by Matthew Fish
Piper fell to the ground. Everything went black. Slowly things began to come back into focus. Piper found herself in a strange house. She was at the sink, her hands were wet she reached for a nearby towel. Just as she was about to grasp it, a large banging noise came from a nearby door—one made of wood with a stained glass inset. The door exploded open and Corveath entered, dressed not in his formal red robe, but in plain looking clothing. He casually walked over to Piper and placed a hand upon her neck. The tightness was so strong that she felt as though she was losing consciousness.
“Piper…” Daniel spoke as he cradled her limp body.
“I’m here,” Piper whispered softly. Her throat was hoarse and sore from the thick smoke. “I’m alright, fiancé.”
“Had me worried there,” Daniel said as he helped Piper up to her feet. “Did you see something?”
“I don’t know,” Piper whispered. “I think that…I don’t, I’m not sure what I’m seeing. I think that he is coming for me. I think that he will catch me…sometime, someday.”
“Not as long as we keep moving, he’s only got two left—that has to count for something,” Daniel spoke as he rushed Piper along the road. They needed to leave the scene of this rather grisly sight as quickly as they possibly could.
“We do not have any collars left,” Piper said as she felt her former sense of hope drop dramatically. “I am sorry I threw the collar on the ground—I do not think sometimes, I just do as I am told.”
“It is okay, Piper,” Daniel said as he placed an arm over her as the two walked off towards a cottage in the distance. “It worked out just fine. We will figure it out with the remaining two…we will be alright.”
“What about your collar?” Daniel asked. “Could it be any use to us in any way?”
“I was told that, since I was so weak, if I ever took it off for any period of time—I would disappear. The collar would disappear when I did. When our time is over, the collar goes with us,” Piper spoke as she reached for her silver collar and fingered the cold metal.
“Well let’s not test that out,” Daniel spoke as he led Piper through a large open field of high green grass. Towering snow capped mountains loomed all around them. A large beautiful lake was off in the distance towards the cottage they headed towards. It was a rather nice location, under different circumstances; it would have been a great place to stay for a while. Daniel had no idea what he was going to do once he got to the cottage, stealing another vehicle did not seem like a great idea. However, he still needed to make it to Chicago.
Daniel peeked into the small wooden cottage. He spotted a few guns in a case, various deer heads were mounted upon the wall. It looked like a small hunting cabin. Daniel snuck his way over to the front door and found that it was left unlocked.
“I’m not sure we should,” Piper objected. She spotted an old pickup truck in the gravel driveway.
“We have to at least try,” Daniel said as he opened the door. A pushed away a pile of unopened mail as he walked into the main room. Everything had a layer of dust covering it. It appeared as though no one had been in here in quite some time. Daniel routed through a few drawer. He picked up one of the rifles from the cabinet and slung it over his shoulder. He found the blue pickup truck keys in a bowl on the kitchen counter. “Yeah…I think that this will be alright. I don’t think anyone’s been here in a while. They won’t notice the truck missing for a while…hopefully.”
“If you think it’s the right thing to do,” Piper said as she looked around the room nervously.
“I think it’s what we have to do,” Daniel said with a single nod. He placed his arms around Piper tightly and kissed her cheek. “We will be alright.”
“Well then, let’s just go,” Piper said as she attempted to smile. “You’ve gotten us this far, let’s keep going. I’m just…afraid now that we don’t have the collars.”
“We will run, I doubt they can keep up with a vehicle,” Daniel spoke calmly, attempting to be a little reassuring. “We will figure out some other way to stop them. If we can make it to Chicago, my friends will know more. I have a very wise friend who I’m sure will know something about this. He has been around for thousands of years.”
“Can we choose to not stay here?” Piper asked as she eyed the mounted deer heads. They made her feel more than just a little uncomfortable.
“Wasn’t planning on it,” Daniel replied as he patted Piper on the back and lead the way to the old truck, he tossed the rifle behind the driver’s seat and started the vehicle. It took a few attempts—it appeared as though it had not been started in some time. In a way, Daniel found this rather comforting. It was already late afternoon as he set out on the road. The moon was visible in the blue sky overhead. They passed through many long stretches of beautiful countryside as the Rocky Mountains surrounded them. When darkness came, the mountains were barely visible against the nearly black sky. Many stars were overhead and the mood felt calm once more.
“Are we going to stop?” Piper asked as she let out a short yawn.
“I think we’ll be pulling an all-nighter,” Daniel said as he glanced over to Piper and smiled. “Get some rest though, I’ll be fine. When I was younger, I used to do these kinds of all night drives all the time. I’m used to them.”
“Are you sure?”
“Definitely,” Daniel said as he watched as the road ahead descended through a mountain range. It seemed as though they were driving down for miles. Ahead the lights of a city could be seen sparkling off in the distance. “Good night, Piper.”
“Good night, fiancé,” Piper said as she stretched her hands out in front of her and rested them on the dash. She brought her legs up to her chest and rested her head against a spot between the window and the seat. Within moments, she was out like a light.
