Encounters (6 page)

The first part of the flight was filled with Lee
’s cheerful rambling. Tommy asked a few polite questions while enjoying the view out of the window. However, the constant drone of the engine tugged at him and he quickly found his eyes beginning to shut. Not wanting to be rude he fought it at first, but he eventually gave in and fell asleep.

It might have been twenty minutes later that he felt his shoulder being gently shook and heard his name calling him awake. He blinked his eyes awake while sitting up a little straighter.

“Are we there” he asked.

“
Yes sir, we’re just about to pass over. Look out your window and you’ll see it coming up.”

He did as he was directed and spotted the mounds immediately. From where they were they were little more than humps, but as they got closer the definition became more apparent and he became more impressed with each mile. When they were directly overhead he was astounded.

There were four mounds in all, one large and three smaller surrounding it. The largest was a giant bird, that much was clear, but what species was uncertain. It might have been an eagle, although it could just have easily been a raven or an owl. The other mounds were all the same. They were perfect triangles.

He was amazed at their precision and said so to Lee. He was at a loss as to what it could have meant to Stephen though. They made several passes over the mounds, but although they left him fascinated, he felt no closer to any answers.

It was a quiet flight back. Lee tried to engage him in conversation, but eventually even he gave up when Tommy wouldn’t contribute. Tommy made a brief goodbye, said his thanks, and left shortly after they landed.

He left the radio off on the drive home, the better to hear his thoughts. They refused to make sense though. They were broken by the sight of the man in the trailer who today was dressed as a member of the New Orleans Saints. He had on a jersey, complete with shoulder pads, face paint, helmet in lap, and beer in hand. Beside him was an empty lawn chair.

On impulse Tommy pulled his car to the side of the road. Stepping out of the vehicle he raised his hand in a wave. The man raised his beer in reply and belched loudly.

“Mr. Keith” he called out.

“Yeah? That’s me. What can I do ya for?”

“I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions.”

“I was wondering when you would come ask them.”

His tone was gruff but Tommy would have sworn that he saw a twinkle in the old man’s eyes. He walked over and turned the extra chair to face Logan. He steadied himself with one hand on the arm rest as he lowered into the seat.

“Why were you expecting me?”

“Because in a town full of liars
an old trickster like me is the only place to come for the truth.”

Logan leaned forward as he said this and locked eyes with Tommy. His eyes danced drunkenly in their sockets. He belched again loudly and fell back into his seat.

“I see you’re a Saints fan. I like the costume.”

“Huh? Oh,
this get up. It’s nothing. I’ve worn a lot of get ups through the years. Beer?”

“No thanks. I still have to drive home.”

“Never stopped me.” He punctuated this by another belch. “Ask me your questions. I’ll tell you all lies. Well, mostly lies. It’s more fun that way.” He uttered short burst of laughter at his joke.

“How come I never see you in The Nest?”

“Same reason I don’t go into Tuesdays store! Those bastards can rot in hell.”

Tommy put up both hands in a placating manner and changed directions.

“Ok then. What do you know about my friend’s disappearance?”

“Everything and nothing.”

“Well then, tell me everything.”

“There’s nothing to say about that.” He laughed as he said this and took another swig.

“Do you always talk in riddles” Tommy asked. He clenched his fists to keep from screaming at the man.”

“As often as I can.” He paused a moment before continuing. “I know you want to find your friend.
Can’t blame you there. I wish I could tell you where to look but I can’t. Whoever took him don’t report to me. Question you got to ask yourself is, are you sure that you want to find him?”

“What do you mean by that?”

At that moment Logan clutched his stomach and hissed out a sharp breath. Tommy jumped up in alarm but Logan waived him down.

“Don’t worry ‘bout me. Too much beer on an empty stomach is all. But damn don’t It burn like snake venom. I’m
gonna go sleep this one off. Good luck finding your pal.”

He stood up and walked away without even a look back. Tommy sat there a while tempted to follow him inside to ask him more but he was sure there were no answers here. After several minutes had passed he got back in his car and left.

Day 10: Friday Final Act

Friday morning was spent in a booth with a pen, a notebook and an endless supply of coffee. He wrote constantly trying to decipher the clues that they had uncovered. He made chart after chart and no matter how he arranged things they would not make sense.

Finally he gave up went for a walk around town. The heat was miserable but he felt too restless to sit still. He waved at the passing cars and he even waved at Capt. Tuesday when he passed his store. He shuddered as he moved past. His head refused to clear however so he walked back to his car and drove home.

***

It was shortly after One O’clock when he arrived back home and he distractedly thought that he should eat, but he had no appetite. Instead he eased onto the couch to think some more, but soon his eyes slid shut on their own. Shortly after that he began to snore.

He woke, groggily, to the sound of the phone ringing. He rose from the couch stiffly and went to answer it.
“Hello”, he mumbled into the receiver.

“
Tommy? It’s Helen, I’m sorry if I woke you.”

“
S ok,” he slurred back while rubbing his eyes with one hand.

“
I have a question. Do you like football?”

He stifled a yawn with his hand. “
I’m not a diehard fan, but I do enjoy it. Why?”

“
Tonight is the New Damascus High Vikings’ first game of the season. Would you like to go with me?”

“
I think I could manage that.”

