Chapter 8

"I have not ceased being fearful, but I have ceased to let fear control me. I have accepted fear as part of life specifically fear of change and fear of the unknown; and I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says, turn back, turn back, you'll die if you venture too far." -Erica Jong

Hobbes got up and got himself ready for another day. He hoped that his lanky partner was able to get some rest. Claire had been concerned when she saw Darien. She had seen him depressed before, but this was different. Dark circles under his eyes, slumped shoulders and his eyes were distant, like something had taken control of his mind. At first Claire had thought it was the stress of finding Mother Abigail and all the new people that were streaming in now. She was upset to find that Darien's nightmares had not ended and he didn't say anything about it sooner.

Claire came down the stairs putting her robe on and saw Bobby standing in the middle of the living lost in thought, "Bobby, what is it?"

"I don't know, Claire, I just have that feeling that something isn't right." Hobbes shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe it's nothing."

Hobbes and Claire had breakfast and were waiting for Darien to show up like he usually does every morning. Hobbes checked his watch, "I know that Fawkes is fashionably late but even this is too much for him." He got up and walked out his front door, a piece of paper fell to the ground at Hobbes feet. He picked it up and read it. "Fawkes! I can't believe it!"

Claire came running out of the kitchen, "What happened?" She saw the look on Hobbes' face and knew that Darien had done something stupid, "What did Darien do now?"

Hobbes handed her the note, "He went to Las Vegas." He started up the stairs.

"What!?! Why on earth would he do something like that?" Claire ran up the stairs after Bobby.

"He's gone to face Flagg," Hobbes got some gear together and Claire looked at him.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going after that bone head partner of mine and bring him back before he gets himself killed. Tell Stu what happened." He kissed Claire, "I'll be back, babe, I promise."

"In one piece?" Claire hugged Bobby.

"Yeah, in one piece, but I'm not sure about Fawkes though. I may have to bust him up a bit." Hobbes flung his bag over his shoulder and grabbed his map.

Darien knew that Hobbes would come after him and was probably already on the road. He had a three and a half hour head start on Hobbes and he was approaching the town of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. He siphoned some gas out of a car to fill up his tank. The sweat was coming down his face; he wiped his head with the sleeve of his shirt. The squawking of a crow perched atop a pole got his attention. Darien looked up, "I hear ya." He started up his bike and continued on his journey. He looked in his rear view mirror and slammed the bike to a complete stop.

"What the…?" Darien turned and saw nothing. A cold shiver went up his spine. "The heat is getting to me, I know I saw a man sitting on top of that pole," Darien pulled out his water bottle and took a nice long swallow before moving on.

Randall Flagg stood on the balcony of his hotel room overlooking Las Vegas. He was proud of himself at what he had accomplished in such a short period of time. The man clad in blue jeans and a blue jean jacket smiled upon his kingdom. One of his prized subjects had already arrived, a pyromaniac by the name of Trashcan Man. Now he was eagerly awaiting the next one. This next one wasn't coming out of his free will, but out of desperation. And that was what Flagg had been hoping for. A desperate man will do anything.

Lloyd Henreid came in and looked at his boss with a watchful eye. Lloyd knew his place when it came to Flagg. After all, he was the one that got Lloyd out of prison before he starved to death, so he owed Flagg a lot, mainly his life. The black stone Lloyd wore around his neck was constant reminder of that deal. So he waited until Flagg turned around to talk to him, best not to speak before you're acknowledged first.

"Lloyd, listen, I'm willing to forget about the mishap with the Judge. You see, someone else is on their way here and I don't want anything to happen to him…" Flagg turned around and that cocky grin met Lloyd with a bone chilling response. "You want a drink, I do." Flagg went over to his bar and poured two glasses.

"Is this another spy? You need another cross made?" Lloyd asked with hesitation. His boys had messed up earlier by not following Flagg's orders. The Judge was supposed to have been brought in unharmed. But instead, the Judge was shot in the face and died instantly. Flagg to say the least had become angry and that was something Lloyd didn't want to go through again.

Flagg handed the drink to Lloyd, "No, not a spy, but he is coming from Boulder. He's special Lloyd and I want him brought to the Clark County Jail, unharmed. I want you to set up two road blocks, just in case. He's tricky and that's why I want him. He has a friend that is right behind him and I want him also, unharmed." Flagg walked over to Lloyd and held the black stone in his hand and closed his fist around it, "Just remember Lloyd where you came from," Flagg opened his hand and a key appeared. He closed his fist around the key, "I can send you back and you can enjoy that rat meal you were saving up for Thanksgiving." Flagg let go and the black stone made a thump as it hit Lloyd on his chest.

"I'll take care of it. I'll put my best men on it." Lloyd took a long drink.

Flagg smiled at him, "His name is Darien Fawkes and he's traveling south on I-15. Set up a road block in Arrowhead and in Apex."

Lloyd put his drink down on the counter after finishing it off. He headed for the door when Flagg called back to him. Lloyd turned around and Flagg had transformed.

Yellow eyes with cat like pupils replaced the blue ones. Sharp pointed teeth were exposed and two large ram horns adorned each side of his head. The light brown mane of long hair was gone to reveal a skull covered in wrinkled skin. There were no eyebrows just the face of a demon.

"No mistakes this time, Lloyd. I want them alive!" Flagg said in a voice that was not human.

