Syzygy [Risus] (IC)

[Spectre_j]

Andy shook his head at Maria's question. "The symbol looks like an arrowhead," he said, "but I can't imagine what the rest of this is. Maybe he was a mule? But why kill him and take nothing? There's a LOT of weed here, and those papers could be anything. Coded messages, a ledger, a Satanic ritual, who knows? The same symbol appears on both the papers and the cat, but what's the connection?" Shaking his head, Andy emptied the food and sodas from the bag, and seeing nothing else, turned his attention to the cat. There had to be more to this. In his experience, people weren't brutally murdered for no reason at all.

[Destro_Yersul]

Michael kept quiet, but he wasn't so sure they needed to be kept safe from themselves. The salesman had travelled across a great deal of the country, and knew quite well how to handle himself in a wide variety of situations. It wouldn't do to go telling the officer that, of course. Hopefully he'd let them out at the gas station, and be on his way without further incident.

[Sophistemon]

The rat remained all but motionless as Daniel set about his work. In-between trips to and from the truck the young man would peer inside the trash can, searching for continued signs of life, though he still wasn’t altogether sure of why. The rat’s chest rose and fell with hitching, labored breaths. Between its obvious illness and the injuries it had sustained during their conflict, its extended survival was unlikely at best. Passing by the mirror, Daniel once again saw the invitation to call someone named Amy, provided he was looking for a good time. The crassness of the graffiti managed to lighten his mood somewhat, like an island of normal in a sea of the weird. He left the bathroom thinking about it, with something almost like a smile tugging at the corners of his lip.

On his way back to the others, Daniel tested the locked doors that barred entrance to both the manager’s office and the little repair garage. The latter door was sturdy, locked tight with a bolt, but the former was cheaply made and shifted in its hinges when he pulled the knob. He thought that, if he combined efforts with the older man, Andy, they should be able to knock it down and get at whatever was inside. He didn’t like the idea of breaking and entering any more than he liked the idea of taking the food and water, but as a scout he knew that desperate times called for desperate measures, and things were looking pretty darn desperate all things considered.

Shortly after the scout left the Gas Haven restroom that final time but before he left the building proper to rejoin the others, one of the rat’s rear legs kicked fitfully once, then twice, before it went still.

---

The cat’s ceramic skin shone wetly in the dessert sun. The smooth, white contours of its body sharply contrasted with the floral pattern painted on the surface. When Andrew reached down to run his fingertips over it, he could feel the faintest hint of the brush strokes making up every stem, leaf, and petal. It was such an unnatural thing, from the vein-like cracks beneath the surface, to the embossed pattern painted on, to the bizarrely humanoid face and its wide, unblinking eyes that the veteran regretted touching it and pulled his hand away and wiped his fingers on his pants.

The presence of the corpse made this more of a survival situation than he’d been hoping for. They were stranded, that was bad. They’d found a dead bear on the side of the road, with one leg torn free – that was worse. They’d come to a seemingly abandoned gas station, but not abandoned so long ago that its power had been turned off. That was good and bad at the same time. But the corpse meant that there was something distinctly sinister going on, and Andrew felt the hair on the back of his neck start to stiffen in warning like it had back in the jungles when things had gotten just a little too quiet.

---

Maria felt out of her element. For someone so educated, it was an uncomfortable feeling. Had the thing in the plastic case been an ancient artifact more relevant to the region, that might have given her something to go on. But it was clearly of a more modern make, despite its grotesque appearance, and her extensive catalog of knowledge had failed her when it came to identifying the language on the paperwork. The only thing in the duffel bag that might have interested her, beyond the food and drink, was the marijuana – and it had gone south days ago, with the heat of the dumpster all but cooking it inside the bag. All that remained was a rotten, fungal mass of once potent psychoactive that would be of no use to anyone not looking to get sick. Only her upbringing was keeping the rising tide of panic at bay, though not even the School of Hard Knocks had prepared her for something like this.

---

Shepherd drove slowly, almost obnoxiously so. They hadn’t passed a speed limit sign in some time, but the travelers were certain the police cruiser was prowling along at a much slower speed than it needed to, especially in light of the importance of where they were going. That said, the officer had a very natural smile on his face as he handled the wheel, steering with one hand while the other arm rested confidently cocked out the open window. “So,” he said at last. “Where’re you folks headed, anyway? You didn’t get on that bus to stop in my neck of the woods, I’d put money on that.”

