by Mark Lukens
“What’s the last thing you remember before waking up here in the desert?” Beth asked.
Carla thought for a moment.
“I’m not sure,” she finally answered. “It’s strange, like it’s kind of hard to remember. I think I was studying in my bedroom. I think I might have fallen asleep on my bed with some books open.”
“Studying?”
“Yeah. The one condition my aunt had before I moved in with her was that I go back to school and get my high school diploma.”
“That’s what I want to do,” Beth said in a soft voice. “Go back to school. Start over. Start everything over.”
“Just do it, then.”
Beth didn’t answer.
“I guess that’s complicated, too.”
Beth felt the punch of Carla’s words in her gut. She even had to suck in a breath of air like she’d been hit.
She heard Carla sigh next to her in the dark. “I’m sorry,” Carla said quickly. “I didn’t mean that. I’m just … it’s just that my nerves are fried right now and I’m saying shit without thinking.”
Beth just nodded in the dark.
“You got any kids?” Carla asked.
“No. I was pregnant once a few years ago. I thought having a baby would calm Trace down … my husband. But he became even … angrier.” Beth let her words trail off.
“What happened?” Carla asked, but it sounded like she already knew the answer. “You lost the baby?”
Beth nodded and let out a croak, choking back a sob. She didn’t want to talk about that anymore, either.
“Okay, let’s get back on track here,” Carla said. “You asked me what my last memory was. What was yours?”
“It’s all kind of fuzzy. I think Trace wanted to go out with some friends. I said something, I don’t remember what it was, and he thought I was telling him what he could and couldn’t do …” Beth let her words trail off again, she felt tears in her eyes and she wiped at them. “Anyway, it was a big misunderstanding.”
They were both silent for a long moment.
“There’s got to be some kind of connection between all of us,” Carla said. “Some reason the six of us were brought here.”
Beth nodded in the darkness, trying to concentrate on what that connection could be, but now she just saw the image of Trace standing in front of her, wobbling drunk, about to punch her again. She closed her eyes, hoping the image would go away.
“Who have we got here?” Carla continued in a low voice that was starting to sound sleepy. “We’ve got an abused housewife and a former gangbanger trying to get her high school diploma. We’ve got an asshole who hasn’t told us much about himself. We’ve got some kind of street bum who is a little slow. And Eugene looks like some kind of business man, but the way he screamed about Frank in the desert, I think his business is a little on the shady sign.”
Carla yawned.
“And there was Adam,” Beth reminded her.
“Yeah. We need to find something we all have in common,” Carla said and her voice was getting softer and slower.
Beth concentrated for a long moment, wondering what they could all have in common—it was a good distraction from the thoughts of her husband.
The answer to the connection seemed to be there in her mind, hidden somewhere under a fog, almost within reach …
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Beth woke up to an ear-splitting scream.
She sat bolt-upright and looked around the hotel lobby. She had been lying on her side on the wood floor, her back against the wall where she and Carla had been sitting while on watch.
Soft and yellowish morning daylight flooded in through the windows and double doors, but it was still chilly inside the room.
The scream sounded again. It was a man’s scream, full of terror and pain. But it wasn’t coming from inside the lobby—it was coming from somewhere outside.
Beth looked at Carla who was still sprawled out on the floor. She pushed on her leg. “Carla, get up.”
Carla stirred and Beth looked across the room at the men who were still sleeping. But there were only two of them now.
Tony was rolled up in a white sheet, curled up in a fetal position. Eugene didn’t have a sheet on him, and he slept on his back with an arm draped over his eyes, his eyeglasses on the table. But the canvas sheet where Ray had slept was empty.
Ray was gone.
After the next scream, both men woke up, sitting up quickly, looking around like they weren’t sure where they were for a moment.
Carla was up on her feet like she was ready for fight or flight. “What the fuck is that?”
“Someone’s screaming from outside,” Beth said.
Carla looked over at the men and she saw that Ray was gone. “Where’s Ray?”
“What the fuck?” Tony said as he backed away from the rumpled sheets he’d been wrapped up in.
Eugene grabbed his glasses from the table and slid them on. He looked towards the double doors. The stick was still lodged through the handles, the chair still wedged underneath. “It’s Ray out there. That must be who’s screaming.”
The gut-wrenching screams from outside were even louder now, becoming one constant scream. No words, no pleading, just one long, steady, unending scream.
Eugene rushed over to the double doors.
“Wait a minute,” Tony said from behind him. “Let’s think about this for a minute.”
But Eugene didn’t wait. He knocked the chair out of the way and pulled the stick free from the door handles. “They got Ray.”
“Maybe Ray left,” Tony offered, still standing in the same spot on the floor. “Maybe he tried to run without us.”
Carla and Beth were beside Eugene in a flash, ready to back him up, both ignoring Tony’s pleas to slow down and discuss this.
Eugene pulled one of the double doors open and Beth could already hear the two dogs barking outside. They didn’t sound like they were very close to the door, and their barking was being drowned out by the insane and continuous scream.
Beth had never heard someone scream like that before.
