Truth and Light

Chapter 21

We ate our peanut butter sandwiches and drake the milk in the car before throwing our trash away and Vanessa asked me questions about Illumination, trying to keep my mind off the upcoming meeting. It's not like she even needed to ask questions, she knew everything I knew.

Even though I worried about Josh, my mind constantly went back to Gabe, hoping he was okay. I had only been gone for a few hours and I missed him so much already, it felt like someone had surgically removed my arm, but forgot to give me anesthesia or sew me back up.

Finally, we made it to the gas station a few minutes before Amanda told me to be there. I exited the car after getting another promise from Vanessa. I walked around the gas station, searching for Amanda and Josh. No one was there.

I decided my next action would be the convenience store but searching inside revealed nothing. I walked back out again and impatiently waited for a car. I didn't have to wait long, within minutes she pulled up.

Amanda drove with her usual scowl on her face, but when she saw me, she smiled. I tried to see if Josh was in the car with her, but I didn't see anyone. Amanda pulled up to the pump next to the one I had parked near. Turning off the ignition she unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out.

"Good, you came," she smiled happily.

"I came, just like you wanted. Now let Josh go! Where is he?" I shouted at the deranged woman.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you? I can't let you go back to Gabe. He's mine. He loved me and then you came and ruined everything! You've had everything handed to you," Amanda whined in a shrill voice that felt like nails on a chalkboard to my ears.

"Please," I pleaded, "Where is Josh? He has nothing to do with this. Let him go, keep me and let him go."

"God you are so stupid! You don't really think I'd hurt Josh, do you? Of course, I didn't bring Josh, Gabe loves him," she explained.

"I made cookies for the kids in the teen wing and made Josh's extra special with some sleeping pills. Then when he fell asleep, I put him in my rooms," Amanda giggled manically.

I knew then I had walked into a trap. I put my hand against my stomach, my child needed me to stay safe.

"Gabe will never suspect that I had anything to do with you going missing. I'll go back and tell him you ran away. I've heard you tell him several times you weren't staying. He'll believe me," Amanda told me gleefully and I could see madness in her eyes now. I had no clue how she had hidden it so well from all of us.

"It doesn't really matter because he loves me, and with you gone he'll remember that and we'll get married," Amanda droned on. She was delusional and had the whole scenario planned in her head.

I could feel the shadows move in the corners of the gas station. The more anger and fear I felt, the more they grew until finally there was a loud popping sound behind me. I turned to see that the light bulbs from the gas station had all exploded. When I turned back around to tell Amanda to go to hell, Duncan stood in front of me.

Except it wasn't the Duncan I knew. Gone was the handsome but smarmy man I had known, and in his place was something I had never seen before. Duncan had gone through what looked like a painful metamorphosis. His skin was covered with the same inky black splotches that looked like tattoos like my uncle's. His eyes were now two pools of black, no other color remained.

Duncan stood hunched over and naked except for a black, fleshy backpack that had no straps. I studied the accessory, but I realized quickly it wasn't a backpack but retracted wings that were now attached permanently to his back. Since he was naked, I could see that his once small member was now thickly veined and hung huge and distorted. His erect penis pointed directly at me.