“Nope, it was all empty?”
Harvey gestured to the radio, “You can switch it to whatever station you want, the message keeps on repeating. Where do you need me to take you?”
Michael fiddled with the metal zipper of his jacket, “New Colombian drive. I can walk from there on.”
“New Colombian?” Harvey remembered the note ‘4758 New Colombian Drive—Michael’. “I know that place… you know a Donna, near Barnett Road?”
“Yeah, she’s a good friend of mine… Why do ya ask?”
“I live right by there and I’ve heard her say something about you once.” Michael watched the Elk Horn Woods blur past his window. Harvey toyed with pushing the conversation further. How far is too far? “Hey, you know a girl named Lara.”
“No… can’t say I do…”
I can press further, right? Harvey thought. I mean Christ, we’re on his street, come on, say something, you're running out of time. “You went to high school, right?” He asked the second they reached New Colombian Drive.
“You can drop me off here.”
“You sure, I can go on. It’s really dangerous out there.” Harvey was well versed at hiding the feeling of everything slipping out from under him.
Michael said nothing and swung the umbrella out of the back seat. He paused as he got out of the door, “Hey, thanks for the ride.”
Before Harvey had another chance to sputter off a question, Michael made a hampered slam with the door using all the small bits of strength he had left in his arm.
Harvey parked in a side road off New Colombian and waited in the dark, hammering his hand into the steering wheel. “Stupid, stupid, stupid,” His palm beat with the rhythm of his words. “Stupid, damn, idiot.” What are you gonna do now, he thought. There’s the second address. But blowing up both is a damn-high possibility.
The answer as to what he should do next came in a flick of white light. A car’s headlights blurred out of a road that led to the lone house, the same road he left Michael. The glare of the headlights made an afterglow trail in Harveys eyes for a few seconds.
This lead isn’t over yet. Harvey ignited his BMW, dirt sprayed as his tires skidded on to the road. He saw the dim red glint of the taillight in front of him like a pair of neon north stars. Harvey thought about turning the headlights on but kept them off to stay like a lion prowling in the dark. The silver Gremlin glinted in the dark as it cruised under a streetlamp. Harvey watched it turn left down east Broadway and followed on.
Harvey kept a precise distance between him and Michael. The thrill brought him back to his early days as an agent; when he would track down people with pounds of cocaine stuffed into random objects in their car. He felt snake smooth as he trailed down the street, slithering his way towards the mouse of a car.
Harvey watched five people pack into a truck as if it were a clown car—all wearing jackets, and ponchos. One person held that familiar umbrella as he ushered people into a white truck. Harvey pointed his fingers in a gun motion towards Michael. “Bang,” he loaded the pistol on his side and placed it on the passenger seat. The same seat Abe always sat in.
Harvey patted the seat, “This ones for you, old buddy.” He had enough gas to follow the group for miles if need be. This is it Lara S. Glass I got you now. He imagined what horrors this demon must withhold. Shit, she could be like Lucy, he thought. What if I shoot and she springs back to life?
The white truck passed by. Harvey turned on his engine and trailed. His pistol rested hot by his side. He glanced in his rear-view mirror and saw a heard of shadowy beings glinting in the light of the streetlamp near the house. It looked like thirty, maybe forty of them circled the house. Their glowing eyes formed a horrifying milky way stare as they watched Harvey drive off. He saw three squirm over the hood of a car in someone’s driveway. Their troop built as more slipped between houses. A group of five child sized shadows stood behind the front lines. He noticed their low eyes bounce as they advanced.
Harvey drove on for twenty minutes, keeping his headlights off as they drove on the highway. The highway? Are they trying to escape? He slowed down and watched them stop at the Gulf gas station. It felt like it had been months since he first came in. He pulled into the shoulder and watched the five of of them scurry inside. He thought about taking a shot but couldn’t see who was who. You could just shoot them all. Jesus no, I can’t. But you came in here for one reason, dozens of people died for this, just one wouldn’t hurt anything.
