“I’ll buy it for you when we get into town.”
“Really? Wow. You’re the best, dad!”
Adam couldn’t help but smile. When in doubt, talk about video games. It never failed. Just mentioning the subject was like having two virgins walk into a gentleman’s club. It always made for hours of conversation, and you got bored after the first five minutes.
Adam cast a weary glance at the map in the passenger seat. It wasn’t a very good map. He’d bought it at a tourist shop in Kansas from a man with long sideburns, but it got the job done. It had all the major highways listed, at least.
If the map was right, they were only a few miles from their destination: Stone Creek. He had run across it accidentally one afternoon while researching historic US towns. Every source he encountered spoke of its small town appeal, and judging by the quiet agricultural atmosphere it seemed like the perfect place to settle down after a messy divorce. Better than a bar in downtown Chicago, at least.
The thought of alcohol made his mouth water, but he’d promised to kick the bottle. Not for his sake, but for Alex’s. The kid deserved a better childhood than he’d had. Alex deserved a good, supportive father and a loving mother, but since she had been erased from the picture, Adam needed to fill both rolls. That was part of the reason he’d decided to leave the big city. He couldn’t possibly devote enough time to Alex with all the pressures of big-city life.
Here in the country, it was quiet. There were no bustling city streets, no jam-packed suburban strip malls, and no ridiculously long company meetings to sit through. Here all the businesses were family owned and had been for generations, so there was no need to compete for jobs. There were no hostile takeovers, just friendly, old-fashioned business transactions.
But that wasn’t all. He heard that the air in Colorado was “Rocky Mountain Fresh,” unlike the polluted sludge that inhabited Chicago’s atmosphere. Alex needed to experience real, clean air for once in his life. He’d been born in Philadelphia and raised in Chicago, so his only exposure to country air had been through their semi-annual vacation to the Philippines.
Adam stroked his chin. He was a handsome man, generally speaking, with dark brown hair and like-colored eyes. The only problem was his height. He was, at least in his opinion, unnaturally short. This was probably due to the fact that his father had been Italian and his mother English, which put him in a category somewhere between Italian soda and English muffins, respectively, but he was happy with his appearance. One had to be, after living with one’s self for almost thirty years.
Alex thumbed at his portable gaming system, playing some weird version of Minesweeper. It was hard to believe that he was almost nine years old. It seemed like just yesterday he’d been riding in a booster seat and watching mommy make faces in the rear view mirror.
“Dad, what does that sign say?”
“Stone Creek, 2 Miles,” Adam recited. He was surprised Alex had seen the sign, considering his nose was buried two-inches deep in the video game screen.
“Does that mean we’re almost there?”
“Yes, son, I think it does.”
Except there was only one problem: the town didn’t look anything like he’d thought it would. Instead of bright sunshine and bluebirds chirping merrily, the sky was dark and thick, covered by a cloud of charcoal-colored smoke. Most likely the bluebirds had been eaten by the grossly fat crows that swooped overhead.
Adam checked the map one more time. Yes, this was the place. Stone Creek, Colorado. But it looked like they’d crossed into another dimension. Even the trees were unnatural. Instead of apples, strange white objects hung from the branches, excreting some sort of slimy pus. He thought he saw one of them move, but he had no idea that what he’d seen was actually maggots.
Big, juicy maggots, writhing with life.
Alex plastered his face against the glass. “Wow! This place is awesome!” he exclaimed. “It’s like Chiller Falls from Return of the Undead Creeper!”
Adam accelerated slowly into town, looking left and right at the rundown buildings. “First off, it looks deserted. And second, how do you know about Chiller Falls? You aren’t supposed to be playing those games.”
Alex rolled his eyes and looked out the window, focusing on the ethereal landscape around him rather than his father’s voice. He was a good kid, he really was. He just had a rebellious streak about him. Then again, all kids did at his age; most of the time he was quiet and mild mannered, listening carefully to his elders.
