“THE SMALL ASSASSIN” a Terrifying Story by RAY BRADBURY | #MidnightInTheMacabre

WEBVTT
1
00:00:03.990 --> 00:00:08.550
Welcome, weirdos. I'm Darren Marlar. You've stepped into the horror
2
00:00:08.609 --> 00:00:13.390
fiction side of Weird Darkness. And it happens to be midnight.
3
00:00:14.529 --> 00:00:27.480
In the macabre. Just when the idea occurred to her
4
00:00:27.539 --> 00:00:31.140
that she was being murdered, she could not tell. There
5
00:00:31.160 --> 00:00:35.329
had been little subtle signs. little suspicions for the past month.
6
00:00:35.969 --> 00:00:38.869
Things as deep as sea tides in her, like looking
7
00:00:38.929 --> 00:00:42.320
at a perfectly calm stretch of tropic water, wanting to
8
00:00:42.380 --> 00:00:45.200
bathe in it and finding, just as the tide takes
9
00:00:45.240 --> 00:00:54.119
your body, that monsters dwell just under the surface. Things unseen, bloated, many-armed, sharp-finned,
10
00:00:54.299 --> 00:00:59.280
malignant and inescapable. A room floated around her in an
11
00:00:59.340 --> 00:01:03.710
effluvium of hysteria, Sharp instruments hovered, and there were voices
12
00:01:03.789 --> 00:01:07.790
and people in sterile white masks. My name, she thought,
13
00:01:07.930 --> 00:01:12.170
what is it? Alice Lieber. It came to her. David
14
00:01:12.230 --> 00:01:16.209
Lieber's wife. But it gave her no comfort. She was
15
00:01:16.269 --> 00:01:19.890
alone with these silent, whispering white people, and there was
16
00:01:19.950 --> 00:01:24.480
great pain and nausea and death fear in her. I'm
17
00:01:24.519 --> 00:01:28.060
being murdered before their eyes. These doctors, these nurses don't
18
00:01:28.099 --> 00:01:31.969
realize what hidden thing has happened to me. David doesn't know.
19
00:01:32.409 --> 00:01:36.769
Nobody knows except me and the killer, the little murderer,
20
00:01:36.829 --> 00:01:41.500
the small assassin. I am dying and I can't tell
21
00:01:41.540 --> 00:01:44.900
them now. They'd laugh and call me one in delirium.
22
00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:48.709
They'll see the murderer and hold him and never think
23
00:01:48.750 --> 00:01:52.010
him responsible for my death. But here I am in
24
00:01:52.090 --> 00:01:55.579
front of God and man, dying. no one to believe
25
00:01:55.640 --> 00:01:58.939
my story, everyone to doubt me, comfort me with lies,
26
00:01:59.379 --> 00:02:03.180
bury me in ignorance, mourn me, and salvage my destroyer.
27
00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:08.080
Where is David? she wondered. In the waiting room, smoking
28
00:02:08.280 --> 00:02:11.469
one cigarette after another, listening to the long tickings of
29
00:02:11.490 --> 00:02:15.610
the very slow clock? Sweat exploded from all of her
30
00:02:15.650 --> 00:02:20.039
body at once, and with it an agonized cry. Now, now,
31
00:02:20.340 --> 00:02:23.409
try and kill me, she screamed. Try, try, but I
32
00:02:23.490 --> 00:02:28.949
won't die, I won't. There was a hollowness, a vacuum.
33
00:02:29.590 --> 00:02:34.870
Suddenly the pain fell away. Exhaustion and dusk came around.
34
00:02:36.270 --> 00:02:40.669
It was over. Oh, God. She plummeted down and struck
35
00:02:40.710 --> 00:02:45.180
a black nothingness, which gave way to nothingness, and nothingness,
36
00:02:45.939 --> 00:02:56.830
and another, and still another. Footsteps. Gentle, approaching footsteps. Far away,
37
00:02:56.849 --> 00:03:01.729
a voice said, She's asleep. Don't disturb her. An odor
38
00:03:01.770 --> 00:03:07.319
of tweeds. A pipe. A certain shaving lotion. David was
39
00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:11.699
standing over her, and beyond him, the immaculate smell of Dr. Jeffers.
40
00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:16.599
She did not open her eyes. I'm awake, she said quietly.
41
00:03:17.539 --> 00:03:20.080
It was a surprise, a relief to be able to speak.
42
00:03:20.599 --> 00:03:25.659
to not be dead. Alice, someone said. And it was David,
43
00:03:25.780 --> 00:03:30.000
beyond her closed eyes, holding her tired hands. Would you
44
00:03:30.039 --> 00:03:33.340
like to meet the murderer, David? she thought. I hear
45
00:03:33.379 --> 00:03:36.099
your voice asking to see him, so there's nothing but
46
00:03:36.159 --> 00:03:39.590
for me to point him out to you. David stood
47
00:03:39.650 --> 00:03:43.349
over her. She opened her eyes. The room came into focus.
48
00:03:44.330 --> 00:03:48.150
Moving a weak hand, she pulled aside a coverlet. The
49
00:03:48.189 --> 00:03:52.009
murderer looked up at David Lieber with a small, red-faced,
50
00:03:52.289 --> 00:03:58.340
blue-eyed calm. Its eyes were deep and sparkling. Why? cried
51
00:03:58.379 --> 00:04:09.550
David Lieber, smiling. He's a fine baby. Dr. Jeffers was
52
00:04:09.610 --> 00:04:11.770
waiting for David Lieber the day he came to take
53
00:04:11.810 --> 00:04:15.389
his wife and new child home. He motioned Lieber to
54
00:04:15.430 --> 00:04:18.529
a chair in his office, gave him a cigar, lit
55
00:04:18.649 --> 00:04:21.069
one for himself, and sat on the edge of his desk,
56
00:04:21.490 --> 00:04:25.209
puffing solemnly for a long moment. Then he cleared his throat,
57
00:04:25.670 --> 00:04:28.589
looked David Lieber straight on, and said,' Your wife doesn't
58
00:04:28.649 --> 00:04:33.029
like her child, Dave.'' What?'' It' s been a hard thing
59
00:04:33.069 --> 00:04:35.639
for her. She'll need a lot of love this next year.'
60
00:04:36.470 --> 00:04:38.829
I didn't say much at the time, but she was
61
00:04:38.870 --> 00:04:42.550
hysterical in the delivery room. The strange things she said,
62
00:04:42.870 --> 00:04:45.790
I won't repeat them. All I'll say is that she
63
00:04:45.889 --> 00:04:50.019
feels alien to the child.' Now, this may simply be
64
00:04:50.120 --> 00:04:52.519
a thing we can clear up with one or two questions.
65
00:04:53.620 --> 00:04:56.980
He sucked in his cigar another moment, then said, Is
66
00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:01.589
this child a wanted child, Dave? Why do you ask?
67
00:05:02.170 --> 00:05:06.610
It's vital. Yes, yes, it is a wanted child. We
68
00:05:06.649 --> 00:05:11.389
planned it together. Alice was so happy a year ago when... Hmm,
69
00:05:11.670 --> 00:05:15.879
that makes it more difficult... Because if the child was unplanned,
70
00:05:15.980 --> 00:05:17.980
it would be a simple case of a woman hating
71
00:05:18.040 --> 00:05:23.610
the idea of motherhood. That doesn't fit Alice. Dr. Jeffers
72
00:05:23.629 --> 00:05:26.449
took his cigar from his lips, rubbed his hand across
73
00:05:26.490 --> 00:05:30.689
his jaw. It must be something else, then. Perhaps something
74
00:05:30.810 --> 00:05:34.310
buried in her childhood that's coming out now. Or it
75
00:05:34.329 --> 00:05:37.449
might be the simple temporary doubt and distrust of any
76
00:05:37.509 --> 00:05:40.699
mother who's gone through the unusual pain and near-death that
77
00:05:40.879 --> 00:05:45.319
Alice has. If so, then a little time should heal that.