“I’m visiting a friend,” Mabel said. “A pen-pal I’ve known for years. She lives in the city, and I thought we should finally meet before either of us got any older.”

The cop nodded, smile widening. “Ain’t that something?” he asked. “F###ing adorable, I say truly It must be nice to have friends.” His eyes rose to the rear-view mirror and found Frank’s. “How about you, big fella? Meeting a friend?”

Frank shook his head, his mouth a thin line. “No,” he said. “I’m going to a funeral. My boy, he… there was an accident, on the road. He didn’t make it.”

Shepherd clucked his tongue, commiserating. “Aw,” he said. “That’s the pits! My most sincere condolences, friend. Losing family’s a Godd### nightmare.” Those eyes then found Michael’s, and the question recurred. “And you, partner? What’s on the other side of your journey?”

[Destro_Yersul]

Well, here was a question Michael could answer. He straightened a little. "Nothing so interesting," he said. "I'm a salesman, door-to-door life insurance. Moving to the next city over for work."

[Spectre_j]

Slipping the strange object back into its case, Andrew snapped plastic box closed. He opened the marijuana, and seeing what looked to be some sort of fungus, packed up everything but the cat and the papers. He took a deep breath, holding it in as he walked the duffel back to the dumpster and dropped it in, retreating quickly from the fresh stench of rot and swarm of flies that erupted from the hot dumpster. He let out a relieved sigh as he got away from that bin of horror. Scooping up the plastic case, he checked to make sure his revolver was in his coat and started walking back around the building. He stopped after a few steps to turn back to Maria, "I'd hang onto those papers. Let's get back to Danny. There's still a few stones left to turn over here." He hesitated for moment as he turned to keep walking, wondering if maybe he should have pulled the corpse and examined it closer, looked for ID, tried harder to sort out what happened. "No," He thought, suddenly annoyed at his conscience for trying to make him go pawing through that charnel pit, "It isn't important." Hastening his step, determined that distance from it would lessen his feelings of duty and obligation, a small voice whispered: "But what if it is?" He stopped, his grip white knuckled on the plastic case. Taking a deep breath, Andy turned around to go back to the dumpster.

[Blarghy]

I could go ahead and try to kick down this door, Daniel thought while he waited. He wasn't in any hurry to go back out to that dumpster, that was for sure, but he also felt wary of hurting himself with a solo B&E. Without encouragement, the eagle scout might not even have the nerve to try.

He soon found himself lingering around the front counter, keeping a nervous eye on the bathroom door and listening for murder-screams. Then again, the killer would probably come after a lone victim... Daniel shook his head to banish the idea. In search of a distraction, he saw the phone that Maria had already tested unsuccessfully. He picked it up anyway; maybe he'd try 911 again, just in case. You never knew.

Instead, Daniel, for some reason, dialed the number he'd found in the bathroom. He didn't give it much thought. He certainly didn't expect results, not really. Hey, what if it's a local number, close by, and all the emergency numbers are blocked by something further away? No harm in trying.

[Artemis97]

Maria gathered up the papers. It was something familiar, at least, research, even if it was in another language. She nods to Andy and turns to go back inside, where there was air conditioning and water, when the older man started back towards the dumpster.

"Now what are you doing?" She asks.

[Spectre_j]

"The last thing I want to," Andy replied with a grimace, "But that body might have answers."

[Sophistemon]

The dumpster stank like an abattoir left too long unattended. The swarm of black flies buzzed angrily as Andrew approached, indignant at his interruption. The reek was indescribable, a foul mixture of rotten meat baked for days and decomposing refuse left to molder for God knew how long. The veteran gagged as he got nearer, gorge rising in his throat. His stomach churned, threatening to empty itself again, but he soldiered on and mounted the dumpster as before. It was like looking down into Hell, but Andy leaned forward until his upper body disappeared from view, gripped the dead man by the front of his shirt, and hoisted him free of the dumpster. They collapsed together on the ground, and Andrew scrambled to his feet as quickly as he could. He'd carried dead men before, in the jungle, but they'd been freshly dead. The corpse was so far gone it was nearly liquid inside, a man-shaped sack of sludge held together by a fragile skin. The body seethed with maggots, the skin surging while they dug their tunnels underneath, and Andrew had to turn away before the nausea overtook him.

