THE VAMPIRE UNDERGROUND

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Ash whistled, trying to stay upbeat, even though two hours into his long journey he was starting to believe driving to Bodie Ghost Town was likely a huge mistake.

“She’s not gonna be there,” Ash said to himself, whistling to the John Williams movie scores from Raiders of the Lost Ark and Hook. “What a waste of a tank of gas.”

He continued whistling to himself. He doubted Brin would be there. But there was still that lingering question of why she wasn’t picking up her phone. Bodie wasn’t that far away—just three hours—and he felt it was a short enough journey to ensure that she was OK. 

“Maybe Anaya convinced the group to do a night shoot,” he said. “Maybe she’s so nuts she’s filming her little western horror movie at night.”

He rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times. His contact lenses were blurring up with each passing minute.

Ash hadn’t passed a car in over ten minutes as he sped down the two-lane highway at seventy miles an hour. The roads were probably too icy for him to drive this fast, but he didn’t care. His Volkswagon Bug had withstood worse, and he knew that the faster he drove, the faster he’d be at his destination.

But Ash didn’t drive fast for long. Even though his contact lenses were fogging up, he could tell exactly what the bright, colorful lights in his rearview mirror were.

“Oh, damn it all to Hell,” Ash said.

The sounds of sirens pierced his ears, and a blinding white light smacked against his driver’s side window. He pulled over to the side of the road. He hoped the police car would just zoom on by, but, of course, it didn’t.

Ash sighed, crossed his arms, and leaned his head back. He couldn’t believe it. This would be his third ticket in less than five months.

A tap at his window broke him out of his daze. He tried to fake a smile as he rolled the window down.

“Evening,” the officer said. He looked old and grouchy. Ash knew he wasn’t going to get a warning with this one.

“Evening, Officer. Was I speeding?”

“I’m not sure,” he said. “Were you?”

Ash didn’t answer right away. He didn’t realize the cop was conducting a test.

“Uhh, no,” he finally said.

“Good,” the officer said.

“OK.” Nothing was said for a moment. Ash didn’t like, or understand, the awkward silence. “So what’d I do?”

“Excuse me?”

“What did I do?”

“You didn’t do anything,” the officer said.

Now the situation was becoming comical. “All right… I guess I’ll be going, then.”

“No,” the officer said. “I pulled you over because I had a question for you. Have you by any chance seen an RV pass by recently?”

“An RV?”

“Yes. A man and his granddaughter have been reported missing, and they were headed toward Grisly on US-395. We’re trying to locate their RV.”

“Oh.” Ash thought for a moment. He’d been so wrapped up in his own head that he hadn’t paid attention to any of the vehicles headed in the opposite direction. But he figured he would remember seeing a gargantuan motorhome. “You know, I’m sorry, Officer. I haven’t.”

The man nodded and wiped some snot from his nose. He looked ready to head back to his car, as if Ash, for once in his life, would get a break from the law.

But when the cop pursed his lips and didn’t budge, Ash knew the little confrontation wasn’t over. “Say… what are you doing out here so late, anyway?”

“I’m sorry?”

“It’s nearly midnight, and you’re in the middle of nowhere. What’s your destination?”

Ash stared at him with antipathy. He didn’t think it was a crime in the United States to drive after ten o’clock at night.

He tried to say something nice. But what came out was: “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”

The officer was taken aback by Ash’s snap. He frowned. “You hiding something from me, boy?”

“What? No.”

“Do you wanna get arrested?”

Now it was Ash’s turn to be taken aback. The officer started foaming at the mouth. Ash bit down on his bottom lip.     

“I’m going to Bodie Ghost Town,” he said. “I’m looking for a friend of mine.”

“In Bodie?”

“That’s right.”

The officer shook his head. “That’s impossible. Bodie’s closed. It has been since late October.”

“You mean… the town is closed?”

“Yes. The town, and the road that leads to it. There’s no way in or out.”

“You’re joking,” Ash said.

“Nope.”

Ash wasn’t about to argue with the police officer. As he sat in his car, now freezing because of all the cold air getting in, he thought maybe Brin was shooting her movie late today because the group’s first destination to film in was closed, so they had to improvise and find themselves another location.

“I guess I need to try calling her again,” Ash said. He didn’t know what else to say. The officer was still hovering over him, so close Ash could smell his putrid breath.

“OK, well don’t be getting yourself into trouble, son,” the man said. “And please… keep your eye out for that RV, all right?”

Ash nodded. “Will do.”

As the officer made his way back to his vehicle, Ash checked his phone again. No calls. No texts. Nothing.

“Where the hell are you, Brin?” he said, as the cop car pulled a U-turn and disappeared into the blackness down the road behind him.

Ash rolled up his window, turned on the ignition, and continued on his journey.

A few minutes later he saw the sign: 42 MILES TO ROUTE 270. He knew what that meant.

58 more miles to Bodie Ghost Town.