NorthWest (John Hazard - Book II) (10 page)

“I know we did everything we could to explain to mom and dad what was happening to us. The doctors were just ignorant and I blame them for everything that happened after that.” She spoke to her reflection and she could see the pain in her eyes.

She had a sense that the reflection was speaking back to her. “Macy, you’ve been blaming yourself for what happened to me for all these years since that night. It’s time to let it go. Move on with your life.”

“But you never knew how much I loved you, Mary. I never really told you. I never had the chance before you were gone, and we were just kids then. What’s love to a kid?” Tears began to fill the reservoirs of her lower eyelids.

“Do you really think you had to tell me? We could finish each other’s sentences, remember? I knew how you felt and I felt the same way about you. I wish I could reach out and hug you right now, but I’m too far away.”

Tears were streaming down Macy’s face, and she could see that Mary was crying as well. Macy reached over and picked up the .38 revolver that was lying on the bed next to her. “Mary, after you were gone I could still feel you, sense you for months. I felt your sadness, and sometimes pain. I didn’t understand. Mom and Dad kept talking about taking me some place where I could get better. I think they wanted to have me put away, but I convinced them that I would be fine.”

“I’m glad you told them not to worry. You might have been locked up for years if you told them the things we saw, what those creatures did to us.” Her sister was right. They did think she was crazy.

“Maybe this trip will give me a chance to get things straightened out. Maybe I’ll find you up there in the woods when we find them.” She shifted the pistol to see if there were bullets in the cylinder.

“You mean the aliens? Honey, you know you’re not gonna find me. You knew it as soon as you stopped feeling me. By then, there was nothing left of me. When they finally ejected my body out somewhere in the universe, there wasn’t much left of me.” The image of Mary in the mirror began to shimmer like waves in a pool of water.

“I won’t believe that. I can’t give up hope that I can find some sign of what happened to you.”

“Well, don’t believe you can kill those things with that gun, Macy. I think you will need a lot more than that.”

“I won’t be alone. There’ll be eight of us, Sis, and most of my team will be armed in some way. I’ve got a diverse group each with some special skill. Besides, even if I can just get some kind of proof that the fuckers exist, I’ll be in a better position to stop them.”

With that, Macy stretched out her arm, lifting her gun to take aim at the corner of the room as though to shoot an alien just then. She made the sound of a shot firing and motioned her gun in imaginary recoil.

“I see. So your people have special skills. Tell me, Macy, what special skill does that stripper have?” The image of Mary was fading.

“She calls herself an exotic dancer, Mary. She is important to my plan.”

“And what role do you see her playing?” The fading image of Mary was merging with Macy now.

Macy hesitated as she popped the side of the revolver open and inspected the six shells in their chambers. As she flipped her wrist sideways to slam the cylinder back in place, she answered her own question. “Bait.” 

Sixteen

John and Emily had been sitting on the couch watching television for some time. It was near nine o’clock, and John was scrolling through the list of upcoming shows. None seemed interesting. “Oh, the joys of local television,” John opined.

“Try PBS. There’s always something unusual on PBS, unless of course they are holding a fundraiser, which they usually are.” Emily settled back in her seat as John clicked through to public television.

“…Now remember for those of you at the fifty dollar donor level, you will receive a copy of the show you just finished watching, ‘The Haunted Castles of Hollywood,’ and a ‘Support Real Programming’ t-shirt. There are just a few phones open so call and make your pledge right now to keep quality programming on the air...”

“I knew it, change the ch… no wait! Let’s check this out.”

The title of the show was “Predators of America’s National Forests.” During the opening credits, there was video of a very large grizzly bear attacking a camper. The footage was shot using someone’s cell phone camera. Next, a moose chased some guy through the woods and he scrambled up a tree. Lastly, a mountain lion dragged a bleeding goat down the cliff of a steep ravine as the opening credits rolled.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Emily looked at John and asked, “Were you expecting company?”

“No, I hardly ever have guests over. I mean look at this place. You can tell I wasn’t expecting anybody.” He made a sweeping motion with his arm as he stood and walked toward the door. He looked through the peephole and then unlocked the two deadbolts and swung the door open.

“Sherri, this is unexpected. Come on in.” John motioned for her to come into the room. “You remember Emily Sparks, from the interview?”

Sherri walked through the doorway and stood in the middle of the room looking at John. She looked very pale. “Hey babe, you feeling okay?” he asked.

She looked right past him as she answered in a monotone voice, “John.”

Emily rose from the sofa and, walking toward them, held her hand out to Sherri. “Hi Sherri…”

“There will be pain and darkness,” Sherri interrupted. “I see them screaming.” She raised her arm and pointed at the wall across the room.

“What? Sherri, what are you talking about? Are you okay? Come on over here and sit down for a minute.” He reached for her hand and as he touched it, his hand passed right through. “Oh, shit!” Sherri faded away and was gone.

“What the hell just happened?” Emily gasped as she rushed to where Sherri had been standing only seconds before. She passed her hands through the air where she’d stood and looked around.

“I’m not quite sure.” John was reaching into his pocket. “I’d better call her.” He pulled out his phone and hit the button for directory. He scrolled through to Sherri’s number and waited while the phone rang, once, twice. “This is the kind of shit I’m talking about, Em. Why I’m taking this class!”

He redirected his attention to the phone as it connected, “Hello?” Sherri sounded as though she’d been in a deep sleep.

“Where are you right now, Sherri? What were you doing just before I called?”

“What? John? Is this John? I was asleep in a chair. What’s wrong? Why do you sound like you’re freaking out?” She coughed and excused herself.

“Because I am freaked out, Sherri. Do you realize you were just here in my apartment?” John was pacing now. Meanwhile, Emily was peering through the peephole to see if someone was out in the hall playing some kind of joke.

