Hi, I'm Sam
Fallen and I work for the Devil. But... its not like that. The universe is a
vast and complicated place. There is far more to it than your little 1300 cc
brains can comprehend. Keep trying. You're so cute and entertaining! We demons
get a bad rap. I still cannot get over how bad you treat each other from time
to time. And I'm a demon? Look, I cannot go ape-shit and kill all the bad guys
for you. Step up to the plate yourself from time to time. If I even tried
to do it all, that would be breaking far too many protocols. Who needs the
paperwork? I mean, I would if I could but like I said, it's far more
complicated than you can comprehend. Sometimes, I can make a difference, even
in small ways. It's not always about killing Nazis, pedophiles, abusers
and other sickos. Sometime, just word of caution is all that's needed.
I like my current job. I get to dole
out justice "Twilight Zone" style, mostly here in the USA. During
down time between jobs, I like roam around the country, checking out the people
and sites. I mostly drive at night. After all I'm a demon, dammit! I can drive
whatever I want. Here lately, I've been sporting a black Nissan GTR Nizmo. It's
quite a ride! You should check one out sometime. Better yet, steal one! Now, I
could power the thing myself but you know, protocols. So, I still have to put
up with your fossil fuel bullshit (most of the time). So there I am blasting
through the desert south-west, California bound, Metallica pumping, windows
down, howling at the moon when the low fuel light comes on. That's not all that
far in this rig. I cannot be too choosy. I pull into a little seedy roadside
gas station. They are open 24 hours, lucky me. At least the pumps are from the
21st century, I can just swipe my card and not even have to go in. I avoid you
guys when possible, nothing personal. My gas card is pretty cool, no limits or
bills. Yes, being a demon has privileges. The good mood I had before quickly
evaporated listening to some clerk-schmuck threatening to call the cops on a teen-aged
girl sitting on the curb balling her eyes out. The kid had enough problems and
he wasn't helping. Between jobs, I had nothing better to do. I strolled on
over.
"Hi, Katie.
It's Sam. I used to work with your Dad, Robert. Is this guy bothering
you?"
"No," she stammered.
I gave
the clerk-schmuck a "you better get the fuck outta here before I beat your
ass" look. Yeah, another demon thing that comes in handy from time to
time. He got the point, suddenly remembering brownies were burning in the store
or something equally as dire. No, I never worked with Kate's dad! But how would
she know? I did know her name, Katie, and her dad's name was Robert though.
It's a part of my job to know such things.
"Kate, this a real nice place and all but that guy may indeed call the
cops. Come with me and we'll sort things out. I know your dad and I won't hurt
you."
Without
saying anything, she got up and walked over to my car. I opened the passenger
door and she got in. I got in, hit the start button and eased back out onto the
road going east. I know my new charge lives back in Missouri. Yeah, it's a
little out of the way but what the hell. I got time. My new friend says
nothing, just looking straight ahead at the desolate two-lane road. Like I
said, I have time. Finally, she speaks.
"What did you
say your name was?"
"Sam
Fallen."
"I don't
remember Dad mentioning you before. Are you sure you worked with him?"
"Yes, I'm
sure. It was a contract assignment, only a few months. So, ah, what brings you
out west?"
"I'm still not
convinced."
I slow the car.
"Would you rather walk? I don't kidnap people. You're free to go."
"No, just take
me to the next town."
I accelerate back up to my previous speed. "Looks like we have 22 more miles."
She remains
silent. I know why she's here. I know all about the cool new boyfriend who
offered adventure and excitement. She found out the hard way, all he really
wanted was to pimp her out to movie-makers on the west coast for fun and
profit. Wisely, she took her chances at a roadside gas station instead of getting
back in the van with him and his buddies. Things were about to get ugly. I'll
give the young man a little credit. He did not force (or let his buddies force)
her back into the van. He wrongly figured she'd be calling begging for a ride
in twenty minutes or so. That was two hours ago. This kid knew better. I
thought about the sickos in the van and decided to let it go for now. They had
not crossed the line yet. Kate was their first and more than one did not like
what was going on. Harm kids guys and there is Hell to pay. I turned on Kate's
favorite band, The The. Not my thing really but I wanted the kid to be
comfortable. I looked over and saw her sobbing softly to herself. I reached over
and squeezed her shoulder.
"You're safe
now."
Kate sobbed louder.
I remained silent. She soon stopped and we rode on in silence.
"Where do you
want to get out?" I asked.
"I don't know
mister. I have no money and no place to go."
"Where would
you like to go? I'll help you."
Once she was in my
car, she was under my protection and my responsibility. Anything happen to her
on my watch and I'm back scraping feces off dungeon floors in the eighth circle
of hell, no thanks.
"Home,"
she answered at last. Back with her family, I was no longer responsible. It was
up to them to look out for her.
"I'll get you
there. Around daybreak we'll be near Albuquerque. I'll see to it you get on a
plane home. You have had a long last few days. Try to get some rest."
"You have no
idea what my last few days have been like but thank you."
"Don't assume what
someone else may or may not know," I said as I flashed a few images from
her last few days into her mind from mine. It was just enough to give her
pause.
"Are you a guardian
angel or something?"
It was all I could
do to not bust out laughing. I barely pulled back into my lane in time to avoid
a semi. I hope she did not see my expression.
"No, let's just
stick with or something. Get some rest."
"Thank you, Mr.
Fallen."
Soon she dozed off.
Now, putting the kid on a plane was not all that hard but I did not want to
screw around with this for the next several hours. Katie, with no id, did not
help matters either. I looked into her mind and found where she lived. Bam!
Let's do this. The GTR disappeared from Arizona. In a quiet neighborhood in
Jefferson, Missouri I spun around doing a 360 degree turn. There was always the
outside chance of merging with another car, pedestrian, dog or cat. I win that
battle but oh, the paperwork! Katie woke up and looked around.
"Are we at the
airport?"
"You slept
quite awhile. I didn't have the heart wake you."
I rounded
another turn and she knew where she was. The sun was just coming up. I stopped
a block short of her house.
"Okay, this is
it kid. I think you can make it from here."
She hugged my
neck. "How did we get here?
"You
slept right through it. This Nissan is rather zippy. Your parents and brother
have been worried sick. Now go!"
I leaned across her
and opened the door.
"Is this
real?"
"Yes, now go
on."
"I don't know
how to thank you, Mr. Fallen."
"Easy, don't
get into any more vans with strange boys, no matter how cute or cool they may
appear to be."
She leaned over and
kissed me on the cheek. "How about fast cars with handsome men?"
Katie climbed out, shut the door and looked at me for an answer.
"Especially
them." I winked my right eye. "So long kid. Keep yourself
safe."
"You
too."
“Will I ever see you again?”
“I don’t think so.”
I eased the car away
and watched her in the rear-view until I turned back toward the interstate. She
had a lot of fence mending and healing to do with her family but I knew she
would be okay. I put myself a few days behind schedule but I have a very fast
car, a credit card with no limits (or bills) and all the time I needed.
The moral? Take care
of each other, you fuckers, I cannot rescue everybody.
