Mischiefmakers: Dark Macabre Page 21

The battle resumes. The beast is voraciously attacked, as some of the doves wet themselves with its blood and flesh. The others quickly turn to battle the hoard of giant ravens. Bodies of ravens and doves are set aflame during combat.

  Father Johns watches as thedoves rip thebeastapart. Heremem - bers a passage from a book that foretold this event. Set aflame the wings of angels as their bodies fall from the clouds. His eyes flood with tears, so many that he’s unable to close them. Suddenly he hears a voice calling to him from the second floor, “Father, please come, help me, Father.” This light voice resounds over all the noise of the ensuing battle. Fire and ash are everywhere.

  Father Johns gathers himself and slowly walks up the stairs. Wiping his face and smearing the blood from his wounds, he stares into the darkness.

  “Melissa! The beast is a liar, its child is a liar!” The priest’s words fall on deaf ears. There is no response. As Father Johns turns up the stairway, he sees a bright light glowing from under the door leading to the attic.

  “Father, please come, help me, Father.” The voice cries out once more. Father Johns approaches the door and, slowly lift- ing his bleeding hand, opens it. Shielding his eyes, he climbs the wooden stairway leading into the attic. A harsh wind and blowing debris cause Father Johns to grip the wooden banister to maintain balance. Looking beyond his hand, he spots Melissa standing in front of an enormous circle of spiraling clouds. Her nightgown is soaked with blood, eyes pitch black, face expressionless. Her black hair dangles lifelessly, soaked with perspiration. She stands holding the long, sleek crimson-tainted black dagger.

  “I’m glad you were able to join us, preacher!” says the demon within Melissa.

  “It’s not too late, Melissa. We can stop this!” Father Johns screams, attempting to shout above the whistling winds emanating from the cloud tunnel. “You blame God for all that has happened to you! You blame God for what all the men and women repre- senting Him have done to you! Whoever it is, Melissa, they will pay for their sins, just like all others. It is not too late, Melissa, let your hate go!”

  “It is too late, Father. The prophecy has been fulfilled, I now own her soul. My guardians are coming, and they cannot be stopped.” Melissa’s eyes glow that evil green. “Melissa is gone, and soon you shall be, also!”

  “What about Sarah, Melissa? She loves you! She died coming to save you!” Father Johns sees hundreds of distant shadowy demons marching through the cloud tunnel. “Melissa, you must stop this!”

  “Fuck you, preacher! Fuck you! You will die now. I will gather jarfuls of your blood and drink from it each day until there is no more, starting now.” The demon within Melissa suddenly hurls the black dagger at Father Johns. A white halo of light appears over him, and the knife stops in mid-air, directly in front of his throat, just barely scraping his skin. A glowing hand reaches around Father Johns, caresses the dagger, then grasps it, crumbling it to dust.

  Father Johns looks back at the ghostly, featureless being.

  The demon within Melissa conjures another dagger that appears within Melissa’s grasp. Her eyes begin to fight the witchy green glow as she struggles with the demon within her. She grasps her hair in unspeakable pain with one hand. Still holding the knife tightly in the other hand, she swings it violently.

  “Sarah! Help me, Sarah!” Melissa screams as she stands there with her gown filthy with blood.

  “Melissa, you must fight your anger, your hate. The beast is using it against you. Think of those who loved you, remember your family.” As Father Johns yells, Melissa’s mind fills with child- hood memories of her and her sisters at the park. As they pass ice cream between each other, their laughter breaks Melissa’s anger. “What about Sarah, Melissa? She has always loved you. She said you two were like sisters. Don’t let the beast take over your heart. You screamed her name, now remember her.” Melissa’s mind flows with thoughts of Sarah and the great times they shared. Events flash through her mind from the time they first met to their first night at the apartment.

  “Fuck you, fuck you! It is too late, she belongs to me now, she has fulfilled her destiny! She will marry my father, Succubus!” Melissa’s eyes glow once more. The whirling winds increase in strength as the shadowy figures come even closer.

  Father Johns looks back at the ghostly figure and speaks ner- vously.

  “Sarah? I...I have to stop them before they walk into our world, I must go now.”

  Melissa stands in a defensive stance as if she will attack at any moment. Father Johns darts toward the swirling cloud gate- way, grasping his golden pendant, which continues to glow. Its brightness is so intense that the demon within Melissa shields her eyes.

  “No! What are you doing?” the demon within Melissa screams before it hurls the second dagger, striking Father Johns through the shoulder. The pain causes Father Johns to crumble. As he falls to the floor, he smashes his head on the wall. His eyesight explodes into a million throbbing stars.

  Melissa’s demon sees Father Johns is dazed. It conjures another dagger and races toward him. “I will tear you apart!” she promises. She releases a hideous scream. Swiftly the ghostly angel stops Melissa and embraces her.

  “Let go of me! Get off me! You can’t do this. We will be back. You cannot stop us, we will always be here. We will kill everything and rule beside our king!”

  The demon within Melissa screams and shrieks in agony as she turns and stabs repeatedly into the light. “Let me go!”

