Free Heckel Casey by James Hoch Page B

slowly. Looking down, I could see chains on my ankles—leg irons. The skin around them was raw and bloody. Far off toward the east, a dust devil played with the sand. I envied its freedom. More dust devils appeared. They spun their way toward me. Dust spewed up into the sky. I covered my eyes. Up ahead, I could see Sela waving her arms. At first I thought she was welcoming me, then it was clear—she was warning me to look up. A giant vulture with its maw open dive-bombed straight toward me.
    "Heckel? You're having a nightmare," Sela said softly as she shook my arm.
    My eyes felt like they were superglued shut. My arm reached above me, swatting the air. Sela took my hand. The warmth of her touch affirmed my safety and helped bring me out of the nightmare.
    "It's only a dream. You're safe."
    The soft glow of a campfire and its warmth helped to wake me up further. "Whew, what happened? How long have I been sleeping? Where are we?"
    "Whoa, slow done. Your brain's going to go into overdrive."
    I started to sit up, and a wave of dazzling little bright dots started racing across my eyes. I felt like I just entered a laser light show with all the beams directed at my eyes. Sela could see that I wasn't ready for prime-time sitting up. She eased me back down.
    "Maybe you need to stay down a little while longer to get things back to normal. You experienced…um…well, I don't know what the heck you'd call it, Heck. Ha ha…get it?"
    "Oh yeah, that's funny. Like I've never heard that one before," I replied with a tinge of sarcasm.
    "Would you like something to eat? And, yes, I know you've been hungry for a year. I shot a rabbit."
    My mouth was salivating before I could even respond. I sat up and this time I did not get a burlesque demonstration of dancing lights. Sela handed me a chunk of meat. I devoured it and looked over at her with begging eyes.
    "More?" she asked teasingly.
    "This is fantastic. Thank you," I said, taking another slice of meat.
    "So, what took place out there this afternoon?" Sela asked as she sat back against a tree. Looking around, I could see we were camped in a small grove of trees. The rest stop was off to one side of the road. The horses were tied to trees near us. Jerky was nestled on my backpack.
    "I don't remember much."
    She looked at me, anticipating more explanation. "Well, what's the last thing you do remember? Maybe we can start from there and it will jog your memory."
    Staring at the rest stop, I could see the door to the restrooms. They were bathed in moonlight, giving them an eerie appearance. "The storm. We were in the restroom and baseball-sized hailstones were clobbering the roof. The sound was hurting my ears, and I could feel…" At that point, I trailed off mumbling incoherently.
    "Good. That's right. We were all hunkered down in there and—"
    "I felt my insides tighten," I said.
    "Yes, that's right. Then you stared into Hope's eyes for the longest time." Sela said.
    "Yeah, my mind focused sharply and I knew exactly what to do. I remember handing you the horse's reins and walking out the door. From that point, it's really fuzzy."
    "You went outside into the storm. Hailstones were smashing the ground all around you and they were getting bigger by the second. They became the size of basketballs. I'd never seen anything so awful."
    "Yes, I remember that now. Then a strength—no, more like a determination—flooded my muscles and...um...a…a force raced through my veins."
    "You raised your—"
    "My arms. I raised them and shouted something. I don't exactly remember the words. It felt good though and that force inside me seemed to fly out of my fingertips."
    "Three huge hailstones nearly flattened you like a pancake. They made craters several inches deep in the dirt. And the storm ceased immediately. You made the storm stop."
    I looked at her incredulously. "I don't understand."
    "Heckel, you made the storm stop. I saw you. You lifted your arms up to the black skies and shouted something to