♬Friday evening
Sunday morning
All the minutes in between
Bluegrass hearts down on bar stools
Another chance to come clean
It's this city; I don't belong here
Cut my hair, change my name
And I'll stop thinkin' about what I've got to lose
And I'll start singin' of what I can gain♬It was still dark when Simon awoke in his bunk on the airship. He took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dim artificial lights of the cabin before looking around. Most of the crew was already awake, if they had slept at all. He sat up and slid his bare feet onto the warm, humming metal floor below him. Must be right over a steam pipe, he thought. Over by one of the massive windows he saw Milton Burke and one of the crew members immersed in a game of chess, while the pilot concentrated on the forward march of the dirigible. The black outside was slowly fading in to reveal a thick gray fog.
"What time is it?" Simon asked.
"Early," Milton said without taking his eyes off the chessboard. "Quite early in the morning, although not as early as it looks. Blasted fog came in last night, and we've been slow going all night."
"Guess we should've gotten an earlier start," Simon said as he walked over to the chessboard.
"Ha," the pilot said over his shoulder. "It wouldn't be government work if we got things done on time. That, at least, has never changed."
They had gotten an early start the day before, but the briefing on the assignment took most of the day. Instructions on how to bail out of an airship in case of emergency, combined with a leisurely two-hour lunch, managed to keep them from leaving New York until late.
"Knight to E9," Simon said to Milton's rival. "check."
"Here now, if you were waiting until now to reveal you're a chess savant the least you could do is come in on the side of the good guys," Milton said.
"Whichever side I'm on is the good guys," Simon said. "Is Debbie up?"
"Over here," Debbie said, rolling out of her own bunk. "What time is it?"
"Early," Simon and Milton said in unison.
♬It's a crime to need you
The way that I do
It's a crime to need you
The way that I do
♬So go easy
Go honestly
Go easy when you go
Well if you love me, just leave me
Go easy when you go♬"Let's grab some breakfast," Simon said.
"Sure," Debbie said groggily.
"There any bacon? Fresh bread?" Simon said.
"Ha," the pilot said over his shoulder.
"Councilman Abraham isn't dining with us today," Milton said. "I think there's Pop Tarts and granola bars behind those drawers." He gestured without taking his eyes off the board. "We'll have coffee and tea once we land in Greenfield. Checkmate."
"OK, nobody better ask me to do any thinking or acting friendly until we land," Debbie said.
♬Monday's wishing
Wednesday's waiting
Don't you let time take its toll
December's been drowning in yesterday's dreams
The winter's been good to my soul
♬Darling, can you hear me?
Ten thousand miles away
Out on the road trying to lighten my load
From the price that lovin' you pays
♬It's a crime to need you
The way that I do
It's a crime to need you
The way that I do
♬So go easy
Go honestly
Go easy when you go
Well if you love me, just leave me
Go easy when you go
♬Go easy when you go
Go easy when you go♬
Simon and Debbie ate by one of the large windows, desperately wishing they could get a pot of hot, caffeinated beverage. Although still hazing and playing tricks with their eyes, the dim light slowly began to overwhelm the fog, allowing them to just notice the hills of West Virginia around them.
"Looks like I'm almost home," Simon said. "Strange to still think of it that way after all this time." Simon stared outside.
Debbie placed a hand on his sleeve. "If your brother John is alive, we'll find him," she said.
"Yeah," Simon said. "I don't know what I'm supposed to say when we see him. 'I'm sorry' doesn't nearly cover a thing like that."
"You'll find the right words," Debbie said. "I've been praying."
"I thought you weren't being nice until someone gives you coffee," Simon said wryly.
"I'll smack you with something later to make up for it," Debbie said.
Simon picked up his guitar. "Well, since we are no doubt over my native land now, it's only fitting I play a little ditty from Mister John Denver."
♫Almost heaven, West Virginia,
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River.
Life is old there, older than the trees,
Younger than the mountains
Growin' like a breeze.
♫Country roads, Take me home
To the place I belong.
West Virginia, Mountain momma,
Take me home country roads
♫All my mem'ries, gather round her,
Miner's lady, stranger to blue water.
Dark and dusty, painted on the sky,
Misty taste of moonshine
Teardrop in my eye.
♫Country roads, Take me home
To the place I belong.
West Virginia, Mountain momma,
Take me home country roads
♫ I hear her voice in the morning hour she calls me,
The radio reminds me of my home far away
And driving down the road I get a feeling
That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday.
♫Country roads, Take me home
To the place...
Simon broke off as he stared out the window.
"Something wrong, Simon?" Debbie asked.
"What was that, some kind of bird?" Simon said.
"What was what?" Debbie said. "I didn't see anything."
"In the fog," Simon said.
