Phobias

by Ryan Horvath

  “What’s the plan, Chad?” Calvin said when he got to them. He was also dripping with perspiration and blood. His hand was turning an ugly shade of blue and his face looked like Holly’s: as if they were both in the early stages of an infection.

  “Barry Ellis told me about this place once,” Chad said, looking back and forth between Calvin and Holly. He was referring to one of the cooks he worked with at the diner. “Supposedly it goes almost straight down into the ground about eight hundred feet.” He focused on Calvin. “See if you can find that shaft on the site map, Cal. That’s where we’re gonna get rid of this thing. And Cal? Hurry! This is a heavy bitch.”

  Calvin wasted no time asking for additional explanation about what Chad was seeking. It didn’t take Calvin too long to find it. He pointed on the map and looked around. “Shit! My sense of direction is all messed up. Which way is North?”

  “It’s that way,” Holly said, and nodded. Her sense of direction was just fine. But she couldn’t believe any of this was going to matter. As Chad moved them in the direction Calvin indicated, Holly said, “What difference is dropping this thing in a hole going to make? It’ll still destroy Hillsboro and who knows what else.”

  “Andrews said it was nuclear material. I’m not sure this is a full-on-mushroom-cloud-nuke. I hope, instead, it’s what’s called a ‘dirty bomb.’” He paused and looked skeptically at the bomb. “But, I’ll admit I could totally be wrong. Either way, it’s the only option we have. Whichever it is, if it goes off on the surface, we and Hillsboro are fucked. Everyone’s got a chance if we can get it down in that shaft.”

  Holly looked at the timer. She was certain ten minutes had passed but it was, in fact, only two. She voiced her next concern but didn’t allow her doubt to stop her from continuing on. “And how exactly do we get out of here? Out of the blast area?”

  “Well,” Chad said. “We’re gonna have to run.”

  “But Cal’s been shot in the…” Holly started.

  “Hey,” Calvin cut her off. “If I can stand, I can run. And I’m not going to quit.”

  Holly closed her mouth, smiled, and nodded. She felt a tear of pride well in her eye.

  “I think that’s it!” Calvin said excitedly and pointed. “The shaft!”

  He was right. Relief washed over Chad as he saw it and even more so as he saw what was beside it. He had left one dilemma unspoken to the others. That was that he had no idea how they would get the bomb all the way to the bottom of the mineshaft short of dragging it down there by hand and that would be a suicide mission. But beside the mine shaft was an ancient-looking pulley system. When they were close enough, Chad could see there was a dolly cart still attached to a rope that looked so dry that it might crumble to dust if it was touched. He knew it would have to suffice. There was no alternative.

  “Let’s get it on that cart, Holly,” Chad directed and nodded. “And be careful. I don’t want either of us falling into the shaft.”

  In spite of her injury and their mutual fatigue, Holly and Chad managed to set the bomb on the cart. Some of the wood on the cart bed groaned under the weight.

  “Let’s not waste any time,” Calvin said. “That cart sure doesn’t seem like it’s gonna hold.”

  “I agree,” Chad said. He also didn’t like the way the wheels sunk into the dirt under the weight of the bomb. He found himself praying for the decrepit cart next. He stole one last glance at the timer. They had twenty-nine minutes. “Alright. Let’s get it done.” He moved to the pulley system. It didn’t take him long to come to a realization. With Holly’s gunshot and Calvin’s broken hand, they were both pretty much useless for this part. Useless meant they had no reason to stick around. “Look,” he said. “You guys have to get going. Get a head start.”

  Holly started to protest but Chad held up a finger to silence her. He didn’t take much time doing so and started to slowly release the cart down the shaft.

  “Go back and get that fuck, Andrews. Drag him out of here and to justice if you can. If you can’t, leave his ass out here to cook in the radioactive mess he made.” Chad saw Holly shake her head and tears fell from her eyes. “It’ll be fine. I’ll be right behind you. I’ll probably even catch up with the way Cal is moving.” He offered them a smile. “Just go. Please!”

