Alger’s Dimension Part 6
“Alger’s Dimension” is a horror novelette, first published by “Disturbed Digest” in their December 2017 issue. If you’re just entering this story, you can start from the beginning by going here, or if you want to see all available parts to date, you can find them here. A new part of this story will be released every day, with the 13th and final episode coming out on Halloween.
A dense forest swallowed the meager light from the headlights of Declan’s car before he turned onto the road that ran alongside the trees. He pulled to the side of the road and parked. He snatched a flashlight from the glove compartment, before strolling into the forest that abutted the professor’s property on two sides. Declan approached the back door and found a lone pot of dead flowers. The pot clearly served one purpose, and it wasn’t growing flowers. He moved it aside and found a spare key.
He slipped in the back door, locking it behind him. Declan didn’t want an unexpected visitor to surprise him during his search.
He flipped the light switch near the door, and tucked his flashlight into his back pocket. The kitchen light exposed an unexpected sight. Although he had visited Dr. Kazmarack’s home on a number of occasions, he wasn’t expecting the clutter. Perhaps clutter wasn’t exactly the right word for it. Through all of the years he’d known Dr. Kazmarack, the man had been meticulous, but the scene before Declan befitted a hoarder. Tall stacks of newspapers, magazines, books, and journals filled the room. The piles were waist-high and lined perfectly, making half walls.
Even in Dr. Kazmarack’s frenzied, obsessive state, he managed meticulousness in this area as well. Declan couldn’t fathom how Dr. Kazmarack had managed to stack the varying media in a structurally sound way. The half walls could be toppled with enough force, but they wouldn’t come down from an accidental bump. The stacks formed circuitous pathways leading from one room to the next.
Declan began to traverse the well-laid maze when he came upon a narrow channel that led to the dining room table. He took a couple of steps in for a closer look. The table was disorganized compared to the rest of the room. Dr. Kazmarack had created a work area containing books and journals, which were scattered across the expanse of the table. Several handwritten journals laid open, creating a semicircle around the lone chair at the table.
The journals contained the small, tight, angled, and unmistakable handwriting of Dr. Kazmarack. The problem was, he couldn’t understand any of it. It could have been in another language, or perhaps in code. He wasn’t sure. Declan didn’t share Dr. Kazmarack’s knowledge of other languages.
Declan flipped through the pages of some of the notebooks hoping to find a clue as to the language they were written in, or a key that would help him decipher the text. However, his search didn’t provide answers.
He took one of the notebooks, where the pages were more worn and tattered and the writing a little more smeared than the others, thinking maybe it held greater importance to Dr. Kazmarack than the rest.
Following the pathway, he returned to the kitchen, then took another path leading away from the two rooms. The piles increased in height to Declan’s shoulders when he entered the hallway. The light from the kitchen failed to penetrate the hall, so he used his flashlight. The stacks returned to waist-height when he exited the hall.
To his right, stairs led to the second floor, straight ahead, the front door was blocked by a half wall of books, and off to the left the labyrinthine paths wound through the living room. Declan chose the path on his left, delving deeper into the living room. The path ended at a worn reclining chair next to a swing arm floor lamp. Declan pulled the cord to the lamp and a warm, yellow glow illuminated the chair.
Declan pictured Dr. Kazmarack sitting in the recliner with his glasses low on his nose studying books and jotting down notes in one of his journals. Declan took a seat and leaned back, the footrest automatically kicking out. Declan craned his neck, but the closest wall of journals and books obscured his view of the room. He shifted his weight and sank deeper into the rusty orange, overstuffed recliner, then thumbed through the pages of the notebook he’d pilfered from the dining room table.
As he perused the pages, he noticed that Dr. Kazmarack had underlined certain passages. By comparing one underlined section to another, Declan noticed repeated lettering. He had an inkling that Dr. Kazmarack was attempting to decipher the meaning of the underlined portions–as if he were solving a riddle or puzzle. The words themselves, he must have known because they contained the same markings as the rest of the journal.
A low rumbling announced an incoming storm followed by the soft pattering of rain on the windows. The faint fragrance of rain drifted into the room. Declan looked away from the notebook toward the left wall, lined with windows, but he didn’t see any movement from the curtains. The closed windows sealed out the storm.
A bright flash from outside followed by a boom of thunder, brought Declan upright in the chair. He could feel electricity in the air, and his skin prickled. He closed the notebook and began to rise from the chair. When he caught his first glimpse over the wall of books, he froze.
You can find all sections of “Alger’s Dimension” here.
