Coming Undone

By Gavin Hughes

Dan Weston is a simple, hard working family man. That quickly and violently changes when he is forced to watch the senseless murder of his wife and child at the hands of demons hiding in human form. As the man/demon responsible toys with Weston as if he were a simple pawn, Weston swears a vow of vengeance on all of the demon kind. With nothing left to lose, he immerses himself in the dangerous world of preternatural creatures.

On his quest to find some inner peace, Weston begrudgingly accepts help from the beautiful demon, Lucy. He finds comfort in conversations with an old war vet and Weston's longtime friend, Father Robert tries to right Weston's sinking ship of morality.

In a battle that seems to be stacked against Weston, he fights not only for the memory of his wife and child, but also to keep from losing his humanity and becoming a monster himself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: eBookIt.com
• Release date: Apr 26, 2016
• ISBN: 9781456616755

Book preview

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I remember the scream. Like a word that has many variations of itself, a scream is many things. It can be a shout of excited enthusiasm at the fairgrounds as kids fly in circles on a roller coaster. It can be yelped as we are scared by a friend, or it can be abysmal, the dirtiest, nastiest thing we could ever produce.

I remember the scream. I know You do too, but I have to explain. I don’t know why. I don’t even know if You stopped listening a long time ago. It feels like You have.

The Beginning

Hurry up Dan, we’re going to be late. The movie starts at seven!

I checked my watch and smiled to myself, it was only six twenty. Lisa had arrived at the church an hour and a half before any of the guests at our wedding, knowing she would be safely indoors if there was an act of God or anything else that might prevent her from being there on time. Ten years later and old habits died hard.

I went into Arianna’s room; she was surrounded by butterflies and a lush green field painted on her walls. Lisa and I had spent many sweaty nights before Arianna was born trying to get that wall just right.

You ready to go little girl?

She looked at me with frustration plastered on her face. Mouth in a grimace, nose wrinkled and baby teeth showing partially through her lips she exhaled, the loops don’t seem to be working daddy.

Do you need some help?

She rubbed her nose and her face read defeat. "If mommy wants to go right now, then, yes please."

Sitting in the theater a while later I realized I cherished those evenings as a family, watching a movie and then spending quiet time afterwards. I took a moment to look away from the screen and stare at my beautiful wife, hiding her soft and comforting body underneath a giant wool sweater. On my other side was our pride and joy, Arianna, whose silvery blue eyes revealed a deep rooted wisdom that was ages old. They twinkled with knowledge and love, and when she smiled at me, for an instant I believed that all the worries in our world had disappeared. Work, mortgage, car payments, they all melted away and behind it I saw the possibility of living on love alone.

We drove home afterwards and the river was dark as we crossed over the bridge. The city was cut in half by the Motabique River. The busier part of Haydensburg lay on the south side, providing access to the shopping district, hotels, the University and a wide variety of restaurants. We lived on the north side; the side where most of the townies resided.

I carried our sleeping beauty in from the car. She stirred only once as I laid her little body onto her bed and pulled the covers up safely to her neck. Out of habit I closed her closet door tightly, securing my baby from any monsters that might want to get to her.

From the door, I glanced back and I watched as her eyes flickered behind her closed lids, and her little mouth twitched as if caught in the midst of a dream, and I prayed it was one that was filled with laughter and joy. Four years of memories swirled in my brain and I grinned. Arianna, in the backyard wearing just a diaper as she struggled to kick a soccer ball to me; the look of unadulterated triumph as she came out of the bathroom by herself, after mastering potty-training; the way she clung to my leg and sobbed, saying that if we truly loved her we wouldn’t send her to pre-school.

God’s gift.

Lisa and I made slow, quiet love that night. Afterwards she curled herself up into the area underneath my right arm and spoke in a whisper as we lay naked.

Andrew called this morning. She kissed one of my ribs. He wanted to know when it’s okay by me you can join him for a beer?

