By Samuel Encarnacion

Early morning traffic on Boulevard East was calm, which routed cars and pedestrians on the edge of the Palisades cliffs in Weehawken, New Jersey. The cliff overlooked the eastern lower Weehawken streets which laid in front of the Hudson River and the Manhattan skyline beyond it. One way for pedestrians to travel directly up the cliff was through a metal staircase on Pershing Road, which avoided long travel, having to follow the inclined road northbound. Peace broke when a woman was found dead on the staircase.

            Thirty-four year old Jessica Smith was the victim. A Weehawken resident reported that she never showed up to her house all night. Noticeable marks were found around her neck by forensics. The marks were circles left by suction cups from an octopus’ tentacles. Broken neck was ruled as the cause of death.

            A local resident was jogging along the boulevard around midnight when he saw the woman on the staircase. She looked around, stepped up and down the flight of stairs.

            “You need help?”, said the man.

            “I’m coming down, dear.” Jessica ignored the man as she walked down.

            Due to investigation, the staircase was blocked off on both ends. Residents were obligated to take alternative routes to upper Weehawken, much to frustration of people who preferred a quick route up. It didn’t stop Marcus Taylor from climbing up the staircase days later.

            Marcus was a lower Weehawken resident who lived on Port Imperial near Pershing Road. He was a thirty-six year old stock broker at American Financial Co. located in Jersey City’s Exchange Place. He lived with his wife Chelsea, whom he met on his first job on Wall Street across the river. Married for ten years, they were looked at with admiration at the brokerage office for their stable marriage. Chelsea was nicknamed Esme (short for Esmeralda) by their coworkers for her distinctive green eyes.

            For their tenth anniversary, they went to Long Island Hotel & Casino by the LIE’s exit 58.

At the casino, Marcus and Chelsea focused on their game of roulette. Their stack of chips decreased as the game went on until Marcus pile was no more. Chelsea placed her last five chips on the 00 space. Marcus gave her extra money for ten more chips as good luck. The ball landed on the 00. She jumped and embraced Marcus and gave him a big kiss.

            “I love you, honey!” Chelsea went back to kissing Marcus.

The hotel had formal gala night, their wedding song played as they danced. Marcus ordered a big bottle of champagne at the table. Marcus would frequently pour into Chelsea’s glass as in her excitement drank through multiple glasses of champagne until she got intoxicated. Tipsy, he escorted her to their room. She stumbled across the room to the bathroom. As she changed to her night clothes, Marcus gathered a few personal belongings into his backpack. When Chelsea came out, Marcus guided her to bed and kissed her forehead.

            “I love you honey, you’re…you’re best husband. Can’t imagine my…my…life,” Chelsea continued to mumble words until she dozed off completely.

            Marcus danced as he walked out of the hotel. He got on a LIRR train bound to Penn Station, from there he rode the ferry to Weehawken to his apartment. He grabbed contraceptives from the bedside drawer along with Chelsea’s expensive perfume and inserted them into his bag. He ran out to the staircase on Pershing, and called his coworker Maria.

            “Hey, I’m on my way.”

            “What about the wife?”

            “I left her drunk on Long Island. She’ll never suspect that I was gone.”

            “Ouch. The usual staircase on Pershing is blocked to due to investigation. Go the long way. Love you!” Maria hung up.

            Maria worked alongside Marcus and Chelsea at the brokerage firm. She and Chelsea had a rivalry as Maria would try to persuade clients away from Chelsea. She began her secret relationship with Marcus after he sent Chelsea to the spa for her birthday earlier that year.

            Like that will stop me. Marcus uttered in his mind as he saw the barrier and climbed around it. He had a slow pace as he shivered up from the view of the depth below. The phone began to ring, which stopped him to lower the volume. No caller ID or number. Ugh! He declined the call and continued on.

            “Honey, do you love me?”, a voice that resembled Chelsea’s spoke. Marcus turned around. Nobody.

            Again the voice spoke, “You knew I was weak to liquor. You let me be intoxicated and then abandoned me.”

            “Shut up.” Marcus kept climbing.

            “You want to leave me? Come down. Talk to me.”

            Marcus went down a few steps to clear his conscience. As he went, a group of teenagers also found their way around the barrier and were on the staircase. His anger arouse.

            “You think this is funny. I have a date and your messing it up for me.”

            “The hell is your problem. We did nothing.” Marcus gave the teenager the finger. In retaliation, one of the teenagers threw a water bottle at him and soaked his shirt.

