The Time Rippers Book 3: Food For The Gods by Pete Bertino - HTML preview
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Jay quickly turned his head waiting to see Doe number four come charging.
That was paranoia though, the big dude did stop suddenly but not to attack him but to see the TV
better. Jay watched the mans eyes squint as he walked around Jay and closer to the TV just above his tall frame. Jay took a deep breath and shook his head feeling foolish.
“You like this movie?” he asked.
The ward looked back at him quickly then returned his attention to the TV. Jay shrugged and watched the movie as the big dude just stood there watching the TV closely, even when the commercials played he didn’t move.
“You know you can sit and chill while you watch.” Jay said after a half an hour.
But the ward didn’t even turn around. He stood there watching, thinking mad thoughts, maybe.
Jay found his attention going back to big dude watching TV every so often. The movie was reaching it’s climax when Jaime finally arrived.
“Sorry, man. I floored it once I got the spare on.” he said with hands up.
“That’s cool, man. It’s gotten quiet since light’s out. I’m gone.” he said tossing him the remote.
“Don’t change the channel, the big dudes watching something.” Jay said.
He looked back at Doe number four as he left the rec room. He stood there still and quiet, watching the movie. He didn’t know why it struck him as odd but it did, Jay reminded himself that the big dude was crazy.
Maybe he was a soldier, who just slipped through the cracks. He certainly had the look of one, too old for Iraq a Vietnam vet maybe. Jay decided he might try talking to him again next time.
Maybe he wasn’t too far gone to get back into the real world.
The next day had been chaotic though at the Byberry. A state inspector was coming the day after to make sure the facility was functioning properly. The staff had given the place a good once over. It took most of the day and Jay had hardly thought of Doe number four.
When the inspector arrived the following morning after every thing had been cleaned and disinfected and then cleaned and disinfected again just to be sure, Stacy and Aunt Mary escorted him around. He was a balding young man wearing a drab gray suit carrying a clipboard and a smart phone clipped to his belt. The inspection lasted most of the day which was an unusually long time. It was nearly time for the next shift when Stacy had found Jay keeping watch in the showers while a ward used the bathroom.
“Don’t let her see my pecker!” shouted the ward who was squatting on the toilet.
“What’s up? Is it over?”
“Yeah,” she said sounding anxious. “he’s gonna recommended to the Health Board we close in sixty days.”
“Shit are you fucking kidding me? I thought they had give us six months advance notice before shutting down? I don’t fucking feel like looking for another job now.”
“No, I know Jay” she said tightly. “but the inspector said because this place is so understaffed it would be a waste of more tax money to wait that long. He did say though every staff member would be given an automatic transfer.”
“And when’s that?”
“He couldn’t say.” Stacy said looking worried.
“What the fuck, Stacy.”
“I asked, but he said he really didn’t know. He said the sooner all the wards get moved out the sooner they can relocate everybody else.”
“Yeah, well with Norristown full that could be while.” he said with a heavy sigh.
“Don’t worry, worse come to worse you can get unemployment.” she said putting a hand on his shoulder before heading back to her rounds.
Normally he would feel charged from her touch, but the idea of an unknown amount of time unemployed threw cold water on that lust, and fuck collecting welfare. He nodded as the ward shuffled out of the shower with a confused look on his face.
“Did she see my pecker?”
“No, nobody wants to see your shlong.” Jay said pointing the ward back to the rec room.
Jay spent the rest of the day feeling constipated and paid no attention to Doe number four. He came back the next day, feeling slightly hung over. He had been guzzling an AMP in the rec room to wake up when Stacy, who was doling out meds behind the half door, saw him.
“Hey, Jay. What do ya say?” she said sounding too happy for his ears.
“What.” he said curtly.
“Now, you be nice. Transfers are here.” she said holding up a sheet of paper.
Immediately Jay’s hangover dissolved.
“I’m sorry, baby.” he said trying to pout.
“Knock it, off.” she said sliding the paper through gate.
Six weeks and he would be doing work at a real hospital in the East Falls area a nicer neighborhood than here. Everyone else’s names were listed as well, some were going to Norristown a few would be joining him. Not Stacy though, too bad.
“I’m gonna miss you, Stacy.” he said thinking how much he’d miss seeing her ass in those tight green scrubs.
“Yeah, I bet you will. Get back to work.” she said laughing.
Did she notice him checking out her ass? Did he care?
“Not really.” he said to himself while walking the hall later.
His mood had gone from bad to pretty damn good. He’d be bored for a little less pay but at least he’d be closer to home. Plus it was now likely he’d never have to clean up after crazy people again. He had no idea what the hell they’d have him do there though.
“As long as I don’t have to watch people dropping a deuce anymore.”
He was in the rec room thinking his thoughts when he saw Doe number four at the window. Still as a statue facing the city bathed in afternoon sunlight. He has to be military, he thought.
But if he was military they’d know it from his finger prints. Maybe he burned them off, a paranoid schizophrenic thinking the government or aliens or some shit like that is tracking him.
But the big dude looked too calm for a schizophrenic.
Jay felt too much in the grips of his good mood to ignore the big dude, so he approached.
He stood just a few feet behind him and was quiet for a moment.
“You doin OK?” he asked.
Doe number four did not stir nor speak. Jay walked a little closer but not too close.
“If you want something or need anything just say the word.”
The big dude was unmoved, it was as if Jay was talking to a statue.
“Maybe I can help. Were you in the military?”
Did he move? Jay couldn’t be sure, if he had blinked he might have missed it.
“Cause, if you were in the service, you know, you could be living it up in a real hospital. Yeah, man I’m just here to help ya while I can. You look like you were in the service. If you just tell me where you served or what ever outfit you were with, maybe you can go home instead of Norristown.”
Jay felt like he was rambling so he stopped. The big dude didn’t move until Jay was about to leave. Jay watched as the mans body turned, his face was a scowl looking into his eyes as he spoke to him clearly and directly.
“Georgia 10th Infantry.”
He spoke it so quickly and quietly, Jay thought he had imagined it. Doe number four had walked away towards the shower in a slow methodical matter. Jay felt his heart beat rapidly at the shock of actually hearing him speak. He went to guard the shower but a nurse had happily waved him off, Jay gave a happy thumbs up and waited for the big dude to return.
However only a moment later an elderly ward who was bent over with his pants and briefs to his ankles with cheeks spread wide, defecated on the wall directly behind him that had a picture taped to it of a bespectacled man with curly hair. A word was written at the bottom in crude Crayola colored letters that said mallon. These people screamed all kinds of weird crazy shit Jay though with a heavy roll and head nod.
“Bullshiteye, fucking thief!” the old man cried triumphantly.
“Goddamn it!” Jay said feeling his mood go from good to pretty god damn terrible.
The other wards cheered and a few began kicking and pounding on the table. It was a few hours before all the wards had been settled and the wall cleaned thoroughly.
“Couple more weeks, Jay.” Stacy said when Jay had finished dumping the mop bucket in the maintenance closet sink.
“Yeah.” he said feeling a little more upbeat now that the cleaning was over.
“Anything else exciting happen today.” she asked as she refilled a bottle of blue window cleaner.
“Nah, not really. Here I’ll fill that up for you.”
“Thanks, Jay.”
He hadn’t forgot about Doe talking to him, he just didn’t tell her. Though he wasn’t sure exactly why, it wouldn’t have made any difference either way. Jay looked at his watch, still a little while
before punch out time. He though about trying to talk to the big dude again, but his gut told him that would be a waste.
Besides, he had spoken to him. Not a name but close enough maybe to find one. Georgia 10th Infantry? National Guard, was his guess. Perhaps he had gone to Iraq. There were vets from that war that had signed up for the Guard.
As old as he looked, he had to have been an officer. Jay was fairly sure you couldn’t sign up after you turned thirty five. A no account private falling through the cracks is one thing, an officer was different though.
Then maybe he wasn’t military. He had access to every wards file, they sat in a filing cabinet in the office he interviewed in, however if he was a Doe it would be a small file. He went to the main office which was empty of any staff at the moment and went to the tall brown filing cabinet behind the desk near the only working window.
He opened the top drawer marked A to F, and went behind Doe’s one through three. His was indeed small containing only his arrest sheet with mug shot, and another paper with two signatures. One he recognized as Aunt Mary and the other presumably was the police shrink that had signed him off.
Scribbled at the top were the words ‘paranoid schizophrenic’ followed by a question mark and
‘bi-polar’ followed by another question mark. Under that in more legible writing was a short paragraph.
‘Suspect would not eat nor respond to stimuli, unable to obtain prints do to extensive burns of the hands and fingers. Sign of past substance abuse (crack cocaine), advise prescript of Gabapentin for relapse. Slightly catatonic, PTSD still can not be ruled out.’
So they questioned him and he sat quiet and still and they sent him to the nut ward. It was no surprise to Jay though, sometimes acting crazy was the best defense and easy if you were crafty.
If he hit a cop that was probably his only defense, judging by the few articles of clothing they had kept in a separate bag.
They looked bloodied, he wondered for a moment why they didn’t just burn them but figured it probably had something to do with tax dollars or some dumb shit like that. He didn’t take the stuff out its bag, besides that there was nothing else on big dude. Jay had tried to use his phones browser to search through the Army’s website but the signal was non existent.
Just as well, a staffer had come in just then to light up a cigarette, a young blond haired guy named Cody. He was an EMT whom Jay could score weed or pills he palmed from people he would pick up driving in his ambulance. It was either give up your stash to him or he would have to do his civic duty and inform the police, he would joke with Jay sometimes.
“Hey Jay, can I sneak behind you.” said Cody lighting up a Marlboro with a shiny silver Zippo.
“Yeah, dude. I was just finishing up.”
“Hey you need something for the weekend?”
“Fuck, is it Friday already?” he said forgetting about Doe number four for a while.
The weekend had come and gone too quickly for his liking he thought that Monday morning.
Friday night had started well enough for him, he had drank beer until he was pleasantly buzzed trolling old and young alike through his vast Steam library under his tag: The Glob. He had slept the next morning away at his one bedroom apartment and woke up to a bright sunny afternoon.
He had taken a drive to South Street, and bought more useless shit to amuse himself with including a special Japanese DVD import of a box set of Anime films by Katsuhiro Otomo. It was probably bootlegged but he would rather spend all of his money on bootleg crap rather than on a girlfriend or wife who probably turn into a fat nagging twat. No, he had no interest in settling down.
He was at the prime of his life enjoying his twenties despite the future being a boring one. He just wanted to make some green and be left the fuck alone. He had no deep loyalties or close family and reveled in his freedom.
He had been walking along South streets many shoppers and gawking tourists when he ran into Cody who had a pair of nice looking girls hanging with him out in front of the Johnny Rockets restaurant.
One was as blond as Cody the other was a brunette with a thick curvy body and a plump ass Jay wanted to sink his teeth into. They had gone to a bar called Tattooed Mom’s for a drink, where in the back was a small stage. A young girl in a white t-shirt and skinny jeans with platinum blond hair was playing old grunge hits on an acoustic guitar to the near empty establishment.
‘tell me your name, I’m dying here’
She was a really good singer and she was happy to take requests. After a few beers and a nice tip for both the bar tender and the blond on stage the four of them crammed into Jays car and went to his place. Cody had shared out some ecstasy and pot while Jay purchased a case of Yuengling on the way back. He had finished his Saturday night with the brunette screwing him repeatedly until they collapsed on each other in a heap of loose limbs and heaving torso’s glistening in a light sheen of sweat.
Sunday had been good as well, he had gone to the sport grille not far away and ate some greasy cheese burgers with a few cold ones and watched the Phillies continue their winning streak. He went to bed that night and cringed that another weekend had just ended, and a near perfect one at that.
Still the thought that life might not get any better than that tried to bring him down. He reminded himself it could always be worse, as he walked into work that morning, tying back his long curly black hair in a ponytail. He felt his spirits return when he thought of the humping he did the other night, a good hard humping could lift up anybody’s spirits.
He was in the rec room and saw Doe number four standing in his usual place. Shit. He had meant to look up the Army stuff for the big dude. He waited until the late afternoon when most of the wards were still drowsy from lunch and their meds and went to the main office.
It was empty and he had a decent enough signal and tried the official US Army web site, but got nothing. Then the website for ‘The Library Of Congress’ again nothing. Then another site simply called military.com and still nothing.
“OK, let’s Google some shit.”
He typed in Georgia 10th infantry and tapped the search icon. He thought he had misspelled something at first, the top result was for Gettysburg. He scrolled down and the next three sites were for genealogy.
He looked up from his phone to check and see if anyone was coming. Not that he would have gotten in a lot of trouble for being in there, he just preferred a certain degree of anonymity. He scrolled down further and saw a Wikipedia result showing a list regiments of the Confederate Army.
“No, not the fucking Civil War, today.”
He retyped his search phrase with ‘Georgia 10th Infantry today’
The results he got were still perplexing, all were results for tours of the battlefield in Gettysburg.
He felt a chill touch his heart when he scrolled down and saw one of the image results for Georgia 10th Infantry. The chill that touched his heart became and icy grip when he saw a familiar face. It was him, the big dude!
“No, no way.” he tried to laugh it off but was unable to.
He tapped on the picture of the familiar face, which doubled its size allowing him a closer look at a photo of a painted portrait with the caption: Colonel Nathaniel Francis Bueller CSA. The man in the painting was in a fancy looking gray uniform, with darker hair and a neat looking patch of hair on his mouth and chin. But it was the scar that made his knees shake just the tiniest bit. He felt reluctance to get pulled in so easily.
“No, come on. Use your head, find a real picture of this Bueller , not a picture of a painting.”
He backed out of the current screen and typed in the search bar: ‘Georgia 10th Infantry photos’
and hit enter. A few photo’s of the painting reappeared, real photo’s though appeared, original sepia toned ones, the color of old photos and antiques. He scrolled by one or two when he saw him again.
It was a close up picture of Doe wearing a much dirtier uniform with what appeared to be a scowl that Jay had already seen on Doe’s face. He appeared to be looking just beyond who ever
held the camera, he had a scrubby beard much like now covering his scar. Next to him stood a younger man wearing a Kepi hat and grubby uniform, he was facing the camera almost directly.
At the bottom of the picture was the caption: Col. Nathaniel Bueller (MIA) and son Cpl. Francis Bueller (KIA) at Gettysburg. Picture taken circa summer 1863 after a brief firefight with Yankee troops.
Those eyes, that scar how could it be anyone else? Unless he was some kind of retard who was way too into cosplay, one of the wards here now believed he was Jesus Christ and would absolve your sins if you gave him your dessert. Big dude would have to be crazy if he fucked up his own face.
He looked back at his phone screen, the sidebar showed a blue and gray template titled ‘10 Little Known Facts of The Civil War.’ He didn’t know why, but he always felt compelled to read lists like that. Below the template were the facts listed in numerical order, but he couldn’t read past fact number four which was:
‘ 4. Most Rebel soldiers hands and fingers were burned due to design flaws in their standard issued Richmond Rifle.’
He didn’t burn his hands sucking the glass dick! Jay went back into the filing drawer marked A-F. He removed Doe number four’s file and took out the mug shot and placed the other things on the edge of the desk. He held the mug shot next to the picture on his phone screen. If it wasn’t the big dude on his phone then he had a twin.
He placed his arm on the desk and took a breath trying to steady his racing mind. He started to walk away from the desk when he knocked off Doe’s files and raggedy clothes. He stopped it all from dropping, but then he heard a loud twang of metal hitting the floor.
Jay watched as a coin suddenly rolled out from under him, towards the far wall before falling onto its side. He thought it was a Kennedy half dollar, he approached it seeing the details of the coin and realizing it wasn’t Kennedy on the coin. It was a woman sitting down with a shield at her side.
He picked up the silver coin and stared disbelievingly at the year 1861 engraved at its bottom, he turned it around and saw another shield bearing seven stars surrounded by the words
‘Confederate States of America’ at the coins edge. He took a deep breath and gripped the coin.
He wondered for the last time if he was mistaken about it all but knew he wasn’t. Hell, he even heard a strange country twang to his voice when he said, Georgia.
But if he was really an MIA from The Civil War, how the fuck did he get here? He’d have to ask but not right now, it was early yet and too many staffers were around still. He waited until after the wards had their dinner and meds and volunteered to work a few more hours. He watched Doe number four closely, wondering how this man got here.
The Colonel, as Jay now thought of him, stood with his hands behind his back with thumb tips meeting creating a perfect diamond in the space between. The sun was setting slowly as night came on. The lights in the rec room had been turned off, Stacy had left for the day and no other staffers or ward was in the rec room with them.
He stood just a few feet away from The Colonel. Trying to think of what to say or how to begin this loony conversation. What could he say to him, that wouldn’t make him sound like he was ready to start wearing paper slippers and pajamas everyday? He didn’t know what to say or do, so he called him by his proper title.
“Colonel.”
He had expected a reaction of some kind and he got a big one. The body which was huge and muscular turned quickly as if he was light as a feather, with both eyes burrowing into Jays own like lasers. Jay had to lower his eyes just a little, The Colonel’s scowl in the darkness was unsettling. His eyes looked alive as his chest looked bigger as he took in controlled breaths.
“Jesus H Christ. You’re really real. I mean...you.”
“Am I real? Yes, maybe you’re not.” he said turning back to the window.
Jay felt goosebumps grow all over him hearing that southern twang in his voice.
“What...I uh...how is this possible?” he said when he regained coherent thought.
The Colonel remained silent and still. Jay felt exasperated at his stoic silence.
“Hey Colonel.” He said walking a little closer but not too close.
“Come on, you led me around and now you’re gonna go quiet. Ungrateful, fuck.”
The Colonel’s shoulders sagged just the littlest bit, before he turned around to look at him. He was no longer scowling.
“How’d you find out about me?”
“The Internet.”
The Colonels brow furrowed in a question.
“Never mind. Just tell me, how you got here.”
He didn’t answer, he turned back towards the city in front of him. It was a moment before said anything.
“I don’t know exactly. I followed two men through a mirage of some sort, I came through and found my self in a large corridor with false doors. I found a set of steps that led me outside of what looked like an underground bunker but I swear I heard the sound of trains. I was outside and saw a template that read 'Orange Line Tasker Mifflin Station’ only a few moments later a blue back nigger accosted me.
“I was knocked out by some kind of pistol, when I came to I was in a prison cell. I knew that for sure but everything else I saw made little sense. I kept thinking I was suffering shell shock and that I’d wake up in some field hospital back in Georgia.
“Then I remembered being soaked in the blood of my only son, and I thought of nothing else but getting those two murdering bastards that had come from this place. I listened close enough to figure out a few things myself. Lieutenant Curds believed a good soldier gathers information
before attacking. This is some distant time, how distant I could only guess, and my guess would be we are in the city of Philadelphia.”
The Colonel shook his head slowly, still facing the gated off world, scowling again.
“The future, it used to be just a word, in the future I’d be the most powerful man in the state. I’d go win the war and run for the big office. Now though it’s not a word anymore but a place, a place beyond my years. A place beyond my comprehension, everything from the horseless carriages and that talking box mounted on that wall and the lights everywhere burning bright without heat or fire. In the end though I shall find those two murderers!”