---

The cruiser passed a large weathered sign advertising a local Gas Haven, and the cop let out a piercing whistle. "Hey, not long now!" he crowed. "Y'all must be excited to get back on the road. Just you wait, I bet we'll find your friends and that missing bus driver, too." He turned his head to look at his back-seat passengers, steering with one hand. "Hell, I'd put money down you could use a couple beers, am I right?" He winked at Ralph. "This one knows what I'm talking about, don't you?"

The car started to veer into the opposite lane, inching its way across the line, and Mabel bit her lower lip and reached for the wheel. "Watch out," she warned. The cop, sensing the movement, whipped around and slapped her hand away. The old woman recoiled, knuckles stinging, and massaged the battered digits.

"Don't you ever," warned Shepherd. "Don't you ever, do you hear me? A man's car is like his c###; you don't ever touch without permission." Mabel sank in her seat, and Ralph shot a worried glance at Michael.

When the cop faced the road, glaring into the distance, the other man leaned toward the salesman and whispered. "Should we, uh... should we say something?"

---

The phone rang, and rang, and rang. Just when Daniel realized that an automated message would have kicked in by now if it was going to, the line clicked and a woman's voice poured through the receiver and into his ear. It was sweet and smokey, like toasted honey, and it made the young man's mouth go dry. "Hello?" said the woman on the other end. "How'd you get this number?"

[Artemis97]

"Oh! Oh god!" Maria thought to run away from the scene, but crept closer, her nose having somewhat come a little more accustomed to the stench. It wasn't much, and the new wave of horror that came with the rotting body made her want to scream and hide. But maybe, just maybe, there was something to be learned here. They were on their own. Clues were vital.

Pulling her shirt up over her face in a poor attempt to ward off the smell, and to hopefully keep flies away from her mouth and nose, Maria came even closer, looking for... something... what could this poor sod tell them? He'd probably been baking in there all day. Longer? The closest she got to maggots and flies in school were the beetles in the science labs they used to strip flesh from bones. In archaeology, the bodies were never this fresh. If he were just a skeleton maybe she could tell something, but a fresh corpse?

She kept trying to draw parallels to her work to keep herself sane. Decapitation. Guillotine? Hah, not likely. Machete maybe. Gang violence? Someone making a statement? But then why dump the body here? Where was his head?

"What do you think killed him?" She asked Andy. "You know, beside the missing head."

[Destro_Yersul]

Michael leaned in closer to Ralph, making sure that the cop wasn't looking before whispering back. "Do you want to set him off? I'd just as soon get where we're going and see the back of him, without giving him a reason to make our lives harder."

[Blarghy]

At first, Daniel is stricken silent in his surprise, but he recovers, though his voice cracks with relief. "Oh, thank you! We need help!" He pulls his head away for a moment to scream for the others: "The phone works! I got someone!" From there, he spills his soul to this complete stranger in a rush of emotion.

"I-I-I'm at this Gas Haven by the highway and I saw your number but we called 911 but it won't work but for some reason yours did and we need help please-please-please someone's dead and they got killed but we're stuck because our bus broke down and we came here for help and there was this big rat and a dead bear and our driver's missing but I think he might be the killer because we found the body and it's got no head and everyone else is gone and we need help so please call the police pleasehelpI'msoscared!"

It turns to a breathless wheeze at the end, as the scout runs out of air; he grabs the counter to steady himself, spots swimming in his vision.

[Spectre_j]

"Hard to say until I get a good look", Andrew replied to Maria. Gingerly shifting the corpse, he looked for any wounds, bruising or ligature marks on its wrists or what was left of it's neck. He patted the body down to look for anything that might be in its pockets, tucked in its waste band or socks, trying not to breathe in through his nose, hoping that he didn't swallow a fly for his trouble. First the body, then the dumpster. Oh boy, he thought, smiling grimly to himself. His old CO would've had a few jokes to tell to lighten the mood, an anecdote or two to keep despair at bay after finding another dead boy to ship back home to his folks or having another bleed out in a rice paddy.

