IS

Clouds had started to roll into the late night sky, blemishing and at times totally blocking out the moon’s intense glow, as two frightened men scrambled across the long stretch of uncut field on a mission to do something. Just what, wasn’t as important as why.

“Hey!” Scott yelled. “What the hell are we going to do with a dead body?”

I kept walking. I didn’t have an answer to give him.

“Hey!” he yelled again, and then he stopped, refusing to continue without an answer.

I soon noticed, and stopped myself. I didn’t mind. My body was struggling in amazing pain. “What?” I finally asked, coughing in between trying to catch my breath.

“I’m all for going after–-It,” he said, a bit sarcastically. “But why are we so concerned with this dead body? I mean, it’s not like we killed him, right?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I responded back, in my own sarcastic flavor. “I don’t see a problem with them finding a dead body in the woods behind our neighborhood school; a cop, no less. And I would love to be questioned about it in this condition!” I unconsciously snapped. We started to move again.

“Okay. So, what’s your plan?”

“We have to get him and his car away from here.”

“What car?” he asked.

We both stopped again and I looked back to an empty parking lot. Intensely focused on our mission at hand, I hadn’t noticed as we passed the pole light illuminating only an abandoned area of asphalt and parking curbs.

“It was there… a black Camaro,” I said, questioning myself.

“Well, maybe he really wasn’t dead and he drove off. That’s good, right?”

“Wrong. He was definitely dead!” I snapped again, nervous. “Come on!” I said as we pressed on, now only yards from the playground.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” he called out again. “Just where did you see this dead guy?”

“Officer Daniels,” I confirmed. “And he’s not too far into the woods, maybe only twenty yards.

“Danny D?” he exclaimed, grabbing my left arm to stop me. “Holy shit, I went to school with him. What happened to him?” he said, his eyes growing big.

“That gunshot we heard earlier. That was him-–he was shot!”

“Maybe,” I replied, trying to avoid giving the gruesome details of his appearance before Scott would have to see for himself.

“What do you mean, maybe? Was he shot, or not?”

“Hard to tell” I countered.

“What?” he responded, waiting for a better answer.

I stopped, grabbing onto the large frame of a swing set, finally feeling that I should prepare him for what he was about to see.

“Scott. He was torn open. Blown open. It’s as if he exploded–-from the inside out.” I paused for a moment before continuing further. “I really don’t know how else to describe it,” I said.

“What?” he remarked again, in awe, as he turned his attention to the tree line that stood before us; the threshold to the woods that had now taken on a much more frightening appearance.

“Do you think it’s out there?” he asked, as both his hands joined around his cool steel weapon, never letting his eyes veer from the dark, intimidating void ahead of us.

“I don’t know… you ready?” I asked, as my eyes looked over the area, before pushing the button that brought forward a strong and bright beam of guidance to lead the way. “Stay close,” I said, as we started our descent.

“Like fucking glue!” he answered. I knew he had to be terrified. I was.

Every sound that would normally have been insignificant, one by one became the center of our attention as we slowly and cautiously inched our way through the tall weeds, fearing where our journey was taking us, doubting our cause.

“Are we close?” Scott inquired seconds later. I could sense the pain of fear in his voice.

“Shouldn’t be much further,” I answered.

“Wait a minute. Listen!” he said, putting his hand out to stop me. “What the hell is that?” he asked.

I surrendered my attention to a not so distant cry.

“Is that a fox?” he asked a second time.

“Yeah, that sounds like a fox. Maybe we should just go,” I nervously responded.

“Because of a little fox?” he asked. I guess I had left out too much information about our evil friend.

“A little fox won’t hurt you, Joshua. He’s more frightened of you than you are of him. Believe me!”

I wanted to believe him. I wanted every positive phrase that left his mouth to be true. And maybe it was only a small fox who’s cry had gotten our complete and undivided attention. But, maybe not. I wasn’t ready to take that chance-–not with my best friend’s life. It was toying with us, toying with me.

“Well. How much further?” Scott asked.

I was so engrossed with the possibility of it making an appearance that I hadn’t realized we had come upon the spot—the exact location of his long lost, and dead, old friend. I could tell by the fallen tree next to his body. Only now, the area was bodiless. As I scanned the immediate forest floor for any remains, I was awestruck to find absolutely no evidence of anything. Not even so much as a single drop of his bright red plasma, anywhere. There was no body, no flashlight, and no golf club either. “That’s impossible!” I mumbled, feeling myself fading to a less than coherent place.

“What’s impossible?” Scott asked. By the confused look of bewilderment on my face, he immediately knew what I meant. “This is it? This is where you saw him?” Scott asked, questioning my state of mind at this point.

“First, no car-–then, no body. What the hell, Josh? I think maybe you hit your head a little too hard earlier, buddy.”

“No, it’s doing this. I mean, it did this. It’s messing with my head!” I yelled, feeling angry about what it was doing to me; how it made me appear delusional to the one person I had finally brought on board with all of this.

“I gotta say though, I’m not all that upset with not finding my old friend, all blood and guts.”

