Saturday, November 5th, 12:45 a.m.
It had taken Michelle and Perry hours to find their way out of the sprawling caverns below Lancet Falls. It reminded Michelle of the myth of Minos, the part of the Minotaur played by an enormous, mutated mama badger.
A weariness had settled over her limbs that her nap had done little to alleviate. Perry tried engaging in small talk to lighten the trip, and help distract them from the suffocating darkness, but Michelle wasn't in a talking mood. She was not accustomed to talking to someone after having sex, or even feeling emotions afterwards. She didn't like how easily Perry had puts cracks in the foundations of her carefully crafted fortress of emotional solitude.
Michelle Trick #6 - Feelings are a hindrance best left for the weak.
Whoops.
At some point in the journey, Perry's flashlight ran out of batteries, and they made the trek sans eyes. Michelle preferred it that way. She didn't have to look at his perfect face, or the vulnerability she painted all over his features. She had a feeling she had a matching one on hers, and the last thing she needed was anyone seeing that side of her. After this adventure, Michelle and Ron were going to put Lancet Falls in their rearview mirror. She could finish writing the story in Boise.
Every once and awhile, Michelle still felt the rumbling, but it was in the distance and posed no threat to either of them. She smiled when she thought of Ron, and how much he would love something like that. A one of a kind animal species that only two humans had ever seen. Boy was he going to be jealous.
But first, Ron had to get over being pissed. He had waited patiently in the opening to the tunnel, his water and food long since exhausted, "Jesus Meesh! When I said get a room, I didn't mean an underground cavern," Ron said, only half-joking, even when he was mad he had a hard time not lightening the mood with his sense of humor.
Michelle and Perry looked at their feet.
"Wait, you actually did it?" He asked, "I know it's been awhile Meesh, but it couldn't have waited until after we got out of the creepy tunnel?"
"You're just cranky because it's past your bedtime," Michelle said looking out at the inky blackness of the night's sky, "We can pick back up our investigation tomorrow."
Without Officer Durant.
"Excellent idea Miss Kim. I'm going to go see if Rachel's come home yet. If not, I'm going to file a missing person's report. It's a little early, but I want to get ahead of this. See ya'll tomorrow," he said with an exaggerated country twang and tipping his cap to Ron and Michelle.
"It's already tomorrow, you jackass," Ron muttered to himself, an edgy undertone to his normal good humor.
Perry had brought a rope and tied it to a fence post outside. He climbed out first and helped the others up to the top. Michelle resented the help, just because they'd slept together didn't mean she had to put up with his chauvinist crap.
I can take care of myself.
When she reached the top, he winked at her, but instead of slapping him, she felt the blood rush to her cheeks. Michelle hoped the darkness hid the flush in her cheeks.
The group bid each other farewell, but as Perry was shutting the door to his cruiser, a black truck hauled down the country road into the gravel entrance to the drive-in. That's when Michelle noticed a raging wind storm that seemed localized to the drive-in.
The wind where she, Ron, and Perry stood was no different than a normal, miserable Idaho night, but something different was happening at the drive-in. Against her better judgement, Michelle asked, "Should we go check that out?"
Ron started to say "No," as Perry said, "We better, but it's probably nothing more than some kids coming to vandalize the drive-in or get high in the shed."
"Yeah, we should probably go check it out," Ron said following Perry's assent.
The three of them crossed the street with Michelle in the middle of the two men, but before she entered the maelstrom she noticed another curiosity in the distance. The glow of an enormous fire lit the night sky in the heart of Lancet Falls, and it seemed to be covering distance at a rapid rate. It was headed right for them. Michelle didn't think it was prudent yet to mention it to the men; the fire department would handle it.
All thoughts of fire vanished when the trio plunged into the chaos of the maelstrom. The truck they'd seen was nowhere to be found, but Michelle heard the distinct sounds of gunshots. Where they'd come from was anyone's guess, the wind disguised the direction, and made it sound like the shots had come from everywhere at once.
Perry drew his gun and charged deeper into the scree. Michelle's sense of direction was discombobulated, due to her hindered vision and no distinguishing landmarks in the chaos. She looked at Ron, and he seemed to be just as confused as her. He blinked his eyes at a rapid pace as if to expel an errant piece of dirt.