He could just hear hm now, You really do love the dirty work, don't you Andy? "No sir," Andy would say, "But somebody has to do it." The Lieutenant had always tried to bring some levity to Andy's all too often demoralizing job. He had been a good man. Andy could remember dropping to his knees beside him after some Vietcong bastard gutted him with a bayonet. Even then, coughing up blood, he had flashed a smile and chided him. "Now, now. Don't go getting your hands dirty on my account, boy. Ain't gonna do no one any good." He had turned his head to spit out blood just then. He wasn't a fool, he knew he was being called home. Looking back to Andy he asked "Would you sing it for me?" A staunch baptist, the Lieutenant had taken an immediate shine to Andy for knowing the words to his favorite hymn. Andy had been surprised he'd remembered the tune, not having heard it since he was a boy. He had barely made it to the end of the first verse when he saw eyes glaze over, the ghost of a smile on a lifeless face. Andy hummed the tune to himself now, hoping and praying for some kind of salvation from this strange hell.

A distant shout shook him from his melancholy memories. He looked up at Maria. "Did you hear that?"

[Sophistemon]

It wouldn't have taken a doctor to see the dead man had been in, and lost, one mother of a fight. Spying the edge of a swollen, purplish contusion at the corpse's collar, Andrew gathered his courage and undid several buttons of the bloodstained shirt. The body was riddled with contusions, all fist-sized impacts from the look of them, all delivered with terrible force. Working quickly, the veteran stripped the shirt off and cast it to the dirt beside him, only to retch at the extent of the damage. An overhead blow had shattered the left collarbone, and Andrew both heard and felt the shards grinding together beneath the skin when he moved that arm. A similarly powerful force had caved in the sternum with enough savage power to cause a compound fracture of the ribs. The arms, when he inspected them, were covered with defensive wounds and the hands, he was sorry to see, lacked evidence of the self-inflicted damage he'd expect of a counter-attack. Prognosis? The man had been attacked and beaten to death before he'd had a chance to fight back. He'd been completely overpowered, killed and defiled.

Andrew continued his search of the body and discovered a large folding knife, in a soft leather sheath, belted to the waist. It felt distasteful to take it, to undo a dead man's belt, but he grit his teeth and took it. The man carried no wallet, but in his front right pocket Andrew discovered a key-ring, with a single key, and a tag labeled GAS HAVEN. This, he surmised, would open the office and probably the garage. It wasn't until the third pat-down that the veteran finally felt the card the corpse was hiding in the left rear pocket of his jeans. Andrew fished it out, discovered that it was crumpled but clean, and was disappointed to see it covered in the same illegible foreign language that made up the stack of papers. One corner was stamped with the same angular symbol as the documents and plastic case, while another corner held a small and fuzzy photograph of the corpse's missing head. He was a dour, dark-haired man of Asian descent -- not Vietnamese, Andrew mused -- with a no-nonsense look on his face. It was a form of identification, but without speaking the language the purpose was lost on Andrew.

---

"I'll have none of that talk," said the cop. Michael's eyes rose to find the driver glaring at him in the rear-view mirror. "Beggars can't be choosers, and I've got no room for ingrates in my car." The mouth beneath those eyes twisted to a frown. "You think it's easy out here, day in and day out? Driving the same roads for hours on end, staring out at the same empty f###ing nothing every day of my life?" His foot depressed the pedal, increased their speed, the gauge climbing to the red. "I'm a public f###ing servant, you know. I keep the world spinning." His eyes turned back to the road. "I'm not going to take any guff from a bunch of limp-wrist hippy outsiders too f###ing stupid to pack water in the desert. I know my place in the world." He chuckled, low in his throat, and reached out a hand to grip Mabel's left thigh. "Besides," he said. "It's nothing the old biddy hasn't had before, ain't that right?" He squeezed her leg. "Why, I bet it's a familiar taste of home." Ms. Mulberry-Jones jerked in her seat, attempting to pull away from his touch, but the cop held tight. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked, and laughed.

