The Death of 1977 (Book 3)

Chapter 33

"You got a visitor, Mercer!" A large, white, male jail guard announced as he unlocked the cell door.

Charles sat up drowsy and disoriented on his little bed and watched as Audra came inside the cell. The man had been awake for the past several hours, but his energy had been left behind in the shelter. His lethargic eyes looked on as Audra, who was wearing only her long, grey wool coat, meekly came inside and stood before him. Already the man could feel the weight of her worried stare bear down upon him like heat vision. Charles wiped his messy face before taking a huge breath and placing his hands on his knees as to say he was preparing for a lesson.

Audra stood for a moment or two before sitting down beside the man. At first her face was down to the floor, appearing as if she were too shy to speak. Down the hallway could be heard other cell doors either opening or shutting, along with various men talking out loud or cursing.

Audra looked up and out the cell door before turning her head to Charles. "They mentioned that you would be out of here tomorrow." She said to Charles' despondent face.

Charles just nodded before clearing his throat and muttering, "Yep, just a few more hours."

Audra turned away for a second before looking back at the man with a tense glare on her face. "Why did you go to that place, Charles?"

Charles' stone face wouldn't turn from the bars in front of him. It was as though he were transfixed upon their cold and lifeless alloy.

"It's like I told you, something is hunting me down." His scratchy voice uttered.

"And you figured that same something was at the shelter?"

Nodding again, Charles replied, "Yes. To be truthful, I really don't know what I saw or felt back there, but I do know that...that evil is definitely real."

Becoming agitated, Audra remarked, "Charles... I don't understand any of this. If someone is hunting you down then you should have called the police."

"Woman, this goes so far beyond a person." Charles' deep voice dropped. "I don't know what my son was in to, but I now realize that nothing good came of it."

Audra sat and studied Charles for the longest time before stating, "When I was a little girl. I couldn't have been no more than six or seven. Me, my mother, father and three brothers and sisters lived with my grandparents on this old farm. For the first couple of years there everything was just fine. Then, the neighbors across the valley were beaten to death by some Klansmen who didn't like them. That old house of theirs went unsold for the longest time. Well, me and my siblings, as hardheaded as we were, would go over to that old house to be nosey and play around. One day, however, we heard something walking about on the top floor. We kids were scared but curious all the same. So we all went upstairs, and in this one room, we see the lady that used to live there lying in a bed all by herself crying. Me and my siblings were terrified at first, but for the most amazing reason we just couldn't run away. All we could do was stand there at that doorway and listen to that woman cry like a baby. Needless to say, we never went back to that old house again after that day. We didn't even tell anyone about what we saw over there. Till this day I don't know if what we even saw was real or all in our minds. But that moment never left my soul after all these years. So much pain and suffering that a person can't even cross over to the next world. They just stay stuck here, not knowing if their alive or dead."

A tear started to form and dribble down Charles' right eye at that instant as he listened to Audra and endlessly stared at the bars ahead.

"This is one nasty world we live in." He murmured so sadly while balling up his fists.

"Yes it is." Audra pitifully added. "But ain't none of us walking in this nasty world all alone. They said that all you have to do is pay a fine and they'll drop the charges. Personally, I think they went easy on

you because of your handicap." Audra patted Charles' leg. "Thank the good Lord it came in handy." She then smirked at him.

Nodding his head, Charles said, "I'll pay the fine. Then I'll come home, pack my things...and be on my way."

Audra's face instantly went pale right then. Her hands started to shake as she reared back. "And just where are you going?" She held her breath.

"Somewhere far from here," he kept his eyes on the bars.

Shaking her head in both dismay and confusion, Audra said, "Charles, whatever you think is happening to you, it can be managed. I've known you now for four months, and in those months you have to be one of the most down to earth people I've ever known. Now, I believe that something is tormenting you, but I find it hard to believe that it's causing you to run away."

Charles couldn't turn to look at her. For that matter, he couldn't turn or move at all. It was almost as if he were a child be scolded for a wrongdoing.

"After what I experienced inside that shelter, as well as the past few months, the last thing I ever want is to endanger the lives of others. Especially those I care the most about. I'll just pack my belongings and be on my way somewhere. And that's all I have to say...Mrs. Watson."

The shaking of Audra's hands suddenly ceased as the color came back to her face. There remained only stillness in her eyes that stared at Charles for at least a full minute before she finally got up and went straight for the bars that Charles had been studying ever since she first arrived.

"I'm ready!" Audra called out.

At once, the guard came and unlocked the cage before sliding open the door to allow the woman to leave. The very instant the door shut again Charles laid back down onto his bed and peered up at the grimy ceiling. With the passage of time he soon started to forget what Audra even looked like. Even his own son's face was becoming a distant, faded memory the longer his eyes remained stuck to the ceiling that he felt was closing in on him.

"We're coming for you, father." A creepy voice whispered inside of Charles' head. "We're on our way for you."

The voice sounded so peaceful in its menace that had Charles not known any better it would have taken him right on to sleep.

"You will end." Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Charles took his hands and looked at them in the strangest way before taking them both and covering his ears as tight as he could while rolling over in his bed.