Evil Origins: A Horror & Dark Fantasy Collection (75 page)

Jana dropped the gun to her side, which felt like a thousand
pounds. She pulled a metal folding chair from the wall and opened it. Jana
dropped into it while her body’s surge of adrenaline faded. She sat for a
minute in complete silence.

After shutting the office door and moving back into the
shop, she stopped at the cooler and helped herself to a sixteen-ounce soda.

So much for sleep tonight
, she thought.

Jana walked back through the shop and around the corner,
where Sally and Jay sat against the side of the building. Fatigue and stress
had dulled their sense of self-preservation.

“C’mon, let’s make ourselves a hoagie,” Jana said.

“We call’em subs in Cleveland, Miss Pittsburger,” Sally
replied with a tired smile and wink of an eye.

Chapter
26

“I need to find my wife. I’m tired of running around this
fucking city with soldiers shooting at me.”

John tossed his bag to the ground to punctuate his
statement.

“I dunno man. Do you really think she’s alive after all the
shit that has gone down?”

Another helicopter circled overhead. Alex and John paused
and held still against the empty window frame. After the blades faded into the
distance, they resumed the conversation.

“I’m going to find her.”

“And what are you going to do about Father? You think he’s
going to let us waltz right out of Cleveland to our new happy sinner’s camp?”
Alex asked.

“If he’s responsible for this, for all this death, I’m going
to put a fucking bullet in his head.”

Alex shrugged and stood up. He walked back into the darkness
of the factory with a flashlight. Water dripped over the red-rusted beams,
while streams of plaster hung like stalactites from the ceiling.

“What are you looking for?” John asked.

His voice carried through the damp darkness and echoed off
the walls.

“Anything made of wood. It’s going to be freezing in here
tonight and I’d like to have heat.”

“Don’t you think they’ll see the fire?”

“Not if we build it in an interior room. The smoke should
diffuse enough by the time it escapes.”

John stood up and followed Alex. They came upon what used to
be a storage room. The two steel doors held firm behind an ancient padlock. John
took the butt end of his machine gun and slammed it down into the lock. Pieces
of rotting metal hit the ground and the door swung open. They dragged old
office chairs from the room and broke the spindles off the back. John carried
the wood to a secluded room near the back wall. The grimy soot hid brilliant,
white tile. A bathtub on four legs stood in the corner across from the gaping
remains of a toilet. A missing pane scarred a window near the top of the wall.

“Must have been the owner’s private bathroom. Put it in the
tub. This will help us keep the fire and light contained.”

John threw the spindles inside while Alex positioned the
newspaper underneath it. Within ten minutes, the warmth from the fire reflected
off the walls, raising their spirits at least a little.

“I need sleep,” Alex said.

“Go ahead. I’ll keep watch. I’ve got a lot to think about.”

Alex nodded and spread out on the tile floor desecrated by
grease and industry. The acidic air of manufacturing tainted his taste buds,
but did not stop his body from slipping into sleep.

Alex arrived on a vast, red plain. Massive outcroppings
of rock jutted up from the desert floor. The sky beamed a deep blue, which
fought against the red horizon. Alex sighed and removed his shirt. The sun in
Sedona, Arizona burned his skin with a quiet intensity. He reached for the
canteen on his hip. The refreshing water electrified his parched lips, its
coolness burning all the way down his throat.

Alex walked along the dry creek bed and crossed an
arroyo. He stared at the red rock, craning his neck upward a thousand feet. A
gray lizard crawled onto a pile of rocks to his left. It sat there, flicking
its tongue at Alex, and twitching its tail back and forth.

From every direction, the red rock spread out to the
horizon. In the distant east, Alex spotted a road snaking through low
sagebrush. High above, under a ball of white gauze, Alex saw hawks circling.

“She was yours first.”

The voice startled Alex. He dropped his canteen to the
ground and attempted to look in every direction at once.

“Who said that?”

“Jana. That is the girl he wishes to find. Your Jana.”

