Marshall Conrad: A Superhero Tale Read online

  “I figured it would be an ex-boyfriend, if you’ll recall.”

  “Yeah, talk about obsessive,” she said. “The police told me he’d been living out of a minivan, and he’d been sending the emails from various cyber cafés.”

  “So you’ll be moving back into your apartment, then,” I said.

  “Sure will. Where’s your other leather jacket, Marshall?”

  “I forgot it downtown at a friend’s store.”

  “You don’t have any friends, remember?”

  “Well, she’s less of a friend and more of a client,” I said. “Her name is Stella Weinberg and her store is called The Curiosity Nook. It’s in the yellow pages. Feel free to call her and confirm the whereabouts of my jacket if you like.”

  “No, thanks,” she said. “I need you to tell me that I’m not going crazy.”

  “All right, then. You’re the sanest twenty-three year old I know.”

  “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

  “Right now, I don’t know anything more than I am tired as hell and I’d like to hit the hay for a while.” I said, half yawning. “Look, your stalker is now in police custody and you can get on with your life.”

  “You’re kidding, right? I mean, how am I supposed to do that after last night?”

  “I dunno—maybe talk to a counselor or something. The past week has been traumatic.”

  “I’m not going crazy. I know what I saw last night and I can’t tell anyone because they would never believe me in a thousand years.”

  “I didn’t say you were going crazy.”

  She picked up the remote control and threw it against the wall, smashing it into pieces. “You were there, Marshall! Why are you acting like this is nothing?”

  “Hey now. Try to calm down,” I said, in a non-threatening voice. “I don’t even know where you were last night, and frankly I’m surprised that you left my apartment. Why don’t you tell me everything that happened?”

  “I went to the pub at Chesterton for a drink because I was sick of hiding out in your apartment,” she said, glaring at me. “I had a few too many, and thought it would be best to head over to a friend’s dorm. I walked up the path beside the Humanities Building and this nut jumped out from nowhere. He had a knife and he was going to stab me. Suddenly, a guy came right out of the sky and flattened my stalker. He beat the living shit out of him and kept asking the guy about a body. His voice sounded just like yours, Marshall! He came out of the sky!”

  The room fell silent as I considered how to respond. I didn’t want to insult her intelligence by dismissing her story as the ranting of a drunken college student. The last thing I wanted to do was give her a reason to believe she was losing her mind.

  “Tell me what else happened,” I said calmly.

  “He had glowing eyes. He was wearing a leather jacket and he wore a hoodie that covered his face. He handcuffed the guy to a sewer grate and when I asked him if it was you, he took off into the sky!”

  “When you say he took off into the sky, what precisely does that mean?” I asked.

  “He could fly! He had glowing eyes, and the guy could fly!”

  I got up from my chair and walked back to the kitchen. “Would you like a cup of coffee or something? You’re pretty upset.”

  “Damned right I’m upset. I’ve been scared to death because of a stalker who tried to kill me, and then I was rescued by a freaking superhero!”

  “Stop yelling at me. I’m not saying I don’t believe you. Would you like a cup of coffee or not?”

  “No. Look, I’m sorry. I just know that a flying man saved my life last night. I have a mysterious downstairs neighbor who likes to think of himself as a hermit, owns two leather outfits and right now, one of your jackets ismissing and I am going crazy and I don’t know what to do anymore.”

  Marnie’s eyes filled with tears and she sobbed into her hands as I came into the living room with a box of Kleenex.

  “Here are some tissues,” I said, softly. “You’re not crazy, okay? The world is filled with unexplainable phenomenon, but a flying man? Come on, they’ll start measuring you for a straitjacket if you talk to anyone about this.”

  “What do you mean by that?” She blew her nose.

