Heckel Casey

by James Hoch

  "Seems to me that was when Madeline seized power."

  "Yeah, she had been head of Homeland Security and declared martial law with her calling all the shots. No one objected and if they did, well, that was the last we heard of them."

  Sela put several large logs on the fire, which cast a warm orange glow. Jerky was curled up in a tight ball on my backpack. "Speaking of shots, isn't that when the National Guard flipped out?"

  Nodding my head vigorously, I recounted how the army was given orders to shoot during any rioting or looting. More of the American population dwindled. "That's when I hit the road and got out of the city and walked way around any towns that I passed."

  We continued to describe how anarchy prevailed, and from that late fall when the collapse began, day-to-day living became a matter of survival.

  Sela put her head on my lap and we changed the subject. We talked about loved ones…some that we lost and others that we wondered where they were.

  As the night wore on, the fire began to burn down to coals. Sela was drifting in and out of sleep. "Are you ready to call it a night?" I asked softly.

  "Yeah, I'm bushed. Put a couple of big logs on the fire and it will keep us warm for a while," she managed to say between yawns.

  As I got up to reach for a log, I noticed a blue swirling light off in the distance in the middle of the road we had been following. The light was on the horizon and I could tell it was creeping slowly toward us.

  "Sela, quick…get the horses packed."

  "Why?" she asked, sitting up.

  "We have a problem. Quickly, we've got to get going…now," I said nervously, pointing in the direction of the blue light. "That doesn't look like the northern lights."

  She stood up, stared at the approaching preternatural light show and gasped. "Oh, shit."

  We both scrambled to pack up our meager belongings. Sela readied the horses. I kicked dirt on the fire. Now the ominous lights picked up speed and were nearly upon us.

  "Are you ready?" Sela yelled.

  "Just about."

  But it was too late. The encroaching blue lights began to circle us and I could see that the swirling luminescence was, in fact, flames. They reminded me of the flame one would see on a gas burner. We began to feel the heat. The horses skittered nervously. I held onto Hope's reins. Sela was already mounted on Tempest.

  "Come on. We can make a run for it," she cried.

  "No. Madeline and I are going to have it out right here and now," I yelled. The searing circle tightened. A thought suddenly edged its way into my thinking. What if this is all an illusion? She's just trying to scare me. She's using fear to try to break me. I bet Madeline isn't even here. As I stared into the bright-blue dancing flames, my courage strengthened. I could feel my insides seething, turning, and twisting.

  Sela shouted again that we should make a run through the flames. As she spun around, trying to keep Tempest from bolting, both she and the horse stared at me.

  Softly, she said, "Heckel, what's wrong?"

  I went up to Tempest, took hold of his bridal, and whispered to Sela, "Don't worry." She looked down at me with eyes laden with concern, but with a confident loving smile. With my head held high and a huge assertive grin, I marched us straight toward the Madeline-infused inferno.

  The flames heightened and swirled faster as if someone were turning up the knob on a gas oven. The heat we felt originally wasn't there. We didn't feel anything. The hairs on my neck bristled. I could feel that power inside me build to an even greater fevered pitch. At one point, I looked around me and could see what appeared to be a dome. A force field? Was that coming from me? I stifled a small grin and kept up my defiant appearance.

  As we passed through the light and made it out into a clearing, I turned to see the menacing circle of fire morph into a ring of the childlike Madeline avatars. A hundred identical little girls in dirty white nightgowns stood staring at us with a mocking grin.

  "Now that's pretty creepy," Sela said tentatively.

  "She's not really here. It's all a ploy or…or…chimera. She's trying to scare us."

  "Well, she's doing a pretty good job for me. What the hell is a chimera?" she queried.

  "Basically, it's something that is just an illusion," I replied staring at the disturbing, evil-looking tableau.

  Still holding onto Tempest's reins, I took a few steps forward to confront the illusion.

