THE CHORUS

There is a place that still remains.

It eats the fear, it eats the pain.

The sweetest price he’ll have to pay,

The day the whole world went away.

—Nine Inch Nails

Darkness crept across the sky, blotting out the last desperate fingers of light reaching up over the horizon. The moon had only barely risen over the trees, hovering just out of their reach. It had grown larger over each of the last few nights, and now it was entirely full.

A Hunter’s Moon.

I smiled as I sat there at the kitchen table, waiting for the chorus to begin. An old story came to my mind, one that Grandaddy once told Sam and me when we had trouble falling asleep.

“The moon wasn’t always alone, you know,” he would tell us. “Once, ages ago, he had himself a wife. The moon was named Lune, and his wife Lalin. The sun went by the same name he has today—”

“Sol!” Sam cut in.

“That’s right, Sol. Some might tell you nowadays that the sun and the moon are married, but just look at ‘em! They barely even see each other! Now what kind of a marriage is that?” Sam would giggle, her pink pajama-clad arms poking out from beneath the covers, while I rolled my eyes.

“No, truth be told, Sol and Lune don’t like each other very much at all, and for good reason. You see, Lalin was just as bright and spectacular as her husband, maybe even more so. They loved each other very much, and every night when Sol went away, they would dance with each other across the sky. Their radiance lit up the darkness, and their joy filled the earth.

“Now Sol, every once in a while before he would turn in for the night or just before he got back up in the morning, he’d get a peek at those two hootin’ and hollerin’ up there. He’d watch ‘em dance, and he was sore jealous. ‘Why does Lune get someone to dance with while I’m stuck up here all by myself?’ he’d say. The years went on; centuries, millennia, and every night, Sol’s hatred of Lune and Lalin would grow a little deeper. Finally, he decided that something had to be done. He came up with a plan to separate them forever.

“One day, Sol raced across the sky as fast as he could, then returned to the two moons before they woke up to begin their nightly dance. This, of course, as every farmer knows, is why a day is always just a few minutes short of twenty-four hours. He disguised himself as Lune and hid his fire so that Lalin wouldn’t recognize him. He then kidnapped Lune, still asleep, and buried him deep in the earth where he could not escape. Lalin soon woke up, and there stood her husband, ready to carry her off into the night. At least, she thought it was her husband. Sol took her into his arms, and the two of them danced up into the heavens.

“When Lune awoke, he realized what Sol had done to him, and in a rage he dug his way out of the earth. The rock and dirt chipped away at him as he clawed through, and to this day you can still see the scars from his escape and the crater he left behind that we now call the Pacific Ocean. But escape he did, and when he broke free and rose into the night air, he saw his beloved dancing with an impostor. Sol realized that Lune had escaped, and so he ripped off his disguise. All of that heat, all that fire and hatred and fury, all of it blasted against Lalin at once, and she couldn’t hold together. Lune cried out, but it was too late. Lalin exploded into a billion pieces and scattered across the sky.

“Sol, realizing what he’d done, ran away. With nothing left to live for but vengeance, Lune gave chase. Still even now, he chases after Sol, hoping to one day avenge his lost love.” Sometimes Sam would cry at this part, and Grandaddy would reach down and stroke her curly red hair.

“Oh, don’t you cry, sweetheart. There’s a happy ending, after all. See, when Lalin shattered, she found a new home even higher than Lune could ever dream to go. You know all those stars way up in the sky?” She would nod. “Those stars are his true love spread across the universe. Now, she can see him wherever he goes, and she’ll keep on dancing for him until he stops his chase long enough to simply look up.”

As I sat at the table remembering my Grandaddy’s twinkling eyes, Lune continued his pursuit. He was especially angry tonight. What would happen when he finally caught up with his nemesis? Would his wrath destroy us all? A part of me hoped so. It seemed to be an easier way out, at least.

I dug my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed Sam’s number. After a few rings her voicemail picked up, as I expected it would. When her recording finished and beeped, awaiting my message, I didn’t know how to start at first. I sat and listened to the static on the other end, wondering what I could possibly say. Finally, I spoke.

“Hey, it’s Adem. I know you don’t want to talk to me right now, and I think that’s okay. It’s probably easier this way. I just wanted to call and say thank you for being there for me. You never gave up, and that means the world to me. Anyway, I guess these are my last words to you. When you find me, tomorrow or whenever it may be, I hope you’ll understand that what I’m about to do is my way of not giving up on you. You might not understand it, but try to remember that I’m doing it for you. I’m scared, but I’m ready. I love you, Sam. Goodbye.”

I hung up and turned the phone off, then walked over to the kitchen counter and unplugged the house phone. On my way back to the table, I pulled a large chef’s knife out of the butcher’s block. It was heavier than I expected. Well-balanced, easy to hold. I sat back down and placed the knife on the table in front of me. There was nothing left to do but wait.

