The Thing in the Pit Read online

  The Swift mine treasure, they believed they knew where it was. They never found any treasure. They followed a myth into the Kentucky wilderness. Bryce bought 3200 acres, on which he built their house, and then they started the mine. A silver mine and neither of the men had any experience in mining. Still, they were lucky enough to strike early.”

  “Bryce made millions and buried his own treasure. Then, he got the idea of a tunnel to connect the two mine shafts. After the tunnel collapsed, and the creature got loose, Bryce shot himself. Amelia knew the locals wanted to lynch her. She had no one to protect her, so she kept to herself. Forsythe lived the same way. They had disturbances during the years the mine was booming, but they just stayed out of the dark woods. Amelia wanted to sell everything and leave Kentucky. No one would come near her place, the curse and the death of the miners kept everyone away. A pond formed below their house after the tunnel drained.

  Servants said Amelia started going to that pond. She began to take meat down there. They said she was taking it to the creature. She often played music down there. The pond was leaking and soon it swirled into a pit. The water was black and putrid. Servants began to disappear. The legend of the dark woods had been around much longer than Bryce and Amelia Adderley. Whether Amelia was aware, no one knows, but she was spending all her time down there. Servants said she laid with the beast. They said it seduced her.

  They tried to lynch Amelia and burn the place to the ground, but they failed. They said she mated with it on two occasions. The first offspring died at birth, the second survived. It grew powerful and killed the creature. It devoured the creature from the tunnel. My grandmother saw the beast that came from the tunnel. She said it was about thirty feet long, was scaly and looked like a dinosaur. The beast’s head was like a crocodile, but its body more like a serpent. It whipped its tail and killed horses with it. The evil in the dark woods took control of the creature trapped in that pond.

  When their offspring killed the creature, it ripped its head off. Then, it laid the carcass on the bank of the pond and gradually devoured it. Her offspring owned her mind, she could not sleep, she could not stop the constant torment. Amelia jumped from a cliff, at the edge of the dark woods. It dragged her into the black water. I believe that the thing in the pit, is the offspring of Amelia and that creature. It has supernatural powers. It will take knowledge and strategy to kill it.

  We cannot enter the dark woods with something to prove, we have to know its weakness and use that against it. Grandmother said pure silver will kill it. It must pierce its heart, or you could cut the beast’s head off, with a silver sword. A silver lance or spear through the heart would kill it.”

  “Where would we get silver?” Asked Betty.

  “I think Fred can take care of that. I discussed it with him, Betty. I know this all a lot to dump on you, but we don't have much time. I have something else to talk with you about, Betty. It's about Harris. He has trouble breathing and is keeping it a secret, but it's getting worse. I can mix a potion that will help him. I hope you will consider talking to him about it.”

  "Make some and bring it to me. Harris is my life, Beth."

  “I know dear you belong together. The potion will help him. He must be careful if he decides to help Fred. He needs to get stronger.”

  "Can we kill this monster, Beth?"

  “Yes, we can, we need to be free of it, and we will be. We have to plan carefully. Colt could help, but he is blocking me. He thinks he must shoot everything, with those 45s of his. Potions will help us, but these boys are running around trying to shoot everything. Colt wants to please you, Betty.”

  “Please me?”

  “Yes, he has genuine affection for you and your family, and he wants to protect you. He is a young adventurer, but he has so much to learn. He fears the tools he could use against a monster like this. Many people have psychic abilities, but they do not develop. That takes years and patience. Betty, think about that for Sarah. She needs to learn how to use her powers.”

  “Sarah is not my baby, Beth. We have her because her mother is in rehab.”

  “She is your baby, Betty, you will always have her, you are her momma Betty, so precious.”

  “I just want us to find somewhere peaceful and have what we need. As long as we have each other, we will be okay.”

  “You are going to find that Betty, soon.”

