The Arcturus Man

  “Isn’t this Stephen King’s favorite pizza place, or at least the same chain?” asked Jenny.

  “No, you’re thinking of Pat’s, not Lisa’s,” said Jared.

  “Yea, I knew it was someone’s first name.”

  “Did you get your fix?” asked Jared.

  “Not yet. Now I need an ice cream cone.” Jenny was excited. Jared hated these kinds of places, but this was her milieu. Why not? She knew that She was a lot younger than him. She noticed that he was trying. He was actually trying to like it. She appreciated that.

  They walked across the street, weaving their way through the cars that were almost at a standstill. The steaming crowds were flowing along the street. Jared knew that someone was following them. They were very close and they had been there for a while. His eyes swept the street. There were too many people. He couldn't sort the images he was receiving. There was a bit of Spanish mixed in. He didn’t know what to make of it. It could still be Smolenskiy. But, someone was there.

  “Would you mind if we visited a friend?” asked Jared.

  “I didn’t know you had friends,” she said.

  “Cruel Jenny. Very cruel.”

  “Just an observation. You seem to do very well with clams, however,” she said.

  “I do have friends. Granted, they all benefit financially by knowing me, so who knows.”

  She meant it to be funny. Now she felt guilty.

  They walked for a few blocks until they came to a white, Western style store front building. The sign said “House of Peniel Surf Riders.”

  “It’s a surfer place?” asked Jenny.

  “Yes. Sort of.” They walked inside.

  “Hey Jorens. Been a while. Whose the old lady?” asked Mark.

  Jenny glanced at Jared. Jorens? Then she remembered that it was Jared’s real name. His Latvian name.

  Mark was the strongly built leader of the House of Peniel. He had a Van Dyke, a pony tail, and tattoos. Jenny might have been intimidated by his appearance but his warm beaming smile and welcoming hug were disarming.

  “The waves were wicked good earlier today. You should’ve been here.”

  “Mark, this is Jenny. I wanted her to see your place.”

  “Welcome Jenny! You surf?”

  “Yes, but I’m not very good.”

  “We can remedy that. Jorens is world class,” said Mark. He turned to Jared. “How come you didn’t teach her? Whatever!” He turned back to Jenny. “Come back here without Jorens some time. I’ll teach you.”

  “Jorens (it was hard to get out), you never mention that you surfed. I guess I should have guessed. You like all that kind of right-to-the-edge stuff,” said Jenny.

  “I just stopped by to say Hi. Jenny wants to try some rides,” said Jared.

  “Great. Nice to meet you Jenny. are here,” said Mark.

  “Sure. I would love to, Mark.” Stop by again some time when all of our folks

  Jenny glanced around. The signs on the walls were about God, Jacob and Jesus. Surfing and Jesus. That was unusual. “Take care, Mark.” Jared pulled an envelope out of his back pocket and handed it to Mark.

  “See ya. And, thanks. The folks will appreciate it,” said Mark.

  Jared and Jenny left and started to walk back toward the pier. Jenny looked back over her shoulder at the sign in the store front window. Ride the waves where God is in the House. She liked it but it didn’t fit Jared. She was very religious and loved that place, but she suspected that Jared wasn’t religious at all. He might even be an atheist. She hoped that wasn’t true.

  “Why are you using your Latvian name?” she asked.

  “I like to stay anonymous. Jared is not the real me so when I make friends, it is with the real me,” he said.

  “You’re not religious. It is strange that you would make friends with a group that is so obviously religious. And, you gave them money, didn’t you?” she said.

  “I don’t see what the one has to do with the other. These are really good people. Whether they are really good has little to do with their religious beliefs. I’ve seen too many very religious people who are not good people. Mark and his group are full of love and charity, especially for those who have very little of either in their lives. Mark is one of very few selfless people I have ever known. And, they love God and Jesus. That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” asked Jared.

  “Why is it called House of Peniel?”

  “Don’t you remember the Biblical story of Jacob wrestling God? The place where they wrestled, where Jacob saw God face to face, was named Peniel by Jacob.”