"I'm not sure you could see anything clearly in fog," the pilot said over his shoulder.
"It looked..." Simon said. "Must've been nothing. Just a trick of the light, that's all." Of course Simon didn't at all feel it was a trick of the light, but he had learned not to be too trusting of his own senses. Still, it had not been his niece that he saw scrolling in and out of the fog.
♫Country roads, Take me home
To the place I belong.
West Virginia, Mountain momma,
Take me home country roads
♫Country roads, Take me home
To the place I belong.
West Virginia, Mountain momma,
Take me home country roads♫Simon looked out again. Nothing.
"How much longer to Greenfield?" Simon asked.
"Fog looks like it's finally going to lift, so we should be there in a few hours," the pilot said. "Just have to get over this little ol' mountain, and Greenfield's at the bottom of the other side."
"Sounds good," Simon said. A motion caught his attention, and he found himself staring out the window of the airship again. Something was definitely moving out there... at least Simon hoped so. As he stared, the movement finally became clear to him. Something was flying beside them. Something alive. A creature trying to hide in the mist.
"What is it, Simon?" Milton asked. "What do you see?"
Simon struggled to make sense of the creature he was seeing, if creature was even the best word for it. His first impression was of a giant insect, like a dragonfly with wings interspersed across its whole body. But then they didn't resemble wings so much as great fluttering leaves extending from a twisted stalk. The front end of the creature had leg-like protrusions and what seemed to be a gaping maw filled with teeth, surrounded on all sides by a flower's stamen. Yet these protrusions seemed to move and turn, watching every direction with a dozen eyes on the ends. The creature flew, and yet didn't; it almost seemed to float or swim through the fog, as if the air were too thick for the creature to fall. The more he strained to see it, the more it resembled a bizarre sea monster pulled out of its natural habitat. It even seemed to fade in and out of visibility, the mouth gulping as it disappeared like an otter surfacing for air. Simon's mind simply lacked the categories to comprehend what he was looking at.
"Debbie?" Simon whispered. "Can you see it?"
"I... I don't know," Debbie whispered back.
"Don't lie to me, if it's all in my head you have to tell me."
"There might be something," Debbie said. "I'm just not sure."
Simon rubbed his eyes and it was gone. He looked all around, finally leaning against the window in order to look up beside the airship's massive balloon.
A giant train of scales, bark, and arachnid legs swooped down past the window. Simon jumped back.
"What was that?" Debbie exclaimed.
"Ha," the pilot said, "I'm tellin' ya, the fog does things to the eyes. I swear I've seen a canary the size of a Honda in fog like this once. Turned out a kid had let a helium balloon fly. Wasn't even yellow!"
"It went under us," Simon said. "Milton, check the other side."
"Alright," Milton said, "but I have to say that I get nervous when 'creative types' start seeing things. Calm and rationality are always called for." Milton looked out the window on his side, squinting. "There's something out there... difficult to make out. Could be anything, really."
"How fast are we going," Simon said. "Slow enough a child's balloon could follow us for ten minutes?"
"Not hardly," the pilot said.
Simon and Debbie went to look out Milton's window. "It was down there," Milton said, "but I can't see it anymore."
The whole airship shook violently for an instant, sending everyone standing to the floor.
"What the f..." the pilot said, interrupted by another shake. The pilot looked at his controls. "We're losing altitude!"
"What in blazes is going on here?" Milton said.
"I think we're gonna find out," Simon said, looking out the window. The creature was looping around from above them, and was now swimming straight for the window. "Get down!"
The glass shattered and wind buffeted everything that wasn't bolted down. Debbie and Milton slid toward the front of the descending craft as Simon grabbed hold of the chess table. For just a moment, Simon looked up.
Its mouth was nearly circular, and huge. The creature could have swallowed Simon in two bites if it wanted to. The eyes peered around the mouth from all sides, twisting and curling against the force of the wind. It seemed to be coated in some sort of mucous or sap. The legs began to grab hold of the side of the cabin and flexed. It might have been trying to pry it open. Like a clam shell, Simon thought.
Just then, the creature seemed to gasp for air and faded out of sight. Treetops began to rustle past the window.
"I'm setting us down," the pilot shouted. "Hold on!"
It was light out when Simon awoke on the floor of the airship. His side hurt, and it took him a moment to remember what had happened. "How long was I out?"
"About a minute," Milton said, grabbing Simon through the shattered window and pulling him out. "Whatever that was, it's coming back. Run!"
Simon looked up. The long, worm-like creature was winding up and down in the sky, slowly turning around toward them.
"Wait a second," Simon said, climbing back into the ruined airship.
"Simon!" Milton shouted. "This is not a game!"
