"Fuck you!" She ran to her cab and fled the cab stand, tires screeching loudly.
Following her departure, I loaded a four-way. It was unfortunate that she had left; Kern pulled up behind me minutes after her departure, and he too loaded a four-way.
Does this sound callous? Yes, I suppose it does, but what else was a vampire cabbie to do? What else would there be for anyone to do? Even if our relationship was over, I did still care. For anyone in a situation like that, the best, the only course of action would be just to continue to exist and do the best that they can.
I just hoped she could do the same.
****
"Sixty-six," Dexter's voice said. "Sixty-six, are you out there?"
I had just unloaded the last passenger from my split-load and was driving back from the far west side. All the calls were downtown, but there was no reason to despair. That four-way had been good for $20 in side money, in addition to what was on the meter.
"Nicole," Dexter said, "are you out there?"
A harsh feeling of dread washed over me. Cab 66. No coincidence that she drove that vehicle; well, perhaps a slight one, for it was one of the newest cabs in the fleet. But why was she not responding to the dispatcher's hail? Perhaps because she was angry. Perhaps, she had decided to go calm down someplace and had forgotten to ask for a break.
"Nicole. Sixty-six." Dexter's voice began to sound annoyed after about ten minutes spent trying to raise her. "Six-six. If you do not respond within sixty seconds, I'm gonna have the cops out looking for you."
"Attention all units," Dexter said finally. "If anybody sees cab sixty-six, please let me know. And a reminder. After dark, I like to keep track of all units, so if you get out of your cab for more than a few minutes, please let me know."
An unauthorized break. Surely, that was all it was.
Suddenly, a loud rattling, grinding hum filled my ears. Dread washed over my entire being, a consuming, overwhelming dread that made it difficult to maintain the cab's position between the white lines. Promptly, I turned onto an access road leading to a yet-to-be constructed industrial park, then hit the 10-7 button, barely waiting for Dexter to respond before getting out of the cab. The world spun before me, the subsequent vertigo making it difficult to even stand. Rather than fight, I surrendered, slowly rotating 360 degrees before discovering that the source came from the northwest.
My eyes closed. The hum grew louder and more distinct, clearly revealing itself to be tires revolving against a gravel pavement. An image congealed before my eyes - darkness surrendering ever so slightly to dim light.
No, not dim light, but bright beams - twin beams - simply overwhelmed by the vastness of the oncoming darkness. Yes, oncoming darkness, black night and -
- And swirling ribbons of road, not approaching, but being approached, at a steadily increasing velocity.
The road disappeared, replaced by a jumble of images: a steel bridge above a black river, its currents and eddies visible in the bright moonlight; the 200-foot sheer cliff marking the far shore; and a patch of sandy gravel just before the bridge, leading to an abruptly dropping precipice.
My legs wobbled. I let myself drop to the soft, dewy grass, sat cross-legged, closed my eyes and brought the image of Nicole's face to the forefront of this dark consciousness, knowing that I had to help her, that I had to go to her side to stop her from doing what I feared she was about to do.
How far away could she be? These images were not inMadison , but how far? Ten miles? Twenty? Thirty?
The humming grew louder. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. I commanded myself to relax, to think not about the danger of this task. Past experience proved one mile to be within the realm of possibility. Therefore, five miles could be possible. But what were the limits? How long could my concentration be maintained? If concentration lapsed, would my very cells lose their cohesion and be spread as if blown by the four winds of Hades?
No thought, no doubt. I owed it to Nicole. To Anya. To all mortals who had shared their blood willingly, and unwillingly.
Inhale, exhale. Focus on the target, let the feelings - Nicole's feelings - direct me to their source.
I opened my eyes and watched my vision dissolve. The darkness swirled,