A picture flashed in Harvey’s mind; four people sprawled like split cups of cool aid, then the devil, that Hazelnut haired unimaginable demon. Her eyes sunken with deep merlot, contrasting the cherry red spray on the rows of food and windows in the. Her mouth would open only to utter…
You can’t kill the devil.
Harvey broke free and glued his gaze back at the Gulf gas station. The group huddled somewhere within, leaving the white truck to glint in the harsh white light of the overhang lights. Call and kill with permission. On his drive back to Joselean Springs, Harvey thought about what Stockwell had said on the night they drank together: ‘In the army death is an enemy, death fights you.’ This is war, Harvey thought. You don’t have to worry about your conscience, as long as you’re doing your best to fight you should be fine, right? Right…
Harvey parked in the place he knew was empty, Walling’s Convenience Store. He froze as he stood out of the car and expected to see some shadows moseying about as if they had to do some late-night shopping—the streets were barren.
Harvey walked away from the neon red light of the store and stepped onto East Broadway’s sidewalk. The road was naked. He stopped for a moment and only heard the tip-tap of the rain on his jacket and the faint whisper of wind. A stoplight flicked rhythmic red glows down the end of the road.
Harvey huddled by the counter and dialed Stockwell’s number. He expected to hear the same old, ‘good evening Becket’ but was greeted with background noise and shouts.
“Stockwell… Stockwell are you-”
“Jesus-” Gunshots covered Stockwell’s words. “You called at a good time.” Harvey gripped the phone and glanced around the store with newfound fear. He switched on the lights but couldn't shake off the feeling of being watched.
“I have located the devil and know she’s huddled in a gas station. Do you need my help?”
“No, just… hold on,” Harvey heard Stockwell’s phone thump and distant shouting.
“Are you there? … Stockwell-”
Stockwell called back breathlessly, “Look, all the demons have come here. We’re trying to defend the base, but they won’t stop… they, they haven’t killed anyone yet… but they tore the place apart. Machines all over the place and trucks have been ripped opened. They are searching for something… We, we tried shooting at them, but they don’t act like our men are even there. They just keep tearing the place apart…” Harvey heard the phone clank again and heard Stockwell shout in the distance, “What the fuck is that thing! Shoot at it, toss all the explosive we got… Sorry, Harvey, I gotta- I DON’T KNOW JUST SHOOT!” Harvey pulled the phone back as Stockwell shout blared through the phone. “There’s something massive in the woods and it’s just standing a looking at the sky. Stay over there and, I don’t know, check-in if you can… It’s looking at us.”
“Is there any-” The phone clicked mid-sentence, “Shit!” Harvey whispered as dropped the phone in his lap and looked forward. Exhaustion glazed his eyes as he sat on the tiled floor. He was in a zen of absentmindedness as he stared at the items on the long aisle. He glanced behind a bag of Ernest Popcorn, a string of grayish liquid stained the metal and darkened some of the white tiles.
His mind snapped back to him as he heard a knock at the glass door. Three dull, frightening knocks. He bounced up, sending the phone into the air like a frightened pigeon. He peeked up at the door, an all too familiar face glanced back at him. Their mouth bend in a devilish glee filled grin. Three other people stood nearby.
Side
A Track 13
Flashlight
“Everythin’ up in the heavens wants me dead?” Lara sat in the back seat of Danny’s truck, “Just kill me now!”
“Lara, there’s gotta be another way,” Michael said as he sat between her and Mellisa.
Lara felt there was another way but rejected it. In her dreams, she saw an event beyond the end of the world that Michael proclaimed. She remembered the water, and the figure way off in the distance and other things she never wanted to imagine.
“You want me to show ya?” Michael asked. “Here… Cassiel, tell em what you think.”
The everyone fell silent.
“Well…” Denver’s spoke in the passenger seat. “Are we supposed to feel something’ or-”
“There is a possible event where Lara is not killed by any other being.” The grope froze as Cassiel’s voice radiated from the now glowing umbrella between Michael’s legs. Michael smirked a smug ‘yeah, I know right!’ grin at Denver.
“I’ve had this angel with me since god knows when.”