  Holly was still reluctant, but Calvin was able to coax her to move with him. Chad continued to lower the cart and watched them until they were out of sight. The building where they left Andrews was on the way back to town, so he had no way of knowing if they were going to stop and collect the bastard. Chad sincerely hoped they would. He really wanted Andrews to be subjected to a crippled life in federal prison at the hands of the worst of the worst, falling victim to all the horrors he had inflicted on others.

  ~*~0~0~*~

  Holly and Calvin went back into the building for hopefully the last time.

  Andrews was still on the floor, unconscious.

  “We’ll never be able to drag him out of here,” Holly said. “Not in the shape we’re in.”

  “Then we get him as far as we can,” Calvin said. “If we can only get him a few miles from here, then so be it. He pays for everything he’s done. Everything.”

  Holly didn’t want to waste any time debating. She nodded, leaned down, and seized one of Andrews’s wrists with the hand of her uninjured arm.

  Calvin took the other and they dragged him.

  When they were outside, they ran.

  In spite of their injuries, they did better than they expected.

  ~*~0~0~*~

  Chad lowered the cart with the rope until he felt it stop. The thing must have made it to the bottom, and Chad sighed heavily in relief.

  Chad had no idea how much time he had left.

  He turned from the shaft.

  He was fortunately free of bullet holes, so he ran.

  Chad ran as fast as he possibly could.

  ~~46~~

  Twenty-two minutes later, the town of Hillsboro, New Mexico shook. It didn’t last long; a few seconds really, but the ground trembled enough to send some glass jars tumbling to the floor in the local market. Several young girls who were jumping rope on the sidewalk shrieked and scurried as the ground beneath their feet came to life. The cattle that Alton Stebbins kept went into a frenzy and stampeded around their paddock until they broke free from the fence and raced off into the painted landscape.

  But soon, the earth stabilized and the residents of Hillsboro breathed a collective sigh of relief, attributing the tremor to a rare earthquake.

  Shortly after that, most everybody forgot the tremor and was back to their normal daily business.

  ~*~0~0~*~

  After twenty-some minutes dragging an unconscious man, Holly and Calvin didn’t get very far.

  The explosion was much more intense for them.

  Holly was sent stumbling and she crashed her injured arm into an outcropped rock. She yelped and cursed as she fell to the ground.

  Calvin tried to hold onto Andrews and couldn’t. With his gunshot wound, his legs felt as if they had no bones so, when the ground shook, he was knocked off his feet. He did his best to keep his injured hand from smashing into the ground.

  “Look!” Holly shouted after she righted herself. She pointed in the direction they came from.

  Chad was running toward them.

  ~*~0~0~*~

  Chad ran so fast that his feet were barely ever on the ground when the blast occurred. In the distance, he saw Holly and Calvin drop the miserable doctor and fall.

  “Shit,” he muttered to himself. He didn’t think any of them made it far enough, and a nagging sensation told him that a massive fireball was approaching from behind which would engulf them at any second before making its way to Hillsboro and beyond.

  But, by some miracle, he saw a bird fly overhead in the direction of the shaft. If the bird didn’t sense doom ahead, then that was a good sign.

  Chad chanced a look over his shoulder.

  The desert-scape was unchanged.
No fireball loomed in the sky. Chad almost couldn’t believe it and he slowed his pace.

  ~*~0~0~*~

  “You did it!” Holly said as Chad approached them. She was back on her feet and helping Calvin to his. They left Andrews lying in the dirt.

  “We did it,” Chad corrected. “At least I hope we did.” He took over for Holly in helping Calvin. Calvin was much bigger than Holly and she wasn’t having much of success assisting him. “Did that asshole give you any trouble?”

  “Only in the fact that we had to drag him,” Calvin said through gritted teeth. “Man. I thought we were goners for sure.” He looked back in the direction they came from. “I guess the doc’s bomb wasn’t as bad as he thought.”

  “It was bad enough,” Chad said. “And something I don’t care to deal with ever again.” He paused. “I could really use a drink right about now.”

  “I think we all could,” Holly said, and chuckled.

  They stood in silence for a few moments looking at the place that was supposed to be their grave.