  “You are full of surprises tonight,” said Jenny. “Why don’t you tell Mark about that homeless guy who is watching our car? Maybe he can help,” said Jenny.

  Jared was a complex man. Clearly, she still didn’t know the real Jared. And, he had never asked her to call him Jorens. Wasn’t she a friend?

  “I don’t care about that derelict. The homeless guy will have to find Mark on his own or Mark will have to find the homeless guy. It’s not my problem. We all have to cultivate out gardens,” said Jared.

  “What gardens? What are you talking about?” asked Jenny. The contradictions in what Jared just said were mind boggling. What was it that she didn’t understand?

  “It is from Candide…you know, by Voltaire…The meaning is that it is not a perfect world and we have to make the best of what we are given. We have to live in the world the way it is and the way we are, not in a world that we would like it to be. We have to cultivate our own gardens and let our neighbors cultivate theirs.”

  “I read Candide, but I don’t remember that.”

  “Then pay more attention when you are reading,” said Jared. “Otherwise, you are simply wasting time. There is no point in saying you read Candide if you don’t understand it,” said Jared.

  “I don’t understand you sometimes. You can be so contradictory. I don’t get it. Why are you like that?”

  “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. Look it up.” Jared picked up the pace. He was angry again.

  “EMERSON, you bully,” said Jenny.

  Sami, the fat Russian was right. They came to Old Orchard Beach. Rubio had walked the streets for the past hour waiting for the Lexus to show up. He hadn't seen another Lexus LS430 all day so when it finally appeared, there was little doubt that it was Siemels and the woman.

  Rubio kept his distance. He took a photograph now and then if the couple were in the clear. There were many tourists with cameras so it attracted no attention. He made sure that he was deep behind a crowd of people at all times. The woman's blond hair made it easy to follow them from a distance. It was not professional, but Rubio had an irresistible compulsion to touch the prey. He had to perform the coup. He had to look into his eyes. Later, when the time came, when the light was fading from Siemels' eyes, he had to know that it was he that was stealing his life. He worked his way forward in the crowd.

  He was within a few steps of Siemels. Rubio crossed the street. Rubio J-walked attracting the disapproving attention of a cop on the corner. He had to be more careful. Rubio walked quickly to get far ahead of Siemels and the woman. He crossed again and then turned back toward the pair.

  Rubio picked up his gait and braced his shoulder. He wanted to jar Siemels hard enough to knock him down. When he was on the sidewalk he would fix on the prey's eyes so Rubio’s gaze would never be forgotten. He braced himself and lunged with his right shoulder. Suddenly, Siemels slid off to the left. He evaporated. Lunging into open space, Rubio lost his balance. He took three staggering, flat-footed steps forward until he caught himself again. “How did that happen?” he wondered. Rubio hadn't telegraphed his thrust but Siemels evaded him none the less. It had to be a coincidence. Siemels must have made a sharp turn at the last second. Still, it was strange. Rubio was embarrassed. There were only strangers around him, but he had lost his dignity. It angered him.

  Once he regained his stability, he turned around quickly. Siemels was standing stil
l, staring at him. Their eyes locked. “This was not the gaze of helpless prey,” thought Rubio. For a moment, Rubio felt like he was the prey. He quickly averted his gaze. This man had the ojo mala--the evil eye. It unnerved him. He quickly walked away and entered a side street, out of sight.

  Jared stared at the well-built Latino. He was expecting a Russian, not a Hispanic. Jared realized that this man knew who he was. This was not a chance encounter. He was connected with some Russian, but it wasn’t Smolenskiy.

  "What's wrong? What are you looking at?" asked Jenny.

  "Nothing, I thought I recognized someone, but I was mistaken."

  Jenny spotted a very attractive young girl with a very low cut blouse. "Yea sure! I think she's jail bait, big boy. Keep your eyes to the front." "I wasn't looking at her,” said Jared.

  "That's your story and you're going to stick to it. Right?" she said. Jared decided that this was a convenient story.

  "Right!

  “You want a beer?" asked Jared, without skipping a beat.

