“Yeah,” JD answered, flipping over the hunting knife. He wiped blood off the handle and held up the end.
“That way’s north, we go that way far enough, we’ll get to something. We’re close to …”
A deep thud sounded, and then another, then a shrill guitar. They all turned to the west where a glow seeped through the dense foliage.
“The concert,” Ashley whispered.
*******
Colored lights burned and spun along the trees. The crowd was immense and thousands packed as close to the stage as possible. Roadies in superhero costumes buzzed around the stage; musicians were still unpacking equipment from vans. Nearly half of the crowd was also dressed in Halloween costumes, acres of spikes and leather, women in naughty nurse’s outfits, guys dressed as women in naughty nurse’s outfits. Marcus recognized the nauseatingly sweet, mint smell of Mean Green all around.
Ashley carried Sean as the rest formed a circle around them. Marcus could see figures emerging from the woods, probably looking for them.
“Should we disappear and try to disperse into the crowd?” Marcus asked.
“Yeah,” Ashley nodded.
They’d reached groups of fans sitting on foldable chairs and lying on blankets. College kids were tossing around footballs; a thin, leather-skinned woman was spinning flaming balls attached to chains.
“Everybody break up and start looking for someone with a car we can use,” Ashley said.
“I know some guys working sound,” JD said. “I’ll go check with them.”
JD jogged toward the crowd and disappeared.
“Wait,” Ashley said, looking around. “Where’s Billy?”
“He was still fighting last time I saw him,” Marcus said. “He wanted to give us more time to escape.”
“What?” Ashley growled. “You left him behind?”
Marcus looked away.
“Someone’s got to find him!” Ashley snapped.
“Yes, ma’am,” Oscar said, patting Junior’s shoulder. “Let’s go boy.”
“I’ll go with you,” Charles said as they turned to walk back to the forest. “Protect Ashley, Marcus.”
Marcus saluted.
“Junior,” Sean called. “Don’t leave me.”
“You’re gonna be okay now,” Junior called. “I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Okay,” Sean answered, but his face sagged in despair.
Marcus wanted to say something to fix everything for the boy, but he was afraid of saying something that would make it worse.
Marcus looked ahead of them and saw a wiry kid with glowsticks braided into his dreadlocks. The kid watched them as he talked on his cell phone. The kid put the phone away and turned away to the stage.
“Did you see that?” Marcus asked.
“Yeah,” Ashley said. “They know we’re here.”
They reached the dense mob of the crowd, all standing and slowly pressing forward. Marcus elbowed his way between a Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy licking each other’s faces. Marcus looked at the stage as the first opening band began tuning their guitars. There were sporadic whoops and hollers.
“Hey guys,” a voice called.
They looked around and saw Mitch the Witch. He was wearing a radio transmitter on his back, holding a microphone and a fuzzy, alien antennae bobbing on his head.
“Have you been following us this whole time?” Marcus asked, scanning the crowd.
“Oh, off and on,” Mitch shrugged. “I’m broadcasting right now. Do you want to say something to our audience?”
“Yeah, anyone have a car?” Marcus asked.
“Don’t tell them where we are,” Ashley pleaded.
Mitch cocked his head curiously.
“Tell who?” Mitch said, holding the mic out toward them.
“There she is!” another voice shouted over the crowd noise.
“Shit,” Marcus grunted. Vader was walking toward them. “Get out of here, Ashley!”
Marcus began walking toward the men, but Mitch got out ahead of him.
“Excuse me, gentlemen,” Mitch said to them. “Mitch the Witch here and I’m trying to get to the bottom of all this.”
The men glanced down at the microphone and then at Marcus.
“Where’d she go?” Vader growled.
Marcus glanced around innocently.
“Who?”
“What’s the boy have to do with the anomaly?” Mitch asked the man, then held the microphone up to them.
Vader lunged into Mitch and then backed off. Mitch crumpled to the ground and curled into a fetal position.
“I’ve been stabbed!” Mitch gasped, his voice weak and thin. “Listeners, they’ve stabbed me. Oh my God!”
