The Obdurate Avidity:
Chapter 36
By TurtleBoy
We arrived back home to an empty house. There was no sign of Mom or Dad, nor were the construction workers running up and down the stairs. Deciding it was probably for the better, James and I made our way to the door which led down to the basement. “I dunno Adrian. Are you sure this is a good idea?” asked James, as he leaned his hand against the door holding it closed.
“What other choice do we have?” I asked back to him, looking at his hand which was still placed on the door.
“I’m not sure, but it doesn’t seem to make any sense to me. I mean, we’ve never seen this thing in the basement; have you? It has always been in the bathroom wouldn’t it make more sense for us to look up there?” James peered at me, and then down to the floor; his traveling eyes unsure of where to settle their gaze.
“That may be true, but when was the last time we even seen this thing? It’s been pretty quiet over the last while. I think it’s worth looking down here. What have we got to lose? If it’s not there then we can just march on up the stairs again.” I attempted to make some logic out of sheer blindness. Surely, I was failing miserably.
“Whatever. Let’s go than.” James agreed through obvious reluctance.
Without another word James removed his obstructing hand from the door and I, without thought, opened it. Peering down the dreary staircase I slid my hand up the wall to find the switch. A muffled tick-like sound snapped through the air as a flickering hum buzzed and granted us the light of passage. I hadn’t been down here all that much, and to tell the truth, basements give me the creeps - which is why I try to avoid them.
Looking back at James one last time I moved in through the door’s opening, and cautiously made my way down the echoing staircase. The usual smell of basement musk filled the air as the ‘creep-factor’ blended itself chillingly with the sound of the furnace and the gas line. James was moving so close in behind me that I could feel the warmth of his breath tickling the back of my neck. As he took his last step to the bottom of the stairs, standing behind me, he placed his hands on my shoulders as if trying to hide himself from whatever may be lurking in the depths of the shadows. Strangely, I found his apprehension to be comforting, and in turn it had caused a smile to stain itself across my unwilling face.
“So?” whispered James in almost a hiss “Now what?”
“I don’t know. I hadn’t thought much passed getting down here.” I replied in a soft, uncomfortable giggle “I suppose we look around for something strange.”
“Like what? If you ask me everything’s strange down here.” James said in all seriousness.
Biting the bullet, I led the way throughout the strange room. James trailing close behind as I cautiously panned my eyes and examined everything in sight as closely as humanly possible. James hands felt warm against my shoulders, no not warm - hot. They were burning me; I was even starting to smell the scent of burning fabric. James shrieked when he noticed the trails of smoke which were ascending from back. Jolting back, as I jumped forward, James fell into a corner which was several feet behind him. His landing echoed loudly around the room, and a pain stricken screech, mixed with panic, pierced my increasingly sensitive ears. An unbearable ringing spun about within my head, seemingly ricocheting against the insides of my skull.
I turned myself around to face James his cry of pain turned to a scream of horror in a split second. My eyes flinched and took a double take of what I was seeing before me. Hands! Hands had penetrated the concrete wall and were wrapped around James; therefore, binding him in fear against the wall. My head wasn’t working, I could not think on how to react. What was I supposed to do? This couldn’t be real, for if it were the mortar would surely have crumbled; however, this was not the case.
“James! You found it!” I screamed in congratulation surprising myself at my unaffected reaction.
“HELP!” he screamed at me, but my smile only patronized his as his struggle “what’s the matter with you? ADRIAN!”
“Dude it’s not real... Well it is, but it can’t hurt you; not if you don’t want it to.” James looked up at me, a blank look tainted his face, as his body instantly ceased its movement.
“That’s not funny.” He whined. Climbing to his feet, he spun around and looked down at where he had fallen.
“Looks like we may have found what we’re looking for.” I giggled.
“How did you know that it couldn’t hurt me?” James snapped, still in shock.
“I didn’t.” not taking the moment to observe James, more than likely, blank expression I approached the wall and crouched down.
