Outrunning Evil

Evil has many shapes and forms. The thing about evil is that you never see it coming. It has many disguises but when it shows its ugly face some  people will not even notice it until it is too late. 

Evil is here. I am evil. I live in the souls of many people. But, today I am coming out through many souls. This is the last day people will have calm in Cotton Valley. Their peace will be destroyed and so will lives. Evil has been awakened in this tiny town. If you are smart you will run, and run fast and pray that I don’t catch you. 

The skies were a bright shade of purple and people were running. They couldn’t see what they were running from but they felt it. They felt it in the winds, in the sky and in the air itself. Trees shook violently from one side to the other. The green, yellow and red  leaves blanketed the sidewalks and streets. The wild strong  winds pulled small children and pets into the purple hazed skies as mothers scrambled to save themselves and their children.  Screams ofthe loved  ones left behind filled the air like music  from a horror movie. This was a song that nobody wanted to  hear. It was the song of evil.  Evil walked the streets with the innocent ones and the naive ones. The good couldn’t stop it. It was here. 

Alicia ran with the rest of the crowd. She repeated the mantra over and over in her head, “Run, girl, run. Don’t stop.” She ran until her legs felt like they were on fire. She had to keep going though. She couldn’t stop. She ran. She had to run to her aunt's house. She didn’t know why but she felt in her core that she needed to go there and she didn’t have a lot of time to get there. She ran faster and faster. Her feet were burning into the cement but she could not stop.  The house was near. She could see it now. It was a block away. She sprinted faster and faster. She didn’t stop when the people in front of her fell to the ground. She didn’t stop when the crows circled her head. She kept going and going.  

Finally she was there. She didn’t knock on the door. She didn’t have to. The door was open. Alicia entered cautiously. She could no longer feel her feet or legs but she moved with cat-like motions until she reached the kitchen. Everything looked in place. Aunt Peggy’s coffee mug was in the sink along with some forks and spoons and one blue dinner plate. The remnants of cooked bacon were still on the stove and near the pots was her orange dish towel. She used that towel for everything in the kitchen. Alcia climbed the stairs to Peggy’s bedroom. 

She knew that something was wrong. The room was dark and . Peggy’s new church dress was on the bed torn  into jagged pieces and shreds. The purple dress with the tiny white flowers looked unrecognizable. The same dress she had seen Aunt Peggy wear to church the previous Sunday now lay on the bed torn to pieces. Alicia didn’t know what to think. Next to the dress was a note. The note was written in Aunt’s Peggy’s handwriting. 

Dear Alicia,

If you are reading this note then I am dead. I am sorry to have to tell you this but that is the truth. I am dead. You may never find my earthly body but believe me I am not here. The reason for this note is to tell you that it is here. Evil is here. You may already know that. It never left and was always here but today evil has a name. Please you have to leave Cotton Valley and you can never come back. I told your cousin, Henry, to go to the safe room when I heard it was here. I hope he made it there safely. The safe room is in the kitchen behind the pantry. There is a small oval button behind the sugar jar. Push the button and the pantry will open to another door. That door will need a code. Enter 3121 and the door will open. You will see a flight of stairs behind that door. At the end of the steps is another door  the code is 1620. Behind that door should be Henry if he made it. Please take Henry and run. Henry has a note in his pocket and the car keys. Please follow the instructions on the note and be careful. I love you both to the moon and beyond. Love, Aunt Peggy.

Henry was sitting on a bright red chair in the secret room and smiled when he saw Alicia. He ran and gave her the biggest hug his little body could. She squeezed him back. 

“I’m so glad to see you, Henry.” Alicia said.

“Me too. Alicia, guess what? I had my birthday last week. I’m a big boy now.” Henry said.

“That is great, Henry. I’m sorry I couldn’t come to your birthday party. I had to work that day. But, I will buy you the biggest gift later.  You’re such a big boy. Henry, do you have the note that your mom gave you to give to me?”