Chapter 5
The long hours stretched out before Daniel. By morning, he passed into Kansas and all the mountains were far behind him. The landscape became more and more familiar. Many trees, cities that were not so far apart, rolling hills gave way to cornfields and great stretches of flat lands. He thought for a moment on how far he had come—he only had a bit further to go, he just hoped that he would find the answers that he was looking for. Not just for his cause, but for Piper as well.
By the time that evening approached, they found themselves halfway through Missouri. Piper had awoken long ago and had spent many hours simply staring out the window. She seemed lost in thought.
“I think we will stop soon,” Daniel said as he rubbed at his tired eyes. He had been on the road for an entire day straight with only short stops to get gas. “There’s a small town, off the highway called Shaw. It should be remote enough that we will be safe.”
“I would like that,” Piper said as she continued to gaze out at the rolling hills of Missouri and the bluffs that surrounded them. “This place…It seems familiar. Not this place specifically—but, I sort of feel like we’re close to something.”
“A lot of Missouri does fit your description,” Daniel said as he nodded. “Rolling green hills, the Ozark area is a lot like that. Very remote, lots of trees…should we be headed elsewhere…?”
“If what I’m seeing is the future, then no,” Piper spoke as she shivered at the thought of Corveath bursting in through that somehow familiar wooden door she had seen twice now in the visions left by the others of her kind. “I think we’d only be trapping ourselves. I guess. I do not even know what I would do there, so let’s go with your plan. We should speak to your fiends—your wise one who has been around for a long time. Maybe then we can go there…wherever there is.”
“I just wanted to throw that out there,” Daniel said as he nodded. “My plans don’t always work out perfectly—like stealing the SUV. So, if you ever have a plan, then I am just saying, I’m open to it. You have an equal share in what we do.”
“I think we should get some rest for you,” Piper said as she looked to Daniel. He looked very weary. “How far are we?”
“Ju
st the next exit,” Daniel said as he rubbed his eyes.
Daniel pulled into a small motel just outside of Shaw. The sounds of crickets filed the early evening air and fireflies danced around the tall green grass. The air was warm and humid. It smelled slightly of rain. Dark clouds were thick on the horizon. A flash of lightening filled the air as Daniel opened up the room. ‘Another motel room…’ Daniel thought to himself as he entered the small space. A quilted green and yellow bed sat in the center of the room with red flowers printed on the fabric. The walls were painted in a rather nice sea foam blue, a few photographs of old pine forests hung upon the walls.
Daniel crawled into bed. It was still light outside and a light rain began to fall. The room trembled as a roar of thunder rolled by. A flash of lightning followed moments later.
“You don’t have to sleep, if you don’t want to,” Daniel said as he felt as though he had been truly put through the ringer after the daylong drive.
“I always want to sleep,” Piper quickly replied as she stripped off her clothing and climbed into Daniel’s warm an comforting embrace. “I feel like…I don’t know if it makes sense—sorry if it doesn’t. But I feel like I go somewhere else when I sleep.”
“Where do you go?” Daniel asked groggily.
“A cave at first, a comforting one…with a waterfall, one that smells of earth.…a nice calm earthy smell, and then I wander down a long winding path—it smells of rain. There, in the darkness, I step into this window. Then I am somewhere else. It does not make a lot of sense, but it’s beautiful—a warm place, a pretty autumn forest. Only…yeah, there is not earth beneath my feet, but sand. Warm sand and the ocean waves wash in, but only up a bit past my ankles. The sky is always blue. More shades of blue than I can ever count. The sun is always warm against my body.”
“That sounds like a really wonderful place,” Daniel whispered, nearly half asleep.
“You should try to go there,” Piper said as she kissed Daniel’s forehead. “Goodnight, fiancé.”
“Goodnight, fiancé,” Daniel repeated before promptly passing the fuck out.
Daniel jolted awake to the loud roar of thunder. Piper was still fast asleep. He had a vague recollection of the conversation that they had the night before. He felt much better after his well-needed rest. He rubbed his eyes and peaked out through the window. A hard rain fell and dark storm clouds hung high above in the sky, shifting dramatically. Another loud growl on thunder shook the earth. It made Daniel feel a little uneasy—after all; it rather reminded him of the strange smoke creatures he and Piper had been facing lately.
“Everything alright…?” Piper asked as she stretched her arms out wide.
“Just a storm,” Daniel said as he nodded. He bent down and kissed Piper, who smiled happily.
“We’ll make it there today,” Daniel said as he got dressed.
“Should we be on our way then?” Piper asked as she pulled up her tight fitting jeans and climbed into her t-shirt.
“Yeah,” Daniel said as he paused to watch her. He felt a sudden feeling of sadness overwhelm him. When he thought about it—when he had time to think about it, he realized that he really did care for Piper. Perhaps even more than just care for her…though he could not shake the feeling that their relationship was just not possible.
“You alright, fiancé…?” Piper asked as she noticed Daniel watching her rather intently with a strangely sad look upon his normally serious face.
