Heckel Casey

by James Hoch

  "Your little plan with Bobby and Jackson fell through, I see," he said calmly with a hint of disdain. "Such a disappointment for you, I'm sure."

  "Yes, it was."

  "As it was for me. I had so hoped this matter with our friend, Mr. Heckel, would be over by now. He is a real fly in your ointment as you once mentioned."

  Madeline nodded slowly and stared into the fire.

  Mr. Barker got up and began pacing around the fire. Here he goes again. Madeline fidgeted in the camp chair. As the long period of silence wore on, she rubbed her hands over and over in her lap. The campfire flames steadily rose in the air, causing her face to get very warm.

  "It appears that you are planning to take matters into your own hands and confront this Heckel character directly," Barker said calmly as he rubbed his hands.

  "I always thought that if you want something done right, do it yourself," Madeline said with confidence and a slice of know-it-all.

  "I suppose. However, Miss Madeline, there is much at stake here and if you fail…well, let's just say that cannot be an option."

  "Correct, it is not. I will not fail. My power is strong."

  Barker walked up behind Madeline and massaged her shoulders. His touch made her insides squirm as if hundreds of worms had suddenly slithered and wrapped themselves around all her major organs. Looking down at her arms, she could see her skin take on the appearance of massive goose bumps or as one person told her once-chicken skin.

  He bent down and whispered in her ear, "Yes, it is strong, but you need more to defeat this man. Much more."

  Madeline assured him that her army vastly outnumbered Heckel's puny band of followers and that her forces were much better armed.

  "Still, we are concerned," Barker said. He let go of her shoulders and continued his pacing. I just want him to leave, she thought. Please. Please. Please.

  Hoping to put his mind at ease, Madeline babbled on about how after her army destroyed his followers that she would meet him face-to-face and destroy him once and for all.

  Barker smiled and, with a half-hearted laugh that turned into a wicked, thundering shout, yelled "No, he will destroy everything that you have done, you fucking imbecile!"

  The fire shot up fifty feet into the air. Sparks flew in all directions, followed by loud crackling and pops. Madeline fell backward out of her chair, scrambled on her knees away from the fire and flopped onto her back. Barker stood over her shrieking, "You must kill him now before you ever confront him on any battlefield. Seek him out under the dark veil of night. Kill his bitch and child. Then you will reduce him to a weak, defeated man and finish the task." A green putrid spittle flew out of his mouth as he went on with his rant. Madeline winced as it hit her face, flinching as if acid burned her skin.

  After Barker regained his composure and the fire settled down, he went over to the dark edge of night surrounding the campfire. He pointed a finger at Madeline and calmly said, "We still believe in you, Miss Madeline. Don't fuck this up or you will regret your very existence for all eternity."

  Standing erect with fists clenched and a defiant posture, Madeline replied, "Mr. Barker, know this. I will not stop until every part of Heckel's life is destroyed and his body is reduced to pieces. Then after that, every last member of humanity who does not bow to the evil that I spread will be slaughtered without hesitation."

  Barker's eyes glowed brightly and he slowly nodded his head as he backed into the darkness.

  Whew, that was intense, Madeline thought to herself as she brushed the dirt off her pants. She looked down and saw a dark spot on her designer jeans. "Shit, I pissed myself," she said. Then anger brewed inside her, mixed with a feeling she hadn't had before. Was it doubt? What if I can't defeat this Heckel? What if…

  "Stop. There is no room for doubt. Push it aside. No, what-ifs! You must kill him and soon," she said loudly.

  From the shadows of the RV, Quincy came forward and asked, "Is everything all right, Miss Madeline?"

  Walking up to him, slowly taking his hand, Madeline replied, "It will be soon." She led Quincy into the RV and closed the door.

  Chapter 27

  That was just too damn close. Thank God, Bobby couldn't twist that knife, Sela thought as she looked down at Heckel sleeping. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him. Dear God, please, please, please, make all this…this…battle stop. I fear that we cannot defeat the evil that pursues us. We need more help. Anything, please. Tears welled up in her eyes and little by little spilled over onto her cheeks. I love him so much and our child needs his Daddy. Please hear my prayer and help us.

