Two Souls: Into the Fire # 253

Warning … adult content

***

As morning dawned, Steve and Ghost were awakened by a knocking on the motel room’s door. The policeman from the night before was there.

“We caught the vandal,” he said. “He’s in lock-up. We need to know if you are going to press charges, because yours isn’t the only cars he broke into last night. The other victims have already made their statements, and charges have been filed, already,” the cop explained.

“So, he’s already going to be getting charged?” Steve asked.

The cop nodded.

“Okay, then…guess we won’t. Nothing was stolen, and the insurance will cover the cost of the window repair. We just want to get going. We have a long way yet to go.”

“Very well,” the policeman said. “Good luck, and have a safe journey.”

Steve went back into the room. Ghost was still trying to wake up. “I’m going to go check on Linda, and I’ll bring back coffee,” he said.

“Bring me a big one,” Ghost said, sitting up, running his hands through his tangled hair.

Steve left, going next door to Linda and the kid’s room, and knocked. She opened it, then went back to getting Stevie and Mandy dressed.

“How’s everything over here?” Steve asked.

“Fine, and I just got off the phone with a repair shop,” Linda said. “They’ll be able to fix the window in about an hour.”

Steve nodded. “Good. I’m going to go get us all some coffee, and donuts, then we can go on over there,” Steve said.

“Oh, get the kids some milk, too,” Linda said.

“Right…be back in a few minutes.” He walked down the block to a convenience store.

Linda finished getting the kids ready for the day, and by then, Steve was back. They all went over to Steve and Ghost’s room to eat. Ghost was just finishing a shower, so he grabbed his coffee. They all sat there, watching the TV for a few minutes. The kids were watching some early morning cartoons.

“Here’s the plan, y’all,” Steve said. “We get the car fixed, then head on out of here.”

Linda nodded. “The sooner the better.” She looked over at Ghost, who was propped up on the bed pillows. “Ghost…would you want to stay here with the kiddos…keep them occupied, while we’re gone?”

“Sure, if you want me to…I’ll watch them,” Ghost said.

“Yes, that would be best. I think they’ll probably just keep watching TV, and it shouldn’t take long at the repair shop,” Linda said.

“Okay, we’ll be fine, don’t worry.” He did pick up a small hint of concern from Linda, though.

She smiled. “Yeah, I always worry a bit, but I know you can handle it, Ghost.” She and Steve finished their coffee, then left to get the broken car window repaired. The drive to the place was short, and they got right in.

Ghost got out his journal and wrote in it, while the kids flipped the TV channels.

“Where we going next?” Stevie asked.

“Umm…down the highway and into Texas, I think,” Ghost said.

“Oh, that’s cool. Will we see some cowboys and Indians and horses?” Stevie asked.

Ghost shrugged. “I don’t know…maybe. I’ve never been there, so we will just get to see what we see.”

“See what we see…see what we see…” Mandy said, in a squeaky voice, over and over, until Stevie pushed her off the bed.

“Stop saying that,” he said. He looked at Ghost. “I know…why don’t you use your super-secret powers to see what we’ll see, Ghost.”

“My what?” Ghost asked.

“You know…when you see things, like a dream. I heard Uncle Steve say you can see things nobody else can…so do it…do it now…please?” Stevie begged.

“Maybe I shouldn’t,” Ghost said. He was surprised that Stevie knew about his psychic abilities.

“Oh, please…tell me what we’ll see in Texas,” Steve kept on.

Sighing, Ghost thought about it a minute. He knew he could just pretend, and talk about horses or something.

“Okay, I’ll try…give me a minute…and be quiet.” Ghost said, and closed his eyes, concentrating. Stevie watched intently. Even Mandy was keeping quiet for a change.

“What’cha see?” Stevie whispered.

“Mmm…just the highway, so far,” Ghost said. “There’s open spaces, fields, a little town, with a tall tower…it holds water, I think…” Keeping his eyes closed, he continued to tell the kids what he was seeing. “Well, I see us stopping to eat at a little diner. There’s just regular people in there, but…wait…two guys come in, and I’m not sure, but they might be cowboys…”

“Yay…cowboys,” Stevie hollered. “What do they do?”

