It felt like I had slept for days. At first, I totally had forgotten where I was. As I opened my eyes, I could see rays of sunlight streaming into the room, making patterns on the rug in front of the couch. Swirls of dust danced on the rays. I shut my eyes and was ready to go back to sleep when I heard a sound in the kitchen. It was a familiar sound, one I had not heard since…well, I can't remember. I sat up, stretched and yawned.
After I got dressed, I shuffled into the kitchen. Instantly, I smelled bacon and eggs. I nearly fell over.
"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Sela said as she turned a strip of bacon.
With my mouth open, I must have looked like the village idiot. I stood there in complete awe.
She didn't say a word, just busied herself preparing breakfast.
"I hope you like scrambled eggs."
"You have eggs? You have chickens?" I babbled in disbelief.
She just smiled and continued cooking.
"Okay, this is unbelievable. My mouth hasn't salivated like this…oh, heck, I don't…"
"Just relax and enjoy," she said, handing me a plate with scrambled eggs, bacon and several hard crackers.
"Sorry, there's no toast. I haven't found any yeast for a while to make bread."
"No need to apologize. This is a feast," I said excitedly as I sat down at an old round oak table. I waited for Sela to join me. Jerky was purring loudly over by the counter. She was squatting in front of a large bowl of food. It wasn't just ordinary cat food. It was a mix of scrambled eggs, a few bits of bacon and some other scraps I didn't recognize. The cat, judging from the volume level of her purring, was clearly in the same food nirvana as I was.
Sela sat down and asked me to say grace. Now that took me by surprise. I stumbled, cleared my thoughts and was about to say that I forgot how, when I remembered what my mom always said for the blessing. I cleared my throat and said the prayer of thanks. "Bless us, O Lord, for these Thy Gifts which we are about to receive from Thy Bounty through Christ, Our Lord. Amen."
"Amen," she said softly and picked up her fork. "Dig in."
A large lump welled up in my throat and a tear gently inched its way out of the corner of my eye. I sighed heavily and picked up my fork.
"You all right?" Sela asked, putting her hand on my arm.
"Just a little emotional, I guess."
"Nothing that a bit of warm tasty eggs can't fix," Sela said smiling.
That first taste of eggs sent wave after wave of pleasure. I closed my eyes and leaned my head slightly backward as if I were in some sort of hypnotic trance. I let the forkful of eggs sit on my tongue so that every taste bud could dance over the mound of eggs. Who would have ever thought that the incredible, edible egg would taste so remarkably fantastic? It was as if I were tasting lobster or filet mignon for the first time. I finally swallowed. Each subsequent bite was savored to the fullest.
"Did you sleep well?" Sela asked as she mashed a few crackers into her eggs.
"Like a rock. My back was particularly happy. How about you? I hope Jerky didn't hog the bed too much."
"She kept my feet warm," she said, looking over at the cat. "Um, do you have any plans?"
I shook my head, waiting to swallow a huge mouthful of food. "Not really. I just want to make it down to where it is warm for the winter. My goal is to eventually reach the coast of Oregon."
"Why there?"
Staring out the window at the blue sky, I shrugged my shoulders and confessed that I had no real reason. However, I explained that I just felt drawn to the area. "For about a year, there's been something inside me that keeps nudging me along. No, it's been more like a push."
"Interesting. Any chance you'd…"
A large rock came crashing into the window, breaking our conversation. Sela was up in a flash. Grabbing a rifle, she went to the front door. Looking around the room, she spotted a pair of binoculars. "Hand me those," she commanded.
Passing her large Brunton binoculars, I whispered, "You said you haven't had any visitors in a while."
"Correct. Hopefully, I can scare them off," she said, looking intently out the window.
"See anything?"
She didn't respond at first and then very slowly and softly announced, "I see three large assholes." She raised the rifle, looked through the scope and fired. A scream rang out across the front yard. She fired again. I grabbed the binoculars and saw two men running down the road.
"They're gone," I said confidently.
