Chapter Two: The Gypsies Vision
Outside the police station, a man in a business suit had just pulled up in his sports car. The man, Greg Parker, appeared to be about fifty. He was a shorter, heavier man who's hair was just beginning to thin out and turn grey. In the backseat were his daughter Heather and her friends Lindsay and Beth, talking about little things.
"Daddy, do we have to stop right now?" she whined. "The movie's going to start soon."
"Just a minute, pumpkin," her father replied. "Daddy's got some business to attend to real quick. It'll only be a minute."
"…fine…" Heather huffed. "But not one minute more!"
"Of course not," he smiled. He parked the car and stepped out. "Sheriff Harper!" he called out. "A word with you please!"
Sheriff Max Harper was a tall, built, forty year old man. He had yellow hair, a yellow mustache, and stern looking eyes.
"Yes mayor. I'll be right with you." He called out. He then turned back to his cell phone. "Bridgette, it's your father," he said. "Your mother needs you to go straight home tonight. Call me when you get this call. All right, love you."
Max hung up his phone and walked over to Greg.
"Max," Greg said sternly. "I just came from the gypsies place. The place is an absolute mess! It violates every code in the book."
"I know sir," Max coolly replied. "I sent Cody to take care of it this morning."
"Tch…so that's why it's not clean yet," he huffed. "You make sure you tell that idiot to have it cleaned up by the end of today!"
"Yes sir."
"If he can't handle it…you fire him. If you don't, I will."
"Yes sir."
Just then, Max and Greg caught sight of a garbage truck rounding the corner.
"There goes that idiot now!" Greg laughed. "And look at that: he's driving away from the gypsy's house!"
Max just sighed as he watched Cody drive away.
Inside the truck, Cody was glancing back at the police station in his mirror. When it was almost out of sight, he turned to two people ducking below the seats.
"It's all clear," he said.
Bridgette and Geoff let out a sigh of relief as they sat back up straight in their seats.
"That was close," Geoff said.
"I know. Not only would my dad get mad at me for being with Geoff, but we can get into a lot of trouble being in here."
"Well, it IS against the town's rules to let anyone ride in here without proper permission," Cody replied. "But then again, I like to think of myself as the master of this truck." Cody grinned. He was starting to get into his little vision. "The chief of my own army! The captain of my own ship! A man above the law!"
Suddenly, all three of them heard the sound of a police siren. Cody looked in his mirror and saw Sheriff Harper racing to catch up with him, lights flashing.
"Uh oh," Cody whispered.
Without a word, Bridgette and Geoff crotched under the seats out of sight again. Cody took a deep breath as he pulled over.
"Sheriff Harper! What a pleasure," Cody began as Max approached the truck.
"Get out of the truck Cody," Max sternly replied.
With a loud gulp, Cody sheepishly climbed down from the truck and approached Max.
"Uh, was I speeding?" Cody nervously asked. "Did I run a red light? You know, sometimes, I get so psyched about this job, that I forget everything that's going on around me, know what I'm talking about?"
"Cody!" Max snapped. "I told you to go to the gypsy's house and clean it up!"
"The gypsy's house?" came a voice from inside the truck.
"Shh! Geoff!" another voice whispered.
Recognizing the voices, Max marched over to the truck, seeming very irritated.
"Here comes the hurricane," Cody said aloud to himself and closed his eyes.
Max yanked the door open. When he saw Bridgette and Geoff ducking under the seats clinging onto one another, one could almost see the steam flow from his ears.
"YOU!" Max shouted to Geoff. "HANDS OFF MY DAUGHTER NOW!"
Geoff immediately let go of Bridgette, not daring to take his eyes off of her father.
"BOTH OF YOU! OUT OF THE TRUCK!"
Bridgette and Geoff raced out of the truck as fast as they could.
"GEOFF! GO HOME NOW! BRIDGETTE! GET IN THE CAR!"
"But dad…"
"NO! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!"
"D-Don't get mad at them, sir," Cody stuttered. "It was my fault. I invited them in the truck. I should have known better. After all, I am the master of the truck…the captain. The chief! The…"
"Cody!" Max snapped again. "I told you to clean up that gypsy's house this morning and you haven't done it yet!"
Cody's expression went from nervous to terrified when he heard this.
"Uh…I'm allergic to restless souls," he nervously lied. "Um…I don't have a toxic waste permit! I don't touch things that are considered ancient relics!"