“Hang on…hang on…they have on cowboy boots, and hats, but no guns, and they drove up in a pick-up truck…not a horse…but on the back of their truck is a big long trailer, and…there’s horses in there.” He opened his eyes, to see Stevie all smiles. “Well, that’s what I think we’ll see, but we’ll have to just see if it happens.” Ghost said.

“Yeah, I can’t wait,” Stevie said.

“I can’t wait,” Mandy yelled.

They hopped off the bed, and started jumping around the room, pretending to ride horses. Ghost grinned, as he watched them. Playing with the kids was fun. He continued to write, but something was nagging at his thoughts, just beyond reach. If he tried to bring it to his conscious mind, it would fade away. All he could tell, so far, was that there was some kind of trouble up ahead, as they drove east. He wrote what he could about it, in his journal, then tried drawing pictures of Mandy and Stevie. They had settled down a bit, by now, and were coloring pictures, as they sat on the floor. He enjoyed listening to their kid’s conversation. After a few minutes, Mandy came over to show him what she drew.

“Look, Ghost, look at my picture.” She handed her paper to him.

“Oh, that’s really good, Mandy,” Ghost said. And, it was. He could see she had artistic talent, even at her young age.

“It’s a picture of where you live, Ghost…you and Uncle Steve. See…here’s the front door, and the porch,” she continued, pointing out places on the page.

Ghost smiled. “You know what? This is just what our house looks like. How did you know?”

“Because Mama told us what it looked like,” Mandy said. “She was at your house one time.”

“Hey, yes she was,” Ghost said. “I’ll be glad to be home, again, and I’ll show you around, ok?”

Mandy nodded. “Mmm-hmm, I want to see your house. I think it’s a magic house.”

“Magic?”

“Yeah, ’cause you’re magic,” she said.

He smiled. “Who told you that?”

“Nobody, I just know it. You look magic, and tell good stories,” she laughed.

“Oh…well, guess that makes me magic, then,” Ghost said, and laughed, too.

“Can I braid your hair, again?” she asked.

Ghost nodded. “Sure, go ahead.”

She fished around in her little purse, and brought out a brush. She hummed a song, while she braided his hair.

“You sing good, Mandy, just like your Uncle Steve,” Ghost said.

“Really?”

“Yes, really…keep going, maybe you can sing with us on stage, someday.” They continued this awhile, as he finished his drawing of Stevie. He was wondering when Steve and Linda would be back, and then, they were there.

“Mama,” Mandy hollered, when she came in the door. She ran to hug her.

“Hey, sweetie, did y’all have fun?” Linda asked.

“Yeah, and we colored pictures, and Ghost told us stories.”

“Oh, looks like you fixed his hair, too,” Linda said, and smiled.

“Everything okay,” Steve asked.

“Yeah, we’re good,” Ghost said. “We had a good time. Is the window fixed?”

“It is…and we found out that the punk who did it is going to jail, too. This wasn’t the first time he’d been in trouble,” Steve said. He reached over and flipped a few of Ghost’s braids. “Mandy do this?”

“Uh-huh…just now got it done.”

Steve smiled. “You know you can take these out, anytime.”

“I know, but I’m gonna leave them awhile. I don’t mind,” Ghost said.

“Suit yourself,” Steve said. “So, y’all ready to hit the road again?”

***

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Next part coming soon!

***

Thanks for visiting! Peace

© 2019 BS

***

This is a work of “fan fiction” based on the novel, “Lost Souls” by Poppy Z. Brite. All credit for the original characters, places, and some backstory mentions, belong to Ms. Brite and her publishing affiliates. Only newly introduced characters, places, and original elements of this story are entirely from my imagination. Character descriptions are a blend of the original book descriptions and my interpretation of them.

Two Souls: Into the Fire # 252

Warning … adult content

***

Steve found a radio station that came in good, and Ghost wrote in his journal, as they continued their way down I-40 toward home. Missing Mile was still so far away, though, but they were making good time on the road now. There were increasing signs of trees, as they were coming out of the desert lands, and getting closer to the Carson National Forest, in New Mexico. They were happy to see mountains again. It reminded them of home.