  As Sela lay back down and snuggled closer to Heckel, her mind stopped reeling, and she was able to get back to sleep. The morning sun got to work early whipping up hotter temperatures. There wasn't much of a breeze. Heckel already had several small fish frying in a pan.

  "Oh, my…that smells heavenly," Sela said sliding out of the tent. She stretched, letting the warm rays of the sun give her a healthy dose of vitamin D.

  "You look well rested," Heckel said as he maneuvered one of the small rainbow trout onto a plate.

  "I feel good." She sat down near the campfire. Jerky padded her way over and curled up in her lap. "I'm sure there's a little fish for you, my dear," she said, petting the attentive cat.

  "How is it?" Heckel asked.

  "Manna from heaven," she said, stuffing her mouth.

  "Well, it just may be. I mean, there's a couple of fishing holes down that way that are feeding everyone pretty well."

  "When are we planning to head out?" she asked.

  "Well, I suppose tomorrow. Everyone seems to be itching to leave. They're hoping once we get closer to the coast it won't be so hot."

  "Heckel, I was thinking," Sela said sheepishly. "Maybe…um…well…I don't know how to put this, but here goes. What would you think if we didn't go to Oregon and maybe just kept going south…by ourselves? We could hide away somewhere down in Mexico on the coast or something."

  He looked at her as if she had sprouted a large turnip out of each ear and corn was spilling out of her nose. Calmly, he put his plate down, put his arm around her shoulder and said, "I understand what you're thinking. We all have doubts and lots of fears…me too, but we can't let those notions build walls in front of us and bring us down. We are strong and have to believe in ourselves. You were the one who said that to me not too long ago. Remember?"

  "But the other night…I mean, if poor little Bobby can be seduced into evil, what chances do any of us have?"

  Heckel took her hand and kissed it. "We rise above it and let faith in God and the people we trust prevail. Bobby did."

  Sela nodded her head and felt better. "I love you so much and never want to lose you. I'm just so afraid of…" she said throwing her arm around his neck.

  "You won't ever. I plan to grow old and gray with you and have lots and lots of children. Our love is stronger than any evil twisted knife that Madeline can turn. Once we end her reign our world, the world of love and kindness, will flourish once again. As it was meant to."

  "Indeed. You're right," she muttered and kissed Heckel's hand.

  After breakfast, Sela found Tempest and decided to go for a ride down to the river. It was warm, but there was a slight breeze that helped cool things down. After a couple of miles, she was getting pretty hot and decided to go swimming. She found a nice spot, stripped down and jumped in. "Oh, this feels so good," she said to Tempest as the horse drank from the water's edge. After swimming for a while and enjoying the cool, clean water, her mind seemed to sharpen and a sense of calm filled her. Suddenly, she stopped swimming, looked at the riverbank and saw a young girl standing near a large boulder. She smiled and waved. I wonder how she got this far away from camp or maybe there were other people camping nearby. Sela swam closer. The little girl held Sela's clothes in her hand and handed them to her as she got out of the water.

  "Hello, what's your name?" Sela asked, taking her shorts from her and putting them on.

&nb
sp; "Rose, but my friends call me Rosie."

  "Well, Rose, it's a pleasure to meet you. Aren't you a little far from camp?"

  "I'm not from your camp," she said.

  "Oh…where are you from?" Sela asked while she finished putting her top on and ruffling her hair to dry.

  "Around. That's not important. There is however something that is much more important that I want to tell you," Rosie said.

  Sela bent down to face her better and asked, "What is it?"

  Rosie turned away from Sela, picked up a handful of stones, and started skipping them across the river.

  "Wow, you're pretty good. I always have a hard time getting them to skip," Sela said standing up.

