"God damn it, Matt, why'd you have to go and total the car?" Kelly said through clenched teeth, tears in her eyes.
Daniel glanced up at her, then resumed his walk around what was left of the car's hood. He paused when he got to the driver's window, swallowed hard, and walked heavily back to where Kelly stood. She lowered herself to the ground, shaking her head slowly.
"I'm sorry," he said, sitting down next to her. He nodded in the direction of the truck. "No seatbelt. So..." He shook his head.
She stared into the distance where the flying figure had already disappeared. "I hardly even saw him since he moved back into town," she said dully. "I talked to him once, but he was engaged to a girl back East, and apparently she was really possessive, so we never really hooked up again after that."
Daniel shifted uncomfortably. "So... uh, you've known each other for a while?"
She gave a short laugh. "A while, yeah. We were really close when we were kids. Neighbors. We played Vikings and Irishmen." She fingered one of her braids, and managed a smile. "Guess which one I was."
Daniel raised his eyebrows. "Ah yes, one of the classic sets of natural enemies throughout history."
She laughed again, the tears starting to stream freely down her face. "Yeah," she said. "I guess we were."
He looked away.
She shifted her position, then made a face and said, "Hey, what's that smell?"
Frowning, he looked up, then sniffed around a little. "What, the sulfur smell? Kind of like brimstone?"
"Yeah, exactly," she said, raising herself up to her knees. "Where's it coming from?"
He pointed at the light pole and the crushed figure. "Over there," he said. "I noticed it when I was walking past."
"That -- that thing?" she said, a sudden note of fear in her voice. "Does that mean -- I mean, you don't suppose that thing is... is a demon, do you?"
"What is this, 'Left Behind'?" he said with a wry grin. "No, I don't believe that thing is a demon. And no, before you ask, I don't think this is Revelation come to pass."
"Why not?" she asked, frowning.
"Well, first, because the New Testament makes it pretty clear that the Second Coming was supposed to happen in a matter of weeks or maybe months after Jesus' death --" he paused at her look, and shrugged "-- I'd suggest a Web site for you take a look at, but, you know. Power outage and all. But it's in there; Saint Paul telling people to quit their jobs and just hang around waiting, because the Kingdom of Heaven was truly at hand, or something like that. Sorry I don't remember the exact wording, it's been a while since I've read it.
"Anyway," he continued, "the second reason is, I'm a Unitarian, and as a general thing we don't believe in that gods-and-devils crap."
"Ah," she said. "Why not?"
He shrugged. "Makes no sense. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking religion. But it's not for me."
She murmured something inaudible. "What was that?" he said.
She looked up at him. "Maybe I'm not so sure."
"Uh-huh," he said. "And exactly where in Revelation does it say, 'And verily, one of the demons shall be crushed against a light pole by a gray Bronco'?"
She laughed and punched him playfully on the arm. "Come on," she said. "Be serious."
"But I am serious," he said. "Do you really think a demon could be killed by a mere mortal? Even one with a gray Bronco?" He shook his head.
She looked at him thoughtfully for a long moment, then returned her gaze to the distant sky. She shivered and wrapped her arms around her knees, huddling into herself.
Finally she said, "So the car's beyond repair, isn't it?"
He nodded. "I'm no mechanic, but I'd say yes. Actually, if I were a mechanic, I might be able to fix it..." He pondered, then shook his head. "No. I think it's beyond mechanic. I'd guess he was going about forty when he hit that pole. The car's sturdy, but not that sturdy. New engine, maybe."
"Did any of the cars you saw earlier still have engines?"
He frowned. "Some of them. A lot were missing their hoods, though. I'm not sure what was up with that. Anyway, doesn't matter since I wouldn't have a clue how to work on the damn thing, even if I could get the bent metal out of the way."
She shook her head. "You know, it's funny. When we were kids, he was never the one to take charge. Never the chaser, either. Our games usually had him running and me chasing. Fearless Viking, you know." Her fingers trailed through the blades of grass.
Then there was a thump from behind them.
They both spun around, but saw nothing. "What was that?" Kelly asked in surprise.
"I don't know," Daniel said, puzzled. "It was close. Must have come from this building."
They both rose and walked toward the building, whose mirror-image construction suggested a duplex condo. "Hello?" Daniel called. "Is anybody here?"
"I'll loop around the building," Kelly said, and started around one corner. A minute later, she reappeared around the other corner, shaking her head.
"Is there someone else here?" he said, puzzled. "I haven't seen another living soul for a couple of days, aside from..." He glanced at the truck.
"If there's any chance that there might be other people around here, I want to see them," she said. "Nothing personal," she added with a weak smile, "but I'd be a little happier if I had more than one living being to talk to." She strode to one of the front doors and started knocking loudly. "Hello?" she called. "Is anybody there?" Getting no response, she moved to the other front door and repeated, knocking and calling.
After a few minutes of waiting, Daniel finally shook his head, glancing at the reddening sky. "I don't know, but we should probably get back before nightfall." He looked at Kelly. "Do you want to try to find his apartment, and see if you can find something to take to remember him by?"
She looked over at one of the buildings, fingered one of her braids, and shook her head. "No," she said, only a small quiver in her voice. "I'll be okay. I've actually got the whole Viking thing to remember him by, and I... I think that'll do just fine."
"Are you ready to go, then?" he said. "We've got several blocks to go, and it's getting dark pretty quick."
"Yeah," she said. "Let's go."
They started back the way they had come, picking their way through the lengthening shadows. Daniel paused on their way past the truck, sniffed the air, then continued on his way.
"What did you stop for?" asked Kelly, who had paused as well.
"The smell," he said. "I didn't notice it anymore."
She thought about that, then shrugged. They continued on their way.
Just before they had rounded the last buildings before the street, there was a sudden whump! from behind them, followed by a screeching of metal.
Kelly turned and darted back toward the truck. Daniel, taken by surprise, followed.
They rounded the building and saw one of the winged things rising skyward, something clutched in its talons.
"Mary!" screamed Kelly, running forward.
"Wait!" called Daniel. "No! It's not her!" He lunged forward and caught Kelly by the sleeve, just long enough to throw her off balance.
Letting out an ear-piercing shriek, the figure rose farther skyward, carrying a boxy object with trailing strands.
"Let go of me!" cried Kelly, pulling free. She ran after the figure, but it had gotten high enough to be out of reach. It shrieked again and continued to rise, its black wings beating the air.
Daniel watched for a moment, then looked at the truck. Then he blinked and walked closer. "Kelly," he said.
"You bring me back my baby," she screamed.
"Kelly," he said, more insistently, stepping closer to the truck. "Come here, take a look at this."
She looked at him. "What?" she said, her eyes still twitching.
Without looking up from the truck, he said, "I don't think that's Mary it's carrying."
Reluctantly, she traced his steps. "What are you talking about?" she said, glaring skyward as the thing continued to rise.
He pointed. Half of the truck's hood had been peeled away.
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