Witches Tales 5

A knock on the door echoed through the old house and down into the basement.  The spoon in Mrs Loomis’ hand froze as she stared up at the dirty rafters on the ceiling.  Bobby waited with his mouth gaping, oatmeal crusting on his lips.  The basement was quiet, with all focus upward.  An impatient knock on the door informed Mrs Loomis that whoever it was, wasn’t going to go away.  She sat the bowl down, put a wrinkled finger to her lips and shot a warning look at her prisoners.

The old woman knew she had a small window to get rid of whoever was interrupting her.  She went up the stairs, her creaky knees matching the sound of each wooden step.  At the top of the stairs she bolted the door to the basement and whispered a spell to keep the three away from the door.  She barely had a chance to feed one of them and it wouldn’t be long before the others started to complain about being hungry.  Excuses and gruff responses ran through her head as she shuffled to the front door.

Dusk shown through the lacy curtains hung over the windows next to the window.  Who’d be at my door at this hour, she thought.  They banged on the door again, this time rattling the glass panes.  She peaked through the curtains to see two men, one in a police uniform and the other in a trench coat.  The man in the trench coat waved a badge at her through the window.

Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart skipped a beat.  She raised her index finger to let them know it’d be a second.  Mrs Loomis looked at her aged face reflected in the mirror. A memory of a halloween mask looked back at her.  She studied the deep lines grooved into her cheeks, the hawk-like nose, and cracked lips.  She told herself she can do this.  Maybe they are here to check on an old woman, she hoped.  Her hands fumbled with the lock on the door, leaving the chain in place.  The door cracked open and let in the cool night air.  “What can I do for you fine gentlemen?”

“Well, ma’am, we’ve gotten some reports of noises coming from your house.  We wanted just to check to make sure you are okay.”  The one in the coat said.

“I’m just fine.  Thank you for checking.  I don’t know anything about any noises.”

“Are you sure you are okay?  We had some calls the last couple of weeks of break-ins.  Some of your neighbors called in saying there were some suspicious people walking around the street.”

“Oh no, that’s terrible.  I haven’t seen anything, but if I do, I’ll make sure to call it in.  Thanks for stopping by.”  Mrs Loomis went to close the door.

“Well, like I said we got a call that your neighbor heard some noises coming from your house.  Maybe you were asleep and didn’t hear anything.  Do you mind if we come in and just do a quick check?”  The officer in the coat put his shoe in the door jam, stopping her from closing the door.

Those damn neighbors.  As soon as I can get a handle on this demon I’m going to curse them, she thought.  She smiled at the officers, revealing crooked yellow teeth.

“Thank you for caring, but I was sitting in my living room reading a book for the last hour.  I didn’t hear anything.”

The man in the trenchcoat smiled back at her.  His face beamed like a boy that was on the step of his grandparent’s house.  “I’d feel a lot better about myself if I could just come in and do a quick sweep.  My mother would hate to hear I left an elderly woman’s house and there were criminals creeping around.  I promise we won’t disturb anything.  I’ll even make sure Jason here wipes his feet.”  Jason smiled sheepishly and shook his head.

She knew it wasn’t going to be long before the three in her basement would wake up and start creating a racket.  Her eye twitched.  The cops were not taking the hint.  Forgotten words sat on the tip of her tongue, a spell that could make these two turn around and forget her house.  It was time for her to end this conversation and finish feeding her captives.

As wrinkled and ugly as her face was, she knew how to contort it to freeze blood and ruin days.  When she was younger she remembered walking through stores during Halloween and seeing a frightening witch’s mask.  Staring at the two cops now, she conjured that mask in her mind and began to contort the muscles in her face to emulate the look of horror.  The blood in Jason’s face drained and he started to sweat.  The officer in the trench coat took a step back.  But, before Mrs. Loomis could shut the door, she could see the officer steel himself.

“It’ll just take a minute.” He said.

“Fine.” She spat.

