Restless Highways

by Melissa L. Webb

  The weeping woman on the other end of my phone took a shuddered breath. “I told her I didn’t know what to do for her. She said it was okay, just telling me this would be enough to help her. She just needed to tell someone. She walked away from me then. It was the strangest conversation I ever had,” she whispered to me. “But I didn’t think anything more about it. It was just someone with problems.”

  I took a deep breath. I could understand that. “Is there a point to this?” I asked.

  “It’s happening to me,” she sobbed. “I’m having nightmares. I lost my job. Everywhere I look something is going wrong. And…” She stopped, letting the silence surround us.

  I couldn’t help myself. “What?”

  “Something is following me. I feel it,” she said. “I’m never alone anymore.” She was silent once more and then let out a deep sob. “I’m sorry. I just randomly picked you. I had to tell someone. I’m so sorry, but this has to stop.”

  The phone clicked sharply as she hung up. I didn’t know what to make of the story I had just heard. I shoved it to the back of my mind and went on with my life. I should have taken what she said to heart.

  It’s started now. The bad luck and the nightmares, I have both of them. The unseen force? It’s here, too. I feel its breath on the back of my neck even as I write this. It’s watching and waiting, looking for the next person to be infected by this story.

  This tale is no longer my burden. I have finished writing it and you have read it, so I am free. My only thought now is, who will you call tonight?

  The Fall Queen

  She crept through the trees, watching bonfires burn brightly in the night air around her; each one lit in her honor.

  It was again that time of year. Time for the trees to shed their dead and the harvest to be ripe. She watched as the people carved some of the harvest, adding candles as they went. What a glorious night this was.

  She trembled with excitement as she crept closer to the heart of the village. Wonderful aromas filled the air, turning the world into a blur of apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg. She sighed as she breathed it in. This was perfection. The village was hard at work, preparing for the feast tonight. It was a special one…and it was all for her.

  She turned quickly as more wood was thrown on the fires, stoking the flames higher. The wood crackled, sending sparks into the air. Time was drawing nearer. The veil was thinning as the night became darker. Soon, she would take her rightful place. This was her night. Her night alone.

  Here she was Queen, and those around her would bow to her as she walked through this night, regal yet determined; claiming what was hers.

  She slipped quietly back into the shadows, waiting with a smile on her lips. It was good to be Death.

  Cockroaches and Peeps

  I placed the small pink marshmallow chick inside the circle and backed up. This would show them how serious I was. You don’t treat me like dirt and expect me to take it.

  I walked around the outside of the circle, checking for any breaks in the chalk. This had to be done right. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that dark magic has to be done perfectly.

  I picked up the book, tracing the leather cover with my fingertips. How lucky I was to have found this thing buried in my basement. I’ve seen my path now. I know what must be done. They must pay for everything.

  I flipped through the book, the pages automatically turning to the ritual. The book was as hungry for retribution as I was. Quickly lighting the candles, I placed the blood according to the pictures in the book. Glancing at my watch, I knew time was fleeting. I had to act fast.

  I scanned the room, ensuring everything was in place. It was time. Now they would be sorry. Those kids who got to go places on their Spring Break and the ones who got gifts from their parents, like video game systems and the newest cell phones, they all would suffer.

  As would my parents. They never even acknowledge me, let alone take me places and buy me things. This night would change everything. I glanced down at the ritual and raised my voice to the unseen world around me, the words on the paper flowing freely from me as if I had been born to speak them.

  The candlelight flickered as the circle glowed, tinting the room a bright crimson. Chanting, my voice grew until it boomed like thunder. The marshmallow twitched as my words seemed to infect it. The chick shuttered and a roar emerged from somewhere deep inside that pink sugar.

  My words cut off, the spell climaxing, sealing my fate forever. I watched as the marshmallow grew, the pink chick dwarfing me as it filled the room. I stood there in awe as its red eyes glowed down at me.

  A laugh burst from my lips in delight. I had done it. This Easter treat would provide me with my enemy’s destruction. I would be immortalized and revenged at the same time. People would soon know who I was. They would care what I thought of them. They would beg me to be their friend.

  As I smudged the chalk circle with my foot and pointed to the door, the chick seemed to nod. It knew what I wanted. We were both eager to see this through. I grinned. I had chosen well in my demon’s host. Nothing could stop my new friend, not fire, not water. It was indestructible. After all, everyone knows that at the end of the world, the only things that would survive are cockroaches and Peeps.

  Where We Belong

  Dani stepped across the fallen branch and continued down the path. The shadows the trees cast gave her comfort as she eased into them. She would disappear for the night; that would teach them.

  She stole a glance behind her as she made her way through the trees. They hadn’t even bothered to come looking for her. She was beginning to understand how little she did mean to them. “I hate them,” she muttered bitterly as she wiped the tears away. Why couldn’t they give her a break just this once?

  More tears fell as she made her way deeper into the woods behind her house. Everything had become too much for her. It was bad enough Michael had broken up with her, but now she didn’t even know if she would graduate. What a great senior year this was turning out to be.