“Oh … God …” was all Eugene could say once he stepped out onto the wooden walkway and looked down the dirt street.
Beth and Carla followed him outside onto the wood deck. Beth glanced out at the dusty street and the dogs were there, only fifteen feet away, but they weren’t attacking. They just stood in the street, almost like watch dogs, waiting in case any of them tried to run.
Tony ran to the double doors and he picked up the pointed stick from the floor. He went outside onto the wood deck and stood behind Carla and Beth.
The four stood together in a tight group, all of them still within a few steps of the front doors of the hotel lobby.
Beth turned her eyes away from the dogs and looked towards the sound of the screams. She wished she hadn’t.
Ray was fifty yards down the dusty street, right in the middle of it. He was buried up to his neck in the dirt street, only his head exposed. His head was on fire. The black sockets of his eyes and black yawning hole of a mouth were the only recognizable traces left of his face; the fire had melted everything else and was now charring the flesh.
Ray’s screams began to die down. And then they stopped suddenly.
Carla started to rush out after Ray, but Beth grabbed her arm.
“There’s nothing you can do for him now,” Beth whispered into her ear.
Carla struggled in Beth’s grip, but it was a half-hearted attempt. Beth could tell that Carla realized Ray was beyond help now. He was either dead or very close to death by now.
Tony kept his eyes on the two dogs that now showed more of an interest in them, both of them slinking forward and growling. He gripped the stick in his hand like a large knife. “I think we need to get back inside.”
The rest of them turned their attention to the dogs and watched the animals as they crept a little closer. The two Rottweilers looked like they were ready to spring into a run at any moment.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Once they were back inside the hotel lobby with the doors barred shut, Tony went on a rampage, pacing back and forth, swinging a fist at the air. “What the fuck!”
Eugene, Beth, and Carla sat at the table.
“How the fuck could they have gotten in here and carried that big motherfucker out of here without us knowing it?”
“The stick was still through the door handles,” Eugene reminded all of them. “The chair was still wedged underneath the door handles. There must be another way in and out of here.”
Tony turned his anger towards Carla and Beth. “You two were supposed to be on watch. You were supposed to wake one of us up before you went to sleep!”
“I don’t remember going to sleep,” Carla said. “I was talking to Beth. Next thing I know I’m waking up a few minutes ago.”
Tony shook his head in disgust. “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you two. I shouldn’t have left that kind of responsibility to a couple of women.”
Carla jumped up from her chair, eyeing Tony. “You better watch your mouth.”
“Oh yeah?”
Tony took a step closer to Carla.
“You think I’m afraid of your punk ass?” Carla said.
“You think you’re the only one from the streets?” Tony told Carla. “Well, sister, I’ve spent plenty of time on the street.”
“Yeah, Sesame Street.”
Tony looked like he was ready to pounce on Carla. “I’ve had it with your mouth!”
Carla didn’t back down one inch. “Then do something about it.”
Eugene stood up, his face red, his eyes blazing—it was the first time Beth had seen him this angry. “Carla! Tony! Stop! Arguing like this isn’t going to get us anywhere!”
They were all silent for a few heartbeats.
Tony and Carla stared at Eugene for a moment, and then they locked eyes with each other again.
Eugene sighed, calming down a little. “Someone, some people, are out there picking us off one by one and all you two can do is fight with each other.”
Tony and Carla didn’t respond.
“We need to work together or we’re not going to survive,” Eugene finished. He let out another long exhale, like he was beyond weary.
Tony’s eyes were still on Carla. “You were supposed to wake us up before you went to sleep.”
“I don’t remember falling asleep,” Carla said through clenched teeth.
Eugene jumped in quickly before they started arguing again. “Let’s think about this for a minute. We all fell asleep even though we didn’t want to. Maybe we were drugged.”
Tony looked at Eugene. “Drugged. How?”
“I don’t know. Maybe the water. Maybe some kind of gas in the room. How should I know?”
“I don’t know how you should know, but you seem to know a lot about this.”
“Not this again,” Eugene said and ran a hand through his curly hair. “You’re like a one-track tape.”
“Only because you keep saying things that make me suspicious.”
“Yeah, that’s because I stop and think about things instead of going off on little temper tantrums.”
Carla watched Tony and her body was tense, she was still ready to fight. “I don’t think you’ll shed any tears over Ray,” she told him. “You were the one who tried to close the door on him when the dogs were attacking him.”
Tony didn’t respond.
“Remember?” Carla said with a sarcastic smile. “He was dead weight. A retard. A bum.”
Tony walked away from Carla, moving deeper into the morning gloom of the lobby.
She followed him, not letting up. “Oh, you don’t want to talk anymore, big man?”
Beth stared at Carla—she could feel that this was going to spiral out of control very quickly. It was the same feeling she had when she realized a little too late that she’d said the wrong thing to Trace, the one word or sentence that was going to set him off. And once a man like Trace, or maybe Tony, was set off there was no turning back.
“Please, Carla …” Beth said.
Carla turned to Beth with fierce dark eyes. “No, Beth. This is how you stand up to a man.”
