Hope and Undead Elvis - By Ian Thomas Healy Page 0,39

carefree. When water got in her mouth, she swallowed it. It was cool and clean and revived her as much as a good, strong cup of coffee. Her water-hungry flesh absorbed more through her skin and when at last she tired of the exercise, she felt satiated and full, like a leaky tire that had been patched and refilled. She wandered back to the bank where Undead Elvis was alternately swirling her clothes in the lake water and then pounding them against rocks.

"You intending me to stay naked?" Hope smiled at him. "Looks like you're destroying my favorite outfit."

"I heard this was how they used to wash clothing when they didn't have soap." Undead Elvis twisted and rolled the skirt, squeezing water out of it. After repeating the process a couple more times, he couldn't wring any more droplets from it and he handed the damp cloth back to Hope.

She sniffed at it. "Well, at least it doesn't stink anymore. Thanks."

"My pleasure, Li'l lady."

Hope stretched out on the soft grass above the lake and let the cool breeze dry her skin and hair. Instead of dressing in the damp clothing, she hung it from branches to dry further. She was just drifting off to sleep when she heard a twig snap and a rustle in the underbrush. She sat up. "Elvis? Where's the gun?" she whispered.

"It's in the car," he said. "Do you want me to fetch it for you?"

She considered. The noise in the brush wasn't repeated. Perhaps it was just an animal.

Perhaps it wasn't.

Heart pounding with fresh fear, Hope yanked her boots back on and grabbed her clothes. "Come on, Elvis, I think we need to get on the road."

"What is it?"

"I heard something in the woods."

"Might just be an animal."

"It's night time. Any animal out and about now is going to be hunting, and I'd rather not be dinner. Or worse." She pulled on her thong and skirt. The cool dampness made her shiver. She tried to look in every direction at once, her back to the driver's side door of The Way, while shrugging into the white Oxford. She didn't bother to button it, instead just tying the bottom together into a knot to hold the shirt around her waist. "Get in the car."

Fluttering black shadows rose from the trees around the lake to swirl overhead like leaves in a dust devil. Hope squealed in fear and started the car. "Elvis, get in the damn car! What are you doing?"

He was bent over the bed, tapping the fifty-five gallon drum. "It sounds awful empty, Li'l lady."

"I don't care how empty it is, we're leaving."

Hope revved the engine in impatience as Undead Elvis climbed into the passenger seat. As soon as he sat, she goosed the engine and popped the clutch. The Way squealed its tires and fishtailed as Hope fought the wheel. She looked in the rear view mirror and saw no sign of the black birds, although she knew in the darkness against the canopy of the forest she might not see them at all. Their only chance would be to outrun them.

"What are those birds doing, anyway?" she asked. Her eyes ached as she tried to see to the very edge of the headlights' glow. Trees whipped past on either side, making a repetitious whuff sound.

"I don't know, Li'l lady."

"Are they following us? Why do they keep turning up?"

"I don't know that either."

Hope glanced at the rear view mirror, wondering if she could spot any of the birds fluttering after them, but she couldn't see anything but darkness and the distant glow of the Righteous Flame's fireline. "Every time they come around, something bad—"

Before she could finish her sentence, a great antlered beast leaped out from the trees in front of the speeding car. Hope didn't even have time to shriek as they smashed into the noble animal.

Everything went dark for Hope.

Chapter Sixteen

Hope and Saint Mary's

Hope rose into consciousness at a measured pace, like an ascending diving bell. She had no clear memory of falling asleep, nor of the room she occupied. She lay on a soft bed with white sheets and a blue and white afghan. Pillows rested under her knees and head. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so comfortable.

She started to look around and learned that moving her head made her very dizzy, so she settled for moving only her eyes. The room seemed small but airy, with white walls and ceiling and solid wooden fixtures. A bas-relief of