"They're never gone," Sela replied with a worried tone. "If they smelled food, they'll be back. Shit. This isn't good."
I tried to assure her that everything would be fine and that she definitely scared them off. My efforts at calming her down didn't work. She stood in front of that window for hours. I cleaned up the kitchen and peeked into the front room every so often.
Sela remained vigilant. Finally, toward noon, Sela stood up, opened the front door and went outside, still carrying the rifle. She walked around the whole house. I was amazed at how focused she was.
For some odd reason, Jerky didn't seem too upset about the commotion earlier. She discovered a well-used porch swing and was settled in for a nap. It was a warm, sunny day. The temperature was undoubtedly in the low 80s, but a cool breeze swept lightly across the porch. At first, I was nervous about being outside, but after being assured by Sela that all was well, I sat next to the cat and dozed off. When I woke up, Sela was sitting next to me with a rifle lying at her side and Jerky curled up in her lap.
"You okay?" I asked.
"Yup. I am now. Good nap?"
"Yeah, I slept like a log. I never get a chance to have a good nap."
We sat in silence for a while just staring out at the front yard. An occasional large black bird would perch on one of the crosses. That pleasant breeze slowed down and it was getting hot.
"Do you always get this…um…scared?"
"Not scared, just cautious."
I nodded my head slowly and smiled at her. We sat there in silence for the longest time as the afternoon sun started to ease its way onto the porch. It seemed as though she were deep in thought. I tried to initiate several conversations and each time she just grunted, that is, until I asked, "Do you believe…um…in evil?"
Sela looked at me as if I had sprouted a third eye in the middle of my forehead. "Come again?"
"Evil. Do you believe in an evil force or existence?"
"Absolutely. We've been up to our asses in evil for a very long time. Why do you ask?"
"I believe that evil is at the root of this shit we are in, and it has a name." I went on to explain about Madeline, and how I discovered what she has been doing.
She nodded her head deliberately and with much assurance she said, "I know that person. As a kid, I remember her being at my school for a while."
"Go on," I urged.
Sela recounted a story of Madeline working at her school for only about a few weeks. She explained that she was visiting all the schools in the area under some pretense. "I think she was giving demonstrations or something. I have no memory about what it was except that she was left alone with us and-"
"All the kids in your class were…um….hypnotized or something," I said interrupting her.
"Exactly. I remember looking at my classmates and they all had their eyes rolled up into their heads. Madeline was speaking softly. I couldn't understand what she was saying and didn't know if she was speaking English. I think my basic survival instinct kicked in and I ran out of the room to the nurse's office. When I got there, I threw up, which bought me a ticket home. I never said anything to anyone. I've kept that memory firmly locked away."
I put my arm around her neck to comfort her. For the next two hours, I narrated all the information I had on Madeline Blackwell, all the way up to the death of Leonard.
Quietly, Sela said, "We need to go tonight."
"Why?"
"Those men. What if she sent them?"
I stared out across the front yard, noticing how ominous those spears and crosses looked. Suddenly, Jerky sat up, looked out toward the road, sniffed and hissed.
"We need to pack and go," Sela demanded.
"So, now I've got two warning systems, you and Jerky."
Sela grabbed my arm and led me into the front room. She rushed into her bedroom, appearing a few minutes later with a large pack as well as the two Glock pistols and large hunting knife.
"Here," she said, handing me another handgun. Quickly, she opened a front closet door and pulled out two rifles and three shotguns. "Take your pick."
"Did your Dad do a lot of hunting?"
"Yes, he did, but he was also very protective of his family," Sela said proudly as she went into the kitchen.
By now, the sun was beginning to shut itself off for another day. Shadows lengthened and the temperature was falling. Great, I thought, tonight we'll have our first freeze and we'll be running in the dark.
Jerky stood by the front door and gave a blood-curdling meow. I looked out, gasped and terror slid up my spine as if it were running a marathon.
"What's wrong?" Sela asked as she came out of the kitchen.
"Madeline," I said catching my breath. A bead of sweat formed on my brow.
