The End The Beginning (Humanity's New Dawn Book 1)

by Ryan Horvath

  From the surface below, some through special box viewers, some through extra dark sunglasses, and some through squinted eyes and parted fingers, humans looked up.

  47

  KAREN AND BLAZE

  Blaze perked his head up from where he lay. He was on a padded window seat beneath an open window. A light breeze blew over him and warm sunshine beamed in through the glass panes. He had slept for a few hours but was not as tired as Master Karen was. She was still sleeping, breathing softly on the queen size bed in the center of the room.

  After crossing into Minnesota, they had followed the small roads and arrived in a town Karen had told Blaze was called Farmington. Karen had spied the bed and breakfast shortly thereafter and suggested another stop to sleep. Blaze had agreed and said the trail was still detectable to him.

  They’d parked the car and checked in with the hotel’s owner, a woman and wife named Mitzi. Mitzi was a sweet and kind woman of around sixty and when she had seen Blaze, her eyes had twinkled with excitement. She had given him scratch ears, which Karen had told Mitzi he loved. Mitzi had then kissed Blaze between his eyes and he’d licked her face in return.

  She tasted like candy Blaze thought from his perch on the window seat. He recalled a time when Master George had dropped a piece of sugar candy and Blaze had snatched it up before Master George could pick it up. She tasted like that.

  Blaze’s sense of telling time had improved and he figured they had been at the bed and breakfast for around six hours, making it mid-afternoon.

  From her bed, Blaze heard Karen mutter in her sleep. “It’s an eclipse. C’mon, move!” Karen said faintly and firmly. Her hand clutched and released the sheet she was covered with.

  Blaze hopped down from the window seat and padded over to the bed. He stood up, resting just his forepaws on the edge of the bed.

  I wonder what she’s dreaming Blaze pondered. Maybe she isn’t dreaming. Maybe she’s seeing some stuff from the future again and she just happens to be doing sleep this time. Blaze thought the latter was a lot more accurate.

  Blaze dropped back to all fours on the floor and walked over to the side of the bed Karen was sleeping on. His toenails clicked lightly on the hard wood and that was a sound he had always liked.

  “Chasing us,” Karen muttered.

  Blaze wasn’t quite tall enough to see clearly onto the bed but from this side, he only had to tilt his head up to see Karen clearly.

  Should I wake her? Blaze wondered. He sniffed the air, trying to detect the scent of the bad smelling man they had been following for the last two days. He hadn’t been able to smell the man in this room. There was a bowl full of potpourri in the room but in spite of Karen covering it up and tucking it away in the bathroom vanity cabinet, Blaze could smell little but that. He had only been able to detect the evil man’s odor faintly by the open window.

  I haven’t checked in a couple hours. I should check again. He trotted back over to the window seat and hopped up. Blaze pressed his nose to the screen and sniffed.

  I can’t smell him. A sense of worry came over him and his brow furrowed. He pressed harder into the screen and inhaled deeper. It took three tries like this and then finally: There he is! Am I losing him? Did he turn around? Did we pass him? The bad smelling man scent was the faintest it had been for the last day and a half or so and Blaze was only able to slightly detect it.

  Darn that potpourri he thought. Its fragrance was still working against Blaze’s sense of smell.

  I don’t want to wake Master Karen while she may be seeing something. But we need to get going. I don’t want to lose the trail. We’ve tried too hard for that to happen Blaze thought.

  He turned his head and looked over his shoulder to Karen. She’d been quiet for a few moments and her hand had gone still.

  No time like the present. Besides, I’m not going to be able to hold myself much longer Blaze decided. He hopped down once again and returned to Karen’s side of the bed. He stood and put his paws on the bed and leaned over to Karen. He started licking her cheek.

  “Master Karen?” he said with a soft woof. He licked her cheek again and then added her forehead. “Master Karen?” he woofed again.

  Her eyes started to flutter. Then they finally opened. Karen covered her eyes against the afternoon sunshine. Blaze’s tail made uneven noise as it slapped against the nightstand with one apogee of its sway and hit open air at the other.

