Two Souls: Into the Fire # 254

Warning … adult content

***

Steve grabbed his things from their motel room, and went to help Linda and the kids with their packing up. Ghost got his backpack and jacket, and paused a minute, looking around the room. He knew he’d gotten everything, but it felt like he was forgetting something important.

“You ready,” Steve asked, when he got back. He was ready to lock up the door and turn in the key.

“I think so,” Ghost said, “but something feels weird. I can’t remember what it is.”

“Well, maybe you’ll think of it later…let’s get going,” Steve said, as he locked the door. “I’ll be back in a minute…need to turn in the key.”

Ghost got up in the U-Haul, and was flipping through his journal, when Steve got back.

“It’s here somewhere…I know I wrote it down,” Ghost said. “Or, maybe I didn’t, but it was part of the cowboy story.”

“Whatever…no need to get all worked up about it,” Steve said. He started the truck up. “You’ll either think of it or not.”

Ghost sighed, and stopped flipping the pages of his book, and stared out the window. Steve concentrated on his driving, getting them out onto the highway. Soon, they were at cruising speed, and there wasn’t much traffic. When he relaxed a bit, he saw that Ghost was still staring out the window…or maybe sleeping…maybe both…his eyes were half shut.

“You awake?” he asked.

“Um-hmm, but it won’t happen like I said,” Ghost said.

“What won’t?”

Ghost looked over at Steve. “The cowboys…they won’t. We can’t stop at all in Texas, so just keep going, okay?”

“Huh?” Steve asked. “I’ll try, but we probably will need to stop, you know, to get gas, go to the bathroom, get snacks. Anyway, why can’t we stop?”

“‘Cause I remembered,” Ghost said. “The story I told the kids was fun, and they got to see the horses, but if we stop and go in the diner, it won’t be fun. They’ll be mean, and it will scare Stevie and Mandy.”

“The horses?”

“No, the cowboys. They will be mean to us, and call us names, and hit us with a bat, and cut us, Steve.” Ghost was getting really upset, now. “Don’t let them…I’m scared.” He was breathing hard, and he reached over, clenching his hand on Steve’s arm.

“Ghost, snap out of it…nothing’s gonna happen,” Steve said. He could tell that somehow, Ghost was somewhere else in his head, and was reliving the past. He was getting alarmed, now, himself. “Wake up, Ghost. You’re getting mixed up. That all happened in the past…a long time ago. It’s not happening now. I will pull over, if you don’t wake up…I swear I will,” Steve shouted.

Ghost kept staring at Steve, but Steve could tell he wasn’t seeing him, yet. He needed to think of something fast, to bring Ghost back to the present. He started singing one of their oldest songs, one they both knew by heart, but purposely left out some of the words…to see if Ghost would pay attention. It had worked before, when Ghost was lost in his head. Sure enough, it worked this time. Ghost shook his head, reminding Steve of the right words.

“Huh? I was singing it wrong,” Steve asked. “So, how does it go, then?”

Ghost sang it to him the right way. “Why you not remember, Steve? We sing it all the time.” He started laughing. So did Steve…seeing Ghost was acting normal again.

~

A half hour later, they passed a big sign saying ‘Entering Texas – Welcome to the Lone Star State’.

“Well, it don’t look any different,” Ghost said.

“We’re still on the same road…what did you expect?”

“I don’t know…like in the movies or something…”

“Oh, you mean like cattle drives, and shoot-outs at saloons?” Steve asked.

“Well, something like that…” Ghost said. He kept looking at the passing scenery…dried grass in the fields, mesquite trees, a cactus or two…then a sign, saying the next town was twenty miles farther on.

“You know I have to stop up there for gas, don’t you?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, I know.”

“I’m hungry too. I’d like to find a place to eat, and take a break from driving,” Steve mentioned casually.

“Why are you telling me this?” Ghost asked. “We already planned on it, this morning.”

“Oh, right…I forgot,” Steve said, but really, he felt like he was in the twilight zone, or something, after their conversation a little while ago. “You okay with it?”

Looking at Steve, a bit confused, Ghost asked, “Why wouldn’t I be? I’m hungry too, and I think Linda and the kids are, too. Just find somewhere we can eat.”

