The Boneman

Part One

My heart was racing as I drew back the arrow with my bow, trying to breathe steadily and remain focused as the last victim ran frantically, looking for the source of the deaths of all his camp mates. I smirked as he slowed to a pause to examine a fallen brother and WHOOSH! The arrow struck him in the back of the head, and he fell lifeless to the ground with the same pathetic yelp all the others gave. I gave myself a small victory lap by walking around each body on the ground, not even bothering to rob them of what little wealth they likely had before they died by my hand. Luckily, my stealth was completely flawless, and none of them saw it coming. Petty deaths, but victorious ones either way.

I flopped back on my sofa and grinned as the victorious music of a completed quest played on my video game. My girlfriend sauntered in, looking unnecessarily stunning in simple jogging shorts and a tank top, holding a bottle of water with her brown hair hanging loosely from her messy ponytail.

She gestured to the TV, “I see you’ve succeeded in more mass murder, Lexi. You seem to have been rewarded with some experience and…?”

“Once I let the King know that the bandit camp has been cleared out, he will reward me with gold coins, Milady Bambie.” I stood with a goofy grin as she smiled and shook her head, approaching me for a quick embrace.

“It’s getting late, babe, are you ready for bed?”

I checked my phone and it was past 11 p.m. “I suppose we should go to bed. It’s the responsible thing to do. I might be able to run to the King just real quick, though…”

“Uh uh. You can save it now, you told me you can save literally any time.”

Bambie had a great habit of latching onto useful details like that, but with a sigh, I saved and shut the game down. “Luckily, you’re adorable.”

“C’mon, Lex, I’m ready to just get the day over with. It feels like it’s lasted forever.”

A sudden reminder hit me far too late in the day and I groaned. “I was supposed to pick up the desserts for the company party tomorrow.”

“Lexi!” Bambie seemed pretty irritated, and rightfully so, because this was definitely on me for gaming the entire day.

“I know, I know, I’m just going to run to the nearby 24 hour store and pick out some cookies and...some whatever. It won’t take long at all, I promise. Just get comfy in bed and I’ll come right back and join you. Please?”

Bambie looked annoyed. I walked up to her slowly with my hands out. “I’ll bring back something for you, too?”

Without changing her stony expression, Bambie mumbled, “It better be good.”

I grinned and kissed her hard on the lips before backing up to hop my way toward the door while still grinning at her, trying to perk her mood a little. “You know I got you, baby, girl I got you. It won’t even take long, and you won’t even be annoyed anymore because you’ll realize just how much I got...you.”

I pointed to her and she laughed. “Just get the hell out of here Lex.”

“With pleasure, beautiful.” With a bow, I turned and walked out in my comfy sneakers, joggers, and a black t-shirt. I pulled my car keys out and hopped into my little sedan, headed just a few blocks west to grab something that would appease the bosses (or at least the party-goers.)

The store didn’t necessarily need to be open all night long; it’s not like we lived in an enormous city. Just a quiet, small town, where everyone knows everyone and the gossip is everlasting. Fortunately, someone got the bright idea that small towns needed constant grocery access as much as bigger towns, so a local grocer implemented the new hours. Lucky me.

The parking lot was empty, save for a few employee vehicles that would remain for several more hours during the night shift. I hopped out of the car and headed directly for the bakery, choosing a wide variety of cookies, small pies, brownie bites, and swooping up a bag of beef jerky for my woman as I passed an impulse purchase area near the exit.

I dropped my items for the sole cashier to ring up, and I heard the scanning as I fumbled through my wallet for the right card. She rattled off my total and I inserted the chip, finally glancing up to notice that the cashier was staring at me with a barely concealed look of fear.

I nodded at the bags of groceries. “Yeah, I can eat like a horse, it’s unreal.”

She shook her head as she took the receipt and passed it along to me. I went to take it and she took a very strong grip on my wrist, the paper falling to the ground, forgotten in the intensity of a stranger trying to snap my hand off.

“WHOA, excuse ME?”

“You need to run.” Her voice trembled.

“What?” I asked more quietly and locked eyes with her. She appeared to hold a deep sadness in her earthy, rich, soil-tinted eyes; her skin held the flaws that suggested a long history of working outdoors for several hours in the hot sun, and I had no idea how old she could possibly be, but she seemed mysteriously misplaced in so many ways.

“You need to run. As fast as you can.” Her tone almost came with a pleading in it, but she was appearing to hold back and be stronger than the words she spoke.

“Okay, well, luckily I have my joggers on. Thanks.” I grabbed the bags and rushed off, the receipt forgotten as I held my phone, wallet, and keys tightly. I wasn’t easy to shake up, but that was a little too dramatic, and I really didn’t want to over think the whole thing. Bambie was waiting for me, and probably extremely ready for a surprise snack.

I crossed the parking lot and began pressing the key fob for my keyless entry, but the headlights on my car weren’t flashing like they always do when I unlock it. I paused, hitting the button several more times, followed by pressing every other button (panic included.) Nothing was working, so I wondered if the key fob mysteriously broke when the creepy cashier seized me like I was some sort of criminal. Regardless, no big deal, as I had a way to unlock it manually still.

As I approached the car door, I noticed a phone lying on the ground, near the driver’s side in the space beside mine. The screen was lit up and I could make out a small photo and someone’s name, and my eyes darted around the empty lot to see if I could figure out who may have very suddenly lost a phone. I lowered myself slowly and retrieved it, placing my bags on the ground and bringing the lost device to my ear hesitantly. “Hello?”

