Merchant of Souls II: The Big Springs Express

Chapter 1

JACOB

The year is 1965; the place is Detroit, Michigan.

I think he ran this way, the older policeman says after stopping to catch his breath.

On this cold autumn night, he and his partner stop in front of a dark alley. They are pursuing a potential suspect in starting one of the many fires burning throughout the city. The smoke-embedded atmosphere from the burning buildings interlaces with the glow of the open flames and the whiteness of the snow-covered landscape, creating a chilling yet surreal setting.

The young black man they are chasing squats to his knees behind an old, abandoned car not too far from where they are standing. Mist rises from his mouth and nostrils. The officers have been in close pursuit of him for several blocks now and have finally cornered him. However, the young man’s attention is not on them. Instead, he focuses on what is happening in the apartment across the alley.

While looking through the pane-less door frame of the vehicle, he can see into the window of an apartment where a hideous creature looks to be feeding on a human body. In the room with the beast stands a shadowy figure. The shadowy figure is reciting something repeatedly as the beast dines.

The two officers walk into the alleyway with flashlights and nightsticks drawn back. The beam from the younger officer’s flashlight momentarily shines into the apartment’s window, where the creature is feeding. The flash from the light alerts the shadowy figure of their presence, and it moves closer to the window frame so that it can peek out without being seen.

The beast immediately stops its feeding and recoils out of sight.

OK, kid! We know that you are here. And it’s a dead end! Come on out and take this ass whooping like a man, the older officer yells out.

The younger officer chuckles.

As they start to walk around to the backside of the old car, the shadowy figure from the window has now made its way out of the building and onto the street. It steps out into the middle of the alleyway. The light from a distant lamp post flickers as the smoke-filled air swirls into a dense haze with the help of a gentle breeze that has just started to blow.

As the mystical figure stands facing them, eerie shadows dance around with each flicker of the light. With its back facing the emitting glow of the distant burning structures, the officers only see the silhouette of a man.

They assume they have cornered the young man they had been chasing.

OK, get on over here! We’ll teach you to have us chase your sorry ass all the way down here! the older officer shouts out as he moves in with his night-stick.

Without warning, the colossal creature jumps through the apartment window and onto the back of the older officer. Its massive claws and sharp teeth quickly subdue and partly dismember his body before he knows what has happened. The younger cop, in shock from what he has just witnessed, fumbles for his pistol and drops it to the ground after it gets caught on his shirt as he pulls it from the holster. He bends down to try and retrieve it.

The creature’s solid arms and mighty jaws quickly engulf his head and upper torso. The beast toys with their limp and dying bodies as if he was a cat, and they his captured mice. The sounds of sirens and distant gunshots dominate the night, so their hollow cries for help fall only on the ears of a trembling teenager, who is now too horrified to exhale the last breath he took in.

The beast steps into the light.

It detects a scent coming from the direction of the abandoned car. It tilts its head back and sniffs the frigid night air once more to locate the smell that doesn’t belong. Moving slowly toward the car, it continues to sample the air. Drool drips from the creature’s bared teeth, and a soft growl reverberates from its chest to its throat.

The creature crouches down into the attack position, then slowly rises to the upright position to look behind the vehicle. Only indentations in the snow from where the boy had kneeled are left. The shadowy figure emerges from the obscurity of the smoke and is quickly joined by the beast. The creature and the shadowy figure then become one as a second human emerges from the darkness.

Clean up this mess and pack up our things. We have a train to catch, the shadowy figure says in a low, raspy voice.

Thanks for dropping me off, Uncle John, Mary says as she gets out of the car with her suitcase in hand. They are at the Detroit train station.

No problem, sweetheart. We enjoyed your visit, Uncle John replies.

No sooner than Uncle John pulls away from the train station, a young man runs across the street in front of his car. Uncle John slams on his brakes, but it is too late. The impact from the car knocks the man to the snow-covered ground. Mary drops her suitcase and runs back across the street. As she and her uncle help the young man back to his feet, they can’t help but notice that he is sweating profusely and has a look of utter terror on his face.

Are you OK? Do we need to take you to a doctor? Mary asks as she brushes the snow from his clothing.

He mumbles and stutters that he is being chased by a demon or monster while frantically looking around. It quickly becomes evident to Mary, Uncle John, and the small crowd that has witnessed the accident and gathered around that whatever caused him to run out into the oncoming traffic had frightened him beyond legible words, even if it was all just in his head.

The boy pulls himself away from Mary and her uncle while looking in the direction he had come running from. He then takes off running once more, heading in the direction of the rail yard. Mary calls out to him as he climbs over the fence and vanishes into the night.

