“Maybe we should try to back out and find a way around,” Sarah said, looking concerned.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to. I think we’re stuck.”
“Maybe we should ask Brother Michael,” Sarah said quietly.
“I’m not asking him; I hate asking him stupid stuff.”
“This isn’t stupid stuff,” Sarah said smiling. She sat for a time grinning up at him. “Ok silly, I’ll ask him then.”
Pete had been able to push several abandoned cars out of the way using the immense power of the limo but they had finally reached their limits. The last car he tried to clear had become wedged behind a truck and was now completely blocking the way.
Sarah reached for a button and the window into the passenger compartment of the limo quickly slid down. “Brother Michael?”
“Yes, Sarah?”
“We can’t move any further. It looks like we’ll have to back out and find a new way. We may have to turn the headlights on for a few moments so we can—”
“It’s ok,” Michael said. “Help is on the way.” Sarah paused a moment. “So, what should we do now?” she said finally.
“Turn on the headlights and honk the horn.”
~~~
Maria stared into Brother Michael’s eyes. “How do you know help is on the way?”
“Ppfff,” Barney snorted. “Some people don’t learn so good.”
Michael whirled and glared at Barney.
Barney glanced at Mallory and looked back at Michael. “What?” he asked, shrugging.
“Barnabas,” Michael said, his dark eyes glistening in the moonlight. “Mrs. Rose is the mother of our Lord, the most blessed woman to have ever been born. The child in her womb will be the master of all things. If you ever disrespect her again, I’ll kill you. If I don’t kill you, the Father will kill you. This is the only warning you will ever receive from me.”
“Wh—what did I say?” Barney stammered.
“Shut up!” Mallory whispered, her fingernails digging into his arm. “Don’t say another word.”
“You too?” Barney said, staring at Mallory. “Ok, ok,” he said softly. He looked across the limo at Maria. “I’m sorry Mrs. Rose. I didn’t know who you were.”
“That’s alright,” Maria said, smiling back at him. “No offense taken.”
~~~
Pete, sitting in the driver’s seat, had turned on the car lights and was honking the horn as he had been instructed.
Without warning, the car door blasted open and someone was dragging him from the seat. Sarah’s door was yanked open and she was pulled face down on the asphalt, the muzzle of a rifle pressed against the back of her head.
~~~
“Hey!” Barney yelled, just as the passenger door flew open. A soldier appeared in the limo, violently grabbing at Maria’s arm. Maria screamed.
Michael reached for the soldier. “STOP!” he commanded.
The soldier yelped and fell backwards, blocking the limo door. Michael pushed him aside and stepped out. Fifteen soldiers had surrounded the limo under the cover of darkness. At the sight of Michael stepping from the limo door all fifteen men dropped their weapons and staggered backwards, some falling to the ground. Michael stood in the moonlight glaring back at the terrified soldiers.
Finally, one of the soldier’s softly spoke. “S…sir, you are in violation of the…uh…the…curfew and—”
“I am Special Agent Brothers, with the NDE,” Michael said. “I carry an envoy from the governor.”
He put his hand into his jacket, pulled it back out and pushed his open palm towards the soldiers.
~~~
The soldier, who had been talking, carefully moved towards Brother Michael. Maria, still sitting in the limo, leaned forward, pushed the button and rolled down the window trying to get a better look at what Michael was doing. To her amazement, the soldier was holding a flashlight, intently staring into the palm of Michael’s hand, his eyes darting back and forth as if he were reading.
“I’m sorry sir,” she heard the soldier say. “If only we would’ve known you were coming we would—”
“I understand,” she heard Michael interrupt. “We need to get to the airport as soon as possible.”
“Sir,” the soldier said. “The airport is down. They were trying to get too many people out too soon. People swamped the tarmac. They had to abandon the whole thing and chase everyone off. Even if we could get you there, you wouldn’t be able to move.”
“Leave that to me. We just need to get there.”
