Ollie and the Monster

by Joe Knetter

   Ollie Welks lived alone in a cabin in the woods just outside of the town of Rensville, population 206. His cabin, built by his grandfather Orrin in the year 1829 was nothing more than an old wooden shed. Its walls were made of dark rotted wood that smelled of mold and decay. The shack sat about thirty feet off of Old Deet road, a road that used to connect our town with the town of Deeter.

    Deeter had sat nestled at the bottom of Deer Valley, about seven miles from Rensville. It was a town much like Rensville. The residents of our two small towns were like family. In 1836 when old Tom Dawson’s barn caught fire and burned to the ground, residents from both towns pitched in and helped build him another one.

    Tom didn’t need to ask for help. Men from both towns showed up with their tools the very next day ready to go to work.

    We depended on each other. The next closest town was Avery, about 50 miles south of us.

    The great flood of 1840 took Deeter and its 280 residents and washed them away. The storm came quickly. One minute it was a beautiful bright day full of laughter and joy. The children were playing games and the men were farming the crops. The sun disappeared and then there was total darkness. The rain began to fall from the sky immediately, big, heavy drops that stung your face as they fell. The men left their tools in the fields and rushed back to town. The wind blew with great force. The residents of Rensville took shelter in their
homes and waited for the rain to end.
    

    When I was old enough to hear the tale of the flood,
I sat in silence as my father told me what happened.

    “After four days the rain stopped. Our town withstood the onslaught of rain fairly well. There was some damage to a few houses but not much. A lot of the crops were destroyed but the town folk survived.

    Being on the top of the hill kept us out of harms way Joseph. Most of the water ran down into the valley, down into Deeter. Five men, led by your grampa set out to Deeter to see how they had held up. There wasn’t much hope. The hill going down to Deeter was steep.

    The rain would have run down into Deeter quickly.

    The group set out on foot.

    It was too dangerous to ride the horses. The men passed by a cabin in the woods owned by the Welks family. The Welks were the only family in the area who didn’t reside in one of the towns. They chose to live alone in the woods.

    Orrin Welks would lend a hand to either town if it were needed. The Welks’s family still lives up there in the same cabin. They have a son your age. Dumb as a stump from what I hear. Anyway for the first time since the rain stopped the men’s spirit had risen.

    If the Welks ramshackle cabin had held up surely there was hope for Deeter. They walked up to the front of the Welks place and knocked on the door. Mrs. Welks opened the door. She was holding a baby and they were both crying. She recounted the story about Orrin leaving for Deeter to try and help, how he had never returned.

    The tiny hope the men had been clinging too left their hearts as they stood and listened to her. The men left the cabin and walked on towards the town. They reached the small clearing at the top of the hill that overlooks the valley. Many times had they stood atop the hill and basked in the beautiful scenery below. It really was a sight to behold. In the distance, behind the valley, you could see tall mountains, their peaks stretching high up into the clouds, seeming to stretch straight up to the heavens.

    The men broke down on top of the hill that day Joseph. Instead of seeing the houses and barns and children playing in the grass they saw nothing but water. A large body of water covered the town of Deeter. They could see no buildings. No life. The men all cried tears for the city, for their friends. When your grampa told me told me this same story I’m telling you, his eyes filled with tears. It’s the only time I ever saw him cry. Even when your grandma passed on he didn’t shed any tears. The horror and sadness he saw that day never left him.

    They made their way down the hill their faces showing no expression. Your Grampa told me he was the first one to step into the water. The water was dark and murky. You couldn’t see anything below. One by one they stepped into the water. They began to collectively walk forward into the town. The water at it’s deepest was waist high. The ground was treacherous. They had to be very careful. Trees, rocks and remnants of the buildings that should have protected Deeter lay tangled their feet as they waded through the water. Amongst the debris were soft spots.

    It wasn’t until later that they realized they were walking on the dead bodies of their friends and neighbors. They waded through the dark cold water without saying a word. They waded to the center of the lake, the center of the town, the place where the two towns had celebrated the harvest every year. They would be no celebration this year. There would be no harvest. In their hearts they knew Deeter was no more. There were no survivors.

    They stood huddled together and looked each other in the eyes and cried again, their warm tears streaming off of their face into the dark water below. They cried for their friends, they cried for Deeter. With their heads down they began making their way back home. From the time they stood atop the hill looking down, to the time they got home they never spoke a word to each other. They didn’t have to. Words could not describe the heartbreak they felt eating at them. They all felt it. The news spread through Rensville quickly.

