by Alexie Aaron
As the gold melted, Deville’s screams pierced the air.
Mike, after witnessing the activity surrounding the recipe book, walked over and picked it up. He walked to the fire and tossed it in.
The book exploded into flame. An oily cloud formed above the fire and swirled. The smell of sulfur was overwhelming.
Mike coughed and waved Burt and Homely away from the pit.
They heard the rapid-fire click and whirl of a digital camera and turned to see Mason standing just inside the truck, taking pictures of the cloud.
Burt put himself in front of Homely to protect him from whatever was forming. He pulled a crucifix from his pocket and handed it to the man.
“Thanks, son, but I have my own. What is that thing?”
“It’s got form,” Mason called over. “Looks like a giant hand.”
Burt peered through his glasses and only saw smoke. Maybe when they examined the footage recorded they would see more.
“Trevor Deville, I, Captain William Shelby, under the authorization of the military tribunal of the United States of America, condemn you to be hung by the neck until dead,” he proclaimed.
“I already was you pathetic piece of…”
“And your remains taken and cast onto unholy ground.”
Deville looked at the pit and said sardonically, “It appears to be done.”
“May god judge your actions and deliver justice,” Shelby’s voice boomed.
Trevor Deville laughed. His laughter cut through the veil and startled the men tending his funeral pyre.
“The hand is reaching out and now has something in it,” Mason reported as he continued to take pictures, staring through the lens. “It’s a soldier. He’s laughing.”
“I welcome you, my lord and master,” Deville said as the hand pulled him upward. Another hand shot out of the flame, reached up and pulled Deville’s head off.
“Gross,” Mason commented as Deville’s body changed into a thousand worms and fell into the fire. The hand holding his head joined with the other and crushed it until nothing was left but smoke.
Murphy dropped his axe and stared at the group of soldiers. He turned his head and stared at what remained of Andrew Morgan. Andrew quivered.
“Andrew Morgan,” Captain Shelby started. “I arrest you on charges of…”
“Please,” Andrew screamed, “do not let that thing get me. Mercy!”
Shelby turned and consulted his men. He turned back and nodded, saying, “Mercy given.”
The cloud collapsed upon itself and disappeared.
Burt, Mike and Homely tended the fire, taking care it didn’t spread to the woods or the school building.
Mason returned to the console.
Murphy stood vigil by the pit, watching Andrew until Thomas Vane moved to take custody of the private. The group moved off into the woods. Soon Murphy could see the faint light of the blue fire and the shadows of the men huddled around it.
Stewart King walked over to the school and disappeared through the door.
~
Mia kept her balance as the vortex deposited her on the side of Monk’s Mound. She set Ira down and resumed her natural size. He kept blinking his eyes, trying to adjust to the bright sunlight.
“Are you alright?” she asked him.
“No one is ever going to believe me. Have you ever looked backwards traveling these things,” he asked.
“No,” she answered honestly. “Why?”
“It’s a lightshow and a half,” he answered her. He looked around him. His eyes got real wide. “Mia, are those?”
“Illiniweks, maybe. They are echoes mostly. Careful, it’s about to get real crowded.” Mia motioned for Ira to follow her. They stepped down off the mound and onto a trail infused with ghosts of the past and a few busloads of school children. Mia reached out, and Ira took her hand. “We are looking for a ley line traveling west. Unfortunately we can’t see it if we are facing west.”
Ira nodded but didn’t understand at all.
Mia walked off the path, headed north for a few yards and then turned around. Fifty feet from her was a curtain, blood red in color. “Gee, that’s nice. The lines are color coded. Yellow for minor power line. Red for sacrifice.”
“That was creepy. Cool but definitely creepy,” Ira mentioned. “How do we get on this one?”
“I imagine the same way…” Mia said, studying the line as they approached. There were sparks of energy that would flare every few feet.
Ira stopped and pointed and said, “Is that Elvis?”
