The Cursed Man (10 page)

“Why would it want to make me suffer?”

Alister stared back at the sergeant in astonishment. What was so difficult to understand?

“Because it can.” Alister saw a little gray in the sergeant's hair and guessed he was somewhere in his mid thirties. “And it doesn't want you or anyone else around me. And when you doubt its existence and power, it will demonstrate for everyone what it is capable of doing.” Alister sat upright and stared at the back of the sergeant's head. “It is bad to taunt a wild animal that occupies an unlocked cage. This is why I've asked no one else but you to talk to me and I've taken the necessary precautions to protect anyone that might get the urge to. People have a tendency not to believe in it until it is too late.”  

The sergeant eyed Alister, and a stern look crinkled the skin on his forehead.

“The look you're giving me tells me you still doubt what I've told you to be the truth. I'm only trying to save lives.”

“I believe you think you are,” the sergeant said, and he got out of the car. He walked to the back door and opened it for Alister. “And I will do what I can to help you relay your message. But I want to get you inside first so you can get the attention you deserve.”

A surge of frustration tightened Alister's hands into fists that he wanted to pound on the cage, but he refrained. “I'm afraid I might have misjudged you.”

“I've done a lot for you, and you should be thankful.”

“I'm afraid what you've done isn't enough.”

Alister meshed his fingers into the weaves of the metal cage and squeezed. “I will not go in there unless you pass along my note and I am guaranteed that no one but you is going to talk to me. I assure you that you will come to understand why I have to do this. I just hope you start to comprehend it before it's too late.”

The sergeant rested a forearm on the hood of the car and leaned inside. “Listen, I've done everything you've asked of me, things that I normally wouldn't do because I sympathize with whatever it is you are going through. I give you my word if you come with me without trouble, I will speak to the doctors on your behalf. But if you don't, all bets are off.”

Alister felt small and weak, but what he had said meant something, and it was worth the fight. One life saved this day would be a victory.  “I'm sorry, but I can't.”

“Not another word of protest, Mr. Kunkle. Now let's go inside and get you the help you need.”

Alister shook his head. “I can hear your frustration, but I'm not going anywhere without that assurance.”

The sergeant stared at Alister and sighed. “Have it your way,” he said, and he slammed the door closed. He walked toward the hospital, and Alister watched him unfold the letter he'd written. He eased his grip on the cage and sat back and flexed his fingers. The metal had cut into his fingers deep enough to draw blood.

“Please, let this work.”

So far he had been able to elude the full wrath of the curse, and he was confident he could keep the casualties down to a minimum if he were to remain smart and manipulate the cop for as long as he remained alive.

 

 

Alister watched the sergeant emerge from the hospital with two officers in tow. Alister figured it was the same two men that had left his house because of the things they had seen. The idea of being able to get out of this situation with only one death on his hands suddenly seemed impossible. Death would get its fill this day, and he would get another harsh reminder that the thing that plagued him was inescapable and violent.

He shivered.

He felt as though the black shadow of death had sat down next to him. He quickly moved away, and although the seats around him were unoccupied, he knew it was there. He could sense it. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he got goose bumps.

“Leave me be,” Alister said. “I can get out of this. I just need some time to think this through.”

A faint laughter that was deep and sinister quickened his heart and roused his fears. He wanted to run but knew he couldn't because he was locked up with the wild animal.

“Control yourself.”

He groaned, looked to the floor and flexed his toes. The thunder of his heart was in his throat and so loud he could no longer hear the laughter.

The sergeant opened Alister's door and stood with his head inside the car. “I've done all I can. I'm sorry.”

“It was in here with me, but you just let it out,” Alister said.

“I need you to show me the same respect I've shown you and come inside the hospital so the doctors can have a look at you.”

“Please, don't do this to me.” Alister rocked back and forth. His focus remained on his feet, and he continued to flex and relax his toes.

“I'm just asking you to come with me.”

Alister looked at the sergeant. “I wasn't talking to you.”

“Who were you talking to then?”

“Death.” He licked his lips. “It is here, and I'm hoping it will show you mercy.”

The sergeant looked around. “I think you'll start to feel better after we get you inside.”

Alister scooted as far away from the sergeant as he could and could no longer sense death's whereabouts. “I'm going to have to decline going inside that hospital and stay here.”

Alister closed his eyes and latched onto the cage. “I mean you and the other officers no disrespect.” The cage sliced into his cuts, but no amount of pain would make him let go.

The sergeant directed one of the officers to the other side of the cruiser, and that officer opened the door. “I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the car, Mr. Kunkle,” the other officer said.

In that instant, all of the fight left Alister and he loosened his grip on the cage. The sound of the other officer's voice hit him like an unexpected punch to the gut.

“If you don't come willingly,” the officer said, “then we're going to have to use force. We don't want to have to do that.”

Nausea made Alister's stomach roll. Nothing about the moment felt real, and the sounds around him had become muffled and slow. A tremble deep inside his body built and threatened to surface.

“Get your ass out of the car,” the officer said, and he yanked Alister out by his arm. He pushed Alister against the car and forced his face onto the hood and one arm behind his back. “Because you are no longer cooperating, I'm going to have to place cuffs on you.”

Alister's eyes bulged and his legs wobbled. His head snapped up, and he focused his gaze on the sergeant.  “You!” he said, and spit flew from his mouth. “I'm holding you responsible for this man's death! I did all I could to prevent it from going after him, but you just wouldn't listen!”

The young officer cuffed Alister's other wrist and pulled him off of the car. He faced him in the direction he wanted him to walk and gave him a shove. “Keep your mouth shut. You're a crazy son of a bitch, you know that?”  

