Current

by Rian Harper

He hesitated for a minute as he gathered his thoughts.

  “Oh, well I was camping and was burgled.”

  I thought about his dilute explanation, and had even more questions.

  “So, you were camping and had your clothes stolen?” It just wasn’t making sense to me.

  “Well, everything I had was stolen.” He seemed evasive.

  “I’m not following you.” I was determined to get to the bottom of the situation.

  He sighed heavily. “I’ve been out for a few days. This morning, when I was bathing in the stream, someone came and stole my tent, food, clothes…everything. When I got back to my campsite, it was all gone. Nothing left but the coals from the fire.”

  “Oh, well that sucks. You have no idea who did it?”

  “No, I don’t, but I would like to. I’ve been walking all day, and by my Irish luck found a road, then followed it to the nearest house.”

  “Oh, okay.” That seemed slightly believable.

  We stood for a minute without speaking. The silence was broken by the rumble of both our stomachs. I realized that I hadn’t offered him anything to eat.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t even think that you may be hungry.” I said apologetically.

  “You’ve done so much, I hated to ask.”

  “I’ll call and order a pizza. Sound good?”

  “That sounds amazing actually. I’ve been living off of protein bars and water for three days.”

  “Okay, you can hang out in here and watch TV if you want. The remote is on the couch. I’ll go call Alfredo’s.”

  I stepped into the kitchen and dialed the number to the local pizzeria. The more I thought about their white pizza with spinach and feta cheese, the more my stomach churned with hunger. I decided to get a pepperoni pizza as well, just in case Cade was picky. Everybody likes pepperoni.

  The order was placed, and all that was left was to wait for delivery. I stepped back into the great room where Cade was watching the TV. I sat down in my comfy chair and stared toward the television at the local news. After a couple of mundane news stories that few people probably cared about, something came on that made the both of us tense up.

  “Another savage killing of a Burlington resident causes a local stir. This afternoon around 4, the bodies of two campers were found off of Route 27—“

  “—Oh no!” I gasped out loud.

  “What’s the matter?” Cade inquired.

  “I live on Route 27.” I replied, still trying to listen to the newscaster.

  “Officials say that the bodies appear to be in the same brutal state, as one Elizabeth Miller, who was found just two weeks ago, thought to be mauled by an animal. There is still no lead as to what kind of animal may be responsible, although there have been numerous sightings of a large unknown black beast around the county.”

  My heart rate elevated as I recollected the near-encounter I had with such a monster just over an hour ago.

  “Are you all right?” The panic on my face must have been evident for Cade to ask.

  “I saw that animal about half a mile from the house right before you showed up at the door.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. It was big and black and definitely not supposed to be there.”

  “That’s bizarre.” He said offhandedly.

  I turned my attention back to the television to hear the rest of the report.

  “Officials are closing the campsites within the surrounding three counties and asking that everyone stay indoors during the night. Local authorities cannot stress enough how dangerous the situation is.”

  I couldn’t help but think about the strange black animal I saw in the field on my way home. It was so close to my house. A potentially murderous animal was just yards away from my house. I certainly was not going to be able to sleep well tonight. I turned and looked at Cade, whose eyes were transfixed in a stare. He was looking in the direction of the TV, but seemed to be in deep thought, just as I was. Maybe he was thinking the same thing I was. After all, he’d been out camping for the past three days in the wilderness with that beast lurking around. It’s a wonder he wasn’t mauled to death himself. Maybe Irish luck did exist.

  The two of us sat motionless without words for the next fifteen minutes. I was deep into a nightmarish fantasy my imagination conjured up of a happenstance encounter with the beast when the doorbell startled me out of my daydream. I jumped up, as did Cade, and we both looked at the door.

  “Must be the pizza delivery boy.” I said

  Cade sat back down on the sofa and resumed his zombie-like gaze. I walked over to the front door, grabbed a couple of twenty dollar bills from my wallet on the console table and turned the knob.