“I’m 7 years old now, Alicia. I put the note in my pocket just like Mommy said to do.” Henry said, taking the note from his jean pocket.

“Come on Henry. We need to get to your mom’s car. I am going to hold your hand and you walk with me okay? Hold on tight to my hand and don’t let it go. Hold on as tight as you can. Don’t worry about anything you see when we go outside. I will protect you. Okay Henry?” Alicia said, taking Henry’s tiny hand in hers.

“Alicia, here are the car keys.” Henry handed her the keys and together they climbed the stairs. In a few minutes they had reached the driveway where the Volkswagen was which Aunt Peggy drove. Uncle Henry’s car was gone. Uncle Henry died a year ago but Aunt Peggy couldn’t part with his car but Alicia couldn’t worry about what happened to the car. She had to get Henry and herself out of there before the evil realized they were still at the house. 

“Henry, honey, I am going to open the car door. Once I do please jump in and slide to the other seat across from the driver’s seat and duck your head down as far as it can go with your seatbelt on. Okay?” 

“Okay, I will Alicia. Alicia, are we going to be okay?” Henry asked, batting his big green eyes slowly. 

“Yes, I promise. We will be fine. Now, get in the car honey.” 

Alicia backed out of the driveway as quickly as she could, hitting a downed tree in the process. She started driving as quickly as the car would go and she knew she was in a race to outrun the evil that was there tearing up her city.  They passed more people running and screaming and she tried to put on some music to block out the noise from Henry. 

“Why are those people screaming?” Henry asked.

“Well, you know how sometimes people get excited and they scream? Like in the movies?” Alicia tried to explain.

“Yes. Are they excited?” Henry asked as he popped his head up just enough to see Alicia’s face.

“Kind of. I will explain it to you more when we get out of here.” Alicia said, trying not to sound alarmed or scared.

Several tree branches hit the car as she drove and she tried to stay calm for Henry’s sake but it was getting harder. Her stomach was in knots and her hands were starting to shake as she tried to hold the wheel as tight as she could. She couldn’t buckle now. Not now when she was so close. 

The car suddenly stopped. Alicia smashed the gas pedal with her foot but the car didn’t move. She was in the middle of the country. She had miles to go but the car would not cooperate. She beat the steering wheel with her hands and pumped on the gas again. It didn’t work. She had no choice.

“Henry, something is wrong with the car. We have to walk.” She told Henry as she unfastened his seatbelt.

“Where are we?” Henry asked.

“I don’t really know. But, it looks like a corn field is over there.” She said pointing to the left of Henry. 

“We will go the opposite way.” She said. The last thing she wanted to do was get lost in a corn field with a little boy.

Alicia and Henry had gotten no more than a few feet from the car when a strong wind came and the car rolled right past them. There was something in the car or someone. Alicia’s heart started beating fast. She held Henry’s hand tighter as they dove out of the way of the passing car. 

She didn’t know what to say but she did know that the evil was closer and they had to move quickly. She picked up Henry and positioned him on her back for a piggyback style ride. She told him to hold tight and she ran. She ran as fast as she could. She told Henry to close his eyes when the black flies appeared out of the sky. She swatted the best she could and kept running. She had to keep going.

They arrived at the border of the next town but they weren’t alone. Evil was there too. Evil was dressed in a black coat and had no face or eyes. The strong winds almost knocked Alicia off of her feet but she stood tall. She was now face to face with evil. 

She could only do one thing. The thing nobody else knew she could do. She told Henry to keep holding on tight and she screamed as loud as she could. It was a primal scream the scream only evil would recognize. She screamed long and loud and she crossed her two fingers in front of her. She looked evil square in his non exsistant face and her expression dared him to take her. 

Evil disappeared.  She knew that she had only won the battle but not the war.  She knew that she could never go back to her city and  that evil was not gone forever. She knew it was a matter of time before she would have to leave this city, her new city that she now called home with Henry.  Evil was always present whether you see it or not.