Placing my fingers to the floor, feeling the coolness penetrate my pores, I looked back at James with a curious smile, “We can do this two ways. Either I figure out how to force myself into a change or you can try to blow up this wall with your fiery fury.”
“Well, couldn’t we just grab a sludge hammer and pound the crap out floor?” suggested James.
“Yeah.” I shrugged “But where’s the fun in that?”
“There isn’t. I just think it would be quicker than either of us trying to figure out how to control our ‘abilities’ well enough to actually get this done.” he spoke the truth. I guess there was no arguing with him.
I peered around the room, looking for an appropriate tool, only to come up with nothing. Why can’t this be more like a movie? If it were a pair of two pound sledgehammers would have been right across the room, just barely, hidden under a box or two. Of course, no such luck. “Damn. Guess I’ll have to run outside and grab ‘em for us.” I shrugged while turning to the stairs.
“Wait!” screamed James “You’re just going to leave me here?”
“Dude – it can’t hurt you remember? Just make sure it doesn’t try and get away.”
“And if it does?” shit that was a good question...
“Follow it... I guess?” I answered plainly, and then shrugged once more before running up the stairs.
Running up the stairs, I first checked outside, the workers loudly making use of their hammers and saws at the construction site not far from James house, nothing of use was in convenience to where I had hoped it to have been. The usual places where Dad kept his tools was emptied, and probably in-use down the street. Certainly, there was no chance of anyone accidentally gracing me with the fortune of a sledgehammer in the bathroom where they had been working earlier. So, reluctantly, I tip-toed my way over toward half built structure.
Yells and chuckles swarmed in a chorus of randomness which confused my hearing and rendered that advantage useless. Having to depend on my sight alone I crouched myself toward the ground and scurried across the mud stricken land. A wheelbarrow stood alone, not 20 feet from the nearest worker, and as luck would have it the object of my crusade’s end leaned up against its handle. Peeking discreetly over the ledge of some stacked lumber I carefully ventured closer to one wheeled destination. Unnecessarily, although it seemed suited, I threw myself into a barrel role and lunged for the hammer’s handle. “HEY!” I heard a scream originating from an unknown source “Get out of there!” screamed a man.
I felt no guilt to comply only adrenaline which quickly guided me back in behind the piled two-by-fours. In hopes of a clean getaway I scurried myself into a sprint and ran in behind some trees next to James house. Looking back toward the construction site, it seemed that the men weren’t at all interested in chasing a kid through the trees, so as victory would have it – it was now mine for the taking!
“What took you so long?” pouted James through relief as he watched me stomp my way back down into the basement.
“Sorry. I could only find one.” I apologized as I held out the sledgehammer in his direction to display my success.
“Well I guess you should do the honors.” suggested James, stepping away from the wall “You are the stronger one after all.” he teased.
“Damn. Why do I always end up with the short straw?” I giggled awkwardly.
“What? You’re not the one that had to sit here staring at a bloody haunted wall for the last 20 minutes!” James snapped in nervousness.
“All right, okay. I’ll do it.” I teased while rolling my eyes.
“So what exactly is the plan anyway?” said James, stepping back just a little more.
“I’m not sure. This is the best I can come up with.” I shrugged, heaving the sledgehammer behind my shoulder, and then lugging it hard against the floor. “Shit. This is going to take a while.” I realized, looking down at my first blow which had barely dented the concrete.
“Maybe you should have brought back a jackhammer instead.” teased James, stepping back even further as I prepared for my second swing.
It had taken at least 30 good swings before it looked as if I were making any progress at all, and at by that point the ground was crumbling to the lightest of swings. “Geeze, this cement is almost like mud... I mean, once you get it going. It’s like it still hasn’t completely dried.” I pointed out while peeling a piece of smeared muck from the head of the hammer.
Clearing out the piles of rock I dropped the hammer beside me and knelt down within the hole that I had created and began to dig with the use of my hands. Pebbled limestone shot up into the air in all directions, James was now at the opposite corner of the basement closest to the stairs. It had seemed like I had been digging for hours yet was not getting anywhere fast. As I sat back onto my feet, I peered over my shoulder to see James standing directly behind me leaning on a large metal shovel. A smirk spread across his face, his cheeks spread outward and his face turned a faint shade of red. “Want this?” he asked cheekily.