  Her parents had seemed almost pleased about her failure. She was, after all, living down to their expectations. How could their stupid, worthless daughter ever make anything of herself anyway?

  Dani knew she wasn’t destined for greatness, but did they have to remind her of it every chance they got? She leaned against a tree as a sob racked her body. It wasn’t fair. Why couldn’t she have been born someone else?

  “Are you alright, Danielle?”

  Her head snapped up at the sound of the voice. Her eyes locked with the greenest eyes she had ever seen. “Who are you?” she asked the owner of the eyes.

  The young man came closer, shaking the blond bangs out of his eyes. “I’m Gabriel and I have been waiting for you.”

  She leaned back from the tree and looked around at the dying light. Maybe coming out here was a mistake. She was really far from her house.

  “It’s okay,” Gabriel said and stepped closer still. “I mean you no harm.”

  Dani watched the sincerity dance through his eyes and felt herself relax. As her eyes wandered over the smiling young man, her curiosity grew. “How do you know my name?”

  He chuckled slightly. “I told you. I’ve been waiting for you.”

  She didn’t know why anyone would be waiting for her, but felt herself smile anyway. “Why me?”

  His eyes lit up as he took her arm. “Because your coming has been foretold.” He pulled her gently forward. “Come with me. I have something I want to show you.”

  She knew she shouldn’t go, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. There was something about this guy she couldn’t say no to. She followed quietly as he led her down a trail and past a pair of giant trees. She stepped through and blinked at the sight in front of her.

  Gabriel had led her into some kind of camp. A bonfire burned brightly in the middle, while large white tents circled the outside. People moved about, tending to various things.

  “Ah, here we are,” he said through a smile as h
e looked around.

  “What is this place?” she asked, her eyes wide as she took in everything around her.

  He laughed, delighted at the wonder in her eyes. “This is just our camp for tonight.”

  She turned and looked at him. “I don’t understand. Who are you? What is all of this?”

  He smiled as he took her hand. “All in good time, Danielle. For now, trust you are among friends,” he told her as he led her forward through the throng of people.

  A girl came up to them as they approached and bowed slightly. “My lady,” she spoke to Dani. “You must be thirsty.” She pressed a silver goblet into her hands.

  “Thank you, Eve,” Gabriel said and smiled at her.

  She bowed again and hurried away.

  Dani watched her disappear into a tent. “What was that about?” she asked as she stared down at the goblet.

  “They just want to take care of you,” he told her as he led her to two high back chairs in front of the roaring fire. “It’s what they do.” He motioned to the chairs. “Will you join me?”

  She looked at the chairs before her. Who were these people and what were they doing out here? She glanced back at Gabriel to voice her questions once more, but when she saw the look in his eyes, her words died on her lips.

  He was looking at her so adoringly, as if she was the only one in his world. Her worries seemed to instantly drain from her. This was what she had always wanted; to feel special. For once, she felt like she mattered. Nodding, she took the second seat. “Of course.”

  He smiled as he sat. “Thank you, Danielle.” He turned and looked at the people moving around the camp. “Let the Feast begin,” he called out into the night air.

  Dani watched in amazement as a celebration broke out around her. Music filled the air, soft and lilting, as people began to dance. They floated across the clearing, eerily graceful in the growing moonlight. She watched as the movement seemed to steal her breath. She had never seen anything as beautiful as what she was witnessing now.

  “Would you like to join them?” Gabriel asked, seeing the joy that the dancing stirred in her.

  She tore her eyes away from them and shook her head sadly. “No. I can’t dance. I’d only make a fool of myself out there.”

  “Nonsense,” he told her as he took her goblet and sat it on a tray filled with food. “You can do anything in my arms.” He gracefully led her past the fire and into the group of people.

  Dani followed him across the grass. Her feet seemed to mirror his perfectly. She felt as if she was floating, her body gracefully moving with his. She looked around her, stunned. She was dancing. She was now part of that beautiful sight she had witnessed moments before.

  “I told you,” Gabriel whispered as he pulled her closer to him.

  She closed her eyes as she whirled to the music. This was extraordinary. She had never felt so relaxed before, so free. Nothing else mattered in this moment, only the sway of the music and the feel of Gabriel’s arms around her. She was everything she wanted to be here. This was where she belonged. They danced together, their bodies forgetting time until the morning light began to crawl through the trees.

  The girl who had brought the silver goblet stepped up next to them and looked at Gabriel. “I’m sorry, your highness, but we have to go. The door will be closed soon.”

  He nodded to her. “Thank you, Eve. Get the others through.”

  She quickly left, the other dancers following behind her.

  Dani looked at him, confusion plain on her face. “What door?”

  “The door between your world and mine.”

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  Gabriel took her hand. “I’m not from your world, Danielle. None of us are.”

  She looked at him in shock. “Who are you?”

  “Somebody who has waited a long time for you,” he told her with a smile. “Come with me. I’ll give you everything you could ever want.” He pulled her closer. “I can’t spend one more minute without you, not when I have finally found you.”

