Life is strange and beautiful. But sometimes overwhelming. As a result, we tell ourselves stories, to make these times move easier. If it were not for our daily stories, we would simply drift away into oblivion. I brought forward a collection of tales, twenty four in all, from as far away as the other side of the moon, to as near as your own home. They say truth is stranger than fiction, but this I tend to doubt. This is a book of fiction, So remember, things are not as they seem, and it's not over till the fat lady sings. So hang in there until the end, and you will not be disappointed.

A Fire's Shadow

A Collection of Short Stories From LifeBy John Henry Clark

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2009 John Henry Clark
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4389-7460-6

Contents

Foreword......................................................xiPreface.......................................................xiiiDead Spell....................................................1Only Children Are Afraid Of The Dark..........................11The Fourth of July It's All Fun and Games.....................17Sometimes They Cry At Night...................................21I Remember Jean...............................................27Snow Fall.....................................................31So You Don't Believe in Ghost.................................35Those Crazy Days of Summer....................................51Days of Summer's End..........................................59The Games We Loved To Play....................................61She Cries My Name.............................................69Never Leave Me................................................75If I Had The Time.............................................81Because I Said So! e..........................................83If Only They Let Me Be Me.....................................91Let The Evil One Out..........................................99Summer Lovers.................................................109The Best Christmas Ever.......................................113Can I Walk With You...........................................119The Rain......................................................123Were You Out There............................................125Apples Through The Window.....................................133The Night of the Moon Stalker.................................143The Price We Pay For Glory....................................155Something's Coming And We Can't Stop It.......................157Fire From The Sky.............................................165How About Friday Night........................................171The Night Goblin..............................................175Dream To Live Live To Dream...................................181

Chapter One

Dead Spell

Darkness is cold when you lose the ability to see clearly in the night, and it came hard as a large stone to the head or so I thought. My eyes slightly opened to the shape of a large black beetle perched upon a few dark green blades of grass. This didn't seem normal for the fact that all of this is about a few inches from my eyes. Feeling the drift of cold moist night air coming over my body tells me I'm not standing. A fear from a distant memory quickly sets in as I slip back to when I was about six or so. Falling down a flight of dark cellar stairs, just lying there being so frightened of the darkness that surrounded me and the unknown that waits for me in that cold cellar. I remember staying very still until my mother came for me. It seemed like a lifetime passed until she did. I can guess that won't happen now. Then reality comes rushing back and its still cold, dark and strangely quiet. But I can see the beetle clearly, so there's some sort of light. But where? Not the moon or stars, but a flashlight. Yes a flashlight past my head. It's beam shooting past into the thicker growth of the yard. I must be back near my pond, somewhere by the greenhouse. Where's Toby my Goldie, who's always out here with me? Why am I here and what happened. Now don't panic, breath slowly and clear your head. Think of a song or maybe a person, yea a person, my wife or kids. I wish I knew what happened.

We've been through some hard times like anybody else has over the course of our lives, so it's a little easier to look back when things are now going good. Remember back when you were stranded with the car on the highway in the snow and she drove 40 minutes at night to get there. Just to see her show up gave me a feeling all over. How about when the boys were born? That's better than worrying about laying here. Let's go by the numbers, one; I'm alive, two; I think there's no danger, and three; I can still think. Ha Ha! Well, I see the bug left and I smell the pond water so my senses are coming back. I don't feel any pain or numbness anywhere, so let's try to move a little. Oh, that was not good. My head feels like a 50 pound bag of wet sand and there's seems to be something wrong with my left arm. I can hear foot steps coming from the house, slow and heavy. I find I can reach the flashlight with my right hand, so I shut it off. The footsteps stopped dead. Now there's only silence. If I new the person that the foot steps belonged to; a simple flashlight going off would not stop them in there tracks like that; so now I am in deep shit. "Move" I tell my self and do it quick and quiet. Rolling over on my stomach, I maneuver over the tall grass by the back of the pond. Stopping, I hold my breath to listen for any sounds. Dead silence falls again so I wait. While I lay here, I feel some of the fl at pond rocks that make up the waterfall wall next to me. I'm not going down without a fight. I wish I grabbed the flashlight before crawling all this distance. But now I have cover and the rocks as a weapon. Looking towards the back of my house, I notice the lights are all out and there's a small red glow by the ground. Maybe a lit cigarette? I don't know or care right now. Where did the footsteps come from? They didn't seem close. The pond is about two hundred feet from the house, so who ever it was knows I'm here somewhere. I'll buy some time and let them play there hand. The little red light dims and goes out.

