Chapter 22: Escape

Reconciling with Kathy proved to be far easier than finding a way out of the pit. The collars around their necks were steel rods and couldn’t be bent or broken. The chains which fastened them to the pole were equally strong and refused to break. They made a joint attempt to uproot the pole but that didn’t work either. They were able to find a few small rocks which they used in an unsuccessful attempt to break through the chains.

Kathy had been transformed. Their new purpose gave her energy and she attacked each attempt with intense determination. She was the one who finally decided on a new approach.

"Dig," she commanded him. "Dig, until you find a rock big enough to shatter the chains." And so they began to dig up the earth at the bottom of the pit. The pit itself was not that big but without shovels or tools the task became grueling. Kathy's nails were soon broken and their fingers became bloody stumps. Dirt lodged deep into Luis's fingernails and his bones throbbed from the pounding. Their hopes rose and fell with each new rock. None were big enough.

After what seemed like hours, Luis rested beside a large dirt mound. It was hopeless, he thought, absolutely hopeless. He closed his eyes and saw a vision. It was a large damn perched over a small town very much like Wellow Falls. He was at the top of the damn holding something in his hands. He walked over to the middle of the damn and dropped the bundle. It sailed down and then exploded. He saw a crack slowly form and move up towards the top of the damn. The crack bubbled red and then a head emerged.

"Nice job, very nice job," said Martin with his characteristic grin as the front of the damn slid away and a torrent of black gooey liquid covered the town. "Traitors are always such great fun."

"Are you allright?" He was shaking and covered with perspiration. He mopped his forehead and nodded.

"The sun is just a little hot," he replied as he bent over and continued digging. They had to escape to save Wellow Falls and perhaps many other towns. They had to escape to save the soul he had bartered to Martin.

His hands bled and his nails peeled back and eventually off but Luis ignored the pain. He was only thinking about damnation and about how close he was to it. He dug his hands into the dirt, pulled up a handful of earth, threw it aside and repeated the task. When his hands finally struck something solid and heavy, Luis was momentarily confused. He reached down around the object and his fingers scraped painfully against the side of it.

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"I've found something," he whispered, afraid that the breeze would carry his words to Martin's ears.

"What? What it is?" She rushed over and they began to furiously clear the earth from around it. As its shape became clearer, Luis realized that it was not a rock. It appeared to be a long cylindrical tube about an inch and a half in diameter. Luis banged it with a soft rock and the rock crumbled in his hands.

"Whatever it is, it's made out of something hard." Kathy continued to dig away the dirt as she talked.

"This whole area used to be a large quarry. At the turn of the century it supplied nearly the whole Boston area with granite. Who knows what tools and instruments were left buried when they closed it." The rod was not smooth but was ridged with grooves and notches that Luis thought felt like writing or inscriptions. He spat into the hole and used the saliva to clean the surface.

"Whatever writing is on here, it’s not English," he told Kathy.

"An imported good," she replied.

"Maybe, but these markings don’t look like any language I've ever seen."

"Look Luis, to be honest with you, I don't care what language it is so long as we can use it to get out of here." He was beginning to have doubts that the rod would serve that purpose. Although he couldn't tell its weight, Luis didn’t think it would work to shatter the chains. Maybe they could use it as a crowbar?

The rod was almost as tall as Kathy, approximately five feet long. At one end were three metal prongs that curved upward and slightly together to create a cavity. Whatever had once rested inside that compartment was gone. There was only a hole, like the socket created when a tooth is pulled. Apart from the inscriptions and the cavity the rod was rather plain. It was metallic and light like aluminum, but much stiffer and harder. He didn’t see any rust or wear and tear. He cleared away the last of the dirt and gripped it.

It suddenly became heavy. He staggered back and straightened the rod so that it was pointed into the air.

"My God this must be solid iron!" he exclaimed as it wobbled in his grasp. Kathy was too engrossed in the engravings to reply.

"These really are strange. They're almost like hieroglyphics." Didn't I just say something like that, Luis thought to himself. Characters that appeared to be letters ran down the rod but Luis couldn’t recognize the alphabet. Interspersed with the smaller letters were several more defined and larger engravings that looked like crude pictures. One diagram appeared to be the sun. Its rays spiraled from the bottom of the staff up to the middle of the rod. From there four small triangles curved up and around, leading to a circle. Faint lines connected the circle with four squares. It looked very hierarchical to him. At the top were four more engravings that looked like upside down question marks. They pointed up towards the empty socket.