“How?... How long have you been standing there with that?” I reached out and grabbed the tool out from under his resting hands “And where did you even find it?”
“Over there.” James pointed to a corner of the farthest corner of the basement “Underneath a bunch of empty boxes; just like in the movies.” he giggled.
Rolling my eyes, I climbed to my feet and pierced the ground with the spade of the shovel. Pressing it deep down into the earth with the use of my foot, and then leaning forward I scooped upward and lifted the dirt to my right. “That better?” he asked.
“Much... thanks.”
Several minutes later and a good two feet down, the blade of my shovel scraped up against something. The texture was off and I couldn’t quite place what it was. It was soft yet coarse at the same time, and when I discovered it the strange material seemed to tear and send a vibration up the shaft of the shovel which caused a sensation of biting down on a cotton ball, or nails on a chalkboard. “I think I found something.” I said blatantly.
“What?” queried James as he moved in closer and peered into the shadowy hole.
“I’m not sure; here, hold this.” I requested. Handing James the shovel and dropping down upon my knees.
Clearing the soil from around the mysterious object I quickly revealed what looked to be a large canvas bag just like one of those old potato sacks. Looking up and James and his bewildered look of horror, I turned back to bag before me and forced my hands towards the opening that the shovel had created. Blindly, I dipped my right hand into the sack and a cool, dense object found its way in between my fingers. Looking up at James once more, I felt my face flush and become pale. Feeling around some more, a rattling noise escaping into our ears, a round, smooth, ball-like entity sent shivers up my spine. Following this, two large holes and in the center a sharp, protruding edge. “Shit dude.” I whispered, unable to force myself to look back at James, “I think I know why we were here.”
“What is it?” James asked, but already knew what my answer would be.
“Let’s just say, I found the tumbler.”
Chapter 36
By TurtleBoy
We arrived back home to an empty house. There was no sign of Mom or Dad, nor were the construction workers running up and down the stairs. Deciding it was probably for the better, James and I made our way to the door which led down to the basement. “I dunno Adrian. Are you sure this is a good idea?” asked James, as he leaned his hand against the door holding it closed.
“What other choice do we have?” I asked back to him, looking at his hand which was still placed on the door.
“I’m not sure, but it doesn’t seem to make any sense to me. I mean, we’ve never seen this thing in the basement; have you? It has always been in the bathroom wouldn’t it make more sense for us to look up there?” James peered at me, and then down to the floor; his traveling eyes unsure of where to settle their gaze.
“That may be true, but when was the last time we even seen this thing? It’s been pretty quiet over the last while. I think it’s worth looking down here. What have we got to lose? If it’s not there then we can just march on up the stairs again.” I attempted to make some logic out of sheer blindness. Surely, I was failing miserably.
“Whatever. Let’s go than.” James agreed through obvious reluctance.
Without another word James removed his obstructing hand from the door and I, without thought, opened it. Peering down the dreary staircase I slid my hand up the wall to find the switch. A muffled tick-like sound snapped through the air as a flickering hum buzzed and granted us the light of passage. I hadn’t been down here all that much, and to tell the truth, basements give me the creeps - which is why I try to avoid them.
Looking back at James one last time I moved in through the door’s opening, and cautiously made my way down the echoing staircase. The usual smell of basement musk filled the air as the ‘creep-factor’ blended itself chillingly with the sound of the furnace and the gas line. James was moving so close in behind me that I could feel the warmth of his breath tickling the back of my neck. As he took his last step to the bottom of the stairs, standing behind me, he placed his hands on my shoulders as if trying to hide himself from whatever may be lurking in the depths of the shadows. Strangely, I found his apprehension to be comforting, and in turn it had caused a smile to stain itself across my unwilling face.
“So?” whispered James in almost a hiss “Now what?”
