Heckel Casey (9 page)

Sela nodded her head and replied, "Well, I for one want to find that person and join up."

"You make it sound like we have a coming battle."

"Yup. It's got to get to that."

Her last comment got me to thinking about Madeline with an army of evil soldiers, ready to eradicate the rest of humanity. If that were so, how in the world did we stand a chance? Just look at the state of our present condition. "How do we fight a demon army?" I asked timidly.

"With all our might. I mean maybe that's why you are drawn to the West Coast. Maybe that's why we found each other. Maybe there are more people migrating to some preordained spot."

"And maybe that's why you and I weren't poisoned by Madeline years ago when she was planting those diabolical seeds in kids. We must have been immune."

"Maybe so."

We each finished our jerky, mounted our horses and rode off. Jerky decided to run ahead of us. I thought for the longest time about what Sela had said.
Maybe there was someone who could bring us out of these dark times. Is that why I felt compelled to make it to the West Coast?
All I knew was that Sela made me feel safe.

Later that afternoon, the skies got preternaturally dark. A slight tinge of green edged its way into the color of the nearly jet-black clouds. We decided that we needed to find shelter. The weather was looking more and more like it was posed to throw down some serious tornadoes. We rode faster. The weird thing was that there was no wind or rain. Usually, when weather looked like this, there was at least some wind starting to stir things up.

"Something's not right," I said shouting over to Sela.

"I know what you mean. The sky is so threatening, but there's no pre-storm wind or any signs of an approaching—" Before she could finish, a bolt of lightning hit the ground in front of Tempest, causing the horse to rear backward. Sela remained on the horse and quieted him down. There was no thunder, another sign that something didn't add up.

We rode faster. Unfortunately, the direction we raced was smack dab in the middle of the dark. The pitch-black, menacing sky felt like it was swallowing us.

Fear was pushed aside in favor of survival. The horses knew something wasn't right and galloped for all their might.

"There," I shouted, pointing to a large cinder-block-looking rest stop. My horse didn't even wait for me to move her in that direction. She just knew where to go. Tempest followed. Lightning hit on both sides of the horses. They didn't flinch. As soon as we got to the building, we dismounted. Jerky came running up alongside me. I found a door to the women's room hanging by one hinge.

"In here," Sela shouted, leading Tempest into the men's room. Just as we entered the building, the wind slammed into the front with a force that was overwhelming. The assault nearly made Hope fall on top of me. Sela took the reins from me and got the horse inside. I pushed the door closed and turned the dead bolt. Now the rain started, lightning flashed and the storm attacked us mercilessly and violently. At least that's what it felt like—as if it were waiting for us. We comforted the horses. Jerky perched herself on one of the sinks. Her hair was all bushy as though charged from all the lightning. The enveloping darkness from the storm made it feel like night. I could barely see Sela and Tempest in front of me. I talked softly to Hope. By now, I figured fear would have made a return engagement, but for some odd reason, I wasn't afraid. Sela, the horses and Jerky gave me strength.

A warm hand slowly grabbed mine and squeezed gently. Sela stood next to me. "We'll make it," she whispered.

An earsplitting crash interrupted the fierce wind as a hailstone the size of a large softball smashed through one of the windows over the sink area. It missed Jerky by an inch. The cat jumped into my arms. I set her on top of Hope and she immediately calmed down. I put my arm around Sela. More hailstones found their way into the windows, shattering the glass. The sound reverberated around the small room. We moved the horses farther away from the windows. I looked up to see large dents appearing on the metal roof.

"I hope this roof holds up," Sela yelled over the roar of the storm and the pelting ice balls.

I nodded my head and held her hand tighter. The storm intensified. Large dents, one after the other, formed in the metal roof. I could see a portion of the roof begin to pull away from the concrete walls. Bolts holding down the metal roof vibrated as though they were doing a maniacal dance; they started to pull out.

My temper rose to the point that it pushed aside the fear. An inner force compelled me to walk to the door. As if in a trance, I calmly handed Sela Hope's reins.

"Heckel, what are you doing?" Sela screamed.

I put my head down and kicked the door open. Stepping outside, I was immediately pelted with hailstones and small branches. The rest-stop area was littered with tree limbs, debris and puddles of water. The wind attacked me further, trying to push me over.

My insides seethed with a power that went beyond anger or fear. It was an emotion or something I had never encountered before. Sela, standing at the doorway, continued to yell for me to return. I reached my arms up to the pitch-black sinister tempest and yelled, "Cease and desist. In the name of all that is holy and good, stop this violence!"

A hailstone the size of a basketball landed at my feet. Two more landed on both sides of me. They formed three large holes in the ground. Just as suddenly as the storm started, it stopped. The clouds thinned and the darkness lifted. An eerie silence spread across the rest stop. Sela led both horses out of the restroom. Jerky ran toward me and curled around my leg.

"Heckel?" Sela asked, timidly. "Are you…?" Before she could finish, I turned my head and crumpled to the ground.

Waves. Wave after wave crested on a shore. I found myself standing on some large boulders looking out at the ocean. A slight tinge of pink slowly filtered into one of the waves.

I let out a soft groan but couldn't open my eyes.

"Heckel?" Sela's voice tried to bring me out of my dream, but it faded away quickly.

I was back at the ocean, staring at the pink waves. Gradually, the waves turned red and then a deep blood red. Far out on the horizon, I could see Madeline standing on the water. She floated slowly toward me with a warm inviting smile and her hands outstretched. The crimson waves crested higher and crashed more violently onto the boulders that I was standing on. I jumped off the large rock onto the pebbles lining the beach. Madeline inched closer. Behind her an army of hideous creatures emerged from the depths of the ocean. Each one that rose out of the water was more frightening than the previous one. Large mouths flashed yellow crooked teeth. Tentacles flailed in the air. Long dirty claws slashed the air as if they were practicing fiendish karate moves from hell's dojo. Fear crept up my spine, waiting to paralyze me. I felt a hand on my shoulder, but when I looked around, no one was there.

