12. Powertrain
The woods felt desolate and dreary as I ran through them, barefoot and with the mist thickening around me. Visibility was near zero, the branches obscured by the heavy fog. Every step was agony as sharp twigs and bark tore at my feet. Another scream rang out, causing me to whirl around, darting in another direction, unsure of where to go.
Then, a voice called out my name, familiar yet chilling. A man”s sinister laugh echoed around me, disorienting me.
”Lucy! Lucy, where are you!”
My panicked scream joined the cacophony of terrifying sounds. Lucy”s tortured cries filled the air, sending shivers down my spine, nearly paralyzing me in fear.
Ignoring the pain in my feet, I pushed forward, the sound of trickling water in the distance urging me on. But the dense mist continued to obscure my vision, leaving me stumbling blindly.
”You”ll never find her,” the man”s voice whispered in my ear, and I jerked in surprise, losing my balance and tumbling down what felt like an endless abyss.
I lay there,feeling utterly helpless, my body battered by rocks and branches. And then, I saw her, lying just in front of me. I reached out, desperate to help, but she lay motionless. Her breaths were still, her eyes wide with a silent scream, blood staining the leaves and dirt around her.
In the distance, a faint ringing sounded, like a phone. I scrambled through the dry leaves, searching desperately for it. I needed to call for help, anyone who could come for us.
The ringing was distant yet persistent, as my head throbbed with pain. I struggled to keep my eyes open, but exhaustion was pulling me under.
I could sense my eyelids fluttering, but this time, they were fighting to wake up.
The ringing pierced the quiet of the night, jolting me awake. It took a moment to register—it was my cell phone that was ringing beside me. With a groan, I reached out and accidentally knocked it off the nightstand, cursing loudly enough to disturb Whisper, who remained fast asleep beside me.
Rolling over, I grabbed the phone, squinting at the bright, glaring screen. It was three in the morning, and Hoax”s name flashed with three missed calls. A sense of dread settled in my stomach; I had a feeling this wasn”t going to be a pleasant conversation.
I braced myself as I stepped outside, cursing at the crazy weather. The brisk wind hit me like a cold bucket of water, and I hugged my arm around my chest for warmth as I returned the call.
His voice came through on the second ring. ”Shit man, I thought you”d never answer.”
”Everything alright? The sun”s not even up yet, Hoax.” Whatever had him up at this hour wasn’t good.
I could hear him tinkering around on the keyboard in front of him. I pictured him back at the clubhouse, a mess full of empty Cheetos bags lying around him while he swiveled around in his gamer chair. He was always glued to those damn computer screens. The man needed pussy, stat.
”Are you sitting down?”
”No, I”m freezing my ass off.”
”Why?” I blinked at the question, slowly remembering that Hoax had an ADD problem that made him lose track of things if he didn’t focus. After a long pause, my frustration kicked in.
Through chattering clenched teeth, I responded. ”Because I”m standing in my boxers outside so as not to wake Whisper. Now fucking talk.”
”Ahhh, man. I got shit news, brother.”
That dread now settled in my chest. The dream came back to me, Lucy”s eyes screaming for help, stayed with me.”
”Keep talking,” I urged him, a deeper coldness flooding through me.
”The police monitor just blew up...” he paused.
”Goddammit, Hoax, spit it out!”
”Lucy Whitfield, your Lucy, ahh shit brother, I don’t know how to say this,” Hoax”s voice crackled through the phone.
“She”s dead, isn’t she?” I asked, already knowing the answer to the question.
“She was found dead about two hours ago,” he responded, his voice somber.
I stammered back, falling against the cold cement wall. I crumbled to the ground as numbness and anger slowly consumed me.
”It gets worse, brother,” he continued.
”Just say it,” I swallowed back the strangled scream that wanted to tear out of my throat.
”She was found strangled, raped, and brutally stabbed. The killer discarded her body by the side of a lake. The authorities are saying that it was an intimate killing due to the vengeful stabbings and strangling. The victim knew her murderer.”
