Lilith

Needing a more concrete answer, I used my right hand to rub the young woman's left arm as I pressed, "Was the bad thing that happened here something that befell you, Lilith?"

This time, I was a little surprised when the raven-haired beauty shook her head.

I took my hands away from my benevolent guide and scratched my chin. Again, I turned away from her and surveyed the destitute area. While I still didn't sense any kind of immediate danger, I could agree with her that the place seemed a little less than wholesome due to the solitary feeling in my very being while standing amidst the deserted dell.

I felt like a complete jerk for doing it, but since we had come so far to locate the lonely stretch of land, I turned to Lilith and told her to wait for me while I had a look around. When she reached out and grabbed me by the right arm in an attempt to stop me, I told her everything would be all right. I knew she didn't want to take even one more step forward, so I tried to convince her that she would be all right waiting for me. The look on her face told me that she didn't want to stay behind by herself, but I wasn't about to force her to move onward.

"Give me five minutes to scope things out and have a thorough look around," I told the frightened young woman. "There's obviously something here or else you wouldn't have agreed to accompany me. I can tell you don't want to talk about it, so let me have a look around..."

"Bad..." Lilith mumbled again as she tried to tug me back.

I nodded my understanding and tried to explain to her, "I've seen some bad things before, Lilith. I think I'll be all right...as long as you'll be all right waiting. Will you be all right?"

The raven-tressed female looked unsure as she averted her gaze again.

I was in a real bind. I wanted to have a look around since I knew there was something amiss in the lonely dell, but leaving Lilith behind was a real dick thing to do...especially since she was visibly frightened by something. Leaving the poor girl to fend for herself while I went off to explore left a sour taste in my mouth.

As upset with myself as I was in that moment, I knew we had trekked all the way out here for a reason. I had to know what it was that rested out here in the middle of nowhere, and if the answers would help explain the bizarre connection between Lilith and the old landowner, I just had to discover them. Since no one would be forthcoming with any answers, I would just have to uncover them myself.

Antenora's property appeared to be more extensive than I had originally realized. As I began across the leaf-strewn topography, I could see past a few hills and other bumps in the land to see that the terrain stretched much farther than the boundaries of the buckskin map I was visualizing in my mind's eye. It made me wonder what use the old bat had for such a vast stretch of countryside.

I reminded myself that just because she owned it, that didn't necessarily mean she used it. My grandfather on my dad's side had always been a huge advocate of owning land. There had been plenty of times when he had told me that if the opportunity ever presented itself, I needed to jump on it immediately because land was always increasing in value. The only problem with his advice was that there was a huge difference between him and I: He had money and I did not.

As I continued onward, I glanced back over a shoulder and saw Lilith still standing in the distance. She hadn't moved a muscle from her spot, and as much as I would've preferred having her with me, I wasn't about to force her to enter territory she was afraid of. I wished I could figure out what it was that frightened her so.

I found out within seconds.

When I turned my head back around to gaze across everything before me, I noticed a few trees in the distance with what looked like a small shed sitting between them. I was instantly intrigued since it made no sense to me why such a small depository would be secluded out in the middle of nowhere so far from the rest of the property. I may not have been a detective, but I felt like the answers to all my questions sat in that paltry storage unit situated in such an obscure location.

I approached the rundown shelter and noticed a brick well located just yards away from it for the first time. The gerbils running on wheels in the back of mind started spouting off all sorts of scenarios as I realized why such a thing would be out in such a solitary area that was supposedly devoid of life. Calling back to my days with the operatives that I had tried so desperately to forget, I fully recalled how I had learned that some minimalists lived apart from society...and the small storage shed sitting in front of me could've actually been some kind of shack with a deranged hermit taking up residence within it.

Groaning as I placed a hand to my face, I told myself I was being facetious. That old map was exactly that...old. Just by looking at it, I felt that it could have been produced as far back as a century ago. If anyone had lived in this small shelter at any point, they were long gone by now. It wasn't like an axe murderer was going to fly through the rickety old door in front of me and chop me into pieces...

