Devil Moon (24 page)

He sent up a prayer.
Please, God, help me find her
.

Suddenly, the atmosphere changed. The air took on an odd florescent yellowish hue and straight out of the sky, like a beam from an episode of
Star Trek
, a shimmering tunnel of light illuminated a small turn-off to a path into the hills. Without questioning the supernatural direction, Phil aimed the car for the rocky path and accelerated on the unpaved road.

The men endured the bronco-busting ride in grim silence, punctuated now and then by a groan from Randy. Phil hoped the car would hold together and not bust an axle, gas line or some other equally vital mechanical part. The magical light disappeared, leaving them in forested darkness. Trees hovered over them, scraping the car's hood and sides as it jostled along the path. They drove on and on until it felt like they must be traveling to the end of the world.

Randy finally spoke. "Are you sure we're on the right road?"

Phil clenched his jaw. "It better be. It has to be."

Then, Phil was forced stop the car. He'd run out of straight road and reached a fork, one heading uphill, the other down. God, which one should he take? No magic light appeared this time to lead the way.

"Damn it all! Which way should I go?"

As if hearing his plea, a human figure appeared out of the shadows into the beam of his headlights. It was a woman, an old country woman dressed in a long dress and shawl.

Randy's voice registered shock. "It's Grammy."

"Who?"

"Grammy Harris, Maddie's grandmother."

"I thought she was dead."

"She is."

The men's eyes locked momentarily in chilling wonder, then turned back to the ghostly figure before them. Grammy's bony arm raised and her hand definitely pointed in the uphill direction. Phil cut his wheels to the right and gave the car the gas. He saluted Grammy's wavering form even as she disappeared into the ether.

"I may have a slug of whiskey when this is all over," Phil said.

"I may join you," Randy replied.

The uphill road turned even steeper and twistier, if that could be imagined. The bottom of the car began to hit larger rocks that grew into boulders requiring Phil to exhibit intricate navigational skill. Trees became sparser as they entered rockier terrain. As they wound up the path, the top of the hill came into view. Silhouetted high above them they could see the outline of a parked truck.

"I think that's it," Phil said.

In the moment he took he eyes off the road, the Skylark’s undercarriage encountered a jagged outcropping of granite. The impaled car came to a jolting stop and refused to budge another inch.

Phil pushed open his door and grabbed the baseball bat. He made tracks in his Fred Flintstone costume up the steep incline. He dimly registered the sound of Randy's opening door and movement behind him.

Phil's prehistoric instincts took over and he became a hunter seeking prey. His strong calves took long strides up toward the pinnacle. As the top came into clearer view, he saw a cluster of huge boulders and rocky ledges. Pewter light played tricks on the eyes. He'd been around the Arkansas hills all his life and he knew the appearance of solid rock could be an illusion. Secret passages and hidden caves undoubtedly lay hidden in the mountain's interior. He'd need another boost of supernatural help to discern which path to take when he got to the top.

Then he heard the unmistakable sound of his true love's voice echo across the hills. "Really, Mr. Finn, I'm not dressed for this kind of excursion!"

* * *

Maddie's knees and shins were a mass of bruises from falling along the stony path to Wade's intended love nest, a hunter's cabin nestled at the end of a long tunnel through the mountain. Wade gripped one of her hands in a vise hold as he clung onto his shotgun with the other arm. Lucifer followed along like a true Hound of the Baskervilles. Maddie tripped and skipped and skidded in her little black pumps and torn black dress, resisting every step along the way.

"I implore you to reconsider this course of action." Her voice echoed against the walls of the tunnel. "The authorities are bound to catch up with you and the punishment you receive will be much more severe if I'm seriously injured."

"I promise you, baby, you're going to love it!" He mercilessly dragged her along.

"I just don't see how that is possible when you totally revolt me. I find you disgusting, repugnant, and utterly undesirable." She gasped for air. "In other words, Mr. Finn, I don't like you!"

