Witch Island (25 page)

Jim grabbed Gwen’s hand and was ready to take off down the trail, but stopped himself.
 

“What is it?” Gwen asked.
 

Jim stared at his dead friend. He released Gwen’s hand and stood over the corpse. “We need the weapon,” he said.
 

With a grimace of disgust, he gripped the machete’s handle with both hands and placed his foot against Darren’s head. Grunting with effort, he pulled. The machete came free with a wet, sloshing sound, as if Darren’s body was a large piece of human lasagna. The blade dripped with gore. He wiped the hacking implement off on his dead friend’s back, then grabbed Gwen by her hand and took off down the trail.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Jim and Gwen reached the grassy beach area. They were bent over and breathing hard. Running had been a nightmare, with no flashlight and worrying that the vines would snatch Gwen and take her away. Jim kept his ring-wearing hand clasped to her hand, which slowed them down a little as Gwen was a much faster runner than him. He hoped that by her touching the ring, she would be safe, but he really had no way of knowing if his assumption was true, or if it was just the ring-wearer that was protected.

“Who goes there?” a deep voice asked.

Jim and Melinda looked up, Jim ready with the machete. A flashlight beam came to life, shining in their eyes, making it impossible to see who it was. “It’s Jim Ryan and Gwen Carrington.”

“Please, we need help,” Gwen said.

The light moved to reveal the sheriff’s leathery face, the many years of smoking damaging his skin.

“Oh my God, Sheriff,” Jim said. He and Gwen hurried over to the man.

“Jim, what the hell is going on?” the sheriff asked.

“You wouldn’t believe us if we told you,” Jim answered. “But we need to leave, now.”

“Have you seen, Billy?”

Jim shook his head. “No, why, is he supposed to be here?”

“The canoes,” Gwen said. “That’s how our canoes disappeared.”

“I got a call from Billy. He was in trouble—”

“Sheriff, we need to leave,” Gwen said. “People are dead.”

“Dead?” the man asked. He looked stricken.

“Sheriff, we haven’t seen Billy,” Jim said, “but you have to believe us when we say that we need to leave before—”

“It’s the witch,” the man said, flatly.

“We’re not making this up, Sheriff,” Gwen said. “It
is
the witch.”

Jim looked at Gwen, then at the sheriff. Even in the low light, he saw fear in the man’s eyes, and he knew the man wasn’t mocking them. “You believe it, don’t you, Sheriff?”

The man nodded, and slid his flashlight into his belt loop.

“Then you see why we have to go,” Gwen said. “She’s killed all of our friends.”

“We can’t leave,” the sheriff said.

“What?” Gwen asked, her voice frantic. “Why not?”

“Because she’s loose now. Over the years, people have gone missing. Reported strange things, sinking boats and whatnot, but nothing like this.”

“She’s definitely loose,” Jim said. “I think it’s our fault. Our friend, Shay, removed some railroad spikes with strange markings on them over by the clearing. That’s when all the weirdness and killing started.”

“I know the place,” the sheriff said. “We need to stop her from getting off this island.”

“What we need to do, Sheriff, is leave and tell the authorities,” Gwen said. “Get some people who are used to dealing with this kind of shit, if there are such people. Let them find your son.”

“I called in my location.” The man paused, his lip quivering. “My son’s already dead.”

“I’m leaving,” Gwen insisted, heading toward the water. “I’ll swim if I have to.”

Jim grabbed her by the wrist. “Wait.”

“Jim?” Gwen said. “We need to leave.”

“Sheriff, can the witch get off the island?” Jim asked.

“I’m not sure. If you people removed something that was holding her here, then I’d think so. From what I know, she’s been trapped here since the early 1900’s, and it’s impossible for her to leave unless she’s gained enough power, which will allow her to break free from her true cage, her bones. We can’t allow that to happen.”

“How do you know all this?” Jim asked.

“Knowledge passed down from parents and grandparents. I’m no expert, but if she’s loose like you say, then we need to put her back.”

