A Penny Down the Well: A Short Story Collection of Horrifying Events (16 page)

Jacob’s first reaction was
similar to that instinctively felt when in danger of running into
Barker or his gang. He scrambled along the ground, pushing his body
low and to the ground in a crab walk along the forest floor, dry
twigs and leaves crumbling beneath his scuttle. As soon as he was
far away from the horror, he turned and darted the direction
opposite of the highway, back toward the well. He moved as quickly
as his legs could carry him, but he could not lose the approaching
monster. It closed in on him.

Binkman, almost as
confused and distraught as the boy was, shouted out, in a language,
at least, that was not foreign to the boy. “Stop! I’m not going to
hurt you! I’m here to help you!”

Nothing could have stopped
Jacob’s charge now. He was dodging trees swiftly, having gained no
experience from his prior escape, as the forest seemed to be an
ever changing riddle on the eyes. It was then that the riddle of
surprise caught him. Jacob’s full stride to a desired freedom
brought him instead to a large, jutting branch and in a swift knock
to the head, Jacob was down and nearly unconscious. Without having
to chase the boy, Binkman arrived only a moment later, standing
over Jacob observantly.

Jacob did all he could and
started to scream. No longer was he worried about the potential of
Barker finding him in the forest. As strange as it was, Jacob
almost wished Barker was here, to witness this, to be able to be a
witness to whatever it was that was about to happen to him. Jacob’s
mind rolled through the potential methods of his demise for the
second time this day, considering the possibility of having his
face tore from his body by those sharp, discolored rows of teeth,
or to be ripped apart by those long, wiry arms. He considered the
chance that the monster would lean over and peck his eyeballs out
like a scavenger bird with the long, razor-point nose that came
from its face. Instead, the monster simply reached down and lifted
Jacob up and to his feet.

Jacob stood clumsily with
the assistance and was entirely too disoriented to run. Instead he
stared at the horror before him, waiting for it to pounce,
helplessly. Instead, Binkman spoke up, reasonably and with apparent
intentions of peace.

“
I’m not
here to hurt you, boy. I’m here to
help
you.” Binkman advised. He was
frustrated, but not tired. He didn’t breathe as he did in the
living. Binkman was unsure if his eventual freedom would involve
actual life, but to be conscious of the world above, breathing was
a superfluous addition to the many other inheritances of
freedom.

Jacob at first didn’t
understand. Between the blow and the sudden, spawned chaos incited
by the figure that burst from the earth, he had trouble
comprehending what was being said.

The doctor elaborated.
“Listen to me, boy. I don’t care to be here with you any longer
than you care to have me. It so happens that I am tasked with
bringing a few nuisances back to the Dark Lady below the well.
Below the well
you
released me from.” And with the emphasis on the “you,” Dr.
Binkman pointed toward Jacob with a long, spotlight
finger.

Jacob gestured to himself
with both hands, splaying the fingers of his hands across his
chest. “Me? I... saved you?” He shook his head, signaling he didn’t
understand.

Binkman nodded, turning
that pointing finger out toward the forest’s wilderness, to denote
the direction of the well from which Jacob was returning. “Did you
not cast a penny down the well in the forest?” Binkman asked again,
turning the ugly catastrophe atop his shoulders to face Jacob once
more.

Every time those dark,
maleficent eyes landed on Jacob, he felt his heart sink. “I did.”
Suddenly it seemed like a bad idea to cast the corroded penny into
the well. If he truly did release this monster, his suspicions of
bad luck were likely true. However, Binkman’s information slowly
relinquished that thought.

“
Do you understand what
I’m saying? I was trapped for decades below that blasted stone
prison! You’ve released me!” Said the monstrosity, large grin
spreading across its face to seemingly consume the majority of it
whole.

Jacob reeled back at the
alarming sight of the expression. “So, you’re not going to hurt
me?” To be certain.