Her face settled to its normal state and she exhaled deeply.   Resigned to letting them in, she undid the chain and opened the door.  They thanked her and stepped over the threshold.  Jason’s face was still pale and he watched her warily.  The other one smiled warmly and waited in the foyer as she shut the door.  She put the chain back on and locked the door. Then lead them into her living room.

“You didn’t need to lock the door.  We’ll be out of your hair before you know it.” Jason said.

“Apparently there are criminals wandering around the neighborhood.  I wouldn’t want them to come in through the front door, would I?” She said.

The officer laughed and patted Jason on the back. “She’s right. Can never be too careful.  Do you mind turning a light on in here?”

Mrs. Loomis went to the wall and flicked a switch, two yellow bulbs flashed on revealing the living room to the police officers.  She watched them as they looked around in awe.  Their eyes were drawn to the many different taxidermied creations scattered about.  Their heads scanned the paintings of satanic rituals, demons, and creatures from other worlds that hung on her walls.  The officer looked at a dusty book of folklore that was opened on the coffee table and smirked for a second.  She innocently smiled at them and shrugged her shoulders, “We all have our hobbies.”

“Uhm, yes, I guess we do.” The officer said. “Is there a Mr. Loomis?”

“Oh no, it’s just me Mr…”

“Ah yes, I guess I didn’t say who I was.  I’m officer Barron.” Barron said.

“Anyway, can I direct you around the different rooms officer Barron?  It is getting close to my bedtime, and I wouldn’t want you to be stuck doddering around an old woman’s house when there are probably more pressing matters to attend to.”

Barron adjusted his pants as he sat down on the overstuffed couch.  Jason continued to stand, staring at the strange insects framed in glass.  Mrs. Loomis’ thoughts drifted down to the basement, knowing the possessed humans were close to waking.  She shifted impatiently in her slippers, hoping to shuffle them through the house as quickly as possible.  Barron picked up the folklore book and settled into the couch. “I think I’ll have Jason here do a quick search while you and I talk.  My grandmother passed away a little less than a year ago and well, I miss her.  It would be nice if you could just humor me for a minute.”  He said as he closed the book.

Jason looked at Barron and then back to the old woman.  “Uh, Barron, are you sure?  Wouldn’t it be smarter if she came with me?”

“Jason, it’ll be fine.  I’m sure you can handle a quick walk through.”

“I’d prefer if I go with him, Mr. Barro., I don’t know normally get visitors and well, I just don’t think it is proper for a man to wander around a woman’s house.” Mrs. Loomis said, the locked door of the basement flashing in her head.

“Don’t worry about it. Jason, promise Mrs. Loomis here that you won’t go snooping through her bedroom or take anything from her kitchen.” Mr. Barron said to the two of them.

“I don’t know, isn’t this against procedure?” Jason asked.

“Jason, that is something we don’t need to worry about. Go search the rest of the house, that’s an order.” Barron said. “Mrs. Loomis, please come sit here.”

Tension filled the room.  Barron stared at Jason, his features set in stone.  Jason stood still, his face a mixture of fear and confusion.  Mrs. Loomis could see Jason working out whether it would be better to question his superior or wander through a creepy house.  She snuck a look into her kitchen and the basement door.  Would Jason see the padlock on the outside of the door and ask to go down there?  Or would he just ignore it?  She hoped that the house had upset him enough that he would quickly scan the house and disregard anything that might take him out of earshot of Barron.  Barron turned his gaze toward Mrs. Loomis and patted the seat next to him.  His eyes and voice seemed familiar to him, causing her to steel herself before sitting down..

“Thank you for allowing this grandma’s boy a moment of your time.” Barron smiled and Jason was forgotten.

Mrs. Loomis studied Barron’s face.  It was a square face with a wide chin.  There were dark circles under his yellowing eyes, eyes that reminded her of someone.  Patchy hair sprouted from his chin.  His lips were cracked and dry.  He had a big nose that was bent from a fight in his past.  His smile was his best feature and relaxed her.  Maybe he is just being nice and really did want to talk to an old woman, she thought.

