Sunday, June 21, 2020

"Ultimate Evil" By Lee F. Patrick



Sam dropped his grocery bags on the coffee table, then checked his landlines answering machine on the sideboard by reflex. He didnt get many calls, but he always checked the machine when he got home from work. Seven messages? He dumped his coat next to the phone and stared at it. Hed never had that many in one day before. Hell, not even in a week!  That many messages meant someone was sick, or dead. Or... He took a deep breath. He couldnt know what had actually happened until he listened. But did he want to know what had happened? He stared at the blinking light again, held his breath, then pushed the play button.
Message One.
Hey, Sam, its the weirdest thing. The cats are going all strange. Especially Alaric. Hes staring at the floor like he can see through it, which he probably can. The martians must be busy today, you know? The girls arent so fixated, but theyre prowling. Wish you could see them. Its totally freaky.
Time: Twelve-fifty-three, Friday.
Sam sighed, his heart rate going down. It was just Pete.  He had the strangest quartet of cats. And that Alaric wasnt just a black house cat, hed rip you apart if he thought you didnt measure up to his standards of tough. Pete had a picture of a snarling black panther on the wall. Alarics soul picture, he always said with a smile. Those whod met the cat knew it was no joke. Nobody messed with Alaric. Not twice, anyway.

He pulled one of the kitchen chairs over to the sideboard and moved his coat onto it. All the messages were probably from Pete. He just hoped that there would be something concrete instead of Pete just going on about his dratted cats. It often happened, but hed never sent seven messages worth of how clever and whatever they were.
Message Two.  He took a deep breath in anticipation.
Hey man, dont you ever answer the phone? Theyre all doing the same thing Alaric started earlier. Genevieve never had this kind of hunting behavior before. Its starting to freak me out, you know? Call me when you get in. You said you were going to blow off work this afternoon.
Time: One Sixteen, Friday.
Message Three.
Man, will you pick up the dammed phone? I heard a weird noise from the bathroom, then all the cats were staring at the same heating vent by the front window. Romana bolted upstairs when I came down the hall. Nearly ran over me. Theres gotta be something evil down there. Alaric hissed at it, Im sure. Call me right away.
Time: Two Oh-seven, Friday.
Sam started to get up, then sank back into the chair. Was it close enough to April Fools to consider that Pete was seriously trying to get even for the Youve won the lottery! letter that Sam had sent him last year?
Pete didnt have a basement in the house he rented in West Hillhurst, just a crawl space where the furnace was stashed. Calgary had a lot of them: remnants from the cheap housing the government had thrown up for the soldiers and their families after WWII. Nothing was ever quite square or level in them but they had some of the biggest yards you could find in the inner city.
Message Four.
I just heard it again, Sam. Really. It was coming from near the front door, but from under the floor. I wish I knew if this place was built on Indian sacred ground or something. But its gotta be evil, otherwise the cats wouldnt be reacting this way. I dont think I can get out anymore. The only thing that gives me any hope is that the cats are stalking it. Alaric keeps hissing, so it hasnt dared to make any moves up here. So far. Where the hell are you? Petes voice cracked on the last words.
Time: Two Forty-five, Friday.
Sam stood again, still undecided. Should he go, or finish listening to the messages?
Message Five.
Man, get your ass home and come help me. Why the hell dont you have a cell phone? Youre living in the dark ages. I think Alarics keeping it at bay, but I dont know how long even he could last once it decides to make its move.
Time: Three Twelve, Friday.
Sams heart rate was going up again. He felt as if he should be running for the car: instead he sat there, took a deep breath and waited for the machine to play the next message.
Message Six.
Oh man, I cant wait for you any longer. The cats are just about going mental. Ive got the bat, and Im going after it. I never thought about dying before, but Im going out with a fight, not letting it just eat me. Dont ever erase these messages, Sam. Its like... my legacy. Im going out fighting Ultimate Evil, from the Indian burial grounds that the white man trampled over and built these houses on. I just wonder what set them off, you know? Maybe its the anniversary of their deaths. I dont know, but theyre under the floor, where the original prairie still is. This is my chance to do a great thing, you know? And Im up for it. You never know until youre faced with this trial, just how youre gonna react. Im cool. A deep breath.
This is the last will and testament of Peter James Resse. All my stuff goes to Sam. Thats Sam Tinnons. That includes the cats, man. If theres anything left of me and Alaric, make sure we get cremated together. Pete took another deep breath. Catch you on the other side, man.
Time: Four Twenty-three, Friday.
Sam stared at the machine. This was either the best or worst April Fools joke that Pete had ever run. He blinked, realizing that there was one more message to listen to.
Message Seven.
Hey Sam, its Kathy. I just got in and Ive got a lot of weird messages from Pete. Did he phone you too? I tried his place and its been busy for the last twenty minutes. Have you seen him or called him? Im kind of freaked, you know? But... its Pete. You know. Call me, bye.
Time: Five Thirteen, Friday.
End of Messages.
That changed everything. Kathy had her head on straight and if she was as freaked as he was, Sam knew something really strange was happening. He took a deep breath. First, try to call Pete. He reached over to pick up the phone and dialed.
He heard the busy signal and let it buzz until the system asked him if hed like to be notified when the line was free. He disconnected and called Kathy.
I cant reach Pete either, he said as soon as Kathy picked up the phone. Im going over. Its probably nothing, but Im freaked too. Ive never heard him sound like that. You want me to pick you up?
You want moral support? Kathy asked, then took a deep breath. I guess. Or should we call the cops first?
And tell them a friend of ours says he got Ultimate Evil in his crawl space? And would they please send the police and maybe the tac team? Wed get the rubber room next to Sam if this is one of his pranks.
When you put it like that, no. I'll see you in ten?

