The Eye of Madness Read Online Free PDF Page B

them?”
    He took another drag off his cigarette and shook his head.
    â€œNo … no, not possible. The Impals disappeared, and then there was darkness. The energy was different, very different from the initial storm. A different manifestation … different energy … something new, something different … dark …” Dr. Winder’s answer deteriorated into what sounded as incoherent rambling, although what he said made sense. Dr. Winder walked to the window and peered up at the sky. “Sky different … clouds different … different energy … not Impals,” he rambled.
    As Dr. Winder continued his blathering, the men gaped at each other. Even Andrews seemed concerned.
    â€œSo, if it’s not Impals,” Derek said, “then what is it?”
    â€œDid you ever meet an evil Impal?” Cecil asked.
    â€œWell … sure,” Burt said. “We ran into several real jerks.”
    Cecil shook his head. “No, I’m not talking about jerks … I’m talking about evil,” he said.
    â€œWell, what about those two pricks who beat you in your prison cell, or the two jerks who shot me for bounty money?” Burt suggested.
    â€œThey definitely fell into the category of a-hole, jerk and prick … and some a little on the stupid side, but … evil? They were not even close to the blackness I saw. I’m not just talking about an absence of light. I mean their heart and soul were black … uncaring and unremitting hatred … profound wickedness.”
    â€œHow the hell could you see that in all of them?” Burt asked.
    Cecil shrugged. “I don’t know, I can only tell you that I did. I know it as well as I know you, Burt.”
    Burt shook his head, keeping his eyes fixed on Cecil. “Jesus, what did you see, man?” he asked.
    Cecil didn’t reply, but Burt could tell by his expression that he should not press the question. He decided to approach from another angle. “So … they used to be human?” he asked.
    Cecil nodded. “Well … they used to occupy a human body, but to call them human, well …” Cecil trailed off, he was at a loss of how to explain it to his friend.
    â€œDemons?” Derek asked.
    â€œI don’t think so,” Cecil said. “Demons serve Satan. These things seemed to serve nothing but themselves and their own twisted desires. They were, well … black souls.”
    The men sat in silence until Burt jumped up. “Hey, where’s Dr. Winder?” he shouted.
    They turned toward the window where he stood moments before. He was not there. It didn’t take long to figure out where he went because the front door was standing wide open.
    Almost tripping over each other, they sprinted to the door. Clambering onto the porch and down the steps, they spotted Dr. Winder a short distance away. He resembled a turkey caught outside in a rainstorm. He stared skyward with his mouth agape, mumbling nonsensical phrases.
    â€œEinstein … thermodynamics … energy, different … very different … not Impals … different, different … the dark, energy,” he muttered then began pointing skywards as he walked towards the woods. “Sky … color … different,” he repeated over and over again.
    The sky was different. When the Impals were here; it was lavender colored with yellowish clouds. Now it was a reddish tint with orange clouds. Nobody had any idea what it meant. The general consensus was it had something to do with the energy of the storm and now the mysterious energy of the eye.
    The time to process what Dr. Winder was saying would come later because it suddenly occurred to everyone he was in grave danger. He was wandering toward the woods and the shadows.
    â€œDr. Winder!” Cecil screamed, his heart in his throat. “Don’t go into the woods!”
    Winder may as well have been a hundred miles away because he did not