He suddenly stopped his relentless tugging and she crashed into him. He let go of her hand, whipped around and grabbed her chin with punishing fingers. "I don't give a rat’s ass if you like me or not. I've been nice to you, but the truth is, all I want is you under my bones and I'm getting sick of your smart mouth. Now shut the hell up and keep walking or I'll tear that dress off you right here and screw you on the cold cave floor."

Phil rounded a sharp stone corner of the passage to see the dark outline of Maddie facing her captor. Relief washed over him to see her in one piece. Anger quickly followed as he glimpsed the mangy Wade Finn gripping Maddie's face. The moonlit opening of the tunnel behind them lay only a few feet away.

Phil took steady, strong strides toward the pair. "Let her go, asshole. The party's over."

Wade's head swung in the direction of the intruder. He pushed Maddie aside and quickly lifted the shotgun toward Phil's approaching figure.

"No!" she yelled and shoved his arm just as he squeezed off a round. The shot went wild and ricocheted off the jagged rock walls.

"Run, sweetheart!" Phil shouted.

Maddie tripped backwards until she felt the damp stone wall against her back. Her open palms scraped the cutting granite edges. Mixed emotions held her in place. Part of her wanted to run for safety and leave her kidnapper far behind. But she couldn't leave Phil at the mercy of a madman. She'd never forgive herself for taking a coward's flight if Wade proved the winner of the coming battle. She watched Phil's body dive for the ground and roll as Wade got off another blast from the shotgun.

She screamed and covered her ears. Phil lay flat on his back.

Oh, God, don't let him be dead
. He rolled and sprang to his feet. She sagged with relief.

Wade crouched, took aim and squeezed the trigger again, but his double barrel shotgun proved to be empty. "Fuck!"

Phil lifted the baseball bat still enclosed in his hand and with the precision that comes from years of passing a football to his receiver, he sent the bat shooting through the air like a guided missile to a designated target.

The end of the bat hit Wade hard in the belly and he doubled over in pain and fury. He looked up to see a burly caveman barreling down on him and turned on his booted heels in a hunched run toward the cave opening.

The two figures passed by Maddie onto the open plateau. Lucifer dashed in their wake, ready to join the fray. Maddie bent down and picked up the baseball bat that had rolled to her feet. She wasn't about to stay out of the action now.

By the time she managed to get into the open on her little black shoes, the opponents were engaged in full hand-to-hand combat. Lucifer circled the battling duo, growling and barking and generally adding to the chaos. Phil got off a strong hook to Wade's chin, but took a dirty kick in the knee. Phil lunged on his good leg and knuckled Wade in the gut. Grunts and cuss words cut through the other sounds of punches hitting bone and tissue.

A winded Wade backed away, faced the dog and ordered, "Get him, boy!"

Terror struck Maddie's heart when the hulking figure of the killer beast rose in the air. His sharp teeth gleamed in the moonlight as his body slammed into Phil.

Maddie screamed and pitched herself into the battle. Raising the bat in her hand, she gave the dog a good strong whack, getting his attention, but good. He immediately turned his yellow eyes on his attacker and assumed a killer stance. But this time, Maddie overcame her lifelong fear. She stood her ground and stared back into the creature's fathomless depths.

"Oh no, you don't," she said. "Sit, Lucifer!"

"Grrrrr," Lucifer replied.

Wade's breathy voice issued another command. "I said get 'em, boy!"

His order went unheeded as Maddie and Lucifer engaged in a dog to woman battle of wills. They circled each other in a manner reminiscent of Sumo wrestlers beginning a match.

"I'm not afraid of you," she said. "Now sit your black butt down before I give you another taste of this bat. I don't believe in animal cruelty, but I'll make an exception in your case." With total bravado, Maddie walked to her nemesis until her thigh was just inches from his nose. "I said,
sit
, and I mean it."

Now nearly eyeball to eyeball, the human and canine came to an understanding. Lucifer whimpered and flopped over on his back, the doggy version of surrender.

