Viribus

Chapter 5: Smokestack Lightnin'

We had gotten to Dimitri's house and he was running late for work so he got dressed really quick.
"Viviana, I've got to go ahead and leave now. If anything crazy happens, don't hesitate to call me. My house is covered in security cameras inside and out and I get notifications on my phone anytime the outside doors are opened or if there is movement outside close to the house."
"Ok, thanks and I definitely will! Have a good night at work." I smile and give him a hug even though deep down inside, I'm terrified.
I pat Viribus on the head.
"Welp! It's just me and you. Hopefully it stays that way!"
We go get a snack from the kitchen. A bag of chips for me and a slab of bologna from the fridge for Viribus.
Once we get into the massive living room, I get comfortable on the couch with the laptop and Viribus curls up at my feet as usual. We found out a lot of valuable information today but I still continue to wonder if this daughter is still alive. I do realize that she'd still be quite elderly but her mentality might be fine and maybe she could help. I google: "Lincoln Liles daughter"
Instantly I get several irrelevant articles that pop up and then I see it; an article that seemed to be about the same person and it's dated for January of this year.
"January 5th, 2015
78 year old Lillie Liles has had a hard life. She's the daughter of the infamous Lincoln Liles of the horrible murder of her infant brother in the year 1948; Still she has not let that slow her down. She retires after 56 years of service as a bus driver for the city of Birmingham. Mrs Lillie is an inspiration to us all and a joy to everyone to have ridden with her. We wish her nothing but comfort and fun on her well earned retirement."
So this lady is still alive and I assume she's in her right mind since she just retired earlier this year. I wonder if she'd talk to me about what happened or if she'd just think I was crazy showing up to her house to even ask.
What if she gets angry or upset? Going to a total strangers house is kind of crazy but what's happening to me is even crazier. In the midst of my crazy thoughts, my attention switches over to viribus, the beautiful black German Sheppard that was responsible for me being alive today. I reach down and pet him on the head and he stands up and jumps on the couch, with a massive thud.
"I bet you wouldn't have had a problem getting adopted if they would have known you were a super dog. No, scratch that, if they would have known how completely amazing you are."
I was very curious as to how Viribus managed to heal from such a traumatic injury over night but there was no way I'd ever know why. He couldn't tell me. I'm just so thankful he did.
My phone buzzes and it's a text from Dimitri asking if everything was okay. I reassure him that things are fine and that I had new, exciting information to share with him when he got home from work in the morning.
It's amazing how things in your life can be going great and horrible at the same time. I have this gorgeous man that seems to be very interested in me, I mean I'm in his big mansion right now spending the night but on the other hand, an evil spirit has attached me and is trying to kill me.
Me and Dimitri would have never even started talking had it not been for this happening, though. If I make it through this in one piece, I think I'm going to marry that man; I chuckle to myself.
Before I even knew it, I had drifted off to sleep holding Viribus in my arms. I was awaken by the low chyme of a large grandfather clock in the living room.
"Wow, it's midnight already? I need to take a shower and we need to get to bed, big guy."
Viribus stands up and jumps off of the couch. His gigantic mouth full of sharp teeth gapes open into a yawn.
We slowly advance up the winding staircase until we finally get to the guest room complete with a full bathroom. I know I need to take a shower but I'm so damn scared. I get down on my knees and look at viribus.
"Ok, I'm going to take a shower and you be on the look out."
I lock the bedroom door and turn on the shower. The bathroom is something I didn't really notice the last time I was here. Just as anyone would have probably guessed, it is massive.   The floor is a vast shiny marble, stepping on it with my bare feet, I can feel the smooth ice cold surface and it sends a chill down my spine.  The shower itself had 3 big shower heads. It was a large glass box that looked like something that belonged in a spa somewhere, not a house.
I grab my phone and start to look for some music. While searching through my oldie blues playlist, I finally decide. The soulful cries of howlin wolf's smokestack lightnin' ooze from the speakers. I know this might sound like an odd choice for someone of my age but with my grandparents being from Memphis Tennessee, it's a comforting sound of good times. I'm an old school type of girl.
The shower has now filled the bathroom with a thick white mist and I get undressed and step in.
The water pours down, it drips by my side, as my mind fades into dullness and everything is a foggy illusion. The sensation of the steamy water calms me; it takes my mind off things. All the horrible things that I know wait eagerly for me in the dark. My mind swirls, and it's like I'm standing under an everlasting waterfall. Its so beautiful, but it can never last, I know that.
There was a knock at the door. My body automatically tenses up.
I locked the bathroom door because I had seen way too many scary movies in which a shower ultimately ends in the lady's demise due to a kitchen knife wielding intruder. Not today Satan. Not any day for that matter. Surely if some stranger or worse, thing, had came into the room Viribus would be losing his mind right about now? I don't hear him.
