Hell Flower

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The mixture of leafless deciduous trees and firs gave way to taller and taller pines. They grew up along the sides of the road, protruding from the rocky ground like teeth jutting out to the sky. We were driving into the mouth of a hungry beast, and I was the prey, waiting for it to snap its jaw and trap me alive.

I pushed my nightmare out of my mind as best I could, but the image of the hungry fire and the demonic wolves snaked its way into my head, burned into the fabric of my memory.

Alex and Liz had returned from the back room a while ago. Liz now sat on the couch next to me, reading her book again as she drummed her fingernails lightly on the table.

Alex seemed to have calmed. He sat on the far side of the space, playing melodies on his acoustic guitar. He paused for a minute, looking out the window at the trees rushing by.

Finally, he strummed out the notes to his next song. I recognized the familiar tune of Aerosmith's "Dream On" instantly. He sang the lyrics quietly, but he carried the tune well. Alex rarely played the guitar when Make Them Scream performed—only on the occasional song to back up Jake and Reggie's parts. He was a natural at it, just like my father had been. I didn't know why he didn't play more often.

I wondered how many bands Alex and his wolf pack had been across the ages. Had they always been musicians? If not, what had they done before? Who had they been? Who were they, really?

The bus's engine revved, and my ears popped as we ascended into the mountains. Cliffs rose along both sides of the bus. The old highway had been sliced out between the mountains like a canyon. I flexed my jaw to pop my ears again.

The sun set along the horizon, making the traces of snow at the tops of the pines glow pink. Liz had taken away my phone so I couldn't check my GPS to see where we were, but I got the foreboding feeling we were getting very close to our destination. I wished I could call Derek, even if I couldn't tell him what was going on. I just wanted to hear the sound of his voice. But, even if I did have my phone, I doubted I'd have service anyway.

I thought about the lyrics as I listened to Alex play. It was a song about growing old and dying—two things he would never know. Although, maybe, he'd been growing old this whole time.

The air held an oppressive heaviness to it that made it difficult to breath. Or maybe it was just the lack of oxygen at the higher elevation.

As Alex played toward the end of his song, his eyes met mine for just a second. He sang out the lyrics, requesting through them that I joined in the song. Chills ran down my spine, but I couldn't help myself. Music was something that felt good to me, no matter what. Tears burned behind my eyes as I joined in. We sang together, neither of us looking towards the other in acknowledgement.

When the song ended, Alex let the final notes linger in the air. He glanced up at me, meeting my eyes for a second before looking back out the window and strumming the chords for his next song. This one was by The Cure. The haunting, nostalgic tune made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

I pushed myself up as chills rushed through my body. I didn't want to hear him play this song. My dad had always sung it to me on Halloween when I was a child, and it brought back too many memories. It hurt me to hear it now. It was Halloween today, and it had been thirteen years since he'd sang it to me.

"Where are you going?" Liz turned her eyes up to look at me.

"Just need to hit the head." My legs quivered, and I hoped she didn't notice that I was shaking.

She nodded as I left the room. I glanced at Alex one last time before closing the door behind myself. He turned his eyes up to meet mine for just a second, but it hurt to look at him.