“Put her back?” Gwen asked. “And I suppose you know how to do that?”

“Yes, I do,” the sheriff said, closing his eyes.

“No,” Gwen said. “She’ll kill us. If we leave, they’ll be no one to possess and she won’t be able to get off the island.”

“Until the next person comes along,” Jim said, understanding why they needed to stop the witch tonight. He was ready to hear what the sheriff had to say. He turned to Gwen. “We’ve got the ring, remember? The witch can’t hurt us as long as we have it.”

“Make that two rings,” the sheriff said, holding his hand out for them to see. He slid the ring off and tossed it to Gwen.

“What about you?” Gwen asked. “Don’t you need it?”

“I’ve feared this bitch for a very long time. Let my son down. Got him killed. If it wasn’t the witch, it would’ve been something else, but since it was her, she’s got to pay. Now I have a chance to make this right and avenge my son’s death.” The sheriff removed his gun belt and tossed it away, then spoke to a stunned Jim and Gwen.

“Listen closely,” he said. “I’m going to call her and allow her to possess me. I’m the only one left on the island besides you two, and you both have rings. She wants off of this island, so she’s going to come. You two will be safe from her control as long as you have those rings on, but she can still hurt you by using me.” The sheriff held up his arms, indicating he was unarmed. “Hence why I got rid of the gun belt, got it?”

They both nodded, and the sheriff continued.

“She won’t want to, but she’ll have to deal with the both of you, as you’re the only ones preventing her from leaving the island.” He held up his finger to emphasize his next point and shook his head. “Don’t touch her with the ring unless you absolutely have to, like if your life is in danger. All you’ll do is exorcise her, and then we’ll have to do this all over again.”

“We got it, Sheriff,” Jim said, “but what’s your part in all this?”

He pulled a small flask from his pocket, unscrewed the top and took a long swig, then put it back. “I’m going to die.”

Silence filled the air for a moment. There were no bullfrog calls or chirping crickets, simply nothing but still air. A warm breeze swept through the area. Jim flinched, thinking it was the witch, then realized it was nothing. His mouth had gone dry, and he wished he had a bottle of water.

“Come again?” Gwen said.

“Jim, you’re going to take that machete and cut off my head.”

Jim’s mouth hung open and the machete nearly slipped from his grip. “I’m not killing you, Sheriff.”

“Yeah, that’s crazy,” Gwen said.

The sheriff stepped up to him and grabbed him by the collar. “You will or I’m going to wind up slaughtering your girl here, then you. She’ll want you to watch, to suffer. You’re an original of the town. She’ll do it without a second’s hesitation, so make sure you get me before I get you.” He let go of Jim and stepped back. “It’s the only way to trap her.”

“Trap her?” Jim asked, feeling weak in the knees.

“This is nuts,” Gwen said, pacing. “We can’t kill the sheriff. There has to be another way.”

“Damn it,” the sheriff said, harshly. “There’s no time for this shit. You don’t do this, and she escapes, she’ll kill a lot more people. Hell, she’ll wipe out the entire town, then move on from there to the next for all I know. I’m done with this world, you hear me? And the witch needs to be stopped.”

“There’s got to be another way,” Gwen said.

The sheriff shook his head. He looked defeated. “There isn’t, and if there is, I sure as hell don’t know it.” He paused, then looked Jim in the eyes. “Are you with me?”

Jim nodded. “We’re both with you, Sheriff, don’t worry.”

“Good, because she might be here any minute and I need you to be ready.”

Gwen stopped pacing. “Fuck it. Whatever. You want to die, then so be it. Go on, what do we have to do?”

“Once I’m possessed, you’ll have to cut off my head. My soul will be released, and the body will be a temporary prison, but not for long. You’ll need to move fast. She’s killed recently, which means she’s powerful. She’ll break free eventually, but you should have time to complete the task.”

“You’ll then put one of the rings inside my mouth and leave it there, this will severely weaken her and keep her imprisoned, but make sure you place the ring inside without touching the outside flesh or you’ll expel her.”