The soldier looked at Michael thoughtfully. “We can get you to the armory,” he said. “Once there, Colonel Shannon can arrange for special transportation to get you onto the tarmac. That’s probably the best we can do for you under the circumstances. Will that work?”
“That’ll work just fine, Sergeant.”
“You folks stay put,” the soldier said. “We’ll bring up a Humvee.”
~~~
“Sorry, Ma’am,” one of the soldiers said as he opened the passenger side limo door and gently placed Sarah back into the seat he had dragged her from.
Pete stared wide-eyed as another soldier helped him back into the driver’s seat and closed the door.
~~~
Michael moved back into the limo and sat next to Maria. She grinned, staring up at him. Her mouth hung slightly open in the moonlight, her tongue flicking the inside of her upper front teeth. She was so unearthly beautiful Michael could hardly breathe.
“What is a Special Agent for the NDE?” she said.
Michael shrugged. “Don’t know. I think it means I work for the near death experience people.”
Maria giggled.
“What can I say?” Michael said blushing. “It was on the fly.”
“Ok,” Maria said, “but how did you get them to believe you had something in your hand?”
He hesitated before speaking. “It’s a gift; and speaking of gifts, I have one for you.” He reached behind him and pulled out a small bouquet of three white roses wrapped with green fern. “This is for you,” he said, smiling.
“Those are beautiful,” Maria said, her eyes sparkling. “Where did you—” She reached for them and they were gone. She gasped and looked up into Michael’s eyes.
He grinned back at her. “Sorry. I couldn’t help myself.”
Maria sat back in her seat, cupped her hands over her mouth and laughed. Her mood darkened. “All this…magic,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “Todd is out there somewhere and we can’t find him…even with all this magic.”
Michael looked out the window for a time before returning his attention to Maria. “I’m sorry,” he said, reaching for her hand. “He could be anywhere by now.” He reached and pulled a tissue from a nearby box and handed it to her. “Maybe the military has some sort of records we can check. Maybe they can help us.”
Maria’s face brightened. “You really think so?”
“Here they come,” Mallory said, looking out the limo window.
Two Humvees were making their way up the freeway embankment. Three soldiers stood behind, holding a large piece of the fence they had cut to accommodate the vehicles.
“Very good,” Michael said. “It looks like our ride has finally arrived.”
~~~
“What’s going on out on the road, bro?” Tacoma asked.
“Don’t know,” Todd said. “It looks like some rich folks are stuck in their limo.”
“They must really be rich,” Tacoma said. “The army’s helping them. If that was us they would shoot firs’ and tell us questions later.” He looked at Todd thoughtfully. “We should stay here, essey, a’ leas’ till these people go.”
“Not me,” Todd said. “I’ve flushed enough time. I got to get to Vanderbilt. I’m not waiting.” He moved off the road and began making his way towards an embankment. Tacoma followed.
They moved towards the city and found themselves on a freeway overpass leading into the old music row section of tow
n. They stood for a time, staring out into the dark night. Occasionally, a faraway light would flicker. Headlights flashed in the distance and quickly disappeared.
“I thing tha’s the army looking for people to shoot,” Tacoma said.
Todd grunted.“Yeah, let’s not oblige them.”
They carefully continued making their way west into the city. The only sound that could be heard in the eerie silence of the moonlit night was their own footfalls clattering on the pavement beneath their feet. Unseen imaginary demons lurked in every dark alley as they passed by.
They had just reached the tiny storefront shops that lined music row when headlights strafed a side of one of the buildings. Tacoma pushed Todd into a small alley just east of Ernest Tubb’s record store and dove in behind him. Within moments, a military Humvee slowly rolled by, its spotlight darting up and down the shop walls and wide sidewalks. As fast as it had appeared, it left. Todd and Tacoma carefully left the alley and continued making their way west. They turned right at the corner of Sixteenth Avenue and began walking north.
“Look, bro,” Tacoma said.