"It doesn't look like anything I've ever seen before," he told her.

"Have you seen all the different types of equipment they used a hundred years ago? Back then, they were much more elaborate. Buildings had all kinds of gargoyles and statues. For all we know, this could just be a fancy crow bar." He knew she didn't believe that. Kathy was coping.

"Well it’s heavy. Let's see if we can use it to get ourselves out of here." He gripped it tightly and dragged it over to anchor pole. He studied the pole for moment before Kathy took charge:

"Take the chain, wrap it around the pole and then wrap it around the staff. We'll put the rod against the pole for leverage and than we'll try to pull the links apart." He didn't think it would work. While the chain wasn't that heavy, the links appeared strong and he doubted that their combined force would be enough to twist the metal. He didn’t want to tell her no though and figured it was worth a shot.

He followed her directions and wedged the rod against the pole.

"I hope this works," she said. They both grabbed the rod and began to push.

Please, he willed, let it work. Let it work. He threw his body into it and the chain twisted but the links did not even bend. He ground his teeth and focused all of his energy on pushing the rod and breaking the link. Break, he screamed, break goddamit! Kathy's face curled up into a grimace, saliva running from her mouth, her breathing coming in short, desperate gasps.

The cuts on his fingernails burst open from the pressure and blood ran down his hands. The blood was warm and he felt the heat grow in hands. The warmth traveled up his arms, reached his shoulders, up his neck and then there was a flash. For a second he couldn’t see anything but as the intensity of the flash receded he saw the links on the chain slowly begin to unwind. They split apart smoothly and slowly, like a snake dancing to a flutist’s tune. The entire chain was uncoiling and as it did so it was liquefying, dripping onto the ground like an ice cream cone in the hot weather. The chain finished uncoiling and Luis watched the liquid metal disappear into the soil.

There was another flash and he felt the heat moving up his hands. He let go of the rod and as he did so he was pushed violently backwards. He hit the side of the pit and his vision blurred. His mind felt warm, then it felt the cool, then it felt whoozy.

"Luis, Luis, get up, get up." He heard it dimly and thought he could feel pricks on his face. The pricks became harder and he realized they were slaps.

"Luis, get up, we have to get out of here. We're free." For a sublime moment he expected to be in his own bed with O' Grady hanging over him. Good ol O' Grady, the bastard.

He shook his head and looked out onto the pit. The anchor pole was reduced to a small nub, its top curled over like a candle that had been left to burn itself out.

Kathy prodded him to his feet and he groggily listened to her pleas.

"Let's get out of here before they come. They must have seen what just happened." What had just happened? He remembered the flash and the chain coming apart like a mutant strand of DNA. He reached down to grab the staff and it lifted easily off the ground.

"Kathy, wasn't this heavy?"

"Will you just forget that thing. We've got to get out of here." Luis was sure it had been heavier, much heavier. Kathy began to climb the walls of the pit and Luis quickly staggered after her and dragged her down.

"Kathy, are you crazy!" he hissed finally coming out of his stupor. "Did you want to get these chains off just to be caught again? Stay low and crawl to the top. When we get there just keep your head down. We'll go from there. Understand?" She nodded her head and they began to slowly make there way up the dirt walls. The walls were not steep and before long they lay near the top of the pit. Luis was sweating and he clasped the rod firmly in his left hand. For some inexplicable reason it lent him courage and hope.

"Okay," he whispered nervously. "Let me take a look and then I'll motion for you to come." She shook her head vigorously.

"Together," she whispered and Luis realized that perhaps she didn't fully trust him yet. It was ridiculous to argue so he nodded his head and motioned her forward.

He crawled the last few feet and slowly brought his eyes above the ridge of dirt that ringed the pit. As he did another monumental explosion boomed from somewhere nearby, shaking the ground and causing small pebbles to cascade down into the hole. Luis hung on and looked at the site before him.

What had once been the ledges and gorges of the quarry were gone. In their place was a giant crater so wide that Luis couldn’t see the other side. Its boundaries blurred into the forests around the pit. The pit itself looked about seventy-five to one-hundred feet deep and was dug evenly, so that its entire bottom was flat. It looked like a giant asteroid had landed in Wellow Falls and blasted an enormous crater. Bulldozers, dump trucks, and people swarmed below them.