  The Pit

  Harris, Fred, and Colt were outside looking around Harris’s garden, while Beth talked with Betty. Fred spent all-night telling Beth what had been happening. They all came back around front, and Fred noticed Shawna was walking toward them. “Hello honey, is everything okay?” Asked Fred.

  "Yes, I am much better today. I wanted to thank Mr. Blackstone for helping me yesterday. I don't know why he started beating on me, but he would not let me go. Thank you, Mr. Blackstone."

  "You are welcome Shawna. I am just glad you’re feeling better you don't have to thank me." Harris smiled at Shawna.

  "I am glad you came down Shawna, I worried about you," said Colt.

  "I'm okay handsome, when are we going to have dinner?"

  “Tonight, said Fred. Colt, take her over to the Country Kitchen. I own it and I want you to have dinner there.”

  "Okay Fred, I will do that. Shawna, I would like to walk you back home when you're ready."

  “Oh good, I would love that Colt. I was going to talk with Beth for a few minutes, is that okay?”

  "Sure, take your time, I will be right here." Shawna went into Harris's house.

  “Fred, when you get a chance go out there and look what that monster did to your dozer, it burned it up.”

  “I will Colt, I would like you and Beth to come with me and see if we can walk down that road in the daylight.”

  "Who has horses, Fred?"

  “Colt, I can get us four or five horses, but they won’t go down in that hollow.”

  “Just go get them, we won’t try the hollow, we will take the road.”

  "After the shape you were in overnight, you want to go back over there?" Asked Harris.

  “Harris, it eats at me. Yes, I want to go over there and kill it. What you saw last night can happen. Sometimes I lose control, but I won’t give up.”

  Shawna went inside and sit with Betty and Beth. She was the quiet type until she got to know people. Beth and Fred talked with her the night before, so, she knew what was going on. "Beth, I want to help if I can," said Shawna.

  "Okay, honey, I will keep that in mind. It’s dangerous, think about it first. Fred and I are going to go to the edge of the woods and see what happens. Betty, would you like to come with us?"

  “No, not me, I have no interest in that monster. I just want my family to be safe.” Beth reached into her purse, she had a picture of Amelia Adderley. “Look at this, girls, Amelia Adderley,” she said as she handed it to Betty. Betty glanced at it and handed it to Shawna. “Girls, I want to tell you something. I think we can take care of this beast. We will need Colt’s help. I have the power to make one of us look like Amelia. That may let one of us get down that old road to the Adderley place. We need to see what it looks like down there around the pit.”

  “I am not going to be the one.” Betty said to Beth.

  “If it killed and ate its father, why would it not kill one of us, even if we did look like Amelia?”

  “Shawna, there is no way of knowing how it will react. It might react with affection, they say Amelia fed it meat often, and played music for it. It drives Colt and Fred crazy, constantly calling them to those woods. I want a volunteer to feed it a few times, show some affection, never touch it, speak to it softly.”

  “If I were to do it, what do you need to know?”

  "I need to know how much room there is near the water in the pit. Look at the center of what's left of the pond. Tell me if it's as big as a football field or smaller. Shawna look for solid ground. We will be on the old road, I want you to wear a red blouse, like the one you have on. That way, we can see yo
u. I want to see if we could shoot at it from the road and have any chance of hitting it. I will soak the meat in sleeping potion. Some say the beast loves the scent of jasmine. The first time we go there, we won’t do anything. I will see if Fred can get a silversmith to cast a lance, a sword and silver arrows."

  “Do you want to go there this morning?” Asked Shawna.

  “I can’t believe you would just hop up and do this Shawna. That beast may eat you this morning.” Said Betty.

  "I am not scared Mrs. Blackstone. Maybe we can kill it."

  “You can call me Betty. I just think you are taking a huge chance. Honey, why does it even matter to you?”

  “They said last night it was scaring Sarah, and that something tried to lure your boys down there. I want to help. Mr. Blackstone stood up for me yesterday, I owe him and you.”

