Chapter 26

Charles sat inside Audra's apartment on a gusty evening staring down at his plate that still had a
sizable slab of meatloaf lying to one side. Mahalia Jackson's, 'How I got over,' was playing on a low
volume on the record player that rested on the bureau behind Charles. The man sat and scraped at his
plate like a child. He couldn't decide what to focus on more, the music playing behind him, or the wind
outside the window. Every so often he would glance over at the window and the streetlamp beyond it
that was burning bright as it possibly could for 6 p.m., as well as the tree beside it that was losing its
leaves daily.

Audra suddenly came back into the dining room and closed the blind before looking down at Charles'
plate. "Well, I thought you said you liked meatloaf." She grinned somewhat.

Coming out of his stupor, Charles sat up and smiled, "I like it very much. I was just thinking for a few
moments."

Audra sat herself down at the small table opposite Charles before she began eating away at the last
bits of her okra. "It makes me wonder if Mrs. Mercer made better meatloaf than me." She smirked.

Chuckling, Charles replied, "There is absolutely nothing wrong with your cooking. I'm quite sure Mr.
Watson enjoyed every bit of it himself."

Blushing, Audra said, "Shoot, that poor man ate like an ant. People used to call 'em Mr. String bean."

Both Charles and Audra giggled amongst themselves for a few seconds before Charles finished the
rest of his milk and sighed, "No, I was just wondering a few things to myself."

"I wonder a lot, too. Like how many days it'll take for me to get used to this time change all over again."
Audra quipped.



"I know. I sure do wish they would make up their minds on this daylight savings nonsense." Charles
griped. "I always hate it when it gets dark at 5 p.m."

Right then, Audra placed her fork down onto her plate before rearing forward and asking, "Do you
realize that this is the most conversation we've had ever since you arrived this evening?"

Catching himself, Charles said, "Really? Sometimes people have to tell me to shut up."

"You were certainly a chatterbox back at the hospital. But now, it seems ever since you arrived here,
you've just shut down."

Blushing, Charles sat back and exhaled long and deep. He knew exactly what Audra meant, and yet,
he felt as if he had to tread lightly when it came down to his business.

"It sure was great to see my grandson the other day." His eyes beamed.

Smiling, Audra said, "I bet it was after all this time."

"But as much as I enjoyed seeing him, I sure do wish I could've seen Lynn, too."

"It's sad that she just up and left her son the way she did."

Wincing in his seat, Charles said, "I don't think she simply just up and left. Lynn is a good girl. The last
time I saw her she was such a mess. And I surely didn't help matters myself. I just feel as if she's into
something a lot deeper than I first thought."

"You don't think she's in some kind of danger do you?" Audra frowned.

It took a moment for Charles to answer. "I pray to God that's not the case." He murmured with his head
down. "She and Isaac was such a good couple before...before everything went downhill."



Appearing faintly surprised, Audra remarked, "I believe that this is the first time you've actually
mentioned your son to me since you were in the hospital."

Charles' eyes gradually met with Audra's at that instant in a syrupy kind of sentiment. "He was such a
good boy." His voice spoke so soft and fond. "Me and his mama were so happy when he was born.
After all the mess I did in my life, and to think that God would bless me so richly."

There crept upon both Charles and Audra such a blissful calm inside the dining room that one would
believe that their very souls had vacated their bodies.

"I remember the time he told me he wanted to be a pastor." Charles cracked a smile. "Both his mama
and I about fainted. We were happy, mind you, but that boy was so into sinful music and girls that
hearing him say those words about gave us a heart attack."

Audra began to laugh out loud while Charles himself just smiled and sat up in his chair with his hands
folded. The man could feel the ice beginning to melt away, but the glacier was still as mighty and
present as ever.

"Yes sir, he sure was a good boy." His voice floated away.

"I have to admit that not having any children was my biggest regret." Audra somberly remarked. "My
husband felt that doing his work down at the church was far more important than starting a family."

"Well, I am sorry about that." Charles humbly stated.

