Crypt Keeper, page 9
Chapter 8
“I don’t mind your weirdness as long as it’s compatible with mine.” ~ T-shirt
His mouth was on mine, hot, demanding and punishing. A kiss only he could pull off with such ultra sexiness that it made desire ooze from my pores. My back hit hard against a wall and I knew he’d transported us indoors. At the moment, I didn’t care where I was; I wrapped my legs around his waist. I’d wanted him near me desperately since last night and I was pissed that he’d left me to deal with my father’s death alone, causing me to do a little punishing of my own. Grinding my mouth hard against his until I tasted blood, he didn’t flinch, my punishing efforts seem to spur him on. His hands were everywhere; on my face, ass and breasts, touching, groping and teasing with such perfection that I almost gave in to the temptation and went with it, forgoing the questions that were plaguing my mind. I tried to shove them aside; however, they wouldn’t leave my mind. Honesty, my body cried. I needed total and complete honesty with the man that had everyone else suspicious.
Shoving against his chest, I tried to stop while I still could, while my thoughts were still coherent. My efforts did nothing but make him come at me more determined to strip me naked and make me beg for the dark pleasure he was so good at providing. Understanding that I wasn’t going to be successful with my current method, I decided to try another. Closing my eyes I focused, attempting to leave my body as Mags had done. I’d left my body in a sense before, never like Mags but close. If she could do it so could I. Pushing my nerves and the sensation of Levi’s lips against my throat, I began. Like all the times before I began to drift upward as I had when I went searching for the essence of the dead’s being but this time I didn’t stop. I propelled my body higher. I felt lightheaded, dizzy and just plain weird; however, I didn’t relent. Moving slowly like I was in a couple feet of water, I began to lower myself down the nonexistent steps to the ground. I stood there, staring at Levi’s back as he was pawing at me like a sex-crazed animal but couldn’t feel a thing he was doing to me. Now I watched and waited until my body went lifeless in his arms, just as Mags had done. Levi’s frame went still as the dead.
“Hot damn!” I shouted in glee, “I did it!” His shoulders stiffened as he slowly turned around to face me, his eyes flashing with something I hadn’t seen before as he looked down at my limp frame then back at me. Without a word he slowly laid my body down with such care it was heartwarming.
“Can you believe it? Did you know I had this ability?” I walked over to where he stood and stared down at my dead body.
“You have always had the ability to do whatever you wished,” he said, standing back up and took my face in his hands. “Don’t ever do that to me again.” Soft, cold words left his lips.
“Why are you angry with me?” I studied his face with a discerning eye, hoping to be able to read him as I had been able to do in the past. No such luck this time. He shut down every sign of emotion upon his face. I hated it when he did that. “Something happened last night that I want to discuss with you.”
“I’m listening.” Sometimes I didn’t understand him at all.
Sighing, I leaned against the wall and gave him a complete account of the events, leaving out the part where Damon was in my bedroom. There was no sense adding fuel to the fire. When Levi showed no reaction I pushed. “You’re not at all surprised, are you?”
“No. I told you—you have always had the ability to do anything you wished.” God, everyone was pissing me off at every turn.
“Dammit, why can’t you just be open with me for once?” When he didn’t respond I laughed. “Sure Molly, have a seat and I’ll explain everything to you,” I said in mock falsetto. This didn’t evoke a reaction either as he simply stared at me. Infuriated I shouted, “You’re just like Damon—you want to call all the shots, tell me nothing and make some sort of claim on my ass.” Levi had me up against the wall, his face hard and cold. Oh boy, I’d pushed it too far.
“Never compare me to that asshole again. Night has no ability to claim what is mine.” He punched the wall over my head, and I flinched as particles showered down on my head. When I opened my eyes again he was gone.
“What the hell?” I shouted, turning around in a circle looking for him. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? That was shitty of me. Levi! Why are you being so—” The words died in my throat as I took in my surroundings. This room hadn’t looked this way a few minutes ago, had it? Now there wasn’t anything in this room, not even a single chair. What was this place?
