Believer

Susan stood alone in the cold, waiting for the bus

On the coldest night of the year, while waiting for the bus, Susan wishes that there was something else in her life... and has her wish granted.

This is the first short story in the 'Glimpse through the Curtains' series. The following story is intended for mature audiences. Reader's discretion is advised.


Written by Eric Rawlinson. Image by Nicole Connors
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On the coldest night of the year, Susan found herself alone in a frozen bus shelter. It was the kind of night, Susan thought, when any sane person would be inside where it was safe and warm with the ones they loved. Instead Susan stood in the biting cold, waiting for the bus because her car broke down. The bus would take her to her empty apartment, because her boyfriend had just left her for someone else. There would be no mail on the doormat and no messages on the machine. She would spend the evening alone with a bag of potato chips in front of the TV. Work, home, work, home. Anyway she looked at it, she was lonely.

It wasn't the first time Susan wished there were something else. She always wished for something to come along. Something to break the loneliness or add meaning to her life. Something wonderful and amazing that would make everything alright. And yet, after thirty years of wishing, nothing happened.

The wind blew so hard it sent tidal waves of loose snow across the empty streets. The only light came from the streetlamps, many of which flickered from the cold. The lamp above the shelter sputtered and went dead every so often. It was during one of these momentary deaths that a hand clasped across her mouth. She found herself in the clutches of a man larger than her. His other hand held a knife to her throat.

She struggled as best she could as he pulled her from the bus shelter without a word. He pulled her a good half a block into an alleyway lit by an orange security lamp where he slammed her into a wall. It was brighter here than on the street, and she could see much better. Which didn't help when she had to look her attacker in the face as he regarded her like a piece of meat as he pulled off her coat. She was too frightened to stop him when roughly tore open her shirt. He was interrupted, however, when the wall beside them exploded.

Bricks and concrete flew through the air, followed by a large mass that crashed into the opposite wall. It stumbled on the ground where it landed before it got up and shook debris from its body. It was the most monstrous thing Susan had ever seen. A tentacled demon with a crocodile jaw and one eye. An eye which was fixed on her.

Susan barely had time to react when a figure in a hoodie and trench coat leapt out of the hole and caught the monster's jaw in an uppercut. The figure was built like a small gorilla with a hockey mask and mouth like a steel trap. It also had a battle axe slung over its shoulder.

The punch knocked the monster back. It coughed up three fangs and turned to run. "Ohnoyadont!" The figure cried, grabbing the long tentacle attached to the back of the monster's head. This plan backfired however when the monster pulled back, sending the figure flying into the air. The tentacle then grabbed him by the leg and smashed him into the fire escape before slamming him into the pavement not two feet from Susan.

The figure, apparently undamaged by the attack, unstrapped the battle axe from his back and charged. The figure got within two paces of the monster before it breathed fire. When the monster stopped, the figure appeared to be saved by an umbrella built into his axe handle. The monster's tentacles then grabbed the axe, ripped it from the figure's hand and threw it into the wall. Then it smacked the figure, who flew right into the side of the dumpster next to Susan. There came a horrible sound like a gong from the dumpster, then a thud as he hit the ground. But the figure got up immediately and looked around the alley. His eyes finally came to rest on his stunned audience and he ran up to them, only to snatch the knife from out of the mugger's hands and run back towards the monster. As he ran, he raised the knife into the air. A bolt of lightning struck the blade, making it glow with a white light. The figure dodged several strikes from the monster, leapt into the air and plunged the blade straight into the monster's one big eye.

The monster let out a terrible scream as orange blood spurted from the wound. It staggered around until its foot seemed caught in something. The ground beneath the monster began to swirl like a maelstrom, sucking it in. The figure simply stood and watched as the monster was pulled into the vortex.

"When you get to Muspellhiem," The figure said, coldly, "Tell them the Duck sent you."

"The Duck?! Damn you!" The monster's scream shattered the windows above them. "With my last earthly breath, I place a curse upon your soul. A curse upon you and all your kind! Your fate is sealed! You will die! YOU WILL BURN WITH ME!” And with a flash of light and a crack of thunder, the monster was gone.

There was silence for a few seconds before 'the Duck' said, “Heh, not likely.” Then he burst into flames.

He screamed as he ran around in circles, flailing his arms for a few seconds then yelled, "Stopdropandroll! Stopdropandroll!" He proceeded to follow his own advice and rolled around on the ground until the flames were extinguished.

He got up and brushed the ash and snow off his arms. "Heh, nice try." He remarked, brushing his hands as he walked over to the knife. He picked it up, lifted his mask and shoved the blade into his mouth. Steam bellowed from under his hood and when he pulled it out, the white light was gone. Then he turned and walked back to his audience.

"Sorry about that, here's your..." He looked from the knife to the attacker, to Susan, to the knife, to Susan's open blouse, to the knife again, to the attacker, to Susan, and back to the knife. "On second thought, I think I'll keep this." He slipped the knife into this coat pocket.

The attacker gave a sudden cry and tried to push the figure aside. Failing that, he fled past the figure out into the street.

"Okay then." The figure clapped his hands and rubbed them together. He wiggled his furry fingers at Susan. The effect was like watching a tarantula struggling. "You will forget everything you saw!" He said, in a mysterious voice. He waited for a moment. "You will forget everything you saw!" He paused again, then sighed. "Dang it, that usually works. Oh well."

He looked over his shoulder and than back to Susan. "He's high and a coward, so he'll just believe this is a bad trip. But you, you're different." Susan realized he was talking to her. "I can see it in your eyes. You're a believer." He let the words hang for a moment, then he shook his head. "I pity you. Anyway..."

He walked over and coaxed his axe out of the wall. "I would suggest you pretend this never happened." The axe came free and he flourished it, "Because if you were to believe any of this for even a second, you'd go nuts. I mean, look at me." He posed, "I believed it."

He suddenly looked up and then at his wrist. "Dang it, another one. Well, so long. Pray you never see me again.” He waved goodbye, opened his umbrella and stepped into the top. "I've heard alcohol helps." And then he flew up into the air and was gone.

Suddenly Susan found herself alone and colder than ever. She gathered up her coat and walked back to the bus stop. The bus arrived just as she made it back to the stop. She paid her fare and rode it in silence all the way to home.

There was no mail on the mat or messages on the machine. She took off her ruined blouse and threw it in the trash. She went to the bathroom to fill the tub. Minutes later, she was wrapped in a hot water embrace, a glass of wine at her side and a fantasy romance novel in her hand. Something came along. But she realized that maybe, just maybe, this all wasn't so bad after all.