Four days earlier: Day Zero ∞ Thursday night, August 9, 1979
THE MOON ROSE to contrast the motionless treetops against the sky. It forced the surrounding stars to retreat and fade in deference—as if to hide them from the face of the Earth. Life in the laid-back lakeside town of Eufaula went about its usual routine of slowing to a rest before a new day.
Except for one lone pickup truck.
It drove through the historic suburb and straight through town. Continuing on the southbound, it met a couple of vehicles as it crossed one bridge and then another. The streetlights became sparse. It wasn't until it reached the south-side fire station that the driver decelerated.
"Shoot!" Danny blurted, realizing that he'd ruminated his way past his turnoff for home miles ago.
He pulled over on the curb, shaking his head. Hanging out at the club, celebrating Ray's twenty-second birthday with the guys from work just had to do it, didn't it? Getting him started on old memories that inevitably descended into the gut-wrenching pang of betrayal.
He sighed and rubbed his face. Why couldn't he just forget and let go? He should've put that relationship behind him long ago.
A vigorous shake only succeeded in partially dislodging the picture-perfect blonde inside his head. Damn. Maybe he should just keep on driving since he'd already come this far. Take in the night view at the next public landing. Get some fresh air. Give the beer in his system a chance to mellow. It was as good an excuse as any.
He took a left turn and minutes later parked alongside the edge of the creek.
That's more like it. Leaning against the truck, he drew long, deep breaths of the warm air. Gradually, the sounds of the night and the view before him took over, pushing Marilyn into the dark recesses of his mind. Frogs and crickets chirped away. An owl swooshed by on its hunt, backlit by the full moon. The water barely rippled against the concrete landing, stretching out into a sheet of bright, cloudless reflection. It was an open invitation to boaters and fishers alike. He considered himself neither, although he didn't mind catching a fish or two.
A slow wave of serenity filled him. If he'd had his camping gear with him, he'd sleep under the stars tonight. It didn't matter that the road was only a stone's throw away.
Maybe I'll do it anyway. I still have the blanket in the—
A distant flash of blue illuminated the eastern sky, then throbbed away. By habit, Danny started counting the seconds, One... two... Huh?
Two specks of light streaked up from the east toward the moon and disappeared in its glare. Then a third faded in the opposite direction.
His sister's voice came to him, "Make a wish, Dan. Make it three!" and he shook his head with a chuckle as he squinted at the moon.
You've got to be kidding. What was the point? He couldn't see them anymore anyway. And no rumbling had sounded. The lightning had occurred too far away.
He strolled out on the pier next to the landing and looked toward the mouth of the creek for a better view.
Nah. Of course he wouldn't be able to see the dam lights—that was miles from here.
—Dam.
The whisper echoed from somewhere in the back of his mind like he was hearing himself think. He stilled his breath and listened. But all he heard were the loud crickets and the gentle clucking of water against the pier. He shrugged and turned to walk back to shore.
—Go to the dam.
He started, almost losing his balance.
"Who's that?" He looked around. Oh no... That was inside his head. Don't tell me I'm going crazy. Why would the beer get to him now when he'd stayed well within his limit? Or had somebody spiked it? He'd never heard of that happening in his neck of the woods.
Before he could speculate further, a strange urge descended upon him. He needed to see the dam. The nearest landing with a view of it was some fifteen minutes away. He'd been there before. Should he go, though? His gut feeling told him it was important.
With curiosity getting the better of him, he jogged back to the truck and jumped in. He drove over the next bridge, passed through pine-and-hickory-wooded areas and farmland interspersed with occasional residences. No one else was on the road. The trees receded, expanding the brightening view ahead of him. Taking another left, it took him a while to realize he was seeing the surroundings far clearer than he should be. Puzzled, he leaned over the steering wheel, trying to get a better view of the unnatural, growing daylight overhead.
Then it vanished, throwing the environs into relative darkness faster than his eyes could adjust.
"Whoa!" He braked hard and knocked his chin on the steering wheel. The pickup stalled in surprise and shuddered. Moments later, the headlights flickered and returned to full beam. Blinking, he realized he hadn't just lost his eyesight. He winced as he rubbed his chin and scanned the lonely road.
Damn. He'd better check the fuses and wiring tomorrow. Today. A glance at his watch confirmed it—the green glow of the hour hand was already past midnight.
