As I look back on the events of the last few months, it seems as
though it all occurred in another lifetime. In fact, it did-- at least
as far as I'm concerned. I still can't get over it, and I don't know
how I ever got up the nerve to pull it off, but I did. Well, I suppose
that I should start at the beginning so that my story will make
sense to you... I'm Eli Mathers, and I'm a young, strong and happy
man. I've got everything the way I want it and nobody is going to
take it away from me. Not now. I know how to make lots of
money, I have the woman I always wanted, and life is good.
Oh, I wasn't always as well off as I am now. You see, not long ago,
I was a decrepit, old man who was ready to die. I had many
congenital aliments and my friends were placing bets to see which
one would strike me down first. Anyway, I wasn't dead yet and
attempted to enjoy myself anyway I could before it was too late. A
bright spark of life still burned within me, and in spite of my aged
body, I felt as though I was still a young man.
One evening not long ago, I received a message from an old friend,
John Cobb, who was a Lawyer who lived on the east side of town.
He had sent a carriage for me, as he was in need of my services. I
am or at least, I was a doctor of theology and a practicing
psychiacrist, and John wanted to talk about something of great
importance to him. It was inconvenient for me, but due to a long-
standing friendship, I agreed to come to him. I arrived at his home
about 7:30 p.m. on that fateful evening that was to turn my life
around, not knowing what to expect. The carriage had made good
time across town as the driver pushed his horses until I could see
the steam escaping from their nostrils. The driver stopped at the
curb to let me off, and I scrambled out of the conveyance and
hurried up the walk to my friend's house as time seemed to be of
the essence. Then, rapping hard upon his door with the brass
knocker as a chill wind swept past, I waited for his answer.
Having dismissed his maid early for privacy reasons, John Cobb
the lawyer opened the door himself, and I momentarily saw him
framed in the yellow light of the gas lamps that spilled out into the
darkness. It didn't take an expert to see that he was wrestling with
his own personal demons, and I knew that I would have my hands
full before I finished my work with him this night. Then,
extending his hand, John invited me into his foyer, took, my hat
and great coat and closed the heavy, oak door against the wind.
He then led me down the narrow hallway into his study and bade
me sit in one of the over-stuffed, Victorian chairs that comprised a
conversational area. While I waited, John retrieved a silver tray of
good, Cuban cigars and a bottle of fine, Italian brandy from the
sideboard. Then placing those items upon the glass coffee table, he
stiffly set down across from me. For a long moment he just gazed
in silence, peaking his hands before his face as a man rapt in
thought is wont to do. The gas lights flickered in his black eyes,
as though the fire there was his own. The moment reminded me of
that singular time of silence before a thunder clap broke loose, and
the lightning flashed to the ground in great violence.
I could see that he was really upset, and that his countenance was
that of a dam holding back a flood. Finally, he let loose and
poured out his soul in a stream of emotion that made me catch my
breath. The reason for his worry and suffering was not so much
his own, but existed more out of compassion for his daughter,
Judy, who was suffering the age-old emotional grief of unrequited
love.
John recounted his tale of woe stating that, "Judy had this
boyfriend named Sam Jacobs who had jilted her at a bad time.
The reason he did it was that she was pregnant with his child, but
he would have none of it. This kid, Sam, was not ready for
marriage and a family yet, so he firmly refused to accept the
responsibility for his actions concerning her." John went on to
say, "Judy was an emotional wreck over the situation and hated the
thing within her. She deeply loved Sammy and couldn't bare to
lose him. Sammy liked her too, but not pregnant. So, he would
have nothing more to do with her, and this sorry state of events
had driven her to tears." More than that, I could see that it had
nearly driven her father to nervous collapse.
"I don't know what to do," said John, spreading his hands palms
up in frustration. "The situation is out of hand, and there is little I
can do about it. The police won't do anything, but if I take any
physical action against Sammy, I'll wind up a criminal and further
hurt my daughter. She loves him deeply, and she is with him right
now. She left earlier this evening to go and find him. I don't know
what they will do, but I'm afraid for her safety."
At that very moment, Judy and Sam were talking in his apartment
on the south side of town. "Sam, you know that I love you and
want to be your wife," said Judy. But, Sam held her off, saying,
"You know how I feel about this! I'm not going to let a kid screw
up my life right now. I need to finish my last year of college and
get my degree. Then it will take time to get set up and start
making a reasonable living. No, marrying you and raising a kid just
now is out of the question."
