Ascent (2 page)

—And her relatives I don’t know

—Just want it to be over

—Over

Secret societies

The Knights Templar

Time travel

Cryptozoology

Yeti, Skunk apes

Sasquatch

One daughter Julie

Home from school

17 years old

Blonde

High wasted skinny jeans

Blue crop top

Been pouting

Not eating much

Not doing homework

Stares out the window

Plays with her hair

Keep asking

What’s wrong Julie?

What’s wrong?

Looks down

Shakes her head

We think it’s her boyfriend Nick

Acting strange

Distant

Doesn’t know

What’s going on

Been together 9 months

Not telling us much

Tricksters

Men in Black

Skinwalkers

Shape Shifters

Jokers

—Hey I found something

—It’s a cool story

Old newspaper clipping

From 1903

Daily News

That Winged Monster

Town of

Badly Wrought Up

***

And to turn them

And to turn them

A great form

Of some kind

Peter has proof

That the demon exists

Huge wings

Of skin

A great form

Reveals itself

Builds a wall

Around the footprint

With cardboard strip

And paper clip

Hold the track

Two parts plaster of Paris

One part water

Dries quickly

The footprint

A great form

Of some kind

I have proof

I have proof

Of the monster

And to turn them

From the darkness

Night of

October 2
nd

Soft winds

Rain from the North

Quiet

OV White

Sleeping

Second story room

Fisher and White Hardware and Furniture

Jolted awake

Abrupt rasping sound

Outside his window

Loud chocking

Liquid

Heard the stories

In town

About the mysterious monster

The demon

He held the cast

Of its footprint

3 toes

Like a demon

A great form

Of some kind

A flash of light

In the darkness

I behold Satan

As lightning falls from heaven

To open their eyes

And to turn them

From the darkness

To the light

Grabs his Browning Auto-5

Self-loading shotgun

Louder gurgling sounds

Rasping

Opens his window

Peers out

Into the darkness and rain

Nothing

Mist

But his eyes adjust

Looks up

A dark figure

Great form

Of some kind

Shadow

On the cross member

Of the telephone pole

Runs downstairs

Stares up

Thing has wings

A gargoyle

Takes deliberate aim

Slow exhalation

Pulls the trigger

Fires

Does not fall to the ground

Does not fall to the ground

Shines its light

On him

Like a headlight

Shot from his rifle

No effect

Only woke it up

Powerful musky

Sulfur odor

Overwhelming

Staggers to the ground

Neighbor Sidney Gregg

Heard the shot

Runs to the door

See what commotion

Is about

Sees White

Trying to crawl away

Monster descends

From telephone pole

Using huge beak

For grip

Descends

Upon reaching ground

Stands erect

8 feet tall

Lights from its forehead

So bright

Like a search beam

Darts about

Flaps its

Featherless wings

Sound of morning mail train

In the distance

Pulling into town

Starts to run

On all four feet

Direction of old coal mine

Wings extended

Flap

Lifts

Sails up

Disappears

Mr. Gregg remembers

He has a gun

But it’s too late

Too late

And I saw an angel

Come down from heaven

Having the key

To the bottomless pit

How art thou fallen

From heaven

O’Lucifer

Son of morning

***

The librarian

Van Meter Public Library

Mindy

Pulls out newspaper accounts

Mysterious happenings

In the town

Remains relatively unknown

No operating newspaper

To cover the events

A town of 1000

Rely on nearby publications

Dallas County News

Various Des Moines papers

Original source material

Article by H.H. Phillips

Des Moines Daily News

October 4, 1903

In days following

Two separate articles

Looking to debunk it

Phillips
very much exaggerated

Is it a joker or a robber?

