Heckel Casey

'Now there's an unusual name, especially for someone as young as you.'

'My mom liked the old TV show called Quincy. It was about a medical examiner and starred Jack Klugman.' After no response from Madeline, he smiled at her, bowed his head once and excused himself. Madeline watched his behind as he exited the RV. 'Nice tush!' she said under her breath and wondered if Quincy was as good in bed as he was a driver. Maybe she'd just have to find out, needing something to make the unpleasant trip more bearable.

After dinner, Madeline went outside to walk her dogs for a while. When she came back to the RV, there was an elderly man sitting in a chair next to a large campfire. She knew who it was immediately. Mr. Barker.

'Good evening, Mr. Barker. What a pleasant surprise,' Madeline said walking up to him with her hand extended. He did not move or even look up from his fixed stare on the fire. It was as if the flames mesmerized him. Madeline turned, walked over to a chair across from him and sat down. Now she was nervous. She tried to remain strong and confident.

'Your little plan with Bobby and Jackson fell through, I see,' he said calmly with a hint of disdain. 'Such a disappointment for you, I'm sure.'

'Yes, it was.'

'As it was for me. I had so hoped this matter with our friend, Mr. Heckel, would be over by now. He is a real fly in your ointment as you once mentioned.'

Madeline nodded slowly and stared into the fire.

Mr. Barker got up and began pacing around the fire. Here he goes again. Madeline fidgeted in the camp chair. As the long period of silence wore on, she rubbed her hands over and over in her lap. The campfire flames steadily rose in the air, causing her face to get very warm.

'It appears that you are planning to take matters into your own hands and confront this Heckel character directly,' Barker said calmly as he rubbed his hands.

'I always thought that if you want something done right, do it yourself,' Madeline said with confidence and a slice of know-it-all.

'I suppose. However, Miss Madeline, there is much at stake here and if you fail…well, let's just say that cannot be an option.'

'Correct, it is not. I will not fail. My power is strong.'

Barker walked up behind Madeline and massaged her shoulders. His touch made her insides squirm as if hundreds of worms had suddenly slithered and wrapped themselves around all her major organs. Looking down at her arms, she could see her skin take on the appearance of massive goose bumps or as one person told her once- chicken skin.

He bent down and whispered in her ear, 'Yes, it is strong, but you need more to defeat this man. Much more.'

Madeline assured him that her army vastly outnumbered Heckel's puny band of followers and that her forces were much better armed.

'Still, we are concerned,' Barker said. He let go of her shoulders and continued his pacing. I just want him to leave, she thought. Please. Please. Please.

Hoping to put his mind at ease, Madeline babbled on about how after her army destroyed his followers that she would meet him face-to-face and destroy him once and for all.

Barker smiled and, with a half-hearted laugh that turned into a wicked, thundering shout, yelled 'No, he will destroy everything that you have done, you fucking imbecile!'

The fire shot up fifty feet into the air. Sparks flew in all directions, followed by loud crackling and pops. Madeline fell backward out of her chair, scrambled on her knees away from the fire and flopped onto her back. Barker stood over her shrieking, 'You must kill him now before you ever confront him on any battlefield. Seek him out under the dark veil of night. Kill his bitch and child. Then you will reduce him to a weak, defeated man and finish the task.' A green putrid spittle flew out of his mouth as he went on with his rant. Madeline winced as it hit her face, flinching as if acid burned her skin.

After Barker regained his composure and the fire settled down, he went over to the dark edge of night surrounding the campfire. He pointed a finger at Madeline and calmly said, 'We still believe in you, Miss Madeline. Don't fuck this up or you will regret your very existence for all eternity.'

Standing erect with fists clenched and a defiant posture, Madeline replied, 'Mr. Barker, know this. I will not stop until every part of Heckel's life is destroyed and his body is reduced to pieces. Then after that, every last member of humanity who does not bow to the evil that I spread will be slaughtered without hesitation.'

Barker's eyes glowed brightly and he slowly nodded his head as he backed into the darkness.

Whew, that was intense, Madeline thought to herself as she brushed the dirt off her pants. She looked down and saw a dark spot on her designer jeans. 'Shit, I pissed myself,' she said. Then anger brewed inside her, mixed with a feeling she hadn't had before. Was it doubt? What if I can't defeat this Heckel? What if…

'Stop. There is no room for doubt. Push it aside. No, what-ifs! You must kill him and soon,' she said loudly.

From the shadows of the RV, Quincy came forward and asked, 'Is everything all right, Miss Madeline?'

Walking up to him, slowly taking his hand, Madeline replied, 'It will be soon.' She led Quincy into the RV and closed the door.

Chapter 27

That was just too damn close. Thank God, Bobby couldn't twist that knife, Sela thought as she looked down at Heckel sleeping. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him. Dear God, please, please, please, make all this…this…battle stop. I fear that we cannot defeat the evil that pursues us. We need more help. Anything, please. Tears welled up in her eyes and little by little spilled over onto her cheeks. I love him so much and our child needs his Daddy. Please hear my prayer and help us.

As Sela lay back down and snuggled closer to Heckel, her mind stopped reeling, and she was able to get back to sleep. The morning sun got to work early whipping up hotter temperatures. There wasn't much of a breeze. Heckel already had several small fish frying in a pan.

'Oh, my…that smells heavenly,' Sela said sliding out of the tent. She stretched, letting the warm rays of the sun give her a healthy dose of vitamin D.

'You look well rested,' Heckel said as he maneuvered one of the small rainbow trout onto a plate.

'I feel good.' She sat down near the campfire. Jerky padded her way over and curled up in her lap. 'I'm sure there's a little fish for you, my dear,' she said, petting the attentive cat.

'How is it?' Heckel asked.

'Manna from heaven,' she said, stuffing her mouth.

'Well, it just may be. I mean, there's a couple of fishing holes down that way that are feeding everyone pretty well.'

'When are we planning to head out?' she asked.

'Well, I suppose tomorrow. Everyone seems to be itching to leave. They're hoping once we get closer to the coast it won't be so hot.'

'Heckel, I was thinking,' Sela said sheepishly. 'Maybe…um…well…I don't know how to put this, but here goes. What would you think if we didn't go to Oregon and maybe just kept going south…by ourselves? We could hide away somewhere down in Mexico on the coast or something.'

He looked at her as if she had sprouted a large turnip out of each ear and corn was spilling out of her nose. Calmly, he put his plate down, put his arm around her shoulder and said, 'I understand what you're thinking. We all have doubts and lots of fears…me too, but we can't let those notions build walls in front of us and bring us down. We are strong and have to believe in ourselves. You were the one who said that to me not too long ago. Remember?'

'But the other night…I mean, if poor little Bobby can be seduced into evil, what chances do any of us