“I’m hungry.”
“We’ll find a place to eat once we get settled into a motel,” Adam said simply. However, judging by the looks of the town, he didn’t really want to stay. A voice in the back of his head told him to turn around and hit the road for greener pastures. Maybe he should have listened to it. Maybe he should have pulled a U right then and there and gotten the hell out of Dodge, but the fact of the matter is, he didn’t. He was determined to sink his roots into good soil and settle down.
Little did he know that the soil was toxic.
Chapter 9
After a ten minute drive through town, Adam managed to find a motel. It wasn’t much, but it was better than sleeping in the minivan. God knows he’d tried that before. He’d had a stiff back and sore neck to prove it. Teenagers could pull it off—hell, they could do more than sleep in a car—but not a twenty-eight year-old man. No. He needed a queen-size mattress, two fluffy pillows, and a thick blanket in order to achieve a good night’s sleep.
The term “vehicular escapades” had different connotations when he was in high school.
“Dad, my mp3 player died.”
Adam circled around the minivan and slid the passenger-side door open. Alex was sitting inside, poking at his mp3 player as if that would somehow wake it up.
“That’s okay. It just needs to be recharged.”
“Is this where we’re staying?” Alex changed the subject the moment his eyes fell on the decrepit motel. “Wicked! Do you think it’s haunted?”
Adam pulled his suitcase off the back seat. They’d packed so much shit into the minivan he could barely reach it. Whose brilliant idea was it to put groceries and perishable items in the back and suitcases in the middle, where they were least accessible?
Adam sighed. The downside to being divorced was that he no longer had anyone to blame for his mistakes. Like leaving the milk on the counter or forgetting to lock the front door. God knows he’d done that enough times.
Of course, she would never do such a thing. She would never admit to such a silly mistake. She always seemed to have an answer for everything she did, no matter how ridiculous.
“Oh don’t worry,” she’d said. “I would never sleep with another man.” And then when he discovered her disloyalty: “It was all for you, Adam, you and Alex. Our family needed more money. Our family needed security.”
But he’d seen through her lies. He’d seen through the false pretenses of love and devotion. She’d been tired of waking up beside him every morning. He could see it in her eyes. She wanted excitement and spontaneous fun, something he could no longer give her. That was the real reason she cheated on him. Not for the money or the love or the security, but for the thrill of waking up in a stranger’s arms.
Feeling the beat of a stranger’s heart.
“Dad? Dad, are you okay?”
Adam looked up. Somehow he’d managed to lose track of reality and spill the contents of his suitcase all over the sidewalk.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Just thinking.”
“Then hurry up,” Alex urged. “I want to see what this place looks like on the inside.”
Adam shook his head, stooping to gather his clothes, which now smelled pleasantly like gasoline. Alex gave him a reason to smile, a reason to wake up each morning and see the sun in the sky. Without him, he wouldn’t be able to see past the storm clouds that lined the horizon.
Speaking of storm clouds, there were some massive ones overhead.
Adam snapped his suitcase shut a
nd hurried inside. He didn’t want to risk getting his last pair of clean clothes soaked in a freak rainstorm. That would have been the perfect ending to an otherwise cheery day. Smile at the camera!
“Hello? Is anyone home?”
Adam stepped into the small lobby, glancing from left to right. Not much furniture decorated the room. There was a desk that sat against the far wall, and a retro green chair pushed into the corner. Other than that, it was drab and ordinary. However, there was a strange atmosphere about it. The room secreted a sense of inertia that permeated the very nerve endings in his brain, and turned his whole sense of reality upside down. Like a roller coaster ride at some fucked-up carnival.
“Creepy,” Alex murmured. His attention had focused on the far wall, where whole sections of drywall had been blasted to pieces. “I wonder what happened.”
“I thought you would,” a disembodied voice chimed in.