Alister turned in time to see the cop stagger as if someone had landed a punch to the side of his head. He watched the shadow of death jump inside the man and make his body convulse.

Alister stumbled backward. “Did you see that?”

The young officer looked from Alister to the sergeant, confused and afraid. “My God, please help me.” He wiped the blood that began to trickle from his eyes.

 

 

The sergeant ran to a middle-aged doctor walking across the parking lot.

“Please, help me.”

The doctor followed the sergeant past Alister, who was on his knees crying and shouting his protest heavenward. The sergeant brought the doctor to the fallen officer lying facedown in a small pool of blood. The doctor immediately went to work on the police officer.

“What happened?”

“I don't know,” the sergeant said. He looked to Alister. “He was staggering around, and he started to bleed from his eyes.”

“Do you know of any medical condition he might have?”

The sergeant looked to Alister, unable to respond. He was consumed with the realization that the man that had tried to warn him wasn't so crazy after all.

“I'm sorry,” he said to Alister. He fell to his knees. He felt dizzy and could hear laughter all around him. “I could've helped you stop this.”

The laughter was booming and something out of his worst nightmares.

 

 

THE MEETING

 

 

Present day.

 

Anna and Terry walked on the side of a dirt road that curved around the backside of the hospital. Their conversation was lighthearted and filled with long moments of silence. The meeting turned businesslike when they arrived at a small, brick structure without windows. A weather-beaten Authorized Personnel Only sign posted to the left of the entrance drew Anna's attention, and Terry pulled open a heavy steel door.

“Watch your step,” Terry said.

A flight of cement steps gave way to a dimly lit passageway. Noisy compressors, the smell of oil and the trapped heat attacked her senses.

“I can understand why you said no one would bother us here.”

Anna carefully maneuvered around spider webs, low hanging pipes and dipping electrical wires.

Terry looked over his shoulder. “I've used this area as my office for as long as I can remember.”

The wide corridor had raw cinderblock walls and a dirt floor, which seemed to stretch on forever.

“Where does this go to?”

Terry stopped, looked to Anna and with a grin said, “The tunnel? It goes to every building in the compound.”

A makeshift wall constructed of fiberboard joined together with duct tape concealed a filthy wooden desk and two chairs.

“Please sit.”

“Thank you.”

Anna eased herself into a lawn chair with frayed straps. Terry settled into a wooden chair that creaked underneath his weight.

“So.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the tabletop. His lazy eye seemed to spy on the corridor while his other eye remained sharply focused on Anna.

“So,” Anna said, careful not to touch the table. She placed a notepad on her lap and grabbed a pen.

“I was hoping this conversation would be off the record,” Terry said.

“And I had hoped you wouldn't tell anyone about our meeting. If you did, I have a feeling that our conversation would be influenced.”

“I didn't. I have too much vested here and would like to protect that.”

“Good. Then we agree to keep this between us.”

She put her notepad and pen away.

“Most people here would rather see you die at the hands of the curse rather than see you disturb the order that is in place.”

Anna smiled. “I'm glad to know you're looking to dive right into this, and I'm not sure I know how to respond to that.”

“Not all things people say actually require a response. I'm merely telling you how people feel about your being here.”

Terry pushed his chair away from the table and bent down out of sight. He shuffled through something unseen.

“What about you?” Anna said.

Terry emerged with two sodas.

“What about me?”

“How do you feel about my being here?”

He popped the top on one of the cans and a cool vapor oozed from the hole. “The drink is cold, but it won't be for too long if you let it sit. Drink up.”

Anna took a small sip. “Thank you.”

Terry opened the other can and raised it before he took a generous gulp. “No offense, but I feel the same as the others.”

“I'm sure that wasn't easy for you to say. I appreciate your honesty.”

“Though I myself find it a bit curious because you should be dead. Yet here you are.”

“Exercise.”

Terry sat up straight. “I don't think jokes are appropriate, especially when such a sensitive matter is being discussed.”

Anna stiffened. “I'm sorry. I didn't—”

“No big deal.” He tried to disguise a burp behind the shield of his hand. “And I suppose I'm a bit puzzled by your skepticism. I'm sure you were given all the facts about Alister, and yet you still came. Me, I didn't hear about his arrival until after he had been here for several hours. There was this big rush to let everyone know he was here, but I suppose my being in maintenance excluded me from having very much interaction with the patients. When I had to enter their rooms to fix something, I would do so while they were outside.”

Terry took another drink and put his feet on the desk. Powdery dirt fell off his shoes, and he leaned back in the chair, pushing it on its back legs.

“Regardless of the timing, I quickly learned the importance of knowing everything I could about him,” he said, and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “And if I would have known you were coming yesterday, I would have shared that knowledge with you in hopes of getting you to reconsider.”

He drank some more.

“But I really think you should consider the things you've learned about Alister and reconsider your stance.”

“Have you been successful in getting others to reconsider?” Anna said.

“I don't want to get anyone into trouble, but yes, I have many times. One thing I'm sure of is that whatever surrounds Alister is extremely dangerous, and everyone that intends to visit him needs to know that.”

Anna paused and traced her chin with her pointer finger while she considered Terry's words. “What you believe surrounds Alister? Does it have a name?”

Terry crossed his arms. “That is a silly question, doctor. It's a curse, and it's not like I sat down and had a conversation with it. And I think that just because you don't believe in it doesn't mean it's not real and the fact that you've been fortunate enough not to have experienced it like many of us here have doesn't make those that have suffered from it crazy or liars.”

Anna compressed her lips into a tight slit. “I believe the difficulty I'm having is grasping the idea that such a thing could be real.”