There's the knocking again and then a familiar voice.
"Viviana? Hey, it's Dimitri, I just wanted to let you know that I'm back from work."
I turn off the shower and wrap myself in a towel.
"Hey! You're 6 hours early, it's only 12:30."
"Yeah, I got off early. It was a slow night. I'll tell you all about it when you come out."
"Sure, let me just dry off and I'll be right out. Does Viribus happen to be out there somewhere?", I say as I slowly walk over to the bathroom door.
"Yes, he's here curled in the corner of the room sleeping. He must be exhausted, poor thing."
Once again, fear has found me. I'm nervous and my hands are shaking. Something just feels "off"' about the situation but maybe I'm just finally losing it.
"Viviana? Are you okay in there?"
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm coming out now."
Holding my breath, I quickly swing the door open to reveal Dimitri just standing there, plain as day. Wow, I really feel like a crazy person now.
"Viviana, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost. No pun intended", he said with a chuckle and a smirk.
"I'm sorry, you just caught me by surprise I guess. You know, I've just been really shaken up ever since all of this started."
"That's understandable sweetheart, why are you standing so far away from me? I'm not gonna bite, at least not much..."
Sweetheart? He's never called me that. His voice sounds the same but the way he is speaking is a little different.
It was at that moment that I realized Viribus was nowhere to be seen.
"I thought you said Viribus was in here sleep? I don't see him."
"You know, it's always Viribus this and Viribus that with you, what about me? I've been at work and I get home and now you're acting like you're scared of me?", he says as he walks closer.
"Have you been drinking, because you never act like this. I don't have time for this, I'm gonna go find my dog."
He doesn't try to stop me, he just watches me as I walk past him and down the stairs. Viribus's body is sprawled across the living room floor, not like he's sleeping but like he's been knocked out. I run over to him and his eyes open. He's okay but seems disoriented.
"What happened to you?!"
I grasp him in both arms, rubbing my fingers through his fur and that's when he stands up and starts to growl, snarl and snap but just like in the past, it's behind me. I'm afraid to turn around but I know Viribus has my back no matter what happens so I do.
Just beside the staircase was Dimitri, or something that looked like him, floating in mid air with his arms stretched out wide, crucifixion style. His eyes had rolled back into his head. His skin was pasty white as if every capillary had been drained of blood down to the last drop. He just floats there, silent.
Im paralyzed with fear but I don't want him to sense my weakness. Somehow I manage to eventually squeak out one word.
"Dimitri?"
The Dimitri/Demon slowly begins to float down to the floor. He starts to walk towards me in a way that was unnatural for a human being. He moved as if every bone in his body was floating freely in his skin, like there were no joints or sockets. He continued to move toward me until the only thing separating us was Viribus. Viribus stands strong and silent like a brick wall.
The creature opens its mouth and a deep gurgling voice says, "Try again." It's mouth is bursting with big yellow sharp teeth now. I want to run but I'm not going to feed this thing with my fear.
"Lincoln Liles....is that you?"
This time it doesn't speak but
shakes it's head, no, as the bones crack and pop in it's neck with each movement.
"If you let me come whisper in your ear, I'll tell you who I am."
Viribus isn't backing down but I'm done with being scared. I tell him to step aside. The creature inches forward. It gets so close to my face that I can feel that it isn't breathing at all. It's lips are right against my ear when it says, "Mind your business colored girl, before you really get hurt."
It then takes its long forked red tongue and wraps it around my ear. It's hot saliva burns my skin. I jump back and scream.
"Tell me your name right now! I'm not scared of you! You're a damn coward is what you are!"
The monster lunges at me and grabs me by the throat with unimaginable strength. It's changed forms completely and doesn't look like Dimitri anymore but a different, older man, wearing overalls. It's a Caucasian figure but it's eyes are still rolled back. It starts to claw at my neck like a ravenous lion and I can feel the hot stinging with every motion and tears start to form in my eyes.
Viribus lunges forward too, landing on the things back, he starts to rip at its head and neck pulling back flesh each time. It screams and just as fast as it appeared, it's gone. The whole house is eerily quiet again.
"Good job Viribus! What a brave boy you are!", I say as I give him a good petting. Blood is dripping down my neck now and is soaking the towel I had wrapped around my body. I run upstairs to the guest room to grab another towel and hold pressure and that's when I see it. "MY NAME IS C.B.", written in huge bloody letters on the shower glass.
My phone vibrates on the bathroom counter and scares the living shit out of me. I pick it up and it's a text from Dimitri.
"Just texting to make sure everything is okay, it's been a slow night and I will likely be coming home a bit early. I just wanted to let you know so I didn't catch you off guard."