Caged Light

by Tom Howard

  “Yeah,” Mrs. Clare chimed back in. “and he didn’t like that too much, so he put his gun on Wyatt’s back. As Wyatt set his glass down, I heard him say ‘I guess it’s the hard way then.’. As quick as lightning, he turned around, and with one hit from his elbow, knocked him out. Thankfully, Wyatt caught me before I fell.”

  “Sounds like a real-life hero.” Michelle smiled, looking at Wyatt who was blankly staring into space, recalling events.

  “Far from it.” He replied in his usual low tones. “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

  “I don’t believe in coincidence, Mr. Cage.” Mrs. Clare said as she stood upright. “You were here because God put you here. There’s more going on than meets the eye, things we can’t see. A war is being waged between Heaven and hell, with angels and demons all around us, fighting for our souls, and influencing our decisions. The funny thing is we hear them all the time and most people don’t even realize it. I believe it was God who guided you in here because he knew you could help us.”

  Wyatt sat there for a moment trying to soak in what was just said. Ever since he began coming to the diner, Mrs. Clare was like his own personal, walking Bible, always trying to save his soul. However, with his past, Wyatt often wondered if there really was a God.

  “Mrs. Clare, you have a phone call.” One of the waiters yelled from the other end of the bar.

  As she walked away, Michelle nudged Wyatt, and motioned toward a vacant booth close to the front window.

  “So, do you have any family around? Anyone I can take you to?” Wyatt asked as they sat down.

  Michelle thought about it for a minute, trying to recall any part of her life, but kept coming up short. “Not that I know of.”

  “Huh…let’s do this, we’ll start with what you do remember.”

  Michelle turned her attention to the dark of the night being gently pushed away by the light hanging just above their table. She felt somehow connected to it, as though she were empty, hollow, and devoid of life, just like the blackness beyond the glass. As she began to get lost in the thick of it, headlights of a car passing by lit up a tree across the road. Her eyes shifted up to it and she caught sight of a branch which frightened her. In it she saw what appeared to be a gangly looking arm and hand. Michelle gasped as a sudden flash of a memory trickled through her mind like embers of a flame, floating into the wind.

  “What is it?” Wyatt asked with concern ringing in his voice.

  Michelle shook her head, trying to gather herself. “Um…” She began, unsure what to make of the images. “I’m not sure. I remember being in some kind of fight. I was surrounded by these…things.”

  “Things?” Wyatt’s interest was piqued.

  “They looked like men, but...I can’t see them clearly, I can’t be sure what or who they were. The next thing I know, I’m waking up in a giant hole in the ground.”

  “Sounds like possible gang activity.” Wyatt said as he raised his long neck for a sip. “I’ll check with a couple of my sources and see what I can find out. But in the meantime, you’re going to need a place to lay low because if whoever did this realizes you’re still alive, they’re going to come back to finish the job.”

  “What do you suggest?”

  “I know a place, it’s a little out of the way, but you’ll be safe there.” Wyatt assured her, however, all of the assurance in the world couldn’t calm her nerves about whom she could trust.

  The bell over the entrance rang as a man who looked like a mechanic walked in. Thankfully the diner wasn’t a fancy one, seeing as though he looked like he’d come straight from working on a dirty exhaust system. Wyatt didn’t give the man a second thought, only watched as he crossed the room to take a seat at the bar. The room was mostly quiet, so any conversation, unless talking low, was easy to hear, and the man was anything but quiet.

  “Do you know what’s going on over in the Morison field? Cops are everywhere.” The man asked as he plopped onto his stool.

  Michelle’s ears perked up as a look of concern overcame her. Wyatt glanced above his bottle toward the bar, and they were both on pins and needles as they listened closely.

  “Can’t say as I’ve heard anything yet, Kyle.” Mrs. Clare replied as she gave Kyle a basket of chips and a soda. There was a slight level of annoyance in her voice, as if Kyle pedaled one too many stories in her place for her liking.