“So that is a real guardian angel…” Danny asked, stroking his salt and pepper beard. “Why did that thing not help when ya went to hell?”
“His type of bein’ can’t just casually walk around down there, he hadda get forced out of me to help me out, and by the time that happened, I was busy bein’ shot back up to earth.”
Mellisa leaned in and gawked at the umbrella, “It ain’t an Angel?”
“Its…” Michael stroked the underside of his chin for an answer, “Yes and no. Look, the point is that: Lara, there is another way for all of this.”
“Like what?” Lara shrugged and patted the pistol in her pocket. “Hell, I got a gun, that’ll be easier than just rollin’ the dice for my life.”
Melissa put a hand on Lara’s shoulder, “Lara! I’ve let go of ya before…” her voice rung with thick, raspy passion. “I ain’t gonna let go of ya again… if you wanna die, I can see why. I mean, seein’ how this situation cornered you. But none of us will take responsibility for it. We all care about ya, and we are gonna fight through whatever’s comin’ at us no matter what.”
“Thanks, mom,” The words still felt unbelievable coming out of Lara’s mouth. “Ay, um, umbrella angel, what do we need to do so I don’t get killed by something’?”
The umbrella produced a dim pulsing glow, “A piece of you will die, but as long as you follow through, the path will grow with time.”
“So it’s that easy?” Anger spiked Lara’s words.
“As long as you follow the path,” Cassiel repeated. “If you have the sudden urge to sabotage yourself, you still have the free will to do it and no heavenly body will protest. I sense the path will flow naturally as long as you keep your spirit high.”
“Cassiel, you can tell them about the whole blood thing?” Michael said.
“Right. Lara, Danny… am I correct that you have abilities?”
“Yeah?” The two of them agreed in perplexed tandem.
“That my fault, I am your great, great, great—Lara has four greats, Danny three—grandfather. The blood that runs through your veins is part angel.”
Lara and Danny sat in silent shock.
Lara’s mouth hung agape. “Wait! If it’s your fault, why not kill you, shouldn’t you get some punishment?”
“No one is getting punished, it’s just that my linage has existed for far too long. There is a great internal instinct that wants me to help you, really, I want to do whatever I can.” The group felt the car pick up speed as Danny drove down the highway. Rain streaked horizontally on the side windows. “But I’ve helped far too much, Danny shouldn’t even be alive in the first place… I want to stray away from my past mistakes, there is a way, but that’s all I can give you.” The glow of the gas station was ahead.
When they reached the Gulf Gas Station, they all unfolded out of the truck, each one holding a bag or backpack full of assorted items.
“What is this place, Lara?” Denver asked as he observed the building's odd almond shape and the V shaped metal bars that held the overhanging roof. Lara didn’t respond. She opened the door and felt the ghost of her older self linger within the building. Despite Butch being out of the picture, the place remained in the same state it had always been in, only now there was a wooden panel that covered the shattered glass door. She could still saw sparkling fragments in the concrete near the doorway.
Lara turned to her father, “I came here a little while back. An old man helped me out and gave me the keys to the place,” She jangled the keyring in her hand and unlocked the door. The place felt like a shallow grave. Gray dust made an even coating over the aisle of food.
“Is there a way to turn off those big ass field lights?” Mellisa chuckled, half joking, half concerned for her life. “Them things are gonna come up like a moth to a porch light.” Lara found the outside light switch in the ‘staff only’ closet. The group pulled down the shades, encasing them in darkness. Lara patted the walls for a light switch in the cramped storage room. The fluorescent lights hummed as she flipped the switch. “Anyone see keyhole or a machine somewhere?” Lara asked as she examined all the forgotten clutter along a metal shelf. The group sifted through the racks, moving dusty cardboard boxes and storefront shelves.
Michael gasped as he moved an expired box of Devil Dogs. Hidden behind the box was a door handle.
“Lara, I got somethin’!” Michael called. Denver and Danny heaved the shelf at an angle so they could all slip through.
“I think we found it,” Lara said with fearful enthusiasm as she flicked her keyring to the second key and unlocked the door. Behind it was a long stairwell that faded into darkness. A damp, dirt-like stench wafted from the shadowy depths. “Anyone gotta flashlight?”
