Water by O'Brien Dan

Author:O'Brien, Dan [O'Brien, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Amalgam
Published: 2013-10-10T16:00:00+00:00

*

The desert was characteristically as dark as a closed coffin. However, this night it was quite the opposite. Scattered home lights created the feeling of a sprawling metropolis, as opposed to the remote locale that it truly was.

James moved along the glowing streets, his breath even as if he were pacing himself for a distance run. His mind was racing, the world quickly unraveling. As things often go, it was beginning to snowball out of control. People were quick to revert to their most natural state, the state of nature as Hobbes had so succinctly put it––when the laws of society broke down and self-importance dominated.

The shotgun felt heavy in his hands.

A sense of foreboding lingered in the air, as if the surrounding area was collectively holding its breath in anticipation of what was to come. The desert, normally alive with the sounds of coyotes and lizards slithering about in the shadows, was hauntingly silent.

The rhythm and noise of humanity permeated the night, which inundated the arid air that surrounded the populace of Miranda. Voices whispering, their fears jettisoned into the ether of the desert night. The image of Violet––maimed, hurt, bleeding in her own home, unable to call for help––plagued his mind.

As he crossed over Palo Verde Street, he saw the beige-colored trim of the house he remembered as being Violet’s. The lawn was the conglomeration of dirty and pale rocks accented by the occasional thorny brush cut low to the ground. Santa and his reindeer, dilapidated and drawn thin from the long summers of Arizona, remained a silent guardian of holidays past.

The front light was burned out.

There was a suspicious lack of lights in the front rooms.

His heartbeat raced as he stepped up to the front door.

It was open.

Cautiously approaching the door, he pushed on the handle. It swung open, revealing a darkened interior. His eyes had adjusted to the artificial light of the night, so for the moment he was blind. Swinging to the right, a sound drew his attention. He took another step into the darkened interior of the house.

“Violet?”

The response was altogether different than he had anticipated. The pain radiated from his arm, and the cry of pain that erupted from his lips was replaced with a string of curse words as he fell to the side. His foot caught on a small toy, disrupting his balance, and he fell. The carpet was thick, but the darkness made it so he fell hard, not able to cushion his fall by repositioning his body.

Looking up in the dark, he saw the scattered shadow of a small figure. “Violet,” he repeated, though he could not hide the slight irritation in his voice.

Light enveloped the room and Julie stood with her small hand on the switch. Brandishing an unmarked bat, Violet looked far more fearsome than James had thought her capable. “James,” she spoke. And then looking at him strangely, she repeated his name once more. “What are you doing here?”

James groaned as he pushed himself to his feet.

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