Michelle grabbed her friend's hand and tried to follow in the direction she thought she saw Perry go. She stumbled upon the jacked up black truck that had clearly been a man's desperate attempt to hide the fact he was lacking in the nether regions. Vergil and Lisa spilled out of the car, with Lisa holding Albert. The dogs limbs kicked sporadically, and his eyes seemed to twitch, but he didn't appear to be conscious. Vergil moved in a slow fashion with grimaces punctuating every step, like he was experiencing a tremendous amount of pain at every movement.
Two men in suits disembarked from the back seat. One of them was wearing a monocle a color of violet that Michelle was becoming all too familiar with. He looked at Michelle with an eyebrow raised. It reminded her of guys ogling her at the gym, but a degree more creepy. The second of the two men looked at Michelle's group with squinty eyes and a hand at his hip. The man's muscles were tensed as if he were waiting for Ron and Michelle to make one wrong move.
Vergil managed to affect a smile, "I know you're itching for a story, but this seems a little excessive don't you think?"
Michelle remembered his promise for a rain check to her questions and laughed, "Actually, your story's small potatoes compared to what is going to go down tonight."
He laughed, "So Miss Kim, what do you think that is?"
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out."
"She's right on that one," Ron chimed in.
"I don't suppose I can talk you out of sticking around? Things might get a little hairy here soon. I'm not sure I can protect everyone."
Lisa rolled her eyes, and Michelle mirrored the sentiment.
I've just about had it by being mollycoddled by men.
"I can handle myself just fine. From the looks of it you're the one who looks like they need protecting."
The angry man in the suit laughed. It came out in clipped barks, and Lisa shot him a withering glare. He fell silent.
More gunshots sounded, and the man with the monocle clapped his hands to his ears, "What are those horrendous noises?"
"Gunshots," Michelle said and turned to Ron, "Perry may need our help."
The cameraman swallowed and nodded, "I'll have my camera phone ready to go."
Michelle had forgot about the story entirely when she thought of Perry with a hole in his chest standing side by side with Cade Jahns and the bruised boy that haunted her dreams.
I have enough spirits following me around.
"Lisa, can you handle keeping an eye on Vyth, and our rotund friend?" Vergil asked motioning to the bed of the truck.
A morbidly obese man lay in the bed of the truck, and Michelle couldn't believe she hadn't noticed him before. He was covered in blood and burn scars all over his body.
"Can YOU handle rushing into unknown danger?" Lisa snapped.
"Of course, I've got my boy Blujh watching my back," he said patting the angry man on the back, "Besides, I'm bulletproof."
Michelle jolted at Vergil's choice of words. Normally, she would've attributed to foolhardy, male bravado, but today, she wondered at the truthfulness of the man's words. It had been this morning that Michelle tore apart a van like it was tissue paper.
Vergil and the man called Blujh stepped towards Michelle and Ron, one of them managed the movement much easier than the other. Michelle worried about Vergil's ability to defend himself, but she had to trust that his friend could pick up the slack. Michelle had seen enough true crime television shows to know Blujh was packing heat.
Their hodgepodge group embarked into the swirling dust, but this time with a direction in mind. The gunshots were more clear this time. Michelle almost stumbled over a muscular man with flaming red hair. For a split second she thought he was dead, but a pained groan proved her wrong. She thought about asking him what was going on, but she had already wasted enough time with Vergil's group.
The abandoned building loomed in front of Michelle, like it had snuck up on her in the chaos. Michelle heard a continuous slamming of metal on metal and realized the source of the noise was the door being clanged against the wall of the building on repeat.
"Excuse me Miss, you oughta get out of here, it's not safe. Let the professionals handle this one," said a boy with sandy blonde hair and braces that had seemed to materialize at Michelle's side.
What's with the chauvinism in Lancet Falls? Is it something in the water?
"No offense kid, but I'm going into that building. Now's not the time for kids to be playing pretend," she said striding towards the building.
"There's people with guns in there!" He shrieked.
"Don't worry kid, I'm bulletproof," Vergil said winking at the boy, "Run on back that way. My friend and my dog need protecting. Do you think you can do that for me? I'm really worried about them."
The boy's eyebrows raised as he pondered Vergil's plea, "Okay, I guess I can do that. Are you really bulletproof?"
The boy's eyes shone with wonder.
Vergil frowned, "Unfortunately."
Michelle raised her eyebrows at the man's statement.
Maybe he's not joking.
It wasn't until the boy strode off into the mist that Michelle realized the boy had been carrying a gun.
The door still smashed into the side of the building. It's movement reminded her of a mouth opening and shutting waiting for its next meal. That would be Michelle.
Time was of the essence and they'd already wasted enough time.
