The Thing in the Dark to Fear

Chapter 11

The ride took them three hours west, and then onto a dirt road through some very dark woods. Kristen dosed on and off until the car departed the hardtop. Although she had analyzed her feelings for Jimmy, and his failure to openly identify the danger of their mission, she could really relate to JR. He was about her age and light hearted.
Kristen knew she could still be vulnerable to some unforeseen misfortune or attack. Mentally pushing aside the vampire incident made it easier to focus on trying to discover the nature of these people. Why had her dreams included Jimmy and JR? Did the night’s events warrant an answer to the question? Were her dreams a warning of things to come? Were her dreams of events already transpired?
The turn onto the dark dirt road commanded her attention. She had no idea where she was or really whom she was with. Alert in her posture, Kristen did not realize how strongly she communicated her high level of vigilance. She tried to hide her growing unease caused by the desolate road. JR smiled to himself as her heavy sigh of relief betrayed her insecurity. The lights of the house lit the area very well. There were plenty of cars parked in front of the house and on the side of the dirt road. Kristen was relieved to see there should be lots of people.
The house looked like a big log home. Once inside, she inhaled deeply the aroma of cooking food. The place had the look of a ski lodge; stone fire-pit in the center of the room, large timber support beams on the walls and ceiling, a loft area over looking the entire greater room in which she stood. The walls and tables were decorated with more than a few animal trophies: various deer, bear, goats, and boar. Music filled the air, not because of the volume, but rather because there were several speakers around the room. Kristen quickly assessed that the building was built for leisure and entertainment.
JR led her straight to the restroom. After freshening up, she looked at the clothes she wore. JR’s T-shirt tucked into her jeans, no real make-up, and a wind blown tease in her wavy hair. She washed the remaining mascara from her face, pulled back her hair and held it in place with a rubber-band, and took in a deep breath. Looking at her reflection, Kristen released the air through her nose. Be brave, she encouraged her reflection.
JR led her onto the patio in the back of the home. There were several people up and about, many of whom greeted JR and Kristen. Several chairs were around a fire at the far side of the yard. As she followed JR, the layout of the place became more apparent. The patio opened up to a well-groomed spa of sorts. There was a nice sized pool, two hot tubs, many table and chair sets, and lounge chairs. The fire was in a low stone pit. Several people were around it on chairs, towels, or blankets. The lighting was much better here and the layout of the house was much more visible. It wasn’t a house at all. Several numbered doors belied the layout of a guesthouse or lodge. Each of the rooms had a door opening to the pool area, and the rooms on the upper floor could be accessed by a stairway on either end of a common mezzanine. An outbuilding had showers and toilets. Tents peppered the grounds around the wood line.
JR interrupted Kristen’s survey of the place by taking her hand in his. “There’s the grill,” he pointed. “Come on,” then he smirked with a twinkle in his eye, “you shouldn’t drink on an empty stomach.”
Kristen just smiled politely and nodded. She got a plate of roasted pork, baked beans, and a dinner roll, then followed JR to a table where they sat down.
“What is this place? I thought we were going to your dad’s house.” She looked about as she chewed.
JR nodded until he had swallowed the food he was chewing. “Yeah, this is it. He bought it to open a hunting ranch, but he got into a different business. Now it’s just,” he shook his head searching for the words. ”Now it’s just home,” he finally said with a shrug. “By the way, you’re here for the night, unless you get a taxi, which will cost you about seven hundred and fifty five bucks to get home.” JR shrugged, “no local taxi service. Any way, we have plenty of blankets and pillows.” He shoved more food in his mouth.
“What time is it?” Kristen thought about calling her folks.
“Three-thirty,” said JR, looking at his watch. He pulled a portable phone out of his shirt pocket and handed it to Kristen.
She held up a hand to indicate she did not need it. “I’ll call in the morning. So, does your dad know what you do?” Kristen picked a piece of roasted pork from her plate and bit into it.
“Yeah, he knows, so do most of the people here. They’ll keep watch over us. We’ll be safe from anything that goes bump in the night. It works out well that you wanted to tag along. This is holy ground.” He continued eating and watched her reaction.
Kristen looked around again. “What do you mean, they know? Keep watch for what? Holy ground?” It sounded incredulous to Kristen.
“Not everyone knows, but most of them do. These people will stay up all night long. They watch to make sure of two things. The first is to make sure no monsters followed us. The second, is to make sure we don’t develop an allergic reaction to sunlight in the morning.” He nodded to indicate what she was thinking was true. “This place used to be a compound for priests to take sabbatical. They always bless their property.”
Kristen stopped chewing and thought about what JR had just said. “Do they know the details of tonight?”
“Probably not yet, and just the fact that we came here pretty much says were safe to be around.” JR wiped his mouth with a napkin and sat back. “When you’re done eating we’ll check on Pops.”

