The Pale Man Rises

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

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Charles Bell was glad to be getting home. It was depressing enough visiting Grace's relatives on a regular occasion, but add to that the morbid atmosphere of a funeral and you had a doubly miserable situation on your hands. He loved his wife dearly but the truth was he couldn't abide her family. But what could he say he had to attend her father's funeral? The old guy hadn't been in the ground two hours however before he was packing their clothes and hustling Grace away from there.

Soon thereafter he was heading out toward the interstate en-route home. All the while he was anxiously apologizing to his wife for their abrupt departure. She began bitching right off of course, as he expected she would, but he had to get back to work immediately he told her. They had been at her folk's place for four days he said and he was losing money. Being a self-employed man meant he couldn't keep his gas station closed for to long or he'd be in the red in no time.

She understood the pragmatism of this and at last let up on him about leaving so soon after the funeral. But now that they were close to home she'd remembered that it was Saturday and he'd also given her something else to clamor about, the big stoic bloodhound that was sitting on the backseat of their Chrysler. She kept dabbing at her nose with the tissues reminding him she was distressed by the odor of the beast. But now at last he was approaching the intersection of Alliance Road and so they only had another mile and a half to go before they would at last be home.

Little did they know that a scroungy outlaw biker was plopped on their living room couch waiting for what he felt was the appropriate time to head for the Alliance School and an encounter with the pale beast. And once he was there perhaps the chance to enlist in the service of what he felt for certain was pure unadulterated evil.

It was getting colder as the Chrysler came up to the intersection with Alliance Road. They could see the lawmen there monitoring the traffic, but found it quite curious they would be here at this hour.

"Looks like they've set up a speed trap." Charles said when he looked toward them. Then suddenly the big bloodhound began to bark. He was perched between them looking toward the Alliance School.

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Grace turned about in the seat. "Shut up–shut up dog!" She snapped. The beast looked at her and for an instant he was quiet. But soon he was looking out the window again and once more onto the school and once more he began barking. Charles looked back now himself and cautioned the dog to stop.

"Shut up Blue Boy, shut up!" He cautioned the animal. The dog stopped but then he began scrapping the door closest to him as if he wanted to exit the vehicle. This increasingly annoyed Grace and she urged her husband to let him out or get them home as quickly as he could so they could get rid of the animal.

"I'm not going to let him out right here in front of any policemen that's for sure." Charles said emphatically. "Then let's get home–we've got to get rid of this damn creature!" Grace implored him. "Alright, alright already!" Charles replied as they moved past the lawmen. 

 The lawmen recognized the car and its occupants and gave no notice to them except a hardy wave. Charles returned the wave amidst the noise of the dog that was once more barking like mad as he peered at the school and his wife's constant insistence that he get them home immediately.

They were soon at the gravel driveway of their home. Luther saw the light on the wall as he sat there in the dark waiting for the time he had decided to go to the school. He'd had the television on until it got rather dark, but had shut it off afterward just in case someone came by and looked at the house and saw a light on inside from the glare of the tube. If they knew the residents were not home then they'd know someone was in the house and might call the cops fearing the place was being robbed. The patrolman and the deputy who were just down the road may have come then and he'd have to shoot it out with them and he knew he'd lose such a confrontation.