<\/p>\n
The gravel is unforgiving on your bruised, shoeless foot. The sneaker was a small price to pay for escape from the metal that had twisted around your right leg. Luckily, your undamaged left leg carries your weight for the hobble into town. Another small blessing: the accident happened close to someplace, and not in the middle of nowhere. You didn\u2019t see a name, nor had Mary\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n Don\u2019t think about it. <\/span><\/p>\n Focus on finding a phone. Call the police. Report the accident. <\/span><\/p>\n Must Get help. <\/span><\/p>\n Keep moving or the blackness at the edges of your vision will win. <\/span><\/p>\n Your hope slips away when you see no lighted businesses. The town must roll up their sidewalks at eight. You reach a corner and just as you\u2019re about to collapse, you hear music. <\/span><\/p>\n Where? <\/span><\/p>\n An alley two blocks away. Again, your left leg pulls you on, the right feeling more like dead meat with each step taken.<\/span><\/p>\n The sign says \u201cCoffee\u201d in blue and crimson neon letters. Neighboring shop windows indicate they\u2019re the local team\u2019s colors. Why you notice this, you\u2019re not sure. Maybe your brain needs something to focus on other than \u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n You misstep when you lean against the door, falling forward. A half-wall catches you before another injury. The establishment is empty. No customers. No staff. Did a bell ring when you entered? <\/span><\/p>\n You recognize the song blaring from hidden speakers as the one Mary sang when she first appeared in your life. Your semi-charmed kinda life started with that song. You two would\u2019ve made it your song, only the subject matter; crystal meth, wouldn\u2019t made a good wedding dance number.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHelp.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s comes out as a croak. You push yourself further in, making it to the counter. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHelp!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n A curtain of beads separates the main room and back room. A young woman pokes her head out.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSorry, didn\u2019t hear you \u2026\u201d the words die in her throat when she sees the shape you\u2019re in. \u201cOMG! Are you okay?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAccident. Up the road. My wife.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Message delivered, you slump to the floor, letting the black take you.<\/span><\/p>\n Consciousness comes with a price as throbbing agony returns with it. You\u2019re in an overstuffed chair. The girl leans across your vision, a wet cloth in her hand wiping blood from your temple. It reddens with each dab. She sprays anti-bacterial on the spot, and then applies a bandage. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve called the Sheriff. Unfortunately, we share him with another county.\u201d She shrugs. \u201cTimes are tough, y\u2019know. Would you like something? Coffee? Water?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWater.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She fetches you a glass. As you look up, your brain takes in another piece of unwanted information. The light bulb above you isn\u2019t lit. You scan the ceiling and none of them are, but the room is as bright as day. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHow long was I out? Is it morning?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNo, you were only unconscious for ten minutes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIs there an ambulance \u2026?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She shrugs apologetically. Her eyes are the same color as Mary\u2019s, but her nose looks like your mom\u2019s, perky with an upturned tip.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEventually, but it\u2019s coming from even farther. They said to keep you comfortable.\u201d She won\u2019t look at you. \u201cYou mentioned your wife. Is she, y\u2019know, still in the car?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n You acknowledge the reality by the words. \u201cShe\u2019s dead.\u201d The shock keeps you from crying.<\/span><\/p>\n The admission visibly upsets the young lady. Her shoulders shake and she hugs them. \u201cI\u2019m \u2026 I\u2019m sorry for your loss.\u201d Pulling herself together, the girl tries a smile; tear streaks glisten on her cheeks. \u201cLet me make you something.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n You nod. She bounces away jubilantly. \u201cBagel with cream cheese and peach marmalade, right?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The food selection confuses you. That\u2019s what Mary makes when you start off the day running. In fact, she had made it that very morning before you two set out on your vacation. One last road trip before the \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDo you mind me asking what happened?\u201d she calls out from the back.<\/span><\/p>\n Tired of just sitting, you stand. The right leg isn\u2019t giving you as much trouble. You decide to talk about it, especially to her. Who does she remind you of? You rack your crash-addled mind.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cElk. I swerved to avoid it. I didn\u2019t avoid the tree.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s horrible. Especially since it was going to be awhile before you two could get away again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n You stop cold. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHow could you know that?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n A mirror on the wall shows your marred face. One eye is bloody and your jaw is an ugly shade of purple. The girl returns and the realization hits you that you both share the same shade of dirty-blonde hair. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou need strength,\u201d she continues, \u201cThere\u2019s a lot to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s your name?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Ignoring the question, she arranges a shelf, instead. \u201cYou\u2019ll recover, but not before too many questions by doctors and cops. Oh, and those gut-wrenching calls you\u2019ll have to make.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n You step closer, but she avoids your gaze.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPlus the funerals. If it\u2019s any consolation, they can be done at the same time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n You\u2019re directly across the counter from her.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat. Is. Your. Name!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She turns, tears flowing like time. The answer comes in sobs.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSere\u2014phin\u2014a.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Serephina. <\/span><\/p>\n Mary\u2019s grandmother\u2019s name. <\/span><\/p>\n The name you agreed to call your unborn daughter\u2014cooling in Mary\u2019s lifeless womb\u2014the passenger door crushing them both. No chance to save either.<\/span><\/p>\n You back away from the impossible. Blood drips from a newly-formed gash in the young girl\u2019s forehead; the side of her skull bashed in. She crosses her arms across her abdomen. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry, daddy,\u201d she mouths as you flee from the coffee shop. <\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s still night. You reel, getting your bearings. The coffee shop is gone. You\u2019re on the corner of town where you entered. A police car appears from an alley. Blue and crimson lights flash. You stumble. An officer is by your side. An ambulance arrives. <\/span><\/p>\n Was it all delusion?<\/span><\/p>\n The E.M.T. pulls the patch from your forehead to look under it.<\/span><\/p>\n The officer questions, \u201cWhere\u2019d you get the bandage?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n You answer truthfully.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSerephina.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n END.<\/span><\/p>\n by David Boop<\/span><\/p>\n David Boop is a Denver-based speculative fiction author. He\u2019s also an award-winning essayist, and screenwriter. Before turning to fiction, David worked as a DJ, film critic, journalist, and actor. As Editor-in-Chief at <\/span>IntraDenver.net<\/span><\/i>, David\u2019s team was on the ground at Columbine making them the first <\/span>internet only<\/span><\/i> newspaper to cover such an event. That year, they won an award for excellence from the Colorado Press Association for their design and coverage.<\/span><\/p>\n His debut novel, the sci-fi\/noir <\/span>She Murdered Me with Science<\/span><\/i>, returned to print from WordFire Press. In 2017, he edited the bestselling weird western anthology, <\/span>Straight Outta Tombstone<\/span><\/i>, for Baen. Dave is prolific in short fiction with over fifty short stories and two short films to his credit. He\u2019s published across several genres including weird westerns, horror, fantasy, and media tie-ins for titles such as <\/span>Predator,<\/span><\/i> The Green Hornet, The Black Bat <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>Veronica Mars<\/span><\/i>. His RPG work includes <\/span>Flash Gordon, Rippers Resurrected<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Deadlands: Noir <\/span><\/i>for Savage Worlds.<\/span><\/p>\n He\u2019s a single dad, Summa Cum Laude creative writing graduate, part-time temp worker and believer. His hobbies include film noir, anime, the Blues and Mayan History. You can find out more at Davidboop.com, Facebook.com\/dboop.updates or Twitter @david_boop.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The gravel is unforgiving on your bruised, shoeless foot. The sneaker was a small price to pay for escape from the metal that had twisted around your right leg. Luckily, your undamaged left leg carries your weight for the hobble into town. Another small blessing: the accident happened close to someplace, and not in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,2,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives","category-astounding-stories","category-ghosts-ghouls-and-grave-robbers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/astoundingoutpost.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/astoundingoutpost.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/astoundingoutpost.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astoundingoutpost.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astoundingoutpost.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/astoundingoutpost.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/astoundingoutpost.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astoundingoutpost.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astoundingoutpost.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}