The Unusual Case of Bellevue (#2 vs Ed Houston)

[impossibletraveler]

Location: Bellevue, Iowa

Exact Location: The woods behind Ed Houston’s Farmhouse

Date: 9/26/21 at Approx. 1200 Hours

Betsy Granger watches through the little window over the sink as Eddy Houston and group of the townsfolk disappear into his woods again. She nibbles on her lip as she considers them, her hands mindlessly running the towel over the already dry orange juice glass. As the last of the group, a pretty young girl named Victora Strader, disappeared in the thick brush, she turns around her eyes lock on to Betsy’s Suddenly alert, Betsy feels something touch her mind gently, like a nudge; her eyes widen as her gaze on Victoria hardens. The pretty blonde nods her head and turns to catch up with the others.

Gathering herself, Betsy finally sets the glass down into the drying rack and springs to the room Eddy had set up for her. Taking a careful look around, she shuts the door softly and closes the blinds, blocking out the bright light of the sun. Stepping into the closet, she drops to her knees and forces up the plank of wood just under the clothes she had hung on the clothing rack. All her notes, photos, and phones connecting her to Director Raven were stashed there for safety.

It wouldn’t do to have Eddy finding out what she was up to, after all.

Snatching up the phone and hitting the speed dial to Raven’s personal line, she looks around again and pushes the closet door shut. A moment later, his voice fills her ear, earning the first genuine smile to touch her lips since she’d arrived.

“Betsy! Thank fucking Christ, I was worried all to hell about you! Why haven’t you returned my calls?”

“Come now, darlin’, it’s only been a week. Surely you haven’t missed me THAT badly, have you?”

“Bets... You haven’t heard?”

Her green eyes narrow as confusion sets in. “Heard what? It’s been pretty quiet around here, nothing of real note oth-”

“Betsy, The Big Man dispatched his agents the night you arrived. They never reported in, and they haven’t been heard from since they reached the town border.”

Her breath catches as she gasps, her hand touching her throat gently. “That can’t be right... Surely that would have made some sort of local news...”

“A local cop was sent to ask questions and came back with nothing. According to the townsfolk, there have been ZERO recent arrivals... Which means-”

“They didn’t tell the deputies about me either,” Betsy says, feeling the icy fist of fear attempting to grip her tightly. “And from what I’ve seen, that can’t mean anything good.”

“I want you to get into town properly today and see if you can question some of the ones who aren’t digging so much. There has to be SOMEBODY else there that isn’t acting like an entranced asshole.”

“I’ll see what I can come up with, but James; what happens if they find out why I’m really here?” Betsy says, unable to keep the tremor from her tone.

“You get the fuck out by any means necessary,” James says, his tone commanding while betraying his own worries. “And you get back here to me.”

As they hang up, Betsy gets to her feet and opens the door a smidgen, peering through it. All clear.

With a sigh, she pushes it open the rest of the way and sets about preparing herself to go into town.

****An Hour Later, Town Center****

As her Converse high tops crunched the old gravel of the beaten-down road, Betsy entered the small town’s square in a matter of minutes. The little shops clustered together along the street were exactly as she remembered, but the occupants within...

A shiver runs through her as she feels the eyes of the townsfolk turn towards her. Craning her neck towards the small diner, she spots several people at window tables, staring out at her with blank expressions. The waitress, coffee pot in hand, was also watching her intensely; one of the cooks who had snuck out the back door for a smoke also lifted his eyes on her as she passed by.

Straightening her shoulders and steeling herself, Betsy continues her steady pace towards the post office. From other shops, proprietors look through windows and doors, all face Betsy had grown up around, but suddenly perfect strangers. Swallowing hard, she forces herself to keep her gaze forward as she finally closes the gap between herself and the little brick building. The little bell over the door rings as she enters, alerting the two silent women behind the desk. This immediately caught Betsy as odd; anywhere you go, female coworkers could always be found chit-chatting, especially when it was just dead.

These two merely stared at one another intently, until the sound of the bell forced both of their blank gazes to Betsy.

“Hi, I was wondering if you could...” Betsy’s voice trails off as two sets of eyes narrow suspiciously at her.

“We know what you want,” the attractive, middle-aged blonde hisses at her. “We’re giving you a chance to leave in peace because of your connection to this town. Stop asking questions, Betsy Granger, and get out.”

A startled gasp escapes before she could stop it. “How could you possibly know what I wanted to ask?”

The younger brunette curves her ruby lips into a sinister smile. “Your mind is loud, Betsy. You’re focused heavily on Eddy Houston and the activities going on behind his house.”

Now it’s Betsy’s eyes that narrow as she eyeballs the two smirking women. “What can you tell me about that?”

“Anything you want to know, Impossible Traveler... But once we tell you, you’re chances of leaving this town go down to zero.” the blonde flashes her a challenging grin. “How badly do you want to know, Granger?”

