That night, all I could see were horrors. Whether they existed in reality or my mind is anyone’s guess; there were no witnesses then. Rain was falling heavily, and at over eighty it blurs the windows and the vision, so the demons could have been misshapen reflections of myself. The souls may have been the refraction of the light. I had my glasses on, but I squinted. All I could see were the white and yellow lines, raised from the road in a surreal fashion. I knew where to drive, but knew no more than the next hundred feet.

At that time of the night there are no cars on the roads. Even on a Saturday, all you see is the occasional drunk, but you pass him quickly – he’s trying too hard. Driving is easy, and even in the rain with the devil in hot pursuit I can make no mistake. I am by no means an angel of the lord given direction from on high. Yet they pursue, for neither have I made a pact with those from below. God would have no cause to protect me. I must be evil enough to interest them.

So, out of the corner of my eye, there he always kneels. The gargoyle visage perched on the body of a nightmare. There’s nothing better to freak you out at three in the morning. So everything rushes by, and of course no police are out to cite me. The mail may be delivered in all kinds of circumstances, but the cops are only around when it’s warm and dry. I like it better that way. My only question: Why can’t el diablo keep up with my speed? I try slowing down, and nothing slashes at the back of my neck. Sharp claws restrain from sinking into the warm fluid sacs of my eyes. My eardrums are not gouged by prickly tongues, and my intestines remain in my belly.

Maybe it is all imagination.

I pull up to the 24 hour store just before it closes. I know that should be impossible, but I was sure it would be dark and foreboding, more so (than my car), harboring more demons than just myself.

Inside, the Indian man at the counter shows me a curt nod and suspicious stare. What else is required, and for a man surrounded by a deadly aura it seems even kind, but not to me. I hate people. The man’s brother wipes rancid milk from the bottom of the refrigerator in the back. I carefully pick my way past the loaves of bread, now a day older than they should be. Cups, paper plates, potato chips, pickles… it’s all there. I don’t know what I want, but the florescent lights make me seem white as a ghost, which causes me to chuckle ironically. It’s comforting to laugh. That must be why I stopped here, and besides, the devil wouldn’t show up with the shopkeep around.

Just to test that theory, as I neared the man in the back, I stabbed him once in the back of the neck. Must have been right between the second and third vertebrae, because the knife sank in satisfyingly. I was extra careful to angle the knife to the left. Whether that severed his corotid or his jugular is irrelevant (I can’t remember which is which) but the effect is distinctly the same. As I tore the blade back out, I heard an excellent ripping sound; there’s much connective tissue in the neck and the serrated back blade really tears ass through that stuff. A slight gurgle caused the man at the counter to look up, so I straightened above the level of the shelves and proffered a half-gallon of milk with my right hand. (My left was a bit unpresentable).

Maybe the counter guy saw something wrong in my eyes but didn’t want to let on. So he muttered a quick phrase in Hindi. Another ironic chuckle; I don’t speak Hindi. I’m sure his brother did, but that didn’t matter. Before the guy got too suspicious I shot him in the head. I mean, what if he had a silent alarm? I’m sure the cops would come out for one of those.

The snap of the gun was quite loud, but I figured it wouldn’t have carried well in the rain. Nope, no customers outside either, and I already knew there were no cameras in the place.

I looked straight up to be sure, and .. there! Right there in the corner of my eye, perched on the rightmost hanging light fixture, was the thing from my car. Damn, this was going to be a long night.

I drove away, for what more could I do? I could think of a lot I hadn’t done in that store, but at least I had the presence of mind to take the cash – this is America after all.

I went back the way I had come -- same road/different side. Still no cops, but this time I got it up to a hundred and five. That was probably too fast, but the night seemed to be sevens. A jitter of the ABS let me make the sharp turn onto a side road without getting stuck in the chain link fence off to the left. I was past there, and so happy to be away and alive that I considered that the devil is merely what we make of him. Yeah, the image of the gargoyle was just a trick of the surveillance mirror near the light fixture. Yeah, it’s all light and mirrors and my overactive mind.

But there it was again! This time, it stared with unprecedented determination. I thought it’s eyes were red or blue or pink. Heh, imagine that. An agent of doom with pink eyes. Just to be sure, I glanced over at it. All I saw was the skeleton of a house surrounded by metal beasts. Hardly a scary picture, but holding no color to answer my question. At one hundred miles an hour, a glance can last for quite a bit of road.

I missed the turn I wanted to take, but I never needed to take it, so I drove on.

The devil and his own now had me a little edgy. I saw a cat undecided on the yellow line so I killed it. Probably damaged my bumper, and again I was humored that the bumper costs more that the cat. Probably the car costs more than the two Indians I killed back there. America’s a funny place, after all.

Cat guts and all stopped with me at the train station. It was one built a long time ago and not meant to support all the people that lived and worked within walking distance these days. The platform was maybe half the length of a regular train, but this was late night and the trains were decidedly not regular.

A woman would have to be a full out idiot to wait on it now. The train glided in as gracefully as possible just in time for me to board the car with her. I had enough cash for a short, yet fun ride. More than enough.

I knocked her out easily, and her legs spread more easily still. Yeah, a woman would’ve been stupid to be there; this was young enough not to have learned proper caution. Old enough so I could easily fit.

The conductor really pissed me off, interrupting like he did. He must have been somewhat into it, ‘cause he walked 75 percent of the car before yelling at me. Damn was his voice ever annoying. I bet he was just sick enough to have joined in, but he probably drew the line when he saw her head absently rolling about like that.

He fell backwards, and I know all the blood must have fallen out of his head in the time gravity took it’s toll. The girl woke up, and was about to scream. It was fortuitous I knocked her out {again} before her annoying voice would earn the devil another reward.

All this excitement got me ready again right quick, but in the end it must have been necrophelia. I squeezed her throat just a little too hard in those last moments. I figured it was all okay though; she was still quite warm.

Whatever guy was driving the train obviously was oblivious to all this for we stopped at the next station without incident. It was the last stop on the line anyway, and I saw a couple of others get out of other cars ahead of me. Mine, the last car, was void of other life.

This left me, your hero, standing in the rain less than a half mile from the 24 hour store, and just a little farther from my house. It really was time to go home, and I was so tired I thought I was seeing things.

I woke up. It never was a dream; that would be a lame ending. It never was quite real, though, but the bodies were right there on the news that eve. A few people came to school, most were too scared – I never told you about my day.

				SMR 1998.05.11