  “Well, let’s assume that superheroes actually do exist.” I said, smiling warmly. “This guy saved you last night and your stalker will soon be serving time, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You didn’t tell the police, and I’m sure your stalker probably will. That means the police will want to know what really happened last night outside the Humanities Building. Do you think for one second the cops are going to go public with your revelation? I mean, come on. If you’re worried that you’re going crazy, do you honestly believe they’d let the press in on a bizarre story like this?”

  “What’s your point?”

  “The point I’m making is that regardless of who or what rescued you, maybe some things are better left unsaid. I mean, if Greenfield has a resident superhero who keeps the city safe, perhaps it’s best to keep your knowledge of his existence a secret.”

  “Why should I? People need to know about what happened to me.”

  “You think so?” I tried to be the voice of reason. “Let’s assume that you have conclusive proof of his existence. Do you want to become a paparazzo’s wet dream? Don’t you think the press would hound you at every turn? You’d become a national celebrity! You’re an attractive young woman and you could attract a multitude of stalkers who want to become your special friend.”

  “Oh come on,” she said, curtly. “Get off your soapbox.”

  “I’ll get off my soapbox if you’ll get your head out of your ass. You’re accusing me of being a superhero while questioning if you’re losing your mind. Do you think the US government would be interested in your story? Is it possible that Homeland Security or the FBI might begin to monitor your every move? Hiding out in my apartment from Kyle Peterson would look like a trip to Disneyland if you went public about this.”

  She got up from the sofa and stormed to the front door of my apartment. “You know what? A flying man with glowing eyes saved me last night. He sounded a lot like you. He wore a leather jacket like you. Marshall Conrad invited me to stay at his apartment while he helped me uncover the identity of my stalker. Seems pretty fishy to me. Maybe you’re not the guy who saved me, but I know what I witnessed and so help me God, I am going to find out who he is.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Away from you.” She slammed the door.

  Chapter 15

  The back room of The Curiosity Nook was pitch black, save for the eerie glow from dozens of candles Stella Weinberg had placed in a large circle around the cairn-like pile of spiral-engraved rocks. The freshly swept cement floor was covered with a multitude of strange symbols drawn in white chalk that radiated in diagonal lines from each of the candles. Twelve small ceramic pots burning something that smelled like jasmine mixed with orange peel rested at intervals along a bright yellow circle drawn with some kind of sand-like substance.

  “This is very creepy,” I said as I sipped a cup of tepid herbal tea that tasted like black licorice. “I hope you’re not expecting anything spectacular, Stella, because I still don’t have a clue as to how you expect me to talk to the rocks.”

  “I know,” she said plaintively. “I’ve pulled every conceivable spell I can think of into setting up this room for you. My hope is that one of them will help you figure it out.”

  “You should have a fire extinguisher handy. There’s a lot of stuff burning in this room.”

  “Oh, those candles won’t burn anything, the flames are enchanted.”

  “Huh?”

  She lit a small candle in the center of the dinette and pushed it toward me. “Stick your finger in the flame,” she said. “It won’t hurt.”

  I tentatively put my index finger into the flame and instead of intense pain, a stinging bite of cold raised the hair on my arm and formed go
ose bumps on my skin.

  “It’s freezing,” I said as waved my hand over the candle. “How did you manage to do that?”

  “Tulip wax—very expensive stuff.”

  “Geez, you should package it and sell it in your store, you’d make a killing.”

  “Not a chance, Conrad,” said Stella. “It takes a few hundred thousand tulip petal scrapings to create one small candle, and these tulips don’t come from Holland.”

  “Don’t tell me, they can only be found in the unseen world.”

  “Bingo.”

  “So what are all of the chalk drawings for?”

  “Protection,” she said. “We don’t exactly know who or what you are going to be talking to and the last thing I need is a class eight demon entering the near world through the back room of my store. Not that you couldn’t take him down, of course—Vanguards are far more powerful than most demons.”

  “The stuff you’re burning in those little ceramic pots, what’s it for?”