“Run, whoever you are, YOU NEED TO RUN, just listen to the woman! Oh my god!”

I threw the phone in some sort of unexplainable reaction to such weird, intense things happening, but I wasn’t interested in sticking around much longer to discover what might be next. I fumbled with my keys, shoving my wallet and phone in my pocket as I jammed the small metal savior into the lock and opened my door. I slammed it so hard the sound rang in my ears, and I pressed the lock button to ensure I was as safe as possible. I breathed in and out slowly, trying to catch up with myself and look for logic in the strangeness of this night. Logic was overshadowed by the fear that was gulping up every inch of my flesh, my skin ignited in thousands of raised bumps as all of the worst case scenarios blew through my mind on the gentle breezes of complete paranoia.

I started the car, the growl of the engine more menacing in my state of terror, and grabbed my phone out of my pocket. I needed to talk to Bambie to make sure she was okay. If things were this weird at a little grocery store, I needed to know she was fine in a place not all that far away.

“Hello?”

“Babe, where are you?”

“In bed, waiting, like you said---”

“Are you okay? Nothing weird is going on?”

“Um. No. Besides this. Why? Are you okay?”

“I’m not sure.”

There was an abrupt rattling sound on the roof of the car and within seconds, the sound of metal being twisted and forced apart rang through the air loudly, creating a nauseating ringing sensation in my ears. I threw the phone into the seat beside me and screamed, my eyes tightly shut, hoping like hell this wasn’t the actual end of my life. It was like every moment was moving more slowly than anything I’d ever experienced, but it was over in little to no time. The movement stopped, the screeching metal sounds were gone, and I could faintly hear Bambie screaming at me through the phone in the seat.

I pressed my back against the seat and forced my breathing to even itself out, which sent a rush of relaxation through my tensed muscles, screaming nerves, and soothed the dizziness and nausea I had experienced from the stress. It was so loud, so sudden, so intense that I’d had no time to think or act. What could I have even done, anyway? Whatever just happened, whoever just tried to attack me through the roof of my car, they gave up quickly enough at least.

Bambie’s voice rang even louder from my phone and I grabbed it up. “I’m okay, I’m fine, it’s okay.” Despite my claims, my breathing came out harsh and staggered as I tried to regulate my heart rate.

“WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?”

“I’m coming home.”

I threw the car in drive and zoomed through the parking lot, making the few minute trip home in mere seconds, it felt. As soon as I reached mine and Bambie’s home, she threw the front door open and I ran like hell toward her. “Get back inside! Back inside, babe, hurry up! We need to close up and lock the door!”

She turned immediately and rushed in before me, and I slammed the door behind me with sincere pleasure at the finality of that sound seeming to save me from whatever just happened. I tried, again, to slow my breathing until Bambie was directly in my face again.

“What in the actual hell was all of that? What happened to the car?”

I turned and looked out the window behind me and saw several large rips in the metal roof, but what disturbed me the most was the blood dripping all over the car.

Part Two

We barely slept that night. We stayed close in our bed, which we pushed against the innermost wall, and kept our backs against the wall all night as we cuddled. We talked, I cried, and we shared a lot of important sentiments. The types that always seem to come out when the worst of the worst happens. It was nice that even though we were both experiencing so much paranoia over the unexplainable and horrific incident, there were moments of happiness with the love of my life. If I was going to be recovering from something unexplainable and terrifying, at least I had her by my side.

The next morning, we decided to get in Bambie’s car and drive back to the store to ask about the cashier. We were sure we wouldn’t see the phone in the parking lot still, but as we pulled up, the entire section of parking I’d been in was taped off with several cop cars parked around the area. Flashing lights from all directions overwhelmed me and I blinked hard as Bambie found a spot to stop. “We might as well talk to the authorities, Lex. We should have called them last night and told them about the car.”

“What exactly was I going to say, babe? That some mysterious mutant person clawed up my car and somehow bled half to death all over it at the same time? That I saw literally nothing and be laughed out of town? It’s bad enough we’re raging lesbos…”

“Stop, Lexi, I’m so serious right now.” Bambie’s tone took a rare direction and I shut down, realizing I had probably started going a bit overboard on my reaction. “Let them call us anything they want after you tell them you witnessed something here last night. Let them find the cashier. Let them do their job. Please?”

I stared at her for a few moments, almost wanting to yell at her, but realizing that handing the reins to more disciplined individuals might turn out better than my outbursts. “Okay, I’m going to tell you that I am extremely unhappy about this, but fine. Let’s talk to the police.”

We got out of the car and walked over to the nearest officers. Once we got close enough, they requested that we leave immediately.

“I’m sorry, but I witnessed something odd here last night, and I was wondering if it would be helpful. Can we talk to someone about that?”

The officer held up a hand as he tilted his chin over to his walkie. “We got a witness, can we let her through?”

“Go ahead.”

“All right, you go on ahead, your friend can stay here with us and wait for you.”

“Wait, why can’t I bring her? I want her with me. That’s my partner.” I was not excited. I needed my girl, and I wanted her support. I squeezed her hand for comfort, which she returned to me with a softness in her grasp.

“The detective prefers to speak to witnesses alone.” His tone suggested there was no debating this, and I sighed and looked over at Bambie.