  “Hi Nate. Are you okay?”

  It was Emma. I stood there with my mouth slightly open, shocked that the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen was talking to me on my front porch.

  “Nate, snap out of it. Are you okay?” She sounded out of breath.

  “Uh…y-yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Did you see the news this evening?”

  “I was just watching it. Did you run here? How do you know where I live?” I tried looking past her to see into the front yard.

  “We were in the area and I recognized your car.” She admitted. “So you know about the two campers that were found dead near here?” She said interrogatingly.

  “Yeah, it’s terrible that happened.”

  “Did you see anything weird when you were coming home? Anything at all?”

  “Well, when I was driving home, I saw a big black animal in the field about half a mile down the road. I realized it could be the animal responsible for the attacks, so I hurried home. Would you like to come in?”

  “No thanks. I just wanted to make sure you were safe.”

  “Everything okay over there, Nate?” Cade interjected from the sofa.

  “Yeah, Cade, it’s just a friend who stopped by for a minute.”

  “Did you say Cade?” Worry spiked into her voice.

  “Oh yeah. This guy showed up on my front porch right after I got home. He was totally naked and filthy, so I had him come in to take a shower and gave him some clothes. Now we’re waiting to eat, and he’ll be on his way, wherever he’s going.”

  “He’s here.” Her worried tone heightened.

  “He’s sitting on the couch watching TV. Why?”

  Without replying, Emma flung my front door open and darted around me into the foyer. I turned around in just enough time to see Cade running toward the kitchen. I heard the sound of breaking glass, then felt Emma grab my hand and lead me out to the front yard.

  “Everett, he jumped through the kitchen window!” she shouted into the night.

  I looked down at our hands entwined together. Her smaller hand fit into mine so beautifully, as if it were made to be there. My eyes followed her figure up to her radiant face. She had concern painted on it. I realized I had no clue what was happening. The whole scene seemed like a blur to me. I followed her eyesight and focused on the side of the house where the kitchen window was. Suddenly, a bright light emanated from the back of the house, as if lightning struck, but without the following thunder. I gazed up at the sky to see if there were any clouds, but all I saw were billions of tiny stars blanketing the night. What was happening?

  My head whiplashed as Emma pulled me toward her car and shoved me in the backseat.

  “Get in Nate, and stay here.” She said beautifully as she closed the car door.

  “What’s going on Emma?”

  “I’ll explain later, just stay here!” She yelled back while running toward the back of the house.

  My eyes followed her as she disappeared into the night around the house. Another flash of light came from behind the house, then a noise I couldn’t quite identify. My interest was piqued at the mysterious flashes emanating from the rear of my home. I wanted to know what was going on. I reached for the door handle and tugged, but the door remained closed. By the time I unlocked the door a
nd opened it to step out of the car, Emma and Everett were climbing into the driver’s and passenger’s seats with a rush.

  “Shut your door Nate, we’re leaving.” Everett said over his shoulder.

  “Guys, what’s going on?”

  “We’ll tell you later. Put your seatbelt on.” Emma said as she put the car in drive.

  “I want to know what’s happening right now. You come to my house with the creepy ‘espionage-interrogation-twenty questions’ routine, acting like a spy or something; you freak out when you find out a man is on my couch, then chase him out of my kitchen window, which, by the way, is not going to be cheap to fix. That was an energy-saving window.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll pay for it” Everett assured me.

  I continued on my rant as the car whooshed past the city limits sign, “On top of that, you yank me out of the house, shove me in the backseat of your car, practically kidnapping me, while you run around in the dark chasing that poor man like a duo of vigilantes out for vengeance.”

  “I know it doesn’t make sense, but you’ll get some answers soon.” Emma said cantankerously.

  “Soon?! How about right now?! And what about all the flashes that were coming from behind the house? What was going on back—“

  Emma abruptly cut me off, “Nate! The only thing you need to know at the moment is that the man that was in your house is evil, an abomination of nature, and we’re trying to stop him before he kills again.”

