The Dark Stalker

  The Dark Stalker

  The Dark Stalker

  Midpoint

  The Dark Stalker

  by Pernell Rogers

  Copyright © 2013 by Anthony Pernell Rogers

  All rights reserved. This story or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations

  The Dark Stalker

  Sometimes it’s better to leave the past in the past.

  This cloudy Friday afternoon, Ron Harrison used the smooth jazz pumping through his car's speakers to keep his sanity as he made his way home through rush hour traffic. That rumbling deep in his gut issued him a bit of discomfort but he wasn’t very far from home now. It would be soothed soon enough. He put his hunger aside and began using the car’s mirrors to make his way over to the proper lane to exit the highway.

  Once off the highway, he relaxed and let his fingers dance on the steering wheel as he cruised through the surface streets. He turned the corner for his street and he spotted his house, wondering if anyone was at home. He pressed the button on the remote and the garage door started its slow journey upward. He smiled when he saw his wife’s SUV parked inside. With any luck, she would have dinner waiting for him when he went inside. He parked his car next to hers and shut the garage door, full of anticipation.

  He grunted as he exited the car and thought there was no way he could be getting that old yet. After all, he was only forty-two years old and fairly fit for his age. Nevertheless, he didn’t like what he heard. Maybe he should start working out again…maybe.

  He open the side door and stepped into the house. Something was amiss. There was no smell. Nothing. She didn’t prepare dinner. He sighed and wondered why his wife, Keisha, hadn’t prepared anything. He set his briefcase on the kitchen table and stepped into the living room ready to confront her.

  There on the couch sat Keisha who stared back at him with a smile. All the words he'd prepared to blurt out were whisked away. She had a magnificent smile with perfect teeth. The rest of her was just as nice, and she had on those tight jeans he loved. When she stood up, he fell in love all over again. He often wondered how he got so lucky to get with such a lovely woman. He approached her with outstretched arms and they shared a loving kiss.

  As he accompanied her back in the living room, Ron’s eyes scanned the room, he turned up his ear, then asked, “Are the boys at home?”

  “Nope! They left to go to the mall with one of their friends,” Keisha answered. He noted a tone of relief in her voice since a childless house was a rarity these days. They sat down on the couch and Ron reached for the television remote.

  Then Keisha asked, “Hey, I wanted to surprise the boys this evening. How about some Popeye’s Chicken for dinner?”

  “Ohhh yeahhh! Man, that sounds good. Do you need some money? Make sure you get a lot so I can have some for tomorrow…all spicy,” an excited Ron exclaimed.

  The rumbling in his stomach returned. He dropped the remote and reached for his wallet, but Keisha shook her head and said, “Nahh, I have enough, and I had already planned to get enough to have some for tomorrow too! I’ve had the taste for that chicken all day. Since traffic is dying down now, I’ll go pick it up.”

  She stood up and headed into the kitchen where her purse sat. Ron smiled and let his eyes follow Keisha’s hips as she strutted away. He could only shake his head once she was out of sight.

  Once Ron heard the door close and the garage door rise, he got up and headed over to the small computer desk situated next to the TV against the wall. That high-backed, swivel chair at the desk was the best chair in the house. It contoured to his body perfectly. He switched on the computer and began his nightly routine checking his bank account and investment balances. This included reading many local, national, and world news articles on the various websites he’d bookmarked. After finishing his routine, he chose websites at random, clicking on interesting links to see where the Internet would take him.

  The light streaming through the living room windows was so dim that he switched on the overhead light. Back at the computer, he resumed his random web surfing. His uncharted surfing led him to a webpage which he’d never encountered before. The webpage’s background was deep black, and written in large, red, eerie letters were the words Haunted Pages. Pretty cool since the letters looked as if they dripped blood. This really piqued his curiosity because it reminded him of some of his old comic book covers. Beneath the heading, in a smaller but an equally eerie font, were descriptions of some of those old novelty toys he used to see in his comic books. Memories came flooding back.

  From an early age, Ron was a collector of comic books, all types of comic books. He found it very easy to escape into their world. Over the years, he managed to collect and store some of his favorite comics in his basement. His limited collection varied from super hero’s to haunted tales, including a couple of classic MAD and Cracked magazines. By far, his overall favorites were the comics dealing with haunted tales. To him, being middle aged never mattered because mentally, he still felt as if he was nineteen or twenty years old.

  His inner child surfaced as he read through the nostalgic descriptions of items like X-Ray Specs, bathroom parking meters, and live sea monkeys. He enjoyed those multi-functional toys like the miniature 10-in-1 optical instrument and the 7-piece pocket toolkit. As a goof, he clicked on some of the items to find out their prices and current descriptions.