Binkman shook his head
quickly. “Quite the contrary, young man. I’m going to help you, as
I alluded to before. Those four boys?” And he neared. “The ones
that have been haunting you?” And closer he came. “The ones that
have been making your life... as much a prison as the world below
the well?” And soon Binkman closed the distance between himself and
Jacob, without Jacob retreating. Instead, Jacob stood innocently in
the commodious shadow of the imposing Doctor Binkman. “Perhaps...”
And the doctor leaned down to the boy, settling his twisted face
before that of the child’s, whose eyes were wide with shock. “...we
will teach them a lesson so grand they’ll never, ever, ever touch
you again, boy.” And he cackled before standing at his full height,
which seemed stories high to Jacob. He ruffled the boy’s hair with
his dead, cold fingers before waiting for Jacob’s
response.

Jacob thought about the
potential. While terrified, purely because he’d never seen anything
quite like the horror before him, Jacob was more attuned to fear
than others. He lived it, day in and day out. This “tempering”
alone allowed for him to reasonably contemplate the offer. “You’re
going to scare them?” He considered, paraphrasing the monster’s
ideas.

Binkman tapped his large,
ebony chin. What he had in mind was far greater than a “scare,” but
for sake of keeping the boy on board, and being able to lure the
children from the open, where Binkman would be able to present
himself, “scaring” would have to be the current
agreement.

“
Scare
them? Oh, ho, ho!” The doctor smiled again, as wretchedly as
before. “I will scare them
more
than you can imagine
.” And the slyness of
his voice told a harrowing, but otherwise unspoken,
tale.

The sinister tone in the
monster’s voice slipped right into Jacob like a sort of contagion.
The mere thought of getting Barker and his gang back after
everything they’ve done! And this
thing
was willing to help him do it.
It was terrifying and unnatural—it was perfect.

“
What do I need to do,
then?” Jacob asked, as if to understand the plan, if there was
one.

Binkman continued to grin
that wide, terrible grin, satisfied with how simple it was, still,
to convince children to do as he pleased. “Simple, boy. All you
need to do is get the cretins to follow you into a dark place.
Wherever that place is, I will be waiting!”

Jacob couldn’t imagine a
more appropriate setting for the monstrosity that rose from the
ground. He considered the possibility that the horror before him
was a manifestation of the darkness itself. He thought momentarily
on the one that was referred to as the “Dark Lady,” but refrained
from asking about her.

“
What do I call you?”
Jacob asked, canting his head. He could have thought up a name for
the horror, the same as he’d done for all of Barker’s
gang.

“
I...” Binkman started,
tipping his grand form forward with a lift of his hat,
respectfully. “...am Doctor Gerard Binkman. And you?” Binkman
questioned in return.

Jacob felt suddenly
insecure divulging such information, but he confessed, “I’m Jacob.
Jacob Fidder. My best friend is Harry. I think he actually might be
in trouble. You see, he shoved Barker and ran off. The rest of
Barker’s gang went after him. I ran into the forest and found that
well, and you, I suppose.” Jacob, for the first time, was able to
look away from the Doctor, to peer in the direction that he thought
the well might have been in.

Binkman nodded swiftly,
pointing toward the highway, opposite the direction of their most
recent chase. “And you can show me where this boy
lives?”

Jacob nodded himself and
waved Binkman on. “You can’t just walk out in the open, can you? I
mean, people shouldn’t see you. You don’t look like others.” In a
softened remark.

Binkman walked at half
pace in comparison to the boy at his side. “No, no. I don’t intend
to show myself until the time is right, boy.” Ignoring his name,
despite having known it.

“
Then how will you hear
me? Or see me?” Jacob asked, beginning to open up.

Binkman squirmed on the
inside, and tamed his frustration for having to deal with the boy
and his questions. “I’ve been a friend of the darkness for a long,
long time, Jacob. I know how to use it to my advantage.” And the
answer remained mysterious. “I am
always
watching.”

To that, Jacob nodded and
said no more.

In time, they would reach
the highway and they’d continue along the path that Jacob and Harry
usually walked after school while headed home. As Jacob moved along
on the side of the highway, a short distance from the zooming cars
and trucks, Binkman never emerged from the forest. Feeling alone,
despite what Binkman said, Jacob asked aloud, to verify his promise
if nothing else.

