Bennetts motioned to Hanson. “Get your asses over here. Pick him up.”
“What do you want us to do with him?” Bubba asked, as the pair approached the fallen man.
“Well, evidently Sparky out there can use the dead as weapons. We’re going to lock this body up in the van. He can’t do any harm there,” Bennetts explained. “Now come on… move.”
Bubba looked down at the dead man, and then his concerned eyes drifted back toward Bennetts. “But what if he goes plan nine on us again while we got him in the air?”
“Don’t make me regret not putting you down, Wide Load,” Bennetts said. “Get it moved.”
Cecil and Bubba each grabbed an end. Cecil wrapped his arms around Hanson’s ankles while Bubba slipped his large hands under the dead man’s armpits. They toted him to the garage and stuck him in the van, next to the cylinder. Bennetts followed them closely, his gun favoring them. After they locked the van up, Bennetts motioned to the bay door.
“Open it.”
Cecil rolled the door to the sky. The night air was not nearly as cold as before. It felt lukewarm on Cecil’s skin.
“Let’s march, boys,” Bennetts said, motioning for the duo to walk in front of him.
“What are we doing now?” Cecil asked, as he and Bubba stepped side by side, their arms raised.
“We find the bastard and put it back on ice. I have a payment to collect,” Bennetts explained. “You two are going to be my shield and bait.”
Cecil sighed in frustration. “This thing aims to make us all a meal and you’re still looking to score. We need to chop this beanstalk down, man.”
“In case you didn’t notice back there, Cecil… I killed my best friend’s son. Okay?” Bennetts said, roughly shoving Cecil in the back. “I’d skin a busload of nuns for this much cash.”
“You’re sick,” Bubba said, disgusted.
Bennetts gave Bubba a shove as well. “Enough talk, assholes! Let’s find this thing.”
Cecil took a look around the store and gas pumps. “Wait a second,” he said, pausing.
Bennetts stepped to the side and looked around the pair. “What’s going on?”
Cecil motioned to a tree near the store. It was dead and withered. “All the plant life and the grass…”
The men looked down. The grass, yellowing from the weather as it was, was now dark and brittle.
Cecil motioned again, this time toward the entrance to the store parking lot. “Shit is still alive up there.”
Bubba and Bennetts looked and saw what Cecil meant. There was a clear division of healthy and blackened vegetation. The walked over closer to the sight.
Cecil regarded Bennetts. “Now, I’m just testing the waters.”
Cecil knelt down, pried a rock from the earth, and pitched it forward. It bounced off of an invisible wall mere feet in front of them.
“Holy shit,” Bubba said. “It’s got us in a force field.”
“Probably around the whole perimeter,” Cecil wagered, dusting off his hands. “I wonder what would happen if we touch it.”
Bennetts shoved Cecil into the transparent wall. He flattened against it, and then fell to the earth.
“Did you feel a shock or anything?” Bennetts asked.
“No,” Cecil grumbled, pulling himself up. “It was like hitting a brick wall.”
Suddenly, a pair of headlights turned from the Jacksboro feeder and onto the driveway entrance.
“Shit, that’s your Pontiac, Bubba,” Cecil said.
Bubba looked alarmed and waved his hands. “It’s Hattie Mae. She’s going to crash into the wall!”
Cecil and Bubba tried to wave her down.
“She can’t see us!” Cecil realized, as the headlights blinded him.
Cecil and Bubba darted in different directions as the Pontiac pierced the invisible barrier. Hattie Mae, her eyes no longer cloaked, stomped the brakes as the car slid into Bennetts. The agent rolled off of the hood and landed on the ground.
Hattie Mae lurched fearfully from the car. “Oh my God! I didn’t see him! He came out of nowhere!”
Bubba rushed up and steered Hattie Mae away from Bennetts. Cecil walked over and quickly picked the man’s weapon off of the ground. He pressed it against Bennetts’ forehead. Bennetts stared helplessly at Cecil.
“I’m hurt,” Bennetts complained.
“Give me the other gun,” Cecil demanded.
Bennetts painfully dug the weapon out and handed it over.
Bubba let go of Hattie Mae and angrily walked over to the fallen man. “Well, what do we have here? Ain’t so tough without a piece in your hand, I bet.”
Bubba grabbed Bennetts by his jacket lapels and pulled him up. The man screamed in agony. Hattie Mae quickly stepped up behind Bubba and tugged on his big arm.
“Turner! Stop it, you’re hurting him!” she cried.
“Let him be, Bubba,” Cecil said. “Stomping him ain’t going to help us.”
“Your ass is lucky there’s a lady present,” Bubba said as he let Bennetts go. Bennetts crumbled back to the dirt, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Bubba turned toward Hattie Mae. “At least you’re okay. The car sailed right through that force field. It must be soft on the other side of it; let’s you in but not out.”
“It’s a damned roach motel,” Cecil concluded, his eyes and aim still on Bennetts.
