Deathwatcher

Martha sat in a dejected mood looking out through the window pane across the water droplets trickling down from the roof of the car. Although it was day time, the blackish gray clouds covering the sky from horizon to horizon made it look more like dusk. On the top of it, the sky was pouring down on them like there was no tomorrow. The trees, which normally shone bright green under a glorious sun wore the darkest shade of despair. They were lined up along the road and scattered all over the dreary landscape like the silent but sinister sentinels of the dark. The road was very uncomfortable and bumpy and there was not a soul to be seen on that cold, depressing day. John wiped the fog which had settled on the inside of the windscreen with a clean piece of cotton with one hand while trying to control the steering wheel with the other. He tried to concentrate on the driving as the visibility was very low and the road, narrow. But it was not very easy as his thoughts kept coming back to the events of the last couple of weeks. Although, Dr Graham had assured him that it was nothing serious, his fears did not die down, ‘doctors are known for concealing the truth.’ ‘What did he say?’

‘ There is nothing to worry about, Mr Trumble. Your wife is fine. She is just overwrought by the stress of day to day life. She just needs an extended vacation in a quiet place.’

“But he was not with Martha all day long for the past fortnight,” John thought to himself “I was. I have seen a couple of cases of breakdown myself and they were nothing like this. Is it normal under stress to strangle the household cat with your bare hands and leave it hanging over the balcony?”
Anyway, he had gone along with Dr Graham’s instruction and planned a month long vacation in a little known Scottish village.

‘Maybe I am just being paranoid. Maybe, all she needs is a little sun and a feel of the stress free, cheerful country life to bring her back to her spirits. Maybe.’ He was thinking again ’Too many maybes. I don’t like it. I don’t like the uncertainty. I don’t like the waiting. But what can I do? ’

He started praying. He was not a devout catholic. In fact, he had never been particularly religious. But he had started praying over the last few days as it was the only thing he could do to make things better.

‘How helpless have I become. What did I not have? A secure job, a good house and a beautiful and loving wife. How the life can turn upside down in such a short time. For how long I haven’t had a good laugh? Ten days? It feels like years. Those days will never come back again. No they will! I’ll make them come back. Yes, I will. ’

With this new found determination he turned to concentrate on his driving and the road ahead. A very long and dark road ahead.

Suddenly Martha spoke.
“Now you’ll agree with me that going to Paris was the better idea. I didn’t even have a glimpse of the famous Scottish sun you talked about. ”
“The sky will clear, dear. Normally we don’t have rains here at this time of the year. Wait till you discover Scotland. I am sure you’ll love it.”

Everything has changed. At least you’re acting almost normal for now. Your voice is almost normal too. Not the sweet, beautiful voice which I was so attracted to when I first met you. But the rasping is almost gone. Oh Martha, why don’t you realize that you’ll destroy yourself this way. I won’t let you to. I will be with you and love you till you are yourself again. I promise you that.

“I am surprised” Martha spoke again “that they let you have a long holiday on such short notice. Your boss is certainly not famous for his generosity.”
“I am not on leave, dear. I resigned. ”
“What?”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll find a new one when we go back. There are some things in life which are more important than a job. ”
“But…….” Martha did not complete her sentence. Suddenly she let out a scream of pure horror and started scratching at John with her nails and beating out with her fists at everything within her reach,
“Let me out. Stop the car. Let me out.” She was screaming at the top of her voice.
John lost control and the car swerved and hit a tree trunk on the side of the road. Martha opened the door on her side and ran screaming towards the woods. Everything had happened so fast that by the time John realized what had happened, Martha was already in the woods, beyond his sight. But he could still hear her screaming.
“You’ll never catch me. Leave me alone……”
John wasted no time and took off after her.
‘I have to catch you before you are lost in the woods or worse.’ He thought to himself.
But Martha was going unbelievably fast. Her screaming and ranting now seemed very distant and feeble. On the top of it, the downpour was now more merciless than ever. He was running as fast as his legs would carry on the muddy ground. Suddenly, he slipped and fell. His head hit a tree trunk and he was unconscious.
When John came back to his senses, the rain had stopped and the sky had cleared enough for the sun to peep out of the clouds now and then. Drops of water were falling down from the leaves on the ground and all over him. The ground was still very muddy and he had difficulty standing up. He supported himself holding an overhanging branch and started jerking his legs to restore the blood circulation. He was still pondering on what to do next and deciding whether to go to the nearest town for help or resume the search himself when he heard something heavy falling on the ground. He ran in the direction of the sound and after a few steps saw a female shape lay sprawled across the ground. He took only a moment to recognize the pale, flowing dress which he had gifted to Martha only a few days back on their wedding anniversary and the golden hair which was gleaming as the sunlight danced across it.