Todd jumped at the sound of it.
“Iss wes’ bend. We’re here, essey!”
“Which way to Vanderbilt?”
“Wes’,” Tacoma said, “always wes’.” He pointed up the dark, abandoned street.
Todd quickly turned and began walking west.
The dark buildings on both sides of Westbend seemed to loom down upon them as they struck out towards the sprawling university.
“Here comes the army,” Tacoma said.
They could see headlights moving from the south, heading east.
Todd looked around. “This way!” he yelled, scrambling towards a dumpster.
They managed to hide in a gap behind the dumpster just as another bright spotlight swept the area. It lingered, then it was gone.
“What will you do if she’s not there, bro?” Tacoma said from the darkness. “What if she…already left or something?”
Todd was silent for a time before he finally spoke. “Then, I’ll look somewhere else I s’pose.”
“Who is she?” Tacoma said. “She must be your old lady, huh?”
“Yeah…she’s my wife…she’s pregnant.”
“You mind if I ask you something, bro?” Tacoma said softly.
Todd didn’t answer.
“Why is your wife in the psychiatric hospital?”
Todd pulled his eyes away from the dark night and glanced at Tacoma. “It’s a long story my friend. She’s not crazy, if that’s what you mean.”
Tacoma nodded. “But…even if you do find her, what are you gonna’ do, bro. Are you gonna get out of here before the asteroid hits?”
Todd returned his eyes to the night and sat silent for a time. “Honestly,” he said finally, “I haven’t givin’ that much thought. It’s just that…you’d have to know Maria. She’s like a little kid. She’s probably terrified right now…I just feel like she needs me. You know what I’m saying? I keep picturing her hiding beneath a bed somewhere, or even worse. She’s almost nine months pregnant now. I can’t imagine what she must be going through.”
Todd stopped speaking, stood and scanned the area. “Have they gone yet?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Tacoma said.
They carefully moved from the dumpster, found their way back to West End and continued west.
“This is where we stayed when we first came here,” Todd said as they moved past the shadowy parking veranda in front of the Nashville Hillshire hotel. “This is where the whole damn nightmare started.” He paused a moment, looking up towards the dark foreboding tower.
Tacoma laughed. “You must have had a lot a money then, bro.”
“Not really. I wasn’t paying.”
“There’s Vanderbilt, bro,” Tacoma said pointing westward.
Todd began moving faster. “Where’s the Psych hospital?” he said breathlessly.
“I don’t know. Maybe when we get there we can star’ looking.”
“No time.” Todd said, glancing around frantically. He spotted a pay phone on the wall of an abandoned mini mart and moved across the street towards it.
“Where are you going now, essey?” Tacoma shouted as loud as he dared. “We gotta’ stay outta sight, bro.”
Todd pulled the tethered phone book from its pocket, pulled it into the moonlight and began thumbing through it. “Vanderbilt…Vanderbilt…Ok, there it is….” He glanced up at the road sign and back at the phone book. “We need to go west, to Thirty First Avenue South, then…this is so messed up, dude….The map shows Thirty-First Avenue South becoming Blakemore Avenue then Wedgwood. It’s all the same damn street! City folks… I swear to God.
He dropped the phone book and began moving west. Tacoma fell in behind.
“There it is,” Todd said, pulling to a stop. “Thirty first…now we go south.” He could feel the excitement building as he turned down the dark, menacing road.
“Here they come again, bro!” Tacoma yelled as another set of headlights came into view. They scrambled towards a large group of shrubbery adorning the entrance to an abandoned three-story red brick building. Todd managed to dive into the foliage just behind Tacoma as the spotlight swept the area. A Humvee slowed in front of the building and quickly moved away.
“How long has it been since you seen your old…your wife?” Tacoma asked.
“Pretty near a month.”
“Maybe she already had the niño.”
“Yeah maybe,” Todd said pushing himself out from behind the shrubbery.
“Iss funny she din’ write to you, bro,” Tacoma said.
