Whisperer in the Dark – the Sequel

Chapter 3

There was a dead silence in the old farmhouse. In fact, that was how Wilmarth remembered it. No animals, no people, only the wind rustling the leaves. It might have been the only traffic for a few dozen kilometers. The Ford pulled into the barn that had served as Eckley's garage, where Wilmarth had raced just over a year earlier. As he got out of the car, the young philologist felt the chill of the machine gun at his back and, guided by the driver, he headed towards the house. Every step was difficult, not because the ten hours in the car made his legs ache irritably, but because he had no idea what might be waiting for him inside. And even if he had, the assumptions were too terrifying for Willmarth's psyche.

A step, a second – with each second the inevitable drew nearer. The young man's heart was beating frantically. Perhaps he would have been glad if it had been ripped from his chest: at least then he would not have to go through this death row…

But suddenly something flashed through the boy's mind: "Run… Anywhere but this house. He glanced at his escorts: False Eckley was walking ahead and hardly looking back, the driver was still holding his gun to Wilmarth's body. There was only one chance to get out of the predicament, but he had to wait until the delegation got close enough to the house that Wilmarth had time to circle the building and duck under the protection of the woods.A moment for action… "In the range between despair and hope," thought the would-be fugitive. "Now!" – With a sharp movement he knocked the gun out of the hands of the one who was holding it and dropped it to the ground, then fired three times at the one in front of him and rushed towards the saving treetops.

"Just a little more, push on!" – he shouted to himself, struggling to get to the right point as fast as he could. His left foot had already crossed the edge of the forest when someone grabbed him by the waist and lifted him up. A terrified scream echoed through the nearby mountains. Wilmarth collapsed to the ground.His consciousness slowly faded away. The last thing he saw was a creature about three meters tall, with an indecipherable build and many extensions that were alternating arms and legs. It held the young man by the scruff of the neck and dragged him towards the house. "The end," thought the young man.

Wilmarth woke up in the same room where he had last seen the 'professor'. Except that the interior had changed slightly: Henry Ecklie's personal belongings were no longer visible, and there were many "cylinders" in which Mee-goo had placed people's consciousnesses. The young man could not be sure that the latter had agreed to this voluntarily, so the last thing he wanted was to be among them. He tried to get up – his left leg buckled and he collapsed to the floor. He listened – footsteps could be heard on the stairs. Immediately the door opened, letting in a smiling Noyes, who held a tray with a mug of tea and two sandwiches.

"Ah, have you awaked already?" – Noyes sets the tray down on the bedside table and frowns at Wilmarth with that same wimpy smile.

"What have you done with Eckley?" – Wilmarth asked in an iron voice.

"No need to worry, you're in no condition to worry about such trifles now…"

"I ask you again – where is Eckley?" – this time the lad shouted and lunged towards the visitor, but was immediately thrown roughly to the floor.

"There's no need to act like a child, Albert" – the smile disappeared from Noyes' face, revealing excessive irritation – "If you think I'm going to patronise you like a child – you're sorely mistaken. Your failed escape plan has already put the Master in a bad mood and he needs more trouble. If you want to do something useful, eat your breakfast and read some books, there are plenty of them here," he left the room, slamming the door loudly.

Willmarth struggled to get up from the floor and crawled onto the bed. His thoughts were confused, his whole body ached, and his leg was bandaged with some rags. He lay back and stared at the ceiling, "And here I am again…" As embarrassed as it was to admit it – he had been caught after all. Enough time had passed for the Mi-goi to forget about his little escape, but something made them come back for the fugitive. Why? Alas, he had no answer to that question…

Half an hour later Noyes entered the room again: 'The council will be waiting for you downstairs in exactly one hour, change your clothes, you will find them in the cloakroom opposite. With a broken leg, it took Wilmarth half an hour to change, and in another 20 minutes he was on his way down the stairs to meet…

