'Til Death Do Us Part (45 page)

“
Looks normal enough to me,
”
Luke
echoed.

The second stop after the antacids would be for new clothes. The probability that I could die at any moment was high and I sure as shit wasn
’
t going to go out looking like this.

“
Y
ou about ready to rock and roll
?
”
I asked John seeing if he was ready to go.

“
No music yet
, man,
”
John said
,
putting his hands on his ears.

“
I was actually talking about getting ready to leave
,
buddy.
”

“
Are you sure?
”
Mirabelle and
Luke
asked at about the same time.

“
Who the hell is B
uddy?
”
John asked me.

“
Okay
,
let
’
s start from the beginning. John the Tripper
,
sometimes known as John or Trip
,
we need to leave soon so that we can find your wife.
”

“
Right, right,
”
he
agreed
as he grasped at the elusive clarity.
“
And where is she again?
”
h
e asked
,
looking up at me, once again letting the slippery thoughts slide through his fingers.

“
Maybe this will help you remember
, honey,”
Mirabelle said as she walked over and placed a Ring Ding in his hands.

“
He gets one but I don
’
t?
”
Luke
asked as he stared longingly at the one sitting untouched in John
’
s hands. Mirabelle put her hand on his chest when she realized that he was going to make a move for it.

“
Don
’
t you dare,
”
s
he warned.

“
I don
’
t like apples,
”
John said as he turne
d the package over in his hands.
He
then opened it up and popped the entire offering into his mouth. His teeth were coated in a chocolate substance as he over-exaggerated his chews.

Mirabelle grabbed him a drink of
Kool-Aid
when she realized he was having difficulty with his breakfast.

“
Breakfast of champions, Bruce Jenner would be rolling over in his grave
(or maybe not, he could still be alive or a zombie)
,
”
I mumbled as he washed it down with the vile liquid.

“
My wife
’
s in Philly, and she works at
a hotel
in downtown.
”

We had
at least something to go on
. I
t sure beat driving around until John recognized something. It was like the sugar
acted as
a direct infusion to his cognitive thought processes.
That was something I would keep in mind. When we stopped for antacids I would add Snickers onto the list of things I needed to get.
“
Is that downtown?
”

“
Yes
,
and why are you wearing
Daisy D
ukes?
”
h
e asked.

“
Do they make my ass look fat?
”
I asked back
,
trying to deflect the question.

“
I
’
d rat
her not know,
”
w
as his diplomatic answer.

“
Are you ready to go?
”

“
You
’
re going out like that?
”

“
I don
’
t have much choice.
”

“
Yeah…
then I
’
m ready whenever you are,
”
h
e told me.

I made sure that
Luke
and Mirabelle realized how open the invitation to Maine was. They seemed somewhat interested
,
but I couldn
’
t imagine them actually leaving their homestead any time soon. Unless
,
of course
,
Luke
’
s wife could no longer wrangle up Ding
Dongs or whatever the chocolate-
like treats he liked were called.

Luke
and John embraced and cried like they were brothers or friends who had known each other for decades
.
“
I
’
m going to miss you
, man,
”
John said as he wiped his face.

“
Besides Mirabelle here, you
’
re the best person I
’
ve ever met,
”
Luke
said
,
trying unsuccessfully to mask his own water works.

The
y
hugged again
. B
oth men
’
s shoulders were bobbing. I didn
’
t know
if I should feel jealous or not.
I think if I walked out the door and never saw John again he would merely forget he had ever met me.
After a
nother ten minutes
of
them making excuses not to part
, we were seated in the Gremlin.
John had his hand pressed up against the glass as we passed by
Luke
’
s and Mirabelle
’
s.
I waved. Their kindness had been like a
small hiker
’
s cabin amidst a raging blizzard. I would not soon forget the reprieve
,
and I d
id not
think John ever would. 

“
You alright
,
bud...Trip?
”

“
He was a kindred spirit,
”
John said
,
finally looking through the front windshield as opposed to the rear.

“
Maybe after you get your wife
,
you can go back.
It’s
not that far.
”
He seemed to perk up after that.

“
Do you think Stephanie would want to?
”
h
e asked earnestly.

My first thought was to say
‘
how the fuck would I know?
’
“
If she sees how important it is to you
, the
n I
’
m sure she
’
ll want to.
”
Although
,
in all honesty
,
I thought the odds were much slimmer than that. Odds that I figured her to be alive were about
ten percent;
odds that we
’
d find her in addition to her being well
at about one percent.
Odds
that we found her alive and well AND she would want to hunt down
her husband
’
s long lost friend from yesterday? I figured that to be an unimaginably small number, the type that scientists used when they were trying to figure out the weight of atoms.

John
,
in contrast to his earlier mood
,
seemed completely upbeat
. H
e must not have received my odds sheet from Vegas yet.
Beside wearing too short shorts and a tight wife beater
t-shirt
, plus driving in a lime green G
remlin
,
the day was going exceedingly well
.
I knew I had cosmically cursed myself the moment I had the thought. Nothing changes the fates quicker than telling the universe that everything is going great! Might as well flip a cop off doing
ninety
with a bottle of tequila in your lap and marijuana cigarette hanging out of your mouth. That
’
s about how quickly our day went from
‘
wicked pissah
’
to
‘
what the fuck?
’

E
liza
&
T
omas

“
You ready
,
Tomas?
”
Eliza asked as she headed for their vehicle.

Tomas stared back at the city as
the last few fires sputtered on.
There
wasn
’
t much left at this point that could keep it going. He turned to catch up with her.
“
I am
,
Lizzie
.
I just want this to all be over.
”

“
Are we still on the same side
,
brother?
”
Eliza asked as she sat down.

“
I will not raise my hand up agains
t you, if that is what you mean,
”
h
e told her as he walked around the front of the black glassed Dodge.

“
When Michael Talbot
’
s family are begging for my mercy
,
you will not help them?
”
s
he mused.
“
I find that somewhat difficult to believe.
”

“
You believe what you want
,
Eliza
.
I have not lied to you.
”
What he failed to elaborate on was that he would also not lift a finger to help her if the tables were somehow turned.

“
I think
we are in for some fun in Maine.
Maybe
not as much as the Black Plague
,
but c
ertainly something to rival it.
”

Tomas had finally come to the realization of who
—
and more importantly
what
—
his sister had become. No amount of reasoning, pleading, begging
,
or crying would change that. She had become a monster to rival anything ever produced in the pages of a book or on the cells of a film.
He only had two hopes left;
one was that
,
once she had destroyed Talbot
’
s family, the hatred that burned so deeply within her would be extinguished. Or that the resourceful Talbots were able to gain the upper hand and destroy his sister. Either way would almost be a relief.

Tomas turned the car around and got back onto the highway
;
the restocked
tractor trailer
convoy packed full of speeders and a new
,
deadly surprise followed suit. 
Once the initial attack had subsided, a fair portion of Eliza
’
s human familiars had returned,
those were bolstered by her new henchman leader Kong and his trucker friends. S
he had drained a few of the
deserters
dry for their actions
.
The men that were following Eliza knew they had made a deal with the devil, but when you
’
re faced with hell, options are limited.
Eliza could barely contain her excitement, her black eyes shined
brightly as Tomas drove on.