The Sound

by James Sperl

  Andrew zipped past a Wendy’s. Clarissa craned her neck to watch a fight break out in its parking area that involved ten people at a minimum. A small strip mall sailed into view. Men, women, and children evacuated the various stores like rats from a sinking ship, the parking lot there in as much disarray as the one at Holsten’s.

  She turned to Andrew. “Andrew, thank you. I can’t even begin to tell you how much trouble we would've been in if you hadn’t stopped.”

  “Yeah,” seconded Valentina. “You really saved our butts back there.”

  “Glad I could help,” he said, his eye skipping between the road and the rearview.

  Rachel wept openly. “What does this mean? What’s going to happen now?” Valentina slid beside her friend and pulled her close. “Are more people going to disappear?”

  Clarissa twisted around. “We don’t know that it means anything yet. The numbers of missing people went down overnight, which may mean that we’re figuring out how to deal with whatever this is. Just hang in there, Rach. We’ll get home and see what the news is saying.”

  Rachel only nodded.

  Andrew braked hard then turned right onto Blakely Road, narrowly missing a VW Bug that puttered slowly in the nearest lane. It took a moment for Clarissa to orient herself, but once she did, she became keenly aware of the road and where it led. One of the least traveled arteries into and out of Pastora, Blakely Road cut a windy path straight for the mountains. One minute, you were in the city, the next you were surrounded by coniferous pines.

  “Sorry, Andrew,” she began, her furrowed brows attempting to even out. “I forgot that you don’t know where I live. My apartment’s back that way.” She thumbed over her shoulder.

  Andrew said nothing. He positioned his hands on the wheel and fixed his eyes on the road. Clarissa looked back at Valentina, who scowled and shrugged.

  “Did you hear me?” Clarissa asked. “I’m not trying to be ungrateful or anything. I just want to get home. Me and my friends. My apartment complex is just off Crescent.”

  Andrew exhaled. “I know where that is.”

  “Good,” Clarissa said with a smile, though she suddenly felt the tiniest bit uneasy. “I thought you might.”

  She glimpsed her friends to make sure they were all right then sat back and watched Pastora recede in the side view mirror. Thank heaven for small favors. She didn’t know what she would have done if Andrew hadn’t come along when he did. She supposed she, Valentina, and Rachel would have tried to walk home, which would have been no easy feat considering the number of food-laden bags each of them toted. Still, they could have done it if it had come down to it.

  Andrew flew through one of the few remaining intersections at Blakely and Dover and kept going. Clarissa watched the potential turnaround disappear behind her. She looked back at Andrew.

  “Um, you just passed Dover. We could have turned around back there.”

  Andrew’s eyes held steady. “I know.”

  Clarissa sat up. After Dover, only Spring Street remained. It was the last intersection before Blakely became a shoulderless series of ascending switchbacks that had precious few pull-offs. Once they got caught up in that serpentine portion of the road, they would be forced to commit to it for miles.

  Clarissa didn’t want to climb mountains. She wanted to go home.

  The traffic light at the intersection of Spring and Blakely emerged in the distance. It was a stale red that popped to green after several seconds. Clarissa tensed as they approached it. She tried to tell herself that Andrew missing the first intersection was an accident. That in all the confusion, he had momentarily forgotten he had passengers—something which Clarissa was sure he was unaccustomed to having. That was okay. They still had another shot. Andrew could take a right onto Spring and follow it into town if he’d prefer it over making a U-turn and heading back the way they came. It was all the same to her.

  The green light switched to yellow then red, but instead of slowing and preparing to make a right turn, Andrew sped up.

  “Andrew…”

  The red traffic light at Spring sailed over Clarissa’s head as Andrew blazed through it. The last opportunity to turn around had just passed. The uneasy feeling Clarissa felt transformed into creeping fear.

  “What the hell, man?” Valentina said ahead of her. “That was our turn back there.”