Maddie smiled triumphantly and reached down to pat his stomach. "Good boy."

Phil watched this exchange as he rose to his feet and caught his breath. He shook his head in wonder and disbelief. Then he heard the sound of running footsteps dashing away and realized Wade was making a break for it. A fresh surge of adrenaline hit Phil's blood stream. No way would he let the psycho escape. He took a large breath of fortifying air and dashed after him.

"You’re not going anywhere, you bastard.” Phil sprinted up the hill.

Maddie looked up to see the men running off again. Lord, she was getting tired and her feet throbbed in the unsuitable shoes. She longed for her comfortable Nikes. She lifted her constricting dress and took up the chase again.

Running up the rocky incline, she skidded to a stop to watch the men renew their struggle. Phil grabbed Wade from behind and punched him in the gut. They fought on the edge of a cliff near boulders jutting from the mountain. In the ghostly moonlight, the rocks seemed like stone sentinels observing the fracas. Maddie hovered nearby, watching, praying, wishing she could help, but afraid she'd only get in the way. Lucifer sat at her side.

Oh, please, God, help Phil.

Wade, wild-eyed and mean, kicked and spewed expletives. Her heart caught in her throat as the combatants grappled at the edge of the plateau. They struggled on the jagged ledge beside a sudden drop-off. Back and forth they struggled, each seeming to momentarily have the winning edge.

Phil had engaged in his share of barroom brawls, but he'd never fought a hyped-up crazy-ass druggie before. Wade came at him with frenzied madman strength. He kicked and punched with furious speed. Phil grunted as he took a shot to the kidneys.

Wade laughed in dementia. "Come on, Caveman, get another taste of Wade Finn. I'll leave you for vulture meat and then I'm going to screw her lily-white ass blue."

Phil saw red. He charged Wade with football player might. "There won't be any working parts left on you, pal."

Ignoring Wade's wild punches, Phil systemically beat the tar out of him. Weeks of working with a punching bag paid off, as he found his rhythm on his opponent.
Pow, pow, pow
.

Wade jerked away from Phil's assault. Oblivious to pain, he picked up a boulder and lifted it high. Stumbling toward Phil, he tried to crash it on the coach's head. Phil dodged the deadly stone and executed a hard blow to Wade's jaw. The power of the blow and the weight of the rock sent Wade stumbling backward over the precipice onto the jagged protrusions below. His scream filled the air.

Then silence. It was finished.

Phil bent over and placed his hands on his thighs, taking huge gulps of air. Maddie trotted to him in a limping run, her new canine follower close by.

"Phil, oh my God, Phil, are you all right?"

He straightened up slowly. "Yeah, I think so."

She threw herself into his arms. "I was so frightened. You could have been killed!"

His hands traveled up and down her body and then cupped the back of her head. "How about you? Are you hurt?"

She'd begun to tremble from post-trauma letdown. "I'm fine, really."

He looked deep into her eyes. "You're sure? How's our baby?"

A shock of electricity ran down her spine, but only a whisper issued from her throat. "You know."

"Oh, yeah, cupcake. See, I'm the guy that took that first quilt and that loser down there is the creep that took the second one."

She laid her forehead on his warm chest. "I know that now. Oh, Phil, this has been such a confusing night. Please, can we go home?"

Just then, Wade must have regained consciousness because he started cussing a blue streak and yelling that his leg was busted. Phil walked to the edge of the cliff and told him they would call for help.

Now with the excitement winding down, Maddie's legs turned to jelly and the familiar urge to burst into tears rose to the surface.

Phil returned to Maddie’s side. "Let's get out of here." They took about three steps down the hill when Maddie's legs gave out. She stumbled and nearly fell to her knees. In true he-man style, Phil lifted her off her feet and continued moving toward the mountain's secret passage. In the distance they could hear sirens coming closer. Phil had almost reached the cave when Reba came running from its mouth, her white dress appearing ghostly in the dim light.