Chapter 1-3

Chapter 1

The Beginning     

 

 

December 22, 2005

Lunchtime – It has begun.

                               

                ‘Bloody rampage at the Pittsburgh Rambaleigh train station’ the headlines reported dutifully.  The front page showed a picture of the victim covered up to her chest on the stretcher.  Her head was uncovered giving the reader a semi-clear, black and white image of her.  Another picture showed a wide-angle panorama shot of the terminal.  Even though the picture was in normal newspaper black and white, the dark pool was unmistakable.  The amount of blood was surreal.  It seemed almost impossible that a human being could lose so much blood and still live.  The newspaper reported that the victim was taken to a nearby hospital where she is in intensive care for potentially life threatening injuries.

“Have they no respect for the victim’s family?” A lady said over my shoulder as I was reading.

I couldn’t answer the overseer.  I didn’t have an answer to give her.  My eyes were stuck on the picture of Barbara.  The paper was kind enough to show a picture of Barbara in good health.  She was a prominent Pediatrician in the Pittsburgh area. 

How could anyone do this to Barbara?  She was one of the most popular, well liked, and even beautiful, in my opinion, people in all Pittsburgh.  I turned away from the woman and the newsstand and walked as fast as I could back to my office, the memory of that picture burned into my subconscious.  Seeing her face again brought back to many memories.

                My office building is a small but cozy apartment building turned office complex in downtown Pittsburgh.  The sides are all brick, unlike most of the brick buildings you see today.  Contractors trying to save money tend to skimp on the bricks on walls that people do not see often like alleyways and the rears of the buildings, making them of nothing more than sheet rock or plaster.  Nevertheless, this one is wonderful.  I have loved it ever since I moved in a few years ago.  I run a small business in Architecture.  I return old buildings back to their original state, or at least get it close as possible.  Some old styles cannot be restored to original due to the type of materials used back when the building was young.  The beauty of my building failed to raise my spirits though.  All I could think about was the picture on the front page of the Pittsburgh Herald. 

                I opened the front door to the building and went in.  The air was cold in the hall even though I could hear the rhythmic tics-tangs of the heated air causing havoc as it moves  loudly though the floor air ducts.

I moved up the stairs slowly, my thoughts on Barbara and our past. 

Once in my office, I sat down at my desk and threw the paper on my desk scattering some relics of my business that couldn’t be further from my mind right now.  I read the newspaper again and still couldn’t believe my eyes. 

My mind immediately went back to the time when I was in England for my Masters in Architecture.  Barbara and I went all the way back to the eighties when we were both in Abingdon College in London.  She was working on a Doctorate in Psychology and I was nose deep in my studies of Architecture.

A tear formed in my eye again as nostalgia flooded my mind as a dam would flood when released.  We were young lovers lost in our studies, but we loved each other like no other college couple could have.  Even though we had our studies, leaving little time for us to be together, we still enjoyed the time we did have.  Later our junior year, we were to meet at the Old Oak Tree Café, which was a student-meeting place for after school activities.  I was on my way there with Lilies in my hands as a little surprise for her.  She loved Lilies.  Once I got there I surveyed the streets to see where she was.  Not seeing her, I settled down for a wait.  She finally got there a few minutes past five.  I didn’t mind tardiness.  There’s always a reason and it was never on purpose.

When she drew closer, I noticed that she walked with her arms folded tight to her chest as if she was cold and she had her head down.  The air was chilly due to fall creeping around the corner but definitely not that cold. 

I immediately knew something was wrong.  It was only when she got closer when I noticed the tear on her cheek.  I immediately drew her close to me, putting my arms around her and lifted her face to mine.  She kissed me softly and I asked, “What’s wrong, Love?  What in this life or the next could bring tears to a face as beautiful as this?”

She attempted a smile but failed.  “I have to move.  I have to go back to the United States after this semester.” She said and moved away from me.

The news hit me like a bat.

 

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I must’ve been lost to the world for a moment or so because I didn’t hear someone come in and speak.  When I recognized the voice as being Sally’s, I said, “What is it?”

“Sir…a Mr. Avalon phoned, he said he apologizes and that he is running a little late for his appointment with you.”

Avalon?  I couldn’t think of anybody by that name, much less any appointments this afternoon. 

“Avalon?” I asked her.

“Yes…he’s your one-thirty.” She said in a quizzical tone that all but asked the question that was on her mind.  What are you taking?