I stroked her hair. That’s nice. To be in her arms, for even the briefest of moments, was something I would have walked through hell and back for.

We first met after Lisa finished college. I was twenty-four and in the construction business, a dust and sweat covered grunt, building a Tim Horton’s when she showed up on the site with the head architect. Her boss and my supervisor had gone into a corner and were engrossed in shop-talk when I met her gaze; a young lady in a business suit and a yellow hard hat. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was business-like, yet there was an aura of sensuality about her. I could see her face glow every time she smiled.

As she was leaving, I dropped my tool belt and made a slow jog after her. Lisa had been hesitant at first, knowing what some construction workers were like, but she gave me a chance. A couple of years later we married. In our sixth year together, Arianna was born and everything was perfect.

I should have known that nothing perfect lasts forever.

Did you hear that?

I smiled. She had always been a worrier. I was a risk taker by nature, but opposites attract.

I didn’t hear anything baby. I pulled the covers over our heads and nibbled at her neck.

Dan stop. She held her breath. It sounds like someone’s roaming around downstairs.

I squinted my eyes and cocked my head. I couldn’t hear anything.

It’s probably Arianna getting a drink.

I fluffed up my pillow as Lisa sat up and the sheet fell away, revealing her form.

Well I’m going to make sure the door is locked.

I locked it as soon as we got in.

Well, then I’m going to grab a drink. Damn she was stubborn.

Fine but don’t come running to me if the boogeyman cops a feel at you in the dark. I gave her a little tickle which she returned with a look of disgust.

I rolled my eyes and sighed as she tied her robe around her. Don’t be long. I patted the side of the bed beside me.

She padded out of the room and our perfect life came to an end.

There was silence as Lisa went downstairs. And then it came, that scream. The piercing exclamation that rocked our silent house was primal, filled with raw fear and panic and it left me windless.

I got my leg caught up in the sheets and almost fell on my face. Regaining my balance, I made a quick scan for my underwear. I threw them on and raced towards the stairs. My core filled with adrenaline and my mind danced around the many reasons for a scream like the one I’d heard. I was thinking too much, my mind filled with ‘what ifs’, so I never saw the shadow off to my left. There was no time to react. I have seen him there every night since and what I could have done differently.

He hit me in the soft spot just below my skull. I fought unconsciousness and lost. I remember pain and the thought, as darkness came, that I would kill anyone who tried to hurt my family.

~ ~ ~

The thundering of the equipment on any work site was not quite as skull throbbing as the pain in my head when I came to. My fear was gone for the moment, as I tried to focus my blurry eyes, fight through the veil of fog and ignore the nausea.

I blinked and felt my stomach heave. My black leather couch came into view as well as the huddled and trembling figures of my wife and my daughter, helpless, in pajamas. There was a sadistic vulnerability to the situation. Lisa sat with her knees up to her chest with her arms off to the side clutching Arianna.

I was propped up in a chair, my hands bound with rope behind me; I clenched my fists, and my jaw tightened as I stared at the strangers. Four men, all well dressed, patient and calm. Beasts. I closed my eyes for a moment, my aching head thanking me, as I asked for God’s help. Keep them safe.

One of the men moved silently and sat with my wife and daughter on the couch. They huddled even closer together. My muscles strained against the bindings. Let me out of these ropes and I would tear these men apart with my bare hands.

He stroked the long blond hair of my daughter and I dug my fingernails into my palms. I wanted to break his hands.

She is a beautiful young lady. His words were like blows to my face. I could feel blood begin to surface on my palms, I dug my nails in deeper.

He was well dressed and I couldn’t fathom what he might want from our simple, middle class household. He was a younger man, not much more than thirty, beige sports coat, khaki pants, and a golf shirt, the expensive kind. Two more men stood in the shadows in the corner of the room, wearing blue jeans, white button ups, un-tucked and mid length leather coats. They were big men. The fourth seemed to be the outcast of the group; long greasy hair, earrings in both ears and a tight white T-shirt. I could see his thick furrow of chest hair beneath. Those images would be tattooed on my memory forever. Like a wanted poster, I would never forget them; their faces, or the fear they instilled in my family.

