Heckel Casey (2 page)

As I got older, I discovered what she had done and the evil seeds that she planted.

Chapter 1

As I approached a burned-out city, the sun advanced closer to the horizon. Shadows were lengthening and the temperature was dropping slightly. I figured I was still in Iowa. Maybe Des Moines. Humidity still hung in the air. I debated whether I should just walk around this deserted ghost of a city. The last time I went through a major city I didn't fair too well, and I have several nasty scars as reminders.

Off to the side of the road and caught in a roll of razor wire, a tattered American flag with singed edges fluttered in the wind. Lying in the rubble in front of the flag
was
an old Schwinn with fat tires, the back one twisted and flat. The paint on the bike was faded, and ragged blue streamers remained on one of the handle bars.

Sitting on the hood of a burned-up old Ford and trying to decide which way to go, I paused in the middle of stifling a yawn. Out of the corner of my eye, something caught my attention. I turned my head slowly, not sure what to expect. The swishing motion revealed a tail. Looking closer into the bush, I spotted the large gray tabby cat.

"You've been following me, haven't you?" I whispered. "Are you friend or foe?"

The cat stepped back.

"I won't hurt you. I'm not partial to eating domesticated animals." I snickered lightly as I held out my hand and tried to coax the cat over. It hissed and took another step backward. I reached into my pack and pulled out a small leather pouch. "How about a little snack?" I asked, retrieving a small bite of beef jerky. It was one of the few food sources that one could find every so often from some deserted convenience store.

The cat immediately perked up at the sight of the food. "I know it's not Tender Vittles or Fancy Feast, but it tastes pretty good. Personally, I am craving a big juicy cheeseburger. You know those burgers like you'd get at Burger King with lots of cheese, pickles, lettuce? It's been so long since I held one of those Big Whoppers. Yum." I held out the morsel and the cat, still cautious, slithered over to me hugging the ground. The cat stood on its hind legs in front of the car's grill and took the food. It kept one eye on me as it devoured the jerky.

"Guess you approve. Glad you like it. Care for another?" I said reaching into the pouch to pull out more jerky.

I tossed the cat another chunk and gnawed on a piece myself.

"Do you have a name?"

The cat leered at me as if to question my sanity.

"My name is Heckel. Heckel Casey. It's a pleasure to meet you. Yeah, I know I have a funny name. What should I call you? Hmm…seeing how much you like beef jerky, how does Jerky sound? I think it's got a good ring to it."

The cat stared at me deeper as if to question my sanity further and nonchalantly started to groom its behind.

"Okay then, Jerky it is. You want to come with me? I could use the company," I slid off the hood.

Jerky worked undistracted at cleaning her head and ears. She seemed to not even notice I was there. As soon as I started walking, she spun around and followed closely on my heels. I looked back every now and then to check on her progress. Occasionally, she would stalk a mouse or a bird for a short while, but would always come back to follow.

"It's getting dark. We need to hunker down for the night somewhere. You got any ideas?" I whispered to Jerky. With a quick sprint, my new friend took off into an abandoned building.

"Where you going?" I shouted as I ran after her.

Inside the building, the last rays of sunlight streamed in from a broken window. I looked around what appeared to have been some sort of specialty food store, maybe Mexican. Most of the shelves were bare and torn down. Broken boards, smashed glass and other debris littered the floor.

"Jerky? Jerky," I half whispered and half shouted, trying not to draw any attention. "Yeah, like the dumb cat is going to respond to her name after I just gave it to her half an hour ago. Sheesh, Heck, get a grip."

The cat came out from behind a counter with a mouse in its mouth.

"Well, looks like someone found dinner. Anything back there for me?" I asked as I went around the counter. Nope…nothing…nada. Most places had been picked over for food shortly after the final days of the collapse. However, sometimes if people looked hard enough, they could find some old can stuffed far back in the corner or under a cabinet. I pulled out a small LED flashlight that only had a dim light. It needed new batteries that were about as hard to find these days as…well, just about anything. I checked each cabinet to see if there was something salvageable.

With my head crammed in a cabinet, I felt Jerky crawl on my back and go into the cabinet above me. Without any notice, she let out the loudest meow I had ever heard. I slammed my head into the board above my head.

"Son of a bitch," I yelled pulling my head out of the cabinet. A large knot formed on the back of my head in response to contact with the shelf. I rubbed it, trying to keep the swelling down. Jerky sat at the front of the cabinet and almost appeared to be smiling. She leaned forward and licked the top of my head.

"What the hell was that blood curdling meow for? Man, you got one hell of a set of lungs for someone so small."

Jerky purred and walked back into the cabinet. I shoved the feeble flashlight into the dark, cobwebbed enclosure. I couldn't believe it. Way back in the far corner, the cat sat next to a dusty old can. She looked as if she had just found King Tut's tomb.

"Well, well…what do we have here?" I sniggered and reached to retrieve the can. "Hmm, a can of refried beans. Do you like refried beans?" I asked Jerky as she jumped up onto the facing counter.

"Too bad we don't have any cheese and some tortillas," I said stroking the cat on the head. Immediately, she ran off to a back room.

"You don't really think we are going to find the remaining ingredients," I said, following the cat. I stopped abruptly at the doorframe. The scene was an all-too-familiar one. The faint glow from my LED flashlight washed over the two people lying on the floor. Their clothes were covered with dried blood. Parts of their bodies had been gnawed at from various rodents who had been dining on their flesh for who knows how long. Jerky hissed and arched her back.

"It's okay. They've been dead for a very long time." I picked up Jerky and petted her, trying to soothe the cat. Jerky continued to hiss and alternate with a horrible mewling sound.