  “Oh, that’s silly, you don’t owe us anything Shawna. Harrison does not expect payback, he would not stand back and let that thug hurt you.”

  “Shawna think about it, but Betty is right. You should not feel like you owe this to anyone.” Said Beth.

  “Beth, before all of you go down there and that monster devours you, give me the recipe for Harrison’s medicine. I want him to get better.”

  “I will write it down and give you anything you don’t have. We can make some today.”

  “I thought we were going down there today.” Said Shawna.

  "Later we have to talk to Fred and Colt. Let's get the potions made."

  They spent until noon making potions and getting what Beth wanted. They talked it over with Fred, Harris, and Colt. Fred talked to a silversmith about what they needed. It would take three days to get it ready. Colt picked out four horses. Betty tried to convince Harris to stay with her at the house, but he would not. The men got into Fred's truck and drove to the edge of the old road. They slowly started down the road. The dozer set there intact leaving a blank look on Colt’s face. This time they were all armed.

  They got out of the truck and walked to the dozer. Harris got on it, and it fired right up. He backed it up the road and over into the field. It seemed fine and still had plenty of fuel. Beth and Shawna were back at the barn with the horses. Colt called Shawna and told them to bring two horses to the old road. The girls got there, they marinated meat in a potion and brought it with them. "I don't want you going down there." Said Colt.

  “I will be okay, I am just going to go down there and remember what it looks like. I will leave this meat and be right back.” The road was on an incline. The further you went, the further down you were going. Beth advised all of them to stay back. She hoped the creature would think they just came to get that dozer and would not be aware of them. They all stepped back from the edge of the field.

  She advised Colt to not allow it to torment him. If it start's, then move further back, don't let it read your mind and know what we are doing. Beth also worried about how Fred and Harris may react to Shawna transforming in appearance to Amelia. “Shawna are you ready?”

  "Yes, I am Beth."

  "Okay, go ahead just walk at a normal pace, you will change as you walk. Don't get too close to it Shawna. I am going to cloud your mind, so the beast can't read it. Remember, show me what the ground around the pit looks like."

  Shawna began slowly walking down the old road. She was about halfway when the fog began to rise. She kept going. She got to the bottom, she turned off the road, and it was foggy, but she could make out through the mist what she thought was an altar. It was difficult to see, she stumbled and fell into the muck. Shawna got up and put the meat on the altar, then turned and started back toward the road.

  An unbelievably handsome man stepped in front of her. He was taller than Colt and had the greenest eyes. He said nothing and seemed focused on gazing into her eyes. It was strange. Shawna kept walking toward the road as she noticed this creature was half man and was also serpent-like. There were cracks in its scaled skin. She slowly moved around it, and it rushed over to the altar and devoured the meat. Shawna kept walking. She looked over to see if she could still see it from the road. She saw it was getting sleepy. The fog lifted as Shawna hurried up the road. Beth was waiting for her. They went over to the barn. "Are you okay?" Colt asked.

  “Yes, I am fine Colt.”

  “What’s it like down there?”

  "It's murky and black, but the fog lifted when the creature started to doze. You’ll have enough room to move around the altar which is where I set the meat."

  “What does it look like?” Beth asked.

  “At first, it looked like the most handsome man, reminded me of Colt, but taller. Then, I could see its lower half is like a serpent. It has deep green eyes, and its skin looks cracked.”

  "So, we can shoot it and kill it." Said Fred.

  "Fred, we know the potion works, but we don't know for how long," said Beth.

  “Why don’t I ride out there in an hour or so and see if it starts calling me. Then, we will know if it’s awake. Since I first arrived here, it has called me to it as soon as I get near that edge.”

  “That’s a good idea Colt.” Said Beth. Beth knew Fred was going to try to go through the Adderley place. She was not sure they had enough time. If Colt did this, she could adjust her potion, if needed. Beth wanted the creature dead before Fred started down there.

