Air-Loom

Jeffrey walked to the basement, he stopped to look at that old tarp covered machine, that his great grandfather built and was handed down. His father had told him about it when he was a kid. It did not look like much. It was an old piece of junk. He walked over to the deep freeze to grab some meat for dinner.

Jeffrey had a simple life. He had a job at the local bank, and never married. He fed Sylvester and grabbed his jacket, walked out the door and proceeded to begin another day of exactly the same thing.

He took his car keys out of his pocket to unlock the doors of his old car. The car also belonged to his father, which was handed down to him, along with his house and that old piece of junk in the basement.

Jeffrey put the keys into the ignition and the car turned but did not start.

“Crap,” said Jeffrey.

He tried again…nothing. He hated this old piece of junk too! His job as a loan advisor barely paid the bills so he couldn’t afford to buy a new car. He tried once more…nope! Guess it was time to admit defeat and take the bus.

He was forced to walk through the fresh snow. Man, could things get any worse? Then a car drove by and covered Jeffrey head to toe in slush.

“Crap!” yelled Jeffrey.

By the time he got to the bus stop, he was freezing from all that slush covering him. He walked onto the bus, sat down and a woman sat next to him.

“Hello,” she said.

“Hi,” said Jeffrey.

“My name is Alina. Yours?” she asked.

“Jeffrey.”

“You look miserable. I’m also having a terrible day,” said Alina.

“Ok,” said Jeffrey.

Jeffrey was the type who didn’t enjoy talking to random people. The only conversations he ever had were work related, bill collectors or Sylvester. Who was this woman? She was intriguing though, so he thought, “why not?”

“Don’t you want to know why?” asked Alina.

“Not really my business,” said Jeffrey.

“I like you,” Alina said. “You’re funny!”

Ok, he was in new territory here. What were this woman’s intentions?

“Yeah?” he said with a half a grin.

“See, adorable. Want to go get coffee sometime?” asked Alina.

“I guess, maybe.”

Alina reached into her chaos of a purse, and it made Jeffrey frustrated looking at it. Jeffrey was a very tidy and organized person. She pulled out a pen and sticky note. She wrote her number down.

She bounced up out of her seat and before she exited the bus, she slapped the sticky note on Jeffrey’s forehead.

Giggling, she said, “call me,” then got off the bus.

Well, that was a bizarre encounter as he took the note from his forehead.

As Jeffrey walked in his front door, he put his briefcase neatly next to the shoe rack and removed his snow-ridden boots.

“Meeeoooow!” screamed Sylvester.

Sylvester was a beautiful tabby who spent his days at the window watching birds, hence his name.

“I know, Sylvester, a moment please,” Jeffrey said.

“MEEEEEEEOOOOOWWWWWW!”

Now, Sylvester did not care what Jeffrey had to do. His bowl was empty!

Jeffrey went over to the kitchen cabinet, opened it and pulled out a can of Sylvester’s favorite “Tuna Feast” and the sticky note fell onto the counter. He looked down at it and it read, Alina 555-0069 :) Call me!

Ok, he had no intention of calling her, so he threw it into the trash can.

“Here Sylvester,” Jeffrey set the bowl onto the floor.

“Purrrrrrr!”

Jeffrey walked to the bedroom, changed out of his work clothes and picked up the new novel he had been reading the last few days. He enjoyed reading adventure thrillers. He liked to experience the exciting events that his own life lacked.

As he made his way to his recliner, to relax and read a few chapters, Sylvester jumped up into the recliner with that pink, sticky note stuck to his foot.

It was as if something kept bringing that note back to him. His mind began to spin. Should he call her? What would he say? No…yes…no…ok, he would try. He picked up the handset to his old rotary phone and started to turn the wheel. Five, click, click, click, click, click, five, click, click, click, click, click, so on and so forth. It started to ring, once, twice,

“Hello?” Alina answered.

“Alina?” asked Jeffrey.

“Yes, who is this?” she asked.

“Mr. Silly…Jeffrey,” he said.

“Oh! Jeffrey! Hello! How are you?” she said.

“Ok…” he paused, “want to get some coffee sometime?” he asked.

“Yes! Tomorrow?” she asked.

“Mmmmm…” he paused again, “ok.”

“What’s your address? I will meet you at 6am,” she said.

“613 Toronto Drive,” he said.

“Great, see you tomorrow!” she said.

“Bye,” Jeffrey said and hung up.

The next morning, Jeffrey and Alina had their coffee rendezvous, and they discovered that they actually have a lot in common. They ended up dating for some time.

“Will you go down to the basement and get some meat out of the deep freezer?” Jeffrey asked Alina.

“Sure,” she said.

Now, Jeffrey and Alina went on a bicycle ride last week and due to Jeffrey’s zero athletic ability, he ended up crashing into a fire hydrant, which launched him over the handlebars, resulting in a broken wrist and sprained ankle. It was hard for him to use the stairs without help.

“Be careful and don’t mess with that piece of junk under the tarp,” Jeffrey said.