“It’ll be fine. I’ll be out soon. Right?” I threw her a nervous smile and she nodded solemnly, releasing my hand and stepping back a few feet.

I went into the grocery store with law enforcement, perturbed that Bambie wasn’t allowed to accompany me, and as I walked in I noticed the creepy cashier from the night before looking pale and fearful as she watched my slow escort through the building. I wanted to speak up about her seeming to know something was going on, but I figured that wouldn’t be ideal right in front of her, so I saved it for the detective.

The officer led me to the office of the store manager, where a detective had set up to take interviews and ask questions. She had a laptop open in front of her and had a softer look than I’d expect from a detective, but looks can be deceiving.

“I take it you’re the one who saw something.” She didn’t look up from her computer as she stated the obvious. The officer spoke up.

“I’ll leave you to it.” The officer left the room and I waited hesitantly.

“Have a seat. Tell me what you saw.”

I sat down and examined various printouts of store information taped awkwardly to the walls, awards from years ago, and musty old lists of rules and regulations that had to have been produced in the 1980’s. “Um, well, I came here last night to grab a few things for a party...and the cashier, the lady I walked past when I came in, she was a bit odd.”

“Mmhmm.” She typed a bit but seemed uninterested. “Odd, how?”

“She told me I needed to run. I mean, whatever happened to that boy, she had to know about who got ahold of him, right? She knew I needed to run. She told me to. Then I got outside and found his phone, and the person on the phone told me to run, too. So I threw the phone and jumped into my car, called Bambie...that’s my woman, by the way, who wanted to come with me but couldn’t. And my car got attacked by something while I was on the phone with my girlfriend, I didn’t see what it was but the whole roof was torn apart and covered in blood!” I exhaled, inhaled, and steadied my voice that was rising in a panic. “I drove it home and stayed inside all night, but it’s definitely still damaged, we looked at it this morning.”

The detective looked surprisingly uninterested still, and I felt my frustration grow. “My car has blood on it. It might be the boy’s blood. It might be someone else’s. This has to be important, right?”

“We’ll take the vehicle for evidence, but I wouldn’t worry, ma’am. You’re likely just the victim of an aggressive forest animal who doesn’t like the store in his neck of the woods.” She lazily closed the computer and forced a small smile. “This is a small town, and nothing is that exciting in small towns. Chalk this up to a lot of weirdness and call it a day. If you leave me your address, we can come collect the car, but as of now, I think we have what we need.”

My brow furrowed. “You’re not the least bit interested in the cashier?”

“That cashier is the store owner, ma’am, and her family has run this store for generations upon generations. I’m not necessarily worried about what a little old lady who likes produce thinks a woman should do in the middle of the night when she’s shopping alone.”

I stood up, annoyed. “Then I guess I’ll see myself out.”

“Have a nice day.”

I turned and left the office, making my way back to the front where I saw the creepy cashier still staring at me with a fearful look. Before I could stop myself, I walked up to her and took a deep breath.

“You knew what was happening, didn’t you? You knew.”

She stared at me sadly and shook her head.

“You did know. You told me to run. What is going on?”

“Be safe.” Her hand gently touched mine, and I felt a warm spark of sorts. It almost felt like home.

Part Three

The conversation with the detective gave me minimal information, if any at all. The main takeaway was frustration with the nonchalant dismissal she had given over every comment I made that might have been interesting to someone who actually does their job. On top of that, my one shot at getting more information from the creepy cashier was cut short by her own stubbornness in remaining mysterious and vague.

I called off work and canceled my intentions to attend the company party so I could spend the day trying to understand what was going on. Bambie wanted to be by my side at every moment but both of us couldn’t spend the day off work and afford it, so I sent her off with a kiss and told her to text me all day long. I hated myself for it, because she was all I wanted.

Since I had nothing to do but obsess, I decided to figure out what was going on with my car, the gentleman who vanished, and the creepy cashier/store owner in my own way. Bambie loaned me her truck, as I’d turned my car over as evidence to the police, and I decided to start with the general area the man vanished and my car got destroyed. The store was closed down while the owner dealt with the media and investigations going on. The entire area, including the forest right behind the store, was roped off and under constant surveillance, so exploring the neighboring vicinities was my only option. I drove around the closest available neighborhoods, looking for visual clues of anything that might explain...anything.

As I drove, I saw a man standing outside who very much reminded me of the creepy cashier. He had a lot of the same features, and seemed to give off that radiating vibe of knowledge I was seeking. The warm spark of “home” still lingered from the store owner, and it seemed to maintain itself a little more as soon as the man came into view. It was like one of those moments in a movie when the main character finally, by chance, comes across the exact person she needs for all the right answers. I pulled the truck over to a halt on the street and threw it in park right in front of the yard he was standing in, and he seemed entirely unsurprised of my presence.

“Excuse me? I know this is probably kind of crazy and out of nowhere, but I was wondering if you could help me with something. I’m looking for a woman who looked a lot like you, she worked last night at---”

“Yes. Please come inside.”

It startled me to be cut off and invited inside so abruptly, but he seemed to have knowledge, and knowledge was what I needed. So, with only slight hesitation, I followed him into his home.

