Journals of the Black Wasp: Strange Happenings at the Everheart Home

Friday, September 13, 1946

There are many rumors of strange occurrences on Friday the 13^th. I believe that everything can be explained. Earlier today, many things happened that, at first glance at least, seemed supernatural. I specialize in such "paranormal" cases, but this one took a lot out of me.

People call me the Black Wasp. Due to a series of death threats, I’ve gone almost completely anonymous. The only way my clients find me is through word of mouth, and even then I might not show up in person to meet with them.

This evening, I was sitting in my office. I had made an appointment for seven o’ clock with a woman who assured me that I’d be well compensated if I helped her. I wasn’t in it for the money, however. Her story had thoroughly intrigued me. Lately, I hadn’t had any real mysteries to solve, and I had slipped into the open arms of boredom.

A very familiar woman walked into my office, and I knew I’d seen her before. She looked like a prisoner of war with her frail frame and sadness-filled eyes. I noticed her facial expression slightly changed when she saw me. I could understand this, of course, because I wasn't dressed normally. I wore a black mask that enveloped my entire head, a long trench coat, black sweater, leather gloves, goggles with white lenses, and a fedora. This getup was more than enough to elicit a change in demeanor.

She skated across the room gracefully, gently blending foot and floor as if she was about to do a pirouette. She waltzed over to a comfortable armchair in the corner of the room and cried. I've heard many cries in my lifetime, but this one sounded as if someone was continuously kicking thirty cats. I had to contract every muscle in my body to keep myself from shielding my ears.

“Let me start from the very beginning,” she began. “I’m naturally a quite relaxed person. So much so that my favorite thing to do is to sit on my daybed and stare out the window for hours. On one such day, I noticed a grotesque creature (for you must remember that this was no man) dragging my fiance around outside at a speed far exceeding what you would expect from someone doing such a thing. This thing looked up at me and mouthed, ‘You’re mine.’ Something happens every time I get engaged to a man. It seems I may never be able to love anyone!”

Her story was very compelling, albeit dramatic. I did, however, have many doubts about this “creature.” “Ma’am,” I asked, “is there any way that you’re mistaken? I don’t mean to anger you, but I’m leaning towards a different explanation than a monster. Perhaps it was just a malnourished man whose physical appearance reminded you of some movie you saw. Maybe he made you think of that Dracula film from last year. In any case, I’m quite sure that we’re not dealing with a monster.”

She looked saddened by all that I had said -as if my very questioning of what she had described meant that she had lost all credibility. “Ma’am, let’s go check it out,” I said, not wanting to add to the young woman's sorrow.

“Mrs. Crawshire!” I purposefully yelled as annoyingly as was humanly possible, “You’re fired!”

My incredible assistant opened the seamlessly hidden door on the right side of my office, laughing hysterically. "Shut your mouth, young man," said the much older woman. This was a joke we often repeated with each other just to watch the confused face of whoever had come into my office to meet with me. This red-haired woman’s expression had been the cream of the crop, and it filled us both with joy to watch her gape.

“You must excuse us, Ms…. What did you say your name was again?” I asked.

“Ms. Dee Everheart,” my crimson-haired, new client said.

“Oh, you mean like the Everheart Distribution Co.?”

“Yes, my father owns the company.”

“Okay then! Mrs. Crawshire, I’ll be back. Don’t wait up!”

“Sure thing, dear,” said my motherly assistant.

Just a hop, skip, and a taxi drive away was the Everheart estate. There was an incredible garden in front of the house with flowers that, I’m sure, would have somehow been even more breath-taking in daylight. Before I could take in anything else though, Dee ran towards a spot on her lawn and pointed at it while screeching in such an obnoxiously high pitch that my brain slowed to a halt. As she continued to shriek, I heard distant dogs douse the streets with their howls. I was only slightly more capable of holding back my own agonizing cries.

I walked over to her and gestured for her to zip it. “If you keep doing that, I’m going to have to leave, ma’am,” I warned.

“Oh, okay. I’ll try a little harder to compose myself,” she apologized.

“Thank you. Anyway, what are you pointing at?”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s nothing there, Ms. Everheart.”

“Oh, well yes, I know that, but this is where he buried the body!”

“Dee, please stop screaming. I’m trying to think.”

“Oh! What will happen to me!”

“Nothing was buried here, ma’am, and please, for the love of all that is good, stop screaming!” I managed to blow through my gritting teeth.