”How was the body found?”
”That”s the kicker. An anonymous caller phoned in with a dark fucking message.”
Silent tears fell down my cheeks. ”What message?”
”He gave the location of her body, followed by the words, she”s next.”
A wave of horror crashed over me, mingling with the grief already drowning me. My mind raced with questions, but one terrifying thought drowned out all others: who was next?
I slammed my eyes shut; a sob tore through me. I knew that message was meant for me. That son of a bitch had gotten out just to torture and destroy me in every way he could. And so far, he was winning.
He knew with Lucy he was going to get my attention. My poor, sweet innocent Lucy. He couldn”t just leave her be. And I couldn”t save her this time. I wasn”t there for her and that ripped at the open wound in my chest, and it tore through me in a wailed sob.
”Brother?” Hoax”s concerned voice rang through and in anger, I flung the phone out over the railing.
I gave out a loud painful scream and collapsed against the rail, sobbing. I heard someone yell, and then I heard a door swing open. I was too lost in my grief to notice that Whisper had awakened. Warm hands touched my back, and I flung around, gripping her forcefully by the neck. I was on edge and didn’t realize what I was doing until, through my blurred vision, I watched her eyes widen. My grip on her neck loosened and as her hands came up to cradle my cheeks, I flung myself into her arms, allowing myself to fall apart while holding on to the only pure thing I had in this world.
She”s next.
The words echoed around me, and I hugged her tighter. Praying to God that I could save her. She cooed at me, rocking me as I sobbed. Her warmth enveloped me in this emptiness. Somewhere on the ground below, my phone had shattered, and I”d left Hoax hanging, wondering what the hell had just happened to me.
I”m not sure how long we sat there. Eventually my tears and sobs had stopped, and I just lay in her arms like a broken child. In the distance, the sun was slowly rising. She swept a hand through my beard and kissed the top of my bare head.
”Let”s go inside, Lee. It”s too cold to be out here.”
I registered what she was saying but I didn”t want to move. I wanted to see the sun rise, so I held onto her tightly.
”Gimme a sec, beautiful. Just one more second.”
She didn”t say a word after hearing the brokenness in my voice. It ate at me like a plague and I doubted I could ever get over this magnitude of pain.
As if in a dream, I felt her stroking my face, playing with my beard, and leaving sweet kisses on my head. It was the first time I’d gotten this nurturing side of her. Forgotten was her frustration for me or any disdain she may have had. I looked up at her, and her eyes glistened in the light. She was fucking beautiful, and I feared he”d take that beauty and diminish it”s light.
I gripped her hair and brought her forehead to mine.”You do as I say from now on, you hear me.”
I could tell she was about to give me a nasty response, but I gripped her head tightly, softly shaking her as I pressed her forehead almost painfully to mine. ”Don”t fight me on this, Whisper. Just promise me you won”t leave my fucking side.”
She tensed and then slowly licked her lips. ”I... yes, okay, I promise.”
”You go where I go you hear me,” I ordered fiercely, overprotective of her.
She nodded, gripping my forearm. ”I promise, Lee. You don’t have to worry; I’m not going anywhere.”
”That’s a good girl. Come on…”
I reached for her hand, pulling her up and guiding her back into the room with me.
”Hurry up and get ready, we”ve got to move.”
”Aren”t you going to tell me what happened?”
I turned to her, her eyes bright with concern and full of questions. She had the right to an explanation, I knew this. But I also understood that the less she knew the better it would be for her.
I reached up and gripped her chin lightly. ”I”ll tell you soon. Just know I”m not here to control you or take away your freedom. Everything I do from here on out, I do to protect you from any harm. Understood?”
She gave me a quick nod and then flung herself into my arms. The words she spoke next, disarmed me. ”I”m sorry. Whatever it was that brought this sadness into your eyes...I”m so very sorry.”