78
00:05:46.170 --> 00:05:48.430
I thought I'd tell you, though, Dave. It'll help you
79
00:05:48.470 --> 00:05:52.790
be easy and tolerant with her if she says anything about, well,
80
00:05:52.949 --> 00:05:56.009
about wishing the child had been born dead. And if
81
00:05:56.050 --> 00:05:58.889
things don't go well, the three of you drop in
82
00:05:58.990 --> 00:06:02.560
on me. I'm always glad to see old friends, eh? Here,
83
00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:08.620
take another cigar along for, uh, for the baby. It
84
00:06:08.660 --> 00:06:12.519
was a bright spring afternoon. Their car hummed along wide,
85
00:06:12.660 --> 00:06:19.430
tree-lined boulevards. Blue sky. Flowers. A warm wind. David talked
86
00:06:19.689 --> 00:06:24.870
a lot, lit his cigar, talked some more. Alice answered directly, softly,
87
00:06:25.410 --> 00:06:28.850
relaxing a bit more as the trip progressed. But she
88
00:06:28.889 --> 00:06:32.449
held the baby not tightly or warmly or motherly enough
89
00:06:32.490 --> 00:06:36.730
to satisfy the queer ache in Dave's mind. She seemed
90
00:06:36.870 --> 00:06:41.769
to be merely carrying a porcelain figurine, Well, he said
91
00:06:41.810 --> 00:06:46.329
at last, smiling, what'll we name him? Alice Lever watched
92
00:06:46.410 --> 00:06:50.269
green trees slide by. Let's not decide yet. I'd rather
93
00:06:50.329 --> 00:06:52.660
wait until we get an exceptional name for him. Don't
94
00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:56.399
blow smoke in his face. Her sentences ran together with
95
00:06:56.519 --> 00:07:00.540
no change of tone. The last statement held no motherly reproof,
96
00:07:00.899 --> 00:07:04.439
no interest, no irritation. She just mouthed it and it
97
00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:10.350
was said. The husband, disquieted, dropped the cigar from the window. Sorry,
98
00:07:10.689 --> 00:07:14.060
he said. The baby rested in the crook of his
99
00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:17.680
mother's arm, shadows of sun and tree changing his face.
100
00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:22.980
His blue eyes opened like fresh, blue spring flowers. Moist
101
00:07:23.079 --> 00:07:28.240
noises came from the tiny, pink, elastic mouth. Alice gave
102
00:07:28.279 --> 00:07:31.540
her baby a quick glance. Her husband felt her shiver
103
00:07:31.579 --> 00:07:36.819
against him. Cold? he asked. A chill. Better raise the window, David.
104
00:07:38.490 --> 00:07:41.589
It was more than a chill. He rolled the window
105
00:07:41.970 --> 00:07:56.680
slowly up. SUPPERTIME David brought the child from the nursery,
106
00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:00.540
propped him at a tiny, bewildered angle supported by many
107
00:08:00.620 --> 00:08:04.500
pillows and a newly purchased high chair. Alice watched her
108
00:08:04.600 --> 00:08:08.899
knife and fork move. HE'S NOT HIGH CHAIR SIZE, SHE SAID.
109
00:08:09.930 --> 00:08:14.209
FUN HAVING HIM HERE ANYWAY, SAID DAVE, FEELING FINE. EVERYTHING'S FUN.
110
00:08:14.610 --> 00:08:17.529
AT THE OFFICE, TOO. ORDERS UP TO MY NOSE. IF
111
00:08:17.589 --> 00:08:21.269
I DON'T WATCH MYSELF, I'LL MAKE ANOTHER FIFTEEN THOUSAND THIS YEAR. HEY,
112
00:08:21.470 --> 00:08:24.180
LOOK A JUNIOR, WILL YA? DROOL IT ALL DOWN HIS CHIN.
113
00:08:25.079 --> 00:08:27.360
HE REACHED OVER TO WIPE THE BABY'S MOUTH WITH HIS NAPKIN.
114
00:08:27.899 --> 00:08:30.100
FROM THE CORNER OF HIS EYE, HE REALIZED THAT ALICE
115
00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:34.360
WASN'T EVEN WATCHING. HE FINISHED THE JOB. I GUESS IT
116
00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:37.389
WASN'T VERY INTERESTING. he said, back again at his food.
117
00:08:37.929 --> 00:08:39.840
But one would think a mother would take some interest
118
00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:44.039
in her own child. Alice jerked her chin up. Don't
119
00:08:44.139 --> 00:08:46.879
speak that way, not in front of him. Later, if
120
00:08:46.919 --> 00:08:51.899
you must. Later, he cried. In front of, in back of,
121
00:08:52.259 --> 00:08:59.240
what's the difference? He quieted suddenly, swallowed, was sorry. All right, okay,
122
00:08:59.799 --> 00:09:03.279
I know how it is. After dinner, she let him
123
00:09:03.320 --> 00:09:06.940
carry the baby upstairs. She didn't tell him to, she
124
00:09:07.320 --> 00:09:11.179
let him. Coming down, he found her standing by the radio,
125
00:09:11.490 --> 00:09:15.210
listening to music she didn't hear. Her eyes were closed,
126
00:09:15.509 --> 00:09:20.389
her whole attitude one of wondering, self-questioning. She started when
127
00:09:20.409 --> 00:09:24.789
he appeared. Suddenly, she was at him, against him, soft, quick,
128
00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:29.240
the same. Her lips found him, kept him. He was stunned.
129
00:09:29.940 --> 00:09:33.100
Now that the baby was gone, upstairs, out of the room...
130
00:09:33.490 --> 00:09:36.730
She began to breathe again, live again. She was free.
131
00:09:37.350 --> 00:09:41.429
She was whispering rapidly, endlessly. Thank you, thank you, darling,
132
00:09:41.450 --> 00:09:45.759
for being yourself, always, dependable, so very dependable. He had
133
00:09:45.779 --> 00:09:51.419
to laugh. My father told me, son, provide for your family. Wearily,
134
00:09:51.480 --> 00:09:54.990
she rested her dark, shining hair against his neck. You've
135
00:09:55.049 --> 00:09:57.330
overdone it. Sometimes I wish we were just the way
136
00:09:57.370 --> 00:10:01.039
we were when we were first married. No responsibility nothing
137
00:10:01.100 --> 00:10:07.190
but ourselves, no... no babies. She crushed his hand in hers,
138
00:10:07.429 --> 00:10:11.470
a supernatural whiteness in her face. Oh, Dave, once it
139
00:10:11.509 --> 00:10:13.750
was just you and me. We protected each other, and
140
00:10:13.809 --> 00:10:17.200
now we protect the baby, but get no protection from it.
141
00:10:17.720 --> 00:10:20.600
Do you understand? Lying in a hospital, I had time
142
00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:23.950
to think of a lot of things. The world is evil.
143
00:10:25.029 --> 00:10:28.870
Is it? Yes, it is. But laws protect us from it.
144
00:10:29.529 --> 00:10:32.549
And when there aren't laws, then love does the protecting.
145
00:10:33.309 --> 00:10:36.289
You're protected from my hurting you by my love. You're
146
00:10:36.309 --> 00:10:39.370
vulnerable to me, of all people, but love shields you.
147
00:10:40.149 --> 00:10:42.909
I feel no fear of you because love cushions all
148
00:10:42.970 --> 00:10:48.919
your irritations, unnatural instincts, hatreds, and immaturities. But What about
149
00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:52.659
the baby? It's too young to know love, or a
150
00:10:52.759 --> 00:10:56.100
law of love, or anything until we teach it. And
151
00:10:56.139 --> 00:11:01.500
in the meantime, be vulnerable to it. Vulnerable to a baby?