No, it can’t be. She can’t be. Please God! Let it not be so. You can’t be dead. No, I’ll save you .Oh! please let her not be dead.

Putting his fears to the back of his mind, he went over to Martha’s motionless body and turned her over. The sight which greeted him was so terrifying that he had to jerk his eyes away in another direction and one which haunted him every lonely night to the end of his life. Gathering what was a semblance of courage, he turned again towards his wife. Her face was distorted in the most inhuman way possible. No man in the world could have looked at her face without clenching his teeth. Her eyes, nose and lips were so out of symmetry that just looking at her was enough to shake any man’s belief in God. Her legs looked as if someone had tried to tie them in a knot. Her body was cold enough for the wind blowing on John’s face to feel warm. With infinite slowness, John made himself feel her pulse. She is alive!
Wasting no further time, he heaved Martha’s limp body over his shoulder and started walking west towards the road and hopefully where the car would be, as fast as his legs would carry. It was dusk and there was still no sight of the road. He had walked for miles without rest and it felt as if he would drop dead from sheer exhaustion. He continued walking with Martha’s body flung across his shoulder under the bright, full moon. Suddenly, he saw an opening in the thickets and straight ahead was the road. And the car! He had come back to the same place on the road where they had left!

Luck! I have always been lucky. Have I? Is this luck? But I should waste no further time, she needs urgent medical aid. Please God! Let nothing happen to her.

He opened the back door of the car, lay Martha on the seat and settled himself in the driver’s seat. He turned the ignition key and pressed the accelerator. The engine gave an ugly sound and died.
‘That collision with the tree.’ John told himself ’God!’

Martha tried to open her eyes but she had to immediately close them again, the light was blinding. Involuntarily, she groaned. She opened them again, this time slowly.
“So, you are awake at last.” Spoke a man in the doctor’s white coat pulling back the curtains on the window “Had a good sleep?”
“I am alright. Just a little disoriented.” Martha replied, beating back the pain “I need to use the bathroom.”
She went to the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She turned towards the basin to wash her face. Curious, there is no mirror! Are they so low on budget?

Anyway, she did her chores and came out of the bathroom.
“Worrying about a stupid mirror when I should be worrying about John.” she told herself “Where is he? Is he alright? After everything that had happened….” She ended her train of thoughts with a sigh.
As though reading her mind, the doctor replied “Mr Trumble is alright. He insisted on staying by your side, but he was too weak himself. He is resting in the visitor’s room. He would be here any moment now. ”
The cleaners and the other medical staff went about their business without even glancing at her.
‘Why are the others avoiding looking at me? What’s the matter?’ suddenly she remembered ‘No mirror.’

“I am sorry I haven’t introduced myself.” apologized the doctor, very obviously trying to put her at ease “I am Dr Thomson. I am a general practitioner at the Aberfoyle General hospital.”
‘At least we have reached the place we set out for.’ Thought Martha.
“Tell me doctor, what happened after I fainted. John must have told you everything.”
“Maybe some other time, it’s a long story.”
“We have all the time in the world.”
“Ok,” said the doctor with a sigh of resignation “John found you lying on the ground…….” He went on to tell her everything avoiding any reference to her facial contortion. “When the lorry driver saw the car wrecked in front of the tree trunk, he came out to investigate. That is when he found you both lying unconscious inside the car and brought you here. Are you satisfied now?”
“Just one more question.”
“Is it the last?”
“It could be.” She tried to smile.
Dr Thomson winced and went to the windows to arrange the curtains.
Martha tried to ignore the obvious behaviour. “Why is everyone avoiding looking at me?”
“It is just your imagination. Why would anybody do so?” he had prepared himself for the question.

So you would not tell. I am sure you have your reasons. Good reasons they may be. But for how long can you hide my own face from me? I’ll find out very soon. After what I have gone through, after what I am going through and after what I know I have to go through, nothing else can have any effect on me. Oh! Let no one else suffer this horror.

