Blackwater (Jack and Sari: Episode V)
Where Jack and Sari meet
Sari moved slowly, exiting the elevator and into the dark beyond. Cold water lapped at her shins. Her breath curled into the air, warmth was leached from her by the body of water in which she stood.
The less she moved, the less she disturbed it. Sari was careful, using the toe of her boot to feel the ground before placing down her full weight.
I’ve been here before.
I’m scared because something is coming, but I just can’t remember what.
The light on her gun, a single pinprick, pierced the blackness. Before her was a forest of spiny trees. Their pale, skeletal arms grasped at the air. Some bore fruit—strange fruit whose weight caused the boughs to groan.
Between the trees, pale shapes stood—broken trunks? Sari squinted and trained her light on the nearest one. Sari pressed her lips together, forcing herself to take long and steady breaths through her nose.
Her breath caught.
People.
They stared at their reflections, hands open wide to the void above. A strange reflection gave away that their faces… were not faces at all. They wore porcelain masks. The glass was cast in extreme expressions of joy; mouths too wide and smiling without teeth.
A joyless joy, a cruelly painted joy…
One turned to face her. It released a sound, a hiccup. Sari watched in terror as its shoulders started to tremble. Air sucked in through the masked open mouth and filled the thing’s lungs. On its release, a high-pitched sound filled the air.
Sari stumbled backward, tripping over something that lay beneath the water. She caught herself.
It was laughing.
It took one unsteady step toward her.
Jack waded a few feet behind Money. The water was freezing. After some time, Jack began to loose sensation in his fingers and toes.
He glanced out into the dark forest, at the strange masked figures half submerged. Jack’s eyes narrowed. There was something wrong with their faces. “Are those people?” he asked in a whisper.
Without turning around, Money answered. “No. Not anymore, anyway.”
Jack scrutinized them.
Suddenly, Money elbowed him. “Don’t stare too long. Notice them and they’ll notice you.”
Jack averted his eyes and—with a short sigh—wiped the palm of his free hand on his jeans. Everything was so strange.
“They aren’t super smart,” continued Money, “but rest assured they make up for it with astonishing violence. Once they’re aware of you... Well, nevermind that. Kick that off and then you can’t look away at all.”
Jack suppressed a shiver. He kept the back of Money’s head in his sights and the masked people in his periphery. “I thought this would be a dream,” he mumbled.
“Don’t think of this as a dream anymore. This place has always existed, it has bled into your world, lived atop and within it. We live in your mind, in your mother’s mind, in your father’s mind, your neighbor, your coworker, your friend, your enemy. This place sees all, it has knowledge of things most hidden. On nights when it is especially dark, it can seep, taking form, stalking, taking, gorging. For you, however, the sun comes up in the morning.”
By the time Money finished speaking, they came to a small tunnel that protruded from the trunk of a redwood trunk. It was low to the ground, meaning that Jack would need to crawl on his hands and knees. Doing that in shin-high water didn’t particularly appeal to him.
“There’s a fissure back there,” said Money. “I’m not sure if it’ll lead you up or down, but eventually, it’ll be the way out.”
Jack hesitated. He turned and met Money’s eye. “You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.” Reaching into his pocket, Money retrieved a small metal flashlight. “Here,” he said. “It’ll do you good.”
With thanks, Jack accepted it. He flicked the switch, crouched, and shone it down the tunnel. The beam was not strong enough to penetrate very far.
Jack swallowed. Was this is only way out?
Sensing his apprehension, Money said, “the longer you stay, the less likely you are to leave. Time moves differently here. If I were you, I’d find the exit sooner rather than later.”
“Right…” Jack turned to Money. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You’re staying?”
“I already told you, this is where I belong. I chose to be here with full knowledge.”
Jack heard the resolution in Money’s tone. There would be no argument. It was a shame. Jack could use a partner right about now.
With yet another heavy sigh, Jack shouldered his shotgun and prepared himself.
Just then, there was a change in the current. The water swelled and soaked him up to his neck. Jack returned to his feet just as a larger wave of black water surged in his direction. It completely flooded the tunnel, he noted.
“What’s happening?” Jack asked.
Money didn’t answer immediately. He was looking off into the distance, his leonine eyes probing the dark. Jack noticed a strange reflection in them; a sort of lux lupus, a wolfing light that filled Jack with a deep sense of disquiet.
It dawned on him: “this man can see in the dark.”
Lights flashed far away. No, not lights. One shaft of light that went wild.
Another wave rocked against their legs.
The creatures were not looking up anymore. They, like Money, were oriented toward the commotion. With slow, sloshing steps, the masked people began to move as though drawn.
Money’s forehead wrinkled. “There’s someone else here.” He paused to wince. “It’s not going very well for her, she’s going to be swarmed.”
“Her?” echoed Jack, “the same woman from before?”
“It’s a different woman.”
Jack didn’t know how he knew, but he knew. Something in his gut told him that it was Sari. Hope burned in him. Someone was here! Someone he knew! Someone who could help or at the very least share this awful experience.
Yet he didn’t want to hope for fear of disappointment.
“Who?” Jack demanded.
“I don’t know everything,” snapped Money. “Dark hair. Pretty hot, I guess—”
“That’s Sari,” Jack interrupted.
Money paused to raise a single eyebrow. “Quick with it, aren’t we? All I said was ‘hot brunette’.”
“I mean it could be. Not that it was,” spluttered Jack. This wasn’t the time nor the place. Fear and stress still reigned in his lungs and throat. “Whatever! This is stupid. I have to go back and help her.”
“Woah, woah, woah,” said Money, waving his arms. “Slow down. You’re not going back. I just guided you to the exit.”
“You guided me to a shaft where I would have drowned if I’d gone in any sooner.”
“Okay, that’s fair.”
Jack looked toward the growing crowd of masked folk and racked his shotgun. “You can stay here or go back to the theater to do karaoke or whatever the hell it is you do. I’m going back.”
* Author’s Note *
Thank you for reading! This episode was shorter with Christmas coming up, but I wanted to bring a little something to the table.
Next week there will be no post! I will be catching up on some much needed rest and spending time with family. Well, knowing me, I might release a short story, but I am supposed to be on vacation!
A Town Called Evening and Blackwater will return in the new year. Everything is planned and ready for publishing, so I hope that you guys stay tuned!
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and/or whatever you might celebrate! I pray that 2024 will bring a lot of light, love, and joy to your lives. I know you did into mine!
Much love,
M.E. Beckley
What a cliffhanger! The mask people are terrifying. Happy holidays, looking forward to more in the new year!
The build up is great. I cant wait for everything to smash together. Happy New Year Jack and Sari!