The Ascended (27 page)

The ride in my car was bumpy though the roads were smooth. When I was a kid I always wanted a rabbit, but not this kind. I wanted the furry cute kind that was forbidden in our house because ‘animals are living creatures with minds and souls of their own, not our prisoners or playthings’.

If mom only knew about the poor innocent turkey slices in my brown bag lunch today, she’d disown me.

I missed my parents, though the deep end of the crazy pool was getting kind of full these days. Who knew when they would give up and come back to
society.

So, instead I had the Rabbit. My white ‘79 VW Rabbit with a few dents and dings that just gave it personality. As much as I loved to complain about it I also loved to defend it. For whatever reason I loved this car, I wouldn’t trade it and I’d drive it until
it’s
last leg fell off.

The previous owner wasn’t as in love with it as I was. They tried to fix it up but ended up just messing stuff up and then leaving it half done. For instance, I probably had the only Rabbit in America with a bench front seat, of course, that means I don’t have an emergency break either.

I couldn’t restore it
myself,
I just figured one day I’d be able to get someone to do it for me. Unfortunately, that cost money, money that a job at ‘Travel Journal’ would have provided.

Was it really wrong to almost hope something will happen just so I can stop photographing bogus claims?

Of course, that was terrible. I couldn’t be alone in this though, right? It had been almost a year since the strange things started happening and for me that was a year too long to do the same story. Maybe I could talk Medusa into letting me cover something else today, quickly looking away before she turned me to stone.

Medusa’s refusal and following reel of cackling laughter sent a shot of fire though my already sleep deprived headache. Her waving me off like I didn’t matter as she turned didn’t help either.

The office was beginning to be what I always dreaded it would become.
A place where I didn’t want to go but was stuck because no other offers were open to me.
I apparently wasn’t as good at my job as I thought I was or at least wanted to be. I was the youngest photographer at the paper though, that had to count for something.

At least Danny was happy at the Coffee Place. I surely couldn’t have made that statement without lying.

Funny, how you can go through a whole day and speak to no one. Other than my boss and Danny that morning I literally spoke to no one. Again, in a city this size, being alone really was a skill.

Following Madison wasn’t the worse thing I could’ve have been stuck doing. She wasn’t a talker either and we could sit in silence comfortably, but as soon as she needed it, her 75 watt smile would turn on and she would be in story mode, asking all the right questions and making all the right facial expressions in response.

The older gentleman posed for his picture with his dead cat in a brown shoe box, covered in a huge green bow. That huge pointless bow on a cat casket freaked me out almost as much the dead cat inside it.

He told us that one of the visitors had looked at his cat and the cat had fallen over dead right there on the sidewalk. He tried to get the government to test it for alien residue but the FBI had refused and he was perplexed as to why.

He thought if he went to the media, they would take his claim seriously. Unfortunately, he picked the wrong paper for it to be credible.
Poor guy.
How were people getting so enthralled in this stuff?

After picking up some fast food dinner, a couple burgers, I pulled into my driveway, looking around first for Matt. Seeing nothing I stepped out of the car and locked my door, putting the top up. I walked over to the mailbox juggling my purse, the food, my jacket, my camera and keys. I cut the end of my finger on the rusty broken letter on the mailbox, the envelope on top showing a bloody fingerprint on it and the mail added to the juggling act.

I was preoccupied with that and didn’t think to look back around, though I couldn’t have out run Matt even if I wanted to.

And then, there he was, standing not ten feet from me, me in between my locked car and the supposed to be locked house. He said nothing at first just stared, silently.

I tried not to gasp but I felt my breathing pick up involuntarily. I tightened my hands to stop the shake so he wouldn’t see, but I could feel them start to tremble. I silently cursed myself for not reporting him to the cops already.

He wasn’t drunk that
time,
I could see his eyes were clear. Why was he staring at me like that?
Like he hadn’t seen me when he was just here harassing me last night.
Should I run? Should I even try and give him the satisfaction of chasing me? No, I froze.

“Matt?” I barely whispered out his name but I knew he could hear me.

He furrowed his brow at me, looking confused as I said his name. He looked horrified. Then...he finally spoke.

“Sherry, don’t run. Don’t be afraid.”

“Matt. What are you doing here?” I said as soft and pleading as possible. “I told you last night that I don’t want you here. Please, just...leave me alone... Are you trying to scare me? Do you want me to be afraid of you?”

I tried to use my sweet innocent voice, hopefully pleading with something humane still left in him.

“Sherry, listen, please. I know you’re scared of me and I know this sounds crazy but I need to open your mind and just listen to me for a minute, ok? I need you to come with me.”

“Um...it’s late. I’d really rather just go inside. I had a long day and don’t really feel that good.”

I stepped he stepped.

“Sherry, please, just
trust
me.”

“Are you kidding?” I squealed. “What do you want, Matt?”

“I need you and Danny to come with me.
Right now.
You’re in danger.”

