The somber mood weighed heavily on the crowd that edged in tight together towards the Town Hall steps on the other side of the park. Nathan pulled out his phone again and tried Rachel’s number. When it went to voicemail after the first ring, he hung up. Where was she?
“Attention. Attention.”
On the top step stood Kate, microphone in hand as she planted one hand on her hip. Nathan kept to the outer circle of the crowd. Whatever was going on didn’t include him. Standing in the background, where no one relied on him, suited him just fine.
“We called this meeting for one specific reason. Something strange has been happening in town and I don’t like it. Neither do you from the sounds of it. So we need to figure out what we’re gonna do to stand up to the evil that’s taken over this town.”
Jack stood beside his wife, his arms crossed over his expansive chest. He reminded Nathan of a body guard by the frown on his face.
“What about the myth?” a voice called out from the crowd just as the wind picked up. Hats flew off heads, leaves swirled in the air. Nathan covered his face as the dirt under his feet churned and blew into his eyes.
“Are we gonna let a myth keep us locked behind closed doors?” Kate’s voice boomed over the crowd as the dust settled.
Nels, standing four feet away from Nathan yelled out. “Sure am. Have you seen that thing walk down our streets? That’s no man. That’s the devil disguised as a stranger.” He then gathered his wife close to his side as he carried their child on his hip.
Nathan caught Jack’s glance and when the older man beckoned to him, Nathan just shook his head. No way. He didn’t need to be up there. Let someone else address the crowd.
Yet somehow, under Jack’s glare, Nathan found himself edging around the crowd until he climbed the stairs and stood beside Kate.
“Well Rev. What are we going to do about it?” Kate held the microphone out to him.
Nathan grabbed it, covered it with one hand and held it at his side.
“What’s going on?” he hissed. “What do you expect me to do about this?”
When Kate shrugged her shoulders and took a step back, he wanted to lash out. His gaze swept over the crowd and his lungs constricted. He couldn’t breathe. It was as if a heavy hand pressed down on his chest.
“Relax, boy. The people just need to know they’re not alone.” A solid hand landed on his shoulder. He glanced behind him. Jack stood at his side.
Nathan lifted the microphone up to his mouth. The expectant look in peoples’ gazes was almost too much for him to handle. He tried to swallow, but his parched throat refused to cooperate.
Until he saw the scared look in a little girl’s eyes.
“Fear is a funny thing.” Nathan cleared his throat. “It’s always going to be there, staring us in the face. But it has no power. Unless we feed into it.”
The few heads that bobbed in agreement encouraged Nathan to continue.
“A lot of scary things have been happening to us lately. There’s this myth about evil taking form. Guess this is the generation. But, there’s a secret to myths we often forget about. They can change.”
Nathan stepped forward.
“Just because it’s happened in the past, doesn’t mean it’s going to happen now. Sure, we’ve all seen some strange things lately, but has anyone been hurt? I know I haven’t, and I’ve seen my fill. Nels, that man you saw? Have you noticed he doesn’t say anything, or even touch anything? Almost as if he’s just an image. An image from hell maybe. But not something that can hurt us.”
“What about that black swarm we saw?” Nels called out.
Nathan shrugged his shoulders. “What about it? Has anyone been harmed by the bugs in that swarm? Maybe it’s just a freak of nature. Just ‘cause it looks scary doesn’t mean it is.”
He went and stood right in front of that little girl with the wide eyes. Kneeling down, Nathan smiled as she stuck her thumb in her mouth.
“When we choose to face our fears, they lose what little power they had over us. Doesn’t mean you have to conquer them. Just face them.” He reached out and ruffled the little girl’s hair.
“The first time the man appeared was a few nights ago, right? Was it before or after rumor of the myth spread around town?” Nathan backtracked and climbed the stairs. He handed the microphone back to Kate.
She winked.
