Chain and Hook

Chain and Hook

By

Mark J. Wilcoxen

I've been hunted by this monster for as long as I can remember. In fact my earliest memories are of it clanking around under my crib. Not being fully able to talk I cried for my parents who were quick to enter my room and soothe me. In those early years I only ever heard it, mostly under my bed. On occasion it'll be in my closet. The common underlier was the clanking of metal against metal; similar to a normal clanking of a chain, but different at the same time. There was a maliciousness to the sound that is hard to describe.

I eventually saw the source of the noise just before I turned twelve. My memory of that night is too perfect; like it was reinforced either by my own internal instinct to survive or by an external force; possibly the monster. Whatever the case that night marked a change in the creature's behavior. Like countless times before I heard the clanking sound under my bed. I'd long since given up trying to convince my parents of the sound's existence. My dad even tried convincing me that the sound was just my imagination running rampant, and I began to believe him. As the clanking started I ignored it like the last few times. The clanking then started to creep down the length of my bed. Then slowly work its way back up; clank... clank... clank.

Twelve year old me tried so hard to be brave. I repeat under my breath, "Just my imagination... Just my imagination." My motra seemed to anger the creature. The clanking under my bed increased its speed as it traveled the length of my bed; clank... clank... clank.

My forehead was damp with sweat as I continue alittle louder, "Just my imagination." In response the sound under the bed got louder and faster. Clank. Clank. Clank.

This in turn caused a feeling of anger to grow in my chest. The monster had tormented me throughout my childhood: causing me countless sleepless nights, lectures from my parents about being too old for this nonsense, and being afraid of the dark spaces this noise dwelled in. I was done being a victim to this figment of my imagination.

I threw off my blankets and sat up in my bed. Looking about my darkened room I felt emboldened. There was nothing. The sound was just that, a sound. Taking a deep breath I stated as boldly as I could, "You're just my imagination!"

I hadn't yelled the words; if anything they came out at my normal volume, but their effect was deafening. The clanking stopped instantly. My room sat in a peaceful silence that was a rarity for me. The pride I felt in that moment; it was as if I'd just slain a dragon, climbed the highest mountain and gone to space all at once. I'd done it! I'd seized control over my wayward imagination. I was no longer a victim.

I remember closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. "It's over... It's finally over," I thought. Oh, how wrong I was.

Just as I opened my eyes I saw something get hurled out from under my bed. It was large and quite heavy judging by the dull thud it made when it hit the hardwood floor. My eyes lock onto the object. It didn't take long for me to realize that it was a hook. A length of chain ran from the hook to the space under my bed.

I started to hyperventilate. It was real. The clanking that had lurked in my room, under my bed and in my closet for years was real. But what was it and what did it want?!

The length of the blacken chain grew taint with it's signature sound. Clank! Clank! Clank! The tip of the hook had embedded itself into the wood of the floor causing it to resist the pull from under the bed. The tension on the chain increased until the hook started moving across the floor; creating a large gouge in the floorboards.

My hair stood on end as the rust coated hook neared me. As much as the object scared me, the idea that something was pulling it from beneath my bed terrified me. Once it was within a couple of feet of my bed a flick traveled through the chain. The sudden movement freed the hook from the floor. With a violent yank the chain and hook disappeared under my bed. Immediately after their departure my bedroom door was flung open, spilling light from the hallway into my room.

Both my parents, having heard the thud of the hook, had come to check on me. Their questions about the sound quickly turned to, "What the hell happened to the floor?!?" They asked me dozens of questions. My only reply was, "Chain and hook."

In the end I got blamed for the damage and was severely grounded. Thankfully, my mom intervened and halved my sentence.

From that encounter onward the relationship between me and the monster became more combative. My efforts were focused on prevention. I'd either fill all the dark spaces in my room with boxes or light them with a wide and complex array of lights and reflectors.

For its part the monster started appearing in the dark corners all around the house. It even started to manifest during the day, but still stayed in the shadows.

When I was sixteen my dad got promoted to a management position and announced that we'd be moving. I whooped and cheered all throughout the house. I believed with every fiber of my being that my clanking nemesis was connected to the house. Once we moved I'd be free.  

