Before the Horns - A Bob Velseb Story

Chapter 22

"He said no again?" Mr. Evermore fumed.

Charlie nodded, cowering in her chair beneath the mayor's gaze.

Mr. Evermore glared down upon Charlie, seemingly moments from exploding into an outburst of rage. It only made it more terrifying when no such thing happened. He leaned over onto his elbows on the desk, shoulders hiked up to his ears and drumming a deathly rhythm on the wood. Charlie shrunk timidly under Mr. Evermore as he drew in a deep breath. 

Calmly, he spoke, "You better thank the eyes of the universe for watching you, or you'd be in a much worse predicament right now. It's a good thing we decided to hold that truck in case something like this happened." His tone was flat and emotionless, rendering it impossible to tell how he was actually feeling. "Carter!" he barked, snapping to get his attention, but not looking in his direction.

"Yes sir?" he answered, watching his boss fearfully.

"Go tell the others we're going through with our extensive measures. You understand how important this recruitment is." Mr. Evermore commanded, now turning the necklace that Charlie had offered to Bob over and over in his hands.

"Yes sir," Mr. Carter obeyed, leaving the room.

Charlie wearily watched her higher up exit the room, and with him any chance of getting help if Mr. Evermore decided he was in a bad mood. She looked back to the man sitting menacingly in Mr. Carter's chair, praying that maybe the universe would be on her side today. Then again, the chances of that were very slim. It was her job to recruit Bob, and she was unsuccessful for the second time now. 

"So, Charlotte. You're on a first name basis with my butcher right? Tell me a little bit about him. What's he like?" Mr. Evermore asked. It was so strange knowing he was beyond infuriated, but was still making small talk. Charlie was sure he knew how frightening it was, especially since he'd used her full name. The blank glare he wore said it all.

She swallowed thickly, collecting her thoughts, "Well, sir," she stammered, "Bob is relatively pleasant to be around. He's kind and talkative, though can be intimidating if he tries. You chose him well, sir. He-" Charlie began to tell more, but Mr. Evermore cut her off so she quickly corrected herself to obey him.

"A shame really. I do pity you, I honestly do. If only he'd have said yes." Charlie watched as Mr. Evermore continued turning the pendant over and over. "He sounds like an agreeable guy. I'm surprised you couldn't get him to join us on his terms. How are you feeling? Do you feel upset? Guilty? Responsible? It's no problem, the feelings will all go away quickly." His voice was smooth like chocolate, but held a dark tone that sent shivers down Charlie's spine. "Well, now that it's too late, do you want to know what we're going to do?"

Charlie sat frozen in her chair. She couldn't move, and the loss of control over herself made her extremely uncomfortable. Mr. Evermore was more frightening than Bob had been in the haunted house. She didn't want to know. She didn't want to hear the plan. For the first time ever, she felt like everything she was about to was beyond redeemable. Mr. Evermore's eyes nearly pierced right through her soul, and she could almost feel him looking around inside at every emotion she was feeling. 

She said nothing, helplessly letting her boss continue to tell the plan.

"First, we're going to break him down slowly. Scare him into submission if you will. Then, we take him from his home and force him to join us." Mr. Evermore violently snapped the chain the medallion hung from, and slid the pendant forward on the wooden desk. "This little trinket is going to break him from the inside out. And finally, we tear down the world around him as he knows it. It's all very simple really, if you destroy a person's will well enough, you can get anyone to do anything. A brilliant plan really, don't you think?" He looked down on Charlie condescendingly, awaiting a response. 

Charlie nodded in agreement. By how afraid she was, one would think she was the person Mr. Evermore was talking about. She wished she'd gotten Bob to say yes sooner. This was all her fault. She'd been too late, too foreword. It was all her fault, she knew it. It was too late. Panic began to consume her, before the feelings dissolved as quickly as they had arrived. This was all for a greater cause, and she'd go to great lengths to ensure the success of this recruitment.

"I won't fail you sir," Charlie promised.

"Oh, no, Charlie, it's too late for that, you've already failed me once. What you should be promising me is that you won't do it again," Mr. Evermore replied.

"It will be done sir, I won't fail you again," Charlie assured him.

"You had better not," he warned.

Charlie stood from her chair, and exited the room. It was just awful that things were turning messy, but that was no fault of hers. This recruitment was of incredible importance, and she wasn't going to screw it up. Charlie set out to go complete her job. It was such a shame that things turned out this way, but that was life. The universe was cruel, but things needed to get done either way.

It was time to finally do what she should have done from the start. Time to start phase one.