At intervals along the pit were spiraling dirt roads that gradually slanted down. He could see a convey of trucks making their way up the hole laden with dirt and rocks. There was equipment everywhere. He counted over fifteen bulldozers near him and at the top of the pit he could see another convey of fifteen trucks. The hole was also dotted with people. He saw familiar men, women, and children and realized why Wellow Falls was empty. Most of the town was in the pit. Some of the townspeople were on the machinery and he thought he saw O' Grady driving a bulldozer in the distance.

As he looked, he began to notice a method or system to what they were doing. The bulldozers and the blasters were enlarging the sides of the crater. The dirt and soil was brought into the middle where groups shoveled through it and then loaded it onto the dump trucks. The trucks then left to dispose of it outside the pit. In some areas the same process was occurring but the pit was being deepened instead of widened. The figures with the shovels looked exhausted and he counted at least three bodies just lying on the ground motionless.

One of the figures tried to rise as a bulldozer approached. He got to his knees and began to crawl towards the others. The whole group turned and watched as the bulldozer ran over the man, leaving him embedded in the soft dirt. His arm was twisted grotesquely at the elbow and Luis thought he could still see small spasms in the legs and arms. A small boy watched the scene and then turned back to shovel more dirt. A little girl cried and was promptly shushed by a woman, maybe her mother. The more he looked, the more he could see bodies lying in the dirt – men, women, and children. A small girl with blonde hair lay face up, her head twisted and her left arm nearly sheared off.

“Oh my God,” Kathy moaned. He wanted to console her but could barely keep himself from breaking apart. This was hell.

They were looking for something that Martin wanted very badly. Luis clutched the staff and wondered if they had found it. Kathy was sobbing.

"Kathy, let's get out of here and get help," he said, hoping she could keep it together. He rolled away from the pit and looked for guards. Their pit had been located beside the crater on one end and near the woods on the other. He couldn’t spot anyone so they began to crawl and made it to the edge of the woods. He motioned to Kathy and she quickly followed. Good, maybe she was okay. They waited for a few minutes and when no one approached they got up and ran. The roar and grunts of machinery and another explosion urged them on.

Eventually they emerged from the woods onto a trail. He slowed a little to let Kathy catch up. Although they were both panting and sweat ran down Luis forehead and back, they didn't stop. A branch smacked his face and he stuck his arms out to guard his face.

They turned a bend, went up a small hill and then Luis came to a dead stop. There were two figures in front of him blocking the path. He pulled Kathy off the path and they plunged into the woods.

If the branches and brambles had scratched him before, they tore at Luis now. He kept tripping over branches and tree roots and nearly lost a shoe in a muddy field. A thorn scratched the side of his face. He let go of Kathy's hand but she kept up. She looked determined and plunged through the woods with no regard to her body.

Behind them came the sound of cracking branches and trampled brush. Their pursuers advanced like armored vehicles, impervious to whatever was in their path.

Kathy fell and he stopped. Gunfire echoed through the woods, Several bullets passed over their heads. Kathy tried to pick herself up but she was hyperventilating with fear and exhaustion. She began to sob.

"Luis, I can't make it, please kill me here. I can't stand it anymore." He yanked her to her feet.

"I abandoned you once, not again.”

The rod was still in his right hand but it was getting heavier. He was tired, damn tired. He whacked more bushes out of the way and caught a sharp branch in the face. Their progress slowed and he heard more shots. He looked around and just then the woods erupted in gunfire. Luis pulled Kathy onto the ground and watched as trees and shrubs were torn to pieces. Luis knew they were surrounded.

A figure plunged through the woods and Kathy backed away and screamed. Luis jumped to his feet and swung the staff. He recognized their assailant. It was Joe Prentice, a mechanic at the Wellow Falls gas station. His once immaculate hair was matted and dirty and his short sleeve shirt was shredded and soiled.

He tried to stop but his forward momentum was to strong. The rod hit him in the stomach and erupted, sending a static pulse of white lightening through his body.

Joe howled. His eyes bulged in pain and surprise as the energy sizzled around his body before completely engulfing it. Joe’s body disintegrated, leaving only a small ball of energy like a firefly that whizzed around for a few seconds before blinking out and disappearing. Around them the trees and bushed smoldered.