“Here!” Denver called out behind her as he unsheathed a sliver flashlight from his backpack.
Lara grabbed it without looking at him. She clicked on the light and the stair well turn. You could fall down these steps, she thought. All you need to do is become some human slinky, and the rain will stop, everything will stop.
At the bottom of the second stairwell was a smooth concrete floor. Lara held the flashlight in front of her and descended into the ink-black depths. She shined the flashlight into the room. A rusty breaker box was on the far-left wall, metallic folding chairs on the right, and straight ahead was a yellow-painted machine that reminded Lara of a bulky coin telephone box.
“Jesus! Lara, what is that thing?” her father’s voice echoed through the dusty basement.
“I know as much as you do.” Lara said as she touched the sides of the machine. She swiped the blanket of dust off its square monitor, “And we’re gonna find out.” She felt the chill of the concrete floor as knelt down to look at the machine’s body. She slid the key into a paneled slot. A door on the computer opened, spilling a tangle of circuitry and wires. Along the backside of the opening was a thick manual. She flipped to the startup section of the manual. Insert key, twist, and hold control+alt+1 for flash screen boot. Lara contorted her hand like a spider over the keys. The machine wheezed into life, Lara shook a little at the sound.
“Scared ya?” Denver chuckled.
“Here, dad, could ya hold this?” Lara handed the manual and flashlight to Danny. The screen lit a muddy green color, boxes were burnt into it from overuse. The word ‘Elysium Emulator’ swiped across the monitor, then six boxes appeared, ‘Sett, data, edit,’ were above, and ‘map, cont, config,’ were below. Lara tapped the arrow keys towards the map. A map of Joselean Springs appeared, at least a hundred red dots blipped across town and trailed towards the highway.
“Is that some storm watch?” Mellisa muttered behind Lara’s shoulder.
“If it was a storm, it’d be all over the place,” Michael said, then shuttered. “It’s dead ahead, look!” He leaned forward and tapped a shaky finger on an orange circle in the center of the screen. “That’s where they all came out of in elk horn woods… and they are all headed towar
ds us… Lara, what’s that!” he lifted his finger to the text in the boxes over the map. ‘FOLLOW: Angel’ was on the header menu.
Lara pressed every key, “I don’t know, I uh-”
“Well, keep fiddlin’ with it!” Michael said. “There’s gotta be some way to use this thing.”
Danny’s voice broke over Michael’s, “To set track path pattern, control, plus enter, plus arrow up or down for selection, then enter again to track.” Danny and Melissa held the book like it was some ancient artifact.
Lara’s fingers shot to the control key. It deselected ‘Angel’. The other options were different colored dots that flickered a corresponding location on the map, “Yellow, blue, red… White!” She smacked the enter key.
Michael cocked his head as he looked at the screen, “White? Why white?”
“Because it seemed smart. If yellows us, blues near your dad’s work, and reds near that park. It just makes more sense to pick one out there in some random field where nobody will get hurt.”
At night group set up cots using dumped out food boxes and jackets. Lara lay behind the cash register. Her thoughts danced in the haze of black like fireflies. The feeling of hopelessness glowed, then diminished. What are we doing? I shouldn’t be here… Why am I here… The cost of my life just too much… I got people rootin’ for me, but if we get through this without me diein’ then is everythin’ just gonna repeat? Lara’s mind came to a hush as the storage room door cracked open. She lifted herself off her cardboard pallet and squinted.
“Hey, Lara, you okay?” Denver’s voice broke through the silence the way a gunshot cracks through a peaceful night.
Lara placed her head back on her jacket, as if she didn’t hear his voice.
“I thought I heard you cryin’ or somethin’… I, I’m sorry, okay. I know I probably sound like I don’t mean shit, but I feel bad for ya… the gang was targetin’ you and forced me to do it. Lucy wanted to burn you somewhere else, but after they made sure you were both knocked out, me and Collin placed you both in the same spot and agreed that I should leave.”
Out There: A Rural Horror Story Page 27