boulder and Heckel was suspended in midair by invisible chains. She flicked her long, highly manicured finger and his arm was twisted out of its socket. Blood spewed out like a burst water pipe. His followers were on their knees praying for her to stop. She flicked another finger and his leg was ripped out of his hip. She lifted Heckel high into the air so that his blood sprayed across his followers. One by one she ripped, twisted and yanked body parts from Heckel. Giggling, she flew his blood-soaked body out across his followers as if she had a remote-controlled helicopter toy. Madeline turned his blood into a caustic acid that when it hit the faces of his followers, it instantly dissolved their skin.
She awoke suddenly to noise coming from the engine compartment. It was dark in the motor home and chilly. She turned on several lights and then turned off the air conditioner. Her two dogs were at the door waiting to go out.
'Okay, guys. Let's go see what's up,' Madeline said as she opened the door. The two dogs went tearing outside, barking.
The crisp Nevada air washed over Madeline, causing her to shiver. She looked up and was struck by the array of stars.
'That's the Milky Way right above us,' Quincy said as he wiped his hands.
'You found the part,' she said, walking to the back of the motor home as if she could tell what he was doing.
'By sheer dumb luck. There was a Cummins shop there and the parts department was well stocked. I should have it installed in about another half hour.'
'Great. I suppose we should just stay the night here.'
'Sounds good to me. I'm pooped. Would it be all right then to finish installing the part in the morning when I have better light?'
Madeline shrugged, waved her hand dismissively and went back into the tenement on wheels.
The next morning, Quincy finished installing the part, started the engine and did a diagnostic with his laptop.
'We are good to go,' he reported proudly.
An hour later, Madeline's caravan was back on the road. The group made the border to California by early afternoon. It became evident to everyone that Madeline was getting more anxious to be done with, as she put it, the road trip from hell.
'Looks like we have company,' Quincy reported, pointing to an ATV making its way toward the motor home.
'I think it's one of my scouts. I asked to have a report when we got to the California border and he's right on time.'
Quincy stopped the rig, got out and helped Madeline down the steps. Several of her other guards approached from behind the motor home.
The ATV was spewing black smoke and had a rattle sound coming from its engine.
'Hello, Ms. Madeline. You asked to have a report,' the dirty, toothless man said as he knelt down in front of her. The individual clearly had not been in the vicinity of a bath in a very long time.
'Please get up and stand downwind from me,' Madeline said loudly. The men behind her all snickered.
'What news do you have of Heckel?' she asked, putting a hand in front of her nose.
'He's getting close to Sacramento,' he said, wringing his hat nervously in his hands.
'Can you be a bit more exact?'
'He's in Stockton. He should be at the intersection of I-5 and I-80 in a day or two.'
'Excellent,' Madeline said pacing in front of the man. 'Go back and keep following him,' she said, turning to walk up the stairs into the motor home. 'And for crying out loud, go take a bath somewhere. The next time I see you, you better be presentable, or I'll clean you myself…with fire. Go!' The scrawny man jumped onto his ATV, started the engine and raced off.
'I know a nice campground up the road a ways where we could spend the night. It's on the top of Donner's pass,' Quincy reported. 'It'll be cooler there and in the trees. It's a pretty area.'
'Fine. Whatever. Trees sound like a welcome relief from all this boring dirt and rocky landscape. I hate Nevada. Remind me not to come back here again. Let's go,' she whined, walking up the motor home's steps.
The entourage stayed two nights at the campground. Everyone was glad to rest and enjoy the mountains, especially the cooler air.
At one point, Madeline met with all her support people and Quincy. She instructed them to leave her alone on the outskirts of Sacramento. She planned to walk to the intersection of I-5 and I-80, and get there before Heckel's party arrived. Quincy sat in silence with a disapproving glare. She further explained that after her drop-off, everyone had orders to head north and join her forces in Oregon just in case she was not successful with the little side trip.
When everyone dispersed, Quincy remained with a sullen face as if he just lost his favorite puppy.
'What's wrong?' Madeline asked standing in front of him.
'I don't like the idea of leaving you alone.'
'How gentlemanly,' she said, stroking his cheek. 'I'll be fine. Remember, I have my little blue friends in the palms of my hands with me at all times.' He looked at her hands and flinched.
He took her hand and said, 'I'm serious. I just think it's a…'
Madeline interrupted him with a kiss on the lips. He stood, picked her up in his arms and walked to the motor home. After several hours of lovemaking, they both fell asleep.
The next morning Madeline assured him that her power would easily end Heckel's short-lived reign.
'Let me go with you?' Quincy asked timidly as he lay stretched out on the king-size bed.
Madeline had just come out of the shower. His perfect muscled body was like a magnet and she wanted to jump on top of him.
'You take this motor home, head north up I-5 and wait for me. After I'm done with Mr. Heckel, I'll grab one of their miserable horses and find you.'
Quincy remained silent and glowered at her. Madeline kissed him and told him to get the flophouse on wheels moving.
They left the campground by midmorning and made it to the edge of Sacramento by early afternoon. Madeline dressed in ragged clothes, put dirt on her face and carried an old tattered backpack.
After all the support vehicles left, she kissed her two dogs, told Quincy to take good care of them and that she would see him in a couple of days.
'Be careful,' Quincy said, hugging Madeline. 'I just don't see why you have to do this.' She noticed a tear forming in the side of his eye.
'Because I'm Madeline and my power will end this insurrection. Darkness and my domination will rule. A new world will be born.'
Now Quincy looked scared and she wasn't sure why. He kissed her gently on the cheek and went into the motor home. The engine roared to life and he slowly drove off.
Madeline covered her head with the hood from the long dirty raincoat and started walking west on I-80. She could feel the swirls of energy form in her palms, ready to strike. 'Here I come, Heckel. Prepare to meet your worst nightmare.'
Chapter 31
After a few days recuperating, Jack was able to be transported in his wagon, and we resumed our journey north. Several men wanted to go back and deal with the cult that had taken Missy, but I persuaded them to leave well enough alone.
We continued to pick up supporters along the route. A large group in Fresno and Stockton joined us. Our ranks had now gotten close to a thousand. I kept wondering if that was going to be enough. Sela assured me that,
