It Comes in Darkness

Half way out of the state, they decided whatever vehicle they got would have to be bigger than Liv's Nissan.

They settled on a Tahoe, a large SUV. While heavy on gas, it was the biggest black car they had. Black allowed them to blend into the night that settled here. Where they were from it was still pretty humid and green, but this was desert, some nothing town miles from any city worth anything. After driving for 9 hours with only a couple minutes worth of breaks, Liv finally pulled into a gas station as the weight of the baby shifted uncomfortably in her pelvis pressing on her back and bladder.

Casey's tension was palpable and he had been mostly silent the whole way and she knew he was mad that his opinions weren't really taken into account for this trip so when Liv had to stop, she pressed on without stopping anyways. Twenty minutes after that though, there was no more being able to hold it and she pulled into a gas station that had an empty lot.

Turning the car off Liv turned to Casey. “I'm sorry, Casey. I have to pee.”

“Of course you do.” He said sharply.

“It's the baby, Casey. She's too big for me to hold it.”

“Just make it quick, Liv. I'm starting to feel like we're chasing shadows.”

“Aye, don't be an asshole.” John smacked the back of Casey's headrest. “You tried recruiting me into this, you don't get to bitch about chasing shit.” Opening the door he took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and stepped out of the Tahoe and closed the door, leaning up against the car. “I'll watch for you, Liv.” He said with the cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

“Thank you.” She murmured shuffling as fast as she could from the back of this parking lot to the door.

Casey rolled down the window and peeked out. “This place gives me the fucking creeps. Do you feel that?”

John looked around and nodded. “I'm from a place like this, though.” He exhaled smoke that billowed above him. “Darker and quieter. Maybe I'm used to it.”

Finally Casey himself got out of the car and held his hand out for John's pack of cigarettes and once he got them, he lit one for himself. “I'm gonna admit my fucking nerves are shot.”

John pursed his lips and ashed his cigarette before bringing it to his lips for a drag. “Everything we are doing is unknown. We don't really have a plan or even know where to start, really. Kinda feels like...like a big ass turn of a jack in the box.”

“YES!” Casey agreed with him emphatically. “That's it exactly. Feels like I'm waiting for something to pop out of the dark.”

They both watched Liv walk awkwardly into the building and look around. It was quiet and she spotted no one inside but was happy to see a small sign that indicated where she could find the restroom.

“Hello?” She called out, but got no response. “I am using the restroom if that's okay?” When she got no response, she decided to just try it. Smiling, she turned with excitement to finally find a toilet to relieve herself.

The bathroom was small and felt like the bathroom of someone's house. It was decorated with items she would expect to see at a thrift shop, old and faded pictures, a small end table with a houseplant. Quickly she tried to shimmy her pants down, swearing to herself that she would burst before she could accomplish the task.

In a race to finish, she quickly washed her hands and stepped back out into the main body of the store. There was a faint electrical hum which she guessed was from the lighting, but could have been from anything, really. The coolers, the heating and cooling, any of it could be making that noise.

Looking back up to the front of the store, someone, an employee she guessed, was behind the register staring at her with an intensity, she thought she may have done something wrong. “Oh, I'm sorry...” Her voice wavered. “I didn't see anyone in here so I just used the restroom really fast. I'm sorry if I wasn't supposed to.”

The employee, a young man with shaggy hair that slightly hung in eyes just continued to stare and when a knot started forming her stomach, she clutched her belly and then noticed someone was in the next aisle, merely 3 feet from her, eyes barely peeking over the shelf, but also staring.

Neither of them moved nor made noise. It seemed they didn't even breathe. Suddenly getting nervous, Liv bolted for the door. “Thanks!” A dark, ominous feeling had been pouring into that space and she didn't want to wait for the overflow.

John and Casey were still smoking when Liv burst out of the door and came running full speed towards the car.

“Get in the fucking car!” She yelled at them.

“What?” Casey asked.

“Why?” John inquired.

“Just get back in the fucking car! Casey, you were right. This was a bad idea. This place gives me the creeps.”

The boys got into the car and Liv joined them, not even buckling her seatbelt. Peeling off she turned to them. “Did those guys come in when I was in the bathroom?”

“What guys?” Casey pressed while scrambling for his seatbelt. “And you need to slow the fuck down.”

“There were two people in that store staring at me. I mean staring! I can't describe it! It's like a coyote or something looking at something it wants to kill. Guys there were two people in there staring at me like that and one was barely three feet from me!”

“Liv, I didn't see anyone...” Casey put his hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay? Do you need one of us to drive?”

“I want to go home, Case. I don't want to do this anymore.” Liv stopped the car. “I don't like the way this feels.”

“Are you sure? You've been fighting tooth and nail to stay. We're here. We're prepared.” John patted the gun. It did make her feel safe though, but tears were in her eyes.

“Yeah, I'm sure. Just one last stop.”

“What's that?” Casey inquired.

“There was a source of light off in the distance. I want to see what it was. This is gonna be the place. It's the only town that's next in a straight line. It has to be here.” The car started moving again.

Looking Liv up and down, John tapped Casey on the shoulder. “If she doesn't calm down you need to take the keys from her. She needs a break, look at her she's shaking like a god damn leaf.”

“Relax, I'm fine.” Liv chided, her grip tightening on the steering wheel. “Just nervous.”

“He's right. In 30 minutes I'm taking the keys. You need to relax for awhile before you end up going into labor early while we're in the middle of fucking nowhere.”

“Thirty minutes, then. Time me.” In her heart she knew she should just give up and accept she couldn't do this, but something pushed her away and pulled her in at the same time. She could only hope it paid off.

After several attempts to get to the source of light and going off road, Casey started to get flustered with her. “Really...you'll get there like this? Why don't we just GPS??”

“You said 30 minutes, Casey. I'm not spending 45 minutes circling around this fucking town when I can cut across the dirt.”

It did the trick, and despite almost getting stuck in a ditch several times, they did end up reaching the source of light. An electrical power station. It was small, a couple generators and two tan brick buildings with one set of stairs leading to an upper level that held no windows.

Liv turned off the car and stared at the power station. The air here tasted like iron and felt like static. The lights to both buildings flickered rapidly and the generators hummed menacingly in a low frequency that it did nothing but make dread settle in her stomach.

“This...? This was the big thing you wanted to see? You didn't want to maybe go check the streets?” The irritation in Casey's voice was obvious.

“The gate's open.” She replied quietly, not looking at him.

“And?” John asked, leaning closer to the front seats. “Maybe someone's working here tonight?”

“There's no cars...” The hesitation in Casey's voice let Liv knew he was finally catching up.

Liv turned to John, hoping the realization would finally hit him. “So how did they get here?”