It occurred to me that maybe the map had been drawn up to mark the location of the well. Perhaps years earlier when the original creator of the map had scribbled his or her directions on it, said person wanted to be able to locate a source of fresh water. Maybe the mind-blowing answers I had assumed I was tracking down were nothing more than directions to a mere water source. Lilith was probably losing sleep over my curiosity of a well.

But that couldn't have been right. There was a freshwater creek running through the property only mere yards away from the house and barn. Why would anyone journey so far through the woods on such a winding path just to locate a well? And that wasn't even considering the fact that if a person did come all this way just to fetch a bucket of water, he or she would have to carry it all the way back. Speaking for myself, I would have to consume the entire bucket before returning to the house since it would be such a damn workout.

There was obviously more afoot here and I was going to find out what it was. My answers were within the shed itself...but I wasn't sure I would find said answers without some kind of light source. There were no windows from what I could tell on the measly storage unit, and it went without saying that it certainly wouldn't have electricity due to its location so far off the beaten path.

I didn't come all this way to twiddle my thumbs. I also wanted to get back to Lilith and make sure she was safe, so I didn't have time to dawdle. If I was going to check this place out, it had to be now. I more than likely wasn't going to have another chance at this.

As silly as it sounds, I walked up to the door and pressed my ear up against it. It seemed more than obvious that no one would be found inside, but at the same time, I hadn't been expecting to meet a blue-skinned woman who would steal my heart away within hours of meeting her. If my time spent with the trio of secret operatives had taught me anything, it was to be prepared for any and everything.

After picking up on nothing on the other side of the door, I raised a fist to it and knocked a few times. I was still expecting no kind of answer...and I never received one. In my experience, I knew that if there was any kind of immediate threat, a sixth sense would be warning me to back off. I felt no such sensation, so I reached for the wobbly handle of the old door that wasn't fully attached to its hinges and pulled it open.

I mentioned earlier about how the smell in the dell reminded me of a strong, sulfurous odor, but the second I pulled that door open, my nostrils were assailed with a pungent ammonia aroma. The scent was so overwhelming that it threatened to drop me to my knees as I released the door and it swung shut on its own. I stumbled back as I covered my mouth and nose while doing my best to regain my bearings.

I took a moment to regroup and pulled my shirt up over my lower face. I then stepped forward once more and reached for the old handle again. Pulling the door open, I carefully stepped into the darkness and was fully aware that a silent trap could have awaited me. I had my doubts since I was sure that Lilith would've warned me, but I remained vigilant nonetheless.

As I had feared, it was far too dark for me to see anything. Judging from the outside of the rundown structure, I knew the small shed couldn't be much larger than six by six feet. I could've blindly fumbled about for whatever sat within the storage unit, but with my luck, I would've sliced my hands open on a sharp knife or pair of shears. I had to go about my search with a bit of tact.

It was almost comical on a cosmic level how I had just cursed having such rotten luck when as fate would have it, just enough moonlight filtered in through the open doorway to show me that a decaying table sat directly to my right...and on it sat a book of matches. I picked it up and flipped it open...and saw that a few were left. I wasn't sure how good they were, but I decided to pray for a miracle as I pulled one out and struck it. Again, some higher power decided to do me a favor as one of the next things I spotted from what little light I had was a lantern. I used a couple of the matches to fire it up so I would have a better source illumination.

Not that the entire room became lit up by any means, but I could see enough to notice that I had indeed stumbled upon something that could best be described as...odd. Lilith had claimed the area was "bad," and since she had more information than I did, I was inclined to believe her somewhat inadequate description. I can't say with all certainty what I had expected to discover in that small shed, but suffice it to say, what met my eyes was not what I had been anticipating.