The Colonel said this last part loud. Jay looked around quickly to make sure no ward was up or any staffer heading to the rec room. Talking about murder with a ward could be big time bad, Jay thought back to the clothes packed in The Colonel’s file and shuddered.
“You said, you followed two men, murderers. Were they soldiers, not boys in blue but guys with maybe green camo carrying big ass rifles.”
“No,” The Colonel said facing Jay again. “they weren’t in uniform. Though judging by the device they carried I have no doubt they are from...here.”
“2011.”
The Colonels eyes closed for just a moment, in reflection.
“I tried to tell myself it had only been a few decades that had passed. But if traveling across time is customary here...”
“Hold a sec, Colonel. I know from your view, we got all kinds of magical things here. But honestly most the shit here is garbage used to distract people from how fucking horrible life actually is. Shit like time travel hasn’t been done yet.”
But who’s to say some asshole didn’t figure it out while jacking off in his parents basement, Jay wondered to himself.
“What about the story on the box the other day.” The Colonel asked nodding at the TV.
“Oh, that’s a movie...uh uh it’s just fiction. It’s made up.”
The Colonel nodded a little before asking: “Is everything shown on that box fiction?”
“Depends on the channel. You said they had a device they used to get there than back?”
“I assume so, I did not see them use it. They were damaged by rifle fire apparently but it did not stop them or me from coming here it seems.”
“Did you get a close look at it?”
“Young man, I held the device in my own hands.” He said turning to face Jay with a sneer.
“OK, chill, Colonel. What did it look like?”
The Colonel thought for a moment.
“It was a rectangle of black glass with a metallic square ornament sitting on it.”
“Black glass?”
“Yes...well...it looked like glass. But it was much softer and it reacted when I touched it a picture of a mountain range appeared. There were also tiny hieroglyphs on the picture but I lost my reading specs back in Cashtown and could not tell what the symbols were.”
“Colonel, did it look like this?” Jay asked taking out his IPhone.
His eyes grew wide he quickly took it from Jay and touched its glossy black material. He took in a deep breath and sighed at the feel and the reaction he got from the soft glass.
“It was similar looking much bigger than this, about the length and width of a book, but very thin.” he said turning it over and looking at the silver apple emblazoned on its back. “The symbol however was no fruit. It was a garishly drawn Q,” he said handing it back. “but the glass face on this machine is the same as the one I was had in Gettysburg.”
“Gettysburg, shit. Look Colonel, you got to tell me the whole story. I feel like I opened up a big ass book and started reading at the middle.”
Jay was startled to hear The Colonel laugh just after he said this as if it were the funniest dirtiest joke in the world. Jay understood later why Colonel Bueller had laughed.
The only thing in the story that he could check out himself was the bunker which was actually the subway. There were many subway stations in Philly, but The Colonel had the exact location and one that was familiar to a South Philly guy like him. The idea of a secret labyrinth under the city fascinated him.
He knew that there was more to Philly than meets the eye, or below the eye. Growing up, he and his grandfather would ride the subway on Sunday afternoons during the summer months to watch the Phillies play. His grandfather rode for free because he had worked as a conductor for Septa for many years.
They would walk down the large staircase with a yellow stripe painted at the edge of each step hand in hand, not even ten years old yet and already a die hard Phillies fan. The length and darkness of the tunnels always took his breath away, while everybody walking and driving up above on Broad street were oblivious to it all. One thing besides the wide platforms and deep dark tunnels that bore the trains that had fascinated him were the fact that there were doors at random places either on the platform or along the above ground structure on Broad street, there were even some down along the tracks.
“Where do those doors go, grandpa?” he asked while they waited for a train one Sunday many years ago.
“Well, some are just maintenance closets, they have lots of tools, blueprints, like what I keep in my garage. The yellow one on the tracks down there can you get above ground quickly or into the sewers and you can follow some of the tunnels out to the Delaware River. The red one at the end of the platform is to be used only if there’s an emergency.”
“Emergency?”
“Yeah in case a fire or one of them towel heads try anything, that door opens to short tunnel where there is a ladder going up to a manhole, that comes out right in the middle of Broad street.”
“Really?” Jay asked.
He was enthralled at the idea of coming out of the ground below like a Ninja Turtle, a cartoon he had watched until he was thirteen and his parents had gotten cable.
“Oh, yeah. You see that big green door right next to the tracks there? Well that door takes you back to the old Broad street station they used until the Korean War or there abouts. There are still a few of the original trains sitting on the tracks.”
“Don’t they use them anymore, grandpa?” Jay asked in wonder looking at the green door.
“Nope, they’re all abandoned now.” his grandfather said.
The fact that there was some abandoned world sitting below the gum ridden sidewalks of his neighborhood had stuck in Jays mind most of that day, distracting him from the beating the Phillies took. He could still vividly remember the fevered dream he had had that night, where he was back in the subway. He was alone this time, and he waited for a train to pass before jumping down to the tracks below avoiding the deadly third track and going through the green door and entering a dark hallway. He saw a gleam of orange light from some unknown source bouncing off an ancient looking train in the distance, he ran but it was dream time slow.
But he got closer and closer still, his heart beating in excitement but he was within an arms length of exploring this forgotten world then his mother had woken him up to do some long undone chore. To this day whenever he drove by the Orange Line Station he would think about that door, and wonder what strange treasure lay behind it. According to The Colonel one door had been a way station to a portal from 1863 to the present, using a hacked IPad. Jay thought that was ridiculous at first, an IPad was just a dumb toy for guys like him with money to burn.
Then again, he had no doubt The Colonel was the real deal. So obviously he would have to go to the Tasker-Mifflin station and look around. He told The Colonel to keep playing mute until...
“Until what?” Bueller asked.
Jay wasn’t sure, they could transfer him at anytime before they closed the whole Byberry, and The Colonel wouldn’t have it so easy in Norristown. And what happens if he finds this fabled Apple device? He’d have to get The Colonel out. The thought of helping a ward escaped made his stomach tumble.
Assisting a ward in escaping was a felony, it was equal to assisting a convict escape from prison.
Jay had tossed and turned the night before his search. He had taken a sick day and was out of his place before eight that morning.
He still resided in the city but it was still a long drive thanks to rush hour, it was after nine when he reached Broad and Tasker streets. It took him only a few minutes to find a row of empty parking spaces that had meters planted beside each space just a few blocks away from the station. He pulled in and had change to buy him twenty minutes, so he visited the Seven Eleven at Broad and Wolf and got a full roll of quarters.
He returned and put an hours worth of time in and walked to the subway. It was fairly busy, many people were going down but not coming up. He walked around back, only hoping to find this door but not really thinking he would. But it was there.
He felt his stomach shake as soon as he saw it, the chills he felt when he saw the picture of Bueller and his kid from 1863 returned. It was just a big gray metal door that looked heavy. A bright red sign that read: ‘NO TRESPASSING VIOLATORS WILL BE
PROSECUTED’ was bolted to the door.
He approached the door and took the knob in his hand but it would not budge. Jay stood looking at it, reminiscing about his childhood dream of the green door. His stomach was swirling as he looked at the door and felt sure that something was going on. But he couldn’t pick a lock and didn’t want to try and bring anyone else in on what ever the hell he was doing. It was already too crazy for him to understand what exactly was going on but he still hadn’t done anything illegal so he was reluctant to stop just yet.
So he would do the only thing he could, he waited hardly a task but boring all the same. There was a bus stop bench about ten yards away facing Broad street that had an ancient looking homeless woman wearing thick red lipstick and bright blue eye shadow. On her head sat a
leopard print turban fitted tightly around her skull. To Jay she looked like a washed up movie actress from another era that the world had forgotten about.
But like Jay she was quiet and was ignored by the commuters as he kept an eye on that door that was just over his shoulder, when he wasn’t pumping quarters into the parking meter. He would thumb through his phone and ignore the occasional smell of cat piss that would blow out of the vents on the pavement when a train underneath went by. It was one o’clock when he thought about giving up.
The Colonel had described the two men but didn’t know there names or anything more specific.
It was a waiting game he would have to play if he wanted to find out what was going on. The day had been hot and muggy, so he to a quick walk back to the Seven-Eleven to buy a cold drink. He figured he might wait for another hour or until his phone died, which ever happened first.
He had been gone less than ten minutes and returned to his spot leaning on the street light pole between the bus stop bench and subway station facing the door. He was nursing his Red Bull when he noticed the door had opened. He had missed its actual opening but saw it was open towards him, obscuring the doorway from his view.
He felt his heart hit his throat as it just stood there open, then he saw a short, skinny man walk out and push the door closed behind him, then turn the knob before walking away. He wasn’t dressed like a nineteenth century farmer but he looked just like one of the men Bueller had described. He didn’t see the big blond one, though.
The short man paid no attention to Jay or anyone else. He followed the man who was walking quickly and carried a back pack. Jay felt his heart beating rapidly as he went, repeatedly telling himself he wasn’t stalking.
He walked down Mifflin street and stopped at a door to a duplex, he quickly looked inside the mailbox mounted on the wall next to his front door. With a few envelopes in hand he unlocked a door and went inside, Jay walked by hoping to see a name on the mailbox but only 2958 Mifflin was written on the front. Jay walked back to the corner, feeling as suspicious as he looked since there was no bus stop on this corner. He stood and feigned talking on the phone hoping the guy came back out soon.
He was only a few minutes into his pretend conversation when the man came back out. Jay was mouthing a goodbye when the man got into a beige sedan. Jay quickly noted the plate numbers
and car type and began a quick run to his car ditching his Red Bull. Mifflin street was one way and traffic was spotty, he hoped he could get back to his car and get down the block quickly before he lost sight of the skinny dude.
Although it was only two blocks to his car, it felt like a million miles. His face was sweaty and red as he fumbled out his keys and got into his car. Jay turned the keys and revved up his puny engine and pulled out heading back towards Mifflin. He had to lay his horn once or twice but it was a quick trip. He turned off Broad and turned on Mifflin, he was passing the short mans apartment before he stopped the car. He looked ahead but the sedan was gone.
“Fuck.” he said.
It was a few seconds before he saw the sedan a few car lengths behind him pulling out of its parking spot. Jay saw him and quickly put his car into drive. He drove ahead and pulled over at the corner which was empty because of a fire hydrant. He took his phone out and held it to his face as if in conversation, once again.
He glanced at the short guy as he went by, who didn’t look over at Jay when he passed. Jay waited a few second before pulling out to follow. The traffic was smooth flowing as Jay followed behind at a safe distance. They went north on the highway then went onto I76 before getting off at an exit for University City in West Philadelphia.
The traffic was beginning to build already though it was only one thirty. He followed slowly through the clutter of vehicles that were exiting from a two story parking garage probably owned and maintained by one of the big schools near by. Jay gripped the steering wheel tightly as he wiped sweat from his forehead. Was this guy a scientist like Doc Brown, he wondered?
Jay felt his stomach shake when the sedans turn signal came on and headed down 33rd Street past the college’s football stadium, and towards a multi level parking garage with a large half blue and half red letter P stenciled on the ticket takers booth at mouth of the garage. It wasn’t free parking but it was available to everyone at least. Jay was relieved he had grabbed cash out of the ATM when he’d bought his energy drink.
Jay had followed the sedan up as the garage was emptying at a steadily increasing pace, they had both found a spot at the same time but Jay had always been an aggressive driver. He was in his spot and out of his car in just sixty seconds, he then made a quick jog to the nearest exit with his phone out faking another conversation.
He went down a few flights of steps and was out the door on the other side of the garage facing a grassy knoll where clusters of students hung out. The school semester probably hadn’t started yet, but there were many here already. Jay walked over to a tree pretending to thumb his phone screen when the short man exited the garage from a door farther down but was heading towards the nearest building.
Jay watched the scrawny guy enter a building called ‘The Science And Technology Center’
which was a large Gothic building made of old stone and marble. The lobby inside looked like a studio apartment apart with love seats and couches scattered about, which had a few students sitting on them either tapping on their phones or chatting quietly to themselves. The security guard checking IDs was at the back wall in a vestibule that presumably led to the rest of the building. He saw the short guy take out his wallet to show his ID to a security guard, who looked at it and had him sign his name.
Jay’s stomach felt like it was stuck on a roller coaster. He’d have to show ID and sign his name, the point of no return was creeping closer. He reminded himself he still hadn’t done anything wrong and approached the guard after the short guy was admitted.
“ID.” said the man in a crisp dark blue uniform and tin gold badge shining on his chest.
He looked almost like a cop if you didn’t notice the picture ID clipped to his shirt. Jay smiled dutifully though and provided his license, capping it off with a clear yes sir.
“Are you a student?” he asked looking at Jay’s drivers license.
“No, I was thinking about applying.”
“The admission’s office is in another building.” he said looking at Jay squarely in the eyes.
“Yeah,” Jay said “I know I lost my visitors pass running over here trying to make an appointment with one of the professors about going to school here.”
The guard blew air through his lips and uttered a small sigh.
“Sign here.” he said taking out a sticker with the school colors and the words visitor in black bold font.
“Put this on, and keep it on. OK?”
“Yes, sir.” Jay said dutifully as he scribbled his name and placed the sticker high on his chest.
He went through the vestibule and saw the man turn a corner. Jay hurried to the end of the hall and removed the sticker from his shirt and watched him go in an elevator. He was the only one to enter so Jay let the doors close and watched the digital read out above the doors until it stopped.
“Sixth floor.”
Jay took the next elevator, hit the button for six and came out to a short hallway with one door.
He opened the door to a tiny combination library and computer lab. The walls were lined with books, all of which looked as thick and as boring as Encyclopedias.
Most were numbered volumes of some subject that Jay assumed he wouldn’t have given a shit about. The room looked, to Jay, like a library in the board game clue.
‘Mr Blue Balls did it in the study with his lead pipe’
That was something he had heard someone say in his old neighborhood back in the day. Though he couldn’t remember who or why it was said, to this day that joke still brought a childish smile to his face, even as his heart rattled in his rib cage now.
He walked passed a double aisle of books and saw a large rectangular desk with two or three people sitting sporadically about with either a book or laptop or both opened in front of them. At the far end of the desk the scrawny man sat scouring over a large book. There were also four plush looking love seats made of a crimson fabric placed around the room.
He hadn’t looked once at Jay who had been following him for over an hour now. Jay grabbed a random book and sat on one of the sofas at the opposite end watching. The man had gotten up
numerous times and had gone to another room, but he had left his things each time so Jay didn’t follow.
He was hoping to see if the man would take out this IPad that could....travel time? That was his guess, unless this was some kind of Philip K Dick story come to life where reality was just a made up word. Jay had no doubt this was real and that he was going to be going down a rabbit hole.
So far the short guy hadn’t taken out his IPad, he only thumbed through various books. Jay watched him unsure of what to do next. Judging by his size Jay could have stomped him to mush and just grabbed his pack, but you never knew about some people and Jay wasn’t anxious to start hurting random people.
Jay sat for close to an hour pretending to read trying to think of how to get into his pack, when an opportunity presented itself. The short guy’s head had picked quickly, as if someone had called his name out.
He looked around the room that was almost empty. He had even looked at Jay but it was absent minded. Jay just kept his eyes straight on the pages before as the man looked back down again to his book.
Then he looked up again and looked behind his chair where a few feet away was a small window, he got up and went to it. He peered out as if searching for someone. Jay was watching as the short dude rubbed the back of his head, looking deep in thought and walk back into the room he had been in and out of so many times already.
Jay with out thinking got up and walked over to the short dudes back pack which was partially open. He walked slowly and methodically taking quick breaths with each step he took. He looked around, two other people still sat nearby reading thick heavy looking books, too busy to notice him.
He put his book on a random shelf with an open space and nonchalantly leaned over the chair the pack sat on and opened it wider with his hand. He looked down at a clutter of items, none of which he could recall seeing later. It was the IPad with a metallic cube sitting at the top that his eyes focused on. He took the IPad in his hand and looked up too the door waiting for the short dude to come back out.
No one came out though. So he tucked the IPad with its cube ornament under his arm and passed the double aisle of books and headed for the elevator. He pressed the button frantically as his brain repeated over and over again: ‘POINT OF NO RETURN’
He was muttering come on under his breath with a beating heart while waiting for the elevator.
He kept looking back at the lab door then back to the elevator read out counting each number as it changed. He waited for the lab door to open and for a curt voice to call out: Stop that man!!
Thief!!
But the door was unmoved and the hallway remained quiet. So quiet that Jay jumped a little when the elevator dinged softly announcing the cars arrival. It took less than five minutes for him to return to his car, but it had felt like an hour had passed. He sat in his car staring at the IPad with it’s cube, and there was just as The Colonel had said a yellow Q on its backside.
It had started life as an IPad, but someone went to town on its insides and outs. Jay had owned a smart phone with a massive SD card to fuck around with all kinds of apps, but the some of the ones on this IPad he had never seen before. He considered himself a power user and was in awe of this modded Apple device.
Whoever had hacked this was a goddamn Nicholas Tesla. Everything, even the motherboard had been modded on this thing. And it looked clean and professional enough to be sold at a store. Jay looked carefully at the screen and found an app he recognized as an E Book reader. He tapped that icon and a moment later the screen turned white then began to fill with text. He looked at the top of the document and saw the name Quake. He scanned the text below and then smiled.
“QPad, eh and a handy tech guide. Thank you, Quake.”
Qcalc Coordinates 34.39329-104.21531
Fort Sumner, NM 04_13_1906 (ALerd UVErse 4)
The sky was dark and filled with electric storm clouds, arches of lighting traced the roof of the night time world like pointy fingers trying to tear the sky away. The rain began to fall and streak down a clear pane of glass. A flash of lightning so white and so bright turned the glass into a sheet of white oblivion.
A ghostly image of a face appeared before he was thrust back in front of the monster he had faced in the desert. He could feel the volcano of rage building inside of him, the monster had brought that ghostly face to him. The thing growled showing its veiny white and green tinted teeth, Dig tried to scream at the formidable beast, but a dry crack was all that would escape.
He wanted destroy this beast with a mighty roar but his throat was dry and his body weak. He was in darkness again but the pain and dryness scratching his throat had been slated by a splash of water. He could feel the thickness in his lips as his throat accepted the sporadic dribble of water. He tried to move but his body felt too heavy to lift, he was still only half awake.
“Easy.” said a voice.
He struggled to fight his way out of the grogginess and open his eye lids which felt glued shut and panicked him for a moment.
“Easy.” said the same voice in a louder voice.
Dig opened his eyes to a sheet of dented tin. He lifted his head slightly to the wall directly in front of him, where there was a square cut out of the wood wall for a window. Dig turned his head a saw a tall man wearing greasy dungarees and a shirt made from some type of animal skin.
The skin of his face was the shade of sunset that was leathery with dirt and age, his long gray hair had a few visible strands of black. In one of his hands was a cloth of some kind that was dripping wet. He didn’t speak again he just stood still watching him. Dig slowly got up, his muscles felt tight and he had to take a few moments to rub out a cramp in his right calf.