He gestured for me to sit at his dining room table and left the room without a word. I took a seat and surveyed my surroundings: everything was very dusty, yet precisely decorated. The china cabinet was filled with beautiful pieces, while the walls were adorned with unusual artwork depicting arctic scenes with bonfires, dancing, and what might have been interpreted as witchcraft of some sort. I felt welcome and calm, but at the same time, the calmness seemed to mock me as I pondered the fact that I was in a situation I’d never intended to be in because I couldn’t sit around with a lot of questions and zero answers. I hoped I was doing the right thing.

When he returned, he sat an old, worn box in front of me and gestured to it. “Everything you need to know. I’m sorry, I cannot answer any questions. Read and never speak of it.”

With that, he shuffled out of the room and took a seat in his living room, leaving me alone and alarmed by the level of confusion I was experiencing. Why did everything about this have to be so vague?

I opened the box.

There were photographs, news clippings, pamphlets, some locally published books, and various sketches. It seemed to be an incredible collection of history on the town, which was pretty cool since I didn’t grow up here, but my awe was cut short abruptly by the first newspaper clipping I came across.

I scanned the article and sure enough, it described an event of several people in town having vanished, and all of the vanishing occurred to people who were assumed or known to be in the area of the grocery store. I picked up more articles with similar stories, but as I shuffled through the various paperwork in the box, I noticed a thick pamphlet with a sketched portrait of a younger man on it. He had thick, long, dark hair that was kept in multiple braids; his expression was light, joyful, yet his eyes held the knowledge and wisdom of the oldest of souls. In the background, animals of all species were sketched, appearing to be comforted by his presence. The bottom right of the pamphlet had the letter “L” written in a beautifully cursive handwriting, which I found peculiar.

I stopped myself from reviewing the extraordinary pencil work so I could read the title hastily scrawled in an ink pen at the top:

What No One Knows About Akkikani

I didn’t know who Akkikani was or how he was relevant to torn metal and forests, so I sat that down and moved along through more headlines and pamphlets, finally coming across one that seemed useful. It was a thinner pamphlet with a basic font that read:

Simple Facts About the Boneman

I opened it and read through the contents, which were shortened into quick tidbits of info for quick reference.

• The Boneman attacks at night.
• His victims are never found.
• Talking about him makes him kill more.
• He’s an oversized monster with fur.
• He has indestructible talons.
• The Boneman is from Hell itself, sent by Satan.
• His goal is to end religion and only attack religious folks.
• Sympathizers are traitors to the town.

My nose wrinkled up in a fit of disgust; the part about the talons seemed right, given what happened to my car, but this sounded like propaganda on a local phenomenon. What did seem clear, though, was that I had moved to a town that had some kind of urban legend attached that nobody ever talked about...and for good reason, if any of this pamphlet was accurate. The Boneman’s appearance was described, but he’s an oversized monster with fur? That didn’t seem right. What bones have fur on them? He had to be called “Boneman” for a reason. The numbers 6 and 7 seemed completely fabricated, but number 8 intrigued me…

Who could possibly sympathize with a murderous monster?

I flipped through multiple articles and pamphlets and two small books, all of which seemed to have conflicting information but a lot of the same basic concepts: the Boneman was a mutated creature of sorts, the victims’ bodies are never found, he only kills when he’s talked about enough, and nobody really knows where he came from.

73 victims were listed on a piece of paper, which wasn’t a solid number due to the lack of actual evidence of deaths besides blood that never matched the victims’ blood. They were just names of people who had vanished in the right area of town that could be linked to the Boneman. I scanned the list and read a variety of dates all the way back to the 1920’s that were linked to the Boneman disappearances.

I glanced to my right and noticed the Akkikani pamphlet again and decided to check that one just in case I did come across some useful information, because at this rate, I was about to go into the woods and see for myself what the big deal about the Boneman was.

Part Four

What No One Knows About Akkikani

Akkikani was a Shaman who came from a distant land. Searching for a better life and new beginnings after the loss of his wife and children in a mysterious fire, Akkikani grew fond of nature and animals as the pain of losing people was too much. Many locals claimed Akkikani healed their pets and his Shamanism was pure power from God himself. He had natural abilities to connect with the animals of friends rather than abilities to connect with people themselves. He spent much of his time in the woods, seeking creatures of all kinds who he could meditate near, study, and befriend.

The Shaman spent so much time in his quest to connect with animal kind that eventually, he ceased returning from the woods to sleep in bed at night. Many friends, they said, would journey through the trees to find the Shaman and claimed to be chased out by the forest animals. Eventually, everybody left Akkikani to himself, and that is why nobody knows how he became what he is.

Akkikani is no longer a Shaman to people, he is a creation of nature to fight the injustices in his new homeland’s sacred grounds. Akkikani turned the woods into a safe haven for the creatures he desperately clings to and he is a threat to humans. He does not like to be talked about in negative ways and seems to sense when it happens, as that is when he brings people into his trees to never be seen again.

The Shaman no longer looks human. The Shaman is a skeletal being, with bone mutations that mimic both human and creature-like appearance. His viciously sharp claws replace the need for fingers, with reverse bent arm bones, highly arched back, leg bones that appear to be of a canine nature, can walk with the use of talons and back legs or balance on just the back legs. His rib cage is made of multiple overlapped rib bones, so many that they create a protective barrier for what seems to be vital organs, but nobody can get close enough to see what types of organs he now has. I cannot speak of his face, for I have not seen it.

The Shaman loves, and has a heart to do it, but the Shaman will not tolerate an unkindness to his beloved trees and the animals who need them.

