Eye Bleach

by Paul E. Creasy

  “What was in the box, Davy? What was it?” Bobby said as he walked beside him. “You sure were freaked out!”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” Davy said. “Not now, not ever.”

  *****

  After the kids were sent to the TV room in the basement, Maw Maw called Sylvia downstairs. Butterflies stirred in Sylvia’s stomach as she walked barefoot across the kitchen floor and opened the back door. She still felt nearly naked in her paper-thin gown. A warm blush rained over her body, but…, she knew she had to comply. Closing her eyes tightly, she took a deep breath and stepped out onto the porch.

  “Sylvia!” Darlene shouted from the yard. “Just look at you! You are so pretty.”

  “Isn’t she?” Maw Maw said. “As pretty as you were at your first Circle.”

  Others gathered around and said equally encouraging things. As they spoke, Sylvia’s butterflies stilled, her blush disappeared, and her face beamed. Her smile grew even wider when she saw Father Ted approach. Reaching the porch and standing over her, he lightly cupped her chin with his hand and said, “I have never seen such a pretty Princess of Beltane in my life. Never!” He paused before adding, “Our lady will be so proud. So…, Sylvia, are you ready to begin?”

  “Yes, Father Ted,” Sylvia said. “I am ready.”

  Father Ted nodded, turned to the crowd and said, “Oh sacred night has fallen. The sun has left the sky. The deer have ceased their running, the birds no longer fly. The dark of night descends, the Spirit is on the rise, let us now prepare ourselves, glorious Beltane has now arrived!”

  Sylvia breathed the cool night air deep into her lungs, her entire body electric with anticipation. From her vantage point on the porch, she could see the whole yard at once. Everyone was staring at her. Off in the distance, she watched the glorious sky blaze as the sun finally slipped beneath the horizon, the orange and reds fading into a deep dark purple. To her left, she watched the torches around the circle being lit. To her right she saw…, she saw…., she saw her mother, and Maw Maw, and Father Ted and all the others start to undress. As she watched clothes drop to the grass, her mind reeled. What is happening? Oh my God, what is happening?

  Click… Click… Click…

  Chapter 21

  April 21st, 2017 - Floriston, California 5:30 AM

  Melody Summers stretched her arms high over her head. She closed her eyes and took in a long gulp of mountain air into her lungs. Her body was perfectly aligned in the Lotus position, and she felt the Chi surging through her spine. After a brief meditative pause, she released her breath and slowly lowered her arms back into prayer hands in her lap. “Namaste,” she said before opening her eyes.

  She smiled. Her vantage point, high above the Truckee river, on the upper deck of her three-story, bright pink, clapboard home, enjoyed a spectacular view. From up here, she could see everything in the valley below for miles around, and it was spectacular on a beautiful crystal-clear dawn such as this. In late April, spring still hung fresh in the air, the dismal winter a distant memory. The hellish summer was still a few months off. The peaks of nearby Carpenter Ridge remained capped with snow while the meadows below, fed by the ice-cold Truckee river, was bursting forth in a riot of color - an endless field of purple crocus and yellow daffodils gently swaying in the breeze. Floriston, Melody’s hometown since 1968, certainly lived up to its name, flowers at the place.

  Now that her yoga routine was over, she stood up and walked back inside to her kitchen. It too, like everywhere else in her house, was bright and sunny, the golden rays of dawn just now flooding across the cheerful yellow tiled walls. Above her, innumerable sprays of freshly picked herbs hung from a rack over the big copper kitchen sink. At her feet, newly harvested vegetables overflowed from a dozen hand-woven baskets on the brick floor. The whole room smelled garden fresh — just as she always insisted. She lifted a cast iron skillet from a hook on the wall, pulled back her long gray hair into a ponytail and began to cook. Breakfast indeed is the most important meal of the day, one of the many lessons she had learned in her 71 years. Her consistent, all-natural healthy diet was one of the many reasons her age was not apparent. She barely looked fifty.

  After a few minutes of preparation, breakfast was ready — eggs, freshly baked bread, ripe tomatoes, and kale. She arranged everything on a tray just so before ascending the stairs to the second floor.

