26. Ain't No Darker Road (D1)

__ Todd scratched his cheek with a bloody finger. "Damn."
__ Lightning crashed again outside, but he had long since stopped flinching. Now he stood over his two dead friends, Keith -- whom he shot, partly for telling the doctor at the hospital that his gouged shoulder was caused by a gunshot; and Billy Laird -- who died slowly because a .22 doesn't have much stopping power.
__ The first shot to Billy's chest acted like a punch and just sent the taller boy staggering back a little, his eyes wild with disbelief. He hadn't expected the shot and that was Todd's only saving grace. The second shot, to the throat, was enough to cause a lot of blood to squirt out, but it didn't stop Billy from raising the .357 (now that, thought Todd, has stopping power). The final three shots were from only five-four-three feet away and hit the bigger boy in the mouth, cheek, and eye.
__ Just to be sure, Todd had emptied the weaker weapon into Billy's face until it looked all messy.
__ Feeling the bile hitch in his throat, Todd turned away, stepped over Keith, and went to the doorway to watch the storm. He was somehow more powerful after taking a life, a giant though the shortest kid at school. Things would change now. With each distant flash of lightning he felt a surge of freedom.
__ After all, he was a murderer now, and couldn't very well go back home -- or to school.
__ He was free. Free and powerful.
__ He was free to do whatever he wanted, take whatever he wanted. Todd Namer was going to need a new identity. He would wear the tough new name like a condom and use it to conceal his true identity or his purpose; his purpose of fulfilling the destiny he had just made for himself.
__ Todd didn't need his parents anymore, his big sister, Billy Laird's little sister, school, or a stupid job. He had two guns now. He could easily take whatever he needed from people he ran into. And he could stay up as long as he wanted. And he could buy whatever he wanted with his stolen money. And he could have sex with any girl he could overpower.
__ These thoughts made his chest heave. He howled into the night like a lonely wolf ready to begin the prowl.
__ But he couldn't start stupid. Todd turned and quickly examined the room. There are some things he would have to do quickly to get rid of any evidence linking him. He would have to cut off Billy's head and bury it somewhere because .22 bullets stay stuck and don't punch through.
__ "Maybe," he thought allowed, "My sweet gypsy girl will come back while I work."
__ I'll show her I mean business.
__ I'll show her nobody laughs at me.
__ I'll show her good.


__ "Ardy, Ardy, what's wrong?"
__ Doug had pulled the Datsun over and was now shaking Ardy's shoulders with both hands so hard that her teeth were clicking together. "Ardy!"
__ She snapped awake and reared back in the seat with a loud gasp.
__ Doug let go of her and leaned back against the door with a shout.
__ Ardy breathed heavily, staring straight ahead, "Sorry, Doug."
__ Doug put a hand to his chest and caught his breath. "That's all right. What happened? Where were you? Was it the little girl in your vision, Munson? Something else?"
__ "I'd say this fell into the 'something else' category."
__ Doug straightened in his seat, put his hands on the steering wheel, and rested his head on his right wrist. "I'm not sure I want to know."
__ Ardy studied him silently for just a moment before putting her hand on his shoulder blade. She rubbed his back warmly before saying, "It's the pizza boy. His name is Todd."
__ Doug peeked at her over the crook of his elbow.
__ "He just killed two of his friends at the Parlor."
__ Doug was now sitting fully at attention in the driver's seat. "Your Parlor? The Parlor?"
__ "I'm afraid so. He's cleaning up the mess he made after gunning down his two buddies. He's...."
__ "What, love?"
__ Ardy slowly shook her head. "He's... deranged, sick. I don't know. He's psychot--"
__ They blinked at each other.
__ "Did you just call me 'love?'"
__ "No," Doug shrugged.
__ "Yes you did," Ardy said through a rare smile, "You just called me love."
__ Doug swallowed hard, faced straight ahead. "Maybe we should find Munson." He put his hand on the key to start the car but Ardy put her hand on his. She leaned toward him.
__ "I'm psychic, you know."
__ He stared at her hand on his, then looked into her eyes. "Don't."
__ "Don't what?" Ardy leaned in closer. "It's okay."
__ Doug leaned toward her, they glanced at each other's lips, then eyes met. "Just don't."
__ Ardy's whisper was a breath across his lips, "Don't what?"
__ The kiss was short, chaste, but there was so much love and passion in that one brush of lips to fill a lifetime of love. Maybe it was part of the 'weirdness' of last night. Maybe it was some 'new weirdness.' Whatever it was, they both felt it. They both felt each other's love.
__ "What were you going to say?"
__ Doug blinked. "Don't.
__ "Don't keep peeking into my mind like that."
__ Ardy squeezed his hand and kissed his cheek. "Doug, I didn't need to use psychic powers to know how I feel about you, or how you feel about me."
__ Doug's smile was weak. There was too much going on the past twelve hours to add a new emotion to the mix. And he knew things weren't over. Not by a long shot.
__ "Let's go," Ardy suggested.
__ He was way ahead of her.


__ Munson sat on the muddy ground with his back against the left rear wheel of his car, his head in his hands, tears mingling with the rain down his cheeks. The radio in his car was still blaring and the little girl, for all he knew, was still sitting in the car swaying side to side.
__ "Please come out," he begged for the forty or fiftieth time. And again he promised, "I won't hurt you."
__ Then, unlike the countless other times, the door opened and the radio cut off.
__ Munson jumped to his feet and moved back as though the creature inside the car was some kind of otherworldy enemy, a vampire or hobgoblin. "What are you?"
__ The girl was silhouetted by the day-night, the glare of his car's lights behind her. In the dim he could still see she was wearing a pink top and dark jean pants. Her hair was straight over her shoulders and somewhat matted and tattered. Dirt smudged her face, her sad expression.
__ Munson crouched down to her level and held out a hand. "Please, little one, I won't hurt you."
__ She took a step forward, tentatively. Now it was she who was wary.
__ "What's your name?"
__ "Maggie," she said. "My name is Maggie -- and I'm not a little one."
__ Despite the declaration, Munson could tell she truly was a little one. Her education had lacked something somewhere, he could tell. The school-hoppers could find each other regardless of circumstances. It seems they had found each other.
__ "I won't hurt you," Munson whispered.
__ "I know," Maggie smiled. "But the boy will be here."
__ "Boy?"
__ Maggie nodded slowly.
__ "Before Ardy and Doug find us."