The monster destroyed my happy delusion my first night in the new house. I was up late, cheerfully unpacking my clothes and putting them away.  This room was easily twice the size of my old one and had a door that lead directly into my own private bathroom. It was from this bathroom that it launched its attack. Two rusty hooks were flung out of the bathroom and pieced the box that contained my video games. Before I could react the box and all its contents were dragged into the dark of the bathroom.

The whole event had lasted less than five seconds but it completely shattered my growing sense of freedom. The realization that this thing, this monster with its damn chains and hooks would keep following me hit. I curled in my bed and cried, but my mind wasn't done examining the whole ordeal. It occurred to me that if I'd been standing a foot more to the left the hooks would have been able to reach me. If not for a lucky fluke I would have been dragged into the dark and met my tormentor. How much longer until my luck ran out?

My only answer to that question was to never lower my guard again. This monster had proven itself to be patient, cunning and relentless. Its nature or reasoning was a mystery to me. The only thing I knew for certain was that it avoided light.

Over the next decade we did our best to counter the other's efforts. I was just able to stay ahead of the monster, but I didn't let my victories cloud my judgement. One slip up was all it would take and it'll be game over.

The dedication, adaptability and countless ambushes it demonstrated throughout the years would have made a certain animated coyote look like a joke. Well more of a joke than he was meant to be.  

During a highschool fieldtrip three hooks slowly lower down from the rafter of an old barn. If not for the soft clank of metal, a sound that I always was on guard for, the hooks would have torn into my shirt and armpit. I escaped capture by performing a diving roll out of the barn. Of course my classmates who were present for my stunt looked at me as though I had three heads. Like always the monster was much too careful to alert anyone else to its presence but me. The soft clank of metal wasn't exactly an odd sound to hear in an old barn. To save face I told everyone that a large spider had jumped onto my shoulder.

Like me the monster learned from its mistakes. Just after my highschool graduation two hooks shot up from the dark of a deep ditch. There was no clank of metal to alert me that time. Instead my reflexes took full control and I ducked to the left. In my haste I fell on my side. Not done, the monster then hurled two more hooks at my new position. I barely had enough time to roll out of the murderous hooks' way before they pieced the ground. One of them snagged my jacket. I quickly threw the article of clothing off as the monster slowly reeled in its chains. Somehow, I knew that it was amused with itself; having gotten a piece of me. Clank... Clank... Clank.

The latest tactic the monster employed involved it taking a swipe at me from under a car. The first time the creature used this trick took me completely by surprise. I hit the ground hard. Thankfully, it couldn't capitalize on its victory. Before it could hurl a follow up attack Maggie, a random passerby, came to my rescue. She'd seen me fall below the top of the car the monster was lurking under.

She later told me that my grunt of pain is what spurned her to check on me. She also stated, "I thought you must have tripped over a piece of chain or something; what with that clanking sound."

That was the first time the monster had ever directly injured me. True, it was only a couple of scraps and bruises, but I didn't like the idea of that thing touching me. The silver lining to the whole event was Maggie. She gave me something to look forward to other than just surviving another day. She made me want to open up to her. I was tempted to tell her about the monster, but ultimately decided against it. While the creature had found opportunities, even if only for a second, to attack me when others were around and not paying attention; the monster never once pressed the attack when she was around. It didn't even clank its chains in the dark.

When Maggie and I would part the monster would make its presence known once more, and I'll have to dodge its attacks. The monster would use everyone of its tricks, but I'd evade it with a renewed purpose. I wasn't just fighting to survive any more; I was fighting to stay with Maggie. Eventually, the monster stopped.

During this period I was tempted to let my guard down, but I figured this was just a new strategy devised by the monster to get me to do just that. So I stayed vigilant. Thank God Maggie thought my alert behavior was cute and endearing.

After two years of dating I wanted to pop the question, and do so in a personalized romantic way. Maggie loves camping out in the woods. She's wanted me to join her on several occasions, but I turned her down each time out of fear of the monster. I blamed my unwillingness to go camping on bad experiences in my childhood. When she met my parents they didn't help corroborate my claims. Believing that I was being maliciously deceitful Maggie asked me directly why I refused to go camping. Our relationship almost didn't survive that fight.  