I looked at my watch in astonishment that it could be that late already.

Sally looked down at the paper on my desk and then at the paperwork and blue prints thrown to the floor.

She asks, “Is something wrong Aaron?”

I could tell she was getting worried because she called me by my first name.  She hardly ever calls me by my first name even though I insisted on it on numerous occasions.  She is now and will always been so proper.  She has been that way ever since we first met and I asked her to work for me.

I said, “I just read what happened at that train station.  It’s disturbing that someone could do that much carnage.” 

                Suddenly embarrassed at the way I was acting towards this, I looked down at my watch and said, “I should probably prepare for Mr. Avalon then.”

                She nodded and went back out the door closing it with a soft thump.

                After she left I skimmed through the article one more time and shook my head, “Why.”

 

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Mr. Avalon is a tall, slender man.  In his dark gray suit, topcoat, and hat, he looked like one of those old gumshoes from the Sherlock Holmes novels. 

I see him standing at the head of Sally’s desk as she is logging in his appointment time.  I do this with all my visitors.  I’m not trying to judge them as they come in.  I’m merely trying to see what kind of people they seemed to be before they enter my office.   Just a little paranoia on my part probably, but it never hurts to be too careful these days.

“Sir…Mr. Avalon is here to see you.” Sally said through the speaker on my desk.

“Show him in, Sally.  Thank you.”  I replied after punching the button to respond.

I got up and walked to the door to welcome him as I do with all my guests.

The door opened and Sally ushered him in.  He smiled once he saw me and immediately responded to my hand with a firm but fluid grasp. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lawten.  I have heard great things about you.  You come highly recommended.” He said in a nice, friendly tone. 

I nodded at Sally and said, “Sally, could you bring Mr. Avalon and me some coffee?”

Then to the gentleman, “How would you like it?”

He responded with, “Black, please.  Thank you.”

                Sally nodded and left only to come back just a few moments later with two steaming cup of java.  Good ole Sally.  She always has a fresh pot made when clients are going to be here.  I nodded to her thanks and she left with out speaking another word.  Mr. Avalon smiled and said as she was walking out the door,         “Thank you dear lady.”

When Sally closed the door behind her the weirdness began.

                He began speaking, “Mr. Lawton…”

Interrupting with a swift hand gesture, I said, “Please.  Call me Aaron.  All my clients do.”

He smiled and said, “Thank you Aaron and please call me Gregory.”

                He took a breath and began again, “Aaron, let me begin by telling you what I do.  I am employed by a man that travels around the world looking for certain artifacts.  Certain really old and really important artifacts.  His name is, “He paused, “Draggon Van Wilkes.”

                “I have heard of him.  I think I saw him recently in the news.  He saved a group of orphaned children from a burning building somewhere in the Middle East.  I’m afraid I don’t remember much of the story behind it.” 

                “Indeed, the same man.  We were in Tikrit, doing a study of some religious artifacts and he…well…was in the right place at the right time.”

                I don’t think he was telling me the whole story, but I chose to save those questions for another time.

                “What does any of this have to do with me?” I asked trying not to sound impatient “I am an architect, not an archaeologist.”

                “Yes, but it’s not quite those skills that I would like to employ.” He said with a slight glance at my eyes.

                “Aaron, I must confess, I have done some research into you.” He said pausing to get my reaction.  “Research that has been rather fascinating to say the least.  Before you began your quest to restore old buildings to their original beauty, you were a soldier in the US Army.  To be more specific, a special operations soldier.”

                “How did you get access to those records?  Those records are sealed for a reason.”  I stated flatly now not trying to hide my confusion and anger.

                “I assure you, Aaron, your records and the facts in them will remain secure.” He said while putting his hand up as if ready to block a blow.  “While working for Mr. Van Wlkes, we unearthed a certain artifact that, if my research is correct, you have come in contact with before.  A golden amulet believed to have been made by Lucifer himself and is fabled to withhold the power to transport its owner to other places.  Where these places are, of course, we do not know, but we do know that it works.”

                He has definitely gotten my attention now.  This amulet he is speaking of is in fact the one that my team and I found during a surveillance mission in Kosovo.  I lost a soldier that day.  A very good soldier and a friend. 

                “So…hypothetically speaking, if your research was in fact correct and I was that soldier a long time ago, what does this have to do with me now?” I asked not truly knowing if I really wanted to know the answer.