“You still enjoy calling me that…”
“It makes me happy,” Piper said as she shrugged. “I didn’t know I could be happy. Just…wow, yeah—a few days ago. I didn’t know what happiness was. I don’t know if this what happiness is, really. I mean, I don’t know what I’m capable of—being who I am. But, When I’m with you it doesn’t seem to matter so much. I’m not sad…and, yes, I know what sadness is. I thought about it and if I can know what sadness is, then by all rights I should know what happiness is. Therefore, for me and hopefully for you, happiness is waking up in your arms. It is quiet drives where we don’t have to say anything to know that we care about each other, it is treating each other with kindness and facing each day together. So short answer to what you were saying, yes. I know it’s small and it’s silly, but it gives me something to hope for in the future.”
“You’ve come a long way,” Daniel said as he allowed the sad feelings to be washed away by the look in her beautiful dark green eyes. “You make me very happy. I did not expect to find this kind of happiness out of all of this.”
“I’m lucky to have you; you care about me, right?”
“I think it’s more than just care,” Daniel said with a single nod.
“Well then, let’s go,” Piper said as she wrapped her arms around Daniel. “Let’s finish this so that we can focus on us—no more running, fighting. Just find out what kind of life there is for us.
“Alright,” Daniel said as he held Piper tightly against him. A small nagging sad feeling crept up once more. Once this was all over—he did not know what kind of life he would be afforded, if any at all.
*
Daniel held Piper’s hand as they passed over the checkerboard walkway and entered into the Downtown Chicago Police Department. They had arrived in Chicago a little past three and had headed straight for their destination. Daniel felt a strange sense of nostalgia overwhelm him as he entered the building and approached the old familiar elevator he had taken down so many times before.
He led Piper into the elevator as they passed by the regular officers going about the regular duty. Most of them were aware what was really going on and purposefully took little notice of those that made their way to the secret elevator. Once inside, Daniel instinctively reached into his pocket only to realize he did not have the key.
“Shit…” Daniel muttered as he shook his head.
“What’s wrong?” Piper asked as she stared at the different buttons.
“No key,” Daniel said as he let out an exasperated sigh and struck the side of the elevator with the palm of his hand. “No key—can’t get to the person I need to talk to.”
“Hold the elevator—“ A woman’s voice spoke. She approached in a hurry. She had short brown hair and hazel eyes. She was wearing a black leather jacket and her eyes flashed as she looked to Daniel. She cocked her head to the side and paused for a moment as though she was deeply confused. “Mark…?”
“Ahh…” Daniel started to speak, unsure of how to continue.
“Goodness,” Felecia spoke as she embraced Daniel tightly. “We’d not expected you to be here…well—ever…”
“I just need to speak to Captain Dickson,” Daniel said as he fidgeted with his hands as though he was nervous as to whether this would work or not. “Forgot my key…you know me, always forgetting things.”
“No problem,” Felecia said as she placed her key into a hidden slot on the console. They began to descend down to the fourth floor. “So how’s my sister doing? Still a handful, right? How about Maddie…?”
“Good,” Daniel said shortly. “Both great, really...”
“Good to hear,” Felecia said as the door opened and she waved. “Oh, and tell Emily that Amelia is dying to see her—if you can arrange that, it would really make her happy. They’re a little too much of the same for me to stand for too long together, so I’ll pass if that’s okay.”
“I’ll work on that,” Daniel added as he returned the wave.
“Who was that?” Piper whispered as she held onto Daniel as they made their way down the hallway.
“I have no clue,” Daniel said with a short laugh. “I guess one of Mark’s friends. Apparently, we look the same. I guess with us being close to the same age that is not a stretch. I just…remember him being younger.”
Daniel stopped outside of a wooden door with a placard that read ‘Captain of Perpetual Affairs’ upon it. He paused for a moment, just as his hand was about to knock. So much had changed, he wondered if anything else had changed in his absence. There was so
much that he needed to find out, also there was so much he wanted to know. “Would you mind waiting out her for me? I’m not sure how confusing this is going to be…”
“Of course,” Piper said as she smiled and nodded. “If he’s your friend, I’m sure that things will be fine.”
“Right, thank you,” Daniel said as he finally allowed himself to knock gently upon the door.
“Come in,” a voice spoke from behind the door.
Daniel slowly opened the door and saw a young black man, he looked vaguely familiar, but he could not be quite sure. “William?”
“Mark?” The man said as he got to his feet and smiled widely. “Damn, it’s good to see you again, last I heard from you—you were hiking the Pacific Trail with Emily and Maddie…I didn’t…”
“It’s not Mark,” the man said as he fumbled for a moment with a nearby seat. He slowly sat and looked to the young Captain. His last memory of William was of a much older man. “It’s…Daniel actually.”
“I’m not amused by this,” William said as his eyes narrowed and he brought his hand to his chin and rubbed a bit of stubble. “Daniel Argent died four years ago—I should know, I was at his funeral.”
“Yes, about that,” Daniel spoke as he nodded. “I did die. I just, I’m back.”
“I’ve seen a lot of crazy shit over the past few years,” Captain Dickson spoke as he let sat back in his seat. “You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t exactly, well…believe you.”
“You are a Spotter,” Daniel spoke as he attempted to clear his mind and come up with some basic knowledge that he still remembered regarding his former life. It was strange, in a way; the longer time seemed to pass, the fewer things seemed exactly clear regarding his situation or his former life.