  The little girl continued to skip stone after stone with perfect form. As Sela watched her, she noticed that she had on a crisp, pretty green dress that looked as though it had just been ironed. Small daisy appliques formed a pattern down one side of the dress. Her hair was a soft amber color with long, pretty curls that were tied up with a bright matching green ribbon. Her shoes were white leather and shined with new polish. There wasn't a scuffmark on either shoe. It became evident that the little girl had not just walked several miles away from Sela's camp. Rosie looked as if she had just emerged from a mother's pampering and was ready for a Ladies' Home Journal photo shoot. There was no sweat or dirt on her at all.

  "Rose, are your parents nearby?" Sela asked, still trying to get her stone to skip instead of plunking dead in the water.

  "No, I'm all by myself."

  Now Sela was feeling a bit freaked out. There she was in the desert with a little girl who looked like she had just been dropped there to do a commercial for a children's shampoo.

  "Sela, you don't need to be afraid."

  Now she was really freaked out. How'd she know her name? She never said it.

  "Heckel is very strong now. He will defeat Madeline. We believe in him wholeheartedly."

  Sela froze. Was this Madeline herself here trying to trick her?

  The little girl took Sela's hand and smiled at her. Sela's insides at first felt like they had turned to ice and she couldn't move. Gradually, she felt relaxed with a pleasant warm sensation.

  "Here, try this stone," Rose said. "It's really flat. You can do it. It's easy. Remember to snap your wrist."

  Sela took the stone, still staring at the little girl in both awe and fear.

  "Go ahead. Try it. It's fun."

  Sela looked out across the water and sighed heavily. The little girl nodded encouragement. Sela reared her arm back, remembered to snap the wrist and let the stone whiz out to the water. It began skipping immediately.

  "One, two, three, four, five, six…wow, seven times. That's great!" Rose said, clapping excitedly, jumping up and down. "Now you know how to do it. See, it's simple."

  Sela laughed the whole time the stone was skipping. Rose handed her another stone and Sela skipped that one even better.

  "See, I told you. You just have to believe in yourself."

  As Sela skipped another stone, she asked Rose how she knew about Heckel and Madeline. Rose didn't respond, but instead asked, "How come you feel Heckel needs more help?"

  "I just feel we are probably outnumbered in this upcoming battle or whatever it is. Madeline's army is-"

  "Formidable? Yes, I am sure it is," Rose uttered as she skipped two stones at once, one from each hand.

  "Yes, that's a good way to put it I suppose. It makes me tremble just thinking about it."

  "Then don't," Rose offered innocently. "Here, try this one. It looks perfect."

  They both continued skipping stones in silence for a while.

  "Do you believe in guardian angels?" Rose asked bluntly, turning to watch Sela pick up more stones.

  "Well, as a matter of fact, yes, I do. I have always felt I had an angel looking over me. There were times when I felt something bad was about to happen and at the last minute…um, I don't know…ah, I moved out of the way or caught myself. Other times I might have been-"

  Before she could finish trying to explain her insight into guardian angels, Rose blurted out, "I'm your guardian angel. I've been there to protect you and help you ever since you were born." She smiled at Sela with an air of pride like a little girl showing her mother that she can tie her own shoes.

  Sela wrinkled her brow deep in thought, at first questioning her own sanity. Then the what-ifs began to parade across her mind. She was totally speechless and definitely a bit skeptical. After several minutes of examining what Rosie offered, Sela thought, Hmm, it's not often that people get to talk directly to their own guardian angel. Questions flooded her mind. Before she could even ask a single query, she froze again. Wait a minute. Something is not quite right. This must be a trick or some evil deception from Madeline. The bitch is playing on my…

  "Nope, Madeline is not messing with you," Rosie said. "I assure you. I am your guardian angel. I know we aren't suppose to…um…reveal ourselves to you, but these are troubled times, and as you say…help is needed. You asked and you got it."

  Suddenly, Sela dropped down to kneel before the little girl. No one knew of my prayer for help, she thought. This must be the real deal. She was in awe of the little girl standing at the edge of the river. Sela felt that she was in the presence of a powerful goodness.

  "Really, that's not necessary," Rose said putting her hand on Sela's shoulder.

  "I have so much I want to…um…thank you for and talk to you about," Sela said softly, looking into her eyes.

  "Perhaps another time. For now, you should be getting back. Heckel's beginning to worry about you."

