In the Shadows

There lies a certain sector of the Miskatonic River valley, in Arkham county, Massachusetts, that sees no tourists or hikers, and scarcely any surveyors. Since nobody has gone there, there are neither rumors nor facts about it until today. Yet, despite that, people still avoided it. Like most of the valley, the sector is dark, secluded and unseen by the naked eye even in daylight. Whether or not it is inhabited remains open to speculation. This valley is noted for the site of the reputable university with the same name. Across the valley, facing the university, at a distance of twenty-five kilometers from the cliff edge there stands the Arkham Sanitorium, which was founded in 1806 for the mentally ill.

On the evening of 18 April, a young newlywed couple from out of state was returning home from their honeymoon in Boston, and they had to detour onto the valley road that winded along the Miskatonic River.  They left their hotel in Boston at 7 PM, that evening and when they entered the valley, the hour was almost half past 8. Along the way, they chatted animatedly about their new life together and plans for a small family. They had agreed with the bride’s doctor at Boston to have only one child. He had warned the bride about one child, but declined to warn against two children.  Furthermore, the couple agreed to wait for one year before the children, so that they could enjoy wedded life for a while.

The groom, Ralph Edison Woods, 23, was a youth of five feet six inches, average build, blonde hair and green eyes. He was sensible and sober, and drank no liquor except a beer at home. He was fair, level-headed and a devoted lover.  The bride was Edna Cole, 20. She stood five feet four inches tall, had short black hair and black eyes, a narrow chin and slender arms and legs.

They continued to chatter about their plans, including the type of house, the number of rooms, the site location, etc. Suddenly, they saw something big glide from the shadows around them into the shadows at the cliff side. Ralph jammed the brake to avoid it and swerved. Then, he inquired about Edna.

“Are you okay, Edna?”

“Yeah, sure. Hey, what was that?”

“I have no idea either but I swear that it saw us.”

“Are you sure? I mean, we scarcely saw it. Maybe it didn’t.”

“You’re right, honey. Let’s go.”

He restarted the engine and they left the spot and continued further along the valley, towards the sector aforementioned. As he drove, they looked around them and Edna saw the structures of several buildings.

“What is that?”

“That? I heard someone say it was the university.”

“University?”

“Miskatonic University.”

“Oh.”

She looked around and saw the facing side of the valley, but the asylum was too far to be seen.  They continued down the road about twenty kilometers, almost at the sector line, and another strange form glided out and into the shadows in the valley. However, as it passed the car, it turned its head and they saw two orbs like eyes or eye-like apertures facing them for a second. They gasped. But Ralph was unsure that it really saw them.

They continued further ahead down the road, trying to ignore the strange shadows; and ten kilometers ahead of their car to the right there stood a small Victorian house. They had many miles to travel before they would arrive at their doorstep; so, they parked the car near the threshold and hurried up to the door. When they had reached the door, they discovered that it was unlocked. They wondered why it was not locked, until they wandered inside to look around and found that the house seemed deserted. Edna told Ralph that’s he felt tired and hungry from the journey, so he returned to the car to bring her some snacks. They both were sure that there was no food in the house.

While Ralph was unloading the snacks from his trunk, Edna felt suddenly curious about the house and had taken a walk around. When Ralph returned with the snacks, Edna was not in the parlor.  He called her several times.

“Edna! Edna, honey, where are you? Edna!”

Edna had wandered about the premises and eventually heard something from underground. She had found the door to the cellar and tried it. It yielded simply and she went down. She had not heard Ralph call her. Ralph went round the premises to search for her. He began by searching all the ground floor rooms but he found them empty. Then, he saw the stairs and began to ascend, thinking that Edna was upstairs.  As he climbed, some of the boards collapsed under his feet and almost sent him tumbling down. Ralph grabbed a post of the rail and attempted to pull himself up with it; but the post yielded to his grip and broke away. Ralph released his grip and clutched something quickly. The broken post tumbled downstairs instead of him.

Meanwhile, Edna was in the cellar of the house, lying on her back in her lingerie on a narrow, six-foot long oak table. She moaned for a second and revived, and struggled to raise her head to look around her. Soon, she had a glimpse of her bondage. Her hands and feet had been locked and shackled to the surface of the table. She struggled to escape and failed. She collapsed weakly and moaned. Then, she tried to call Ralph for help.

“R-lph! R-lph! H-LP ME!”

Her voice was low and indistinct. Edna realized that she had been gagged. Then, her captor, an elder and very gaunt man with white hair and a sullen expression, emerged. He stood about six feet tall and had strong limbs. He gazed at her unemotionally and warned her, with a whispering voice.

“He cannot hear you. Nobody can hear you, or will.”

“What are you going to-?”

“You have met those stalkers, haven’t you?”

Edna reflected for a moment and slowly remembered the strange shadowy things they had seen on the road. She nodded fearfully and stared at him. She imagined that one or two of them had captured her. He smiled and continued to speak.

“They serve me, but only within range of this stretch of the valley.”

“Who are you?”

“I am Malcolm Edgar Thorne. I was a respected scholar in the occult sciences at the university. I was there for five full years.”

Edna continued to stare, but she was puzzled. She knew nothing of the university. He knew and explained the history of the university. Then he returned to his story.

“During the last term of my fifth year, I realized that women were more susceptible to occult influences than men were. Women dream of them, contact with them by sixth sense and can be tracked through them. So, I concluded that I must perform on women. At first, a few students and faculty members agreed to help me. Later, when the experiments encountered stronger influences, the subjects reported me for being insane. The university had me interned at the asylum. But, as you can see, I am here now.”

“You escaped!”

He laughed.

“So, even you believe that I am insane, is that right? Well, my next experiment will prove whether I am or not. I am going to perform it on you.”

“NO! Ralph! H-LP!”

Ralph struggled to maintain his balance and finally reached the head of the stairs, ten minutes later. He wandered along the corridor and looked into each room; but they were as empty as those on ground floor. He turned and headed back to the stairs. He dreaded going down, but he had no choice. He stepped slowly and carefully, but then the stair did not yield to him. He descended within a few minutes and began to search for the cellar. His sixth sense concluded that Edna was underground. Edna continued to scream indistinctly and Ralph heard it as vaguely; but he opened the door and descended. He burst into the room but his discovery stopped him short.

Edna lay on the six-foot table with two electrodes attached to her temples and a pair of goggles over her eyes. Ralph saw that she was still restrained. He had no notion of where these devices came from or how they had been assembled so fast. Only Malcolm Thorne knew. He glared at Ralph for as econd and then refocused on Edna.

“Hey, stop that!” Ralph demanded.

“Stand there. I shall be finished wither in an hour.”

“No, you won’t touch her!”

“Yes, I shall. The devices are attached to her brain. Stay there or they shall damage her brain.”

Ralph had no choice. He had to obey or risk her safety. Thorne attached a similar electrode to her chest, over her heart, and started the devices. They whirred, hummed, glowed, flickered and jumped unlike any device used in any hospital in the world. Ralph began to think that they were unearthly. Thorne looked at her calmly and whispered,

“Lie still and don’t move or talk. Otherwise, the threat will be serious.”

“Ralph! RALPH!”

“Don’t panic, honey. Do as he says. It’s the only way.”

“You’re a good boy,” Thorne remarked, rather scornfully.