Minus Tide (24 page)

And his mother had been right. They hadn’t let him rest. Their hunger kept growing. It didn’t matter if he wanted to kill or not, that he’d lost the taste for it long ago. No matter how much he tried to keep away from people—riding trains and camping on the outskirts of dying towns—they would eventually find him. He could be sharing a few words with another hobo and suddenly he’d hear them howling in the distance and he knew he’d soon be reaching for his knife.

He could see that Ann had no idea the dogs had arrived. Probably just thought a wind had picked up and tugged at his clothes. He could feel them gathering around his legs. Looked down and saw the faces of those he killed. Surprised at how many he no longer recognized.

They rubbed their noses against him, as if asking that he bend down and pat their heads. He stood still. Anticipated the coming tide that would soon flow up through his legs and into his blood, the bodies of the dogs moving faster and faster against his legs until he thought he smelled scorched cloth.

He stared down at Ann as his body shook. Unable to stop the ghosts from moving up his body. Now a cold electric current that made him clench his teeth.

A memory floated back above the waves of pain. The vision of Ann running naked through the dark woods. Of laughing about it then because he hadn’t understood its significance.

The dogs were excited. They wanted to chase the elk woman through the woods. And they wouldn’t denied.

Chapter 52

“Leave her alone,” Chad shouted.

Cyclops turned and stared, his body now charged with the energy of the dog pack. The boy was where he’d left him. His eyes were open and he was struggling to get up. Cyclops drew the knife from his jacket and the dogs barked excitedly.

Ann leaped forward and grabbed his arm. He lifted her up and pitched her against the concrete wall. She struck her head before dropping to the ground. Shards of broken glass bit into her palms. She felt him snatch her by the hair and lift her up against the wall and for a moment she saw silver motes dancing in the corners of her eyes. He leaned in close and waved the knife in front of her face.

“Don’t interfere, elk woman. Unless you want some of this.”

“What are you doing?” she cried.

“I think it’s his time, don’t you?”

“You don’t have to hurt him. He hasn’t done anything.”

“Why should it matter to you what happens to the boy? You just said a moment ago that nothing was permanent.”

“Then take me. I don’t think he’d even be here if it wasn’t for me.”

Cyclops stared at her. His single eye seeming to have filled his entire forehead like that of an insect. Ann gasped and looked away.

“I’ll take care of one thing at a time.”

“You’re crazy!”

“I know. But the dogs always get what they want.”

“The dogs? What dogs?”

“You don’t see them?”

“No. You’re just imagining them.”

Cyclops laughed. “I’m not surprised you’d say that.”

He let her go and started toward the boy, wading through the thick river of dogs that now filled the parking lot. They fought and howled for the best place to watch. He refused to look at them, didn’t want to see their faces anymore.

He heard a familiar sound and stopped. Recognized the growl of an engine. When he looked up toward the highway he saw the lightless van roaring down the empty highway. He looked over his shoulder and saw Chad struggling to sit up.

Not yet boy. Not just yet.

He ran up to the drive and waved. The van skidded to a stop in the middle of the highway. Sat while its engine boiled. It was too dark to see who was inside.

“Joseph,” he shouted.

The door swung open and the sheriff slid out and landed on weak legs. His clothes were covered in blood. His eyes moved slowly, as if he’d been hitting the whiskey. They paused on Ann.
What is she doing here?

“He says he’s going to kill us,” Ann screamed.

The sheriff raised Cuke’s .45 and pointed it at the Cyclops’ forehead.

“Toss the knife to me. Slowly.”

Cyclops grinned. He lobbed it toward the sheriff and it landed next to his feet.

“Now get your ass on the ground. Before I blow out that goddamned eye of yours.”

Chapter 53

Ann followed the sheriff’s orders and ran to check on Chad. He didn’t appear to be bleeding anywhere that she could tell. But his face and hands were pale and he was cold to the touch. She noticed deep bruises around his neck. When he’d heard her voice he’d looked up and smiled weakly.

“Can you walk?”

“I don’t know.”

“Where do you hurt?”

“All over…”

She lifted his arm and flung it over her shoulder and helped him to his feet. His legs were wobbly.

“I don’t know about this.”

“You’re going to have to try and help me Chad. We don’t have a lot of time.”

“Where are we going?”

“There’s a boat down below. It still has a little gas left in it.”

“But the sheriff is here.”

“I don’t think we can count on anything.”