152
00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:05.429
He held her away and laughed gently. Does a baby
153
00:11:05.490 --> 00:11:09.889
know the difference between right and wrong, she asked. No,
154
00:11:10.090 --> 00:11:14.250
but it'll learn. But a baby is so new, so amoral,
155
00:11:14.370 --> 00:11:19.450
so conscience-free. She stopped. Her arms dropped from him and
156
00:11:19.470 --> 00:11:24.019
she turned swiftly. That noise! What was it? Lieber looked
157
00:11:24.059 --> 00:11:27.879
around the room. I didn't hear... She stared at the
158
00:11:27.899 --> 00:11:33.350
library door. In there, she said, slowly. Lieber crossed the room,
159
00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:36.610
opened the door and switched the library lights on and off.
160
00:11:37.789 --> 00:11:41.950
Not a thing. He came back to her. You're worn out.
161
00:11:42.350 --> 00:11:46.860
To bed with you, right now. Turning out the lights together,
162
00:11:47.019 --> 00:11:50.970
they walked slowly up the soundless hall stairs, not speaking.
163
00:11:51.750 --> 00:11:56.149
At the top, she apologized.' My wild talk, darling. Forgive me.
164
00:11:56.470 --> 00:12:03.289
I'm exhausted.' He understood and said so. She paused, undecided,
165
00:12:03.509 --> 00:12:07.500
by the nursery door. Then she fingered the brass knob sharply,
166
00:12:08.179 --> 00:12:12.240
walked in. He watched her approach the crib much too carefully.
167
00:12:12.799 --> 00:12:15.240
look down, and stiffen as if she'd been struck in
168
00:12:15.259 --> 00:12:20.350
the face.' David!' Lieber stepped forward, reaching the crib. The
169
00:12:20.389 --> 00:12:23.429
baby's face was bright red and very moist. His small
170
00:12:23.490 --> 00:12:27.350
pink mouth opened and shut, opened and shut. His eyes
171
00:12:27.389 --> 00:12:31.879
were a fiery blue. His hands leapt about on the air.' Oh,'
172
00:12:31.750 --> 00:12:36.639
said Dave,' he' s just been crying.'' Has he?' Alice Lieber
173
00:12:36.700 --> 00:12:39.990
seized the crib railing to balance herself.' I didn't hear him.'
174
00:12:40.580 --> 00:12:43.820
The door was closed. Is that why he breathes so hard?
175
00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:48.509
Why his face is red? Sure, poor little guy, crying
176
00:12:48.590 --> 00:12:50.669
all alone in the dark. He could sleep in our
177
00:12:50.710 --> 00:12:54.169
room tonight, just in case he cries. You'll spoil him,
178
00:12:54.649 --> 00:12:58.610
his wife said. Lieber felt her eyes follow as he
179
00:12:58.690 --> 00:13:02.639
rolled the crib into their bedroom. He undressed silently, sat
180
00:13:02.679 --> 00:13:05.080
on the edge of the bed. Suddenly he lifted his head,
181
00:13:05.620 --> 00:13:09.120
swore under his breath, snapped his fingers. Damn it, forgot
182
00:13:09.159 --> 00:13:13.059
to tell you, I must fly to Chicago Friday. Oh, David.
183
00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:16.679
Her voice was lost in the room. I've put this
184
00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:19.320
trip off for two months, and now it's so critical
185
00:13:19.379 --> 00:13:22.419
I just have to go. I'm afraid to be alone.
186
00:13:23.240 --> 00:13:25.600
We'll have the new cook by Friday. She'll be here
187
00:13:25.659 --> 00:13:27.639
all the time. I'll only be gone a few days.
188
00:13:28.590 --> 00:13:31.809
I'm afraid. I don't know of what. You wouldn't believe
189
00:13:31.850 --> 00:13:35.929
me if I told you. I guess I'm crazy. He
190
00:13:35.970 --> 00:13:39.570
was in bed now. She darkened the room. He heard
191
00:13:39.610 --> 00:13:42.440
her walk around the bed, throw back the cover. slide
192
00:13:42.519 --> 00:13:46.019
in he smelled the warm woman smell of her next
193
00:13:46.039 --> 00:13:48.679
to him he said if you want me to wait
194
00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:53.039
a few days perhaps i could no she said unconvinced
195
00:13:53.779 --> 00:13:57.289
you go i know it's important it's just that i
196
00:13:57.490 --> 00:14:01.210
keep thinking about what i told you laws and love
197
00:14:01.269 --> 00:14:05.149
and protection love protects you from me but the baby
198
00:14:06.250 --> 00:14:09.409
she took a breath what protects you from him david
199
00:14:11.750 --> 00:14:14.169
Before he could answer, before he could tell her how
200
00:14:14.330 --> 00:14:18.289
silly it was, speaking so of infants, she switched on
201
00:14:18.350 --> 00:14:22.850
the bed light abruptly. Look, she said, pointing. The baby
202
00:14:22.909 --> 00:14:26.100
lay wide awake in its crib, staring straight at him
203
00:14:26.129 --> 00:14:30.360
with deep, sharp, blue eyes. The lights went out again.
204
00:14:31.059 --> 00:14:34.200
She trembled against him. It's not nice being afraid of
205
00:14:34.220 --> 00:14:39.659
the thing you birthed. Her whisper lowered, became harsh, fierce, swift.
206
00:14:40.279 --> 00:14:43.730
He tried to kill me. He lies there, listens to
207
00:14:43.789 --> 00:14:45.909
us talking, waiting for you to go away so we
208
00:14:45.929 --> 00:14:49.370
can try to kill me again. I swear it! Sobs
209
00:14:49.610 --> 00:14:54.279
broke from her. Please, he kept saying, soothing her. Stop it.
210
00:14:54.950 --> 00:14:59.220
Stop it, please. She cried in the dark for a
211
00:14:59.259 --> 00:15:05.059
long time. Very late, she relaxed, shakingly against him. Her
212
00:15:05.080 --> 00:15:11.059
breathing came soft, warm, regular. Her body twitched its worn reflexes.
213
00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:16.879
and she slept. He drowsed. And just before his eyes
214
00:15:16.980 --> 00:15:20.730
lidded warily down, sinking him into deeper and yet deeper tides,
215
00:15:21.389 --> 00:15:24.990
he heard a strange little sound of awareness and awakeness
216
00:15:25.149 --> 00:15:30.669
in the room. The sound of small, moist, pinkly elastic lips.
217
00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:41.559
The baby. And then, sleep. In the morning, the sun blazed.
218
00:15:42.460 --> 00:15:47.440
Alice smiled. David Lieber dangled his watch over the crib. See, baby?
219
00:15:47.779 --> 00:15:53.279
Something bright, something pretty. Sure, sure, something bright, something pretty.
220
00:15:54.519 --> 00:15:57.879
Alice smiled. She told him to go ahead, fly to Chicago.
221
00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:00.940
She'd be very brave, no need to worry. She'd take
222
00:16:00.980 --> 00:16:03.149
care of the baby. Oh, yes, she'd take care of
223
00:16:03.159 --> 00:16:05.730
the baby. Oh, yes, she'd take care of him, all right.
224
00:16:07.250 --> 00:16:10.190
The airplane went east. There was a lot of sky,
225
00:16:10.529 --> 00:16:13.490
a lot of sun and clouds, and Chicago running over
226
00:16:13.529 --> 00:16:20.460
the horizon. Dave was dropped into the rush of ordering, planning, banqueting, telephoning, arguing,
227
00:16:20.500 --> 00:16:23.580
and conference. But he wrote letters each day and sent
228
00:16:23.620 --> 00:16:27.419
telegrams to Alice and the baby. On the evening of
229
00:16:27.460 --> 00:16:30.679
his sixth day away from home, he received the long-distance
230
00:16:30.720 --> 00:16:37.649
phone call. Los Angeles. Alice? No, Dave, this is Jeffers speaking. Doctor? Doctor?
