"Ascension" by Joseph Stephen Bonnett

Ascension

by Joseph Stephen Bonnett

“You’re ten short,” Rinaldo said as he flattened out the curled notes. 

“Bullshit,” Leonard said, “let me see.”

“I’m telling you…ten short,” Rinaldo replied.

Leonard jammed his hands into his black bomber jacket pockets and shuffled them around.

“Cough it up,” said Rinaldo.

Leonard shrugged and presented empty palms, “shit, my bad man. I’ll get you next time.”

“You owe me from last time,” Rinaldo said.

Leonard ran his fingers through greasy blonde hair. He turned to Maddy, who was lurking just inside the front door, “Babe, spot me?”

Maddy flared her nostrils in understated contempt. But she coughed up. 

The trio sat in the front living room on a worn blue sectional. Talking shit. Chopping shit. Snorting shit. A brown bottle appeared on the glass coffee table and half disappeared quickly.

Between drinks, Rinaldo regaled a tail of dealer’s justice through grinding teeth. “His face was so busted up,” he said, “he went down, but I jumped on him and just started hammering away.” He acted out the gesture. “Dude will think twice about not paying debts,” he said, looking into Leonards eyes. Leonard shifted his gaze to Maddy who was curled up in the corner of the couch on her phone. Leonard held his hungry gaze for a moment. Maddy got up, perturbed, and walked towards the hallway, “I’m going to the bathroom.”

The conversation momentarily died until Rinaldo leaned and pulled something from the table drawer. 

“I got something new,” he said and held up a plastic baggie with crumbling brown powder rocks.

“What is that?” Leonard asked.

“Like MDMA I think, but stronger…we’re about to find out. Just a sample.”

“The men crumbled generous amounts of the substance into glasses of whisky.

“You think Maddy wants some?” Rinaldo asked. “She hasn’t touched anything all night. She doesn’t use?”

“Nope…but she does now, she just don’t know it yet,” Leonard said as he crumbled some into her glass. Rinaldo grinned, exposing coffee-coloured teeth. “You’re a bad man,” he said.

Maddy returned from the bathroom as Leonard hastily pulled back to a normal sitting position. 

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“Nothing babe, just seeing if you needed a top up.”

“Ok…one more, then we have to go.”

“One more it is, finish that and I’ll make another.” 

***

Leonard woke to the sound of scratching. He pulled himself up and found Maddy sleeping next to him, mouth gaping, but not snoring. Rinaldo was sitting opposite with his hands cupped over his mouth. 

“What happened?” Leonard asked.

Rinaldo pulled his hands away, “I don’t remember.”

“Fuck, me neither…I gotta piss.”

Leonard took a right into the hallway. He ran his fingers along the aged timber in the long corridor; the house was a huge old villa, bigger than he initially realised. He saw the bathroom at the end of the hall with the door wide open, but no light. Above the door in the roof was an attic door made of heavy-looking dark wood with an intricate spiral pattern carved in it. He walked towards the bathroom with his eyes upwards, but a deep boom stopped him. He felt it in his chest, and his heart raced even more. He waited. A scratching noise rang out as dust fell to the ground from the perimeter of the door as if it were being carved out right in front of him.

“What the fuck,” he mumbled, then louder, “dude, there are weird noises coming from the attic.”

“Nope,” Rinaldo yelled out.

“Yea there are.”

“Nah man, I don’t have an attic,” Rinaldo said as he rounded the corner into the hall.

The scraping intensified and farther down a shadow flickered in one of the rooms off the side.

“Who else is here?” Leonard asked.

“No one.” Rinaldo replied.

“I feel weird, I’m going to leave.”

“Ok…bye,” Rinaldo said as he stared, semi-catatonically, at the attic door.

Leonard stormed back into the living room and found Maddy standing there staring at the couch. On the couch were Leonard, Maddy, and Rinaldo, all passed out.

Maddy turned to Leonard, “What is happening?”

“Jesus…what the hell, is that us?” 

“Yes, why can we see ourselves sleeping?” Maddy said.

“Let’s get Rinaldo and get the fuck out of here.”

They rounded into the hallway and found Rinaldo backing up quickly. Maddy put her arm up to fend him off as he crashed into them.

“I saw someone…something…with wings,” said Rinaldo.

A bright white light exploded from the perimeter of the attic door. Leonard and Rinaldo shielded their eyes. 

“What is up there?” Asked Leonard.

“I don’t have an attic…” Muttered Rinaldo. 

Maddy shoved her way passed the men and approached the light, entranced. As she got close the attic door fell open on its hinges and swung. A white rope ladder dropped down and settled. Maddy continued her approach and placed her hands on the ladder.

“Don’t go up there,” Leonard yelled, still cowering from the light. 

Maddy began her ascent. One step, two steps.

“Maddy!!” Leonard yelled.

Three steps, four steps. She breached the entry and disappeared quickly as if something pulled her up. 

“Maddy!!” Leonard ran to her and scrambled up.

The ladder began to swing heavily, and Leonard caught his chin on the rung. He gathered himself and pulled. One step, two steps. His hand reached the last rung, and he boosted up.

His face breached the entry and was quickly purified, the white light blasting the skin and muscle off in a flesh storm. The slop hit the floor and splashed on to the walls.

Leonard fell down next, limp, and he smashed through the floorboards. A cocktail of splinters and facial goop cascaded across the walls, before a blood red light came forth from the hole in the floor.

Rinaldo walked towards the light, trembling, but nevertheless advancing.

The smell of sulphur burned his nostrils and as he looked down a black and crusted, charcoal hand took his leg and pulled him down below.