---

The voice on the other end of the phone was silent a moment, giving Daniel enough time to pour his fear out. When she responded, her voice had a musical lilt to it like she was speaking through a smile. "Poor baby," she said. "Did you get it all out, honey?" Her tone was suggestive, inviting. "Calm down, sweetheart. It doesn't sound like you're having a good time at all; you did good, calling me. You say you called the cops first, but the phone didn't work? Probably for the best; cops and I don't get along very well. They don't like my line of work, and I don't care for theirs. And you found a dead body?" He heard her inhale on the other end, sucking air through her nose and filling her lungs. "Was anyone else there when you arrived, baby? Anyone alive? Or are you guys all on your own?" The questions were coming faster now, that honey-sweet voice spilling into his ear with intoxicating speed. "How many of you are there? Do you have any weapons on you, anything to keep you safe if the killer comes back? Do you have a car to get away in? How about supplies, have you stocked up on enough food and water to travel?"

[Artemis97]

Maria's eyes go wide at the bruises on the body. She knew the signs of a fight when she saw it. Poor man. Never stood a chance.

Her head snaps around at Daniel's shout. "Yeah, I'll check it out. Be careful." She says to Andy, before quickly walking up to the front of the store again.

She steps through the doors back into the blessedly cool air conditioning. She takes a few breaths to steady herself and then looks over to Daniel behind the counter. "You got someone? How?" She asks. "Who are they? Are they alright? Can they help us?"

[Destro_Yersul]

"Well, that's uncalled for, don't you think?" Michael said. "If you don't want us in your car anymore, then stop and let us out. We've got water, we've got a destination. I recall, you practically swept us in here. Nobody's saying the world don't need police, and nobody's saying what you do is easy. Why'd they post you all the way out here anyhow? Nearest city is miles away."

[Blarghy]

Daniel sniffed and drew the back of his hand across his nose. He tried to work through the woman's questions in a meandering, nervous way, as best he could.

"Nobody else is here. There's a truck, we found the keys, but I don't know if the driver is the...the guy we...found, or...but, we might have to just take it. And we got food and water from the gas station. It's just me, Miss Maria, and Mister Andrew now, but there were a few other people on our bus, and we have to go back to help them too. I've got my knife and my...my hatchet, but I...I've never..." He swallowed painfully.

When Maria joined him, he held up the phone. "Yes! I just tried this number I found, and it worked!"

[Spectre_j]

Pocketing the man’s belongings, Andrew gave the corpse a last look and stood up. He took the Gas Haven key out and bounced it on his palm. Remembering Danny's shout, he walked fast, almost a jog, back to the station’s cool interior. "Finally," He thought, "Maybe we're getting somewhere."

[Sophistemon]

The bell above the Gas Haven door jangled wildly as the rest of the group entered to crowd around Daniel and his phone-call. The air churned in a nearly palpable way with hope and excitement as people jostled for position, straining their ears to hear the speaker on the other end. The woman took a while to process what she'd been told, long enough that Daniel's palms began to sweat with nervous anticipation. When she spoke, her smoked-honey voice soothed him like a balm. "Calm down, sweetheart," she said. "Just breathe. Relax and let me take care of you, okay? The first thing you need to do is, get ready to leave. Go through the station once more, top to bottom, and grab everything you think you'll need." He could hear rustling on the other end of the line, like heavy fabric being moved and shrugged over shoulders. "I'm going to come and get you, okay? Make sure you all stay together, though. When I get there, I don't want to waste time calling everyone together. Can you do that for me, baby?" The way she said 'baby' made Daniel's stomach tighten. "Most importantly, stay calm. It's going to be all right. Just... don't let anyone in who isn't me, okay? Do you understand?"

---

Officer Shepherd grunted a few times, deep in his throat, in what might have been a laugh. "A thousand pardons, effendi," he said, then pitched his voice high. "Uncalled for, uncalled for!" The grunting reoccurred, and the cop rolled down his window and spat through it. The spittle, thick with mucus, clapped back against the car and smeared in greasy strands against the rear door window. "You don't know what you're asking," he grumbled. "To be out there, alone? You don't have any idea. They put me out here because I know it. I understand the desert -- and it understands me." He pulled his hand away from Mabel's thigh and she curled up in her seat, leaning against her door in an attempt to make some distance. The cop rolled his eyes at her, hidden behind his sunglasses, and then glared at the road ahead. "Careful you don't fall out, darlin'," he muttered. "There's worse out there than me."