  “Wakey Wakey,” she said when she reached the upstairs hallway. “It’s breakfast time!” She opened the guest bedroom door and as she entered, added, “Time to get up and eat, Alyssa. You know you are eating for two now.” Her face dropped. The bed was empty and the window open.

  Melody slammed the tray down hard onto the dresser with a loud clang. Her face reddened as she screamed, “Damn it, Darryl! Get your ass up here, right now! She ran off again!”

  *****

  At 9:35 AM Sylvia stumbled into her cubicle at UVid. Her hair was a mess. Her makeup was haphazardly applied and looked like it had been plastered on with a trowel instead of a brush. Topping off her disheveled look, dark circles ringed her blood-shot eyes. She had severely overslept, and it showed, but at least she was here.

  “It looks like someone had a rough night last night,” Heather said as Sylvia passed by her desk.

  “You have no idea,” Sylvia muttered. “Sorry I am so late. I slept through my alarm.”

  Heather shrugged. “Ah yes…, playing snooze bar roulette? I’m an old pro at that game myself, although, I have learned the only winning move is not to play.”

  Sylvia nodded and smiled.

  “But hey, don’t apologize to me. It’s not like I’m the boss around here,” Heather said. “And…” she paused as she pointed over to Steve’s office, “it’s not like our actual boss gives a shit what time you get here anyway.”

  “Yet another perk of working here,” Sylvia said. “I could easily get used to this.”

  “In fact, I know that if you have a particularly raucous reason for being late, the more depraved and illegal the better, Steve is liable to recommend you for a promotion. He just loves tales of debauchery and depravity, especially if they are exceptionally spicy and original.”

  Sylvia laughed. “Well…, I don’t know how debauched my evening was, but…, I know I did end up slugging a priest.” She smirked and added, “would that count?”

  “Damn girl!” Heather said. “I always heard you east coast girls were real badasses, but that is especially hardcore!” She laughed as she thumped her fist onto her own chest and added, “respect.”

  “Well…, I am not ready to join the Crips or the Bloods just yet,” Sylvia said, “but I am glad to see you approve.” She leaned forward and looked at the display on her desk phone. “Now…, first things first, do you know how the caller ID thing on this system works? I never was very technical, and I don’t want to erase anything by accident. I told Father Morales I would—”

  “—Wait just a minute on all that!” Heather cried. “You can’t just drop a bomb like that and then leave me hanging. I thought you were kidding about the priest. Now…, what happened? You really punched a priest? No joke?”

  “No joke. I really did, but it was an accident,” Sylvia said. “And I promise I will tell you all about it. But first, I promised I would call him back with a phone number.”

  “Who?”

  “The priest.”

  “The priest wants a number from your office phone? What is this all about?” Heather asked.

  “Remember the crazy call I got about Alyssa?” Sylvia asked.

  “Yes.”

  “It’s about that. Apparently, he was Alyssa’s priest.”

  “Wow! I had no idea. I didn’t think she was the religious type,” Heather said. She leaned over the phone, pointed to the screen and said, “See, if you just hit the back arrow on the display, it will cycle through all of the inbound calls you have received in the last few days. I think it can hold fifty numbers in memory.”

  “Is this on all of the phones?”r />
  “Yes. UVid installed caller ID on all the phones a couple of years ago. It seems some of the employees were getting harassing calls.”

  “Well, luckily I haven’t gotten many calls so far,” Sylvia said, “just a couple, I think, and most of them were telemarketers. In fact, I think the only ‘non-wrong number’ I got was that one weird call for Alyssa.” She hit the button on the display and cycled through a couple of ‘name unknowns’ before reaching the call in question.

  “Mountain View Antiquarian Books and Supplies,” Sylvia said as she read the name.

  “Oh, I know that place,” Heather said. “Down on Castro street, I think.”

  “Well then, the plot thickens,” Sylvia said. “An occult bookstore — this just gets weirder and weirder.”

  “I told you Alyssa was into some whacky shit,” Heather said. “And now to know she was hanging out with a priest too, on the side — what the hell? You think you know someone.”