  "Sure!" Jenny really didn’t mind it when any of her male friends stared at other

  women. Most women did mind, but not her. She liked men who liked women a lot. It was an indirect compliment. They were with HER. If other women were interested in her guy, that was flattering as well.

  Jared led the way up a side street and bought two large plastic cups of beer. It was some kind of local beer. It wasn't great, but the night was hot and sometimes there isn't anything that is as thirst-quenching as a cold beer.

  The wind was beginning to pick up. Occasionally, the gusts were very strong. A stronger wind was coming. Dust from the streets was being blown into everyone’s eyes. She caught her skirt with both hands.

  “Wow, where did that come from?” asked Jenny.

  “A summer storm is on the way,” he said.

  “How do you know that?” she asked.

  “Look at the birds. There are all coming down and looking for a safe place,” said

  Jared.

  “They really are. I never noticed that before. Do they always do that?” “Usually.”

  Jenny led Jared from one attraction to another. He tried as best he could do have fun and to show Jenny that he could be just a normal guy, but it was all transparent. The amusement park was incredibly boring for Jared. Jenny noticed it, but said nothing. What could she say? She couldn’t force Jared have fun.

  She screamed on the wilder carnival rides until there were tears in her eyes and she was hoarse.

  “That is a great roller coaster,” said Jenny.

  “The Excalibur is one of a handful of surviving old-fashioned wooden coasters. The poster said that it is rated as one of the top ten in the nation.”

  “Imagine that. Let’s go again,” said Jenny. And, they did.

  She loved all the rides. Dragon’s Descent was her favorite. She didn’t care that much for Thunder Falls Log Flume. It was too much like a very safe Disney ride. There had to be a sense of danger to make it exciting. “I must be catching Jared’s bug,” she thought.

  No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t make himself scream with joy and terror. She felt a little guilty dragging him around the carnival rides, but she had to be who she was. She was going to have fun. She was going to cultivate her garden.

  Jenny had Jared play many of the carnie games. He won prices at every one. It was effortless for Jared. Skeeball was especially easy, but it took too long to win enough points to get a prize. They moved on to other games. He won so many prices that she couldn’t carry them all. She began to give them away to small children she passed.

  “Neat. I never saw anyone win on this one. Please?” She pointed to the game where you had to ring the bell by hitting a target with a large hammer.

  “OK,” he said.

  Jared approached the carnie and gave him two dollars.

  “HEY, HEY,” the carnie yelled to the crowd. “We got a he-man whose gonna show the lil’ lady he’s got the moxie.” This was an insult joint that drew a crowd by entertaining the crowds by humiliating the patrons. It seemingly defied logic, but they never run out of crowds or players.

  Jared swung the hammer. He rung the bell, breaking the hickory shaft of the mallet.

  “Sorry bud. That trumps the prize. You owe me,” said the carnie.

  “No dice bud. You want the tip to learn that this is a gaff joint? So grab some real nice plush from your flash.”

  The carnie’s jaw dropped open.

  “Sure sharpie, here. BEAT IT!” He gave Jenny one of the largest prizes he had, a stuffed pink panda.

  “Jared, what in the world was that?” asked Jenny as they walked away.

  “That was carnie lingo, what they call ciazarn!”

  “So in addition to the zillion languages you speak, you also speak carnie?”

  “That’s my grind,” he said.

  “Cool!” said Jenny.

  Jenny stopped at a little girl hanging on to her mother’s skirts in the back of the crowd. She was too small to see what was happening.

  “Here. A present for you.” Jenny glanced at the mother. “Is it OK?”

  “Of course. Thank the lady Mandy.”

  “Thank you lady,” said the little girl.

  “You want to go to the simp heister again.” asked Jared.

  “What in the world is a simp heister?” she asked.

  “That’s carnie for Ferris wheel.”

  “Sure, I love simp heisters,” said Jenny.

  She couldn’t help giggling. It was a silly name. Jared was so reserved and starchy at times, but other times he just made her laugh. He could even be playful.

