Free Heckel Casey by James Hoch Page A

night. I could barely see Sela and Tempest in front of me. I talked softly to Hope. By now, I figured fear would have made a return engagement, but for some odd reason, I wasn't afraid. Sela, the horses and Jerky gave me strength.
    A warm hand slowly grabbed mine and squeezed gently. Sela stood next to me. "We'll make it," she whispered.
    An earsplitting crash interrupted the fierce wind as a hailstone the size of a large softball smashed through one of the windows over the sink area. It missed Jerky by an inch. The cat jumped into my arms. I set her on top of Hope and she immediately calmed down. I put my arm around Sela. More hailstones found their way into the windows, shattering the glass. The sound reverberated around the small room. We moved the horses farther away from the windows. I looked up to see large dents appearing on the metal roof.
    "I hope this roof holds up," Sela yelled over the roar of the storm and the pelting ice balls.
    I nodded my head and held her hand tighter. The storm intensified. Large dents, one after the other, formed in the metal roof. I could see a portion of the roof begin to pull away from the concrete walls. Bolts holding down the metal roof vibrated as though they were doing a maniacal dance; they started to pull out.
    My temper rose to the point that it pushed aside the fear. An inner force compelled me to walk to the door. As if in a trance, I calmly handed Sela Hope's reins.
    "Heckel, what are you doing?" Sela screamed.
    I put my head down and kicked the door open. Stepping outside, I was immediately pelted with hailstones and small branches. The rest-stop area was littered with tree limbs, debris and puddles of water. The wind attacked me further, trying to push me over.
    My insides seethed with a power that went beyond anger or fear. It was an emotion or something I had never encountered before. Sela, standing at the doorway, continued to yell for me to return. I reached my arms up to the pitch-black sinister tempest and yelled, "Cease and desist. In the name of all that is holy and good, stop this violence!"
    A hailstone the size of a basketball landed at my feet. Two more landed on both sides of me. They formed three large holes in the ground. Just as suddenly as the storm started, it stopped. The clouds thinned and the darkness lifted. An eerie silence spread across the rest stop. Sela led both horses out of the restroom. Jerky ran toward me and curled around my leg.
    "Heckel?" Sela asked, timidly. "Are you…?" Before she could finish, I turned my head and crumpled to the ground.
     
    Waves. Wave after wave crested on a shore. I found myself standing on some large boulders looking out at the ocean. A slight tinge of pink slowly filtered into one of the waves.
    I let out a soft groan but couldn't open my eyes.
    "Heckel?" Sela's voice tried to bring me out of my dream, but it faded away quickly.
    I was back at the ocean, staring at the pink waves. Gradually, the waves turned red and then a deep blood red. Far out on the horizon, I could see Madeline standing on the water. She floated slowly toward me with a warm inviting smile and her hands outstretched. The crimson waves crested higher and crashed more violently onto the boulders that I was standing on. I jumped off the large rock onto the pebbles lining the beach. Madeline inched closer. Behind her an army of hideous creatures emerged from the depths of the ocean. Each one that rose out of the water was more frightening than the previous one. Large mouths flashed yellow crooked teeth. Tentacles flailed in the air. Long dirty claws slashed the air as if they were practicing fiendish karate moves from hell's dojo. Fear crept up my spine, waiting to paralyze me. I felt a hand on my shoulder, but when I looked around, no one was there.
    My dream shifted, as they often do. The ocean morphed into an expansive, blistering desert. Vultures circled above my head. The heat was intense, nearly pulling my breath out of my lungs. I moved