Standing in front of the mansion again gave me an eerie feel. The stillness in the air gave me an extra tinge of faint horror. The door to the mansion was wide open. Filled with anticipation, I proceeded into the mansion.
As expected, darkness and silence prevailed in the hall. Only the rays of the fading sun crossed the thin air in there through the broken window panes. Just in the hall it was.
'Larry!', I called aloud his name. The sound of my own voice echoed back to me.
'Over here, Liam', the sound echoed too. It was difficult to make out from where the voice came.
'Where?', I wailed back.
'Here. Over here at the attic'
Looking up using my torch, I went up through the derelict stairs. While I was just about to reach the attic stairs, I felt someone breathing behind my neck. I became frozen to the floor.
Just some creepy Warwick's things
'Oh leave him', screeched Larry and the warm breathing sensation was gone.
On reaching the attic, what I saw baffled me. Larry was standing there facing me. The pupil of his eyes had become white and thick blue nerves were protruding out of his skin. As soon as I reached to him, both of those started fading slowly.
'Look at me, Liam', he said with excitement.
'God! You look crazy! How did you do that? And why have you called me alone here?'
'I am being awaited, Liam'
'Where?'
'He's calling me. He's gonna lift me in his arms and take me to heaven to free me of my sufferings'
'Hey, have you lost your mind?!'
'No, I had earlier. But now I'm going to attain my salvation and get resurrected soon. There will be no pain, no stress, no fear, no grief, no suffering. Only widespread happiness'
'What?! But why have you called me alone?'
'Because you are going to join me soon. He told me to call you. He will bring you too. We will lead a peaceful life together after death'
'He who? Life? After Death? Just shut up and get back home!'
He turned back and facing the window, he walked towards the twilight of the fading sun.
'Home. Home is there. I can see it. I can see him. The smile on his face is vibrant. He is laying out his hands at me. I am coming. I am coming'
He went further and stood up on the window sill. Now I was aware what he was going to do. I ran to fetch him.
'I am coming. I am coming.... Salvation.... Resurrection...'
He jumped off the sill.
I leaped frantically to fetch him. I landed just at the window sill with half my body out of the window. I got hold of the window frame with one hand and using it as a prop, grabbed Larry with the other. I squeaked because of the jerk.
'Leave me, Liam!', he screamed.
'I won't let you do it'
'Look. Look. He is calling me. A beautiful world is waiting for me. Let me go, Liam'
'Ah!' I tried to pull him up but he jolted me in his direction and I slipped further and this time my waist was acting as the fulcrum though I had still held on to the frame.
'Stop this stupidity!', I shrieked.
'I am not being stupid. You are!'. He was getting impatient now.
'Oh Larry. Please, please don't do this. Don't leave me. Don't leave us. Everything will be fine soon'
'I have to go, Liam. And don't forget that we will meet there. We are awaited. I am fortunate that it is me who has to go first'
The grip was loosening.
'Leave me!', he shouted.
It was when Fred, Bob and Mark arrived alongwith the police. I had texted Fred about my location when I reached the Warwick's, presuming something wrong may happen.
'I had told you to come alone, right? ..... Leave me you fool!'. Now he was getting aggressive. That's when police tried to break into the house. But the door was not opening.
Wait... I had left it open I guess
The windows of the ground floor were high enough to get a ladder to reach them.
It was when I noticed a change in Larry's mien. The beast was awakened again. He looked down. His nerves started to protrude again becoming bluish slowly at the same time. He gave out a groan.
'Larry?'
He looked up. His pupils had gone white again. He was smirking.
'Liam....'. It was not his voice, I swear.
I have heard this voice somewhere...... Yeah!
It was the voice which had echoed in that nightmare.
He took a deep breath and continued, '.... You know what. I have already fed upon Larry. And he's right. You are the next. Obviously.... Not to resurrect!'. He cackled.
'And remember one thing—'. The nerves in his eyes reddened.
'There's No Way to Escape!'. With this he loosened my grip and jumped off spreading his arms in the air as he was falling down, giving me an evil grin. I yelled out his name.
I backed off in shock and grief before he hit the ground. There was a loud thumping sound. I sat down there, clasping my palms together in disbelief. It was difficult to believe why he did that. That act of his shook me.