Where did I mess up to put me out here and so far out of reach of my house and family? I wish I knew where my stupid dog is. He hears everything, sometimes he barks at nothing. I must have been off my guard when this happened so think jerk, what happened. There's something coming this way my night vision cutting in and I see a silhouette moving from the back porch towards me. Grabbing a fl at rock, I wait in the silent darkness for the unknown entity to arrive. Then a light from the house next door. All motion stops in front of me and I lose my night vision to the light from the next-door porch light. This is the time to fl y and fl y I must. I roll to my knees and start crawling around the back of the pond, heading to the chain link fence that borders the property. "I made it" and over the fence I go, in one fell swoop. I'm in the woods and moving fast to the other side of the property that's next door to mine. There's no catching me now. For a moment, I fl ash back when I was fifteen years old and being chased in the night by angry homeowners, across a large park that was called Marine. Two large men hunting down a boy, who just tore a set of Christmas lights from their front fence of their home. It was not the two dollar string of lights that was the problem, but the fact of taking them in the first time. However, with the wind behind me, the pitch darkness and the cold night air, I moved as if I was on fire and for good reason. They would kill me for transgressing on there turf. I've been here before and I move like the wind with little noise or worry. Clearing the second fence is just a quick sway of the weight. Wait a minute! Why am I running, I stopped my running when I was in the Navy. Its time to stop, turn and take a stand. A checklist would work well in a situation like this. Look for movement back in the darkness and listen for any sound, no on both accounts. "Let's move to the street," out there are the streetlights and room to travel faster, if necessary. I head towards the street but run into a wheelbarrow and whack my knee hard on the metal lip. This pisses me off to no end and I head once again to the street with a slight limp. Being able to do the hundred-yard dash in just 4.5 seconds at one time, I reached the blacktop like a bulldozer looking for a forest to tear down. I thought for a second to go to the neighbors for help, but that's not like me. I like being in control. So, I move slowly past the cars in there driveway and look for signs of life in my yard next door. Too dark to tell if danger waits there for me, so I head for the front lawn next to me and down on the ground I go. I can get a better look if I reach my jeep in my driveway. With this in mind, I move like a cat to the driver's side of the jeep. This is now the time to look for my keys in my front pocket. You wonder why, well in the rear of the jeep lies a large knife and this is better than a flat rock, which for the moment will give me the unfair advantage. Keys in hand and a fast move to the tailgate, I open the rear glass popup window so there's no courtesy light to give us away. I locate the knife and close the glass window.

Things change when you feel you have the upper hand. I think I had the upper hand when I woke up on the back lawn. Only due to the fact of not waking up dead. So, I must be ahead of the game by now. Yea, some game. No rules or guidelines and who are the players of this bullshit game. Me for one, and who else? "Well its time to play the hero or the fool". With that said, the fool moves towards the front door just after the large bay window. "Let's look for a reason not to go any further," easer said then done. The drapes are closed and no lights. One thing that is funny, we have motion lights in the front yard and they haven't come on. Its time to form a plan on how to handle this strange dilemma. "O.K., keep your cool and think". The best way to keep from being killed is not to be seen. Stay low and move slowly.

At the door, I paused. "What if the doors locked", What if the doors open? Big what ifs, at this time in the game. Checking the knob, the doors locked and I'm out of answers. "Climb over to the outside of the railing and use the keys to unlock the door. In this case if someone comes out the door we will not be in the line of fire, so to speak". Good idea and I clear the railing, pull out the keys and unlock the door. "What now tough guy?" I don't know, so I buy some time. Lowering down to the side of the stoop out of sight of the door, I wait for a good moment. When ever that is. I slip back in time again, to when I hung out with the crowd on Ave T. We never backed down and we were born hard. We had a game called open chest, which seems stupid now but it was a test of you strength and skills then. Something like punch for punch. Well anyway, the corner was a hangout for us. This night the guys got some crab apples and shattered the windows of an apartment above a store. Which was being renovated by a couple of motorcycle jerks. Large motorcycle jerks with leather jackets. They came on their bikes, and we ran. I took off down a one-way street the wrong way and figured they would have to go around the block to get me. What was I thinking? So out running them was out of the question, and I made a quick beeline into the nearest driveway. There in front of me was a five-foot fence and a large dog behind it. "Oops" I said, plus "Oh Shit". With this, I jumped behind a row of hedges along the side of the house and ducted down. The motorcycle jerks came up the drive and saw the dog barking behind the fence, so they slowly swung the headlight of the bike past the hedges. I stopped breathing and put my head between my legs, an eternity passed, or so it seemed. They finally left, and I still don't know how they missed me.

The time seemed right to move, and I felt like I did that night with the hedges. I moved up next to the rail and turned the knob of the front door slowly. One click later and the door opened with a slight creak. I waited for a few and slowly came over the rail. Looking into the dark living room, there was no sound. "I feel as if I'm walking into the last moments of my life", be that as it may, we only live once. I entered low and fast and headed towards the big screen TV. Pausing for a moment and knowing someone may be near; I tightened my grip on the large bone handle hunting knife, I retrieved from the rear of the jeep. With this, I slid like a shadow into the kitchen. I felt my neck pulsing from the adrenaline rush I was experiencing. It sounded like a freight train rushing past my ears. Where was my dog, my wife and my kids?

Where were the lights? I could see moon light coming in from the back sliding door, so I made my way to it. Looking out onto the screened back porch, I saw the silhouette of a large figure. I step back into the darkness of the kitchen, feeling this would be where I'll take my stand. Waiting, I glanced behind me to the darkness of the hallway ahead. I was wondering if someone waits there, to jump me if I'd make a move on the silhouette. Maybe I can lock the sliding door? One more time towards the sliding door, but now the figure is gone, so with one fast move the door is locked. Thinking quick I headed to the front door, swung it closed and locked it.