Simon glanced around the cabin. Two of the crew lay dead from the crash. His eyes stung from sweat and his head throbbed. "Ah!" Simon exclaimed as he spotted his guitar, safe in its case, by the opposite window. In an instant he emerged from the airship with his guitar in his hand. "I can't leave it. Let's go!"
"Will somebody give me a hand?" the pilot shouted. He was trying to walk, but the blood covering his right leg made clear he wasn't going to move fast.
"Simon, grab him!" Milton shouted. The two of them picked the pilot up by his shoulders, and along with Debbie and two other crew members, they ran.
The ground was uneven and overgrown. The nearby trees were sparse, and after what he saw on the airship Simon was not at all confident tree cover could protect them. They made their way toward a thicker patch of forest in the vague hope they would be harder to spot. Unless it smells its prey, Simon thought. For all I know those "eyes" can smell blood. Simon and Milton tried to keep up with the others, but neither was particularly athletic and the pilot was fading in and out of consciousness.
"Come on, Simon," Debbie shouted over her shoulder. She looked back. "Come on!"
"Hey there!" A voice yelled from the tree line. "This way! Over here!"
"What the ..." Milton began.
Debbie screamed and Simon instinctively dropped to the ground, bringing the pilot and Milton with him. He looked up to see the creature pass within a few feet of their heads, rising again for another pass.
"Go!" Milton yelled, starting to get up. "Leave him!"
"No!" Simon said, lifting the pilot's shoulder. "Help me!" They got up and headed for the voice in the woods.
"Rod!" the voice shouted. "Rod, we need you, now!"
The three of them were only a few yards from the treeline, but the creature had turned and was coming in from the side. Simon knew they weren't going to make it. We should have left him, Simon thought. He knew it would all be over soon. Sorry, John...
A figure came bounding out of the woods with inhuman speed. His foot found a stump and he lept into the air, drawing an arm back and over his head. "AAAARRRGGHH!" he yelled as he raised a tomahawk over his head and threw it directly into the mouth of the creature. The creature jerked away, letting forth a ghastly noise--it made Simon think of a whale's song in the first instant, then of the terrible, inhuman shriek of the ghouls--before fading away. There were blue flashes all around the weapon as it passed through the disappearing creature before the tomahawk fell to the ground.
Simon, Milton, and the pilot reached the trees and were immediately aided by a lean, red-bearded man--the one who had been calling to them earlier, Simon presumed. "Let me take a look at him," the man said. "Are you two OK?"
"We'll live, provided that thing doesn't come back," Milton said. "I'd like to thank our rescuers, what's your name?"
"Hi, I'm Eli Keim," the man said, shaking Milton's hand. "But if it's the hero you want to meet, that would be Rod."
Eli gestured at the man who had just retrieved his weapon and was now walking back to them. He was very tall, greater than six-and-a-half feet. He wore his hair and beard long, but without a mustache, like an inky black lion's mane. His eyes were bright green, with bushy brows above them. As he approached them, he embraced Eli warmly, then turned to look at the newcomers.
"Well, it's a good thing we were out here when you guys crashed," Rod said. "I mean, that was a crash, wasn't it? I don't know much about flying contraptions."
"Yeah," Debbie said. "That was definitely a crash. Did you kill that thing?"
"That?" Rod said, chuckling. "Not a chance. Look." He pulled a nail out of his pocket and held it up to his tomahawk. They clicked together for a moment, magnetized, before the nail slid and fell to the ground. "Barely even nicked him. I think I'm losing my touch. We probably shouldn't linger."
"Their friend's hurt pretty badly, we should take him home," Eli said.
"Is it that bad?" Rod said. "You know the preacher doesn't take too kindly to strangers, especially on the Lord's Day."
"He's bound to notice I'm missing, anyway," Eli said. "And this man really does need our help."
"Then let's get him what he needs," Rod said, picking up the injured man in his arms. "Where were you folks headed, anyway? We haven't met any outsiders in... well, I guess it's coming up on two years now."
"Rod? Milton Burke, PhD," Milton said, shaking Rod's hand. "We were on our way to meet some survivors in Greenfield. We're organizing a provisional government now that the crisis is over."
"Survivors? Survivors of what?" Rod said. "We don't get much in the way of news up here. Greenfield is just down the mountain, though, other side of the mines."
"You guys didn't notice the little zombie apocalypse we had last year?" Simon said.
"Is that what they were, zombies? I figured the city folk had finally lost their manners completely," Rod said.
"Rod likes to play the country bumpkin," Eli said. "We knew something was up, but figured it wasn't a good idea to send people away just for an explanation of why shrieking murderers were coming up the mountain."
"How did you all manage?" Debbie asked.
"Rod," Eli said. "Without him Gibeah would've been wiped off the map."