  Dani couldn’t believe her ears. He wanted her? She felt joy fluttering inside her chest. She was special after all. No longer would she have to suffer as this world’s whipping girl. “Yes, Gabriel, I’ll go with you.”

  His eyes lit up instantly as he pulled her into his arms. “Thank you, Danielle. You are all I’ll ever need.” He let go of her and took her hand. “Follow me to your rightful home. You’ll be happy there, I promise you.”

  Giggling at the warmth in her heart, Dani followed him home to the place where they both belonged.

  Forever

  It’s not like they say it is. There is no romance. There are no sparkles. There is only death. I know this for a fact. My world has changed around me and it is entirely my own doing. I wanted this. I thought I needed it…but I was wrong.

  Life has not been kind to me. I wasn’t one of those people who seemed to luck into everything they have. I had to take everything I owned, work for it until my soul bled. There wasn’t much left of me at the end of the day, but at least I had earned a little in this world. Something I could call mine.

  But for as much ground as I conquered, there were things that were still off limits to me. I couldn’t find the one. I was incurably single in a world that demanded families. So that was my lot; no spouse, no children. No one to share my accomplishments with at the end of the day. I was doomed to walk this life alone.

  At least there was no one there to mourn when the cancer struck. No one had to wait at my bedside, watching me waste away as the disease ate at my savaged body. I was spared that. I didn’t have to watch my loved one’s faces as my chances of survival grew less and less.

  That night I checked myself out of the hospital, I remember clearly the shape I was in. I wouldn’t last another week, they all told me. I didn’t want to die in a cold hospital room. I couldn’t. I would not spend my last moments on this Earth staring at sterile, white walls and listening to the horrid cacophony of machines.

  I left the hospital on foot, not caring where I went as long as it got me far away from that place. Staggering down back alleys, I was in search for somewhere I could curl up and die, going out as I lived my life, unnoticed.

  As I stumbled farther from civilization, I realized I was being followed. I had to laugh. How dumb must my would-be mugger be if they couldn’t see I had nothing to offer? I was little more than rags and bones.

  I kept moving forward. I knew if I stopped, I might not ever start again. My unknown assailant kept following, moving closer and closer with each step. I knew any moment would be my last and I welcomed it. Maybe life had finally become kind and I wouldn’t have to suffer a minute more. A death at some punk’s hand would be a blessing.

  My pace slowed, my body too far gone to keep going. I didn’t have the spirit to fight it. I wanted to die. I turned and waited for the aggressor, ready to spur him into action. What approached stopped me cold, the creature’s dark red eyes pinned me where I was.

  I watched as it moved closer, my mind whirling in the understanding of it. It wore the look of a man, but I could almost see the monster underneath. It smiled at me, pure predatory in intent, baring its fangs for me to see. Air passed my lips in shock as I realized the stories were true. Monsters roamed the night and preyed on the weak.

  It moved closer, ready to strike, but no fear filled me. Only one word filtered through my thoughts as I looked at it. Salvation. This thing could save me. If I could get it to change me and make me one of its own, I would live forever. I would be stronger, better. I would be freed from this hell my body had become.

  “Please,” I begged it. “Turn me. I want to be a Vampire, too.”

  The creature who looked like a man laughed as it watched me, humor in its undead eyes. It moved and was upon me in an instant, fangs piercing my paper-thin flesh. The thing finished me right there, among the scattered remained of last week’s garbage. It left me there; a smile on his crimson-coated lips was the last thing
my human eyes saw.

  The change came upon me quickly, turning me into an undead being. I had achieved what I wanted. The cancer would not claim me. I wish to God now that it had.

  I have been transformed into a state of perpetual decaying. My body will never die, yet it will not heal. That’s the real truth about being a vampire. You never change from what you were. You are a moment frozen it time; a homage to what you were at the time of your death. So now, my body is forever riddled with cancer. I suffer in agony, staying suspended in my pain. And I will stay like this. Forever.

  Black Keys

  The typewriter stood silent. Black metal glittering in the harsh florescent light. Ivy stood mesmerized by the way the keys seemed to call to her. “Why does it have to stay in that display case, Daddy?” she asked, turning to look at the man behind the desk.

  “What was that?” he spoke, barely even glancing up from the laptop in front of him.

  “Can’t I just use it once?” she asked, trying to get his full attention.

  He looked up at her, his eyes resting on her wrinkled brow and sighed. “I’ve told you before, Ivy. That typewriter means a lot to me. I started my career with that thing.” He glanced over at the display case, a frown tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I created our lives with that. Everything I have, I owe to that hunk of metal. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to it.”

  “That typewriter gave you the inspiration to write your first story?” she asked, thrilled by the idea.

  Her father nodded. “In a lot of ways, it did, pumpkin. I would never have found the courage in me to share my words with the world, if it hadn’t been for that thing.”

  Ivy eyed the typewriter with awe. “I want to be like you, Daddy. I want to share my words with the world, too.” She turned and looked at her father, putting on her best pout. “Maybe it can give me courage, too. Please, Daddy? Please?”