A Small Town

Chapter Thirteen\ Walking

It was no later than one in the afternoon when Bax started walking. He figured he would reach the town line by no later than three. Primacy was, after all, a very small town. He passed the Church and the hotel at one-thirty and by two there were open fields on either side of the road. Three o'clock came and went, however, with no 'You are now leaving Primacy Ontario' sign.

Another hour and still no sign. He looked back and could still see the church steeple. By six it had turned suddenly dark, it as it does in November. There were no street lights out here, not that they would work without electricity anyway.

The moon was full overhead and a million stars filled the sky lighting his way. It would have been beautiful any other time, but Bax was exhausted. His feet were swollen and his shoes weren't made for walking. His legs ached and his head pounded. The headache had come on just after he left the town proper and seemed to get worse with every step.

Another hour and Bax stopped, doubled over with his hands on his knees. The muscles of his back were knotted and he twisted to the left and right to stretch them out. The throbbing in his brain had become a pulse. Beating sickly in time with his heart. He checked his watch, squinting at it by the moonlight. He had been walking for over six hours. Turning back he could still see the silhouette of the town. He pushed forward on his endless march. Each step now was a test of will.

He remembered car rides with his parents when he was little. Those trips had also seemed endless with nothing to do, the boring scenery passing by bored him to tears. The end of those drives had held little interest for young Jeffery Baxter. Six hours in his dad's old green Buick with a final destination of his Uncle's house way up north. Sometimes there was swimming in the lake but other times there was nothing. Just visiting with family and no T.V.

Throbbing, pulsing, flashes of light seemed to erupt in his brain. He saw Uncle Rob's face swim up out of his memory, the man had been dead for over a decade. Uncle Rob smiled but there was something wrong with his face. He was bleeding, a huge gash from his right temple to his left jaw. The smile was full of blood and half of his teeth were gone.

Bax fell, scraping his hand badly and that brought him back to reality. He looked around and realized he was facing the town. He had turned around and was headed back to Primacy.

"NO!" He yelled, his voice sounded hoarse and strangled.

He turned around and began walking out of town again. He looked at his watch again and it was almost ten o'clock. Nine hours on the road and he could still see the town behind him. How far had he walked back?

His head was agony now, the throbbing had turned into a spike of searing pain every few seconds, still in time with the beating of his heart.

For the entire walk, he had seen no one, not a single person or car had passed him, but now up ahead he saw headlights in the distance. The headlights got brighter and larger and Bax ran out into the road waving his arms. It was a red pickup and Bax fell to his knees as it skidded to a stop less than two feet from where he lay on the pavement.

He heard the door open and watched under the truck as two feet hit the ground. Bax had thought, prayed this was Teddy's truck but those were women's feet in high heels. She came around and stood in front of him. He looked at the legs so close to his face, and could see the weave of the stockings and beneath the material the tiny dots of stubble where she had shaved. He craned his neck upwards, catching a flash beneath her dress. His eyes moved up her body to her face. It was Sara Massie.

Bax rolled onto his back in relief and closed his eyes as she leaned down over him.

"Bax... Bax are you okay?"

He tried to answer but nothing came out, then he felt her cool hand on his forehead.

"My God you're burning up!" She said.

He opened his eyes and looked at her face. She was so beautiful. Why did he want to leave Primacy when Sara Massie was here?

"... Beautiful..." he whispered.

Sara smiled and opened her mouth to speak. Half of her teeth were missing and instead of words, what came out was blood. Are gurgling spew of blood and saliva vomited out onto his chest and hung from her lips in ropey threads.

Bax screamed. He was on his knees crawling back towards Primacy. There was no truck... no Sara Massie. His hands and knees were raw.

Bax stood again, turned around and took two steps before he lost consciousness.

-~o0O0o~-

He awoke in a strange room. Outside the window was darkness. Was it the same night or had he slept the day away? He wasn't in his hotel, this room was small and warm. Too warm if he was honest. He was sweating beneath a pile of woollen blankets with his head socketed between a pair of incredibly soft feather pillows.

With some effort he sat up, feeling the pain in his back, legs, feet, knees and hands. At least his headache was gone. He had no idea where he was. The room was full of trinkets and knick-knacks. Glass and china figurines, dreamcatchers, tiny vases of fake flowers and small picture frames. Every surface seemed to be covered with white doilies. An old ladies room, he decided.

A knock came at the door and he jerked his head towards it, imagining a bloody scarred face with missing teeth. It opened slowly and he pressed back into the pillows looking for a weapon.

It was Lisa... the barn owl... but her glasses were up on top of her head now spoiling that illusion. She smiled broadly at him with what looked like relief.

"You're awake! Thank goodness." She said.

"Lisa? Where am I? How did I get here?"

"You're in my spare room above the bookstore. I was going to try to get you back to the hotel but in the end, it was all I could do to get you up here..."

Bax shook his head to try to remember. "But where did..."

Lisa put up a hand to silence him. "Lie down Bax. You're sick, you had a bad fever. At about midnight you came banging on my door. I think you were hallucinating. Then you passed out."

Bax slumped back down onto the bed. "My cars gone..."

Lisa raised her eyebrows but said nothing.

Suddenly it all came out in a rush of words and he couldn't have stopped it if he had wanted to. "My cars gone... just gone... I don't know if Kout hid it or stole it but it's gone... and there's no phone... I tried to walk out but I can't... I keep having dreams... crazy dreams... and there's a woman down the well... and I can't leave ... and Teddy has no teeth... and Sara... and you... and... I have to leave..."

Lisa just sat and said nothing for a moment. She had a damp facecloth and she leaned over to place it on his forehead.

Finally, she spoke. "You're still hot, I'll get you some aspirin."

She started to turn but Bax grabbed her arm and pulled her back. His eyes were pleading as he whispered, "Please..."

She looked very serious and bit her lip, then her face changed as if she had made a decision.

"I don't think you can leave, Bax."

She said it flatly and without emotion. Said it as if it was a foregone conclusion that he could not change in any way.

His grip tightened on her wrist and he asked through gritted teeth, "What do you mean, Lisa?"