Steve shrugged. “No problem…I will.”

The city they were entering was a big one…Amarillo. It was easy to find a place to stop for food and gas. While Steve and Linda filled the gas tanks, they discussed where to eat. Steve told her of what Ghost had said.

“Oh, I get it…the kids were going on about seeing horses and cowboys, because Ghost said they would,” Linda said, looking around. “I don’t see any, though, do you?”

“Nope, at least not right here. Maybe I could ask inside, see where they hang out,” Steve said.

“Yes, you go do that,” Linda said.

When he got back from inside the little convenience store, he said, “They said there’s a truck stop about a mile east, with good food, and he said there’s usually a cowboy or two hauling cows or horses, who have stopped there.”

“Good, let’s go there, then,” Linda said.

“I hope they’re not mean, like Ghost said,” Steve said.

“Me too, but we’re hungry, so we have to stop somewhere,” Linda said. They got back in the van and U-Haul, and arrived soon, at the truck stop.

“Come on, let’s go in and eat,” Steve said.

“I’m gonna stay out here,” Ghost said. “Just bring me something.”

“Uh-uh…you’re getting out, too. Let’s go,” Steve said.

Reluctantly, Ghost got out, and they all went inside the truck stop.

Steve did feel eyes staring at them, as they walked around, looking for an empty booth. The place was pretty crowded. Steve led the way, with Ghost close behind, his head down, and his long hair obscuring his face. Linda was herding the kids, behind Ghost. Steve had immediately felt out of place here. He had on his usual black outfit, and looked more like a biker, than anything else. The other people there were mostly long-haul trucker types, and must have been regulars on this I-40 route, because the waitresses were joking and calling them by name. Steve did hear a few rude comments, as they passed by the tables, but he didn’t acknowledge them. …hey, studly…who’s your sissy boy?…come over here…aw, he ain’t no stud…they both a couple’a queers…hahaha…ain’t ‘cha? … Pretty mama, we got some real men who’ll show ya around… There were a few wolf whistles, too.

After sitting down at their table, the waitress came over with the menu. “Don’t pay no attention to those jerks…they holler at everybody that comes in here. They’re a bunch of assholes,” she said loud, looking the truckers’ way. “Y’all look over the menu…I’ll be back.”

Ghost had still not looked up. Stevie and Mandy were cutting up, punching each other’s arms, and giggling. Steve had a frown on his face. Linda took a menu, and decided what she and the kids would order. “Here, Steve…find something…let’s just eat and then get out of here.”

Steve took the menu, but didn’t look at it. “Let’s go somewhere else. I don’t like this place.”

“Steve, we’re here, we’re hungry. It’s a public place. I’m staying and will not let rude people upset me…now, hurry up,” Linda said.

“We wanna see horses…we wanna see cowboys,” the kids were saying over and over.

“Hush, you two, behave yourselves. We’re eating politely, and then leaving,” she scolded them.

“Fine…I’ll just get a hamburger. Ghost…what do you want?” Steve asked, sliding the menu across the table.

“Nothing…”

Steve sighed. “Listen, Ghost, you have to eat. We’re here…now pick something.”

Ghost shook his head. “These people are mean. I feel sick.” He put his head down on his arms, on the table.

The waitress came back, bringing water for everyone. “Y’all ready to order?” she asked.

Steve looked at Linda. “Let’s get it to go, ok?” he asked.

She nodded, and told the waitress what she and the kids would have, and Steve ordered two burgers, fries, and cokes for him and Ghost. “Make it all to go,” he said.

“Sure, no problem…it won’t be long,” she said, and was gone again.

Linda had brought out coloring books for the kids to keep busy with. “Ghost, you going to be okay? Drink some water, honey.” Ghost just moaned. She looked at Steve, shrugging. “I’ll tell ya later,” Steve mouthed back to her.

Their order was ready, and put into bags, so they all filed out of the truck stop, amid more heckling.

“Look, horses,” Stevie hollered, and ran toward a truck, with a horse trailer, that was parked over to the side of the parking lot.

“Stevie, come back here…leave them alone,” Linda yelled, as she hurried after him.

***

***

Next part coming soon!