I hugged her tightly, though it was more for my comfort than hers. When I let her go, I turned away quicky. She had already witnessed too much of my vulnerability for one day.
”Let”s get going.”
”Yes, Sir,” she whispered, and I smiled as I watched her running around to do as I asked.
While packing my own bag, I was taken aback by the sight of my own smile in the mirror. It only deepened my guilt. It felt like I was betraying her, my Lucy. I cursed myself, feeling a chill creeping over me.
”Be outside in fifteen,” I snapped, catching myself instantly, aware that the anger I was directing at Whisper was unfair. She didn”t deserve that either.
Slamming the door shut behind me I took a deep breath and went out to get Blue, my new bike, ready for the trip.
When I stepped out into the nearly empty parking lot, I came across my broken cell phone, the screen shattered and the phone dead. Cursing, I made a mental note to get myself a new one and instead, I veered toward the front desk. The same old man who greeted us the night before sat in a stool, a coffee mug pressed to his lips, the newspaper opened in front of him.
”That pay phone out there still works, friend?”
”Old as hell but she does the job.”
I nodded and placed a dollar bill in front of him. ”You got quarters?”
”Sure do,” he smiled and opened up the register, taking out four quarters and placing them in front of me.
I took them and placed the keys to the room on the counter.
”You two kids, be careful out there. Lots of crazies killin” people lately.” He nodded up at the screen, the sight of Ron Hargrave”s sketched face made me falter. The news anchor was reporting the murder of the newest victim.
I couldn”t handle it and flew out the door as quickly as humanly possible. Stumbling against the wall I felt the bile rise up in my throat and I bent over for a second, thinking I might puke.
After a moment I reached up for the pay phone. Taking the receiver off the handle and placing a quarter in the slot, I dialed the only number I knew by memory. The clubhouse.”
Someone answered on the first ring. ”Yup.”
“Who is this?”
“You’re calling us, shouldn’t you be giving me your information?”
The thick southern accent and smartass comments gave him away. “Hellsing, it’s Powertrain.”
“Jesus, brother. You sent this whole fucking clubhouse into a fit. No one’s been able to sleep all night.”
”I”m okay, Helsing. We’re okay.”
His voice lowered with concern. ”Listen, we heard what happened.”
”You all know?” I asked.
”Hoax sent out a message.”
I squinted against the sunlight, “Good old Hoax doing his due diligence.”
”I”m glad you called, brother. How are you holding up?”
I knew Helsing meant well. As the club”s Chaplain he was only worried about keeping our souls intact. He knew we were all damned, even his own, but he was always trying to give us some redemption.
”I”ll live, brother. Just wanted to let you all know I”m headed into Tennessee with Whisper. Should be arriving in New Orleans in a few days or so.”
”You both, good? Do you need anything?”
”Other than a good whiskey and a woman around my cock, I”m good.”
In the back of my mind, I remembered Whisper”s warm curvy body writhing beneath mine and my cock jerked to life. Fuck my life, this woman was going to get me in trouble.
”Well then, I’ll let Jameson know you’ve checked in. We”ll talk more when you get here. Godspeed, brother.”
As I hung up, I knew that getting home not only meant giving Jameson an explanation on what the fuck was happening, but it also meant a soul-searching session with our Chaplain, which I truly was not prepared to do.
I shielded my eyes from the sun, which was glaring down on the dark cement. In the distance, leaning against my bike, was Whisper. That raven black hair fluttering in the wind. As I approached, I noticed she wore a crop top with a skull giving you the finger beneath her red leather jacket. I couldn”t help but swipe at the finger, also gently swiping at the plush breast beneath it.
”That meant for me?” I asked.
She looked down at my hand and squinted up at me, the sun glaring in her eyes. ”Maybe.”
I nodded. ”Good. That”s good. Let”s go.”
I tore out of that parking lot as fast as possible. We needed to get our ass back to safe territory and I needed some serious backup.