-L

Part Five

I stood up from the chair as I hastily pushed all of the books and pamphlets back where they belonged in the box. The noise of the papers and hardcover history books rustling around must have alerted my friend that I was in a rush to leave because he returned a little more quickly than expected, given what I assumed his age must be.

“Do you understand?”

“I don’t, actually. I know that Akkikani lives in the forest. I know a lot of this “information” is propaganda more than anything, I know I have no idea why I’m part of this to begin with but I know the same letter of my last name is on the pamphlet about Akkikani twice. Which might be an exaggeration, but it’s awfully coincidental given that I got attacked by the Boneman and somehow people with the same initial as me have some knowledge about him? I want to know what’s really going on.”

I breathed hard, my tangent having wiped out the majority of my oxygen supply, as the gentleman stood calmly with no expression.

“I cannot tell you too much, Miss Lange, but I can tell you that it is important for you to remain safe and speak minimally.”

“Then what else can you tell me that might actually make sense?” I folded my arms, wanting some kind of answer before I left.

“You were born to help us with Akkikani.”

My jaw dropped as the room closed in on me. Born to help with the Boneman? The literal monster who has killed countless people?

“How…”

“You’ve read what you need to know.” The man seemed to be running out of patience. “I am bound by orders higher than you can possibly imagine, and I have run out of the ability to share anything further. Please, go, and you will know what to do next. This is your time.”

I took a deep breath and nodded, turning on my heel and practically sprinting out the front door for Bambie’s truck.

I knew exactly where I was going, and I was going to save this whole town.

Part Six

I watched Miss Lange tear away from the grocery owner’s home at top speed and followed slowly, not wanting to be seen.

I knew who she was. All of us in the Inner Circle knew. I could tell by the shape of her eyes as soon as she walked into that dingy little office: kin.

We drove until we reached what she seemed to think was a safe spot for her to enter the very woods where the Boneman was currently lying in rest. I adjusted the firearm tucked safely in my jacket, took a deep breath, and slid down in my seat as Lexi exited her truck with a certain kind of confidence I almost admired. It was clear that she believed she was about to be a hero of some sort, but I guaranteed she was going in blind.

No one knew Akkakani like we do. She would learn soon, though.

Part Seven

I climbed through the trees, a combination of adrenaline, fear, and excitement propelling me forward. I both did and did not want to find the home of the Boneman, but I knew that I had an important role in this that I needed to fulfill. I had no idea what I’d do once I found him, but I felt like I’d know once I got there. Everything about this felt right. I was pretty sure I was destined for this.

Every few minutes, I felt like someone was following me, and I’d pause to listen for unusual noises in the woods around me. Nothing ever stood out spectacularly, so I pressed on until I came up to what looked like a small village within the woods, with carefully crafted huts made from woodland materials and even discarded pieces of housing materials. I was incredulous as I studied exactly how many people had to be existing as some weird forest cult, when a voice behind me made my heart almost leap directly out of my chest.

“Miss Lange.”

Blackness.

Part Eight

I miss Lexi. She’s been gone for three weeks and everyone is telling me to move on. Everyone’s telling me she’s not coming back. No one wants to tell me why they think that but it seems like everyone does. It almost seems like they all expected it, and they don’t even want to talk about it. It’s awkward. There’s so much about this that hasn’t made any sense. Maybe it’s just because life doesn’t make sense without Lexi with me.

Our house is emptier than I could have ever imagined. It’s almost like the walls are sobbing silently as my tears overtake any noise they could make in their own sorrow. I feel entirely surrounded by pain, and I don’t know what to do to make it better.

Police found my truck near the grocery store. I know she went into those woods to figure out what was going on. I knew I shouldn’t have gone to work that day. Lexi couldn’t help herself, she always had to know everything about everything going on. Curiosity, cat, etc.

I don’t know what I thought I’d gain by writing this down, but it’s not helping. I just want to go find her.

Part Nine

It’s dark here and I don’t know where I am. It’s been dark for days...weeks, even, but I’m not sure, I lost the concept of time a while ago. The darkness is so much. It makes the walls I cannot see feel alive. I feel like they’re reaching out to me, crawling across my skin, taunting my need for freedom by closing in tighter all the time.

That bitch detective. I was making my way into the woods and she tried to overpower me. She didn’t know I had some tricks up my sleeve but unfortunately my fighting can’t overcome the strength of her pistol whipping me until I was unconscious.

The Boneman is real. I’m writing this down in a notebook I found in the shelter I’ve been stashed into. Someone wrote before me but the Boneman or Akkikani or whoever was not mentioned and I’m remembering that people aren’t supposed to talk about him.

The writing before mine is vague but specific enough for anyone who ends up in this shelter. It’s a cave, or man-made...Boneman made...I don’t know.

I’m breaking the rules by writing about him, but I can’t let this be avoided forever. If I have to die for it, I will.

I just don’t want him to go after Bambie. God, I hope someone finds this, because I need to share the truth of what’s going on here.

I haven’t been mistreated, harmed, starved, or denied basic needs. The only problem is everything is dark ALL of the time. I have no idea if this is his Shaman magic or what but it feels like I have a vaguely sheer cloth over my eyes at all times. But I do know this much: the Boneman does not work alone. The Boneman has allies, multiple allies, and they all live in the town. It’s too freaking dark to see any of them and I don’t recognize any of the voices because, of course, I’m not native to the area so I haven’t grown up with these people or their families like a lot of others have. It’s so clear now though, it makes sense why it continues to happen! The disappearances! The “victims” who vanish are brought away and kept healthy, but to what end, I don’t know. But the town is IN ON IT and everyone is working together to ensure Akkakani is given whatever he needs. The detective was only one small part of something big. Much bigger than I thought could be real.