But she knew others will have to. Till the end of time, a few unfortunate men and women will suffer this ultimate horror. Worse than death, worse than anything a man could ever imagine. Yes, they will suffer. And I’ll suffer along with them, and all the others before me. Those eyes! But how do I tell John? Sooner or later I’ll have to. Time is running out. I can’t hold on any longer……

At the same time, John entered looking very tired and ragged but cheerful nonetheless.
“How are you feeling now, love?”
“Better” she tried to sound as cheerful but failed. I’ll have to tell him.
“Oh, how are you now, Mr Trumble?” Dr Thomson intervened “An uninterrupted sleep does a lot of good.”
“Oh, hello Doctor. Did you talk to the psychiatry department.”
“Yes, I have talked to Dr Morrison. He is the head of the psychiatry department and a very competent doctor. He has contacted Dr Graham and has received a brief medical history of the patient. He will see you at 8 o’clock tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you, doctor. Can we go now?”
“If Mrs Trumble is feeling well enough.” Martha nodded. “Okay then. If you need me anytime just give me a call.”

They thanked the doctor again and came out of the hospital. John called a cab as their car was still at the garage. The cab driver gave a stifled cry of horror as he saw Martha but said nothing. John quickly gave the address and they settled into the back seat.
“John, I want to tell you something.”
“Not now, dear. For now just enjoy the natural beauty of Aberfoyle. It is famous for its fresh air and green landscape. And you were complaining about the sun. Look how bright the blue skies are now. We will talk when we get back. Everything will be alright.”
‘Nothing will be alright’ thought Martha ‘Time is running out. The sooner you know, the better; lesser the pain it will cause.’

The car was now rolling along a very picturesque part of the road. Everything was green and shining, washed by the heavy rains of yesterday. Now and then, Martha could see bunches of flowers blooming in rainbow colors. The sky was as clear as ever and the sun was shining brighter than ever as if trying to wash away the evil happenings of yesterday in its blinding light.

‘Enjoy it while it lasts ‘Martha thought ‘or while I last. I can’t hold on any longer. I can see the end coming. The end of life and the beginning of horrors. How I wish I could die like other people do. The sun is shining bright but the night is coming. A night of which John has no idea. I have to tell him, explain everything before I go. He deserves at least this much.

The cab jerked to a halt.
“Here you are, sir.” said the cab driver.
They got out of the cab and John paid the cabbie.
He thanked him and with one last fleeting look at Martha, went away.
Martha looked around and saw beautiful oak trees crowding one side of a small but beautiful and very comfortable looking cottage. On the other side of the cottage was a small vegetable garden and beyond the fence, stretching till the end of sight, the moor. Martha shuddered. She had always been afraid of open spaces and now, even more so.
They explored the nearby woods and the vegetable garden.
“How is this place?” asked John
“For once I am impressed.” Martha replied. There were no signs of any neighbors.
“Then let us go back to the cottage and enjoy a hot supper” It was late evening and the light was failing.
“Oh no, not the cooking!” Martha burst out.
John laughed. “I have another surprise for you.”
They entered the cottage while the housemaid was setting the supper on the table.
“I must say you have planned everything very well.”
“How are ………..” the smile faded from the housemaid’s face. She dropped the tray she was carrying and ran inside the kitchen, screaming.
“It must be a rat” John lied but his face gave away the lie.
“You don’t have to lie, John. I saw the mirror when we stopped by to eat. I don’t care any more.”
“Neither do I” John leaned over and kissed Martha’s disfigured lips.
“But I don’t understand what could have terrified you so much that this happened? I want to tell you one thing, Martha. I’ll always be there for you. You don’t have to hide anything from me. I will set everything right.”
“I won’t. I promise you”
“Then let’s have supper and talk after that.”

The maid reappeared briefly once and brought the remaining dishes very carefully avoiding looking at Martha.
“It is getting late, Mr Trumble. If you don’t need anything, I should be going home now.”
“We won’t be needing anything. Just close the back door before you go.”
They had supper in silence and after that, washed and changed.. The sun had set fully and the cool moonlight filtered out through the window and bathed everything in a heavenly light. John turned off all the lights and came and sat beside the window, Martha’s hand in his. They sat in silence for a long time watching the dark shadows on the moor.

It was Martha who broke the silence.
“I want to tell you everything, John. You have been so worried about me that I feel you deserve to know everything. Anyway, time is running short and I feel this is the night.”
“The night for what?”
“Let me start from the beginning. When I first started seeing those eyes, I felt I was losing my mind. They kept peeping at me from all the improbable places; from inside the closet, from under the bed, even from the television. They are the most sinister of eyes, crystal green of unimaginable depth, a pair of eyes that reek of monstrosity. It seems as if they are trying to take away my soul. Just feeling their sight on me gives me unbearable pain and sorrow. It feels as if I am drowned in the evil that flows from those eyes. At those times, I am not myself. At those times I can sense the evil inside me trying to bubble out. I know you don’t believe me. It’s hard to.”
“Yes I believe you, dear. Now I think about it, sometimes even I could sense the evil surrounding you. At that time I discarded it as my imagination. Please go on.”