He saw the following picture – three people (Noyes, a driver and a third person) and two Mi-gos. If the unfriendly humans could tolerate it, the Mi-gos could not… The creatures were pinkish in colour, with a crustacean-like body and pairs of large dorsal fins or webbed wings and several ingenious limbs; on their heads was a coiled, snail-like ellipsoid with many short tendrils. Their bodies are made up of a form of matter not found in nature on Earth, so they do not register on ordinary photographic film. They communicate with each other through telepathy and humming. However, after surgery, a Mi-go can acquire the ability to mimic the language of any creature. It is too difficult for human perception to fully comprehend the alien body structure. Many people went mad when they saw one of the MI-gos. No wonder Wilmarth was stunned when he saw them in the living room downstairs. Yes, Eckley had described their appearance in detail in his letters, and Wilmarth himself had heard their buzzing, frantic speech, but he had never before encountered aliens in person.

Chapter 4

There was an awkward silence in the room. Only the Mi-go occasionally clicked their semblance of a mouth.

The silence was interrupted by Noyes: "Neo, we appreciate your involvement in our affairs, but killing Mr. Wilmarth is unprofitable, to say the least – a lot of people in Townshend saw us driving slowly down the dirt road.

Oh, and it turns out he left a will in case he died or went missing that clearly states where to look for him, which is here. We don't want any more trouble."

The creatures looked at each other, and their heads bloomed with an iridescent glow. It lasted only a moment, after which Gling moved quickly towards George, who had been silent the whole time. The man's eyes widened, "Not again…". – At the same instant, one of the alien's limbs sank into the man's neck, making a small deep cut in it. The poor man's throat was bleeding, he looked at Wilmarth and slumped slowly into the chair beside him. Mi-go began to wriggle. It did this until all present could see its insides. The creature let out a wheeze and tore off a piece of one of the organs at the top of its body. Gling then shoved this piece roughly down George's throat and returned to its original state.

The man's eyes went glassy, and a black liquid began to ooze from a cut on his neck. Marcus vomited. Suddenly, as if bound by invisible strings, the body began to rise. The man spoke, "Mr George has kindly agreed to loan me his body. Unfortunately, I haven't had an operation yet, so I can't speak human language. As long as it's necessary, I'll be borrowing our friend's speech machine. Marcus, are you all right? " – he nodded weakly, wiping the corners of his mouth with his handkerchief – "Now about Mr Wilmarth. My friend was hasty in his decision, you're right, Mr. Noyes, it's not profitable to kill him. And that man must not be lost in any way – we don't want any unnecessary worries. Neo and I, however, have a solution. We propose to move Mr. Wilmarth's creation to one of the Conductors, and until the plan is carried out, one of us will see to it that the aforementioned body returns home in peace and out on sick leave before Peace Day."

"Good idea, Mr Gling!" – commented Marcus – "Noyes, do you agree?"

"Absolutely," he replied – "Albert Willmarth has given us quite a bit of trouble as it is, so I'll only be glad if we can solve this problem.Thank you all, the council is over," he slammed his hand on the rest of the table again, and everyone began to disperse. Marcus grabbed Wilmarth's arm roughly and pulled him upstairs. But not to the room where the young man slept, but up to the third floor. There he threw him into the back of one of the rooms, locked the door and left.

Wilmart sat in a daze. He knew exactly what they wanted to do to him. Although the spies presented Mi-go as deities who did not wish people harm, the image of George did not leave the young man's mind. "And what is another Peace Day…" – Wilmart was finally confused. He was in a completely empty room – the only room on the third floor, not counting the two storage rooms where Ecklie's things were kept. It was about seven o'clock in the evening, as he could tell from the setting sun through the gaps in the outer wall. He couldn't reach the window; the slightest movement caused severe pain in his broken leg. There was nowhere to run…

Wilmarth lay on the cold floor all night until Marcus arrived with some liquid broth and a few slices of bread. "Your consciousness will be transferred to the Conductor at dawn. To make the process less painful, try to get some sleep." – He was about to leave, but hesitated for a second and added: "There is always a way out, Mr Wilmarth. Just listen and you will hear the call of freedom. ' With these words, the man closed the door and left.