            “I’ll call the police.”

            “Says the idiot who is trespassing.” The teenagers walked down grumbling.

            Maria called his phone.

            “What’s taking so long?” She questioned.

            “I heard my wife and came down the stairs, bunch of teenagers hassled me-”

            “Look if you want to run back to those worn out parts, don’t waste my time. Thought you wanted a new experience.”

            Marcus affirmed his decision to meet up with Maria, ran up the stairs. At the top, Marcus took the garbage can that was on the top platform and flipped it upside down to climb over the barrier. He ran across the street into Maria’s house. The door was slightly opened.

            “Maria.” No response.

            He dialed the phone which went to voicemail. Marcus began to climb the stairs towards her room. Midway, he heard Chelsea spoke again. He turned around and she stood in front of him in her night clothing. She had tears in her eyes as she approached Marcus. She planted her face on his chest and guided her hand down his cheek.

            “Don’t do this.”

            She continued her cry on his chest mixed with soft kisses. He grabbed her arms and pushed her backwards down the flight of stairs.

            “I hate you, whore! Go home! I don’t want you.”

            Chelsea got up from the floor.

“You have sealed your fate,” she spoke in a deep voice. Chelsea transformed into humanoid octopus. The octopus was around Marcus height of six feet. The smooth skinned body was entirely red except for the black beak. The eyes were the typical look for an octopus, with a black slit for pupils. The head was bulbous in appearance, while the four limbs had suckers throughout the entire length.

 Marcus tripped on the stairs when his stepped on his other foot as he fled with only on shoe. He entered Maria’s room where Maria was also out of sight. He crawled under the bed as the door was forced open by the creature. It’s right limb grew in length and grabbed Marcus’ leg and dragged him out.

            “That’s how you treat your wife, for a harlot,” the creature spat in Marcus’ upside down face.

            “Where’s Maria? I swear if you touch her-”

            “I did,” in soft whisper.

The creature opened the closet. Maria was tied up with rope like material made from octopus tentacles. She wiggled around in vain to break free.

The creature knocked out both Marcus and Maria with the other tentacle arm. When they awoke, both were tied up on top of the platform on the staircase by the cliff.

“You both aren’t the first ones I caught in adultery.”

“Leave us alone,” Maria said. “You don’t get our human ways.”

“I was once what you are now. Except I know the pain.”

“I made a huge mistake. I will go back to my wife.” Marcus reasoned to the creature in a last ditch effort.

“If you had remorse, you wouldn’t have pushed me down the stairs. Besides, I’ve watched you from these cliffs. How you embraced your wife in public but slept with a harlot in private for months.” the creature wrapped the suckers from his arms around both of their necks.

 “Don’t move or your neck will snap like the last one,” muffled by black ink, they both screamed as the creature pulled the suckers off the necks, leaving red marks all around.

“Hope you don’t mind me borrowing your safe key, Maria. I’ll keep your money for safe keeping.”

The barrier on the top platform was removed and a rock is thrown at the nearby police car on the Boulevard. The creature jumped off the rail and the tentacles ropes dried to the hardness of cheese puffs. The police officer ran to Marcus and Maria and witnessed the couple laid down in undergarments.

Weehawken residents woke to the news of a couple who “committed” sex acts on a crime scene. Residents recognized Marcus who was well known as a happily married man. The American Financial office consoled Chelsea who was abandoned by her unfaithful husband in a Long Island hotel while intoxicated. Maria and Marcus were let go from the company and faced criminal penalties for their trespassing. Their argument that an “octopus” laid them their bound was ignored by the court.

It later be discovered that Jessica Smith the victim found on the stairs, was on her way to cheat on her husband with a Hudson County official.  The staircase became known Adulterer’s Alley. An urban legend spread around that unfaithful people will reap the consequences if they climbed up the stairs. The sucker marks was said to be given the devil to those heinous enough to cheat on their spouse to denote who belonged to him. The more rational answer explained that it was a type of new fashion trend.

One year later, Chelsea arrived at her apartment with shopping bags and her recently newborn child in a child basket. On the floor by the apartment door, laid a box with a note on the lid.

The note read;

Dear Chelsea,

I hope you are holding up after all this time. I’ve enclosed some money to help cover your costs with raising your child. You’ll be a great mother, someone out there will truly love you. I’ve seen your tears, don’t give up hope.

-Your neighbor by the cliff