The doors opened suddenly. The police alongwith Fred and Bob came running up to the attic.
'Why? Why did he do this?', asked Bob crying.
I was speechless. I was dumbfounded. My eyes were fixed upon the floor.
'Liam!'. Fred screamed and shook me convulsively.
'Huh?!'. Now only I got sound of the surroundings.
'Bob, call the ambulance! Fast!', I said anxiously.
'He's dead', said Bob, weeping. Fred was crying too. Bob then went downstairs and called the ambulance to retrieve the dead body.
Fred stooped down and helped me to stand up by holding my arms.
'He turned around in air and fell upside down. On his head', said Fred.
'I couldn't save him', I said with a devastated tone and hugged Fred. I was not crying. My astonishment and shock hindered me from crying. I don't even remember when I had cried last. It was just that my eyes were damp.
.....
It was dark by now. Fred and I walked downstairs. It was not dark there at the yard. The lights from numerous police vehicles and the ambulance had lit up the front yard. I looked to my left through the porch. A pool of blood had formed around the place where Larry had fallen. The region had been marked. Some police officers had crowded around it with a handful of forensic experts taking pictures from different angles.
Looking forward I saw the cadaver of Larry, wrapped around in black plastic, being loaded into the hospital wagon to be taken to the hospital for autopsy. Bob was standing beside the wagon, still crying, but now his sobbing had subsided a bit. Inspector Parnell and Mark were also there. Fred walked up to Bob and tried to comfort him. I stood there silently with a red face and looked back at the large mansion. It seemed as creepy as I had been seeing it for months now.
You did it. It's you. You took Larry away from us. The day we came here, from that day only things started worsening. You are a curse!
'Hey Liam'. Mark called me from behind. Fred and Bob were also following him.
'What happened?', he asked with concern.
I explained them whatever had happened the whole day.
'The IED became fatal for him. Didn't it?', these words were mouthed by Inspector Parnell as he joined us.
'It appears it did. The rough one got over his mind', said Mark.
'What would you account for the change in eye colour and nerve protrusion?', I asked Mark.
'What? Did anything like that happened?'
'I had noticed so'
'It's not likely in IED. Must be something else. Or probably some mistake in observation by you'
'I did notice'
'Anyways. I have to be present at the hospital. So I have to go. Bye'. Mark got in his car and proceeded to the hospital, following the ambulance.
Inspector Parnell approached us, lighting a cigarette, and said, 'I am sorry for your loss', patting on Fred's shoulder and then trudged towards the dead body mark.
'We shall get back home or to the hospital?', asked Bob.
'You two get back to your homes and let me get to the hospital to associate Mark. Liam...' He turned to me. 'I think you should contact his family members', he said with a heavy voice'
'Yeah, sure'
'Let me drop you two'
We sat down in his car and he drove us to our respective homes. First, he dropped me as I was nearer. As we reached the Christopher Avenue Street there was already a huge crowd there. The police had reached there to scrutinize his flat for some proof of his suicide. Fred stopped the car there.
'I guess you should get going from here. I have to drive to the right to drop Bob and then reach the hospital'
'Yeah'. I said in a monotonous voice and walked out of his car.
While I reached the gate, a nervous Blake asked me, 'Sir, was Larry sir found? The police have come for his house. What happened sir?'
I did not have the courage to look up. I could not reply him and went on to my apartment. Going in, I threw off my jacket onto the coat rag, walked into my bedroom slowly with that same hung head, sat down on the bed and took out my phone. Swiping through my contacts, I got to the number of Uncle Pete.
I called him.
'Hello my boy! It's been a long time since we last had a chat. Haha... Where's Larry?... I have been trying to contact him for two weeks. But no call or message from his side. I thought he must be busy in his new work. Is he there? I wanna talk to him'
It was difficult for me to say him that his son was dead. I hung up the phone, unsure about what to say. He called me back.
'Hey, is everything alright? Where's Larry? I need to talk to him'
'Uncle-Uncle Pete. Lar-Larry's'. I could not continue.
'Larry's what?!'. His voice now seemed extremely anxious.
'Uncle... Larry's dead'