A Summoning

A Summoning

I don’t know what it is about the subtle hum that the tires of this truck make as it glides over the endless highway, but it makes me think of times past. Back when Dad was still alive. We would travel up and down this same highway to make our fishing trips. I used to present all of my problems, trivial to me now, but he would treat each one like a major court case. All of my problems had an easy solution when he was around to give it.

Since he died, my mother has become a religious fanatic and I have increasingly withdrew from the church. Her and all of her eccentric friends, who could kill an unbeliever with kindness, would come over every Friday night and speak Hebrew to each other.

“Were speaking in tongues, sweetie”, one lunatic would say to me after observing my face that revealed confusion and a tinge of fright.

The cool monotony of the tire’s eternal trek over the pavement was broken by a nasty pothole. My reverie was shattered and I had to come back to the present. I’m sitting in the back seat behind my best friend Sarah.

I used to be jealous of her luxurious blond hair back in kindergarten when I first met her. Now I’m envious of her creamy complexion and perfectly straight teeth. Her nose is small and rounded, with small dimples to either side. Sarah’s crisp, blue eyes seemed to always be wide open with delight and amusement.

Her boyfriend, Adam, is driving. He is the typical guy in school that I can’t stand, and the typical guy that Sarah loves to date. Adam always wears  the same black leather belt, but his dark blue jeans can never seem to stay in their place. Instead, the waist part always hangs halfway down his thick thighs. His pimply face always has this stupid smirk that is made by his half-smiling mouth and devilish eyes.

“Almost there guys”, Sarah said quite relieved.

“It’s about time”, Adam complained. “I have to pee so bad. I can’t believe you talked me out of stopping at that last rest stop.”

That was directed at me. I just wanted this trip to be over with. I should be at home writing sappy poetry and eating the appetizers my mother sets out for her bible buddies. That’s what I liked to call them.

Abruptly, we took the next exit off the highway and began the slow, winding turn that brought us onto another road. This also brought back memories when my Dad and I would overexaggerate the turn and throw our hands to the side like a roller coaster ride. The centrifugal force that pushed me closer to him on those long right turns evolved into the centrifugal force that made the journey of spiraling depression so nauseating.

The old farm house we were looking for was a couple more turns down unpopulated roads. The two-story abode was very quaint with its blue shutters that were missing more than half its paint. The three wooden steps leading up to the spacious stoop looked ancient. There was nothing on the porch save for a set of chimes that made a sound more eerie than inviting.The bitingly cold wind, stirred them enough to send out a cacophony of discordant notes.

“Where is everyone”, I asked sheepishly. I didn’t want to admit how much this forlorn place was really creeping me out.

“There’s no one here except for us.” The voice is coming from inside of the truck and it belongs to the monster that is Tom. He’s extremely tall, skinny, and awkward. When I see him walking in school, it makes me think of a corpse inhabiting a host body that doesn’t remember its motor skills.

Tom is supposed to be my blind date for the night. Of course it was Adam’s idea. The two are friends because they both share a twisted sense of humor and always seem to be laughing at some inside joke or another. I sat as far away from him in the car ride as possible. He was the worst human being I have ever smelled. Ciggarette smoke, mixed with sweat, and covered over with cheap body spray followed him around at school and today was no different.

We are here because Tom told us that this house belongs to a cousin and that they have a really big corn maze. Truthfully,  I could see the entrance to the maze ahead. A shear wall of vegetables grew above our heads and created a solid veil between us and the maze within. The sun had only a little while longer before it retreated from the battle with the moon. It would no doubt resume the struggle in the morning and the moon would give away until it could gather its strength again.

“Whatever, lets just get going”, Adam said eagerly. He looked at Sarah with a lewd look and I could obviously tell what he hoped happened while he got ‘lost’ in the maze with his girlfriend.

So we entered. Tom and I were in front and Adam and Sarah were 10 paces behind us holding hands. I noticed this maze was strange immediately and that’s because it wasn’t a maze at all. We stayed on one long pathway that gently curved to the right. I couldn’t believe how big this corn field was for us to walk 15 minutes straight and still we could only see a little bit ahead before the path curved out of sight.

I kept looking ahead, waiting to see a fork in the endless corn or any sign of where we were.  Finally, we came to an end to our current path and it almost went back the way we came in what appeared to be like the point of a triangle. I turned around to consult Sarah, but it was only Tom and I standing there.