It can't be more than a short somewhere. In either case, it was an easy fix. With that in mind, he turned the key—once, and then again.
Nothing. The six-cylinder engine wouldn't even turn over.
What the— "C'mon, Bluebird—there's nothing wrong with you!"
He tried again, but all he heard was the click of the switch.
"Great," he muttered. "What next?"
He sat back a while, drumming his fingers on the door frame. It couldn't be the new starter. He maintained the electricals himself and knew the battery terminals were clean. He knew his truck inside out. This wasn't supposed to happen. Nothing was going on that warranted such behavior. So what's going on here?
One more time then, before he'd pull the hood. He reached for the key. The engine turned over once.
"Is that all you got? You really want me to sell you for scrap?"
That seemed to do the trick.
"Of course you don't, ol' girl." Danny revved the engine and sighed in relief as he heard it settle into its steady idle. Sounds just the way it should. Now all he had to do was to get himself home without incident and hopefully not wake up Sis. At least he didn't have to worry about Mom waiting to interrogate him as if he were still a minor.
Except...
Something still bugged him in the back of his mind like a huge, annoying mosquito.
—The dam!
It felt like pressure inside his head. Frowning, he tried to shake it off but it persisted with a growing sense of urgency. He just had to see the dam. Just ahead, a dirt road led down to the shore. Maybe he'd be able to see it from there. The next public boat landing was still a distance away.
Pine trees squeezed in on him as he turned onto the rough surface. This road led to several lakeside homes. As the trees opened up to bright dusk, he turned onto tire tracks crossing a field to an area where he wouldn't be trespassing.
As soon as he parked next to a couple of young pines, he jumped out and ran to the shoreline, his heart pounding. Here the lake was partially shrouded by a rapidly rising mist, unlike the clear view he had at the previous stop. The yellowing moon gave it a mysterious glow. With a little imagination, he could see ghostly figures twirling as if in agony, trying to escape some unseen force.
Peeling his ears over the vigorous lapping against the shore, he heard no distant motorboat that could have created those waves in its wake. Strange. Something else must have caused it. He approached the shoreline just close enough that the water wouldn't catch his shoes, and tried to peer through the mist. No, he couldn't see what was happening out there.
He ran back to the truck to get his old binoculars from behind the passenger seat.
The water was really busy tonight. Between the wisps on the other side of the state border, one of the marker buoys bobbed in and out of view in the bubbling, roiling water. It made his skin crawl with unease, spreading from his nape down his shoulders and arms, making him hot and sticky.
Maybe the Crater Lake monster's cousin just moved into Lake Eufaula? Danny chortled at the absurd idea as he panned from the mist to the dark shore.
Wait. Shouldn't there be some lights there, if not across the lake? The thought made him pivot, surveying the view. One house glinted between the trees a distance away. The luxury homes on other side of the small bay on his right were dark too. He scanned the shoreline with the binoculars for lit buildings and streetlights but found only reflected moonlight.
A blackout?
He made another sweep, then angled the binoculars upward and caught the slow-moving starlight of an airplane on the distant inbound.
That was when he noticed how quiet it was.
The binoculars sank from his eyes as he strained his ears. Not a cricket chirped, no frogs croaked, every creature of the night must have gone on strike.
Even the air was still.
Something definitely wasn't right. He didn't feel like staying here any longer. Usually, being near water would help him unwind after a week's hard work, or to sort his head out or clear it like he needed to tonight. But now—he pulled at his shirt, fanning himself—this was different.
This silence...
He wiped his brow. He wasn't used to this kind of silence. It wasn't natural for a place like this, out in nature—it was eerie. All he heard between his own breaths of the dense, warmer-than-normal air was an occasional click of the cooling engine and the disturbed sloshing of the waves at his feet.
It was as if Somebody above had spread a blanket over everything, suppressing all life within.
—Go to the dam!
The compulsion filled Danny's mind to the point that he could think of nothing else—he couldn't even question it. He returned to the county road and continued south, the sense of urgency making him drive well above the 55-mph speed limit.