  Clarissa stared at him. “What’s going on, Andrew? Why won’t you turn around? We’re all scared. And we just want to go home.”

  Andrew's eyes flitted to her. He swallowed visibly then looked at Clarissa before finding the road again.

  “We’re not going back into town.”

  Clarissa sat up poker straight, Valentina leaning forward with unmitigated concern.

  “What’re you talking about?” Clarissa fought to control the involuntary shaking that wanted to seize her. “I want to go back to my apartment. Right. Now.”

  “Yeah, asshole!” Valentina barked. “This is straight up kidnapping if you don’t.”

  Andrew’s eyes cut to the rearview and found Valentina. He glanced at Clarissa then trailed back to the road, his hands gripping the wheel purposefully through a deep inhale.

  “It’s too late for that,” he began. “After today, the world is going to be different. You won't be going home. From now on, you’ll be staying with me.”

  CHAPTER 15

  Clarissa punched Andrew on the bridge of his nose. Valentina lurched over the seat and put him in a chokehold. In retrospect, it probably wasn’t wise to attack the driver of a moving vehicle, but the news that he had abducted all of them relegated that important fact to secondary status.

  The truck screeched and swerved, as Clarissa continued to wail on Andrew. She landed blow after blow on his face, her fight-or-flight response having kicked in thoroughly. Andrew flailed and tried to fight her off, but no sooner did he stave off a blow than Valentina’s arm constricted around his throat, forcing him to alternate defense tactics between the two women.

  “Take us home!” Clarissa shrieked.

  “Hell with that!” Valentina yelled. “Let us out!”

  Rachel shrank to the farthest corner of the cab and covered her ears.

  Andrew’s cheek bled from no less than three places thanks to Clarissa’s rings, and Valentina had applied enough pressure to his throat to turn his face red. But Andrew didn't just sit and take the punishment. He dug his fingers into the meat of Valentina’s forearm, causing her to yelp and let go. A millisecond later he caught Clarissa’s arcing swing in mid-punch and clamped it in his fist.

  “Stop it!” he yelled. “Just stop it!”

  Clarissa struggled against his grip. “Not until you let us go!” She pulled her arm free then sat back against the door. “Why are you doing this? Why are you kidnapping us?”

  “I’m not kidnapping you! I’m saving your lives.” He leaned forward and looked into the rearview to assess his wounds. Valentina and Clarissa exchanged pensive glances. “Jesus, how many rings are you wearing?”

  Clarissa smoothed back her hair and caught her breath. “If you’re not kidnapping us then why won’t you take us home?”

  “Hand me a tissue,” Andrew said gruffly. “There, in the glove box.”

  Clarissa scowled then sighed exasperatedly. She ripped open the compartment and rooted around until she came across a half-empty package of Kleenex. She grabbed it and tossed it into Andrew’s lap. He gave her a sideways look then proceeded to pull one out and dab his scratched face.

  “Just trust me when I tell you that you’ll be safer if you stay with me.”

  Valentina flopped back and crossed her arms. “What if we don’t want to stay with you? What if we just want to get the fuck out of here and go home?”

  Andrew eyed her for a long moment.

  “If that’s what you truly want then fine. I’ll take you home. I’m no criminal. I don’t hold people against their will. All I ask is that you hear what I have to say before you make that decision. It may mean the d
ifference between life and death…for all of us.”

  Clarissa sized him up. Andrew was slowly beginning to sound like the guy she had come to know over the past several years. He was enigmatic and often curt, but he was also sincere to a fault. If he said he wasn’t holding them against their will, she believed him.

  “What’s this about, Andrew? How are you saving our lives?”

  Andrew ripped a corner off the tissue and stuck it over a seeping wound. It turned red instantly.

  “You’re not being told everything,” he started. “What they’re saying on the news and in these town hall meetings isn’t the whole truth.”

  Valentina sat up and locked eyes with Clarissa.

  “What are you talking about? The news is saying that reports of missing people are down all over the world. How can that sort of information be faked?”

