Wednesday, January 25, 2012


Now Playing: The Darkness
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The Darkness 1


Episode Five of The Darkness

Episode Four concluded with:


The bedroom door opened slowly and Bart immediately recognized the man that stepped inside. It was Adrian Monahan. 
            A trickle of red ran down the middle of Adrian’s head, as if dividing it in two.“Help me!” Monahan shouted. “Justice! I won’t rest until I get justice!”
            Adrian reached into his suit coat and brought out a large knife. “I will claim the head of the man who killed me!”
            Adrian stepped back out of the room and closed the door. Bart could hear his footsteps moving down the hall.
            McRae grabbed his boots and hastily put them on. He was leaving this place and leaving fast. He tossed his Bible back into the valise, closed it up and stepped quickly toward the bedroom door.
            It was locked.
            “Let me out of here!” He began pounding furiously on the door.
            Bart suddenly stopped. He dropped the valise, made both of his hands into fists and took a deep breath. “I need to think,” he whispered to himself. “Think calmly.”
            A loud scream filled the house. McRae froze, not moving a muscle until a second scream sounded.

Episode Five

     Bart abandoned any efforts at calm thoughts. He began to kick at the heavy door. On the fourth effort the door flew open with splinters of wood forming a prickly cloud that scattered to the floor.
            Darkness awaited Bart McRae in the hallway.  Forgetting about the valise, McRae stepped into the cave like environment and walked carefully toward the stairway. Grabbing onto the banister he descended slowly. The stairway was wide and, like the rest of the house, uncarpeted. 
            As he reached the bottom floor, McRae could see a thin blade of light coming from the partially closed door of the study. Jesse slept there. He had to be awake now. Maybe he…
            No. Bart had been in the Monahan Residence long enough. He was getting out forever. McRae ran for the front door, only to trip over something, stumble and fall head first.
            Red lights popped in front of McRae as he struggled back onto his feet. He stared at a side wall and watched the red blobs be consumed by the darkness that flooded the hallway. Feeling a bit more steady, Bart looked around and saw what he had tripped over.
            It was the body of Jesse Monahan, lying in the hallway outside the office.
            “Jesse!” McCrae crouched over the fallen gambler. There was a silly smile on Jesse’s face as if he were trying to amuse a child. For a moment, Bart wondered if he might be the victim of an elaborate joke.
            But only for a moment. He placed two fingers on Jesse Monahan’s neck, feeling for a pulse that wasn’t there. As he withdrew his hand, he noticed blood on the sleeve of his shirt. His arm had brushed the gambler’s chest where a large knife protruded. 
            A rattling sound came from inside the office. The door moved outward a few inches and the black cat slithered into the hallway. The animal’s body rose into a hunched position and the cat hissed; its eyes seemed to flame at the man crouched over the corpse.
            Bart dashed from the house in a panicked frenzy. He ran into town, passed a saloon and headed directly for the sheriff’s office, which was locked. For the second time in less than an hour, he pounded on a door.
            “Okay, okay, I’m coming.”
            Sheriff Buford Miley opened the door in sock feet. His eyes gleamed with surprise. “Bart McRae. Heard you’d been released.”
            McRae stood immobile, unable to speak.
            “What’s wrong with you?” the sheriff asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Tomorrow: Episode Six of The Darkness