  Sela kept staring at Rose. All the questions she thought of would have to be put aside for now. However, one question surfaced that Sela felt compelled to ask, "What help will we…um…get?"

  Rose skipped a big stone, which hit the water twelve times. She turned to Sela and said, "All Heckel's warriors will have their guardian angel at their side fighting to stop Madeline. In California, you will have many more good people join you. Trust in Heckel. Believe and have faith. No more doubts. Doubt is a nasty virus that infects and destroys the soul."

  "Will you come with me?" Sela asked, extending her hand.

  "I am always with you," Rose said as she gradually morphed into a large hawk. The elegant, graceful bird soared straight up into the air and circled high above Sela.

  With eyes the size of dinner plates, Sela watched Rose for the longest time fly in and out of the clouds, gliding on the air currents. Tempest finally broke her trance and nudged her shoulder.

  "Okay," Sela said calmly as she threw her leg over the back of the horse. "Did you see that? Holy buckets. That was amazing."

  For the entire ride back to camp with a huge grin on her face, Sela recited prayer after prayer and made up new ones as well. She tried to remember all the times she had said that her guardian angel must have been looking out for her. Some of the memories were so vivid. Sela smiled, knowing that she really did have a guardian angel and her name was Rose. As Sela got closer to camp, she wondered if anyone would ever believe her and stopped Tempest. She couldn't just waltz into camp and at the top of her lungs announce that everyone's guardian angel would be joining them for the big battle. They'd think she'd gone bonkers or had been out in the sun way too long. She didn't need more people staring at her as if she'd just sprouted turnips out of her ears again, not to mention corn out of her nose.

  "For now, we don't say anything. On the other hand, maybe I could test the waters and tell Heckel what just transpired," she mumbled, petting Tempest. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a hawk, or more accurately, Rose, sitting on a large boulder. The bird flapped her wings. Sela couldn't help but giggle. My guardian angel is with me. How cool is that!

  After Sela returned to camp and wiped Tempest down, the horse joined Hope down by the river's edge. When she got to camp, Heckel was gutting and cleaning a large rabbit.

  "Look what Jerky found for us," Heckel said proudly.

&n
bsp; Wham, like a large two by four upside her head, Sela thought of Jerky. That's got to be Heckel's guardian angel! It has to be. No doubt about it. Sela picked up the large cat and hugged her. Jerky's large, sandpapery tongue licked her cheek and she purred loudly.

  "Now there's a picture of love and affection," Heckel said as he put the rabbit on a homemade spit. After he was satisfied with the proper height of the spit and stoked the embers, he came over and hugged both of them.

  Jerky squirmed out of Sela's arms and took off running. Heckel kissed Sela softly and stroked her hair.

  "How was your ride? Come across anything interesting?" he asked.

  Like a kid with a big secret, Sela grinned and said, "Hmm, yeah, I'll tell you later."

  Rose drifted down silently and landed on an old gnarled tree nearby. Sela winked at the magnificent bird.

  Chapter 28

  The saying "If you want something done right, do it yourself" kept running through Madeline's head as the motor home turned onto I-80. All she needed to do was sneak into Heckel's camp, end his pathetic existence and get on with building her empire.

  Overall, the RV made good time until it hit the outskirts of a large city. Then Madeline's cleanup crew had to remove debris and burned-out wrecks. Occasionally, the small entourage would encounter bands of desperate people who had no idea who they were attacking. Madeline would usually let her men deal with them; however, at times she would do a bit of target practice.

  The caravan had just entered the edge of Cheyenne when Madeline's driver had to stop the Prevost motor home because of a large man-made roadblock. About twenty people came out from behind a large pile of debris. They were armed with clubs, pitchforks and other primitive weapons. They looked like rejects from a remake of Frankenstein or an old Mel Gibson Road Warrior movie. If one combined the two films, the result would be angry townspeople, dressed in ragged leather vests and black-studded collars and waving torches and farm implements into the air. Madeline stepped out of the rig, stretched and said, "You folks should probably move all this shit off the road and let us pass."