  They turned and walked toward the Ferris wheel. Another strong gust came up and blew Jenny’s skirt completely up. Jared was amused but she felt mortified. She wore a heavy pleated skirt that she thought would resist being blown up, but the wind was just too strong now. There are limits to what a pleated skirt can accomplish.

  “Very nice,” said Jared. “I’ve been waiting all evening for this moment.”

  “Your fetish is becoming a problem for me.” She grinned through her teeth, but it was insincere. It wasn’t that big a deal, even in the worst case, but it was just a little humiliating. She changed the subject—again.

  “I hate to miss the fireworks but maybe we should call it a night,” said Jenny. “Otherwise I’m going to be fighting this all evening. I think the wind is picking up.”

  Jared grinned as she struggled to keep her skirt down.

  The dark night hid the clouds that were gathering. The moon disappeared and the wind suddenly died to a dead calm.

  “It’s going to rain soon. We better hurry,” said Jenny.

  They walked out of the midway area as the crowds were rushing toward the pier. The fireworks were about to start. They walked quickly down Cascade Road and turned up School Street. Their car was far up the street. Jenny glanced toward the electric substation where she thought she saw people running. There were no street lights in this part of town but there was enough light from houses in the area to see that people were fighting. Suddenly, it was much brighter. The horror of what was happening was all too clear now. Five men had set fire to the derelict who promised to watch their car. Something had been poured on him. His arms and legs were blazing, lighting up the entire vacant lot. He was a human torch. A sixth man seemed to be arguing with them.

  “Get in the car. We have to get out of here,” said Jared.

  “Stop it. Stop it.” Jenny screamed as she ran across the field. She was running wildly, screaming for someone to get an ambulance...to call the police...to help somehow. Porch lights were coming on at some of the houses further up the street. A few people were coming out.

  “Stop it.” She was running on adrenaline, forgetting she was still carrying carnival prizes as she ran to help the burning man.

  “Damn it,” said Jared. He sprinted across the field, overtaking Jenny in seconds. Now Jared acted purely on instinct. The other Jared was unl
eashed.

  In seconds he was on the man holding the bottle of liquid that had been poured on the derelict. In another second the man’s neck was snapped. Jared’s reaction time was so fast that the other four men appeared to Jared to be moving in slow motion. The next man pulled out a Kershaw automatic knife. Jared recognized it instantly. These kids weren’t kids. They were professionals. They were nameless men.

  Jared snapped the man’s wrist and drove the knife under his jaw. It never left the man’s hand as it severed his carotid artery. The other two lunged at Jared from opposite sides. He sidestepped one and swung him around until Jared was behind him. He bent the attacker backwards until his spine made a cracking sound. In the same motion, Jared jammed his foot into the knee of the second man who was lunging forward with a switch blade, breaking his knee. As the attacker dropped to the ground, Jared kicked him in the throat, crushing his larynx. The switch blade attacker fell to the ground suffocating.

  By the time Jenny reached the derelict’s encampment, Jared had killed three of the attackers and the fourth was still busy dieing. The fifth attacker was scrambling up the steep embankment on the left. The sixth man, the one who had been arguing with the others, had disappeared.

  Jared grabbed the army blanket from beneath the tarpaulin and quickly smothered the flaming clothes on the homeless man. The old bum was screaming and screaming. His voice was so hoarse that very little sound was coming out. Jared grabbed the Kershaw knife and cut away all of the burned fabric. Some of the cloth was sticking to his skin. He snapped the knife closed and slipped it into his pocket. He didn’t care about eye witness descriptions of him and Jenny, especially at this distance, but DNA was another matter.

  “That’s all we can do. The people from those houses will be calling the police and fire department right now. They’ll take care of him,” said Jared.

  Jenny was in shock. She didn’t resist Jared as he grabbed her arm and tugged her, half running, back to the car. Jared beeped the door unlocked and pushed Jenny into the front seat. She was panting with fear. Her eyes were open wide. Tears welled up. She wanted to scream but nothing would come out. She had never seen anything so horrible. And Jared…what had he done? He just killed four men like an executioner.