Ms. Everheart looked around. She didn’t look scared anymore; she looked like she was waiting for something.

"Whiz!" something flew by my mask-covered ear. Then more "whizzes." I thought at first that they were gunshots, but since I couldn't hear a gun, I had no idea what was flying at me. I looked towards the woods, and I saw a shadowy, otherworldly silhouette. From that silhouette, pellets were flying at me. One of them hit me in the face, but to my surprise, it didn't hurt at all. I pulled the sticky pellet off with my gloved hand and saw what looked like a bullet. I knew it wasn't one though because its consistency matched that of taffy.

“Ow! Oh, the humanity! Help me!” I heard the hysterical woman behind me say. Once I was facing her, I heard heavy fast footsteps coming towards me. I quickly turned around to defend myself, but the monster tackled me to the ground and beat me with an astonishing amount of power.

Soon, I faded into that depth of unconsciousness that only a senseless beating could bring one to.

I awoke on a couch. Every bone, tendon, and muscle in my body ached. My mask and goggles were still on so I opened my eyes. I tried my best to mimic the breathing of a sleeping person while peering at the “creature” sitting next to me. He glanced at me, "Ah, he's not gonna wake up," he said in a surprisingly human voice. He then closed the door behind him as he left.

I painfully pulled myself to an upright position. Once my eyes fully adjusted, I could clearly see that the wall in front of me was home to hundreds of newspaper clippings from my previous cases. I decided that since I had obviously been kidnapped, I needed to escape as quickly as possible. I limped over to the door, and just as I was about to grab the handle, I heard the monster-man’s steps. I found an open window, and without hesitation, I leaped onto the driveway.

Unfortunately, jumping from two stories high onto concrete wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. I did crack a couple of ribs though. The impact played pinball with my head, and as I tried to get up, I couldn't muster the willpower to push past the agony creeping through my body. I began dragging myself away from the Everheart home.

After about two minutes of this endeavor, I realized that I had barely moved three feet. I was going to have to pull myself to an upright position somehow.

"There you are, dear!" rang a mysterious woman's voice, "I noticed that you left your room. How rude of you!”

“What do you want?” I curiously inquired.

“September the 13^th of 1943.”

“Excuse me?”

“Exactly three years ago, you put my father in jail. Do you mean to tell me that you don’t even remember him?”

I turned to look at her, and realized that the mysterious woman was Dee! The man in the monster suit watched us from the window of the room that I’d sprung out of. He yelled, “What do you want me to do now, ma’am?” He was obviously no more than a lackey.

Immediately I realized that this woman was not Dee at all. She was an actor, and probably a dancer too, given her earlier graceful movements. She had broken character when she met me in my office because she realized that my odd clothes and mask would completely shield me from the pellets that she had planned to pelt me with. She hadn't prepared for me to be wearing that since three years earlier I hadn't become the Black Wasp yet.

Then, I remembered a carmine-haired man whom I'd put in jail before. She looked just like him. "Oh, I'm on the beam," (I understand) I proclaimed. This seemed to surprise her.

"Dee" abruptly walked over to me. She smiled as she pulled a knife out of her purse. "I'm not usually the confrontational type, but I must admit that I've thoroughly enjoyed this little game of ours," she proclaimed with joy in her eyes.

I then tripped her as hard as I could. She fell toward me with her knife readied, but I had just enough energy to quickly crawl to the other side of the driveway. I climbed into her car and locked the doors.

She jabbed the knife at the windows but couldn’t break through. I was safe, for now. She ran back into her house. Then, a plan came to me. I took my mask, hat, and sweater off and placed them in my position on the seat. Then I locked the doors and hobbled across the street into the forest.

I excruciatingly limped through the woods.

An hour later I heard a loud Whiz! Familiar, heavy footsteps followed it.

 The monster-man was a fast-moving cheetah while I became a tasty wounded antelope. In other words: I was the perfect prey.

Just when all hope seemed lost, the forest was illuminated by a flashlight.

“Who’s there?” I questioned as if I could have done anything to defend myself.

“It’s me, Annie,” proclaimed the voice.

“Oh, Ms. Crawshire! I’ve never been more happy to hear your voice!”

I was so happy I almost forgot about the crazed lunatic following me.

The old woman helped me to her car with a swiftness like no other. “You’re fired, by the way!” I whispered.

“Shut your trap, young man!” was her reply. We laughed all the way home.

Thanks For Helping Me Edit Mom!