Chapter Five: "Where I'm Needed to Be"
Saturday, December 14, 2013, 4:49 pm
Crane awakened to the glaring sun escaping through the blinds. Squinting, he looked at the clock, which read 4:49. He was starving, and his head was hurting. The first thing he realized he had to do was bathe. The cold sweat had left him feeling unkempt. Abbie was still sitting in the chair beside him with her feet propped up on her bed. Her gun still lay in her lap with her hand on it. She had nodded off to sleep, so her head was bent down onto her chest. He didn't want to wake her, so he was conscious to be quiet as he made his way to the end of the bed to go to the bathroom. As soon as he got to his feet, however, his legs gave out from underneath him and he fell to the floor.
The jangling noise startled Abbie awake. "What the hell?" she gasped, her heart racing.
"I'm alright," Crane answered from the floor in front of the bed. "I haven't quite developed my sea legs yet," he quipped.
Abbie came forward and helped Crane to his feet. "It's been a long while since you've been on your feet, hasn't it?" She noticed how unsteady he was. But he seemed embarrassed so she let the subject drop.
"Yes, and I'm quite famished."
"You and me both," Abbie answered. "How about I run quickly to get us some food while you shower."
"An impeccable plan, Miss Mills."
"I'll throw your clothes in the washer on my way."
Raising his right eyebrow, Crane turned to give her an inquisitive look.
"Don't worry, Mr. Proper Gentleman, there are plenty of towels you can use to cover up until they're dry."
Crane lowered his eyebrow then headed toward the bathroom, holding onto the wall as he walked. As he got into the bathroom, he headed for the shower and adjusted the water to a temperature quite warmer than what he was accustomed to and stepped over into the shower. He had become familiar with motel showering from his first few days in the 21st century when Abbie had put him in one of the other town's motels.
Abbie wasn't completely comfortable leaving him, but since Morales had not found them so far, she was gaining confidence that they were going to make it. The motel's restaurant and laundry facility were just a two minute walk across the parking lot. "I'll be back in ten minutes tops," she yelled toward the shower while she collected his pants from the bathroom floor. She noticed the cellphone she had given him still in his pocket. Spots of dried blood were smeared across the face of the phone. She felt a little responsible for what he had had to endure, but her rational mind knew that it wasn't her fault. She then went to gather up the other garments that had been strewn all around the motel room.
"Yes, ten minutes tops," he answered back in a voice not loud enough for her to even hear. His answer was meant more for him than her anyway.
The hot shower and fragrant soap felt good to Crane as he stood over the jetting water, allowing it to run through his hair and down his body. The head wound must have completely healed because he felt nothing on the back of his head as he washed his hair. The bruising on his ribs and neck had disappeared as well. "That was some potent potion," he said to himself. He continued to stand under the shower as he heard Abbie yell through the closed door that she was back with some food.
"I shall be there shortly," Crane answered. The water was beginning to lose its warmth, which was his queue that it was time to get out. Drying off then wrapping the towel around his midsection, Crane emerged from the bathroom, his skin rosy colored from the hot water.
"Did you save me any hot water at all?"
Not quite grasping the concept of modern day hot water tanks, Crane was not sure how to answer her question. "I do not know, but it was still rather tepid," he answered.
"It was just a joke," Abbie answered. "Here, I brought hamburgers and fries. That was the quickest." She held forward a Styrofoam to-go container.
"The cup you gave me in which held that God-forsaken potion was made from this same material. What do you call it?" he asked, running his fingers across the top of the container.
"It's called Styrofoam, and it keeps the food or beverage either hot or cold for longer than any other material."
"How peculiar," Crane answered.
"I know, right?"
Crane opened the to-go container and observed the contents in it. How odd they looked to him, but he was quite hungry, so he decided not to question. He watched Abbie pick up her hamburger and bite it, so he did the same. His palate was shaken by something so foreign, and his immediate natural response was to heave. Straining to swallow and keep down the burger, Crane continued eating. He had had nothing in his stomach for over 20 hours.
Abbie could see Crane struggling to eat the burger and greasy fries. His system was already in upheaval after the potion, so this additional shock to his 19th century stomach had to have caused further difficulty for him. "You okay, Crane?"
Crane shook his head. He was doing his best to be okay by her standards.
"Looks like all the bruising on your ribs and neck are gone. How about your head?" Abbie asked as she made her way behind him to check out his head where the gash had been.
"I believe it's completely healed, Lieutenant," Crane answered, feeling her thumb through his wet hair to locate the large wound.