  On the bed, Karen yawned and stretched her hands out above her. She lowered her arms and balled her hands into fists which she used to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

  “Hi, Blaze,” she said after she uncovered her eyes and saw his face.

  “Hello,” he chuffed in response. “I’m sorry I had to wake you.”

  Karen propped herself up on her elbows in bed. She suddenly noticed Blaze looked anxious. “Blaze? What is it?”

  “I’m worried. The smell is weakening. That stinking potpourri isn’t making it any easier either. I think we should get going soon,” Blaze answered. “And I need to relieve myself,” he added.

  Karen glanced at the bedside clock. It was after three in the afternoon.

  “Damn it!” she spat. She threw the covers off herself and swung her feet out of the bed. “If my sister gets killed because of my sleeping, I’ll never forgive myself.” She stood up and pulled on her jeans. She opened the bedroom door and she and Blaze stepped out. They walked down the hall which had three doors on either side. At the end of the hall, the stairs led down to the main level. They descended together and were in the area that served as the lobby/entryway. Off this area to one side was a spacious living room decorated beautifully. Off to the other side there was a large den. Karen could hear the TV on in there but did not look in. She opened the front door and stepped out, Blaze at her side.

  Blaze ran across the porch, down the steps and across the yard to a large elm tree. On the far side of the tree, he lifted his leg.

  Karen stayed on the porch, folded her arms in front of her and leaned against one of the six massive support columns that held up the roof that ran the length of the porch. She thought about her sister. Was she okay? Karen felt strongly that she would see Amanda again. Her visions had seemed to confirm that. A moment later, Blaze returned.

  “Thank you,” he barked, looking relieved.

  “Don’t mention it,” Karen replied looking down toward him. “C’mon, boy, let’s get gathered up.”

  “I can smell him better out here,” Blaze reported. “That stinky potpourri makes my nose itch.”

  Karen chuckled at him. “Well, I’m glad you still have him.” She reached down and scratched his ears. His tail wagged furiously in appreciation.

  As she stepped back into the house, Karen almost ran into Mitzi, who appeared from the living room and was crossing to the den. Karen stepped back with a gasp.

  “I’m so sorry, dear,” Mitzi said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” Mitzi was carrying a basket of what looked and smelled like freshly washed hand towels.

  “It’s fine,” Karen said calming herself.

  “How did you sleep, dear?” Mitzi moved the laundry basket so that she held it with one arm on the far side and the bottom edge resting on her one of her ample hips.

  “Very well. Longer than I meant to though,” Karen responded.

  “And how about you, boy?” Mitzi said to Blaze as she squatted down and scratched his ears.

  “Good,” he woofed, his tail wagging. But, because Mitzi was not responding to the new addition to Earth’s atmosphere all she heard was a soft dog woof.

  “That’s a good boy,” Mitzi continued to scratch and Blaze’s tail slashed through the open air in the doorway.

  “I bet you’re both hungry,” Mitzi said. “You looked so exhausted when you came in I didn’t suggest breakfast. How about a nice late lunch?”

  “Actually, I think we need to be hitting the road, right Blaze?” Karen said.

  Blaze issued a series of whimpers. To Mitzi, he appeared to be
talking to Karen. She watched, perplexed.

  “I guess we’re not is so much of a hurry after all. We could spare some time to eat,” Karen said.

  “That’s wonderful!” Mitzi replied. “Besides, you shouldn’t travel on an empty stomach. Come into the den and have a seat. I’ll get you some soup and a sandwich and I’m pretty sure we have some kibble for Blaze. Ralph, that’s my husband, is in the den. You didn’t meet him earlier because I’d sent him to the grocery store. Go ahead in. He’s watching the news.”

  “Okay,” Karen said with a smile and headed into the den with Blaze at her side and Mitzi following behind her.

  “Ralph, this is Karen. She joined us this morning while you were out,” Mitzi introduced.

  Ralph was probably five years older than Mitzi. He had a full head of white hair, a neatly kept matching white beard and a slight potbelly. “Nice to meet you,” Ralph said standing and extending a hand for Karen to shake.

