Ascent Read Free

prior
    Functioning tile and brick factory
    On the same grounds
    The night shift
    1 AM
    Steady rain
    Operations Manager
    J.L. Platt Jr.
    Hears sounds
    From the mine shaft
    Not human
    Not any animal he knows
    Painful screeches
    Getting louder
    It’s that demon
    Peers down
    Further into dark borehole
    Shaft drops
    Hundreds of feet
    Many twists and turns
    That demon’s down there
    A flash of light
    In the darkness
    The monster
    Appears at the entrance
    Behind it
    Another somewhat
    Smaller creature
    In the fog
    A brilliant light
    Striking
    Blinding
    The factory workers
    See them too
    What are they?
    What are they?
    My God!
    Horn-like protuberance
    Emanating extraordinary light
    They’re creatures
    From hell
    They rise
    Rise
    Sail away
    To open their eyes
    And to turn them
    From the darkness
    To the light
    The whole town
    In an uproar
    They’re demons
    What have we done?
    We’re being punished
    What have we done?
    They are from hell
    We’ve discovered their lair
    We need to kill them
    He that committed sin
    And his angels
    Were cast out
    With him
    Cast out
    Men gather in the rain
    Brimmed hats
    Rain coats
    Guns
    Explosives
    We need every firearm
    We need to kill them
    They’re demons
    They’re demons
    I’m praying for all of us
    All of the lights
    In town turned on
    So those left behind
    Feel more secure
    The lights will frighten them
    Pouring rain
    Men gather at the mine
    Wait for them
    Rid the earth of them
    When they should return
    Wait for them
    Four hours
    Hours
    Break of dawn
    5:46 am
    In the sky
    Two dark figures
    Living shadow
    Giant bats
    Fly quietly
    Get closer
    Land at the mine
    Everybody fires
    BOOM!
    BOOM!
    Smoke
    Noise
    Confusion
    Shrieks
    With echoes
    The terrible sulfur odor
    During the gunfire
    Slowly
    Methodically
    Descend into the shaft
    Of the old mine
    Slowly
    Bullets have no effect
    No effect
    Barricade the mine
    Before nightfall
    Go back to hell
    Where you came from
    Blow up the entrance
    Seal them in
    Blow up
    Child of the devil
    For whosoever
    Shall call
    Upon the name of the Lord
    Shall be saved
    Shall be saved
    ***
    We’re at the site
    Of the old mine
    Mindy the Librarian
    Hooked us up
    With Steadman family
    Current owners of the land
    Secure personal tour
    Of the old tile factory
    And mine grounds
    At gate
    John Steadman
    Accompanied by his son
    And grandson
    Farmer
    Gray hair
    Leather skin
    Very straightforward
    Horses grazing
    Mine filled in
    Decades ago
    Can barely
    See the entrance
    Covered in earth
    And just some remaining bricks
    Of the old factory
    Some people claim
    They hear phantom sounds
    Machines rumble
    Screeching sounds
    Wails
    The grandson Jesse
    —You the guys looking
    —For the giant bat?
    That we are Sir
    That we are
    Walking around the grounds
    Stop at the site
    Of original shaft opening
    Mr. Steadman
    No-nonsense guy
    Says sometimes
    Gets a weird feeling
    Shakes his head
    Impression
    That something just
    Isn’t right
    Son says
    —Me too
    —My friends and I
    —Always afraid to play here
    I wonder if
    Something is buried down there
    Like those horns
    Glowing
    Still glowing
    That it is was a fabrication
    Floating through
    The night sky
    A great form
    Of some kind
    Mr. Steadman
    Invites us to come back
    That night
    11 pm
    We come back
    Tons of gear
    Glowing
    Still glowing
    Cameras
    Audio recorders
    Motion detectors
    Night vision video
    Geiger counter
    EMF meters
    Thermoscanners
    —A cricket won’t fart
    —Without us hearing it
    We wait
    And wait
    —Shit this is a waste of time
    —Fuckers are long gone man
    Eric starts
    Texting with his fiancé
    Reserved a block
    Of hotel rooms
    Who’s invited
    To Friday night rehearsal dinner
    Write their own vows
    Glowing
    Still glowing
    That it was a fabrication
    We need that footprint
    We need that footprint
    Experts at
    Iowa Historical Society
    Search for it
    Will probably be fruitless
    Plaster used
    In 1903 would have been soft
    And brittle
    Unless properly stored
    Odds are
    It would have crumbled to pieces
    Next day
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