  “What if it’s out for hours or days?” Asked Harris.

  "Maybe it will die," said Colt.

  “It is going to die Colt, we know how to kill it, just waiting on the weapons.” Said Fred. They eagerly waited to see how it reacted. Two hours went by and Colt mounted up. “You sure you don’t want me to ride down there and kill it? I can fill it full of silver bullets.”

  “Patience Colt, patience. Be careful, get going, and if it calls you, come directly back here.” Said Beth.

  Colt rode hard until he reached the edge of the field. Then, he slowly continued down the road. No fog, no trees falling, no calling. When he reached the bottom, he rode through some of the thick muck. His horse was fine; he did not see any creature. He rode over towards the middle of the pond, close to the pit. He pulled back while he calculated how much room he had to charge the beast.

  The plan was for him to pierce its heart with a silver lance. Then, if it falls, cut its head off with a silver sword. He rode towards the middle of the hollow. It was murky, but there was no fog. It smelled horrible, like something rotting. He saw skeletal remains of humans, horses, and other bones he did not recognize. Colt felt more confident about this than he had since he arrived in Kentucky. He turned to ride back to the road.

  Colt saw its tail which looked like it had a stinger on it; he would have to be mindful of that stinger. If he had that silver sword, he could kill it right now. Colt rode back to the old road and back to the field then got off his horse. “What did you see?” Beth asked.

  “It is down there. I saw its tail, I think I could have shot it with my 45 and killed it. Your potion is working.” Beth smiled. Fred rode into the hollow two hours later, did not see it, and experienced no problems. It had now been four hours. Now, they knew they could put it to sleep for at least four hours which was long enough to kill it and end this nightmare. The question now was should they wait on silver weapons, or just go kill it with Colts 45s?

  The Adderley Place

  Colt, Fred, and Harris were all encouraged the potion worked. They decided to wait for Fred’s weapons to arrive. Fred was impatient, he wanted to go back down and look around the old Adderley place. Fred wanted to explore the old house from the time he bought the land. However, he could not get close to it because of the thing in the pit. It always guarded the house and ground around it. He had a plan now to kill it, and for the first time, he could walk on the ground he’d owned for years. “It’s been over five hours, who is going to ride down there in the sixth hour?” Asked Fred.

  "I will go back. This time, I am going to ride over around the house," said Colt.

  “Why are we riding horses, why don’t w
e just hop in one of the trucks and go there? I could take the dozer and grade that old road so, we could drive back and forth.” Said Harris.

  “Men, that’s not a good idea. If the potion wears off that beast will be angry. It will be worse if we are down there roaming around. We have only a couple days. Let’s keep our distance, and when it awakens, it will not know what happened. When Shawna goes there again, she will take an even stronger dose of the potion. Then is when we kill it.” Said Beth.

  “Well, if I go down in a little while and it’s still asleep, that means the potion lasts six hours.” Said Colt.

  “Yes, but what if it's not sleeping? If you leave it alone now and we come back when we have the weapons, it will not be pissed and on guard. If you go down there now and it’s awake, you may not make it back Colt.” Warned Beth.

  "How many of these monsters have you killed? You have never killed one, have you? You are going on what your grandmother said. My 45s will penetrate its scales, I can blow its head off. We should go down there and kill it right now! What if next time it does not eat the meat? What if it kills Shawna?”

  “He does have a point Beth, but I want to go down there and look around the Adderley place, it’s in the pit, so, we would be some distance from it. Soak more meat in the potion tonight, let’s give it a double dose. Then we can go and look around. If we don’t find anything, we just come home. If we do find something, we bring it with us. Harris, you can take the dozer and finish demolishing my barn. Push the lumber out to a clearing and we will burn it. We will open its basement and the shaft down there, fill the shaft with a truckload of salt, then fill the shaft with fresh dirt. Burn the remains of anything else from the barn.”