Mia looked and shook her head. “OOBer. Part of the fun is creating a persona to move about in. My aunt likes to go around as Marilyn Monroe or Amelia Earhart. It’s part of the social world of travelers. Let’s watch him and see how he gets on,” she said.
The persona known as Elvis walked up to the curtain and jumped in. All around his entrance sparks flew outward as if splashed.
Mia looked at Ira and gripped his hand a little harder. “Let’s follow his lead.”
They took a few running steps and jumped.
Chapter Thirty-three
Ted pulled off the road and glanced at his phone.
Withleprechaunmississippinext was displayed.
Ted took for granted it was Cid apprising him that he had met up with Patrick, and they were headed to a boat launch. He would have to talk to the boy about making life easier on everyone and use the effing spacebar. Ted took a moment to adjust Mia’s body which had slid down, and her head was tilted at an alarming angle. He adjusted the shoulder strap, and when he was convinced she would suffer no ill effects of the way she was sitting, he pulled back out into traffic.
~
This time Mia’s exit was not graceful. She tumbled out of the red curtain, followed by Ira who landed on top of her. She quickly got up as a precaution in case any more travelers were behind them.
“That was fun!” Ira said, getting to his feet. “Can we do it again?”
“How old are you?” Mia said, narrowing her eyes in disapproval.
“Come on, that was better than Great America and Disneyworld all rolled up into one, and it was free.”
“It was free, but a bit fast for my tastes.” Mia looked around her. They were in a grassy area a stone’s throw from the water. “Follow behind me. Don’t stray. If you do, you’ll get very weak and may not be able to sustain the crossing,” she warned.
A good sized leisure boat was idling just off the river bank. Mia recognized Cid in the back and Patrick at the wheel. Mia got to the edge of the water and screamed, “Cid!”
He turned around.
“Cid!” this time Ira joined Mia in screaming his name.
Cid smiled and turned to Patrick. “They’re here.” Cid pulled an oar out and reached towards the shore, creating a bridge using the coordinates Patrick shouted out at him. A wave from a passing boat pushed them closer. The moment the oar touched the shore Mia and Ira moved over it and onto the boat.
“Go!” she screamed.
“Let’s go,” Cid said to Patrick.
Carefully Patrick turned the boat in the direction the GPS showed him, he checked the river traffic before starting on the prescribed heading.
Waves left from a barge buffeted the boat as they angled across. Mia felt a weakening, but moving to the other side of the boat helped. Ira moved with her. They kept this up until the journey ended. Patrick turned the boat, and Cid repeated the procedure with the oar. Soon they were safely on the opposite bank.
“Thank you!” they shouted together.
Cid smiled, and he patted Patrick on the back. Patrick pulled away from the river bank and slowly started back across.
Mia watched for a while as they headed north, fighting the current until they pulled into the boat launch area.
Ira stayed close to Mia. He pointed out the ley line and nodded to it.
She shook her head. “No, I think Mt. Shasta may be too much for this traveler. Come on, your folks are waiting. Ira, it’s time
to go home.”
He took her hand. Together they made their way through the city and over to the coma unit of the hospital.
“I hate hospitals,” Mia said as they entered the building. “There are always dead people milling around, asking questions, bothering about the afterlife. It’s enough to drive me crazy,” she complained.
Ira was new to the whole deal and thought dead people were fascinating. They walked behind the information counter, looked over the shoulder of a volunteer and watched the screen until they saw Ira’s name.
“Come on, Inky, you’re on the fifth floor.” Mia moved towards the elevators, stopped, turned and headed for the stairwell. “You’re too new for elevators,” she explained.
They moved up the stairs quickly. They passed the white-shoed staff like they were standing still. Ira reached the fifth floor first. He stood waiting at the entrance door tapping his foot. “Come on, old woman!”
“Shame on you,” Mia said, not meaning the inflection of disapproval she used.
He didn’t take her seriously. He just grinned.