“He was here, Scott! I’m telling you, he was here!” I cried, doing my best to rally his support. And then, almost drowning out my last words was the fox’s cry again. “I want to go—now!” I barked.

“You brought me out here!” he yelled back.

“Yes, and now we’re going back,” I insisted, trying my best to remain calm, while feeling foolish for bringing him out here to begin with. Even with his gun, I was beginning to feel that we would still be outmatched by the evil that had temporarily resided somewhere out here. The tenacity of its will, the inhuman patience that kept it in check with its sole mission to destroy Powder and myself… Powder, where the hell was Powder during all of this? Would I even see him again? I turned around to see that Scott was still standing there, gazing off into the black nothingness, feeling mighty with his gun.

“Come on, you white pussy!” he yelled. I was beginning to feel that the absence of my dead claim was stoking him with confidence all over again. I knew at this point he wanted a reason to use that gun, almost as much as I just wanted to get him and myself the hell out of there.

“Scott! Let’s go!” I called out. And it was when he turned to me that I again saw its white presence move into view over Scott’s left shoulder; distant, but nonetheless, close enough to shake the walls of any existing stability I had left.

“We got to go, now!” I ordered.

Scott looked as though he was reading my face. “What is it? What do you-–”

“Don’t turn around,” I interrupted.

It didn’t appear to be moving any further. It just stood there for now, watching. It was far enough away that I couldn’t make out whether it was smiling at us or not. I had a distinct feeling it was. I tried to remain calm, as I continued to talk to Scott with a quiet voice. I had already formulated a plan in my head. I was getting good at that by now.

“All right, this is how we’re going to do this. On the count of three, I want you to gently toss me your gun.”

“Okay, now you’re scaring the shit out me!” he said, realizing he was possibly facing a life or death situation. Scott stood a good ten feet from me, with his back facing squarely to its freedom of choice. I knew from experience only seconds stood between its choice, and our fate. “Are you fucking kidding me? Have you ever shot a gun before?” he asked, as the terror leered through his eyes and out his shaking voice.

“Scott!”

“All right, all right… count of three, you get the gun, and I’m hittin’ the ground!” he instructed. “The safety’s off. Just remember—”

“Scott!” I cut him off. We had no time. I didn’t think he’d feel any better about the fact that I had shot Shane’s air soft pistol before, so I left that alone. “Look at me, look at me,” I commanded. Our eyes met, wide and hopeful. I thought that maybe I would be safe from any further torture, but after seeing what it did to Officer Daniels, Scott’s fate was definitely in question.

We counted together. “One, two… three!”

Scott was falling before the gun left his hands, making damn sure he’d be clear of my aim. I caught the gun barrel first, flipped it around, and saw the white beast tilt its head, just before I let off the first shot. The flash lit up the night, and the sound deafened it, echoing for what seemed like forever, when the white statuesque figure disappeared.

My ears were ringing, and Scott was trying to ask me something. I could tell by the questioning look on his face. Finally, his voice became clear. “I said, did you get it?”

“I-–I don’t know,” I answered. I was shaking. “I think I saw it fall back.”

“That’s good enough for me,” he said as he climbed to his feet. “We gotta get the hell out of here! Somebody’s gonna call the cops for sure!”

As he and I started running back through the tall weeds and grass, I kept looking back, wondering if my shot had really been that good. All I knew for sure was that the darkness stayed black, with not a touch of white to be seen anywhere… and that was good enough for me.

By the time we reached my back yard, we were both gasping for more air, and I was coughing and spitting a combination of disgustingness, almost crying in unbearable pain. I fell to the ground, and Scott soon followed.

“Well-–now if the–-cops show,” he took a quick break to swallow. “Look what they get to find.” He smiled at me, almost to the point of breaking into a laugh. And then his smile slowly began to fail, taking on a transformation a bit more concerned-–scared, actually.

“Josh. What did you shoot back there? Just what the hell are we talking about? And don’t tell me ‘it’!” He climbed to his feet and staggered over to me.

Even with only the moon’s light, I could see the look of confirmation in his eyes.

“You really were telling the truth. This is really happening,” he said. He then turned away from me to gaze out into the place from which we had just come. “Now what do we do?” he asked, not breaking his stare.

I painfully sat up and spit, tossed him his gun, and gave him my answer. “We wait.”

By the time the police arrived, Scott and I were into our second beers, resting and concealing ourselves in the dark quiet of my deck where the faint glow of two cigars could barely be seen.

“It’s about time!” Scott said, placing the cigar back into his mouth.

“Look, look, look!” I yelled in an excited whisper, leaning forward in my chair. “They’re actually driving around to the back of the school with the lights off.”

Just then, the spotlight flashed on, making sweeping passes of the grounds. Scott and I slid off our chairs and onto the deck, just before the bright beam flashed in our direction. We rushed the railing and peered through the spindles, watching as the car kept moving its slow pace, disappearing around the far corner and out of sight. We just held our breaths, hoping their search would become more involved. Then, just when I was expecting to see the car make an appearance from around the other side of the school, two flashlights began to make their way through the playground, moving in the direction of the woods.

