Part 2: The Red Candy Rocket.
Lucy resisted opening her eyes for as long as she could. The sun was already peaking over the horizon when her eyelids had finally begun to feel heavy enough that they might let her drift to sleep. Now with her hand asleep beneath her, her hair a frizzy mess, and the buzz of a curious fly around her ear, she pried her eyes open to meet the dusty blinds beside the fold out mattress. As she laid studying the hazy streaks of light piercing through the window, she debated with herself as to how much of last night was a dream, and how much had been real. ‘Had to have been a dream right?’ She insisted. ‘I mean, did that weirdo really try to impress an alien with a roast hog?’.She shook her head as if to fully awaken herself and stretched her body out, letting a deep yawn reach from beneath her navel. As she shrunk her arms back in, she heard a dull thump from somewhere outside, shortly followed by another.
She passed through the door of her makeshift room and down the hall to the living room, her eyes growing wide in shock as she found it. The room, which had been littered with moldy dishes, mildewed rags and heaps of garbage only the day before, was now immaculate. The furniture polished, the dishes disappeared, and even the stale, gaudy porno-esque couch had a renewed brightness about it. A lukewarm cup of coffee rested on the table waiting for her, and another dull thump punctuated the morning as she picked it up. Peaking through the curtain into the back lot, she couldn’t pick Eugene from among the assorted sculptures, but with each recurring thump, a slight blue hue would briefly cascade through the air at the back of the lot.
As Lucy wandered through the sculpture garden, she paused throughout to ponder over rusted swans and patinated horses, constantly having her cautious curiosity renewed at the thumping growing louder from the back of the lot as she slowly drew closer.
As she weaved her way from the sculpture garden, she entered a small maze, a menagerie of rusted cars all stacked atop each other to create a twisting path leading farther back. Oldsmobiles, Fords, Chevys, and Cadillacs towered to each side. Thump. She could feel it in her chest now, her ribs lurching in vibration as it grew ever louder. Thump. The hair on her arms stood on end as she felt the tingle of electricity creep up from her fingertips preceding each sound now. Thump. She glanced down to examine her fingers to see the bright blink of a blue arc between her knuckles as the tingling grew more intense. Thump.
She rounded a corner to set her eyes on a small corrugated metal shed, a buzzing sound rising with the static charge before a flash of blue would burst out from the gaps as the walls shambled with each thump. As she closed in on the shed, she raised an apprehensive hand to the door and eased it open, revealing Eugene.
He stood behind an old car, this one in much better condition than the ones she’d passed on her way through the yard. Next to him stood a brass-like lever that pulsed and radiated the blue arcs, casting them across the shed to strike at the ceiling and walls as Eugene would slowly raise the lever, generating the buzzing sound, before he’d slam the lever back down, showering a wave of blue sparks onto the ground with a bright flash. The hefty thump felt like a punch in her chest now that she stood so close.
“Um, Eugene?” Lucy gently called from the doorway. He whipped his top half around, nearly spinning on his heels as he turned. A pair of thick welding goggles sat tight over his eyes.
“Back up! And shut that door!” He commanded. “This bastard’ll blind you if you aren’t careful!” He shouted as he raised the lever again. Lucy squeezed her eyes closed and scrunched her chin into her shoulder as he plunged the clever down again. Another mighty thump waved through air, knocking the breath out of her.
“What are you doing?” She called through gritted teeth.
“We need to get you the hell out of here quick!” He replied as he raised the lever once more, blue arcs spidering up his faded Mint 400 t-shirt. “This is the quickest way! Now shut that damn door before this thing gives you a palpitation!” Lucy, eyes still clinched, took a blind step backwards and had only shut the door an inch before the next thump wooshed through her. “Only a couple more and I’m done!” Eugene shouted from the machine, his face bathed in its cerulean glow.
After another wave of the energy Lucy began to feel her breath shorten, her fingers growing numb. As the last wave pushed through her she felt her knees growing wobbly, her equilibrium thrown completely. It was beginning to feel like the morning after a different kind of long night, and she was starting to get a real fear of passing out. Just as her knees began to buckle and she could feel her weight collapsing towards the ground, she felt Eugene’s hands wrap around her upper arms, jerking her upwards and planting her back onto her feet.
“What’d I tell you?” He rasped while she caught her breath, sounding more annoyed than angry. “Not to sound like a stickler or anything, but you aren’t exactly equipped to be around that stuff.”
“What the hell even is that?” Lucy croaked as she finally reopened her eyes to see him, half his face still radiating the shade of a robin’s egg. “And what do you call that? Martian suntan?”
“Har dee har har.” He retorted back, his skin slowly fading back to its natural tones. “Believe me lady, the less you know the better. How’d you sleep?”
“Fucking awful.” Answered Lucy, finally feeling solid on her feet as Eugene let loose of her. “And you’ve got some explaining to do about last night.”
“Mhmm. Sure I do.” Eugene mumbled as he turned away, routing his way around the other side of the shed.
“I’m serious.” Lucy pushed as she followed him along. “Who the hell was that last night? Do you know aliens? And what was the deal with the hog?” She rattled off, each word shooting out faster than the last.