“
You still there?” Jacob
asked.

“
As here as any have ever
been.” Binkman’s voice came into Jacob’s ear like a close whisper.
It actually brought the boy to instinctively pull his head opposite
the side from where he heard the words. However, upon inspection,
there was no Doctor Binkman; only an endless, dark
forest.

In time they reached Jacob
and Harry’s neighborhood. Upon arriving at Harry’s block, Jacob
noticed a figure hiding around the side of Harry’s house. Jacob
ducked behind a neighbor’s car and tried to make out who remained.
With a sharp squint, Jacob realized who it was that snuck outside
of Harry’s house: Brain.

Surprisingly, the boy
appeared to be alone. Jacob whispered then, assuming Binkman could
hear him. “That one’s Brain. I’m not sure what he’s doing. Maybe
he’s waiting for me to show up or something? Expecting I’ll come
and check on Harry?” It was Jacob’s best guess, seeing as he didn’t
expect Harry would come out after being chased all the way
home.

Binkman was, in fact,
listening. He presented himself physically beside Jacob, and Jacob
noticed that the grotesqueness about the doctor was worsening. Not
only had his face been absolutely detestable—the sort of thing from
nightmares—the doctor’s body began to become misshapen. His arms
seemed to thin and elongate. His body seemed to grow and become
more bulbous and unnatural. His ears began to extend into long
peaks, stretched several inches longer than anything that was
normal. If Jacob’s new accomplice wasn’t a monster before, he was
certainly one now.

Binkman seemed aware of
his transformation. It appeared that the mask was consuming him
entirely; making him into a new sort of creature, and a disgusting
one that matched the horrific attributes of the mask. The mostly
freed doctor appeared uncomfortable with himself, maneuvering to
reposition his awkward weight and form, squatting beside Jacob and
the veiling vehicle.

Binkman responded, then.
“Perhaps he is! Perhaps he isn’t.” Through ragged
breaths.

Jacob shrugged then, his
brows moving high on his forehead. “Then? What do you want to
do?”

Binkman rose slowly, just
enough to allow for those slanting, demonic eyes to peer over the
crest of the car’s top. He noticed Brain was in the shadows between
the two houses. “I believe I know
exactly
what it is I will do.” And
that wicked sneer crossed Binkman’s face.

Jacob nodded quickly,
becoming excited by the prospect of getting some revenge. But then
something occurred to Jacob: despite wanting to get back at the
vile quartet, he had no will to have any of them hurt.

Jacob asked then,
curiously. “What do you intend to do? You’re just going to scare
him, right? You’re not going to hurt him, are you?” Bright,
innocent eyes became hopeful.

The doctor cocked his head
to the side, bewildered by the question. “You are concerned about
what it is I do to get these cretins back?” An odd name to be
called from one as terrible as Binkman appeared.

“
I-I guess I just don’t
want anyone hurt. I mean, I want them to stop, of course!” He
shouted, but then quickly quieted himself, ducking a bit lower
behind the car. “But it’s terrible to feel hurt. I feel it all the
time.” Sorrowfully.

Binkman smirked,
dissatisfied with the boy’s evaluation. Fear wouldn’t get the
little boys to the Dark Lady. What the Lady wanted was the boy’s
precious souls. And the Lady would have what she desired, if it
would assure the doctor’s freedom. However, Binkman was deceitful,
self-absorbed and hardly concerned with the matters of a boy like
Jacob. But then, he needed the boy’s trust in order to lure the
rest of the party. One boy from the gang wouldn’t be enough, and
sending Brain off to the Dark Lady without the others wasn’t enough
to satisfy the frail agreement.

“
Of course I won’t hurt
him, my child!” And his long, thin fingers, each bearing a
sharpened, yellowed nail, tread gently across Jacob’s face. It
caused Jacob to repel and look at Binkman queerly. Binkman then
realized that the action was probably terrifying, being as Binkman
was and had become, so his hands lowered. He had to fight for a
control for decency. Besides, Binkman had no will to follow the
same, terrible cycle that admit him to his dark prison
before.