Eyes Ever to the Sky (A Sci Fi Romance) (The Sky Trilogy) (16 page)

How much had she heard?

CHAPTER TWE
NTY-ONE — HUGH

Thursday 12:51 p.m.

Hugh pressed his back to the tree trunk, feeling the rough bark beneath his t-shirt, as he skimmed the headlines fluttering in his hand.
Please don't let there be a sketch of my face above the word 'Wanted'. Please.

He peered at the color image on the front page. There, between the columns and bold black headlines, was a picture of his crater and, next to it, two others.

CRATER INVESTIGATION CONTINUED AS OFFICIALS SHUT DOWN AUBURN OAKS PARK

July 9th, 2012

After three craters appeared in Auburn Oaks Dog Park and the surrounding forest, officials from Oakland County Parks have shut the park down. The three craters, each measuring over twenty feet in diameter, have appeared over the last three days. Neighbors of the park say they heard loud explosions and saw a comet-like streak in the sky. One resident, Nathaniel Dugget, in the Bailey Ridge Subdivision said he saw the third celestial event two nights ago.

“I was standing on my porch when I saw a bright light cut through the sky. Then the ground shook as the meteor smacked into the trees behind my house. It felt like the whole earth was shaking,” stated Dugget, 54.

Park officials have neither confirmed, nor denied the craters are caused by meteor activity, though several eye witnesses claim to have seen a bright streak in the sky just prior to the discovery of the craters.

Harvey Natchetson, chief parks operator, has closed the park to visitors until they can repair the damage. That effort, however, is being delayed by an investigatory team of the federal agents who arrived yesterday evening. The team of specialists was unavailable for comment, but could be seen inspecting the crater and the surrounding damage. Natchetson is unable to determine when the park will be reopened, but stated it could take weeks.

Hugh let the paper slip into his lap. Three craters. Federal investigations. A cold sweat sprouted along his back. How were there three craters? There’d been his and the one he’d seen when the beast arrived, but now another one? Was it another beast like the one he’d seen in the woods? Oh God. The dead man in the Quick E Mart was only the start of what that thing could do. And if there were two? He shuddered.

Or, could it be someone like him? Someone who was normal except for a few powers? Hugh shook his head. Who was he kidding? He was no more normal than the beast, but at least he wasn’t tearing people’s throats out. That was something.

Hugh scanned the paper again for more news about the murders. There had been the man in the gas station store, Joseph Bordeau, 67. The paper also listed a Mackenzie Fisher, a homeless man murdered in similar fashion only twelve hours from the first. And now a school parking lot attendant, John Harson, had been found in his home with his neck torn from jaw to collarbone. They could find no sign of any other disturbance or stolen goods in the home.

Hugh shook his head and dropped the paper. He stared through the tree trunks where, across the road, he could see the faint outline of the ice cream shop. This morning he'd bolted out of Cece's window the moment he'd heard her mother put the key in the front door. He'd spent the morning in the woods, as near as he could be to her. Hugh sighed and slid down to the ground. Eight hours until she got off work. An eternity.

The forest sounds were soothing. Above, birds twittered and insects droned. The breeze stirred the trees. After a while, his head dipped forward. Sleep would help pass the time. 

He became aware of a scent that tugged on his brain. Something foreign and animal. He blinked out of his slumber, craning the kinks out of his neck. When his nose fully caught the scent, his head snapped up, adrenaline pumping through him. The last time he'd smelled it was in the convenience store. The thing from the crater. Hugh scrambled to his feet. It was close. He stared across the road to the ice cream shop. Images of Cece torn apart just like the clerk sent his heart thumping. He wouldn't let it get anywhere near her.

A raw ferocity built in his gut, pushing down any fear. Just the thought of the beast sniffing around his girl drove a rage into his brain that compelled him onto his feet. He’d work the edges of the woods and circle back. He took off running so fast the dry leaves swirled up in his wake.

