A Small Town

Chapter Twenty-Three\ Highway to Hell

Teddy turned the ignition key and AC/DC's Highway to Hell blared out of the pick-up trucks speakers, jarring them both. How appropriate Bax thought as Teddy snapped off the radio and pulled out of the church parking lot and onto Nipissing Road, fishtailing slightly on the snow-covered pavement. Once the vehicle straightened out he floored the accelerator and Bax was pushed back into his seat by the force of big eight cylinder engine.

"Gee Bax, I never would have took her out there, but ssshe was sssure thatsss where you went. I ssshoulda gone in with her..." Teddy said, apologetically.

Bax's fingers dug into the armrest, holding on as they flew down the two-lane road at high speed. He knew he should try to make Teddy feel better but there would be time for that later.

"How long has she been out there?" He asked through clenched teeth as the truck slewed to one side and Teddy steered through the skid and out onto the centre of the road barely in control.

Teddy didn't turn to look at him, his eyes were fixed on the road ahead. "Couldn't be more than forty-five minutes," he said, then added. "It's cold but she was dressed for it...."

"I'm not worried about the cold," Bax's voice was little more than a whisper.

"Then what are you worried about?"

"Agathe LeTourneau..." Bax almost spat the name.

Teddy did turn to glance at him now looking puzzled. "Who?"

Bax was surprised at this. "You mean you don't know about the LeTourneau Witch?" That seemed unlikely unless Teddy had spent his life in Primacy under a rock. Of course, there was always the chance that he had shied away from people when he was younger. With the facial scar, missing teeth and lisp he might have avoided contact until he was older. Bax wondered, not for the first time, what had happened to Teddy and when it had occurred. If it had happened when he was an infant perhaps his parents had kept him locked away. Bax had read similar stories, people can be such bastards.

Teddy snorted, "Oh, the witch... but that's just a fairytale."

Bax shook his head emphatically. "A fairytale can't take an entire town prisoner for decades..."

The snow had started falling again in big fat flakes that wafted down from the steel grey sky like huge white feathers. They crashed silently onto the windscreen and Teddy flicked the wipers on with a puzzled look on his face.

"Prisssoner, what are you talkin' 'bout Baxth?" He lisped hard on the name and a small fleck of spittle ejecting from his mouth and landed on his chin. Teddy wiped it away with the back of his hand still not taking his eyes off of the road.

Bax stared at him, forgetting about the treacherous conditions. "You know damn well no one can leave this town, Teddy! This place is a trap and it all leads back to Agathe LeTourneau. I've been here less than two weeks and I've figured that much out!"

Teddy shrank away from him. "Easy Bax... I don't know what you mean. People leave town all the time. Heck, I saw the mail truck come through yesterday. He dropped off and drove out just like always."

"Did he get out of his truck... or did he just toss the mail off of the back?"

"I dunno... what'sss the differenssssh?" Bax asked.

"I think it makes a big difference, Teddy. When I got here, old Bob Kout didn't seem to want me to get out of my car. I think if I'd stayed in my car... not come in direct contact with this place... I wouldn't be trapped... but I did, and I am." Hearing himself say it out loud made Bax realize just how ludicrous it sounded. Was it crazy? Was he losing his mind?

For a second Teddy said nothing. Bax figured Teddy was trying to find a nice way of telling him he was nuts, but finally, he simply said, "Old Bob's kind of a weird guy, Bax... maybe he was just..."

Bax cut him off. "I know how this sounds Teddy, but trust me there is something going on here, and Agathe LeTourneau is the key!" His voice had risen and he knew he sounded crazed but there was nothing he could do about it.

Teddy nodded, "Okay, Bax, okay..."

Bax sighed and slumped back in his seat and released his death grip on the armrest. He could clearly see the semi-circle indents his fingernails had cut into the vinyl and thought... Am I fucking losing it?

Teddy drove the rest of the way in silence and Bax wanted to apologize, but for what? He had simply told the truth, a truth that Teddy had to know himself.

They had taken a right off of the main road and headed north for almost thirty minutes before the forest surrounded them on both sides. Teddy slowed the truck at a seemingly random spot and pulled halfway into the ditch. Bax looked into the forest and could just make out a set of footprints. If not for the overhanging branches above the snow would have all but erased them. As it was they were little more than indistinct ruts that angled west into the trees. How the Hell did he know where to stop? There was probably a path but Bax would not have been able to pick it out. He jumped out of the Truck and turned back to Teddy.

"Okay, I'm gonna go after her," Bax said, pulling his hood up and zipping the front of his coat as high as it would go. "You go and get the police chief...whats-his-name... Peters. Just tell him she may be lost in the woods that's enough."

Teddy looked concerned. "You sure you don't want me to go with you, Bax? Those woods are deep..."

He shook his head. "I'll be fine, I can follow her footprints. You get the chief and meet us here with blankets and first aid just in case."

"Okay..." said Teddy still looking unsure.

Bax turned not waiting to see if the man would do as he had been told. There wasn't time to mess around, he had to find Lisa before...

Before what? He wondered. Before Agathe LeTourneau could get her... before she froze to death... yes, both of those and maybe something worse.

Shit!