Old Lady Eldridge

Old Lady Eldridge



What is it about curiosity that the human mind finds so exciting and exhilarating? What makes the human race attracted to taunting the unknown, and what makes the species refuse to heed the warning, "Leave well enough alone?" Are we so damned in our own need for pointless discovery that we will do anything, and stop at nothing to achieve our heart's desire of a quick fix; even if it involves impending danger?

This is a warning for anybody who will hear it. If you are one of these individuals who take this terrible curiosity to the level of prying into the affairs of a seemingly quiet, and normal old lady, who has been the subject of intense rumors for years, then make your choice. Do you have the nerve to hear the story I am about to tell you?

Think long and hard before trying this out on the elderly lady next door, because there is always something strange, and a little bit frightening about quiet, old ladies, who seldom venture out of their house.

Ms. Eldridge was no exception to the theory. She was quiet and rarely seen outside by neighbors. Her body consisted of a short, hunch-back frame, and her head was covered in gray-brown, stringy hair, that looked as if she had been dead for decades, but came back to life in the process of her hair dying in the act of decomposition. The skin hung off her face and neck like icicles dangling from ice storm stricken trees. Her eyes were green, beady, and watery, as if she existed for the primary purpose of staying drugged up on cocaine. She lived alone in a moderate sized, dull, yellow bricked one-story house, with large bushes stretching their limbs to keep portions of the front inconspicuous. In her backyard was a large, three man storage unit.

It wasn't clear if she enjoyed the companionship of a husband, or if she dated anybody at all. In fact, it wasn't even known how she maintained a refrigerator. She would have to get in a car, and drive down to the supermarket in order to buy her food; but she stayed inside most of the time, and if she did leave her house, it was only to take a walk to the mailbox.

One day she made quite a scene among the community on Dubuque Street. Her thin, frail, body frame wasn't built by the Creator to haul in the large object that she carried into her house in secret that day. The unknown object was covered by a huge plastic bag and appeared to have a human-like shape. So strong and energetic was the thin, wan, old lady, that kids kept a great distance between themselves and her house; for they knew at her age, she must have possessed a cane. The incident with the bag was lost in oblivion, and soon, old lady Eldridge was forgotten by the majority.

On the night June 4, 1994; Joel Tucker, and Bo Heiserman, two youths, decided to play a trick on the lady. Their mission involved going into her backyard, banging on her back door, stepping into the storage shed, staying there for a minute, and then leaving. The plan seemed simple. It would go off without a hitch. The woman was after all, hunchback, and very old. How fast could she move if she wanted to get them off her property?

The two boys snuck out of their houses at eleven pm, and met up with each other at the edge of the old lady's driveway. Joel flicked the lighter he always kept with him, pointing the rising flame at his chin. "This is old lady Eldridggggg. I have come for you Bo! Muhahahahaha!"

"Very funny wise ass!" Bo snickered with a hard fist to Joel's left shoulder.

The full moon shone in its brilliance, while the earth remained in restful darkness on Dubuque Street. Eldridge moved about one of the front rooms of her house, unaware of the plan set in motion by the two boys; or... was she?

"What is the old bat doing?" Bo pointed towards the window.

Joel responded, "Maybe she is waiting on us! Waiting to drive her cane into our brains and pick them out for pleasure!"

Bo shook his head and followed Joel to the side gate leading into the back yard of the old lady. They arrived at the back door, pinning their ears to the wood, like kids keeping quiet while listening in on their parents engaged in sexual intercourse. There were small footsteps a good distance away from the door. Bo stepped back and tip toed to his left. Joel whispered, "You knock first, and then run to the shed. I will stand here and keep knocking until she comes. You just get ready to run. I am going to see if I can hear her come to the door before I meet up with you."

Bo stepped back into the position he was in before he heard the old lady's footsteps, and pounded at the door three times. He ran as fast as his legs would allow him, towards the unit, when his right foot caught the edge where the monkey grass mingled with the patio. He rolled into the grass as if he were in the process of smothering the flames from spontaneous combustion. When he found his feet again, he swung open the storage door. He pulled it far enough shut to where he could still see his friend, but not to the point where he could see the face of the old lady. Joel looked back at him, giving him a right thumbs up. Bo shut the door, and waited for Joel's seal of approval to get the hell out of dodge.