231
00:16:38.379 --> 00:16:42.039
Hold on to yourself, son. Alice is sick. You better
232
00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:45.019
get the next plane home. It's pneumonia. I'll do everything
233
00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:47.779
I can, boy. If only it wasn't so soon after
234
00:16:47.820 --> 00:16:52.759
the baby. She needs strength. Lieber dropped the phone into
235
00:16:52.820 --> 00:16:55.220
its cradle. He got up with no feet under him
236
00:16:55.259 --> 00:16:58.419
and no hands and no body. The hotel room blurred
237
00:16:58.610 --> 00:17:02.309
and fell apart. Alice, he said blindly, starting for the door.
238
00:17:05.130 --> 00:17:10.240
The propellers spun about, whirled, fluttered. stopped. Time and space
239
00:17:10.299 --> 00:17:14.240
were put behind. Under his hand, David felt the doorknob turn.
240
00:17:14.660 --> 00:17:18.200
Under his feet, the floor assumed reality. Around him flowed
241
00:17:18.220 --> 00:17:21.680
the walls of a bedroom, and in the late afternoon sunlight, Dr.
242
00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:25.220
Jeffers stood, turning from a window as Alice lay waiting
243
00:17:25.240 --> 00:17:28.440
in her bed, something carved from a fall of winter snow.
244
00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:34.740
Then Dr. Jeffers was talking, talking continuously, gently, the sound
245
00:17:34.859 --> 00:17:38.880
rising and falling through the lamplight, A soft flutter, a
246
00:17:38.920 --> 00:17:42.619
white murmur of voice. Your wife's too good a mother, Dave.
247
00:17:42.920 --> 00:17:47.539
She worried more about the baby than herself. Somewhere in
248
00:17:47.559 --> 00:17:51.079
the paleness of Alice's face, there was a sudden constriction
249
00:17:51.180 --> 00:17:56.960
which smoothed itself out before it was realized. Then, slowly, half-smiling,
250
00:17:57.420 --> 00:18:00.059
she began to talk. And she talked as a mother
251
00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:04.440
should about this, that, and the other thing. The telling detail.
252
00:18:05.049 --> 00:18:08.950
the minute-by-minute and hour-by-hour report of a mother concerned with
253
00:18:08.970 --> 00:18:12.250
the dollhouse world and the miniature life of that world.
254
00:18:13.190 --> 00:18:15.970
But she could not stop. The spring was wound tight,
255
00:18:16.269 --> 00:18:19.349
and her voice rushed on to anger, fear, and the
256
00:18:19.470 --> 00:18:23.910
faintest touch of revulsion, which did not change Dr. Jeffers' expression,
257
00:18:24.329 --> 00:18:26.990
but caused Dave's heart to match the rhythm of this
258
00:18:27.059 --> 00:18:30.920
talk that quickened and could not stop. The baby wouldn't sleep.
259
00:18:31.299 --> 00:18:33.740
I thought he was sick. He just lay, staring in
260
00:18:33.779 --> 00:18:35.980
his crib, and late at night he'd cry. So loud
261
00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:37.980
he'd cry, and he'd cry all night and all night.
262
00:18:38.039 --> 00:18:41.769
I couldn't quiet him. I couldn't rest. Dr. Jeffers' head
263
00:18:41.869 --> 00:18:47.509
nodded slowly. Slowly. Tired herself right into pneumonia. But she's
264
00:18:47.569 --> 00:18:50.109
full of sulfon now, and on the safe side of
265
00:18:50.130 --> 00:18:55.390
the whole damn thing. Dave felt ill. The baby. What
266
00:18:55.430 --> 00:18:59.710
about the baby? But it's a fiddle. Cock of the walk. Thanks, doctor.
267
00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:04.349
The doctor walked off away and down the stairs, opened
268
00:19:04.430 --> 00:19:09.569
the front door faintly, and was gone. David! He turned
269
00:19:09.650 --> 00:19:13.349
to her frightened whisper. It was the baby again. She
270
00:19:13.410 --> 00:19:15.809
clutched his hand. I try to lie to myself and
271
00:19:15.849 --> 00:19:18.170
say that I'm a fool, but the baby knew I
272
00:19:18.210 --> 00:19:21.029
was weak from the hospital, so he cried all night,
273
00:19:21.349 --> 00:19:24.839
every night, and when he wasn't crying, he'd be much
274
00:19:24.920 --> 00:19:27.079
too quiet. I knew if I switched on the light,
275
00:19:27.119 --> 00:19:31.170
he'd be there, staring up at me. David felt his
276
00:19:31.210 --> 00:19:34.589
body close in on itself like a fist. He remembered
277
00:19:34.670 --> 00:19:38.099
seeing the baby, feeling the baby awake in the dark,
278
00:19:38.759 --> 00:19:42.319
awake very late at night when babies should be asleep,
279
00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:48.150
awake and lying there, silent as thought, not crying but
280
00:19:48.250 --> 00:19:52.319
watching from its crib. He thrust the thought aside. It
281
00:19:52.339 --> 00:19:56.220
was insane. Alice went on. I was going to kill
282
00:19:56.240 --> 00:19:59.509
the baby. Yes, I was. Whether you'd been gone only
283
00:19:59.569 --> 00:20:01.809
a day on your trip, I went to his room
284
00:20:01.950 --> 00:20:04.210
and put my hands about his neck and I stood
285
00:20:04.250 --> 00:20:08.339
there for a long time thinking, afraid, Then I put
286
00:20:08.359 --> 00:20:10.640
the covers up over his face and turned him over
287
00:20:10.700 --> 00:20:13.160
on his face and pressed him down and left him
288
00:20:13.200 --> 00:20:16.180
that way and ran out of the room. He tried
289
00:20:16.220 --> 00:20:19.609
to stop her.' No, let me finish,' she said, hoarsely,
290
00:20:19.829 --> 00:20:22.569
looking at the wall. When I left his room, I thought,'
291
00:20:22.210 --> 00:20:26.470
It' s simple. Babies smother every day. No one will ever know.
292
00:20:26.769 --> 00:20:29.240
But when I came back to see him dead, David,
293
00:20:29.940 --> 00:20:33.000
he was alive. Yes, alive. Turned over on his back.
294
00:20:33.299 --> 00:20:37.059
Alive and smiling and breathing.' and I couldn't touch him
295
00:20:37.099 --> 00:20:39.359
again after that. I left him there, and I didn't
296
00:20:39.400 --> 00:20:41.980
come back, not to feed him or look at him
297
00:20:42.119 --> 00:20:45.680
or do anything. Perhaps the cook tended to him. I
298
00:20:45.720 --> 00:20:48.569
don't know. All I know is that his crying kept
299
00:20:48.589 --> 00:20:51.650
me awake, and I thought all through the night and
300
00:20:51.690 --> 00:20:55.710
walked around the rooms, and now I'm sick. She was
301
00:20:55.750 --> 00:20:58.880
almost finished now. The baby lies there and thinks of
302
00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:02.420
ways to kill me. Simple ways. Because he knows I
303
00:21:02.480 --> 00:21:05.819
know so much about him. I have no love for him.
304
00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:10.160
There's no protection between us. There never will be. She
305
00:21:10.200 --> 00:21:13.910
was through. She collapsed inward on herself and finally slept.
306
00:21:15.029 --> 00:21:17.950
David Lieber stood for a long time over her, not
307
00:21:18.109 --> 00:21:21.390
able to move. His blood was frozen in his body.
308
00:21:22.029 --> 00:21:30.019
Not a cell stirred anywhere. Anywhere at all. The next morning,
309
00:21:30.200 --> 00:21:33.029
there was only one thing to do. He did it.
310
00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:36.660
He walked into Dr. Jeffers' office and told him the
311
00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:40.880
whole thing and listened to Jeffers' tolerant replies. Let's take
312
00:21:40.900 --> 00:21:44.309
this slowly, son. It's quite natural for mothers to hate
313
00:21:44.349 --> 00:21:48.089
their children. Sometimes. We have a label for it. Ambivalence.
314
00:21:48.609 --> 00:21:53.609
The ability to hate while loving. Lovers hate each other frequently.
315
00:21:53.849 --> 00:21:58.930
Children detest their mothers. Lieber interrupted. I never hated my mother.
