Ascent by Matt Bialer Read Free Book Online Page A

them
    From the darkness
    To the light
    The town awakes
    To hear him
    Talk about
    The unusual sights
    A flash of light
    In the darkness
    Townspeople confused
    An established figure
    Community of Van Meter
    Respected
    Has a new venture
    With his brother David
    Very active
    Sits on the Village Council
    Member of two local clubs
    Maybe he saw the moon
    Had he been drinking?
    A flash of light
    In the darkness
    The next night
    Local doctor
    Dr. Fred Alcott
    Keeps a room
    For resting
    Rear of his office
    Prepares for bed
    2:27 am
    This September night
    Awakes
    To a bright light
    Shining in his face
    What the devil?
    A patient?
    Bright flash of light
    Through the window
    Blinding
    A flash of light
    In the darkness
    Grabs his
    Remington Model 4 rifle
    Runs outside
    To find the source
    Air misty
    Smell of fallen leaves
    Behind the light
    A massive form
    What in the name of God?
    Creature
    8 feet tall
    Half human
    Half animal
    Can see where the light
    Is coming from
    Where the light
    Is coming from
    The center
    Of the creature’s forehead
    A small blunt horn
    Great bat-like wings
    Double thick skin membranes
    Body covered
    In dense fur
    Black brown
    Can see where the light
    Is coming from
    The horn, the horn
    Terrible rotten egg smell
    His eyes sting
    I must slay this beast
    Raises his rifle
    Fires
    Reloads
    Fires
    Five shots
    No effect
    My God! My God!
    Stands there
    The Doctor
    Runs into his office
    Locks the doors
    And windows
    To open their eyes
    And to turn them
    From the darkness
    From the power of Satan
    No one in the town
    Believes
    A flash of light
    In the darkness
    No one believes him
    The Doctor’s gone batty
    Too much absinthe
    A monster in Van Meter?
    The next night
    October 1 st
    One AM
    Clarence Dunn
    Walks alone
    Through the quiet
    Known to his friends
    As Peter
    And to turn them
    From the darkness
    Smokes brand new
    Peterson Pipe
    Cousin brought him
    From
    Half moon
    Between passing clouds
    Moon
    Swallowed
    By shadow
    Graduated high school
    Nearby town
    Job as cashier
    Van Meter State Bank
    Owned by the Goar brothers
    Puffs his pipe
    Working his way up
    To manager
    Going to stand guard there
    In case of these burglars
    Has his trusty
    Harrington and Richardson single barrel
    Twelve gauge shot gun
    Packed with buckshot
    Nobody’s robbing us
    Once at the small brick building
    Settles in for long night’s watch
    Half-asleep
    Hears a noise
    Gasping
    Garbled gasps for air
    Almost speaking
    Someone choking?
    A flash of light
    In the darkness
    And to turn them
    And to turn them
    Then a beam
    Falls upon him
    Through the front window
    Sudden
    Bright
    Blinding
    Like a search light
    Snaps off him
    Darts about the room
    Gets a look
    At the source
    A great form
    Of some kind
    Begins to reveal itself
    A great form
    Reveals itself
    Huge wings
    Of skin
    And to turn them
    From the darkness
    Light darts back
    On him
    Peter screams
    Screams
    Steadies barrel of gun
    Towards the thing
    Fires point blank
    Through the window
    Glass shatters
    I killed it!
    I killed it!
    But when he goes outside
    It’s gone
    No blood
    Gone
    Just shards of glass
    And something else
    A large footprint
    In the mud
    A footprint
    3 toes
    I wasn’t seeing things
    3 toes
    And I saw an angel come
    Down from heaven
    Having the key
    To the bottomless pit
    How art thou falleth
    From heaven
    How art thou falleth
    ***
    We’re headed to
    My partner Eric and I
    Researchers
    Documentary filmmakers
    Of the paranormal
    History Channel
    A & E
    Lifetime
    Our specialties
    Lost cities
    Atlantis and Lemuria
    Pole shifts
    Hollow Earth
    Pre-Columbian trans oceanic contact
    A film about
    Top hauntings in
    E-mails and texts
    Eric and I
    Combing through files
    Which places should we go?
    Which places?
    Haunted by the ghosts
    Of young children
    Murdered by their mother
    A Large and unknown creature
    Werewolf-like
    —Sigh
    —Another werewolf story
    —I’m werewolfed out
    Or
    1881
    Kate Shelly
    Crawled across damaged bridge
    Near Boone
    Fierce storm
    To warn oncoming train
    That