  “Well that certainly clears things up.” I said with a sarcastic hiss. “What do you mean he’s an abomination of nature? He’s a serial killer? How do you know him?” I was more confused than ever.

  Everett turned around in his seat and looked me dead in the face. He had the same look in his eye as he did the first time I saw him; the same frightening, deranged look.

  “That man is an animal. He and his clan travel around the world sadistically killing innocent people. He’s the one responsible for the deaths around town. Emma and I have been tracking him for a long time and finally found him here. That’s why we moved here.”

  “Cade is responsible for the killings? The news claimed they were animal attacks. How could he be responsible?” I asked confused.

  “That’s what I’m telling you, Nate. Cade is the animal.”

  Chapter 4

  Upside Down

  The still night air was thick and palpable. I could feel the fog wrapping around each of my limbs, pulling me down, down, down. Each breath I took was deeper than the last, and each step I took was in more haste. I could see the edge of the forest. I could see my house beyond the tree line and couldn’t wait to reach it. Behind me the beast huffed the thick air with each gallop as it gained on my trifle of a lead. I made it to the yard and up the steps of the porch with the animal still in pursuit. I went to step over the threshold and fell into an abyss of nothingness.

  As I tumbled and flipped through the air, I could see behind me the creature running on air catching up to me, even as I plummeted. My heart rate rose. Beads of sweat were pouring down my face. I closed my eyes and felt a sting. The beast laid its claws in my back. Agony and pain filled my head and I screamed in curdles. I could see something now, no, someone. Emma was ahead of me in the blackness holding out her hand to meet mine. Our fingers interlaced and we ended up in a graceful embrace. The pain seemed to go away with her there. The beast was farther behind now. Escape was close, so I thought, but we kept falling and falling with no end in sight…

  “Rise and shine morning glory!” Everett’s enthusiasm was completely uncalled for, especially after the bizarre night of events that led to even more confusion and unanswered questions. He startled me so that I jumped completely off of the couch and ended up on my feet. I’m glad it was Everett who woke me and not Emma because I was only wearing my boxers to sleep in. I would have died from embarrassment had she seen me like that.

  “How did you sleep? I hope the couch wasn’t too uncomfortable.”

  “It was fine, just had some weird dreams.” I replied groggily.

  “So what would you like for breakfast? We have cereal, oatmeal, or I could make some pancakes with sausage.”

  I sat back down on the couch to ease the transition of waking up abruptly.

  “I’ll take the pancakes. I think after last night, you owe me a good breakfast.” I quipped as I rubbed my eyes.

  “Ha ha. You’re right.” He replied in an amused tone.

  “You also owe me some explanations as to what happened exactly.”

  “Sleep okay?” Emma asked as she walked into the living room from behind me.

  “Uh, yeah it was fine.” I hurriedly grabbed the blanket that was sitting beside me and threw it over my lap and torso.

  “Nate has requested pancakes with sausage for breakfast. You in sis?” Everett inquired.

  “Sure. Just remember not to make too huge of a mess.” She looked over at me and winked. “He is an amazing cook, but he gets food everywhere.”

  I forced my mouth into what I was hoping looked like an amused smile. I was, however, still terribly uncomfortable being around the two of them.

  Emma sat down on a bar stool at the island separating the kitchen and living room. She was still in her pink polka-dot pajamas with her loose curls pulled back in a ponytail. Even to have just awakened, she was perfect. She and Everett were having a merry conversation and laughing. What about, I wasn’t sure. I couldn’t break my concentration from her splendid profile long enough to hone in on the subject. I sat there in an infatuated stupor until Everett asked, “Do you like bananas, Nate?”

  “Yeah, I love ‘em.”

  “Great, because I decided to make banana pancakes with peanut butter syrup.” He grabbed a bunch of bananas and started to peel them.