Part of me understands supporting him, because being an ally is better than being an enemy of a creature who can rip apart a car. But if I’m being kept here, well fed, clean, and able to sleep in a bed I can’t see, there’s a good reason for it and whatever that reason is may never make it out of this shelter.

I don’t know how I got here and I don’t know how to possibly get out. All I know is I can try to document as much as possible now that I’ve managed to feel around enough for materials. I’m not sure how legible this writing truly is but I’m hoping it’s enough in case there are more after me. I don’t want there to be. I need to change something, plead, argue a case, anything, but I’m not sure how far I’m willing to push his followers or helpers or whatever you want to call them.

I just miss Bambie and I hope she’s okay. I was so stupid to sneak into the woods by myself.

Part Ten

I’ve never knocked so hard on a door in my entire life, but I needed to solve this before it was too late. Lexi deserved every effort, and I wasn’t going to do a damn thing I’d been spending weeks doing already. I had woken up and decided to pay a visit to the last place anyone saw Lexi alive, which was some man’s home over near the grocery store.

A man hesitantly answered the door and stared me down, his eyes almost vacant for a moment before he nodded and gestured to have me come inside.

I stepped in and decided to get to the point. “My girlfriend came here. Lexi, Lexi Lange, a blonde with slightly tanned skin? Do you remember where she said she was going?”

He walked away, stopping at the entrance and glancing back at me. “Come.” His withered voice sounded much older than he looked and I wondered if he was some ancient being or something mystical, like a prophet. Nevertheless, I followed him into a dining room, where a table stood with a medium-sized old box and one very small, wooden box, with a detached lid that looked sealed tightly shut, as if it had been undisturbed for decades.

“Yours.” He gestured at the small wooden box, before turning his attention to the medium-sized cardboard one. “Lexi Lange, yes. She looked through these and read about the Shaman Akkakani. Then she headed for the woods.”

A soft gasp escaped me as my hands grabbed at the table, feeling dizzy for a moment. “She’s dead, isn’t she?”

The man sighed, picked up the small box, then fished a pamphlet out of the cardboard box that had the name Akkakani on it, and pressed them toward where I leaned against his table. From the table, he lifted an old, folded letter, and handed that to me directly. “Take, and go.”

I collected everything as instructed and headed back to the car. I quickly scanned the Akkikani pamphlet before moving onto the handwritten note…

Kindred One of Mine

Our kind has done great and terrible things. We have sacrificed our morals for our growth, selfishly, in the face of the gods. We have many wrongs to right, but we have many battles we must stand for. I cannot give you the answers of which battles to solve and which to conquer, but I must give you this piece of advice before you approach Akkikani:

He does not have just one heart. All must be broken for the beast to wither, but beware, for failure leads to fruition.

Yours,

Baktana

I tossed the letter aside and opened the small wooden box and gasped.

A glowing stone with a runic language of sorts laid on a velvety cushion, with the last several inches being crudely shaped into a sharp blade that looked as if it could cause more damage than expected. I lifted it from the cushion and slipped it down my boot, my favorite place to hide things when I didn’t want them in a handbag or pocket.

The box lid had a small purple book fitted into it carefully, and I pulled it out slowly so as not to damage it in case the pages or cover were fragile. I opened the book to find an ancient-looking parchment shred with a runic language identical to the one on the crude dagger, but underneath someone had written a full translation of the runes with additional philosophies, notes, and predictions based on the parchment’s forewarnings of the future. The runes appeared to contain a lot of history and solutions to move forward without leaving the world victim to a cryptic beast.

I skipped to the last page of the book to discover a blank page with a small sketch of a woman. A woman who happened to be the identical twin of my Lexi. Beneath her portrait sketch, the words scratched out: “Akkikani’s Prophesied.”

I took a deep breath, realizing just how much this information meant.

I never knew I’d become some kind of hero, but I had everything right here telling me that this was my destiny. I was ready to fulfill that.

Part Eleven

I’m not dead. They want me to join them. They want me to join them or there is only one alternative and I have no idea what it is, so I have to choose between certainty and uncertainty. It’s still so dark here. So dark all the time.

I don’t know what my better path is. I have to decide, and the uncertainty might not let me see Bambie ever again. I need her, but I can’t become some cult member in exchange for my life. Can I?

Part Twelve

I finally found a spot to park outside the woods and sneak in without a policeman noticing. I finally knew why everyone was so strangely quiet and dismissive about everything. I finally just knew.

Rushing through the trees at top speed, grateful I’d chosen hiking boots for my journey, I startled such a large amount of woodland animals that I worried about repercussions from the Boneman for harming their comfort in my mad rush to find the love of my life.

The secret to the Boneman was resting peacefully with me, and I intended to use it for my personal gain, along with saving this entire ridiculous town.

Eventually, blackness enveloped me, and unconsciousness took me away.

Part Thirteen

I’m going to stay alive for her. If you find this Bambie, don’t hate me, just try to help.

Part Fourteen

I woke up in a dark room, so dark I could barely see around me, but I felt the comfort of a soft bed beneath me. I sensed others nearby, and sat upright, hoping the noise would attract attention or a comment.