Father looked at Alex from a red-rock perch embedded in
the canyon wall.

“You have no right to speak to me after what you did to
my family.”

“Calm down. I did not harm them. Your wife and children
are pure. They have asked for admittance to the Holy Covenant and have been
accepted. They are safe and living in God’s light.”

Alex fought the tears welling in his eyes.

“Where are they?”

“Safe.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Don’t you want to rejoin them? We are building a new
life, a new nation, a new world. We are eliminating the forces of Satan to open
the way for God’s love. You can be a big part of that, Alex. We need brave,
honest, and God-fearing people like you.”

“God-fearing? You don’t have any clue what you’re talking
about. You can’t hold my family hostage and use them as leverage to get me to
join this insanity.”

“Does that mean you are abandoning your family?”

“I’m doing nothing of the sort. You stole them from me.”

“I see we are not ready to broker a deal.”

Alex squinted. Father’s white robes reflected the
powerful Arizona sun.

“And Jana?” Father asked.

“She is my past, not my future.”

“Oh Alex, don’t be so coy. We know the nature of your
relationship and the circumstances of its demise. Does your wife know about
your child with her?”

“Enough!”

Alex sat on the dusty ground and began to cry.

“I assure you that neither your wife nor your children
know about the past indiscretion. Not yet, anyway.”

Alex tilted his head up and could not see Father’s face. The
sun glowed behind him, showing Alex a silhouette.

“What do you want from me?”

Father walked over and sat next to Alex. He put an arm
around his shoulder.

“Bring John to me. I don’t care how. Bring him to me
alive.”

“But he is only concerned with finding Jana.”

“Then lead him to her,” Father replied.

“Does John know, know about her and I?”

Alex struggled to get the words out. The Arizona desert
faded from deep red to black. The open sky fell and collapsed around the two
men. The desert turned into an interrogation room. An armed guard stood near
the door and Father sat on a rickety folding chair next to him.

“He knows of her past, but I don’t think he knows that
you are her ‘Alex’. I would not reveal that unless you forced my hand.”

“And if I bring him to you, what of my family?”

Father smiled and hugged Alex.

“They will welcome you into the Lord’s Kingdom with open
arms.”

Alex opened his eyes as the burning embers in the tub
flickered on the wall. He stood and felt the cramps grab his thigh and foot. Alex
collapsed to the floor and flexed both legs until the pain subsided. He heard
movement beyond the bathroom. Alex stood and pushed the door open, and saw John
sitting in the broken window, staring out over the dark city.

“Hey,” Alex said.

“Hey,” John replied without turning to face Alex.

“Thanks for letting me sleep, man.”

“Sure, no worries. You must’ve been having a nightmare
because you were babbling all kind of shit.” “Yeah, don’t quite remember what
it was,” said Alex. “It’s no wonder my subconscious tortures me.”

John handed Alex a book.

“I found this on a shelf back there.”

Alex turned the cover and angled it so he could read the
title.

“
The Catcher in the Rye
. Damn.”

“I loved that book. I must have read it a dozen times
between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. ‘When a body meets a body coming
through the rye.’ That line still freaks me out.”

“I think I read it in seventh grade English class, but I
don’t remember much about it. Didn’t the main character run away or something?”

“Yeah, Holden Caulfield. Typical teen angst, but written at
a time when teens weren’t supposed to have angst. Old J.D. Salinger was never
able to recapture the magic of that piece of literature. Nothing else he did
could touch it. Do you think we’re like that, Alex. In life? Do you think our
first encounter is the best, most intense one?”

Alex squirmed and avoided eye contact with John. He looked
at the expanding cracks in the concrete floor.

“Not always.”

“First kiss, first lay, first fistfight. You telling me
those aren’t more memorable than ones that follow?”

“I think they’re more memorable because they were firsts,
not necessarily because they were more intense or better.”

“Yeah, I hear what you’re saying. You know Alex, Jana was my
first real relationship. I know she had others before me, but she was my first
in many ways.”