***

Thanks for visiting! Peace

© 2019 BS

***

This is a work of “fan fiction” based on the novel, “Lost Souls” by Poppy Z. Brite. All credit for the original characters, places, and some backstory mentions, belong to Ms. Brite and her publishing affiliates. Only newly introduced characters, places, and original elements of this story are entirely from my imagination. Character descriptions are a blend of the original book descriptions and my interpretation of them.

Two Souls: Into the Fire # 253

Warning … adult content

***

As morning dawned, Steve and Ghost were awakened by a knocking on the motel room’s door. The policeman from the night before was there.

“We caught the vandal,” he said. “He’s in lock-up. We need to know if you are going to press charges, because yours isn’t the only cars he broke into last night. The other victims have already made their statements, and charges have been filed, already,” the cop explained.

“So, he’s already going to be getting charged?” Steve asked.

The cop nodded.

“Okay, then…guess we won’t. Nothing was stolen, and the insurance will cover the cost of the window repair. We just want to get going. We have a long way yet to go.”

“Very well,” the policeman said. “Good luck, and have a safe journey.”

Steve went back into the room. Ghost was still trying to wake up. “I’m going to go check on Linda, and I’ll bring back coffee,” he said.

“Bring me a big one,” Ghost said, sitting up, running his hands through his tangled hair.

Steve left, going next door to Linda and the kid’s room, and knocked. She opened it, then went back to getting Stevie and Mandy dressed.

“How’s everything over here?” Steve asked.

“Fine, and I just got off the phone with a repair shop,” Linda said. “They’ll be able to fix the window in about an hour.”

Steve nodded. “Good. I’m going to go get us all some coffee, and donuts, then we can go on over there,” Steve said.

“Oh, get the kids some milk, too,” Linda said.

“Right…be back in a few minutes.” He walked down the block to a convenience store.

Linda finished getting the kids ready for the day, and by then, Steve was back. They all went over to Steve and Ghost’s room to eat. Ghost was just finishing a shower, so he grabbed his coffee. They all sat there, watching the TV for a few minutes. The kids were watching some early morning cartoons.

“Here’s the plan, y’all,” Steve said. “We get the car fixed, then head on out of here.”

Linda nodded. “The sooner the better.” She looked over at Ghost, who was propped up on the bed pillows. “Ghost…would you want to stay here with the kiddos…keep them occupied, while we’re gone?”

“Sure, if you want me to…I’ll watch them,” Ghost said.

“Yes, that would be best. I think they’ll probably just keep watching TV, and it shouldn’t take long at the repair shop,” Linda said.

“Okay, we’ll be fine, don’t worry.” He did pick up a small hint of concern from Linda, though.

She smiled. “Yeah, I always worry a bit, but I know you can handle it, Ghost.” She and Steve finished their coffee, then left to get the broken car window repaired. The drive to the place was short, and they got right in.

Ghost got out his journal and wrote in it, while the kids flipped the TV channels.

“Where we going next?” Stevie asked.

“Umm…down the highway and into Texas, I think,” Ghost said.

“Oh, that’s cool. Will we see some cowboys and Indians and horses?” Stevie asked.

Ghost shrugged. “I don’t know…maybe. I’ve never been there, so we will just get to see what we see.”

“See what we see…see what we see…” Mandy said, in a squeaky voice, over and over, until Stevie pushed her off the bed.

“Stop saying that,” he said. He looked at Ghost. “I know…why don’t you use your super-secret powers to see what we’ll see, Ghost.”

“My what?” Ghost asked.

“You know…when you see things, like a dream. I heard Uncle Steve say you can see things nobody else can…so do it…do it now…please?” Stevie begged.

“Maybe I shouldn’t,” Ghost said. He was surprised that Stevie knew about his psychic abilities.

“Oh, please…tell me what we’ll see in Texas,” Steve kept on.

Sighing, Ghost thought about it a minute. He knew he could just pretend, and talk about horses or something.

“Okay, I’ll try…give me a minute…and be quiet.” Ghost said, and closed his eyes, concentrating. Stevie watched intently. Even Mandy was keeping quiet for a change.

“What’cha see?” Stevie whispered.