    There was a town meeting that night.

    Under a full moon and bright twinkling stars everyone cried and grieved together.

    The river receded and the water covering Deeter dried up a week later. Rensville went about the task of burying Deeter. Bodies had washed up all over the valley. Orrin Welks body was found lying in front of an Oak tree, six miles from Deeter. It was decided that the dead be buried on top of the hill overlooking their former home. Graves were dug and bodies were carried up the hill and buried for six long hot days. There was a large funeral for all the dead and then they did their best to move on.”

    I was eight years old when my father told me the tale of the flood and Deeter. I sat horrified as he told me. Later that day he took me to the top of the hill to look where the town used to be. On the way there we passed a cabin. As we walked by I saw a boy sitting in the grass as we walked by. He was sucking his thumb and rocking back and forth. I waved to him and he got up and ran to the cabin. It was the first time I saw Ollie. We got to the hill and stood and watched the sunset in silence. That night it rained and I cried.

    The story of Deeter was passed on through the years. My grandfather told my father, my father told me, and someday I will tell my sons. It is something that never should be forgotten.

    I didn’t see Ollie again until years later when he wandered into town crying and shaking. Jacob Torner was the one who saw him come into town. Ollie had come out of the woods behind Jacob’s house covered in mud and dirt. Jacob tried to talk to him, to find out what was wrong, but Ollie just turned around and ran back the way he came. Jacob lived next door to me and was the oldest resident of Rensville. He came over to talk to me after he saw Ollie. Jacob was terribly worried for Ollie. The town knew all about Ollie. People had seen him and his father praying in the cemetery at the top of the hill overlooking the valley many times over the years.

    We knew that he lived in the woods with his father Owen. When Owen would come to town he would come alone. I don’t know if he was ashamed of Ollie or if he just wanted some time to himself. Either way this was the first time anyone had ever seen Ollie in town. I wondered why he came. I walked out to his cabin to see if he was all right. I could smell a stench from 100 feet away. I knocked on the door and it pushed open. The smell was strong in the house and I knew Owen Welks was dead before I stepped in. I found Ollie with his thumb in his mouth, curled up sleeping next to his father under a table. How long Orrin had lived with his dead father I don’t know.

    I woke Ollie up and he looked at me and began to cry.

    We buried his father in the cemetery later that night. After that Ollie visits to the town became more frequent. These visits generally consisted of Ollie walking down the middle of town and nodding his head at everyone he passed. A few times someone would try to offer him food or something to drink and he would get mad and run back to the woods.

    We all knew Ollie was dumb as an ox but he never really caused any trouble. I think he was very confused and lonely. During these visits to town he would always stop by my house to say hello. If I hadn’t seen Ollie for a while I would go out to his house to make sure he was ok. During these times he would really open up. He would talk nonsense about different things his daddy had told him and different things he had seen.

    The Ollie I saw when I was eight, sucking his thumb in the grass was the same Ollie I saw when I twenty-eight, just older and bigger. When I answered my door to find Ollie standing there naked and crying talking about a monster I didn’t take much notice. It wasn’t the first time I had heard about something Ollie had seen.

    “Ollie where are your clothes?”

    “There be a monster in the woods”, Ollie said still crying.

    “Come in and sit down.” Ollie walked in sniffling and stood next to the table my wife Emily was sitting at.

    “Did someone in town take your clothes Ollie?”

    “No, there’s a monster in the woods.”

    “What kind of monster did you see Ollie”, I asked.

    “It’s invisible”, he said looking away from me towards the wall.

    I looked over at my wife Emily and she smiled at me. I fought to suppress my own smile.

    “If it was invisible, how do you know it was a monster?”

    “I saw it. It thought it fooled me. Fool stupid old Ollie, but it didn’t. I saw it when the sun done shined on it.It twinkled like the stars. I done saw it, yes I did. I saw it in the woods.”

    “Where did you see it Ollie?”

    “By the river. I was (Ollie looks over at Emily quickly, pauses, then continues) washing myself. I was splashing around in the water and I looked up and it was standing in the rocks by the rivers edge. It thought I couldn’t see it. Trick old Ollie. But I’m not so stupid as people think. I seen it standing there.”

    “What did you do when you saw it Ollie?”

    “I ran. I ran to town as fast as I could. I praise to Jesus the whole way.”

    “You left your clothes at the river didn’t you Ollie?”

