Devil's Throat (The River Book 6)

by Michael Richan

  She tossed the pulsebox into her backpack and picked up her pace, turning at the next junction to take an adit running to the right. It soon joined up with a major passageway. Three hundred feet and I’m outta here, Deem thought. Erin better like this present. If she doesn’t, I’m going to be pissed.

  Erin was a good friend of hers, maybe her best friend. They’d grown up together in Mesquite. When she was fourteen Deem learned that Erin was gifted too. The two had been inseparable until Erin’s mother, Jenny, took a new job in Kingman, moving her three hours away. Now that she was out of high school and had her own truck, Deem drove down to visit Erin once a month or so. The only downside to visiting Erin was driving through Las Vegas to get there. She hated Vegas.

  Once Erin moved, it left a hole in Deem’s life that Winn later filled. He was gifted too, and smart – and they worked together a lot of the time. Winn was almost ten years older than Deem, and she couldn’t stand his approach to relationships and sex, but he had been a reliable ally in some scary situations they faced in the past couple of years since Deem’s father passed away. And beggars couldn’t be choosers – there weren’t a lot of gifteds around in the downwind area. The River was too twisted and strange for most of them. Once they took a trip to California or Oregon and saw what normal ghosts were like, the gifteds moved. Deem counted herself lucky to have Winn and Erin around. She knew she could rely on them.

  Deem emerged from the mine shaft and walked into the bright desert sunlight. She pulled her sunglasses from her shirt, put them on, and kept walking toward her truck. She checked her watch – ten-thirty. She told Winn she’d meet him at noon; just enough time to get home and get cleaned up.

  ▪ ▪ ▪

  Deem pulled her truck up to Winn’s trailer and honked twice. Winn’s trailer was on a four acre lot, and neighbors were scarce. There was an unfamiliar car parked outside the trailer next to Winn’s Jeep. Deem knew what this meant; he was entertaining someone. She looked at her watch. She was ten minutes early, but she didn’t feel like sitting out in her hot truck until Winn was finished, so she honked again, a signal to Winn that she arrived and would be knocking on the door in a few seconds. It gave him time to get dressed – and to get whoever was in there with him dressed as well.

  Deem grabbed her Big Gulp from the cup holder and hopped out of her truck. She walked up to the door of the trailer. When she was ten feet from it, it burst open and a girl about Deem’s age spilled out, pulling a t-shirt over her head as she walked down the steps.

  “See ’ya,” she heard Winn call from inside.

  The girl adjusted the shirt on her body as she walked past Deem and toward her car. “Next!” she said as she passed, and began giggling.

  Deem stopped walking and rolled her eyes. She hated that anyone might think she was visiting Winn for a fling. She liked Winn, and she respected him as a fellow gifted who knew his shit, but she hated how he ran his personal life, which seemed to be a perpetual stream of conquests. She considered yelling something back at the girl, like “I’m not here for that!” or “I’m just a friend!” but she knew it wouldn’t matter, so she just kept walking to the door.

  Winn appeared in the doorway, wearing nothing but a pair of thin Nike shorts. He propped his hands up against the top of the doorway and leaned out.

  “Geez, can’t you dress?” Deem said.

  “It’s a hundred degrees,” Winn said. “Why should I?”

  “At least a shirt?” Deem asked.

  “Is my chest bothering you?” he asked her teasingly. He flexed his pecs.

  “Stop,” Deem said. “Just stop.”

  “If you’d hadn’t shown up early,” Winn said, “you wouldn’t have had to see her leave and you wouldn’t be so pissy. That’s your fault.”

  “Please don’t suggest I’m jealous,” Deem said, putting a hand on her hip and staring him down. “Ever since Steven and Roy left, there’s someone you’re banging every time I come over.”

  “Banging?” he interjected. “You learned a new word for it.”

  “I realize you’ve lost St. Thomas as a project,” Deem said. “But filling the void with cheap sex isn’t very productive.”

  “Sez you!”

  He walked from the trailer doorway and flopped into an outdoor chair next to an overturned cable spindle that served as a table. He lit up a cigarette.