  Andrew winced. “I believe that part to be true. Though I don’t think you’ll see it go down much further. We’ll continue to see a steady stream of missing persons until only those armed with the truth are left.”

  Clarissa sat forward, her heart thudding wildly. “What truth is that, Andrew?”

  Andrew turned and looked at her, his bloodied face so earnest it gave Clarissa pause.

  “There’s something you don’t know.”

  * * *

  The sound had long since stopped by the time Andrew pulled onto his property. By Clarissa’s count, it lasted just over six minutes.

  Six minutes.

  So much had transpired in those six minutes, she could barely account for it all. One moment she, Rachel, and Valentina were fleeing Holsten’s, only to find themselves unwitting abductees seconds later by the very person they had hailed as their savior—only they weren’t abductees. Or so Andrew said. His behavior was certainly questionable, but Clarissa and Valentina had reluctantly agreed to go to his cabin to hear what he had to say. They would have consulted with Rachel, but their traumatized friend had all but shut down and retreated inside herself. Clarissa and Valentina would have to act in her best interest.

  Andrew’s truck rolled up a long driveway to a rather well-kept cabin nestled deep in the mountains and on the fringe of Umpqua National Forest. Only forty-five minutes from Pastora, Clarissa had never once set foot in the densely forested area. She had never been much of a hiker, but given the surrounding beauty, she was beginning to regret not having taken advantage of Umpqua’s scenic proximity. She peered through the windshield at the place where Andrew had brought her and her friends.

  The lot was a relatively decent size, perhaps as much as several acres. Immediately to her right were goat and chicken pens. Four white-bearded goats bleated curious greetings and meandered up to the fence to peer through the wire mesh and see who had just arrived. The chickens couldn’t have cared less and only clucked about in lazy patterns as they occasionally pecked at the ground.

  A vegetable garden—both of the in-ground and raised-bed variety—sat just past the pens alongside the house. It wasn’t enormous, but Clarissa thought it more than ample to feed a five-person family, let alone a single man. Rife with herbs, the garden boasted copious amounts of leaf and root vegetables, as well as a lesser section reserved for vine-grown produce. Even from her distance, she could see the success Andrew had with cherry tomatoes and sugar snap peas. A substantial storage shed sat in the distance.

  It was the house, however, that commanded attention. On the way up the mountain, Andrew had described it as a cabin, but the word “lodge” was a more fitting description. Constructed primarily from redwood, the rich color of the roof, deck, and railings contrasted beautifully with the river rock walls. A four-step rise ascended to a spacious porch that wrapped around the side of the house and connected with another set of stairs that descended into the garden area. This isn’t a cabin, Clarissa thought. It’s a retreat.

  Andrew pulled in front of the house then turned his truck around, so it faced down the drive. He killed the engine and turned toward the women.

  “Look, I know what this looks like. Believe me. If I were in your shoes, I’d be thinking some scary things too. But I assure you, I have nothing but our best interests at heart. I’m just asking you to trust me. I’ll explain everything.”

  Valentina, who had been holding Rachel’s hand for most of the drive, peered through the window onto the property.

  “Who’s up here with you? Wife? Kids?”

  Andrew faced forward. “No,” he said, as he withdrew his keys from the ignition. “It’s just me.”

  “Ahhhhh,” Valentina said, smirking. “Now it’s all starting to make sense. You see what’s going on here, don’t you, Clar?”

  Clarissa frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Your friend here. This isn’t about doing what’s in our best interest. It’s about doing what’s in his. He’s by himself up here, which means he’s got no one to watch over him while this Sound business is going on. That’s where I’m betting we come in. He’s trying to convince us that we need each other, but actually, it’s only him that needs us. He is kidnapping us.”

  Clarissa looked from Valentina to Andrew, who only stared into his lap. Her theory made complete sense. The fact that Andrew was doing nothing to refute it only added to its probability.

  “Andrew?” she said. “Is this true?”

