Chapter One: Number Five
Hero Jenkins --- 4/2/13 Click here to "Like" us on Facebook
Visit the Hero Jenkins blog at: http://herojenkins.blogspot.com/
or “Like” him on facebook:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hero-Je...
I tend to work on several Novels at the same time. Besides "The Millionaire Project" I am also working on this one tentatively titled "Number Five"I am going to release this one a chapter at a time on my blog.
Here is the first Chapter.
The best lies have a kernel of truth and even myths and legends are based in exaggerated facts. I thought zombies were just myths… until I met one.Chapter One
A woman laughed out loud the way the intoxicated did after a night of too much of a good time. A car’s horn blared, brakes squealed, a man shouted. “Slow down you idiot!” The man screamed at the car that had come within a whisper of running him down.“Yeah idiot!” The woman screamed with thick slurred speech. “This is a parking lot, this ain’t NASCAR!" The car sped away burning rubber as it went and a middle finger was extended out the window.The woman resumed her high-pitched laughter as she weaved a zigzagged path across the nearly pitch black motel parking lot. She was being propped up by the man, who was as intoxicated as she, if not more so.The moon had refused to show itself, but the black clouds still lingered. They just hung there, lifelessly in the sky, even they had lost interest in this the armpit part of town. It was a part of town where the smell of urine was inescapable because it was acceptable to urinate whenever and wherever the urge hit you. Garbage went uncollected and spilled out of overstuffed cans. Animals who were unlucky at crossing the busy highway lay flattened for weeks until they disintegrated from being run over repeatedly.He was almost invisible as he crouched in the shadows watching the drunks stagger by. It was cold in that parking lot. He cinched his jacket and tried to think warm thoughts. It wasn't working.
Most of the lights in this dirty motel parking lot were either burnt out or broken. Yet the limited lighting was good enough, good enough for him to recognize her car.With the drunks out of earshot the distant urban noises re-surrounded him as the night re-possessed him. He willed himself to remain motionless, feeling his environment; until he was comfortable that he was alone. He approached the car quietly and put his hand on the hood. It was warm; obviously she had only been here for a couple of hours. He returned to his dark place, he needed to think. Kelvin Brandiss looked up out of the darkness at the ugly two story “Cozy Motel” building. He was tracking a woman, her name was Kade Simmons and he had no idea which room she was in. He had tried to get the room number from the night clerk but all he got was attitude from the crotchety old woman hiding behind an inch of bulletproof glass. Obviously the glass made her feel protected from her customers; as a result she felt secure enough to be rude even though she was visibly afraid. But then, what level of service could he realistically expect from an establishment that rented rooms by the hour. Yeah, it was that kind of motel… what the hell was Kade thinking checking into a place like this?Kade was not a small woman; she was over 5’8” and extremely fit. Nor was she was a shy woman, far from it. She was always armed with a 9mm Glock and a bad attitude. Brandiss couldn’t decide which one was deadliest. She could handle herself he had no doubt… so why was she hiding out, on the run... and of all places, why would she be here?It had occurred to Brandiss to simply watch her car and wait Kade out, but she could be holed up in her room for days. He had no intention of dodging drunks in the parking lot for that long. Besides, that small still voice was telling him that she was in trouble… he could feel it.He looked at the building again. The lights were off in all, the TV on in some. He noticed that at least three prostitutes were sharing one of the bottom floor rooms. The ones not lucky enough to have a “John” had to wait outside until business was concluded. He had witnessed a “John” leave an hour ago… they were all inside the room now. Business must be slow.He refocused on Kade. Knowing her, she would have parked her car on the opposite side of the motel where her room was. That meant that he was in the wrong place. He worked his way in the shadows to the opposite side of the motel. There were ten rooms facing the parking lot on this side, five on the first floor, five on the second.Brandiss pulled out his cell phone and called the “Cozy Time Motel” office. The phone was picked up on the third ring. Brandiss asked the cranky female desk clerk to call Kade Simmons and then he listened for the telephone to ring. He prowled the walkway in front of the rooms, listening… there was no ringing telephone to be overheard from the walkway, there was no answer. Brandiss moved up to the second floor and repeated the process. This time he thought he heard a faint ringing coming from the last room, next to the stairs. He started moving towards the ringing when it stopped and the robotic voice mail prompt clicked in, he hung up.Brandiss called for a third time.