Free Rising Fears by Michaelbrent Collings Page A
Authors: Michaelbrent Collings
on Jason's desk, bringing the entirety of her forceful person to bear. "So you take a break from your investigating. Show the town you're here, and that they don't have to be so afraid. And go down to the corner store and help Ox get whatever is on his roof off of it. You're the Sheriff." She paused a moment, then in a quieter voice finished, "You're all we've got right now."
Jason stared at the meaningless words that he had noted for another second. At the dark computer screen. At Sean Rand's writing:
I wiL be FiRSt.
Then he nodded. "You're right, Hatty. This thing has me in knots."
She smiled then, for all the world looking like Jason was her favorite student once more, and had just treated her to a better answer than usual. "I know you're worried, Sheriff. And that's why we love you. But because we all love you, we need you to be here for us. All of us...not just the ones that are gone."
Jason nodded. He stood and went to the door, then stopped with his hand on the knob. "'More afraid than they usually are'?" he said.
"What was that, Sheriff?"
"You said people are more afraid than they 'usually' are." He swung back to stare at her. "I thought the whole point of living in a town like this one is that 'usually' no one is afraid."
Hatty snorted. "Small towns are all about fear, Sheriff. Either fear of leaving, or fear of whatever made you run here in the first place."
"And Ox is afraid of heights." Jason smiled impishly, unable to resist jabbing at his old teacher a bit. "And what are you afraid of, Miss Hatty?"
The old woman laughed, almost a cackle in the gloaming. "Just the dark, I guess. And my ever-more-saggy boobs."
Jason chuckled as well, then opened the door to go help Ox. Before he could leave, however, Hatty said, "Sheriff?" and he swung back to face her once more. "What were you working on?"
"My computer started to act...weird...and...." His voice drifted off. Hatty was holding up the papers on which he had taken notes when strange words started flashing on the computer. He could remember taking the notes clearly, though the words themselves were already fading from his memory.
But even though the words were fading, he knew he had written them. In spite of that fact, however, somehow the words he had written were all gone now. Instead, his page of notes had been replaced by a page on which only two words were written, over and over, in a dark, familiar scrawl:
wE'RE NeXt
Black crayon.
Jason couldn't even speak, utterly dumbfounded at the fear that clutched him in icy gauntlets as he looked at the words. "Sheriff?" Hatty said again, clearly trying to get through to him. When he didn't respond to a direct inquiry, she apparently decided to shift tactics, and said, "Well, never you mind telling me. Just go help Ox."
Jason nodded shakily and turned to go. Then he heard Hatty's parting words: "And let's hope his problems don't end up being just the first crack in the dam."
He felt himself jerk as though being shot, remembering the other words on Sean's papers, the drawings of the little Dutch boy.
Stunned, he left without another word.
And a moment later, he heard a click: Hatty turning on the light.
Scared of the dark.
***
Lenore pulled into the driveway of her small house on the outskirts of town. She looked at it, as she always did before entering. She did not pull into the carport: there were too many hiding places there, too many man-sized shadows that could hide...
( his breath on her, his hands on her, oh, God, his hands )
...anything.
She got out of the car, holding tight to the mace on her keychain, and went carefully to the door. Beside it was a sophisticated security keypad, one that she had had to special order from a store in Seattle. The shipping alone had cost almost a week's salary.
And it had been worth it.
The LED screen on the keypad glowed green, and Lenore took one last look around to make sure there was no one nearby before she switched her grip from mace
Jason stared at the meaningless words that he had noted for another second. At the dark computer screen. At Sean Rand's writing:
I wiL be FiRSt.
Then he nodded. "You're right, Hatty. This thing has me in knots."
She smiled then, for all the world looking like Jason was her favorite student once more, and had just treated her to a better answer than usual. "I know you're worried, Sheriff. And that's why we love you. But because we all love you, we need you to be here for us. All of us...not just the ones that are gone."
Jason nodded. He stood and went to the door, then stopped with his hand on the knob. "'More afraid than they usually are'?" he said.
"What was that, Sheriff?"
"You said people are more afraid than they 'usually' are." He swung back to stare at her. "I thought the whole point of living in a town like this one is that 'usually' no one is afraid."
Hatty snorted. "Small towns are all about fear, Sheriff. Either fear of leaving, or fear of whatever made you run here in the first place."
"And Ox is afraid of heights." Jason smiled impishly, unable to resist jabbing at his old teacher a bit. "And what are you afraid of, Miss Hatty?"
The old woman laughed, almost a cackle in the gloaming. "Just the dark, I guess. And my ever-more-saggy boobs."
Jason chuckled as well, then opened the door to go help Ox. Before he could leave, however, Hatty said, "Sheriff?" and he swung back to face her once more. "What were you working on?"
"My computer started to act...weird...and...." His voice drifted off. Hatty was holding up the papers on which he had taken notes when strange words started flashing on the computer. He could remember taking the notes clearly, though the words themselves were already fading from his memory.
But even though the words were fading, he knew he had written them. In spite of that fact, however, somehow the words he had written were all gone now. Instead, his page of notes had been replaced by a page on which only two words were written, over and over, in a dark, familiar scrawl:
wE'RE NeXt
Black crayon.
Jason couldn't even speak, utterly dumbfounded at the fear that clutched him in icy gauntlets as he looked at the words. "Sheriff?" Hatty said again, clearly trying to get through to him. When he didn't respond to a direct inquiry, she apparently decided to shift tactics, and said, "Well, never you mind telling me. Just go help Ox."
Jason nodded shakily and turned to go. Then he heard Hatty's parting words: "And let's hope his problems don't end up being just the first crack in the dam."
He felt himself jerk as though being shot, remembering the other words on Sean's papers, the drawings of the little Dutch boy.
Stunned, he left without another word.
And a moment later, he heard a click: Hatty turning on the light.
Scared of the dark.
***
Lenore pulled into the driveway of her small house on the outskirts of town. She looked at it, as she always did before entering. She did not pull into the carport: there were too many hiding places there, too many man-sized shadows that could hide...
( his breath on her, his hands on her, oh, God, his hands )
...anything.
She got out of the car, holding tight to the mace on her keychain, and went carefully to the door. Beside it was a sophisticated security keypad, one that she had had to special order from a store in Seattle. The shipping alone had cost almost a week's salary.
And it had been worth it.
The LED screen on the keypad glowed green, and Lenore took one last look around to make sure there was no one nearby before she switched her grip from mace