“I don’t know. I hadn’t thought much passed getting down here.” I replied in a soft, uncomfortable giggle “I suppose we look around for something strange.”
“Like what? If you ask me everything’s strange down here.” James said in all seriousness.
Biting the bullet, I led the way throughout the strange room. James trailing close behind as I cautiously panned my eyes and examined everything in sight as closely as humanly possible. James hands felt warm against my shoulders, no not warm - hot. They were burning me; I was even starting to smell the scent of burning fabric. James shrieked when he noticed the trails of smoke which were ascending from back. Jolting back, as I jumped forward, James fell into a corner which was several feet behind him. His landing echoed loudly around the room, and a pain stricken screech, mixed with panic, pierced my increasingly sensitive ears. An unbearable ringing spun about within my head, seemingly ricocheting against the insides of my skull.
I turned myself around to face James his cry of pain turned to a scream of horror in a split second. My eyes flinched and took a double take of what I was seeing before me. Hands! Hands had penetrated the concrete wall and were wrapped around James; therefore, binding him in fear against the wall. My head wasn’t working, I could not think on how to react. What was I supposed to do? This couldn’t be real, for if it were the mortar would surely have crumbled; however, this was not the case.
“James! You found it!” I screamed in congratulation surprising myself at my unaffected reaction.
“HELP!” he screamed at me, but my smile only patronized his as his struggle “what’s the matter with you? ADRIAN!”
“Dude it’s not real... Well it is, but it can’t hurt you; not if you don’t want it to.” James looked up at me, a blank look tainted his face, as his body instantly ceased its movement.
“That’s not funny.” He whined. Climbing to his feet, he spun around and looked down at where he had fallen.
“Looks like we may have found what we’re looking for.” I giggled.
“How did you know that it couldn’t hurt me?” James snapped, still in shock.
“I didn’t.” not taking the moment to observe James, more than likely, blank expression I approached the wall and crouched down.
Placing my fingers to the floor, feeling the coolness penetrate my pores, I looked back at James with a curious smile, “We can do this two ways. Either I figure out how to force myself into a change or you can try to blow up this wall with your fiery fury.”
“Well, couldn’t we just grab a sludge hammer and pound the crap out floor?” suggested James.
“Yeah.” I shrugged “But where’s the fun in that?”
“There isn’t. I just think it would be quicker than either of us trying to figure out how to control our ‘abilities’ well enough to actually get this done.” he spoke the truth. I guess there was no arguing with him.
I peered around the room, looking for an appropriate tool, only to come up with nothing. Why can’t this be more like a movie? If it were a pair of two pound sledgehammers would have been right across the room, just barely, hidden under a box or two. Of course, no such luck. “Damn. Guess I’ll have to run outside and grab ‘em for us.” I shrugged while turning to the stairs.
“Wait!” screamed James “You’re just going to leave me here?”
“Dude – it can’t hurt you remember? Just make sure it doesn’t try and get away.”
“And if it does?” shit that was a good question...
“Follow it... I guess?” I answered plainly, and then shrugged once more before running up the stairs.
Running up the stairs, I first checked outside, the workers loudly making use of their hammers and saws at the construction site not far from James house, nothing of use was in convenience to where I had hoped it to have been. The usual places where Dad kept his tools was emptied, and probably in-use down the street. Certainly, there was no chance of anyone accidentally gracing me with the fortune of a sledgehammer in the bathroom where they had been working earlier. So, reluctantly, I tip-toed my way over toward half built structure.
Yells and chuckles swarmed in a chorus of randomness which confused my hearing and rendered that advantage useless. Having to depend on my sight alone I crouched myself toward the ground and scurried across the mud stricken land. A wheelbarrow stood alone, not 20 feet from the nearest worker, and as luck would have it the object of my crusade’s end leaned up against its handle. Peeking discreetly over the ledge of some stacked lumber I carefully ventured closer to one wheeled destination. Unnecessarily, although it seemed suited, I threw myself into a barrel role and lunged for the hammer’s handle. “HEY!” I heard a scream originating from an unknown source “Get out of there!” screamed a man.