“Makes sense, doesn’t he? I remember as a child when we had a rat infestation from the mines. Folks didn’t hide away then. Remember what they did? Put out the poison and killed those little buggers. Back in those days, folks knew the only way to survive was to fight. My granddaddy used to say they were the rats from hell. Guess we got the bugs this time around.” Kate set the microphone in its stand and crossed her arms.
A low rumble of thunder echoed through the valley. Strikes of lightning flashed in the distance. The heaviness in the air intensified.
“We don’t need the poison, but we do need some smarts. Stop being afraid. I didn’t see the mosquitoes until I knew about them and I bet you didn’t either. Once the fear set in - that’s when I started to jump at every shadow. Face your fears. We can do it. We’ve done it before. Why, this town was rebuilt after the flood. If our ancestors could do that, we can do this.”
Kate angled her face up to the sky. “Redemption’s never been taken over by evil before and we sure as hell won’t let it happen now,” she shouted.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The heavens opened and a deluge of rain poured. Dusty paths turned to mud as families ran, young children gathered in their arms as they dashed across the park to the shelter of their vehicles. Nathan decided to wait for the rain to slack off and stepped back until he stood under the Town Hall overhang. Jack and Kate joined him.
“You need to find Rachel,” Kate said.
“I’ve tried, Kate.” Nathan shook his head and stared out at the empty grounds. The heavy pour turned into a light spattering of rain, until mist swirls gathered above the blades of grass blanketing the park. An eerie feeling permeated the air. “I haven’t heard from her all day. She won’t return my phone calls.” Nathan stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged back his shoulders. He was so tight. It had been a few days since he last went for a good run and he was feeling it.
It bothered him more than he wanted to admit that Rachel had gone quiet on him. She’d been shaken after the tree had fallen yesterday. He should have checked up on her afterwards, instead of leaving her alone like he had.
When Kate didn’t answer he turned. Her arms crossed her ample chest and the fiercest frown filled her face. Her eyes shifted away as he stared.
“You might as well tell him, woman.” Jack laid his arm across Kate’s shoulders and squeezed.
Nathan rubbed his chin. “Tell me what? Do you know where she is but haven’t said anything?”
“She went to the cabin.” Kate’s head lowered at the words.
He jerked in surprise. Cabin? There was only one cabin Rachel had ever mentioned and he knew she would never go there. Not willingly, at least. “You let her go?”
Kate lifted her head, tears brimming over her lashes. She didn’t answer.
Damn it.
“Why didn’t she tell me? Why would she go up there, alone?”
Jack growled. Nathan glared at him.
“Said you had your own demons to worry about, you didn’t need to deal with hers as well.” Kate’s lips tightened into a straight line.
Nathan didn’t know how to respond to that. He deserved it.
“Why?” Why would she go up to the one place she abhorred alone?
Kate shook her head. “Her pa used to read stories to her at night from an old journal he had. Ghost stories from the previous owner. Stories from the past. She remembered one about the myth in there. She thought it might have some answers.”
Nathan shook his head. Why didn’t she call him? She’d be out of cell phone range, so it made sense why she never answered when he called. It didn’t explain w
hy she would go alone.
“When did she leave?”
Kate bit her lip. When Jack nudged her, he knew he wouldn’t like what she had to say.
“Yesterday. After you left.”
Instant anger burned through his body. He wanted to hit something, someone. He’d never felt this way before. Ever.
His relationship with Rachel was nothing like he’d ever experienced before. Especially not with Sue. They didn’t call each other all the time, or spend every waking moment together. Nathan wanted to take his time building their relationship. When he met Sue, he’d fallen in love right away. He proposed after six months and they were married 4 months later in a small country church. He swore before God that he’d love his wife forever and look where it left him. He didn’t deserve someone like Rachel in his life. But it was her kindness, her innocence and honesty that wrapped itself around his heart until the walls he’d built were starting to crumble. He fought that crumbling every day. And look where it left him.
