Hello again. Ruxandra broadcasting.
For part 9, in here https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/wbdlfg/helena_the_clown_part_9/
What in the world is Helena? I do not know. Perhaps I do not need to. Perhaps something is more important.
Yes, Helena was a creature of the night who spread death, blood and terror. A being of whom people whispered, children shared scary stories, mothers scared their children that she will come for them, if they misbehaved. But she was also something else. Sometimes, in certain nights, she entered pubs or restaurants. People fled, of course. Even if they did not believed in here before, I am sure they became believers very fast. This first contact filled the place with panic, sometimes mutilations occur. But it seems this situations rarely ended up in deaths. If the bartender or, sometimes, the cook, fled, she tried to get them back. Even the folk music players (the lăutari) who, back then, also played even new folk music, fused between traditional local folk and new, western genre. She asked some shot of tzuika or pălinca shots (the stronger alcoholic drinks in Romania), asked the lăutari to sing and play, she just sit at the table, enjoying the shot, slowing. She asked even for chill songs. And, she killed. If this does not sound so human, I do not know what else would.
Perhaps she felt alone. She probably was. Jameson and Laie were probably not too pleasant to hang on with. Some psychologists say that women, when they no chance to communicate their feelings, they drink. I have experienced it myself. She seemed human when she did all that. Perhaps she would have liked to just be a mortal. And just hang out with someone. Perhaps someone to love or care for her was too much. But someone at least to talk to and listen. From time to time. But, when you are a monster people are scared of, people shall see only what is monster in you, not what is human. And you shall be alone. I need to admit, there were times when she killed people at restaurants and pubs, on purpose. Then she sit and drink. But is is possible there was a commanded mission or some of her bursts, then she wanted to kill. But people did not knew what she was up to, when they so her.
On the other clowns, seen in the later period, not much is known. They both like and unlike Helena. Perhaps Jameson created them to replace Laie, or the please her, or a combination of both. Zerva, then blonde one, was seen sometimes at night on her own, she had some strange scream that killed people and made them flee. I guess she looked very ghost-like. She did not seem to get engaged into conversations, but she also did little heinous things. Indeed, like a ghost, she brought fear more then actual harm. There was Gâlmă, who was also seen, at some nights entering pubs and, after some violence, he drank tzuika or pălinca as well. But much more then Helena. He often left the pub and cause some destruction on his own. Not much and messy. When he killed and mutilated, he also seemed to be far more messy than Helena. But this lasted a little while. One night was about to end all. Not just Helena„s reign of terror in the nights of Bucharest, but her mere presence as well.
To understand what happened that night, I need to say there were some claims that Helena, after an incident in Gara de Nord (the North Train Station of Bucharest, the largest in the city and in the whole country, even today) of violence, was seen in the railways workshops of Grivița, north of the Basarab train station, that was north of the the North Train Station. In 1933 a strike at the workshop ended up in massacre performed by the police. A far more famous act then what I shall share today. But Helena and Gâlmă were seen talking to the workers there. As they were seen talking to the workers who earned their living on the factories of Obor, the Mask Factory and the Pump Factory. As well as they were seen talking to the workers on the Tonola Construction material factory in Colentina, that was close to the current lair of Helena. I find hard to understand how they managed to talked to those mortal humans, but it seems something happened.
At the crossroad between the highways of Ștefan cel Mare and Dorobanți, two of the major boulevard in Bucharest, where now there a demolished empty spot, there used to be a restaurant named Roata Lumii, meaning the ”Wheel of the World”. It represented the stages of human life, from birth to death, in its decorations. It also had tables outside, traditional folk music, barbecue and the summer sky. Colentina was not very far, Gara de Nord was also somewhat close.
One summer night, some police officials came there, for a late dinner. Dirty police officials. But guess what? Helena showed up. Before they managed to get their guns, Helena grabbed one of them, then managed to use him as a hostage and human shield against the other. Panic took over the place, as she broke the legs of the hostage and used him to block the door. Some other police official fired several bullets, missed Helena, or perhaps she was hit, but was not vulnerable. It seems she started using her power of creating ”ghost objects” and throwing them at the targets. She got her hand on the gun of the fallen and shot the second one in the shoulder. She took his gun, then know him down. The third one was a little harder to catch. He fled to the kitchen door, there he fired his gun, missing the target. Helena shot him in the shoulder as well, then took his gun. Something strange was feeling in the air, people who were inside were not able to explain to clear what was it.