"Freedom, how come, you're hardly freer than me, Marcus…" – Wilmarth was annoyed – "Damn! Is there nothing I can do at all! No way out?! At all?!" – tears flowed from the young man's eyes and his hands began to claw at the wall. "I don't want to die, not now!" – he shouted, trying to get up. His leg felt as if it had been stabbed, and Wilmarth collapsed back to the floor.

He lay staring at the ceiling. He had never been in such a desperate situation where everything was at stake. Tears were still streaming down his cheeks and there was a lump in his throat.

Wilmarth lay like this for about two hours before he began to drift off to sleep. "I must be sleeping for the last time in my life… Sounds ridiculous," the young philology professor thought to himself.

In the morning he was to be reborn into a new form of life.

Chapter 5

He woke up when dusk was still outside the window. He tried to get up – surprisingly, his leg did not hurt. On the contrary, the bloody wound from the broken bone had healthy skin and all the joints were in place. Wilmarth tried to stand up – his leg obeyed. He pinched himself, believing he was still asleep, but nothing had changed. There was a slight scent of herbs in the room. "Right! Eckley had once mentioned that one could only transfer consciousness into the Conductor when fully healthy. So someone healed my wound during the night, miracles…". He examined the wound site once more – it was in perfect condition. Forgetting for a moment his fate, the philologist jumped around the room joyfully, like a child. But only for a moment – the smile disappeared from his face as quickly as it had appeared. He sat down in a corner and pondered.I had never wanted to live so much. Wandering around the city again, admiring its busy streets. Watching the ships leave the harbour, walking through the woods. Listen to the birds, bask in the sun, just… To live. A stingy tear rolled down his cheek and fell to the rotten floor.

Suddenly the young man heard something: "No, it can't be." Wilmarth jumped up and pressed his ear to the outside wall: birds were singing. How could it be, since there weren't any animals for miles around, they didn't get along with the Mi-go. Doesn't that mean that…" – Hope flashed in his eyes and Wilmarth headed for the door. After examining it carefully, he tried to open the mechanism with a splinter torn from the floor. It only cracked inside with a crackle. This made him very angry: "What's the matter with me? – He kicked the door with his foot and immediately recoiled. The door swung open, letting in the fresh air.

"Marcus… he forgot to lock it." There was no time to waste – the young man quietly made his way to Ecklie's storerooms, getting some strong ropes (the old man often went to the mountains) and an old rifle. "Not much, but better than nothing. It was just a matter of climbing out the window of one of the rooms and hiding in the same part of the forest as the birds. Without knowing why, Wilmarth was confident that the mee-gohs would not get him there.

He went quietly down to the ground floor and entered the room where he had been held last night. From the ground floor came Noyes' snoring. Marcus was probably asleep at home. Neither Neo nor Gling could be heard. Chalking it up to Mi-go's habit of sleeping in the mountains, the young man cautiously opened the window.Trying not to make a sound, he tied one end of the rope to an old dresser and the other to his belt and started the descent. It was not easy: his feet slipped on the tiles and his sweaty palms prevented him from grasping the rope firmly.

"Oop-la!" – Having reached a safe height, Wilmarth jumped off. Of course, he could have done without the rope, but still he was too gentle for such an act. "After all, I am a literature teacher, not a backyard boy."

The young man raised his head to gather the rope and involuntarily shrieked – Marcus was staring at him dumbfounded out of the window. The man had just woken up and came into the kitchen to make his morning coffee. For a few seconds both remained still, waiting for each other's action. "Don't even think about shouting," Wilmarth muttered, aiming the gun at his adversary. "Don't even think about it," he whispered back and turned away from the window. "You have five minutes, then I'll raise the alarm," the spy said as he continued to stir his drink.

"Why?" – Willmarth was discouraged.

"You only have to listen, and you will hear the call of freedom."