Knocking on the door lightly, JR waited, listened for a response. Kristen examined some of the scenes from the Passion play that hung on the walls at regular intervals. A young woman answered the door. The straps of her red bikini top could be seen under the pink tank top with the words ‘Life Guard’ above a red cross on the front. She was very busty, blond, and had a perfect smile.
“Hay, JR,” she whispered. “Come on in.”
JR waved a hand indicating Kristen should enter the room first. Kristen smiled at the young woman holding the door open, thinking that maybe the young woman was JR’s younger sister. She saw another blond young woman, in blue shorts and a white bikini top, straddling a prone man on the bed, with his face buried between two pillows. Kristen suddenly felt very awkward. Kristen’s smile tightened as she stepped into the room, and she could clearly see that the woman on the bed was rubbing oil on the man’s back. The room smelled of scented candles and massage oil.
Kristen wasn’t easily fooled, although they might be in the hills, she doubted even the most backward hillbillies invited strangers into a room if they were carrying on like this. Her discomfort intensified slightly as she felt very much like an intruder. These couldn’t be JR’s sisters, she quickly guessed. The woman on the bed looked over her shoulder and smiled at JR and Kristen, in turn.
“Hay, JR,” she said in an excited tone, while waving an oily palm. Twisting to wave over her shoulder accentuated her extravagantly voluptuous figure. Kristen was feeling like a troll again.
Kristen immediately looked back at the young lady that answered the door, and realized the two must be twins. The man pulled his head slowly up, apparently with some effort, from between the pillows and looked over his shoulder. Kristen was caught completely off guard.
Jimmy waved at both JR and Kristen.
“Hay, Pops,” JR said in an enthusiastic greeting.
“Jimmy!?” Kristen was confused. “What in the hell is going on here!?”
Jimmy dropped his face back into the pillows, with resignation.

JR did all the talking as Jimmy’s neck had suffered some significant trauma to include stress to his vocal chords. He poured more bourbon into Jimmy’s glass and handed it to him. JR sat on the side of the bed and examined Jimmy’s neck, as he spoke. Jimmy silently participated in the examination by moving his head with JR’s guiding hands.
“We are investigators. Sometimes we discover things, like Vampires.” JR stopped his examination of Jimmy’s injuries to smile at Kristen. “Vampires are dead, but they need a little extra encouragement to stay that way. One of the services we provide is offering that encouragement.” JR turned his attention back to Jimmy. “It ‘s not something we can advertise but it does require a large support network of friends and professionals. Most of the people here tonight have lost friends or family to Vampires. Some are affiliated with Christian organizations that support our… Crusade.”
Jimmy’s struggle with Anthony’s fingers had resulted in well-defined marks on his neck and throat. Kristen was listening but her body language, crossed arms and a rigid glare, indicated that she was not warming to the story or the present company.
Kristen had an epiphany. “So that’s how a gay man earns the trust of Police Chiefs and Clergymen.” She was proud of her deduction and her smile indicated as much.
JR and Jimmy exchanged glances, and they both smiled. Kristen felt really foolish when the twins giggled. Ruby and Sapphire, the twins, got up to leave.
“We’ll be right back,” Ruby said, “just getting some food and ice. Leave the door open,” she added sternly.
Kristen, JR, and Jimmy followed the women’s exit with their eyes. Amazingly sprite and nimble figures, the twins affected everyone they met. They had the affect of leaving one’s heart yearning for something. Kristen felt frumpy in comparison.
“Have you ever met an interrogator,” JR asked pulling Kristen’s attention back to the room? “They spend days getting into character, they can be real A-holes. If Pops was queer, he would have been getting a rubdown from Randy and Steve, not Ruby and Sapphire. But if you’re gay, and at a museum, people tend to politely let you have your space.”
Kristen searched JR’s face for telltale sings of deception, but he rarely wore anything but a smirk. Kristen seethed, and carried her glare from JR to Jimmy. Jimmy wiggled his eyebrows in response.
“So, the twins are more than just friends?” Kristen felt betrayed and exploited now.
“Aren’t they awesome,” JR asked with bubbling enthusiasm?
Kristen raised her brows questioningly, and Jimmy poked him in the back with an elbow.
JR tried to curb his enthusiasm, “well, they provide health care. And…we don’t have insurance… and they’re medical students.” His face wore the expression of a boy sharing an amazing discovery.
Kristen shook her head and smiled. “Yeah. Would it have been too much trouble for someone to have been honest and let me know what I was getting into,” she asked the two of them?
JR looked at Jimmy and then Kristen. “No way, Lady, you’re bait.”
Jimmy saw the agitation flare in Kristen’s eyes, and he poked JR in the ribs again.
“Will you relax?” JR was looking at Kristen but said it loud enough to communicate his discomfort to Jimmy. “We’ve read reports that some Vamps can hear the internal dialog of the people around them. If they can read minds, it is easier to detect a trap.” JR gave Kristen a mock expression of bewilderment and added, “besides, would any of this have sounded credible?”
“You used me, risked my life, and lied to me about… everything!” Kristen moved to the door, then turned. “Not that it matters, but you don’t even look old enough to be a father son team.” She turned and walked out of the room.