I struggled through the throbbing in my head and the rough bite of the ropes. What do you want? The man on the couch smiled thoughtfully.

Nothing really. Well, that’s not exactly true. A game.

Let them go. Take me.

He laughed out loud, very prissy like. The one with the earrings laughed too, a high-pitched howl like a hyena. The beast in the sports coat looked to the two men in the corner. He swiveled his head slowly back towards me, and as he gazed at me I became aware (strangely enough considering the situation) that I was naked except for my boxer shorts.

They are the reason we are here. He grinned at Lisa and Arianna like a rich man staring at a suitcase full of bills. He paused and returned his gaze to me. A gentleman you will meet in the near future wants to play a game.

This was no time for games. You didn’t screw around with people’s lives. I repeated myself, take me, leave them alone.

The well dressed man spoke with humour in his voice. It seems we have a martyr here. And look, he rose, with a leathery creak from the couch and walked slowly to the wall by the kitchen. On the overhang was a crucifix. He removed it and turned it slowly over in his hands.

You’re a religious man? He raised his eyebrows to me.

I clenched my teeth, they grinded against each other, making a sound like nails on a chalkboard.

That Jesus, he was quite a character wasn’t he? Dying for the sins of all of mankind, do you really believe that? I have a hard time believing you’re sin free?

I struggled to get my hands free and the rope burned deeper into the flesh of my wrists. Layers of skin peeled away, much like the situation before me was peeling away.

What do you want? I wasn’t scared. I was not a victim. I was a husband and father who had everything weighing in the balance. My family was being threatened and I was mad as hell.

The man in the beige suit looked to my two girls huddled on the couch and gave me a sad smile. Them.

I bit down even harder, jaw muscles standing at attention. The taste of blood inside my mouth; I had bit my tongue. It hurt and I should have eased up. I didn’t. I couldn’t. The blood in my mouth was the symbol of what would be shed if anything happened to my family.

Please take me. I said it roughly.

I would Mr. Weston, but I can’t. My name on his lip burned like a cattle prod jabbed onto my skin.

How do you know us? My wife was crying now, along with Arianna.

Didn’t you learn anything in your life so far? I stared cold and hard, but this thing would not be intimidated. It’s just too simple to hand over the answer to every question. You must find the answers yourself.

Enough of this. One of the men in the corner spoke impatiently. Do what we came to do.

The young man in the expensive suit, shot a hard glance at one of the men in the corner. In the shadows, I saw the large man on the right fold his arms, his leather coat made a rough sound as if new. He stared back, unwilling to be intimidated.

The man who sat with my family turned back to me and cocked his head. Please don’t mind Anthony over there, he has no patience for games. He shook his head like he couldn’t understand how anybody in their right mind didn’t like games. I didn’t like this one.

He smoothed the arms of his sports coat and moved between me and the couch. I’m very sorry the least I can do is make introductions before we go any further. He pointed to the to the large men. The two gentlemen in the corner are Anthony and Garret, the young man next to you is Seth and finally, he bowed graciously, almost taunting me, I am Peter, your humble servant.

He moved smoothly towards Lisa, she clutched Arianna even tighter as panic flooded her eyes. This couldn’t be happening.

In less than a few seconds I had become a victim. I watched and I cried out when Peter reached up and took a hold of my wife’s throat. Lisa sucked in a blast of air. Her larynx made a crunching sound as if someone stepped on a bug, as he crushed it between his fingers.

She looked to me as life drained away. I shook the chair I was in. A noise came from deep within me that sounded like a growl. The men before me had reduced me to an animal. I thrashed, more skin peeled away from my wrists and the chair was in danger of tipping sideways. The long haired bastard, Seth, held fast so I wouldn’t miss the show. He had a tattoo on his right wrist.