The walls of the shed were lined with old gardening tools; most of which had become dull and rusted from age. There were a few bags of fertilizer stacked in one corner, and a few other bottled chemicals lined another wall. There was even a pink flamingo yard ornament shoved into another corner, but it was broken in too many places to ever serve its decorative purpose again. Why it had been kept was beyond me.

While all of that seemed perfectly normal, what I couldn't explain was the chair that sat in the dead center of the small chamber. It sat facing the doorway...with dark splotches of black beneath it on the floor. Some of the black reached as far back as the wall behind it.

I wasn't an idiot. I knew that the black had at one time been red. I knew that this old shed served as more than a mere storage unit. I knew what had happened here at one time. I also knew why the well seemed to be so conveniently close by...

"Bad."

I nearly jumped out of my skin. I'm sure I looked like a scared cat with its hair sticking straight up and its back arched. I hadn't been expecting my blue-skinned compeer to join me. "Lilith!"

"Sorry," the young woman apologized after seeing that she had scared ten years' growth out of me.

I set the lantern down on the edge of the wobbly table and pulled her in close with a hug. "Holy crap, Lilith! You scared the daylights out of me!"

"Sorry," she repeated as she let me squeeze the life out of her.

After my heartbeat finally returned to a semblance of normal, I finally peeled myself off the raven-tressed woman and held her by the upper arms. I looked her dead in the eyes as I asked, "Why'd you come, Lilith? I thought you were afraid of this place?"

The blue-skinned beauty didn't have an answer for me as she stared past my gaze and at the ominous chair that sat in the middle of the shed.

My eyes followed hers as I also looked at the haunting piece of furniture. It didn't take a genius to know that something dastardly had happened here, and judging from everything I viewed, the event probably took place some time ago.

"Bad," Lilith said again as tears started to form in her eyes. She then placed her hands on her face as she started to cry.

Feeling like a complete jerk for allowing the wonderful woman to travel out to a place that held such horrible memories for her, I pulled the raven-tressed beauty in close and gave her a loving embrace. "I'm so sorry that you had to see this again, Lilith. I don't know what happened here, but I'm going to make damn sure that no matter what happens, you'll always be safe, okay?"

I felt the young woman's hands against my chest as her fingers started to grip me and her nails dug into my flesh beneath my shirt. She was obviously an emotional wreck from whatever happened in this room, and I felt like a terrible person for making her relive such vile memories.

After a few more sniffles, Lilith finally pulled away from me and tried to wipe her tears aways with her hands. She did her best to smile up at me, and when I asked if she was going to be okay, she gave me a single nod.

"Should we go back to the house?" I then queried since I knew she would like the sound of that. I tried to be funny as I added, "We wouldn't want that old hag to start missing us, now would we?"

Lilith's expression soured upon hearing mention of Antenora. I should've thought twice about bringing up the elderly woman, but I guess I hadn't been thinking clearly in the moment. I'd have to be better in the future...

Before I could usher Lilith to the door, she pointed to something stored away under the old table I had set the lantern on. At first, I thought she had maybe seen a rat or some other vermin, but after grabbing our light source and squatting down, I could see an old cardboard box with its top flaps folded down on the sides. There was obvious water damage to the bottom of the box, but that didn't stop me from asking my partner in crime to hold the lantern as I pulled the flimsy carton out.

I gazed down into the open box and noticed a bunch of old film reels that had haphazardly been thrown into it. I picked the top one up and noticed a white sticker on it that had a date scrawled down. When I grabbed for another, I could see that it had a similar label...but from a few months prior.

After rummaging through some of the old reels, I finally turned and stared up at Lilith. I could see a frown tarnishing her otherwise perfect features, and of course, I had plenty of questions that I didn't think I was going to receive any answers for. I held one of them up and queried, "What are these, Lilith?"

I was more than a little surprised when I received a single word from her. "Memories."

Some of the dates went back over a decade, and a few others went back as far as two. The most recent one was at least three years old, and I couldn't help but wonder why such a primitive way of recording had been used instead of normal videotapes. Then again, if the film reels had anything to do with Antenora, it was safe to say that she was further behind in the times than even I was.