My body began to shake so violently that my teeth chattered together. This couldn’t be good. I needed to go back into my body; this wasn’t like before when I lost myself into some dream world with Levi as a teen. I hadn’t physically left my body then, had I? The shaking increased in intensity. This wasn’t the time to ponder anything. Something bad was happening to me. Closing my eyes I forced myself to dissipate into the fog like essence and rejoin my body. It wasn’t easy and it took me a while; however, I did finally manage it.
Gasping for breath, I opened my eyes to stare straight up at the stone ceiling. The whole damn room was made of stone. The paint peeling off the walls and ceiling as well as the mildew that permeated the air gave evidence of the room’s age. Surely this wasn’t where Levi went when he was angry with me. Standing up I stretched my limbs as a test. Mags had said she was a bit stiff when she rejoined her body. I felt perfectly fine, better even. Whoa, my senses were heightened. Everything was clearer, sound traveled into my ears at a different pitch, I could hear…everything. Even the sound of the creeping crawlers making their way across the floor was audible to me now. Ew. I shuddered as a case of heebie jeebies traveled down my spine. I had to get out of here. Where the hell was Levi? When he came back I was going to kick his ass. Snatching me and leaving me in this nasty place the way he had was a daring thing to do and he would pay. Yes, I had been a bitch by throwing Damon up in his face. I’d only wanted to get some sort of reaction from him. He had more mood swings than a dozen menstrual woman combined. I pushed open the large, heavy green door with a small viewing window open. One of the many things that grossed me out was that I didn’t think the door had ever been this puke shade of green.
As I walked out of the room I was immediately in a hallway lined with doors that led into small stone rooms like the one I’d just exited. The view from here wasn’t any better; the walls were a tapestry of peeling paint, algae, mold, and disintegrating plaster. Sucking in a breath I knew exactly where I was; the hospital formerly known as the Georgia Lunatic Asylum. I’d been here only once as a child, and this was the exact location I’d dared to venture to then. This was where I’d first met Levi the night I’d decided to kill myself and pray for death I shivered as my mind went back to that awful night. I’d been barely ten, the dead wouldn’t leave me alone and I couldn’t make the doctors understand. Levi had come walking in, smiling and made all the bad things just go away. Why he’d bring me back here I didn’t have a clue. I didn’t like it though, and he was going to get a piece of my mind the moment I saw his sorry ass.
This was the southern wing of the hospital, the violent ward. I’d researched this place extensively the second I’d been old enough. I began down the hall slowly, trying not to look at the doors that were outfitted with swinging platforms that had once been used to provide food for patients without opening the doors. At the end of the hallway a cabinet still remained. The cabinet still contained the last patients' toothbrushes, each labeled with a surname. Thankfully it has been years since a live soul occupied these spaces; foliage has grown over large portions of the building, invading even the interior of the hospital.
“Can you help me? I can’t find the dog—have you seen my dog?” Someone startled me so severely from behind the door of the last room on the left I nearly wet myself.
Sighing, I walked back to the doorway. I couldn’t leave this poor soul here this way. They usually find their way out the moment their essence leaves their live body, at least in my experience anyway, although I don’t claim to be an expert. When I reached the door the man went quiet. Or at least he sounded like a man.
“Hello?” I knocked on the old door, not wanting to upset the man further. Crossing over isn’t easy on those who were confused as living souls. Not a peep. Knocking again I called to him once more, “You don’t need to be afraid.”
“I know I don’t,” a soft voice replied while I stood on my tiptoes to peek inside the room. “But you do!” A snarling, creature with cat-like eyes growled as he slammed into the door, exposing razor sharp teeth.
“Shit!” I shouted, falling onto the floor. Then the creature started laughing, and the loud maniacal laughter filled the hallway. “Molly’s going to die. Die, die, die. All the Crypt Keepers must die.” More maniacal laugher followed his little saying.