In the back seat, Ralph swallowed and worked his tongue in his mouth. "I, uh, I'm really grateful for the ride," he said. "How much longer until we're there, do you think? I've, hah, got to get to the city before the end of the week." Shepherd gripped the wheel in both hands, knuckles white, and didn't answer.

[Spectre_j]

Andy didn't need to be told twice. He walked around the counter and locked the front door. He looked to Danny and Maria, "I think we let no one through this door that wasn't on that bus." He took out the key he'd found on the body in the dumpster, "I think we're going to have to trust your friend there, Danny. I'm gonna try to get into that office back there. I'd like to see if there's any more firepower. I don't suppose either of you have seen a gun, or ammunition?" Backwater places like this usually had something behind the counter, preferring not to rely solely on the police in a place that usually had few of them and vast areas for those few to cover.

[Destro_Yersul]

Michael lapsed into silence, staring out the window. They'd passed the sign for the gas haven, it wouldn't be long now. Better to just be quiet, let Shepherd think what he liked, and rejoin the group without anyone getting killed.

[Artemis97]

"There's .38 Special ammo behind the counter. Six rounds missing. Didn't see a gun, though." Maria reports. She heads for the door that connected to the garage, to lock it too, or if she could manage it, the big garage door. Or maybe...

"I'm going to see if that truck'll start. Pull it into the garage. Best to have a way out if we can." She'll head outside into that loathsome heat again, heading for the pickup in the gas station parking lot.

[Blarghy]

"O...ok," Daniel agreed to the phone. "We'll get ready--please hurry." After he hangs up, a few nagging thoughts murmur at the back of his mind. She's coming to get us? So, this lady lives nearby, out here in the middle of nowhere? Why? But the young man's relief for assistance far outweighed his confusion. Wherever help came from, he was ready to accept it.

He frowned at Maria's revelation. "It sounds like the attendant had time to see the killer coming. If the gun wasn't on his body, then the killer probably took it." He swallowed uncomfortably. "Be careful out there. I'll check the garage for anything we can use and make sure you have space for the truck." Daniel figured that Andy didn't need help searching the office; he was probably the most capable of their group.

[Sophistemon]

The cruiser chewed highway, its driver white-knuckled as he kept it steady. The cop had gone silent, his expression slack. In a way this was even more disturbing than the inexplicable malice he had earlier displayed. He moved listlessly now, as though the mind behind those aviator sunglasses had retreated somewhere to focus on something else, something more important than driving at the too-fast speed they were going. The implications of that had Michael's nerves on edge, and the wide-eyed glances Ralph kept shooting him confirmed he felt the same way. The older man chewed his bottom lip and gave Michael a quick nod -- I'm with you, he was saying. If something happens, you can count on me. Suddenly, Mabel lurched up in her seat and pointed forward. "There!" she cried. "I can see it!" Sure enough, the Gas Haven was finally in view and getting closer by the second. The old woman looked across at the cop, and his lack of an expression chilled her. He didn't seem to acknowledge the station at all, and the speed of their travel was unchanged.

Ralph cleared his throat and tapped the wire mesh that divided the car's front from its rear. "Hey," he said, voice thick. "The station's coming up. Don't you wanna slow do-" He was thrown forward with a startled shout, forehead smashing in the mesh and then rebounding, when the cop slammed the breaks and twisted the wheel to pull into the station's parking lot. Tires squealed like dying things and left long streaks of black rubber against the faded asphalt. Mabel herself let out a startled shriek, but earlier experiences had prepared her for this and she caught herself just in time to avoid a similar fate.

Steering deftly, the slack-faced cop pulled his cruiser to idle beside the waiting truck. "We're here," he said, looking into the rear-view mirror.