Standing in front of the crosses were three small girls dressed in dirty white nightgowns. Their feet were clearly a good foot off the ground. A pack of wolves or maybe dogs milled around behind them. A sardonic grin slowly stole across each creepy little girl. They shouted something that made my flesh instantly transform into chicken skin.
"Heckel, come out and play with us," the three demons beckoned simultaneously.
"All three of them are Madeline?" Sela asked. "I don't understand."
"It's the same Madeline that I saw with Leonard. Only now, there are three of them."
An earsplitting shot rang out. A bullet hole appeared dead center in the forehead of the middle Madeline. All three laughed. Two more shots echoed across the yard.
Jerky sank her claws into my worn jean pant leg and yanked on them repeatedly.
"I have a little defensive trick left that should slow them down." Sela went to the side of the front porch. She pulled open a small wood door on the ground and pushed a button on a black box. From the sound, I could tell it was a piezo lighter. About a foot away after a whoosh of sound, a flame burst forward and raced down a small ditch that extended out past the spears and crosses. It made its way to the front, where Madeline and the dogs patrolled.
"Let's go now," Sela said, pulling my arm. "Out the back door."
We ran through the front room, out the kitchen and toward a barn. "In here," Sela yelled.
Once in the barn, I heard the sound of two horses. "Have you ridden before?" Sela asked as she threw one of the saddles on the back of a large black stallion.
"Once, when I was in college," I muttered. "It was fun."
Sela grunted, finished saddling the first horse and quickly prepared a beautiful pinto. "Here, you take Hope. She's really gentle, but very fast. She can keep up with her mate, Tempest." Sela finished securing our packs and rifles to the horses, making sure the straps were tight. The sounds of barking and loud calls from the demons intensified. We looked at each other and practically jumped onto the horses.
Sela led the way out the back of the barn. Thank God, there was a large harvest moon stealing its way over the treetops. The barking grew even louder. I was sure the dogs had discovered that we went out the back of the house.
A horrific roar broke the tranquil autumn night.
Sela rode faster and I followed. We didn't let up the pace for a good hour. I looked back and saw the orange glow of the fire fading in the distance.
"Let's ease it back for a bit to give the horses a chance to catch their breath," Sela said quietly. We had crossed several farm fields. She told me that she knew the area well and that by the next afternoon we'd be crossing into the eastern corner of Nebraska. "We should be coming up to one of the main roads. From there, I'll get my bearings."
The night sounds returned to just your normal crickets singing, frogs croaking and occasional owl hooting. Sela picked up the pace slightly. At least, we weren't sprinting. However, my insides still felt like they had been shaken, not stirred, and violently rearranged.
At one point, we crossed a stream and Sela stopped so the horses could get a drink. "I can't believe you had horses. I'm surprised that they didn't end up on someone's table for dinner."
"Oh, I could never do that. They have been family for a while. Besides, for the longest time, I've had this strange feeling that I'd be taking this trip."
Leaning down to pet Hope, I said, "I am certainly grateful you had them."
"Care for something to drink?" Sela said handing me a bottle of water.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
"Huh, that just reminded me of something," I said, passing the bottle back to her.
"What?"
"Do you remember the Today show? I think it was on NBC."
"Yeah, I used to watch it every morning when I was getting ready for work. Why?" Sela answered.
"I remember a segment that they did for several mornings on the loss of civility. All these experts were brought on to comment about the various problems that our society was manifesting."
"Oh, sure. I do remember that one. It really made an impression on me. If you look back to that decade, there were definite signs, events, ideals, and people trying to wake us up to our downfall. It was just awful the way people treated each other. Rudeness and callousness escalated to the point where you trusted no one."
"Madeline's little handiwork, I'm sure. She planted those seeds of mistrust, rudeness and anger. We both know that now."
Sela gently kicked Tempest and started to walk. "The big question is how do we stop her evil harvest?"
I whispered, "We destroy her crops and plant new seeds. Ones that show the good in our world."