  “Well, from what I’ve heard, there’s a giant hole in the middle of the field. I couldn’t get close enough to see what caused it, but do you want to know my theory?” Mrs. Clare rolled her eyes loud enough for the entire diner to hear, then leaned on the counter with a look that read ‘here we go again’. “Aliens.” Mrs. Clare nearly burst out laughing, it’s a good thing she wasn’t drinking at the time, it would have surely shot across the room, which is pretty good distance through the nose. Kyle was known for wild conjectures, and aside from his theory of a grave being empty because a zombie was walking around town looking for brains to eat, this one was quite interesting. “No, seriously, you’ve heard how aliens make signs in fields, maybe this one crashed and the cops are there to cover it up. This could be the start of an invasion.”

  “Well if E.T. shows up, make sure to tell him how good our burgers are, we could use some more fresh faces around here.” Mrs. Clare jokingly mocked. She was a down to earth kind of woman, who believed the only thing in the sky which couldn’t be seen was Heaven.

  Wyatt leaned on the table, and with a raised brow of wonder, looked Michelle dead in the eye.

  “Hey, I may not remember much about who I am, but I do know I’m not an alien.” Michelle whispered.

  “You can never be too careful.” Wyatt said with a smirk and a wink.

  Michelle smiled as she gently shook her head. The two finished their dinner then headed out to the car. However, just as Michelle climbed inside, something caught Wyatt’s attention. As he stood there, looking over the top of his car, across the road stood a man dressed all in black wearing a black trench coat, gazing back at Wyatt. The longer he stood there, the more Wyatt felt an icy chill running down his spine. The man said not a word, only continued his stare. His eyes were cold, as if there wasn’t a shred of goodness in his soul. Wyatt felt a sense of urgency telling him to leave as quickly as possible, knowing there was something purely evil about the man standing across from him, however, his legs wouldn’t move. It was as though he were paralyzed, as if somehow their gaze locked him to the ground. Suddenly he heard a long drawn out whisper in his ear, “I will find her”. Wyatt’s eyes opened slightly, then he watched as the man vanished behind a speeding car.

  “Wyatt.” He heard an angelic voice call to him. “Wyatt.” He felt a hand on his shoulder and sharply turned to see Michelle standing next to him. “You ok?”

  Wyatt stood there for a few seconds trying to get his head on straight. Glancing back across the road, he found no one there. “Yeah,” he replied “just thought I saw something, that’s all. Come on, let’s go.” Wyatt wasted no time getting out of there. He hoped whatever happened back there was just a onetime thing, however, an unexplainable feeling told him it was only the beginning.

  As they were on their way to the hotel a storm crept in as if from nowhere. Clouds covered the moon, nearly blocking out all light for miles around. If it weren’t for headlights and the flashes of lightning, they wouldn’t have been able to see at all. Wyatt and Michelle were suddenly overcome with an eerie feeling as fog slowly began to roll across the road, and as they made their way through town, the light from the street lamps were nearly blocked out. Wyatt couldn’t remember the last time he drove through pea soup; the fog was so thick he wondered if even a saw would cut through it.

  Cautiously, Wyatt drove through the stormy night, finally arriving at the hotel. He glanced over at Michelle and caught a bewildered look on her face as she looked the building over.

  “This isn’t what I expected when you said ‘hotel’, it looks like four houses stacked one on top
of the other.”

  “Believe me, it’s better than any other place you could hope to stay. Each floor has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, a full-size kitchen, and a screened in sun porch with a Jacuzzi.” Wyatt replied as he parked the car. They weren’t far from the front door, so they made a dash for it, trying to not get wet, their efforts failed as they walked inside nearly drenched.

  “How did you find this place?” Michelle wondered as she took off her jacket.

  “I grew up with the guy who owns it.” Wyatt leaned on the desk and was about to ring the bell, when a man came walking around the corner.

  “Can I help…” He stopped as soon as he caught sight of Wyatt. “Hey man, what’s going on? He smiled as they shook hands.

  “Ah, you know, the usual, knocking heads around and helping out friends. Speaking of which, what’s with the Billy-club flashlight?”

  “The power went out a little while ago, so I had to go check the breakers and power up the generators. Dang storms do this all of the time.”

  “You know, you could get a head-lamp and have both hands free to work.”