"So am I." Audra sighed. "But at least you got a chance to love your son for the time he was here."

Charles sat and peered down at the white table cloth before allowing his thoughts to distance himself
away from Audra once more.

"Charles? Charles, are you okay?" Audra stared hard at the man.



Charles' eyes remained on the table while he said, "Around this time last year, my son stumbled upon
something very ugly. And believe me when I say, I know all about ugliness."

Looking confused and standoffish, Audra asked, "How do you mean?"

Charles then looked up at Audra with stiff eyes. "Do you remember that incident that took place back in
February with that young man that nearly killed his fiancée and son?"

Audra sat and reflected before turning back to Charles with a stunned glare on her face. "That was
your son?" Her voice stretched.

Charles shamefully nodded his head and replied, "Something took my son away from me long before
that horrible night. And I believe that same something has followed me right here to this place. I also
believe that it has Lynnette as well."

Audra sat back in her seat and stared ever so strangely at the man. Her eyes gave off the impression
that she was able to gather bits and pieces of what he was trying to say, but her face told the story of a
woman who was stumbling into territory that she didn't want to tread upon.

"What kind of something are you talking about?" She asked. "Because I've seen people of all ages and
colors get into stuff they have no business being in to begin with."

"No, no, Isaac wasn't into drugs. He did a lot of things, but drugs weren't one of them. These past few
months I've been going up the wall trying to figure out something that I know deep down in my soul
doesn't make any sense. I've been reading all these ridiculous books and watching all kinds of movies
here and there, and still, I can't bring myself to even begin to believe such a thing."

"Such a thing as what," Audra became agitated.



Charles ringed his hands before saying, "The other day, when I was fixing Robin's sink, I felt it. I even
felt it when I met the fella in number eight."

"Oh, that's Russell Parrish." Audra callously waved her hand. "He got out of Vietnam three years ago."

"Is that right?"

"Yep," she responded. "He's harmless. All he does is stay inside his apartment and play music. If he's
not doing that then he's walking all over town like he's homeless. He gets a check from the Army every
month, so as long as he pays his rent on time and doesn't bother anybody then he's fine."

"I'm not saying that he or Robin, or anyone else for that matter is the problem. I'm saying that this thing
that's following me could try and take me down with it all over again like it tried to do back in the
summer. It took Isaac, and it tried to take Lynn and Isaiah, too."

"What do you believe this thing is?" Audra crossed her legs.

Charles looked Audra up and down right before he got up from out of his chair and sat down in the seat
that was placed right next to her. Both of them drew close to each other at that instant as the record on
the turnstile finished its final song. Charles wanted to reach out and grab a hold of Audra's hands, but
he composed himself, not wanting to be too direct with his emotions. Instead, he sat and looked at
Audra with trembling lips.

"I...I know that you don't like talking about it all that much, and believe me when I say, I totally
understand. But I've been meaning to ask you about this for the past few months, and I think now is as
good of a time as any."

Much to his surprise, Audra took Charles' hands before she uttered with a serious face, "What did you
want to ask me?"



Charles breathed in and out before saying, "I need to know just what exactly went on inside that
shelter."

Immediately, Audra withdrew her warm grip from Charles before sitting back in her chair and looking
away. Charles could see the glassiness in her eyes. The very last thing he wanted was to harm Audra
in any fashion, but he just couldn't seem to maintain himself any longer.

"Please, Audra...I have to know what went down in there that night." He pleaded.

"Why?" Audra spun her head around with such ire.

"Because you were there, and what you saw may be able to help me put this puzzle together and come
out of this nightmare. You see, ever since Isaac passed, I've been having these visions. I can see all of
these horrible things, but I can't even see my child without it being something just as terrible. I
remember the last night I spoke to him. I had to cuss that boy out. Funny thing is, I barely recall what I
even said. I think it had something to do with a dog."

Audra dropped her head and sighed. Charles could sense that the subject was bearing down upon her
to the point where pulling out just one word seemed to cause her hands to shake.