---

Andrew used the dead man's key to unlock the door to the garage for Daniel before proceeding to the office. The door here was flimsy, probably two layers of cheap painted wood kept apart by a whole lot of empty air, and the soldier realized the key was just a formality; a teenager could have broken through it with a solid kick. He unlocked the door, pushed it open, and flipped the light switch by the interior frame. It was a small, cramped room dominated by a cheap desk and a filing cabinet. The cabinet was covered in refrigerator magnets commemorating the better known tourist attractions of the American Southwest. One of the drawers was partially open, and Andrew could see row after row of manila envelopes inside. The desk was a cluttered mess of loose papers, files, and logbooks. Situated at the center, wearing a pair of glasses upside down, was the gaping-mouthed head of the man from the dumpster. The stump of the neck, where it had been torn from the body, was a ragged mess of flesh and bone -- but there was no blood. The surface of the desk was cluttered but otherwise clean.

---

The garage was dark inside, and the darkness made it seem cavernous. Daniel could make out shapes in the shadows, most likely tools and equipment, but he couldn't squint hard enough to be sure. He fumbled for a bit beside the doorway until he found a light switch, and clicked it on. The overheads took a moment, and popped noisily before igniting, but Daniel breathed a sigh of relief when he could see deeper into the garage. As he'd hoped, the threatening shapes turned out to be automotive equipment, well-used but in what appeared to be working order. It was a small garage, only outfitted to handle one vehicle at a time, and it was empty. Daniel cast his eyes around, looking for anything out of the ordinary, and his heart leaped in his chest when he saw a man seated at a desk in the corner, slumped over the table, apparently asleep.

---

Maria stepped out into the baking heat of the desert just in time to see the cop's cruiser screech to a stop beside the truck. It idled for a moment before the engine died with the turn of a key, and there was another moment before the policeman stepped out, the sun reflecting blindingly from his aviator sunglasses. He faced the empty expanse of the desert for a short second before he made his rounds to the other doors, unlocking them and releasing their occupants to the parking lot. If she focused, Maria could hear him say: "Come on out; it's too hot to stay in without the A/C." Maria's spirits soared as she saw Mabel, Ralph, and Michael leave the car -- though their expressions left something to be desired. The cop turned to face her, and smiled widely. "Hey there!" he called. "Are you the group from the bus? I'm here to help. Are the others inside?"

[Artemis97]

Oh **** a cop. This would have been a welcome sight before they found the dead body. Before Andrew had disturbed the crime scene and gotten himself covered in gore. Before they'd stolen whatever that weird cat thing was. Now? All that made things a whole lot dicier.

"Oh thank god, the police!" Maria said far too loudly. Loud enough to be heard inside, she hoped. "And you guys are alright! We were going to come back and get you once we found help. I couldn't even get the phone to dial 9-1-1. Do you know why the phones are down?" She asks the cop. "Is there some sort of emergency?"

[Blarghy]

Although Daniel heard the squeal of tires outside, it hardly registered. He froze like a deer in headlights at the sight of the "sleeping" individual.

I...don't think...he's asleep...

The young scout fidgeted nervously in the doorway. He thought about approaching, trying to wake the man, but Daniel could only picture himself uncovering something truly gruesome up close. Or what if--implausible though it was--this was even the killer? No, best not to proceed alone.

"M--mister?!" Daniel calls out, his fearful voice hopefully cutting through the thin walls. "Mister Andrew, I found somebody!"

[Destro_Yersul]

Michael gave Maria a look. It was a look that said 'don't trust the cop,' and he gave it while Officer Shepherd had his back turned. Then he gathered up their things, and went to help Mabel get inside.

"Ought to be nice and cool in there. Have you guys found anybody else? There's a truck here."

[Spectre_j]

Hearing Danny's shout, Andy looked around one last time, and walked out of the office. He had no sooner stepped out that he heard Maria say something about a cop. He froze. Nothing that had happened so far would likely endear him to the police, and he had been around enough protests since he came back from the war to have much love for them. "Hang on, kid." He said to Danny, not taking his eyes off the front door. He moved as quickly and quietly as he could past the door to the garage and went behind the counter to grab the box of ammo. He took out his revolver and replaced the missing round, keeping an eye on the door. He spun the cylinder and closed it with a flick of his wrist. He walked backward toward Danny, trying to keep a watch on the front, stopping by the door to the garage. He glanced to his left, and followed Danny's gaze to the shape slumped over the desk. "Oh, **** me sideways." Andrew exclaimed under his breath. "Hey, Danny boy," He said more loudly, "Would you come on out, keep an eye on the front for me?" He didn't want the kid near any more bodies if he could help it. The last one had shaken him up badly enough. He readied the revolver and prepared to step into the garage.

