Call Me Martin

Charlene walked close to Ari.

“What do you think this all about?”

Ari shook his head, looking at the road below his feet and the total darkness up ahead. The only light came from a full moon and a roof of stars.

“This road is old, cracking, full of pot holes.”

“I don’t care about the road,” Tremor said from behind. He, Sherman and the other youth were looking in all directions.

Ari wondered why they had allowed him to take the lead.

“I don’t like this,” Wilson said, grabbing his empty shoulder holster.

What was he—a quarter back? Ari thought.

“I’m scared,” little Amber said, her voice breaking. “Something’s going to happen, Mr. Martin. I can feel it.”

Martin slowly lifted his head and pulled Amber closer to him. “Stay close.”

“I’m glad I wore sneakers,” Charlene said.

Ari pulled out his cell phone and grimaced when the words, NO SERVICE glowed. He glanced over his shoulder at the shadowy forms behind him.

“Does anyone have cell phone service?”

The tell-tale clicks and faint glows from several phones were followed by expectant curses. Ari looked at the thicket of trees to his right.

“Does anyone have a lighter?”

Tremor caught up to Ari and handed him a gold-plated cigarette lighter.

“Don’t lose it, dude. This lights my pipe.”

Ari looked back at the tremendous ex-football player.

“Wilson, can you grab a tree branch?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I want to make a torch.” Ari halted and turned to face the other passengers. “Does anyone have an extra cotton shirt or a handkerchief, anything that can burn?”

Silence. Little Amber pulled Martin up to Ari, reached into her small back pack and handed Ari a white dish cloth. “This belongs to my doll, Sally.”

Ari took the cloth and turned to Wilson who was already in the tree line, yanking at a low-lying branch. It cracked as Wilson twisted it off and hurried over to Ari.

The night was still and dark as a pool of ink. Ari could barely see the lighter as he wrapped the cloth around the branch and lit it. It took awhile but the branch finally ignited, bathing the road and the adjacent forest in wonderful white light.

“Thank God,” Charlene said, squeezing Ari just above the elbow.

“Okay,” Ari said, noticing just how bad the road was. “Now we can see where we’re going.”

“Hold on,” Wilson said, hurrying back to the tree line to retrieve a fallen fence post. He grunted as he hoisted it onto his shoulder. “Damn, that’s heavy--filled with cement.”

“What do you aim to do with it?” Ari asked.

Wilson shrugged.

“Clobber one of these assholes if they come anywhere near us.”

Ari nodded.

“Hunters.”

“What?” Wilson asked.

“That Sheriff said their friends are ‘hunters’ and that we’re the pray. If that’s the case, we’re going to need more than a fence post and a torch.”

“I got more,” Tremor smiled, reaching down the front of his pants to pull out a Glock 17.

“Cool,” Wilson said. “You know how to use it?”

“I fired it more than you ever made touchdowns,” Tremor quipped.

Wilson chuckled.

“That’s not saying much. Keep it out. I don’t intend to be anyone’s pray.”

“Amen,” Tremor said. “The first redneck mountain man that comes out of those woods is getting popped.”

Ari held the torch high and motioned for everyone to follow. Even with the torch, it was too dark to see any more than 100 feet in either direction.

“Strange,” Ari said, blinking as several burning embers fell close to his face.

“What?” Charlene asked.

“It’s quiet, not even a cricket or a nocturnal bird, nothing. It’s like we’re in a void with…”

“Shhh,” Wilson said, looking up to the tree tops. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Tremor asked, brandishing his Glock.

“Sounded like wings, big wings.”

“Like an eagle?” Charlene asked.

Wilson slid the fence post off his shoulder and cradled it in his arms. “Bigger.”

Ari looked up at the constellation of Orion, now quite visible in the northern sky. Just then, something moved out of the corner of his eye. He lowered the torch.

“What is it?” Charlene asked.

“I thought I saw something just above the tree tops,” Ari replied.

“You’re probably paranoid. Let’s go, my feet are hurting.”

Suddenly, something incredibly large and black shot over the tree tops and circled above the group.

“What the fuck?” Tremor exclaimed.

“Run!” Sherman shouted, rushing up to Ari and Charlene.

Little Amber screamed and held Martin’s hand tight as the entire group broke into a trot and was finally running.

A huge, black winged creature dove towards them from above, a spatter of hot saliva dripping on several of their shoulders. Ari hoisted the torch upward, illuminating a creature from the deepest canyons of Hell. It had a devil’s face, with glowing red eyes, horns that curved backward and a mouth full of sharp, pointed teeth. Its body was hard, like an insect’s, with arms and claws and hooves for feet.

“Fuck you!” Tremor shouted, firing his gun into the creature’s torso. The creature didn’t even flinch but dove straight towards Tremor. There was a terrible cracking and ripping sound as the creature took Tremor’s head completely off, leaving his lifeless body to flop to the ground.

Both Sherman and Charlene screamed.

Wilson swung his fence post but it was too late. The creature flapped its wings and rose upward into the night sky.

Little Amber buried her face in Martin’s side while the other youth bent over to grab Tremor’s gun.

“Empty,” he said.

“Oh, God,” Charlene cried and pressed against Ari.

“Son-of-a-bitch,” Wilson said, shaking his head.

“We have to keep moving,” Ari said, his voice breaking. “That creature’s not done with us.”

“MOVE!” Wilson shouted and turned to look at Martin and Amber. “I can carry the girl.”

“I can run faster than you!” Amber shouted back. She hurried along, still holding Martin’s hand.

Ari coughed as the entire group ran into the darkness. The torch flickered, spewing embers like a vapor trail. Soon, the torch would be extinguished, Ari thought. There was a horrific shriek from above that rattled everyone’s bones.

Ari glanced back to see the creature scoop up Tremor’s body and carry it upward as if it were a wet paper bag. A moment later, there was a dull thud as a pair of sneakers fell from the sky.