“What are you two talking about? What’s going on here?” Hattie Mae demanded, motioning to Bennetts. “That man is hurt. Why are you holding a gun on him, Cecil? And why were you being so rough on him, Turner?” She noticed the bruises on Bubba’s face. Hattie Mae immediately cupped Bubba’s cheeks. “What happened to you?”
Bubba took Hattie Mae behind the car and gave her the abbreviated version.
Bennetts closed his eyes and favored his side. “I think my ribs are broken,” he said, hiccupping with pain. “I need an ambulance”
“You need to stand,” Cecil instructed Bennetts. “We’re taking our asses back inside.”
“What are you going to do?” Bennetts asked, his voice strained with pain and concern.
“I’m gonna figure out a way to stop that thing. And then I am going to turn your sorry ass over to the law,” Cecil replied firmly.
“There is a fortune here, Cecil,” Bennetts said. “And, despite the drawl, I know you’re not stupid. Fifty-fifty, man. We deliver that thing, alive or dead, and we won’t ever want again.”
“Hey, man, you’re talking to one greedy son of a bitch, okay?” Cecil confessed. “I’ll stomp Bugs’ head back down that fucking rabbit hole and I’ll yell ‘mine!’ as I do it if the riches shine bright enough, man. But I need a planet to enjoy my fortune on. We gotta destroy that thing. Maybe we can put it back into hibernation and sell it like you want, but something might just wake it up again. We’re taking it out. And when I’m done with it, there ain’t gonna be nothing left to bury or pin in a light box. Now get on your damn feet.”
Cecil kicked Bennetts’ foot.
“I don’t think I can do it on my own,” Bennetts said, still guarding his ribs.
“Bubba, come give Agent Bennetts a hand standing up.”
Bubba smiled, and a mean streak shined in it. “That’ll be my pleasure.”
“No, no, no,” Bennetts said, holding his hand up to ward the big man off. “I’ll do it. Just, please don’t touch me.”
“See, man,” Bubba said to Cecil. “Yankees can be polite; if you pound on them long and hard enough.”
Bennetts stood, grimacing and whining.
Cecil handed Bubba one of the guns. Bubba pulled the clip out, checked it, and shoved it back in. He looked at Bennetts and motioned toward the store entrance. “Lead the way.”
Bennetts stumbled painfully toward the building. The boys and Hattie Mae followed.
“Once we get inside, we’re gonna have a war room powwow,” Cecil instructed. He stopped, suddenly, and thrust his arms out to halt his friends. “Wait a minute.”
�
��What’s wrong?” Bubba asked.
“There’s a disturbance in the God damn force, man. That ugly beast is close,” Cecil reported, looking over his shoulder.
“How do you know?” Hattie Mae said.
“How does a rabbit know when a hawk is near?” Cecil said, taking in his surroundings. “I just do. Maybe it was the mind jam I had with the thing.”
Bennetts, paused at the store entrance, turned back to the trio behind him. “All right, listen to me. I think I have a way out of…”
Before he finished his sentence, two spindly, long grey arms shot downward from the canopy of the store. They reeled Bennetts upward. The alien stood up on the flat roof and howled at them. Bennetts struggled painfully as the beast raised the man above its head.
Cecil and Bubba began shooting at the alien. The bullets struck it, but didn’t appear to have an effect. The alien quickly pulled the agent down in front of itself for cover. The boys emptied their weapons into Bennetts’ body.
“Stop!” Hattie Mae screamed, clutching at the boys. But they kept firing until their guns clicked hollowly. They lowered their empty firearms. Cecil and Bubba were horrified that they had shot Bennetts several times. The alien gave them a fang-filled smile and a wicked chuckle. Then it turned and disappeared on the roof with Bennetts’ lifeless body in tow.
“Inside!” Cecil commanded. “Now!”
They rushed into the store. Bubba pressed his body against the entrance, as it needed a key to be secured.
“The garage! Go to the garage!” Cecil urged, tugging on Bubba’s shirt.
They moved quickly. Cecil bolted the side entrance behind them. He noticed the bay door. “Close it, man!” he said to Bubba.
Bubba hustled over and lowered the bay door. Once down, he kicked in the foot latch, locking the door in place.
It was considerably darker in the garage.
“My daddy keeps a lantern,” Cecil said. “He stores his camping shit here.”
Cecil reached up and pulled it from a rickety metal shelf. “Give me your flame, Bubba.”
Bubba dug out his lighter and handed to Cecil.
Cecil got the lantern going, and perched it on the tool counter. “All right, we need a game plan,” Cecil began.
Suddenly, Cecil cocked his head and reached to the tool counter for balance.
Bubba steadied him. “What’s wrong, Cecil?”
Cecil shook whatever it was out of his head. “That alien bastard tried to get control of me again. But something stopped it. There’s some kind of interference.”
“It’s the woman,” Bennetts said.
The proclamation startled all three of them. They turned to the sound of the voice. Bennetts’ head was on a nearby tool shelf. It was wedged between an electric saw and droplight. The eyes and mouth on the head were shut and it sat there, quietly.
“Oh, Jesus, man,” Bubba said, staring with dark fascination at the severed head. He looked around quickly at the darkness. “Is that monster in here?”