Scrambling to my feet I sprinted down the hallway, out the door, and vaulted down the staircase because it was missing several of the first steps. Bracing myself for the impact, I hit the ground hard, grunting as I rolled onto my side. That’s when I heard the snarls of the hellhounds along with the echoed voice of the insane creature upstairs. “Run, little Crypt Keeper…. Run. They like it when you run.”
Leaping to my feet I sent up a silent prayer, thanking the man upstairs that nothing was broken. My hands and knees stung from skin abrasions caused by landing on old debris. I would probably need a tetanus shot or some shit if I made it out of this alive.
The assault to my face by frigid blasts of cold air took my breath away as I exited the asylum. It took me a second to regain a normal breathing rhythm and that had been scary as hell. Shielding my eyes from the icy blasts, I focused on the sight before me. My God, I was looking into my backyard; well, a weird version of my backyard. This couldn’t be. The asylum wasn’t this close to my house, I thought as I ran down the hill. Frost and some weird type of vine covered everything; from the fence to the back porch it spread all over the house.
The wind slowed me down slightly and my heart was pounding loudly in my ears. Despite the howling of the brutal wind and the rate at which my heart was beating I still heard the sounds of ice crunching around me and I knew I wasn’t alone. Genuine fear like I’d never felt in my life crept into my heart. The strange emotion nearly paralyzed me as I forced myself to take a quick peek over my left shoulder. In hot pursuit of me were two of the most horrific creatures I’d ever seen! They had flat faces covered in red eyes that were blinking at different times They had eight arms and, God help me, mouths with layers of razor sharp teeth that reminded me of something I’d seen on Discovery Channel during Shark Week.
I dared another glance. Losing my balance I tripped, hitting the ground hard with my hands and face. It felt like someone took a hundred surgeon’s scalpels, welded them to a mallet and pounded my face with it. I couldn’t move, didn’t want to move. I was a goner; this was it, the end of the line for me. A few stray tears leaked from my face and instantly froze onto my painful cheeks. The idea of going over to the next dimension wasn’t so bad. I’d be with Jewels and we’d totally kick ass there. It was the idea of being eaten by those creatures that had me scared shitless. I wouldn’t hide. If I was going to go it was going to be facing my murderers, and damned if I wouldn’t try to take one of them with me. Perhaps I could gouge out a few of their eyes, I thought as I rolled over onto my back. No, I could still make it. Focusing, I tried to leave my body again as I did in the asylum. Nothing. I was simply too exhausted. Trying again with the same result I resigned myself to the understanding that in my current condition I was completely useless.
They were steps from me now, slobber running down their chins as they salivated. The hellhounds weren’t far behind them and I’m ashamed to say I felt my bottom lip quiver and I shut my eyes and waited. Dammit, I should have listened to Damon and worked on my training. Perhaps I could have learned a few things that would have saved my life. If I had, these assholes would be sorry right about now. A little voice inside me whispered Yeah, right—like an evening in the gym would save you from dying tonight. Shit. I was a total fuckup of a Crypt Keeper. It was my first day on the job and I was going to die.
Please let me die quickly, like of a massive heart attack. Don’t let me suffer, I prayed as I waited. When nothing began chewing on my ass I cracked open one eye. To my surprise there stood Levi. His back was to me and the creatures were growling at him. On further examination I realized that they weren’t growling. No. Holy shit balls, I think they were talking to him. I managed to make it to my feet without too much pain. I think I must have been freezing because everything just felt numb. Shit, maybe I had frostbite! Holy Mother of God, please don’t let me have to have any toes amputated. I’m clumsy enough as it is.
With my numb useless feet I took a couple of steps forward, still shielding myself from the grotesque beings with Levi’s body. Then Levi began speaking harshly to them in some language I couldn’t understand; it sort of reminded me of pig Latin but with a lot more oo sounds than ah. Stop being such a pansy, I scolded myself and finally scrounged up just enough courage to peer around his broad back to chance a peek at them. The hellhounds were flopped down on their stomachs, their tongues hanging out of their mouths relaxed like overgrown puppies. They never spared me a glance. Holding on to Levi’s belt loop I stepped out from behind him. One of the crazy-eyed beasts lunged at me, teeth bared and I shrieked, jumping backward. Levi reached out and snatched it up by the throat and squeezed. In horror I watched as every eye on its flat face bulged. Part of me wanted to cheer, That’s right, you stupid mother effing asshole. Mess with me will ya? Ha! Just look at you now! However, I refrained. I watched as Levi growled something unintelligible at him then slammed him to the ground. The creature crawled away whimpering and the others went after him, leaving me alone with my scary dark hero.