She made sure the legs of all three were broken, then she started to drag them, one by one, into the kitchen, where there were sausages frying and a great cauldron of beans boiling. She took one of them and forced his face into the boiling cauldron, making him inspire boiling hot beans. On the second one, she poured hot oil from a frying pan. For the third, she took the hot sausages (It seems she protected her hands using some gloves different from the ones she had usually.) beat him up with them. Then she strangled all the three with hot sausages. All this happened very fast. The cook was blocked inside the kitchen, she asked him to slice the dead and cook them. While this was happening, she took a few shots of pălinca. She stood waiting for a few minutes, thinking. Probably she got an idea, as she exited in the yard, then returned in. She asked the cook about some residents living close to the restaurant.
After a while, after she ate some of the fried flesh of the victims, she exited the restaurant and entered the streets in the north of restaurant. That area was pretty bad area back then, not as bad as in the beginning of the XXth century, but pretty bad still. She entered two house, killed two known brigands from the area, and she came to the streets, holding the severed head of one of them in her hand and shouting to people to come out, that she has a proposition for them that they will like. Most people stayed indoors, fearing the monster they knew too well, some already saw in the past at Roata Lumii.
”I just got rid of the three scum from the police. Then I got rid of those two who forced in fear to stay in your houses, who took your money just to make you feel safe. You know that police does not care, that police protects them. From this night on, your streets will be safer. But only for a little while, others like take their place. You know why? Because you are weak. You are afraid of them. You are not united. I have a proposition for you. Give the names and the addresses of all other like them from around here. Come on, I am listening. They can not harm me, you know I am a strong witch, who can do many things. Some you never dreamed off. So, come out and say. I promise you that, if you do this and do not misbehave, you shall not be harmed. This is your chance.” She kept on talking. Unlike her old habits and unlike the Helena I met. Slowly, a few people come out and talked to her. They took her to certain house, where she broke in and killed swiftly some people. She started talking again: ”You, I keep my promise. Come with me, all of you, at Roata Lumii. And call others.”
Helena returned to Roata Lumii, some people with her. There were two police cars parked, and policemen were standing at the gates of Roata Lumii. They pointed their guns at her. She looked condescending at them and said: ”You know very well you can not take me down. I see you shaking. So, I tell what: Surrender your guns to us and leave. I shall let you go. Stay out of our way. Perhaps you have families at home and it does not worth it.” The policemen kept pointing their guns at the defiant Helena. She kept doing some weird gestures with her hands at her pelvic region, similar to those she did on the circus arena, back in the day. One policeman snapped and fired his gun. Almost immediately, with one hand she threw a ”ghost object” that made the bullet fly up. With the other, she threw another one at one of the cars, this one being pretty large, the top of one of the police cars crashed and flattened , with a bang. Policemen panicked, dropped their guns and fled towards Ștefan cel Mare. Helena picked them up, and went inside Roata Lumii. Scared people around her starting to obey her orders. She ordered some carriages to be filled with hot food, a barrel of hot beer, a cauldron with hot beans and one with hot oil. She made one phone call inside the restaurant, then she gathered the people outside the gate. She started to be surrounded by a gentle, grey mist. I guess she learned some things from Jameson or this came innate from her.
”People”, she started talking,”we are going to Mahalaua Dracului (In Romanian the Devil„s Ghetto, a small area that was considered, perhaps, the worst in Bucharest, between what is now the boulevard of Nicolae Titulescu, the Banu Manta and Dr. Felix streets. An area filled with violent criminal activity, where there was an ”university” of crime. Brigands, robbers and murderers from there went to other parts of Bucharest to do their wicked deeds. Now the area is pretty safe.) We shall clean it. Does any of you know how to drive a car?” Two people came out. ”You shall drive this car. The rest shall take the carriages.” People executed. As Helena went to drive the carriage where the barrel and the cauldrons were placed, she shouted: ”Get ready. We shall have great fun tonight”.
I think I can understand somewhat of why Helena did that she did that night. After all I so. What I have shared so far was just the start of a night unlike any other in Helena„s life, both as a human or as a creature of the night. After coming resting from last meeting with Helena, the one with father George, I have started to put information together concerning that night that started at Roata Lumi. I have decided to pay a visit to Martha, to help me put the pieces together. Since that long day I have talked to her, I still called her several times, to help me with the information I had from other source, to piece them together. So I decided to pay her a visit, to talk to her about all the things I have discovered since. I have parked my car close to her house, but I so a group of gangster like men talking. One of them was the father of the boy who stole my phone yesterday. They were talking loudly, the father seemed angry. It appears that the boy, named Damian was abducted. The man got into some conflict a local organized crime clan called Rumegush and, especially, their leader, known as Cougar. The same morning happened. The police was out of the question, the clan had big connections with the upper parts of the police. And those people solve their problems in different ways. The father said that he knows Rumegush started a new activity, that belonged to other clans in the past, meaning abducting children for organ trafficking.