  "Madeline, if you want to talk to me or…whatever, you do it face to face with me. I'm not afraid of you. Stop sending your annoying storms, demon dogs, and silly blue light shows. And, for the love of God, we are really getting tired of these eerie, freaky little girls, who look like they belong in a John Carpenter film or something. They're a nuisance," I yelled and waved my hand at the circle of demon images.

  With a flash of bright light, the Madeline apparitions dissipated as if someone extinguished a fire with a bucket of water.

  Sela gasped and then clapped her hands in appreciation. "You did it…again!"

  With a grin that was part humility and part pride, I muttered, "Hmm…I guess I did."

  "Now do you believe what I've been saying?" Sela said, dismounting Tempest.

  Apprehensively, like a little kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, I nodded my head slowly and replied, "Yes."

  She kissed me and hugged me.

  Softly in her ear, I asked, "Now what?"

  Sela remained silent for a long time, holding me tighter and tighter. "I don't know, but for now, we just keep going."

  We decided that we would stay in the campsite that we were already in. I had a gut feeling that Madeline's threats were over for the night. As Sela got out our blankets, I started the fire again. It didn't take us long to fall asleep. The last image I had before drifting off was of one little girl, Madeline, in a dirty white nightgown. The evil demon child winked at me.

  The next morning was chilly when we woke up. A few patches of frost dotted the field in low-lying areas.

  "Brrr. I'm freezing," I said snuggling closer to Sela.

  "Me too. We've got to find better sleeping bags, a tent, or lodging in deserted places," Sela said, pressing her body closer to mine. The closeness made my insides do flip-flops, and I felt like I was going to start hyperventilating.

  After my breath returned to normal, I whispered, "Sela, you make me feel so…I…um…my feelings for you are…well…"

  She smiled at me with the warmest expression I'd even seen and said, "Me, too." She leaned forward and kissed me for the longest time.

  Our lovemaking kept us warm until the sun finally lifted over the tree line. As we rested, enjoying the afterglow and snuggling, Sela asked, "Since old man winter is rapidly approaching, do you think we should spend the season down in Texas? Perhaps near the coast?"

  Standing up and reaching for Sela's hand, I answered, "That sounds good to me. I don't think we could make it to Arizona before we are knee-deep in snow somewhere in…um…New Mexico. Texas will be good. How long do you think it will take?"

  "We are almost to the Oklahoma border. We should get there today. After that, maybe a week or so."

  Breakfast was a hodgepodge of food we had found over the last several days. The biggest score was a box of unopened strawberry Pop-Tarts. We each had one along with a few Slim Jims that we found in a burned-out convenience store.

  "Our food supply is getting too low. Hopefully, we'll find something today along the way," Sela said, staring into the fire.

  "I gotta good feeling we will."

  "Or maybe Jerky, the world's best hunter, will find us another rabbit," Sela said, petting the cat.

  After washing up in the cold stream and watering the horses, we loaded everything up and rode off. The morning was slightly overcast but still unseasonably warm. I wondered if Madeline was affecting the weather in any way. No, she'd probably make it really cold and miserable. Maybe we were catching a break in the weather from the good side of the battle. Maybe it was my guardian angel? Hmm, if Madeline ha
s demons backing her, do we good guys have…angels? Interesting.

  We were following I-35 for most of the morning. Around noon, we stopped and looked south at a sign that at one time thanked people for visiting Kansas.

  "See that roadblock up ahead?" Sela asked as she handed me her binoculars.

  Focusing the expensive Brunton binos, I could see a large cinder-block building next to the interstate road. A heavy gate was partially blocking the lanes.

  "What's that?" I asked squinting into the lens.

  "Don't you remember? Madeline tried to close all the borders to each state. It was a disaster and didn't last long. Just another ploy purposely set up to cause more anarchy and deaths. People were furious and killed most of the poor guards stationed at the roadblocks."

  "Oh yeah," I answered. "That was soon after she declared martial law and took over."

  "Do you see anyone?" Sela asked.

  "Nah. No one."