“Every once in awhile we get calls from this neighborhood.  A parent would complain about an old woman that threatened their child.  Or that there were weird smells coming from a house.  We also, if you can believe it, got a call once about some strange halloween rituals, with dead goats and animal bones hanging from trees.”

Mrs. Loomis’ heart skipped a beat. Images of kids running up to her door on a bet.  Voices calling her evil and a scary woman that would eat kids. A rock thrown through her window.

“We never replied to the calls of course.  Just told them that they shouldn’t worry about what is going on with their neighbor.  We said they should keep their kids away from other people’s houses, that it was trespassing.”

“That is true.  It’s not nice to bother an old woman like that.  Seems like they should mind their own business.  Maybe they should teach their kids not to tease, maybe they should teach them to respect the elderly.” Mrs. Loomis said while she fidgeted with her robe.

“Exactly.  Most small towns have a few houses that, well, are cause for rumor.  Maybe the house isn’t that well taken care of, or they are foreign and have different customs than the rest.  And, kids are kids, they are going to see something they don’t understand and start to label it as haunted.”

The echo of Jason’s footsteps and creaking doors came to them in the living room.  Mrs. Loomis was reminded of a couple of days ago when she was in the basement.  It was her first conjuring.  She had the demon in the chalk circle, when she heard the tinkling of glass being broken.  Her forehead was heavy with perspiration as she battled for control over the demon.  She summoned something much stronger than her skill could handle.  A touch at her shoulder brought her back to the present.

“Are you okay?  You sorta drifted there for a second.” Barron said.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m just a little tired.”

“No worries.  I was just saying, I think that you are trying too hard.  This whole act…” he gestured around to the decorations. “What do you think you are?”

The demon had laughed at her.  It had known what she was.  A lonely woman that had read too many books and listened to too many rumors.  It barked at her, “You think you can truly be a witch?  Do you think something like me would be interested in your pitiful soul?”

But then the footsteps crept around upstairs.  There were people in her kitchen, someone had broken in.  She tried to focus on the demon, tried to bend it to her will, like the books had said. Her voice rung out in a deep guttural tone as she recited the words.  The floor shook, knocking over boxes of clothes and kitchen utensils that had been stored in the basement.  Upstairs the steps stopped.  Then Barron’s voice came back through.

“...a hobby like walking or knitting.”

“That’s a good idea.  Do you think Jason is done searching?”

“Probably.  But, it seems to me that you are faking it, maybe trying to hide from something?  I mean you aren’t really a witch or monster.  Just an old lady.”

Her concentration on the demon broke.  It reached up with smoky tendrils, pushing through the rafters to the main floor.  “You aren’t worth my time.  Just an old lady that has no friends.  I wouldn’t waste the blood in my pen for your withered old soul.”  

She crumpled under the weight of the demon’s words.  Years of laughter at her ugly features, the witch’s halloween mask come to life, had driven her to believing she could be a witch.  She felt pathetic thinking about the books she had ordered, the ones that taught you how to be a real witch.  The basement floor was cool under to the touch as she laid there, watching the demon dissolve into the tendrils floating upstairs with all of her hopes of being something more.  The people in her kitchen began to scream and convulse.  They must have been worthy of the demon, she thought.

She shuddered on the couch.  Barron’s face fell, “Listen, Mrs. Loomis, I’m not trying to hurt your feelings.  My grandmother didn’t have many friends either.  But, she got out of her house and did things to make herself happy, to feel worth something.  I understand that you are sensitive to your looks, but you can’t let that stop you from living your life.”

Before the demon was completely gone and inside of the bodies, she remembered a part of a spell.  She stood up, proud that it came back to her.  “I’m not going to let you beat me, demon.  You’ll be my slave yet.”  With that she uttered the words.  A green wind shot from her stomach and infected the demon’s smoke.  Voices upstairs and downstairs hollered out in pain.  The basement lights flickered and went out for a second.  When they came back, the demon was gone.  She went to the stairs as quickly as she could.  Three bodies were passed out on her kitchen floor.

