It was pouring down something awful as I was waiting inside Hap's gas station while my car was refueling outside, listening to Bill Hapscomb and the other employees chatting to each other as my uncle Stu Redman was staring at the storm. I wasn't anyone special, just a normal teenager who was visiting his uncle in Arnette before driving back to New York since I don't see uncle Stu often and he was normally a quiet man who was distant with my father but they love each other anyway.
"What I got to say is this: they gotta screw this inflation crap and screw this national debt crap because we got the presses and we got the paper so we gotta run off fifty-million thousand dollar bills and pump 'em into circulation," Bill commented while I rolled my eyes at what he said since I've heard it before back in New York.
"That wouldn't get us nowhere," Vic pointed out and Norm nodded.
"That's right, Hap. Vic's right because if they do that, then it'll be just like Richmond in the last two years of the states war," Norm agreed just before I spotted something fast approaching the gas station.
"What the fuck?" I muttered as Stu managed to get a look at it and I saw that it was a car, but the driver was swerving all over the road with the headlights shining onto the station as the car was heading right for us and panic started swelling up when I noticed that the car was getting close to the fuel pumps.
"Hap, shut off the pumps," Stu alerted and the others saw the car before their eyes bugged out in alarm.
"Christ on a crutch, it's coming right at us!" Norm exclaimed in horror while I felt like a deer in headlights and just stood completely frozen at potential certain death coming right at us.
Stu reacted quickly by rushing over to the gas switches behind the counter and flicked off all eight of them in time, just before the out of control car swerved into three of the pumps and smashed right into them until it came to a stop. At that moment, I let out a shaky breath I didn't even know I was holding in and it hit me that we could've died if it wasn't for Stu's quick thinking as I found myself running out of the building with the others right behind me so that we could check on the driver before we ran around to the driver side and I saw the driver crawling out.
Seeing the man's face as he crawled out of the car was a sight I would never be able to forget as it was sickly pale with blood and mucus pouring out of his nose and mouth while the poor man was coughing violently like there was no hope for him, the man looking beyond sick from something as I was shocked by the sad sight and getting drenched by the rain.
"Damn, Stu...you don't think he did that to his face after falling out of the car, do you?" Norm questioned but Stu couldn't answer and how could he since the man looked like he was dying even before the accident, though Stu hurried over to the man and turned him over before holding him as the man looked like he was struggling to breathe.
"Hey, just take it easy," Stu told the man and shouted at Bill to call for an ambulance before Bill ran back into the store and Stu kept talking to the man to try and keep him calm until Bill came running back out and informed us that an ambulance from Braintree would be here in ten minutes as the man reached out at the totaled car weakly.
"M-My wife and my baby are sick, they need help...help my wife and my baby, they're sick and they need help!" the man wheezed loudly with a look of desperation in his eyes and hearing that the man had a family in the car prompted me to rush over to the passenger side until I saw a nightmarish sight that would always haunt my dreams.
I saw a woman in the passenger seat while she was holding a baby, only they were dead with flies swarming them and held frozen looks of agony as the powerful sick stench of blood, fecal matter, vomit, and human decay made me turn away and stumble from the horrible sight until I leaned forward to throw up just before Tommy checked on me and patted my back.
"Come on Kyle, you don't need to see that," Tommy told me in concern as I started crying and looked up at him with tears running down my cheeks while they mixed with the rain that was coming down.
"Oh God, the fuck did that to them?" I whimpered distressfully as I moved out of Tommy's grasp and headed over to where Stu was holding the man.
"Oh god...we didn't get out in time after all," the man choked out and Stu tried to keep him calm.
"Look, you just take it easy because an ambulance is coming," Stu reassured and the man started shaking his head.
"The gate must've malfunctioned or we would've never made it out of the compound and died in there...Project Blue," the man rambled before he suddenly coughed badly to the point where he couldn't breathe and Stu moved him onto his side to help him get the mucus out of his throat that was trapped in there before the man babbled about things that didn't make sense and I looked at the others.
"What the hell is wrong with him?" I wondered uneasily and Norm frowned.