This rioting is making this whole damn city crazy. I’ll hang around for a while and see if he comes back. You need to head over and get on the train before it leaves without you. You don’t want to miss your connection in Big Springs because there is no telling when you might get to Los Angeles, if you do, Uncle John says.

Mary hugs him and says her goodbyes once more. As she walks back toward the train, a stranger accidentally brushes against her. The stranger pauses and takes a deep breath through his nostrils. He momentarily looks back at Mary. Without saying a word, he continues walking.

As the stranger nears the train, the conductor lifts his head and widens his eyes before looking in the stranger’s direction. It is as if he felt the man’s presence before seeing him.

From where Mary is standing, she can see that the man is tall with a slim but muscular build. His skin is smooth and has the tone of a cup of coffee with a little cream. His well-trimmed, closely cut beard has a touch of gray that goes well with the black hat and dark cashmere coat he is wearing. His mannerism and outward swagger indicate an air of pure confidence. He and Mary shared only the slightest body contact, but her imagination is now consumed with speculations about him.

What if he was to remove the dark spectacles from his face? What would they reveal? Hazel or perhaps a piercing light brown pair of eyes? She ponders while watching his backside.

Mary hands the conductor her ticket and walks onto the train. After passing up several empty seats, she sees the handsome stranger sitting alone in a private booth.

Is that seat taken? she asks as she flirtingly tilts her head toward the seat next to him.

The stranger casually looks up and replies, No, it’s not.

Mary sits down. My name is Mary. And yours is? she asks.

The stranger slightly peeks over the top of his spectacles. His all-consuming aura immediately captures Mary as he looks into her eyes. It is as if he is peeking through a window into her soul. And now, all her feelings and desires are displayed for him to see. A warming sensation starts to fill her body. It begins in her chest and slowly works out to her extremities. It is a feeling that runs deeper and is more gratifying than her first or any orgasmic encounter she has ever experienced.

Jacob, the stranger replies. He gently pushes his spectacles up the bridge of his nose in front of his eyes.

He leans back in the seat and looks out the window at the porters as they and his henchman load his belongings onto the train. Mary had never laid eyes on Jacob until he brushed against her while walking to the train, but she in some way now feels comfortable in his presence. She feels a mixture of sexual desire and unwitting trust.

After the last passenger has boarded, the train starts to move. It follows the tracks past the outer boundaries of the city. Mary turns and looks out the window. The far-reaching glow from the torched buildings creates a profound and distinct contrast to the pitch-black night sky, producing an illusion of a solar eclipse. And before long, the train has traveled well beyond the city’s fires, and the porters start making their rounds.

Can I get you two anything? one porter asks as he walks up to the booth where Mary and Jacob are sitting.

Jacob answers for himself and Mary in his low, raspy voice.

No.

As the porter walks away, Jacob reaches across and pulls the curtains closed.

While staring out the window into the night, Mary hears a voice from within.

Mary, the voice quietly whispers. Startled, she turns and looks in Jacob’s direction. With his spectacles now removed, Jacob looks at Mary.

The moment their eyes meet, she freezes. Her heart starts beating like it is about to jump from her chest. Jacob slowly raises his hand and gently rubs the side of her face. His soft and warm touch sends a sensation throughout her body. The feeling is so consuming that it intertwines with every emotion Mary has ever felt. He is now the master of her being. Any thoughts, feelings, or desires she might consciously or unconsciously conceive now require his approval.

His hand moves ever-so-slowly as it passionately leaves her cheek and travels down the front of her neck and onto her breast. Every moral and honest thing Mary has ever known becomes inconsequential with Jacob’s first touch. All she now desires is to serve his every want without question.

A button falls from her blouse as she briskly removes it from her body. She stands to her feet and removes her skirt and underwear. Jacob pulls his trousers down past his knees. With her breasts now exposed, Mary eagerly drops to her knees and begins to pleasure him.

The train sounds its whistle as it increases speed and moves toward the countryside.

Chapter 2

ALL ABOARD

Earlier the same day, in Batesville Mississippi’s train station, a loud hissing noise is heard as the brakeman engages the brakes, bringing the train to a stop. Lynn smells the odor of the fumes from the diesel engine’s exhaust as soon as she steps out of the ticketing area into the loading platform.

Porters hustle as they remove the exiting passenger’s luggage from the first two rail cars.

As the luggage is removed, the first-class travelers start to exit the train. Amos, who is an older White gentleman and has been a friend to Lynn and her husband, Willie ever since they moved on the street where they now live, carries Lynn’s suitcase as they make their way through the crowded loading platform. After walking onto the loading area, Lynn steps aside to let passengers exiting the train pass, while she waits for the OK to board.

While standing next to Amos as he holds her luggage, Lynn finds herself trying to ignore an offensive