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33

Opportune voids within the thick white mist would give Alley chances to view diverse shades of landscaping; sectioned patches of greens, yellows, and browns from far below as they traveled almost within a world of their own, some ten thousand feet above everything else.

She and her brother had fought for the window seat, but Corey thought it best that her daughter should have something to sustain her attention away from the insidious thoughts, and unavoidable nightmarish visions.

Alley’s sightseeing was briefly interrupted when her brother’s iPad caught her attention. He was watching a movie. It took a moment or two before she was able to put a name to it. He was watching “I am Legend” starring Will Smith.

Her mind was kick-started as she began to drift; the presence of reality escaping to another place, back to the obscure distortion of his pale and malevolent face. But she was stronger now. She could feel the tingle of acceptance. She could actually acknowledge the existence of fortitude as she confronted him with his daunting smile.

“Can I get you anything, sweetie?” he asked.

Alley looked at him, puzzled and taken back by what appeared to be a kind gesture. “What?” she asked, bewildered, trying to manufacture some sort of response, when her vision quickly faded and transitioned to the realism of a stewardess with short blonde hair leaning over her.

“Are you okay, honey?” she asked.

“She’s fine. right, honey?” her mother answered with a pretentious smile, when she herself had just awakened from a deep sleep, paranoid at the mere thought of having any attention drawn to her daughter.

Alley nodded.

“Well, all right then. If you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to ask,” the stewardess said, overly cheerful and obnoxious. As she moved on, she glanced back to Alley, apparently not buying the fact that everything was fine and normal with the small girl in seat 12A.

Alley turned her attention to the view outside her window once again, oblivious to what she had started.

Her mother couldn’t help but notice that they had sparked the interest of not one, but now two stewardesses, as the first had apparently shared the incident. Corey could see another set of curious eyes peering over the blonde stewardesses’ shoulder a short distance away, making every effort to be discreet. It wasn’t working.

Shane was immersed in his movie, complete with earphones and wide attentive eyes, innocently ignorant to everything else around him.

“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We should arrive at Detroit Metro Airport as scheduled. As always, we hope you have enjoyed your flight, and we’d like to thank you for flying Northwest.”

The announcement was music to Corey’s ears. She couldn’t wait to step foot in her own home and be surrounded by the familiar feeling of normalcy once again. But what she didn’t know was that while she had been gone, normalcy had become a delicacy on their street; retained only by the neighbors fortunate enough to have been excluded from inside the circle of unmitigated horror. But there would be room in the circle for a few more, exception for the family of the honored guest for whom this whole nightmare had come to be.

I had far too much on my mind as I pulled out of the driveway, on my way to pick up Corey and the kids from the airport. I left my house at about ten to four, figuring that would give me plenty of time, with traffic and all. As I approached the Timmersons, I saw Scott packing the back of his truck with luggage and assorted other things that told me he had taken my advice. I pulled up alongside his driveway.

“Things have gotten too crazy, Josh. I have to think of my family now,” he said.

I couldn’t blame him. I stepped out of the truck and hugged my friend, my brother. I then gave him a consoling look to let him know I understood. I knew he felt guilty for leaving me at such a crucial time, and he tried to explain himself further, but I stopped him.

“Scott, don’t worry about anything. Everything will be okay. When you come back, it will all be over.”

My speech sounded so convincing, I had almost convinced myself of the outcome. One thing was for sure… one way, or the other, it would be over.

My biggest fear was the fact that Powder and I hadn’t come up with any sort of plan. In fact, I hadn’t seen or heard from him since he left me, the night before. This was starting to feel all too familiar. At this point, the only plan I had, was me and a gun. Maybe that would be enough. Maybe that would have to be. As I drove away, I looked into my mirror and saw Scott just standing there at the end of his driveway, watching me, as if he wondered whether he would ever have the chance to see his best friend again. I wondered that myself.

When I first caught sight of my family at the terminal, a warm feeling rushed into me and emotions tugged at my heart. They all looked happy, as well, but as they got closer, they looked a bit surprised at my physical appearance.

I told them it was nothing, and that I would explain what had happened to me later. I didn’t realize just how much I had missed them until I finally saw them there in front of me. My beautiful Corey. I had almost forgotten just how incredibly beautiful she was. Distance and time had made that perfectly clear. And then there were my children. My son Shane, who was my proud little man. And Alley. I now recognized her as being a miniature, female version of myself. We hugged, we laughed, and we all cried tears of joy. We were together again, and we were going home.

“So. You fell out of a tree?” Corey repeated, questioning my sanity for having climbed it to begin with. “Since when did you care about any of the damn cats in our neighborhood? You’re always mocking them for teasing Hercules!” she added.