The fugitive nodded his head and raced towards the forest, oriented by the singing of the birds. He knew that salvation awaited him there. He could feel it.

Chapter 6

The chase did not take long: as Marcus had promised, five minutes later there was shouting and cursing outside the house. By this time Willmarth had moved far enough away from the trees to conceal his presence. He climbed a large sequoia tree and watched: Noyes ran out of the house, got into his car and drove off down a road leading somewhere in the mountains.Then Marcus appeared on the porch, lit a cigarette and stared up at the sky. Wilmart looked up, too, and almost fell over – three winged men were flying towards the farmhouse. Their heads glowed red. "Why did Noyes go there if they already knew about it?" The lad made himself comfortable and continued his observation. The Mi-go's went down and quickly entered the house. In a few minutes Wilmart could already see them through the window on the first floor. They looked carefully at the rope and turned towards the forest. The young man froze. The heads of the Mi-gos began to flicker: two of them glowed red and the third glowed blue. Suddenly one of the Mi-go spread its wings, but the other stopped it. They stood for a while longer and then returned to Marcus. He said something to the aliens and they quickly retreated back into the mountains.

Wilmarth climbed down from the tree and headed towards the ridge as well. For some reason Mee-goh had not devastated this part of the forest, and he would be safe here. But for how long? "There is some mystery out there in the mountains. And I must find it out." The young man could not be sure that if he returned to Arkham everything would fall into place.There is no telling what these creatures were up to. Why would they pull out a harmless literature teacher and transfer his consciousness to the Conductor? The answers were somewhere up there, so the boy had only to follow the trail of the aliens, hoping that he would find a way out of the situation.

It was an easy climb – there were many trails in the mountains. Locals hiked with their families and tourists came here to admire nature. Wilmarth spent the rest of the day hiking. At sunset he finally reached the top. The view was indeed breathtaking: the sun was coming down over the horizon, leaving a scarlet trail on the treetops. All the wild animals remained below, in the last living piece of forest. There was silence all around again. At least, better than the buzzing of the Mee-goo. He looked around and found a cave that led deep into the mountain. He needed somewhere to spend the night before looking for clues, so he headed there. Lying on a cold rock, he looked at the setting sun, "I'll know soon, very soon…"

Chapter 7

"I… I can't go on," tears flowed from Wilmarth's eyes, a coarse shiver running through his whole body. "No! There's no point anymore! Nothing!" The young man's hoarse voice broke into a scream. He staggered and fell to all fours. The crying turned to laughter, "Ha… ha-ha… ha-ha… ha-ha… "You only have to listen and you will hear the call of freedom…"

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The morning began with an unpleasant pain in my back. Sleeping on the stone floor was not the best idea, but it was probably the only one that Wilmarth had. "Until a few days ago I was lying in my soft bed. For breakfast I would take a fresh bun from the bakery and walk to the university. Back then everyone was more concerned about getting rid of students, but now… How stupid I've been." He stretched his stiffened body and pondered his next steps. He had to find the place where Mi-go had met the Master. Who the man was (and whether he was human) remained a mystery. But he knew for sure that in it he would find all the answers. He did not know where to go, so he only had to trust in fate. Wilmart came out of the cave and followed the first path he saw.

On the way, he thought about his life: his fate as a refugee, the death of his parents, his brother who didn't wait for him… "I wonder how he is now?" – he said, tripping over a rock and hitting his knee. "What the…" Suddenly his hearing picked up some sounds. "Are those… voices?" – Wilmarth fell silent. The noise came from a crevice in the rock. Climbing through it was impossible, at least for a human. "There must be another way in," the young man may not have liked getting into trouble before, but now he took all will in his fist and headed towards the unknown.

After a few minutes the entrance was found. With his boots off beforehand, Wilmarth walked slowly deeper into the mountain. He kept walking until the voices were audible enough to make out their meaning.

"So you're saying we can spring into action? A fugitive – he could really annoy us…"

"Nonsense! It is but one drop in a sea of my power."