Hours passed. My eyes felt heavy in their sockets. I could feel myself drifting off occasionally, only to jerk awake from creaking noises coming from the walls of the old house. Even after decades of resting on its little plot, it still hadn’t settled in. My mind wandered to Grandaddy and to the secret that he’d kept from us for so long. So many secrets. The truth about our parents, about our heritage…about the demon, this evil spirit that was now bound to our fate.

No, bound to my fate. Not Sam’s. Not anymore.

It became late, and all remained quiet. If I were going to hear anything, I figured I would have heard it already. I sighed and slouched back in my chair, thankful that maybe this wasn’t my night after all. At that exact moment, a lone voice cut through the stillness and penetrated my blanket of relief. It was unusually high and melodious, barely audible, like a mosquito buzzing around my ear. I held my breath and waited. Maybe it was something else. Maybe I was imagining it.

It wasn’t. I wasn’t. Other voices methodically blended in with the first, their tone and timbre varying wildly. I couldn’t understand what they sang, only that it was beautiful. At least, at first it was. As the voices swelled, their combined ranks produced a harsh undertone that also grew, one that seemed to rattle the teeth in my skull and threatened to loosen my bowels. In fact, the longer I sat and listened, the more certain I became that I would surely shit my pants soon, and so I finally stood. I picked up the knife and crossed the great room, then stood at the open patio door. Outside, the fields of cotton stood perfectly still, as if they too were holding their breath and waiting. The chorus again amplified, and my head felt as if it would split in two.

I focused my eyes on the far side of the field. There, I saw it. The shadow, the earth demon, inked its way out of the forest and slithered across the white crops. I closed my eyes and wished to be wrong about everything, clinging to the hope that I had gone mad. Before I could open them, the lone voice I was waiting for, deeper and more terrifying than any of the others, called out to me.

“COME!”

My heart beat in my chest faster than I thought possible. When I opened my eyes, I saw the shadow standing in the middle of the field, looming over its alabaster constituency. It was waiting for me.

I was terrified. This was it, this was the moment I would join Grandaddy and Mom and Dad and countless other sacks of meat who had perished over the course of history. The bugs and worms would consume my flesh, and eventually even my bones would crumble to dust. No one would remember me. It would be as if I’d never been born. Was this all? A flash of light in the infinite darkness?

If so, at least I could know that I extinguished my light early so Sam’s could go on just a little longer. I grit my teeth together and took a single step toward the demon. Then another, and another, until I found myself striding directly toward the source of my fear. I crossed the threshold into the field and waded through the stalks of cotton, never taking my eyes off of the shadow hovering ahead of me. All the while, the song never relented its assault, enveloping me in its glorious madness. The demon never moved.

When I reached the shadow and stood before it, I could see the totality of its darkness, the all-encompassing void it manifested. I searched in vain for any kind of features to distinguish one part of it from another, but there were none. The only movements that it affected were small dark wisps floating around it like curls of smoke escaping from a window. I waited, standing as steadfast as I could, holding the knife at my side. My knees shook and my breathing shallowed. Still, the demon did not move.

“I’m here!” I yelled. My voice cracked at the startled sound of itself. “Go ahead, do it!” I waited for the blow to come, but it didn’t. The shadow remained motionless, but as I gazed into the void of its form, I saw movement. Subtle lines began to trace their way across the shadow, barely registered hints of depth and dimension. They grew over the demon, defining its various features and revealing to me its true form. Dark, slick sinews of muscle surfaced, and a torso with arms and legs ending in sharpened claws formed from the void, all still steaming of the shadow’s essence. The defining lines continued upward, carving out a neck and a long, thin face. Black cusps of smoke unfurled behind it, billowing in the wind like a thick mane of hair. Two green ovals, burning as emerald flame, materialized on the front of its head. Below them, the face seemed to rip apart to reveal a hideous gaping maw. It twisted into a grotesque smile, and as I beheld the totality of this abomination, it felt as if the very fabric of reality would soon slip away. I waited for the demon to complete my destruction, but it only stood before me, motionless. Neither of us moved.

“What do you want from me?” I cried out. “You want me to do it myself?” I held the blade of the knife up and pressed it firmly against my throat. The steel was cold against my skin, and I could already feel its edge digging in. One hard yank across my neck and it would all be over. The chorus intensified until I couldn’t hear the sound of my own thoughts, a tumultuous avalanche of magnificence and terror. I closed my eyes for the last time.

“Goodbye, Sam.”

I gripped the handle of the knife and prepared to slice. My arm jerked. In my mind, I saw the blade open a deep wound across my neck. My jugular vein split and blood sprayed out, filling my throat. It was over. I was dying. Except, I could hear something, a sound feint yet familiar. It was a woman’s voice. She was calling my name.

It was my sister.

All at once, the chorus ended. I opened my eyes to see that the demon had disappeared as well. I was not dead. The knife still pressed against my throat, but I realized as I pulled it away that it had left little more than a scratch. The serene void in sound that remained was so complete that my head swam and I fell back into the cotton.

“Adem!” I looked up at Lalin’s shattered remains dancing their way through the heavens, and then Sam was standing over me. When she saw me look up at her and realized I was still alive, she leaned over and wrapped her arms around me.