He stood straighter once the cramp subsided and looked down at the blanket he had been laying on, it was just a brown cloth tarp on dusty ground. He felt the pain in his head return when he touched where he had been cut. The wound had been cleaned and was scabbed over. He licked his still dry lips before remembering with horror the deadly encounter with the coyote, before he could warn him the old man spoke.
“It is dead.” he said in a neutral tone and removed a bulbous pouch tied to his pants.
“Drink, it’s water from the river.” he said handing it to Dig.
Dig took it and nodded before taking a sip of the water, it was warm but it refreshed his body. He took a bigger drink and handed it back to whom Dig guessed was Halley White Feather.
“Thank you. Are you Halley?”
He took back the leather canteen and nodded just the slightest at his question.
“What happened?”
Halley didn’t answer but gestured for Dig to follow him. He pushed aside a heavy blanket that served as his front door and went outside. Dig followed and was hit by a curtain of hot, dusty, desert air, the blanket Halley had up really kept the heat out it seemed. It felt twenty degrees hotter in the sun light.
Dig followed him as he walked twenty feet out from his tiny shack which looked even smaller in the wide open desert. The ground looked to continue on for miles though Halley stopped suddenly and pointed down. As Dig approached he was once again fooled by the mirages of the desert, the ground opened up below to the canyon where he had rode through. Beneath them the beast laid dead.
They walked down the rocky embankment and approached the monster, slowly decaying in the sun. It’s one remaining eye was covered with flies, while under its protruding tongue a cluster of maggots had taken residence in the mouth.
“You killed it.” said Dig noticing the end of an arrow sticking out the back of its skull.
A cloud of black flies arose as Dig walked closer but he stopped when the foul stench hit his nose bringing him back to that night he was looking under his old Ford searching for his lighter.
It felt like three life times had passed for Dig since that night.
“You did more to kill this creature than me. I merely ended its suffering.”
“I killed it?”
“Yes.”
“I thought I died. Shit...shit” he said quickly realizing he had left his pack hidden. “my pack!”
“I found it. It was beside you when you awoke.” he said as they both looked at the bloating corpse.
“Oh, uh well thank you for helping me.”
Halley nodded slightly.
“Was that you watching me.”
“No.” Halley said looking back at Dig.
“Then who was? And what day is it?” Dig said noticing it was early in the morning by the position of the sun.
“It is Tuesday, come and I will tell you more.”
Without another word Halley turned around and headed back to the tiny shack. Dig looked at the monster he had fought a final time before following Halley. They entered the minuscule domicile and Halley gestured to the floor where the pack was.
“Thanks.” Dig said shouldering his pack.
Halley stood looking out the window of his home into the desert. Dig wondered if he was really going to get any answers from him. According to Sheriff McCarty he was not a big talker in general.
“Years ago, a visitor came. I was given something to hold for someone.”
“Who?”
Halley turned around and looked at Dig before speaking.
“I was also given a name. I was told that if I was given that name I was no longer responsible for the item and was to surrender it to who ever speaks that name.”
Dig thought for a moment. Lincoln? No. That was the obvious answer but he didn’t think it was the right one.
“Bateman. Howard R Bateman.”
Silently Halley walked back outside, but returned after a few seconds with a blanket roll. He held it out for Dig to take which he did carefully. It was tied at both ends, he gently pulled the knots and unraveled the blanket. With wide eyes Dig held the object by its handle.
It was four feet long with an aluminum tube that was lined with small tubes that looked like light bulbs a dozen in all. At the middle of the tube was another cube connected to short stubby pole an inch long which looked packed with transistor wires. At the base of the long tube was a disk like object. Dig recognized it right away from Uncle Howdy’s manuscript, it was the metal detector he’d converted to look for wormholes.
“What did he tell you, this visitor?” Dig asked with a beating heart studying the detector closely.
“It wasn’t a man.”
Dig looked back at Halley.
“It was a woman?” Dig asked.
Without speaking, the old man reached into his back pocket and removed a square of paper and handed it to him. Dig took it and unfolded it to reveal it was a sketch of the visitor. It’ s head, was
a square with a face drawn in it which sat on a rod connected to a cylindrical torso with letters and symbols similar to what was on the box. It had four limbs, arms that appeared to have hands and fingers. It’s legs however had wheels on their ends.
Dig folded it back up and put it in his pocket.
“This...”
“It called itself, Bob.”
“Bob?” Dig asked feeling like he was being teased.
Perhaps picking up on Dig’s doubt, he said: “I can take you to where it appeared.”
Halley had a horse, but they ventured on foot. Halley took a bow and arrow, presumably the one he had used to finish off the coyote.
“Give me a moment.” said Halley before they left.
He had gone back into his shack and came back out with a glass bottle filled with a yellow brown liquid. Dig followed him to the dead coyote when Halley suddenly tossed the bottle at the dead creature. The bottle broke spilling its contents on the beast’s corpse.
He removed a match from his pants pocket and struck it and tossed it at the abomination. An audible whoop of flames hit Dig’s ears as the beast began to burn. The smoke was black and acrid, going up into the sky like a filthy cloud.
“Now we can go. I believe these creatures are sick, I suggest burning the body if you kill another one.”
Dig nodded, wondering what might happen if some vulture or lizard did eat this meat. Would it die outright, or change into something unnatural.
“Don’t forget your weapons.” Halley said as he put on a hat and looked up at the sun.
Halley had also found Dig’s revolver, but the shot gun had been broken at some point during his encounter with the beast.
“Do you think there’s more?”
“I’ve seen them.” he said and began walking while shooing a fly away.
Dig looked around quickly but saw nothing or no one. He noticed how quickly Halley walked and ran to keep up at first.
“What is going on? What did Bob tell you?”
Halley stopped walking to think for a moment.
“It showed me.”
“Showed you? What do you mean?” Dig asked.
But Halley pointed to his own head.
“I have a gift. My nephew Rex, also has this gift.”
“What kind of gift?”
“It is difficult to explain...”
“I’m smarter than I look, dude.” Dig said.
“He and I share our thoughts we can see things from before now and after, and can hear and see the thoughts of the animals. It is a gift my great grand mother had as well as my mother.”
“What did you see?”
Halley pointed towards the silver mine they slowly approached.
“Twenty five years ago, a bolt of lightening like none I’ve ever seen struck there. It was bright green and shook the ground when it hit. I was frightened, everything felt cold in my body when it approached me. It spoke no words, it only held up that metal stick.” Halley said with a heavy sigh.
“I reached out for it and when I touched it, I could hear the creature telling me that it was important. I wanted speak out but it knew my thoughts as I did it’s own. I told it my people, my family, my world were all gone.”
Halley didn’t speak for a moment, he took a sip from a canteen before continuing.
“This Bob, said the world would come to an end if I didn’t help. If it had spoke it to me, I would have laughed. But it showed me, it showed me the many people and families and the world burning. A world eaten in flames, no life at all. Until then I had always been too angry to care for anyone. Many times did I fight the temptations of giving up.”
“Because of the massacre?”
“What do you know of the massacre?” Halley asked.
“Sheriff McCarty, told me about it and Rex.”
Halley nodded. The sun was rising high up, a lone hawk circled above them for a while before heading off towards the mountains farther away.
“The Sheriff has always been good to many people the white man shits on. This world needs more whites like him. Rex has the same gift, and he saw his own death there. And he saw a son growing up fatherless and a daughter that would never be. But he didn’t see that their mother would be gone regardless of his choice. He was not ready to lose her, he as I have no family or tribe to defend.” Halley grimaced as he spoke.
“You have family still. Rex’s kids Dawn and...”
“They are not my tribe or my people, Rex should have died with his tribe at the river. If he had then these creatures would not roam this land killing to fill a blood lust!” he said as they stopped to face each other.
“What do you mean?”
“My nephew has a sickness.” Halley said as they started walking again.
“The alcohol you mean.”
“No, the water under the silver mine, the same one that effects the coyotes. He has drank it, yet it has not killed him, as it did the others. He has a gift that isn’t normal, and now it has been made greater by whatever is in the water. He uses his gift to make them drink, that is why they have changed. I have witnessed him using those beasts, I have seen with my eyes and in my head. I wasn’t watching you, Rex was. It was through him though I was able to find you. He has had a hard time shielding his thoughts from me, but he has been getting better at it.”
“He’s killing the miners as what? A pay back for getting sick.”
“No, he doesn’t believe he is sick. He will kill everyone, he will make every beast drink from that water. It is not the miners he seeks to annihilate but every white man in New Mexico.”
“Why?”
“He wishes to recover the land stolen from our tribes.”
They were within eyesight of the silver mine still a mile away. Dig couldn’t see any miners or the puffing black smoke from machines he had seen earlier.
“He is really going to try and take it all back?”
“In the last few years he has grown very bitter. He wishes to prove he is no coward, he wanted to be a man of peace when he met Rachael. When she passed he became lost in his drinking, he gave up his tribe for another and lost both in the end. His mind for years would cry out in pain that it was unjust, I could hear that pain inside him calling out often.”
“He cried out,” Halley said with glassy eyes. “but all I could ever do was feel angered, that he left his tribe for a white woman. He knew though as I did that it would take a great power to fight and win against the white man. This sickness has changed him in many ways, but he still feels bitterness and will seek his revenge against the white man, not out of redemption to me or to release the anger of his dead wife, but out of divinity.”
“Divinity? What do you mean?”
“He believes the water has transformed him, turned him into a god, the one called Atahsaia.”
“Who?”
“An ancient evil, an evil as old as man itself. He devours human flesh, the animals are his servants because Atahsaia is part demon and part animal. A story my grand mother told many children as we tried to understand the evil of the white man. Rex believes he has become the demon cannibal, he will not surrender. He will die first, I know that for certain.”
“Shit. Can’t you stop him? I mean he’s not really a god.”
“And why should I talk him out of it? All of my people are dead. The tribe is gone. If it hadn’t been for this Bob I might have joined him myself.” Halley said.
Halley looked at Dig closely, waiting for a response. But Dig was helpless, white people had been screwing over Halley’s people since the before the American Revolution. Mass genocide, rape and exile from their home land, what could Dig say in argument of an American Holocaust?
“What about your nephews kids? Yeah they’re white but they’re also part you, too. You saved me, so you can’t hate all white people.”
“I didn’t save you out of compassion.”
“Then why did you?”
“I respect the courage in a warrior even if he is white, besides Bob told me two men would come. A scholar and a warrior, and that one of them would need my help. I care more for the world than you.”
“Thanks.” Dig said with a small laugh.
“It is not personal. As I said a moment ago, I respect a warrior. But it is because of men that look like you that destroy everything and everyone like locusts. You people are foreigners asking whats left of my people to learn to speak English as we are slowly dying off. Blaming you is not my intention, I only wish for you to understand why I feel this way.”
Dig was at a loss at to what say. Halley looked away for a moment.
“I foresee dark times ahead for you. You have a true heart but the doubt and anger you fill yourself with will make them darker still.”
“You can see all that? How? Is it written on my face?” Dig said feeling irritated.
“It’s like clouds. But they have many colors.”
Halley was silent again and looked out to the silver mine.
“Someone is coming.”
Dig felt a deep anxiety come over him. He felt a sudden revulsion to dropping the conversation, Halley had reason to help them. Dig had to remind him that Halley didn’t have it so bad when it came to family.
“Hey Halley,” Dig said stepping in front of his view. “You still have family, you still have a tribe.”
Halley looked squarely at Dig, but was silent.
“I lost all my family, my dad from drinking and my mom left for better times. But you got a tribe, don’t walk away from your family. I’d give up a year of my life to have someone to come home to or call family.”
Dig felt silly trying to give this man, who probably passed eighty years a while ago, advice. Still he hated to see someone just walk away from family. Halley looked at Dig silently before he nodded just the slightest. A figure on horseback was coming in their direction.
“You carry a great burden. I can see it clearly on you, you carry it the way Rex carried his.”
“What color is it?” Dig asked.
“It is a black storm cloud that surrounds you.”
“That don’t sound good.”
“Is getting caught in a storm ever a good thing?” he asked him as the rider continued towards them cresting a hill.
Dig felt some relief. Not for being found but for possibly getting Halley to come around to their side.
“I’ll stop Rex if I can find him, but he has been hiding his thoughts from me. What is to be done about the water below the mine?” Halley said as the rider was within a hundred yards.
“Me and my friend are working on that, even if you can’t stop Rex we can still prevent him from building up an army. I don’t suppose you’d know how all this will turns out afterwards, do we stop, Rex?”
“You’ll survive, but that’s all I can see for certain.”
Dig felt his heart drop, sure that Halley was being truthful. His comments didn’t mean AM
would survive, or perhaps Billy or Alice were in danger. Dig felt his stomach twist as the rider in front of them doubled his horses trot.
“I wish you hadn’t told me that. “ Dig said as he walked forward a few steps trying to see who was coming.
When the rider was within shouting distance, Dig recognized it was Agent Whatley.
“Hey it’s...”
Dig turned back but Halley had disappeared, he was turning a complete circle looking for Halley when Whatley stopped his horse a few feet away.
“Agent Whatley. What are you doing out here?”
“We’ve been looking for you.”
“We?”
“Alice, Frank and a couple of people who saw you give your sermon volunteered, and your companion Father Mulder has been searching since he returned. The sheriff wanted to get together a bigger search party but a couple more have died since you disappeared and he was stretched pretty thin already.”
Dig double backed with Whatley and told Dig what he knew. It was only a half hour before they were back in town and came across AM and two or three other church members who had been out searching the desert. All had fire arms except AM. Dig could imagine him being offered a rifle and graciously refusing it.
Yeah, the only weapons AM had were his brains a knife and a mighty hikeeba. Though he looked the picture of calm even now, a visible sigh of relief showed on his face when he saw Dig.
“Damn it, friend I thought you were...”
“Dead?! Pfft, it’ll take more than death to kill me.” Dig said trying to sound casual as he shook AM’s hand.
“Come on, we need to talk.”
AM and Dig filled each other in as they walked back to the sheriff’s farm. Agent Whatley had ridden back out to find Alice, Frank and Isabella who were still out searching on the other side of town. Dig told his story and handed the picture drawn by Halley.
“Bob? Is that what it said its name was?” AM asked.
“Yeah, with its mind anyway. Halley said him and Rex are gifted, like psychic gifted. That’s how Halley communicated with Bob ”
“Maybe Bob can help us.” AM said distantly.
“What?” Dig asked.
“When I was still in high school my uncle Howdy was trying to fix his Ford pick up. I can’t recall what was wrong with it exactly but he just couldn’t quite fix it. I asked him if I could help him, though I knew nothing about cars or trucks. And he said: ‘Maybe Bob can help us.’
“That’s weird.” Dig said.
“I heard him say it and thought, he must mean God’ but I asked him who Bob was because I knew that was what he said.”
“What did he say?”
“He just shook his head like he was having a senior moment and said: ‘oh I was out in space cadet city.’ I don’t know why I always remembered that day but I do.”
“Yeah well you have a better memory than I do. I guess there are ET’s out there. What if this Bob is like a drone or a robot. Halley said it was made of metal, and the face he drew looks like a monitor showing an image of a face.”
“That makes sense that there would only be a robot on the ship.”
“Why?”
“If you were going to send a ship to another planet far away, the first attempt would be to send an unmanned craft. We did the same before landing on the moon and are currently doing so now with Mars.”
“So Bob is like a Rover mission? Do we look for...”
“No, let’s worry about the problem before us. Once we are finished here we can regroup with Quake back home and maybe one more cube will be enough to show us where the rest are.”
Yeah, sure man. Robots from Mars and psychic coyotes are all I can fit on my plate right now.
Do you think they’re really psychic? Halley and Rex I mean.”
“Yes,” AM said folding the drawing up and putting it in his pocket. “I mean if you are asking me if that kind of thing is real, it is. How else could we be able to rip.”
“But we’re not psychic.”
“Yes we are.”
“Really.”
“Dig I’m serious. Do you remember when I was being held hostage by those women?”
“No.” Dig said sounding almost serious.
“You said you heard those women constantly praying and you also heard me speaking as well, numerous times.”
“Yeah, you kept calling them zealots.”
AM stopped walking Dig stopped as well and looked at his friend.
“I never spoke aloud after my first meeting with them nor did they pray aloud, Dig.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“It’s the ripping that’s causing it, a side effect of prolonged use I believe.”
“If these cubes can make people with normal brain functions psychic, what the hell would it do to some one already psychic? I mean wouldn’t a powerful psychic be able to use mind control?
Halley said Rex is controlling the coyotes, making them drink the water. Were you able to figure out whats up with the water?”
“It’s as I theorized, a water parasite. A rare but not uncommonly rare one, in this part of the country. It takes only a small amount of water and it takes very little time before the side effects take hold. The most common are dehydration, blurred vision, heart arrhythmia. As well as gigantism...”
“Gigantism?”
“...being one of the more rare but not uncommon side effects .”
“I hate it when you say shit like rare but not uncommon, you sound fucking Orwellian.” Dig said with a smirk. “It’s like that old horror movie. You know the one where the rats and the bees eat something and they grow real big and start eating people. Food For The Gods, it was called.”
“Food Of The Gods, you mean.”
“Really? Well either way we are food for the gods here.”
“Normally the parasite kills the victim with a heart attack, the green liquid has exaggerated the side effects and turned the animals into monsters. I can’t figure why exactly, I am ignorant of Virology, and will have to figure it out another time.”
“OK, so what’s the cure? Chicken soup for the parasitic soul?”
“Put out your hand.” AM said taking a small pouch from his pocket.
He untied the pouch and poured out a gritty gray sand into Dig’s open hand.
“Use an ashtray man.”
“It’s called Diatomaceous earth,” AM said ignoring the joke. “I had the Coe’s make up some shot gun shells and mixed the gunpowder with this. It is a germicide and insecticide that is widely available even in this place and time, people have been using it for centuries. If it enters the beasts blood stream it will kill it, though I can’t say for sure how fast. I’m hoping it will be quick.”
“What about the well?”
“That will require something more than shells.” AM said as they began walking again.
“Too bad we don’t have any more C4.”
“There is dynamite at the mine, I made my way there while searching for you. I also saw a map at the entrance to the mine, and snapped a quick picture.” AM said handing it to Dig after making sure no one was near by.
“Why is the case pink?” Dig asked after a quick glimpse of the screen.
“Huh? Oh I left the other one in my apartment before I went to the university. I heard your voice in my mind while I was there and returned to the safe room and ripped back. It was the only one Quake had laying around and I didn’t have time to find him. It’s for Breast Cancer awareness.”
he said putting back.
“Sure it is.”
“Anyway, we will have to walk down a few hundred feet. There is a a hole about ten feet in diameter goes down a quarter mile before it hits the reservoir. We can wire the dynamite and detonate it from outside. They normally have a guard at night but since you’ve been gone two more have been killed so they have been chaining it shut at night. The rumor around town is that the Sheriff is going to order Dolan to shut it down indefinitely until they find the suspect.”
“Suspect? Rex Winder.”
“Yes. There’s no doubt now, he was seen at the second victims location where he left a message that he was going to reclaim his people’s land. ‘Atahsaia has decreed it’ was written on the wall besides one of the victims. In blood, the victims presumably.”
