The Marradith Ryder Series, The Art of Shadows, Part 15
“So who exactly is this Ross Stevens guy?” Will asked. “And why are we following him?”
Will was in the back seat of the SUV. Cord was at the wheel, and Justin beside him in the passenger seat.
“You read the information that Marradith completed for you, right?” Justin said.
“Yes, but that was basically a log of his movements.”
Cord rolled his eyes. “Well, think about it. Why are people usually under surveillance?”
“Obviously he’s some kind of a criminal,” Will snapped. “What exactly did he do?”
Justin half turned, so that Will saw his profile. “Nothing that he’s been officially accused of. You’ll find that when we are doing research on humans, they usually fall into one of two categories. Threats to our organization, or to other humans.”
“I’m part of the group now,” Will said. “So when do I get let in on the trade secrets?”
“Soon,” Justin snapped, turning his eyes back to the road.
“Yeah, Justin is not in the best mood these last….how long’s your wife been gone?” Cord said.
“A week now.”
Cord and Will both laughed.
“When either one of you get a woman that will put up with you on the regular, then you can laugh,” Justin smirked.
“I do have a woman back home in White Sands, but I wouldn’t call her a ‘regular’,” Cord said. “Will can probably relate. They’re too much trouble anyway.”
“Got that right,” Will said.
“I haven’t once complained about Marradith being away,” Justin said, crossing his arms.
“Like you had to,” Cord said.
Cord parked their vehicle and cut the motor.
“Time to be careful, Will,” Justin said. “Do what we tell you to do.”
***
Ross Stevens was having a quiet night at home.
His usual routine was dinner and beer after work, in front of his television. He’d sink into his chair and doze. Which he would have done that night, if he wasn’t feeling unsettled.
He hadn’t been out of town in a couple of months, mostly because he didn’t want to take off work. He’d worked odd jobs for many years, but finally settled into a job as a mechanic.
Ross sat down in front of his computer and logged onto the internet. There was an article about a girl from Arizona that had been missing for eight weeks. He scrolled through the stories. So far, the police had nothing.
He smiled, and took a long gulp of beer.
He decided to start thinking about his next vacation. Maybe just a weekend getaway, he thought, so he could be back to work no later than Tuesday. He had never traveled up to Washington State, and the idea appealed to him.
Just then, the lights blinked.
The electricity went out.
“Shit,” Ross muttered. He got up and padded out of his bedroom. There was a flashlight and candles in the kitchen, but getting there in the pitch darkness was going to be a bitch. He was almost there when a fist knocked him in the back of the head.
Ross flew across the room, smacking his forehead into a wall.
***
When Ross woke, he was still in darkness. He heard voices.
“So where are we taking him?” one voice said.
“To the usual place,” another answered. “It’s always better there.”
Ross was face down in the back of an SUV, his hands bound and his face flat against the carpet.
He felt a man’s foot placed firmly on his back.
“Whatever this is, I didn’t do anything. Please, I don’t wanna die!”
“Yeah,” came the third man’s voice, from the driver’s seat. “We all want to live, don’t we?”
***
Ross wasn’t sure how long it was before the car stopped, but he could tell where they were by the smell. They were deep in the woods.
The two men in the front seat got out of the vehicle, and for a while Ross was alone with the man who had his foot pressed against his spine.
“Please,” he pleaded. “I haven’t seen anything. I can’t identify anybody. Just let me go
and I’ll even leave town. I don’t want to die, please.”
The man sighed, but he didn’t say anything.
“Please. Please…..”
“Hey man, this isn’t up to me. Shut the fuck up!”
Ross soon heard the sounds of footsteps approaching the car. Two men came and pulled him from the vehicle, one man holding each arm. They had to drag him. The third man walked behind.
The men brought him to a clearing where they’d set a fire. For the first time, Ross was
able to see his captors.
Two of the men were black. The taller of the two was the one who held him down in the back of the car. He was tall and thin, but not muscular.
The other man was slightly shorter, with close cropped hair and a wide chest. He had thick arms and a certain grace to his movements. He looked like an athlete.
The last man was white. The shortest of the three, he was thick and burly. His head was shaved. He looked solid, like a wrestler.
A weird threesome: a nerd, a jock, and a skinhead. What did they want from him?
Worst of all, Ross didn’t think he could overpower any of them. Maybe he could handle the thinnest one.
The Jock was the first to speak. “Tell me about the girls.”
Ross’ blood ran cold. “What girls?”
“Come on, you know what he’s talking about,” the Skinhead said. “Make this easy and maybe they’ll let you go.”
“We’ve been watching your movements. We know where you buried some of them. But that last one. We’d like to find her,” the Jock said, scratching his chin.
Ross began to tremble. “It wasn’t my fault, it was an accident, and I don’t know, I don’t remember anything,” he begged, tears springing into his eyes.
“He won’t tell,” the Skinhead whistled. “Too bad for you, man.”
The Jock leaned forward. “One more chance. Where is she?”
Ross told him everything. His words came out in a fury. Dates, places. Trails. Riverbeds.
“That’s very good,” the Jock said, and punched him in the nose.
Blood splattered. Ross made an animal sound, a cry of pain. The smell of blood hit the air, and Will began to shiver.
“That’s it,” the Jock said. “Come on, Will. It‘s time to Feast.”
Ross watched in horror as the Nerd began to change. Snout, claws, and fangs took shape before his eyes. When he turned, he saw the other two men also begin to transform.
It was Will’s first taste of human flesh, his initiation.
His first meal amongst his new brothers.
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©2010 Lori Titus