For him, it felt hopeless. And for me. I was thinking of children like Damian. Romani children, but not only Romani, some Romanian as well. They were born in families where the best thing in life meant to become a gangster, being a normal citizen was unthinkable, their childhood stolen from the start. No chance for a normal life. A child should play, should learn, not steal phones. And, it seems Damian would have no chance of life at all. Helena had no chance at all as well. Nobody came for her and Alexandra. But, perhaps, for Damian someone will come. My first though was to go to those people and talk to them. But I felt afraid, these kind of people are dangerous, especially in groups and when they are angry. Perhaps I had to go to them and talk, but I did not. Coward, perhaps? But I had I idea. I knew who I could try to talk.
I had just found out that morning that Marcel was not just awake at the hospital, but he seemed to be able to talk. A coworker from the TV network told me. I have decided to talk to him. I would be difficult to enter that section of the hospital, but I think I can manage. I got in my car and went there. I have talked to some friend who knew someone from the hospital, they allowed me, I do not know how legally it was, but I have entered. Of course, I wore some protection clothes, it was a place where hygiene was important, surgeries etc . Marcel seemed to be sleeping. He looked bad, really bad. A broken man. I touched him gently on shoulder. He opened his eyes.
”Hello, my name is (censored), from the (censored) TV network. I have heard you were awake.” He replied with a tired voice: ”Someone from there already came some hours ago. I am tired.” ”I know and I am sorry.” I replied, ”But we need to talk. Do you know the family who lives at the (censored address), they have a boy called Damian.” ”Yes, I do, not very well.” ”Rumegush took the boy. For organ trafficking. Orders of the Cougar. Tell what you now.” He looked at me with partially closed eyes: ”I do not know. I do not remember, I want to sleep.” So, I said, whispering at his ear: ”Tell me, or else, the woman in black shall come for you.” He looked at me with a scared face. He trembled a bit. He looked into my eyes and he could not shake of fear.” ”No, ma„am, please do not let her come for me. I tell you.” ”Go on.” ”Cougar started the business about a month ago. The Cement clan was brought down when Cougar managed to kill many of them. They had this in their hands, and Cougar took it. I do not know where they are, but I think I would the most probable location. The old pipe factory, at Electronicii Highway (An industrial street just back of Obor, with many old factories, many decommissioned or about to be decommissioned. Some already demolished to make room for other things, like office buildings. In there is also a railway, mostly abandoned now, a leftover of the line that served the Obor market and fair, the Assan Mill Factory from Lizeanu, connecting East Train Station, that is build between Obor and Pantelimon, to Pipera being, actually, the line of the ghost train of Lizeanu) is where they stored drugs. And prisoners. For a few days. It it is easy to spot, it has some tall, highway-like lampposts, each of them with tree lamps. That is all I know, I swear”.
”I believe you. Chill down, please. Yet, I would like to ask you… How was it? When she grabbed you? When she did those things to you? What did you felt?” Marcel was suprisingly, calm. ”Ma„an, it seems that my life before that was from another century. Like the life of another man. I do not know what she was, she felt like a nightmare, like a curse that came from an old witch. Unforgiving, ruthless, like the Grim Reaper sent for me. Yet, after she broke my arms, in just a few second, even after the blade had already entered my throat, it was like someone whispered to me that, if I chose to change, to become a better man, a different man, she may spear my life. I could not speak, I had no time for it. But I tried to tell her through my eyes. And fast. And hope whoever gave me the though would help me tell her. And it seems that she did get the message. You can say whatever you wish, I know she could have finished me off then. It would have been so easy. But I am sure it was no accident that I am alive. She wanted it.” After a few moments of silence, he continued: ”You know, Damian, would grow up to be like me. Probably worse. But, if someone finds him, if he managed to get out alive, please talk to him. Make him understand. There is another way then our own. Another life. God gave me a new chance. I did not deserved it. Please, I hope there is still time.”
I looked at him amazed. Something powerful is at work in all this. Someone powerful. Who works in a very discrete way, but visible for those who are willing to see. I felt something telling to my heart that, although we do not know that everything will be ok, there is a clear chance in all this. That I have to go on and fight. That I will get help. I thanked Marcel and leaved.
