do,” William said, glancing over at him. “Prove it to me. Tell me where it is.” “Do you have thoughts about sex sometimes, Eric?” “Yeah.” “Prove it. Tell me where they are.” “Point taken, I guess.” “Why do you ask about a soul?” “Do you think a soul could be diseased? I mean, like permanently diseased?”
“I think a soul could be diseased, yeah. But permanently? No way. People can make great changes to themselves and the world. Some people change their values, their sense of taste, their thought process-it’s like they can change their soul. I don’t think anything is permanent when it comes to the soul except the essence of who you are. Do you think your soul’s diseased, Eric?” “I was a junkie,” Eric said uncomfortably. The words had to be forced out and even then they left a bad taste in his mouth. “Are you now?” “I don’t know. I don’t use, but I always kinda want to. It’s always in my head, you know?” “No, I guess I don’t.”
They ended the conversation at that, speaking taking up too much effort at this point. Eric decided he liked Will. In a way he was a lot like Jason; no bullshit to him.
Evening came before long and the sky was lit up crimson, the sun a yellow orb in an ocean of red. Though tired and with a growing worry of the coming darkness, they couldn’t help but stop for awhile and admire the view. “Are you tired enough for sleep?” William asked. “Definitely.” “Let’s do two hours each and one person keep watch. Then we’ll keep walking throughout the night.”
Eric put his shirt back on and lay down in front of a large tree. William sat next to him, his rifle across his lap. Eric closed his eyes and could hear the chirping of birds over his breathing. The steady rhythm of large animals grazing was off in the expanse before him and he heard vultures swooping over a nearby kill as he drifted and fell into a dreamless sleep.
CHAPTER
45
Eric awoke to William’s nudging. It was dark now and the moon was only a crescent in the sky. The air was warm and had wafts of dust in it from a strong wind. Eric grudgingly rose and saw William gazing into the valley before them. A small fire was built in front of him but provided little light or warmth.
“What is it?” Eric said.
William’s gaze was unmoving, his voice steady. “It’s here.”
Eric watched the darkness, the trill chirps of thousands of crickets aggravating him and increasing his fear. There was nothing he could see and he wondered if William was just too fatigued. But gradually, as his eyes adjusted, he could see two small glowing lights. They were slits of red, and they were circling them. The lights stopped, fixated, and began a silent approach.
“Run,” William said.
Eric ran, William right behind him. The wind was loud in his ears but he could still make out the crunching of tall weeds and grass behind them. He looked back only to see the slits of red closing in.
“Up there!” William shouted.
There were large boulders piled atop one another and Eric sprinted for them. He leapt onto the first one and grabbed William’s hand and helped him up. They began to climb on the rough, dry surface of the rock and only stopped when they reached the top. Eric’s breathing was labored and his heart felt like it would explode. He took out his handgun and held it in front of him.
“Did you see it?” he said.
“No, just its eyes,” William said, crouching to one knee for better stability. “You watch behind us. Shoot for the head if it charges up the rocks.”
Only the sound of their breaths filled the awful silence; the crickets had stopped. And, somewhere out in the dark, laughter.
The laughter could’ve been human. Eric thought it was the type of laugh that someone who was insane would have; menacing and meaningless at once.
“Why isn’t it attacking?” Eric said.
“I don’t know.”
William saw the slits of red glowing like embers in the dark. He pointed the rifle, trying to steady his shaking hands. He aimed and pulled the trigger. The eyes seemed to disappear in the night. William couldn’t keep the rifle steady. “Did you hit it?” Eric asked. “I don’t know, maybe.” “We should run.” “I don’t think we’d get very far. At least from here we can see around us.”
They sat on the warm stone through the night. By morning, Eric’s legs and back were stiff and throbbed with pain. His eyes were blurry from a lack of sleep and he found it difficult to think. The sun came slowly and ignited the colors of the plains before them. There was nothing surrounding them but vegetation.
William stood up. “Stay here.” He made his way down the boulders and out to where he thought he might have hit the animal. There was trampled ground and deep paw prints, but he didn’t have enough experience to say what animal they’d come from. There wasn’t any blood that he could see. Eric climbed down and stood behind him. “Let’s get going.” “I’m not sure if it was… it.” “Who cares? Let’s just get the fuck outta here.”
They walked back to their supplies and saw with horror that their food was scattered and mostly eaten. The remaining water bottles had been ripped open and the plastic containers were slowly tumbling in the wind across the valley. They walked off without saying a word.
It had the makings of being another scorching, dry, day and Eric feared what it would feel like in a few hours without any water. He surveyed his surroundings in detail and came to the conclusion that none of it looked familiar. “I don’t think we’re going in the right direction, Will.” “Me neither. But there’s got to be people somewhere around here.” “We could go back to the village.” William hesitated. “No, those people have Satan in their souls.” “You don’t really believe that do you?” “Of course I do. They have no regard for human life.” “That doesn’t mean they’re possessed by Satan. I’ve done evil things, am I possessed?” “No, you’re confused. But they’re evil.”
Eric had never seen this side of William and he didn’t like it. He didn’t really want to go back to the village either, but to think they were possessed by the devil was madness. In a way, Eric could see Thomas’s point; they did what they had to to survive. An uneasy feeling came over him and he wasn’t sure why.
CHAPTER
46
It had started pouring rain. It was rain unlike Eric had ever seen, as if the sky were bleeding water. It poured in thick, heavy sheets and stung the skin on his face when it spattered against him. Off in the distance he could see lightening brighten the sky and thunder would crackle a few seconds later. The ground turned to mud and eventually large puddles formed. They kept walking, stopping only when evening fell.
They approached a large ravine. There was a small stream running across the bottom and the sides were coated in long green weeds. They sat down under a large tree and William took his boots off. His socks were wet and he stripped them off, revealing white blistered feet.
“Damn it,” he said. “Who would’ve thought you’d have to worry about trench-foot in a hundred and ten degree weather.” He stripped off his socks and threw them over the edge of the ravine, slipping his boots back on over his feet. “Little tactic I picked up from a Vietnam vet,” William said. “You stop every hour and air your feet out… Eric? You okay?”
“Fine. Who’d you know that was in Vietnam?”
“One of the homeless men that came to the church for the free Sunday dinner. A lotta homeless were in that war.” He shook his head. “Damn fine waste of good men.”
“You don’t believe in stopping communism?”
“Communism was nothing. People jumped to conclusions but there was nothing behind it, no substance. They never could’ve taken over the world, never. They’re only justification for existing was our fear. Our fear gave them