Another bridge, then left onto an older county road. Several residences sped by on the eight-mile stretch, but not one light. He flew straight past the service station turnoff to the last creek park before the dam. It was not until the low railings appeared on either side of the road that he realized he'd gone too far—again. Up ahead was the last bridge. He could make a U-turn after crossing it, then head for the turnoff.
He geared down into third on approaching the flat bridge. Fog floated over the creek, shrouding the way ahead. He dimmed the headlights to reduce the reflective glare and, as he crossed the bridge, peered left toward the lakeside.
Nothing visible.
He returned his attention to the road as he reached land again, rolling out of the fog. The road was his—he could make that turn beyond the railings in one sweep. He swung right onto the shoulder then circled left, casting his gaze both ways. But before he completed the turn, an irregular movement to his left caught his eye—somebody stumbling into the path of his arc!
With his heart in his throat, Danny yanked the steering wheel to the right, slamming his foot on the brake pedal. The truck skidded across the shoulder into the ditch marking the tree-line, jarring to a halt.
Chest heaving, heart pounding, he dropped his head to his hands on the steering wheel for a while, praying he'd averted impact. He was pretty sure he had, but he would be in double trouble if he were reported—there was no way he could mask the smell on his breath.
If he drove home right now, maybe no one would be the wiser...
No, he couldn't do that. He'd never forgive himself for running away like a coward without at least checking.
Taking a deep breath, he jumped out without turning off the engine, not trusting the starter. His legs felt a little like Jell-O as he climbed to the curb. Just ahead, wisps of dense mist hovered around the figure slumped on hands and knees, coughing and spluttering.
"Hello? Are you hurt?" He circled, stepping closer as the mist backed away and dispersed. It was a small-bodied person, dark-headed and dark from the waist down with the jacket reflecting cool red in the moonlight.
"Hey... sorry about that. Are you alright?" He peered, blinking. "You really gave me a scare stepping out on me like that I could've hit you," he said in one breath. "Can you get up?"
The head lifted. Dripping bangs shadowed the eyes, but the rest of the face showed clearly with smudges and scrapes on cheek and chin.
Danny's jaw sagged. 'He' was a girl.
"Where... am... I?" she managed to say between strained breaths, her voice sounding rough. She coughed several times, spitting water.
'Welcome to Alabama the Beautiful,' popped into his mind. "You're just south of Eufaula," he said instead. "Sorry... Here, let me help you."
He grabbed her arm and shoulder and got her to her feet, leaving a puddle of water on the ground. She leaned heavily against him, the cooling moisture penetrating his clothes.
"Damn, you're soaking wet. And you're hurt," he added as he noticed a tear exposing a cut on her knee. He led her to the truck, made her lean against it, and started brushing her off. She was full of sand and needles. But then, feeling a bit awkward about where to brush and not to brush, he stepped back and inspected her. She seemed a few years younger than him, probably in her late teens, and was of slim, firm build.
"What the hell happened to you?"
No answer. She stood there panting, coughing occasionally with her head and arms hanging. Her jacket was intricately tailored with a satiny leather feel, zipped halfway up. Under that, she had what he thought to be a close-fitting jumpsuit of similar material tucked into knee-high boots.
She shivered.
"Come on, I have a blanket in the truck." He gripped her firmly by the elbows. "I'll get you to the hospital in no time, don't worry. You'll be fine."
"Nay!" She came alive between his hands as she stiffened and tried to pull away, steadying herself against the truck. "Nay. Not... necessary. I need only... to... rest."
Nay? Weird. He didn't recognize her accent either. He tried to guide her by the elbow, but she still resisted moving closer to the passenger door.
"Look, I'm just trying to help here." He glanced up and down the road. They were the only souls around it seemed.
He studied her again as her coughs subsided. Something silvery under her chin caught his eye—a broad choker necklace glimmered with ornate detail, fitted in a way he'd expect to find on a Doberman. She contained her fatigue with great effort. Other than that, he couldn't see anything seriously wrong with her.
"Are you hurt? Any broken bones?"
"Nay," she breathed without looking up.
"What about your head? Did you hit it anywhere?"
"Nay."
"You sure?"
She didn't answer.
He sighed. He'd have to take her word for it. "Okay, so no hospital. Although it's against my better judgment." He squeezed her elbow. "Come. I can't leave you here. I'll take you wherever you're going."