“How do you know this will work?” Gwen asked. “I mean you could be wrong, right?”

“Nothing’s for certain, but this is what I’ve been told. As a boy, I took the tales as truth, memorized them.”

“Why wasn’t this done before?” Jim asked.

“My guess—no one wanted to volunteer to dig her up, let alone have their head removed. The witch was supposedly imprisoned, and no one really came out here.” The sheriff reached out and grabbed them both. His face was a scowl. “Are you ready to do this? There can’t be any hesitation. Get mean and nasty if you have to.” He shoved them.

Gwen started to cry.

“Jim hugged her, then said, “We’ll do it. Just call the bitch.”

The sheriff took a few steps back, then called out, “Margaret Rivers, come to me! I’m here for the taking. You cannot resist my flesh. I am the great grandson of your executioner. An original member of the community that murdered you, and I’m your only way off the island. He held out his arms, inviting her, and continued to call to her.

Jim stood ready. The machete was gripped tightly in his hand. His heart was pounding, skin lined with a cold sweat.

He stared at the sheriff, imagining how it would go down. He told himself over and over that he could do it—cut off the man’s head. He wouldn’t be murdering someone. He would be saving a town, and doing right by the man he was about to behead.

He removed himself from the situation, and made himself the star of a movie, where good must overcome evil. It wasn’t going to be easy, nor pretty, but then again, fighting evil never was. In the end, everything would work out. He was an action hero trapped in a horror movie.

Of course, those types of characters were made out to be tough, and the moviegoer never got to see what happened after the film was over—like if the hero became permanently screwed up in the head or went and saw a shrink for the rest of his life because the character was haunted by what he had done.

Thinking about what he was going to have to do, Jim imagined that he would probably need to see someone, but how the hell would he go about explaining it? He couldn’t. The whole island mess needed to be a secret or he and Gwen would have some really difficult things to explain. Come to think of it—how would they explain it all?

Damn it, he was thinking too much. Thinking at a time like this might cause him to hesitate, which might get them all killed. He could not afford a misstep.

The witch was pure evil. She had killed his friends, people he loved and cared about. People whose families would miss them, want answers to their deaths. But would there be any bodies to discover? He’d seen what happened to Shay, the vines sucking the life from her, dissolving her. Having no bodies lying around might be a good thing. The families would never get true peace, would want to know what happened to their loved ones, but at least he and Gwen would have an easier time with the authorities.

Jim cleared his head. He couldn’t worry about all that now. First things first. He focused on the sheriff, who was still himself. Jim started to worry that the witch wouldn’t come, but then the sheriff’s body stiffened.

“She’s here,” he said.

Jim’s body tensed. He raised the machete, waited. Gwen squeezed his other arm, and he ushered her behind him. “Don’t look, Gwen.”

The sheriff’s face contorted. He was clearly in pain. “She’s strong…so much heat, pain…” The man bent over, then jerked upright. His arms spasmed. He was fighting her. “She’s almost got me completely… Do it now.”

Jim brought the machete back. He didn’t move. Shit, he was hesitating.

“Can’t…hold her much…” the sheriff said.

“Do it!” Gwen shouted. “Cut his fucking head off!”

She sounded like a crazed madwoman, but it was just what Jim needed to break his frozen state. He cried out, all his focus on the sheriff. He rushed forward, ready to swing the weapon and sever the man’s head from his body.

He heard a new voice. Someone else was on the island. They were shouting something, but he couldn’t make it out. He was concentrating too much on the task at hand. No matter what, he couldn’t stop. He had to see this through. Hesitation would be his downfall. Then, like a delayed reaction, he thought he heard what the voice had said—“Freeze, police.”

That couldn’t be right, he thought. The only cop on the island was the sheriff. He didn’t see the man moving his lips to say such a thing. It must be the witch. She was messing with him, trying to get him to stop. Fuck that, he was going full steam ahead, ending the bitch.