Audra looked back up, but away from Charles. "You have to understand, I went next door to the
hardware store to use the phone because our power went out." Her voice shuddered. "Even before I
could get back to the shelter, I heard nothing but screaming and yelling inside. Lord help me, I was just
too scared to go back in there. All those women and their blessed little children," Audra began to cry.

It was busting Charles up inside just to hear her tell the story, and still, he didn't want her to stop. Every
fiber in his body just had to hear more and even more after that.



"I could hear that thing inside there just going crazy. There I was, standing at the front door as some of
the people came flying out...and some didn't. I was too scared and stuck in place to even run and call
the police. I never heard anything so terrible in my life. And to think...it was right inside that very place.
It killed this little girl named Andicka. She was such a sweet little thing."

"You have nothing in this world to be ashamed of." Charles took Audra by the hand. "There wasn't a
thing you or anyone else could have done."

Audra wiped her eyes and said, "It even got poor Meredith. She just wanted to do the Lord's work."

Charles compassionately nodded his head as he gripped Audra's hands even tighter than before. He
couldn't be ripped away from the conversation even if the building were on fire.

"When the police finally showed up, I went inside with them." Audra then broke down even more at that
instant. "Dead people were all over the place. Blood everywhere a person stepped."

Just then, Audra jumped up from out of her chair and stood at the window. Charles sat and kept on
staring away at the chair in which she once was seated in. His whole body went completely numb to
where he couldn't even feel the heat from the radiator by the window whisper into the side of his face. It
was so quiet and moody inside the apartment that for a few breathtaking moments Charles could hear
his heart thump in time with the tapping branches against the window.

"It was such an odd evening." Audra suddenly muttered while looking out the window."

"How so," Charles replied.

"I knew every woman that came and went out of that place on a daily basis. But there was this one girl,
out of all of the others, that caught my attention the most. You see, before I left to go to the hardware
store, I was sitting and speaking with Andicka's mother, and that's when the power went out. Everyone
inside, including myself, all started to panic. Just as I was about to get up and go, I look over to my left



to see this one young lady just sitting on a bed and staring right back at us. I know I should have, but I
never even bothered to ask what her name was. Getting the electricity back on was my only concern."

Charles found himself blinking in and out of the conversation. It wasn't that he was bored, but rather, he
was conjuring in his mind the horrific death scene that Audra had presented to him. It was far more
devastating to hear about it from the mouth of someone who was actually there. For a second or two
he reconsidered his pleas to even start the discussion to begin with.

Audra then turned away from the window and began back for the dining table. She sat herself down in
her chair and said, "It was such an evil summer." Her voice cracked.

"Yes, God...it surely was." Charles lowered his eyes.

"The girl that was just sitting there even had these eyes. They were glowing in the dark. It just makes
you wonder what these young folks are into these days." Audra lamented just as the telephone in the
other room blared out. "I'll be back." She said as she got up and went away.

At that very moment, Charles Mercer's body felt as if it were glued right to the chair he was sitting in. All
he could do was stare off at the wall ten feet ahead of him and recollect upon a pair of glowing eyes in
his old bedroom.

Coming back into the dining room, Audra announced, "Uh, speaking of Russell, he says that his icebox
is on the fritz. Could you stop by tomorrow morning and check on it?"

Charles sat and simply grunted his response rather than open his mouth. Audra stepped carefully
towards Charles before tapping him on the shoulder and asking, "Are you okay?"

Holding back his own tears, Charles remarked, "I never told you how or why I ended up in that
hospital."



"I figure you had a very bad accident."

"No...it wasn't an accident, Audra. Something very evil visited me that evening. I tried to escape it by
walking up to the roof of my building, and...and ending it all."

Audra's face went completely pale at that instant as she sat back down in her chair. "You could've died.
You of all people know that wasn't the right thing to do." She gasped.

Nodding his head with his lips poked out, Charles replied, "Yeah, I guess so. But I didn't." He then
sulked. "Do you realize that I've never been to see my son ever since they put him in the ground?"

"Well, I can understand that. He's not there anymore anyways."

"You're right, he's not. He's in hell."


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