  “Yeah, but then I wouldn’t have anything to kill the rats with.” Wyatt just grinned and shook his head. “And who is this lovely lady?”

  “I’m Michelle, it’s nice to meet you, Mr…”

  “Just call me Scott.” He replied as he shook her hand.

  “She’s the friend I’m helping out, she needs a place to crash for a few nights.”

  “Well, pick your floor, we’ve been a little slow lately.” Scott wasn’t happy about that fact, normally, he was booked solid throughout the year, having to turn people away or set their reservation a year in advance.

  A sound caught Wyatt’s ear. Someone was coming toward them, and fast. They all turned around just in time to hear…“Uncle Wyatt!” Scott’s five-year-old son, Logan, ran straight to Wyatt and was instantly picked up.

  “Hey sport! How have you been?” Wyatt was happy to see his little buddy. No matter what was going on, since Wyatt didn’t have kids of his own, seeing that little face always cheered him up.

  “Good.”

  “Yeah? Have you been doing that thing I showed you to drive your daddy crazy?”

  “Uh-huh.” Logan nodded.

  “Yeah, and Amanda was ready to kill you for suggesting the plastic wrap on the toilet seat, especially when she sat down and pee went all over the floor.”

  Wyatt chuckled. “Hey man, just because I suggested it didn’t mean you had to do it.” He knelt down with Logan. “Hey bud, why don’t you take my friend Michelle and show her the fireplace you and your dad built in the dining room? I have to talk to your dad about something.”

  “Ok.” Logan took Michelle by the hand and off they went.

  Once they were out of ear shot, Scott looked suspicious as he turned to Wyatt. “So, what’s really going on? Scott knew something was up since the moment Wyatt first walked in with Michelle. He knew they weren’t having a one nighter, after all, Wyatt had his own place for that kind of thing. “You don’t normally show up out of the blue like this, not since Damon…”

  “Yeah, I know, and I wouldn’t have come if I had another choice, but this is the safest place I know of where Michelle wouldn’t be alone while I check a few things out. Besides, I wasn’t followed, I wouldn’t put your family in danger like that, not again. I’ll admit, it was reckless the first time, I’m just thankful we got to Amanda in time…”

  Scott held up his hand to cut Wyatt off. “I forgave you a long time ago, if I hadn’t, I would’ve shot you on your way in. So, what’s the story with Michelle?”

  “A mysterious one. She showed up out of nowhere and can’t remember a thing about her past. But, from what I can tell, someone knocked her around and left her for dead. I just need a place she can lay low until I can figure out what’s going on.”

  “No problem. You got any leads yet?”

  “I’m going to run her picture through a couple databases and see what turns up.”

  “Uncle Wyatt!” Logan came bolting in with Michelle lagging behind, wearing a smile. “She liked the fireplace!”

  “That’s awesome, sport. I told you you did a great job helping your dad. Hey, can you do another favor for me and take care of Michelle until I get back? I have to go do some police work.”

  “Yep.” That seemed to keep the little guy’s spirits high.

  “Thanks bud.” Wyatt stood up and turned to Michelle. “Alright, let’s get you checked in.” He glanced toward Scott. “Second floor good?”

  “I’d prefer it, I’m painting the kitchen down here.”

  “Thanks man.” Wyatt and Scott shook hands then parted company.

  It didn’t take long for the two to get up to the second story. It wasn’t bad looking, in fact, Scott went to great lengths to make people feel at home.

  “This is a pretty nice set up.” Michelle said as she took a stroll around the suite. “This place seems to have everything.” She found a fully stocked kitchen with food, drinks, appliances, silverware, and dishes. Even the bedroom closets and some drawers were full of dry-cleaned clothes.

  “Yeah, Scott likes to plan ahead and help people who may have forgotten a few things.” Wyatt replied as he stood beside a couple of the windows, in the shadows, to make sure they in fact hadn’t been followed. However, all he could see was a dense fog covering the parking lot, beyond that, he couldn’t even tell if there was a town to be seen.

  “Thank you for being so kind, this night could have been much worse.” Michelle said as she walked back into the living room with Wyatt. “But I have to ask, why are you helping me? You didn’t have to do any of this.”

