Rabid

The boat drifted slowly.

The rabid things reached the lake, giving it a cautious birth as they stood along the shore watching her.

Hours passed that way.  They seemed never to tire of standing or watching or waiting.  She removed her cell phone from her pocket.  It was nothing more than an overpriced clock now, but she used it to keep track of the time.

She thought: How long can they wait there?  Until they starve to death?  Can they starve to death?

It was hard not to think of the two brothers that she had known ever so briefly, but she had fallen in love with each of them in separate yet distinct ways.  Maybe the circumstances had contributed to that.  In fact, she knew they had.  Her mind replayed the memory of her running away in a continuous loop.  Taylor running towards her and past her as he ran for his brother and she, like a coward, ran for the car.  The shame of that cut deep.  There was nothing you could have done, she thought, but it did little to alleviate her guilt.

The sky darkened, and with it came a biting wind that rocked the boat gently, sending hypnotic ripples through the water.  She admonished herself for not having had the foresight to at least grab one of the sleeping bags.

Being able to see the car was a kind of torture.  Her little Ford Escort that had seen better days represented so many things at once; warmth, food, travel…a way out.  And now it sat at a strange angle, utterly useless.

By seven-thirty, night had descended.  The sky was clear and full of stars.  Funny, she thought, how you start to appreciate things after it’s too late.

The starlight provided enough ambient light for her to see the rabid things hovering at the water’s edge.  She knew they would wait.  She had once had a cat that would keep a vigil for hours outside a small space between the kitchen cabinets and the stove because it had seen a mouse scurry into it.

She hugged herself.  The wind had died down, but it was still cold and her breath hung on the air.

The car might as well have been a million miles away.  It was a fossil now; the corpse of a prehistoric insect.  But there was food and warmth still tucked away inside of it.  She could envision the sleeping bags stacked on one side of the backseat and the box of food sitting on the floorboard.

If this is happening all over the planet, that car might sit there forever.

Tina didn’t notice the subtle change; oblivious to the moment her resignation set in.  The Escort was far away, and any plans of escape left her as she stared into the lake, hypnotized by the reflection of the stars and the way they moved in the gently rippling water.  She stared at them and thought they was beautiful.  She pushed her survival instincts far back in her mind until the feeling was something she could only glimpse now and then.  Doing that gave her a remarkable sense of peace.  Giving up made it all easier somehow.

Escape.  It felt like she had departed her own body; that suddenly, she had gained an aerial view of the situation, soaring high above as she looked down on the group of rabid things which stood silently and motionlessly along the shore.  As time passed, more of them trickled in, joining the others.

And she saw the lone girl in a boat drifting out to the center of the lake.

How long could she last out here in the cold and without food?  The thought was a fleeting one.

Tina stared into the rippling water.  She thought she could go on staring at it forever.

Coming Soon

Last Summer

During the summer of 1993, Zach and his friends set out to have one final adventure before they start high school.  But instead, they accidentally stumble upon the entrance to hell.  Now they must go to battle with an ancient evil which threatens to destroy their small Iowa town.  The battle begins April 2012.

To learn more about the author please visit:

http://www.jwbouchard.com