“He’s planning a war, and the animals are going to be his soldiers. I hope this is the only cube left. Do you think we’ll get any use out of this thing?”
“I don’t know, let me see it.” AM asked reaching for it.
Dig looked around but no one was near by and unwrapped it and handed it to AM. He held it only for a moment before handing it back. He breathed deeply once Dig put it away.
“Other than finding wormholes I don’t think it had any other purpose. I don’t think it was interfering with the signal though.”
“Then what’s causing it?”
“I think the interference is being caused by Rex. I believe the signals we are picking up are his thoughts controlling the coyotes. Rex is forcing them to drink the water turning them into monsters at his beck and call. I’ve been thinking of asking the sheriff to help destroy the reservoir.”
“You don’t think that’s a bit hasty?”
“No, the events here are quickly spinning out of control. I explained the water parasite to him.
The water is presenting a health hazard to his citizens and it his duty to protect them by whatever means. Though I don’t think he will believe Rex is controlling them, I think we should leave that part out of it.”
“Yeah, we start talking about mind control he might send us to the Byberry as my mom used to tell me when I was pissing her off.”
“Yes, and than he may not want to deputize you.”
“Deputize me? I remember he said he wanted to talk to me when I got back.”
“He asked me about it, but I said it was up to you. He owes you one by the way.”
“Did he say that?”
“No, I did. He does though, and if we are with the sheriff in an official capacity there is no crime being committed. I don’t want to leave the sheriff with a big quagmire, he is a good man and this place needs him.”
“True that. Damn this place looks deserted.”
A few people walked about hurrying along as if a great storm was approaching. The stores and businesses were void of customers and light. A few had even shuttered their windows or left a closed sign tacked to their doors. Since the silver boom most of these places had never closed, there was always money flowing in. As they made their way to the former Tunstall ranch, they noticed the only places that were open and busy were the saloons.
“I appreciate your looking for me, AM. You didn’t have too, and I would have understood if you didn’t want to.”
“You would have done the same for me. Alice has been looking for you, too.”
“I know.”
“She was the first one to go looking before I got back.”
“You trying to tell me something, friend?” Dig asked as they went up to the porch.
AM was quiet for a moment before looking back at him.
“I don’t want you to be unhappy, I can feel your pain, Dig. I don’t know if that’s psychic or not but I do. You can have a life here if you want and...”
“And what? You want me out?”
“No, but if it’s hurting you this deeply inside...”
“I should what? Leave it all behind, run off with Alice and live a life happily ever after?”
Dig looked around at the wide open space and the mountains farther off. He sighed slowly and deeply.
“I’d be living a lie. I’m not sure I could love her. I really don’t know if I could. She’s probably the most beautiful and popular woman in American history and she wants me, but I still hurt for Marisa. I can’t even imagine I’d make a very good deputy, I couldn’t handle that coyote, my gun got dirty. I could have died.”
“Dig, you killed a coyote with a knife, when some fully armed with rifles couldn’t. A monstrously irregular one at that, you’d make Bilbo proud.” AM said trying to get a laugh or at least a snarky quip from him.
Dig managed a smile thinking about calling his knife Sting. Yeah, Danny’s old knife had earned that nickname in Dig’s opinion.
“Maybe. If I had taken better care of my revolver...”
“Yes, maybe this or that. But so what? You won. It was a hard win, but it’s yours. You’re too hard on yourself.” AM said taking his hat from his head as he sat down and wiped sweat from his brow with a red bandanna.
“Halley said the same thing, he said I was a warrior too.” Dig said not feeling much like a warrior.
“He also said he could see me covered in storm clouds. I’m guessing he meant my aura. He couldn’t tell me exactly what that meant other than it was bad. If I stay there’ll be more blood on my hands, maybe Alice’s or maybe your own after you leave me here.
“I know you’re trying to do right by me, but staying here to be with Alice would be a mistake.
Maybe trying to be with Marisa was a mistake too. Maybe me meeting her was against some rules of time and space, hell I might it all over again with Alice if I did stay.”
Dig shook his head slowly before continuing.
“Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. You ever heard that one, AM?”
Before AM could respond the sound of horses from behind the house interrupted the conversation. AM and Dig walked around to Alice, Frank and Isabella. Alice’s face lit with a noticeable smile, Dig felt his body rush with adrenaline when she embraced him in a hug that was so close he could feel her heart beating. Her eyes were sparkling blue gems in the afternoon sun.
“I’m glad you’re safe, Dana.” She said her hands still lightly cupping his elbows after their embrace.
“Thank you, Alice.” Dig said ignoring the look in her eyes and reminded himself of the black clouds surrounding him.
“Hey Deacon, glad to see you back in one piece.” Frank said giving Dig a hearty handshake and friendly swat on the shoulder.
“Hey deputy, I lost your shotgun. I’ll pay you the cost for it.”
“Aw hell, Deacon, all in a days works.” he responded happily.
“Welcome back, Deacon. Come inside, you must be famished.” Isabella said.
“Now that you mention it,” Dig said trying to recall the last time he had eaten while his stomach roared with hunger.
Dig had been the only one with an appetite but it was not as great as he had thought. He had been more thirsty than anything else, and had spent more time nursing his drink that eating the food in front of him. The conversation was killing his appetite.
“On the way back with Agent Whatley I didn’t see any one at the mine. It didn’t take long to close shop I guess.” Dig said.
“Nope,” said Frank. “Billy gave the order a little while ago. George watched one of the foremen lock her up tight. I don’t know what’ll we’ll do next though. Coyote hunting season is on either
way. By the way Father here are some of them shells like you asked. You think these’ll stop’em?”
“I think, Deputy, we will find out sooner that we’d like too. I have an idea that I will voice once the Sheriff returns.”
It was an hour before Billy arrived. He welcomed back Dig and asked him if he would like the job of temporary deputy.
Dig put his hand on the bible procured by Isabella when AM had to feign embarrassment when he said he lost his on a train from Santa Fey.
“...so help me, God.”
“...so help me, God.” Dig repeated at the end of the swearing in and felt his heart shudder.
He wanted to stop and say, ‘Sorry, sheriff. I couldn’t handle SAT’s or holding a real job and you want to me to fillet another monster?’ But he ignored the metaphorical weight of the tin star now pinned to his chest as he did the flirtations of Alice. Billy put the bible down and shook Digs hand.
“Welcome aboard, Deputy Scully.”
Alice gave Dig a soft but quick kiss on the cheek.
“Congratulations, Dana.”
“Thank you, Alice.”
“So what’s this idea you have, Father?”
AM was not anxious to share the idea of flagrant destruction to private property, but it was only an idea and the worst he believed the sheriff would do was laugh it off. So it was a surprise for AM when the sheriff asked a few follow up questions.
“So if you lay down some TNT, you can clog up the reservoir underneath?”
“It would have to be underground, the deeper the better. It wont require an extraordinary amount, and I have experience working around explosives.”
“Do ya, Father?” Billy asked looking at him closely.
“Yes, sometimes you gotta blast the devil out of people.” AM said with an eyebrow raised.
Billy laughed a boyish laugh, before asking another question.
“How’d you get all this figured out so quickly?”
“Sheriff, my church has deep pockets and believes in helping God’s children expeditiously. I’d be willing to take full responsibility for what happens. This operation would only require the assistance of Deacon Scully. I know this is a lot for me to ask of you, but it is as I told you before, there is a hazard in that well and if the general population were exposed the consequences could be dire due to cross contamination.”
“Cross contamination, Father?” asked the Sheriff.
“The parasite could enter another water source through any number of ways.”
“Halley also said that we might want to burn any more dead coyotes. He believes they’re sick from the water and could pass it along too.” Dig said.
Billy nodded before continuing.
“So we blow it all up to keep the coyotes from getting sick.”
Billy nodded again and was silent for moment. He was about to speak then stopped for a half second before shrugging and saying what was on his mind.
“Father, I was say something but it sounds too crazy to even say out loud. I’d hate for you to think I’m a fool or trying to tell a tall tale.”
“Try me, Sheriff. I serve an invisible man living in the clouds.”
“I heard rumors about Rex and I’ve even seen something I still can’t believe I saw. I heard Rex was gifted, with animals. He could communicate with them, not that he was talking like you and I are talking, he supposedly could touch the most feral critters and they’d go calm.”
“You think Rex is making them drink?” asked Dig.
Billy scratched his chin, biting his lips in thought for a moment.
“I don’t know. I know that even a blind rattle snake could find fresh water on the Pecos. But these mutts drank out of a drippy well in a place stinking of humans. That kind of behavior don’t make sense, wild animals avoid humans.”
Billy shook his head slowly with a small sigh.
“Rex being apart of it is no coincidence, he’s making them drink that water. It’s crazy but I’ve seen a lot of crazy in my life. Not just the gun fights and running all over territories but strange things too. Like a bolt of green lightning saving me from a bullet in the back.
“When I find something too crazy to believe I think about that freak lightening. Crazy world, it seems like, but I believe Rex is making them do it. He gave us a warning that he was taking back his ancestors lands, I believe he will try.”
“Maybe if we destroy the well he’ll stop, he has kids and...” Dig said thinking he could maybe win over Rex like he had Halley.
“He’s probably beyond talking now, and he’ll be gunned down somewhere, by some bounty hunter if he came waltzing in now. I doubt he would ever give up willingly.”
Before the conversation could continue an explosion shook the house. Isabella lost her balance and was saved by her husband from a fall to the floor.
“What the hell was that!?” Dig asked as a echo of screams was heard not far off.
They all ran out to the front porch of the house and looked towards the town’s southern edge. A pillar of black smoke was going up into the blue sky, followed by a column of fire rose from the base of some indeterminable structure.
“What’s over that way, sheriff?” asked AM.
“The telegraph office. Shit, I hope Rex isn’t making his move, now. Frank, get the horses ready we’re heading into town.”
“Can I trust you two to take care of the mine?” Billy asked them.
“Yeah. You sure you wont need me?” Dig asked as more black smoke filled the sky.
“No, get to the mine. Here take this.” he said handing Dig a well oiled twelve gauge shotgun.
“It’s full with them special shells. Izzy love, you and Alice get to work on those special drinks for our furry friends.”
“Special drinks?” Dig said.
“Just a cocktail I came up with some years back. I call it a El Tiempo Tequila. If we run out of ammo we’ll burn the bastards.”
Before Dig could say anything more, Billy and Frank were horseback and making towards the fire at a great speed. Billy was hunched over holding the reins with both hands, while Frank held his in one hand and a rifle in the other.
“Let’s go.” AM said.
Dig made his way to his horse before being stopped by Alice. Dig turned to face her and saw a beautiful woman that looked composed but scared at the same time.
“Dana, please be careful.”
She leaned forward and kissed his cheek softly again, it was warm and helped loosen the knots in his stomach. He felt an urge to tell her that his heart was broken and had hardly begun to heal, and that he wasn’t sure if he would ever heal. He wanted to tell her that if he stayed to be with her it would be a lie.
His entire existence in this universe would be a total sham. And she would be the unknowing devoted wife of a poser. A word any nineties kid knew well, yes, tell her you’re a poser. All he could say though was: “I will.”
AM approached a horse that was restless from the smell of fire and smoke and the loud metallic bong of a bell not far off. Dig took its reins with one hand and began to stroke the muzzle of the brown and white steed.
“Easy fella, easy.” Dig said in a whisper trying to the steed another apple he had been given by Isabella.
The horse neighed irritably.
“Come on, friend. Have an apple.”
Dig held the large red fruit in his palm as the horse neighed again but much softer as it sniffed and snuffed and found the apple. It gobbled it up quickly and appeared more at ease.
“There ya go. Me and my buddy need a ride, I won’t rush you and you wont buck us off. Deal?”
The horse made no sound that AM could hear, but Dig got on easy enough and gestured for AM.
“Silence gives consent, a friend said to me once.” AM said.
“Yeah, well just don’t go blowing the horse in a fit of sexual rage.”
“Eh, why did I tell you that?”
“I don’t know why either ya friggin perv.” Dig said with a heartfelt laugh as he helped his friend on the horse.
They rode only for a few minutes when someone called out AM’s alias.
“Father Mulder!”
He was approaching fast from town waving his hand on a steed of hid own. AM waved back.
“I think it’s that Fred guy.” said Dig.
“Yes. Fred Franklin, from Wisconsin. He helped search for you as well. Do you have your hearing aid in still?”
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
“Father Mulder, I’m glad I caught up to you. I saw the sheriff while I was watchin the telegraph poles burn up. He told me what was goin on and said if the foreman gives you any guff, I’m here to vouch for you fellas.”
“Yeah, but I’m a deputy, he can’t stop me can he?” Dig asked.
“Well,” said Fred pulling at his red whiskers. “I know Dolan wasn’t happy about closing up for a while, he probably got a guard out at his mine. I wouldn’t be surprised to find someone trying to stop you fellas.
They rode off towards the silver mine, while the smoke rising behind them began to recede in the distance.
“So I heard you’re from Wisconsin. What brought you to New Mexico?” asked Dig.
“My cheese.” he said proudly.
“Cheese?”
“Wisconsin has some of the finest dairy cows in the America. I brought a half dozen Holstein dairy cows from back home with me, I will be the first cheese shop in all of the New Mexico territory, the finest as west of the Mississippi River is my shops slogan.
“Yes, sir Deacon, Wisconsin will be the cheese capital of America one day and I plan on being one of its fore fathers. Deacon, the finest cheese comes from Wisconsin, remember that.” Fred said sincerely.
“I don’t think I’ll forget, Mr. Franklin.” Dig said holding back a laugh imagining Fred Franklin among the crowd at a Packers game wearing a cheese wedge hat.
They were within walking distance of the mountain of the mine when they saw two men on horseback waiting. Right away, Fred sounded worried.
“Aw shit.”
“Do you know who is that is, Mr Franklin?” asked AM.
“It looks like Dolan and that God damn goon of his Selman...eh, pardon my French Father.”
“So I guess it’s good you came along after all. You can introduce us.” Dig said feeling anxious to get these guys out of their way.
As they got within talking distance the larger man approached forward on his horse. He was a heavy set man with a thick gristle of gray black whiskers covering his round face that looked like it had been partially burned. He wore a revolver on his hip and spoke first. AM noticed the scarring on his face and whispered to Dig.
“Be wary of him, the history books say he raped and killed for fun.”
“Hey fat fuck!” Dig said jovially.
The large man who had already looked unfriendly narrowed his eyes on Dig. Dig heard AM sigh deeply behind him in frustration.
“What’s that you said?” Selman asked through his teeth.
“Now you go easy, Mr Selman. This here is the law and a man of God.” Fred said nervously.
“Law, ha!” shouted the shorter man with a chinchilla fur stetson. “You’re not a resident. He can’t deputize...”
“He can on interim, Mr Dolan.” said AM. “The law stipulates that he can not be paid but maybe allowed to perform duties voluntarily if he is of sound mind and body during times of emergency.”
“And who the fuck are you?”
“Don’t worry about who he is, I’m the law mother fucker.” Dig said forcing back his duster to reveal his revolver at his side and the star pinned to his chest.
“Dig.” AM whispered but was ignored.
“This star means that you and Big McLargehuge, step the fuck aside, I am the sheriffs deputy that’s why I have this sixer and a god damn number 12 boom stick.” Dig said placing the shotgun across his lap.
The tension was a thick blanket of hot air as no one moved or breathed, except Dig who was certain in his surety that they would move. He kept the shot gun in one hand and took his reins in the other and gigged his horse forward. Fred rode towards Selman as well, who only moved at the word of Dolan, at the last moment.
“Are you sure that was wise?” asked AM who felt more scared than he sounded.
“Aw they can go fuck a cactus. Do you remember how many god damn feet we have to go down to get to the asshole of the earth? I don’t have time for some rich cock sniffer and his deep fried gimp tryin to jerk my dick around.” Dig said agitated.
“Shh...” whispered AM.
Dig looked over at Fred who had heard the entire exchange, and was wide eyed with his mouth slightly open.
“Uh...Saint George Carlin allows profanity when directed at an asshole, Mr Franklin.” Dig said with a half smile.
“He does indeed.” said AM when Fred looked at him.
Fred just laughed and the tension had departed for the moment. They left their horses at the rock wall and walked to the gate that led down into the mouth of the mine, where deep below was the hole that led to the discovery of the water beneath the mountain. When Dig pictured it in his mind he thought of Gollum’s home under the Lonely Mountain.
“Does anybody have a key?” Dig asked as they got off their horses.
“You forgot one of my many talents, Deacon.” AM said removing a small device from his pocket.
“The master of unlocking.” Dig said as they unmounted.
“Huh?”
“Gaming reference, never mind.” Dig said with a humorous eye roll.
AM went to the lock and took a quick glimpse behind them, Dolan and Selman didn’t follow but they didn’t leave either. They still sat on their own horses and watched, Dolan looked anxious to get closer but appeared to be arguing with his companion. So far everything was going smoother than it looked to be a few minutes ago.
“I thought only The Sheriff had enough courage to curse out Dolan. Good for you, Deacon” Fred said admirably.
“Thanks, I guess.” Dig said with a small smile and chuckle.
Dig walked over to AM as he removed the lock and unwrapped the heavy chains holding the two halves of the gate together. Dig helped separate it and push the gate back, careful not to trip over the parallel tracks that the carts used to take the miners down below. He tried to not think about Gollum or the real monsters that were lurking somewhere in the desert.
It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the semi darkness inside, and for their bodies to get pass the shock of chilly air that greeted them. Although it was a narrow entrance, it was wider inside. Twice the amount of open space sat on either side of the tracks. Besides the tracks was a large rectangle crate of wood, perhaps holding some kind of mining equipment or other large mechanical part.
The tracks went straight from sunny outside and into the dark abyss at a slight downward angle, on the track was a mine cart that was wood with a metal frame that looked small. Dig could just make out the subtle down grade of the ground. Sticking out between its wheel was a metallic rod painted red with white letters that spelled BRAKES. Dig looked back into the dark maw and felt his heart being swallowed by that darkness and looked away at AM, who was pulling on a much smaller crate in a duck walk position.
Dig ran over and quickly heaved the heavy box that was the size of a small CRT television, but much heavier. He walked it out into the daylight and was about to ask what was in it, when he saw the letter TNT stenciled in red.
“Shit.” Dig said as AM began to pry open the small crate.
“Are you sure you can work that detonator? I don’t have any matches.” Dig said.
AM looked up at Dig to see if he was joking but saw it was a serious question.
“No, I can work it.”
AM removed a smaller wooden box with writing on the side that was a warning. Out of the box’s center was a cylindrical rod with a wooden handle laying across the top of the rod.
“It looks like the ones from the Road Runner cartoons.” Dig said amazed.
“I guess it does doesn’t it?” said AM
“So we’re doin this like Wile E Coyote? Wonderful.”
“Who is Willy Coyote?” Fred asked.
“He was a Catholic saint who was killed by a falling boulder sent by an evil bird,” Dig said quickly before looking back to AM. “you’re sure you know how to use it?”