Beth felt like she’d been punched in the gut—like Carla’s words had penetrated her body and struck her heart.
But Beth also saw Carla’s face crumble in regret. “Beth, wait. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
Beth nodded at Carla. She tried to show a brave face, or at least a neutral face, trying to prove that Carla’s words hadn’t hurt her, but she could already feel her eyes welling up with tears, her throat closing in emotion, her skin flushing. She didn’t want to cry, but she couldn’t help it.
Carla rushed over to Beth and put an arm around her. Beth didn’t want Carla near her right now, not after what she’d just said, but she didn’t push her away, either.
“I’m sorry,” Carla said. “I didn’t mean that.”
Beth just nodded and wiped away at her tears.
Tony ran over to the nearest wall and kicked it with the sole of his sneaker. The wall made a dull thudding sound, almost a muffled sound. “God, this is so fucking crazy!”
Eugene shuffled over to the table and sat down. “Come over here and sit down, Tony. Please.” He looked at Carla and Beth. “Please, let’s all sit down for a minute and think about this.”
“I don’t want to sit down!” Tony raged. “I want to do something!!” He rushed over to the table, his eyes glowering. “They came in here and took Ray out of here right under our noses. We were sleeping right beside him. They could’ve killed all of us if they’d wanted to. They’re going to pick us off one by one. And you want to have a meeting?”
Eugene stood up, his anger back suddenly. “Yes I do! Because if we don’t figure this game out, then that’s exactly what’s going to happen—they are going to pick us off one by one!”
Tony stared at Eugene for a moment.
Everyone else was quiet. Beth and Carla watched Tony and Eugene, both of them at the table, standing on each side of it, staring at each other.
“A game,” Tony finally said. “You and your fucking game.”
“It is some kind of a game,” Eugene answered. “At least to them, it is. And I think we’d better figure out the rules in a hurry.”
Eugene looked at Beth and Carla. “Please,” he said again. “Come and sit down. Let’s try to figure this out.”
Beth and Carla sat down at the table. Eugene and Tony sat down. They all sat at each side of the table, like bridge players ready to start a game. On the table were the objects that they’d found in their pockets the day before.
Eugene reached out for the toy rat with the hunk of Swiss cheese. He picked it up and held it for a moment, studying it. “These things mean something. They wouldn’t have put these in our pockets if they didn’t mean something.”
Tony sniffed and then exhaled a loud breath. He picked up the object he’d found in his back pocket, a toy horse. It was a horse in mid-gallop, but it could be stood up on the table on its legs. It was painted black with little other detail. It looked like it could be from a generic plastic toy set of a farm.
“Okay,” Eugene said. “What do we have here? I have a rat eating a piece of cheese. Ray had a piece of candy. Tony has a horse. Beth has a toy car. And Carla has three seashells.”
Carla picked up one of the seashells she’d found in her pocket and looked at it for a moment.
Beth didn’t pick up her toy car. She didn’t want everyone else to see that she recognized the car. She wanted to tell them that she recognized it, she really did, and she was thinking about how to say it without all of them pouncing on her and accusing her of being involved with all of this.
“Maybe there’s some kind of connection between these objects,” Carla offered.
“Maybe,” Eugene said. “They’re all toys.” But then he stopped. “Except for the seashells.”
“So maybe they’re not all toys,
” Carla said. “But maybe they would all be something a child would have in their pockets: candy, toys, seashells.”
“Yeah,” Eugene said, his eyes lighting up with the first glimmers of hope. “Maybe.”
“Or maybe each one was tailored to us,” Carla said, getting a little more excited, a little more animated. “Maybe each object is significant to us somehow. A part of our lives.”
“I don’t know what a fucking horse would mean to me,” Tony said. “I’ve never rode a horse. I don’t even like horses.”
They were all silent for a moment.
Carla looked at Eugene. “What kind of work do you do?”
“Is that really important right now?”
Tony was suddenly interested. “Why don’t you just answer the question?”
“Because I think we need to concentrate on these objects. I think we might be getting somewhere.”
“There might be a connection between the objects and each one of us,” Carla said. “Maybe they are clues to why we were chosen to be here. We need to know more about each other, and maybe then we can figure out what the clue is.”
Beth remembered Carla talking about this last night right before they drifted off to sleep—finding a connection between all of them.
“You’re starting to think he’s in on this, too,” Tony said to Carla, his mouth spreading out in a mean grin. “Aren’t you?”
Carla didn’t answer—she still stared at Eugene.
“That’s my girl,” Tony said and clapped his hands once loudly.
Beth jumped a little when Tony clapped his hands.
“I know he’s got something to do with all of this, with all of his rules of the game and all that shit,” Tony said. “I can feel it in my bones.”
Eugene threw his hands up in surrender. “You just won’t let it go, will you?”
“No,” Tony answered, his dark eyes leveled right at Eugene. “I won’t.”
“Who’s Frank?” Carla asked.
Eugene shook his head in defeat and sighed. He played with the toy rat for a moment, almost like he was stalling.
