Chapter 29


    Seated next to Gloria, Jeremiah had no clue as to where they were headed, and truth be told, he really


    couldn''t have cared less. Just feeling the warm breeze st into his face from the open window was


    soothing enough for the man.


    ''Baracuda'' from Heart was ying loud on the radio as Gloria kept a steady pace down the lonesome


    highway. Every now and then Jeremiah would nce over at her and wonder just what was on her


    mind. For the duration of their journey they spoke off and on about Isaac, her time at Asndview and


    the animal yings in Cypress.


    Jeremiah made sure to tread lightly when it came to their discussions. Just in the short time since he


    knew her face to face he automatically felt a connection to the woman, but she was still fragile. Within


    certain sentences he could hear Gloria''s voice shake or hesitate. As a psychologist he knew when to


    go only so far, but as a human being, as Jeremiah Levin, he had his own breaking point.


    Every so often, however, in the midst of their conversation Jeremiah would drift away. His eyes would


    find themselves sinking downwards towards Gloria''s bare legs. Immediately his thoughts would race


    back to Julie who just so happened to have a doctor''s appointment that particr morning. If it wasn''t


    Julie or a pair of smooth legs then it was Isaac.


    "Did they teach you that in your psychology ss, too?" Gloria asked.


    Instantly, Jeremiah shook himself back into the car and the conversation. "I''m sorry, what did you say


    again?"


    Giggling, Gloria replied, "I said, did they teach you about modern childcare in your psychology ss?"


    Cracking a subtle grin, Jeremiah said, "Uh...I honestly don''t recall."


    "They did for me, before I dropped out that is. Maybe you should''ve listened more to your professor


    before assuming that your wife was just having sympathy pains."


    Jeremiah only began tough out loud, "My wife knows exactly how to draw sympathy from me! She


    doesn''t have to feign abdominal pain!"


    Gloria sat quiet for a moment before she opened her mouth and said, "I wish I had the courage to go


    back to Cypress State again."


    Looking over at her, Jeremiah asked, "What''s stopping you?"


    "I guess I don''t want a whole bunch of people staring at me like I just escaped an asylum. I just don''t


    feel like exining myself to everyone."


    "But people know what happened to you."


    "No, they don''t." Gloria blushed. "I mean, they know I was kidnapped, but besides my sister, no one


    knows that I went to Asndview. I told my parents that I had been studying over in Paris for the past


    few months."


    "I see." Jeremiah humbly nodded in silent adoration. "Doctor Sanyupta once told me that keeping


    ourselves locked away from society is like keeping the book of knowledge buried in a tomb. Each


    human being is their own gift that we share with the world."


    "That''s really beautiful." Gloria sighed. "I''ve heard Paul speak about him from time to time. Does he still


    reside at the institute?"


    With a heaving chest, Jeremiah said, "Doctor Sanyupta was killed in a train derailment back in March."


    With a re of concern on her face, Gloria only nced at Jeremiah before she pulled her car into a


    long driveway and stopped short of a ranch-style home that looked like it had seen better days.


    "Where are we?" Jeremiah sat up in his seat.


    Gloria said nothing at first, she just sat and stared straight ahead at the house, looking as if she were


    waiting for something or someone toe out.


    "Gloria...are you okay?" Jeremiah touched Gloria''s right hand.


    With a quivering bottom lip, she answered, "We''re here."


    Jeremiah turned to the house ahead. It took a good while, but soon, he got it. He watched as the


    woman got out of the car and stood at the front bumper.


    Jeremiah climbed out and perched himself on the other side of the vehicle''s bumper. The both of them


    watched as the house in front of them studied them right back. The driveway in which they were


    standing had weeds protruding up from the cracked cement while the grass all around them stood


    almost as tall as they did. There was a maple tree in the middle of the yard that was split down the


    middle from where lightning had struck. Branches, bothrge and small littered the area around the


    decrepit tree.


    The house itself, while at one time the most luxurious home on the road, appeared more like a hollow


    reminder of its ghastly interior. Weeds sprouted up and all around the home while the shingles on the


    roof were gradually falling to the ground. The destroyed wall had been repaired, but by then, even its


    very foundation was beginning to see weakness as pieces of brick were shedding from one side to the


    other. Some of the windows, from the front to the back had been shattered. The only thing that looked


    remotely shameless was the front door that still possessed its noble oak finish.


    Jeremiah marveled at the property in a hushed, subdued awe. He never lingered on the ugliness of


    where he was, rather, he examined Gloria who was just standing beside her vehicle staring off at the


    house. Rationality was tossed out the window. Jeremiah knew full well that Gloria had seen something


    absolutely jarring inside Cummins'' old house. Whether it was a mythical character or the result of her


    rape, something had disrupted the woman''s soul to the point where she had to actually revisit the


    scene of where it all took ce.