“If she ain’t in, she ain’t in honey. It don’t matter how many times I call!” The testy clerk explained as if speaking to a lovesick teenager. Brandiss choked off a growl instead he cajoled finishing up just short of ‘pretty please’.”This will be the last time, I promise,” he said.When the ringing started on his cell phone and then seconds later in room #205, he was sure he was in the right place. He hung up and crept closer and he listened. The television was on in the room and he could hear movement… Obviously she was awake. He backed up to the shadows of the stairway momentarily to think. She was not answering the phone, she must be terrified,he thought. He began to worry that the ringing telephone had made things worse. Brandiss returned to the door and reached for the knob and then thought better of it. Instead he knocked softly on the door and called to her.“Kade… its Brandiss, I want to talk to you… your father sent me to find you. He wanted to make sure you were OK.” He saw the light change in that space between the door and the floor, the peephole darkened. Someone, he assumed that it was Kade, was looking out.“Hey!” a voice boomed from behind him. “Whatcha doin sneakin around out here boy!”Brandiss initially froze and then he slowly turned to face the voice. It was coming from the drunk Brandiss had spotted earlier and had apparently come out of the room next door. He was shirtless, wearing only boxers and dirty white socks. His dirty stringy brown hair partially obscured his pockmarked face. He held a can of beer that sloshed over the sides but he didn’t even notice because he was busy using that beer hand to point an accusing finger at Brandiss.“I’m talkin to you boy, that ain’t your room… you git yer ass away from there or I’m gonna call the cops!”Brandiss pulled his badge and held it up for the drunk to see. Then he signaled the drunk to be quiet by putting his fingers to his lips… It didn’t work!“PO-lice,” the drunk screamed. “What the Fu… Angie! We got the Police out here!” The other person in the room, the female half of the drunks, whom Brandiss had to assume was Angie, slid off the bed and jumped to her feet. She was wearing only a bra and panties and began running around the room frantically. She eventually grabbed a baggie with white powder inside, probably methamphetamine. Next she raced into the bathroom and seconds later he heard the toilet flush.The creak of the door, Kade’s door, alerted him. He started to turn his head… he didn’t get a chance. Someone, rather something, bolted from the room and bowled into Brandiss, almost knocking him over the balcony rail. The fleeing form disappeared around the corner and down the stairs by the time Brandiss regained his balance.Then Brandiss caught a glimpse of what remained in the motel room and he thought his heart would stop. ***
Visit the Hero Jenkins blog at: http://herojenkins.blogspot.com/
or “Like” him on facebook:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hero-Je...
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Visit the Hero Jenkins blog at: http://herojenkins.blogspot.com/
or “Like” him on facebook:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hero-Je...
I tend to work on several Novels at the same time. Besides "The Millionaire Project" I am also working on this one tentatively titled "Number Five"I am going to release this one a chapter at a time on my blog.
Here is the first Chapter.
The best lies have a kernel of truth and even myths and legends are based in exaggerated facts. I thought zombies were just myths… until I met one.Chapter One
A woman laughed out loud the way the intoxicated did after a night of too much of a good time. A car’s horn blared, brakes squealed, a man shouted. “Slow down you idiot!” The man screamed at the car that had come within a whisper of running him down.“Yeah idiot!” The woman screamed with thick slurred speech. “This is a parking lot, this ain’t NASCAR!" The car sped away burning rubber as it went and a middle finger was extended out the window.The woman resumed her high-pitched laughter as she weaved a zigzagged path across the nearly pitch black motel parking lot. She was being propped up by the man, who was as intoxicated as she, if not more so.The moon had refused to show itself, but the black clouds still lingered. They just hung there, lifelessly in the sky, even they had lost interest in this the armpit part of town. It was a part of town where the smell of urine was inescapable because it was acceptable to urinate whenever and wherever the urge hit you. Garbage went uncollected and spilled out of overstuffed cans. Animals who were unlucky at crossing the busy highway lay flattened for weeks until they disintegrated from being run over repeatedly.He was almost invisible as he crouched in the shadows watching the drunks stagger by. It was cold in that parking lot. He cinched his jacket and tried to think warm thoughts. It wasn't working.Most of the lights in this dirty motel parking lot were either burnt out or broken. Yet the limited lighting was good enough, good enough for him to recognize her car.With the drunks out of earshot the distant urban noises re-surrounded him as the night re-possessed him. He willed himself to remain motionless, feeling his environment; until he was comfortable that he was alone. He approached the car quietly and put his hand on the hood. It was warm; obviously she had only been here for a couple of hours. He returned to his dark place, he needed to think. Kelvin Brandiss looked up out of the darkness at the ugly two story “Cozy Motel” building. He was tracking a woman, her name was Kade Simmons and he had no idea which room she was in. He had tried to get the room number from the night