316
00:21:59.509 --> 00:22:03.150
You won't admit it, naturally. People don't enjoy admitting hatred
317
00:22:03.190 --> 00:22:08.430
for their loved ones. So, Alice hates her baby? Better
318
00:22:08.490 --> 00:22:12.069
say she has an obsession. She's gone a step further
319
00:22:12.109 --> 00:22:16.970
than plain, ordinary ambivalence. A cesarean operation brought the child
320
00:22:17.049 --> 00:22:19.630
into the world and almost took Alice out of it.
321
00:22:20.210 --> 00:22:22.880
She blames the child for her near-death and her pneumonia.
322
00:22:23.660 --> 00:22:27.420
She's protecting her troubles, blaming them on the handiest object
323
00:22:27.480 --> 00:22:30.480
she can use as a source of blame. We all
324
00:22:30.519 --> 00:22:33.509
do it. We stumble into a chair and curse the furniture,
325
00:22:33.910 --> 00:22:36.849
not our own clumsiness. We miss a golf stroke and
326
00:22:36.990 --> 00:22:40.250
damn the turf or our club, or the make of ball.
327
00:22:40.869 --> 00:22:43.549
If our business fails, we blame the gods, the weather,
328
00:22:43.809 --> 00:22:46.670
our luck. All I can tell you is what I
329
00:22:46.710 --> 00:22:50.769
told you before. Love her. Finest medicine in the world.
330
00:22:51.170 --> 00:22:54.450
Find little ways of showing your affection. Give her security.
331
00:22:55.049 --> 00:22:57.910
Find ways of showing her how harmless and innocent the
332
00:22:57.950 --> 00:23:01.079
child is. Make her feel that the baby was worth
333
00:23:01.160 --> 00:23:04.819
the risk. After a while, she'll settle down, forget about death,
334
00:23:04.920 --> 00:23:07.640
and begin to love the child. If she doesn't come
335
00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:10.839
around in the next month or so, ask me. I'll
336
00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:14.750
recommend a good psychiatrist. Go on along now and take
337
00:23:14.789 --> 00:23:22.859
that look off your face. When summer came, things seemed
338
00:23:22.960 --> 00:23:28.339
to settle, become easier. Dave worked, immersed himself in office detail,
339
00:23:28.359 --> 00:23:31.440
but found much time for his wife. She, in turn,
340
00:23:31.640 --> 00:23:36.309
took long walks, gained strength, played an occasional light game
341
00:23:36.349 --> 00:23:40.190
of badminton. She rarely burst out anymore. She seemed to
342
00:23:40.250 --> 00:23:44.970
have rid herself of her fears. Except on one certain midnight,
343
00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:49.680
when a sudden summer wind swept around the house, warm
344
00:23:49.920 --> 00:23:54.140
and swift, shaking the trees like so many shining tambourines.
345
00:23:55.480 --> 00:23:59.109
Alice wakened, trembling, and slid over into her husband's arms
346
00:23:59.549 --> 00:24:01.990
and let him console her and ask her what was wrong.
347
00:24:02.730 --> 00:24:07.309
She said, Something's here in the room, watching us. He
348
00:24:07.349 --> 00:24:11.799
switched on the light. Dreaming again, he said. You're better, though.
349
00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:16.180
Haven't been troubled for a long time. She sighed as
350
00:24:16.220 --> 00:24:19.319
he clicked off the light again, and suddenly she slept.
351
00:24:20.279 --> 00:24:23.960
He held her considering what a sweet, weird creature she
352
00:24:24.019 --> 00:24:27.180
was for about half an hour. He heard the bedroom
353
00:24:27.220 --> 00:24:30.839
door sway open a few inches. There was nobody at
354
00:24:30.859 --> 00:24:34.180
the door. No reason for it to come open. The
355
00:24:34.220 --> 00:24:39.089
wind had died. He waited. It seemed like an hour
356
00:24:39.210 --> 00:24:44.490
he lay silently in the dark. Then, far away, wailing
357
00:24:44.569 --> 00:24:47.970
like some small meteor dying in a vast, inky gulf
358
00:24:48.009 --> 00:24:51.569
of space... the baby began to cry in his nursery.
359
00:24:52.589 --> 00:24:55.309
It was a small, lonely sound in the middle of
360
00:24:55.349 --> 00:24:58.109
the stars and the dark and the breathing of this
361
00:24:58.230 --> 00:25:00.690
woman in his arms and the wind beginning to sweep
362
00:25:00.730 --> 00:25:05.119
through the trees again. Lieber counted to one hundred, slowly.
363
00:25:06.119 --> 00:25:11.279
The crying continued. Carefully disengaging Alice's arm, he slipped from bed,
364
00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:15.440
put on his slippers, robe, and moved quietly from the room.
365
00:25:16.460 --> 00:25:19.799
He'd go downstairs, he thought.' Fix some warm milk, bring
366
00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:23.339
it up, and—' The blackness dropped out from under him.
367
00:25:23.640 --> 00:25:27.509
His foot slipped and plunged, slipped on something soft, plunged
368
00:25:27.750 --> 00:25:30.789
into nothingness. He thrust his hands out, caught frantically at
369
00:25:30.809 --> 00:25:34.789
the railing. His body stopped falling. He held. He cursed.
370
00:25:35.470 --> 00:25:38.970
The something soft that caused his feet to slip rustled
371
00:25:39.039 --> 00:25:42.440
and thumped down a few steps. His head rang. His
372
00:25:42.480 --> 00:25:44.940
heart hammered at the base of his throat, thick and
373
00:25:45.059 --> 00:25:48.769
shot with pain. Why do careless people leave things strewn
374
00:25:48.809 --> 00:25:52.029
about a house? He groped carefully with his fingers for
375
00:25:52.049 --> 00:25:55.069
the object that had almost spilled him headlong down the stairs.
376
00:25:56.349 --> 00:26:00.630
His hand froze, startled. His breath went in. His heart
377
00:26:00.869 --> 00:26:03.809
held one or two beats. The thing he held in
378
00:26:03.849 --> 00:26:09.569
his hand was a toy. A large, cumbersome, patchwork doll
379
00:26:09.690 --> 00:26:14.730
he had bought as a joke for... for the baby.
380
00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:25.599
Alice drove him to work the next day. She slowed
381
00:26:25.619 --> 00:26:29.029
the car halfway downtown, pulled to the curb, and stopped it.
382
00:26:29.759 --> 00:26:32.200
Then she turned on the seat and looked at her husband.
383
00:26:33.799 --> 00:26:36.140
I want to go away on a vacation. I don't
384
00:26:36.180 --> 00:26:38.059
know if you can make it now, darling, but if not,
385
00:26:38.279 --> 00:26:41.720
please let me go alone. We can get someone to
386
00:26:41.789 --> 00:26:44.509
take care of the baby, I'm sure, but I just
387
00:26:44.690 --> 00:26:47.490
have to get away. I thought I was growing out
388
00:26:47.549 --> 00:26:52.660
of this feeling, but I haven't. I can't stand being
389
00:26:52.680 --> 00:26:54.819
in the room with him. He looks up at me
390
00:26:54.880 --> 00:26:57.740
as if he hates me, too. I can't put my
391
00:26:57.859 --> 00:26:59.599
finger on it. All I know is I want to
392
00:26:59.640 --> 00:27:04.230
get away before something happens. He got out on his
393
00:27:04.269 --> 00:27:07.029
side of the car, came around, motioned for her to
394
00:27:07.069 --> 00:27:10.109
move over, got in. The only thing you're going to
395
00:27:10.150 --> 00:27:13.170
do is see a good psychiatrist, and if he suggests
396
00:27:13.190 --> 00:27:17.490
a vacation, well, okay, but this can't go on. My
397
00:27:17.509 --> 00:27:21.480
stomach's in knots all the time. He started the car.
398
00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:26.369
I'll drive the rest of the way. Her head was down.