“That’s crazy, John. I was right here. I fell asleep in the chair watching some show on TV. What are you talking about? Have you been drinking?”

“Look, I was just sitting here when you knocked on my door, and I let you in. I thought you looked kind of pale, you know, like sick, and you were saying some crazy shit about pain, darkness and people screaming. Then, when I reached out to touch you, you just vanished. Emily was here, remember her, the camera girl from the interview? She saw it too. I know I’m not just seeing things.”

“Really? I feel kind of tired, but I know I didn’t leave the house. I’m in my pajamas for pity’s sake. Was I wearing my pajamas?”

“Well, you were here. I don’t know what you were wearing. If you weren’t here, then who was?”

“I’m not sure, John. Can we talk about this tomorrow? I think I need to go to bed now. I feel really tired.”

“Alright, we can tell Macy about it tomorrow too. I’m sure she’ll have some insight. See you in the morning.”

“Yeah, okay. Goodnight then.”

“Hey, don’t be wandering around anymore tonight! Bye,” he said and ended the call.

Still holding the phone, he dropped his hand to his side.

“Is this normal? I mean, is it like this every day around here?” Emily asked, squinting at John and walking back over to sit down on the sofa.

“This?” he shrugged. “This is nothing. Hang around a while and you’ll see shit you never even dreamed existed.”

“Really?”

“Really.” And John sat down beside her.

Seventeen

Marcus and Lamont were half in the bucket after several hits from the bong and a couple of glasses of really good cognac. They had settled into a game of Grand Theft ATM, a spinoff of a popular video game. The whole purpose of the game was to steal cars, trucks, and construction equipment, and drive them through the windows of stores to steal the cash machines. Controversial for sure, but a very popular game.

Marcus had just gotten a very large haul of cash. He’d heisted a bulldozer and used it to break through the drive-through window at First Green National Bank. Back at the garage that was ‘home base,’ his crew was cracking the boxes open while they discussed the amount of pussy they could buy with that much cash. That was the reason the box on the game carried a warning for parents – Violence, Language, and Sexual Situations.

Marcus turned to Lamont, “So dawg, who’s the King? Ho-tep gonna party with my bitches tonight.” He waved his arms in a seated victory dance. “Yeah booyyzz!”

“Bitch, ya think yo’ ass got somethin’ now, but when ya’ leave here tomorrow, the kingdom is mine!” Lamont was grinning from ear to ear.

“Fuck that! My people will kick your fat hairy ass if ya’ even try movin’ on ‘em.” Marcus looked serious for a second and then grinned. “Besides, Lamont, you don’t got the hoodoo magic to make it work.”

“I might not have ya’ hoodoo voodoo, Marcus, but I gotta plan.” Lamont said slowly, deliberately baiting him.

“Say what? You serious? You movin’ on my shit, and my bitches? You think your gonna jump onto my porch an’ fight with the big dog?” He waved his arm as if the apartment was his porch.

“No, serious, Marcus. It sounds like some dangerous shit livin’ up in them woods for two weeks, yo! I seen Survivor Man on TV, an’ I can’t see ya’ll eatin’ no scorpions and bugs just to survive.”

“Ain’t no scorpions up in them woods, man! Your thinkin’ ‘bout the desert. And bugs ain’t so bad if you pull the legs off first.”

“That’s what ya’ll gonna eat then if somebody steals ya’ food an’ shit!”

“Listen, Lamont. All we gotta worry about is bears and wolves and shit. Well I got something for them if they even think of sniffin’ round…” He reached under the cushion of the sofa and pulled out a very large pistol. “See. Me an’ Dirty Harry here got the Magnum Force, dawg!”

“Daaaamn, Marcus! A fo’ty-five? That’ll make a bear shit in the woods!

“Yeah and then fall in it’s shit face first when I blow his fuckin’ balls off!” He held the gun up as if he was aiming the pistol and shooting, and they both started laughing.

“Hells, yeah! That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” Lamont turned back to the game on the television screen. “Let’s take the money from this ATM an’ go celebrate at the strip bar!”

“I gotta finish packin’, man, but you go ahead. Getta lap dance from Crystal for me.” He stood and walked toward the bedroom with the gun still in his hand.

“You know it! Get ready, my bitches-s-s!” Lamont hissed as he worked the game controller.

Eighteen

It was just past dark and the streetlights cast a shifting shadow as Rajesh walked down the darkened road. His thoughts were occupied with his wilderness adventure that would begin tomorrow morning. He wondered what Taya, his betrothed back home, might say about it if she knew. It had been a long time since he had seen her, but he thought about her often.

When they were children, his mother and Taya’s had arranged their marriage, as was the custom in his home village. Spending time with Taya was so enjoyable during those innocent years that he had wanted the arrangement as much as his mother did.

Years passed and, as they began to mature, they grew apart as their interests led them to travel separate paths. Shortly after his sixteenth birthday, he went with his father on a journey to Bombay. For his father, it had been a typical business trip, but for Raj, his first great adventure.

Raj longed to see and experience more from life and the world before settling down and starting his family. When it came to tradition, he had begun to question most of the things he had been taught in his short life. He felt he wanted to have a choice when it came to selecting his wife. Taya had been an entertaining friend when he was younger, but she was becoming more and more serious over time. By the age of fourteen, she had already planned their wedding ceremony complete with a guest list. 

His raging hormones combined with his fascination for the big city reinforced his growing doubt about his future as planned. The many beautiful women he saw in Bombay solidified this in his heart and in his mind. But that was only one of the revelations that came to him on this trip.

His father had booked a room in a grand hotel where the halls were trimmed in gold, and the housekeeping team put chocolate mints on the pillows each night. He was quite fascinated by this kind of opulence and caused him to wonder what other things he might be missing in his small world back home.