Now, we all know what happens when you tell someone not to do something, they do exactly the opposite!

Alina clicked on the dim light and started to make her way down the stairs, which were old and steep. The basement smelled of dirt and mildew and was spooky in a way. Alina gripped the railing, moving slowly down to the basement. She spotted the freezer, started to walk towards it when the silver tarp caught her eye. He told her not to mess with it, but there was no harm in just taking a peek, so she lifted the corner of the tarp. It was so shiny! This did not look like a piece of junk! She pulled back the tarp even more and started to fumble with the switches. She heard a Click, and it began to glow! She fumbled around some more, trying to turn it off, but she was unsuccessful. It wasn’t making any noise at all, so she decided to just cover it back up with the tarp.

She grabbed some meat out of the freezer and headed back upstairs. She decided not to tell Jeffrey since he told her specifically not to touch the device.

After they finished dinner, Alina decided to retire early. She was feeling so anxious, what was she going to do? Since Jeffrey was injured, she knew he would not go down there…for now.

The days passed and odd things kept happening to Jeffrey. He got into his car one morning and, again, it would not start. “I wish I had a new car,” he thought. When he got to work, he received a phone call from an attorney.

“Jeffrey Mitchell?” asked the person on the phone.

“Yes?”

“We have some bad news” the person said.

“Who is this?” asked Jeffrey.

“I apologize, I am Rick Henderson of Henderson and Associates. I am your Uncle Roger Mitchell’s attorney. Unfortunately, he was killed in a mysterious accident. You are listed as the sole beneficiary of his estate. There is a substantial amount of money, as well as a very expensive sports car. Are you able to come down to our office next week, to sign some paperwork?” Rick Henderson asked.

“Sure.”

“Let me transfer you to my assistant, Veronica and she will provide you with all the details. Sorry for your loss.”

Well, all Jeffrey could think was, “His father had a brother? What was this mysterious accident?”

A few days later, while he was sitting at home, his old air conditioning unit started to make an annoying clanking sound. He sighed and thought, “I wish I knew someone who could fix that piece of crap!”

Ring, Ring

“Hello?”

“Jeffrey Mitchell?” asked the woman.

“Yes.”

“Exciting news! We randomly select phone numbers from the phone book and the first person to answer wins a new air conditioning unit and you won!” said the woman.

“Ok,” said Jeffrey.

“Would tomorrow be ok to have a technician come to install your brand-new unit?” asked the woman.

“I guess,” said Jeffrey. He really needed a new air conditioner. He decided to take a day off from work, so he would be here when the technician came.

“Part of the prize is that we include you in our new ad. Is that ok with you?” she asked.

“Uh, sure,” said Jeffrey.

“Great! The technician’s name is Alan. He will be there sometime in the morning. Congratulations!” and the woman hung up.

The next morning, Alan arrived with an entire film crew! They made a huge ordeal and interviewed him. He was not happy one bit. “I wish they would just get out of my house!” was all he could think.

At that moment, the crew leader said, “We got all we need, we are done.” They packed up, not saying another word, and left.

Ring ring…

“Hello?”

“Oh Jeffrey, I was so scared!” said Alina.

“Alina? What are you talking about?” Jeffrey asked.

“The bank where you work, was robbed and there was a shoot out! The news said two people were killed!” said Alina.

“What?! I stayed home today to have a new AC unit installed,” Jeffrey said.

“Oh, thank god! Can I come see you?” asked Alina.

“I guess,” said Jeffrey.

“Be there soon,” said Alina.

“Ok, bye,” Jeffrey said and hung up.

Jeffrey sat there thinking, his head spinning. Something was wrong.

Alina rushed in, ran over to Jeffrey and gave him a hug.

“I am so sorry!” she said.

“What? Sorry?” asked Jeffrey.

“I need to tell you something” she said.

“Tell me what?” asked Jeffrey.

“That machine in your basement that you told me not to touch, well…I lifted the tarp to just take a look. I started to mess with the buttons, and it just turned on!” she explained.

All Jeffrey could think in that moment was, “it works?” This he had to see.

“Could you help me downstairs?” he asked Alina.

“Yes, of course,” said Alina.

They started to make their way down the steep stairs, almost falling multiple times. Jeffrey lifted the tarp and sure enough, the machine was glowing, no noise, just the glow. It was beautiful.

He started to look over the machine and he noticed lettering that he didn’t recognize. In college, foreign language was his major, business was his minor.

“I tried to turn it off. I’m so sorry Jeffrey! I should have told you!”

Jeffrey stood there asking himself if the tales his father told him about this machine were true. If this machine was so grand, why did his father kill himself? Deep down, he already knew it was all true and he built a resentment against the old machine.

“This device was created by my great grandfather, handed down in our family and when I was a child, my father told me about its power. He warned me never to use it because of the price it required to work. I guess that’s why he kept it down here under this tarp.” Jeffrey explained.

“What are you saying Jeffrey?” asked Alina.

