The Old Tannery Hatch

Jake bounced on the edge of his bed, anxiously keying the transmit button of his walkie talkie that he used to keep in touch with his best buddy Tommy. They had just hours before, while out exploring, the old tannery, uncovered an access hatch in one of the building floors. It was a cast iron hatch, with the words TOOKS FORGE growing up from the seemingly ancient rust covered mass. They had returned home for dinner and were hoping to rush out again to see if they could bust the locking mechanism or hinges to uncover the treasures that must wait below.

âCopter Man, you read?â Jake called into the box.

âCopter Man here, get the thing away from your mouth, I can barely hear youâ Tommy called back

âYou get your dads tools?â he asked.

âRoger that Rump Rangerâ Tommy called back.

âIts Dark Ranger, tard, cut it outâ Jake snapped. His anger drifting away quickly as visions of the TOOKY gate filled his head. âWhat do you think is down there? Hopefully its like treasure or somethingâ

âProbably nothingâ¦just dirt. Or a dead bodyâ¦Hey gotta go- OUT.â

âRoger, OUT.â Jake returned.

Both boys greedily forced down their food. Jake was especially bothered though, Chinese food was his favorite and he liked to take his time and devour all he could. It was already 6:30 though and time was running out.

âMom, I supposed to meet Tommy, can I go?â Jake asked.

âOk⦠but be home beforeâ¦âshe started

âThe streetlights, I know mom. Bye!â

âJake! Donât forget your fortune. Catch.â She hurled the cookie across the kitchen and Jake snatched it from the air and stuck it in his jacket pocket.

Jake ran over to Tommyâs, too hurried to hail him on the walkies and could hear the yelling coming from inside as his finger pushed in the doorbell. The yelling got louder as Tommy poked his head out the door.

âLets get outta here. Man, before they realize im gone.â Tommy slung the backpack full of tools over his shoulder and bothe of the boys began running toward the Tannery.

They arrived at the hatch and cleared away the debris they had used to cover it up. They didnât want anyone else finding their treasure, now did they? The boys divvyed up the tools, Jake working in the hinge pins and Tommy on the lock. Both boys hammered feverishly, barely making a dent in the hardened steel, but continued until their foreheads were glistening with sweat and dirt.

âThis isnât going to work. Weâre not getting in here tonight.â Jake reported.

Before Tommy could answer, he was interrupted by some boys coming around the corner, smoking cigarettes and drinking beer. They both looked at each other, knowing that this was bad news. The Sharon and Kelleher boys were nothing but trouble, their legends almost as popular as the townâs historical lore. Neither Jake or Tommy knew their first names, just that they were two sets of troublemaking brothers and that they referred to them as them collectively as the Skillers.

âWell, Well, whatta we have here?â one of the boys howled out. âCouple of sissies by the looks.â He finished off his beer and whipped it in the boyâs direction, causing them to jump away when it smashed in front of them. Another one of the Skillers tossed a bottle and howled in delight.

âWhat do you two pansies have here?â A Skiller asked.

âWe found it⦠its ours!â Tommy yelled at them.

âIts what I say it is little man.â The biggest Skiller replied, grabbing Tommy and pushing him away from the hatch. One of his cohorts did the same to Jake. âAnd I say its ours. You gonna stop me?â

The lead Skiller instructed one of his minions to keep an eye on the boys wile the bigger boys worked on the hatch. They made much faster progress with the tools and improvised with some boulders as well.
âGot it! Woo Hoo!â a Skiller yelled as the lock gave up on trying to stay closed and sprung apart. The boys huddled around the hatch as they began to open it.

âI wouldnât do that!â Jake yelled suddenly. I heard its cursed in there.â

âYeaâ¦demons.â Tommy played along.

âShut your little girl faces.â A Skiller shot. âOr weâll feed you to whatever is in there.â They all laughed and made ghost noises as one of the brothers opened the lid.

What happened next was like a blur. A deep growl erupted from within the hole, freezing everybody in their tracks. A tentacle covered with claws reached out and pulled the first Skiller into the hole. As one arm pulled the boy in, another shot out and grabbed the next boy in line. They both struggled, screaming, trying to pull out of the grasp of the tendrils but were sucked out of site.
The lead Skiller actually managed to get about 10 feet from the hole before he was grabbed by his neck, the arm pulling him onto his back. His cries were muffled with sound of the blood that filled his throat. What the young boys assumed was his brother, their guard, ran out to help. His efforts were also met by a clawed arm that tore the flesh from his face as it rolled around him and pulled him in.

Jake and Tommy sat shaking in terror as the last of the boys, and their screams, were gone. They turned over and started to run in all fours, stumbling to catch their footing, and left trails of dust behind them as they ran home, not even looking over their shoulders.

Years later, Jake opened the fortune cookie that was smashed in the pocket of his jean jacket. It read âHe who slithers among the ground is not always a foe.â

Roland Bontempo
975 Words