10

“After that confrontation with Sal, I decided to keep my distance. No sense getting roughed up over a guy who says he don’t even ‘know’ you anymore. But I did keep my eyes and ears on him. See, I didn’t have nothin’ as close to a friend as Sal was, other than the guys at my daddy’s mill. But they was older, you know; boys need friends like them, not grown men raising them up too quick. Now I say boys, but I was twenty-two at the time, Sal goin’ on just about twenty-three. We wouldn’t be men for some time yet. Men would have known what they were doin’. Men would have known better.

“Once he moved back into town he started actin’ like a homebody, only went out for groceries and such. When he was out he kept to himself and didn’t talk to anybody, which was strange back in those days. Burdock was still pretty small and cozy back then, you see? Not that it’s gotten much bigger over the years, but we certainly have a lot more people around. People are good though, they’re what keeps a community alive.

"So Sal didn’t talk to nobody, but everyone sure talked about him; town gossip was about the most interesting thing we had back then. That being the case, any inquiries I made about him were answered without much fuss. I found out from Cotter Porterly that he was workin’ at the trainyard a few miles East of town, near route 79, even put a down payment on a house on Windom Street. About a week later he came up to the mill and told me that the sonofabitch got himself a wife! Guess she was held up at whatever motel they were stayin’ at until he could get a bit of cash. She was a pretty young thing, Rose was her name. I didn’t know her personally, but her name and face were on every newspaper in the county after the fire; don’t worry, I’m getting to that.

“A few months later, Rose’s pregnancy started to show. As soon as talk about Sal and his family started to die down, bam, something would happen and stir up the rumor mill once again. This young waitress at Benny’s, that is before Benny died and they renamed it to the Hungry Badger, dumbest name they could have chosen if you ask me, she told me that he spent a lot of time at the library. She’d be getting her schoolbooks and see him at a table way in the back with stacks of books surrounding him. Librarian told her it was a lot of myths and stuff on ‘Limnology’. That’s the study of bodies of water and the things livin’ in em’ for guys like you and me. I thought it mighty strange for a guy to suddenly get so interested in aquatic life but, with a baby on the way, makes sense he might want to go back to school. Even so, of all the things he could have chosen, why the hell choose ‘limnology’? You figure a guy working in a trainyard might want to get some sort of degree in engineerin’ or somethin’ more hands on, right?

“With Sal’s sudden new interest in big puddles, I figured I better set up some sort of watch on Lake Hestova in case he got an inklin’ to go try somethin’ out down there. Summer was starting to come on and my buddy Norman Pyke would be down there pretty often lookin’ for muskellunge, so I asked him to keep an eye out and let me know if he spotted him. ‘Bout a week later he comes up to the mill and tells me he seen Sal out by the southern dock. I follow Norm back and sure as shit, there he is, standin’ on the dock just like he said. He was lookin’ out at the lake. Me n’ Norm watched that man for about half an hour and he didn’t do nothin’, just kept on starin’ out at the lake. Then he just up and leaves! Next day he shows up again, so Norm takes me back down there. This time, he’s just sittin’ on the dock with his feet in the water, like he ain’t had a care in the world. This went on for about a week. After the third time I told Norm he could stop his lookout; I figured I could just about set my watch by Sal showin’ up to the lake, so I wouldn’t need no watchman other than myself. For someone who was apparently ‘studying’ the lake, he sure wasn’t doin’ much, I was studyin’ him harder than he was studyin’ the water.

“One day, I think it was on a Tuesday, he did somethin’ strange. I’m sitting in this little patch of concealed grass where I usually watch him, and I don’t see him coming. Usually he parked his car in the lot and came walkin’ down the southern trail to the dock, and I could see him’ comin from about fifty yards away. I’m watchin’ and starin’, waiting for him to come walking up when I hear something on the dock. I look over and by god, its him, walkin’ right to the edge! I don’t know where he came from or how he got to that dock without making a sound, but he did.

“His back was to me then, so I couldn’t really see, but it looked like he was carryin’ something in his hands, probably a box. When he got to the end, he put the box down and took out something big an’ round wrapped up in an old tablecloth. He unwrapped it and held it up in the sunlight, turning it all around and gettin a good look at it; I thought it was a bowlin’ ball or somethin. He dropped the cloth back in the bag and just stared at that ball for a while, turnin’ it over in his hands. He started mumblin’ and rubbin his hands all over that ball, that went on for a few long minutes. After he was done, he brought that ball behind his head and… just threw it out into the lake, sunk right in. Didn’t splash though. Didn’t even ripple the water.”