  We rode in slowly and passed the guard station. A welcome sign on the Oklahoma side was shot to pieces. All that remained was homa…elco. "I could never understand why people had to shoot at road signs."

  Sela shrugged and laughed as she picked up the pace and rode down I-35. A roadside mileage sign listing the upcoming towns had all the miles shot out. Braman was the first town, followed by Blackwell. When I saw that town's name, I shivered. "We are not stopping in Blackwell," I yelled over at Sela.

  "Agreed. We'll stop in Braman and see if we can find anything. However, it's probably pretty small."

  We rode into town and small was an understatement. Off to the right was the official sign that was not shot up; it indicated the town's population was a whopping 476 residents.

  "It's looking a bit bleak here. I doubt we'll find anything," I said.

  "Not necessarily. I've had good luck finding stuff in these little burgs. People usually passed them up, thinking the same thing you did. Come on. There's a gas station and a couple of shops over here," Sela said as she crossed the street. We tied the horses up. I remained as lookout. Jerky followed Sela into the convenience store. About fifteen minutes later, Sela came out with an armful of food.

  "Found these in a metal cupboard in the back so the mice didn't get to them," Sela stuffed the food in her pack.

  "Anything good? My stomach is growling something fierce," I asked.

  "Macaroni and cheese. We'll have a feast tonight."

  She finished packing the food up and said that she wanted to check a few of the houses close by.

  "Don't be too long…and be careful," I shouted, shifting the rifle in my hand.

  She raised her Glock, shook it lightly, and went into the first house.

  I led both horses over to a small patch of grass. Jerky came running out from behind the gas station. No mouse this time. She curled around my leg and looked up at me.

  "Hungry?" I asked, bending to pet the cat on the head. Looking up, I saw Sela walking toward me with two bundles in her arms.

  "Wahoo! Big score. I found a small backpacking tent in that house over there and a down sleeping bag in that one over there. Hopefully, we can connect it to the one we already have."

  "Great luck," I said, helping her to tie the sleeping bag to Hope's saddle.

  We rode for a few more hours. High wispy clouds filled the sky and a light breeze was at our backs. Sela yelled that she was looking for a place to camp that had a water source. Another hour passed before we spotted a large stream going under the interstate. We rode the horses a short distance past the bridge, upstream. There was a small clearing perfect to camp at. After getting off the saddles and bags, Sela led both horses to the water. I went searching for wood.

  As Sela went about preparing dinner, I struggled with setting up the tent. "Seems we're missing a few poles," I declared holding up one end of the tent.

  "Improvise," Sela said, stirring the boiling macaroni.

  I dropped the end of the tent and went looking for a branch to act as a pole. There were several scrawny bushes near the stream and a few old cottonwoods. As I approached the tree, I saw the remains of a skeleton propped up next to the trunk. Regardless of the many dead people I've seen, I have never gotten used to the sight. Giving the remains a wide berth, I walked around to the other side of the tree in search of something to use. I looked up and saw a branch that would work nicely. Taking out the big bowie knife I had, I sliced off the branch. As I turned to walk back to camp, I heard a voice mumble something. A cold shiver raced up my spine. Taking a few steps around the tree, I glanced down at the skeleton.

  "Death awaits you," it mouthed, the slack jaw moving up and down slowly. Remnants of clothes hung loosely on its frame. A swirl of wind made the rags flutter.

  Suddenly my feet felt as if the roots of the old cottonwood had grabbed them.

  "Looks like it already got you," I shouted at the bones.

  "Madeline will take you. She always does," the skeleton said with a grating voice.

  Sela came running up. "What's wrong? Who are you talking to?"

  I pointed at the rotting skeleton. Slowly, the head turned. Far back in the deep eye sockets a red light gradually radiated. It reminded me of those cheesy Halloween decorations one would find in the aisles of Walgreens.

  "Madeline will feast on your entrails, Sela, and the child within you," the creature intoned.