Blood trickled out of his mouth. He rolled around and pressed his hand into the wound, gasping and grunting from the pain. Vader flicked the blood off his knife. Marcus turned and ran through the crowd.
He dodged between people, through groups and over chairs. People yelled and cussed at him, pushed him and eventually the swarm of the crowd was too dense to run through. He began sidestepping around people and crouching down. He kept moving until he saw a boy’s leg. It was wrapped around a woman’s waist. He weaved around and saw Ashley looking away from him. Sean was turned around and looking in the same direction.
“Ashley?” Marcus whispered.
He looked past her and his body shook.
“Hello, Marcus,” Jim Jacobs said.
Willy Wonka
The two college girls cuddled next to me, their warm, naked bodies squeezing against my tingling skin. I tried to remember if we’d had sex, but that green liquid had scrambled my brain. It felt like the three of us were under a warm, fuzzy blanket that was breathing in and out, in and out. I was mildly surprised when I looked around to see that everyone else was still naked as well. Sue was curled on the ground a few feet away from us crying, Jacobs was in the distance doing thai chi.
I looked back at Sue, the sorta girlfriend. We’d never felt all that attached to each other, but with the image of Jacobs on top of her, the sound of her moans, I began to feel a hunger for her I’d never had before. At that moment, I had an epiphany about human love. It wasn’t about warmth, compatibility, happiness or some sublime sense of contentment. It was about ownership. Looking at my sorta girlfriend’s naked body on the ground, it suddenly made sense that I had to take ownership of her, mark my territory. And I did. The sex was inhuman, unnatural and the most fun we’d ever had together. I was startled when she orgasmed. I’d never seen her do that before and I thought I’d done something wrong.
I could hear Jacobs and the other two girls laughing as my sorta girlfriend’s body tangled around mine. It was ugly, ugly sex and it was an awakening.
When the act was done, she fell asleep but continued hugging me tightly. I felt completely lucid and all together exposed to the world. I was also aware of how horrible everything around me smelled, including Sue.
Jacobs stood over me, naked. I leaned up and eased Sue off. The two coeds were nowhere to be found, but Jacobs didn’t seem particularly concerned.
Jacobs asked if I was ready to see what “A Reckoning” was really all about. I was, but needed to get my voice recorder and camera. He said I wouldn’t need it, and we left Sue behind as we walked farther into the woods. I laughed at the thought of hunters running into these two naked men stumbling through the Oklahoma countryside, one as pale as the moon and the other with a mohawk taller than deer antlers. I wondered how long it would be until we were shot and lynched.
A pang of jealousy rippled through me as I watched Jim and his estranged wife stare at each other. The crowd jostled and pushed against our small group. I strained to listen for their conversation through the hundreds of voices shouting and the searing feedback of the first band. I hated that Jim always made me jealous. I felt like a pathetic schoolgirl.
Still, I’d been the focus of Jim’s attention, listening to his utopian rants, discussing his memories of what was on the o
ther side and what would happen once he and his followers stepped over. I was in the presence of history. The longer I was there, the more I wanted to believe in everything Jim said, all his ideals, all his dreams, all his lies. Even if not one thing he told me was true, what would happen that night would still be history, one way or another.
Once Ashley stepped through the crowd with her child wrapped tightly around her, I felt that my role in Jim’s life was now over. It was inevitable, I suppose.
“How are you?” Jim asked, as he admired his son. Sean didn’t recognize his father, and it was probably just as well.
“They’re after us!” Ashley growled. “They might have killed Billy.”
“Really?” Jim asked, looking through the crowd, then seeing Marcus crouched behind Ashley. “Why, hello, my lost Lion. Are you looking for your flock?”
Marcus stood up and grimaced.
“Jim …” Marcus began.
“No, I understand, Marcus. You have a family now. I understand why you walked away from me. If you make sure my wife and child get home safe, then you have fulfilled your obligation to me. You might even be able to catch up with Chris if you hurry.”