                “While Mr. Van Wlkes was studying this tremendously valuable find, he disappeared.  No one saw him leave his tent and no one has seen neither hide nor hair of him in the neighboring towns and, believe me sir, we have searched everywhere.  He just disappeared.” 

                 “What makes you think that this amulet actually worked?  What makes you think that your boss just didn’t get scared or greedy and run with the amulet?” I asked already knowing the answer.

                He bent over and pulled a file folder out of his briefcase that I only just noticed he even had.  He slid the folder my way and said, “Because the same thing happened to one of your colleagues while you were in…” He paused leafing through the information in the folder.  “Ahhh yes, Kosovo, wasn’t it?”

                All I could do was stare at him blankly.  He certainly has done his research.

                “This file and all the information in it are confidential to the highest degree.  It would have taken an act of god signed by three angels and a congressman from Heaven to pull this.  How did you get it?”  I asked bluntly.

                “I believe the answer to your question is the first page in your folder.”  He said, tapping the file with one long finger.

                I opened it and immediately got a feeling that this has gotten infinitely worse.

                The first page was a hand written note that said:

Aaron,

I am so sorry to bring this up again.  I confided with Mr. Avalon, the details on your record because I now know that our friend could very well be alive.  I have agreed to be a part of the team to go in and find and extract our friend and Mr. Van Wlkes.  My allegiance is dependent on you participating.  I want you to lead the team.  I know that you are the one and only person that could even come close to pulling this off.  Judging by the hellish places that we have encountered in our lifetime, hell couldn’t be much worse.

Again, Aaron, I am sorry for this.  If you chose not to do this, I will understand. 

You know how to reach me.

 

Your friend,

Paul

 

                I read it again and looked up.  “Mr. Avalon, I need some time to think about this.  How much time do I have to make a decision?”

                “Take as much time as you need.  I will be staying in the area until you do make your decision.”  With that he handed me a scrap of paper.  On it was written the name and address of the hotel he is staying in and a phone number.

                I nodded and he got up.  Halfway to the door, he stopped and looked back at me and said with emotion, “We both have lost friends because of this.  I just want him back.  I think I can say that you feel the same way.”

                Then he left.

                I knew the rest of the day was going to be shot, so after finding out that I didn’t have any more appointments I took the rest of the day off and walked around town. 

                By four o’clock pm I was walking by the park. 

                The park is incredible in all seasons.  One of the best that I have seen in the country, in fact.  The lushness of the canopy is one that I have only seen in the jungles of Africa.  It’s kind of odd to have that in a city park.  During the winter, however, the trees seem to open up to the sky and welcome the comforting feeling of the snow falling not unlike a child would welcome the seasons first snow fall with the making of snowmen and angels.  The snow is not falling and hadn’t been for about a week, but the trees are open as if waiting for the clouds to let go of their booty.

                           **************              

                The call to Paul, however inevitable, was a hard one. 

                Paul picked up on the first ring and said, “Aaron, I had hoped that you would call.  How much do you know already?”

                “I know enough for now.  Do you really think there is a chance that we will find Danny?  Could Danny still be alive…somewhere?” I said.

                “I believe it.  I have seen Dr. Avalon’s work and it is remarkable to say the least.”  He said.  After a pause, he stated, “Aaron, even if we don’t find him alive, at least we will have found him and we can put this whole thing behind us.”

                I nodded, “I don’t want to talk about this on the phone.  Can you meet me?  I am in the park by the old settler fountain.”

                Paul said, “You bet.  I will be there in ten.”  With that he hung up.

Ten minutes passed by fast.  I was sitting on the park bench watching the tress blow in the breeze when        Paul walks up and sits next to me. 

                Before he could say a word, I said, “Okay…I am in.  Do you have a team put together yet?  Do we have a plan?”

                “Not quite yet.  I wanted to get you first.  Besides, this is your baby.  You are the one making the decisions so it will be you choosing the team members.”

                “Yeah, but it’s you with all the contacts and I know you too well to even think that you haven’t already created a list of possible candidates.”        

He laughed, “You do know me well, Aaron.  We can go over the list I have in the morning.  You get some sleep and let’s meet at our old planning spot.”

                “Sounds like a plan.” I said and stood up and walked down the path leading to the exit of the park.  I turned and yelled out to Paul, “You really think we can find him after all this time?”