clerk but all he got was attitude from the crotchety old woman hiding behind an inch of bulletproof glass. Obviously the glass made her feel protected from her customers; as a result she felt secure enough to be rude even though she was visibly afraid. But then, what level of service could he realistically expect from an establishment that rented rooms by the hour. Yeah, it was that kind of motel… what the hell was Kade thinking checking into a place like this?Kade was not a small woman; she was over 5’8” and extremely fit. Nor was she was a shy woman, far from it. She was always armed with a 9mm Glock and a bad attitude. Brandiss couldn’t decide which one was deadliest. She could handle herself he had no doubt… so why was she hiding out, on the run... and of all places, why would she be here?It had occurred to Brandiss to simply watch her car and wait Kade out, but she could be holed up in her room for days. He had no intention of dodging drunks in the parking lot for that long. Besides, that small still voice was telling him that she was in trouble… he could feel it.He looked at the building again. The lights were off in all, the TV on in some. He noticed that at least three prostitutes were sharing one of the bottom floor rooms. The ones not lucky enough to have a “John” had to wait outside until business was concluded. He had witnessed a “John” leave an hour ago… they were all inside the room now. Business must be slow.He refocused on Kade. Knowing her, she would have parked her car on the opposite side of the motel where her room was. That meant that he was in the wrong place. He worked his way in the shadows to the opposite side of the motel. There were ten rooms facing the parking lot on this side, five on the first floor, five on the second.Brandiss pulled out his cell phone and called the “Cozy Time Motel” office. The phone was picked up on the third ring. Brandiss asked the cranky female desk clerk to call Kade Simmons and then he listened for the telephone to ring. He prowled the walkway in front of the rooms, listening… there was no ringing telephone to be overheard from the walkway, there was no answer. Brandiss moved up to the second floor and repeated the process. This time he thought he heard a faint ringing coming from the last room, next to the stairs. He started moving towards the ringing when it stopped and the robotic voice mail prompt clicked in, he hung up.Brandiss called for a third time.“If she ain’t in, she ain’t in honey. It don’t matter how many times I call!” The testy clerk explained as if speaking to a lovesick teenager. Brandiss choked off a growl instead he cajoled finishing up just short of ‘pretty please’.”This will be the last time, I promise,” he said.When the ringing started on his cell phone and then seconds later in room #205, he was sure he was in the right place. He hung up and crept closer and he listened. The television was on in the room and he could hear movement… Obviously she was awake. He backed up to the shadows of the stairway momentarily to think. She was not answering the phone, she must be terrified,he thought. He began to worry that the ringing telephone had made things worse. Brandiss returned to the door and reached for the knob and then thought better of it. Instead he knocked softly on the door and called to her.“Kade… its Brandiss, I want to talk to you… your father sent me to find you. He wanted to make sure you were OK.” He saw the light change in that space between the door and the floor, the peephole darkened. Someone, he assumed that it was Kade, was looking out.“Hey!” a voice boomed from behind him. “Whatcha doin sneakin around out here boy!”Brandiss initially froze and then he slowly turned to face the voice. It was coming from the drunk Brandiss had spotted earlier and had apparently come out of the room next door. He was shirtless, wearing only boxers and dirty white socks. His dirty stringy brown hair partially obscured his pockmarked face. He held a can of beer that sloshed over the sides but he didn’t even notice because he was busy using that beer hand to point an accusing finger at Brandiss.“I’m talkin to you boy, that ain’t your room… you git yer ass away from there or I’m gonna call the cops!”Brandiss pulled his badge and held it up for the drunk to see. Then he signaled the drunk to be quiet by putting his fingers to his lips… It didn’t work!“PO-lice,” the drunk screamed. “What the Fu… Angie! We got the Police out here!” The other person in the room, the female half of the drunks, whom Brandiss had to assume was Angie, slid off the bed and jumped to her feet. She was wearing only a bra and panties and began running around the room frantically. She eventually grabbed a baggie with white powder inside, probably methamphetamine. Next she raced into the bathroom and seconds later he heard the toilet flush.The creak of the door, Kade’s door, alerted him. He started to turn his head… he didn’t get a chance. Someone, rather something, bolted from the room and bowled into Brandiss, almost knocking him over the balcony rail. The fleeing form disappeared around the corner and down the stairs by the time Brandiss regained his balance.Then Brandiss caught a glimpse of what remained in the motel room and he thought his heart would stop. ***
Visit the Hero Jenkins blog at: http://herojenkins.blogspot.com/
or “Like” him on facebook:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hero-Je...
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