Lisa lay limp. She had died so quick and that hurt even worse. It was not like a movie where the dying fades away with words of wisdom or one last ‘I love you’; Lisa was gone so quick it was incomprehensible.

Peter threw his head back as if he might howl at the moon. Instead he sucked in a short burst of air through clenched teeth as if he were in the throes of an orgasm. If the fact that he had murdered Lisa in cold blood and was getting off on it was not enough, what I witnessed next should have driven me insane. Peter’s hair, skin, muscle and bone all began to fade like a CGI trick, and beneath I saw what he truly was for an instant. There was a flash of blackened round eyes with no lids, wrinkled, leathery skin, a piggish snout for a nose with savage boar like teeth that could easily tear through skin, and sharp talons at the end of the monster’s fingers.

I knew my instincts were right all along. They truly were beasts. It was such a vivid image I had seen; it was a glimpse of death, a vision of suffering, a quick but very real stare into the eyes of hell.

Before she was to become a victim to the beasts standing in my living room, Arianna became a victim to fear. Her crying turned to panicked whimpers, her body trembled and she stared at me, waiting for me to turn everything around and make it all better. Tears stained her soft cheeks. She was a daughter waiting for her father to rescue her. I wanted to kiss those cheeks, hug her one more time, run a hand through her hair. But that evening I failed, I couldn’t protect her. My daughter, my own flesh and blood stared at me, her instincts telling her that father’s were the most powerful beings in the universe and could turn any situation around. She sat on the couch beside her dead mother and I could not help her.

She was only four years old. She was just a scared, innocent child; a child who had no time to grow up and find love, a child who wanted only to be in the comforting arms of her mother or father. Arianna was a child who was fully aware of the impending danger.

It’s okay baby girl. Daddy’s here, daddy’s here. I tried to hold back my tears for her sake.

My hands began a rush to get out of the rope.

I’m scared daddy!

It’s okay to be scared baby, but we’re going to be tough, you’re going to smile at daddy and…

I’m sorry. These hands that worked with steel and concrete couldn’t help you in the end. I am so sorry. I would always remember the way you screamed as Peter moved towards your fragile frame. It echoed the same as the moment you were released from your mother’s womb. But don’t worry; your mother is still beside you, next to your own silent body.

I closed my eyes to escape the horror and you re-appeared behind my lids, wrapped warmly in the hospital blanket. You gazed curiously from Lisa then to me, you gripped my finger with your tiny hands. I will remember it all, I promise, first words, bronzing your shoes…

Oh God, why have you forsaken me?

~ ~ ~

I was in and out of consciousness, after the four men left my house. In the silence I fought with nightmares, still bound roughly to the chair.

There was an old man, but not one of the things who had violated my life. He stood in my living room, beside my leather couch, beside the lives that had been stolen from me. Did he smile at me? Or was that a grimace? I wanted to wake up, but the dream refused to end. He came to my side, cocked his head and stroked my cheek. He smiled sadly as he looked deep into my eyes. The old man, dirty and wearing nothing more than coarse rags about his body, wiped a tear away from my cheek. He leaned in closer and whispered one word into my ear.

Redemption.

And the darkness came again. The black world descended upon me, the one that would haunt my sleep and rule my life when I awoke.

~ ~ ~

It was the early hours of the morning before a funeral for two. No one was beside me in the bed, it wasn’t even the same house. The big two storey would go up for sale in a week or so (but who would want to buy a house with its new history) and the little trailer was fine. I didn’t need a lot of space. Plus there was no phone and that saved me from the stream of condolences and offerings of help, or shoulders to cry on.

I had my crutch. I reached for the bottle of gin on the nightstand and drank, even if it didn’t shut the nightmares off. I saw the same images every night, beginning with that horrid scream, and every night it ended the same way. They left the house in an ordered single file. And I would always wake at that same moment with sweat stains on the sheet and reaching blindly for that bottle.

I went to the bathroom and splashed water on my face. Peter. His name was like tasting bile in my mouth. I spat in the sink.