Suddenly a man appeared behind the desk. He was tall and lean, though not too skinny, and rather well dressed. He wore a perfectly-tailored three-piece suit that complimented his distinguished looks. The only thing missing was his tie. Either the ornate band of fabric had leapt off his chest and scurried away, or he’d chosen not to wear it for some reason.
Adam chose the latter.
The man smiled a thin, tight-lipped smile. “Welcome to the Wescott Motel. I assume you two are new in town. We don’t get many passers-through anymore. Not with big resorts like Vail and Aspen competing for the tourist dollar. Pity, because Stone Creek is such a beautiful place.”
Adam nodded tentatively. He wanted to ask the man whether he’d looked outside recently, but decided against it. “Are you the owner of this establishment?”
“I suppose you could say that,” the man mused, hands grasped firmly behind his back. “You can call me Albert. Or Mr. Albert, if you like.”
“Well then, Albert, have you lived here your whole life?”
“No. I’m afraid not. I moved here quite recently, actually. Business and all.”
“I know what you mean,” Adam intoned.
“What about you? Why have you come to Stone Creek? Adventure? Wealth?”
“More like a fresh start.”
The man’s smile broadened, peeling apart his reptilian lips and revealing the little white pearls within. “I think you’ll find we have plenty of those.”
Adam set his suitcase aside and signed in. There were no computers, just a big leather logbook with crispy yellow pages. It must have been a hundred years old, all covered with dust and mildew, but then again, its age paled in comparison to the dilapidated town around him. Most of the houses looked like they’d been built during the Revolutionary War. Maybe earlier, judging by the vines that climbed their whitewashed sidings.
“Rooms start at sixty dollars per night,” Albert said. “That includes free meals and a complimentary telephone, should you need to call someone.”
“Do they have TVs?” Alex interrupted.
Mr. Albert folded his long fingers together. “No, I’m afraid not. However, we do have a radio if you need entertainment.”
Alex’s eyes went dull. “Satellite radio?” he asked hopefully.
“If you consider FM to be satellite radio, then yes. Otherwise, no.”
“Sounds perfect,” Adam interjected. He didn’t want his son to alienate the only motel owner in town; at least not yet. Once they’d found a house and started a down-payment, he could pester the man to his heart’s content.
“It’s always such a pleasure to have new visitors,” Albert said. “The last couple who visited our town had an unfortunate accident…”
“What kind of accident?”
“The kind involving a wood chipper. But don’t worry. If you mind your own business and stay away from the factory, you’ll be fine.”
“The factory?” Adam said, testing the word on his tongue.
“Oh, I’m sorry. You didn’t see it? It’s located on a hill just north of town.”
“Is that where all the smoke is coming from?”
Albert frowned. “I’m afraid so. That’s the residue from their chemical plant. Although it looks toxic, I assure you that it’s completely harmless.”
Adam nodded vacantly. He was too busy fishing twenty-dollar bills out of his wallet and tossing them onto the counter.
“Here’s a hundred and eighty dollars. That should cover three nights, enough time for us to explore the town and decide where we want to live.”
Albert’s eyes kindled with a disconcerting light. “Excellent. Excellent. Just what we need, a few new faces to freshen things up. The townspeople will love you, you know.”
Adam chuckled. “And why is that?”
“Because. They love the scent of new blood.”
Chapter 10
Despite the hotel owner’s haunting last words, Adam found their room surprisingly comfortable. The moment he opened the door, the scent of Freshtastic fabric softener and old oak wafted into his nostrils. It made him want to drop his suitcase and collapse onto the bed, soaking up the sweet fragrance of spring as he drifted off to dreamland.
“Whoa! Super cool!” Alex exclaimed.
The item which had elicited such an exited response hung motionless on the wall. It was an elk’s head fastened to a mahogany plaque, perfectly preserved. Its dark eyes peered about the room, lifeless and opaque, as if they were mirrors guarding the entrance to another dimension.
“Do you think Mr. Albert killed it?” he inquired.
