THERE IS A slope in the distance, and I could clearly see the open mouths of caves. They beckon us near, hoping to swallow us, never to be seen again. Who knows what waits for us in the darkness of those hills?
The path heading towards the haunted-looking place is riddled with footprints in the snow. This snow is old; it hasn’t snowed out here for years; maybe it is the fallout of a nuclear winter.
His voice cut the quiet, as it sometimes does.
“When we git close, no sudden movements. Don’t acknowledge or try to talk. Things can be twisted or misconstrued. It is a master manipulator, but I gotta see the reaction.”
I nod—not that he could see, because his back is to me. The master communicator over here. Why am I so awkward?
I miss the days when I was just a normal guy. I miss saying good morning to people; I miss people saying it back to me.
Here I am, in this winter land, trailing behind: I don’t know, is he my friend? Is he family, like he says? Is he a master manipulator waiting to pounce?
“The Ghouls, they need ta eat. You and I don’t do things that way. They are good little soldiers. They will wipe the world clean. We will start a new.”
There he said it, 'a new', a new what? A new day? A new world? A new race? All of the above. Why am I still here?
“Quiet now, we’re close.”
INTO THE BELLY OF MADNESS
We enter the darkness of the cave. I could see her right away. Her skin was green like ours. Her eyes glow in the dark. She wears rags.
“Aw, look what you’ve done, girl. You wrecked yer clothes again.”
“Daddy, when are you going to let me come home? I’m sorry about before. I will try to not be a bad girl.”
I turn and look at the Cowboy. He smiles right at me. What is going on? Is this woman his daughter?
“Now you know rightly, I ain’t yer daddy. We got company; try to be polite.”
Her glowing eyes look right into mine. There is something sinister behind them. That is not a woman.
“Come closer, young man; let me get a look at you. You look so big and strong.”
I started laughing. I couldn’t help it. Never in my life have I been described in such a manor. Some of the worst things I ever heard in my life came from the mouths of people closest to me.
This is what he is worried about? She is a cakewalk!
“You think this is funny?” She asks, with a snarl. “Come closer, I’ll rip your bones out!”
I was about to retort, but I felt the Cowboy's eyes on me, and I remember what he said.
'Don’t talk.'
So I did not say a word. I just observed her.
She sways a little; I lose interest and look around the cave. It was carved out by running water a long time ago.
“You brought me a new toy to break?” She asks, pointing at me.
FORCED HEALING
I see the Cowboy jump on her. He pins her to the ground with some contraption. She is laughing the whole time. I'm not sure what to be disturbed at, so I decided the fact that he is really struggling to hold her down is a good enough reason for being disturbed.
Without thinking, I'm already holding her there. He traps her down with what may be iron clasps.
The Cowboy cuts her clothes off, and I regret my actions. She is shapely. She makes a lot of noise, none of which was sexual in any way. Everything is more like suffering, discomfort, or even pain.
I feel bad for her. My heart sinks. I know why she is here. She is lost in her darkness; she hurts people.
The Cowboy pulls some clothes out of his bag, cleans, and dresses her. Not that we need cleaning. We always smell the same: ‘burnt plastic.’
She swears at us the whole time. His hands work vigilantly. My mind is on what he's trying to tell me with all this.
She is very mad, not just the angry way; mad like crazy.
His eyes like fire in the shadows of the cave; he looks at me and nods.
“When I pull the pin and release her from her binds, you run out of the cave.”
Her gravely voice seems to interrupt all reality.
“You’ll never make it. I’m gonna rip you both apart.”
I will never forget her terrible laughter. She is haunting my soul with every vibration of her voice.
“GO!” The Cowboy yells.
RUN YOU FOOLS
You better believe I run. I pump my little chicken legs so hard, I am surprised they didn’t burst into flames.
I am not ashamed to say the creature scares me raw. You can feel it when you are near her; that is not just a pissed-off lady. There is something about her that gets a hold of you when you get near. There is a deep-sown hate that flows through her that only wants pain.
The Cowboy is leaning against a tree. He is just breathing.
My heart has never pounded so hard in my life. I wonder if he could hear it.
“Wadda ya think?” He asked.
What would you say if you saw that monster and someone asked you this question? Obviously, he has some deep-rooted connection to her. I would have to be careful with my answer. I don’t know her full situation or his connection to her.
“Right now, she is lost. Somebody did something to that woman that broke her soul. She only wants violence.”
“Yeah, I sense that too.”
I shake my head at him.
“We can’t let her get out in the world. What are we going to do?”
He takes his hat off and closes his eyes, leaning his noggin back against the tree.
“It will pass. I ain’t gonna give up on her.”
“You’re crazy. She’s going to rip you apart.”
His eyes open and find mine.
“Maybe. I will survive being ripped apart. We ain’t so temporary like the humans. We in this fur the long haul. We gotta be there for her.”
I let out a frustrated breath and lowered my head in thought.
Is he saying we don’t die?