I felt no guilt to comply only adrenaline which quickly guided me back in behind the piled two-by-fours. In hopes of a clean getaway I scurried myself into a sprint and ran in behind some trees next to James house. Looking back toward the construction site, it seemed that the men weren’t at all interested in chasing a kid through the trees, so as victory would have it – it was now mine for the taking!
“What took you so long?” pouted James through relief as he watched me stomp my way back down into the basement.
“Sorry. I could only find one.” I apologized as I held out the sledgehammer in his direction to display my success.
“Well I guess you should do the honors.” suggested James, stepping away from the wall “You are the stronger one after all.” he teased.
“Damn. Why do I always end up with the short straw?” I giggled awkwardly.
“What? You’re not the one that had to sit here staring at a bloody haunted wall for the last 20 minutes!” James snapped in nervousness.
“All right, okay. I’ll do it.” I teased while rolling my eyes.
“So what exactly is the plan anyway?” said James, stepping back just a little more.
“I’m not sure. This is the best I can come up with.” I shrugged, heaving the sledgehammer behind my shoulder, and then lugging it hard against the floor. “Shit. This is going to take a while.” I realized, looking down at my first blow which had barely dented the concrete.
“Maybe you should have brought back a jackhammer instead.” teased James, stepping back even further as I prepared for my second swing.
It had taken at least 30 good swings before it looked as if I were making any progress at all, and at by that point the ground was crumbling to the lightest of swings. “Geeze, this cement is almost like mud... I mean, once you get it going. It’s like it still hasn’t completely dried.” I pointed out while peeling a piece of smeared muck from the head of the hammer.
Clearing out the piles of rock I dropped the hammer beside me and knelt down within the hole that I had created and began to dig with the use of my hands. Pebbled limestone shot up into the air in all directions, James was now at the opposite corner of the basement closest to the stairs. It had seemed like I had been digging for hours yet was not getting anywhere fast. As I sat back onto my feet, I peered over my shoulder to see James standing directly behind me leaning on a large metal shovel. A smirk spread across his face, his cheeks spread outward and his face turned a faint shade of red. “Want this?” he asked cheekily.
“How?... How long have you been standing there with that?” I reached out and grabbed the tool out from under his resting hands “And where did you even find it?”
“Over there.” James pointed to a corner of the farthest corner of the basement “Underneath a bunch of empty boxes; just like in the movies.” he giggled.
Rolling my eyes, I climbed to my feet and pierced the ground with the spade of the shovel. Pressing it deep down into the earth with the use of my foot, and then leaning forward I scooped upward and lifted the dirt to my right. “That better?” he asked.
“Much... thanks.”
Several minutes later and a good two feet down, the blade of my shovel scraped up against something. The texture was off and I couldn’t quite place what it was. It was soft yet coarse at the same time, and when I discovered it the strange material seemed to tear and send a vibration up the shaft of the shovel which caused a sensation of biting down on a cotton ball, or nails on a chalkboard. “I think I found something.” I said blatantly.
“What?” queried James as he moved in closer and peered into the shadowy hole.
“I’m not sure; here, hold this.” I requested. Handing James the shovel and dropping down upon my knees.
Clearing the soil from around the mysterious object I quickly revealed what looked to be a large canvas bag just like one of those old potato sacks. Looking up and James and his bewildered look of horror, I turned back to bag before me and forced my hands towards the opening that the shovel had created. Blindly, I dipped my right hand into the sack and a cool, dense object found its way in between my fingers. Looking up at James once more, I felt my face flush and become pale. Feeling around some more, a rattling noise escaping into our ears, a round, smooth, ball-like entity sent shivers up my spine. Following this, two large holes and in the center a sharp, protruding edge. “Shit dude.” I whispered, unable to force myself to look back at James, “I think I know why we were here.”
“What is it?” James asked, but already knew what my answer would be.
“Let’s just say, I found the tumbler.”