"Oh my God. We should bottle up and sell that stuff. We could be millionaires!" Abbie jested.
Crane knew it was a joke, so he just smiled back at her, contemplating whether or not 12 hours of agony was worth the pain of a bruised throat, broken ribs, and a head wound. He supposed it was worth it in the long run.
Crane continued slowly eating while Abbie went back to the laundry facility to put his clothes in the dryer. He thought about Morales and his jealousy of him over Abbie, who had not been very forthcoming about their relationship. He hadn't pushed her on it, but he now realized that their relationship had to have been deeper than she had let on. He then started thinking about Succorbenoth. "Even if it stops, it won't stop," he said aloud to himself. He turned as he heard the motel door opening. To his relief, it was Abbie. There was still a part of him that believed that at any time, Morales could come barreling through the door after him. Where Morales had been during this time was a mystery to him.
"It's just me," Abbie said as she saw Crane jump slightly as she entered the room. Did you say something?" Abbie asked.
"Yes, Lieutenant," Crane answered, gathering his thoughts. He then continued. "Suppose we actually elude Detective Morales for another three hours. Then what?"
"Well, the spell is broken," Abbie replied. "But I don't think it's going to be a problem. I just called the captain, and he said they hadn't heard anything from Morales, so they tracked his cell phone to the woods near the cabin. Apparently he had a nasty head wound, so they took him to the hospital. They attributed his crazed state to the head wound, so they've kept him in the hospital."
"How convenient," Crane answered, remembering smashing the wooden lamp over Morales's head. "Okay, so the spell is broken…the spell on Sleepy Hollow that is. But, Succorbenoth goes on. He'll move to the next little town, and all this continues."
Abbie's eyes became wide as she bent down without looking and sat on the edge of the bed. "Oh my God, I hadn't considered that," she said.
"We have to defeat Succorbenoth before it's too late, Lieutenant. We can't have this happen to others."
"But how? Where do we even find him? And what the hell does he even look like?"
Crane contemplated her questions as he looked down at the floor then around the room. "A bridge…"
"What?"
"Is there a old bridge that perhaps might take you out of Sleepy Hollow?"
Abbie immediately remembered the old bridge where the mill used to be way before her time. It was now an historic landmark, but it rarely got a visitor. "Yes!" she exclaimed. "But why a bridge?"
"Succorbenoth is the guard of bridges, so I suppose if he's anywhere, he would be there."
"But how do we actually defeat this demon?"
"That, Miss Mills, I have yet to figure out," Crane admitted.
"How reassuring," Abbie scoffed.
"Quite premature for you to doubt me."
"Not doubt, just fear," Abbie admitted.
"We will be quite fine. Succorbenoth will not be expecting us, so we will be in a favorable position."
"So we'll have the upper hand because we'll be surprising him?" Abbie asked as she looked at Crane with an expression of disbelief on her face. She then added, "Well, we only have several hours to figure this out."
A little later, Abbie returned with Crane's clothes, warm and clean. Crane drew them up to his nose and smiled at the sweet fragrance exuding from them. "Okay, Miss Mills, I'll get dressed and we'll go. Let's amass every type of weapon available to you in the 21st century."
A few minutes later, Crane emerged from the bathroom like a man on a mission. "Shall we Miss Mills?" he asked, not waiting for her to answer as he bolted to the door.
Abbie shook her head as she followed him out of their room and waited for Crane's puzzled expression when he didn't immediately see her car. "It's a safe distance from here."
"Oh," Crane answered as he allowed her to take lead.
They then got to her car and headed toward the old Mill Bridge.
"Umm, Miss Mills…weapons?"
"I don't know who you think I am, but this gun right here is as good as it gets. Don't worry, I have one for you, too. Look in the glove box," she instructed, motioning to the car's glove compartment at his knees.
He leaned forward and took the gun, looking it over.
"Remember, it holds more than one bullet," Abbie mockingly stated.
He turned to glare at her with a half-smile.
A little later Abbie drew in a large breath as she pulled beside the old bridge and killed the engine of her car. "Here goes nothing," she said as she exhaled.
"Quite the contrary, Lieutenant. It will be something. What? Well, that's yet to be determined."
"Let's just do this."
They got out of the car, both holding their guns as if expecting to see Succorbenoth immediately upon reaching the old bridge. The air was quite cold, and both of them shivered from dread and the frigid air that that kept slapping them in their faces.
Crane moved forward and stood self-assuredly in the middle of the bridge. Abbie was captivated by his demeanor and decided to follow his lead. They both looked down at the gushing river below.
