Out of the Darkness

112

Why did I have to make it so fucking complicated and fall for someone that literally lived in an alternate dimension or something?! The girl handed me my card, then passed me my coffee. I noticed her checking me out with her eyes and trying to make conversation, but I just wasn't in the mood. I thanked her for my coffee, and headed back home. Back home, so that I could prepare myself to help the ghost girl that I had fallen for. The few hours left before our appointment with Dream Guy, Sam and I gathered things that we thought we might need. Candles, crosses for protection, sage, and a few other odds and ends. I placed Anna's doll in the backseat with everything else, then sent up a silent prayer that this wouldn't end badly. "Sam, maybe I should go alone..." I suggested, when it was time. He rolled his eyes and pushed past me out the door. "Save it Colby. I'm not letting you do this alone. Now, shut up and get in the car," he said, grinning at me before he shut the car door. I climbed into the driver's side and sighed. "I'm serious. This could be dangerous. I don't want to be the reason that anything hap-" "Colby, shut up. Seriously, dude. I'm going. Me and you versus the world right? Now, let's go. This guy is weird, and with our luck, we'll get lost and be late. Come on!" He hit the dashboard and grinned at me, like we were just going on any other adventure. I smiled back, and thanked God for the day that I met Sam Golbach. "Okay," I said, putting the car in reverse. "But if anything happens, I'm telling Kat that this was your idea." I pulled out onto the road, with the sound of his laughter ringing in my ears. The ride took us a couple of hours, but it was fun. We sang along to the music that was blasting out of my speakers, talked about past adventures with old friends, and just had fun. "Dude, where are we?" I asked, peering out the windshield. I was following the directions, but it just didn't feel right. "Are we lost?" Sam asked, taking my phone down from it's holder, and zooming in on the map. "I don't think so? I've turned everywhere it told me too," I answered, noticing that the sun was starting to set. The terrain was empty, except for trees, and the occasional desert patch. "I feel like we should be seeing tumbleweeds blowing across the road or something," he replied. "This thing says we're on the right path and should be there within the hour." He sighed and looked out his window. "It's a little creepy out here with the sun going down." I nodded in agreement and kept my eyes on the road. After a few more moments of silence, I jumped when Sam yelled. "Hey! That's a gas station up there! Let's pull in, gas up, get some snacks and make sure we're on the right path." "Okay, okay," I said, laughing. When I pulled into the parking lot, which was really just dirt with a concrete slab where the fuel pumps were, I noticed how old fashioned the store looked. There was an actual screen door, over a very normal, very old wooden door. The building itself looked like a log cabin or something from a tv show of days gone past. The sign on top of the awning said "Big Tae's" but some of the letters were busted out so it only said "B g  ae." There was only one other vehicle in the area, parked on the side of the store. A rusted, brown pick up truck. At least, I think it was brown...maybe that was the rust? "Wow," Sam said, after I parked at the pump and we got out. The pump itself, was just as old as the store it seemed. Not digital, but the kind where the numbers rolled over as you pumped. "Yeah," I replied, staring at the store. It was just a store, but the sky was darkening every passing minute, and it looked forlorn in standing there all alone. Sam and I both just stood there for a minute, looking at the place, neither of us eager to take that first step. "Uh, guess we better hurry. It's getting darker," I said, motioning to the gloomy sky. He nodded, and took the first step. I followed, and felt a shiver go down my spine at the squeal that the old screen door let out when he pulled it open. "Who has a screen door on a store?" he muttered, shaking his head. The wooden entry door wouldn't open until Sam jiggled the knob and put a little more effort into his push. A small cow bell rang when it opened. At the counter sat an older lady with dark, weathered skin, hair as black as night. She looked up from her magazine when she heard the bell. "Welcome to Big Tae's. Let me know if I can help you with anything," she croaked. Her voice sounded like she had smoked a pack a day, or more, for the past 40 years. "Thank you," I murmured, and followed Sam over to the coolers. We both grabbed a Monster Energy drink and a big bottle of water, before we headed to the snacks. I could hear the lady behind the counter smacking her gum loudly, not even drowned out by the cranky, old air conditioning unit that jutted out of the window behind her. Once we had loaded up on some of the best and worst junk food, we took our haul to the counter. She didn't bat an eye at our selection of drinks, beef jerky, Cheetos, Little Debbie snack cakes that were probably disgusting, and a packet of Big League shredded chewing gum. Sam had picked it up to show me, because we both had it when we were little, but hadn't had it in years. When he put the gum back, I picked it back up to buy, impulsively. "This all for you fellas?" the old lady asked. "No ma'am. I'd like to get $20 where that red car is at the pumps," I replied.