“Oh, thank God, I thought you were dead!” She kissed me on the cheek and then pressed her hand against the wound on my neck. “You’re bleeding, but only a little. I think you’ll be okay. Adem, what were you thinking?”

As she fussed over me, my mind finally caught up with what was happening. “Sam, you’ve got to get out of here, it’ll kill you!” I sat up and looked around, waiting for the demon to strike.

Sam shook her head. “I don’t understand. Who?”

“The earth-demon!” I started to my feet, but my balance was shaky and I fell back down. My ears were still ringing. When I sat up again, Sam grabbed both of my elbows and leaned in to look me in the eyes.

“Adem, stop.”

“No, you don’t understand...”

“There is no demon!” My head darted around, looking for the shadow to return. Sam held my face in her hands and turned it to look at her. “Adem, stop. Please.”

“But…I…” Sam’s green eyes transfixed me.

“Do you remember when you came home after your first year of college? You found out I was dating that guy from the video store. What was his name?”

“What?” She stared back at me, waiting for an answer. “Um, yeah…Tony Wallace.”

“Right, that was it, Tony. You warned me about him, how he was only trying to sleep with me. You remember? I couldn’t see it at the time. I was young and naive, and I couldn’t look at him objectively like you could. I didn’t realize until after he’d already broken my heart that you were right. I should have listened to you.”

“What are you saying?”

“Something is wrong with you,” she said. “I don’t know what you’ve been through these last several years, and I don’t think I want to know. But whatever it was, it changed you. You can’t see it because you’re caught up, you’re right in the middle of it all. I want to help you. When I got out of the car and saw you standing out here, I was terrified that I would be too late, that you’d do something stupid before I could get to you. You almost did, didn’t you?”

I slumped over, arms crossed. “I don’t know. I wanted to help you. I was doing it for you.”

“Like you were last night?” She looked at the knife still in my hand, and I immediately threw it to the ground in disgust.

“I didn’t mean for you to get hurt, Sam, that was an accident...”

“It doesn’t matter now. I’m your sister. I’m not going to leave you. I said that yesterday, and I meant it.” She tapped a finger against my forehead. “Whatever wires are crossed up there, we’ll figure it out together, okay? Together.”

Maybe she was right. What if this was all some kind of delusion that only I could see? What if there was no demon, no curse, no chorus? I looked at my sister’s gentle face, her freckled cheeks, and I knew I was safe here. Whatever was coming, she would be with me. I nodded, and Sam embraced me just like she had when we were little. The air around us remained quiet, and only the sound of a gentle breeze could be heard. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I was at peace.

We both stood up and wiped ourselves off. Sam’s purse strap slipped off of her shoulder and it fell to the ground, her cell phone and makeup spilling out onto the dirt.

“Ugh, I’m such a klutz,” Sam said, kneeling down to collect her things. She picked up the cell phone and paused to look at the notification screen. A small green indicator light blinked on and off. “Oh no, I forgot to turn the ringer back on. It says I have three messages. Did you call me?”

I blinked. “You didn’t get my voicemail earlier?”

“No, it’s been on silent all night.”

“Then…how did you know I was out here?”

Sam stopped collecting her makeup and set her purse on the ground. She furrowed her brow, deep in thought. “Honestly, I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. I don’t think I knew for sure it would be you, but I knew I needed to come back for something. Something important. It was like I was compelled to return, as if someone was calling me back to this place.”

I froze at the realization of what she was telling me. My mind screamed at me to grab Sam and run, but it was too late. Quietly, the shadow seeped from the earth and rose up into the air, blocking out the full moon above. The painful chorus assaulted me in full force, and I wrapped my palms over my ears. I looked down and realized that Sam had done the same. She heard it, too. When the shadow passed over her, she stood up and turned around, a look of horror crossing her face as it shifted back into its true, monstrous form.

“Sam!” I screamed. The demon’s smoky tendrils wrapped around her and lifted her up into the air out of my reach. She never cried out, never screamed. She only looked back at me, her frightened eyes pleading with me to make it stop. I couldn’t. There was a ripping sound, like a hunter tearing the skin from a deer carcass. It was pulling her apart. Her clothes tore, and her skin followed. The demon yanked her from both ends until it completely rent her in two. Her blood rained down on me. Organs splashed onto the ground nearby. The cotton all around me, no longer white, now glowed a deep crimson in the moonlight.

The demon held the two halves of her body up for me to see, letting what was left of her remains drip down onto the earth around us. The chorus reached its absolute zenith, and I heard it emit a low, hideous laugh. I fell to my knees. It was over. I’d given the demon exactly what it wanted and then watched as it devoured her. All I could do was stare.

Reverting to its undefined form, the shadow tossed the remains of my sister on the ground in front of me. The chorus faded away, and as quickly as it came, it was gone. Only death surrounded me now. I looked down at what was left of Sam, and the last thing I remember seeing was her frightened eyes staring blankly back up at me. I buckled over and vomited, and the world faded away.