This was the first time Rufus had stopped to collect his thoughts since he had begun talking. The sudden silence caught Dean by surprise. After a moment he continued, “This is the part I don’t like talkin’ about. After he threw that thing in, somethin’ started to feel off. The air got real heavy, and I couldn’t hear anything. Not that I went deaf, everything else just stopped, like it all the bugs and critters just died. We stayed there starin’ at the spot where it landed for about five minutes, then the ripple came. Just one ring of water getting’ bigger and bigger. After it reached the edges…” he paused again, then let out a short laugh. “Ain’t really no other way to explain it to you officer. Once the ripple stopped, the lake started to rain upwards.”

This time Rufus stayed silent. Dean guessed he was waiting for a rebuttal to the insane event he had just described. When he noticed that he probably wasn’t going to get one, the old man asked, “So, do you believe me?”

It took a couple seconds for Dean to finally answer, “I’m not too sure what to believe. Your story up to this point seems credible enough, but I don’t see why you’d be making it up.”

“That’s ‘cause I’m not.”

“I don’t mean any offense when I say your drinking habit is no secret Rufus, but what you told me doesn’t sound like something a guy drowning in a bottle could make up.”

Rufus let out a laugh at that. “Oh son, my heavy drinkin’ days didn’t start til’ after the war. Even so, after that whole mess at the lake I couldn’t wait to get a taste of Maker’s to ease my nerves.”

“Drunk or not, I’m not sure how to take this entire story.”

“Well don’t take it yet, ‘cause it’s not over. I saw the water rising from that lake and felt some type of way which I haven’t felt since; It stirred up somethin’ terrifyin’ in me and I had to get away. Before I high-tailed it out of there I looked back at Sal; he was still standin’ there lookin’ out at what he did. Even held his hand out to touch a few drops. I went back around an hour later to see the aftermath, but everything was fine. His truck was gone and the lake didn’t look any different either, but I didn’t like the sight of it. Maybe it’s only ‘cause of what I saw, but I felt like there was something wrong in that lake, and that it came from that ball he threw in.

“That very night, Donald was born.

“Things were quiet again for a few months, and I started to watch Sal like a hawk. I couldn’t ask for anyone’s help on this one because none of them would believe what I had to say anyways. I didn’t entirely understand what he was doin’, but I knew it had to be wrong and dangerous, especially to that newborn of his.

“Two months later his house goes up in flames, fire engines lined up the street sprayin’ it down. The whole neighborhood came out to watch. They got Rose and the kid out, thank god; they were asleep in the upstairs bedroom, didn’t even know what was goin’ on. They looked for Sal but couldn’t find him or his truck. Investigators figured he tried to kill his family and split town, so they started a county-wide search. I knew where he was though.

“When I got to the lake, he was already ankle deep in the water, clothes on and everything. When it got up to his waist he didn’t swim or float, just kept walkin’ like it was nothin’. He walked on in until he was completely submerged, and stayed there. When I didn’t see any bubbles comin’ up after he went under, I got out of there.

“Rose and the kid went on pretty well for a while after the fire. She got a little apartment in town and started workin’ at Shel’s Department Store. Church watched the kid during the day until he was old enough for schoolin’. Even after things had calmed down, the Francis family was still the talk of the town.

“People talk in a small town, ‘specially when it concerns some of their own. The way the parents told it, little Donnie didn’t play or get along with other kids real well. First few years of school he would cry and hit other kids constantly, always wanting somethin’. Once he got to primary school though, he got real quiet apparently. Still didn’t play with other kids though, ignored them entirely in fact. People were starting to wonder if he was gettin’ neglected at home, so somebody asked Rose about it. She was real clammy though, just said somethin’ about him bein a shy little boy who liked books more than playin’ out in the dirt.

"That lady was hiding something for sure. People who saw her around town said she didn’t look too good, said she was lookin’ tired and ill. A few months later she died. The papers said it was from vasculitis, and that something had turned her blood black. Doctors couldn’t figure out what the stuff was.

“I joined the army and got out of Burdock for a little while after that, didn’t like the feeling of the town no more, it was dark. After a few tours I started getting’ a little homesick. Burdock was my town, my family made it, and that’s where I decided I belonged, regardless of whatever may have happened there. When I came back I saw that Don had changed a bit, and not for the better. A few of the neighbors tried takin’ him in after his mom passed, but apparently they didn’t care too much for him, so the Church stepped up once again. Kinda funny how it goes around like that, don’t you think?”

Dean gave no indication of speaking, so he continued.