  “You too,” Karen said. “This is Blaze,” she indicated the dog beside her.

  “Hello there, fella,” Ralph said to Blaze.

  “Hello,” Blaze barked but Ralph, like his wife, was not a responder to the new substance in the atmosphere, so he too only heard the dog bark.

  “There now,” Mitzi said. “Have a seat and I’ll be right out with your lunch.” With that she disappeared behind a door on the opposite side of the room from which they had entered. Karen took a seat on the sofa and Ralph returned to the easy chair he’d been sitting in. Blaze sat on his hind legs by Karen’s legs. Karen soon heard dishes being moved around indicating Mitzi was preparing her lunch. The news broadcast was talking about a tropical storm that was being upgraded to a hurricane off to the east of Barbados.

  “It’s so nice here. The weather that is,” Karen said to Ralph. “I’ve never been to Minnesota but I never guessed it’d be this warm on the last day of September.”

  “Oh, that’ll change soon enough. Mitzi and I have lived here our whole lives and we’ve seen winter start as early as September twenty-seventh. We’ve been lucky this year,” Ralph answered. The news changed to a tidbit of closing at the stock exchange in New York City. “How long are you staying with us?” he added.

  “Not long,” Karen replied. “We’ll probably need to leave right after lunch. I’m supposed to be meeting my sister.”

  “Where are you meeting her?” Ralph asked.

  “Oh, I’m not sure,” Karen said, wishing she hadn’t steered the conversation in this direction. “She said she’d call me when she was ready to stop.” Karen thought how stupid that sounded and then added, “She’s had some boyfriend issues.”

  “Ah,” Ralph said and held up a hand indicating he didn’t want to know anymore.

  “Are there a lot of guests this time of year?” Karen asked, changing the subject.

  “We got one other couple besides you two right now. We stay pretty full in the spring and summer. That pays for Mitzi and me to survive the winter. This time of year can be hit or miss. But the restaurants are decent and there’re some good shops and the golf courses of course draws people as long as the weather’s decent and there’s no snow. Oh! Check this out!” Ralph said, looking excited and pointing to the TV. “Have you seen this?”

  Karen and Blaze turned to look at the TV. The news segment had changed to an article about solar eclipses. From the report, Karen discerned one was going to occur tomorrow. With Jack’s death and Amanda’s kidnapping she had fallen behind on current events.

  “I’m real excited for this tomorrow. I’ve only seen one one other time in my whole life and, well, this will probably be my last one. They’re fairly rare and tomorrow’s supposed to be a perfect day to see one,” Ralph said animatedly. “Have you ever seen one?”

  “Once, when I was a little girl,” Karen replied. She watched as the news cast showed video of a past solar eclipse that had occurred over Australia about fifteen years ago. She watched as the sky darkened in the middle of the daytime. Some bright stars were even visible in the video. The sky on Ralph’s television screen looked exactly like Amanda had described seeing in one of her visions the night before she disappeared.

  “This… is happening tomorrow?” Karen said slowly to Ralph. Her mind began working fast now.

  “Ayuh. Going to be cloud free and while we’re not in the direct path we’re close enough. The Windy City will see the Full Monty, so to speak. The western edge of its path will be about sixty miles west of here,” Ralph confirmed. “The neighbor boy is a boy scout and he made Mitzi and me each one of those special viewers so’s we can watch it without hurting our eyes.”

  “Master Karen,” Blaze whimpered and rested his head on her knee.

  “What is it boy?” she said, stroking his head.

  “You said something about an eclipse,” he replied with a series of soft whimpers and groans.

  Karen looked at him questioningly, goading him to proceed without saying anything in front of Ralph. Blaze picked up the hint.

  “While you were doing sleep. You said ‘It’s an eclipse’ in your sleep a few minutes before I woke you up today,” Blaze continued.

  Ralph looked at the dog with bewilderment. Never had he heard a dog whimper in such a curious manner and the woman on his sofa seemed to understand the dog.

  Karen took notice of the appearance of strangeness of the situation and decided she needed to do something. “Excuse me a moment,” she said to Ralph and got up and left the room. Blaze followed right beside her. She led him upstairs and to her guest room.