  Sylvia pulled out Father Morales’ card and started to dial the number. Heather reached over and pressed down the release on the cradle, hanging up her phone.

  “Hey! I was making a call here,” Sylvia said as she furrowed her brow.

  After glancing down at the card in Sylvia’s hand, Heather said, “You need to stop for a minute and think this out before you make this call.” She pointed at the card and said, “so, this number is for the punched Padre?”

  “It is,” Sylvia said. “I ran into him in Alyssa’s apartment.”

  “You were in Alyssa’s apartment last night?”

  “Yes. You see, her door was unlocked and…, look…, it’s a long story. I promise I will tell you all about it. I really do promise. But…, I also promised Hector I would call him with this number first thing this morning.”

  “Oh?” Heather said as she raised her eyebrow. “So, it is Hector now. I am curious. Did you get up to some ecclesiastical naughty business with Father Hector? I can just see him now, all Latin, and suave, and so very off limits.”

  “You have been working here at Perve Central too long, Heather,” Sylvia said as she shook her head. “It has corrupted your young mind. For one thing, Father Morales is old enough to be my father — which would make him old enough to be your grandfather.”

  “Ewwww,” Heather said. “Thanks for bursting my romantic bubble.”

  “And for another thing, he is really a great guy,” Sylvia said, “and seems quite committed to his religious vocation.”

  “Oh, I see,” Heather said as she rolled her eyes. “That must be why you punched him, then.”

  Sylvia laughed and shook her head. “No, no, it is not like that. Jeesh…, this is just too hard to explain, but, he seems really concerned about Alyssa. Frankly, I am too. It is all so weird. When I went inside her apartment, it looked like it had not been inhabited for weeks. I think something might have—”

  “—Look, Sylvia, in all seriousness,” Heather interrupted. “If I were you, I wouldn’t get any more involved with this situation. You don’t know if this whole thing isn’t some kind of freaky set up?”

  “A setup? What are you talking about?”

  “Hey, listen, you got that bizarre note in your mirror, and then that crazy call, and then you find out you are living next door to Alyssa?” Heather asked. “You don’t find this odd?”

  “I do,” Sylvia said.

  “I tell you, this whole thing stinks,” Heather said. “Who knows, maybe this is all some sort of elaborate prank? Alyssa was a weird chick. Maybe she and the priest are planning some sort of—”

  “—A prank? Well, that would be a pretty elaborate prank, don’t you think?”

  “Well, yeah.”

  “And for what?” Sylvia asked. “And why?”

  “But this priest, I mean, what’s his deal? Why did he come to Alyssa’s apartment last night, all of a sudden, and just happened to run into you?” Heather asked. “Where did you say he works? Maybe he isn’t even a real priest.”

  Sylvia looked at the card again and said, “He’s a real priest.” Holding the card out she added, “see…, he works at Saint Sebastian Catholic Church.”

  “Well, I still would steer clear of him,” Heather said. “Who knows what this priest is really up to with Alyssa. It seems too coincidental to me. You can’t know what’s really going on. I mean, I thought those guys only went for altar boys, but who knows, maybe he is branching out?”

  “Heather! My God! You are far too cynical,” Sylvia said. “He’s not like that.”

  “So, you say,” Heather said.

  Sylvia said, “I know what you are hinting at, but, really…, I know what I am doing. I promised the guy I would call him with the number and I will.”

  “OK,” Heather said as she jerked her hands into the air and opened her palms. “Don’t let me be accused of interfering.”

  “I swear, Heather,” Sylvia said as she lifted the receiver to her ear and began to dial. “This is the end of my involvement, just a simple phone call. Alyssa is Father Hector’s problem now, not mine.”

  Heather nodded and said, “good thinking.”

  *****

  The rocks dug deep into Alyssa’s soles now. The old access road she was running down was built for three-ton logging trucks, not tender bare feet. A few spots of red drizzled behind her, splattering the sharp gravel with splotches of bright red - a rare shock of color in an otherwise green darkness. Pine Trees reached to the sky on either side of her, blocking out almost all light as the massive branches interlaced each other overhead. All was just a long, endless tunnel of green. In the gloom, it could be dawn, or noon, or dusk — she had no way of knowing. But she knew one thing, she had to run faster.

