Chapter Four - Mr. Bones

Chapter Four

Mr. Bones
By: Alex K Barton

When David woke he could only remember snippets of his abduction; freeze frames of a blinding light, the cold grasp of the creatures tentacles, a feeling of panic and dread, then darkness. He could hear water dripping and as he moved to get up off the ground he realized he was laying in a black muddy type substance. The atmosphere was humid and his clothes stuck to him as well as the black slime. He was still in shock and stayed crouched as he shuffled trying to come to terms with his situation. The lighting was dim, and except for a few holes in the ceiling, David was blind to his surroundings. As he slowly moved across the wet sticky floor he began to feel the scrapes and scratches on his stomach, and the taste of his blood in his mouth from biting his tongue. He began to think about mortality and how death was inevitable. He was certain however that this was not a death he had ever thought possible. He tried to shake it off. “No, talk like that will get you killed.” he whispered audibly to himself. He continued to sooth himself by thinking about how his ancestors survived the holocaust, and that this was probably not as bad and being in Auschwitz. He liked to associate himself with the Jewish side of his family when he as afraid. “Survivors!” he thought.

Suddenly, he felt as if he was being watched. Gut instinct and human nature in situations of this type should not be ignored. He thought back to something he saw somewhere that said, “when you turn the lights off in the basement, admit it... you get the fuck out of there.” He agreed wholeheartedly with that statement at this point. His mind stopped racing. He thought he heard something. He listened and, From the shadows David heard a faint raspy voice.

“You know me, it's Mr. Bones...” Goose bumps covered Davids body and his hair stood on end. David had almost forgotten Mr. Bones. When he was 4 or 5 years old he had an imaginary friend named Mr. Bones. Mr. bones would visit David from the shadows and tell him stories. “David, do you wanna hear a story?” The story’s were of adventures, mysterious tales of Mr. bone's youth. “Come into the light so that I may see you a little better my dear.” David hesitantly walked into a ray that pierced the ceiling.

“Mr. Bones, I don’t want to hear your stores anymore.” Said David, almost in anger. David didn’t feel threatened by this old friend. Maybe shocked, fearful for his sanity, but not threatened in a life or death sort of way.

“Oh, David your words bring back bad memories.”

David remembered the last day he saw Mr. Bones. He had said just that. That he didn’t want to hear his stories anymore.

As David walked into the light so did Mr. Bones. As if a gust of wind had blown ash in Davids face, a wispy dark manifestation of a human skull materialized from the darkness.

“Did you bring me here, you sonofabitch?” A hand appeared out of the darkness and touched Mr. Bones face.

He tilted his head .“Maybe...Maybe I needed to call in a favor, from an old friend?” he said it in a smug sort of way.

“Fuck! Where am I? Send me home!” David yelled.

“SHUU Shuu, David, you will wake them. They are everywhere.” David realized that Mr. bones may not be the only thing watching him. “David, we don’t have much time, I need your help. I am getting old. My adventures have come to an end. They keep coming, infecting. They are like nothing I've ever seen. I sent my last uninfected minion to gather you. They are opening the gates, David. I have lost control of this.” Mr. Bones looked down as if to draw Davids attention. The ground began to bulge and bubble and out of the slime covered floor a sword shot up and into Mr. Bones's hand. “The Monster Sword has turned on me. I must pass it on.”

“Send me home! Please!” David began to question what was real. He was confused. His mind was rejecting the situation. It was all too ridiculous. “This is dumb you know that. This all a bunch of bull shit! It's probably the fuckin lead paint in my apartment. Maybe I fell down the stairs and cracked my fuckin head open.” David began to walk away from the situation in hopes that he would soon come out of the coma he was certain he was in.

“David, you will soon see, this is not your destiny. You are but one of the fold. If you fail I will find another. It would be in your best interest to fight for your life. Take this, you will need it!” Mr. Bones appeared in front of David and forced the sword into his hand. “Good luck.” Mr. Bones smiled and the ash that made him fell to the ground. David sat down in the mud and began to wait for someone to wake him.