    Gloria suddenly slipped off her pair of tform wedges and slowly began to walk towards the house.


    Jeremiah stood back and held his breath while arge semi-truck roared past behind him on the


    highway. Gloria kept advancing until her bare feet left the cement and touched the grass. She


    continued on around to the side of the house until she came face to face with the reced part of the


    wall. Gloria stopped right there and just studied the wall from top to bottom.


    "How big do you think it was?" Gloria said aloud.


    Jeremiah pulled himself away from the car and ventured towards Gloria. The moment he found himself


    standing beside her he asked, "Are you sure that''s exactly what you saw, Gloria?"


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    Gloria faltered at first before she sighed, "That''s the problem with people today, especially our tribe, we


    try and question everything. I''m sure your parents, just like mine, always tell you to look beyond what


    your eyes can see."


    Taking off his sses, Jeremiah murmured, "Yeah, something like that."


    With her eyes still stuck on the wall, Gloria said, "For the past two months, I''ve been having this dream


    of trucks. I honestly have no idea where they came from or why I''m having them to begin with. No more


    than I can figure out what I saw down inside that basement."


    "I do believe that what you saw was real." Jeremiah stated. "And I also believe that this is exactly what


    you need."


    Gloria turned her head to Jeremiah and asked, "How do you mean?"


    Slipping his hands into his pockets, Jeremiah replied, "Coming all the way out here. Believe it or not, I


    needed it, too. This is where Isaac was taken, and this is where he escaped from." Jeremiah soon


    began to wander about the grass. "Neither of you were crazy. And there''s nothing strange in the water


    supply. Something happened to you both. I definitely believe that more than anything else."


    Walking behind Jeremiah, Gloria hastily queried, "So you believe in the existence of evil? Because


    that''s the very first andst thing they teach against in psychology ss."


    Jeremiah stopped strolling and turned around to face Gloria. "Everything we learned in our respective


    sses was bullshit as far as I''m concerned. The human psyche is far moreplex than anything we


    could everprehend. How dare anyone try and reconfigure what our eyes take in. I mean, I''ve never


    seen a ghost, but countless people throughout the ages have experienced paranormal happenings.


    How wrong can they all be? You saw something inside this house, Gloria. Isaac was going through


    something before he died. There was and still is something gripping not only your life, but the city as


    well. And it''s not going to stop before it takes me down with it." Jeremiah then reached down, picked up


    a small branch and hurled it across the yard. "Fuck, I can''t believe this is happening to me!" He raged.


    Another semi-truck screamed past down the road. Once the noise of the machine had passed all that


    seemingly remained were the cicadas that upied the lonely area.


    Jeremiah found himselfpletely spent once again. He couldn''t even recall what he had just said


    from a few seconds ago. He could feel his shirt sticking to his sweaty skin while his hands felt squishy.


    "I guess some nightmares cane true, huh?" Gloria remained still by the wall.


    Jeremiah just nced at the woman for a second before he turned back to the road. "I think we should


    head back to the institute." He groaned as if it were thest ce on earth he wanted to be. "I need to


    call my wife and see how she''s doing."


    Jeremiah turned back around to see Gloria standing by the old tree all of the sudden. He never even


    heard her walk over there, and it seemingly took her only a mere second to make the move. Then, he


    heard something else scatter about right behind him.


    Jeremiah spun around to see Gloria standing directly in front of him. The man''s stomach did at least


    two flips at that instant.


    "I don''t want to live anymore." Gloria uttered in a dreadful tone.


    Completely disoriented, Jeremiah twisted around only to see the other Gloria, with arge branch in


    hand,e at him and st him over the head with the stick.


    Jeremiah crumbled to the ground in a heap. Gloria repeatedly beat him over the head and body until


    spurts of blood began sttering all over the grass. The man could only lift his hands in defense before


    he became too weak to mount any further resistance.


    The assaultsted for nearly three whole minutes, but to Jeremiah, who was slowly fading, it might as


    well have been hours. Gradually, the man''s energy was depleting as his arms and legs were bing


    number to the point where lifting one hand was nearly impossible.


    "Gloria." He feebly gasped as he tried to reach for her leg, only to have the young woman kick him in


    the face.


    Gloria thenid one more powerful strike across the man''s face before she dropped the branch


    altogether.


    Jeremiah was diminishing. It seemed as though his eyes were the only things that were functioning.


    With his eyes that were seeing more darkness than light, he watched as Gloria Cohen carried her body


    away from him and onto the highway.


    In his ears Jeremiah could hear a loud horn sting in the summer air. Behind that same horn was an


    equally loud engine. Gloria stood right in the middle of thene until a semi-truck crashed into her body,


    causing it to explode into numerous pieces all over the pavement.


    Thest thing Jeremiah could hear was the screeching of tires. The veryst thing he saw was one of


    Gloria''s legs roll about on the highway.