~~~
After Daniel and Rachel parted, Dan drove back into Cortez and it was still only a little after 8:00PM. He decided to stop at the Mexican restaurant the Smiths had recommended a couple days back and sit at the bar for a while. He thumbed through the digital display and wondered if he shouldn’t be trying to get more back to life. Perhaps the loss of his job this past year, meeting Rachel, and seeing new things were all events trying to ring his doorbell, trying to get him to answer the better things in life that were knocking at the door which he’d set aside in his despair.
Outside the rain was falling considerably harder. It reminded him of what he thought probably awaited him further north at home and the grey mindless-ness amongst his neighbors. Although he didn’t know exactly what night Rachel would be heading out, the thought of his own departure in the next day or two finalized any remaining opportunity. He determined he would leave the drink half-finished and spend one last night with Rachel…if it didn’t rain out a camp fire.
After starting up his truck and letting it warm for a moment, a queer sense of dread was working to lift his eyes to the rearview mirror. He fought it, as he recalled the last time he’d had that feeling in his truck back home at the gas and grill station. A vision of the shadow that had left him alone for the past twelve hours was the last thing he wanted to experience right then.
But of course, as he looked there was a clearly defined shadow standing in the rain glaring at him with red glints in its eyes. Daniel turned around slowly, half scared at what he might see and half sensing he was losing control to this ghost again.
No one stood behind the truck. There was only rain and steam rising from his exhaust directly behind the tailgate.
He turned back and checked the mirror again, but the shadow still stood this time. Its essence seemed somewhat more physical this time, as though he were actually seeing someone standing there. Even the rain seemed to glisten on the dark clothing or skin that hung loosely from it. There were adornments on its head that he hadn’t really noticed before and he had a flashback to the face drawn in the room above the Kiva in the Cliff Palace dwelling.
Daniel’s breath caught for a second only after staring at the shadow in the mirror. It took his body a moment to reply to what he was seeing. Quickly he turned about and it was gone again when looking through the rear window.
Turning back to the mirror one last time the shadow was gone. Daniel huffed again trying to calm his pulse back down. As he looked back to the instrument cluster and put the car into reverse something caught his attention in the outside driver’s mirror.
It was him! It was the shadow, fading in and out somewhat amidst the rain and the swirling exhaust steam. Whatever it was walked from the tailgate along the bed towards his door. Daniel could hear a set of fingers rubbing along the truck bed and making the hollow sounding streak upon it, like window cleaner squeaking as it is wiped off. Dan’s breath was failing him again and he could feel his heart pounding away at the extra flesh he carried in his neck. It was coming for him!
Just as he the figure should have been stepping into view of the driver’s window, Daniel turned and yelled as a clustered pile of steam rolled past his door back towards the restaurant. There was no one there. He turned his head back farther and still no one that he could see. A check in all the mirrors revealed nothing either.
As the heat started trickling from the vents in the dash and his pulse slowed to a manageable pace, Daniel released the brake and quickly departed from the parking lot. Whatever nightmare he was in was clearly not over simply because he’d made friends with Rachel.