“Lie down.” A voice echoed throughout the room, making me realize it was actually much larger than I was aware of. It was just so dark. I wanted to remain as brave as possible but fear lingered in my skin as goosebumps rushed across my flesh at the thought of who was nearby and how I got here. Not being able to see only heightened my anxiety, but I had to use it for power or I’d never make it out alive.

“Lexi? Lexi Lange, that’s her name, she’s here. Isn’t she? She is. I can almost feel her nearby. Please, look at what I have.” I felt around me frantically until my hands hit the small box, holding it up immediately and waving it around in case the other voices could somehow see in this hell. “I need to see Akkikani.”

There was a soft, collective gasp in the darkness around me.

“Foolish. You cannot see Akkikani. No one is permitted to see him beyond the Inner Circle.”

“Take me to the Inner Circle, then. Please, I’m begging you, Akkikani has no idea who Lexi is, he needs to hear what’s in this.” I tapped the lid of the box that contained the parchment and translation.

The quiet was deafening for what felt like several minutes, but I finally heard a woman speak up in a raspy voice. “It could be exactly what we are all thinking.”

“Take her to the Inner Circle.”

Hands grasped at me in the darkness, and I was dragged through what felt like an endless tunnel system beneath the woods. I didn’t think anyone knew these were here, because nothing I had read about Akkikani mentioned tunnels. I felt as if the walls of the underground were filled with the tortured whispers of the souls who lost their physical forms here at the claws of the Boneman himself. Warnings, fears, sadnesses, grievances, and even a few excitements seemed to hush themselves into my ears as we made the long journey through the tunnel system. The energies of souls taken on and under this section of Earth grasped at me desperately in hopes that I would live through the night, and my panic rose in my throat.

I was taken up some ramp and on the surface of the Earth again, where I entered a large clearing in the woods that was lit by several small torches. Skeletons hung menacingly in the surrounding trees, with each one suspended by a single rope around their necks, some obviously much older than others. Small, rapid breaths escaped my nostrils as I surveyed them, unable to tear my eyes away from every horrible thing in the vicinity. A small hut stood to the far right, dark, with a fairly large door; unnecessarily large for a normal human being. The trees almost felt alive, leaning inward toward all of us as if judging and reviewing our actions as meager humans against everlasting earthly growth.

A semi-circle of seven individuals in robes stood with their heads bowed, hoods covering their faces with cloaking from the eyes down. Their attire was all a matching blood red.

“Make your case.” A strong female voice, fairly youthful, came through one of the hoods.

I held up the wooden box. “I have, right here, an ancient parchment with proof that Lexi is not to be harmed, altered, or held in any form. She’s descended from Akkikani. She was drawn, every feature perfect, by one of the Ancient Elders. You have to see for yourself. You have to look at it. She alone can heal the Boneman’s hearts...all of them.”

A few members of the Inner Circle gasped. One individual stepped forward, head continuing to tip slightly downward, as they retrieved the box from me. They opened it, pulled out the original parchment along with the translation, and examined it carefully. A small sigh escaped the person who reviewed it as they reached the sketch of Lexi.

“Bambie.”

My heart raced a thousand miles a minute. Lexi’s voice.

“Lexi? Oh my god. What are you...doing in that outfit? Why are you here with them? What’s going on?”

“You almost made it in time, babe. You did. I’m proud of you. But I’ve already undergone the dedication ritual and ceremony, this can’t be undone. I’m devoted to this life now. Of course, if you cared to join me, I’d be the happiest woman on our Mother Earth.”

I wanted to throw up listening to her. She sounded like she was possessed, with a tone I wasn’t used to hearing from her, and I didn’t care for it one bit. My tone that she should remember well came out hard.

“Lexi, I am so serious right now, this is too much. This is enough. You can just stop it now. There is nothing stopping you from being anything besides who you want to be, and this prophecy states that you are a relative of the Shaman Akkikani. He lost his family, and he has not been near his own blood since then. He can be freed from his pain on this earth and join his family in death, Lex! He can be free! We can save your ancestor, and we can just go home. I want to go home, Lex, and I want to go now. So tell me what you’re deciding.”

The torches almost seemed to flicker more ominously in the shadows of the forest as my rage filled the air with a palpable weight on everyone. Every member of the inner circle was breathing steadily, minus my love, who wasn’t looking at me or anyone in particular. She seemed to be deep in thought.

“Babe.” I whispered, my voice starting to tremble. “Please?”

“No.” Lexi looked me in the eyes. “I can be his descendant and help him serve his purpose in the process. I’m not here to force him into the beyond.” She gestured around her as if the afterlife were existing right beside us. “If you do not join me, you cannot leave either way, so you might as well choose the most plainly comfortable path. You can be with me, and you’ll be safe forever. I’m Akkikani’s family and we will rank above everyone else, together! We could get married. So much could go well. The possibilities are endless, my love. Join me.”

I shook my head. “That’s a shame, Lex, I didn’t want things to go this way. I can’t accept your offer.” My hands shook as I realized what had to happen next. My heart pounded so hard, I thought it might actually fly out of my chest as I prepared myself. I knew how Lexi could fight, and I needed to catch her off guard.

