turned a toasty temperature, perfect for a nap. Using his parka for a pillow, Austin stretched out and closed his eyes. This time no disturbing images bothered him as he fell into a peaceful slumber.
Forty minutes later, Austin’s eyes popped open. He stared blindly at the ceiling, not seeing sheetrock, but rather disturbing images. He blinked several times before springing up and grabbing his parka. In his haste, he knocked over a couple of cans. The clanking woke Luke.
“What’s wrong?” Luke rubbed his eyes to get the sleep out.
“I don’t know.” Austin pulled a face mask over his head. “I got a feelin’ is all.” What he had was much more than a feeling; it was a sliver of a vision. If Madison had been there, she would have told him all about slivers, and how deceiving they could be.
Luke furiously scratched his head. “Somethin’s about to happen’.” He reached for his parka.
“Whatta ya mean?” Austin stopped to stare at the boy.
“Nothin’. It’s…nothin’.” Luke looked away, embarrassed. He’d never spoken about his weird sensations to anyone. Not even Emma.
“It’s what? Tell me.” Austin persisted, but Luke ignored him. “Hey.” He grabbed hold of Luke’s arm. “Tell me.”
“It’s nothin, just a feelin’ I get. Like ants crawlin’ over my head.” Luke shrugged off Austin’s hand, leaned over to put on his boots. “Usually right before somethin’ bad happens.” He straightened up.
“We better hurry then.” Austin replied, and without further delay or explanation ran from the room.
Across the street, inside the convenience store Madison, unaware of any eminent danger, was taking her time walking the aisles in search of anything worth foraging. Tylenol, toothpaste, toothbrushes, two energy drinks and the September edition of GLAM was already in the cart. In front of her was the feminine hygiene section, but she hesitated to grab a box. Space in her back pack was limited, so why clutter it with something she hadn’t needed for over three months. She picked up a small box, thought just in case, and let it tumble into the cart.
Outside, the sound of engine motors rose above the wind. Madison instinctively dropped to the floor. On hands and knees she made her way to the front of the store, and peaked around the shelf. From her vantage point she had a clear view of the street. Outside a group of five, maybe six people had ridden up on ATV’s. They were dressed in long cowboy style coats and wore neoprene masks designed to look like skull faces. She couldn’t tell for sure, but by their build she guessed they were male.
They got off their bikes and from the back of the pack someone came forward pulling a rope. His face mask was that of a viscous dog. Tied to the end of the rope was a shirtless man, who looked to be in his thirties. The expression on the man’s face was one of pure exhaustion and terror. Madison moved closer to the door, careful to stay out of sight. She squinted in the direction of the diner, but saw no sign of Austin or Luke. She checked her gun, checked outside. It would be near impossible to run, or do anything, bundled up like she was.
She watched the action outside. The person with the rope held a whip in the other hand. He swung the whip high in the air above his head, and then smacked the ground near the man’s feet, which Madison could see were protected only by a pair of socks. The group let out excited yells and encouraged more from the whip. Madison thought their voices sounded young. The one with the whip brought it around again; this time it snapped across on the man’s back. The man fell to his knees, his groans more like whimpers. The whip came down on his back again and again. The others jumped around, howling like crazed animals.
Unable to watch any longer, Madison quickly shed her parka and gloves. She checked her gun one more time, took two quick breaths, charged out the door and fired. A bullet to the leg took the whip boy
Forty minutes later, Austin’s eyes popped open. He stared blindly at the ceiling, not seeing sheetrock, but rather disturbing images. He blinked several times before springing up and grabbing his parka. In his haste, he knocked over a couple of cans. The clanking woke Luke.
“What’s wrong?” Luke rubbed his eyes to get the sleep out.
“I don’t know.” Austin pulled a face mask over his head. “I got a feelin’ is all.” What he had was much more than a feeling; it was a sliver of a vision. If Madison had been there, she would have told him all about slivers, and how deceiving they could be.
Luke furiously scratched his head. “Somethin’s about to happen’.” He reached for his parka.
“Whatta ya mean?” Austin stopped to stare at the boy.
“Nothin’. It’s…nothin’.” Luke looked away, embarrassed. He’d never spoken about his weird sensations to anyone. Not even Emma.
“It’s what? Tell me.” Austin persisted, but Luke ignored him. “Hey.” He grabbed hold of Luke’s arm. “Tell me.”
“It’s nothin, just a feelin’ I get. Like ants crawlin’ over my head.” Luke shrugged off Austin’s hand, leaned over to put on his boots. “Usually right before somethin’ bad happens.” He straightened up.
“We better hurry then.” Austin replied, and without further delay or explanation ran from the room.
Across the street, inside the convenience store Madison, unaware of any eminent danger, was taking her time walking the aisles in search of anything worth foraging. Tylenol, toothpaste, toothbrushes, two energy drinks and the September edition of GLAM was already in the cart. In front of her was the feminine hygiene section, but she hesitated to grab a box. Space in her back pack was limited, so why clutter it with something she hadn’t needed for over three months. She picked up a small box, thought just in case, and let it tumble into the cart.
Outside, the sound of engine motors rose above the wind. Madison instinctively dropped to the floor. On hands and knees she made her way to the front of the store, and peaked around the shelf. From her vantage point she had a clear view of the street. Outside a group of five, maybe six people had ridden up on ATV’s. They were dressed in long cowboy style coats and wore neoprene masks designed to look like skull faces. She couldn’t tell for sure, but by their build she guessed they were male.
They got off their bikes and from the back of the pack someone came forward pulling a rope. His face mask was that of a viscous dog. Tied to the end of the rope was a shirtless man, who looked to be in his thirties. The expression on the man’s face was one of pure exhaustion and terror. Madison moved closer to the door, careful to stay out of sight. She squinted in the direction of the diner, but saw no sign of Austin or Luke. She checked her gun, checked outside. It would be near impossible to run, or do anything, bundled up like she was.
She watched the action outside. The person with the rope held a whip in the other hand. He swung the whip high in the air above his head, and then smacked the ground near the man’s feet, which Madison could see were protected only by a pair of socks. The group let out excited yells and encouraged more from the whip. Madison thought their voices sounded young. The one with the whip brought it around again; this time it snapped across on the man’s back. The man fell to his knees, his groans more like whimpers. The whip came down on his back again and again. The others jumped around, howling like crazed animals.
Unable to watch any longer, Madison quickly shed her parka and gloves. She checked her gun one more time, took two quick breaths, charged out the door and fired. A bullet to the leg took the whip boy
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