"Maybe it was food poisoning and he's got California plates so it might've been bad chow from a roadside stand or something," Norm theorized and Vic appeared worried.
"I hope so because..." Vic started to say and trailed off before Tommy looked at him.
"What?" Tommy asked in concern and Vic started appearing pensive.
"Because otherwise, it might be something catchable," Vic answered hesitantly and hearing that scared me while I back away from the dying man for my own safety.
"Sally and the baby, they were...sick since Salt Lake City but please tell me that they're okay," the man pleaded weakly and Stu nodded.
"Don't worry, they're just fine," Stu reassured and I knew that whatever killed the man's family, it would take him as well.
"Listen, there was a man with us some other time, a dark man and he...I was looking through the review mirror and he was just standing there grinning at me so I thought I could outrun him, but you can't outrun the dark man," the man babbled with a delirious laugh as I heard the sounds of sirens getting closer until the ambulance arrived and EMTs got out.
Once the EMTs helped the man onto a stretcher and placed an oxygen mask onto his face, he was loaded up into the ambulance while the dead bodies were put into body bags and the ambulance drove away with its sirens blaring until I saw the medical vehicle disappear into the darkness and I looked at Stu and the others.
"Hey, I need to head home because my parents are waiting for me," I stated and the others gazed at me.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea because you're most likely in shock right now and driving back to New York in this storm while you're in such a state could be a bad combination," Stu pointed out in concern and I smiled at him reassuringly.
"Don't worry about me, uncle Stu, I'll be just fine," I assured before I took out my wallet and handed him some money for the gas until I walked to my car and got in, then I drove away from the gas station and thought about the man's dying words while I wondered what he meant by how you can't outrun the dark man.
I shivered and gripped the wheel as something about all of this felt wrong and I've been seeing strange things that weren't there for the past few weeks like vague shadows or opaque colors out of the corner of my eye and, other times, they would be animals while I would also lay in bed and dream of wolves. Howling wolves, hunting wolves, fighting wolves, mating wolves, wolves running while playing and smelling the ground, and the dreams would be so vivid that I would wake up and howl at the moon more than one time before I realized what I was doing.
It was so strange and even though wolves were majestic animals, they were not what a normally seventeen-year-old male normally thinks of in his bed at night, nor were they a subject I was particularly interested in. Yes, wolves were beautiful and fierce predators who were rapidly dwindling in America, but that was about all I knew or wanted to know about them since I had other things to worry about, yet the dreams still came to me with each night more vivid than the last and then they started happening during the day at moments when they were convenient.
I had thought about discussing these bizarre events to my parents or my friends, but I didn't want to worry them and they had enough to deal with for the rent and other issues so I started wondering if I was going insane, though I decided to try and ignore it but it was starting to affect my sleep and my grades in school were suffering because of it to the point where my parents were beginning to notice and they started whispering to each other while sending me knowing looks of concern as I once picked up them saying things like Gaia or it's almost time for his first change.
I had no idea what they were talking about but it obviously concerned me and mom and dad weren't eager to talk about it so I decided not to ask them and now I was tired and more than a little irritated but I managed to stay calm as I drove through east Texas and headed back to New York.
As time passed by, I had driven throughout most of the night and the entire morning until I arrived in New York and entered the city by the Lincoln Tunnel before the radio started playing Baby Can You Dig Your Man by Larry Underwood, though I didn't care much for the song since I wasn't interested in that kind of music while I arrived home that was in the upper west side and got out of the car until I walked up to the house and went inside while my parents were waiting for me.
"Son, we heard what happened from your Uncle Stu so are you okay?" Dad asked as he and mom hugged me and I nodded.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," I assured but they didn't look convinced.
"Kyle, maybe you should talk to someone because nobody is fine after witnessing something like that," Mom reasoned and I sighed since I knew nothing could get past them and they wouldn't let it go otherwise.
"Alright, I'll talk to someone so I'll see if I can schedule an appointment with a therapist," I conceded and my parents smiled.
"Glad to hear that and was the drive back home okay?" Dad inquired and I nodded.