Seeing this as a way to strengthen our bond, I started planning a trip. Eventhough I hadn't seen or heard a hint of the monster in the last five months I wasn't taking any chances. We'd head just out of town to a field owned by a friend of my boss. The weather was forecast to be clear which would allow a brilliant full moon unchallenged dominion over the night sky. I'd brought enough flashlights and lanterns to signal a satellite.

The look of joy on Maggie's face when she learned of the trip was worth all the prep and dispelled my last vestige of apprehension. It only took us a couple of hours to reach the field. Once there we quickly set up our campsite; I of course arranged lights all around the tent. Maggie watched my efforts and just shook her head.

During the sunset I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. She cried, laughed then launched herself at me with a hug so tight that I couldn't breath. After I got some air back into my lungs I placed the ring on her finger. The kiss we shared afterward melted away all the fear and mounting sense of despair that the monster had inflicted on me through our years combating one another.

We slept peacefully cuddled up together in the tent. My happy slumber was disturbed by my bladder screaming at me to relieve it. Groggily I tried my best to untangle myself from Maggie without waking her. Freeing myself from her loving embrace I looked at the woman who'd breathing new life into me. Gently brushing the hair from her face I gave her a kiss; promising that I never stop trying to make her happy.

Departing from the tent I was bathed in silvery moonlight. Taking comfort from the giant nightlight I walked toward the edge of the camp's perimeter. There stood a small tree that I'd hang a lantern on earlier. Before getting down to business, I gave one last check to my surroundings. Everything was decently lit and still.

Satisfied, I opened my fly and started to relieve myself. I let out a content sigh the type only releasing a full bladder can elicit. After a minute I was surprised and mildly annoyed that I was still stuck peeing. Of course my body would need to dump all its spare fluid right now.  The only thing I wanted was to get back to the tent and hold Maggie in my arms.

Just as I finished a distant clank of metal instantly killed all ideas of comfort and replaced them with dread. My eyes darted around the camp searching for any dark area no matter how small. Finding none, I expanded my search. The field behind me was flooded with moonlight. Another clank only increased my growing anxiety. The small tree beside me was too illuminated for the creature to hide in.

Looking past the tree to the far side of the field my heart sunk. A lone cloud hung over the patch of earth; slowly drifting toward the campsite. There in its shadow I saw a large awkward form. Its size was difficult to estimate but its base was much wider than it was tall. I stepped back instinctively when three hooks came sailing out of the mass. The cruel metal implements shot through the air eventually landing nearly twenty feet from their source. With a series of clanks the chains to the trio of hooks were pulled taint. Then the form proceeded to drag itself toward the hooks it had just launched; toward me.

Realizing this my first impulse was to wake up Maggie and get the hell out of there... but I couldn't. Something stopped me from moving. My eyes were locked on the form as it drew closer.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

The moonlight was cut away by the lone cloud. As the darkness around me grew I struggled to break free from the mysterious force that held me. Only my mind seemed unaffected. I tried, oh God how I tried to break free. Every ounce of my will went into urging my body to budge from its fixed position. This had to be a new ability of the creature. It was so different from its prior attacks. I realized with growing dread that it had me and there was nothing I could do.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

As the form grew closer I could see that it was a massive tangle chain all bound and twisted in on themselves. As the mass neared the three hooks it had just launched, five more were thrown out. High into the air the curved pieces of metal sailed before falling back to the earth where they violently embedded themselves into the dirt. The closest was barely ten feet from my position.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

The mass of chains passed where its three previous hooks had landed. Each one of the implements were harshly yanked from the ground and back into the mess of metal links. Still frozen in place my eyes studied my tormentor. Throughout the years I'd often wondered what the monster looked like. I had always imagined that it looked like some sort of hideous fisherman with how it kept trying to snare me. Now that I could finally see it, this form made more sense.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

It neared the farthest of the five hooks. I noticed several gaps in the tangle heap of chains. These spaces look darker than the rest of the mass. One of the biggest mistakes in my life was staring into the largest of those gaps. There I met the gaze of the creature. Despite being unable to see its eyes, every fiber of my being knew that they were there. In those dark depths I could gleam how this creature both despised and obsessed over me. While all my life had been focused on survival all its effects were bent on my destruction and it was so close to its goal.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

