Not a Messenger…

The solitary streetlight was all that lit the street as Jack walked alone towards the his car parked what was now too far away. He was used to it by now, it’s what you get in a small country town. If that’s what you call a place with one main road and about four shops. He walked this way often, usually being the last one to leave the single factory that was still running. It didn’t have many staff, mostly why he always found himself staying late, or being early.

Sometimes Jack missed the bright lights of the city. The hustle and commotion of people rushing past going about their business like if they didn’t get to where they were going in the next 5 minutes then something horrible would befall them. The fluorescent bulbs humming as you walked past the shop windows full of things that you probably didn’t need, but would make a note to come back and buy around pay day.

He missed it.

But he also didn’t.

There was something relaxing about living in a town this small. There was no rushing. People were polite and reasonable when you tried to speak to them. It was calming. Jack enjoyed the few times he managed to not have to work; which was rare these days with the factory’s future still in jeopardy. Even he didn’t know what would happen. There was worry amongst the people in the town about what would happen, but even with that worry the residents were upbeat and positive that their little town would survive.

It was foggier than usual as he started to get near to his car; an old pickup truck from the 60’s that he was in the process of restoring. It was slow going, and annoyed him no end whenever he got stuck on a problem. But he found working under the hood of that classic machine kind of relaxing. If things went his way, then he would be finished with the truck mid way through next year. But he wasn’t in a hurry. There was nothing pushing him to get it done, outside of his own deadline which wasn’t that fixed anyway.

A low rumble shook him out of his thoughts and he tried to squint through the fog. A second light had begun heading towards him from down the road. Well, he hoped it was the road he was walking on. It felt like it, but visibility was pretty low at this time.

The light split into two, and Jack realised it was headlights. Reaching down he unclipped a torch that had been hanging on his belt. He could have used it before, but at this time he had figured he could make it to the car. Even then, he decided he would have ample notice if anything came up. Turns out he was right.

Jack shone the torch towards the lights, sliding his feet around to make sure he could feel the pavement and not the road.

He waved the light back and forth hoping they would actually see it.

They did.

The car pulled to a stop beside him, and Jack saw that it was a single occupant, a young female. Couldn’t be more than 25 he guessed judging by what he could see of her clothes through the car window.
“You’re out early,” Jack asked holding the light beside his head.

“I’m driving through to see family up north. Got a little lost,” The girl replied and finishing with, “The fog kinda came out of nowhere,”

“Yeah, it does that around here. You get used to it. Name’s Jack by the way,”

“Oh, sorry,” She replied quickly, “Where are my manners? The names Madison. Is there anywhere I could stop in this town for few hours, until the fog lifts?”

“There’s a small motel up the way,” Jack told her pointing through still thick fog, “It isn’t much, but they might let you wait in the lobby until it passes. I could show you if you like,”

Madison hesitated at the reply, unsure of the man she had just met. She shifted her hand below the inside of the door, feeling for the tire iron she kept stashed in the door compartment. Her fingers felt cold steel, and she relaxed slightly.

“Sure. That’d be good,” She said and gestured to the passenger seat with the hand that wasn’t gripping the steel.

Jack walked around the front of the car. His hands started to feel clammy as he neared the passenger door. He swapped the torch between his hands as he tried wiping them down against his work trousers.

You can control this. It’s been years. Breathe. Jack told himself as he climbed inside and shut the door behind him.

Madison started the car again.

“Head forward slowly, it’s just a little bit up ahead, and to the left,” Jack told her placing his hands and the flashlight into his lap, and clamping his fingers together. Madison began to pull the car forward and around the corner that her guide was directing her to. She pulled up to the side of a building, and squinted her eyes to see through the fog. A glass door was embedded in the brick wall, but she couldn’t make out the writing.

She began to choke as she felt hands around her neck, and tried to wave her shoulders side to side to break free. Jack held on tightly, pushing down against her sideways into the car seat to give her less room as she struggled to breathe. Her motions became less frantic, and her body began to sag into lifelessness. Madison’s body fell limp in the drivers seat, and Jack released his grip.

He didn’t need to check her. He knew she was gone. This wasn’t his first time. The others had been more brutal, but he was also younger then. He had more of a spring in his step. He had more interest in the kill.

Jack got out of the car, and walked around to the drivers side. He found the tire iron in the door, and propped it between the seat and the gas pedal. Pushing the stick into gear, he started the car and stepped aside. The vehicle sped forward and smashed into the wall that Jack knew was in front. A fire began to light up from the, now damaged, vehicle.

He turned and walked away from the wreck.

It was so much easier in the city, He thought to himself as he walked, People were dying. The city was dying, drowning in decay, immorality. He sent a message to the world, etched in blood. A warning. They would never truly know him, but they would not know him as a messenger, nor as a prophet. They would only remember him, as Jack!

The fog swallowed him up as he walked into the black night, and disappeared….