“Yes, I have the map and I’ll have plenty of light to walk by. You can stay here, I saw the look in your eyes.”
“I’m not afraid...” Dig said evenly.
“Never said you were, but I volunteer for this one. Besides it’s my turn to do something that could be viewed as either very brave or very dumb. You’re better with a fire arm than me as well.”
“That’s not saying much, ya know.” Dig said.
“Yes, well as I told you...” AM stopped in mid sentence and leaned over looking behind them.
Dolan was riding to the mine with his face pasty white and cheeks apple red from anger. He was cursing through his lips as Selman followed behind. Dolan stopped his horse and swung himself off his steed and was marching towards them in all one fluid motion that made Dig laugh.
“Do you have a warrant, sir?” Dolan said but Dig simply folded his arms and did not budge or answer.
Dolan stopped short of bumping Dig’s chest, he wasn’t stupid but he wasn’t totally scared of his badge either.
“What business does this man have rummaging through my private property!? That is not some Chinamen’s poppers that’s TNT, you will unhand it or I will have my private security arrest you.” Dolan said gesturing at Selman.
“If anyone gets arrested it will be you for interfering...” Dig said but was cut off by Dolan.
“Nonsense, I did as that prick sheriff ordered me to do and closed the mine and now another little prick who claims to be a priest robs me while the law assists him!” Dolan said in a guffaw.
AM who would have been able to handle this argument with relative ease was not paying attention to the heated exchange. AM had hoped the static would taper off as it did most times since they first arrived but it only intensified. Dig was too caught up in the shouting match to hear it steadily increase in frequency and volume in his own ear.
“Dig.”
“I have followed the sheriffs orders now you...” Dolan shouted
“Dig.” AM said a little louder as the volume from the beeping static and the argument continued to build.
“You can take up it with Sheriff McCarty...” Dig was shouting back as Selman was finally about to throw in a word or a fist.
“Dana Scully!” AM shouted.
“What?!” he asked turning to AM but his heart froze when he heard the frantic beeping in his ear.
Only he and AM could hear the static like beeps, but everyone stopped and suddenly felt overwhelmed by a blanket of fear. The day was still bright and sunny but it felt like midnight in the darkest deepest dungeon when Dig saw a frown of utter fright come over Fred’s face.
“Dear God.” Fred said pulling his coat shut as if to keep out a dank breeze.
Dig turned and saw a large mutant coyote similar in size to the others, standing on the rock wall.
Its eyes were alert and tinted a bright green. It was panting but not very heavily, on its protruded tongue were noticeable spots of green. The saliva from its mouth was so green and stringy it looked like snot.
Dig caressed the twelve gauge tied to his hip when another coyote appeared on the other side of them, a beast slightly bigger than the other. It’s tongue was not covered in green spots but was thick with green mucus like saliva. It was panting horribly and looked agitated, its tail was puffed out and stiff as it growled.
“Get in the mine.” Dig said quietly as he untied hit shot gun with his numb fingers.
No one moved though, it was death staring at them. The larger one let out a fierce barking growl and twitched forward, almost balking them into running. Still no one moved.
“Damn it, get in the mine!” Dig said once he had his shot gun free.
There was two dozen feet between them and the pair of green eyed monsters, they began to run in as the angrier of the two didn’t run but pounce on the last person at the mouth of the gate. AM
had been running just ahead of Selman, and he could feel the heat of Selman’s breath as AM
waited to get trampled by the large man.
Then he felt a breeze of air and heard a sharp scream, that sounded eerily similar to the screams in old horror movies. AM turned as one of the unnatural beasts drug the heavy man away who left a trail of bloody finger tracks from torn nails as he tried to hold on to the rocky ground, the other kept snapping at one of Selman’s legs that was kicking weakly. AM stood still with fright when the gate suddenly swung pass his face, just nipping the tip of his nose hard enough to draw a few tears from his eyes. He shook the horror of the image away as he helped close the gates.
“Wrap the chains, wrap’em!” Dig said as Fred and AM twisted the chain around the gate.
Dolan had removed his side arm and was firing at the pair of mutant coyotes but his shots didn’t faze either one. They just continued to drag Selman away out of sight. They couldn’t see his demise but heard it, screams of agony that pierced their ears were suddenly cut short after a moment.
“Lousy, fuckin mutts!” Dolan said firing still but out of hopeless rage rather than to try and kill.
AM methodically reworked the chain and relocked the lock, forgetting the echo of Selman’s screams bouncing down the mine shaft.
“We’re safe.” AM said sliding down a rock wall letting out a deep sigh before resting his head on his knees.
“Safe?” Dolan said questioningly. “You call being locked down here safe?”
Fred stood with a pallid white face looking ready to cry. He took a breath though and removed a silver flask from his pocket and unscrewed the top and took a small nip. Dolan looked over and snatched it from him.
“Hope you don’t mind, Fred.” Dolan said before taking a deep swallow and handing it back.
Dig watched the exchange wondering how often Dolan fell off the wagon, if this was his first trip they were going to have more than giant coyotes to worry about. He was just hopeful everything back in Fort Sumner was OK, but he was expecting the worst. Dig was about to scold himself for being so pessimistic when the screams of a horse came at them from outside and echoed horrifically down the mine shaft.
Dig ran to the gate but saw only Selman’s finger trails and bright sunshine. The screams escalated just the slightest as the other horses were killed, then just as suddenly, the screams stopped. Dig looked back in at the others, AM looked shaken but still standing and alert.
Fred had his ears covered against the horse scream, his face was pale with fright. Dolan was red faced and breathing a little heavy but looked under control or at least not too drunk. Without horses they would be in for a long walk, if they weren’t eaten by the coyotes first.
“We’re gonna be here a while I think.” Dig said looking back outside. “Who has water? We may have to ration it out.”
“You fool,” snarled Dolan. “there is a whole reservoir under our very feet.”
Dig turned around on Dolan in a quick about face and came nose to nose with the man, he could count the gray hairs in his handle bar mustache and the burst capillaries in his nostrils. His face reminded Dig of Old Man McCully.
“You dumb fuck the water’s poisoned! How do you think those coyotes got all fucked up, and those people died.”
“It was that red, Winder. Even the sheriff, said as much. Probably some kind of nigger red magic made them mutts so huge.” Dolan said easily and took the flask from Fred as he tried to take a nip.
Dig shook his head in disgust and walked away from Dolan and Fred.
“They might come searching for us in a little while.” AM said.
Dig was silent for a moment.
“No, bad things are going down.”
“No shit!” Dolan said leaning back against a wall arms crossed.
“Maybe they’ll get hungry and leave.” Fred said.
“No, they won’t.” Dig said.
After speaking with Fred, Billy and Frank went straight for the fire burning up the telegraph office.
“Shit, Billy. Why’d he torch the telegraph?”
“So we can’t call for help. He knows we’re short handed, everyone knows that. We’d have to send a rider out.”
They came within fifty feet of the collapsed building that was less than a year old. The pine wood of the structure was popping and crackling furiously as the heat baked their skin. They dismounted with rifles ready as a sudden beating of hooves came from behind them. They quickly turned with rifles raised and triggers fingers tight.
“Christ, guys don’t shoot!” said George.
“Damn it, George, I almost killed you. Where were you?”
“Sorry, boss but I was tracking them coyotes. I think two headed south towards the mine, I saw another two coming towards town so I doubled back.” he jumped off his horse and joined them as they watched their only communication to the outside world crumble.
“When’s the next train due? They’ll have a telegraph.” asked Billy.
“Four o’clock.” said George.
“Shit. That’s a couple of hours. Might be quicker to send a pair on a handcar to the next town.”
Before George could respond, Halley appeared between them and the fire, almost as if he had walked out of the fire.
“The tracks have been destroyed.” Halley said.
Billy looked at the old man with leathery skin and long gray hair. A face covered with pains and wrinkles. He was wrapped in a brown blanket and was unarmed.
“Why?” he asked.
“He wants back our land.”
Billy looked at the old man closely.
“I have no part in this war, Sheriff.”
“There is a priest...”
But Halley shook his head.
“To stop this you must stop him...”
“Shit, then we’ll do it like in the old days! Right, Billy! Regulators!” George said excitably.
Halley shook his head again.
“He doesn’t consider you worthy opponents. He will hide from you and send out his minions to fight you. You are white men and he believes he is a god.”
“I’m guessing you’re the only one worthy enough to be able to get close enough to kill him.”
Billy said in a neutral tone.
“This is not my war,” Halley said again.
“You come out of the burning wood work telling me to stop your only living relative, seems odd.
Some might think you started this fire to draw me out so that I might be an easy target. Me and my deputies might be smack dab in the middle of a trap you’re laying out.”
“That is a well thought out plan, Sheriff.” Halley said but nothing more.
“But this ain’t your war, huh? You said as much. So why are you here?”
Halley looked away from Billy and his deputies and out towards the mines and beyond as a breeze gently shook his long hair.
“This land is all that remains of what was once vast and plentiful. Machines of men and smoke remove the life of the Earth a piece at a time. It will continue for many years, I have seen it and wept. Now I have no tribe left to defend either from him or the white man.”
“But you do got a tribe, Halley. And they need you if Rex is really gone. And you say you can see what’s gonna happen? Well maybe you stoppin Rex can change that.
“But no, I get it. I’m just a white man, with white problems. You’re not obligated to help us, Halley. You can walk away, but you got a tribe. And if Rex ain’t stopped, the Feds will murder every native off the face of this continent and hold up one of those mangy mutts as a rallying cry to extermination.”
Halley felt his heart shake as Billy had said exactly what Bob had shown him if Rex wasn’t stopped. Mass murder, anything and everything doing with all the native peoples of America
would be burned and washed away from history. If Rex wasn’t stopped they would be a forgotten race before the century was over.
“You are a good man, Sheriff. For a white man.” Halley said turning slightly to look at Billy and show his smile. “I don’t know if I can stop him, but I will try.”
“Alright, you go after your nephew. But I wont have enough fire power to take on them coyotes.”
“Yes you will.” he said and gave a slight nod over Billy’s shoulder.
Billy looked back and saw almost a dozen men and a few women on horse back. It was people from town, among them were Halley’s nephew and niece. Billy turned back to Halley but he had disappeared.
“We ain’t got enough of those shells, Billy.” George said.
“Well we can still burn them out, or pump enough lead into’em until there’s nothin left.”
Daniel rode up to Billy and got off his horse.
“Sheriff, I need to speak with you.”
They walked a few feet away before Daniel spoke.
“What’s on your mind?”
“I have to tell you. The night before I saw you last, I was having a bad dream but...I saw one of them creatures. I’d close my eyes and still see them and then I’d see dad. His eyes were green like them beasts. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner...I just...”
“It’s OK I understand. Did Dawn...”
“No, at least she didn’t say anything to me. We gathered a posse to help.”
Billy nodded and they walked back to the others waiting.
“OK! Listen up. I want to divide....Frank how many we got here?”
“Oh uh, sixteen, including us. Four rifles, three double barrels, a twelve gauge and a half dozen revolvers. Everyone brought something to the party.”
“Thank God for the second Amendment. OK, I need four to head to north side of town, three to the south, four to the east and four to the west. I want you to keep your eyes open, if you see a coyote fire a shot in the air and wait for us to get to you. We need to give these big furry bastards everything we got at once in order to stop them. Any questions?”
There were none, so they divided themselves into groups, before leaving George approached Billy.
“I want you south since they’ll be short handed. I’m gonna go pick up the cocktails, I’m sheriff I bet Rex will want to take me out as soon as possible, be the best chance to draw them out.”
“Be careful, Billy.”
“Just like back in El Tiempo. Yah!” he rode off back for home.
As George turned away a coyote came from between two buildings as Billy sped by unaware. He quickly shot his revolver in the air, he saw Billy look back and his eyes widen as the beast tripped over its own legs trying to turn and run after him. George rang off another shot in the air when a second coyote appeared atop of a building Billy was passing.
As the beast jumped down from its perch someone began to fire, though George couldn’t see who. Then there followed a blood chilling scream. Billy glanced back and fired a shot at the charging beast. As he rode by the agent assigned to protect Alice was holding up his revolver.
“Get inside, Whatley!” he shouted over a ghastly howl.
Billy gigged his horse as he rode past his own home, giving up on the cocktails for the moment, trying to bring the animals out and run them in a circle hoping they might drop dead like last time. Barring that they can blow these monsters back to hell. He fired another shot this time in the air to let the posse know where he was, he raised his body as he came within the last few building of town and saw a few of the posse had already arrived but looked perplexed.
“What the hell y’all doin? Get your...” he said daring a quick look back.
They had stopped following. Did they know it was a trap? Before he could do anything, a trio of men were riding towards them shouting.
“They’ve gone to yer home, Sheriff! I think your wife an Ms Roosevelt are still inside!”
Before he could think Billy had turned his already tired horse and raced for his home.
Alice looked into Dana’s eyes as she told him to be careful. He looked like he was ready to talk but he only said, ‘I will’ and left. She watched him get on his horse and ride off secretly hoping he would turn back and wave, but he didn’t.
“I have some rifles in kitchen, Alice. Come.” Isabella said.
Alice gave her friend a smile that was small. She was a strong woman but Isabella could see she was sad. Isabella took her hand as they walked to the house.
“He is still hurting, Alice. It can take time for people to love again.”
“Yes, I remember what you said.” Alice thought sadly.
Healing from a betrayal is one thing, but the wound of death needs to heal slowly if it can at all.
They walked inside to the kitchen quietly.
“He is noble for wanting to mourn properly.” Isabella said.
“That nobility is one of the reasons I crave him more. All the men I’ve met in my time only a few were ever so enlightened and gentlemanly as him. Plus he is quiet the specimen of masculinity if I might say.”
Alice and Isabella chuckled as they sorted the guns, ammo cartridges and shells on the kitchen table after setting a drop cloth down. There were three Springfield rifles and two shotguns one a twelve gauge and the other a double barrel with a majority of its barrel sawed off.
“I also have these.” Isabella said removing a small cardboard box out of the pocket of her dress.
“They are the ones the father had made, only for the shotgun though.”
Alice loaded the special shells as a breeze picked up. The smell of burning wood filled their noses, a ghastly scream was heard in the distance followed by pistol shots, then silence. They stopped what they were doing and looked at each other filled with fear.
“Billy will keep everything under control.” Isabella said steadily.
A loud knock on the door brought them both to a scream.
“Ms Roosevelt!?” shouted Agent Whatley who pounded on the door again, much harder.
“Damn it, I am here.” she said as Isabella went to open the door.
“I found you.” He said with a face red and covered in sweat as he entered.
“Yes, bully for you. You nearly gave us a heart attack as well as cracking the Sheriff’s door.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Mrs McCarty.”
“That’s OK, Billy is always looking for an excuse to use his tools. Did you come from town, what’s going on?”
“There are a pair of coyotes heading this way. I saw the Sheriff trying to draw them out to the posse.”
“What about...” before Alice could finish her question a shrill howl of a coyote filled the air.
Alice and Isabella held hands as they pulled closer to each other. Agent Whatley looked ready to reassure the women when another howl rose followed by some shouts and rifle fire. A dark shadow went by the bay windows which was shielded by glass and a white lace curtain Isabella had sewn when she was a little girl back in El Tiempo.
The silence in the air was thick. Another shadow went by as the silence was shattered by another howl. The living room was filled with a thick tension that made the temperature in the room rise.
Alice’s tongue felt thick and hard, her throat clicked loudly as she swallowed. She thought of the kitchen back at the White House where she or any visitor could have any drink they liked on the rocks. A plain glass of ice water was all Alice wanted at that moment though.
“Didn’t you say there were two?” asked Alice.
Agent Whatley nodded as he turned from them to the curtained bay window waiting but he wasn’t sure what he was waiting for. It was quiet for just a moment when a deep growl nearby broke the silence, a long dark shadow came across the bay window again. However it moved slowly, methodically as if hunting.
Its slow movement stopped when its shadow covered the entire window. The growls had stopped, they were now followed by an uneven panting sound. The room grew hotter with each passing breath they took.
“Mrs McCarty,” Agent Whatley said putting a hand on his revolver handle. “do you have a cellar?”
“Si, there is a door under the kitchen table.”
“Could you two fit in there?”
“All three of us could, senor.”
They went further into the kitchen as Agent Whatley mouthed the word quiet while putting a finger to his lips. They quietly moved the table, Isabella gazed uneasily at the shadow as it moved slightly. The hollow clicking sound of its nails on the wood porch chilled her to the bone.
With the trap door opened Alice had Isabella go down first, while Whatley watched the bay window.
He kept such a close watch on the front window, that he had missed the shadow cover the smaller kitchen window just behind them. Isabella was on the ground when the back window shattered above Alice and Whatley. The over sized head of the mutant coyote had broken through, ignoring the thin glass that was lacerating its protruding muzzle.
The beast was only able to get part of its head through the window. Alice gasped loudly as its green eyes noticed her, while Whatley removed his side arm. The beast swung its head and knocked over the china hutch shutting the trap door and covering it leaving Isabella safe for the moment.
“Izzy!” shouted Alice.
“She’ll be OK.” he said taking her by the arm.
Whatley aimed but didn’t shoot as they both backed away from the kitchen forgetting about the other coyote at the front.
“See, Ms Roosevelt. He can’t get...” before he could finish the other coyote broke through the bay window ignoring the glass as well though it was much thicker and appeared to cut it deeply in some areas.
It had gotten in farther than the other, Whatley fired a single shot before the animal lunged and bit the hand holding the revolver. It had gotten him in its mouth down to the forearm. He screamed in pain as the bones in his arm were being pulverized by the force of its jaws.
Alice looked to her left and saw the ax the sheriff used to cut wood. She removed it from the wall, and ran to the beast and swung at its neck with all the strength her body would allow. She had never used an ax for anything besides chopping wood and wondered if it would cut the monster.
The beast cried out as the dull looking iron went three quarters deep into the animals neck, blood came pouring out in a flood as the beast emitted a pain filled shriek. Its mouth opened up and released Whatley who collapsed to the floor on his knees.
He was still conscious when Alice ran over to him. She reached for a dish towel laying on the floor close to the shotgun. She went to grab that but Whatley said: “No, the shot gun. Grab that.”
She had grabbed the twelve gauge that she loaded and the towel, giving a quick look back at the animal which had laid its head down and was bleeding out from the ax which was still sticking in it like a perverse ornament.
“We have to....get down....” Whatley said taking the towel wrapping his severely damaged hand and lower arm.
“Yes, yes. Now come on.” Alice said using the shotgun as a crutch to get them both off the ground.
They reached the hutch lying on the floor, Alice looked down at the solid oak furnishing that had held Billy and Isabella’s holiday china. Alice knew it was a heavy oak because she had bought it for them last Christmas. It had taken four stout young men to get it inside their home.
Alice tried to shove it with her foot, as Whatley hobbled to the wall attempting to stay standing.
He felt light headed and nauseous like he had too many shots of whiskey. Another howl shrieked out, the sound of a deep throaty growl filled the living room. Behind them the other coyote crept in slowly past the other coyote now dead.