I went to the next police station I could find. I told them what I knew about what happened with Damian, I told me them about the abandoned factory from Electronicii (not the from whom and from where). The police officer was somewhat rude, he kept on going that, if the family does not file a missing person report, they can not do anything. I was quite sure he was lying. I left the police station in anger. Talked to Adrian on the phone, I have called father George for advice as well. Both of them told they shall help me. We need to do what it was needed on our own. Somehow. There were little chances of anything. Then I have noticed it was getting dark. And I had an idea.
I went back to the Maica Domnului area. Straight to the lair of Helena. It was already dark, but I knocked heavily on the door. ”Helena, I know you are there. I know. Please come out.” I stayed there for about half an hour, some people came out to see the noise, but none of them had the courage to get involved. I seemed mad to them, I guess. I was mad, that is clear. I kept knocking until the light went out and the gate opened.
Helena stood there. Like I knew her. She looked surprised. Those eyes pierced me. ”Hello, Helena.” I started. My tone was quite aggressive. I was clear out of mind, talking like that to a powerful monster. ”I do not care if you hurt me. I do not care if you kill me. I need your help. A little boy from nearby was taken. To be slashed for his organs. I shall not lie to you. He is a child from a family of criminals, like the ones I know you despise and to clean the city, the country of. He stole my phone yesterday, but I got it back. He would probably grow up to be a criminal, worse then his parents. But now, his life would be taken away from. Like your life and the life of Alexandra was taken from you.” I looked her in the eyes and waited for a reaction. She stared at me. So I continued: ”You, back in the day, when you were doing all the things you were famous and feared for, you have got your back covered. Jameson had it. Only in last night was gone. Until then you were even allowed to be some sort of justice warrior of your own, but you have got your back covered. But guess what? No it seems you not have it anymore. Neither have I, of course. I know where the boy probably is. I shall go there tonight and try to save him. Who knows, perhaps he shall end up a good man, in the end, if he is saved. I shall go for him. They may kill me there. You may kill me. I do not care. I know what I have to do.” She stood silent.
I have opened Google Maps and found the factory. ”See it, in here? Back in Electronicii. The old pipe factory. I know you know it. Here is the map. The police refuses to help. I am going in there. Do you come with me or not?” She stood still, looking at me.
Then it struck me. What was I doing? Like a veil of fury that blocked my judgment was taken from my eyes. I was in front of the monster who promised to finish me off. I started to tremble, my human nature reacted to what I know it is natural: Humans are suppose to run from beings like this. We can not even stand their presence. She is undead and from the dark. As seconds passed, my heart keep seeing all of this so clear. And with each second, it was her was gaining control on me over my own fear. I saw the monster more and clear, as it became more and clear that, by confronting the monster, I have just signed my death sentence. Just now. The boy will also be gone because of me, due to the fact that I am here. Those eyes, those dead eyes, where so much cruelty and death resided… Just like in nightmares where I saw her. Her mere silence became harder and harder to bear, and it felt like the undead being will turn me dead the more I listened to the silence.
But then a gentle thought came to me. No, it did not take away all that just came to me. They were still there. Just like a faint, sweet whisper in mind. I looked at the monster and said in a gentle, benevolent tone: ”But you know what you can do? You could save a life. You took so many lives, you can save one. And this I dare to tell you: Not only it will ease your heart. But it will warm it up. Heal it. Perhaps this is hard for you, but I promise you will bring a peace that right now you can not even dare to hope at.” Then I reached for her gloved hand. At first, the instinct took over: I felt dead, strong, and ruthless. But I took in my both hands, knowing she may just break them in one second and I have continued: ”Nobody came for you, when they did that to you. Think about it that there is a chance for you to there for someone in a similar situation. And believe me when I tell you: I believe in you!” I stared into the abyss in her eyes. And kept my temper, not loose, like before. I smiled. Both things were the in me: the giant fear and something else. Something so fine, and yet so strong, who kept the fear in check. As a part of me saw the monster more clearly and felt the fear stronger, another was more at peace and wanted to stay longer in this state.
But the child needed to be saved. So I said to her: ”Will you come with me?” No reply. I sobbed, I have slowly let go of her hand and said: ”If you will not come with me now, I shall go now. I shall try to save Damian. He might not even there, but I need to try.” I went to my car, then turned my back to look at the gate. She was still there, silent. ”You know, you cam come later, if you change your mind. I believe in you.” And I have smiled again. Then entered the car and went off. No way back now.
The story continues in here https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/whyoux/helena_the_clown_part_11/
Ruxandra out.