"Yeah, nothing particularly interesting happened during the drive back so things went well, though I'm exhausted so I'm going to get some sleep," I explained with a thoughtful expression and started yawning.
"Sure, you get some sleep since you must be very tired from all the excitement last night and we'll notify school about what happened so that you can take some time off," Mom told me and I smiled tiredly as I went to my room and removed my clothes until I was in my boxers and got into bed, then I closed my eyes and drifted off.
A couple of days later, I've been living life as normal but there had been reports on the news about people getting sick from the flu but the government had been saying that there wasn't any cause for alarm and it would pass soon while a small town in east texas had been quarantined, though I was reminded of that man and his family who died from unknown causes and the thought of Arnette being under military lockdown had me feeling very concerned for Stu and his co-workers since I had no idea what the man and his family died from and if it was contagious or not.
Still, I kept calm and hoped that Stu was doing okay as I helped dad put some boxes in storage and we left the basement before I sighed thankfully now that we were done clearing some things that were starting to clutter up the living room.
"Phew, glad that's over with," I muttered and dad nodded before he started coughing and took out a handkerchief to blow his nose.
"You alright?" I asked in concern and dad waved it off.
"Yeah, think I might be coming down with something, and your mother isn't feeling very hot either," Dad said as he patted his chest while clearing his throat and we headed into the living room until we sat down and turned on the TV.
"Hey, have you heard about Arnette being quarantined by the government for anthrax? I hope Uncle Stu is doing okay," I stated and dad smiled reassuringly at me.
"I'm sure your uncle will be fine since he's pretty tough and doesn't take crap from anyone, so those doctors better watch themselves since they haven't faced the Redman attitude before," Dad joked and I chuckled because I knew that he was right with people in the Redman family having an attitude whenever they get pissed or stubborn.
"Well, I'm going out to get some groceries so I'll be back home soon," I said as I stood up and left the living room before exiting the house.
I got into my car and drove to the nearest grocery store before I got out and headed into the store, then I got what I needed for me and my parents and left just as I heard someone ringing a small bell and coming close to the entrance until I saw a dark-skinned man with a large sign hanging on his shoulders as he was shouting 'bring out your dead' repeatedly until I passed him and he grabbed my arm just as he pulled me up close and looked at me.
"The Dark Man is coming for you, Kyle, so be prepared," the man warned darkly and I forced him to let go with a shove while I glared at him.
"The hell is your problem?! Stay the fuck away from me, asshole!" I snapped irritably and the man stared at me for a few more seconds before walking away while ringing his bell again and continuing his morbid speech.
I was very unnerved by what just happened and hearing him say 'the dark man' got me thinking about that man who died and how he spoke about how you can't outrun the Dark Man, which was starting to make me uneasy until I reasoned to myself that it was just coincidence as I loaded the car with the groceries and drove home until I brought the groceries inside before mom and dad helped me put them away.
Pretty soon, it was late and everyone had gone to bed but I was wide awake and staring up at the ceiling while I couldn't get what that man said out of my mind, thinking about how what seemed like crazy ramblings appear to be a genuine warning and I wondered who the Dark Man is and why I heard that title twice, but I decided not to pay attention to it and focused on getting some sleep since it was going to be a busy day tomorrow.
A/N Hello, welcome to my crossover fic of World of Darkness and Supernatural but I'm having the story start off in Stephen King's The Stand where the Wyrm is responsible for causing Captain Trips to break out while the bioweapon had been tainted so that it killed nearly every Garou and Fera on the entire planet while the Black Spiral Dancers and the servants of the Wyrm are free to run wild as the Pentex Corporation allies with Randell Flagg to create a cruel dictatorship across what's left of the United States.
So, you're probably wondering how Kyle will meet Sam and Dean since the world is destroyed and I will assure you that he will meet them after he is captured with Larry, Glen, and Ralph and the nuke goes off, but not before he and what's left of the Garou and Fera go through one last assault against the Wyrm and Randell Flagg so I can't wait for the final battle to occur.
Anyway, the meeting with Abagail will happen in the next chapter and I'm going to be using the comic book adaptation for this story because it follows the uncut novel so let me know what you think and stay tuned.