To know she hadn’t trusted him enough with this burned like fire at his heart. And he was the only one to blame.
He was a fool.
“Seems to me you need to decide what she means to you. You’ve got to make a choice boy. You can’t have two women in your life, in your heart. It’s not fair to either one of them.” Jack shook his head before he entwined his fingers with Kate’s. The mist had made its way up to the third step, but the older couple ignored it.
“What if I don’t make the right choice?” Nathan called out.
“You will. Now go find her,” Jack called over his shoulder. Nathan watched the gentle way Jack handled his wife and as they disappeared into the fog, he realized just how alone he was.
He pulled out his phone and tried Rachel’s number again. This time the only message heard was the automated voice telling him her mailbox was full.
Nathan stuck the phone back in his pants pocket and stared out at the empty park in front of him. “Dammit, Rachel. Why couldn’t you have trusted me enough?”
The rain slowed till it became a drizzle. As Nathan headed down the stairs, an opening in the mist appeared. Tendrils of the fog swirled out and wrapped around his ankles. He knew it wasn’t possible, but he would swear something was pulling at his feet. He picked up the pace and continued down the walk. The fog billowed around him, leaving the stone pathway clear. He could only see about eight feet ahead of him, but he knew he should be close to Main Street.
Thunder rumbled and flashes of lightning filled the darkened sky and illuminated the shadowy figure of a man standing directly in front of him. Nathan stumbled before he caught himself.
The man in black from the diner.
If this guy wasn’t real, why did Nathan still see him? Something about the man pulled at him. Nathan knew the man had to be a figment of his imagination. He had to be.
There was only one thing to do. Keep walking.
He wasn’t sure if it was the mist from the fog swirling at his feet or what, but the smell of sulfur intensified the closer he came to the apparition. Nathan refused to look at him, so he focused on the street ahead. He held his breath as he drew near and struggled not to gag as he passed the silent figure.
“I have her. Rachel is mine.”
The man’s raspy voice sent shivers along Nathan’s body. He whipped his head around, but he’d disappeared. A lone crow stood in his place, its beady eyes blinking.
Join me.
Nathan almost fell to his knees as the words whispered around him, the cadence rising and falling as the words repeated over and over in his mind.
He stumbled to the nearest bench and grabbed hold until his knuckles turned white.
He was going crazy. He knew it. Just like his mother. First the crows, next it would be rats or snakes. No way. Not him. Oh God, please don’t let him be like his mother.
Nathan whipped his head around to face the crow who dared to mess with his mind.
The street was empty.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The swoosh of the windshield wipers did little to clear his view. Within minutes of him exiting Redemption a surge of rain poured from the heavens. Nathan’s knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel. He could barely see anything on the road. The clouded black sky hid the moon from view. If he didn’t know better, he would have sworn it was midnight.
Tension flowed through Nathan’s blood as he inched along the highway. The further he drove into the mountains the tighter the curves got. The sharp drop off into jagged ravines and streams were death traps on nights like this. He stifled the urge to drive faster.
As he rounded a corner, the lights from his truck highlighted a large black mass in the middle of the road. Nathan stomped on his brakes and sections of the mass flew into the air.
Damn crows. Again.
The sound of their high-pitched cawing overpowered the drum of rain on the roof of his truck. The symphony from hell pounded until the air thickened with their cries. Fear slithered along Nathan’s skin, covering him with its slimy presence. He shuddered.
He didn’t want to drive through the murder of crows. The memory of the last time this scene played out still haunted him. The need to find Rachel conquered the drive of fear and he laid on the horn and sneered as more crows lifted off the road, their frantic black wings beating the air.
A flash of red caught his eye as he watched some crows join a large group circling in the sky. He jammed his truck in park and leaned over to catch a better glimpse. He struggled to see into the shadowed ravine, but a few of the birds swooped down and aimed straight for his passenger window. He could have sworn the beady eyes of the demonic birds glowed red.