Kristen was very hurt, confused, and angry with Jimmy. If he had told her he was pretending to be gay, it would have indicated she was trusted. If someone had mentioned the fact that they suspected a vampire, well, she would not have been so cavalier. Kristen thought of Stephan and the link they had shared. How he touched a spot in her soul, and how they had exchanged wordless ideas. And how an attack on him, felt like an attack on her.
Thinking more about how it could have ended, Kristen knew how terrified she would have been had she made the slightest connection between Stephan and the wolf-like creature of her dream. Kristen knew she would not have had anything to do with any of it. They had all lied to her, used her as bait in a game of life and death, and to make things worse, now she was more attracted to Jimmy. But what chance did she have against twins? Especially those twins?
Kristen stewed in her anger as she walked in silence. Down the hall she stopped at a utility closet where JR reached around her and pulled out two blankets and two pillows. Stepping out of the lodge they passed the twins, who were on their way back in.
“Keep a good watch, Ladies,” JR said as they passed.
“Good night, JR,” they said in unison.
Then to Kristen he said, “If he shows signs of changing, they will drive a steak into his heart and cut off his head.”
Kristen immediately thought, “now that’s a job I would like.”
JR added with a smirk and a nod, “and if we need it, there’s no shortage of help.”
This did not sit well with Kristen but she didn’t say anything. She was in denial. Her mind was still trying to wrestle with everything that had happened in the past few hours. It was quite enough shock to have a mind-link with someone seconds before they were decapitated. She tried to stay focused on the big picture, but with each new piece of the puzzle, she felt like the butt of some sick joke. It was just too much and she was trying to keep it together. Holding onto her anger did not quite offer tangible balance, but it would have to do for now.
They settled down by the fire and listened to the guitars and soft singing. There were some children still up and about, some wondering around in groups, others being held by adults. There were many young couples, but most of the people here were parents or older couples: bikers, farmers, and town folks. Some were probably very affluent, while some were possibly financially destitute. In this setting, what struck her as beautiful was the fact that there were no frowns. The women were all beautiful, not because of any particular physical attribute, but because they looked happy. They were the center of someone’s world. Kristen became acutely aware of how lonely she was.
Looking at the men, she thought they were beautiful as well. Some handsome, some not, but most were either holding a woman or child. They too, looked content.
JR poured more wine in her cup. They were on the same blanket, facing each other, lying on their sides. “Are you okay,” he asked?
“Yeah, how about you?”
“I feel just fine, thank you.” JR’s cheeks were rosy from drinking.
Kristen realized her anger had ebbed.
“Well,” JR said, “we’re going to sack out right here. If you need anything, wake me.” With a twinkle in his eye and that smirk on his lips, he added, “if I start humping your leg in my sleep, try not to wake me.”
Kristen smiled at JR and felt very comfortable. “Thank you, JR, for everything.” She gestured her surroundings, “for bringing me here, for making me feel comfortable, for…” She started to tear up thinking about the beast, the last few hours, and the emotional roller coaster she had been on in the last week.
He put his hand on her shoulder, “You know, it may not seem like it, but this has been a really tough night. Just the amount of adrenaline we had coursing through our bodies is enough to screw up our biorhythm for a month. Emotionally, we’ll need the entire weekend to wind down. And that’s just me. I know about your recent loss, and I’m sorry. I know you’ve got questions, and unresolved grief. You’re safe here. Get some rest. Besides, you don’t have to snuggle with me, I was half kidding.”
Kristen hugged JR to thank him, but he was so accepting of her and he returned her hug so robustly, she never withdrew. Kristen closed her eyes and silently sobbed herself to sleep. She rested fitfully.
In her dream, all the people around them watched. They were ready to pounce. She saw knives, wooden stakes, baseball bats, and sharp sticks. Their eyes never blinked.
“I am utterly alone,” she thought.

