Heckel Casey

I brewed almost did in his new little sweetie,' she said with a cocky tone.

Barker clapped his hands in anger producing an earsplitting crack of thunder. 'Almost! Almost is never good enough. It cannot be a part of your vocabulary. It means failure. Do I make myself clear?' he said standing directly in front of Madeline.

Taken aback by his sudden, vicious change, she didn't respond.

Barker grabbed the side of her head and squeezed. A dim blue luminescence glowed from around his hands. Madeline went completely limp. Her eyes rolled up into their sockets.

When she awoke, it was dark. Her four bodyguards were behind her.

'Son of a bitch,' she mumbled, rubbing her temples. 'I feel like shit.'

'Can we get you anything, Ms. Blackwell?' one of the bodyguards asked.

Madeline didn't respond. She got up and walked to the black stretch limo parked on the street.

The next morning as Madeline lay in bed visualizing her encounter with Barker, she wondered what he meant by ramping up her efforts. And what the hell did he do to my head! Suddenly, her thoughts focused, sharpened as if they were displayed on a gigantic HD flat-screen TV in her head. 'More power,' she muttered slowly. She knew what Barker had given her. Special tools! Tools to kill. A sneer of disgust and hatred inched its way across her face. 'Heckel,' she intoned slowly.

The covers flew off the bed. She got up and walked to the window, all the while feeling her new talents coalesce. Dark clouds flashed across the sky. She placed her head against the window, fixating on the storm brewing.

Humming a singsong, childlike melody, Madeline played with the curtain, slowly twisting it as if she were wringing out a wet towel. 'Heckel, Heckel…come out and play with me. I've got some new toys to show you.'

The demonic little tune she hummed grew louder and louder.

Chapter 14

The day after arriving in McKinney, Jack took Sela and me to a house he thought we'd like. He kidded with us saying the owners were eager to sell and that the down payment was very affordable. I asked what the interest rates were like, and he thought we'd have no trouble getting a loan. Banks were practically giving houses away. It was a few blocks away from his. There was even a barn out back for the horses. It didn't take us long to say yes, especially when Sela heard the word barn. Missy and Sela got the horses secured in the barn. Jack turned the water on and made sure we had some hurricane lamps with a supply of oil.

At one point when Jack and I were alone in the house, standing in the kitchen, he stood in front of me and asked, 'Heckel, do you believe in…um…the supernatural?'

Biting my lip nervously, I looked down and mumbled, 'Excuse me?'

'Things we can't exactly explain by science. You know…the supernatural, like those bikers who were after you.'

Funny how the subject of those possessed bikers never came up last night at dinner. I know Sela and I didn't want to bring it up.

'Ah, those bikers,' I mumbled as I walked into the living room. 'Yes, given everything that's happened, I do believe there is something going on that is more supernatural than natural. Why are you asking?'

Jack put his hand on my shoulder, turned me around and whispered, 'Are you sent here to lead us?'

Whoa! I took a step back. His question hit me hard, reminding me of the time in geometry class when the teacher asked me to name all the theorems for something or other. My palms got sweaty and my heart beat faster.

'Um…not sure what you are talking about, Jack,' I said haltingly.

'It's become pretty evident that something weird is going on. I mean besides the bikers, we've had other bizarre incidents, such as horrible violent storms, packs of wolves, and…a…' Jack's voice became faster and more agitated as he listed all of Madeline's attacks. He presented his case as if he were the most experienced lawyer Texas ever saw.

After a while, I found a chair to sit down in as Jack paced around the room presenting his theories.

At one point, he stopped in front of me and asked, 'What the hell does she have against little old McKinney, Texas? I mean…for Chrissake there are numerous other little cities around, why is she attacking us? Why are we of any importance?'

The answer hit me like a test-car dummy hitting a wall. Attack the town, attack me. She knew I was coming here and that these people would help me.

When he was done, I said, 'Listen, I know what you are talking about. We have experienced many of the same attacks from Madeline. She must be out to exterminate mankind or something. She's done a pretty good job of it so far, I'd say.' Now there was a brilliant deduction! I felt like an idiot.

'That's why we have to stop her and maybe you were sent to lead the charge,' Jack said putting his hand on my shoulder.

I was about to jump up and ask why he thought I was 'the Chosen One,' words that seemed so cliche and Hollywood, when Sela, standing in the doorway to the living room calmly said, 'Heckel, he's right, you know. Tell him.'

Caught. Sela was absolutely right. I paused and guardedly asked, 'Tell him what?'

'Heckel, you know what I mean. Tell him what you have done. The power that you control,' she said sternly walking up to me. 'We can trust these people. I know it.'

I paced the room in silence for the longest time. Finally, I stood in front of the large picture window and narrated all the ways I, more or less, attacked Madeline back. After each account, Sela would elaborate and give her take on what I did. It felt like I was again in a courtroom with my defense lawyer bolstering my deposition. I don't know why it felt like I was in a courtroom; I'd never had to hire a lawyer or anything. It must have been from watching too many law shows on TV.

When I was done spilling my guts, I asked, 'Now what?' as I threw my hands up in the air, pleading for an answer.

No one said a word. I didn't realize it, but at some point Missy had joined our little group. She was the one who finally said, 'You take one day at a time, and you'll figure it out. We'll help you.'

I smiled at her, feeling as if the weight of the world were strapped to my shoulders. Right, easier said than done. Figure it out? Figure what out? I felt completely useless and afraid. Now other people were getting sucked into this…battle or war or whatever you want to call it.

Jack sensed I was upset and said, 'Heckel, if it's any consolation, I'm behind you and I think this entire town will be at your side.'

Great, more pressure. Sela flashed me a warm, comforting smile. I sat down next to her, and Jerky, my personal bodyguard, came strolling into the room, jumped in my lap and began purring.

Vonnie walked in and said, 'How's it going?'

I burst out laughing, followed by the others. 'Oh, just fine,' I said.

'What'd I miss?' Vonnie asked.

'I'll fill you in later, honey,' Jack said, standing up. 'How about some lunch?'

With all in agreement, we went over to Jack's house. The conversation at lunch gravitated toward more mundane topics as well as funny stories. Thoughts of Madeline kept pushing into my head.

After lunch, Sela and I moved all our meager belongings over to the new house. She let the horses out into an adjacent field. I lay down and fell asleep.

Over the last year or so, all my dreams seemed to center around Oregon. In the past, I would have dreams where I was on the coast, enjoying the ocean views, while other times I was in the mountains. None of those dreams ever had any bad things going on. In those dreams, I was always alone and not feeling threatened in any way. However, the dreams I had during this nap were much more focused. I stood on a large field, surrounded by trees. At first, I was alone. One by one, people materialized behind me, carrying a myriad of weapons-pitchforks, swords, clubs, guns and spears. The power, which I had felt seethe inside me during that storm or when the