"Cody," Max replied, in a little softer tone. "All I asked you to do today is to clean up that gypsy's front yard. Now, if you really value your job, I suggest you go over there right now and get the job done before you make the mayor even more upset than he is now."
"Yes sir," Cody sheepishly replied.
"All right, then get to it," Max concluded. He then turned his attention to his daughter, who was waving good-bye to Geoff.
"Bridgette! Get in the car now!"
Bridgette hung her head down as she dragged her feat to the passenger's side of the police car. Cody managed to give her a small smile before she climbed into the car. Bridgette returned the smile as she shut the door to the car. Not another word was said as Max went back to his car and Cody went back into his truck.
Thirty minutes later, Cody pulled up to an old, rickety house. The front yard was covered with what many people considered to be garbage. But according to the superstitious, they were voodoo dolls used to keep ancient spirits away; shrines dedicated to lost souls that had lost their way; monuments to ancient superstitions that were regarded as teachings to those that believed in them.
A cold chill went down Cody's spine as he studied the property. He let out a gulp as he parked the truck and climbed down. Even Thunder let out a whimper as he jumped down to his master's side.
"It's okay boy," Cody reassured the scared beagle. "Remember, we have nothing to fear but fear itself! …plus the fact that the gypsy that lives here will turn us into newts if she catches us here."
Cody tried to chuckle at his own joke, but he started to believe himself when he looked at some of the statues surrounding the house. Every single tree on the property was dead and leafless. The air seemed to have a hazy feel around it. The gargoyles seemed to be staring right into his soul as he approached the front door of the house. By now, Cody was literally shaking with fear. He hesitated before he walked up the rickety old steps that led to the front porch. When he finally mustered the courage to walk up the steps, he grabbed hold of the rope outside the door and pulled on it. A loud chime of a bell that hung above the porch rang throughout the property. Bats that were sleeping on the bell flew off to the distance.
"Well, no one home," Cody said to Thunder seconds after ringing the bell. He started to walk away down the steps, not waiting for a response. "I guess she's out cutting off a chicken's head or whatever it is these people do in their free time."
Just then, the door to the house swung open with great force as an old gypsy lady stormed after Cody wielding a machete.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded. "Get off my property now!"
By now, she was standing right in front of Cody. Cody began to shake violently when he saw the old woman wielding a weapon. What was even scarier for him was her appearance. She wore traditional gypsy clothing and a headband with a picture of a full moon. Her face was covered in wrinkles and had a dark tone of skin. She was missing a lot of teeth. But to Cody, the scariest thing about her was that one of her eyes was completely white. No iris was visible or anything.
"Uh...ma'am…I-I-I'm just here to pick up all this garbage," Cody stuttered.
"I ain't got no garbage here!" the gypsy protested. "Only the expressions of lost souls!"
Cody nervously glanced around at all the relics once again, not influenced with the gypsy's argument. He was determined to get her to cooperate for the sake of his job.
"Uh, maybe we got off on the wrong foot. Let me introduce myself. I'm Cody Allen and I represent the Wawanakwa sanitizing committee."
"Allen?! Did you say your name was Cody Allen?" the gypsy demanded.
"Uh, yeah."
The gypsy suddenly became very afraid of Cody and slowly backed away from him.
"You will bring the curse back on us all!" she hollowed. "Dark days will dawn upon us all once again! Get out of here and don't ever come back!"
"Look, lady," Cody replied, seeming insulted. "I don't want to be here any more than you want me here. But as a garbage truck driver, I'm obligated to stay here until this place is cleaned up! It's my duty as a good citizen!"
"Yes…and you'll soon be a dead citizen," the gypsy replied, walking back over to Cody in a threatening matter, "when the cursed pool that is your genes brings back the horror and terror that haunted this town years ago. The cursed creature will walk this earth, searching for any method possible to bring the likes of you to your slow, horrifying, painful, treacherous death! Meanwhile, the rest of us will have to suffer while he tries to gain his revenge on you!"
By now, the gypsy was leaning directly into Cody's face.
"So…in other words…it might be better if I came back another day?" Cody asked.
The gypsy yelled a horrific battle cry as she pulled her machete out again and swung at Cody. Cody ducked just in time and raced back to his truck with the gypsy in pursuit. Cody and Thunder barely managed to make it back to the truck and lock the doors before the gypsy could climb in and attack. Shrieking the whole time, Cody started the truck and raced away from the gypsy's residence.