"Sam, what if there weren't any baby," said Judy, "would you stay
with me then?" "Oh honey, you know I would. You are my
woman, but I just can't deal with a kid right now. Do you mean
that you would have an abortion?" "I've considered it, Sammy,
and for you, I'd do it... The only thing is, I don't have any money
and can't afford to pay a doctor." "I don't have any money either,"
said Sammy, "but we don't need money. I've got a buddy at
medical school who owes me plenty of favors. I'll get him to do
the abortion for you." "Sammy, why he's not even a doctor yet--
can we trust him?" Of course we can, Judy, he's at the top of his
class, and an abortion is no big deal."
Sam made a phone call to his friend at medical school and found
him at home. The med. student didn't like the idea, but Sam had
something on him, so he couldn't afford to turn him down.
An hour later, Judy found herself on a cot with the medical student
working his instruments inside her, scraping that little life out of
her in bloody chunks. It was gruesome, but Judy endured the pain
and the humiliation for love. A half hour later, the med. student
had done his damage and quickly left. Judy was bleeding and
white as a sheet, her breath coming in little spurts, but the grizzly
deed was done. They had murdered their child. Sam wrapped
Judy up in the sheet and drove her home, letting her out at the
curb. He wouldn't come in and spun his tires as he left, causing
her to jump back from the curb. The abrupt movement caused her
to lose her balance and fall to her hands and knees. Something
seemed to tear inside as a hot flash of pain shot through her.
The pain was almost unendurable as Judy half walked and half
crawled up to the door of her father's house. She didn't have the
strength to knock. About this time, I was sitting across from John
Cobb and suddenly had a funny feeling, perhaps a premonition of
her presence. It made me apprehensive, so I stopped him for a
moment and asked him to listen. We both then heard a faint
scratching on the oaken door and quickly ran to find out what it
was. Throwing open the heavy door we both crowded in the frame
trying to see what the night had to offer. The yellow light spilled
out and there illuminated Judy, lying on the stones before us in the
darkness. She was closely wrapped in a bloody sheet and near
unconscious. We picked her up and carried her upstairs to her
room and placed her on the bed.
It was obvious what had happened. John ran and woke up his
maid, telling her to put plenty of water on to boil and then dashed
out to fetch a medical doctor who lived nearby. I got her out of
her bloody clothes and cleaned her up as best I could on short
notice. Soon, I heard the heavy footsteps of the doctor on the
stairs and stepped back to let him do his job. I assisted where I
could, and soon he had her stabilized and breathing softly. He had
given her medication to help stop the bleeding and something to
make her sleep. Standing up and removing his stethoscope from
his ears, the doctor said, "That's all I can do for her tonight. I'll be
back in the morning to check her." With that, he left, leaving John
and I to recount the events of the night.
Fortunately, I had previously asked the doctor for a sedative for
John before he left, and he had given me a strong one. I slipped
that knock-out powder into a glass of brandy that I poured for him,
and he swallowed it down, unawares. It took about twenty
minutes to work, and he was out like a light.
And there I was, alone in the house. Everyone else was asleep or
under sedation. I then sat down and pondered this nasty situation
which I found intolerable. Everything in me wanted to fight back
against this evil person who would cause so much turmoil and
distress before running off, leaving everyone else holding the bag.
Now, as I said before, I'm a theologist, and that means that I study
everything I can about mankind's relationship with his gods. In
my long years, I have studied both the gods of light and the Lord
of Darkness. Odd, over the years, I've developed more of an
affinity with the Dark Lord, Lucifer, then I ever could with the
aberrant, Christian God of Vengeance. Too, I've studied Black
Magic for the last twenty years, and have as of late begun to
practice it on a daily basis.
My poor friend, John, had said that he couldn't do anything
physical against this cad of a young man because of legal reasons,
but I, working as a Black Magician could do plenty about the
situation, and no one would ever know... The more I though about
it, the better it sounded, and come to think of it, lately, I've taken
quite a fancy to Judy, myself. Remember, even though my body
had aged, my mind was still clear, and I still possessed the desires
of a younger, stronger man. Judy, in my estimation had grown
into the ultimate woman. Of course, I had known John since Judy
was a child and had watched her grow up and blossom into a
raven-haired beauty. Yes, often as of late, I had said to myself that
if only I were forty years younger, I'd take her for my own, even if
I had to use Black Magic to get her to love me-- a simple spell
would do. But why speculate. My day for that sort of thing had
long since passed, and I now wait for the grave to claim me.