Holding one of the reels that went back five years in my right hand, I asked Lilith, "Is there a place where we can play them? Do you and Antenora have a projector?"

The blue-skinned beauty had a look on her face that told me she didn't want to answer...but she also knew she couldn't lie to me. Eventually, she simply nodded.

I picked up the box and found that it wasn't terribly heavy, but when I considered how long of a trek we had ahead of us in order to get back to the house, I knew that carrying all of them wouldn't be feasible. Besides, even if I brought the whole box back with us, where was I going to store it? I doubted Antenora was going into my room while I was out working for her during the day, but there weren't many places to hide such a large carton of old film reels. I decided that I would grab three or four of them and take them with. If for any reason I needed the rest of them, I could come back for them at a different point in time.

After grabbing certain ones, I followed Lilith back into the night as she opted to carry the lantern so we'd have an easier time getting back. I couldn't help but notice the way she looked at the well with such obvious disdain, and I had a feeling that I knew why. There was certainly something very serious going on here, and I felt that the answers were crucial to the blue-skinned woman's actual origin. I was hopeful that the film reels would have more information.

As we made our way across the dell, I wondered if having the lantern on the way back to the house would possibly shed a little light on why the route we had taken was all over the place...no pun intended on the light comment. Still, it goes without saying that I was overwhelmingly confused as to why the path we took was so chaotic and not a straight line. Before coming all this way, I had thought that maybe the trees were too thick in certain areas, but I must admit that it wasn't like the trail had been any easier to traverse. I knew there had to be a reason for the wonky itinerary...I was just having trouble putting my finger on it.

The journey home didn't exactly present me with any answers, so as I followed Lilith through the foliage, I decided it wouldn't be out of line to ask, "Why are we following such a perplexing route, Lilith? Why not just move in a straight line?"

"It's dangerous," the raven-tressed beauty ominously answered as she kept her eyes on the path.

I clearly wanted to ask why, but I refrained from doing so. Lilith was a woman of few words, and I didn't want her wasting the precious few she had for me on such trivial matters. Besides, I had seen some shit in my days back during my times overseas, so my mind could fill in the blanks on what kind of perils we were avoiding by going off the beaten path. I guess my only other question revolved around how dangerous those hazards actually were.

When we started getting closer to the property, Lilith decided to douse the lantern and then set it between a couple of barrels out behind the barn. She informed me that she would return it to the shed at a later date, and that had me inwardly questioning why she would even consider returning to a place she so obviously loathed...especially if she thought for even one second that I wouldn't be with her when she made the trip.

We made our way across the cul-de-sac and up the ramshackle steps leading to the front door of the old house. On our adventure home, Lilith had asked me where I planned to keep the old film reels, and I had told her that shoving them under my bed seemed like a good idea for the time being. She didn't seem to have any better ideas, so she went along with it.

Once we were back inside, we did our best to remain silent as I removed my shoes and Lilith pulled off the dirty socks. My reticent compeer had no problem being quiet since she rarely spoke and moved with the grace of a cat anyway.

As we made our way back upstairs, we kept our eyes peeled for any signs of the old bat in case she happened to be lurking through the hallways. We appeared to be in the clear, and as we walked into the guest room I had been temporarily granted, I knelt down next to the bed and slid the reels underneath. Since the comforter on the bed didn't go all the way to the floor, I did my best to make sure the silver cylinders were pushed far enough back so they wouldn't be visible to anyone passing by who may have been nosy enough to look.

I would've felt much better taking another shower instead of just crawling into bed after being out in the woods, but I was fairly certain that doing so would definitely wake Antenora. I also wanted to try getting some sleep since we would be expected to be up early in the morning. Even though it would cause me discomfort to be a little dirty, I would manage. I'd just enjoy my shower all the more when I bathed the following day.