Alex stared out toward the lake, but did not respond.

“I screwed around with women, but she was my first serious
relationship. I’m hoping she’ll still be my first and last. I gotta find her
man.”

“Feels like you got a lot of guilt driving you. Something
happen the last time you two were together?”

“Yes. No. Sort of. I don’t wanna deal with that yet. Let’s
leave it be for now.”

“John, it’s your life and none of my damn business. I want
to find my family and end this fucking nightmare.”

“Can you keep watch? I think I need to get some sleep too. Maybe
first I’ll crack the binding and get reacquainted with my old friend Holden
Caulfield.”

“Okay.”

“Let’s plan on moving out at daybreak. I’m going back to our
house to look for Jana. If she isn’t there, I’m going to do everything I can to
find her. You with me?”

“Yeah, John. I’m with you.”

Chapter
27

Sally and Jana spent most of the day entertaining Jay. Jana
loved the free spirit and positive outlook of the child. The boy ran around the
shop, building castles out of paper cups, and wondrous, imaginary worlds out of
broken realities.

They decided to stay in the shop during the day, and move
out when night fell. It would be much easier to spot three people on the
deserted streets in the daylight than under the cover of night. Jay fell asleep
in a corner as the sun crested on the noon hour. The action, loss of routine,
and nocturnal activities took their toll on him. Sally sat next to Jay,
stroking his hair.

“He’s so precious,” said Jana.

“Too bad his father doesn’t think so,” replied Sally.

“What happened… if you don’t mind me asking?”

“What usually happens when assholes are assholes.”

“If it’s too painful….”

Sally tucked her long hair behind each ear.

“We met in college. Both of us were partying every night,
really enjoying ourselves. I was laying on the lawn on one of those fall days
that you can taste. The sky was a perfect blue, October leaves filled the air
with their scent, and you knew winter was breathing down your neck. He walked
up to me with a sweater around his waist and a coffee in one hand. I’ll never
forget the spicy-sweet taste of the pumpkin latte he gave to me. ‘Saw you here
and thought you might like a warm beverage.’ Not exactly the most romantic
pickup line in the history of the world, but the gesture was so thoughtful.”

Jay stirred. He whined a bit and rolled over. Sally held her
hand on his chest, which calmed him down.

“I hate to call it typical, but that’s what it became. We
went through the usual phases. You know, that first one is amazing. You can’t
keep your hands off of each other. If you’re not rolling in the sheets, you’re
thinking about it. His touch is electric and you orgasm constantly.”

Jana blushed and looked down at the floor.

“Anyway, we finished school. I got a degree in early
childhood education and he got his in engineering. He got hired at a big firm
on the east side and the storybook marriage ensued. We bought the house, the
dog, the cars, and the look of the American dream. I went to work teaching
second grade at the local elementary school, and he climbed the ladder of the
corporation. When Jay was born, asshole was working fourteen-hour days. I know,
it’s hard to bitch about that when the money buys you anything you want. Anyway,
one Saturday morning we had our phones on the kitchen table. I was the only one
awake. I remembered getting a call late the night before, and so I flipped
through my incoming-call list to see who it was. I realized as soon as I saw
the number that he was cheating on me. I’d picked up his phone by accident. That
same number with the initials ‘M.W.’ next to them made it pretty clear that
this was a frequent conversation. I know I shouldn’t have, but I scrolled
through his text messages. I guess I don’t need to tell you what I read and who
it was from. Within six months, it was all over. He put us up in a cheap
efficiency in Cleveland Heights while he took the whore to his new house in
Geauga County.”

Jana put her hand on Sally’s face, and felt the warm touch
of tears.

“I’m sorry.”

Sally wiped the tears from her eyes and tussled Jay’s hair
again.

“Don’t be. I have Jay. He’s
everything to me. Do you have kids?”

Jana’s forehead creased and she slipped her hand from
Sally’s shoulder. She stood and faced the front door.