“Izzy, is there another way in?” Alice asked loudly.
“Under the front porch.”
“No!” Whatley said “It’s in the way!”
“Alice, there is a hatch to the roof! It is above the cooking stove!” Isabella shouted below.
It was a simple wood stove that sat against the wall, directly above it was a metal flute that might have been a tight squeeze even for her. Before she could voice that Whatley was shoving Alice back towards the kitchen to the hatch that was a few feet above her head. There was no ladder and she would need a boost to reach the top. Whatley pulled the mechanical lever next to the stove that opened the flute watching the beast move closer.
The hairs on the back of their necks stood at attention when another deep throaty growl stinking of rotten flesh wafted to them. Alice stepped up to the stove and jumped grabbing the outer edges but not having enough arm strength to pull herself up.
“I need a boost.” Alice said quickly as her heart fluttered erratically.
Whatley turned away from the beast and ignoring his gentlemanly code of conduct put his good hand on her rear end and pushed her out. She went up and over with ease, he quickly passed the shotgun through and because he was almost a foot taller he was able to get a good grip on his first jump, ignoring the burning pain of his almost certainly destroyed hand. He used his good arm to balance himself.
Alice ran over to help as a sudden wide eyed look came across his eyes. It was a look of wonder before it became a look of unimaginable pain. He gritted and tried to hold on to the roof as Alice grabbed at his good arm to pull him out. He just spoke through teeth between wails of growing agony.
“No!” he cried before disappearing below with a scream.
Alice wept, as she fell to her knees calling out to him.
“Agent Whatley?” she called out in a weak voice red faced with tears cascading down her cheeks.
Her hands pulled the twelve gauge away from the flute opening. Above a whisper she called out his name shaking and crying, she felt guilty for giving him such a hard time, and it just made her shake more. She took a breath and wiped the tears from her face. Slowly she peaked her head over the flute opening, looking down at a dark wood floor made darker by blood and the ever deepening shadows of the afternoon sun.
She felt his name just touch her lips before the green eyed mutant beast appeared below looking up at her, seeing her, marking her. It was going to great lengths to get to her it seemed. She felt an urge to scream come over her as she backed away just a few feet from the flutes opening. She took a few deeper breathes wiping a few more tears from her face.
“Easy now you ninny,” she whispered to herself lifting the shotgun. “just like hunting grizzlies with father.”
She felt her heart slow down as she stared at the square opening. She was still until the roof under her feet lifted her suddenly. She didn’t fall but dropped the shotgun and was grateful the safety had still been on when it did. The snout of the fell creature was sticking out of the opening, snarling and growling as it tried break through.
Alice picked the twelve gauge back up and quickly turned the safety latch and pumped a shell into the chamber. The coyotes snout stopped at the noise and quickly pulled itself back inside as if knowing it was now in danger, perhaps it would run off. She stood still and took deep breathes, waiting for it to leave all she could hear were the distant screams and shouts of others in town dealing with either more coyotes or perhaps Rex. She watched the smoke from the fire give the blue sky a dirty unwashed looked that for some reason chilled her heart.
A sudden loud snarl was barked out behind and below her at the porch. Alice turned and saw a pair of large paws covered with black long curled nails as big as rail spikes on the roof itself. The damned creature was pulling itself up onto the roof. Alice kneeled quickly held her arms steady and pulled the trigger.
She was close enough only to pepper the animals front paws and send it falling back down.
“God damn it!” she said unknowingly sounding like her father when he missed an easy shot on the hunt.
She walked slowly to the edge but not too close and walked its perimeter listening. After a moment of waiting the roof under her feet moved again, worse this time and knocking her down.
She curled up into a ball when she fell, the suddenness of the roof moving again caused her to lose her grip on the shotgun a second time, but no shot rang out. She sat up and reached for the twelve gauge, before she could grab it the roof shook again with an apocalyptic force.
Alice could feel it moving under her body just below the roof which was just finished wood that was tarred over. It didn’t feel stable, as if the wall was beginning to buckle. She could see cracks and tears starting to reach out to her from the corners of the roof, she turned to look for the shotgun.
It was far enough out of reach that she would have to get up. When she rose, the other end of the house shook as if a boulder had hit. It was a quick sudden hit that had jolted her back down, she tried to rise again when another hit rattled the house. She held her footing and stayed on her feet when it happened again.
“Bull in a china shop.” she said when she made for the gun again.
She’d bent over to grab the shot gun, her fingers had just grazed its walnut stock when the most tremendous hit yet occurred. She fell over as the world took on a slanted view in her eyes.
Another wall perhaps the load bearing wall at the far end of the house collapsed, the roof began to taken on the look of a giant slide.
Alice tumbled back as the twelve gauge skittered by her, she rolled over and began to slide head first towards the green eyed monster that waited below. She turned over quickly to her left twice and crashed into the flute that stuck up very high thanks to the beasts attempts to break through.
When the animal saw its prey was not coming down, it attempted to climb up after her.
Alice watched with terror as it made its way to her, snarling and growling, vile green phlegm dripped from its hideous mouth. Alice closed her eyes, and thought about her mother, her real mother. She closed her eyes tighter still clearing her mind wishing she had her picture now to look at, as the unnatural creature approached her.
Dig kicked the dirt at his feet in disgust. They were stuck, and had only a canteen or so of water between the four of them. Dig felt his skin get hot and beads of sweat coat his neck like a slimy scarf, he needed a drink of water bad but ignored it and walked farther into the mine to absorb the cool drafty air.
He walked only a foot before he came across the large crate he noticed when they first ran inside.
It was broad and the wood felt jagged and rough, he wanted to punch it had balled a fist to do so but relented. Dig was feeling anxious, he had a feeling things were going down everywhere and that they could be stuck for a while.
He stared at the the wooden crate which had a been adorned on its side the word ‘INDIAN’ in a long hand script written in yellow on a red background. Below that in bold blocky white letter was the word ‘Moto-cycle.’ A deep smile penetrated deeply into Digs face.
“Mr Dolan,” Dig said. “is this yours?”
“Yes.”
“This wouldn’t happen to be an Indian 42 degree V-twin engine, that has a top speed of seventy?” Dig said looking back at Dolan who looked wide eyed.
“How did you know that?’ he asked.
“Why was it brought here? Why didn’t you have it sent your place?” Dig asked.
“Not that it’s of concern to you but the engine spooks my horses, and they kick up a lot of dust.”
“Does it? Let’s open it up and find out.”
He waited for Dolan to protest in some way, but he didn’t. AM found a pry bar after lighting a lantern hanging nearby. Dolan spit when Dig stuck the bar in and cursed loudly when he was able to pry it open on his own. When the dust settled, Dig, AM, and Fred stood in front of it looking at the gleaming red machine.
“Hell it’s a motorized bicycle, a kids toy.” Fred said scratching at his mustache.
“Hey Fred if you can trust in George Carlin, you can trust in the Indian Motor company.”
“Yes, well fine company or not, I doubt that they shipped that thing with fuel in the tank. Without fuel we are still stuck for the foreseeable future.” AM said.
“Have a little faith, Father.” Dig said with his customary cocky smile.
“Hey Fred, those lantern’s run on kerosene?”
“Yeah, sir, Deacon.”
“Why?” asked AM.
“Th is is the first ever made first motorcycle which doesn’t run on gasoline, but kerosene.
Everybody gather up all the lanterns.”
“How do you know so much about this machine?” asked a red faced Dolan.
“I saw a...”
Dig was going to say he saw a documentary about them on YouTube but caught himself.
“...guy start a church for them back home. He was a priest who grew...um...disillusioned with the Catholic church and our horse worshiping society so he started a new religion. Pennsylvania, huh. Right, father?”
Everyone including Dolan gathered up lanterns but at first there wasn’t much kerosene poured into the tank. Fred however walked a few feet down the tunnel and found a large rusting container with a nozzle and took a sniff. The letter K was stenciled on the side, it sloshed loudly when Fred picked it up.
“Will this be enough, Deacon?” Fred asked.
“Shit, yes.” Dig said.
He poured the fuel while AM spoke to him.
“What’s your plan then?”
“I’ll take the bike and try to draw the coyotes away, I think I could make it to Sumner in no time flat and bring back the Cavalry.”
“You think you can out run them? A normal coyotes can run almost forty miles per hour with enough room. These things have have longer legs.”
Dig stopped pouring and looked up at his friend.
“I told you this thing will top seventy.”
“And so might they. Why are you doing this? We can wait a little while longer.”
Dig laughed and continued pouring until the kerosene dribbled over.
“Since when have you ever known me to sit around and wait? Besides Halley said I would live.
And we need to cut off the well as soon as possible, Rex could be sending over some more of his pets to beat the happy hour rush.”
“Halley could be wrong though.”
Dig screwed the cap back on tight and took the shotgun leaning on a crate of TNT close to the gate.
“He’s not.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure enough to leave this with you. Unlock the gate and lets do this.”
The distance beyond the gate was empty, AM picked the lock again as Fred removed the chain.
“You gonna go out on my bike and get yourself killed. Damn fool.”
“Aw you afraid, Mr Dolan?” Dig said in a mock tone.
Dolan had taken Fred’s flask again an upended it into his mouth.
“Wasn’t afraid of the damn Confederates any more than I am of you, son. What you’re doin is dumb not brave and I’m gonna pay thousands of dollars for your foolishness.”
AM handed Fred the shotgun and took his side of the gate once the chain was off.
“Father,” Fred whispered to AM as he took the shotgun “I’m scared green. I hope the Lord will give me courage, could you bless me?”
“The fact that you are scared and haven’t given up proves you need no blessing for the courage you already possess.”
“Thank you, Father.” Fred said looking less pale.
“You’re sure about doing this?” AM asked as Dig pushed the vehicle off the crate.
“Yeah, like I said I’ll draw them away.”
“What if they don’t follow?”
“They will. When they’re gone, light this place up. Step back, it’s gonna be loud.”
AM held tight to one side of the gate as the engine quickly roared to life. Dolan simply covered his ears as Fred took the other half of the gate. Dig revved the engine and nodded. Quickly AM
and Fred opened the gates and Dig sped out leaning over the handle bars with a grimace AM had seen many times before.
They quickly shut the gates as a coyote jumped down only a second after Dig rode out of the mouth of the mine, then followed after him. AM felt a chill when the second coyote came into their view at the entrance but did not run after Dig. The beast’s pointy head turned away from the chase and looked in their direction.
“God damn it hurry up. That thing is lookin our way!” said Dolan removing his side arm.
The chain was wrapped but not tight, AM fiddled with the lock in his sweaty hands shaking with adrenaline. He looked up as the coyote slowly walked towards the gate, its emerald eyes sparkled in the shadows. When AM almost had the lock firmly in hand the monster charged at the gate with a loud snarl, causing him to drop it somewhere.
The force of the beast sent AM back into a stack of crates breaking one open and spilling its contents to the ground. The lantern which was the only one still lit, smashed to the rocky ground.
The flame however was burning the kerosene that had splashed onto the ground, giving the mine a weak strobe light effect. Fred held on to the chains as the beast began to bite at the gate and chains, Dolan quickly approached and opened fire on the coyote.
“God damn fucking animal!” Dolan said and stuck his arm out of the gate to get a closer shot.
He fired all but one shell before the creature let go of the chain and took Dolan’s arm off in one quick bite, he let loose an ear shattering scream as the wretched thing ripped off his limb. Dolan dropped to the ground in silence as blood streamed out of his stump in a gory torrent. Fred ignored the bloodbath and held onto the gate while stretching his leg towards the shot gun Father Mulder had given him, but it was just a few inches out of reach.
AM stood back up and stumbled over to the gate and pulled slack out of the chain though he was losing his grip as the coyote went back to gnawing the gate open.
“This animals gonna get us, Father!” Fred shouted over the ferocious snarls.
Dolan had gone quiet, his face was white like it had been caked with grease paint. His tongue tip protruded slightly between his white lips. The only thing besides the animal that was distracting AM from the bloody carnage was the smell of smoke.
“If the fire doesn’t first!” AM said watching a dusty wooden crate start to burn at the corner.
“How good are you with that shot gun, Father?”
“Horrible. Why?”
“I’ve hunted with one of those, and I don’t wanna go out with out a fight. If you can hold on to the gate for a few seconds I’ll go for the shot gun, then you open the gate and I put a pair of these special shells of yours in it’s keister!”
“No, the heart! Aim for its heart!”
Fred nodded.
“On the count of three you take up the slack and I’ll grab it, once it’s ready to fire let go of that gate. OK, one...two...three!” Fred shouted.
AM pulled the lose end of the chain as hard as he could, he was leaning at an angle for a brief second before he was pulled forward to the gate by the shaking of the beast. AM was eye to eye with the animal for the briefest of seconds, it’s lime colored eyes were bright and filled with rage, its breath stunk like it had a bad tooth ache. It felt to AM like thirty minutes had passed in that moment but it was only two.
Fred saw his life flash before his eyes, he had hoped he would see his brother Brendan who was coming to visit next month. He forgot about his family for the moment as his hands worked the shotgun deftly.
“Let go!” Fred shouted.
AM let go of the chain and fell down. The beast began to rip at the chains and gate in a frantic head shaking gesture. Fred breathed deeply and held his finger just above the trigger. After ten seconds the chain had fallen free from one side of the gate. The coyote nuzzled its way inside.
The beast had just a paw through before Fred took a knee and fired. The bang was deafening and echoed down the shaft behind them. The beast howled in pain and began to shake its head and started to wail. It growled still but weakly and began to back step out of the mine.
Fred slowly followed the beast out but kept his distance, AM rose slowly watching. The beast snarled and wailed, its mouth was filling with snotty looking foam. It tried to approach so Fred pumped the barrel. The beast growled, either in pain or in fear, Fred didn’t know nor cared and got on his knee again and fired, hitting the monster’s legs and its chest.
The beast did and about face and howled pathetically while trying to run on its damaged legs. It went a dozen yards before it fell forward and began to shriek and bay in great misery. Fred walked over and with out taking a knee fired another shot directly into its chest. The desert was quiet again.
AM was at the mouth of the mine finally able to breath when he heard a fizzing sound. He walked back in and wandered a few feet trying to locate the sound. The fire was not big and was burning out, though something had caught fire. It was the wick to a stick of TNT that had fallen out of the crate when he had crashed into it.
The wick had an inch left and was burning brightly, AM quickly grabbed his back pack and jumped into the mine cart a half foot away from him. His body fell so hard he had gasped from the hit. He barely could register the pain before the stick of dynamite detonated. Fred was standing over the dead animal when the explosion erupted, he turned around quickly, gun held high when he saw the cloud of smoke and the entrance of the mine collapse.
“Father!!” Fred screamed and ran towards the oncoming cloud of dirt and dust.
The wide open mouth was now covered over by a large boulder and an infinite looking amount of dirt and smaller rocks, Fred waited as more rocks, some as big as his cows rolled down. When the dust had settled he climbed on the large boulder and feverishly began to dig out as much as he could of the smaller debris with both hands. He climbed a little higher as he tried to dig out the larger rocks.
He was elbow deep in a small hole when he felt the cold dank breeze of the mine greet his outward hand. He removed his arm and tried to look in but all was dark and quiet.
“Father! Father Mulder, can you hear me?!” he shouted into the hole.
He took another deep breath and called in again.
“Father, can you hear me?!” he shouted.
He stared at the hole, he was about to call out again when a hand reached through and grabbed his.
“Jesus Christ!” Fred said startled before taking his hand.
“Oh thank Jesus, Father you’re alive! Don’t worry, we’ll get ya dug out in a jiffy, don’t ya know!”
“No, Fred listen to me.” he said gripping Fred’s hand. “Go back to Sumner. I still have to finish here.”
“But, Father we can get ya outta here...”
“No!” he said redoubling his grip on Fred’s hand. “Time is of the essence, this problem must be dealt with swiftly. Return to town, you still have the shot gun?”
“Yes, Father. But you’ll be killed.”
“That is not your concern, you must leave. I can’t say you’ll be safe here when I detonate the TNT. The entire ground beneath your feet may collapse.”
“Jesus! I don’t feel right about leavin you here, it feels cowardly.”
“Fred, I’ve met many people. You sir are one of the bravest I have met in my travels, be proud.
Now you must leave, I am heading down.”
His hand disappeared into the blackness as quickly as it had first appeared. Fred gulped and climbed back down and grabbed the shot gun. He looked around the land briefly, fearful that another coyote would show up. He pumped the twelve gauge and felt his fear ebb.
Dig gritted his teeth as he came out in the open and could hear the hungry snarl of the coyote that chased after him. He didn’t register the fact that only one was following, he just turned left up the embankment that was the rock wall. The bike raced up and over the wall high enough and long for Dig to adjust his balls so as not to squash them when he landed.
He glimpsed a look back as the beast charged through the rock wall instead of leaping over it and stumbled a little,Dig revved up the engine and headed towards town. The creature was slow to follow at first so Dig fired his revolver at the monster. The beast growled and redoubled its speed.
He went slower to keep the abomination interested. Dig would run a circles around it while heading closer to town. He took another shot with his revolver and nicked the beast in the ear, enraging it further. He felt his adrenaline shoot when the coyote got close enough to take a swipe at him.
“That’s it, come on!” Dig said beginning to relish the danger after racing just a few feet ahead.
Dig didn’t hear the explosion or Fred’s repeated firing. He was caught up in the heat of battle, the danger felt right to him when he thought of that ghostly image of Marisa, the ghost he had caused. He had put the only woman he had loved in danger and she was dead.
Her death meant he would be ready to pay that back with his own life, she died because he was selfish he believed. He could have waited for help, but he wanted a fight. Feeling his blood rise again Dig looked back at the charging beast.
“Come on you friggin flea bag!”
Dig could see the rage in it’s eyes and looking forward again, he could see the smoke rising from the telegraph house still. The creature looked ready to pounce as they approached the ancient river bed and was about to circle again when he looked back and stopped.
“What the shit?”
He got off the bike and walked away to the beast laying on it’s side. It’s body was convulsing wildly, he could see the animals rib cage clearly and its heart beating against it making Dig shudder in revulsion. It suddenly stopped moving, its greenish tongue rolled out of its putrid mouth to the ground limp.
“Heart attack. Hikeeba. Where’s your friend?” he said taking a breath feeling surprised the encounter ended so uneventfully.
He wanted to go find the other one but before he could a scream coming from town caught his ears. He ran back to the Indian and quickly kicked her back into life and raced towards Sumner.
He rode past the town church and rounded the corner passing many pawn shops and saloons and the Fort Sumner library.
AM would appreciate that, Dig thought. At the end of the road was the paved street where the T
Model Ford had been sitting when he and AM first arrived, though it was gone now. Now there were people with guns pointing and shouting behind him. He looked back at the home of Sheriff McCarty.
Dig watched a coyote climb up the slanted remains of the Sheriffs home, he saw a woman on top holding on to the chimney he realized it was Alice. He was coasting towards the house at first, wishing he still had his boom stick. With out thinking he immediately revved the engine and began speeding towards the house anyway.