I could sense the triumph emanating from the monster. We'd spent so much time together it only made sense that we were closely connected. After it ended me it would grow stronger and seek out another victim. Using all the lessons it had learned from me to hunt them. Resignation gripped me. This was it. The monster had won out.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

It was close enough to retract four of the five hooks. Still I remain unable to move. I realized that it was likely its gaze that held me paralyzed. After recalling the last hook back into the mess it sat there savoring its long denied victory. My past experience told me that it was close enough to reach me and still stay away from the lights around the camp. It'd hunted me for twenty-six years. It wanted this moment to last as long as possible. We stood there facing each other for what felt like centuries. Finally satisfied it shot a length of chain in a whip motion seeking to strike my head from the side.

As the hook tore through the air a voice called out from behind me. It was Maggie. She was calling for me. Hearing her voice allowed other thoughts than my impending doom to enter my besieged mind. Her smile, the sound of her laughter, her favorite perfume and the feel of her body filled my mind. Then another thought struck me. After the monster got me would I go after her.

Able to move once more I did the only thing I could; fall. The hook sailed a couple of inches over my face. The cruel bit of metal struck the tree with enough force to break it in half. An inhuman shriek filled the air around the campsite. Looking to the broken tree I spotted the hook smoldering in the flickering light of the broken lantern. A beam of light momentarily blinds me. I hear Maggie call out to me.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

Maggie then moves the flashlight beam from me to the source of the sound. The resulting shriek fills the entire field. I ignore the pain in my ears as I stare at the mass of chains. What lay in the gaps was now visible. Dozens of sickly gray arms, some as small as an infant's clutched onto the chains; while others the deformed limbs much larger than an adult held the hooks tightly. Steam bubbled off all of them as the light sared the creature's flesh.

At the very center of the largest gap laid a giant eye. Closed tight less the light for Maggie's flashlight blind it. All together the monster appeared to be a multi armed slug wrapped in a near endless series of chains. My desire to study it further was cut off when the creature hurled several hooks in an effort to destroy the source of light that was hurting it.  

Rising quickly I raced to Maggie. Behind me there was another shriek accompanied with a series of furious clanks. Maggie stood there in transfixed disbelief. Her eyes locked on the creature. Grabbing her arm I pull her down just before a hook cuts through where her upper body had been a second before. Somehow she was still able to keep the creature in the bleam of her light; much to its agony.

Knowing one of those hooks could impale us any second I told Maggie that we needed to get to the car.  She gave me a nod as both of us bolted for where we parked the car. The shrieking stopped but the sound of the clanking intensified. Glancing over my shoulder I saw that the monster's eye was once again open; although only at a squint.  

Though the creature's eye isn't fully open I knew what it was trying to do. As Maggie jumped into the driver seat I took her flashlight. Turning around I made eye contact with the creature again. Thoughts of despair flooded my mind. It was only inevitable before the creature finally got me. I smiled in response and shined the light into the creature's open eye.

The sound it made caused me to drop the flashlight as my hands clasped over my ears but the damage had been done. The creature reared backward, thrashing around in both pain and rage.

I screamed when something tugged on my shoulder. It was Maggie yanking me into the vehicle. What she was trying to tell me I couldn't hear over the ringing in my ears. Touching my ear I wasn't surprised to find blood.

Later that night after our ears recovered I told her the story; all of it. Occasional, she'd ask a question. Some were about the monster which I couldn't really answer. The majority were all basically different forms of why I didn't tell anyone. That I answered with the same four words each time "who would believe me". At first she felt insulted but after a while she conceded that I was right. The last question she asked was what happens now?

That question is now why I'm writing this. It has been two years since that night. In that time I married Maggie and we are now expecting our first child. I write this in the event something happens to me, you, my son or daughter will know the whole story. Know that I would never abandon you or your mother willingly. If you hear a clanking sound with no obvious source then be on your guard. The creature is coming after you, but know that you're not alone. Use all that my story can teach you. Live and never for one second let that thing get inside your head. Occasionally, I hear it clanking in the shadows, but I won't let that monster rob me of another second.