  “You gonna tell me why I’m here?” Deem asked, sitting in a chair next to him.

  “Friend of mine in St. George,” Winn said. “He runs a tour operation. He has an interesting little problem.”

  “I hate those outfits,” Deem said.

  “Hear me out,” Winn said. “He shuttles groups from the tour office to wherever they’re going for the day. Some days it’s ghost towns, some days it’s Native American ruins.”

  “All the more reason to hate them,” Deem said.

  “Twice now, driving back from Pipe Springs at night, he says they were followed.”

  “Followed?”

  “By a man, running as fast as their bus, a hundred feet out in the brush. His eyes were glowing.”

  “Bullshit,” Deem said.

  “Twice, both times in the same spot. People on his bus saw it too.”

  “So what does it have to do with us?” Deem asked.

  “He wanted to know if we’d figure out what it is.”

  “Does your friend drink?”

  “Nope, straight-laced Mormon through and through.”

  “Why do I want to help a tour operator?” Deem asked. “They make money marching people all over sacred ruins.”

  “He was worried it might be something dangerous,” Winn said, reaching into his shorts and adjusting himself.

  “Would you please not do that in front of me?” Deem asked.

  “I’ve got an itch.”

  “Can’t imagine why.”

  “You’ve really got to lighten up,” Winn said. “You’re way too uptight about sex and stuff. People have junk, and they like to use it. Everybody does. Don’t freak out over it.”

  “I’m not freaking out,” Deem said. “It just seems to me you could wait to do that in private.”

  “I just do it naturally, I don’t think about it. So, he invited us to come along, tonight. What do you say?”

  “You go,” Deem said. “I’m really not interested.”

  “Oh, come on!” Winn said. “It’ll be fun. Bus leaves at three from St. George, we’ll be back by ten. The bus is big enough for fifty, and Dave says there’s not even ten reservations, so it won’t be crowded. Maybe we’ll get to see it!”

  “See what?” Deem asked.

  “The man who runs by the bus!” Winn said. “Weren’t you listening? He said the guy’s got yellow-green eyes, and they shine in the dark.”

  Deem had to admit it sounded intriguing, but she wasn’t really inclined to help anyone who ran a tour outfit. The tourists were always interfering with the places where she tried to work, and she didn’t like the idea of anyone profiting off ruins.

  “Come on,” Winn begged. “It’ll be fun.”

  “If this is the best you can do to replace St. Thomas work, I’m not impressed,” Deem said. “Seems kinda lame.”

  Winn furrowed his brow. “Don’t be that way,” he said. “I’ll reach into my shorts and scratch myself again.”

  “Alright!” Deem said, a small smile cracking her lips. “Don’t reach. I’ll go.”

  “That’s what I wanted to hear!” Winn said. He stood up and smashed his cigarette into an ashtray. “Be at their place on Bluff right at quarter to three.”

  ▪ ▪ ▪

  As Deem approached the tour office, she saw Winn standing out front, looking for her. Winn’s smile quickly faded when he saw that Deem was not alone.

  “Mom, I think you know Winn,” Deem said, making introductions. “Aunt Virginia, this is my friend Winthrop James.”

  Deem’s aunt held out her hand to Winn. “Nice to meet you,” she said. Deem could tell she was taken wit
h Winn’s good looks. He was tall and his hair was cut short in a military style. He had put on a t-shirt that showed every muscle in his chest.

  “Guess we’ll need two more tickets,” Winn said, forcing a smile. “I only bought two, sorry, I didn’t know you were coming.”

  “Oh, that’s no problem,” Deem’s mother said. “I’ll go get us another two.” She stepped away and walked into the tour office.

  “So,” Virginia said, “Deem tells us we’re going on a tour to some ruins?”

  “Yes,” Winn said, “it’s Anasazi ruins in northern Arizona.” He smiled, not really wanting to make small talk, and wondering why Deem had brought people along.

  “Margie shouldn’t have to pay for my ticket,” Virginia said. “Let me go give her some money. If you’ll excuse me.”

