The city loomed above him, the megaliths firm and dark in the distance. All around him the city circled, huge and silent, neon lights pushing their warm glow to his skin. He could see Enforcer lights whirling and flashing blue and red in pursuit of offenders. He could see the colossal Goldman-Hart Tri-Plex, a group of the three tallest man made structures in history, seemingly touching heaven. They were progressively taller than one another, with a difference of about two-hundred feet or so per building. Jonny slowed to a brisk walk, dumbstruck at the sheer magnificence of this place. It all seemed distressingly hypnotic to him, as if he was lost in the perils of some futuristic Edgar Allen Poe novel. Jonny could feel his surroundings breathe and shudder against the night, alive and clawing at him, hungry to crush him. He stopped to steady himself, propping against the side of an adult video emporium, bathed in the light of its interior. The sign read “XXX Sex on the Wild Side, Videos and more”. Almost stumbling backwards at the realization, he now knew his destination was no more than a hundred yards away, in the back alley of the next block, in a store called Zion Christian Books.
He made a break for it, running without looking behind to see if they were following. The box bounced at his side, and he reached down to pat it once more. He had to make it. His father had put considerable importance in the package. He still did not know what it held, but figured it might be disclosed to him upon delivery. Whatever it was, it was deathly urgent, for his Dad had to send him away with it, alone and with no explanation. Jonny thought it was stupid they way they figured he was always too young to know anything. But I’m not too young to roam the streets late at night like some god-awful super-spy messenger. My teacher always says that I’m the smartest in my class, and they’ve already said they’re gonna have to skip me a couple of grades because I’m more advanced than the rest of my class. Jonny wished that he could prove himself to everyone, and let them know how really smart he was. He would deliver the package without a problem. He had to.
He saw the corner of Zion, and made a swift right turn into the alley. There would be a key in an old soup can near the steps so that he could let himself in. In the poorly lit place he came to a slow halt, nearly out of breath. His heart thumped like a bongo drum, and he felt the adrenaline rush, laughing out loud then covering his mouth with his hand in realization. He needed to be as quiet as possible. A few old aluminum garbage cans were set in front of him, along with full black plastic bags of trash. This seemed archaic to him, for he never saw his trash. It was incinerated as soon as it was thrown away. He remembered reading that there were landfills around that had garbage stacked to the heavens, and a smell that could kill. I guess these bags go to the landfill. He shook off those thoughts and proceeded to his task. He saw a couple of rats running back up into the darkness, and shuddered as if he felt chill. This is so nasty and disgusting. To his left, in between the trash cans and plastic bags, was the soup can. He bent at the knees and picked it up, looking it over. It read “Campbell’s” in bold cursive, and the name of the soup had been ripped from the rest of the label. In it’s place was the sign of the cross, sloppily painted in red. It was the right can. Inside he found the key.
“Boy, give us the pendant, and you may live to see tomorrow.” The can dropped with a silence shattering tinkle, and Jonny turned with terror in his eyes to two figures standing at the entrance to the alley. He could not tell which of them had spoken. Fear gripped him, and he stepped towards the door.
“Give us the pendant, and you will not be hurt,” the second figure hissed. The first one sounded more masculine, a strong bass voice. The second figure was less masculine, but more frightening. The words came out of his mouth in a metallic twang, like an electric guitar being plucked. Each word he said hung in the air, in a strange echo. At his last word, they stepped toward once, in unison. Like robots…or something…like a robot.
Virgie Ingram (1921 - 2009)
6 hours ago