To answer, Paul just shrugged his massive shoulders and walked towards the opposite direction.

 

                           **************

                My next call was to the good doctor himself.  I explained to him that I accepted the offer and that we could talk more about it soon.  I told him that I am getting together with Paul to talk over the details of the team and that I would get back in touch with him once we have a team and a plan to work with. 

He thanked me and hung up.

                I finished the three mile trek to my apartment in just under forty-five minutes.  Once inside, I fixed myself a cup of coffee.  I knew it was going to be a long night.  The chance of me getting any sleep was low. 

                I called Sally at her home and explained that I had some business that came up out of country that is very important but shouldn’t be gone very long.  I asked Sally to call all of my appointments for the next week and reschedule with them.           

                After that call was finished, I settled into my favorite chair and closed my eyes.  This is my favorite pre-planning activity.  I seem to be able to think better here.  Maybe it’s all in my head.  I chuckled and began putting a list of my own together in case any of Paul’s candidates doesn’t work or refuses.  I came up with a list of five.  I worked with them all before on one mission or another and I trust them all.

                After my list was complete, I closed my eyes again and my mind went back to that fateful day in Kosovo when Danny was lost.

 

Chapter 2

Disappear?

 

                Kosovo is definitely a place that you don’t want to be in the winter.  The mountainous terrain is treacherous enough during the summer, but in the winter, the terrain can be as treacherous as a tight rope venture across the Grand Canyon.  The land in the higher altitudes are covered in snow for most of the winter.

                We were making our way up a particularly steep mountain to set up an observation position.  The purpose of this little jaunt is to not only monitor traffic but to also try out the latest in surveillance technology.  For the record, they are there to get a handle on the drug trafficking that occurs in the wilds of the area.  This has been a particularly rough job of the neighboring countries and Kosovo’s security agencies.  You can’t fight what you can’t see.  The traffickers are suspected to be taking the routes through the valleys in between the larger hills and mountains and cutting through woods to avoid police spotlighting.  They make their way through the countryside to smuggle the drugs into neighboring Serbia and Montenegro where the drugs are then dispersed as in any other countries in the world.  Kosovo is a valuable thoroughfare for drug traffickers due to its rugged terrain and the absence of a strong governmental agency to stop the illegal activity that goes on.  The United States have been aware of the growing need for something to be done about this, so they set into play a recon element to over watch, not stop, the trafficking to get a better idea as to how it can be stopped and to find out the roots and the origin of where these drugs are from.               

                Of course this is not a normal mission for the elite special operations unit, but the days of late have been slow and, quite honestly, we were bored.

                It is now midday and the sun is finally starting to show through the snow clouds, as if that is going to do any good.  “It’s about time!” I remember saying to no one in particular.  Danny, my best friend and confidant in the daily trials of being a member of this particular team, turns around and with a confused look on his face, says, “What’s that buddy?  Did you say something?”

                “No…just talking to myself.  Hey, how much farther do you think it is to the top?”  I asked while looking at the top of the mountain and at the remains of a thousand year old castle that rests there overlooking the valleys in all directions for about five miles. 

                “I would say only a couple hundred more.  Not too far.  What’s wrong…you getting old?”  Danny asks with a laugh and a slam against my shoulder.  

                I answered Danny’s wit with a grunt.  I hate being called old and Danny, knowing this fact, makes it a point to point it out as often as possible.  I am not that old.  Hell, I’m only twenty-eight.  Late twenty’s, but still in the twenty’s.  Danny on the other hand is the old man.  He is the ripe old age of thirty-five.  Some say that he is getting too old to do the work that they do, but anybody that knows or has worked with him, knows that he is one of the best, if not THE best, at what we do.  

                Twenty minutes later, we all make it to the top to the comfortable and windy castle ruins that is going to be their new home for at least the next five days.  I stop and looked around and see everything I need to accomplish the mission.  Directly to the east of the semi flat top is a concave dugout only about two feet deep and about six feet in diameter.  A perfect spot for one of the Long Range Surveillance or LRS 015 long distance night and day scopes.  This scope is state of the art.  It can see clearly up to a distance of about ten miles and can magnify at night at a distance of about five miles.  This scope is quite perfect for this type of surveillance.  It also has a night vision and infrared feature to it that is, in Danny’s words, “the bomb”.  About a hundred meters north east of that dugout is another of similar dimensions. 

