CHAPTER 5

IDEAS

He kept hearing the name in his head.

Black Hollow. Black Hollow. Black Hollow. 

The voice behind it was that of a woman's but he couldn't find her in the fog. But she was so close that John felt he could touch her.

Then her voice began to recede and he waa sure that she was leaving. He tried to call out to her but he could not hear himself talk. It was as if she had stolen his ability to speak.

Her voice was finally sucked into nothing and the next thing he knew, John was waking up on the hard table in David's office.

The doctor was leaning against his work bench. His eyes behind those spectacles started at the visitor with curiosity.

John put his face in his hands and rubbed.

"How are you feeling?" Favid asked.

John exhaled and looked at the man. "The heat is gone." 

David nodded, as if he had much trust in his avocation that he expected nothing less. "Well, that's good."

The doctor kept looking at him and John got a weird feeling. "Is there something else you want to say?"

"No."

"What can you tell me about this place?" John asked. 

"You mean my house?" 

"Black Hollow."

John got up from the table. He didn't feel any pain at all. It was as if he had never been involved in any fight.

Before David could say anything, the door opened and Sarah and the older man stepped in. "I can see that you're up, Mister John."

"I am. And it's just John."

"Sure," Sarah said and her eyes fell to his muscled body. She had never seen any man with such build before. Her eyes reluctantly found his face again as she asked, "Do you have any place to stay, John?"

"I was going to get myself a room."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Sarah pointed out.

"Why not?" 

"You were attacked. And I'm pretty sure they are going to come back for you. Who knows, they might even be searching for you already."

"I haven't done anything wrong. I just got here."

"I know," Sarah said. "And I believe you, John. But you're going to have to trust me."

"Why?" 

"Because I can keep you safe. I can get you somewhere to stay."

John wasn't good with people. He mostly lived on his own. And didn't really interact with them the way he was doing. And this Sarah lady was being too kind to him. Even though she was supposedly Lucas's sister. 

John picked up his clothes and put a coat on. "I don't think that is a good idea either."

Sarah was surprised to hear him say that. "Well, you got a better idea?" 

"You don't have to drag yourself into this. I can take care of myself."

"Just take her damn offer," David put in. "This is Black Hollow. You're new here. At least, let her tell you about this place. There's good here, but there's evil as well. You would want to steer clear from that."

John thought about that for some time. Well, he wanted to know why the letter had told him to come to Black Hollow. And when he did, it was right into the hands of some people who needed him for their own selfish interests. 

His life had been dull and uninteresting. No one cared about him. No one paid him any attention. Now it had suddenly changed and it wouldn't hurt to accept help from those who were offering it. 

However, he noticed that the older man said nothing. He just stood behind Sarah and watched. But one thing was certain. That facial look, John was sure there was something about the whole arrangement that he wasn't comfortable with.

He grabbed the rest of his things and followed Sarah and Old Mikey. When they got to the horses and carriage John realized Old Mikey was the same man he had asked for directions to Black Hollow. 

He said nothing. 

They got in and Mikey took the reins. Sarah and John sat in the back. She looked at the passing trees outside, then her gaze found John. What was it about him that Lucas needed to have him for the ritual? 

Where was the connection? 

"Why don't you tell me something about yourself?" she prompted. 

"Name's John Crowe," he said. 

She smiled and nodded her head. "Smart. Very smart. What else?" 

John realized she was trying to get to know more about him. "There's nothing much to tell about me. I'm a drifter."

"I see. And Black Hollow was your what? Next stop?" 

"No. I found a letter telling me that I needed to be here."

"So you're saying that you came here just because of some letter?" 

"It is more complicated than that," John told her. 

"How?" 

"Let's say you've been having dreams. They keep reoccurring every damn night. You can't sleep, and when you're awake, your eyes are weary. Then you wake up one morning to find a letter telling you to find the answers to your dreams in a town you've never heard of. Wouldn't you go?" When she didn't respond, he went on. "Yeah, you wouldn't have anything to say because you've never been in that situation. But it is real and it's happened to me."

Sarah was pretty much convinced that John Crowe hadn't arrived here because he was a drifter. There was something else at play. And if it involved Lucas then she wanted to know all about it. 

The best thing was to keep him safe for as long as she could until the answers started unraveling themselves. It was already night when they reached the road leading to the house. It was an abandoned property owned by the Millers; the ones murdered by Lucas. 

Old Mikey stopped the horses. "We're here," he announced. 

John was the first to step out. The clouds above shifted and the moon was exposed. 

That was when John began to feel the heat inside of him again. And this time there was nothing

he could do to stop it from burning.

Sarah looked at him, and what she saw brought a shiver to her spine.