Well, morning woke me from my reveries. Everything was astir.
The maid was pouring coffee, and John was pacing back and forth,
looking at his watch. Just then the doctor rumbled down the stairs
and spoke to us all, "She's all right. There's no real damage.
Whoever did that abortion knew what he was doing and didn't hurt
her. In fact, it looks like that in time, she could still bear children.
She's a lucky girl! Just keep her warm and I'll check her again
tonight after my rounds at the hospital."
There was nothing more I could do at the moment, so I excused
myself and returned to my home where I spent the day sequestered
in my own study, thinking and reading. At first, I was like the
genie in the bottle who would destroy whoever let him out, but the
more I studied and the more I thought about the situation, the more
I came to an astounding realization! So strong was my revelation,
in fact, that I slowly and deliberately contrived a much better plan
than outright killing that dilettante, little cad.
You see, once, I had met an old magician who had said that all
problems come to us with gifts in their hands. We seek the
problems to get their gifts. He had also said that there was no such
thing as a problem that couldn't be turned into an advantage. I
have always respected his words and am now very pleased that I
heeded them.
Looking through my books and taking notes, I quickly came upon
the rituals and spells that I would need to accomplish my task. I
pieced them all together and rehearsed them until I could perform
them to perfection. Later, I took a bath in sea salt, and dressed in
my ritual robes. I then performed a cleansing ritual and set up my
equipment. Then precisely at the stroke of midnight, I performed
my ritual magic and cast my spells. The fire fairly leapt from my
sword as I pierced the scrolls and set them afire in the appropriate
manner. Yes, I executed my infernal rites with so much energy
and emotion that the gates of Hell fairly yawned open and the odor
of sulfur smoke permeated the air of my darkened abode. The
demons swirled through the open gates, and the laughter of the
dammed filled the atmosphere with the echoes of the doomed. "It
is done!" I cried with a flourish, and fell back exhausted. Later, I
awoke and crawled into my bed to sleep and perhaps to dream. I
had fulfilled my part of this ongoing magical drama, and there was
nothing more for me to do but let my magic weave its insidious
web.
Sam Jacobs awoke feeling awful. His tongue had fur on it a half
an inch thick, and his throat felt awful. He was running a low-
grade fever and felt tormented by a thousand aches and pains. He
assumed that he was coming down with something, but as yet
wasn't quite sure what it was. He went through his day at half
mast, mostly messing up everything he touched. He asked his God
to forgive him for the wrong he had done to the girl and her baby,
but got no response. The name of Jesus was just as ineffectual,
and he still felt bad-- maybe worse. He was guilty as sin. During
that day, he took Aspirin, Tylenol, Vics Vapo Rub, cough drops,
baking soda, and some leftover prescription pills he had. Nothing
worked.
Darkness came, and he felt worse. His eyes were red, and he could
hardly breathe. He set up in bed, trying to read, but felt that
something was starring at him. He couldn't get comfortable. The
hour grew late and He thought that he must get some sleep "This is
awful," he said aloud, driven by guilt, "I did what I had to do and
now, I'm going to sleep." It was then that Sam Jacobs heard the
chuckling-- a startling, but singular sound that permeated the
atmosphere of his room. Where could it be coming from? Sam
got up and started looking about his apartment. There weren't very
many places to hide, so the search only took a few moments.
Back to the bed, muttering, cursing, "Darn it! Can't a guy get any
sleep? Who is laughing? What's all this giggling?" The demon
made himself visible to Sam and said, "Greeting, Oh Tormented
One who kills little babies. You are tired, arent' you? You want to
go to sleep and rest, huh? Well, I'm afraid that that's not possible,
as the minute you go to sleep, I'm in and you are out... Your soul
will wander the void between the worlds for all eternity, and you
will never rest again.-- HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!"
What a turn of events! Sam couldn't believe his ears and started to
say something, but the demon disappeared before Sam could
speak. All Sam could hear was the sound of the demon's breathing
and the occasional smirk of laughter. The sweat of fear broke out
on Sammy Jacob's brow, and he was one miserable wretch. His
life had never been any good, and now this! Now, he couldn't
even commit suicide.
Sammy set up all night, drinking coffee and pacing back and forth
in the gloom. But as it must, morning finally came, and Sammy
cleaned up and decided to visit a doctor. There was an old guy
who was a shrink on the way to the university. He would stop in
there on the way to class.