                “Alright ladies, listen up.”  I hear after a minute of taking in my surroundings.  “We have about thirty minutes to get set up and report in.  Aaron, you set up the first two scopes and Danny, you set up the other two.  I want a complete three hundred and sixty degree field of vision from those scopes.  Interlock the fields of visions so that we can make double sure that we cover the whole area.  The rest of you, take up security positions in between the scope sites and watch the avenues of approach for any unwelcome visitors from nosing in on our operation.  Keep in mind your rules of engagement.  There are people that live in this god awful country and I would really hate to do the paperwork if one of you kills a civilian.” 

                With a collective chuckle in their voices, the area becomes active with men on a mission.  The whole team move in unison and start on their tasks as instructed by the team commander. 

                The voice I heard and immediately obeyed is none other than Lt. Paul ‘Sarge’ Safford, also known as ‘the grump’. He is the group commander.  He has been known throughout all the teams in Special Operations Forward Command throughout the world as the toughest, most reliable leader since World War II.  Sarge’s strict attention to detail and his command philosophy brought him the respect and admiration of all his soldiers under him throughout his years in the military.  In his younger years when he was first starting out his career in the army, he was a demolition specialist in Fort Leonardwood, Missouri.  At that time he was a junior enlisted soldier, but even then his attention to detail and his sheer drive to know everything about his job, set him high on the list for promotions and admiration from his command.  It was then that he set out to ‘make’ his career.  He wanted to do more.  He wanted to command his own troops.  He wanted to have a purpose and a meaning in life.  And above all, he wanted to be able to have a life worthy of stories to be told to his grandchildren.  He doesn’t have any children yet, nor does he have a wife, but he hopes that one day he will have the family he wants. 

                His stubbornness and dedication, of course, would not let his feelings or dreams of a family interrupt his mission and what he had to do to accomplish the mission.  He would rather die than let his soldiers…his men…his brothers…know that he was anything other than their strong leader. 

                Sarge stepped back and let his men work.  He overlooked the operation from the far eastern side of the mountain where he could help with the security.

                Danny, finishing up the last of the LRS 015’s, calls over to Sarge using his intercommunication device around his neck, “Hey Sarge, I rapped up the last of the LRS’s and found something quite odd on the ground.  Seems to be some kind of necklace or pendant or something.  Definitely doesn’t belong here.  I think you might want to take a look at this.”

                “Be right there.  Stay put and don’t touch it.” Sarge radioed back with a sudden bad feeling in his gut that he couldn’t quite explain.  Sarge has always trusted his gut before and they have usually always brought him relatively safely out of any mix, but that only works when he can understand what his gut was trying to tell him.  This time it’s different.  It’s darker than any time before.

                I heard the transmission over my own com-device, decided to tag along since I was also finished up with my task of placing the scopes.  I got up from my position and made my way through the rubble to the Southern tip of the castle ruins and found Sarge making his way from the East. 

                Just as they were rounding the last corner to where Danny was, we both saw him holding an object in his hand.  Dreading the worst and hoping for the best at the same time, we both picked up our pace.

                Once Sarge got close enough to speak without use of the com-device, he said, “Damn it, I told you not to touch it!”

                “It’s cool Sarge, I checked it for booby traps.  I also checked the area out before placing the scope, so I know it’s safe.” Danny said while pointing at the scope. 

                “So what is it?” I asked.

                “Not sure…Some sort of necklace or something, but I can’t date it here.  I can’t tell if some kids dropped it up here while having a little private time or if it actually came from the time of the castles’ better days.  It doesn’t look like it could have been here that long due to the condition it’s in.”

                “Let me see it.” Sarge said, holding out his hand. 

                He turned it around so that it faced Sarge and all of a sudden Danny vanished.  Poof!  Just like you see in the movies, but they both new that this was not a movie and people don’t just disappear.  Do they?

                We both looked at each other and looked at the amulet that fell to the ground.  Sarge called Danny using his com. 

                “Danny?  Do you copy?  Can you hear me?” Sarge said sounding more unnerved than I have ever heard before.  Nothing.

                I bent down and picked up the amulet and that’s when we heard Danny’s response come in however faint and displaced.