  “Backup plan in case the other protective measures don’t work.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Agents of the darkness dislike anything that smells pleasant.” She poured herself a cup of tea. “That’s my own special blend of Angelica Root, Bay Leaves and Blessed Thistle. I won an award for that recipe, you know.”

  “What are the yellow circles around the ceramic pots?”

  “Tree salt.”

  “What does it do?”

  “Keeps the pots from being overturned by anything that dislikes the smell of what I’m burning.”

  “Well that makes sense. Did I mention that this is unbelievably creepy?”

  “Relax.” She took my hand. “You’re going to be fine. I just know it.”

  I looked at the pile of rocks in the center of the circle and noticed they were arranged by size with the largest stones on the bottom and the smallest on top. A white circle had been drawn on the floor about three feet away from the rocks. I assumed Stella would be telling me I’d have to sit there until something happened.

  “Okay, Stella, I might as well get this thing over with. What do you want me to do?”

  She pointed at the circle in front of the pile of stones. “Sit down in that circle and make something happen, but don’t step on any of the chalk symbols because that will screw up the spells—Oh, and take off your shoes. You have to go barefoot.”

  “I don’t have to take off my clothes or anything like that do I?”

  “No, we’re conducting a ritual here, not making a porno movie. Just take off your shoes and tiptoe into the circle.”

  “All right.” I slipped off my shoes and stuffed my socks inside. I looked for a path that would offer as little disruption to the chalk symbols as possible. “I still don’t know what you’re expecting, but here goes.”

  I carefully stepped over a symbol that looked like a two-sided fork when a sharp stabbing pain shot up through my feet and into my brain. The air filled with the sharp copper smell of blood, causing bile to rise up into my throat. “Cripes, that hurts!” I called out, taking another four steps past a series of inverted triangles until I spotted a clear path to the chalk circle Stella had pointed out.

  “Are you all right?” Stella shouted.

  “Yeah, just a massive headache, that’s all. Do you smell it?”

  “Smell what?”

  “Blood—I caught a whiff of it as soon as I stepped over the first symbol.”

  “All I can smell is the stuff in the ceramic pots. Are you sure you’re alright?”

  “I’m okay. Just going to sit down in the circle.”

  “Marshall, your eyes are glowing! What’s happening?”

  “Nothing. I need to concentrate.” I sat down inside the circle and crossed my legs.

  I looked up at the pile of rocks as a wave of heat washed over my body. The smell of blood surrounded me causing a jolt of nausea that churned through my stomach.

  “Okay, rocks, say something, because you obviously know what the hell I am!”

  Silence.

  “I’m a Vanguard you stupid freaking rocks. Don’t piss me off!”

  Silence.

  “Listen asshole, my eyes only glow when I’m in the presence of evil. Speak your name or i’ll smash these rocks into dust!”

  As soon as I closed my mouth I became weightless.

  The flickering ambient light from Stella’s candles disappeared into a vapor and the cairn dissolved into a mist. I could feel myself drawn through a tunnel so black that even my eyes couldn’t penetrate the darkness. My ears popped as the darkness gradually gave way to a horizon in the distance. I slowly stood up to see an horrific landscape of burning houses with pillars of smoke towering into a haunting purple sky. The air was filled with the sound of gunshots and screaming voices. A soot-filled breeze clogged my nostrils and the air tasted like ash and death.

  I hovered above the rooftops and stared at a raging firestorm where Greenfield’s downtown core used to be. A squadron of fighter jets roared in the distance and dropped a payload of napalm on a crowd of hundreds of people who were shooting and stabbing one another as they stepped over the mutilated bodies of what could have been their neighbors and friends.

  I flew over a stand of burning trees and landed in the middle of Delaney Park. The duck pond was black as tar and dozens of bloated dead bodies bobbed up and down as a mob of crazed people raced toward me screaming obscenities.

