Marcus ushered the radio host and the patient into the stairwell.
The room shook. He gripped the wall and took aim.
"You can't kill a god!" Juliette shouted down at him.
"Frankly my dear, I don't give a hoot."
Marcus closed his left eye, lined up the shot, and fired.
Moloch's eye obliterated, splattering white goo that sizzled on the hot stone walls. The beast let out one final blood-curdling shriek and sank to the floor. The interior of the dome collapsed around it.
"Yeah, that's right! I'm Marcus Mills, god-killer!"
"Come on!" the radio host growled. "Your touchdown celebration's gonna get your ass killed!"
Marcus followed them up the stairs. The hallway shook and swayed like a high tower. Stones slipped free of the mortar and crumbled on the steps. Ahead of him Juliette vanished through the wall.
The radio host waved his arms at Marcus as the patient stepped through the wall. "Come on, come on! The portal's closing!"
Marcus followed the portly man through. The air whooshed in his ears and he staggered forward, blinking at the harsh overhead light of the Gringo's Pizza.
Already several cultists were in their vehicles, driving as far away from here as they could get on a tank of gas. Juliette helped the patient to the door. The radio host held it open for them. His eyes alighted when he saw Marcus.
"There's the man!"
Marcus approached the door. The radio host clapped him on the back. "My name's Rod Withers. I host Drive-Time Conspiracy."
"I heard your show. I used to think it was funny."
They both stepped out into the cool night air.
"I used to be fucking around, until I met Juliette and the Resistance. Those people really opened my eyes."
Marcus saw Juliette standing by the Harley, slipping on her helmet. The other woman stood beside her, barefoot and dull-eyed.
"She's with the Resistance?"
"Brother, she is the Resistance."
Juliette straddled the seat. "Someone needs to drive Imani to the hospital."
Rod Withers held up a hand. "I'll take her. Where's the nearest hospital?"
"Salt Lake City." Juliette booted the kickstand and brought the engine to life. "I'll see you in Chicago in ten days, Rod. Marcus?"
"Yeah?"
Her dark eyes held him paralyzed. "I strongly think you should reconsider."
Before Marcus could reply either way she flicked the visor down, obscuring her face, and roared off toward the road.
"Is she always so serious?"
"As serious as shittin your pants."
Rod put a gentle hand on the patient's shoulder. She startled, then returned to her flat, dazed expression as he ushered her toward the only vehicle left, a gold Mercedes from the mid-1980s. He opened the passenger door for her and helped her inside. After he'd closed the door he went around to the driver's side and looked up at Marcus.
"You gonna be all right?"
Marcus looked out toward the road, where Layla had parked the Gringo's Pizza car. He nodded. "I think so." He looked down at the weapon in his hand. He'd never shot one before today, had never even considered it. But he felt safer having it with him. "I'm keeping the gun."
Rod grinned. "A well-armed citizen is a safer citizen." He flicked Marcus a salute. "Take care of yourself, God-killer. Hope to see you 'round."
"Maybe." Marcus nodded. "Probably not, though."
Rod chuckled and slipped into the driver's seat. The old beast rumbled to life. As he backed it out of the lot the brake pads squeaked and thick smoke sputtered out the back. The woman's eyes stayed on Marcus until Rod swung the car around. She didn't turn her head.
He sighed heavily.
A loud buzzing like a bug zapper made him jump as the light flickered around him before plunging him into the dark. He turned to find the restaurant had finally lost its power.
Above its rectangular silhouette an entire galaxy of stars twinkled.
He got halfway to the car before realizing he didn't have the keys. "Goddamn it." He had no idea how to hotwire a car. All he could hope for was that Layla had left his phone in the car, and it still had some charge left.
In the moonlight he saw the phone on the passenger seat. As he circled around back to the driver's door he remembered the keys were still in the trunk lock. He shut the trunk and pulled them out.
"I guess it's my lucky night."
He got in behind the wheel, eased the seat back, and swapped the gun for the phone.
Morales had left a text with GPS coordinates.
Marcus set the phone beside the gun and turned the keys, hoping like hell it ran.
The engine turned over, rumbling badly but better than Rod's Mercedes. The stereo blasted on with arguably the most obnoxious 1940s ditty, the one about sitting under an apple tree. He popped out the CD and switched through the dials until he heard Jimi Hendrix asking Joe about the gun in his hand. With all that had happened over the past two days, he didn't bother to consider the coincidence.
As Jimi's guitar wept, Marcus Mills drove off into the cold desert night.
~
STAY TUNED FOR HARBINGER
PART TWO: THE AWOKENING
Thank you for reading this book! I hope you’ve enjoyed what you read, or at least didn’t hate it! If you loved it or hated it, please consider leaving a brief review on Amazon or Goodreads. I would also love to hear what you think via social media @ www.facebook.com/duncanralstonfiction and on Twitter @userbits. I love talking books, movies and TV shows—especially horror.
I’d also like to thank some first readers, whose encouragement and/or critiques were valuable and appreciated: George Ilett Anderson, Darren Dilnott, Alex Kimmell, Pardip Basra, Lydian Faust, Thomas S. Flowers, John Ractcliffe and of course my mom, who’s always eager for the next story even if she probably shouldn’t be reading it.
Get this FREE thriller when you join www.duncanralston.com!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Duncan Ralston was born in Toronto and spent his teens in small-town Canada. As a "grownup," Duncan lives with his partner and their dog in Toronto, where he writes dark fiction about the things that disturb him. In addition to his twisted short stories found in Gristle & Bone, the anthologies Easter Eggs & Bunny Boilers, What Goes Around, Death by Chocolate, Flash Fear, and the charity anthologies Dark Designs, Bah! Humbug!, VS: US vs UK Horror, and The Black Room Manuscripts Vol. 1, he is the author of the novels Salvage, Wildfire, The Method (Kindle Press), and Woom, an extreme horror Black Cover book from Matt Shaw Publications.
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HARBINGER Deliver Us to Evil Page 9