                “Sarge?  Aaron?  Where you guys go?  I don’t know if you can hear me, but you should see this place.  I can’t get coordinates on it due to a malfunction with the GPS, but I can tell you it is quite amazing.  It’s beautiful and…” Danny said but the com cut off.  I dropped the amulet as soon as I heard Danny’s voice over the com.

                “Danny, do you copy?  You’re coming in broken.  We will find you.  Stay where you are.  We WILL find you.” Sarge yelled into his com but immediately doubted that Danny heard anything he said.

                “Sarge, everything okay?” another soldier asked through the com.

                “Stand by!” Sarge yelled back, “Do we have coms with base camp yet?”

                “You bet we do!” another soldier called back.

                “Base, this is Loner, do you copy?”  Sarge said into his com.

                “Go ahead, Loner.” A flat tone came over. 

                Sarge couldn’t tell who was on the other side.

                “Do you have a location on sierra 5?”

                After a second, the flat tone came back and said, “Negative Loner, there are only five signals at your location.”

                The group was silent.  Everyone could hear what just happened.  Sarge looked around and saw the wonder and confusion in everyone’s eyes.  For once in his life, Sarge had no idea what to do next.  Even through Special Operations training and Officer Candidate School he seemed to just know what to do next.  This isn’t the case now.  He had no clue.  One of his soldiers disappeared.  Without any warning and without any explanation as to what happened.

 

Chapter 3

The First Meeting

 

                I woke up startled still in my favorite chair.  This isn’t the first time I fell asleep while sitting here.  Probably won’t be the last either.  I glanced at the blinking clock on the disk player on my TV and grunted.  One day I might just have to figure out how to set the damn thing.  That will probably never happen.  I kind of like being lied to when I first wake up in the morning.  It makes it easier I think.

I got up and stumbled to the kitchen that was attached to the living room.  The kitchen was more of a kitchenette really.  It just had a small one tub sink, a two burner stove and a fridge.  Nothing to write home about, but it serviced me quite well.  The coffee pot had a clock on that a girl friend actually set for me.  Yeah, I couldn’t figure it out either.  The clock said that it was half-passed two in the morning.

                I decided a run was called for since I was still feeling anxious about today’s meeting and planning session.  I quickly changed into my running gear and set out the door.

                The downstairs of my building is like any other in the country.  Probably the world.  A well-armed security guard and an alarm system that makes The Vatican jealous guard the front doors.  Well, it is a lot anyway.  I waved at the guard and went out the front door. 

                Outside, the cold air, revitalizing as it was, hit me like a freight train. 

                I ran and ran without a destination in mind.  Normally when I run I have a destination in mind, maybe the corner of fifth and vine and then back.  A cool five miles just to get the old heart pumping.  Right now I just wanted to run.  I just wanted to think.  It helped.

                I ran all the way to my office without realizing it. 

                As I was getting closer to the building, I caught a glimpse of something dipping back into the deep darkness of the alleyway between my building and the café next door. 

                It was nothing that startled me.  There was no reason to be startled.  I didn’t catch much of a glimpse of anything. 

                I slowed to a trot close to the alleyway and peered in and as I suspected, I couldn’t see anything but blackness. 

                As I ran past, I decided to take a break and go into the café for a quick cup of coffee.  I walked in and waved my normal hellos at Betty who was behind the bar wiping the counter top off with a rag. 

Betty is a woman that was destined to serve people in a diner.  She has the bedside manner of the most valuable nurse in a hospital and the looks of an angel, despite her age.  She is fifty-something.  I never really knew her age, but if I had to guess, without her around, mind you, I would have guessed in her fifties.  Maybe I am wrong.  Who knows?  I am definitely not going to ask her.  One thing I learned long ago, you never ask a woman her age especially if she is serving your food.

                I sat myself near a window that I could see anyone coming out of the alleyway.  Of course not expecting to see anyone coming out, I still had paranoia drilled into my head from day one in the army.  The army has always taught me that if a first glimpse of a situation sends chills down my spine then it’s usually correct and you need to be wary.

                Betty makes her way skillfully around a few tables towards the booth that I am in and asks, “Whatcha havin sweetie?”  Her southern draw thick today.  I think she does this on purpose because she knows I have a thing for southern women. 

                “Just a cup of your special wake me up, gorgeous.”  I said with a wink.

                “You bet.  Comin’ right up.”  She said with a smile on her lips and in her eyes.