She spent the next couple of hours dragging the woman and two men down the basement steps.  In her books, she found directions on building a stockade, as well as incantations to bind the possessed to their shackles.  They eventually woke up and began to thrash against their chains.  

They spoke as one, “You can’t keep us locked up.  Someone will hear us and come looking around your house.”

Mrs. Loomis was sitting with Barron, yet she felt like she was in the moment with the possessed humans, “You are going to give me what I want.  Those chains have spells on them.  You’ll never break out of them.  I’ll let you free when you give me the power of a witch.”

Barron cocked his eyebrow.  Mrs. Loomis was staring straight ahead, her eyes focused on the past.  “Uh… Mrs. Loomis?”

The three voices laughed.  “You think that’ll work?  You are pathetic.  It won’t take us long to break this spell, it feels as weak as you look.  And you look weak.  You think you can handle the strength within us?  You’ll tire soon and try to sleep; good luck with that.  It won’t take us long to drive you insane.”

The words came to her in the present, Barron’s mouth opening and closing, the demon speaking through him.  Is this your trick?  I am iron, my mind is strong, I won’t believe you sent them here.

They banged the chains, howled until their vocal cords bled.  Mrs. Loomis paced back and forth across her kitchen.  She stuck bits of cotton into her ears, but knew it wouldn’t be long before the neighbors noticed the noise.  Digging through her cabinets she found her sleeping pills, hoping that it would be enough to help her sleep.  With the orange plastic tube in her hand, a plan formed.  She crushed up the pills into bowls of oatmeal and brought them down to the basement, force feeding her prisoners.  Soon the drugs took ahold of them and they passed out, drool hanging from their lips.

“Uh, Mrs. Loomis, what’s behind this door?” Jason asked.

Barron and Mrs. Loomis both jumped, startled.  Barron’s face was no longer as friendly as it was when they first sat down. He knows something's up, she thought.  She tried her best to mask it, “Oh nothing. It’s just the basement.”

“Why is there a padlock on it?”

“The cellar door to the outside doesn’t stay closed, so I thought it would be easier to just lock this door.”  She stood up and went into the kitchen.  Barron followed.

“It looks pretty new, did you just put it on?” Barron asked.

Before Mrs. Loomis could respond, a woman cried out from the basement.  “Help! She’s locked us up!”  The voice was small and weak.

Mrs. Loomis stared blankly at the officers.  Jason was reaching for his pistol, while Barron faced her.  He seemed to grow, towering over her small frame.  Something flashed across his eyes, a hint of fire and brimstone. “Where is the key, Mrs. Loomis?”

She fumbled for the right words, but nothing came out.  Her mind raced for a spell or an idea of what to do.  She decided to run.  

The giant hands of Barron wrapped around her arms stopping her in her tracks.  He turned her around.  “I told you I’d get out.” He whispered and winked.  Then loud enough for Jason to hear, “Mrs. Loomis, where is the key to the basement?”

The key was found and the door opened.  Barron handcuffed the old woman, bruising her frail wrists.  They lead her down the creaky steps into the basement.  At the bottom of the stairs they found the hostages bounded with chains and ropes.  Weak, bruised and bloody, the woman sobbed at the sight of the cops.  “Oh thank god! She kidnapped me and my brothers.  I don’t know if Josh is even alive.”

A spectacle descended on the street after the discovery.  Ambulances, fire trucks, and police cruisers filled the street.  Neighbors stood on their lawns and watched as Mrs. Loomis was walked to the back of a cop car.  A few fire fighters flinched at the sight of her gruesome face.  Then all silently watched the three young prisoners as they were brought out on stretchers.  Someone cried, others gasped at their ragged appearance, a mother covered her child’s eyes.

Barron and Jason stopped Mrs. Loomis as the stretchers passed.  Barron gripped her arm tight, bursting blood vessels. “They are free. You ugly worthless hag won’t have any toys to torture any more.”

Mrs. Loomis laughed as the possessed woman sat up in her stretcher and waved.  She knew that she now was truly a witch and had released a terrible evil into the world as her final revenge.  
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