She put an arm around him. “Inky, before we go in, I’m going to warn you that seeing yourself is going to be unnerving.”
“I expect so. How do I get back into my body?”
“You’ll just climb up into bed and lie down into yourself.” Mia grabbed his hand and waited until she had his full attention before speaking, “Inky, don’t expect your parents to believe you about where you have been. I’d avoid talking about it at all until you leave the hospital. Otherwise you’re going to have a lot of psych evaluations. And if you do need to see a shrink, there is a doctor that will believe you. I’ll make sure Audrey gives his name to your parents. Good luck, kid. It’s going to be a long road back for you, but you’ll make it,” she assured him.
“Will I see you after I wake up?”
“No, I expect Audrey will be there. She’s a curly-haired redhead that works with us,” Mia explained. “You’ll be too busy to want visitors. When you are up and running, send me an email. The address is on the PEEPs website.”
“What will you do now?”
“I have to find my fiancé, he has my body. Then I have to go back to Clinton and find a way to release Shelby and his men. Shelby wants to go home to St. Charles. I don’t know about the rest. Also, there is a cranky old woman stuck in her house. Not to mention… Well, I’m going to be up to my neck in ghosts for a while,” she explained.
“Speaking of ghosts, tell Murphy thank you for me,” Ira said.
“I will. He’ll be glad to know you made it. He doesn’t much like the ley lines. He prefers to ride in my truck listening to Patsy Cline on the CD player,” Mia explained. She stopped and pointed. “There’s your room. I’ll help you into bed.”
They walked into the room, and Audrey was talking to Ira’s parents. Ira ran to them and was dismayed when they didn’t see him.
“Ahem,” Mia said. “If you want to get their attention…” Mia pointed to his body on the bed.
“Whoa, I got tall!” Ira said as Mia lifted him up.
“Now lie back and think home. I’m home. I’m Ira again,” she instructed.
She stood back and watched as he followed her instructions, speaking, “I’m home,” over and over until he was.
The monitors went crazy. Audrey looked over at Ira and smiled. She tapped his mother on the shoulder. “Look who’s back.”
Phyllis rushed to the bedside and put her hand to his face. “His eyelids, they’re opening. Albert!”
His father bent over, trying to stay out of the way of the nurses that rushed in, prompted by the alarms the machines gave off. “Come on, Ira, wake up!” he said, tears running down his face. “Come back to us, son.”
“Mom, dad,” Ira’s voice was dry and gravelly, his vocal cords unused to speech. He opened his eyes and started coughing. He tried to cover his mouth, but his muscles were too weak to raise his hand.
“My boy, my boy, my boy,” Phyllis cried over and over, showering the side of his face with kisses.
“Ira, you’ve been asleep for a long time. Give yourself time to adjust,” one of the nurses pleaded as Ira struggled to sit up.
A doctor rushed in, followed by a few technicians. The room was filled with people with the words, “It’s a miracle,” leaving their mouths or imprinted on their faces.
Audrey stepped out of the room, whispering, “Good job, Mia,” before she broke down in sobs. “Ted’s waiting in the east parking lot,” she managed to say when she found her voice again.
~
Mia pondered the signage and frowned. “Where the hell is the east parking lot?”
“Last time I looked, it was in the east,” an old woman dressed to the nines in her Sunday best answered her.
Mia glanced over at the wizened face and asked, “Mind walking me there?”
“No, not at all. Marybeth’s my name,” she said and waited.
“Oh sorry, Mia, Mia Cooper.”
“Well, Mia Cooper, this is the first I’ve seen of you here. You picking up or dropping off?”
“Dropping off. A teenager. Found him in the floor of all places. You?”
“Waiting for my husband. He’s hanging on until our son gets here from Dallas. Then we’ll see what the Lord has in store for the two of us.”
“Been waiting long?” Mia inquired.
“Two years. Not here of course. He’s only been here two weeks,” she explained. She looked over at Mia, taking in her street clothes and asked, “Are you an angel?”