  5

  A

  t the Cathedral, young Vincent reads the note left to him, one side written to him, the other side bearing an address. Only a Messenger of God with an icon of his faith who is pure in life and in spirit may destroy the beast. Our salvation is our responsibility. We now find ourselves in a world of ignorance and sin. A world easily infiltrated by evil.

  Vincent, I am that messenger, my holy water will be my icon. I will fight the beast until either he, I, or both are dead. I must stop the lost souls of Asylum.

  If the black rain does not cease by this evening, I have failed. You have only one more moon. You must find an icon of your faith and follow my steps. If I am successful, the rain will stop. If I do not return, I am with my God.

  You must watch for them. They will return. Vincent reaches within his robe and from a silver chain, pulls a bright, silver crucifix that hangs proudly around his neck. Turning it on its backside he reads,

  Vincent,

  God will always love you. Mom.

  “I have my icon of faith, Father, I am ready.” Holding his brightly polished crucifix tightly, young Vincent Richards stands quiet and listens to the storm rage on.

  6

  Father Johns glares through the hurling winds as he struggles to lift himself. He sees the demons coming dangerously close to the end of the tunnel. He is startled by a high-pitched

  scream.

  “Sarah!” Melissa screams, while still in the grasp of the spirit.

  “Help me, Sarah!” Melissa battles the demon within her once

  more. “I can’t fight it, Sarah.”

  credit to: RoieG The ghostly figure speaks, with a voice only heard by Melissa. “Melissa, release your anger, it is not too late. I can help you.” “It is too late, Sarah, you can’t help her!” announces the demon. Father Johns stands upright as his shoulder dribbles blood. His

  golden pendant continues to glow, the holy water within it beginning to boil. Father Johns races toward the gateway of clouds. “No! You will die, preacher!” the demon screams.

  “This is my destiny!”

  Father Johns hurls himself into the whirling clouds. Imme- diately his body is consumed by the clouds, and he bursts into flames. He screams in pure agony, his eyes exploding in fire. Then Father Johns vanishes. The clouds hastily turn a deep black; the on-coming demons are no longer visible.

  An infant falls from under Melissa’s blood-tainted nightgown, crashing to the floor. It writhes and wriggles, gasping for air. Born premature, the baby is not yet fully developed. A
fter a moment, it stops moving and lies motionless as a thick, slimy film slides off its body. Its skin is a pale white, its head large and abnormal, its open eyes like black mirrors, with an emerald green tint. With its mouth quivering slightly, it speaks in a low scratchy tone.

  “You have not won, you have just delayed the inevitable.” The infant’s body turns white as chalk. Then it dries and crumbles into dust that whisks into the cloudy gateway just before it finally col- lapses.

  The room is suddenly quiet. Finally, the last winds of the evil storm whirl throughout the attic.

  Melissa dangles lifelessly within the arms of this figure of light. As she is embraced, a pure, white energy emerges from within the angel, engulfing them both.

  7

  Vincent stands in front of the spear-tipped steel gate of the Cathedral and watches the black clouds vanish and the morning sun peek through. He bows his head, praying for

  the safe return of his friend and teacher.

  “If you do not return, Father, I will watch for the signs. I will

  be ready,” he says quietly to himself. Raising his head, tears pour

  from his eyes. His heart tells him his teacher will not return. “I will

  be ready,” he says once more with strength.

  8

  “ Y ou hear about that weird weather they had in north Jersey last night?” the brawny bartender asks as he polishes the brass rail. The bar is quieter than normal for a Friday night,

  he thinks. None of the regular customers has come in tonight. No one, that is, except the woman pouring her heart out to him, seated in the middle of the bar with her second shot of vodka.

  “Yeah,” she answers. “I heard.” She stares at her drink and then downs it in one gulp. She sets the glass down on the bar and stares into space.

  Searching for something else to say, the bartender asks, “Anything you wanna talk about, Carolyn?”

  “I don’t know, Jeff.” With a gentle sigh, she continues. “It just seems like nothing ever goes right. I mean, no one in my life is worth shit.”

  “Nate giving you headaches again?”

  “It’s unbelievable, Jeff. The man knows I have a key, and his dumb ass can’t even pick up the woman’s panties off the floor!” The bartender laughs. When the woman doesn’t, he goes back to polishing the bar. She looks at him and sighs. “Men are so damn stupid.”

  “Hey now, we all aren’t like that. Look at me,” he says, “two kids, a beautiful wife, and I haven’t even looked at another woman since the day we met.”

  “You’re right, Jeff, not all of you are dogs, but there are enough of you who are.”

  “Just relax, one day you’ll meet someone who you will instantly know is the one, you’ll see.” He watches the woman stare into space. Then he shrugs and steps out from behind the bar. “I’ll be back, I have to get another case of beer.”

  Carolyn doesn’t notice the tall, handsome man step directly behind the empty chair beside her.

  “Anyone sitting here?” the man asks politely.

  “No.”

  “This is a nice place,” he says in an unsuccessful attempt to entice a pleasant conversation.

  “It’s okay,” she says, never looking up. The bartender returns, placing a case of beer behind the bar, noticing his new customer.