“No, man,” Cecil assured him. “I’d feel it if it were. It put Bennetts’ head in here and took off through the garage door before we came in.”
“But the head spoke,” Hattie Mae said, settling against Bubba. “I’m not going crazy, right? You boys heard it?”
“I don’t know,” Bubba said. “It looks pretty dead to me.”
Cecil leaned the lantern toward the head. He cleared his throat. “Did you say something?”
The head opened its eyes and smiled. “You guys are lousy fucking shots, okay? Seriously. You shot me like sixteen times between the two of you.”
“We were scared,” Bubba said apologetically. “And it all happened so quick…”
“No, Bubba,” Cecil said. “You do not say you’re sorry to this asshole. You brought this on yourself, Bennetts.”
“Cecil,” Hattie Mae said softly. “You’re chiding a reanimated head, sweetie. Why don’t you ask it what that thang wants?”
Cecil grunted and nodded. “Yeah, you heard her. Get with it. Why don’t you start with the reason this thing can’t hijack my head anymore. What’s it got to do with Hattie Mae?”
“There’s something special about that woman,” Bennetts said, his eyes staring lecherously at Hattie Mae. “And it’s not just the tits, okay? She has power. A lot of it. She also has the ability to compel, and she’s using it, whether she realizes it or not. It’s cancelling out the alien’s psychic pull. But you boys shouldn’t be jealous of her. There’s a potent aura around the two of you, as well. If you’re willing to lie down and sacrifice your energy to him at the end of it, my master will make you its heralds. It’ll be a pisser of a time until the lights are dimmed.”
“Well, that’s awfully tempting but I think we’ll pass,” Cecil said. “Let me ask you something else. Why ain’t the alien coming at us like a man? What’s with all this slinking around shit? Is it scared or something?”
“It’s cautious. You don’t survive as long as it has by jumping into situations blindly. But scared? Of you chattering chimps?” Bennetts laughed and the shelf rattled. “Is an aardvark scared of ants? No my friend. It’s just gathering its strength before it crushes the hill. When it feels comfortable, it’ll cut you down with ease. It won’t be long. That’s for sure. Why don’t you guys tag team the broad with the time you have left? Might be the last piece of ass you get. I’ll watch and do some phantom limb stroking.”
“Hey, you damned… head… thing,” Bubba said, aiming a fist at Bennetts. “You better watch your mouth, man.”
“When I was a kid, I used to watch spy shows. It’s what made me want to join the FBI,” Bennetts said, a sparkle of nostalgia in his eyes. “There was one show, and it had this gimmick, with a tape recorder…”
“Yeah,” Bubba said, recalling it himself. “The self-destructing message. I remember that.”
“Well, in that spirit… this head is going to self-destruct in five, four, three, two…”
“Oh shit,” Bubba cried, grabbing Hattie Mae and Cecil and jerking them down toward the floor.
Bennetts finished the count, grinned like a loon, and then his head exploded. The garage shook and Bennetts’ brains painted the tool counter and nearby wall.
The three of them stood, slowly. The lower half of Bennetts’ skull remained. It was blackened from the blast and it smoldered. Cecil looked at the brain painting on display and cringed. “Now, that is truly a disgusting sight.”
“Well, I’m just thankful his mouth is shut,” Bubba said.
“We gotta gather more weapons,” Cecil instructed. “You got any ammo left?”
“It’s gone, man,” Bubba said, pulling an empty clip from the gun.
“Mine too. Go see if his partner has an extra clip on him,” Cecil said, motioning toward the van.
Bubba walked to the back door of the van. As he reached for the handle, Hanson’s dead face popped up into the window and stared at him. Bubba nodded and then he walked back toward Cecil and Hattie Mae.
“He doesn’t,” Bubba reported as he returned to his friends.
“Well, those bullets looked like they were bouncing off of that monster, anyway,” Cecil said. “I just wish we knew a way to hurt that damned thing.”
Bubba suddenly remembered something. “Hey, when that alien first attacked me, I tossed my soda at it. It burnt the son of a bitch. That’s how I got away.”
“What was in the cup?” Cecil asked.
“A little bit of everything from the dispensers,” Bubba replied. “The kids call it a suicide soda.”
Cecil ran to a back shelf and pulled a small pest control rig from it. “My daddy, cheapskate that he is, bought this for us to blast the ants in the summer. If we fill it with that concoction of yours, we can use this to spray it at the prick.”
Bubba’s eyes lit up and he took the rig. He slipped his arms into the straps and hiked the storage barrel up his back. Then he gripped the wand. “Yeah, man, this could work. Only one catch,” Bubba said.
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br /> “What?”
“The soda fountain is out there, and so is that ugly grey bastard,” Bubba explained, shrugging off the equipment.
“Daddy keeps extra soda kegs in that side room,” Cecil realized, pointing toward a storage closet near the store entrance. “You can pop them open and mix up a batch.”
“I’m on it,” Bubba said, hauling the pest equipment with him.
“What should I do?” Hattie Mae asked.
Texas Strange Page 36