“IDon’tKnowWhatTheFuckYou’reTalkin’About.” Eugene rambled over his shoulder. He peeled the welding goggle off of his face, leaving two blue rings around his eyes like a raccoon at Mardi Gras. He reached his hands between two sheet metal doors and wrenched them open to reveal the front of his car. “Ah there she is.” He exhaled. “Look at the beaut!”
“Mhmm. Very nice.” Lucy groaned from next to him. Her eyes not knowing what to make of the vehicle. Sure it was pretty, a deep candy red paint along the body with bright, ultra polished chrome trim and rims highlighting its whitewall tires.
“Pssh!” Eugene shrugged away her indifference. “If you knew how long it took me for one of these to come along! Well, one in decent enough condition that is.” He gave a grandiose wave over the hood of the car as he explained. “This, my young friend, is a ‘67 Ford Galaxie! One of my finest pieces of restoration, and not without a few of my own handy enhancements to boot!”
“Uh-huh.” Lucy obliged her response.
“This sucker can blaze at twice the speed of a soni-,” Eugene stopped his sentence as he noticed that Lucy was barely taking in his words at this point. “You know what? Fuck it.” He tossed his hands and turned his back to the car. “Close your eyes will you?”
“Uh, why?” Snarked Lucy, folding her arms in front of her as she spoke.
“Humor me, huh?”
“Dude,” Snapped Lucy. “you tried to sell a roast hog to an alien last night. I’m not closing my eyes for shit.”
Eugene pursed his lips and grunted as he turned his gaze back to the stacks of cars. He brushed the knuckles of his right hand against the inside of his left wrist before raising his hand towards the stacks. Lucy furrowed her brows at the sound of creaking metal, and couldn’t help but audibly gasp when she saw the stacks begin to slide across the dirt, rearranging themselves to open a path in front of the shed as Eugene waved his hand gently through the air.
“Alright,” Eased Eugene as he brushed his knuckles against his wrist again. He clapped his hands together as he swiveled himself towards Lucy “now get your hardheaded ass in the car.”
She opened the door to reveal a pristine eggshell leather interior. The only thing that didn’t look like an original feature of the car was the six point harnesses affixed into the seats. “Buckle in.” Eugene said as he slouched through the driver door.
“Wouldn’t have pegged you for a ‘safety first’ kind of guy.” Lucy giggled as she fiddled with the buckle.
“No, seriously.” Eugene piped up with urgency. “You’re going to want to buckle up.” He turned the keys into the ignition and the engine roared to life before settling into a thunderous rumble. He shifted into gear and pulled the car through the lot, bypassing the stacks that had blocked off the way only minutes before.
“You’re seriously going to have to start telling me what the hell is going on out here Eugene.” Pleaded Lucy as they circled the sculpture garden and made their way around the house and through a gate to the front yard.
“I seriously don’t.” Eugene replied dryly. “We’re gonna get you some fuel, I’m gonna drop you off at your car, and you’re gonna forget about everything you’ve seen since yesterday. Sound good?”
“Um, no I think I’m owed an expla-”
“Good.” Jutted Eugene as he snapped her off. He stopped the car after he pulled it into the lane. The road in front of them seemed to stretch forever onward into the desert. He turned to her in his seat and took a solemn expression. The light went out of his eyes as he spoke. “I’m serious Lucy. I’m doing you a real solid here. Remember that guy that was in the house last night? Yeah, he wanted you dead on the spot.” Lucy stopped stirring in her seat now. The last twenty hours had been weird, but this was the first time she’d actually felt any danger added to it. “I convinced him it wasn’t necessary to kill you, told him you weren’t a threat and I could guarantee you’d stay quiet. I need you to stick to that. Do you understand?” Lucy sat rigid in her seat, not sure how to process the sudden gravity in Eugene’s voice, but as the silence in the car grew larger and heavier, words felt even harder to find. “Listen.” Eugene continued, somehow sounding even louder as he broke the awkward deafness in the air. “You are Lucinda Holt of 55 Irene Drive in Warring, Washington. You live alone in a studio apartment that you can barely afford on the dregs of your hospital desk job while you intern for a graphic design firm.” Lucy was starting to tremble now as Eugene laid her life out to her. The danger she felt a few seconds ago was now amplified and felt electric under her skin. “Your parents live in Seattle. Your brother, your only sibling, is waiting for you in Flagstaff. If I know all about you Lucy, you can bet your sweet ass they know even more, and I’m not just talking about who you heard last night.” Eugene could see Lucy’s eyes glazing over with tears, her fingers trembling uncontrollably as she tried in fruitless desperation to lay them still in her lap. “So do we have an understanding Lucy? Your only job is to forget.”
“Y-yes.” She choked. “I-I understand.” She swiped a quivering hand over her face to wipe away the tears before they fell too far down her cheeks.
“Good.” Answered Eugene. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to be a bummer. Are those buckles all tight?”
“Um, yeah. Yeah, all tight.” Lucy sniffed.