    “Hells yes I did. The monster was by my clothes. I wasn’t gonna go near him.”

    “Do you think you could take me to where you saw the monster?”

    “Hells yes. Ollies not so stupid. I remember things, but I’m not gonna go back to where the monster is.”

    “It’s Ok Ollie. I’ll get James and Billy to go with us. I’ll take my gun. If that monster shows up I’ll put a bunch of holes in him.”

    “He’s invisible. You can’t see him. You won’t know where to shoot.”

    “That’s what your for Ollie. You didn’t fall for its trick. You saw it. You can tell us if you see it.”

    “That’s right. I didn’t fall for no stupid trick. I saw it. I can show you if it’s there”, Ollie said grinning ear to ear.

   “That’s what we will tell everyone. You can’t fool Ollie. He’s no dummy.” “Yeah, I no dummy. Can’t fool me.”

He was positively beaming at this point.

    “Alright you stay here, I’ll go get Jimmy and Billy and we’ll go get that monster. Emily can you come here for a second?” We walked out the front door about twenty feet from Ollie before we began to talk.

    “He saw the reflection of the sun in the water didn’t he?” Emily asked.

    “I reckon he did. It sure sounds like it. I’m gonna get James and Billy and take him up there anyway. It will soothe his nerves. Besides in the time I’ve known Ollie he’s always worn the same clothes. I don’t think he has anything else. I’d give him some of mine if I thought he would take them, but you know how he is about handouts. If I don’t take him up there he’s libel to hang around town. I don’t know about you but I’ve seen enough of him naked today.”

    “Yeah”, she laughed,

    “All right. But be careful. The horses are acting all funny, like a storm is coming.”

    “I’ll be back by dinner time. Do you think I want to spend all day running around the woods with Ollie? When we get to the river I’ll tell him I see the monster and then I’ll shoot the gun. He won’t know any different.”

    I walked to the cornfield and talked to both James and Billy and they laughed when I told them the story. James and Billy were the only townsfolk other than me that Ollie had ever talked to. They both agreed to come to the river with me and we hatched a plan to help Ollie. We set off towards the river.

    “You really see a monster in the woods Ollie”, James asked smiling. “Yes I did. Thought it fooled me. I seen it.”

    “Well we can’t have no monsters hanging around our town. We’ll get it”, Billy said winking at me.

    As we neared the river I could see Ollie’s clothes crumpled up next to the riverbank.

    “This is the place. I saw it right over there by my clothes”, Ollie said pointing to the waters edge,

    “It thought it fooled me but I’m ain’t no fool.” I motioned to James.

    “Do you see it anywhere Ollie?” James asked. Ollie contorted his face up looking around the river for his invisible monster.

    “There it is”, Billy screamed, as we had discussed earlier. I lifted my gun up and fired towards the tree on the other side of the river. Boom. Boom. Ollie turned to run away and James grabbed him.

    “Did you get him?” Billy asked.

    “I got him”, I answered,

    “I missed with the first shot but I got it with the second.” Ollie looked at me and then towards the other side of the river.

    “Didya get it. Didya really get it.”

    “I got it Ollie. You were right. It was trying to fool us. I barely saw it myself, just a quick flash.”

    “I told ya. Tried to trick Ollie.”

    “Dumb monster should have known ya can’t fool Ollie”, James said.

    “Dumb monster”, Ollie said smiling.

    “Well so much for that monster. It won’t be bothering any of us anymore. You better go get you clothes now Ollie”, I said.

    Ollie looked at the clothes and then back to me and smiled. He skipped down to the rivers edge naked as the day he was born. James and Billy both looked at me and we all smiled. When he got to the clothes he looked at them and turned towards us frowning.

    “What’s wrong now Ollie?” Billy asked.

    “What if there’s monster shit on my clothes?”

    I did my best to hold the laughter in but once I heard James’s bellowing laughter I lost it. The three of us began laughing uncontrollably. James fell to the ground laughing and Billy clutched his stomach with both hands, tears streaming down his face. I set my gun on the ground fearful that it would go off. Had someone stumbled upon us at that point they would have seen three people who appeared to have gone completely mad.

Every time we would start to get things under control, someone would say:

   “Monster shit” And we would start laughing all over again. Billy was the worst. I could see a wet stain on the front of his pants, a tell tale sign that he had wet himself. Ollie stood there laughing with us.

    I think for the first time in his life he felt like he belonged. He wasn’t stupid Ollie anymore, he was just Ollie, a regular fellow.