“I think I have some of my father’s journals in the attic,” said Jeffrey. “They might explain more.”

“Show me!” said Alina.

Jeffrey hobbled to the back of the house, where the attic access was, with Alina close behind.

“I’m not able to climb the ladder, you would need to go up there,” Jeffrey told Alina.

She pulled the string, and the access opened. She started to climb up and they both averted their eyes to avoid the cloud of dust.

“When you get up there, you will see a wooden chest to the right. Inside, there are a stack of journals,” said Jeffrey.

“You never read any of them?” asked Alina.

“No,” Jeffrey said.

Alina climbed up and a moment later, she shouted down, “I found them! Oh no!”

“What?!” yelled Jeffrey.

“The flashlight went out!”

Jeffrey heard her tapping it against the ceiling rafters. “It’s back on!” she said.

A few moments later, she emerged, holding the chest. “Got it!”

They went to the dining room table and lifted the lid of the chest. The lights flickered on a off a couple of times, Sylvester hissed and ran off. They looked at each other, fear now in their eyes.

Jeffrey took out the journal on the top. It was very old looking and when he opened it, a cold draft blew through the room. He started to read.

The first entries belonged to his great grandfather, describing the dream he had that let him to build the Air-Loom. It was a device intended for mind control. He noticed the same strange language and the entries ended. He turned the page.

The next entries belonged to his grandfather. He described how he discovered the machine under a tarp in his father’s barn. He explained the strange things that happened after he turned it on. How he seemed to make things happen just by thinking about it. His entries ended with that same weird language.

When Jeffrey saw his father’s familiar handwriting, he dropped the book.

“I cannot read this. My mother was killed in an accident when I was very young, then my father committed suicide. This is too much.”

Alina picked up the book, “I will read it.”

Jeffrey felt overwhelmed and almost didn’t want to know what it said. Deep down, he already knew.

Alina read how his father started looking for the machine after he read the journals and finally found where it was hidden. He craved its power. He had a new baby, bills and told himself he just wanted to use it until he could get ahead.

All of a sudden, they heard a loud, scream-like noise coming from the basement. They both jumped.

“We need to stop,” said Jeffrey and he grabbed the book and put it back into the chest.

“What?! We need to find out how to turn this thing off!” said Alina.

“No, enough! You need to leave now!” said Jeffrey.

Alina immediately quit talking, grabbed her things and walked out the door. Jeffrey just wanted all this to end. He called for Sylvester but he did not come.

“Sylvester! Come on!” Where was that cat? Had the machine done something to him?

“Sylvester?” he called again.

“Meooow”

“Oh, there you are.” Ok, Sylvester had never come on command before. He knew he only came this time because Jeffrey told him to. This had to stop.

He laid in bed thinking that he wanted everything to go back to the way it was before he met Alina. He closed his eyes and Sylvester curled up on the pillow next to him.

When he woke up, he did his normal routine, left and got into his old, piece of crap car. Again, it did not start and Jeffrey made his way to the bus stop. He got on and looked around, no Alina. That’s strange, she was always on this bus in the morning. He wanted to apologize to her, he felt bad for kicking her out.

Jeffrey walked into the bank and they were replacing the glass that got shattered during yesterday’s fire fight. Everything else was business as usual. No one even realized that Jeffrey was there.

As he was heading home on the bus, he overheard a couple women talking.

“Did you hear what happened to that poor woman? You know, that tiny thing, with the overfriendly personality?”

“Yes, I heard! So gruesome! She was walking home last night and was torn to pieces by a snow plow!”

Jeffrey knew instantly that they were talking about Alina. “Oh no, I did this,” he thought.

He walked in and fed Sylvester, thinking that he had to put a stop to this.

He grabbed the journal to finish reading his father’s entries. He wrote about the wealth he acquired and eventually realized the dark events that seemed to happen around him. After his wife’s “accident”, he searched for a way to destroy it.

Jeffrey was shaking with rage. It took his mother? His father described that his research explained that the strange language came from Angels and Demons. He found someone to translate it and the writing that ended each of his great grandfather and grandfather’s entries said, “Only through suicide shall the gifts and curses be brought to an end.”

Jeffrey’s heart dropped. He knew deep down this was the only way. He knew what had to be done.

He picked up his phone and dialed his only real contact, his pastor, John Berringer. He told him that he had to go away for awhile and asked him to take Sylvester. He agreed.

Jeffrey rented a box truck and paid a couple of neighborhood teens to load the machine into the back. He got in and drove off, knowing what he must do.

The next morning, Roger Mitchell Jr. answered his phone.

“Hello Mr. Mitchell, this is Detective Poirot. I am sorry to tell you that a witness watched a truck drive off Turner Bluff and crash in the rocks below. Records show that it was your cousin, Jeffrey Mitchell. Since you appear to be his only living relative, can you come identify the body and claim his belongings? You will need someone to help you with the large piece of equipment that came in with the body.”

“Ok,” said Daniel.