Holding her firmly, he guided her step by step to the door and opened it. He had to lift her into the seat and strap her in. Then he pressed the door shut and hurried to the driver's side. Reaching behind his seat, he found the old blanket and shook it out before he climbed inside and tucked it around the girl. She looked like she'd fallen asleep, but then she slowly rubbed her arms and pulled the blanket closer around her.
Danny leaned back into the driver's seat and exhaled, then reached for the door. As he pulled it shut, the truck rocked, the sudden movement startling him as if something or somebody had jumped onboard the truck bed. He glanced in the rearview mirror, then twisted to look through the window. But he saw nothing in the back except the dark shapes of the spare and the roughly folded tarp.
An earthquake? Frowning, he looked at the girl. She hadn't reacted.
"Okay, Miss. Where can I take you?"
She moved as if to answer.
"Are you new in town? Visiting friends? Relatives?" He paused, watching her. "Well? We can't stay here all night—you'll catch pneumonia or something. Tell me where I can take you... Weren't you heading somewhere in particular when whatever-it-was caught up with you like this?"
"I was— I..." She shook her head in confusion. "Nay," she whispered.
"You don't know why you're all alone out here at night? Don't tell me you were taking a midnight swim. With all your clothes on?" he added before he could stop himself. He grimaced. Don't be an idiot! "Look... Tell me where I can take you."
The girl took a long, deep breath and, closing her eyes, she let herself lean against the headrest, exposing her glimmering neck collar. Then she spoke, barely audibly, "Any where. But... no hospital."
He stared at her. "No hospital. Right." As long as she didn't want to report him for reckless driving. He really wasn't keen on seeing the police tonight. "How about a motel? There are a couple in town you..."
But he couldn't do that.
"No... You're in no condition to be left alone tonight. I'm taking you home with me. You'll be safe there. Is that okay by you? My sister's there too," he added, wondering what Sis would say—Mom wouldn't have to know.
He half expected the girl to protest again, but to his surprise, she nodded. Once.
"Okay then."
Still shaken by the close call, Danny put the truck in reverse, getting out of the ditch and up on the road with ease. Then he stared straight ahead. The flat bridge was still cloaked by that disturbing fog. He drove slowly and sighed as they emerged from the shroud on the other side of the creek. He didn't need another incident—he'd had enough of those for one night.
She too.
He glanced at her. Had she been hitchhiking? Got a ride with the wrong people and got dumped?
In the lake, though?
It didn't follow.
She wasn't carrying any bag. Maybe she got robbed. Or maybe she was running away from somebody, someplace.
Some institution?
Maybe that was why she didn't want to go to the hospital.
But her clothes...
No, an institution was unlikely. She probably wasn't keen on seeing the police either—to his advantage. What if she were a criminal?
Maybe she's just been involved in a—
Shut up. There probably was a simple explanation for her condition. Whatever it was, it was none of his business. She'd be gone before long, anyway. All he was doing was lending a helping hand, somewhere to rest, before she'd move on. Nothing more, nothing less.
She was lucky he came along when he did. There was no telling what would've happened to her if he hadn't found her. It wasn't like she was in the middle of nowhere. There were a couple of houses nearby—relatively speaking. But... she probably would've shivered out there in her soaked clothes for a long time before getting help.
He flinched at a movement beside him and looked at his passenger. It was only the blanket that had dropped from her shoulders as she rubbed her face with both hands.
So she wasn't sleeping.
He cleared his throat. "Erhm... We haven't introduced ourselves. I'm—"
"Daniel Antonio McGahn," she said with a clear voice, lowering her hands.
"Yeah." He stared at her, astonished. "You know my name?" He threw a glance at the road. "How did you know my name?"
Her reply was slow in coming. "That I... know not."
She knew his full name and didn't know how she knew? Weird. They hadn't met before—he would've remembered. Especially a good-looking girl like her, even though she obviously wasn't totally herself right now.
He shook his head to himself as a sudden chill ran down his nape.
What have I gotten myself into?
— ∞ —
©1989/2016 by kemorgan65
*Banner image is a composite.

Attention #NBR Reviewers: Hi and welcome to my 38-year-old pet project—believe it or not! I look forward to your feedback on characters, flow, and pacing—well, on anything that strikes you. Being the original first chapter, I am looking to get it as effective and polished as I can.