As time went by, something felt wrong within Bo's realm of logic and common sense. He was still in there, and Joel never sounded the alarm for them to leave the old lady's premises. Bo didn't hear him knock at the back door, and he never heard the sound of the door open after his first attempt to conjure up old lady Eldridge. Maybe Joel was standing with his back against the house, waiting, while the old lady, with the pace of an autistic tortoise, slowly made her way to see who was at the door.

A sudden breeze, like a thief in the night, slapped at the sides of the storage shed, causing him to jolt. The air inside was stiff, and the odor was anything but pleasant. Man, I should have taken a shower before I came. Bo thought. He then replayed the events that night before he snuck out of the house and met up with Joel. He did recall taking a shower. His mother reminded him to wash good under his arms, because she knew how boys could get while playing football in the heat.

The odor increased, and the air stiffened further. Another hard breeze hit the walls. Trailing at the heels of the breeze were soft, gentle, footsteps approaching the door. Bo smiled. Good, we can finally get out of here! His mind screamed. There were two more steps closer; then... a pause, and all was quiet for about five long minutes. Bo stepped back, and then another step. He wasn't alone! His back brushed against something frigid at the back wall. A chilly, slimy goo tickled his back, as if macabre itself personified into a real live being, poking him in the back with its ridicule.

"Hm hm hm hm!" The deep chuckle outside the shed rang in his ears, like a fleet of mosquitoes on a silent, summer night. There was another footstep. The air stiffened, while at the same time, macabre tickled his back again. He swung open the door; the world was not where he left it before he entered into the unit. It was filled with all the horrors of the worst nightmares the human mind will allow the victim to experience.

Old Lady Eldridge stood there holding up the corpse of Joel with her right hand, like a fishermen hoisting an enormous bass. His face was pulled apart, elongated downward in a horrific look of eternal shock. His eyes were double their original size and his nose curled towards the direction of his long, pulled apart jaw. My God, her grin! It wasn't of human race origin. She stretched all of her facial muscles outward; molding together a smile, with the curves crossing the boundaries of her temples. One should never wish for this grin to befall their worst enemies; for that would not be of the nature of a merciful God, and He is kind to those who are unjust as well.

Saliva dripped off her teeth like trickles of water falling from a broken faucet. The white, night clothes hung from her frail body, as if they were trying to escape. There was something different about her eye sockets, than what was previously known about her within the community of Dubuque Street. In the center of her black, hollow, sockets were green, dots of light. They expanded, then decreased like a dying heart, slowly pumping blood, then shutting down.
She drug her feet towards Bo, as Joel's corpse hung in her huge, right hand, like a punished girl dragging her doll through the house in an act of pouting. She stopped, and turned her head in what had to be a ten second motion, suggesting her brain was almost done for. She looked at Joel's corpse with eyes that stared through his body and into his soul. With substantial force, the old lady threw the corpse aside, and drug her feet again at Bo.

He stepped out of the shed, but was held back by a cold, dead weight pressed hard against his back. Bo turned his head to see a body leaning on top of him. His face was pulled apart, elongated downward in a look of eternal shock. Screams murdered the twelve a.m. silence on Dubuque Street. A young boy got more than what he bargained for, and he would be ravaged by these thoughts day in and day out, while serving his time at a mental health facility.

Old Lady Eldridge was nowhere to be found by daybreak. Only shreds of her night clothes were seen to be lying in a neat pile in the middle of her backyard by the examinations of forensic and police authorities. The two bodies had disappeared without a trace, and the door to the storage shed swung gently back and forth.
There are certain things on this earth which may seem harmless, but should never be tapped by human hands. These things come in all different shapes and varieties. They may come in the form of stumbling on a treasure of wealth-but beware of the man with the gun, ready to take your life for knowing too much.
Then there are those individuals who have lived on this earth a long time, and experienced the horrors, sadness, and atrocities of life; and they have accumulated all of these characteristics. They may seem harmless, but buried deep under the layers, beats a heart pumping out evil. They were meant to thrive in solitude.
I hope in all honesty that I have planted in your hearts the knowledge and wisdom you will need in order for you to go about life, and leave that which was made to be out of circulation with the rest of society.... alone!
Old Lady Eldridge's husband pried a little himself... a little bit too far!


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