Who Were They?
#6 of In The Company of Shadows
A story that happened a few days before Halloween.
"Sit down and make yourself comfortable again. For I have another tale for you." spoke the middle aged man. "This one took place a couple of months ago." he began.
It was a few days before Halloween, my younger sister, Bubbles, had taken her youngest child to the hospital, he was very sick. I remember that night because it was one of those things that you'd never forget or forgive.
So my older sister, T, took Bubbles up to the hospital and ran into a few strange people while they were up there. They told me these people were asking all kind of questions and were acting like they were part of the family. Things went as usual per a hospital visit after that and when they were leaving they found strange markings upon T's vehicle. They were of a script of unknown origin, so to them they looked like gibberish. And what do you do when you see graffiti on your vehicle? You clean it off right?, thinking that its just a bunch of kids having fun.
As the trip progressed they came to my house and told me about the people at the hospital. I figured some one is off their meds. It was pretty warm that night because I was standing outside and chatted with them for about a half hour. After awhile I told them to come in and get something to eat and for T to get some coffee into herself because she had a long ride back home.
It was at this point that I held my nephew in his arms. The last thing I said, "You guys better come into the house. Something is here." Not long after I said that the security light beside my house suddenly went out, it never did before. and the air grew deathly cold, cold enough to see your breath. The girls screamed and ran for the house, leaving me to stand alone with my nephew. I fumbled around in my pocket for my knife and slowly made my way for the door, ready to defend the life of my nephew should the need arise. Safe to say I made it to the door and locked it behind me.
I remember thinking "What the fuck did you guys bring?" as I began to collect my thoughts. Everyone was quiet inside the house as I gathered up some medicine and my field knife. I had been through this kinda shit before but never this close to home. I get the flashlight from my room and go to the door. By now T had already heated up the medicine and so I go outside to bless her vehicle.
The air was still cold as I neared the vehicle, field knife at my side. I could feel the presence of something in the darkness, it avoided the light as I proceeded to cedar the vehicle, taking extra effort to cedar the parts of the vehicle where the writing was. It was during this time that the thing was circling the vehicle, stirring up a small breeze as it did.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see a tall, dark figure. This one very different from the one I usually encounter around my place. The latter being a white presence that was neither harmful nor sinister. So I finish the work on the vehicle and proceed to cedar around my house. My dog usually barks when something or someone is around. But that night she was very silent, hiding inside her doghouse. Now back on the rez everyone has a dog and when they don't bark and cry instead, something is very wrong. We're talking the native equivalent of Def-Con 4. This meaning something very not of this world is out and about.
It wasn't till I was finished, when I stepped back on my porch, and seen the black shadow sitting on the fence watching me. I proceed inside and tell T to wait until the morning to leave, it should be gone by then. That night I stayed up until the sun rose the next day.
"To this day I have no idea what that thing was or its origins." the man spoke. "There is some crazy stuff in this world that science can't explain. And for good reason too, I'd imagine."