He seems somehow out of place. Alone. Surrounded by people talking to each other, laughing at each other's jokes. He just sits there at the bar, staring at his glass.
She has seen plenty like him, but he is different. They were old men, mostly. Down and out. He looks no older than thirty, and well off, judging by his clothes. And here he is, staring at his beer, as if it were a clock. Watching the time tick away.
He must sense something, because he looks back over his shoulder. His would be a handsome face, if it wasn't for the eyes. They don't belong in this man's face at all. These are the eyes of some stone idol. Ancient. Dead blue stones. There is an emptiness in those eyes. She tries to look away, finds the need in those eyes too great.
Then he smiles. Instead of cracking as she had imagined, the man's features soften. The stones become eyes once more.
"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" Dumb question, but she has to say something.
"No... Go ahead, sit down. Can I buy you a drink?"
"Okay. I'll have what you're having."
"Is beer okay?"
"Sure."
"I don't think we've been properly introduced." He takes a swallow of beer. "I'm Michael Garton, and you are?"
"Sarah. Sarah Morgan."
"Pleased to meet you."
At first, he couldn't believe what he saw. He was looking at the face of a memory. A face he has seen in his nightmares, but different. This one's beauty, it's life, has not been torn away from it.
This is where he comes, when the memories are too much. Comes, to wash the pictures away. To replace them, at least for a while, with blackness.
And then, he saw her. For a moment, he was sure it wasn't real. Some cruel illusion. Fully expected her to vanish at any moment, without a trace. She did not.
Now, he knows she isn't Elizabeth. But she looks so much like her. The hair, the eyes- if he got his picture of Elizabeth, before her death, they would be almost identical.
"So tell me, are you married?"
"Huh?" Then he looks down at the ring. "I was. She died a year ago. I wear this to remember her."
"I'm sorry. I..."
"It's okay, Sarah. I think it would do me some good to talk about her."
"What was her name?"
"Elizabeth. We got married in the spring of '85. You remind me of her quite a lot, actually."
"Really?"
"Here, take a look."
He opens his wallet, and takes out a photo.
Another Sarah, smiling at an unseen camera. The resemblance is not passing, but almost exact. Looking at it, she feels a strange, doubling sensation. A minute of staring at those eyes, her eyes, has more effect than hour's beers.
"Were you happy together?" She says, taking one last look at the photo.
"Those were the best years of my life."
He stares down into his glass, silent once more. It hurts her to watch.
"What do you do -you know, for a living?"
"I used to be a doctor. I resigned after Elizabeth died. Made enough money to see me through, for a while yet. What about you?"
After Elizabeth died, his life seemed to lose its meaning. Without it, how could he save the lives of others?
"Me? I'm a personal office assistant. Really, that means I'm nothing but a Mister Coffee and answering machine with legs, but the money's good."
Michael laughs at this. It takes them both by surprise.
Seeing herself, reflected in those eyes, makes Sarah think about the photo. Elizabeth had obviously meant a lot to him. Elizabeth is gone, now. She is here. Maybe she can help fill the emptiness Elizabeth left.
Michael remembers now. Not... what he tries to forget, but the other things. Ten years of memories, shadowed by that night, just over a year ago. What would it be like to relive them?
Soon, both their questions will be answered...
-oooOooo-
The moon hangs full in the sky, painting the world beneath it silver.
Walking through the forest, its silence, time loses its meaning. Eventually the track widens, and they stand in a clearing.
From this place on the hillside, the town becomes something else. A carpet of lights, as bright as those overhead.
"Isn't it beautiful?" A voice to Michael's right says.
"It isn't half as beautiful as you." He squeezes her hand.
"My family used to camp here, you know? The place has changed since then. More lights, now. It's been such a long time..."
"Thank you for sharing it with me. I'd never have seen it, otherwise."
"There's something else I want to share..."
Unable to read her face, he waits for her to continue.
"Michael... I'm pregnant."
"That's... wonderful!"
Two words. Any number couldn't describe his feelings. His joy. Knowing this, Michael holds her close.
A shrill note ends the moment.
"Damn! I thought I turned it off." He takes the beeper out of his pocket.
"It's all right. We were going soon, anyway..."
They start retracing their steps, to the parking lot.
"If it's a boy," she asks "what should we call him?"
"Andrew... Or maybe, Daniel. What if it's a girl?"
"Sarah. I think Sarah's a good name..."
The silence is broken once again. Only this time, the call is of an entirely different nature.
"Did you hear that?"
"It sounds so lonely... that howl. Sad somehow."
They look in the direction of the noise.
Another one, closer.
The bushes part, behind them to the right. The shadows have eyes. Yellow. Staring at them... and through them. A low growling. Teeth, glinting white in the darkness.
"Come on, Elizabeth... Nice and easy."
Michael turns around slowly, begins to walk, still holding her hand.
He doesn't see the eyes, rising slowly. Until they reach a man's height. Doesn't see the thing, as it steps out of the shadows, into the moonlight.
Behind him, more growling. Closer. He looks back, into the eyes. Into the madness.
Frozen for what seems like an eternity, then instinct takes control.
Runs now, drags Elizabeth a few steps, until she tears her gaze away from it...
In his fear, time and distance lose their meaning. One foot in front of the other. All that matters. Is it gaining on them? Fights the urge to check over his shoulder...
Michael feels her hand, slipping in his grip. Knows she can't keep this pace much longer. But he must not slow down...
A fork in the track gives him a choice. It is the hardest in his life.
"Elizabeth, listen to me. I want you to go straight on, towards the parking lot."
"But... what about you?"
"I'll lead it away, down the other path. Just get in the car, and lock the doors."
She realises what it is he means to do. He sees it in her eyes.
"I'll be all right. Just go... now!"
Elizabeth takes one last look at him, and does as he says...
Now, he waits. It rounds the corner, sees him.
Michael starts running again, down the second path.
It follows him, but then stops and sniffs the air.
Now, he sees something else in those eyes. Cruel, calculating intelligence. It turns, back towards the place where the paths join. Back towards Elizabeth.
As it moves away, with horrible speed and grace, Michael realises; it has been playing with them, all along.
"ELIZABETH! NO!"
But it is too late. He hears screams, which give way once more to silence.
"Oh my god..."
He is drained. Drained of what has kept him going so long...
He manages a few more steps, then trips and falls. He makes no effort to get up...
As the shadow stretches to cover him, he hopes for a quick death...
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Last Updated: Feb 10, 1996