Michelle braced herself as she plunged through the portal. She fully expected a bullet to whiz by her head as she entered, but it appeared she'd stumbled into a stalemate of sorts.
Perry had his gun pointed at an oily man with a grin that had no joy in it. The oily man had his gun pointed at Jordan's head, his arm wrapped around her neck.
Jordan wasn't kidding when she said this place wasn't safe.
Another girl was being held hostage by two men. One with tattoos coiled around his muscular arms, and another that appeared to be a golem made entirely of muscle. Tattoos had his gun pointed at the little girl's head. Her eyes were vacant, but Michelle saw dried snot and tears caked on her face from crying. The muscle man had his gun trained on Perry.
It looks like we have a good old fashioned Mexican standoff, just like in the movies.
Michelle would not be able to communicate with Blujh or Vergil but time was of the essence. However, any sudden moves would mean the death of two kids.
And Perry.
Michelle had an insane idea that would only work if Vergil and Blujh were able to act on top of Michelle's rush into the room. It also required that Vergil be bulletproof. An acceptable risk, even if it meant that everyone in this room would be dead in a matter of a few moments.
Here goes nothing.
Michelle sprinted towards Perry counting on the fact the men would not know how to react to a new player in the mix. Her body slammed into Perry knocking him to the ground as she heard gunshots go off in the small room. She heard them plink off the walls and realized she hadn't figured ricochet into her calculations, but it was too late now.
"Which ones can I shoot?" Blujh asked from somewhere behind Michelle.
"The ones with the guns pointed at us," Vergil replied his voice coming from the side of the room with the counter.
More gunshots rang out, but the fact none of them hit Michelle was promising. In the order of operations, the man with the gun and the man charging in took higher priority than a woman who had incapacitated a police officer.
"God dammit, that smarts! Vergil shouted, "But it was just what I needed."
She heard a dull thud followed by the distinct sound of cartilage tearing. A sound Michelle wished she didn't recognize.
Gunshots continued to sound, and she felt a burning flare up in her shoulder. The pain was short lived as violet endorphins pumped through Michelle's system.
She tried to push herself off the ground, but realized her right arm wouldn't respond to her commands.
At least it doesn't hurt.
Michelle tried to get to her feet, but this time she favored her left side.
"Michelle! Are you okay?" Perry asked from his vantage on the ground.
"You owe me," she said sticking out her tongue at him.
What am I doing? Flirting? In a firefight. Ugh men.
Michelle surveyed the room. All gunfire had ceased, but Vergil now had hold of Jordan. She huddled behind the counter with Vergil's body in between the three men. The oily man nursed a jaw that now hung askew. Michelle couldn't see his gun anywhere.
The muscular man had his gun pointed at Michelle and Perry again, while Tattoos pointed his gun at the other little girl. He realized they were fighting a losing fight, and the crying girl was their only bargaining chip.
Blujh had his hands to his side, but he now held something that looked like the child safe version of a gun, complete with smooth edges and flashing lights, they flashed a glow that Michelle was becoming all too familiar with. They were the color of the light she had seen before her car accident, before everything went black.
Perry was on his knees, but he had somehow managed to hold onto his gun and not discharge it when Michelle knocked him down. She realized how lucky she was he hadn't shot the weapon,
Man, I really didn't think this whole thing through.
The group was in another standoff. This time, it was more in their favor, and they could manage to escape if they chosen but it would mean losing the little girl and probably one of the people that wasn't bulletproof. Losses that Michelle's conscience wouldn't let her live with. However, she was out of plans.
The last voice she expected to hear called out from behind the counter, "Ulrich!"
Jordan.
The tattooed man's forehead crinkled, but he didn't reply.
"Let Diana go."
"What do you take me for? An idiot?" Ulrich asked.
"The only person in this room that takes you for an idiot is Tony. I've seen the way he under appreciates you."
"Nice try Squirt, Ulrich knows I'll take care of him," the oily man said with a grimace.
Talking must be painful with a dislocated jaw. Vergil packs quite a punch.
"He dragged you out here because of a personal vendetta, and now you're all going to die for it unless you let Diana go."
"The kid's right," Blujh added.
"Don't be a fool Ulrich. The girl is our only bargaining chip. The second you unhand her. We are all arrested or dead."
Fool had been the wrong word to use. The big man frowned and his eyes darted around the room.
"Prison's better than bein' dead. Sides' Marcus is the only one who killed anyone."
"These people will have to let us go if we take the child with us as an insurance policy. In fact, I'm feeling generous, I'll leave her alive without a harming a hair on her pretty little head, once we're safely out of town.