  “Freeze!” I ordered, but my powers had no effect. The mob ran at me and I tried to fly upward to avoid them. Their yellow eyes seethed with hatred and I shielded my face to protect myself from their blows. A flash of terror seized my body as the mob passed through me, headed toward a group of soldiers firing automatic weapons.

  “Oh my God,” I whispered, stunned. “I’m not really here. I’m seeing the future.”

  It was carnage on a staggering scale. The entire city of Greenfield was burning and its citizens were hacking one another to pieces with everything from axes and shovels to their bare hands.

  A voice that shattered glass and shook the earth boomed in the distance. “The gate is open, Vanguard. You stand alone!”

  “Who are you?” I called out. “What is happening to Greenfield?”

  “We feed on the longest day.”

  Suddenly, a force pushed me back through the black tunnel and I landed in a heap adjacent to the cairn. My body was drenched in sweat and my clothes were smoldering.

  “Marshall! Jumpin’ dyin’ Moses, are you all right? You disappeared!” Stella raced toward me with a fire extinguisher in her hands.

  “I’m okay,” I said, in a weak voice. “I think I understand the meaning behind the rocks now.”

  “What do you mean? What happened?”

  “The future. We have until the summer solstice to stop it.”

  Chapter 16

  “What happens on the summer solstice?” Stella asked, as she helped me to my feet.

  The room was spinning and I staggered like I was going to pass out.

  “All hell is going to break loose,” I coughed. My clothes smelled like a campfire and the stench of blood clung inside my nostrils as I steadied myself on Stella’s shoulder. “That’s all I know for sure. I need a drink of water.”

  “Let’s get you into some dry clothes,” she said, as she carefully led me away from the makeshift cairn in the center of the floor. “I’ve seen some amazing feats of magic in my life, but I’ve never seen a person from the near world vanish into thin air like that. I’d say your attempt at communicating with the rocks was an unqualified success. Not bad for a guy who didn’t know what he was doing.”

  “Yeah, that was first for me.” I sat down at the dinette in the corner. “I feel like someone kicked the crap out of me.”

  She poured a glass of water and slid it across the table. “What’s the meaning behind the rocks? What did you see?”

  I gulped back the water and handed her the empty glass. My vision was blurry and my head screame
d like a freight train. “Your guess is as good as mine. This is unseen world stuff and my base of operations is the city of Greenfield.”

  “Tell me what you witnessed!” she demanded.

  “Death.” I pulled my socks back onto my feet. “The entire city was on fire. The air reeked of smoke and burning corpses. Mobs of people were stabbing and shooting one another all over town. It was complete anarchy.”

  “Mobs of people—you mean, like zombies? Jeez, I hope not.” Stella flashed a worried look. “I ran into a zombie horde in Littletown, where the Cheevers hold court over the Grassland Peasantry. They’re killing machines.”

  I gave her a confused look for a long moment.”Okay, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

  “I’m talking about George A. Romero style zombies,” she said.

  “Gotcha. Well these weren’t zombies, then. Just mobs of people killing each other with everything from machetes to baseball bats.” I rubbed my eyes. “A huge booming voice told me that the gate was open and I was alone. It said it would feed on the longest day, so I have to assume it was talking about the summer solstice.”

  “That’s less than a week from now,” said Stella. “What about the rocks?”

  I looked over at the cairn and remembered what Stella told me about spirals when we first met. “You said that spirals are a symbol of rebirth or resurrection, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, that’s a standard belief in many cultures both here and in the unseen world.”

  “Ingrid said that something called a Púca was responsible for the killings.”

  “That’s right. She also told you that the Púca’s host is living among us.”

  “And that he had many followers,” I added. “I’m no expert, but I’d say the spirals are a message aimed squarely at human beings.”

  “Why?”

  “Because the symbol has been found at the scene of two murders, and Sheriff Neuman said that spiral symbols were appearing all over town.”

  “Right. I get it. You also found a spiral rock when you stopped that abduction and you found a spiral scribbling on the picture of your neighbor.”