“What were they?” I asked, finding my voice the moment Levi turned around to face me.
“Why did you leave the room?” Levi growled angrily at me, gripping me hard by the shoulders.
Shoving him as hard as I could manage in the chest I shouted back, “Do I look like I’m having good time to you? Why did you leave me in that room?!” He released me abruptly and turned and punched the large oak tree next to us. The damn thing split down the middle. “Holy shit!” I knew he was strong, but damn.
A loud howling shook the ground under our feet. Levi’s eyes flashed with something strange before he turned and scooped me up. “We have to get out of here.” We shot straight up into the frigid night air. Levi smashed my battered body to his chest, shielding me as best he could from the stinging ice that sliced against our skin.
The next thing I knew we landed in the cemetery behind my house. The temperature rose a good forty degrees and the weather had completely cleared. “Come on.” Levi carried me to the crypt and waited until I opened the gate with my hand. Hurrying me inside, he softly secured the gate back and took me deeper inside the crypt. “Let me see.” Levi said softly as he lifted me up to sit on top of one of the cement tombs. His hands were gentle as he examined my face carefully. “Shit, these are some nasty gashes. I could help you heal faster but I need stuff I don’t have here.” He dropped his hands, caressing my arms. “Will you wait here until I can return?”
Ignoring his question I began searching his eyes. I asked, “Levi, what were they?”
“They are dwellers in the other dimension. I shouldn’t have taken you there—I wasn’t thinking straight. You were holed up in the house with Night and I lost it. All I wanted to do was get you as far away from him as I could at that moment. It was stupid.”
Gripping his arms I searched deeper within his eyes. “You were able to talk to them—they listened to you. Damon was right. You aren’t like the others, are you?” He didn’t respond so I pressed harder. “How long have you known they would come after me?”
His head dropped. “Please don’t ask me any more of these questions.” He signed. “You won’t like the answers.”
I gave a bark of laughter. “Are you effing kidding me? Look at me! They nearly had me for a late night snack. I have a right to know what is going on.” Levi stepped back from me. “You and I have nothing but honesty between us, remember? I’ve forgiven you for a lot of shit over the years: your anger issues, the way you disappear for days when you can’t handle something that’s transpires between us…and that boy.” My voice trailed off at the mention of the boy Levi had shredded when he found us together kissing when I was fifteen. The memory still gave me nightmares if I dwelled on it for too long. “If you can’t be one hundred percent honest with me, like you always have in the past then—“ He turned his back to me. My heart sank; he hadn’t been completely honest with me. The hurt I felt turned into boiling rage and I shoved him from behind. “You bastard! You tore everything from me, exposing me till I was completely and utterly bare in front of you. You know every pain, fear and everything I desire. And all the while you were keeping secrets from me! You’re just like the others—you knew all along what I was and what was going to be expected from me, knew the threat to my life was a real one and you never said one damn word. I… I trusted you like I did no other.”
“M.” He hit his head against stone wall. “You’re killing me.”
“Too late—you’re already dead.” With great effort I walked past him toward the exit but his hand shot out and grabbed my arm.
His eyes were filled with regret and pain like I’d never seen before as he spoke “Please. I’ve been more honest with you than I ever have with any other in all my years of existence.” He was pleading with me to understand, but all I heard was that there had been many others before me and he was much, much older than what he appeared. I don’t know why I never recognized this in him before. It was so obvious; he didn’t look like the others, his eyes were ancient. This revelation was sobering and I realized that my life was a playground for horror, living and dead, and I’d been the ultimate fool.