  “What can I get for you?”

  “Rum and coke, and you can get the lady another one of what- ever she’s having.”

  “I didn’t ask you to buy me a drink, I don’t even know you,” she says, slightly angered at the man’s arrogance.

  “I apologize, you’re right, I should have introduced myself.” The man stands and warmly extends his hand with a gentle smile and emerald eyes. “I’m Harry.”

  THE END

  About the Author

  Dr. Maasi J Smith was born in 1969 and is a native of New Jersey. He has spent the last 20 years living in the Philadelphia area. Dr. Smith received his Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree from Temple University’s School of Podiatric Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1999. He is also a graduate of Hampton University, 1992.

  “Mischiefmakers,” a spine-tingling tale of sheer horror, Dark Macabre Edition is the third printing. This revised edition is his first novel.

  He is the father of two beautiful daughters, Noelle and Nyla, who live in New Jersey.

  Author Interview

  1. Where did you get the idea for Mischiefmakers? Blame my mom she took me to scary movies when I was very young. I think Mischiefmakers started then, I recognized that I love scary movies at this young age. This book has always been there, it was just waiting to emerge.

  I started writing during my hiatus from podiatry school 95-96. Initially I was writing a book about growing up in Essex County NJ. Then my true inspiration came during the winter of 95. Stuck in traffic during a snow storm in Newark NJ. Sitting there I saw an abandoned building and imagined a very vivid scene. Remembering how much I loved scary movies, I went home and started to write, 65,000 words 5 months later Mischiefmakers was born. In fact the very first scene in the book is what imagined while starring at the abandoned building.

  2. Who are your favorite characters in your book and why? My favorite characters are the new evil entities I created that caused havoc within a scene. I have so much fun creating them. They become my favorite until I created the next…. Therefore I have many favorite characters in Mischiefmakers. If I have to choose one favorite character, it would be the skin-less child demon. Its childlike demeanor was fun to write.

  3. What type of book is Mischiefmakers?

  Psychological horror/ thriller. Evil, visible or not is always around

  4. How many books do you have in this series? This is a revised edition of my original 2001 edition. So Mischiefmakerswas reborn Fall of 2013, then Spring of 2014 I decided to create the Dark Macabre Edition.

  5. What is the Dark Macabre Edition? What makes it different from the recent version of Mischiefmakers? This edition is a visual nightmare, the original Mischiefmakers was simple text, Dark Macabre Edition is formatted to stimulate the reader visually and increase the fear factor. There have been illustrations added with macabre symbolism.

  6. What makes you choose to write horror? Simple, I love the boundless imagination you can have with suspense/horror/thrillers. I like scaring people. I can create my own world and do as I please. I think we all imagine ruling our own kingdom, in literature you can accomplish this dream. You create the characters, their interactions and their story. With horror you can play with the readers senses. Striking fear while giving them a thrilling ride.

  7. What was the first horror / thriller you read ? Gary Bradner , Doom Stalker, I still have the copy.

  8. Why do you think thriller books are so popular? The creativity, you can create your own world and invite your readers into a dark realm of mystery and suspense.

  9. What is next? I plan to start another thriller nightmare in the spring of 2014. Then hopefully from there I will put out another book every year.

  10. What makes Mischiefmakers, Dark Macabre Editiondifferent from other horror / thriller / suspense books? Written in present tense, this book throws you into the action as if you are directly involved. The illustrations are intense and further plunge the reader into the story.

  Book Club Discussion

  1. How did you experience the book? Were you engaged immediately, or did it take you a while to “get into it”? How did you feel reading it—frightened , sad, disturbed, confused, bored...?

  2. Describe the main characters—personality traits, motivations, inner qualities. • Why do characters do what they do?

  • Are their interactions justified?

  • Describe the dynamics between characters

  • How has the past shaped their lives?

  • Do you admire or disapprove of them?

  • Do they remind you of people you know?

  3. Do the main characters change by the end of the book? Do they grow or mature? Do t
hey learn something about themselves and how the world works?

  4. Is the plot engaging—does the story interest you? Is this a plot-driven book: a fast-paced page-turner? Or does the story unfold slowly with a focus on character development? Were you surprised by the plot’s complications? Or did you find it predictable, even formulaic?

  5. Talk about the book’s structure. Is it a continuous story... or interlocking short stories? Does the time-line move forward chronologically...or back and forth between past and present? Does the author use a single viewpoint or shifting viewpoints? Why might the author have chosen to tell the story the way he or she did—and what difference does it make in the way you read or understand it?

  6. What main ideas—themes—does the author explore? Does the author use symbols to reinforce the main ideas? 7. What passages or chapter strike you as insightful, even profound? Perhaps a bit of dialog that’s poignant or that encapsulates a character?

  8. Is the ending satisfying? If so,why? If not, why not...and how would you change it? 9. If you could ask the author a question, what would you ask? Does this book inspire you to read others that he will write?

  10. Has this novel changed you—broadened your perspective? Have you learned something new or been exposed to different ideas about thriller / suspense novels?

  (Questions by LitLovers.com)