Chapter 19 Part 1 – Call for Obstruction

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OR read the summary below and jump in.

So far, Barry has signed his soul into servitude to Satan on Earth. He’s a driver for OTG Courier Services, forced by his demon boss, Margery, to transport concentrated evil energy from Denver to Trinidad, Colorado. Demons on the Bellow’s Ranch are dumping the substance down an abandoned coal mine’s air shafts, and it’s forming a rift between Earth and Hell that will soon open.

Despite the fact that serving Satan comes with immortal life and any sinful thing his heart desires, Barry desperately wants out of his contract. Margery has other plans for Barry and bullies him to obey or suffer the consequences she inflicts with one wave of her magical cigarettes. Barry’s not giving up though. He plays the good employee and volunteers for overtime, resolved to snoop around for contract loopholes. Only the other OTG employees go missing—likely kidnapped by white warriors who fight for God’s angels. Margery makes Barry and senior driver Vern fill in, leaving Barry no time for anything other than work.

Knowing how bad life will be once the Gates of Hell open, Margery and Vern ask Barry to help plug up the air shafts. He agrees until he finds out they plan to sacrifice innocent children down into the hell hole. To get Barry back on board, Margery contracts Nina, his love interest. She promises to release her from servitude and give her to Barry if he follows through on the plan. Barry has no choice but to transport a box truck full of kids to Trinidad. On the way, Trisha, the girl he’s met a few times while picking up coffee for Margery, forces Barry off the road. She is an Angel’s Apprentice and agrees not to kill Barry if he turns informant for the angels. Trisha then hands Vern’s head to him to deliver to Margery.

The Courier Series is about Barry White, a twenty-something computer geek with an overbearing mother, no prospects of finding a girlfriend, and an unemployment record that’s made him pessimistic he’ll ever be happy.

In Call for Obstruction, Barry has just lost his fourth jobs in the past year due to corporate downsizing. Desperate for employment, he jumps at the first position he’s offered over the phone, driver for OTG Courier Services. Shortly after meeting his new boss, a tiny yet fiery old lady named Margery, she coerces him into signing a questionable employment contract he soon regrets.

The Courier was originally written as a twitter novel @TheCourierNovel in 2009, and the same year it won the Annual Textnovel Writing Contest. Later parts of the story are still tweeting.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

W. J. Howard lives near Denver and writes horror, fantasy and sci-fi with a bit of comedy mixed in. Wendy is also the Co-op Manager for Visionary Press Cooperative, leading an innovative way to publish.

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Damn it’s hot. And it’s only been a five mile hike since Trisha took my truck. Most of the heat is reflecting off the pavement, and not even a gust from a passing semi provides any relief.

While I’m still pissed Trisha left me stranded, I’m glad she took the kids. One less concern, especially now that Nina’s a driver. Then again, what will Margery do when she finds out Vern’s dead and her plan’s been derailed by an Angel’s Apprentice. Hell, what if she already know. I look down at Vern’s head, swinging at my right side. Poor bastard will be melty gelatin and skull by the time we reach Trinidad. Could be prettier than what Margery does to me.

I turn to the sound of roaring engines. Three vehicles including a red van approach. I jump and wave my arms, hoping it’s an OTG driver. Passers by would be horrified if they could make out Vern’s head flapping around.

The van passes, then pulls over and stops twenty or so yards down the road. “Yes,” I whisper and run to catch up.

Nina’s driving. “Bear, why you walking? Where’s your—” She retracts and screams at the sight of Vern’s head.

I ignore her and settle in the passenger seat. “Shut up and drive,” I say, too tired to put up with her girlie shit.

Nina squeals as she pulls away from the median and nearly side swipes a passing car.

“What the hell are you doing!” I grip the dashboard with both hands.

“Are you going to hurt me?” she whimpers while staring down at Vern’s head, resting against my feet. Another car swerves out of our way and blares its horn.

“Watch the road!” I tell her and reach to steer the van back into our lane. “I didn’t do it, okay.”

“Who did?”

“Never mind, just drive.” If I tell her about Trisha and the angel apprentices, she won’t believe me anyways.

After a couple miles Nina breaks the silence. “What happened to you, Barry? You used to be so nice. Now you’re punching old ladies and carrying around the head of God knows who.”

“It’s Vern, and he has nothing to do with God.” I laugh. “He’s a driver, like us.”

“See, what I mean. It’s not funny. The guy’s dead.”

“If you knew Vern, you’d know he got what he deserved.”

All at once there’s a thump on top of the van and it jerks and rocks.

“Not again!” Nina screams. “I can’t do this again!”

I look up into the sky and expect to see white warriors descending. What hits the windshield instead is a white sphere, like the one Trisha threw at me. Only it rebounds off the windshield, probably because the van’s protected, then falls back down onto the hood. With each bounce it increases in size. The van rocks from the force. The steering wheel shakes in Nina’s hands until she gives up and releases her grip.

“Brake, Nina! Brake!” I grab the wheel, but not before the van is off road, headed toward a barbed wire fence. Nina’s frozen, her hands up in the air now. I push her legs out of the way with my foot and press down hard on the the brake pedal. When we stop short of a fence post, I’m half in her lap. “What the hell’s the matter with you,” I say.

“I can’t do this Barry. I can’t do this job.” She’s crying hysterically and slurring her words.

I want to shake her back to reality. Instead, I lean into her face. “Yeah Nina, you can’t do anything, can you?”

Nina stops crying, looks into my eyes.

“Just put the van in park.”

Nina doesn’t move. She’s looking at me weird, or in a way I can say women hardly ever look at me.

“Are you going to park it or what?” My eyes widen as I stare into her glaring eyes.

She smiles and reaches her hand up, but not for the gear shift. Her finger tips reach around my neck and our lips meet.

But I pull away. “Why’d you do that?”

“Do what? Kiss you?”

“Yeah. Why’d you kiss me?” What I really want to know is what changed her mind about me. All she’s ever wanted is a friendship with conditions. Why, all of the sudden, am I good enough to kiss? Or is it that I’m bad enough to kiss.

Nina frowns. “What do you mean? You kissed me too.”

“Well, don’t do it again.” I pull my head back, reach in to shift the van into park. “Get out,” I tell her and return to my seat.

“You’re not leaving me here are you?”

“Of course not. I’m driving.”

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