                I sat there staring out the window when the familiar ding of the bell on the front door sounded.  I turned and saw a figure covered with a cape with a hood affixed to the back of it.  The hood was covering the head.  There were snow flakes lightly sprinkled over the shoulders and head of the figure. 

                The figure stopped at the entranceway and stomped his feet on the welcome rug that serviced both comers and goers of the quaint café.  With a swift move, the figure lowered the hood from his head and he shrugged out of his cape and hung it on the coat rack that I only now realized was there. 

                Betty, back at the counter, smiled wearily and said, “Hi there.  Is the snow getting bad out there?”

                The stranger just shook his head and sat down at one of the barstools that lined the counter.  He said in a low voice, “Just coffee, ma’am.  I’m not staying long.  Just passing through.”

                Betty said, “Sure sweetie.  You sit there and warm up and I will have your coffee right out to you”

                Betty, darling, you are something else. 

                I sat there for what had to be a full minute staring at the stranger until he turned his head slowly and looked at me. 

                I smiled and looked down at my coffee cup, suddenly embarrassed at the way I was acting.

                Betty came out of the two-way doors that served as an entrance and an exit to the kitchen area with a bagel on a saucer and a little tub of cream cheese and sat it down next to the coffee cups by the industrial sized coffee pot.  She poured the strangers coffee and set it all in front of the stranger.

                He looked up from his hands that he has been staring at since he ordered the coffee and stated, “I only ordered the coffee ma’am.”    

                “I know, doll, but you looked like you could use a little something in your stomach.” She drawled.

                He just looked at her and nodded thanks.

                I couldn’t figure out what it was about this stranger that got my ‘spidey sense kickin’ into high gear.  I mean, there is nothing in his demeanor that screamed homicidal maniac.  Nor did his demeanor portray businessman on leave from his wife either, but all the same, the hairs on the back of my neck was standing at attention.

                While reflecting on this, I didn’t seem to notice the stranger getting up from his stool and leaving but when I glanced back in his direction he was gone and the door was swinging shut in his wake. 

                I got up and headed towards the door.  With a wave to Betty, I moved through the door with more purpose than I had when I came through the door earlier.

                I spotted the stranger moving down the sidewalk back the way I had come so I followed.

                After a few minutes of following his movements down the street, he stopped and turned around to face me. 

                At that point, my life changed.  No, of course, I didn’t die.  That would be the end to a really bad story wouldn’t it.  But change is what it did. 

                All my life I had been trained to deal with the vilest of creatures on this planet.  Until now, all those creatures were human.  This couldn’t be human.  What I saw was definitely not human. 

                The stranger had this gleam in his eye that seemed to shine with a light from inside his body.  His lips were curled back over his teeth baring a mouthful of hideously sharp teeth.  His face cringed into a look of what had to be pain.  He opened his mouth as if to say something to me but the only thing that came out was this wet, gurgling sound that almost brought pity to mind. 

                All I could do was stare.  The creature seemed to read my thoughts.  I felt this pressure from his eyes that seemed to see straight through my eyes into my soul.  It was like a heavy weight was being slowly set on my head.    

                He whipped his arms out and his dirty trench coat flew off his shoulders and wings unfolded out his back.  Then he was gone into the early morning sky like a rocket. 

                I just stood there staring up into space watching, half expecting the creature to fly straight back down on top of me landing a killing blow in an instant.  No such blow came, nor did I see the creature flying around the night sky.

                I dropped my eyes after a few minutes and saw a small box.  Looked as if fate has allowed someone to do a most unfortunate thing and drop an anniversary gift for his wife while on his way to deliver it. 

                The box was tattered and frail but was intact.  I hesitantly bent down and recovered the fallen object.  It was light but was not empty.  First feel could tell you that.  It weighed about as much as a diamond ring in a box would weigh.

                I also picked up the tattered trench coat.  Paul will need it to envision what I have seen.  Of course the trench coat alone will not allow Paul to get the full grasp of the creature but at least it is something tangible that we can see.  It also served as an anchor in a way as to prove that I was not going as crazy as I would have thought of someone else had the roles in this bazaar story been reversed.  I mean, a crazy person doesn’t bring home tattered relics of his or her craziness to prove to their friends that they aren’t crazy.

While having decided to wait to determine the contents of the box until I got home, I moved out quickly and returned home.

 

Author's Note

Be brutal.