The little bell sounded as Sam Jacobs walked into the psychiatrist's
office and the little, old man came out of the back room. "I'm not
open yet," said Dr. Eli Mathers. "My receptionist won't be in for at
least an hour. You see, I'm just catching up on a little work, so
could you come back later?" "Oh, I'm sorry," said Sam," but I
have to be in class by then. I need help. I was hoping that you
could help me as I can't sleep and I think that there is a demon
who is trying to steal my body. Do you think that I'm crazy?"
Dr. Mathers was stunned at the power of his own magic as he
realized that his charges had already brought this errent scoundrel
to his very door. "Well, in that case, young man, come on into my
office and I'll take time to listen to your story." They both went
into the doctor's office and Sam sat down on the couch while the
doctor sat on a chair next to him. "You are too excited, young
man; you must calm down! Here, I'll turn on this metronome, and
it's sound will soothe you."
"Tick, tick, tick, tick," went the machine as it beat at about the
rhythm of a human heart. "Now, young man, start at the
beginning and tell me everything that happened, leading up to this
strange event you speak of." Sam Jacobs droned on for a few
moments before the metronome took its toll, and his voice was
replaced with the heavy breathing of sleep.
The doctor quickly got up and ran to the front of his shop and
locked the door. Next, he closed and locked his office door and
retrieved his potions from the wall safe. He poured one vial of
magic elixir down the throat of Sam Jacobs and then sat down in
his own chair. He thought for a moment, trying to make sure that
everything was in readiness, and then drank his own elixir.
About an hour later, Dr. Mathers' receptionist unlocked the outer
door with her key and went about her duties. She wondered where
the doctor was and finally knocked upon his closed office door.
No one answered. As time passed, she grew more worried, and
finally took the spare key from the lock box and opened the good
doctor's inter sanctum. There, she found what appeared to be a
patient asleep on the couch and Dr. Mathers fast asleep in his
chair. Odd. She crossed the room and grasped the doctor's
shoulder and shook him awake. He murmured something about
how tired he was, looked about, said my God and grabbed his
heart. His eyes grew round as his face turned white. He made this
little strangling sound as he fell to his knees and then slumped to
the carpet, dead.
The receptionist quickly ran out into the street and called for a
policeman. The word was relayed, and in a few moments, the
officer arrived. Mrs. Simmons, the receptionist related the facts to
the officer who then tried to wake up the sleeping patient. The
man was groggy and uncoordinated at first, but he finally came
around. "What's going on here?" He said, "I have to get to class at
the university. Is anything wrong?" The officer explained about
the doctor, and the young man said, "Oh my, we were just having
a session. The doctor put me in under hypnosis, but I don't
remember anything after that. Is he really dead?"
After taking Sam Jacob's name and address, the officer let him go
as there was no reason to hold him. Everyone knew that the old
doctor was just waiting to die, and this morning, he had simply
passed on. There was no sign of foul play and no marks upon his
person, so it was a simple case to solve. The old guy's clock just
stopped, like the receptionist said, and that was that.
The thing that was now Sam Jacobs exited the doctor's offices and
walked quickly to the university. He knew where the lab was and
went through the motions of doing lab work until the bell freed
him for the day. Now, the work began. He would have to learn
everything about his new body and everything it normally did so
no one would notice that Dr. Eli Mathers was now residing there
instead of Sam Jacobs-- prestochango! Now, Dr. Mathers didn't
particularly like the name of Sam, but it would do. The kid would
graduate college at the end of the semester, and he would then be
free to build a new practice and begin a new life all over again.
However, with all the knowledge and experience accumulated over
some eighty-odd years, and a young body to boot, he would do
well, very well. Yes, he would be rich in no time! Of course, the
fact that the day before, he had willed everything he had to Sam
Jacobs wouldn't hurt either. Not only that, but he would now
hurry over to visit Judy and profusely apologize to her for his
actions concerning her. He'd say that he'd seen the light, and beg
for forgiveness! Yes, he'd even ask her to marry him. That
ought to please her... Eli Mathers, that crafty old wizard who now
lived in there knew that Judy loved this young body, and now, he
would have her as his very own, to have and to hold. Yes, he was
rich and he'd be richer very soon! He had the woman of his
dreams, a young body and a vast knowledge of Black Magic.
Now, All he had to do was get used to being called Sam Jacobs.