“Mmm…just the highway, so far,” Ghost said. “There’s open spaces, fields, a little town, with a tall tower…it holds water, I think…” Keeping his eyes closed, he continued to tell the kids what he was seeing. “Well, I see us stopping to eat at a little diner. There’s just regular people in there, but…wait…two guys come in, and I’m not sure, but they might be cowboys…”

“Yay…cowboys,” Stevie hollered. “What do they do?”

“Hang on…hang on…they have on cowboy boots, and hats, but no guns, and they drove up in a pick-up truck…not a horse…but on the back of their truck is a big long trailer, and…there’s horses in there.” He opened his eyes, to see Stevie all smiles. “Well, that’s what I think we’ll see, but we’ll have to just see if it happens.” Ghost said.

“Yeah, I can’t wait,” Stevie said.

“I can’t wait,” Mandy yelled.

They hopped off the bed, and started jumping around the room, pretending to ride horses. Ghost grinned, as he watched them. Playing with the kids was fun. He continued to write, but something was nagging at his thoughts, just beyond reach. If he tried to bring it to his conscious mind, it would fade away. All he could tell, so far, was that there was some kind of trouble up ahead, as they drove east. He wrote what he could about it, in his journal, then tried drawing pictures of Mandy and Stevie. They had settled down a bit, by now, and were coloring pictures, as they sat on the floor. He enjoyed listening to their kid’s conversation. After a few minutes, Mandy came over to show him what she drew.

“Look, Ghost, look at my picture.” She handed her paper to him.

“Oh, that’s really good, Mandy,” Ghost said. And, it was. He could see she had artistic talent, even at her young age.

“It’s a picture of where you live, Ghost…you and Uncle Steve. See…here’s the front door, and the porch,” she continued, pointing out places on the page.

Ghost smiled. “You know what? This is just what our house looks like. How did you know?”

“Because Mama told us what it looked like,” Mandy said. “She was at your house one time.”

“Hey, yes she was,” Ghost said. “I’ll be glad to be home, again, and I’ll show you around, ok?”

Mandy nodded. “Mmm-hmm, I want to see your house. I think it’s a magic house.”

“Magic?”

“Yeah, ’cause you’re magic,” she said.

He smiled. “Who told you that?”

“Nobody, I just know it. You look magic, and tell good stories,” she laughed.

“Oh…well, guess that makes me magic, then,” Ghost said, and laughed, too.

“Can I braid your hair, again?” she asked.

Ghost nodded. “Sure, go ahead.”

She fished around in her little purse, and brought out a brush. She hummed a song, while she braided his hair.

“You sing good, Mandy, just like your Uncle Steve,” Ghost said.

“Really?”

“Yes, really…keep going, maybe you can sing with us on stage, someday.” They continued this awhile, as he finished his drawing of Stevie. He was wondering when Steve and Linda would be back, and then, they were there.

“Mama,” Mandy hollered, when she came in the door. She ran to hug her.

“Hey, sweetie, did y’all have fun?” Linda asked.

“Yeah, and we colored pictures, and Ghost told us stories.”

“Oh, looks like you fixed his hair, too,” Linda said, and smiled.

“Everything okay,” Steve asked.

“Yeah, we’re good,” Ghost said. “We had a good time. Is the window fixed?”

“It is…and we found out that the punk who did it is going to jail, too. This wasn’t the first time he’d been in trouble,” Steve said. He reached over and flipped a few of Ghost’s braids. “Mandy do this?”

“Uh-huh…just now got it done.”

Steve smiled. “You know you can take these out, anytime.”

“I know, but I’m gonna leave them awhile. I don’t mind,” Ghost said.

“Suit yourself,” Steve said. “So, y’all ready to hit the road again?”

***

***

Next part coming soon!

***

Thanks for visiting! Peace

© 2019 BS

***

This is a work of “fan fiction” based on the novel, “Lost Souls” by Poppy Z. Brite. All credit for the original characters, places, and some backstory mentions, belong to Ms. Brite and her publishing affiliates. Only newly introduced characters, places, and original elements of this story are entirely from my imagination. Character descriptions are a blend of the original book descriptions and my interpretation of them.