He wasn’t sure what he was doing until he had done it, he leaned forward and rode a semi circle around the house before hitting a ramp created by the fallen wall. When he saw the coyote he aimed the bike and jumped off as it was going over forty miler per hour.
The bike had slammed into the beast knocking it off the roof and away from Alice. Dig who had rolled himself into a ball tried to get up but fell back down as his old head wound opened up again. He felt woozy and tried to wipe the blood from his eyes, he didn’t think before hand that throwing himself off such a fast moving bike was not so easy. In movies the hero would easily walk away from such a thing, Dig thought feeling stupid.
“Doesn’t get any stupider than this.” Dig gasped in pain.
He could hardly move even when he heard the growling beast. He was on his back and turned his head to the left and saw its hungry eyes hone in on his eyes. He reached for his revolver but it was stuck in his belt. He pulled frantically as the beast charged him.
He was still pulling the gun free, when the monster just a dozen feet from him, was knocked over by a great deafening blast. Dig watched as Alice aggressively pumped the action on the shot gun place the stock on her shoulder and fire again before the creature could rise. It had let out a frightful howl as green foam poured from its mouth in vile stream, before Alice finished it off with a third and final blast from the twelve gauge. The shot obliterated its chest and lower jaw, its green eyes faded to black, Alice took a deep breath before walking over to help Dig up.
“Are you alright?”
Dig nodded and took her hand still looking at the felled abomination.
“Thank you, Alice. That was great shooting.”
“What was that contraption you were riding?” Alice asked removing a handkerchief from her pocket and giving it to Dig.
“It’s a motorcycle. I think it’s totaled though.” Dig said wiping blood from his head.
The Indian was lying not far off, the front wheel was bent at a ninety degree angle, and a part of its engine was hanging by a wire to the rest of the motor. It broke Dig’s heart to see the worlds first motorcycle in such a mess. Suddenly Billy and the rest of the posse came hurrying over towards the now destroyed house.
“Goodness, Isabella!” Alice said running back to the house.
When she and Dig arrived Billy and the Coe’s as well as a few other tried to climb inside the kitchen window now greatly reduced in size from the collapse.
“She’s in the basement!” Alice shouted.
Billy knowing he was the smallest quickly went through the window. It was too small for anyone else to follow inside. Except for AM, Dig thought worriedly hoping no one would die today.
“The hutch, Billy! It’s too heavy by yourself!” Alice called through the window.
Billy had been filled with out right terror for his wife.
“Izzy!” he shouted.
The ceiling was less than five feet from the floor causing him to duck walk then crawl to the hutch.
“Izzy!”
“Billy! I am here!”
“Hold on baby, I’m gettin you outta there!”
He put his shoulder into the hutch and pushed and succeeded in moving it a few feet. He tried to grip his feet to the floor but the angle was downward and prevented him from moving it any
farther. He crawled to the other side of the hutch closest to the wall. He place his shoulder on the hutch and crammed himself between it and the wall.
He used the wall as leverage for his feet and pushed until he saw white spots in his eyes. He heard the wall behind him groan in protest and he could feel the house shake but the hutch was moving. He fell to the floor when the hutch was out of the way, he shoved the glass and broken porcelain shards and lifted the trap door and saw the dust covered face of his wife frightened but unharmed.
He pulled her out as another groan, this one from above them shook the house. He quickly led her to the tiny window, where for a moment she was stuck. She looked panicked for a moment before Alice took her hands and said: “Suck it in, girl!”
She nodded and was pulled out by Dig and Alice. Billy was scrambling through the window as the house shook again.
“She’s coming down, run!” Billy said when he was through.
They quickly ran out of danger and watched the house fall flat. Billy and his wife had lost their home but couldn’t care less at the moment. They were looking into each other eyes like young lovers, monsters and homelessness aside it wouldn’t shake their love. Dig felt true joy in that sight.
“Is it over, Dana?” asked Alice.
Before Dig could speak two men on a horse were riding to them quickly. One of them appeared to be shouting and was waving erratically to them.
“Oh, shit. Fred!” Dig said running towards them.
“Deacon, you made it back safe! I was walking back from the mine and one of the posse found me.”
“Fred where’s AM?”
“Who?”
“Uh I mean Mulder! Where is Father Fox Mulder?”
“He’s stuck inside the mine. One of them coyotes came charging in killed Dolan and there was a fire and some dynamite blew up. The father is alive but he needs dug out, fast. The entrance is covered.”
“OK, so we wait to blow it while we get him out...”
“No, he’s still gonna blow it all up. He said there could me more coyotes comin now and that there ain’t time to wait.”
“Yeah, fuck that. I need a horse.”
AM walked away from the light of the hole Fred made and back to the mine cart. He waited a few moments making sure Fred did not return before he removed the QPad from his pack and tapped the screen three times. The area was filled immediately with bright whiteness, giving everything a ghostly appearance.
He scanned the room and found more dynamite quickly as well as a detonator. The air was still hot and acrid from the explosion which had collapsed only the entrance of the mine. It would take days for them to dig him out.
“What to do?” he asked as he looked towards the shaft of the mine.
He would have to continue with the mission. He felt numb for a moment wondering if he was doomed before he realized he wasn’t really trapped. He looked down at his QPad and felt the numbness wash away into relief.
He could rip out of the mountain by simply traveling across space instead of time. That would be simple to do.
“How do I set off the TNT?” he asked empty mine.
It was obvious that it would have to be set off with matches.
“Set it off the old fashion way.” AM said smiling at his own joke as he gathered up sticks of dynamite.
Although Dig had none, AM always kept some in reserve. He thought of his uncle Howdy who had told AM and Quake on many occasions: ‘Duct tape, WD-40 and a Bic lighter are all you need sometimes’ matches however in this case but he felt the principle was the same.
Now however he needed to find some rope and hang the TNT down in the hole like a fishing hook above the water. He would also need to make the wick long enough to give him time to ring in a worm hole before detonation. He gathered eighteen loose sticks of dynamite, and a handful of wicks he could braid together.
He also found a length of rope that was longer than he was tall. He tossed the items in the mine cart and picked up the QPad and looked around for a lantern that still had fuel. He was looking for only a few moments before he saw the mine cart had lantern as a built in head light.
He removed the plug for the fuel and saw it was filled close to the top so he lit the wick with one match and turned its knob all the way up. He turned off the light on his QPad and was in near darkness. The lantern cast a dreadful orange cone of light into the grim black of the mine shaft.
He didn’t blame Dig for being scared, though he claimed not to be afraid, the unnatural glow of orange light into the black hole certainly made AM uneasy. He took a deep breath like he always did before doing something he didn’t like and stood behind the mine cart. The cart didn’t look big enough to carry men, it was perhaps used to carry supplies down as AM was using it for now.
He expected to have a hard time moving it, the wheels gave just a slight squeak and began to move forward once he put his legs into it. As the ground under AM’s feet began to slant he slowed his pace down and kept a free hand on the emergency brake. He would have to go down five hundred feet before he found the cave that would lead to the hole above the reservoir.
He felt the fear try to take over, but he reminded himself that he was much safer from harm than Dig was at the moment.
“Or anyone else.” AM said as held his head high in the darkness and marched forward into the shadows.
Halley thought about the bloody hands he saw during The Ordeal, and had a vision of his own bloody hands. Two men had quarreled over a woman, so his grandfather had given the ritual.
Any disagreement not solved would be subject to hand to hand combat where a knife was tied to each mans hand and then tied their other hands together.
The fight was a short, gruesome one filled with blood and many curses shouted into the sky both men had died, the loser had died immediately. His grandfather had given the death ceremony for him, and again afterwards for the man who had defeated him. Halley could still remember the prayer word for word. That was when Halley had been most frightened that day, hearing that prayer as the desert absorbed the crimson blood of both men, seeing the skin on their dry hands stained red.
He had seen plenty of barbarism from the white man before he could ride a horse on his own. It was the fact that his people had to kill each other in a pointless fight. They had to die in order to be at peace, when the white man would kill them all whether they knew peace or not. The idea was sickening to him, the hands soaking in the shiny red liquid while the soul spills out into the void.
He stood on the land once populated by thousands, now only he and his nephew remained. He had braided his hair and tied a prayer feather to his head while he prayed quietly.
‘Oh Great Spirit who dwells in the sky, lead us to the path of peace and understanding, let all of us live together as brothers and sisters.
Our lives are so short here, walking upon Mother Earth's surface, let our eyes be opened to all the blessings you have given us.
Please hear our prayers, Oh Great Spirit.’
“The Great Spirit can not help you, Uncle.” said a voice from behind him.
Halley dropped the light blanket he used to shield himself from the sun, and turned to face Red Feather, his old body looked scrawny in the bright sun compared to his nephew’s barrel sized chest. His eyes looked completely black, but when he spoke a green light shimmered where it was supposed to be white.
“Do you truly believe you can survive, Uncle?”
“My body is old, but my mind is not.”
He smiled at the sight of his Uncle removing a knife from an ancient scabbard.
“Shall I tie us together then, Red Feather?” he asked his nephew.
“I’m not Red Feather. I will break you, old man. I will crush you to dust with my hand, I need no dagger!” he said with green sparks in his eyes.
“If you are so sure you can defeat my body, perhaps my spirit will be a more worthy challenge, Atahsaia.” Halley said putting his knife back and unlacing a small satchel tied to his waist.
In it were a pair of green bulbous plants topped with a wilted flower. He took one then offered the other to Atahsaia.
“Why do wish to protect the white man?”
“I wish to protect the world and its children, including your children.”
Atahsaia’s brow darkened with anger, Halley watched his black eyes turn to a cloudy green as he scowled. Halley was filled with a deep fear, he quietly recited a prayer in his own mind in hopes his former nephew wouldn’t see the fear. Halley raised his hand still holding the fuzzy green bulb.
“You know our quarrel must be resolved with The Ordeal, but if you are the god you say you are then we must have a Spirit Battle. If you truly are Atahsaia, you must abide by this as your spirit will wander the dark lands with Unhcegila and Kigatilik feeding on the flesh of the undead.”
Halley knew he could not physically win The Ordeal and he knew Atahsaia would try to goad him into it, but a Spirit Battle would give him a better chance. He was catching thoughts and pictures from Atahsaia’s mind, but they were flashing through too quickly for Halley to understand most of them. He felt his own mind panic loudly as an image from the massacre at the Pecos popped in his head, the picture of a busted rock covered in crimson, it was brief but Atahsaia had caught his thoughts.
“The soldiers used the rocks to bash your sons head in to save on ammo.” Atahsaia said anxiously.
Halley felt tears try to sting his eyes but he stood still and held out the peyote plant unwavered.
His stomach filled with rage and then sadness.
“Come and claim your chief ship, Atahsaia.” Halley said offering the bulb Atahsaia took the ant and walked back a few feet, he turned facing Halley in the bright sun of the fading afternoon as they both took bites of the plant. They both kneeled down and closed their eyes. Halley let his mind rest and waited for Atahsaia to begin his attack. Halley felt a darkness surround him, as if the sun had been curtained over, he could see the green mist behind his eyes searching his mind.
A cold sharp wind blew between the combatants. The air once hot and dusty became cold and wet, the world went from bright yellow sunshine to gray overcast. The air tasted stale and dirty, Halley could feel its thickness as he sucked it into his lungs.
The memories of his sons dying flooded his mind suddenly, he felt his body gasp with pain.
Atahsaia had dug the memory out his head, of seeing a blue coated soldier picking up the rock and smashing it into his eldest sons head. Halley felt his heart shake with sadness and pain, h could still hear his skull cracking like an egg.
In his memory the soldier just killed his son and reloaded his rifle, but in his mind now the soldier was laughing, it was a false memory. They weren’t the laughs of the soldier but of Atahsaia.
The wind whipped loudly, particles as small and as white as snow flakes swirled between them in a ghostly twister. The earth below their feet became dusted with white, Halley looked through the cold downpour with his minds eye and could see the green sparks of Atahsaia’s eyes. The green phosphorescence cast a dim light in their minds, all Halley could see was a green mist forming between them.
“Great Spirit and First Creator, send me my spirit animal.” Halley said in his native tongue.
He leaned over as his body shook, a great white plume of smoke began to stream of out his mouth and began to mix with the snowy white particles that blew furiously in the air. The smoke flowed to the ground combining with the snow, the cloudy form turned into a large wolf with fur as pure and white as the snow it was created from. It’s eyes were the eternal blue of the sky, the animal stood on all fours with its large magnificent white tail wagging as it let out a mighty howl.
Atahsaia called upon his spirit animal, a geyser of black smoke poured from his mouth as he roared with a great rage at the white wolf. The black smoke began to mix with the green mist becoming a brown-black fog with steaks of green as it billowed down and formed a mangy green eyed abomination that was a cross between the mutated coyotes and a lizard. Its body was long and covered with gray black scales that became fur at the belly and legs, on its paws were black talons, thick and sharp which looked like they belonged to a large bird.
Its tail was a thin scaly whip like appendage that moved like a volatile snake, it cut the air in a loud swish as it wagged. Protruding from its mouth were two long fangs covered in a runny green film. The breath it exhaled was a black puff of dense mist that smelled of excrement and death.
The thing did not howl but let out a great roar like a lion as its large mouth opened revealing a pit of flames deep within. The great white wolf howled and charged grabbing the demon by its neck with a deep bite. Halley’s mind found an image of Rachael and held it high in his mind.
The beast roared again in a rage and bit the leg of the white wolf turning its pure white fur a garish red. The wolf howled in pain as the image of the soldiers bludgeoning his child to death, complete with Atahsaia’s false laughter, appeared.
“I’ll turn you to dust,old man.” Atahsaia’s mind whispered. “I’ll make the world burn.”
The beast bit deeper into the white wolf, red blood flowed down its leg into a whirlpool down to some unknown abyss below. In an effort to keep fighting, Halley held up a recent memory of Red Feather’s children. The beast howled with pain but did not release the white wolf.
“They can not help you, I am dead to them as I have been to you most of my life.”
In that instant Halley understood, that he bore responsibility for this as well. He had never told him that he and his father should have never made him choose between his wife and his tribe.
Red Feather wanted to keep his hands clean for his new tribe, which was Halley’s tribe as well.
“I am sorry, Red Feather. You wanted your own tribe, with clean hands. That takes courage, as a boy I wished the same, but I was to afraid to try and do what you did. You are brave, Red Feather, forgive me.”
The beast let go of the white wolf, which quickly bit down on the creatures throat. It didn’t fight back but merely let out a weak pain filled howl and laid down. When the beast fell to its side it became smoke again as did the great wolf and blew away into the desert which had become bright and sunny again.
Halley fell forward but stopped himself from falling down with his hand. He was sweaty and his heart was beating rapidly, his body shook so badly he thought he would collapse but didn’t and rose to his feet after a few moments. Ahead of him lay his nephew with a hand clutching the left side of his chest. Halley went over to him and kneeled beside him.
“I can’t feel my left side.” he said in their native tongue reaching out to his uncle who took his hand.
“I...am dying.” he said with tears streaming down as he turned his head to see his uncle better.
“You may rest now...”
“Uncle...what I did...” he grunted as pain gripped at his heart. “...forgive me...”
“Shh, my boy.” Halley said fighting the tears unsuccessfully this time. “The demon is gone from you now.”
“Uncle...will you go to my children? Tell them, I am sorry for being what I am.”
“I will see to our tribe.”
Halley said and gripped Red Feathers hand which was growing cold. He grunted as his eyes glazed over as his eyes filled with blood.
“Rest now, it is over.”
Red Feather shed blood tears as his breath hitched.
“Uncle, I can’t remember my prayers.”
Halley felt his nephews hand twitch slightly.
“I will say them for you, Red Feather.” He said squeezing his nephews hand, he had never forgotten the words.
A weak smile touched his nephew’s lips.
‘When I am dead, cry for me a little. Think of me sometimes but not too much.
Think of me now and again, as I was in life. At some moments it's pleasant to recall.
But not for long, leave me in peace. And I shall leave you in peace, while you live.’
At the moment he said ‘I shall leave you in peace’ Red Feather gasped loudly and lifted his body up for a moment. Halley gently laid him back down as his nephew’s life slipped away, weeping quietly.
Dig took the horse that was brought to him and quickly rode out with the majority of the posse towards the silver mine. Alice, and Fred had joined him as well in the desperate run to the mine.
Dig was more than fifty yards ahead when he came over a crest and could see the rock wall less than a half mile away.
He was about to gig his horse forward when a tremendous force below him shook the earth. The horse wailed irritably and raised its front hooves high in the air. As the others behind him felt the ground shake below them a large cloud of dust rose from the base of the mountain which began to collapse into itself.
“Holy shit!” shouted Fred.
The mountain was was puny compared to the monster peaks of the Rocky Mountains further north, but the collapse of this thousand foot breed hollowed out from the mining was heard for hundreds of mile across the territory. The top half rolled down into the rocky innards of itself as debris and dust spewed into the sky like a volcano. The ground vibrated for a few more seconds before everything was quiet again.
Dig didn’t wait for after shocks but had ridden on slowly. He had ridden a quarter of the way there before the ground turned into a debris field. When the dust had settled the mountain had lost half its height, most of it being scattered around where Dig now stood.
He got down from his horse but stood still. He couldn’t tell where the mine entrance had originally been.
“Oh shit.” Dig said quietly.
“I am sorry, Deacon. I really am.” Fred said holding his hat over his heart with glassed over eyes.
Dig took off his hat, trying to understand that his friend was gone. Alice seeing how deeply Dig was affected quickly came over to console him with an embrace. Dig was holding her weakly
when a few more members of the posse began to arrive. One of them was riding double with a short scrawny man wearing a raccoon skin hat.
“What the shit?” Dig said as AM got down from the riders horse.
Fred turned and saw AM and made the sign of the cross.
“Good Lord, Father Mulder! How did you get out of there? It would of taken days to dig you out.” Fred asked taking his hand and shaking it vigorously.
“The Lord works in mysterious ways, Mr Franklin.” AM said with a raised eye brow before extending his hand out to Dig.
He refused it and instead gave him a hug.
“You scared the shit out of me, dick head.” Dig said joyfully.
“It was a simple operation, I’ll fill you in on the details later.”
AM’s trip down the shaft had been uneventful and he had been able to rip far from the mountain after lighting the fuse. He walked back and was within shouting distance of the posse when the TNT finally went off. The majority of the posse had passed him by unaware because of the spectacle of the mountain collapsing. AM had been close enough to have his breath taken away by the fall of the rocky peak.
It was unknown what had happened between Halley and Rex. AM found no signals or any interference of any kind on his QPad. By sun set life had come around again in Fort Sumner, though most of the towns folk were armed to the teeth. As per Dig’s instructions, Billy had the carcasses of the coyotes burned until they were ashes in the wind.
The town was still in shock, but there were a few reporters from the local paper asking questions and getting answers. By evening a wagon being ridden by a few blue coated soldiers had come in with arms and other supplies. They were greeted by the towns folk with applause.
AM had been anxious to escape from the crowd, many towns folk including Pastor Gamble wished to meet this fabled priest who had walked into the darkness and emerged unscathed.