“
Excellent, I’ll pick you up at 6:30 sharp.”

He agreed to the time and they hung up. It was then that he looked at the clock on the stove and realized that it was 4:30 already. He had slept hard for three hours. No wonder he was so groggy. He also realized that he was now ravenously hungry. He decided that a shower to help wake up was his first priority. He made his way to the bathroom to gingerly shower; gingerly because at his age showering was like riding a roller coaster. It was exhilarating, but there was always a fear of falling.

One hot shower and a large sandwich later he felt refreshed. He was ready and waiting when Helen pulled up to the house and honked. He locked up and slid into the passenger seat. Helen surprised him by leaning over and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. He was even more surprised to feel a blush creep onto his face. She saved him further embarrassment by asking him if he was ready for some football in the voice of an over exuberant announcer. They both laughed and he said yes. Helen put the car in drive and they left to watch young men do battle in the dying light.

They arrived at the stadium shortly before 7:00. It was a small stadium. The home side was made of steel girders and cinder blocks. The visitor side was the standard aluminum bleachers and the whole area was surrounded by a chain link fence.

They took their seats just in time to stand back up for a prayer, the ACLU be damned, and to hear the schools marching band play a squeaky version of the Star Spangled Banner. When it was done he took a good look around and was surprised by the number of people there.

Seeing this Helen leaned over to explain,
“There isn’t a lot to do here on a Friday night and around here football isn’t just a way of life, it is life.”

He started to reply, but was drowned out by the announcer heralding the football team to the field. They flooded onto the field through a tunnel made by the cheerleaders, dance team, and the flag line as the crowd cheered and the band played. It took him a second to recognize the tune as Wagner
’s Ride of the Valkyries.

The first half of the game was back and forth, but the Vikings slowly started gaining ground towards the half. The teams gave way to first the dance line and then the band for halftime. The band performed a rough and slightly out of tune halftime show.

“Ah, but their mothers will love it” Helen replied when he said something.

After the half the two opposing forces went at it hard but slowly the Vikings pulled ahead. It was late in the third quarter that they began to compare notes. Helen started by inquiring about his trip to the mounds.

“It was strange. I can feel that there is a connection but I can’t make it fit. What about your research, did you come up with anything?”

“
I spent a few hours online last night doing research. I didn’t find many details about Kepler, just that he wrote a book about astronomy that the Catholic Church banned. I also didn’t find any more about local Native American myths. Unsurprisingly I found quite a lot about Norse Mythology.”

“
I suppose that isn’t that surprising at all. Did anything stand out that might relate to what we already know?”

“
Mostly it was just a loose collection of stories about various gods and goddesses with different deformities.”

“
What kind of deformities?”

“
Well, there was the god of war Tyr, sometimes known as Tew, who lost his hand to a giant wolf. He is apparently who we name Tuesday after. Oh, and of course there is Odin who gave up an eye to gain wisdom. He had two ravens that would spy for him.”

“
It sounds like a pretty gruesome group of gods.”

“
I also learned a little about Norse mysticism. The number three and multiples of three were considered significant along with certain runes. Odin even had his own rune that he used to cast spells.”

“How convenient.
What did it look like?”

“
It’s three interlocked triangles. They called it the Valknut.”

Something about all this struck him as vital, but he was still lost as to how it all fit together. He rolled it around in his head.
A god with one hand. Another with one eye. Three triangles. That is when it hit him.

“
Helen, we have to go right now.”

She looked at him a moment and then without saying a word she gathered her things and stood to leave.

When they got in the car she asked him where they were going, to which he simply replied “The Raven’s Nest.”

She started driving before looking over to him and commanding
“Explain.”

“
I don’t have all the answers yet, I just now know where to get them. It’s the Valknut. Three interlocked triangles. That’s what the mounds are, three triangles with a bird in the center. A bird that I bet is supposed to be a raven. The same symbol that is also on the door to the Raven’s Nest as clear as day.”

By this point they were at the nest and the conversation was cut off. The parking lot was empty of cars but he knew that this was where he needed to go. Tommy reached out for Helen's hand as they walked. They reached the door, the door with the final damning evidence, and hesitated briefly before stepping through.

Inside the air was cool, the lights were dim, and there were three people sitting at a table against the back wall: Odie, Captain Tuesday, and Thorton Smith.

“
Come in Agent McCain, we’ve been expecting you.

They moved between the tables slowly until they reached the back where
Odie and his companions sat.

“
Won’t you sit, we have much to discuss?”

Tommy wanted to refuse on principal but at that moment he felt old and tired and he slid into the empty chair being offered. His heart was racing and he could feel the sweat on his palms. When he had sat he looked at the men before him and asked
“Who are you?”

“
You know who we are.”

“
You aren’t real though. Even if you were the stories say that you died centuries ago.”

“
Most of us did die although not in the same sense that you understand death. We are all that’s left and we have been greatly”, he paused for a moment looking for the right word before saying “diminished. So we came here and we’ve been here ever since waiting and watching the world move on. There once were four of us, but one has played the clown so long that he has forgotten who he is.”

He was stunned by this revelation, but surprisingly he didn
’t doubt it at all.

“
I still don’t understand though; why did you take Stephen? Was it you who stole the books from the Sheriff’s office?”