by Nick Cole
There was no one anywhere.
After a few minutes, he turned to the east and saw the beginning of a full moon rising above the low gray mountains there.
Then he knew what he’d need to do to find Daddy.
The Bat Signal.
If Daddy was in trouble, then Cory would see the Bat Signal on the moon and he would go to wherever it was shining and he would find Daddy there.
Because it was night, Cory put on his cape and mask again because Batman can go out at night. He would climb a high hill and see where the signal was coming from.
Cory left the store and followed Forest Lake Avenue up toward the moon and the mountains in the east. By the time he made Bake Parkway the moon was above the mountains. It was a big moon and it glowed a bright yellow as it rose out of the distant smoke and haze of other disasters.
The moon was rising toward the north of Cory, so he followed Portola Parkway, north toward the Market Faire, watching it and not seeing the Strangers he passed in distant businesses, banging at the windows with soundless screams as he walked by. Trapped mindlessly inside the stores they’d found themselves in on that last day.
In time, Cory passed the Market Faire, watching the swollen moon as it climbed before his eyes higher and higher into the night sky. At any moment, Cory knew Daddy would send up the Bat Signal and Cory would see and go to him and eventually, Cory was absolutely convinced of this, there would be pancakes, which meant so much more than just food.
So much more, as sometimes ordinary things do.
Cory found himself cutting through an open wilderness park and entering the charcoaled ruins of a neighborhood that had burned to the ground. He crossed through blackened foundations and climbed up naked ashy hillsides, only to cross through the skeletal remains of houses where bathtubs and toilets were the only things that remained. Melted cars in weird shapes rested on scorched streets and Cory climbed higher and higher up the hill, watching the moon as it stood straight above him now.
Waiting.
At the top of the hill, amid the ruin of a small palace, Cory found a patio and some broken stonework to rest on. The smell of burnt wood hung heavy in the air and mixed with some unseen night-blooming jasmine. Cory watched the moon waver amid the debris in the reflection of the pool.
At any moment...
... he knew the Bat Signal would be there.
At any moment...
He waited and watched throughout the night. Watching and waiting like a good boy until the moon had crossed the night sky, turning the few clouds in the east silver. In time, the moon was out over the coast and falling into an ocean that seemed like the costume of the Batman from the movies. Silvery and dark.
And suddenly Cory was crying, because what else was there left to do now?
He was all alone.
He’d been brave. Even for just a little longer when it was needed most in ways Cory would never understand.
And Daddy was never coming to get Cory.
Never.
Ever.
And in time, Ash came and sat beside Cory in the night and he sobbed into her because he knew she was not a stranger and that she was kind.
The End
Author’s Note
I hope you enjoyed Apocalypse Weird: The Dark Knight. The first 200 People who leave a Review on Amazon, or wherever this book was purchased, will receive a copy of the next book Apocalypse Weird: The Lost Castle For free.
Just head over to my website at NickColeBooks.com and let me know where I can find your review and I’ll make sure you’re on the list for the next book. While you’re there sign up for Nick’s Newsletter so I can let you know about my latest books and the free swag and ARC copies I sometimes give away. Oh... I think there’s a little more left to this story...
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nick Cole is a working actor living in Southern California. When he is not auditioning for commercials, going out for sitcoms or being shot, kicked, stabbed or beaten by the students of various film schools for their projects, he can often be found as a guard for King Phillip the Second of Spain in the Opera Don Carlo at Los Angeles Opera or some similar role. Nick Cole has been writing for most of his life and acting in Hollywood after serving in the U.S. Army. For more information about Nick Cole, check out his website: http://nickcolebooks.com
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Tracking Target Alpha...
STANDBY for Capture/Interrogation Protocols
Outside Temperature falling 7.222 Degree Celsius...
GPS Signal... Destabilizing...
MISSION STATUS: Critical.
WARNING: Detecting Anomaly!
All systems STANDBY for Shutdown.
PRIORITY MESSAGE Received from SILAS Deep Space Interrogation...
DOWNLOADING ZIP PACKET “Tarragon”
MICROFRAME CRASH...
MICROFRAME CRASH...
MICROFRAME Crash...
...
...
...run
Hot Start Reboot in 5...
4...
3...
2...
1...
Diagnostic Running.
Combat Mode Initiated.
Terminate Virus Protocols in Effect.
Mission Status: Critical
GPS Tracking Offline... No Signal.
The Thinking Machine opened a new DATA CAPTURE file as it scanned what it saw.
http://doctormidnite.com/entry/doormouse/reboot
Apocalypse Weird
Follow the trail and explore the World of Apocalypse Weird. It's Bigger than you imagine... Or fear.
http://www.apocalypseweird.com
More Books in the Apocalypse Weird
The Red King
Texocalypse Now
The Serenity Strain
Immunity
The Dark Knight
Go deep. Go dark.
http://www.doctormidnite.com