James Hoch: Heckel Casey

"I'm sorry I attacked you. I've been a little touchy lately. I think people are following me," the old man said with a nervous tone.

"No harm done. You just nearly made me piss my pants."

"The name is Leonard. At one time, it was Dr. Leonard Wilson."

"Heckel. Heckel Casey."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, yeah…I know. Weird name."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Casey," the doctor said, extending his liver-spotted hand.

"Call me Heck. The time for formalities left a few years back. We are all in this mess together," I said, shaking Leonard's hand.

"You got that right. What a mess indeed," Leonard said as he groaned, and moved the candle to be more protected from a breeze streaming in from the front door. "How long you been traveling?"

I stared out the broken window, thinking about when I started walking. I noticed that the last hint of light was fading rapidly. "Hmm, let's see…um…I guess it's been about a year ago or so. I've really sort of lost track of time."

Leonard grunted an understanding. He rummaged around inside his pack and slowly moved it closer to the candle. "Me too. I can't seem to keep track of what month it is. I think it's been about a year since I started walking as well. I stayed down south during that first winter. Most of the time, I'm looking for food."

I brought out the can of refried beans. "Jerky just found this over in one of those cabinets. I'd be happy to share it with you. Unfortunately, I don't have any tortillas or other fixin's."

"Yeah, well I found this a few days ago," Leonard said, holding up a bag of saltine crackers. "I bet those beans might taste pretty good on them and I have a jar of artichokes to give us a side dish of vegetables. We need a good balanced diet," he said laughing.

I dipped into my backpack farther, bringing out a dented can of Vienna sausage. "These might complement our little feast. What do you think?"

"I love Vienna sausage. Wow, what a find," Leonard answered enthusiastically. "Can you believe it…we're getting excited over Vienna sausage as though it were an expensive filet or something?"

We both sat in silence for a long time munching on our combined food sources and staring at the candle. Occasionally, a burp or soft moan could be heard as we enjoyed the food.

Jerky finished off her dinner, following it with an extensive grooming session. When she was done, she curled up on my backpack and went to sleep.

After dinner was over, I stretched out on the floor. Leonard leaned back against the wall. He moved some of the boxes and other debris to create a cushion for himself.

"I can't remember the last time I actually slept in a bed," he said, still trying to arrange the cardboard.

"I know what you mean. My back wouldn't know what to do if it had a nice comfortable mattress to stretch out on. I'd probably sleep for days."

We each recounted the various horrible places that we had to sleep in or on. After about an hour, Leonard looked intently at the candle and muttered, "It's all that bitch's fault."

"Huh?" I asked, raising myself up on my elbows. Jerky lifted her head slightly to express her indignation for being disturbed.

"What?" Leonard replied.

"You said it was all that bitch's fault. Who is the bitch?"

It took Leonard a long time to respond. I waited patiently. His facial features formed a nasty look as if he just tasted rotten, maggot-filled meat.

He hesitated, almost reluctant to say the name. I wondered if he were afraid to say the name, thinking that if he said the name, the vile bitch would appear. For some reason, I thought of the old movie, Candyman. In that story, if a person stood in front of a mirror and said the name Candyman three times, he would appear and kill you. Finally, Leonard found the strength to spit out the bitch's name.

"Madeline Blackwell."

Yup, I knew it and yes, it was the same bitch that unilaterally and unequivocally was responsible for the collapse of our society. She was the same unadulterated evil that I ran into several times, the first being in ISS way back in junior high. Madeline and her little sycophants over the years brought about the numerous destructive events that caused the collapse of everything.

"I know this Madeline Blackwell," I said with disgust dripping on each word. I found my usual upbeat smile turn into a nauseated curl of the lip.

Leonard looked at me with an increased seriousness. He reached into his pack to bring out another candle. He waited until the first candle was nearly extinguished before lighting the new one.

"How do you know her?" he asked with a slight tremble to his voice.

"I first met her…sort of…when I was in junior high. She messed with the minds of all the kids that were in ISS with me, but for some reason she wasn't able to get into my head and my parents got me out of school before she could find out why I was different. When did you run into the malevolent Miss Blackwell?"

Leonard settled back into the cardboard, trying to get comfortable. "I first met her way back when she was probably seven or eight years old. I was a new doctor, fresh out of med school. I think it was about 1975. Her mother brought her in for an examination one day. Madeline was a pretty, charming young girl."

I wrinkled my forehead, trying to do some math regarding her age. I was about to interrupt when Leonard shook his head as if he knew what I was thinking.

"I know what you're thinking. She doesn't age. She should look like a woman in her early fifties. Instead, she looks perpetually like she is in her late twenties."

That's exactly what I had observed before the collapse. Every time I would see her on the news or in the media somewhere, she looked exactly the same as when I first encountered her when I was thirteen.

"So, what was Madeline like as a six-year-old?" I asked, sitting up with my legs crossed.

Leonard explained that his first examination of her was very uneventful. "She seemed like a normal six-year-old. Her mother brought her in for a checkup. I looked her over and Madeline was the picture of good health. She seemed like a normal, happy six-year-old. However, later that year, something happened that made my blood turn to ice. I was in the local drugstore and spotted Madeline standing in front of the candy rack. Madeline turned around and glared at the woman behind the desk for the longest time. I watched as she picked up a handful of chocolate bars and started walking out. The cashier started to speak, but was immediately silenced by Madeline, who turned to stare at her as if she were sending a laser beam into the woman's brain. The woman's eyes rolled up into her head. I wanted to do something to stop…whatever she was doing to the woman, but I was in shock and couldn't move. After what seemed like an eternity, Madeline simply smiled at the cashier and walked out of the drugstore. From that moment on, I knew there was something evil about that little girl."

I hung onto every word Leonard spoke. I shivered after that first accounting and looked around to find anything I could cover up with. I saw an old curtain on the floor over by the window. Hurrying, I grabbed the cloth and sat back down next to Jerky who only lifted one eye to see what I was doing.

Leonard yawned, and commented on how it was getting chillier each evening. "Hope it's not an early winter. I was planning to get to the West Coast before the snow flies. Looks like I'll have to head south. Maybe get down to Arizona or something. Then head up north."

"Yeah, me too. So, tell me more about the early days of Madeline. The more I know about this…whatever she is…the more I can defeat her," I stated confidently.

"Defeat her?" Leonard asked incredulously, followed by a slight snigger. "Yeah, right. Highly doubtful."