  “Wow. That sounds awesome.”

  “Well you don’t sound very excited.” He said with a tease.

  “No, I am. I think I just need a shower to wake me up.”

  Emma piped in, “Oh let me show you where everything is.”

  “Oh, okay.” I said hesitantly as I recalled I had nothing but boxers on under the blanket of which I was hiding. Having her lead me around in my underwear was not an ideal situation. Then I hatched a plan.

  “Actually Everett, I need to borrow some clothes, so can you show me?” I asked expectantly.

  “Sorry bro, no can do. Up to my elbows in pancake batter.”

  He turned around from the countertop at which he was working and I saw that he wasn’t exaggerating. He literally had batter up to his elbows. My eyes dropped in disappointment and Emma spoke up again.

  “I can find some of Everett’s clothes for you Nate. The bathroom is this way.” She started walking toward the hallway that was behind me, and I had no choice but to follow. I couldn’t very well take the quilt with which I was covering myself with me. I would look like an idiot. So, with much regret, I folded it up and draped it over the back of the couch. Emma was stopped about midway down the narrow apartment hallway waiting to show me where everything was. I crossed my arms over my chest, which gave me at least some covering, and walked slowly toward her with my head down.

  Because I was looking toward the floor, I couldn’t tell if she was watching me as I approached or not, and I didn’t want to know. When I finally got to where she was, she stepped across the hall, opened the door to a closet, reached in and brought out a bath towel and washcloth and handed them to me. I hugged the towel close to my torso, which covered me up a little bit more. I felt less awkward now.

  “You can use Everett’s body wash. I don’t think you want to smell like honeysuckle rain.” I looked up into her beautiful eyes and half smiled at the comment.

  “I’ll go rifle through his mess of a room and see what I can find for you to wear. If you’ll leave the door unlocked, I’ll just lay the clothes on the counter.”

  “Thanks.” I said in a low voice.

  She was standing directly in front of the door, so I slid past her and slowly clo
sed the door, careful not to lock it out of habit. I was by myself now, and I could breathe with relief of that fact. I wasn’t used to being with other people for so long a period of time. I was adjusted to being alone all of the time, and I realized in that moment that I liked my solitude to a certain extent. It was nice to have some new friends though, if that’s what they even were yet.

  I turned the faucet on and adjusted the water temperature to my liking. When the water was nice and hot, I turned the shower on and stepped under the stream. I had become cold with the minimal amount of clothing I’d been sporting since waking, so the warm water was quite welcome. I stood there for a minute trying to wake up fully and process everything that happened to me last night. I felt completely lost at not knowing exactly what went on. I had to have some answers from Emma and Everett; there was no question about that. What really burned in my mind was what Everett said to me before we arrived at the apartment and they refused to tell me anything further before we all went to sleep. In the car, he said to me blankly, “Cade is the animal.” I couldn’t believe I harbored a mass-murderer in my home. I was alone with a serial killer for quite some time, and had no idea of the fact. It was more than I could wrap my mind around at the moment. Just then, I heard a soft knock at the door, and the knob turning.

  “Hey, I found you some clothes and I hope they fit. I’m going to leave them on the sink.”

  “Thanks Emma.” I piped up from behind the shower door.

  “You’re welcome. Don’t take too long or the pancakes will get cold.” She said with a motherly tone.

  “I’ll be just a few more minutes.” I reassured her.

  “By the way, Nate…” she paused for a minute.

  “Yeah?” I was curious for the reason of the hesitation.

  “Nice tattoo.” She said, then closed the door.

  I felt the blood rush to my face as I blushed with embarrassment. I rarely noticed the black design inked onto my left shoulder. It had been there since I could remember, and I had no idea why I had it. I only kept it because it was the only clue I had to finding my real family; the family that gave me up for adoption when I was just a toddler. I wasn’t in the mood or right frame of mind to rehash my dismal childhood. I bathed, washed my hair, and turned the shower off.