“The Ed Houston I knew was a warm, open guy who’d give a stranger the shirt off his back. A bit flashy at times, but a good sport and a hard worker. He had passion, dreams... Spirit. The man in the woods,” Betsy gestures in the direction of his home. “That’s not him. That’s not Ed Houston; something has happened to him, I’ve never seen obsessive behavior out of him before. Out of ANY of you.”

“You’re walking on dangerously thin ice, Betsy.” the blonde says, rising from her chair. “If you really want to know what’s happening, ask Ed.”

“Or... You take our advice, pack up your things, and get out of town.” The brunette says, the threat clear in her voice now.

Backing away, Betsy stares at their emotionless faces for only a few more moments before going back out into the sunlight. Turning, she gasps when she’s face first with Ed himself.

“You’re asking questions about me? Bets...” Despite his smile, his voice is ice cold. “If you wanted to know what was going on, all you had to do was ask.”

****Twenty Minutes Later, The Woods****

“It all centers around this,” Ed says, touching the brightly colored metal attached to the leather belt strap. “The energy that comes from it is irresistible; the power it feeds us feels too good to deny.”

“Eddy, c’mon, can you hear yourself right now?” her heart sinks as he turns his face to her. Clumps of his hair had fallen out, as had several of his teeth. Looking around, she noticed that the other townsfolk were afflicted with the same. “Whatever all this is, it’s changing all of you, and not for the better. Have you seen yourself in the mirror? Do you even hear yourself when you talk about this? Obsession is a dangerous mistress, Eddy.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand, Bets... It’s been so long since you’ve come back home.” Ed says, looking at her sadly. “This isn’t an obsession, it’s an act of devotion. The belt, the object in the ground, they call to us, a whisper of power and glory beyond measure.”

“No belt is worth the price of your freedom, Eddy. Whatever force has its power over you and everyone else around here, it’s not friendly.” She looks around nervously as the diggers suddenly stop, all of them turning to watch her and Ed. “I know how easy it can be to give in to your desires and whims; remember how stupid I used to act in school when I wanted something?”

“This isn’t the same, Betsy.” Ed’s voice takes on a hard edge now. “All of this is bigger than ourselves; we’ve been given a chance to harness a power that can fix this world.”

“What, with this?” Anger flashes through her as she stomps over to the tree the belt hung from. Snatching it up, she holds it up in the air for them all to see. As soon as she touches it, she can feel a surge of power pass through her fingers and ignite through her blood.

“You can feel it now,” Ed says, walking up to her slowly. “You can hear them calling; it’s okay to let them in, Betsy. Let the power of the objects consume you and join us in our final glory. With you, we can bring down everyone who would turn this world into something ugly. They can give us the knowledge and the technology to build a new, better world for ourselves.”

Betsy’s green eyes sweep towards the mass jutting out of the ground. Only the top peaked out, but it wasn’t very wide around, about the size of a broom closet. A single light was placed at the top, acting like a beacon to those who cared to answer it’s call. The belt still clasped tightly in her fingers, Betsy falls to her knees in front of it, her eyes filling with visions of other worlds and beings beyond her comprehension.

“I can see them... I can FEEL them.” Betsy looks up, a reverent expression on her face. Ed smiles as he kneels down next to her. “So much promise... Such a beautiful paradise.”

“This is only the beginning,” Ed promises, rising to his feet and offering a hand to help Betsy to hers. “You and I were meant to lead this revolution, Betsy Granger; welcome to the party.”

****Later That Evening****

“I think they bought it.” Betsy whispers into the phone to Director Raven. “But there is definitely something strange happening in this town. Everyone is acting like zombie slaves to whatever it is in the ground. And that weird belt... I touched it today and I...”

“You what?” Director Raven prompts softly as her voice trails off.

“I could feel what they feel; the power of the belt, the influence of the ship and whatever the occupants were. It’s heavy and intoxicating, like a sweet voice that promises you everything you ever wanted.” Her voice betrays her worry.

“And you’re worried that you’ll end up like the others.” It wasn’t a question.

“If you saw them in person... Yeah. I don’t want to end up like the others.” Betsy sighs as a lump forms in her throat. “I miss you,” she confesses suddenly as a wave of emotion comes over her.

“I miss you too, Bets.” his tone is surprised. “Look, don’t worry too hard about it. You’re stronger than they are, you won’t succumb to some hive mind control that easily. Just dig a little deeper and get back here to me. My bed is a lot colder without you.” He says, his voice growing deeper.

Her heart flutters as a smile curves her lips. “I’ll be back before you know it.” She purrs, making a kissing noise into the phone.

They end the call and Betsy takes a deep breath before sliding open the closet door. She’s barely got a foot out of the door before she looks up and gasps, stumbling back.

Standing before her are Ed and several of the townsfolk, all of them looking livid.

“It seems we need to have a serious talk about your status here, Betsy.” Ed Houston says. “How disappointing.”

Before she could formulate a reply, someone darts in from the side with an efficient blow to her temple that drops her to her knees.

“Ed... Don’t do this,” Betsy begs in a choked whisper, but it was to no avail.

One more swift blow to the back of her head and Betsy’s vision fades to black.