Petes house seemed normal from the street. The one and a half story house was set back from the road, a tall hedge separating it from the street noise. Petes car was parked out front, and the drapes to the living rooms big window were partly open. No weird noises, no crowds of people, nothing out of the ordinary on an early spring day. No sign of anything remotely evil, bad, or even naughty.
Now this is weird, Kathy said.
I wondered at first if he was pulling an early April Fools at first. But he really sounded too stressed for it to be fake on the last calls. He usually blows the punch line. She nodded.
As Sam started to open the gate in the front hedges, Kathy gasped.
I think I saw something move inside, she said. The window!
Sam looked and saw nothing but the last movement of the drapes. Together they approached the house, moving slowly. Something might happen at any moment and Sam wanted to be ready to get the hell out of there. He wondered if he had locked the car. They might need a quick getaway. From whatever Pete had faced, or a very pissed off Alaric.
 Kathy kept staring at the door, but Sam couldnt take his eyes from the window. He saw Alaric bouncing up several times, trying to get something that Sam couldnt see. Hed seen cats stalking martians before, things that only they could sense. But he'd never seen this sort of thing before. Maelen, one of the other cats came briefly into view and he heard Alarics Im going to tear you to shreds yowl. Even standing safely in the yard, it still made his skin crawl.
Forget any Ultimate Evil from the crawl space, was it reasonable to go into the house if Alaric was in that mood? If it were winter, hed at least have mitts and a parka for protection. Now, he only had a light coat and bare hands.
Then he saw a shape flutter past the window, with Alaric bounding up from the floor after it. The shape came past again, then Sam started to laugh, a weak, partly hysterical, partly relieved laughter that let the tension run out of him, leaving his legs like Jello. He sank down on the front steps to catch his breath.
Kathy stared at him. What is so funny? Pete could be in real trouble in there!
Sam pointed at the window. Its a bird. Its only a bird, Kathy. I saw it. All this shit is over a stupid bird that somehow got into the house. He stood and opened the screen door. He threw open the inner door and held the outer one open. Weve got to let the poor thing out, Kathy. Try to keep the other cats in, if you can.
Kathy ducked under Sams arm and went into the house. Pete, where are you? she called.
Im down here, came the muffled reply. Crawl space. A pause. Stuck.
As Sam leaned in, the bird, a small black corvid, shot past him and headed into the neighbors poplar tree to perch and fluff its feathers.
Im amazed you survived, Sam said to the bird. He got the screen door closed just in time to keep Alaric and the other three cats from following their prey into the yard.
Hey man, Im really stuck, Pete said. Sam went over to where Kathy knelt next to the trapdoor that gave access to the crawl space and the furnace. Got no leverage to push myself backwards. I was so freaked by seeing that bird down here, you know? I got bent around this duct thing trying to grab it before Alaric could. I just cant figure out how the dammed bird got down here in the first place.
It probably fell down the chimney, Kathy said. Ive heard of it happening before. Its a good thing your furnace wasnt on or the poor thing might have been killed.
Sam sighed and lowered himself into the opening. Hed wait until he got Pete out of the crawl space before he started ragging him about the Ultimate Evil that had lived down here. The cats clustered around the hatchway. Alaric looked grumpy. He must want another bird to chase. Thankfully the others seemed to be wondering when the wet cat food would come out of the fridge. Genevieve meowed and bunted against Kathys leg. She obediently started to scratch the cats ears.

Outside, the small crow finished preening its feathers and looked back at the house. It held no animosity toward the cats. They were hunters, and that was as it should be. The humans, on the other hand, should have known better.
Stupid white man, the crow thought. Doesnt he know that Crow is the next step in the path of the seekers of truth? He flew off, making sure to leave some droppings on the strange wheeled carts in the street in front of his burial place. He had other things to do
- The End - 
Lee F. Patrick is a Calgary author writing mostly SF thrillers and Fantasy. Lee has published a number of short stories and Celtic based poetry. She was nominated for the Prix Aurora Award in 2018. Her fourth novel, Always My Love, will be out in late summer. Lee can be found on Facebook. Works are available through Kobo and Amazon.

2 comments:

  1. Glad to see Sirius back, even more pleased to find a Lee Patrick story. That was fun!

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  2. Love it sis!!! The things humans miss due to closed minds. LAF

    ReplyDelete