"He is lying!" Jordan shouted, "No one believe him. He'll make sure we all live to regret this."
"I gotta hand it to you Squirt, you're really grinding my gears here. Just work with me, you'll see I'm a pretty reasonable guy. Especially when I have a gun to my head."
Michelle was shocked the man continued to speak even with a dislocated jaw
Ulrich's eyes shone with fear as if he knew his boss was lying. The gun quivered in his hand, the anxiety of the situation giving him the shakes. Something told Michelle these guys were used to the odds being in their favor. Thugs aren't known for their courage.
Michelle would never know if Ulrich was going to let the girl go. A rapping on the stone behind the man's head caused him to whirl around, taking his eyes off the group for a split second. That's all that Blujh needed.
A beam of iridescent violet light streaked across the room and hit the man's head with laser precision. Michelle watched horrified as Ulrich's skull melted like a Barbie in a microwave. He flesh all but radiated with the heat from the beam as it dribbled down the Ulrich's body. Michelle tried not to notice the the red, white, and flesh colored goo splash to the floor as the man fell to his knees.
The whole room was frozen at the sudden change of events. The thud of Ulrich's body hitting the floor shook them out of the spell. Muscle man, Michelle now knew to be Marcus moved to regain the little girl, but Perry's trigger finger was faster. Another gunshot rang out, but this time it wasn't followed by the sound of a bullet plinking into stone. A red hole appeared in the center of Marcus' chest, and he just stood there.
He stood there for a few moments, but did not reach for his gun. Blood started to bubble in his throat, and the sound reminded Michelle of gargling Listerine before bed. He stared at them all with a look of rage and defiance before his eyes glazed over for good. He kept standing for longer than Michelle thought possible before he tumbled to the ground face forward.
Vergil hadn't moved from his position in front of Jordan even though he could have wrested the gun from Tony's hands. Michelle realized Vergil didn't have the scrappy mentality to get the job done. He was a protector not a fighter. That left Michelle to pick up the slack.
Powered by the violet blood in her body, Michelle streaked across the room. Tony turned and fired, something impacted in Michelle's chest, the force almost halting her assault, but her momentum carried her forward. Another gunshot cracked and Michelle felt another sting in her shoulder.
Tony didn't have time to fire off another shot as Michelle leapt over the counter with the grace of an Olympic athlete. She punched the man in the same of the jaw Vergil had clocked him. He shrieked in a manner that was distinctly feminine, and Michelle encircled an arm around the man's neck. Michelle positioned the crook of her elbow over the man's Adam's apple and applied a steady pressure. With her newfound strength, Michelle worried she would collapse the man's trachea and he would join the halls of accusing spirits. He grew slack in her arms, but she could still feel his breath against her arm.
No death on my conscience.
A silence hung over the room as the adrenaline faded from Michelle's body. She became acutely aware of the sharp pain in her chest and shoulder. She looked down at the blood soaking her white blouse and realized the bullet hole was in line with her heart. The organ appeared to be doing its job unhindered, and Michelle realized what the pain was that she as feeling. Her body was expelling the bullet from her body. When the bullet poked from her chest, Michelle plucked it out and turned the bullet over in her hands. The wound closed after it.
"Looks like you're bulletproof too," Vergil commented. If the revelation shocked him, he hid it well.
Jordan was another story. She looked between Michelle and Vergil with her jaw hanging to her chest.
"They're dead," she said in a quiet voice that sounded more contemplative than sad.
"That tends to happen when you get shot," Michelle replied realizing the irony of her own words as they escaped her mouth.
"Not you," Jordan said, "Or you."
That one was directed at Vergil.
"What can I say? I'm like a cockroach," Vergil replied shrugging his shoulders.
"Did you see it too?" Jordan asked.
She wasn't asking about what happened today. The little girl meant something that the three of them all shared. Something that made them bonded in a way that was different from possibly everyone else on Earth.
Michelle and Vergil nodded in unison.
"You bulletproof too?" Vergil asked.
Dumb question. Or she wouldn't have been scared when she had a gun pointed to her head.
"I don't think so, the only thing I'm good for is hurting people," Jordan replied with her head downcast.
"I hate to crash the party, but would someone like to tell me what's going on? When a guy kills another man, he generally wants to know why, before he freaks the fuck out."
Ron stepped into the room, "I think we're looking at a bonafide group of Super Friends."
"Who's the beanpole?" Blujh asked.