Steve was getting tired of driving, after awhile, and he yawned. It was growing dark, but there were still around forty miles yet, until the next town, where they planned on spending the night. Ghost had fallen asleep a little while ago, his journal still open, with the marker ink soaking into the page.

Remembering Ghost’s UFO stories, Steve kept scanning the darkening sky for one. Finally, they approached the town of Tucumcari, and Steve reached over to wake Ghost up.

“Hey, we’re almost there…wake up.”

“Are we getting out?” Ghost asked.

“Yeah, help me look for a motel sign,” Steve said, and in a few minutes they did spot one, and he pulled into the parking lot. Linda was close behind them in her van.

“I’ll go in and get a couple of rooms,” Steve said. When he returned, they drove around, and were able to be right in front of their rooms. They began unloading a few essentials that they’d need for overnight. Linda, Stevie and Mandy went inside theirs, to get ready for bed. She settled the kids and herself onto the bed, watching the TV until they all fell asleep.

Steve and Ghost did the same in their room. Ghost took a shower, then climbed into bed. Steve was next, and as Ghost listened and smiled, as he heard Steve singing. Steve usually didn’t think he had a good singing voice, but Ghost liked hearing him.

“Was that the new song you’ve been working on?” Ghost asked, when Steve came back into the room.

“Yeah…you could hear me?”

“It sounded good. I want to hear some more,” Ghost said.

“Okay, let me get my guitar, then you can hear what I’ve got so far.” He sat on the edge of the bed, and played and sang the words. It wasn’t finished, but the theme of it was about traveling on the road in the desert, including moonlight, UFOs and the both of them.”

“I love it already,” Ghost said.

Steve shrugged. “Really? The words just sorta came to me, and then I just played some notes I was thinking of. I think it goes together. Do you?”

“Yes, it’s kinda eerie, too…I like that sound,” Ghost said. “We’ll have to record it for our next CD. I need to do some, too.”

Steve laughed, and agreed. “We’ve been so busy lately, but we’ll be back to normal real soon. We’ll get back to our songs and gigs again.” Then, yawning, he put the guitar down. “I’m beat…I’ve gotta get some sleep. You can keep watching TV, if you want to. It won’t bother me.”

“Well,  since I slept some already today I will since I’m kinda awake now,” Ghost said. “I’ll turn it down low, though.”

Steve lay down, and was out in no time. Ghost got his back-pack, and found a half package of peanut butter crackers, and a bottle of water. He finished writing what he’d started earlier, in his journal. On the TV, there was an old black and white, scary movie, so he watched most of that, then went outside for a few minutes.

Looking up into the night sky, the stars seemed closer, and brighter, here in the mountain atmosphere. He figured he wouldn’t really know what to do if he actually saw a UFO…probably wave at it, or something just as silly. He giggled at the thought. In a few more minutes, he went back inside, having not seen one.

Getting into the bed with Steve, he pulled up the covers, snuggling into the warmth, after being chilled from the night air. Steve stirred, coming half-awake.

“Did ya see any?” he asked.

“No, but I looked,” Ghost said.

“Well, maybe tomorrow then,” Steve said. They both fell asleep.

~

Some time later, before dawn, there was a loud banging noise outside. Steve jerked awake, disoriented in the dark, unfamiliar room. The only light was from the neon motel sign.

“Ghost…did you hear that?” Steve shook Ghost awake. “Was that noise real, or was I dreaming it?”

The sound of breaking glass, made them both to sit straight up in the bed.

“That was real,” Ghost said, grabbing hold of Steve. “What is it?”

Steve went to the window. “Aww, shit…call 911…some asshole just broke into our cars,” he yelled. He leapt over to the door, and yanked it open. He saw a figure running away into the darkness.

Without thinking, Steve ran after the person, hollering curses at him. Ghost had found the phone, and actually remembered the letters for 911, and was now talking to the dispatcher.