“There is no way I’m going anywhere with you. You’re not drunk are you?”

I thought not but something was definitely wrong with him.

“Please, Sherry,” he pleaded. “We don’t have time for this. Just come with me. I’ll let you drive.”

“Oh. That helps,” I said sarcastically but regretted it for fear of angering him.

He paused. He paused and stared so long I thought he wouldn’t say anything else and then...

“You don’t have to fear me. I’m not...Matt.”

“Matt! Stop it! It’s not funny!” I yelled as I mentally catalogued everything in my purse, searching for something to use as a weapon but was coming up with nothing.

“I’m not trying to be funny, Sherry, just listen. The strange things going on in your world...” he started as I began to inch backwards towards the stairs.

He saw and made the same small advances towards me.

“What? What are you saying?”

“Matt...
died
, Sherry. I know this is odd and unsettling for you and I’ll explain everything later but we don’t have time. I’m here to help you and we need to leave, right now.”

I couldn’t handle it anymore. Matt’s freakish behavior could only be a distraction for something bigger that I was not ready to deal with.

I turned and pushed my legs to their full speed dropping the mail and everything else but he was already right there in front of me. Impossible! He reached for my wrist and turned me so fast my head swam and my vision blurred.

He grabbed me, covering my mouth with his insanely warm palm, and pushing my back against the wall by the stairway, holding me there, his body pressed against mine to keep me still. All I could hear were my gasping breaths muffled through his hand.

I closed my eyes shut tight and tried to brace myself for the desecration of my body, but exactly how do you do that?

Nothing.

I opened my eyes cautiously. He was just standing there, staring at me, holding my hands above my head with one hand and his other was still over my mouth, gently. I thought about trying to bite him, but the last time I bit him, it didn’t end so well for me.

He just stood there, for at least a minute. Not a word.
Just looking into my eyes, breathing heavy with confusion, like I’d never seen him do before.
Looking unsure of
himself
. Not at all like Matt.

Finally he licked his lips and spoke.

“Sherry, I’m
gonna
uncover your mouth, please don’t scream. I’m not
gonna
hurt you, I promise, that’s not what I’m here for. I just need you to listen to me. It’s very important, and we don’t have time for this. Can I uncover your mouth?”

Sure, but would I scream? Probably, but as his hand slipped slowly from my mouth and up my arm to my hands with the other, I didn’t make a peep. I just stared with frightful anticipation of his next move.

His eyes flicked back and forth from my features.
My mouth, my eyes, my hair.
He was definitely upping his game of trickery.

“I’m not Matt,
ok,
I need you to understand that. After everything going on, the moon and the visitors, I’m sure you can comprehend this. I’m not Matt. Matt died in a car crash about five hours ago in Orland Park. He was drunk and was out there by himself in his truck. I know your world has noticed the strange events taking place. I am a part of that and I’m on your side but...they’re coming. I need you to believe me and to get Danny. We have to go.
Now.”

Wow, Matt was really reaching. Does he think I’m so spooked by all this that I would believe this cockamamie story? Last night his story was he saw one. Tonight it’s he is one? What did I ever see in him?

I tried to squirm, move a leg, pull my arms down, something, but he was holding me so tightly, surprisingly not hurtful, but I still couldn’t budge. He didn’t seem upset by my squirming, just held me tight and watched me closely.

“Matt- I mean, whoever you are- let me go, and then we’ll talk, ok? I’ll go inside to get Danny and I’ll be right back and then we can go. Ok?” I lied, badly.

I couldn’t lie and everyone who knew me knew it, including Matt.

He must have heard the lie too because all of a sudden his left hand slipped under the hem of my shirt, rubbing and searching my belly and back, like he was looking for something...specific.

Then my skirt, same thing, checking my inner and outer thighs and behind my knees.
It was all I could do not to knee him somewhere painful but he was still pressing against me as much as his searching would allow.

“They haven’t gotten to you yet have they? I don’t feel anything. Whew. Ok,” he rushed the words out in a breath of relief, it seemed, as he looked around.

He was talking to himself more than me so I just stayed quiet, trying to process and think of what kind of angle Matt could be using. Why the charade? He could overpower me in a second. Why the game and why was his breathing so out of control?

“Sherry. I can see that you still don’t believe me so, I’m sorry about this, but I can’t waste anymore time. I never meant to come here as Matt, that was a huge mistake. I hope you’ll forgive me for that someday.”

He barely finished his sentence before he poked something in my arm. I could feel the prick but had no time to react. I couldn’t stay awake and only seconds and it was black as night. My eyes closed against their will though I was still conscience, but couldn’t see or move. My arms and legs went limp as I started to slump to the ground.

What? Why would Matt do that? Was he kidnapping me?

I could feel him catch me up before I fell and throw me over his shoulder, bend, quite easily actually, and grabbed my keys from the ground, walking me to the car. He unlocked it and put the top back down, impressively with one hand.