"The guy who saved your ass. That's who. Who do you think heroically threw his phone at the wall so your happy ass could blow a dude's head off?"
Blujh's features relaxed, and he nodded at Ron. All of them looked at Ulrich's body at Ron's words.
"Listen buddy, just because you saved our asses doesn't change anything. I'm sending you back where you came. We've all done enough damage," Vergil said to the man.
"He's one of the aliens!" Jordan screamed, "They killed my mother and did this to us!"
"And that's why I'm kicking his ass- err butt back where he came from. I don't know what he did to your mom, but they're not going to be around to hurt anyone else," Vergil got a faraway look in his eyes, "I promise."
Blujh scowled, but he didn't argue with Vergil, and Jordan nodded at least somewhat satisfied with the answer. Michelle was confused about who these men were and why Vergil and Jordan hated them. Blujh may be a grump, and he didn't need to kill Ulrich, but he protected them when they needed it.
"If this man killed someone, why hasn't there been a crime reported?" Perry asked, his voice quavered.
"Prison's not enough for this shi- I mean poophead," Vergil told the officer, "Besides, I think you want this guy around as little as possible. He'll be out of your hair in a jiff and none of us will ever have to worry again."
"What the hell is going on Meesh?" Ron whispered. He'd sidled up next to her.
"I'm not sure, but I think it's a story that isn't going to leave this room."
"What are you going to tell Marty?"
"Probably something to the effect that he can bend over and make love to himself."
"Something tells me he doesn't have the right... machinery to to get the job done."
The two of them started laughing, and all the heads in the room turned to stare at them.
Michelle Trick #8 - Laughing in a room full of corpses is in poor taste.
"If Abbott and Costello are done, you guys ready to get this dog and pony show on the road?" Vergil asked clapping his hands together and smiling.
Nobody gave him assent, but they all shuffled towards the door. Vergil was no longer limping.
Once they were outside, Michelle realized the wind had abated to the point where she could see more than ten feet in front of her, and the puzzle only deepened.
An SUV was curled at an acute angle against a dumpy yellow car covered in rust, but that was nothing compared to what Michelle saw in the center of the open expanse of ground.
Michelle could easily pick out the spot where she had saved Jordan just that morning. She could pick it out, because the dirt and dust had settled around it creating a circle. Michelle wouldn't have been surprised to find that if they measured the thing, it would be a perfect circle.
The little boy from earlier shouted to Michelle's group, "We're over here!"
Vyth and Lisa were leaning against the truck they'd shown up in. The dog, Albert, was limping in circles around the truck like he was walking off a stiffness. The heroic little boy was jumping up and down in excitement waving to Jordan.
Michelle looked at Jordan and saw the most genuine smile she had seen from the girl, and this time she didn't look like a mini-adult. She looked like a child with her first crush. Michelle wanted to warn the girl that men were nothing but trouble, but she would have to let the girl learn that lesson on her own.
Vergil saw Albert and crossed the distance between them and scooped the dog up in his arms. Michelle could have sworn she saw the dog smile, but the look was replaced by one that promised he would strangle Vergil if he didn't put him down. Lisa approached Vergil from behind and gave the man a hug. He flinched away at her touch, but reciprocated the hug after a moment.
Perry looked at the other man in a suit, Vyth, and fingered his gun. He still hadn't holstered it. Michelle admired Perry for keeping his cool in a situation that would have given most men pause, and although the officer didn't understand the slightest bit of what was going on, he still kept his composure. He caught Michelle looking at him and winked. She found herself winking back.
Knock that off.
"Alright everyone, gather up! Family photo! I'm going to look back on this night as the most exciting of my life, and this is the perfect Kodak moment," Ron said holding up his cellphone.
To Michelle's surprise, the group started to coalesce around the truck. Michelle was the only one that hesitated. Goosebumps had arisen on her arm at the word "family." Jordan motioned for Michelle to come sit by her, so the woman acquiesced and took a position kneeling in the front, so she could be by the little girl.
Ron placed the phone against the a pole sticking out of the ground and rushed to Michelle's side. He knelt as well, and held Michelle's hand. She let him.
As the flash went off, a man wearing a long trench coat and driving gloves climbed the fence of the drive-in and was currently running towards their party. A black substance Michelle recognized as soot smeared his face. As he closed the distance, his figure grew larger and larger. The man was a veritable giant compared to their group, and he gave off a Grim Reaper vibe.
When he arrived, he gasped for air while looking at Jordan. He addressed the statement to Jordan.
"They're coming."
The Harbinger of Death.