The rod looked normal. He stopped and listened. The woods were quiet for an instant before gunfire erupted again, pushing them forward.

No time to think, he told himself. No time to contemplate what had just happened with the staff.

He couldn't hear them, but Luis new that they were being followed. They hung back because of the rod but how long would that last?

Exhaustion overtook them and their mad dash became a jog and then a brisk walk. He had a bad cramp in his side and even the fear of being caught couldn’t motivate him to move any faster. His lungs hurt when he breathed and his legs were barely capable of keeping him upright. Kathy groaned and leaned against a tree to rest for a moment.

She bent over to relieve the cramps.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, no, I don't know.” At least she seemed to be pulling herself together, he thought. They started walking again and Luis heard sounds through the trees.

They paused and then cautiously advanced. Cars drove by. Horns honked occasionally and even less often he could hear a human shout or curse.

"Traffic," Kathy said excitedly. They crept closer and emerged from the woods on an outcrop above Main Street. Luis could see the small shopping center and the intersection of Main and Fay Street, the dead center of Wellow Falls. While the streets and stores had been empty two days ago, today they were crowded with cars and people. A line of traffic formed at the intersection and he could see someone looking around to determine whether or not the gas station was open. He turned his head and saw where the traffic was going. It forked along Main St., took a left on Burrow Drive, and then disappeared down the steep hill that marked the beginning of Estates Road.

Standing every few feet from the cars directing the traffic were Wellow Falls policeman. Luis could see Sergeant McCleary giving directions to a sleek black limousine and another unfamiliar officer was standing impassively watching the cars drive towards the resort.

"It's Labor Day and they are all going to the resort, just like Martin planned. Look at all of the limousines." He counted nearly fifteen of them caught in the traffic. Wellow Falls didn’t have an airport and even the wealthiest and most powerful waited in traffic.

Should they approach the police and motorists for help? Three figures broke through the trees behind them. No time to think, we've got to move forward.

"Kathy, follow my lead. Play along with what I do." She nodded her head and they broke from the woods. Out of the corner of his eyes Luis could see their pursuers reach the edge and stop, not wanting to advance beyond the forest edge and alert and surprise the tourists.

"Help!" Luis screamed, "Help my wife is hurt. Please somebody help me!" Cars came to a stop and doors opened as startled tourists reacted to the calls for help. Several ran off the side of the road and came over to investigate. As they approached, Kathy took her cue and collapsed in Luis's arms.

"What happened? I'm a doctor," a bespectacled thin man said as huffed and puffed towards them. Another woman joined the group and then a rather portly fellow came over. He wiped the sweat from his face with a handkerchief and looked at Kathy.

"Whatever happened, don't worry, I can handle this, I'm a lawyer." Several other people joined them and Luis could see Sergeant McCarthy giving instructions to one of his men. He smiled, nodded his head, and began to approach.

"She's has multiple scratches and lacerations, what happened to her?" the doctor asked as he rolled up his sleeves and began to probe her body. Luis saw the policeman approaching and made his decision.

"Police brutality." The crowd silenced and a woman gasped.

"That's horrible, police brutality in Wellow Falls?" The policeman was almost beside them and Luis quickly embellished the story.

"We were stopped for speeding and they walked us into the forest. The tied me and chained my wife to a tree. You can see the marks around her neck." He began to sniffle and the group closed in to hear his words."

"It's okay, go on," the lawyer said trying to contain his excitement.

"They tore her clothes off and raped her." He turned away from his wife and buried his head in his hands.

"What a bunch of animals," he heard the woman say. The policeman reached the group and Luis could almost smell the foul rot. He was one of them, no doubt about it.

"What's going on here?" the officer asked somewhat rudely.

"Don't you come near this woman," the lawyer said putting his sizable girth between the officer and the group. "We have reason to suspect someone from your force abused her and you would do best to stay back and not get involved." The officer looked perplexed.

"Whatever happened, I'm sure..."

"Sure nothing, I'll take this couple to the next town and we'll handle the matter from there." The commotion had begun to attract attention and more cars stopped. A larger group formed around them. Perhaps this would work, perhaps they would actually get out of Wellow Falls alive.