“Oh shit! They’re doing it,” Scott whispered. “They’re out of the car and heading right for the spot where you nailed that white son-of-a-bitch!” He was practically celebrating, while a big part of me felt too skeptical to be throwing confetti just yet. It wasn’t long before their lights disappeared behind the trees.

“Wait for it-–wait for it,” Scott announced. We both held our breath once again, listening to the quiet night air for a possibly distraught, audible reaction to their find. It remained quiet. Too quiet, for too long.

“Fuck!” Scott yelled, making me jump.

“What is it?”

“I tipped over my beer” he announced.

“Dammit, Scott!”

“What? I’m sorry!”

“You scared the hell out of me!” I stated angrily. “Do you know what I’ve been through?”

“Josh, I’m sorry. Really.”

“I know, I know… I’m just all stressed out, buddy. I’m sorry too. You want another beer?” I asked.

“No, I think I-–hey! Here they come!”

We watched. Neither of us said a word, as the two policemen slowly made their way out. Binoculars! I ran to the door wall, slid it open, and seconds later returned with them. It took me a few seconds more to dial in the focus.

“Well?” Scott inquired. “What do you see?”

“I can see their faces. They’re talking, and smiling!”

“Smiling?” he asked, disappointment dominating his tone.

“They don’t have anything?”

I panned down their bodies.

“Yeah. They found my flashlight. Fuck!”

“That’s it? A flashlight?”

“Hey! I like that flashlight.” I then looked at Scott with a much more serious tone to my voice. “But, we have a bigger problem than a confiscated light. Somewhere out there, there’s a six and a half foot tall white freak of nature that isn’t done with us.”

“Us?” he asked.

“I’m afraid so, Scott. Remember, you saw it too. At least I think that’s how it works.” I was in pain, and feeling deliriously tired. “We should get some shut eye,” I said.

“How the hell can I sleep with that-–thing out there?” he asked.

“I don’t think it will bother you in your home, especially with your family around you. And besides, it’ll be light out in a few hours. That thing won’t come out in the daylight.”

“And I have guns!” he proudly blurted out.

“You have guns,” I repeated, knowing that was the one thing that he truly trusted in, and gave him the most comfort. He looked down at his gun, and then tossed it to me.

“You better hold on to that one, brother. But treat her good, she’s my baby. I just got her last month. She’s a Taurus PT92 9mm, and she’s very user friendly. I bought her for Dianne.”

“I didn’t know Dianne shot?” I asked.

“She doesn’t, she hates guns! But that was my excuse for buying it, anyways. I’m trying to convert her.”

“It sure is beautiful. Thanks, Bro.”

“Don’t mention it. I’ll see you in the morning.”

As he stepped down off the deck, and slowly moved across my yard, I yelled to him, “Hey, how many guns do you have now, anyway?”

“Rifles, or pistols?” he asked, turning around. He had showed me his collection two years ago, kept in a special locked room he’d built in his basement. I don’t believe we counted at the time.

“Pistols!” I shouted back.

“Fifteen, including that one,” he smiled. Some people collected shot glasses or coins. He collected guns.

“Anything I should know about it?” I asked.

At that, he realized there must have been a glitch with showing me how to use it in the first place. “I almost forgot you were a virgin!” he mumbled.

“Hey. I shot Shane’s air soft pistol,” I finally boasted.

“I’ll alert the media,” he scoffed. Minutes later, the lesson was over and he was gone. I was left to my thoughts.

But at least now I had a real weapon. I was beginning to see the powerful attraction. Maybe when this was all over, assuming I was alive, of course, I would cross over to the dark side and buy a gun of my own. I walked over to the railing that faced the schoolyard and just stared into the ominous possibilities of what tomorrow would bring.

I yawned and looked down at the beautiful piece of weaponry that still held seventeen rounds of powerful security at my disposal. I decided I would wait till light, and then try to find my knife. I was only afraid that once I finally drifted off to sleep, I might never wake up again. I felt like I could sleep for days, no problem. But no matter how my body might finally break down and give in, my mind could never be at rest. Not anymore.

I decided I would just stay there and watch the sunrise when it came. I could do that. And then I would go find my sharp and shiny Christmas gift, as it laid lost somewhere waiting for me. And then next, I should probably call my work.

Holy shit! They probably thought I was dead or something! I’d be lucky if I had a job to come back to after all of this.

Scott had already reset the chamber with a fresh bullet during his quick demonstration. I figured I had a good three hours or more until light. I put my feet up on the table and sunk back into my chair. Being in that position reminded me of my beautiful wife, the day she asked me about taking the kids to Florida. That vision of her floated into my mind, warming my heart for the moment. God, she was cute. But then again, Corey was always cute. I was a lucky man.

The air was cool but comfortable, with a light mist that still covered most of the field. I had a song in my head as I set the safety and placed the gun comfortably next to my right thigh. My eyes closed and the song went away, replaced by a visionary collage of distorted faces and situations, as the sweet and innocent sound of a mockingbird could be heard somewhere under the full, bright moon. A new day was on its way.