“He’s not playing tonight?” Marcus asked.
“No, he’s a family man now, just like you. Well, not exactly like you.”
Jim glanced behind as a young kid in a McDonald’s T-shirt whispered to him. Jim nodded and then looked back at Marcus.
“This is my new guitar player,” Jim said, putting his arm over the kid’s shoulders. “Delicious, right?”
The kid nodded and winked at Marcus.
Jim stepped toward Marcus and gave him a hug. He whispered into Marcus’s ear; Marcus smiled and nodded his head. Jim then moved to Ashley. She tensed and recoiled slightly, but she allowed Jim to lean in toward her. He whispered something. Ashley laughed slightly and tears quickly dripped from her eyes and down her cheeks.
She leaned away, looked over Jim’s scarred face. Her fingers traced the jagged line cut into his cheek. He took her hand in his and kissed her fingers.
“Walk with me,” Jim said to Ashley, leading her into the crowd with Delicious following right behind them.
Jim paused, then looked back at me. I knew before he said it.
“Go home and tell your story, Willy Wonka.”
I lingered as they disappeared into the crowd, swimming through the bodies toward the stage.
“Was that Jim Jacobs?” a woman next to me asked.
“Yeah.”
“What happened to his face?”
I ignored the question and looked back into the crowd to find Jim.
The woman next to me pushed forward with her friends. The crowd slowly became aware that the Prophet was among it. The cheers and anticipation slowly died out and the music cut off instrument by instrument. Soon there was only muffled chatter. I stood on my toes and saw Jim being pulled up onstage. His wife, son and Marcus were soon hefted up behind him.
The band stood silently while Herb Hefner and Brian strode onto the stage. They stopped in front of Jim. Robbie appeared limping behind them. The crowd members jostled and murmured as they watched the men talk. Robbie led Ashley, Sean and Marcus off stage. Jim motioned for the singer’s microphone, and the singer quickly obliged.
“Do you feel it?” Jim called, turning to face the crowd.
A few yelps followed as Jim smiled. A man dressed as Jesus wrapped in Christmas lights climbed up onto the stage and was quickly tossed back into the crowd by security.
“Prepare yourselves,” Jim said. “Those who are not ready, please file out through the back. We will play music for as long as we can, but we are running out of time.”
The people around me were looking at each other, waiting for someone to make the decision to leave.
“Who’s ready for a reckoning?” Jim yelled, and the crowd erupted with laughter and screams. A guitar wailed, Jim threw the microphone back to the singer. Drum beats led the band into a song. Half the crowd danced, the other half murmured to each other over whether to stay or go.
As best I could tell, I was the first to turn my back on Jim.
******
The wind picked up and goosebumps started to rise on my naked skin. I wanted to head back to get my clothes, but didn’t want to frustrate Jacobs and have him call the whole thing off. He’d gotten so erratic the last couple of years that interviewing him was like trying to feed a squirrel. Any false movement and he darted away to hide in the nearest tree.
A blue light was emanating from the other side of a hill. Jim grabbed my arm and held me still. He held up his other hand, fingers extended. With a quick flick, the razor blade emerged. A cheap magic trick, and he was proud of himself. He led me slowly up the hill. We stopped at the top and he motioned for me to kneel. The blue light was faint and the source was hidden amid the tall grass in a clearing. Amused and intrigued by Jacobs’s elaborate production, I inched closer, but Jacobs grabbed my arm and shook his head. I wondered if Sue and the two coeds were in on it as well, hiding naked in the bushes, pulling strings, holding up fans, just as eager to do Jacobs’s bidding as I was.
Jacobs tapped me on the shoulder, showed me the razor and then jabbed it into his forearm. I winced and went pale. Jacobs grimaced as he dug it farther into the skin. Blood spurted up and was caught by the wind. The blue light flickered.
“Ready to see something crazy?” Jacobs asked, as he lifted the razor blade.
A drop of blood wiggled on the edge of the blade, began to drop to the ground, but wiggled more. Instead of falling down, it flew off toward the blue light. I watched the drop spin and dart across the field.