My dream shifted, as they often do. The ocean morphed into an expansive, blistering desert. Vultures circled above my head. The heat was intense, nearly pulling my breath out of my lungs. I moved slowly. Looking down, I could see chains on my ankles—leg irons. The skin around them was raw and bloody. Far off toward the east, a dust devil played with the sand. I envied its freedom. More dust devils appeared. They spun their way toward me. Dust spewed up into the sky. I covered my eyes. Up ahead, I could see Sela waving her arms. At first I thought she was welcoming me, then it was clear—she was warning me to look up. A giant vulture with its maw open dive-bombed straight toward me.

"Heckel? You're having a nightmare," Sela said softly as she shook my arm.

My eyes felt like they were superglued shut. My arm reached above me, swatting the air. Sela took my hand. The warmth of her touch affirmed my safety and helped bring me out of the nightmare.

"It's only a dream. You're safe."

The soft glow of a campfire and its warmth helped to wake me up further. "Whew, what happened? How long have I been sleeping? Where are we?"

"Whoa, slow done. Your brain's going to go into overdrive."

I started to sit up, and a wave of dazzling little bright dots started racing across my eyes. I felt like I just entered a laser light show with all the beams directed at my eyes. Sela could see that I wasn't ready for prime-time sitting up. She eased me back down.

"Maybe you need to stay down a little while longer to get things back to normal. You experienced…um…well, I don't know what the heck you'd call it, Heck. Ha ha…get it?"

"Oh yeah, that's funny. Like I've never heard that one before," I replied with a tinge of sarcasm.

"Would you like something to eat? And, yes, I know you've been hungry for a year. I shot a rabbit."

My mouth was salivating before I could even respond. I sat up and this time I did not get a burlesque demonstration of dancing lights. Sela handed me a chunk of meat. I devoured it and looked over at her with begging eyes.

"More?" she asked teasingly.

"This is fantastic. Thank you," I said, taking another slice of meat.

"So, what took place out there this afternoon?" Sela asked as she sat back against a tree. Looking around, I could see we were camped in a small grove of trees. The rest stop was off to one side of the road. The horses were tied to trees near us. Jerky was nestled on my backpack.

"I don't remember much."

She looked at me, anticipating more explanation. "Well, what's the last thing you do remember? Maybe we can start from there and it will jog your memory."

Staring at the rest stop, I could see the door to the restrooms. They were bathed in moonlight, giving them an eerie appearance. "The storm. We were in the restroom and baseball-sized hailstones were clobbering the roof. The sound was hurting my ears, and I could feel…" At that point, I trailed off mumbling incoherently.

"Good. That's right. We were all hunkered down in there and—"

"I felt my insides tighten," I said.

"Yes, that's right. Then you stared into Hope's eyes for the longest time." Sela said.

"Yeah, my mind focused sharply and I knew exactly what to do. I remember handing you the horse's reins and walking out the door. From that point, it's really fuzzy."

"You went outside into the storm. Hailstones were smashing the ground all around you and they were getting bigger by the second. They became the size of basketballs. I'd never seen anything so awful."

"Yes, I remember that now. Then a strength—no, more like a determination—flooded my muscles and...um...a…a force raced through my veins."

"You raised your—"

"My arms. I raised them and shouted something. I don't exactly remember the words. It felt good though and that force inside me seemed to fly out of my fingertips."

"Three huge hailstones nearly flattened you like a pancake. They made craters several inches deep in the dirt. And the storm ceased immediately. You made the storm stop."

I looked at her incredulously. "I don't understand."

"Heckel, you made the storm stop. I saw you. You lifted your arms up to the black skies and shouted something to make it immediately cease."

"That's not possible."

"What if you did? Think about it. Suppose Madeline's evil was behind that storm."

"She sent that storm?" I asked as I stood up to walk around. Jerky lifted her head to stare at me.

"Considering all that she's done, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to see that she is capable of conjuring that horrible tempest. Remember when we first saw it, how bizarre and unusual it looked."

I nodded my head in agreement. "So, why did she send it at us?"

"I'm beginning to think it was at you after seeing how you fought back and how the storm dissipated from your command."

The light from the moon diminished as clouds streamed across it. Cricket songs sounded particularly happy, perhaps enjoying the pleasant warm autumn night. I paced around the fire.
Could I somehow really have commanded that storm to go away? Hmm. And what about the show of strength pushing the VW Bug? And for the love of God, why do I have this drive to make it to Oregon?
I walked farther away from the fire into the dark night.

"Heckel? Are you all right?" Sela asked, getting up and walking toward me. The moon intensified as she approached. The soft glow filled her face, casting a luminescence that was alluring and comforting. She put her arm around my waist.

"I'm fine. Perhaps, a little confused."

Sela turned me to face her, and kissed my forehead. "Yes, you are and things will work out. After what I witnessed today, I'm convinced that we can bring Madeline down."

I hugged her tighter. The warmth from her body washed over me. I leaned in and kissed her soft lips. She kissed back with an inviting response as her tongue gently explored and traced my lip. Her hand stroked my back. Breaking the kiss, she brought her mouth to my ear and whispered, "Make love to me."

A gentle breeze brushed across our faces and the musty, earthy fallen leaves filled the air. I took her hand and led her back to the fire. She lay down on top of her sleeping bag as I put several logs on the fire. Immediately, the warmth of the burning logs filled the camp sight. Sela reached up, took my hand and with a loving smile, pulled me down to her.