Alice had been at Dig’s side nearly every moment since they returned to town.
“Dig we need to leave. Billy is going back to his office to get ready for us to make our official statements.”
Dig nodded, unless they had planned on coming back for when this whole mess wound up in a court room. And that was a guarantee, there was going to be plenty of litigation over the rights of who owned the mine and who was responsible for its destruction. The town could very well die as a result of that destruction.
“I have to say good bye first.” Dig said intently.
AM knew he needed to say good bye and didn’t want to stop him.
“Meet me at the church. It’ll be easier to disappear in a crowd.”
Dig nodded and walked to the Mesilla office where Alice was talking to a reporter. She was being photographed as another man wrote quickly on a tiny pad using a minuscule pencil. She was smiling pleasantly at the man who was speaking. Her smile increased two fold when she saw Dig.
“Excuse me, a moment.”
She smiled brightly at him and gave him another hug.
“Alice I need to speak with you.”
They walked to the other side of the building under the light of a hanging lantern. A moth lapped it lackadaisically, as the flame twitched and twisted. The sky was clear with a half moon casting a lovely blue aura upon Alice’s face.
“Alice, I...uh...some time ago...”
“Dana, I know.” she said with a small smile.
Dig was confused at first. Did she mean about the time traveling?
“Izzy told me.”
Dig was quiet for another moment before he understood what she had meant.
“Please don’t be upset with her.” Alice said mistaking his silence for anger.
“Oh, no. That’s fine, I mean I’m not upset at all. It’s very hard for me, I feel...”
He wanted to tell her he felt responsible for her death. But the situation was complicated enough.
“The heart heals when it can, not when it wants to.” she said softly.
“Yeah.” he said with a slight nod.
He hoped that whoever Alice might some day fall in love with, that they would love her for her.
“Would you permit me to take something from you?” she asked him.
Before he could ask what she meant, she leaned forward and kissed him. Her lips felt soft on his chapped ones. The kiss was warm but sad as well, a perfect goodbye kiss if there ever was one.
Perhaps she knew they would never see each other again.
“Take care of yourself, Dana.” she said looking up at him.
“You too, Alice.” he said with a slight tip of his hat.
He didn’t look back and made his way towards the church. AM was on the church steps speaking with Pastor Gamble’s wife who was holding a silver tray filled with tiny cup cakes and cookies.
AM was smiling dutifully while sipping from a porcelain tea cup.
His eyes widened just the slightest when he saw Dig approach. He spoke quickly to the Pastors wife who appeared to laugh as she took the tea cup from him. He nodded towards the back end of the church as he made his way through the growing number of parishioners that decided to make an early evening trek to church after the days violence.
“I thought I was going to gain twenty pounds from all the food she brought out. It was for everybody but she kept making me try everything first. The oatmeal raisin cookies were very good.”
“Aw poor you. Try giving a sermon about the Titanic.” he said as they made their way down a narrow alley way between the church and a boot shop.
“Huh.”
“Nothing.”
“Were you able to speak with Alice?”
“Yeah. I know we’re in hurry but I just I can’t be that way to people, ya know.”
“It’s OK, Dig. I never liked saying goodbye, it’s probably why I never had hard time walking away from people.”
They came out from behind the church and shop unobserved. A few people walked armed with either a rifle or shotgun and did impromptu sentry duty. A crowd had gathered at the far end of the street. They walked away from the crowd towards a shuddered gin mill with a single lantern lighting the plank board pavement, it’s flame was weak and flickered wildly though there was hardly a breeze.
“Well traveling across time and alternate realities makes getting close to people a bad idea. In some ways you were right to just blow people off.”
“If she hadn’t died do you think you would feel the same?”
“Don’t do that.” Dig said plaintively.
“What?”
“Try and figure out how I should feel, like I have no reason to feel responsible. Or not be so upset.”
The made their way further down the street coated in the moon light. They watched the lonely flicker of the lanterns flame. AM was quiet as Dig spoke.
“I know life is supposed to be unfair, even if I do the right thing. But don’t tell me not to be angry or resentful. If I’m having knife fights with giant fucking coyotes and I go down I know it’s my own choice but don’t you tell me...”
“Dig, I’m not telling you to do anything...I...alright.” he said nodding. “I’m sorry I just don’t want you to feel so bad.” AM said sincerely.
Dig then felt bad for getting angry.
“I’m sorry I snapped at you, AM.” he said when they passed the gin mill.
“It’s OK, Jet lag from time ripping...”
“Shh...”
“Howdy, fellas.” said a figure standing on the porch of the gin mill.
They both turned and watched as Billy stepped down from the gin mill’s porch and approach them. He took his time and didn’t appear reproachful or ready to arrest them, he also was with out either of his deputies.
“So, Father, you out for a stroll tonight?”
Before AM could respond Billy did for him.
“Or are you splitting town?” he asked smiling a buck toothed smile at them.
“Well, Sheriff...” AM began but was stopped by Billy.
“You know, when you gentlemen first came to town I figured it was lucky you happened to be here. And I appreciate that fact still, so you’ll forgive me if I’m wrong in assuming you guys are riding under aliases.”
AM was silent even as the color drained from Dig’s face. With out a word of denial from them Billy continued.
“Just cause you use an assumed name don’t mean you’re a bad guy. I heard you say the initials AM when Fred came back. Odd name, but then again I’m almost fifty and the old folks round here still call me The Kid. Plus I never heard a Deacon cuss so offhandedly,” Billy chuckled “and when I saw your reaction to my asking for a statement I kind of figured you would be off in a hurry.”
“Sheriff, I beg...” AM said.
“Now hold a sec, if it weren’t for you two we might have been worse off. And like I said, just because you use a false name don’t always mean you’re a bad guy. Trust me, I had a list of aliases a mile long when I was even younger than you are now. I figured out that, I don’t need you fellas. Not officially to make a statement. The governor’s gonna want answers, then the Army’s gonna be asking questions too.”
“Then what are you gonna tell them?” AM asked.
“Well, from what I can guess from eye witness accounts is that Dolan and Selman were attacked by coyotes and tried to use the dynamite to scare them off and wound up killing themselves in the process. I’m sure Fred won’t mind changing his statement a little. I don’t think people would believe what really happened anyway, it wont be a challenge leavin your names out.
“It’ll help Halley and his people in the long run too if we try to make this look like an unfortunate accident at the silver mine. As far as them coyotes go, well, they’ll say it’s all hog wash I’m sure if another one don’t pop up again.”
“I can assure sheriff, they will not. I give you my word.” AM said.
“If you say so, but as far as Rex though I can’t hide what he’s done.”
“Have you heard from Halley at all?” Dig asked.
“No. If Rex is still around, then I’ll arrest him. If Halley is still around I’ll just turn my head the other way. People may not know it, but I’m sure we all owe him our thanks. I’ll give him yours too when I see him again. I don’t know what your real business is, but I’m glad it brought you our way. Stay safe in your travels, gentlemen.”
Billy gave a nod and tipped his hat before walking over to the crowd at the other end of the street. AM was relieved to get away so easily. Although AM was eager to rip home and figure out where to look next, the dread of what insane reality might await them made him nauseous.
“Are you ready to head home?” AM asked.
“I guess so.”
It was silent for a moment before AM spoke.
“Are you OK?” AM asked as they walked.
“She kissed me.” Dig said.
“Really?”
“I feel guilty though. It didn’t feel right.”
“Because of Marisa?”
“Yeah, that and the fact Alice wasn’t really kissing me. She was kissing Dana, I felt guilty letting her kiss me when I’m a poser.”
“Did you lie outright to her? I mean other than your name and that you’re a Deacon?”
“No I told her a few things about me. Not a big deal, just stuff about my mom and dad. But that’s hardly a reason for her to start liking me.”
“As I said before, you’re too hard on yourself. You have courage and strength of character, Dig.
That’s not Dana that’s you.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
They walked on in silence for a little while. Searching for a place to rip home unseen, when Dig spoke.
“Do you think Halley, or Bob I guess, was being serious about the world coming to an end.”
AM thought back to the horrible dream he had before recruiting Dig. Was that a dream or a psychic vision from prolonged ripping of what might be from continued use.
“I don’t know.”
“I mean, if he does I think it means the end of all worlds or realities. Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this. What if we’re making things worse?”
“We can’t just leave them for someone else to find. They will be found by others, look at what happened here, and in the second universe. We must proceed.”
They walked into the desert night in silence.
At the other end of Fort Sumner, Daniel stood on his porch smoking a cigarette. Dawn came out and handed him a hot cup of tea. They were quietly looking at the night sky, avoiding the reporters and the buzzing crowds, when a tall figure rode up to their walkway on a horse. It was dark and they didn’t notice the visitor until his horse neighed.
Daniel was going inside for his rifle thinking it another reporter when Dawn gently put an arm across the door.
“No.” she said quietly as the stranger stood at the gate to the front yard.
She walked over quickly and opened the gate for the tall old man wearing dungarees and a clean deer skin shirt. He was hesitant at first but he walked through the gate. In his arms was a thick quilt folded up neatly. It was bright yellow and looked soft.
“My grand mother sewed this for me when I was still a child. It is all I have left of her. It would honor me if you would take this.”
She unfolded it and saw a white and brown feather was in the center. Her father had told her and her brother about the feather as his tribes symbol.
“The colors of the feather mean family.” Halley said solemnly.
She looked to his stern weathered face and smiled brightly at him, he could see his nephew’s face in that smile.
“Would you like some tea, uncle?” Dawn asked as she accepted her gift.
“Yes.” he said and smiled back.
Qcalc Coordinates 39.944324-75.148029
Philadelphia, PA 07_23_1952 (ALerd UVErse 7)
Jay walked up a set of stone steps to a town house near old city Philadelphia just a few blocks from Penn’s Landing. The town house was no longer a home but a club for members of the Grand Old Party. Or to anyone with enough cash to stuff down the door mans front pocket. The Republican National Convention was being held in Philly tonight, celebrating the Eisenhower/Taft ticket.
He was back from another errand for The Colonel who was getting along fine in the new world and a few of the others. Jay was worried breaking The Colonel out would be hard, but that was the easy part. For the first few days after he found the QPad he had read the manual and found a neat little app that could hide his travels from the other QPad’s. He had also found thousands and thousands of book, including an extensive personal journal of one Abraham Mordecai Lincoln.
“Son of bitch. I knew I recognized that carpet bagger.” The Colonel said when Jay had shown him the name.
The Colonel poured over the history books while he gathered resources which was a big pain in the ass, even though he had a plan laid out for him by Mr Lincoln. It was a lot of lugging around useless crap then ripping ahead in time when said crap was rare and therefore expensive crap, converting all the loot over to gold. Then lugging it somewhere else, but all the Biffing and shit paid off.
“Evening, sir.” said a man with a pinched face wearing a green uniform that looked like a Navy out fit complete with a green hat that would’ve looked at home on a Captain.
Jay nodded and stuffed five or six C notes in the door man’s breast pocket. It was the third time he had stopped by the club today and the doors captain had recognized Jay and the unbelievable tips he gave after his first trip out.
Jay had also spent time creating his own apps by reverse engineering some of the ones already installed. It had helped him when he had gone out hunting for the guests The Colonel so eagerly awaited. Jay walked up a set of short carpeted steps, stopping at the coat room to hand off his fedora and coat to curvy blond in a tight black dress.
The coat check girl smiled, as Jay gave her a wink and a fold of bills. He walked into a lounge area past the low level club members, which was only a few people as most were at the convention tonight, to the back of the room sectioned off by a door way with a red velvet curtain across it. Standing beside the door was a not a door man dressed like he was in the Navy, but a private security guard.
Jay had to hand over a lot of green before the man would let him through. It was understandable, there were some heavy hitters for the GOP behind this curtain. But The Colonel was able to get his way in with out a bribe, he was a natural at talking his way into some exclusive places. When the guard finally felt cash heavy he feigned an apology to Jay and allowed him back inside.
There were just a few tables in the darkly lit room, only one table was occupied. A burst of cigar smoke and laughter hits Jay’s senses when he came through the heavy curtains blocking anyone from looking in. Laughs and tobacco smoke were good signs that the meeting was going well, Jay had figured that early on when The Colonel started playing puppet master. The Colonel was telling another Viagra joke, the little blue pill was as popular to these people in the 1950‘s as it was to the 90‘s crowd.
The Colonel had cleaned up nice. He kept the beard but had trimmed it short, he was proud of his scar but didn’t want to freak out new acquaintances. Not unless he had to. He kept his hair in a more modern hairstyle, and he had taken to fine Italian suits but still wore riding boots that were a deep crimson leather.
He had dressed to the nines to play the part of a wealthy donor with a lot of trade secrets that varied from technology, medicine, and weaponry. So far they had been mostly introducing Viagra and Rogaine to the world and had cleaned up.
“What is the difference gentlemen, between Niagara and Viagra?” asked The Colonel.
A few hearty laughs and shrugs but no answers from the five other men.
“Niagara Falls.” he said simply and toked on a Cuban cigar.
All but one of the men laughed. He turned his whiskey glass back and forth and gave the smallest nod and smile when one of the other men looked at him. Aside from him, the other’s were enjoying the fine bourbon and cigars this southern gentleman provided.
The Colonel had been trying to win over the one man who refused to enjoy himself.
“Come on, Dick. Lighten up. Have a good time.” said a man wearing black rimmed glasses.
“I am Barry.” Dick said with his customary false smile and wink while tilting his half full glass.
“Have a drink then, tell a dirty joke.” said another man who was in his fifties but his smile made him look much younger.
“Now, now, Henry.” said The Colonel. “Not everyone is a Democrat.”
They all laughed, including Dick, who always enjoyed ridiculing the opposition party.
“No, not all men indulge like the late President Long did.” said The Colonel.
“Did you contribute to any Democratic campaigns, sir?” asked another bespectacled man with a chubbier face.
“Not at all, sir. Though I did contribute to the Butler campaign.”
“He was a tough mother fucker. Greatest president since Teddy Roosevelt.” said the chubby faced man whose complexion went crimson with anger.
“Easy, now, Nelson.” said Dick who wanted to keep the peace.
“I gather you gentlemen miss the Grand Ole days of your party?” asked The Colonel.
“Of course we do,” said the handsome man called Henry. “ and maybe Ike will...”
“Oh, he’s too weak!” Dick interjected. “How the hell does he plan on keeping California from all out rebellion?”
“Dick don’t start that shit again.”
“Barry, this hasn’t got anything to do with Ike picking Taft for his running mate, or my home state. It’s about the god damn Democrats, diving us and getting people to vote against their interests. They always seem to be holding all the cards, did you know those son’s a bitches are out spending us on radio and TV by the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yellow journalism, it’s how those donkey punchers keep winning elections. They’re all a bunch of dirty rich cock suckers.”
“Looks like you could use a drink after all, Dick.”
The Colonel said and topped off Dicks drink, he grimaced and swallowed half of the amber liquid.
“I think I just need some fresh air. Excuse me gentlemen.”
Dick got up from his chair and walked towards the back door of the room which led out onto a balcony. Quietly The Colonel followed in behind him, so quietly he startled Dick and spilled some of his drink.
“Forgive me, Senator.” The Colonel said offering his handkerchief.
“Oh it’s just some spilled whiskey. It’s my own fault, I passed my limit tonight.”
“Actually, Senator I was apologizing for my crude joke earlier. Sometimes I let my humor get the best of my tongue.”
“Well, that’s alright. As you said earlier, not everyone is a Democrat. It was probably the friggin Democrats who invented that damn pill. Turns everyone into a horny teenager, probably so they can put everyone on welfare.” Dick said disgustedly.
“I’m sure you’re right, sir.” The Colonel replied sympathetically.
“Medicine should help make people better, not horned up.”
“People should create medicine to heal.”
“Yes, exactly.” Dick said with an emphatic nod making his jowls wobble.
“Well sir, I agree. That’s why I was seeking you out, Senator.”
“For what?” asked Dick who eyed the man closely.
“Well, Senator. I know you’ll appreciate the fact that I am trying to cure TB, a disease that has cursed your family if I’m not mistaken. And my company has done more than give men boners and I intend it to do a whole hell of a lot more.”
“What’s your company’s name?”
“Liberty Pharmaceutical.”
“Oh,” Dick said with a brightened expression. “you’re the people that cured Polio.”
Dick put out his hand and shook The Colonel’s vigorously.
“Yes, sir. I am it’s CEO.”
Before the conversation could continue the chubby faced man came out.
“Dick, they’re some press out front who want a quote from you about Ike’s pick.”
“Cock sucking press! I’m going out the back door. Uh...Mr...”
“Bueller, Nathaniel Bueller. Take my business card, I’ll be in town all week.”
Dick took The Colonel’s business card and went back inside with the chubby faced man following. Jay came out to balcony and joined The Colonel. He was leaning on the wrought iron rail holding his cigar and enjoying the view of the Delaware river.
“I tell you, Jay. Karl Rove, was right. Why be a leader when you can create one, or in my case three or four. It’s what American’s want. A leader to swoop in and solve their problems.
“And they want to fornicate until they have one foot in the grave and a fancy toy take a picture of themselves doing everything short of taking a dump in the woods.” he said with a laugh.
“Yeah, no doubt Colonel. You still think Tricky Dick is the way to go? He might roll over on you.”
“I’ve handled slimier snakes than Nixon. Besides the idea is to help him succeed where he originally failed.”
“You think you can.”
“As long as people have a reason to be afraid someones out to get them. Though it seems communism has run it’s course in this universe. Then again there is always religion to fall back on if we want people properly scared, but we’ll see what the future holds. How are our guests?”
“Locked up tight. I’m still having trouble with one signal, I don’t know what it means maybe an arrival of another cube. I doubt it’s Lincoln or his friend but it’s here in the late 1990s. I’ll know exactly when and where once we’re closer to that time.”
“Well then we’ll just have to be extra cautious. You Yanks are a cunning bunch. No offense, Jay.”
Jay just shrugged his shoulders and laughed.
“Time ripper.” The Colonel said shaking his head with a disgusted laugh. “I bet that Lincoln thinks it’s a cute little name too. No matter what century or reality I go to, Abraham Lincoln seems to be a foe I may never escape. He murdered the Confederacy and his kin murdered my Francis.” The Colonel said grinding his teeth.
Jay wasn’t sure what to say to The Colonel, things like war and murder and revenge were way above his head. He had participated in kidnapping and it went easy at first, Bob and the old man had gone willingly, the bitch with black and pink hair that was in love with that Channing Tatum looking mother fucker, had been a tough pick up though. Jay asked The Colonel why they just didn’t kill Lincoln and his friend outright, but he scoffed at the idea.
“Where’s the fun in that? Psychological warfare is more rewarding.” The Colonel said.
So Jay just nodded and indulged in the excesses of the good life. Bad deeds aside, eternal youth and being a play maker in histories greatest events was a nice payoff. Maybe he could finally get that hover board.
“I suppose it’s my destiny to win the war against Lincoln. A victory which escaped the Confederacy but shall not escape me.” The Colonel said with a dark laugh.
“To victory, Colonel.”
“To Francis.” The Colonel said raising his glass.
To Be Continued
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