  Finally, Calvin said, “C’mon. Let’s get back to town before I fall over. It’s a long walk and I really need a hospital.”

  Chad and Holly both nodded in agreement. They turned, and each picked up one of Justin’s wrists.

  Chad and Holly dragged while Calvin limped along.

  ~~47~~

  “So… why’d you do it?” the young Hillsboro Police Department cop asked. He knew he wasn’t supposed to talk to the perpetrator on the hospital bed but, from what he overheard when the quartet came in, he was pretty powerless to resist. The federal cops wouldn’t be here for a while and the two senior officers had stepped out; one for coffee and the other for a trip to the toilet and a cigarette.

  Miedo looked the young cop directly in the eyes and licked his dry lips. He could see he was in a hospital, but his room had no windows short of what he could easily recognize as a two-way mirror on one wall and a small square window embedded in the door. He moved his wrist slightly and the chain of the handcuffs that had him attached to the bed clinked. Miedo didn’t know how he got here but, with this wet-behind-the-ears local cop present, that meant his bomb hadn’t gone off. The drunk ex-cop, the big-dicked football player, and the panty priss must have succeeded in disarming his weapon of mass destruction. Miedo was happy to be alive but not at all happy about his situation. He was in agony from the injuries to his legs and his head hurt from something he didn’t recall, and his wrists felt as if they’d been twisted and pulled in all kinds of directions. They sported thick, angry-looking bruises evidencing that something had happened. Like the other man in the room, Miedo also knew that the FBI was on its way to collect him. In the wake of Mitchell’s worm, the US government had done its best to get their police forces back up and running and the FBI had barely missed a beat, though they were still out of commission for quite some time. So his situation was, indeed, not good. Escape was unlikely this time. He was gravely injured and, while his legs were not in casts yet, they’d been thickly bandaged and wrapped together making him immobile from the waist down. Unless he intended to make his getaway by somehow chewing through metal cuff chains and wriggling like a caterpillar, he was going into federal custody. Looking at the rookie cop in the room, Miedo saw a blank slate on the young guy’s sun-kissed face. A tingly feeling formed in his stomach and it blocked out the agonizing ripples of pain that emanated from his knees. Miedo easily recognized excitement. He thought to himself that he had nothing to lose. A smirk crossed his lips.

  “My young friend,” Miedo began, keeping the young cop’s eyes trained on his, and speaking calmly. “Fear is a powerful motivator. Maybe even the most powerful driving force out there.” He paused and read genuine interest in the cop’s expression. “And when you take someone’s fear, when you create it and drink from it, well, it’s better that any fine wine or aged cognac… More rich and flavorful than the best tobacco… Better than an ecstasy high…” He lowered his voice to a softer octave. “More supple than a virgin the first time you take one.”

  Miedo saw his tactic was working. There was no reason to believe it wouldn’t. He’d hypnotized plenty of people over the years in his psychological profession. And this novice policeman was easy. Miedo used a low, soft, reassuring tone of voice and kept his eyes trained on the cop’s. In a moment or less, the cop would be fully enchanted and susceptible to whatever suggestion Miedo wanted to make and whatever information Miedo wanted to draw out of him. He continued.

  “Fear sets us free. By us, I mean people like you and me. You want to be free, don’t you.” Miedo made the sentence more of a statement than a question. “Free… Free… Free… The fear feeds us. And the fear sets us free. Free… Free… Free… You want to be free.”

  The cop, whose name was Griffin, or “Griff” to the folks around town, said nothing and just stared at Miedo.

  Miedo knew he had him now. This kid was in the rare one percentile that was highly hypnotizable. Miedo would have to tread lightly. He didn’t want to re-write the kid’s entire psyche. He only wanted to give him enough suggestions to make him activate at the right time and place.

  “What’s your name, kid?” Miedo asked.

  “G… Griffin Miller,” Griff responded in a dazed way.

  “How old are you?” Miedo said.

  “Twenty-three,” Griff answered.

  Miedo liked that. The kid had plenty of life left and he’d be a wonderful candidate to take on the phobia legacy.

  “Are you married?” Miedo said. He didn’t see a ring on the kid’s finger but knew a lot of cops went without while on duty.