[Blarghy]

"Yeah, yeah," Daniel nodded with some enthusiasm, glad for any excuse to get away from what was almost certainly another corpse. He backed out of the doorway and returned to the main station. For a moment he listened carefully for any sounds of trouble in the garage, but murmurs from outside the store soon caught his ear. Daniel stood well back from the windows, but in the sunlight beyond, perhaps he could see movement.

That's Miss Maria, he thought. And...who's with her?

[Sophistemon]

CHAPTER TWO: SHEPHERD & SHEEP

The cop eyed Maria from behind the mirrored lenses of his aviator sunglasses, his expression devoid of worry or concern, his placid smile more for her sake than for his own. “Well ma’am, it’s like I told your friends not long ago.” He arced a thumb over his shoulder, indicating his former passengers. “We had that big nasty storm last night, and it’s sure likely it knocked down some cables.” He cleared his throat and spat into the dust, phlegm sizzling on the asphalt. “I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about,” he continued. “My biggest concern right now is looking after you folk and making sure you get where you’re going.” The smile widened to show perfect white teeth, like chiclets set in the gumline. Then the smile soured as Michael ushered Mabel past him and inside, and the cop cast his head this way and that to take in the scene. “Don’t take too long, you hear? Get yourselves cleaned up and let’s have everyone together for a little pow-wow about next steps.”

---

Daniel waited outside the garage as Andrew made his way through the door, straining his ears to hear the murmured conversation he could just barely perceive was going on outside the building. The young man was fidgety, restless, and his mouth had gone dry at the sight of the man at the desk. Andrew had left the door to the office open, and the light inside was still on. While Daniel waited, nervously tapping the toe of his shoe against the cheap vinyl underfoot, that light flickered. For no longer than a human heartbeat the lamp inside was halfway between light and dark, but that momentary flutter was enough to catch – and hold – the scout’s attention.

---

Ralph followed Michael into the Gas Haven, and even held the door for the other man as he assisted Mabel indoors. The old woman looked frightful, her eyes wide and her twig-like hands clenched in bony fists. She was practically shaking, and the drunk wondered if her heart could take the stress. When he entered behind them, his eyes immediately settled on the beer display. “Oh, thank Jesus,” he said, and went straight for it. He drained the first can in three long pulls and was nursing a second when he made his way back to Michael. “I’ve never been through anything like that in my life,” he said. His voice was strained, a little high. “I almost wish I’d stayed with the bus, you know?”

The old woman shook her head, sniffed, and held back tears. “I’ve been through something like that before,” she said, and went silent. The drunk, knowing better than to press for more information, drank quietly for a moment before looking around.

“This place is dead,” he said. “Where the h***’s the attendant?”

---

The garage was dimly lit by overhead lamps gone yellow with age. Shadows crouched in corners, and Andrew felt himself falling back into old habits, honed to a razor’s edge in the jungles of Vietnam. His eyes were everywhere at once, his ears open and alert to all sounds. His cautious footsteps echoed as he walked, slowly and carefully, to the figure hunched over the desk. As he got closer, his suspicions were confirmed: a veritable river of blood had washed over the desktop and down to the floor, puddling around the feet of the chair. The corpse’s right hand, which rested on the desktop like a pinned fly, was coated in the stuff. The blood was brown, hardened into scabrous decay, and the acrid reek of decay hung around the desk like a fog. While not nearly as bad as the corpse in the dumpster, it still twisted Andrew’s guts to get a whiff of it. Steeling himself, the veteran circled the desk to get a better look at the dead man, whose head was turned away to face the wall. Andrew’s own blood ran cold when he recognized the man as Marty Puhlman, bus driver, and the method of his death: someone had shoved a screwdriver into Marty’s eye, up to the handle, so that the metal shaft had pierced and scrambled his brain. The other eye, clouded by death, was open and staring.