5 YEARS AFTER 2.5 Smoke and Mirrors. Richard Correll
the Chianti colored rugs. The off white walls were overgrown with moldings and wooden shapes. It seemed like an attempt at imperial that had fallen a bit short. Molly put her head down and made a quick pace to the front door.
“Oh....oh!” A voice called out as she passed the front desk. “Ms. Hunter! Ms. Hunter!”
“Yes?” Molly turned slowly and made her face into a friendly smile. Her eyes tried to hide the shade of deviousness in her thoughts. I love it when I have a plan. Her right eyebrow arched slightly under the hoodie.
“You aren’t going out are you?” His voice seemed to be a touch higher than she remembered. He was a thin black man with short hair and the touch of a moustache. He was the perfectly tailored attendant for the night shift.
“Family business,” She kept it short and turned toward the door.
“Oh ........um....” From the corner of her eye, Molly saw that look again. Oh, shit!
“It’s okay, honey.” Molly called over her shoulder. “I’ve got a ride.”
As her hand pushed into the thick plate glass door Molly knew she had found Beauragard’s Achilles heel. His people had been given specific orders in that deep, serious tone of his. But what happens when you pull the unexpected, when army grey encounters Technicolor? The automaton takes a pause, reboots. Molly did not have to look back to know the desk clerk was already on the phone to his superiors.
What do I do now? He would ask almost fearfully.
His superiors were just part of the chain. They would be like the ponderous elevator doors, grinding through the options while time ticks away. It might come down to waking the General. How long would that be?
About forty five minutes, Molly reassured herself. Damn, that’s nice timing.
It started at the spot between her back and neck. It was a cold chill that seemed to lace out like tentacles around her shoulders. It seemed to crawl to her up her back with the care of a spider creeping forward. A long leg caressed her at the tip of her spine, causing her eyes to widen. Her hands were laced with cold ice. My fingertips, her breath stopped for a second. I can’t feel my fingertips.
Molly’s movements stopped and became numb. The darkness and shadows seemed to watch her. Everything about the night took on a darker shade, a careful conspiracy of her surroundings to hide her final fate. If darkness was an emotion, it was icy, pitch black fear. You’re outside now, where they are.....
This was almost fucking funny until now………
You have to move. Molly felt her right leg go forward rigidly with the left leg following the rhythm. It all has a very familiar feel to it, doesn’t it? That taste of fear that evaporates everything and leaves your mouth dry. Suddenly, you want to run and hide in the shadows.
Don’t be silly. You can’t go there. That’s where they’re waiting for you.......
But, you have got to go there. Molly felt like her plan was the trigger to a trap. You can’t stay in the open, the patrols will see you. You have to hide in the dark, work your way through the shadows. The cold spider that Molly had felt on her spine paused for a rapturous moment. The poetry of it all was almost lyrical. Molly Hunter, clever girl. You’ve spun your own web and trapped yourself.
Third Avenue was lit by a few streetlights with boarded up businesses supporting a three story parking garage in front of Molly. To her right, Big Sandy Superstore Arena reflected wanly. It was a reddish orange box out of place with the new reality of things. What do you do with a sports arena when all of the teams don’t play anymore?
Small trees provided just enough shadows for cover. She found her feet picking up speed in their direction. In the shadows, that’s where you can stay out of sight. Molly inhaled slowly and tried not to feel like something was watching her, beckoning her.
You can always go back, had the spider on her spine now found a voice?
No, Molly slowly kept an eye out for anything that moved.
Curiosity killed the cat. She was reminded. It’s pride that kills the rest of us.
Listen for them. They always have that hissing, low growl about them. Molly felt her ears approach hypersensitivity. There was a low reverberation that seemed to fade in and out of the very edge of what was discernible. It was there, then, it wasn’t.
“Right,” A voice clearly spoke from close by. Molly turned and crouched down behind a tree that had been planted close to one of the arena’s walls. She slipped the dark, reddish color of her Louis Vuitton bag in front of her brown pants. The black hoodie and the bag helped her blend into the shadows. Two men had been standing behind a white van parked across the street. They emerged into the road. The van was one of those cube things that were so hard to see around at an intersection. A man in a camo short sleeved shirt tossed a lit cigarette away as he crossed the street with his partner in tow who cradled a hunting rifle. Camo man sported a highly visible side arm in a holster. He raised an object to his mouth.
“Don’t see her.” Camo man spoke. Of course not, you were hiding out and catching a quick smoke. Molly knelt down into the grass.
“........could be anywhere.” The radio replied. “Remember what to do if you see her.”
“Yeah, roger that.” The camo man seemed annoyed that his time pursuing his private vice had been interrupted. He lowered the radio and nodded to his partner and they walked toward the hotel. Occasionally, they would pause and hazard a long look down the street for a fleeting shadow on the move. Their backs were to Molly in a few minutes.
45 minutes, Ms Hunter. Molly reminded herself as she carefully stood up and crept among the saplings. It was so quiet she could hear herself breathe. The edge of the building beckoned closer as one footfall gave way to another. It occurred to Molly that she had no clue what was around the corner.
Just keep going, she inhaled as her fingers crept along the painted wall of the arena, exploring in the dark for the corner. Just take a peek around it. It’s safe, it’s got to be safe.
Three explosions counted off the seconds. Molly felt the brick around her shatter and spatter the darkness with debris. She was down on her knees and around the corner. Molly then stopped her heart and breathing. Her eyes widened but found nothing to focus on.
“Got ‘em!!” An unfamiliar voice bellowed.
“Hell, yeah!” It was camo man. Molly crawled on her stomach and peeked around the corner. A dark shape was splayed on the grass. Fuck, it was tracking me and I had no idea. She realized coldly, staring at the thing that was a shade blacker than the grass. Molly was face down in the shadows now. There were two approaching figures in the white splash of the sidewalk. The man with the rifle paused at the edge of the grass.
“I could’ve sworn there was another one.” The man with the rifle peered into the dark in her direction. He’s looking right at me. Molly tried to think in the shadows as she swore their eyes met. He sees me. I know he can see me.
“I only saw one.” Camo man seemed to be wishing out loud.
“I dunno,” The guy with the rifle raised the barrel and pointed it in Molly’s direction. “I coulda swore......”
“Virgil.” Camo man sighed and spoke in a logical, somewhat tired tone. “We are near the end of our shift. This is no time for heroics.”
Don’t move......Molly buried her face in the dirt. Don’t move, don’t breathe.
Her eyes were closed so she did not see them begin to walk slowly toward her. Their feet made no sound as the boots brushed the blades of grass aside. If they mistake you for one of them......
An animal sound split the silence in two. It was followed by a scream of surprise. Molly lifted her eyes to see a shroud rise from the grass and pounce on the rifle man. He screamed a second time while camo man stepped away and fumbled with the side arm in his holster.
“It ain’t dead!! It ain’t