I know what you are Peter.

There were inquiries, fingerprints, interrogations and yellow tape just so they could tell me that I didn’t do it. I told the police about the four men, but I was sure they wouldn’t find them. Their kind would never be found if they didn’t want to. I would find them. And when we met, I would go one better than that. An eye for an eye. I knew there was more to that line, but for my purpose it worked just fine.

I didn’t sleep for the rest of the night. Instead I went out and walked, just following my feet but unconsciously moving from place to place that was still fresh with the memories of all that was gone. Over the bridge, over top of the dark, cold night time waters that sent shivers through me. Ten minutes to reach the south side of the city, to the Tim Horton’s where I remembered a sexy lady in her suit and hard hat, the movie theatre where I had first hesitantly put my arm around her.

Beyond the Regent Theatre and the supermarket was St. Bernard Elementary. Dark, but I could see a small frame sliding down the slide and stopping at the bottom to fix the loops in her laces.

I had a funeral at ten in the morning. I was nervous and scared. I was empty except for the undying love I felt for my two girls, and the other part, that incessant biting in the pit of my stomach. Love in my heart and a deep hatred and desire for vengeance in my stomach.

I would cry later that morning. And after that, there was some unfinished business that would have to be taken care of.

~ ~ ~

I did cry that morning, silently, to myself. I felt my heart breaking into small pieces. I felt loss so overwhelming that it threatened to consume me where I stood. Shadows covered everything; the warm sun, the light blue of the sky, what was left of the winter’s snow. It was all being swallowed by a spreading darkness.

My black suit soaked up the sun and I felt sweat threatening despite the cold March air. Staring down at my tie I had a flash of Peter’s well-dressed attire and I wanted to tear it off, throw it into the two resting places before me, six feet below. Bury it. Tears slipped out from behind my sunglasses and I knew that it was not going to be that simple. You couldn’t bury the past. And truthfully, I did not want to make it apart of the past. I was going to meet it head on, like two cars ramming into each other at high speeds. There would be a collision. My wife, my child, neither would rest properly until Peter and his friends were all in graves of their own.

There would be a reception at Lisa’s parent’s house where there would be mini sandwiches, wine, cheese and a bunch of people standing around not really knowing what to say to the family of the deceased. I would save them the trouble; I wasn’t going.

A stream of cars headed slowly away from the gates of St. Anthony’s Cemetery. They all got to drive away from this place and eventually my two girls would be faded memories for most of the people in attendance. There would always be more architects, kindergarten classes would continue and they would all go on. I could leave this place but the hole would always be there trying to pull me into it. Lisa and Arianna would always be with me, but they stirred restlessly and I knew they would until all the wrongs were righted.

Andrew Fields and his wife, Linda, came up on my left. He was my friend, good friend but what do you say to a man who has lost everything.

Dan? He looked at me with uncertainty.

Linda put her arms around me. She held me and I could hear her begin to cry. I don’t know if it was for me or them.

We love you Dan. She whispered in my ear, voice breaking. Linda gave me one more squeeze and wandered away, struggling to find the tissues in her coat pocket.

A cold wind blew by. Andrew stood with his feet together, hands at his side, much like he might have been saying a final goodbye to a friend when he was still in the Navy. Father Robert Thomas stood behind us, giving us a moment.

I…uh… He stuttered, closed his mouth and did something I would not have expected from him. He broke his military posture and threw his arms around me. In the end, when all had disappeared, there was always friendship, a brotherhood, a bond that was unbreakable. My two best friends were the first to arrive and last to leave. We never left each other’s side, whether we were taking the blame for stolen cigarettes or mourning lost family.

Andrew patted my back lightly. We’ll all miss ‘em. He straightened up again. Call us for anything, okay?

Thanks Andy.

Andrew jogged to catch up with Linda and only Father Robert and I were left. I wanted to be alone but he was my best friend.

I stared at the polished wooden caskets, one