  A moment of silence hung in the air, the tension unbearable. Finally, Andrew looked up.

  “She’s right,” he said.

  “I knew it!” Valentina blurted.

  Clarissa felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. She opened her mouth to ask how Andrew could lie to her and take advantage of their situation, but he spoke before she got the chance.

  “But only partly,” he said. “I won’t deny it benefits me to have you all here. Based on what’s been happening around the world, people like me are the most susceptible. I’ve got no one here to watch over me. But there’s more to it than you know.”

  “Yeah, I’ll bet,” Valentina scoffed.

  Andrew found her in the rearview. “I know I haven’t earned your trust yet. The past sixty minutes have been life-altering for all of us, I assure you. When the Sound happened, and I found you all in trouble in the parking lot, I saw an opportunity. Yes, it was self-serving at the time, but I think you’ll find that being here benefits us all.”

  No one said anything. Andrew opened his door but didn’t get out.

  “Just come on inside, and I’ll tell you everything I know.”

  With that, Andrew climbed out of the car and shut the door.

  Clarissa looked at Valentina sharply. “What do you think?”

  “I think your friend’s off his fucking rocker, that’s what I think. Seriously. Who lives all by themselves in the mountains? Crazy people, that’s who.”

  Clarissa twisted all the way around. “But what if he’s telling the truth? What if there’s something we don’t know? Something that could help us?”

  “Come on, Clar. Think about it a second. How is this guy going to know stuff that world governments don’t? It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “No, I know.”

  “So then why are we here?”

  Clarissa winced. “Because I sort of trust him?”

  Valentina let her chin drop to her chest in disbelief.

  “I know,” Clarissa continued. “But I promise you he’s not like you think he is.”

  “What, you mean insane and deceptive?”

  “That’s not fair and you know it. Do you want people judging you based on how you reacted today? We all lost our shit back there and had to think in the moment. Andrew’s no different. Even so, I think he would’ve stopped for us even if he didn’t need us.”

  “You hope.”

  Clarissa thought about it then shook her head. “No. I know.”

  “Yeah, but what do you know? You don’t really know him. You only know that he seems kind when he comes in once a month and makes thirty seconds of small talk with you. I’m not one to tell you how t
o pick your friends, but that doesn’t seem like a hell of a lot of in-depth convo time to get to know a person.”

  “Maybe not. But I think it’s enough to get a sense of someone. And I’ve long felt Andrew is a decent man.”

  Valentina brushed hair out of Rachel’s vacantly staring face.

  “Well, we’re here now,” she said. “Doesn’t do much good to argue about it.”

  “We’re not arguing. We’re discussing. And you’re right. We are here. So let’s go find out what this is all about.”

  Just as Clarissa reached for the door handle, she heard a tiny voice mumble something unintelligible. She turned back around to ask Valentina what she said, but Clarissa’s attention shifted to Rachel, who looked at her.

  “Hey, kiddo. How’re you doing? Did you say something?”

  Valentina leaned back as Rachel pushed herself up.

  “I don’t want to go back,” she said meekly.

  Clarissa glanced at Valentina.

  “Go back where, sweetie?”

  “To Pastora. Don’t make me go back there. Please.”

  Rachel turned her empty stare out the window. Valentina nodded and kissed her hand.

  “Well,” she said to Clarissa, “I guess that’s settled.”

  * * *

  Clarissa was right. Andrew’s house was a lodge. It was beautiful from the outside, but it was downright spa-like inside.

  Exposed-beams of rough-hewn timber spanned an open floor plan and created the illusion of a low ceiling, which belied the vaulted ceiling beyond them. A rich-colored hardwood floor (mesquite?) didn’t detract in the least from the warm redwood interior, and the strategically placed throw rugs added just the right amount of color to the room. Furnishings were sparse, but they were enough to give the space a welcoming feel. It put Clarissa immediately at ease.

  “Andrew,” she began, “this place is spectacular.”