He reached across, opened his glove compartment and grabbed a flashlight. He flicked it on and aimed the light out the window. When the crows shied away from the light, Nathan aimed the light towards the red object he saw in the bush.
Rachel drove a red pickup.
Nathan pushed the driver’s door open and scrambled out of the truck. He might not have been able to save his wife, but he would save Rachel.
He had to.
A large black shape swooped down towards the hood of the truck. Nathan ducked. As the bird flew past Nathan detected a sulfuric stench. He lifted his arm and held his sleeve over his nose while digging into his pants pocket for his cell phone.
He called the sheriff’s office and while he waited for someone to answer, he opened the driver’s door again, reached behind his seat for the emergency first aid kit he kept there and whispered the first prayer he’d uttered in the past few years.
“God, please let Rachel be alive.”
A burst of wind hit him full in the face as he edged up to the front of the truck. With his phone propped to his ear, he lifted his forearm to shield his eyes from any potential attacks from the swooping crows.
“Redemption Sheriff’s Department,” Mavis, the night switchboard operator answered.
“I’m out on Lost Lake Road. I think Rachel’s in the ravine. Send the ambulance and tow truck. Just be careful, there are strange things going on out here,” Nathan said as he rushed to the edge of the road.
“Nathan, is that you? You found Rachel?” The tell-tale slap of chewing gum smacked in his ear.
“I’m sure it’s her truck.”
“I’ll radio the Sheriff now. Hang tight, sugar.”
Nathan took a deep breath to calm himself as he peered into the dark abyss. Too many people died in these treacherous mountain roads. People like Sue.
“Rachel? Can you hear me?” Nathan yelled as loud as he could.
With his first step he slid five feet downwards. Nathan struggled to grab tree branches or even hook his shoes on exposed roots as he slid further down the sharp decline but the rain slicked his hands so much that everything slipped through his grip. Blasts of haunting cries filled the area as the seedy crows circled above the tree line. Nathan had never been more thankful for a shrouded area than now.
The sight of the
truck wrapped around a tree had Nathan dry heaving. The smell of gas was overpowering. With his hand outreached, he grabbed on to the edge of the crumpled metal to stop himself and used the truck bed for support as he made his way to the driver’s door.
“Rachel, can you hear me?” He pulled on the handle and wrenched the door open. She lay slumped over the steering wheel.
The sight of her lying there, lifeless, scared him. She couldn’t be dead. He wouldn’t let her be.
“Oh, God. Rachel, please be okay. I can’t lose you,” Nathan whispered as he leaned inside to brush aside her hair and checked her pulse. That’s when he noticed the dark patches of blood coating her hair.
His hands shook as he placed his two fingers on her neck. Nothing. No pulse. No life.
“No.” Nathan choked back a sob.
He couldn’t lose her. An uncontrollable rage swept over him. How dare God do this to him. Again. What kind of sick, twisted games was God playing? Nathan had had enough.
“Damn you. Who the hell do you think you are taking another woman I love away from me?” he cried.
As he held back his tears, Nathan gently gathered Rachel in his arms and pulled her away from the steering wheel. The blue pallor of her lips chilled his heart.
The distant sounds of sirens filled the air. Nathan glanced over his shoulder for the lights, but the darkness held its secrets.
He bent forward and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. He let the tears flow unchecked. He couldn’t believe the crushing love that swept over him for this woman. And she was dead.
He was too late.
He gazed up into the night sky and stared straight into the black, soulless eyes of a crow.
Join us, Nephilim, son of Morax.
He couldn’t take it anymore. Nathan screamed, a deep guttural sound that tore his throat apart. He released his hold on Rachel and gripped the driver’s door. With one pull, he ripped it off the truck and threw it at the crows circling above him.
The bird swerved out of the way and settled on the truck roof. It hopped out of the Nathan’s arm reach.
Sexy As Sin Page 6