  She stopped and gasped. She was out of breath, the ache in her side having ratcheted up from a slight twinge to a now constant throbbing pain. Damn, I’m out of shape, she thought. It had been over an hour since she wriggled down the drain pipe to freedom. It might have only been twenty minutes. Who could tell in this dim green hell? But she did know it was growing late and they would be sure to miss her by now. Then they would come looking for her, and of course, would never relent until she was found. They would never let her go, not after, after…. She closed her eyes and started to run again, now faster than before. Her one tiny window of opportunity for escape was closing, and she knew it was closing soon.

  As she stumbled down the road she plunged the depths of her memory. She wished to God she had paid more attention to where Darryl was driving when he brought her up here. Where the hell is I-80? It has to be close! It just has to be! She stopped again, bent over and grabbed her knees, nearly bursting into tears from the raging fire in her side. When the pain passed, she glanced up and smiled. There ahead, through the thick canopy of trees, she saw a light. She was at the end of the woods. Best of all, she heard a car and began to run once more.

  Her pace quickened now as she tapped her last store of energy. Her face broke into an exhausted smile as she emerged from the forest. Staggering forward, she collapsed to her knees onto the side of the road and flailed her arms towards the lone car approaching. Mercifully, it slowed and pulled over to a full stop. She closed her eyes and whispered, “Thank you, God! Thank you! Thank you!”

  When she opened her eyes, she saw the car. It was a 2015, jet black BMW convertible and the top was down. The driver, to her amazement, was as gorgeous as his vehicle, and to her relief, he looked friendly and concerned.

  “Are you OK, Ma’am?” the driver asked.

  “Please…, you must help me,” Alyssa screamed. “I have got to get out of here!”

  “Are you hurt? I think you might need to go to a doctor,” the driver said. He pointed down and added, “your feet are bleeding.”

  “I’m OK, but I really need to get out of here, right now!” Alyssa said. “Please, please won’t you help me?”

  “Is someone after you? Look, I think we need to call the—"

  “—There is no time! Please! Please can you not just take me
away from here?”

  “Of course, of course. Get in,” he said.

  “Bless you, sir,” Alyssa said as she clambered inside. “Bless you! You have saved my life!”

  Once she was settled in her seat, the driver started the motor and floored the accelerator, speeding out of the gravel as a giant cloud of dust rose up behind them.

  “I can’t possibly thank you enough,” Alyssa said as she continued taking nervous glances over her shoulder behind them. She sighed in relief once the piney green tunnel faded in the distance.

  She exhaled and felt her pulse softening. She was safe. She glanced over at the driver, his eyes were focused firmly on the road. She looked down at noticed her blood-stained feet and ripped clothes. “I am sure this looks very strange to you. You are a good man to have stopped.”

  “No need to thank me, Ma’am,” the driver said. “You obviously are in trouble. But…, you are right. It does look very strange. I have to ask, though. What are you doing way out here in the middle of nowhere? You know it isn’t safe, right? Who are you running from? I really do think we need to call the police now.”

  “It’s a long story,” Alyssa said as she again reflexively glanced into the rearview mirror. She sighed as she sunk down into the seat, luxuriating in the elegant leather covers. “No need to call the police. Please…, don’t involve the police.”

  “OK, but I should take you to a doctor, at least,” the driver said. “You are hurt.”

  “No, it’s all right. I’ll be fine. I just need to get some miles behind me,” Alyssa said. “I know this is weird and I can explain everything as we drive. Assuming, of course, you aren’t stopping anytime soon. Like I said, it’s a long story.”

  “Well, we will have plenty of time for you to tell it — if you want to,” the driver said. “I am heading to Seattle, so, I can let you off anywhere you want. Take all the time you need to…, catch your breath.”

  “That is great, just great,” Alyssa said as she sighed in relief.

  “So, where to?”

  “I…, just let me get my bearings for a minute. It has all been too much to process,” Alyssa said as she massaged her right foot with her hand.