  Without much thought, he decided to purchase a few toys to show off to his sons thinking they’d get a kick out of seeing these old items. He returned to that strange main webpage and read how to place his order. He was surprised to find out these items were not being sold by a company but by an individual. How could one person have collected and stored these things from so long ago? Maybe this person is an eBay-like vendor that didn’t want to use eBay to sell his merchandise.

  After adding two items to his cart, he swiped the mouse across the screen. He spotted a flash of red lettering on the black background. What was that? He backtracked the mouse’s path and the letters appeared then disappeared again. I know I saw something that time. Once again, he followed the same path, much slower this time until the letters lit up and stayed lit.

  He paused.

  He’d discovered a hidden weblink which could only be seen if the mouse passed over it. The word ENTER was displayed. Damn! Who the hell would create a web link like that…and why? He clicked on the word and a new webpage with a similar black background popped up. He couldn’t believe what he saw. On his screen was a list of some terrifying comic book covers that he’d never seen before. These were very, very dark comics with gruesome cover graphics all pertaining to unusual and taboo subjects like torture, strange disappearances, and unnatural occurrences.

  As he maneuvered his mouse over the comic titles, small pop-up windows appeared containing brief descriptions of the comic’s contents. Just reading the descriptions made Ron uneasy. Maybe staying on this page was a mistake. He wanted to leave but this discovery was too much. He had to know more. These comics were for sale but the prices were outrageous. In addition, there was a strict non-return policy and a very confusing disclaimer stating that the seller accepts no liability for the products or subsequent events after purchase. What the hell does that mean? What could possibly happen ‘after’ purchasing a comic book? It didn’t make any sense. It didn’t bother him much, after all, he was doing this for his kids. In order to keep this purchase from Keisha, he used his own credit card because if she ever found out how much he spent, she’d kill him. Three items were in his shopping cart…two nostalgic toys and one bizarre comic book about unnatural occurences.

  As he finished the o
nline order form, he noted the seller’s address. They were located in Scottsdale, a northern suburb of Phoenix. With Ron and his family living in a suburb south of Phoenix, he knew his merchandise would be arriving in a day or two. That was nice to know. After completing his order, he reviewed the online order confirmation. He couldn’t believe what happened. His order was split into two parts, one for the comic book and the other for the nostalgic items. That’s just fucking crazy! Why split the damn order? It’s only across the damn city, for Christ sake! Was he duped, ripped off, scammed? Regret struck him like a hammer, but he used a credit card and he knew his order was protected somewhat.

  Now that his purchase was complete, he closed his web browser and headed back to the couch, anxious to forget about the website and watch a little television. Just as he sat down, the front door knob jiggled a few times then opened. His sons, fifteen-year-old Travis and eleven-year-old Troy, entered the house with Troy carrying some plastic bags. They sat down next to their father and Troy emptied his bag to show his father what he purchased. Ron’s eyes lit up when he saw Troy holding a new Superman comic and a new Spiderman comic. Ron snapped up the Superman comic and started reading while Troy sat back with the Spiderman book. Travis headed for the kitchen, but Ron told him his mother would be home with dinner soon so no snacking. Travis rolled his eyes and continued into the kitchen.

  *****

  Saturday morning, Keisha was the first to rise, feeling a little tired but clear headed. She turned and cast a lovingly gaze at her handsome husband still asleep, fortunate that she met someone so wonderful. She eased from the bed and tiptoed into the bathroom, not wanting to disturb Ron. After washing up, she crept out of the bedroom and headed downstairs to prepare breakfast. On the way, she peaked in to the boy’s bedrooms to see if they were stirring. Both were still asleep.

  Once downstairs, Keisha opened the curtains and blinds in the family room allowing the morning sun inside. Next were the blinds in the kitchen followed by the curtains and blinds in the living room. Since their house sat on a corner, it was possible to peer all the way down the street from their large living room window. This morning, right after opening the living room blinds, she gazed down the street, admiring the neighborhood. Just as she was about to return into the kitchen, she stopped. Moving the blinds aside, she noticed a dark figure all the way down the street. She couldn’t quite make it out. What the hell is that down there? Who would be dressed all in black and standing in the middle of the street? She stared at it for a while longer, but whatever it was, it didn’t move. She dismissed it and turned towards the kitchen.

  There was one way to make her entire family come down to breakfast at once. A little secret she kept to herself. From the refrigerator, she pulled out some eggs, bread, a bag of hash browns, and her secret…bacon. The smell of bacon never failed. In a few minutes, she’d hear bumping and shuffling above her head.