“Then you leave me with no choice.” Lexi moved toward me, and I slipped my hand into my back pocket to pull out the small dagger that had also been placed in that box. Though it was small, I felt powerful with it in my hand, knowing it had to be blessed by the ancient ones themselves with the glowing power it emanated as my fist tightened around the runes, and I held it up in the air.

Lexi hesitated, not sure if I would actually harm her, and I pointed the tip of the weapon directly at her.

“No, you leave me with none. Did you read anything past the parts about you? I’m a descendant of the ones who killed Akkikani’s family, and there was a little bit of fine print should a rival descendant cross one of Akkikani’s descendants.”

With a violent rage surging through me, I ran at her and slashed the blade across her throat, blood pouring as she screamed in a gurgling rage. I didn’t expect no reaction at all; I expected her to fight harder, block me, deck me...something. She wasn’t herself anymore, but she still hadn’t found herself capable of fighting back. She was dying. Her fellow Inner Circle members stood staring, choosing not to participate for whatever reason, as Lexi tried to scream her pain out for all of us to suffer with her. I breathed hard before plunging forward, aiming the blade up and under her rib cage, directly for the heart that had become so important to me. The blade seemed to do 90% of the work for me as her very flesh repelled itself from the glow of the runic magic, making it easier to reach and penetrate her beating heart.

“Akkikani’s hearts can’t be broken by physical force, but it can by loss.” I breathed the words out through heavy panting as I stared down the rest of the Inner Circle, holding the blade in Lexi’s dying heart as I challenged them to approach me. “He’ll be dead within the hour. Say your goodbyes.”

Part Fifteen

I’ve awoken before it is time. I sense my newest one is dead, gone. I’m enraged.

I open my enormous canine-like jaw, my vicious fangs sinking into the corpse of the soul I took from his walk home as I burst forward with every source of energy I have, shattering the door to my home in my rage of further loss.

There she is. I can smell her blood. She’s descended from them.

She took her from me.

I drop the body and study her for just a moment. She is much shorter than I am, though I am not human and I am not of human size. I do not care how unfair this battle is. I cannot contain my rage that she took my last little Lange from me this way.

I lunge at her, my talons flashing in the flames of the fires as I claw her entire, pathetic, weak human self into shreds of flesh, blood, and broken bones.

This is the only time I can justify it.

I’m careful not to destroy her heart. I need it.

I hear her heart stop, and I am satisfied at her spiritual absence. She deserves this. She asked for it.

I carefully scoop my talon into her open chest, retrieving the heart from its comfortable, warm cavity in her human body, and turn my glowing orange eyes on the rest of the inner circle. I am disappointed that they did not protect her but no matter, she has a better future now.

Returning to the other body, I mimic the chest gestures and remove a second heart for the night, and return once again to my little Lexi Lange. My true descendant, who will now live forever with me. I have plenty of bones to remake her and now I have the hearts to do it.

A snort escapes my nostrils as I think of the work ahead of me in creating my heir, and my circle bows.

Part Sixteen

For yet another time in recent weeks, I’ve had to close the store down entirely. I could no longer justify keeping it open at night with local rumors swirling and rising more than ever. They still talked, despite knowing the talk would keep Akkikani active. Disappearances were becoming a frequent thing but nobody seemed to pay any attention to that anymore.

I walked my aged frame home slowly and steadily, clutching my purse, knowing I was safe but also very on edge. My brother and I...we know what happened in the woods, and tonight, I would find out what our new course of action would be. He would be home by the time I arrived.

My keys rattled too loudly in the night as I removed them from my coat pocket to unlock the front door. I entered and sought my brother in the dining room, where I found him at the head of the table.

“News?”

He nodded solemnly and gestured for me to sit, so I took a seat at his left hand side. “Brother, how bad is it?”

“We will not have an opportunity like we just missed, and we must wait fifty years for the next descendant to arrive with hope.”

I gasped, my old hand clutching at my chest with fear as I awaited our fate.

“You say that as if…”

“Yes.”

I shook my head. “Again?”

“Again. My sister, do not fret, for we are being given the opportunity of multiple lifetimes to fight a great evil.”

“We never should have sent Bambie in there.” I shook my head again, overwhelmed. “I am grief stricken at the loss of our kinfolk. Baktana’s shame is upon me. I cannot bear to imagine losing another. We must approach this differently, and hope our new one is stronger than his.”

I paused and looked up. “I cannot keep the store open in good faith anymore. It is not right to lure people there so we can ensure he is still there to be overcome. We have too much blood on our hands, brother.”

“I will deal with this later, sister, please. Are you ready to transition?”

“My apologies, as I feel so much loss, so much grief, and I ask myself so many questions…”

“My dear sister, have you not learned in our many lifetimes that I will never leave you behind? We will figure this out together. There’s another heir to any other prophecy we want to make up if we have to make it feel symbolic enough for them to try. Or, we can go with actual deconstruction of what the Boneman is created with. What do you say?”

“Deconstruction.”

He nodded solemnly and placed his hand on top of mine. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“You know what this means?”

“Yes.”

“We have fifty years to examine and understand what will truly destroy him and his new creation. We will need to train ourselves and others. This will be the biggest battle yet. Are you ready for this?’

I nodded quietly in return and we both quieted with his hand vibrating over mine, fifty years of age melting away from our structures, faces, bones, muscles, organs, and every source of energy and power within our bodies that the Elder Board had chosen to give to us. We were renewed, in our twenties, ready to start all over again.

“Here goes nothing.”

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