Bethesda Road

By Hillery Earl

It was an innocent vacation plan that went awry. Kailie Hartman and her friend James planned on traveling the country to gain some inspiration. However, once they drive down Bethesda Road, hell soon breaks loose.

When their car disappears, the two friends are trapped in the mysterious land about which Kailie's grandfather wanred her to never travel. Then, when a mysterious man named Stephen comes to their aide, Kailie learns of the connection between her family and Bethesda Road. Meanwhile, a vengeful entity on Bethesda has Kailie's family and friends in its sights and won't stop until the dreadful plan is fulfilled.

With her new findings, and when Stephen is "taken", Kailie must band with her grandfather and an old friend to save him and the planet from destruction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hillery Earl
• Release date: Oct 12, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386442929

Book preview

BETHESDA ROAD

Hillery Earl

Chapter 1.

Cold. That’s all Kailie Hartman felt for the time being. Stuck outside the Joshua house in the middle of November, the cold was blinding. It was an unusual cold for Joshua, Texas. The town had its winters, but they were bearable. This year, winter came early and it came hard. Wind whipped at Kailie’s body, running right through her too-thin jacket. Her hands turned numb as she shifted from one foot to the other on the porch, trying to blow warmth back into her hands.

Let’s go, James! she cried.

Where the hell is he?! she thought. It wasn’t like James to be late on an outing. Kailie understood that he loved the chill, but she was never a huge fan. Her grandfather told her the cold was the time for the Old Ones’ Gathering. When the Old Ones came, the area wasn’t a place to be.

The Old Ones come out every winter’s night near the end of the year, he would say. Parasites, they are. They can never survive bare. They fool and take over the living, every chance they have. Winter is perfect for them because people have their guard down. So, you keep your eyes open, my dear.

Kailie never understood what he meant by that and figured he just told spooky tales to make her wonder. When she was five, until she turned eleven, those stories gave her nightmares ever night during those two months. The way he told them to her, it never sounded like he was joking. A man of the war, her grandfather Joseph hardly ever joked around, even with his children. With his pale white skin and light blue eyes, there seemed to be a mystery within Joseph Hartman. Kailie used to play along and ask if he has ever run into one of them on his journeys. His gaze grew cold and he would never answer her. He was a million miles away from where they would sit. Now at age twenty-three, Kailie did her best to put away childish fears.

I’m coming, dammit, James called. His jet-black hair looked had way too much sheen for its own good. Even when he shaved it off a year ago, the sheen never left. To go with it, his chestnut eyes were always comforting. Even if he became angry, James Conroy had the warmest heart Kailie had ever known. Twenty-five and naïve, he could never hurt a fly.

Smiling and rolling her eyes, Kailie waved her hand for him to get in the car. Her shoulder-length blond hair began to stick to her face, and the tickling sensation was getting annoying. Going on the cross-country tour with her best friend every year, it was always difficult for Kailie to refuse. As much as she despised the crisp winds, Kailie loved traveling. James preferred to go by car to see the sights. A writer with a block, James figured driving gathered more inspiration. A history major, Kailie wanted more scenery. Seeing things up close helped her to keep track of Native American tales told around the country.

As if by magic, Kailie saw James at the front door with four bags in his hands and space. By a miracle, they were able to fit in the back of Kailie’s orange Kia Spectra. Oh, sure, they were his clothes and hers, but she always wondered if he made a deal with her grandfather to take trinkets to protect each other. It happened on their first trip, and the protection ended up bouncing out of the car and then, run over by another, before they could stop and check.

And off we go, James howled. The winds were picking up as they pulled out of the drive-way, Kailie’s eyes watering and her hair blowing around her face. The sky was a misty gray that, on any other day of the year, it rained.

FIFTEEN MINUTES PASSED, music blaring, when Kailie couldn’t hold it in anymore. James never tells her ahead of time where they’re off to until later. The suspense was eating her alive. Last time, they went to Michigan because of the Michigan Chillers James used to read when they were little. Kailie would draw what she saw on the covers, hence, becoming an artist.

Where are we going? Kailie asked.

James’s grin grows across his thin, pale face. First stop: my favorite place in the world, Bethesda Road. Blowing a raspberry at her, Kailie couldn’t help but giggle. Such a beautiful place, she thought. So peaceful, so secluded.

The trees made a tunnel as James moved down the road. It was one time where they like to savor every little moment they have on Bethesda. From each side of the road, they were intertwined as if there’s a fear to let go. Green grass and a tiny stream surround the trees, guarding them from outsiders. Of all the places that earn construction around them, Bethesda has never been touched. Kailie always wondered why that is. Most of the stories her grandfather would tell her took place on Bethesda Road.

People never go near the Bethesda Cemetery, he would say. I don’t want you setting foot in it either, my dear, if you can help it.

Why, Grampy? Kailie would ask.

The gates close at night for a reason, he explained. They don’t want Kana escaping from his place.

Who’s Kana, Grampy?

Joseph’s face whitened as he looked to the sky. It was as though the answer was out of reach for him to tell his granddaughter. His hands shook, and he was as white as the snow in Michigan. If anyone else were in the room, they would have assumed that he had stopped breathing and his eyes would be black, no trace of color left. Taking a deep breath, he begins the story.

"Two hundred years ago, when Texas was founded, a lot more happened than what we were led to believe. When Houston and the others left in peace, Santa Anna was left alone. As he stared into the sky, he noticed a shadowy figured drifting toward him... Not walking, drifting. He claimed his feet never touched the ground. White hair and black eyes. Skin so pale you could put the tiniest black dot anywhere on the body, and it would be noticed in a heartbeat.