  Troy was the first downstairs followed by Travis and bringing up the rear with a loud yawn was Ron, all sporting robes and slippers. All three men retrieved their plates and formed a nice queue, each taking a turn loading up their plates and sitting in their usual spots at the glass kitchen table.

  The typical morning banter took an odd twist when Keisha said, “Sweetheart, when I opened the living room curtains this morning, I saw something really strange at the end of the street. I’m not sure what it was but it looked like it could have been someone dressed in black and standing perfectly still in the middle of the street.”

  “Really? It’s over 90 degrees outside already, way too hot to be dressed in black at this time of the year. Is he still there?” Ron asked before taking a bite of his toast. The boys turned to their mother.

  “I don’t know. I came into the kitchen after I opened the curtains, but it was really weird.”

  “I’ll be right back. I’m going to take a look,” said Ron.

  He took a quick sip of coffee then scooted his chair back. He didn’t expect to see anything, but to appease his wife, checking it for himself could quell her curiosity. The boys got up and followed their father into the living room. Keisha brought up the rear. Ron and the boys moved the curtains aside and parted the blinds. They scanned to the right and left but didn’t spot anything out of the ordinary.

  “Mom, we don’t see anything,” Troy said.

  Keisha made her way to the window and looked in the direction where she had seen the figure.

  “Hmmm…something was down there,” she reiterated.

  “Well, whatever it was, it’s gone now,” said Ron while still scanning the street.

  “It was really, really strange! I’ve never seen anything like that before but I’m glad it’s gone,” Keisha said with a note of relief.

  They all headed back into the kitchen to finish their breakfast. The boys began telling silly ghost stories, trying their best to scare their parents, but they were failing miserably. Instead, laughter dominated the conversation.

  After breakfast, everyone trudged back upstairs, with full bellies, to get dressed and go about their day. The boys planned on going back to the mall to hang out with their friends again. Keisha planned to relax and watch her home improvement and cooking shows while Ron planned to visit the local hardware store and pick up some needed items. The boys got dressed very quickly and where ready to leave, but before dashing downstairs like a couple of race horses and out the front door, they stopped by their parent’s room to say good-bye.

  *****

  Travis was very athletic and loved playing basketball. He was fairly quiet in school, and a lot of the girls had secret crushes on him. Being such a good basketball player, many of the popular guys let him hang out with them.

  Troy looked up to his older brother and had a knack of convincing his brother to include him whenever he left the house. Many of Travis' friends were fond of Troy, but he tended to get on their nerves at times with his smart mouth. Nevertheless, Troy was considered the little joker of the crew.

  The boys walked a short distance down the street and stopped at Carl's house to see if he was going to the mall today. Carl Henderson was Travis' best friend and they had known one another since elementary school. Carl had a smart mouth also and gave everyone some lip at one time or another. He also had a crazy sense of humor that kept everyone in stitches. Travis had a ball hanging out with him. Travis and Troy strolled up the pathway leading to the stairs in front of Carl's house and climbed up. Travis rang the doorbell. Soon afterwards the door opened.

  “Hey Butthead!” Carl said very sarcastically when he saw who was at his door.

  “You’re such a loser dude!” Travis snapped.

  “So what’s up?”

  “Yo, you goin’ to the mall today?” Travis inquired as he pulled open the screen door.

  “Yep. Ya’ll leavin’ now? If so, let me tell my folks and I’ll go with you,” Carl said as he turned around to inform his parents that he was leaving the house.

  “Okay Beavis! Hurry up dude!” Travis demanded still holding the screen door open.

  Meanwhile, Troy paid little attention to the exchange between the two friends. Instead, he found himself staring down the street at a dark figure, all in black it seemed to him. It didn’t move. Troy kept staring at it, wondering what it could be. He was just about to tell Travis but was disrupted when Carl bolted out of the door.

  “Alright, let’s get to steppin’ guys!” Carl said as he hopped down the stairs.

  Travis and Troy followed Carl, and once on the sidewalk, Carl and Travis began their usual back and forth of put downs like they always did. Troy looked down the street again and was astonished to see the figure was gone. He wondered where it went and how it could move so quickly since it was so far out in the open. He thought about it a while longer but eventually joined in with the back and forth between his brother and Carl.

  Carl’s attention span was about as quick as a fly escaping a flyswatter, always jumping from one subject to another but this time he noticed Travis’ new s
hoes.

  “Dude, your new kicks are hot!”

  “Yeah, boy! I know! I love these things,” Travis boasted. “I’m gonna run everybody ragged on the b-ball court next time we play. Wait and see.”

  “Travis, what would you do if I step on them right now?” Troy asked trying to get a rise from his older brother and being a total pain in his butt.