  “Blaze,” she started. “I dreamed about that eclipse. Is that what you saw?”

  “I think so,” he woofed.

  “I think so too; although I don’t entirely remember it. So if the visions are of the future, we aren’t going to find Amanda until before or during this eclipse tomorrow.” She paused, fret coming across her face.

  “What is it?” Blaze asked.

  “After that… After that we’re going to be running for a while. Your bad smelling man, my husband’s killer, will be after us.” Karen suddenly slapped a hand to her forehead. “My God! I totally forgot I’m supposed to be picking up Jack’s body tomorrow for the funeral!” She had no way of knowing that her husband’s body had begun the cremation process about the same time she dreamed of the eclipse. “What am I going to do about that?” She thought quickly and called the funeral home. She spoke with the director and arranged for her husband to be picked up and transported to the funeral without her. The call took less than a minute. She forgot she was still a congressman’s wife and what kind of weight that could carry.

  “Okay,” she said, and smoothed her hair on both sides of her head. “So Amanda’s got to be close. Her vision shows us finding her and running from the bad smelling man during the eclipse and Ralph says we’re going to be in its path and you’ve followed the bad smelling man this far and if the path of the eclipse ends not too far to the west they couldn’t have gone much farther; and you’re still getting the bad smelling man’s scent, then she has to be close, right?”

  “It makes sense,” Blaze chuffed in agreement.

  “So we find her tomorrow, then we have to start running. That means if the bad smelling man is chasing us soon after we find Amanda, then he’s close too. I don’t think you’ll have any trouble picking up his scent again,” Karen surmised.

  “Yes, it makes sense,” Blaze repeated.

  “Why don’t we stay here tonight again then too? We’ve got nowhere else to go and at least now we know we’re close and we’ve got nothing else to do until tomorrow,” Karen suggested.

  “Okay,” Blaze said after some consideration.

  Karen scratched his ears and his tail waved ecstatically. They left the room and rejoined Ralph in the den. The news had changed to an article about the National League Playoff series.

  “Everything okay?” Ralph asked.

  “Yes,” Karen said.

  Just then, Mitzi entered carrying a tray with a bowl, two
plates, and two glasses on it. She handed one plate to Karen and set a glass of what looked like lemonade on the coaster on the coffee table in front of her. Mitzi bent down and placed a full bowl of kibble next to Blaze and he immediately dug in. The plate Karen had contained an enormous chicken salad sandwich on wheat bread, about a dozen carrot sticks, a small cup of chicken soup, and a generous portion of potato salad. Karen’s stomach rumbled at the sight of it all. She hadn’t had a decent meal since the party on Saturday.

  God that seems like a lifetime ago Karen thought to herself.

  Mitzi handed Ralph the other plate and beverage which contained the same meal but with smaller portions.

  “Thank you, love,” Ralph said and patted Mitzi on her round behind.

  “Yes, thank you very much,” Karen echoed, without the “love.” She had not felt such hospitality since the vacation she and Jack had taken for their tenth wedding anniversary when they had gone to an all-inclusive resort of such extravagance that the beverage servers would carry guests their drinks while they were in the ocean.

  Mitzi disappeared back into the kitchen and Karen sampled the sandwich. It was delicious. She used her fork and tasted the potato salad. Tastes of celery, bacon, onion, garlic and cheddar danced on her taste buds. Her mother’s own potato salad wasn’t this good. A moment later Mitzi reappeared without the tray but with a mug of steaming coffee in its place.

  “How’s the lunch?” Mitzi asked.

  “It’s delicious,” Karen said around a mouthful of sandwich. “Thank you!”

  “You do good, love,” Ralph said with a look of affection in his eyes.

  “Mitzi?” Karen asked after she swallowed. “Would it be possible to have the room for one more night? My sister called and she’s going to be another day.”

  “Of course, dear!” Mitzi exclaimed.

  Karen was glad she would get to spend one more night with these kind people before heading out tomorrow and into the reaches of a madman.