399
00:27:26.930 --> 00:27:30.329
She was trying to keep back tears. She looked up
400
00:27:30.390 --> 00:27:34.529
when they reached his office building. All right, make the appointment.
401
00:27:34.710 --> 00:27:38.289
I'll go talk to anyone you want, David. He kissed her.
402
00:27:39.009 --> 00:27:42.339
Now you're talking sense, lady. Think you can drive home okay?
403
00:27:43.640 --> 00:27:47.400
Of course, silly. See you at supper, then. Drive carefully.
404
00:27:48.059 --> 00:27:52.039
Don't I always? Bye. Bye. He stood on the curb,
405
00:27:52.380 --> 00:27:55.900
watching her drive off, the wind taking hold of her long, dark,
406
00:27:55.980 --> 00:28:01.009
shining hair. Upstairs, a minute later, he phoned Jeffers and
407
00:28:01.049 --> 00:28:05.950
arranged an appointment with a reliable neuropsychiatrist. The day's work
408
00:28:06.009 --> 00:28:09.450
went uneasily. Things fogged over, and in the fog he
409
00:28:09.470 --> 00:28:13.119
kept seeing Alice lost and calling his name. So much
410
00:28:13.160 --> 00:28:15.519
of her fear had come over to him. She actually
411
00:28:15.579 --> 00:28:18.460
had him convinced that the child was in some ways
412
00:28:18.660 --> 00:28:24.430
not quite natural. He dictated long, uninspired letters. He checked
413
00:28:24.490 --> 00:28:29.029
some shipments downstairs. Assistance had to be questioned, and kept going.
414
00:28:30.069 --> 00:28:32.029
At the end of the day, he was exhausted, his
415
00:28:32.089 --> 00:28:34.890
head throbbed, and he was very glad to go home.
416
00:28:36.420 --> 00:28:39.039
On the way down in the elevator, he wondered, What
417
00:28:39.079 --> 00:28:42.799
if I told Alice about the toy, that patchwork doll
418
00:28:42.900 --> 00:28:46.920
I slipped on, on the stairs last night? Lord, wouldn't
419
00:28:47.029 --> 00:28:50.730
that back her off! No, I won't ever tell her.
420
00:28:51.130 --> 00:28:56.920
Accidents are, after all, accidents. Daylight lingered in the sky
421
00:28:56.980 --> 00:28:59.839
as he drove home in a taxi. In front of
422
00:28:59.880 --> 00:29:02.279
the house, he paid the driver and walked slowly up
423
00:29:02.319 --> 00:29:05.279
the cement walk, enjoying the light that was still in
424
00:29:05.319 --> 00:29:08.509
the sky and the trees. The white colonial front of
425
00:29:08.549 --> 00:29:13.170
the house looked unnaturally silent and uninhabited, and then quietly
426
00:29:13.230 --> 00:29:16.289
he remembered this was Thursday, and he hired help they
427
00:29:16.309 --> 00:29:18.809
were able to obtain from time to time, We're all
428
00:29:18.849 --> 00:29:22.049
gone for the day. He took a deep breath of air.
429
00:29:22.789 --> 00:29:25.720
A bird sang behind the house. Traffic moved on the
430
00:29:25.759 --> 00:29:28.980
boulevard a block away. He twisted the key in the door.
431
00:29:29.740 --> 00:29:34.569
The knob turned under his fingers, oiled, silent. The door opened.
432
00:29:35.170 --> 00:29:37.109
He stepped in, put his hat on the chair with
433
00:29:37.150 --> 00:29:40.400
his briefcase, started to shrug out of his coat. when
434
00:29:40.420 --> 00:29:44.220
he looked up. Late sunlight streamed down the stairwell from
435
00:29:44.240 --> 00:29:46.660
the window near the top of the hall. Where the
436
00:29:46.720 --> 00:29:49.279
sunlight touched, it took on the brilliant color of the
437
00:29:49.319 --> 00:29:53.119
patchwork doll sprawled at the bottom of the stairs. But
438
00:29:53.140 --> 00:29:56.240
he paid no attention to the toy. He could only
439
00:29:56.309 --> 00:30:00.839
look and not move and look again at Alice. Alice
440
00:30:01.200 --> 00:30:05.380
lay in a broken, grotesque, pallid gesturing and angling of
441
00:30:05.400 --> 00:30:08.400
her thin body at the bottom of the stairs, like
442
00:30:08.460 --> 00:30:11.230
a crumpled doll that doesn't want to play anymore, ever.
443
00:30:12.349 --> 00:30:18.269
Alice was dead. The house remained quiet, except for the
444
00:30:18.309 --> 00:30:22.710
sound of his heart. She was dead. He held her
445
00:30:22.750 --> 00:30:26.569
head in his hands. He felt her fingers. He held
446
00:30:26.609 --> 00:30:29.799
her body, but she wouldn't live. She wouldn't even try
447
00:30:30.039 --> 00:30:33.799
to live. He said her name out loud many times,
448
00:30:34.220 --> 00:30:36.299
and he tried once again by holding her to him
449
00:30:36.700 --> 00:30:39.279
to give her back some of the warmth she had lost.
450
00:30:40.200 --> 00:30:44.279
But that didn't help. He stood up. He must have
451
00:30:44.299 --> 00:30:47.400
made a phone call. He didn't remember. He found himself
452
00:30:47.480 --> 00:30:51.559
suddenly upstairs. He opened the nursery door and walked inside
453
00:30:52.140 --> 00:30:55.740
and stared blankly at the crib. His stomach was sick.
454
00:30:56.480 --> 00:31:00.140
He couldn't see very well. The baby's eyes were closed,
455
00:31:00.200 --> 00:31:03.589
but his face was red, moist with perspiration, as if
456
00:31:03.609 --> 00:31:09.130
he'd been crying long and hard.' She' s dead,' said Liebert
457
00:31:09.150 --> 00:31:14.809
to the baby.' She' s dead.' Then he started laughing, low
458
00:31:15.190 --> 00:31:19.039
and soft and continuously, for a long time, until Dr.
459
00:31:19.079 --> 00:31:21.599
Jeffers walked in out of the night and slapped him
460
00:31:21.640 --> 00:31:24.210
again and again across the face.' Snap out of it!
461
00:31:24.339 --> 00:31:27.869
Pull yourself together!' She fell down the stairs, doctor. She
462
00:31:28.130 --> 00:31:31.069
tripped on a patchwork doll and fell. I almost slipped
463
00:31:31.130 --> 00:31:34.630
on it the other night, myself. And now... The doctor
464
00:31:34.670 --> 00:31:41.059
shook him. Doc! Doc! Doc! said Dave, hazily. Funny thing, funny.
465
00:31:41.900 --> 00:31:45.220
I finally thought of a name for the baby. The
466
00:31:45.240 --> 00:31:48.279
doctor said nothing. Lieber put his head back in his
467
00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:51.269
trembling hands and spoke the words. I'm going to have
468
00:31:51.309 --> 00:31:54.480
him christened next Sunday. Know what name I'm going to
469
00:31:54.500 --> 00:31:58.720
give him? I'm going to call him Lucifer. It was
470
00:31:58.779 --> 00:32:01.920
eleven at night. A lot of strange people had come
471
00:32:01.960 --> 00:32:06.420
and gone through the house, taking the essential flame with them. Alice.
472
00:32:07.960 --> 00:32:10.359
David Lieber sat across from the doctor in the library.
473
00:32:12.140 --> 00:32:16.720
Alice wasn't crazy, he said slowly. She had good reason
474
00:32:17.140 --> 00:32:22.069
to fear the baby. Jeffers exhaled. Don't follow after her.
475
00:32:22.430 --> 00:32:25.109
She blamed the child for her sickness. Now you blame
476
00:32:25.150 --> 00:32:28.470
it for her death. She stumbled on a toy. Remember that.