"Dressed in rags, Santa Anna claimed he never knew this...‘being’, if you will. Looking into the creature’s eyes, Santa Anna was then hypnotized. He repeated what the creature told him to say. Those black holes for eyes drew him closer and closer away from his home. Before he knew it, Santa Anna came to stop in Bethesda Road in Joshua, Texas.

‘You will rest here,’ the being replied. No one knows for sure what really happened, but it has been suggested that from then until he died, Santa Anna had no recollection of what Kana did to him. Many Texans suggest that he was overshadowed for his last years until he died in Mexico City. One person claimed his last words were, ‘No estoy asustado de ti. Dejame en paz.’ From then on, Kana stayed in the Bethesda Cemetery.

What do those phrases mean, Grampy? Kailie asked.

‘I am not afraid of you. Leave me in peace’. It’s the only way to force the specific demon out of the host. It severely weakens him as one fights him.

KAILIE AND JAMES CONTINUED driving through Bethesda, and it seemed longer this time. It was as if time was playing tricks on them. That’s, at least, how Kailie began to see it. So many secrets about Bethesda made her think every time she passed through. As beautiful as the autumn colors were on the tree tunnel, they looked like they were trying to hide something. Never in a million years would she try to buy what her grandfather used to sell, but still... such seclusion, like they were on another planet. Nobody is ever seen driving from the homes on Bethesda. People just pass through.

James looked over to her, concerned. You okay?

Kailie shook her head as if she was in a trance. Yeah... Just lost in the colors. She put on a grin that James could never tear away from. Born and raised in Texas, Kailie could never resist the colors of changing leaves. No matter what the season turned out to be, the consequences of the weather, hot or cold, were always worth it to her.

It’s just... Don’t you think it’s odd that people take the ghost stories seriously around here? Kailie scratched her nose, trying to see the trees up close.

James shrugged. You know many people around here are religious. I guess they figure superstitions could be a form of ‘protection’.

Giggles erupted from his lips seconds after he spoke. James had never been a religious person, despite his upbringing. His mother, Martha, was the exact opposite, sending him to Sunday school every week until he was fourteen years old. James claimed he was completely drained by the time he graduated from high school. He said to Kailie, his only real friend at the time, he couldn’t wait to get away from that woman. Ironically, less than two months after he went to the University of North Texas, when he was eighteen, her body was found face down in the bathtub. All that was left was a strange note written on the sink in her blood:

All who step in the blood of He, will writhe for all eternity

O h, come on, Kailie sighed. Not everyone is like dear Martha. She blew a raspberry at him as James wiped his eyes from laughter.

As the minutes drifted, the wind started picking up, so Kailie rolled up the window. She always figured, if the wind gets too strong, it could blow her over, even when she would sit in a moving vehicle. That was the one thing her grandfather often disagreed with.

Our Lord watches over us, he would say. But be mindful of your decisions and surroundings. That statement stayed with Kailie ever since it passed his lips.

The sky grew dark and, based on the feeling of the car window, the wind was getting colder. It was only three in the afternoon, though. As Kailie began to close her eyes, she noticed something unusual.

Oh my god! she cried. James, are you seeing this?! Her eyes were wide.

The leaves on the trees, all at once, fell in the middle of the road. Kailie looked over, and realized they weren’t too far from the cemetery when this happened. Even with simple shedding, this never happened before.

Slowing down a bit, James nodded. What the hell?

The trees were waving around slowly at first, no longer intertwined. Completely empty of leaves, the branches began to look like wild snakes fighting over a meal. Kailie noticed that they were getting lower and lower to the ground.

James, slow down! she cried.

James kept nodding. He reminded her of a bobble head on the desk. Whispering, his voice had never been so raspy. I am.

Still getting lower, the branches were moving faster. Kailie became dizzy watching one at a time. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that a few of the branches didn’t look like branches at all, but rather...hands...and arms. It was as though they were grabbing for something, as a couple more slammed into the back windows. Glass went everywhere. Kailie and James covered their eyes for the time being to keep it out. As they did, the slamming became much more violent.

Panting, James reached for Kailie’s hand. Let’s get out of here!

HOLDING HER BREATH, blocking out a scream, Kailie returned his grab and the two of them bolted out of the Kia. Getting out just in time, a giant log slammed down on the roof, the rest of the glass flying everywhere. Blinded by tears, Kailie wouldn’t let go of James’s hand as they kept moving out of the tunnel, toward the cemetery. In the corner of her eye, Kailie saw that the car was literally folding up. It was similar to a burrito being made. Twigs were flying around their faces as they continued running.

Water splashed from the skinny stream. It was a lot more than Kailie would have guessed. The liquid seemed to freeze on her face, feeling like sewing pins. With the luxury of holding James’s hand, she closed her eyes for seconds at a time.

Don’t you let go of my hand! James screamed.

Panting harder, Kailie squeezed tighter onto his fingers. Her lungs burned with every step they took. What’s going on?!

James kept his mouth closed as long as possible as they continued on. His head felt like a balloon getting ready to drift. With his legs burning, he wished to be lifted, even just for a while. The tunnel seemed longer as they went on foot, but then again, the last time Kailie walked through Bethesda, her grandfather was showing her where to stay away. Holding James’s hand with one hand and covering her eyes with the other arm, Kailie felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest, when at last they escaped through the tunnel. By then, there was a loud, giant THUD! behind them. When they turned around, it was too late. The Kia somersaulted into the grassy areas next to the road, pulverized by the trees’ fists.

Her heart still pounding, Kailie’s grip on James’s hand was still as tight as ever. His arms and head shook as if he was having a seizure. It was getting so cold, that he had to check his hand,