Several bystanders carried Kathy over to the lawyer's car and placed her in the back seat. Luis climbed in next to her and gently stroked her hair. The lawyer explained what was going on to his wife and she compassionately turned her head and looked at them.

"My husband is the best. He'll get you justice." He's doing more than you can think, much more than you can think, Luis thought. Sergeant McCarthy came over to the car and poked his head through the front window.

"What's your name sir?"

"David Scwartz."

"Well Mr. Scwartz, I understand the situation and appreciate you taking time away from your visit to Wellow Falls in order to help this couple. Whatever did happen, I assure you that justice will be served. I would like to keep this incident within my own jurisdiction, you understand."

"Officer, there's nothing that you can say that will stop me from bringing this girl to another town." A pause, a smile, and then McCarthy pursed his lips.

"I understand. Well then, would you at least let me provide you with a police escort. The traffic is pretty bad and we'll make sure you whisk right through town."

"No, we don't need an escort," Luis said from the back seat. McCarthy turned his head and looked at Luis. He stared at the rod in his hands. Luis looked under the chin and spotted the slight ridge of hell. The lawyer and officer stared at each other for a moment before the lawyer turned back and spoke to Luis.

"There's no harm in taking the escort."

"No, please, no escort." David lowered his voice.

"I understand your feeling, but if they want to give us an escort, there's nothing we can do."

Luis grudgingly nodded his head. David put the car into drive and did a U-turn onto the opposite side of the road. The police car followed a decent space behind and they slowly drove though Wellow Falls Center. Luis wanted to make sure they took the most congested route with the highest number of onlookers. He directed them onto Barthol Street and the traffic thinned somewhat but did not disappear.

David's wife turned around and stared at Kathy.

"Don't you worry, we'll get her to a hospital soon."

"We really appreciate it." Luis looked out the back window and noticed that an additional police car had joined the escort. David Scwartz scowled.

"There's something strange going on here." He stepped on the accelerator and the car pulled away for an instant before the police cars matched their speed.

"Is there something more to this story? You know police corruption, kickbacks, a history of brutality that you or your wife uncovered?" the lawyer asked as a third police car appeared from a side street and joined the pack. Luis didn't know how to answer. The reporter watched the houses pass and decided it was not time to divulge the truth. Only when they were out of Wellow Falls would he tell about the murders, the cemetery, the undead, and the huge pit being dug at the center of the dying town. Luis looked back again and wiped the sweat from his forehead. As he opened his mouth to respond, a car on the opposite side of the road swerved across the median strip and aimed its nose directly at the side of David's sedan.

"Oh shit!" David yanked the wheel and slammed on the brakes but that couldn’t prevent the oncoming car from hitting them near the hood. Luis saw the world spin by and he felt Kathy trying to struggle up from her lying position. There was a crash and the window cracked and then shattered all over the lawyer and his wife.

The car spun at least 360 degrees before coming to a stop. For a second, Luis couldn’t hear anything and then sound rushed back in. Sirens blared behind them and David groaned from the front seat. Luis cautiously peered out the window and saw that the car was up on a sidewalk in front of a small yellow house. The staff lay at his feet and he reached down to grab it. Before he could, the doors were flung open and Luis was yanked from the car. The police stuffed him into a cruiser. Kathy was shoved in beside him and the doors slammed shut. The police sirens blared as the cruiser sped away from the accident. Luis realized they were headed in the opposite direction, back into the heart of Wellow Falls.

He wanted to react, he wanted to do something but his mind was numb and battered. It was only after a few minutes that he realized the staff was no longer in his hands. Luis smelled the fetid odor of rot. Kathy looked unhurt but petrified. He tried to smile at her but he imagined that his own shock must have made it look like a ghastly grimace. She stared at her feet and said nothing.

What happened to David and his wife? If they were lucky, they’d be dead.

A familiar voice came from the front seat.

"Recognize it Luis? Martin said, holding up one end of the staff. You've done good work. It might have taken me days to find this and you just simply dig it up. By itself it's really nothing. The power you summoned was just residual energy. But with the right combination, we'll be able to do wonders. I must admit, I was surprised when I heard that you were gone. I didn't think the two of you were that resourceful. I wondered to myself, 'what is Luis going to do? Where is he going to run? After tomorrow at the Lake, the movement will be everywhere. We’re going to spread like a virus,” he said, cackling and doing a little dance.