    I was the first to see the monster standing behind Ollie. Ollie was standing there laughing and then it looked like the river stood up behind Ollie. I could see a shape made of water standing behind him. It resembled a human form and sparkled in the sunlight. We all stopped laughing except for Ollie. When he noticed that we stopped he abruptly stopped too.

    “Monster shit”, Ollie said smiling. This time no one laughed. In fact I don’t think anyone breathed.

    The river stepped around Ollie and walked towards James.

    We stood there helpless and watched as the monster stood in front of James, its body shimmering in the sunlight. Through the monster I could see James sitting on the ground looking at me his eyes full of disbelief and fear. He opened his mouth to say something and the monster fell on him. There was a large splash as it fell onto him and water ran everywhere around him as the monster dissipated. My first thought was relief. The monster was gone. I stepped to James and saw him lying there, eyes wide open, choking, drowning on the river water. I heard Ollie scream and turned to see another monster standing in front of Billy. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Ollie take off running into the woods.

    The monster splashed into Billy and he fell to the ground. I heard splash into the river behind me and turned towards the sound. At least a dozen of the monsters were rising up out of the river, all of them different sizes, some large, some small. All shaped like people. The choking sound coming from Billy and James had stopped. They both laid there silent. Dead.

    I remembered my gun and bent over and picked it up. I turned and looked back to the water and the monsters were walking towards me. Splashing with each step. I turned and ran for my life through the woods. I could hear a sloshing sound behind me, right at my heels. I turned to get a look behind me and I tripped on a log and fell down. I rolled over and looked up. A monster hovered above me. I pointed the gun at the monster and pulled the trigger. The bullet went through its body and struck a tree behind it. It stood there above me and I could see it’s vague human features. Up close you could its rudimentary eyes, ears and nose.

    River water was running out of its eyes and splashing on the ground around me. It bent down and put its face in front of mine and I realized I was looking into the dead crying eyes of Deeter. Looking through it I could see many shimmering forms in the distance coming towards me. My thoughts turned to Emily and Ollie and a tear ran down my face. I closed my eyes and I felt the cold river water engulf me.

   “I told em there were monsters”, Ollie whispered to himself as he sat under the table in his cabin crying.

    “Ollie’s not so stupid.” There was a noise outside the cabin.

   The sound reminded Ollie of rain falling. Ollie whimpered when he heard it.

    From where he was sitting he could see water begin to run into the cabin through a hole in the wall. The water splashed onto the dirt floor of his cabin and began to run towards him in a little stream.

    “No”, Ollie screamed.

   The water settled into a pool about five feet in front of the table. It began to rise up into the air and take a human form. Ollie began sucking his thumb and rocking back and forth under the table. All Ollie could see were the legs. The monster stepped towards him and bent down.

    “Ollie. Come out from under there”, it said. Ollie let out a quiet whimper as he looked into the face of the monster.

    “Ollie I’ve come to see you.” Ollie took his thumb out of his mouth and spoke very quietly.

    “Why you want to see Ollie” Ollie looked at him and waited for an answer, instead of an answer, the monster turned and looked around the cabin.

    “I haven’t seen this house for years Ollie. It hasn’t fared to well.”

    “You seen Ollie’s house before?”

    “A long time ago Ollie. I still remember the day I built it.” Ollie looks at the shape puzzled.

    “You didn’t build it. My grampa Orrin, gods rest his soul, built it.”

    “That’s true Ollie. Your grampa Orrin did build it. Ollie…..I am your grampa Orrin.” Ollie tilts his head to the side and looks at the shape in front of him confused.

    “My daddy said you die in the flood.”

    “No Ollie, your father….my son, was mistaken. I didn’t die, none of us did. We were just resting.”

    “You must have been very tired to rest so long.” “Very tired Ollie. The water is very tiring. But now I’m awake. Come out from underneath the table and let me get a good look at you.”

    “What about my new friends at the river?”

    “There ok Ollie. They’re with my friends now. They’re on their way to Rensville right now. We’re going to go and meet them. We are going to celebrate. Deeter and Rensville will be together again. Now come out here and give your grandfather a hug.”

    Ollie crawled out from underneath the table and stood in front of his grandfather unsure of what to do. His grandfather smiled and put his arms out. Ollie stepped forward into his grandfathers waiting arms and smiled.

end

from Body Fluids Splat books
© 2004 by Joe Knetter