entering the structure.
101Adopting a professional demeanor, he knocked.
102
103
104
105No one answered.
106
107
108
109He knocked again and followed with: ``Police! Open up!''
110
111
112
113He thought he could faintly make out the sounds of a children's
114program, probably coming from a television. The giggling subsided,
115replaced with whispered commands. Something ponderous within the
116apartment dragged --- or was dragged --- across the
117floor.
118
119
120
121Then, silence.
122
123
124
125Bavarious was about to knock again when, suddenly, the door opened,
126and a little girl --- no more than six or seven, answered.
127
128
129
130``Hello, Officer!'' she giggled. Bavarious surveyed her quizzically,
131noted the poorly bandaged laceration above her eye, then looked
132past her into the depths of the apartment's foyer. He thought he
133glimpsed something twist subtly in the shadows. He blinked.
134
135
136
137``Uh, good evening, Miss. Are your parents home?''
138
139
140
141``I don't h --- I mean, no, officer, they're not. My mama died when I
142was little, and my daddy, he's{\ldots}um{\ldots}he's ---''
143
144
145
146She seemed to cock her head, as though hearing an inaudible
147voice.
148
149
150
151``--- he's out buying more beer.'' She suppressed a laugh.
152
153
154
155``Is he?'' mused Bavarious. ``Miss, what happened to your
156forehead?''
157
158
159
160Suddenly, the girl's demeanor changed, plunging from sunny to
161downright icy.
162
163
164
165``Officer, it's past my bedtime. I need to --- you need to
166leave.''
167
168
169
170``Mi ---''
171
172
173
174``{\em Right} now.''
175
176
177
178Though he couldn't explain it, Bavarious sensed an impossible
179authority in her voice. An authority that hadn't been there moments
180ago. He glanced at her again and thought for a moment her eyes were
181glowing, yellow, bending his will to hers. He shook his head and
182looked back into the apartment --- anything to get away from that
183jaundiced gaze! That's when he noticed what appeared to be a
184rust-colored trail leading from an overturned Igloo cooler toward
185another room in the apartment.
186
187
188
189``I'm afraid I can't do that, Miss,'' he intoned as he brushed past
190her, intently avoiding her piercing eyes.
191
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194Curiously, she said nothing.
195
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198His Beretta held out before him, a talisman against the darkness,
199he followed the trail into a bathroom. There, in the tub and amid
200the stink of beer and feces, lay the body of what Bavarious assumed
201was the little girl's father. The man's belt was still clutched in
202his hand.
203
204
205
206The man's hand was resting on the countertop, a good seven or eight
207feet away from the rest of him.
208
209
210
211Unable to control his emotions, Bavarious puked all over the fetid
212corpse, displacing several flies. As the chunks rolled slowly down
213the disemboweled form, giggling erupted from behind him. He
214jumped.
215
216
217
218``I told you you needed to leave,'' breathed the little girl, whose
219eyes had ceased glowing and now positively {\em surged} with
220wicked yellow light. He noticed for the first time that her hands
221were the color of rust.
222
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225Bewitched, Bavarious could do nothing as her arms shimmered and
226became a writhing mass of tentacles. He told his brain to send an
227impulse to his trigger finger, but it wouldn't obey him. It had a
228new master now.
229
230
231
232{\em Good night, Officer Bavarious.} projected the little
233gi ---
234
235
236
237{\em Her name is Kaitilin. How do I know that? How d ---}
238
239
240
241{\em I --- yes, good night, Kaitilin. I'll{\ldots} be{\ldots}
242going{\ldots} now.
243If{\ldots} if that's all right{\ldots}}
244
245
246
247* * *
248
249
250
251Luke Bavarious awoke outside of an apartment building somewhere
252near Forty-second Street and Dyer Avenue, spra\-wl\-ed across the hood
253of his car. The sun had just begun to rise above the tangled mass
254of skyscrapers all around him. His mouth tasted like vinegar, and
255he smelled like a slaughterhouse.
256
257
258
259``What am I doing here,'' he wondered aloud.
260
261
262
263The sun thrust a glinting beam of radiance through a break in the
264buildings; it fell with purpose on a second-story window of the
265apartments in front him. Following its path, he thought for a
266moment he saw two points of yellow light blink, then vanish.
267
268
269
270``Weird,'' he muttered. 
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