Weaving fictitious details

Des Moines Daily Capitol

October 6, 1903

Van Meter Hot Under the Collar

Van Meter

A town of about 900 souls

Lying 20 miles west of Des Moines

Alone enjoys distinction

Of being haunted

Queer noises are heard

Hideous apparitions are seen

Uncanny lights

Very apparent

On the face of

Every sane person

That it is a fabrication

But to the residents

Of the town

Height of foolishness

A botched robbery

Unusual lights

Not unusual to Iowans

Of 1903

Rash of unknown

Airship sightings

Strange ship-like objects

Floating through

The night sky

Waterloo Courier

Extensively covered each one

Twice the size

Of the largest star

Swaying from side

To side

Floating through

The night sky

That it is a fabrication

We ask Mindy the Librarian

If she ever knew this story

Smiles

Gray hair

Eyebrow rises

Heirloom floral print dress

I do because

Of the newspapers

But most people don’t

The witnesses

Were very prominent citizens

That’s the funny thing

She winks

Floating through

The night sky

We need to find an heir

To the bank clerk

Clarence “Peter” Dunn

That it is a fabrication

He made the cast

Of the footprint

We need to find that cast

We need the footprint

I’ll see if anyone knows

There’s no one by the name

By the name of Dunn now

Walk around the town

Main Street

Doesn’t look much different

Population still at about 1000

Same brick buildings

We find where

Sidney Gregg’s store was

Dr. Alcott’s office

Mather and Gregg’s Building

Now there’s

Casey’s General Store

Heartland Co-op Fertilizer Plant

Century 21 Real Estate

ABC Chimney Sweep

That is was a fabrication

We need the footprint

Floating through

The night sky

Fat Randi’s Bar and Grill

Bacon cheeseburgers and beers

Why would these prominent citizens lie?

What did they see?

What did they see?

—I think it was

—An ultraterrestrial

A being from

Another dimension

Or plane of reality

Can materialize

And then disappear

—That’s what Sasquatch is

—Or where would they eat and shit?

Wormholes

Parallel universes

Multiple dimensions

Maybe it was a pelican?

—With a light from its horn?

Floating through

The night sky

Can materialize

That it is a fabrication

We need to check out the old mine

We need the footprint

Eric texting with Lori

He wants a rock DJ

She wants a live jazz swing band

Rodgers and Hart

Cole Porter

The Great American Songbook

—I want to hear the Stones man

—Zeppelin

Can’t dance to Zeppelin

No smoke machine

That’s not classy

Escort cards

Green purple carnations

Fuchsia

Hydrangeas

Blue menu cards

Floating across

The night sky

A fabrication

We need the footprint

My cell phone beeps

Hmm

My daughter Julie

Doesn’t call me much

Certainly not when

I’m in the field

Thinks what I do is weird

And embarrassing

I just say

You make films Daddy

About exotic animals

Daddy! Daddy!

Everything’s good with Nick

He’s taking me camping

For my birthday

A whole group of us going

The Adirondacks

We’re camping

Everything’s good

Everything’s good

***

He hears sounds

From the mine shaft

Loud screeches

Coal mine at the edge

Of town

Shut down

Few years prior

Functioning tile and brick factory

On the same grounds

The night shift

1 AM

Steady rain

Operations Manager

J.L. Platt Jr.

Hears sounds

From the mine shaft

Not human

Not any animal he knows

Painful screeches

Getting louder

It’s that demon

Peers down

Further into dark borehole

Shaft drops

Hundreds of feet

Many twists and turns

That demon’s down there

A flash of light

In the darkness

The monster

Appears at the entrance

Behind it

Another somewhat

Smaller creature

In the fog

A brilliant light

Striking

Blinding

The factory workers

See them too

What are they?

What are they?

My God!

Horn-like protuberance

Emanating extraordinary light

They’re creatures

From hell

They rise

Rise

Sail away

To open their eyes

And to turn them

From the darkness

To the light

The whole town

In an uproar

They’re demons

What have we done?

We’re being punished

What have we done?

They are from hell

We’ve discovered their lair

We need to kill them

He that committed sin

And his angels

Were cast out

With him

Cast out

Men gather in the rain

Brimmed hats

Rain coats

Guns

Explosives

We need every firearm

We need to kill them

They’re demons

They’re demons

I’m praying for all of us

All of the lights

In town turned on

So those left behind

Feel more secure

The lights will frighten them

Pouring rain

Men gather at the mine

Wait for them

Rid the earth of them

When they should return

Wait for them

Four hours

Hours

Break of dawn

5:46 am

In the sky

Two dark figures

Living shadow

Giant bats

Fly quietly

Get closer

Land at the mine

Everybody fires

BOOM!

BOOM!

Smoke

Noise

Confusion

Shrieks

With echoes

The terrible sulfur odor

During the gunfire

Slowly

Methodically

Descend into the shaft

Of the old mine

Slowly

Bullets have no effect

No effect

Barricade the mine

Before nightfall

Go back to hell

Where you came from

Blow up the entrance

Seal them in

Blow up

Child of the devil

For whosoever

Shall call

Upon the name of the Lord

Shall be saved

Shall be saved

***

We’re at the site

Of the old mine

Mindy the Librarian

Hooked us up

With Steadman family

Current owners of the land

Secure personal tour

Of the old tile factory

And mine grounds

At gate

John Steadman

Accompanied by his son

And grandson