Like a shot, someone sprang from the dark corner. The figure was holding a long filet knife. It lashed out at me. I ducked; the blade missed me. Jerky lunged at the attacker's leg, sinking all her claws and teeth into flesh, causing the knife to go flying. A loud scream, followed by a litany of cursing, came from the assailant.

"Get this mangy, fucking beast off my leg!" an old man begged.

"Okay, Jerky…let him go!" I yelled at the cat.

With her hair still spiked on her back, the cat retreated, still getting in one last hiss.

"Good girl," I said. "And she isn't a mangy beast, you asshole. Why'd you attack me?"

"These days it's attack or be killed," the old man said rubbing his leg. "I figured you were about to kill me."

"Not everyone is out to kill you," I said. "There still are a few good people left."

"Really. What crap have you been smoking?" the old man replied as he shuffled out into the next room.

I picked up Jerky and petted her head. The old man found some old boxes and padded cushions in one corner, probably left over from some other wanderer. He sat down and continued to rub his leg.

"I certainly hope I don't get an infection from that little shit. That's the last thing I need."

I found a cushion opposite the old man and set Jerky down. I turned off my feeble flashlight just as I saw him lighting a small candle. The soft glow showed more of the room. It had the characteristic lively festive colors of a Mexican restaurant.

"I'm sorry I attacked you. I've been a little touchy lately. I think people are following me," the old man said with a nervous tone.

"No harm done. You just nearly made me piss my pants."

"The name is Leonard. At one time, it was Dr. Leonard Wilson."

"Heckel. Heckel Casey."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, yeah…I know. Weird name."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Casey," the doctor said, extending his liver-spotted hand.

"Call me Heck. The time for formalities left a few years back. We are all in this mess together," I said, shaking Leonard's hand.

"You got that right. What a mess indeed," Leonard said as he groaned, and moved the candle to be more protected from a breeze streaming in from the front door. "How long you been traveling?"

I stared out the broken window, thinking about when I started walking. I noticed that the last hint of light was fading rapidly. "Hmm, let's see…um...I guess it's been about a year ago or so. I've really sort of lost track of time."

Leonard grunted an understanding. He rummaged around inside his pack and slowly moved it closer to the candle. "Me too. I can't seem to keep track of what month it is. I think it's been about a year since I started walking as well. I stayed down south during that first winter. Most of the time, I'm looking for food."

I brought out the can of refried beans. "Jerky just found this over in one of those cabinets. I'd be happy to share it with you. Unfortunately, I don't have any tortillas or other fixin's."

"Yeah, well I found this a few days ago," Leonard said, holding up a bag of saltine crackers. "I bet those beans might taste pretty good on them and I have a jar of artichokes to give us a side dish of vegetables. We need a good balanced diet," he said laughing.

I dipped into my backpack farther, bringing out a dented can of Vienna sausage. "These might complement our little feast. What do you think?"

"I love Vienna sausage. Wow, what a find," Leonard answered enthusiastically. "Can you believe it…we're getting excited over Vienna sausage as though it were an expensive filet or something?"

We both sat in silence for a long time munching on our combined food sources and staring at the candle. Occasionally, a burp or soft moan could be heard as we enjoyed the food.

Jerky finished off her dinner, following it with an extensive grooming session. When she was done, she curled up on my backpack and went to sleep.

After dinner was over, I stretched out on the floor. Leonard leaned back against the wall. He moved some of the boxes and other debris to create a cushion for himself.

"I can't remember the last time I actually slept in a bed," he said, still trying to arrange the cardboard.

"I know what you mean. My back wouldn't know what to do if it had a nice comfortable mattress to stretch out on. I'd probably sleep for days."

We each recounted the various horrible places that we had to sleep in or on. After about an hour, Leonard looked intently at the candle and muttered, "It's all that bitch's fault."

"Huh?" I asked, raising myself up on my elbows. Jerky lifted her head slightly to express her indignation for being disturbed.

"What?" Leonard replied.

"You said it was all that bitch's fault. Who is the bitch?"

It took Leonard a long time to respond. I waited patiently. His facial features formed a nasty look as if he just tasted rotten, maggot-filled meat.

He hesitated, almost reluctant to say the name. I wondered if he were afraid to say the name, thinking that if he said the name, the vile bitch would appear. For some reason, I thought of the old movie,
Candyman.
In that story, if a person stood in front of a mirror and said the name
Candyman
three times, he would appear and kill you. Finally, Leonard found the strength to spit out the bitch's name.

"Madeline Blackwell."

Chapter 2

Yup, I knew it and yes, it was the same bitch that unilaterally and unequivocally was responsible for the collapse of our society. She was the same unadulterated evil that I ran into several times, the first being in ISS way back in junior high. Madeline and her little sycophants over the years brought about the numerous destructive events that caused the collapse of everything.

"I know this Madeline Blackwell," I said with disgust dripping on each word. I found my usual upbeat smile turn into a nauseated curl of the lip.

Leonard looked at me with an increased seriousness. He reached into his pack to bring out another candle. He waited until the first candle was nearly extinguished before lighting the new one.

"How do you know her?" he asked with a slight tremble to his voice.

"I first met her…sort of…when I was in junior high. She messed with the minds of all the kids that were in ISS with me, but for some reason she wasn't able to get into my head and my parents got me out of school before she could find out why I was different. When did you run into the malevolent Miss Blackwell?"

Leonard settled back into the cardboard, trying to get comfortable. "I first met her way back when she was probably seven or eight years old. I was a new doctor, fresh out of med school. I think it was about 1975. Her mother brought her in for an examination one day. Madeline was a pretty, charming young girl."