“At that time even I thought it was my hyperactive imagination. I came to know the horrifying truth only when I asked one of my friends for help. She introduced me to a man who was suffering from the same delusions. You remember Daniel Porter, John? He was in the papers a few days ago due to his mysterious disappearance. He told me everything about what was happening to me. He claimed to have come across this terrifying phenomenon in an ancient book translated from Sanskrit about the darkest secrets of death. He found it when he was searching for an explanation for his own ailment in the library. ”
“Since time immemorial this thing has been going on and till the end of time will it continue. Satan, in his unquenchable thirst for souls to play with, picks out a few people at a time and makes them his slave. They need not only be human, any living being has a soul and the devil can snatch it.”

“But I don’t understand it. If the devil wanted, he could take anyone anytime. Why the waiting game? And those eyes? Are they devil’s?”
“No, if the devil wants to take someone, he first has to break his soul. This he does by exposing the victims to his evils and choking them in pain and sorrow. When the soul is broken, he takes it as his slave and puts it through unimaginable torture until it is shattered. After that, he leaves it on a pile of other rotting souls and it lays there in unending misery till the end of time.”
John looked at Martha and saw that she was sweating and shivering and her face was contorted even more than before as if the fear of this happening to her had left her twisted inside. But he had to know everything.
“And those eyes?”

“That book is probably the only one existing today that speaks about those eyes. Those eyes belong to the Deathwatcher, the most evil and twisted of the servants of the dark. Ancient Indians believed that the Deathwatcher is the first creature whose soul the devil had devoured and that he had given a part of his own soul to it. It watches over the victims until the time comes for the devil to take over his soul.”
“I myself did not believe this tale until I saw the devil take Daniel.” Martha gave an involuntary shiver and it looked as if she was about to collapse “Just thinking that the same fate awaits me is enough to drive me mad. But I am so unfortunate that I cannot lose my mind or even kill myself.”

An unnerving silence followed. John was speechless and Martha was looking out of the window as if waiting for the devil.
“John, I want to bid you goodbye before I go. My time is over now. Daniel said that when you feel no difference between good and evil, it is time for you to go and I have the feeling that my time has come. Just remember me when I am gone.”
At that time John realized that he was crying. Drops of tears were trickling down from his cheeks over his shirt and on the ground. I’ll always remember you as the only woman I ever loved.

Martha woke up sweating. She felt the bed beside her and was relieved to find John sleeping there. She looked at the watch. It was 2 o’clock in the morning. Suddenly, she felt a sensation at her back. She turned to look but no one was there. My time has come.
At that moment, her thought was not on saving herself, she knew that was impossible, she only wanted to be as far away from John when it happened. She did not want him to be haunted by the memory for his whole life. She stood up slowly, took her overcoat and started towards the back door. She froze on the spot when she saw John stirring but he was soon fast asleep again. She tiptoed to the backdoor and turned the knob slowly. As she opened the door, the sudden rush of cold wind hit her. She held her overcoat tightly and braving the freezing wind, started towards the moor. As soon as she was outside, the sensation hit her more strongly. It was a foul sensation and her soul shuddered. She quickened her footsteps and soon the cottage was out of sight. She continued walking deeper inside the bleak landscape. The bright moonlight did nothing to allay her fears. It only served to increase her sense of insecurity. In the open space, where she could see for miles in every direction, she felt naked. In a distance to her west, she could see a little dust storm rising. It’s coming.

She ran as fast as her legs would carry. As far as she could see, there was only open ground. She had no hope, but still she continued running. There were the occasional pools of water which had formed after the previous day’s rains which had not yet dried up. Otherwise, everything was uniform. She lost all sense of distance and time. She was running for what seemed like an eternity and after some time found herself in the treacherous marshes. Still, she could feel the evil powers gaining on her. In the marsh, every step taken was full of danger but she kept running mindless of the quicksand and the pitfalls. For her, these dangers were not worth thinking about, the biggest danger was pursuing her, close behind. Suddenly, she missed a step and was falling down a pit. She reached the bottom of the pit, bruised and aching all over. She knew her end had come. I’ll always remember you John.

Thousands of slimy rats were crawling all over her, investigating their prey closely. Suddenly she heard the rustling of leaves above her and instinctively looked above. Staring at her were the same pair of the sinister green eyes that had preoccupied her thoughts, haunted her dreams and turned her life to a nightmare for the past couple of weeks. She gave a cry of unadulterated horror but the sound was stifled by the body of a monstrous rat nibbling at her tongue.