Cyclops watched as the sheriff seemed to expand and contract with each wave of pain, the barrel of the .45 still leveled at his face. He noticed the dogs sniffing hungrily at the sheriff’s legs. The blood that had soaked through his pants now trickled across his boots.

He still hadn’t lain on the ground as the sheriff had ordered. He’d seen something in the sheriff’s eyes that gave him hope that he wouldn’t have to. It was obvious the sheriff was teetering on the edge consciousness.

The dogs raised their heads and whined. As loud and piercing as a railcar crying against steel and causing his ears to ring. He looked down and saw their human faces superimposed like bloodless masks. Men and women whose lives he’d taken. Some deserving and others just unlucky.

Many would want to argue with him at first, especially the traitors. They’d say they didn’t deserve what had happened to them, that it was someone else he should have killed. And at first he would argue back, list each offense that may have conveniently slipped their minds, and this seemed to quiet most of them.

It was the others that he felt bad about, the ones the dogs had forced him to claim. They hadn’t deserved the knife, and every time he saw them his heart would ache with guilt until after the years the guilt lifted and he accepted what he had done and what he would do to others in the future.

The sheriff seemed lost in a daze. Each time he closed his eyes Cyclops took a step closer until Cyclops snatched the gun from his hand and whipped him across the face with it until he dropped to the ground.

“You can have him if you want,” Cyclops told the dogs.

He checked the chamber to see if the gun was loaded. It was not.

Chapter 54

Getting down the gangway hadn’t been easy. Chad had stumbled forward several times and almost sent them both over the railing. When they reached the dingy Ann helped him on board before heading to the back. She pulled the rope-starter and the motor kicked to life and began churning up black water. She sat on the cold aluminum bench and saw Cyclops staring down at them from the concrete seawall.

We’re going to make it out of here.

She was about to put the motor in reverse when Chad looked over his shoulder and pointed at the dock.

“Wait… You forgot the rope.”

Ann glanced at the dock and felt her stomach roll over. Sure enough, the boat was still tethered. She’d been in too much of a hurry to untie them from the dock.

Come on. Don’t lose focus now…

She set the motor in neutral and climbed out of the dingy. As she worked to loosen the rope, footfalls began thundering down the long gangway. Cyclops was heading toward them, dragging the edge of his knife along the steel handrail as he went. She could see that Chad was trembling with fear.

“Chad.”

“What happened to the sheriff, Ann? He was supposed to protect us.”

“You’ve got to help me.”

“No. I don’t want him to hurt me again.”

“He won’t Chad. But you have to listen to me. I need you to take over the motor. I might not have time to get back there.”

Her fingers were numb. The rope was sticky with frost and not coming loose easily. She could hear Cyclops getting closer. She turned and saw him grinning at her as he advanced, the knife singing against the steel rail.

She got the rope free and tossed it into the boat. Chad was still inching toward the back. There was no way he was going to make it to the motor in time. He stopped and stared up at her with widening eyes.

Ann felt a hand take hold of her collar and lift her into the air. As she swung her fists to free herself, Cyclops dangled her over the swift water of the bay before tossing her onto the dock. She lifted her head and saw that Chad still didn’t have control over the motor. The side of the dingy was still bumping next to the dock.

“Go!” Ann screamed.

“I’m not leaving you, Ann.”

Still lying on her side, she kicked the boat with her foot and sent it moving away from the dock. Chad stared at her one last time before the dingy spun out into the current and was lost in darkness.

“It’s your time,” Cyclops told her.

Ann ducked as he reached down for her again. She got to her feet and ran up the gangway. Cyclops was fast behind her and she heard the snick of his knife as it sliced off hunks of her hair. The fire in her leg was making her cry.

Halfway up the gangway she spun around and kicked Cyclops in the jaw. He hadn’t seen it coming. He stumbled back and caught the railing with his hand. Blood dripped from the corners of his mouth and collected on his filthy beard.

“This is going to be fun, Ann.”

She turned around and ran. When she got to the top landing she noticed an empty steel drum and pulled it over. The drum bounced down the gangway and she heard Cyclops grunt as she cleared the seawall.

She ran across the parking lot in the direction of her car. She thought that if she had enough time she might still be able to get the mace out of the glove compartment but stopped when she realized it wouldn’t work. Her Volkswagen had been flipped over onto the right side. Getting to the glove box would be too time consuming.

Not far from her car she noticed a body lying on the ground. She recognized the uniform and the shape that filled it.