  Sela ran up to the skeleton and kicked the bones, scattering them around the tree. The head landed in front of me. Its jaw now moved up and down rapidly and a horrifying, high-pitched cackle came out. With all my strength, I raised my knee and smashed my boot into the head, silencing the demonic messenger.

  Standing there with probably the dumbest look on my face, I stared at Sela. "Well?"

  "Well, what?" she said nervously.

  "Are you pregnant?" I asked, walking toward her.

  "Not that I know of."

  "Why would that…thing…say that?"

  "Heckel, think about it. Would you believe anything a skeleton propped up next to a tree said to you?"

  "Putting it that way, I guess you have a point," I said with a slight laugh.

  We both stood there for a while staring at the bones strewn around the tree. "Creepy," I muttered.

  Sela gasped. "The macaroni." She ran, grabbed a shirt and pulled the black pot off the fire. The last of the water was nearly boiled out. She quickly stirred the noodles.

  "Whew, that was a close call," she said, opening the cheese packet to stir in.

  As I sat down next to her, I couldn't help but reflect on what the skeleton had said. Was it lying or was Sela really pregnant? Maybe she's not telling me because she knows I wouldn't put her in the middle of some epic battle to save humanity if she was with child.

  "Hungry?" Sela asked, handing me a big bowl of gooey mac and cheese.

  Her smile had a way of bringing me back to reality. "Yes, thank you," I replied, taking the food. "Manna from heaven. It looks great." My stomach did flip-flops. Either it was from being hungry or wondering if I was going to be a father.

  "Hmm, maybe it is a gift," she said, taking a big forkful of macaroni.

  That night, I didn't sleep. Every sound put me on edge and my imagination reeled with fear. Madeline was getting to me. Was I going to be a father? Gulp.

  Chapter 12

  Several weeks passed as we traveled through Oklahoma. Our days settled into somewhat of a routine. We rode hard, scavenged for anything useful and enjoyed being with each other. By the time we made the exit sign, thanking us for our stay in Oklahoma, we figured it must be close to December. The warm weather continued to follow us down south. Still, we were glad we had a tent and cozy sleeping bags.

  "Welcome to Texas," Sela announced as we rode around the border guardhouse. There were a few burned-out, rusty old cars and trucks in a pile.

  "I hope this isn't a bad omen," I said, pointing to the wreckage.

  Sela shook her head, made a scrunched up face and raced off down the side of the interstate. At around lunchtim
e, we found an old farmhouse. Sela tried the well faucet out by the barn and it worked. We watered the horses. There wasn't anything in the barn that was either edible for us or the horses. Jerky found her usual mouse.

  Today's lunch consisted of a couple of Slim Jims, a shared bottle of Gatorade and a few jars of baby food, which we can thank Leonard for and his suggestion to look under shelves. As we were packing up the horses, Jerky started hissing. I looked down at the cat curled around my legs. She had her back arched and was spitting. Slowly turning my head to see what she was looking at, I heard Sela gasp.

  "Oh shit. Here we go again. It's been so nice not to have a visit from the supernatural world," I muttered. There on top of the barn were about a hundred silky, dead-of-night, ink-black ravens. All with a fixed stare at us. I knew instantly they were not your normal annoying birds. These little demons stood frozen. I shouted at them and threw a stone. They didn't flinch.

  "Maybe we should just get going," Sela said softly. "Don't provoke them."

  I threw another stone and hit one. Still, they all remained motionless.

  "Fine. Go tell Madeline. I'm not afraid of y'all or the demon bitch," I yelled. Still, they just kept glaring at us. Not one of them ruffled a feather. They looked like something you could buy for Halloween. Maybe some farmer put them up there to scare away…whatever.

  As we rode off, they just kept vigilant watch. At one point, they simultaneously turned their heads to watch as if choreographed by the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz. A few seconds later, I turned around to see if they were following and stiffened when I saw there was no sign of them. It was as if they just vanished.

  "Well, what do you make of that?" Sela asked as we approached the interstate.