Excerpt from Voices of Madness - Not Dead Yet
Brian picked up the altar box and they continued walking. They were at the beginning of the cemetery wall, but had not yet reached the gate. It was quiet, the only sounds in the night were their footsteps and the occasional rustle of branches. At first this comforted Brian. Then it dawned on him that this was not normal. There were none of the sounds he expected: no animals, no insects, nothing. The night was completely devoid of nature sounds. There was no sound except for their footsteps and the wind.
Brian looked over at wall. A shiver rumbled through him. He couldn't see anything of note, but there was an unpleasant feeling that seemed to just roll over the wall like fog. There was an overwhelming sense of doom and despair. Brian looked at Li with alarm, but the old man just nodded. Beyond the wall there was chaos. Grasping, wanting, confusion. The cemetery could not contain it. But now Brian could sense it; he could almost taste it.
And then there was danger. Brian could feel it hit him like a splash of cold water with his heightened senses. There was a strange howl and a blur shot over the wall. By its arc it should have landed in front of them on the path, but Brian saw nothing. The air was too thick with chaos to sense where it went.
There was a hiss, even louder since the breeze had suddenly disappeared. A whisper twisted through the air. After a moment, the whisper was repeated. It was agonizingly slow, a hanging pause between each word: Not… dead… yet…
Brian looked around, but he couldn't locate the source of the whisper.
Not dead yet. The voice seemed to be growing a little louder in each repetition.
Brian turned and looked at Li. The old exorcist had a look of determination, but unlike Brian, he was not twisting his head around looking for the voice.
Not dead yet.
Not dead yet.
Brian could also hear that the voice was becoming more insistent. It was as if it was trying to convince someone.
Not dead yet.
Was this some sort of keeper of the gate, alerting the others that Li and Brian were not ghosts?
Not dead yet. It just kept speaking, louder and more insistent. Not dead yet!
The voice was shouting now. This meant that Brian could discern the speaker's location. It was coming from in front of them, in the darkness to the left. But then he heard the voice from behind them. He spun around, but now he could hear it from the right side. Then left. It seemed to bounce around them quickly. The voice was faster, repeating its litany every few seconds from a new location.
The voice was frantic. Not dead yet! There was now no delay between the repetitions. Brian winced as the endless recitations filled his head. Notdeadyetnotdeadyetnotdeadyetnotdeadyetnotdeadyetnotdeadyetnotdeadyet!
Li took a deep breath then thrust his palm forward with a strong exhalation. Brian could only vaguely feel the force the old man projected, but knew it hit. The voice was cut short in the middle of a repetition. A white figure fell to the ground as if punched. Emaciated and naked, it could have been a person if Brian wasn't able to see through it.
The figure picked itself up, rolling into a crouch. Its hands were clutched on either side of its head. Its features were vague, but Brian could see enough that its face was twisted in anguish. Tears flowed down its cheeks. It rocked forward and back in its crouch.
In a quiet voice, it said: “Not dead yet.”
In a louder frantic voice: “Not dead yet!”
Then, with tears, in a quiet voice again: “I’m not dead yet. Please… don’t… Please let me out…”
Li relaxed and shook his head. “Let’s go, he’s not any threat to us.”
“But,” said Brian, “what about…”
“He is only barely aware we’re here,” responded Li. “Once I quiet the whole cemetery, he’ll return to his resting place. Though he’ll never truly rest until he admits it to himself.”
Li then walked straight past the crouched figure toward the gate. Brian was more hesitant, looking at the figure, then Li, then back to the figure. He then made a very wide circle around the crouched figure, never turning his back to it until he was a good fifteen feet away. Then he ran to catch up with Li.
Voices of Madness Available Now on Amazon in Paperback and Ebook!
Brian picked up the altar box and they continued walking. They were at the beginning of the cemetery wall, but had not yet reached the gate. It was quiet, the only sounds in the night were their footsteps and the occasional rustle of branches. At first this comforted Brian. Then it dawned on him that this was not normal. There were none of the sounds he expected: no animals, no insects, nothing. The night was completely devoid of nature sounds. There was no sound except for their footsteps and the wind.
Brian looked over at wall. A shiver rumbled through him. He couldn't see anything of note, but there was an unpleasant feeling that seemed to just roll over the wall like fog. There was an overwhelming sense of doom and despair. Brian looked at Li with alarm, but the old man just nodded. Beyond the wall there was chaos. Grasping, wanting, confusion. The cemetery could not contain it. But now Brian could sense it; he could almost taste it.
And then there was danger. Brian could feel it hit him like a splash of cold water with his heightened senses. There was a strange howl and a blur shot over the wall. By its arc it should have landed in front of them on the path, but Brian saw nothing. The air was too thick with chaos to sense where it went.
There was a hiss, even louder since the breeze had suddenly disappeared. A whisper twisted through the air. After a moment, the whisper was repeated. It was agonizingly slow, a hanging pause between each word: Not… dead… yet…
Brian looked around, but he couldn't locate the source of the whisper.
Not dead yet. The voice seemed to be growing a little louder in each repetition.
Brian turned and looked at Li. The old exorcist had a look of determination, but unlike Brian, he was not twisting his head around looking for the voice.
Not dead yet.
Not dead yet.
Brian could also hear that the voice was becoming more insistent. It was as if it was trying to convince someone.
Not dead yet.
Was this some sort of keeper of the gate, alerting the others that Li and Brian were not ghosts?
Not dead yet. It just kept speaking, louder and more insistent. Not dead yet!
The voice was shouting now. This meant that Brian could discern the speaker's location. It was coming from in front of them, in the darkness to the left. But then he heard the voice from behind them. He spun around, but now he could hear it from the right side. Then left. It seemed to bounce around them quickly. The voice was faster, repeating its litany every few seconds from a new location.
The voice was frantic. Not dead yet! There was now no delay between the repetitions. Brian winced as the endless recitations filled his head. Notdeadyetnotdeadyetnotdeadyetnotdeadyetnotdeadyetnotdeadyetnotdeadyet!
Li took a deep breath then thrust his palm forward with a strong exhalation. Brian could only vaguely feel the force the old man projected, but knew it hit. The voice was cut short in the middle of a repetition. A white figure fell to the ground as if punched. Emaciated and naked, it could have been a person if Brian wasn't able to see through it.
The figure picked itself up, rolling into a crouch. Its hands were clutched on either side of its head. Its features were vague, but Brian could see enough that its face was twisted in anguish. Tears flowed down its cheeks. It rocked forward and back in its crouch.
In a quiet voice, it said: “Not dead yet.”
In a louder frantic voice: “Not dead yet!”
Then, with tears, in a quiet voice again: “I’m not dead yet. Please… don’t… Please let me out…”
Li relaxed and shook his head. “Let’s go, he’s not any threat to us.”
“But,” said Brian, “what about…”
“He is only barely aware we’re here,” responded Li. “Once I quiet the whole cemetery, he’ll return to his resting place. Though he’ll never truly rest until he admits it to himself.”
Li then walked straight past the crouched figure toward the gate. Brian was more hesitant, looking at the figure, then Li, then back to the figure. He then made a very wide circle around the crouched figure, never turning his back to it until he was a good fifteen feet away. Then he ran to catch up with Li.
Voices of Madness Available Now on Amazon in Paperback and Ebook!
