Sons of Darkness

Looking back now, we never dreamed that hell on earth could be so close, waiting out there in the abyss, ready to strike at that right moment in time.  We were just a group of friends willing to do anything for each other.   What started out as a weekend trip to help one of our friends, turned into a nightmare, one that even in my most horror filled dream, I could never have imagined. 

The clocks stopped that day, frozen in time. A matter of hours that turned the world around literally, and released a terror upon the earth that threatened to wipe out all of mankind, and replace it with creatures of such evil, that man could ever survive.

They had been waiting for hundreds of years, held in place by an seemingly impenetrable wall, that through a natural set of circumstances, fell so suddenly, that no one was prepared.

“Hey, Romeo.”  Lil’ Boy’s booming voice yelled out at me, jarring me out of my sound sleep.

“Hey……….., you big jerk, you scared the shit out of me!”  I yelled out, as I leapt from the bed.  “How the hell did you get in my house?”

“Well, Pretty Boy, maybe you should start locking your door.”  Lil’ Boy said with a big hearty laugh.

Lil’ Boy’s real name is Jasper Jenson.  He had to be in his late fifties, a big bull of a man at over six feet, and very close to four hundred pounds.  Lil’ Boy was your typical old motorcycle gangster from any of the movies on television, and theatres,

with his long graying hair braided at the back, dirty blue jean, and leather vest.  We liked to tease him that he tried to look like those guys, but he would respond that that he originated the look.

He was loud and scary, especially after he had a couple of drinks, but he was a gentle giant, with a heart of gold.  He would pick up a stray animal at the drop of a hat, and then get so attached to it, he could not give it away.  He lived in an old lean tool shed at the edge of town, as no one would rent to him anymore, because of his menagerie of pets.  It was just amazing to watch such a big man, cooing and whispering to a sick animal, begging it to live, and then crying like a baby when one passed away.  His favorite animal was a border collie mix he lovingly called Annabelle, and you never saw Lil’ Boy without her.

“Sal is wanting us to take a trip this weekend.”  Lil’ Boy said.  “She wants us to meet her at the Ice House Café.”

“Trip?  Where too?”  I said, as I tried to hard to stifle a  yawn.

“Aw, you know her, no telling where it could be.”  Lil’ Boy groaned.  “I tell her it’s hard for me to get someone to take care of my babies.”

“Lil’ Boy, I swear, you are worse than a woman, the way you worry about those animals.”  I laughed.

“Well………., Yeah……….., but at least I have someone who cares about whether I come home at night or not, which is more than I can say for you.”  Lil’ Boy growled.

“Touché!”  I said with a laugh.

My name is Duncan Roberson, and I had been a loner all my life.  My mother was a prostitute, who cared more about her drugs, than her son.  She never knew who my father was, nor did she care.  She only showed me attention, when it meant putting a dollar in her pocket.  When I was young, she used me to garner herself sympathy, and would make me pretend to be sick, so we could get charity.  I did it hoping it would make her love and want me, and because even though I knew she was pretending, it was the only time she would hold and kiss me.   When I was fourteen, she just left one night, and never came back again.  I waited, alone and afraid, for five days, sure that she wouldn’t leave her own child, not leaving the room for fear that she would come, and think I was gone.  I would stand in the window, looking down on the street, my heart racing each time I saw someone who looked like her.

Slowly, bitterness and hate invaded my heart, and I knew she wasn’t coming back for me.  All she left me was the clothes on my back,  an old beat up Harley, and the ability to take care of myself.  I just climbed on that old Harley, rode away, and never looked back.

I moved around a lot, at first, mostly living off what I could beg, borrow, and steal, and had more than one run in with the law.  I grew into a tall, muscular man, with long blonde hair and dark brown eyes, and looks that caught the eye of many attractive women.  I used those women, the way my mother used her johns, and never let any of them touch my heart.  The moment I started feeling any sort of attachment, I would climb on my bike, and ride away, without even saying goodbye.  I never gave one moments thought to the people I hurt along the way, for the only person I cared about at all was myself.  Then one day, ten years later, I rod