The wind lashed at his face, forcing tears from his squinted eyes, but Hugh was built for speed. Trees whipped by in green blurs. Birds arrowed out of the branches around him, squawking as they tore away. He hurdled over a fallen tree trunk and landed with barely a sound. His lungs felt like hot air balloons, able to hold endless oxygen. Every sense was heightened, fresh, raw. He smelled a campfire ten miles off, heard the rush of cars on a freeway twenty miles east. He knifed through the greenery, the light and shadow dappling his skin.

Hugh skidded to a stop, his feet digging deep grooves into the pine carpet. He sniffed, catching the scent, something animal and musky. His eyes tracked the shadowed landscape. He turned his head and...there. A puff of air brought the deep feral smell flooding into his nose. All his arm hairs stood. His heart beat faster. It was here. Close.

He peered into the semi-darkness. Here the pines and maples were ancient columns thrust halfway to the moon. Little light made its way down.
Like a scene out of a horror movie
, Hugh thought and shivered. The fear was back. Maybe he should just turn and go. 

In the distance he spotted something foreign nestled between tree trunks—a large white structure half as big as Cece's trailer, dotted with rust and vines. As he stepped closer, careful to stay downwind, he could make out a seventies style R.V. trailer. Rectangular windows, their glass long since shattered and littering the forest floor, looked into a dark interior. The tires were strips of flattened leather circling bent hubcaps. A ladder missing several rungs ran up the back and over the top. One step closer and he could see a large olive green
V.W.
emblem peeking through the vines. The R.V. was likely a hunter's hangout, long forgotten. The whole thing looked like it hadn't been touched in years.

But it has,
Hugh thought.
This is where that thing's been staying.
His breath caught in his throat at the thought. It could be in there right now, all teeth and claws. He'd be torn to pieces.

Cece. This thing had been within minutes of her workplace. What was to stop it from going back for her? He stalked closer, not even breathing. He was probably the only person strong enough to stop it. He had to try, or how would he sleep at night?

Hugh stepped to the open doorway and peered in. A rancid smell greeted him: animal odors, decay and rust. His eyes zeroed in. Near the front, warped cabinet doors dangled eschew on their battered hinges. The floor was littered with trash, dirt and— what were those white things— bones? Small animal bones were scattered throughout the entryway and snaked back into the darkness. A skull with a matted hunk of fur on it looked up from the floor. A dead raccoon or dog? Hugh swallowed hard. 
I can't leave
, he thought.
I have to try to stop this thing before it kills again.
In his mind he saw the clerk with his throat ripped open. But, what if that happened to hi—

Movement inside the trailer. Hugh tensed, scanning the blackness. Was that a shape in the back? Was it in there? Fear bounded in his chest. Willing himself forward, he took one step. “Hello?”

It tore out of the darkness.

The thing slammed into him like a freight train. Hugh fell backward, out of the trailer, all his breath knocked away. Leaves and dirt flew up around him. His head smacked the ground hard enough to send a burst of stars shooting across his vision.

A brown blur sailed over him. He caught a glimpse of one giant foot, each toe armed with three inch claws.

I'm dead!
he thought. He tried to stand, scrambling up, sucking in air. His head spun, but he didn't have time to recover. He had to fight now.

Only… The beast was gone.

CHAPTER TWEN
TY-TWO — CECE

Thursday 5:45 p.m.

Travis’s eyes flicked between Cece and Michelle. He gulped and offered up a shrug. “Anybody wanna volunteer to go home?”

Cece threw a glance at Michelle. Her arms were crossed over her push-up bra like a barricade.

“Uh uh. No way,” Michelle said, shaking her ponytail back and forth. “Make this one go home,” she said, thumbing towards Cece without looking at her. “The sooner I can pay off the money I owe my dad, the sooner I can quit this lame ass job.”

Cece leaned her back against one of the prep counters. She needed to check on Mama. Lord knew what kind of trouble she was getting into right now. But she needed the money, too. Every dollar mattered and the sooner they could get those pills, the faster Mama would go back to normal. At least that's what she kept telling herself.