Loneliness is a deadly feeling, but being able to feel it is better than not at all. Some how I need to find a light and fast. Think, where's the flashlight? The sink, there is one on the sink. Searching the sink area I find the big 32 led flashlight. One click and the room floods in a bluish white light. No sign of my wife or my dog, Toby. So I head to the back door. Shinning the light through the glass there's no sign of anyone. "Let's search the house", moving slowly down the hallway and past the bedrooms, nothing moves. I swing back past the bathroom with no sign of life. I move into the living room and find it in shambles, as if a large struggle took place here. "This is not good," either I go up stairs or down to the basement. Let's block the door to the basement and go up stairs leaving the basement for last. With this, I put a chair to the door of the basement and head to the upstairs. Going up the stairs slowly I stop and listen, but only the hissing of dead air in my ears is noticeable. "Let's get this over with." I move fast up the stairs and do a quick sweep of the three rooms. Nothing, everything's in tack. Heading down the stairs in a rush to the basement stairs, I still don't know how I ended up in the backyard. Plus what happened to the lights. In the kitchen, I see a shadow at the bottom of the back door. "Its Toby," I run to the back door and let him in. He's wet and shaking. "This don't look right," why is he wet and shaking? He goes under the kitchen table. "Well at least I found him." I lock the door, and it's time to look in the basement. Moving the chair from the door, I turn the handle and open it slowly then shine the flashlight down the steep stairs into the darkness of the basement.

This can be one of the worst places to confront something of the unknown. There's only one way out and your secluded if anything happens. Thirteen steps to enter the cellar and maybe the answer to this nightmare. Taking the first step down you can hear breathing from below or is it your own breathing you hear? Moving slowly down, all that can be seen is the white circle of light, about six feet around. However, the outer edges darken quickly into the blackness. So many places to hide in a three-room semi finished basement. But down we must go. I remember a poem from my child hood that went "The woods are cold, dark and deep, but I have miles to go before I sleep." That damn thing always comes up when fear raises in me. But with that said, I move one more step down and remember another line from my navy years and that is, "Though I walk through the valley of death, I shall fear no evil for I'm the meanest son of a bitch in the valley" and that's the truth.

For most of my childhood, I was harassed and beaten by a large older brother, who thought I was his personal punching bag. Having no father around and a vicious brother, three year my senior, it's hard not to be tough. Therefore, we move down one more step as we head to bottom of the stairs. Stop, listen and pay attention to what's going down around you. A chill runs down my back as something moves towards my left, just outside the circle of white light, or was there something? I do not know, I think I'm panicking over nothing. "Let move faster to the bottom step," so with one swift rush, I'm at the bottom. With a quick glance from left to right, the flashlight shows nothing but the basement. Heading to the laundry room, there's no sound so through the doorway we go. Looking to the right, I see the dryer and boiler but nothing else, to the left the washer. Quickly moving back to the stairs, I enter the pool table and bar room. There are plenty of places to hide here, so we move slowly. I feel we're wasting too much time here, if something was here I would find them or it by now.

What about the lights? Going back to the electrical panel, I pop the door and the find mains are tripped. Very strange to find the mains tripped. "When resetting the main breaker, it's a good idea to turn off the rest of the breakers. Just in case, there's a short in the house wiring. Then bring them back one at a time, until there all racked in." All the breakers are off, and now we rack in the mains. Good so far, let's start at the top. "One, two, three, four, five, with the fifth I get the basement lights on. A Good feeling comes over me to be in the light again. I guess it's been an hour since this started or maybe longer, I don't know what happened before waking up at the pond. The last of the breakers are on, so we head upstairs and check on the dog. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, I see the lights are off at the top. The flashlight comes in handy at times like these. With the flick of the switch "Let there be light." The kitchen seems normal, so where's the dog? Looking under the table he's nowhere in sight. Turning toward the living room, I turn on the overhead light. I spot him hiding in the corner. Not like him to hide like that, so something's wrong. He's wet, dirty and shaking, but I guess o.k. and where's that wife of mine? We need to figure out what happened here. Maybe backtrack my steps, I need to go back out to the pond again. However, this time with the outside lights on. The deck lights come on, and I head out the sliding door.

Once outside I check the backyard from the deck and there's nothing in sight. It's time to head off to the pond. Walking slowly and using the flashlight as a guide, I stay on the path, while approaching the stepping-stones to the pond area. Here I slow to a crawl, looking for signs of a struggle. I found a shallow hole in the ground about a foot from the place where I was lying. Looking at the hole, I here foot steps from behind me, "oh no not again." Someone calls my name. "It's my wife's voice," I look around for her. She says "Its time for work". With this, I open my eyes and realizing that it was just a dream. It's just another morning to go to work. I guess it's better than dying in my dreams. Just one of many I have had ...

(Continues...)

Excerpted from A Fire's Shadowby John Henry Clark Copyright © 2009 by John Henry Clark. Excerpted by permission.
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