“He went from bein’ a shy kid to a recluse. Spent most of the time in the library and wouldn’t talk to anyone, just like his daddy. He looked into all types of weird stuff: cryptids, myths, legends, even started researchin’ dark stuff, occult rituals and such. I thought that somebody might have said somethin’ about his daddy to him. He even went out to the lake one time and just stood watchin’ it. Don’t take me wrong here officer, but I thought I had half a mind to shoot him right there, stop him before any more that family started more trouble. He never did nothin’ though, so I left well enough alone.

“When winter came it brought a big snowstorm in, took out half a neighborhood’s power for weeks and almost wiped em’ out. The church cleared out their pews and set up a temporary shelter for a lot of people, me included. Donnie helped hand out blankets and food, started talkin’ to a few of the folks there, even got to know some of them well. It was a good time for the boy, I think. He started to get further away from that evil stuff and started actin’ more normal, talkin’ and bein’ with people. Still was kinda quiet though, guess you can’t always take the shy out of the man. He settled into his life, and with the government payin’ for most of my livin’ I settled into a bottle. Been there ever since, one of the better places I’ve been in my life, if I’m bein’ frank.

“Now, I’ve got a couple ideas about what happened in that Burdock all those years ago, but I’m warnin’ you, it might sound crazier than all this other stuff I’ve been sayin’. Some of it may sound like Grade-A conspiracy theory bullshit, but I don’t know what else to make of it. You still want to hear me out?”

Dean had been staring fixedly at the older man throughout his entire speech, taking every word in carefully. His curiosity pushed out any of the other thoughts that were in his mind and he answered, “Yes.”

“Alright. I’ve had a lot of time to think about this, so bear with me I think Sal Francis was trying to summon some sort of demon from the lake. I think he was whisperin’ some sort of spell into that black orb, threw it into the lake, and brought it into this world from another. Then, after It had him try to kill his family in the fire for some sort of ritual sacrifice, It dragged him back to whatever watery hell It came out of. Probly’ to either eat him or make him some sorta slave. The thing is, Donnie and Rose were still alive. So this Thing came back, killed his mother, and led him to the church. My parents put me in Sunday school and bible practice officer, and I can tell you that no kid in their right mind enjoys any of it. If that’s the case, it would make sense that he wouldn’t want to spend much time in the Church. And what’s the best place for an antisocial person to go out to? A library; everyone is already quiet and minding their own business, it would have been a paradise for him.

“By his teenage years, he had to have heard of his father and some of the things said about him and accusations made, so what better place to find information than a library, especially one that has newspaper records spanning back to when we got our first printing press in town. So he goes and learns about what his daddy was doing and studying and decides to try it out for himself. In that way he’s remembering and honoring his dead father while also sticking it to the church. Now Don is on the same path as his daddy, learnin’ about the occult and all that evil. That Thing in the lake sees this as a golden opportunity and tried attachin’ itself to him; like father, like son, you know?

“I think he did get in contact with that Thing somehow, just like his dad did. Probably told him that he was an outcast, a loner, looked down on by society, maybe even tricked him into thinking he could make a deal with the devil to bring his parents back or some other nonsense. Whatever it was, that boy was filled with evil thoughts. The storm put a stop on all that though and brought him back the other way. Havin’ to help and be around all those people, then talkin’ to em’ and hearin’ what they have to say, it showed him there were different ways to go in life, better than the ones he was goin down. Once he got that look at a better type of life and wanted one for himself, whatever It was couldn’t get to him. He pushed it all to the back of his mind and went on livin’ how he saw fit.”

Dean took a few seconds to sort through the testimony he had just been given. “But now Don and his wife are dead. What happened there?”

“Nobody lives forever, officer. Aches and pains come with age, and not all of em’ are physical, you see? A man might get desperate when his body starts to fail him, might take some drastic measures and call up an old friend for some help.”

Dean contemplated for a moment, “If Don made some type of deal with this thing, why would it kill him and his wife?”

“Deals made with devils only end in one way officer, with the man foolish enough to make the deal spendin’ an eternity in torment while that Thing is feedin’ on their pain and misery. But the one makin’ the deal ain’t thinkin’ about that, they’re living it up with their riches while wastin’ away. Their family suffers and the land they are on becomes plagued with a foulness so deep and dark that never goes away. Only death grows on that land, and it grows aplenty, officer. If you ask me, that family is cursed by some terrible, evil force that I hope I never have to come across ever again.”

Sudden realization struck Dean. “Detective Whitman is at the Francis house right now, he said there was something there he had to find.”

A look of terror spread across Rufus’ face. “We gotta go. He’s probably not going to like whatever he finds, and It sure as shit isn’t going to like him.”