Just hearing his name sent an ugly chill through me. “I don’t know, I guess I felt sorry for it… it was just a tiny little thing,” I said. “But enough of that. Tell me about your stay!” I added, anxious to move to another topic.

The time we spent on the freeway with Corey talking next to me, I found myself, after a while, only retaining some of her conversation. My attention was drawn to the rear view mirror, and the reflection of my little girl staring aimlessly out her window. I tried to see within her, the extraordinary person she had become, the powerful warrior that Powder had tried to sell me on.

I wasn’t seeing it. Aside from the slight tan, she looked no different to me. She was still just Alley. After tonight, we would all be safe and normal again, just like we used to be. I would make sure of that. Nothing, or no one, was going to threaten my family.

According to Powder, tonight was the night that it would be coming for me; and now, apparently my children as well. I would have to keep it away from my house and away from my family. I hoped that they would all be tired enough from the trip to retire early.

Then I would go to him—to it—setting the stage as far from my home as possible. I could feel the urgency raging inside me as I proceeded down I-94, palms sweating as I gripped the wheel. Even though it had only been a few days, it felt like a long time coming; a horrible fairytale within a journey of too many terrible things to recall. And now that my family was home, it would all have to go away. I would end this tonight. With, or without, Powder.

It was still early, and bright enough outside to notice the dark clouds slowly making their way into our area, as I made another turn, now only miles from home.

“Honey, is it supposed to rain tonight?” Corey asked. Her question was soon answered by small drops accumulating across the windshield. I turned on the wipers and tried to make light of it.

“What? Meteorologist Corey Stone was unaware of forthcoming precipitation in her weather report?”

The kids chuckled.

“Hey! This weather girl has been away on vacation!” she replied. “Seriously though, did you know we were supposed to get any of this?” she asked, as she pressed her face to her window and stared cautiously to the sky.

I just shrugged my shoulders. She reached for the radio and began scrolling through the channels, desperate for an answer I couldn’t give. Seconds later, her question was answered. A cold front was moving through. Rain, accompanied by fifteen to twenty mile an hour winds were to be expected throughout the night, faltering to a mild drizzle and ending by early morning.

“Great! And on our first night back!” she complained. The kids and I just sighed and laughed at her remark. I again looked into the rear view mirror and saw Shane shaking his head and smiling at his mother’s nervous fear of storms.

When I panned my sight in the mirror to Alley, I noticed she was looking directly at me. Our eyes met, and she smiled. It was a mild and comforting smile, almost as if she was reassuring me that everything was going to be all right.

“I’ll bet you guys are tired,” I said, pushing the issue.

“Oh, I’m exhausted!” Corey answered. “A nice hot shower and a good book in my own bed is definitely in the forecast.”

Alley didn’t say a thing.

“If its ok with you and Dad, Tyler asked me to sleep over tonight,” Shane announced.

“I don’t think so, buddy. We just got home. I think maybe we should all just chill tonight,” Corey said.

“Aw, c’mon Mom, I haven’t seen the guys in a week! And besides, it’s Friday, and school hasn’t started yet!” He was doing his very best to sway her opinion.

“I think it would be all right, Cor,” I intervened, pulling for the option of having one less person at home tonight.

She had a look of defeat across her face. “Who else is sleeping over?” she asked.

“Randy and Steve,” he quickly revealed. “Steve’s got this awesome Alien game for Xbox 360 called “Termination Earth”, so can I-–please?”

She looked at me and shook her head. “I guess so. But I don’t want you staying up all night, either!” she finished.

“Cool! Thanks!” he said. She turned around and gave him her mom-stare.

“I won’t stay up all night, I promise!” he finally submitted.

Corey then turned forward in her seat again, before looking to me with a smile. I smiled back.

“Okay! Who wants McDonalds?” I yelled.

Everyone cheered, as Corey leaned into me and yawned. I looked up into the rear view mirror once more.

Alley felt my stare and looked at me with that same comforting, but almost eerie smile.

I wished at that moment that I could read her mind, that I could know what she was thinking. I turned my attention back to the road.

“Just that you shouldn’t worry, Dad” I heard her tiny voice say.

I was jolted with surprise, but couldn’t help returning a smile of my own. Shane was occupied now by his music, earphones planted deep within his own world.

“What did you say, honey?” Corey asked, turning around in her seat.

“I asked Dad to please hurry,” Alley answered.

Her mom looked at her a bit confused.

“What? I’m hungry!” she said.

I probably should have been concerned, or upset. But, with everything that had happened over the past few days, I was unexpectedly entertained. I smiled, and continued on my way to the golden arches.

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