“Ok,” said Eugene as he switched the car back into gear. “Oh and when I said forget everything, I’m meaning this too.” He slammed the pedal down The engine revved itself triumphant action as the car sped off, the screech of rubber lost behind them as they accelerated. The engine pitched high before Eugene slammed into the second, then third and fourth. As the engine whined itself high again he reached a hand beneath the steering column and found a t-shaped handle. “Here we go lady! Hold on to your zoobies!”
Eugene snatched the handle hard and the car answered in a violent lurch forward. Lucy saw the desert blur around her as all sound muffled and light bent around the deep red paint. Her hands were driven by instinct as they squeezed hard against her harness. “Eugene!” She shouted. Her own voice sounding contorted in her ears. “What the fuck is happening?” she begged for an answer from Eugene, who cackled wildly into the car ceiling.
“Don’t worry!” He screamed back at her. “Ho ho! Be not afraid! You’re gonna be a-ok!” As he called the last words he took a hand off the wheel to pinch his thumb and index finger together, giving what he believed to be the universal symbol for ‘calm the fuck down’. If Lucy hadn’t ratcheted her own hands to the harness, she could’ve socked him right in the nose in that moment. She didn’t have time to weigh the pros and cons of coldcocking her driver. Right after he put his hand back to the wheel the car jostled violently again, this time to the rear. The blurry scene stopped and returned to normal sight, sound returned to normal in Lucy’s ears. It was painful, like an airplane dipping altitude too fast. Eugene downshifted the car once then twice and then a third time as they pulled into a gas station. Lucy’s hands were still frozen in place, even after they’d parked, and Eugene had gotten out to retrieve a couple of jerry cans from the trunk.
It had barely taken five minutes for Eugene to pump the cans full, get back into his seat and steer the candy red rocket back out onto the highway. “Alright sweet thang! You ready to hit it again? I got one more shot in this beast before she tuckers out.”
“No I don’t want to hit it again, and no you are not calling me ‘sweet thang’.”
“Sorry.” Chuckled Eugene. “It’s the speed I guess.” He tugged his harness and took an inspecting glance at Lucy’s. She nodded in answer. “Alright then baby! Here we go!” He shot the car forward again, racing through the gears as the engine thundered and crescendoed. As they screeched to the top of fourth gear he yanked the handle again sending them blistering through space. To the station and back to Lucy’s car. A trip that would normally take hours was being done in about ten minutes.
Lucy tried to relax her body into the seat, tried to ride the wave of energy through the car. She knew it’d be over in a moment, she just had to breathe through it. “A-ok, you’re gonna be a-ok.” She whispered to herself, hardly able to hear her own soothing affirmations beneath Eugene’s guttural howls of delight. “You’re a-ok. You’re a-ok.”
The car decelerated with another harsh jolt backwards. “Ah fuck!” Lucy gasped as her hearing returned with a sharp pang in her eardrum.
“Woo!” Beamed Eugene. “You know, a lot of folks have gone fast in their lives, but nobody goes plaid!” He erupted with laughter has he downshifted.
“Plaid?” Asked Lucy, eyes wide in confusion.
“Yeah. Plaid.” Answered Eugene as he cast her an inquisitive look. “You know from the uh, from the movie?” Lucy’s eyes drew blanks at Eugene’s face. “Mel Brooks? John Candy?”
“Umm. .”
“Forget it.” Eugene waved her away as he looked back through the windshield. “Ah shit!” He barked as he shifted down to first.
“What is it?” Lucy asked. “Sorry I’m not a cinephile like that.”
“No, no. Look!” Eugene gestured to the shoulder of the road as he braked to a stop. “This is where your car was right?”
“Um, I mean I guess so. It’s kinda hard to get a landmark out here. The cacti don’t exactly have numbers on them.”
“No. This was where your car was parked. I checked the imagery last night. Now it’s gone. Shit!” Eugene drove his fists into the steering wheel. Lucy could see the muscles in his face flex as he gnashed his teeth.
“So my car was stolen?” She asked, a new panic rising in her voice.
“Well,” Eugene raised a hand over his face and pinched his thumb and index finger into his temples. “Sort of.”
“What do you mean ‘sort of’?” She hissed. “Where the hell is my car Eugene?”
“Just hold on.” Eugene slapped his hands back onto the wheel and shifted hard into gear, wheeling the big red beast around on the road and rumbling back towards his house. “They weren’t supposed to come this early.” Eugene snarled as he pressed the pedal down. “They usually take about a week.”
“Who is they?” Lucy questioned, but Eugene kept his eyes focused out of the windshield as the ranch came into sight. Two large black vans and a sedan were parked outside.
Eugene pulled the car in between the two vans. “Go slow. Don’t make any sudden movements. These guys are real jumpy. Just follow my lead, and let me do the talking, yeah?” As Eugene stood from the car a man in a suit approached from the porch sporting aviator sunglasses over a bushy mustache.
“Eugene Barclay.” The man called across the yard as he walked. Eugene stayed in place. He set his hands on his hips and stretched up.
“Agent Copeland.” Eugene replied in greeting. “How do you do?”