“If I was an angel, I hope I could find the east parking lot unassisted,” Mia said wryly. “I’m just a traveler.”
“Well, young woman, the parking lot is through those doors. I will wish you happy travels and leave you here.”
“Thank you, Marybeth, may you and your husband’s reunion be everything you hoped for. You look very pretty by the way.”
“Thank you, dear. The mirrors here, well, they don’t show me at all,” she said and burst into giggles.
Mia opened the door and walked through. She didn’t turn around, Marybeth wouldn’t have wanted her to.
~
Miasafelyaccrossleprechaunandsupermanheadedbackseeyouthere
Ted looked at the text a third time and smirked.
“Whatcha doing?” Mia asked, trying to untangle her hair from the shoulder strap.
“Reading Cid’s text. I’m going to kill him when I get back,” he announced proudly.
“Can I see?”
He showed her the text.
“Most people abbreviate the words, but he doesn’t,” Mia observed.
Ted looked at her and leaned over and kissed her. “Welcome back, how was your trip?”
“Scary and fun in a midway ride kind of way,” she said. Her stomach growled. “Excuse me,” she apologized. “I shouldn’t have vomited up my last meal.”
“I think I can excuse it this time. What shall we have to eat?” he said, starting the car.
“St. Louis is known for their ribs,” Mia mused.
“Indeed they are, so ribs it is. Text Audrey, I think she’d appreciate the meal before she heads back.”
“You’re such a nice guy,” Mia said.
“Hey, I didn’t say I was buying…”
“Amend that, you’re such a nice, cheap guy,” Mia said, digging in her pockets for her phone and wallet.
“Any news on how the guys did with Deville?”
“He’s gone. Burt said hands from hell came and claimed their new inductee.” Ted went on to describe Mike tossing the book in the fire and the rising of the hands.
“I didn’t finish reading that book,” Mia said, a bit off-put. “But it wouldn’t be the first book I lost in a fire,” she said remembering the burning down of her childhood home. “It really was a dangerous volume. I wonder how many such books are floating around the world right now?”
“It’s a scary thought, but one we can put on the back burner,” Ted said as he pulled into th
e lot of Roper’s Ribs.
Chapter Thirty-four
Mia pulled the truck into the entrance to the school. She opened her window and took in the scents and sounds of the cool spring evening. As she rounded the school, she caught sight of the blue light in the woods. This reminded her of her promise to William Shelby. She would do everything possible to follow through with her vow to the courageous soldier. Maybe Dave’s mother would consent to a field trip. Mia felt strongly that Dave should see at least this aspect of the investigation through to the end.
Ted opened his eyes and smiled. “I just had the best dream, Minnie Mouse. It was all about you, me and George Takei.”
“Not exactly my fantasy threesome, but go ahead tell me about it,” Mia teased.
“We were at Comicon, and I loaned him a pen.”
“And?”
“That was it. Cool, huh?”
Mia nodded, not understanding at all, but unwilling to upset Ted. She pulled into the lot and tooted the horn before yelling out the window, “We got ribs!”
Male folk appeared out of every corner. Homely had brought a portable grill just to reheat the promised offerings. Doc raised a beer to Mia in salute. “Good thing we ate already, there’s a party brewing. Hope the cops… Wait, are those cops supposed to be drinking in uniform?” she asked Ted who just shrugged. “Ted, why are there cops and firemen in uniform here?” she asked puzzled.
Audrey pulled in behind them and was greeted with cheers as she pulled a cooler out of the backseat. No one offered to help her so Mia took one end. “I think they have been drinking a while,” she commented to Mia.
“Not all of us,” Dave said, grabbing the cooler from the women. “I’m going to be eighteen in, shit, eighteen days, but no, I’m on soda detail,” he complained.
“Mason?” Mia said, looking at the youth pulling on a beer.
“Eighteen, Richie’s eighteen,” he said.