  Wyatt grinned back at his new friend. “It’s what I do.” Wyatt was mesmerized by her beauty. “Oh, before I forget, here’s my spare phone, my number is already programmed in, just hold down the “9”. If you need anything, call me and I’ll be here.”

  Michelle liked the fact someone cared enough about her to be so kind. “Thank you, I appreciate everything.” She added as she smiled and pushed her hair behind her ear.

  “No problem, I’ll be back in the morning and we’ll take a ride around town to see if anything jogs your memory.” Wyatt could tell as he looked into her eyes, even behind her smile, Michelle was still scared of the unknown world around her. “Hey,” He spoke softly. “you’re going to be ok, I promise. You’re safe here.”

  Michelle’s smile faded as a look of worry overcame her. As she nodded, Wyatt took her in his arms, and for the first time of the night, she truly felt safe.

  The night was still storming, however, the fog which encased the city had finally lifted enough for Wyatt to see a few yards in front of the car as he drove. Thinking about the events of the night, he hadn’t even noticed he’d wandered onto a road with which he wasn’t too familiar. In fact, Wyatt couldn’t even remember how he got there. To try and get his mind focused, he was about to turn on some music when all of the sudden he saw a man standing along the side of the road, his back was to the blacktop, and he was gazing off, deep into the woods. With a furrowed brow of curiosity, Wyatt pulled over to make sure everything was alright.

  “Sir…” Wyatt spoke loudly, however, there was no response. “Sir, are you ok?” He tried once more as he cautiously approached. Still no reply. Wyatt reached out and grabbed the man on the shoulder to turn him around, and suddenly, the man who had made no sound to that point began making a weird gurgling noise, almost as though it were a low growl. Out of instinct, Wyatt’s fist balled up, preparing for a fight, and just as he was beginning to back off, the man turned around sharply. What Wyatt saw sent a chill to his soul. Half of the man’s face was covered in blood, while the other half was mangled and cut up. He was missing an eye, completely exposing the socket, his nose was cut down to the bone, and part of his lips and cheek were missing, exposing chipped and jagged teeth. Every muscle in Wyatt’s body was screaming to run, but it was no use, he was paralyzed with fear. N
ever in his life could he ever remember being so scared.

  Something in the background caught Wyatt’s eye. The area just before the woods had turned into a giant bottomless pit, filled with people screaming in agony as they were being burned. The man reached out and grabbed Wyatt’s arm, causing him to scream in pain as the touch seared his skin as though being held over an open flame. Wyatt was powerless against the man, and to make matters worse, he was being pulled closer and closer toward the pit. The more he struggled, the stronger the man seemed to become. Just as Wyatt was being inched over the edge about to be thrown into the fiery abyss, a bright white light filled the area, and Wyatt was no longer being pulled. The light was so bright, Wyatt had to shield his eyes for fear of going blind. However, in the midst of it all, he could make out two figures locked in combat, one was the man, and the other was…Michelle? Wyatt ran to intervene, but was instantly thrown back to the pit, landing on his chest. Just as he felt a hand reach up to yank him in, he awoke suddenly, breathing heavy, dripping in sweat.

  He sat there in bed for a few minutes, letting his heart rate return to normal as he caught his breath before finally going into the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face. Needless to say, for Wyatt this was anything but a normal dream, though he’d had dark times in his past, there was nothing which would have triggered something like the things he’d just seen. As he dried himself off, he felt a stinging on his arm as if from a sunburn, and when he looked down, there was a red handprint in the exact place the man had grabbed him in the dream. As he looked it over, he was stunned. What in the hell is going on here? He wondered in confusion.

  Wyatt tried, but after that dream, there was no way he was getting back to sleep, so he got dressed and headed into the precinct early, very early. He was hoping the storm from the previous night would have let up, however, the flash of lightning shooting across the sky and loud crash of thunder proved otherwise. There was a little light shining through the clouds, but not much, almost as though the moon were afraid to show itself. As he gazed out of his kitchen window, Wyatt filled a large thermal mug with as much coffee as possible, then grabbed his leather jacket and was on his way.