477
00:32:28.509 --> 00:32:33.259
You can't blame the child. You mean Lucifer? Stop calling
478
00:32:33.299 --> 00:32:37.559
him that. Lieber shook his head. Alice heard things at night,
479
00:32:37.799 --> 00:32:40.019
moving in the halls. You want to know what made
480
00:32:40.039 --> 00:32:43.180
those noises, Doctor? They were made by the baby, four
481
00:32:43.220 --> 00:32:46.019
months old, moving in the dark, listening to us talk,
482
00:32:46.339 --> 00:32:49.460
listening to every word. He held to the sides of
483
00:32:49.480 --> 00:32:52.049
the chair, and if I turned the lights on, a
484
00:32:52.180 --> 00:32:55.809
baby is so small it can hide behind furniture, a door,
485
00:32:55.849 --> 00:32:59.450
against a wall, below eye level.' I want you to
486
00:32:59.529 --> 00:33:03.049
stop this,' said Jeffers.' Let me say what I think,
487
00:33:03.069 --> 00:33:06.430
or I'll go crazy. When I went to Chicago, who
488
00:33:06.470 --> 00:33:10.519
was it kept Alice awake, tiring her into pneumonia? The baby.
489
00:33:10.880 --> 00:33:13.690
And when Alice didn't die, then he tried killing me.'
490
00:33:14.259 --> 00:33:17.160
It was simple. Leave a toy on the stairs. Cry
491
00:33:17.200 --> 00:33:19.380
in the night until your father goes downstairs to fetch
492
00:33:19.400 --> 00:33:24.299
your milk and stumbles. A crude trick, but effective. It
493
00:33:24.319 --> 00:33:28.440
didn't get me, but it killed Alice dead. David Lieber
494
00:33:28.480 --> 00:33:31.460
stopped long enough to light a cigarette. I should have
495
00:33:31.480 --> 00:33:33.829
caught on. I'd turn on the lights in the middle
496
00:33:33.849 --> 00:33:36.569
of the night, many nights, and the baby would be
497
00:33:36.609 --> 00:33:40.190
lying there, eyes wide. Most babies sleep all the time. No,
498
00:33:40.609 --> 00:33:45.250
not this one. He stayed awake, thinking. babies don't think.
499
00:33:45.690 --> 00:33:48.329
He stayed awake, doing whatever he could do with his
500
00:33:48.390 --> 00:33:51.160
brain then. What in hell do we know about a
501
00:33:51.170 --> 00:33:54.720
baby's mind? He had every reason to hate Alice. She
502
00:33:54.759 --> 00:33:58.279
suspected him for what he was. Certainly not a normal child.
503
00:33:58.859 --> 00:34:02.859
Something different. What do you know of babies, Doctor? The
504
00:34:02.900 --> 00:34:06.160
general run, yes. You know, of course, how babies kill
505
00:34:06.180 --> 00:34:09.539
their mothers at birth. Why? Could it be resentment at
506
00:34:09.579 --> 00:34:13.780
being forced into a lousy world like this one? Lieber
507
00:34:13.840 --> 00:34:17.780
leaned toward the doctor tiredly. It all ties up. Suppose
508
00:34:17.800 --> 00:34:20.260
that a few babies out of all the millions born
509
00:34:20.940 --> 00:34:24.719
are instantly able to move, see, hear, think like many
510
00:34:24.820 --> 00:34:28.949
animals and insects can. Insects are born self-sufficient. In a
511
00:34:28.969 --> 00:34:33.170
few weeks, most mammals and birds just. But children, they
512
00:34:33.210 --> 00:34:36.210
take years to speak and learn to stumble around on
513
00:34:36.230 --> 00:34:43.739
their weak legs. But suppose one child in a billion is... is... Strange.
514
00:34:44.320 --> 00:34:48.820
Born perfectly aware, able to think instinctively. Wouldn't it be
515
00:34:48.880 --> 00:34:53.239
a perfect setup, a perfect blind for anything the baby
516
00:34:53.300 --> 00:34:59.090
might want to do? He would pretend to be ordinary, weak, crying, ignorant,
517
00:34:59.320 --> 00:35:02.449
but with just a little expenditure of energy, he could
518
00:35:02.510 --> 00:35:06.179
crawl about a darkened house, listening. And how easy to
519
00:35:06.219 --> 00:35:09.380
place obstacles at the top of the stairs. How easy
520
00:35:09.420 --> 00:35:12.579
to cry all night and tire a mother into pneumonia.
521
00:35:13.440 --> 00:35:16.440
How easy right at birth to be so close to
522
00:35:16.460 --> 00:35:20.650
the mother that a few deft maneuvers might cause peritonitis.
523
00:35:21.369 --> 00:35:24.389
For God's sake, Jeffers was on his feet. That's a
524
00:35:24.449 --> 00:35:28.150
repulsive thing to say. It's a repulsive thing I'm speaking of.
525
00:35:28.829 --> 00:35:31.210
How many mothers have died at the birth of their children, huh?
526
00:35:31.510 --> 00:35:35.130
How many have suckled strange little improbabilities who cause death
527
00:35:35.269 --> 00:35:39.210
one way or another? Strange, red little creatures with brains
528
00:35:39.250 --> 00:35:41.590
that work in a bloody darkness we can't even guess at.
529
00:35:42.320 --> 00:35:47.000
Elemental little brains, warm with racial memory, hatred, and raw cruelty,
530
00:35:47.039 --> 00:35:51.329
and with no more thought than self-preservation. And self-preservation in
531
00:35:51.369 --> 00:35:54.840
this case consisted of eliminating a mother who realized what
532
00:35:54.880 --> 00:35:58.300
a horror she had birthed. I ask you, Doctor, what
533
00:35:58.500 --> 00:36:02.820
is there in the world more selfish than a baby? Nothing!
534
00:36:04.380 --> 00:36:09.099
Jeffers scowled and shook his head helplessly. Lieber dropped his
535
00:36:09.119 --> 00:36:12.500
cigarette down.' I' m not claiming any great strength for the child.
536
00:36:12.820 --> 00:36:15.449
Just enough to crawl around a little, a few months
537
00:36:15.510 --> 00:36:18.070
ahead of schedule. Just enough to listen all the time.
538
00:36:18.570 --> 00:36:22.010
Just enough to cry late at night. That's enough. More
539
00:36:22.110 --> 00:36:26.929
than enough.' Jeffers tried ridicule.' Call it murder, then. But
540
00:36:27.030 --> 00:36:32.420
murder must be motivated.' What motive had the child? Lieber
541
00:36:32.570 --> 00:36:36.090
was ready with the answer. What's more at peace, more
542
00:36:36.449 --> 00:36:41.780
dreamfully content, at ease, at rest, fed, comforted, unbothered than
543
00:36:41.820 --> 00:36:46.389
an unborn child? nothing. It floats in a sleepy, timeless
544
00:36:46.469 --> 00:36:50.039
wonder of nourishment and silence. Then suddenly it's asked to
545
00:36:50.159 --> 00:36:53.900
give up its birth. It's forced to vacate, rushed out
546
00:36:53.940 --> 00:36:57.820
into a noisy, uncaring, selfish world where it is asked
547
00:36:57.900 --> 00:37:01.429
to shift for itself, to hunt, to feed from the hunting,
548
00:37:01.769 --> 00:37:04.429
to seek after a vanishing love that once was its
549
00:37:04.630 --> 00:37:09.110
unquestionable right, to meet confusion instead of inner silence and
550
00:37:09.170 --> 00:37:14.679
conservative slumber. And the child resents it, resents the cold air,
551
00:37:14.920 --> 00:37:18.639
the huge spaces, the sudden departure from familiar things. And
552
00:37:18.659 --> 00:37:21.550
in the tiny filament of brain, the only thing the
553
00:37:21.590 --> 00:37:26.010
child knows is selfishness and hatred because the spell has
554
00:37:26.050 --> 00:37:31.199
been rudely shattered. Who is responsible for this disenchantment, this
555
00:37:31.429 --> 00:37:35.389
rude breaking of the spell? The mother. So here the
556
00:37:35.449 --> 00:37:39.230
new child has someone to hate, with all its unreasoning mind.