  Winn stepped aside and let Virginia walk into the tour office.

  “What the fuck?” Winn asked Deem.

  “She’s visiting from Arizona,” Deem said.

  “So?” Winn asked. “Why are they here?”

  “My mom asked me what I was doing tonight, and I told her about this tour,” Deem said. “Next thing you know, they were coming along.”

  “You couldn’t dissuade them?” Winn asked.

  “I mentioned there were only ten reservations for a fifty-person bus,” Deem said apologetically. “And I think my mom was looking for something to do with her sister. She’s been in town for a week and they haven’t done much. She insisted.”

  “Did you tell them I was coming along?” Winn asked.

  “I did,” Deem said, knowing where this was going. Deem’s mom wasn’t a big fan of Winn, and Winn knew it. Winn was a smoker, a swearer, a drinker, promiscuous, and, worst of all, non-Mormon.

  “So she’s here to keep an eye on me,” Winn said.

  “Yup, make sure you don’t corrupt her daughter.”

  “Well, won’t this be fun,” Winn said sarcastically.

  “Buck up,” Deem said, walking to the tour office. “I think my aunt likes you.”

  ▪ ▪ ▪

  They re-boarded the bus after a brief stop at Pipe Springs. No matter where Winn sat, Deem sat across from him, and Deem’s mother and aunt sat behind them.

  The driver of the bus, Winn’s friend Dave, had chatted with Deem while they were letting the tourists explore the Windsor House at Pipe Springs. Deem asked him about the man they had seen running by the bus, and he became quite agitated describing what he’d experienced. He said it appeared twice, both times on the drive back to St. George, just after sunset.

  “It wasn’t a hundred percent dark yet, so you could see it was a guy, not an animal,” Dave said. “And the thing that made him stand out was his eyes. They glowed. You might not have even noticed him out there if it weren’t for the eyes, moving along so fast.”

  “How do you know they were eyes?” Deem asked.

  “’Cause they blinked,” Dave said. “Once you focused on them, you could tell it was a man. And the creepy thing was, he was running so fast, but it didn’t look like he was struggling. I mean, I was going sixty down the road, and he’s keeping up with the bus!”

  “Other people saw it too?” Deem asked.

  “The second time, yeah,” Dave said. “They all took pictures, but nothing turned out. Too blurry.”

  Deem thanked Dave and walked to the dusty parking lot, waiting for the others to finish. She’d seen Pipe Springs many times, and didn’t enjoy walking through it while rubbing elbows with other people. Eventually the stragglers made their way back to the bus and they departed for their next destination on the tour.

  Deem listened as Dave spoke over the intercom. They were twenty minutes from their final stop, the Anasazi ruins. Deem leaned over to Winn, sitting across the aisle.

  “Dave seems nice enough,” Deem said.

  “Told you,” Winn said.

  “Do you think the tour office might be rigging something?” Deem asked. “To build an audience for a ghost tour or something?”

  “How do you rig a man running that fast?” Winn asked.

  “You’re right,” Deem said. “I guess I just need to see it to believe it.”

  “Your aunt felt me up back there,” Winn said, “when we were alone in one of those rooms at Pipe Springs.”

  “Eeww!” Deem said. “She did?”

  “Yup,” Winn said.

  “You realize she’s not a spring chicken,” Deem said, “like your usual.”

  “She’s what, in her mid-fifties?” Winn asked. “They’re usually the horniest.”

  “Stop!” Deem said. “She’s my aunt!”

  “Grabbed my ass,” Winn said. “Just telling ya.”

  “You will not have sex with her, do you understand?” Deem said. “I don’t care if she throws herself at you. Promise me.”

  “Why?” Winn asked. “She’s kinda hot.”

  “’Cause she’s my aunt!” Deem said as she reached across the aisle and pushed his arm. “And I introduced you. I don’t want to be blamed if she catches something.”

  Winn pushed her back. “Nothing to catch. I’m as clean as a virgin.”