 “Where the hell did they go”, I didn’t bother trying to keep the panic out of my voice now. The  sun had fled completely and the moon and her winking soldiers didn’t even bother to take up the battle tonight. The darkness was absolute.

“Who cares, they stopped a while ago because they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. You were too busy zoning out to notice.” His mouth twisted into a grin that looked positively sinister to me.

“We mine as well keep going and we’ll meet up with them when we get out. Plus, you and I could use some alone time.” Tom tried to put his arm around me, but I dodged.

“Lets just get out of here fast”, I said desperately.

And so we followed the same path that went back the same way we came but at a slightly different angle. After about half the time it took us to reach the new path, the corn stalks branched off into a T shape this time. I had lost my sense of direction, but the new path seemed like it would go back to the car, plus I just needed some change to calm my nerves.

But this path was obviously the same as the last two. The menacing corn stalks to either side with their decaying produce mocking my navigation skills. There was a change though as we walked on a bit. Ahead, I could see light coming from torches. The path ahead split four ways like an intersection in a road back home.

To my ultimate horror, Adam and Sarah were bound to tall pillars of wood that were placed on top of a raised dais in the middle of the intersection. Their hands and feet were tied with cord around the back of the pillar and their mouths were stuffed with gags. I don’t know why I noticed now, but Adams’s pants were sagging very low because he couldn’t pull them up anymore.

The dais had a ring of two steps leading up to it. I could see faint drawings in the middle made with red paint and some kind of ring went around the edge of the whole thing. Sarah made eye contact with me, and her terror froze me where I stood. Her eyes were ready to bulge out of her face. I could hear the faint murmurs of her voice being blocked by the gag.

I turned to see Tom, but there was no sign of him. As I turned again to free my friend, a terrible moaning voice began to chant in a language I’d never heard before. The groud began to tremble as I located the source. It was a tall man who was shrouded in a black cloak. Tom was standing behind him with the most wicked, toothy smile I had ever seen.

“Is everything ready Father”, Tom asked the man.

“Yes, son. The final incantation is at hand”, his voice boomed.

I was litteraly spell bound as his voice creschendoed and his arms stopped waving. The dais split in two, starting with  tiny cracks and finally seperating as if they were opposite ends of a magnet. Something emerged that was darker than the night. It is vaguely human like in nature, but it is the color of death. The head is more bulbous than normal, and every joint is pronounced and mutated.  Its whole body is covered in a slick mucus. The liquid is sprayed everywhere as its wings burst open upon its back. The pure majesty and horror of the creature, with wings extended, is something I will never forget.

After it displayed its magnificence, in the blink of an eye, it rushed to the edge of the dais to put its ugly face right up to Tom’s dads face. He did not flinch however.

“You grow impertinent, mortal.” His voice bellowed, saliva dripping from his mouth.”Even you are not strong enough to summon the great lord of death, Stygal, this many times in one year.” He seemed to look down with digust before surveying the area.

“The deal is the same as it always is, Stygal.” Tom’s dad spread his hands out to indicate the bound victims.

The same toothy grin that I had saw on Tom’s face found its way to Stygal’s. He immediately assumed a position between Sarah and Adam and floated above their head. With no warning, he roared and prostrated himself in the air. Arms, legs, and wings spread as far as they could go. A throaty growl escaped from his putrid lips that turned into an earsplitting shriek as the pitch went up and up.

I watched as some sort of mist began to emanate from both Sarah and Adam’s mouthes. The mists floated upwards and swirled around Stygal. A greenish glow surrounded the demon of death and at the same time the glow was around Tom’s dad. The trembling of my friends bodies finally stopped, and the glows slowly dissapeared.

The glue that held my feet planted to the ground finally gave way. I rushed forward and threw all of my weight into the back of Tom. He only stumbled a little bit, and he caught his balance on the top of the dais. He turned his fierce gaze on me with murder in his eyes. Just as he began to stalk toward me, the demon’s hand erupted from his chest. Tom died instantly and hit the floor.

“You broke the barrier of salt”. Tom’s dad shrieked. He cared not for his son’s death, but that his mistake freed the demon. Unceremoniously, Stygal hovered over to the necromancer and folded his wings around the poor man’s body. A repulsive cracking of bones was the only sound that signaled his death. When the demon unfolded his wings, there was no remnant of the summoner anymore.

It was only me and the demon now. As he turned towards me, his body began to become hazy. Without a word he stopped and drifted away on the wind as he was ripped from the material plane to go back to whatever place he called home. I guess a demon can’t stay here when his summoner is no longer alive to hold the spell active.