Chapter One

The huge black horse with the mane of blue flames galloped into a cave on the moon.

Black and blue.

Red and white.

Moon dust and desert rain.


+ + + + + +


The naked young man put the hearse into gear and pressed the petal to the mettle.


Lights from behind grew brighter, and he shivered. They were coming for him. He felt it in his bones. He was borne out of the muck anew, and was baptized by the tears of the night sky.

The funeral vehicle spun its rear wheels on the slick tar, searching for traction under the massive weight and he eased up on the accelerator. This was not like his powerful Jeep with the balloon tires. Those chunky treads would have carried him forward, fast.

His Jeep now laid scattered in pieces and strange twists of metal all about the desert before him. It had come apart at the seams.

His practice of patience paid off. The huge black beast lurched forward, finally, and picked up speed and momentum. He re-adjusted his driving ability according to the ride. No fast, tight corners for this old crate. That thing would go in a straight line and resist any change in its direction because of its mass.


He lurched her left, then right, and navigated around strewn parts of the once mighty Jeep. Large tires, an engine block, a twisted chassis: these are heavy things that are not good to encounter when you are traveling at a high rate of speed.


When you do not know that they lie ahead in the pouring rain, they can be quite dangerous.


The headlights from behind grew brighter as they neared.


They were traveling very fast.


+ + + + + +


I woke up screaming. Tellesco screamed from where he sat, naked in the driver’s seat up front. Together, we made a chorus from Hell.


I did not know where I was. All was black, and I heard his screams, and it frightened the fuck out of me, so I kept screaming in horror.


I felt like I was in a coffin at the bottom of the sea. The depth of black all around me felt heavy and thick. I could feel the darkness touching my face. Its depth and breadth spread off into eternity like a bottomless pit. I was falling from the Earth through space and I had no stars to guide me.


Then I slid forward as Tellesco stomped on the brakes and he shouted, “Stop Screaming!”


Ah.


A familiar voice from out of the depths of the chasm, the void.


He opened his door to come around to the side and when he did, the interior light gleamed. I saw that I was in the back of a hearse. Black velvet lining on every surface. I rose up on my elbows and saw lights through the rear window. They were glowing brighter with each beat of my heart.


They were coming quite fast.


Tellesco opened up the side door and yelled at me. “What the hell is going on?!”


I yelled back, “I have no fucking clue!”


I looked down and raised my eyebrows. “Where are your clothes?”


Tellesco looked down as well, and then he slammed the door shut.


He climbed back into the driver’s seat and faced me from behind the front bench seat. “I lost my clothes when I crashed.”


Indeed, it was making less sense the more we went forward.


I pointed at the lights shining through the rear window. “Who are those people coming?”


Tellesco shrugged. Great. No one had a fucking clue.


What would you have done?



Well, I’ll tell you about it, and you won’t have to wait until next weekend.



God Help You.


God Help Us All.



---willies out.



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