  “No,” Griff said.

  “Girlfriend?”

  “No,” Griff repeated.

  Miedo was hip to the times and didn’t discriminate. “Boyfriend?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Griff confirmed.

  Miedo liked that too. When it came to programming his new disciple, he would use that.

  “What is your greatest fear?” Miedo asked next.

  Griff looked puzzled for a brief moment and then said, “I’m not afraid of anything. Fear feeds me. Fear sets me free.

  Shocked surprise flashed on Miedo’s face. He couldn’t believe the kid responded like that. But he couldn’t miss a moment while he had it. “What is your greatest fear?” he repeated.

  Without hesitation, Griff said, “I’m not afraid of anything. Fear feeds me. Fear sets me free.”

  Amazing Miedo thought.

  “Well, Griffin, you are correct. The fear feeds. It sets us free.” He paused. “What is your boyfriend afraid of?”

  “Heights,” Griff said.

  “That’s very good. Very good. Now Griffin, listen to me very carefully. Soon, you are going to feel a hunger. There will only be one way to feed that hunger.” He stopped and made certain Griffin was still rapt to his words. There was really no doubt of losing him. “When you feel this hunger, you’ll get an erection.” He saw the kid blush slightly. “Your mouth will go dry and there will be pain in your stomach. You will feel this hunger on the third week of every other month.” That would be ambitions and put the kid to taking on six phobics a year, maybe more, depending on who got in the way, but there was no turning back in the programming now. “And by the end of that week, you will need to take care of that hunger or you will die. Do you understand, Griffin?”

  “Yes,” Griff replied obediently.

  “To feed the hunger, you must create fear,” Miedo said. “You must feed on the fear of another person. You must make them so afraid that it pours out of them and into you. Then and only then will the hunger be satisfied and then and only then will you be set free.” Miedo neglected to say until the next time the hunger begins. “Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” Griff repeated, like a soldier.

  “Don’t feed from your boyfriend first, or even second or third,” Miedo instructed. If Griffin made his boyfriend an early target, then there was a good chance he would be caught early by the cops. “Stranger
s will satisfy the hunger best. If you have no other choice, you may feed from your boyfriend, but then you’ll have to ensure his corpse is never found once you’ve finished with it. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” Griff said.

  Miedo stopped for a moment. He didn’t want to release the kid yet, but he wasn’t sure what to do about Chad Dean, Holly Nabors, and Calvin Vale. Their phobias were gone, so they would likely never fall onto Griffin’s radar. And Justin Andrews was off to a federal-ass-fuck prison for sure where they would likely throw away the key if he wasn’t executed outright? But Chad, Holly, and Calvin were a loose end that Miedo did not like flapping in the wind. Impulsively, and without thought of the potential ramifications, he added a directive.

  “You will keep a close eye, though from a distance, on Chad Dean, Holly Nabors, and Calvin Vale. Do you know who they are?”

  “Yes,” Griff said. “Chad works at the diner. Holly’s kind of sweet on him and Calvin lives with them. They all came to Hillsboro from somewhere together. Mississippi? Missouri?”

  “Minnesota,” Miedo corrected. “Those three were once massive wells of fear, so massive that I drank from them many times over the years. But they have lost their fear. Even still, you should watch them. If their fears return, strike and exploit them. Brutally. Bring them to their knees and cripple them with their fears and drink as much as you can. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” Griff said without hesitation.

  “Very good. Now, Griffin. I am going to count to five.” Miedo could hear footsteps approaching in the distance in the hallway and knew his time was almost up. “When I say five, you are going to have to go to the bathroom and you will leave the room to do so. You will return to your regular state of consciousness and you will not remember that we spoke. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” Griff said one last time.

  “One…two… three… four… five,” Miedo counted.

  On five, Griff blinked rapidly and looked around as if he just woke up. “Man, I really gotta piss,” he said and headed for the door. He made it there at the same time that a group of four men appeared on the other side. “My turn to hit the can now,” Griff said, as he pressed past the two senior officers who had been here before and the two other men who were very obviously FBI agents from their demeanor.