“How do you figure she didn’t?”
“Because…you don’t know anything about her, wha’s going on with her, stuff li’ that.”
“Why do you care?”
“I’m just wondering, tha’s all.”
“Why?”
“I heard you kidnapped her, bro…If we find her…are you gonna’…do something bad to her?”
“Don’t believe everything you hear, and no, I wouldn’t hurt Maria.”
Todd quickly moved back out towards the street. There was a scarcely visible road sign in front of the building. He could hardly make it out in the moonlight…Blakemore Ave. He whirled and looked back at the dark building looming behind him.
“There it is,” he said. “Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital.”
~~~
“We have an envoy from the governor,” the driver said as he pulled into the gate.
“Paperwork,” the soldier demanded, not looking up. He was standing outside a small guard station.
Brother Michael leaned forward and looked through the Humvee window. The soldier glanced up, stared at him and stepped back. “Go ahead,” he said.
As the Humvee pulled through the gate leading into the Tennessee National Guard armory complex Maria looked back at the bewildered looking soldier standing at his post and looked back at Michael who was sitting next to her. “Amazing,” she said.
The procession of two Humvees moved between several large buildings and past a vast parking area crowded with military vehicles of every size and description, dark, monstrous silhouettes, eerily resting side by side in the pale moonlight as far as the eye could see. At the end of the road the Humvees turned and began making their way south. They stopped at the back of a tall building. A towering door began sliding open and the Humvees entered a cavernous warehouse. Military vehicles and equipment crowded the area in various stages of disrepair. Huge, olive green engines hung from meaty hoists. Monstrous green trucks, cranes, bulldozers and an occasional Humvee sat motionless atop gigantic hydraulic hoists as grease-covered soldiers milled about beneath them.
“What is this place?” Maria said.
“This is where we fix the vehicles,” a soldier answered quickly. “Everything has to be in high speed no later than 0500 Sunday…Colonel’s orders.”
“What are they gonna do with all these vehicles on Sunday?” br />
“Not sure, ma’am. I just know we have a lot of people to move real quick. That’s all I know.”
Michael had already moved from the Humvee and was standing next to a Herculean bulldozer. “What’s wrong with this?” he said, not looking back.
The soldier who had been speaking with Maria stepped forward. “I’m not sure, sir. Whatever it is, the work on it hasn’t been started yet.”
“Hmm,” Michael grunted.
“This way,” a sergeant said, pointing towards the other end of the building.
The small group of people made their way through the cyclopean structure. The two soldiers led them past a double door and through a break room. They turned and moved down a hall, stopped, and knocked on one of the doors.
“What!” a voice sounded from behind the door.
“Colonel Shannon,” one of the soldiers said, “we have the people from the freeway.”
“Come!”
One of the soldiers opened the door and motioned for the group to enter the room.
“Who are you people?” Colonel Shannon said.
He was a middle-aged, muscular man sitting behind a broad cluttered desk looking over a pair of reading glasses.
“Sir, they are a special envoy from the governor—”
“What the hell is that?”
The soldier stared back at the Colonel. “What is what, sir?”
“What’s a special envoy from the governor….What governor? Have you ever seen an envoy before? Does such a thing even exist? Have you been watching too much TV?”
“Sir, they had paperwork—”
“I don’t care what they had, sergeant. Does this look like a special envoy to you? Three civilians with a swarm of women. Look…one of the girls is even knocked up.”
Michael pushed the soldier to one side and leaned over the Colonel’s desk. “Listen up Rambo,” he said, pulling a sidearm from his jacket. He pressed the pistol against the Colonel’s forehead.
Within moments, Barney and Pete had pushed the two soldiers against the wall, the barrels of their own M-16 rifles pressing against their own throats. “We are in a state of martial law, Colonel Shannon,” Michael said. “If you even hint at impeding my mission in any way, you’ll be dead. Instantly…without hesitation…you copy?”