  “Hardly. And I don’t want my mom thinking anything is up.”

  Winn turned to Deem and gave her a big smile, widening it until Deem picked up on the innuendo. Her face contorted in revulsion. She saw him look back in the bus to where Margie and Virginia were sitting, then glanced back at her aunt just in time to see her give Winn a wink.

  Bringing them along was a bad idea, Deem thought.

  ▪ ▪ ▪

  Deem felt Winn’s hand on her knee, and she woke up. The sun had set and it was dark inside the bus.

  “Wake up,” Winn whispered to her, shaking her leg. She turned to look around the in the bus. Her mother and aunt were several seats back, napping. There were a few more people behind them, many of which had fallen asleep.

  “Look!” Winn said, pointing out the window. Deem turned to look, trying to focus her eyes.

  At first she saw only brush whizzing by at sixty miles an hour, hills in the distance. The landscape was dark.

  “Is it out there?” Deem asked.

  “A hundred feet straight out,” Winn said. “Dave was right.”

  Deem struggled to find what Winn was looking at. She couldn’t locate anything unusual. “I don’t see it.”

  Winn sat next to her and pointed. “It’s there. Keep looking right where I’m pointing.”

  Deem continued to focus out the window, searching the landscape for any sign of movement.

  Then she saw one speck of light become two as it turned to look at them.

  Deem gasped and strained her neck to see better. Around the eyes she could see a shape, a head. Below it was the dark body of a man, moving incredibly fast. Now that she’d made out the man’s outline, she could see it fine.

  “I understand why the photos didn’t turn out,” Deem said.

  “What?” Winn asked.

  “Dave told me they tried to take pictures last time,” Deem said, “and they didn’t turn out. I don’t think you could get a picture of that. It’s too dark.”

  Deem watched as the man occasionally turned his head to look in their direction.

  “How could anyone run that fast?” Deem asked.

  “I don’t think it’s human,” Winn said. “Or, not completely.”

  “It’s getting closer,” Deem said. “It’s angling in toward us.”

  The silence of the bus was pierced by the scream of a woman in the back. Deem turned to look, and a woman sitting behind her mother and aunt was looking out the window, observing the running man. A woman sitting next to her raised her camera to try and take a picture. The flash from the camera lit the inside of the bus. People on the left side of the bus got up and walked to the right, trying to see whatever had caused the woman to scream.

  “Please stay in your seats,” Dave announced over the intercom. “We’ve got to have everyone seated for safety.”

  “Do you see tha
t, Deem?” Virginia asked. “Do you see it?”

  “Yes,” Deem answered. “I do.”

  Virginia got out of her seat and moved into the seat directly behind Deem and Winn. “What is it?”

  “It’s a man,” said Winn.

  As they watched, the running man closed the distance between him and the bus by half. Now he was easier to see.

  Deem’s mother followed Virginia and moved up behind Deem and Winn. “Is he going to attack the bus?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” Winn said.

  “How could someone run that fast?” Margie asked. “It’s not possible. It’s got to be a trick.”

  The man running beside the bus angled in again, and now was just ten feet from their window. They could see his face, which was dark and featureless. Deem gasped again as the man’s eyes locked onto hers, and he lifted from the ground and moved toward the bus as though he was flying.

  The woman in the back of the bus screamed again. Dave began to slow the bus.

  “Don’t stop!” Winn yelled. “Speed up!”

  The man was hovering four feet off the ground and moving quickly to Deem’s window.

  “Get back from the window,” Winn said to Deem. Then he yelled, “Everyone! Back from the windows!”

  The man landed at Deem’s window and pressed his face against the glass. Winn backed out of the seat next to Deem and pulled Deem with him. Virginia and Margie moved across the aisle, behind them.

  The man’s head passed through the glass without breaking it, his body attached to the outside of the bus. His head extended inside the bus, looking like a mounted trophy, but moving. He looked down at Deem. She saw his eyes center on her, felt his gaze deepen. Then it shifted its head and looked past Winn at Virginia and Margie. The woman in the back of the bus screamed again.