Cece locked eyes with Travis. “Couldn’t we all stay?”

Travis shook his head sadly. “Lizzy called and when she heard we hadn't had a customer in an hour, she told me to cut back to two.” Travis looked over his shoulder at the empty order window. “Guess everybody’s home with their doors locked.”

Cece swallowed hard. Just another reason she should be home instead of here getting dirty looks from Michelle. Who knew if Mama had the sense to lock the doors and not answer for strangers?

“
I’ll go.” Cece said, pushing off the counter. “You and Michelle can have the closing shift.”

Michelle let her mouth slink up in a triumphant smirk. Travis nodded. “Cool. Thanks, C. Way to take one for the team.”

Cece nodded, grabbed her stuff from the cubby and headed out the door. She got to the back when she felt a hand on her arm. She whirled around. 

Travis dropped his hand, a blush blossoming in his cheeks. “Hey, I…uh…Who’s gonna walk you home? You shouldn’t go by yourself. I mean, not with that psycho dude on the loose.” He pushed a hand through this dark blond hair.

Cece gave him a kind smile. “I’ll be okay. It’s broad daylight and my house is only a five minute ride from here.” She pointed outside to her bike.

Travis twisted the hairs on his chin beard. “Still, though.”

A voice answered behind them. “I’ll walk her.”

In the alleyway, halfway between the dumpster and the front door, Hugh waited. In the bright sunshine, Cece thought he looked like a bronzed statue, all tan and muscles and sun-kissed hair. His cheeks were flushed as if he’d been running and there was a twig in his hair. Where had he been all day? She smiled at him. Travis took a step forward.

“Who’re you, dude?” He crossed his arms over his narrow chest and stood to his full height.

“
Hugh.” He stepped forward and offered his hand to shake.

Travis stared at it. “Hugh who? Cece, you know this dude?”

Cece nodded. “Travis, this is my…uh…cousin. Hugh’s from outta town. Just got in yesterday from Lansing.”

“
Lansing, huh?” Travis narrowed his eyes. He still didn’t reach to shake Hugh’s hand. “He been in town two days? Weird.” He stared at Hugh, evaluating him.

Cece pressed on a smile. “I've known Hugh since I was a little kid. I’ll be fine. Really.”

Travis furrowed his brow, but took a step back into the ice cream shop. “If you’re sure. I mean, I could always run you home.”

“
And leave Michelle on her lonesome? Nah, it’s fine. Hugh will walk me. Like I said, it’s five minutes.”

Travis nodded. “Alright then.” He gave Hugh one last suspicious look. “Later, Hubert.”

Hugh just nodded. When Travis was gone, his eyes fell on Cece.

She looked into his sun-kissed face, smiling. “How did you know when I’d get off?”

Hugh shrugged, his broad shoulders tightening the t-shirt she'd given him. “I didn’t. I’ve been waiting in the alley for a while.”

Cece widened her eyes. “You have? Why?”

Hugh shrugged, a blush forming on his cheeks. “Thought I’d make sure you were safe.” 

Her mind told her she should be wary, yet her body pulsed with a strange, rhythmic heat and she wondered what kind of fantastic shade of red she was turning. She dropped her eyes to the ground, then drew them up slowly to his face.

“What?” he asked, studying her. “Did I do something wrong?”

She shook her head. “No. Somehow you do everything right.”

Now it was his turn to sheepishly rub the back of his neck. “So, can I walk you?”

Cece nodded and led him around to collect her bike. They walked past Lizzy’s to the little strip mall next door. Most windows were already dark, odd since it was only six on a Thursday. They rounded onto Sisson Street and passed the Shell Gas Station with the droopy pumps and the ragged-looking man behind the cash register. Cece locked eyes with him through the glass window and dropped her gaze. He reminded her too much of the story Hugh had told about the dead clerk.