“I doubt it,” Adam yawned. “Mr. Albert doesn’t look like a hunter to me. He probably found it at a garage sale.”
Alex didn’t respond. He couldn’t. Not with his mouth hanging open like that.
After he’d circled around the elk head for about fifteen minutes, inspecting it from every angle like an avid gun collector, he sat down on the bed and amused himself by drawing pictures of cowboys and Indians. He hadn’t even completed the picture of Buffalo Bill before Adam was out cold, snoring like a baby. Two days of driving without rest had that effect on a person.
“Goodnight, dad,” Alex whispered. He finished coloring the lawman’s jacket and tucked his crayons back into the container. He liked drawing in his spare time. It was a way to release the creative juices that built up inside him. Thumbing through video games just didn’t achieve the same effect.
With a sigh, he ambled across the room, stopping to gaze out the foggy window. The past few months had been difficult for him, more difficult than he would admit. Even though his father had refused to tell him the details, he understood the basics of the situation. He knew that his mother had left because she was seeing someone else. He knew that drugs, sex, or rock ‘n roll was involved—possibly all three—and that they’d left the city because his father couldn’t stand her anymore. Beyond that, everything was blurry.
Saundra.
That was her name. He said it in his sleep every night because his father didn’t like hearing it out loud. Maybe it was because he didn’t want to be tormented by her memory. Or maybe, Alex thought, he wanted to forget her completely.
Adam grunted and rolled onto his side. He wasn’t aware of it in his sleeping state, but he subconsciously reached out and hugged a pillow against his chest. He wasn’t used to sleeping alone. He’d always had Saundra by his side, had her gorgeous eyes and beautiful smile to greet him when he woke up, but now he had nothing. Nothing but the chill autumn breeze to warm his cold, dead heart.
Dreams flitted in and out of his mind. They were dreams filled with happy memories—Christmas with his uncle John, Thanksgiving with Grandpa Ed, and Easter with sweet Saundra—but dreams nonetheless. They weren’t real. They couldn’t alter what had already happened. They were like wooden soldiers, amusing little novelties but useless during a real war.
“Dad! Dad, wake up!”
“What is it? What’s going on?”
Adam rolled over, his brain only partially awake. Perched on the bed beside him was Alex, blue eyes wide.
“Of course there’s something outside,” Adam grumbled. “We’re in a town for crying out loud.”
“That’s not what I mean. There’s something different outside. Something weird.”
“Weirder than getting a good night’s sleep?”
“Dad, I’m being serious.”
“So am I. Now go to bed. It’s probably just a wolf or something.”
Adam rolled over and buried his head in a pillow, but Alex would not give up that easily. He grabbed his mp3 player and put the headphones over Adam’s ears, changing the volume from pulse-pounding to skull-shattering. A series of gut-wrenching guitar riffs leapt to life, blasting through his eardrums like a rusty nail.
“Sonofabitch! Get those things off my head!” Adam shrieked.
“Only if you promise to look outside,” Alex demanded.
God help him. The kid had learned how to negotiate.
“Fine. But only for a second. And then I’m going back to sleep. Deal?”
“Deal.” Alex grinned, leading his father toward the misty window.
“So where is this terrible beastie?” David asked. He rubbed a pocket of steam off the glass so he could see through more clearly.
“It… it was outside. In the street,” Alex stammered. “There were three of them. They were limping, like zombies. One of them didn’t have an arm.”
“Sounds like a nightmare to me,” David replied, looking down the deserted street. “I told you not to play those shoot-em-up video games”
“It wasn’t a dream,” Alex insisted. “I saw them with my own two eyes.”
Adam sighed. He knew his son’s imagination tended to run away with him, but this was something entirely different. Maybe he was seeing illusions. That was possible, right? He thought he remembered reading something about that on the internet. Some university professor had started a nation-wide study to learn what caused delusions…
“Look! There’s one now!”
Alex jumped up and down excitedly.
Anthology of Ichor III: Gears of Damnation Page 11