"Not that we're on most maps to begin with," Rod said with a grin. "Listen, I'll take this fellow over to the doc's place, you guys go in to church so Eli can get him."
"You want us all to go to church?" Milton said.
"Well, I'm pretty much the only one not there most Sundays," Rod said. "Preacher will be wondering where Eli is anyway, and the townsfolk wouldn't take kindly to strangers milling about while they're at chapel."
The crash survivors heard music dying down as they approached the old chapel doors.
"Will we be disrupting the service?" Simon asked.
"A hand grenade couldn't break Phineas's concentration when he's about to preach," Eli said. "Just grab a seat in the back. I'll find the doctor and we can go over there after the service."
"If it's all the same to you, I'll wait outside," Milton said. "I'm not much of one for religious rubbish."
"Neither are two thirds of the people in there, so you won't be alone," Eli said. "But I'm afraid it's not all the same to me. Like Rod said, we'd rather not have strangers poking around unobserved."
A man's voice began to echo from inside the chapel.
"OK, he's started," Eli said and opened the chapel door gently.
Simon followed Milton and Debbie and the others into the musty chapel. The congregants were standing, so they slipped in and slid into a back pew mostly unnoticed. Eli went ahead several rows and disappeared into a pew. Simon could barely see him whispering to a bald headed man up ahead. The bald man seemed quite displeased, shaking his head several times before entering the aisle and walking out the back. He gave the visitors a stern sideways glance as he passed them.
"You may be seated," the voice came from the front, and they all were. Simon wanted to just let his mind wander, but the short, robed preacher had a rich, commanding voice pouring over his tuft of beard. He removed his reading glasses and began to speak, and Simon couldn't help but listen.
"Beloved brothers, the words of Abraham weigh heavily on me this day. The Lord reveals to His servant what He intends to do, and the man is terrified by what may come. And so I am likewise terrified of what may come upon us, upon this very people.
"Ye all know, for ye be not outsiders, what we have seen in these latter days. How men took on the manner of beasts; how they ascended this mountain, as if to set themselves against the anointed; how they came upon us and misused us, and how many of our number were lost to their plague and madness; how we saw with our own eyes the curse on God's people carried out when He said 'ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat'; how the Most High God raised up a judge among us to repel the evil; how the evil of that unholy city below us has laid silent. And we have felt no pity, nor ought we.
"And yet the sins of that city were not so unlike the sins of these two cities. And now, I fear, like the sin growing among us. The iniquity is on the heads of your leaders, as in the days of Korah. I know that many of ye here have been adulterous, running after foreign gods, and listening to the voice of prophets ye have not known. Ye are falling away from your faith, and I do not know if I wish to catch ye.
"Yet catch ye I must, for that is my duty. How can I refuse when Abraham pleads for the lives of those who are not his own? He pleads for Lot, yes, but for many more besides. 'Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?' For such a number, Abraham seeks protection. And again, 'Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous,' and again 'Peradventure there shall forty be found there,' and thirty, and twenty, and ten. 'I will not destroy it for ten's sake' saith the Lord. Thus does Abraham plead continually for even this small number.
"We know what doth happen: the house of Lot is sent away, and in his absence the cities are destroyed utterly. There were not ten souls worth saving in such a place. And, perhaps, this was so in that other city, given over to the plague and the curse. How many of our number remain true? If ye do not turn, how long can we last before a new plague is born? How long before we, too, are eating the flesh and drinking the blood of our children, partaking in such an unholy communion? For it is a communion the beast-men embraced: a communion of murderers, of adulterers, of witches, of devils. 'Take, eat: this is my body.' So when the devils feast on devils, they do confirm their testament together.
"This table," he said, stepping toward a table and remove a cover over the bread and wine, "is not for such a covenant. If ye would come to this table to confirm your testament with Him, neither I nor any man will stand against ye. But so that I might catch ye, remember that ye cannot commune with God and with a devil. If ye have practiced any such thing, then this body and blood are a curse upon ye, upon ye and all who abide with ye. The jealous husband cannot abide another lover, but will throw the adulteress and her lover alike into the pit. Take us not into the pit, but come to the heavenly manna which leaveth no man hungry. And let us ask for His guidance. Amen."
The whole congregation stood and began to file toward the tables at the front, singing as they walked.
♫Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but Thou art mighty;
Hold me with Thy powerful hand.
Bread of heaven,
Feed me now and evermore♫
Don't
miss next month's episode, The Devil's on his Way.
Check out this episode's songs:
Go Easy by David McMillin
Take Me Home Country Roads by John Denver
Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah by William Williams
Check out this episode's songs:
Go Easy by David McMillin
Take Me Home Country Roads by John Denver
Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah by William Williams
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