“Yeah, they broke into our car and the U-Haul,” he told them. “Steve is chasing them, and we’re at a motel. Huh? …I don’t know the address or the name…just a minute, I’ll go see.” He ran outside to look for the motel sign. “It’s the Road Runner Motel, and it says, free cable TV, and pool…” he read. He stayed on the line, until he heard sirens coming down the street. “I hear them coming now,” he said, “Thank you.”

He looked around for Steve, and saw him walking back. “Did you catch him?” Ghost asked.

“Naw, I almost did, but he got away,” Steve said, shaking his head. “Those cops for us?”

“Uh-huh…go tell them.”

Steve went to talk to the police, telling them what had happened, and they all went over to look at the damage to the van and U-Haul. Linda had come out of her room, to see what was going on, along with several other motel guest. The motel manager was there, too. Assessing the damage, they found the U-Haul’s back loading door had been dented, and the lock cut, but evidently the thief hadn’t been able to get in. Linda’s car, though, had a window broken out, and the door was standing open. Things were scattered out on the pavement…mostly the kid’s toys. Taking the description of the vandal for their report, the police then left, saying they’d be in touch, when they found the person.

Linda couldn’t tell if anything had been taken, but there wasn’t much of value in the van, anyway. But now, everything was covered in shattered glass. She began picking up items and shaking them off. “Why…why me…why now?” she kept muttering to herself.

There wasn’t much they could do about the damage, until morning, and insurance would cover the repairs to the window. The manager brought out a sheet of clear plastic to tape over the window for now. Linda thanked him, and he mentioned a window repair place in town.

“I don’t think  he’ll be coming back tonight, but if you and the kids want to stay in our room, you can,” Steve said.

“Thanks, Steve, I’ll be fine, and the kids are still asleep. We’ll just stay in our room.” She looked at him. “I can’t believe you chased after him…and you’re in just your underwear,” she said, and laughed. “I was scared he might have a gun, or something.”

“I know, me too,” Steve said. “Probably wasn’t the smart thing to do, running after him like that. Well, if you’re sure y’all will be ok over there, I’m going back to bed for awhile.”

“Me too, Steve. We’ll get the window fixed, then I want to get going again,” Linda said.

~

Steve paced around the motel room, too agitated to try and go back to sleep. Ghost had gotten back in bed, and was watching Steve go back and forth.

“I do, too” Ghost said.

Steve looked over at him. “Huh? You do too, what?”

“Want to get out of this state. That’s what you were thinking, wasn’t it?” Ghost asked.

“Oh, yeah…it was.”

“I heard you, and I know why…’cause just bad stuff has happened, ever since we got here, and maybe more bad stuff is gonna happen.”

Steve nodded. “Yeah, I mean, New Mexico is cool and all, but just too weird for me, I guess. I know you wanted to see a UFO, but with our luck, if we did, it’d probably suck us up, and we’d never be seen again.”

Nodding, Ghost said, “It’d disappear us, huh?”

“Yep, or take us underground in those tunnels I heard about.”

“Ooo, I don’t wanna go in no tunnels, Steve,” Ghost said. “But, we could go in that big ‘ol cave, though, ’cause other people would be there…not just aliens. That would be okay.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but we’re not gonna do either one…we’re getting the hell outta here as soon as we can, in the morning.” He took another look out the window, then came and got into the bed. Slipping under the covers, he snuggled close to Ghost.

“I just really want to be home, Steve,” Ghost said.

“Me too, this road trip adventure is just a bit too much…” Steve said, and Ghost finished, saying, “adventure…”

“Mm-hmm,” Steve said, right up next to Ghost’s ear.

Ghost turned toward Steve, running his hand lightly over Steve’s face. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Steve said. They kissed and fell asleep holding each other close.

***

***

Next part coming soon!

***

Thanks for visiting! Peace

© 2019 BS

***

This is a work of “fan fiction” based on the novel, “Lost Souls” by Poppy Z. Brite. All credit for the original characters, places, and some backstory mentions, belong to Ms. Brite and her publishing affiliates. Only newly introduced characters, places, and original elements of this story are entirely from my imagination. Character descriptions are a blend of the original book descriptions and my interpretation of them.