557
00:37:39.570 --> 00:37:42.730
The mother has cast it out, rejected it, and the
558
00:37:42.809 --> 00:37:46.090
father is no better. Kill him too, he's responsible in
559
00:37:46.139 --> 00:37:49.719
his way. Jeffers interrupted, if what you say is true,
560
00:37:49.760 --> 00:37:52.179
then every woman in the world would have to look
561
00:37:52.260 --> 00:37:55.139
on her baby as something to dread, something to wonder about.
562
00:37:57.769 --> 00:38:02.530
And why not? Hasn't the child a perfect alibi? A
563
00:38:02.630 --> 00:38:07.469
thousand years of accepted medical belief protects him. By all
564
00:38:07.510 --> 00:38:11.630
natural accounts, he is helpless, not responsible. The child is
565
00:38:11.809 --> 00:38:15.809
born hating, and things grow worse instead of better. At first,
566
00:38:15.849 --> 00:38:18.670
the baby gets a certain amount of attention and mothering,
567
00:38:19.119 --> 00:38:22.940
But then, as time passes, things change. When very new,
568
00:38:23.019 --> 00:38:25.440
a baby has the power to make parents do silly
569
00:38:25.500 --> 00:38:28.780
things when it cries or sneezes, jump when it makes
570
00:38:28.820 --> 00:38:32.159
a noise. As the years pass, the baby feels even
571
00:38:32.219 --> 00:38:37.019
that small power slip rapidly, forever away, never to return.
572
00:38:37.840 --> 00:38:40.360
Why shouldn't it grasp all the power it can have?
573
00:38:40.780 --> 00:38:43.400
Why shouldn't it jockey for position while it has all
574
00:38:43.440 --> 00:38:46.480
the advantages? In later years, it would be too late
575
00:38:46.519 --> 00:38:50.030
to express its hatred. Now would be the time to strike.
576
00:38:51.329 --> 00:38:56.500
Libra's voice was very soft, very slow. My little baby boy,
577
00:38:56.639 --> 00:38:59.780
lying in his crib nights, his face moist and red
578
00:38:59.840 --> 00:39:05.460
and out of breath. From crying? No. From climbing slowly
579
00:39:05.519 --> 00:39:09.639
out of his crib. From crawling long distances through darkened hallways.
580
00:39:09.760 --> 00:39:15.550
My little boy, baby. I want to kill him. The
581
00:39:15.590 --> 00:39:18.460
doctor handed him a water glass and some pills. You're
582
00:39:18.480 --> 00:39:21.289
not killing anyone. You're going to sleep for 24 hours.
583
00:39:21.809 --> 00:39:25.989
Sleep will change your mind. Take this. Lieber drank down
584
00:39:26.030 --> 00:39:29.639
the pills and let himself be led upstairs to his bedroom, crying.
585
00:39:30.150 --> 00:39:33.389
and felt himself being put to bed. The doctor waited
586
00:39:33.449 --> 00:39:38.559
until he was moving deep into sleep, then left the house. Lieber, alone,
587
00:39:39.360 --> 00:39:46.119
drifted down, down. He heard a noise. What's that? he
588
00:39:46.159 --> 00:39:52.199
demanded feebly. Something moved in the hall. David Lieber slept.
589
00:40:01.380 --> 00:40:04.119
Very early the next morning, Dr. Jeffers drove up to
590
00:40:04.139 --> 00:40:06.900
the house. It was a good morning, and he was
591
00:40:06.940 --> 00:40:09.139
here to drive Lieber to the country for a rest.
592
00:40:10.099 --> 00:40:13.659
Lieber would still be asleep upstairs. Jeffers had given him
593
00:40:13.719 --> 00:40:16.840
enough sedative to knock him out for at least 15 hours.
594
00:40:18.199 --> 00:40:22.610
He rang the doorbell. No answer. The servants were probably
595
00:40:22.659 --> 00:40:25.929
not up. Jeffers tried the front door, found it open,
596
00:40:26.389 --> 00:40:29.530
stepped in. He put his medical kit on the nearest chair.
597
00:40:30.670 --> 00:40:32.929
Something white moved out of sight at the top of
598
00:40:32.949 --> 00:40:36.960
the stairs. Just a suggestion of a movement, Jeffers hardly
599
00:40:37.019 --> 00:40:40.500
noticed it. The smell of gas was in the house.
600
00:40:41.679 --> 00:40:46.050
Jeffers ran upstairs, crashed into Lieber's bedroom. Lieber lay motionless
601
00:40:46.090 --> 00:40:48.829
on his bed. and the room billowed with gas, which
602
00:40:48.929 --> 00:40:50.860
hissed from a released jet at the base of the
603
00:40:50.889 --> 00:40:54.320
wall near the door. Jeffers twisted it off, then forced
604
00:40:54.380 --> 00:40:56.639
up all the windows and ran back to Lieber's body.
605
00:40:57.900 --> 00:41:00.820
The body was cold. It had been dead quite a
606
00:41:00.860 --> 00:41:04.860
few hours. Coughing violently, the doctor hurried from the room,
607
00:41:05.239 --> 00:41:09.090
eyes watering. Lieber hadn't turned on the gas himself. He
608
00:41:09.170 --> 00:41:12.610
couldn't have. Those sedatives had knocked him out. He wouldn't
609
00:41:12.650 --> 00:41:18.210
have wakened until noon. It wasn't suicide. Or was there
610
00:41:18.550 --> 00:41:24.829
the faintest possibility? Jeffers stood in the hall for five minutes.
611
00:41:25.730 --> 00:41:28.289
Then he walked to the door of the nursery. It
612
00:41:28.309 --> 00:41:32.309
was shut. He opened it. He walked inside into the crib.
613
00:41:33.230 --> 00:41:37.159
The crib was empty. He stood swaying by the crib
614
00:41:37.360 --> 00:41:40.360
for half a minute. Then he said something to nobody
615
00:41:40.380 --> 00:41:44.639
in particular. The nursery door blew shut. You couldn't get
616
00:41:44.739 --> 00:41:47.980
back into your crib where it was safe. You didn't
617
00:41:48.119 --> 00:41:51.969
plan on the door blowing shut. A little thing like
618
00:41:52.010 --> 00:41:56.250
a slammed door can ruin the best of plans. I'll
619
00:41:56.269 --> 00:41:59.329
find you somewhere in the house, hiding, pretending to be
620
00:41:59.449 --> 00:42:04.079
something you are not. The doctor looked dazed. He put
621
00:42:04.119 --> 00:42:07.059
his hand to his head and smiled palely. Now I
622
00:42:07.099 --> 00:42:10.460
am talking like Alice and David talked, but I can't
623
00:42:10.500 --> 00:42:13.920
take any chances. I'm not sure of anything, but I
624
00:42:14.019 --> 00:42:19.010
can't take any chances. He walked downstairs, opened his medical
625
00:42:19.050 --> 00:42:21.429
bag on the chair, took something out of it and
626
00:42:21.510 --> 00:42:24.570
held it in his hands. Something rustled down the hall,
627
00:42:24.909 --> 00:42:30.570
something very small and very quiet. Jeffers turned rapidly. I
628
00:42:30.610 --> 00:42:33.010
had to operate to bring you into this world, he thought.
629
00:42:33.610 --> 00:42:35.739
Now I guess I can operate to take you out
630
00:42:35.780 --> 00:42:39.639
of it. He took half a dozen slow, sure steps
631
00:42:39.719 --> 00:42:44.420
forward into the hall. He raised his hand into the sunlight. See, baby,
632
00:42:44.780 --> 00:42:55.840
something bright, something pretty. A scalpel. Thanks for joining me.
633
00:42:56.360 --> 00:43:02.829
Find more horror fiction at weirddarkness.com slash midnight. I'm Darren Marlar,
634
00:43:03.530 --> 00:43:06.940
and I hope you'll join me again soon at Midnight
635
00:43:07.920 --> 00:43:08.679
in the Macabre.