Lloyd froze in his satin suit, "Yes, sir." Lloyd looked down and he heard laughter. He turned his gaze upward and Flagg was back to human form. Flagg walked up to him and patted him on the back.

"I like you Lloyd, you are my good and faithful servant."

Claire went to Stu's house and told him what had happened. Stu paced around his living room, "I hope Darien doesn't screw things up."

Claire looked at Stu, "What do you mean by that?"

Fran held Stu's arm, "You should tell her."

"I don't think I'm going to like this," Claire folded her arms.

"We sent out spies to bring back information about Flagg and what the people in Las Vegas are doing." Stu said.

"You did what? You sent out people to spy? Did it ever occur to you to let Bobby and Darien handle this, they are trained for this you know." Claire said angrily.

"They were mentioned but we felt it best to keep them here, just in case something were to happen, we would at least have two men with experience to coordinate whatever needs…to be…coordinated." Stu stammered at the end when he saw how angry Claire became.

"Who did you send?" Claire paused, "It wouldn't matter anyway cause I have no way of contacting Bobby to let him know." Claire put her hands to her head, "Ughhh! You should have at least told us what you were planning. Bobby is not going to be happy about this at all. You do realize that those people may not be coming back."

"Yes, and they knew that too." Stu stepped towards Claire, "Look, I know what we did may not make sense, but having Bobby stay here with his military background we felt was in the best interest of the Free Zone. We also felt that Darien was more needed here with all the new folks coming and the search for Mother Abigail. The spies went on their own accord."

"Right now, Darien is gone and Bobby is out trying to find him. Looks like you are going to have to take over the Sheriff position until they get back." Claire said and walked out. She headed towards the hospital to start her day.

Stu and Fran just looked at each other. Neither one said a word.

After Fran and Stu had left their house, Nadine showed up with a shoebox. Since no one locked their doors, she was able to walk in and placed the shoebox in the closet. She quickly covered it up and left the house.

Darien had left Boulder at around 6:00 in the morning, by 2:30 in the afternoon he had traveled 323 miles. He stopped in Thompson, Utah for a break. He had already spent over seven hours on his bike with a few stops here and there, he was tired but determined to end this. On the trip from San Diego, they stopped every two hours or so, but Darien wanted to get to Las Vegas. He knew he couldn't over do it either. Hobbes would certainly be hot on his trail but he didn't know when and where Darien would take his breaks.

To be on the safe side, Darien hid his bike and sat down for lunch. He wasn't all that hungry but he forced himself to eat. Thoughts of the past week went through his mind as he ate, the meeting, the power being turned back on, the new faces, Hobbes and Claire. He grabbed his sleeping, put it under his head and fell asleep.

Hobbes had been thinking about the many ways he was going to slap Darien upside his head for doing this. With Mother Abigail gone and everything else moving so quickly in the Free Zone, Darien had picked one heck of a time to lose his senses and take off on his own.

After a bite to eat, Hobbes started up his bike and started moving again. He had hoped to catch up to Darien either on the road or at least before he reached Las Vegas. There was no telling where Darien was at this point. When he dreamed of Mother Abigail, he knew where she was, he hoped that maybe a dream would tell him where Darien was.

When 9:00 in the evening came around, it was time for the ad hoc committee to have their meeting. Committee reports were given and Stu spoke on behalf of Hobbes for the Law Committee. He gave the excuse that Hobbes and Darien were busy working on the search for Mother Abigail and that neither of them would be available for the meeting. Stu knew that eventually he would have to tell them the truth, but he hoped that Hobbes and Darien would return soon.

Harold and Nadine perched themselves on a hillside overlooking the area. Harold knew that they would be able to see the explosion from their advantage point. Nadine kept pressuring Harold to press the button but Harold wanted to wait for the right moment.

It was now going on 9:15, people were enjoying themselves at a near by park in the early evening. There was a slight change in the weather and people seemed to be enjoying themselves. A child saw a figure walking down the sidewalk; she recognized Mother Abigail and she was helped by Joe. People rushed to her as she fell to the ground, mumbling, "Get out...it's in the closet."

Fran's eyes perked up, Ralph stopped giving his report about the Fire Committee and leaped to his feet. Larry ran for the door and Nick ran for the closet.

Harold pressed the button and spoke softly into the walkie-talkie, "This is Harold Lauder speaking. I do this of my own free will." A second later and there was soft boom in the distance. He and Nadine then saw a ball of light. "Roger that, over and out," Harold packed up his stuff and looked at Nadine saying, "We're damned."

Nadine looked up at Harold, "I know."

Just North of Parowan, Utah, Darien stopped for the night. He was now on I-15 going south towards Las Vegas. He knew that by this time tomorrow, he would be there, whether he was alive or not he didn't know. All he knew for sure was that the nightmare would be over.

Hobbes had gained an hour on Darien and was at Richfield, Utah when he decided to stop for the night. He was now only two hours behind Darien. Hobbes wanted to keep going but traveling on the road at night would be hazardous, not all the roads were clear of cars and trucks. The last thing he needed to do was to have an accident. He went to sleep hoping that things in Boulder were okay and that Claire was safe.

Claire was ready to leave the hospital when she heard the explosion, "Good Lord," she exclaimed and ran back inside. It was going to be a busy night and her thoughts of Bobby and Darien would be taken over by her training to save lives.