“Keep watching,” Jacobs whispered.
The blue light hummed and pulsed. The wind swirled and gusted. Leaves rustled and were plucked off trees by the wind and tumbled toward the light. The light grew brighter and brighter, and for a moment, I thought I could see a figure move inside the light.
The light faded and disappeared altogether. My mind was deconstructing, looking behind the curtain, guessing at the magic trick. As I thought, as I doubted, as I stared off into the night, I began to consider that Jacobs might not be crazy. Maybe this wasn’t a cheap parlor trick, an elaborate ruse to push album sales. Maybe, there was something in the forest; maybe it will gobble us all up for the dastardly sin of ignoring Jim Jacobs.
Jacobs stood, patted me on the shoulder.
“Its getting bigger, Will,” Jacobs whispered. “It’s going to destroy the world.”
“What is it?”
“That,” he said with a wide grin, “is the Reckoning.”
The glow started as a flicker when I reached the outer limits of the crowd. I first thought it was from the stage until I saw people pointing out into the woods. I turned to see a flashing light rising up from behind the trees. The crowd cheered at the spectacle. A warm, moist breeze swept through the forest. The weaker-willed of the crowd began packing up their collapsible chairs, rolling up blankets and heading toward their cars.
The light was impressive, but I guessed it was artificial. I’d only been away from Jim a few minutes, and already felt ridiculous for the fleeting moment when I bought into the myth. I was curious, and nervous about what was going to happen whenever Jim led them to whatever end he had in mind. I didn’t think it would be a mass suicide, but I did want to get out of the area in case I was wrong.
I scanned the crowd in the slight chance I might see someone I knew. I still needed a ride back into Oklahoma City, or Norman, at the very least. I saw two men carrying a stretcher out of one grouping of trees and soon disappearing into another nearby. I veered off toward the stretcher.
As I approached the trees, I saw flashing red and blue lights. I considered my chances of hitching a ride back with an ambulance. It was unlikely, but as it is with most things in journalism, you never know what you can get away with until you ask.
Behind me, the crowd cheered loudly. I glanced back at the stage and could faintly make out Shr
opshire Plaid taking the stage. It wasn’t enough to make me turn back.
“How ya doing, Stretch?” I heard a voice call.
I turned around and saw it was Charles being hauled off in a stretcher toward the line of trees. He was being carried by National Guardsmen instead of EMTs. I didn’t realize it at the time, but if there were already Guardsmen in the area, they must have known about this for a long time.
I wasn’t thinking of conspiracy theories, I was just glad that I had a ride out of there.
“Hey,” I said, jogging to catch up with them. “What happened to you?”
“Got my ass kicked,” Charles laughed, pointing to a splint strapped to his right leg. “It was pretty unbelievable!”
Charles didn’t look to be in pain at all; in fact, he looked like he just got off a roller coaster. I knew from the look in his eyes, this was his hero moment. I’d soon be hearing him describe this on CNN. I walked along the stretcher as we passed into the trees.
“I just left Jim,” I said. “I think they are about to play. They’ve got some lights set up in the trees, really trying to sell the end of the world stuff.”
“Dammit,” Charles grunted. “Can’t believe I missed it.”
I grinned as I glanced back up, looking for the red and blue lights. My feet stopped working as my breath turned to a lump.
I started thinking about conspiracy theories.
Hundreds of National Guardsmen were standing in formation with riot gear on. Two-ton trucks were driving up a dirt road, and as they came to a stop, men and supplies poured out the back. There was also a white bus with men in anti-contamination suits disembarking and walking into the forest, looking like astronauts exploring an alien planet. Near the road, dozens of wounded civilians were lying on stretchers or sitting with bandages and ice packs on various body parts. There was even a Santa with a bandaged head, bloodstained fake beard and cotton sprouting from his red coat where someone had apparently tried to stab his bowlful of jelly.
“What the hell is going on?” I mumbled, jogging to catch up with the stretcher.