The following morning, JR drove Kristen home and briefly answered her questions. Jimmy was only 10 years JR’s senior, because Jimmy and his wife had adopted JR when he was twelve years old. It was a rough first two years, then when things were looking up, Connie, his step mom, left.
“I’m sorry,” Kristen said. “That must have been tough for you.”
“Well,” JR said with a far away gaze, “it would have been much worse if she stayed.” Reluctant to say anything bad about Connie, JR felt he should not have added that last snippet of opinion.
“Oh,” she winced in sympathy, “did they fight a lot?”
“Well, things were tense. She worked a lot and they didn’t sleep together. Let’s just say that’s when Pop’s should have started drinking...” JR smiled to himself but became instantly distant.
“Does Jimmy drink a lot?”
“He’s the most responsible, wise, and kind person I know. But he can be rude, lawless, and quite the scrapper.” JR smiled, “he was never like that when I was a kid, but when I went off to college, he just opened up.”
“So, he drinks a lot.”
“Well, he can hold his own.” JR did not say anything else about the issue.
Kristen did not know if it was a joke or not. JR seemed to be lost in thought.
Kristen had been through a great deal of stress and her life was definitely never going to be the same. Her dreams, the loss of her sister, her insight into the secret lives of some of the people of her home town, and the fact that monsters were not make believe, collectively conspired as if to illustrate some edifying lesson. She just wasn’t sure what it was.
They traveled familiar roads, but Kristen felt strangely out of place. Spiritually, she was at a crossroad. At a loss for the comfort the lies provided, she could never go back to the things she believed.
“Be strong,” she thought. “Be strong.”

JR glanced at Kristen and knew he should keep her talking. She seemed very distant. “Kristen?”
Kristen watched the land roll by for a few moments, before she answered. “Yes.”
“I think you should know,” JR began deliberately careful with his words, “that things didn’t go as planned last night.”
“Really?” Kristen was amused and curious about the boys having a plan at all.
“The plan was to draw out someone, or something, and see where it lead. But Pops freaked out and pulled a John Wayne. I don’t really understand what happened but I do know that we’ve been through a lot, and you most of all.” JR wanted to convey something along the lines of compassion, but he was still strung out from the previous evening as well.
“Well, JR, I guess it’s my fault for allowing myself to get caught up in this thing.” Kristen smiled the polite smile she habitually gave anyone in passing. Deep down, she knew she was responsible for anything that happened to her.
“Kristen, we, Pops and me, are both sorry that things went badly. I know you’re still suffering the loss of a loved one, and I can’t imagine how you feel, but it is important for you to understand that these recent events were very traumatic. It would be natural for you to experience a kind of spiritual unbalance. You’re strong enough to cope, and you’re definitely not helpless. You’ll get through this okay, and be stronger for it.”
Kristen gazed at JR and wondered how he could have so much confidence in her, when she hardly knew who she was, and what was going on anymore.
“You have school to keep your mind occupied,” JR felt limited in his ability to help and floundered for words. “And, well, I want you to know you can call me any time, and I would like to keep in touch.”
Kristen smiled a vacant smile.
JR took her hand and squeezed it. “You helped us rid the world of a grave danger. This is something we do out of compassion. Pop’s and me, we’ve never been victimized by Vamps. It’s just something he stumbled onto, and he trusted me enough to help. We just do it, because we can. I know what it’s like to find out.” JR almost added that he didn’t have the perspective of someone that had been used as bait, but he thought better of it. “It’s okay to be confused about your life right now, but it’s our ability to be sympathetic to the distress of others that marks our humanity. Being strong for others will help you get through this.” He squeezed her hand and added, “be strong.”
“So, you want me to be strong, for you and Jimmy?” Kristen was having trouble understanding what JR was trying to say.
“No,” JR was at a loss for expressing anything tender. “When I found out, I felt betrayed. I turned away from Pops.” JR remembered the feeling well. “Then, I started helping out at the church. I volunteered my time, and I found strength in reaching out to people. I guess when I was exposed to people that needed a hand, I realized that my selfishness was my problem. People looked to me for help, and I realized that Pops had done the same.” JR shrugged and added, “I got over it.”
Kristen smiled and asked, “how long did it take you to come to terms with this… new reality?”
JR knew she wanted to know how long she would be off balance, so he lied. “About six months.”