Heckel Casey

brown age spots. She jumped off the chair and ran to the nearest mirror. The horrific image stared at her-a skull with sunken orbs, skin barely hanging from her jaw and hair that was white and straggly. Madeline screamed so loud that her throat was raw. She rubbed her hands to try to smooth out the wrinkles and looked in the mirror again. Several maggots fell out of her ear. 'Make it stop,' she yelled. 'Please, I'm so sorry I…'

Harold came up behind her, put his hand on her shoulder and whispered, 'Get rid of Heckel, once and for all. He's dangerous and not to be underestimated.' As he blew softly into her ear, she could see her reflection in the mirror slowly transform back to her normal image. He gently kissed her cheek and backed away. Madeline was struck at how she now looked in the mirror. 'What did you do? I look even better,' she said as she examined all her features. Her hair looked more luxurious and shinier than ever. It appeared as though the best make-up artists from Hollywood spent hours pampering her. She also particularly enjoyed the purple streak down one side of her black hair. 'Wow, you have…' Madeline spun around to address Mr. Barker. The room was empty.

Her thoughts immediately turned to Heckel. She paced around the room, deep in thought. Infiltration! That's it…I need to get someone inside to befriend him and kill him.

'I think I know just the men to do it,' she muttered as she went back to the mirror to admire the new look.

A soft knock interrupted her gazing. 'Come in,' she announced, stroking the purple strands of hair.

'You asked me to come back to share some ice cream with you,' a small voice said behind her. Madeline turned around to see the small boy smiling. He looked like he was straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. He had curly red hair that complemented his numerous freckles. His smile was angelic and contributed to the sparkle in his green eyes.

'So I did. What is your name?' Madeline said, leaning down to stare into the innocent boy's eyes.

'Bobby Stewart,' he said confidently.

'Well, Bobby, since we have to wait a bit to get our ice cream here, how about you and I get more acquainted. Let's sit over here on the sofa.' She ushered Bobby to the sofa and moved several pillows. 'I'm just going to make a quick call to get our ice cream brought up here,' she said as she picked up the walkie-talkie off the coffee table. Bobby swung his feet back and forth playfully as he looked around the room.

'Now, tell me all about yourself,' Madeline asked as she sat next to Bobby.

Jackson Steele arrived later that evening. His black leather jacket was slung over his shoulder as he walked into Madeline's bedroom. Tossing it over a high-backed Victorian chair, he asked, 'How can I serve you Miss Madeline?'

Ah, my loyal, obedient servant…well trained just like a puppy. She had one thing in mind, but knew they'd get to that later.

'Please have a seat, Jackson,' Madeline said motioning to the love seat near the fireplace. She admired his tight, firm buns that were showcased in a pair of soft black leather pants. Yum!Can't wait to remove them.

Walking around the room, Madeline outlined a task for Mr. Steele. He listened politely and intently, every so often nodding his head in complete understanding.

'Do you have any questions?' she asked coming up behind Jackson and massaging his strong, broad shoulders.

'No, ma'am. I will do what you ask quickly and completely,' Jackson said with darkness in his eye. 'I live to serve you.'

Hmm, that's what I like to hear. 'Excellent,' she whispered into his ear. 'You leave tomorrow. But first, let's have a little workout, shall we?' she asked aloud as she began to unbutton his shirt and nip his ear.

Chapter 19

As we approached the town of Flagstaff, we were greeted by a small group of riders. Justin and Luke were in the lead. They waved excitedly. Jack and Heckel rode out to greet them. I knew by everyone's smiles and handshakes that all was well.

The few miles into where the ABQ group was camped went by quickly. The field they chose was spacious, certainly enough to accommodate the McKinney clan. As we rode into the field, people greeted us and were eager to help us get set up. The most surprising part was when Luke announced that they had prepared dinner for all of us. I, personally, was ecstatic; I so didn't want to have to cook. Heckel found us a spot near Jack and Vonnie. He set up our little tent and made us a fire. After I took care of Tempest and Hope, I sat down next to the fire and fell asleep with Jerky curled up in my lap. In my dream, Heckel was working on our home; it was a pleasant cottage high atop a hill overlooking the ocean. I saw myself, very pregnant, sitting on the front porch. It was such an idyllic dream. I'm sure if anyone saw me sleeping, they noticed a huge smile on my face. Heckel said something funny, making me laugh. I suddenly felt the child inside give me a stiff kick, maybe as a warning. I stopped laughing as I looked past Heckel out to the ocean to see Madeline suspended over the water. Dark skies were boiling at her back. She leered at me and opened her mouth revealing long, spiky teeth. I screamed.

'Sela, are you all right?' Heckel asked, lightly shaking me awake.

I started to cry. He put his arm around me and held me close to him. The rocking sensation was very comforting. After a short while, I told him all about the bad dream. He wiped the light dampness from my forehead.

'You are safe,' he said quietly. 'I will always be there for you.' He kissed me gently on the top of my head. The image of Madeline gradually faded from my mind's eye.

We walked down to a large stream to wash up. The water flow was strong from the winter runoff. Even though it was still icy cold, it felt refreshing and invigorating. I looked over to see Jerky take a drink of water and then groom herself as well.

The feast that the ABQ group set out was nothing short of miraculous, not to mention generous. Of course, the McKinney group contributed food and drink as well. Everyone enjoyed meeting each other, sharing stories and getting acquainted. Every so often I'd hear Heckel's name dropped, and I would try to overhear what someone was saying. For the most part, the snippets of conversation were very hopeful and optimistic. One woman said the word savior. I knew that word made Heckel feel very uncomfortable. I smiled proudly as we walked around the large gathering.

It was beginning to get late and people slowly started to drift off to their campsites. Heckel yawned in the middle of telling someone a story. I whispered in his ear, 'We should get going.' He agreed with no hesitation. We said our good nights and walked back to our camp. Heckel crawled into our tent and immediately fell asleep. I lay next to him for a while, listening to him snore softly. Memories of that dream I had started to filter back into my head. After tossing and turning for a while, I decided to get up and sit by the fire until I got sleepy.

Of course, Jerky followed me out of the tent to watch over me as usual. The fire hadn't gone out completely and a few choice logs brought it back to life. The warmth it gave off helped to take the chill out of the late-spring night.

'Can't sleep?' someone behind me asked in a soft voice. I spun around to see Vonnie standing in the shadows. 'Yeah, I had a bad dream earlier and it's still haunting me.'

'Want some company?'

'Absolutely. Sit yourself down.'

'Would you like some tea? I have a pleasant Sleepytime blend that might put you at ease,' she suggested.

'I'd much prefer a good belt of scotch,' I answered.

'I don't think your baby would appreciate it,' Vonnie whispered with a motherly smile on her face.

'How'd you know?'

'A mother can tell. Besides, I've noticed your morning sickness. How are you feeling?'

'Much better. I think I'm over that part.'

'Tea? It doesn't have any caffeine in it.'