"This used to be a popular spot when I was a kid," Abbie stated. "We used to come here and party."
"You are a woman of many dimensions," Crane answered.
Abbie smiled in return. She then saw Crane flip suddenly around.
"Succorbenoth...your spell will be broken soon," Crane stated boldly.
Abbie turned to see the demon, large and black with clear green eyes blazing from their sockets. He had to have been close to seven feet tall. The flesh on his face was rutted, and his hands sported long black nails stained with what Abbie presumed was blood.
"Sad but true that Sleepy Hollow will escape this time with very little carnage," he said in a diabolical voice, which made Abbie shudder. Crane continued to stand forthright. He didn't appear to be jarred by the evil demon.
"We see you for who you really are, and we're here to tell you that you will not harm another living soul," Crane warned.
"So how about you?" the demon cajoled.
"I…I am alive now," Crane responded.
"Are you now?" Succorbenoth taunted, seizing that moment to thrash at Crane and send him flying to the side.
Crane was startled by the force at which the demon sent him flying. He landed on the gravely pavement face first with his hands drawn up slightly to catch his fall. Small pebbles stuck to the palms of his hands.
"Crane!" Abbie yelled, running over to him. She could hear Succorbenoth laughing sardonically in the background.
"I'm okay, Lieutenant," Crane said as he sat up.
Abbie saw Crane's eyes grow large as she heard him begin to yell her name. She turned quickly but not before the demon had reared back and threw her to the ground with a mighty force. As she opened her eyes, she saw Crane coming toward her, blood running from his nose down to his chin. As Crane made his way toward Abbie, she said as loudly as possible, "I'm okay...watch out for yourself!"
Succorbenoth continued laughing in the background. These two were certainly no competition for his mighty force.
Relief filled Crane's face as he reached down and helped Abbie get to her feet. He stood in front of her and charged at Succorbenoth. They both went flying to the ground. The demon was apparently caught off guard, though.. Crane and Succorbenoth continued to scuffle, rolling around the bridge, each hitting one another. Crane was smaller and not as impenetrable as Succorbenoth, so the match was uneven. Crane was surely to lose.
"Crane!" Abbie yelled as she reached down and pulled him up off Succorbenoth by the collar of his jacket. Within a second, she aimed her pistol and shot the demon squarely in the eye. Translucent green smoke arose from the demon's eye, and within a moment, he lay motionless on the bridge, steam emitting from his corpse. Abbie watched him for several moments to make sure he had been eradicated. Still holding onto Crane's collar, she then let loose to be able to walk around the demon to check him out thoroughly. Crane slumped down to the road, groaning as he went down. Abbie could hear the guttural noises that absconded from Crane's throat but was immediately focused on the demon. She knew she had to verify the demon's demise before attending to him.
No movement or sound emitted from Succorbenoth. His form lay motionless and silent on the pavement.
"Is he dead?" Abbie could hear Crane ask from behind her. "Yes!" she called back at him. "I'm getting kind of sick of asking this, but are you alright?"
Crane laughed a little to himself. "Yes, I think I'll live."
"That's good because I damn well don't want to continuing fighting this fight without you."
Crane came up beside Abbie, who was still standing over Succorbenoth. "One can only hope that this escapade of ours with this demon has truly taken him down."
"I know what you mean," Abbie answered. "Come on, let's take care of his body and get the hell out of here."
Together, they rolled the demon to the railing of the bridge and hoisted him over the side. He was incredibly heavy, but they made a good team. Abbie reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a napkin. "Deja Vue," she said as she held the napkin toward Crane. He took the napkin and blotted at his nose.
"Are you hurt?" Crane asked Abbie.
"I've had worse."
Crane smiled down at her as they stood by the bridge railing, watching Succorbenoth's body wash down stream. "You know, the irony here is not lost on me."
Abbie wasn't sure what he meant.
"Help me Clarence! Get me back!" Crane yelled down toward the water.
Abbie laughed. "I've had my fill of that movie for the next ten years!"
Crane continued staring down at the water. He then turned to look at Abbie, saying nothing but having a strange expression on his face.
"What is it, Crane?"
Inhaling deeply, Crane then said softly, "You had asked me if I wanted to go back to Katrina."
"Yeah," Abbie answered.
Exhaling, he said in a more affirmative voice, "Yes. I miss her terribly." He paused for a moment then continued, "I miss the life we had together. I miss the fact that we didn't get to have children."
Abbie turned to look down at the pavement. Crane glanced up at the sky and looked around at the heavens for a few moments. "But, Miss Mills. No, I don't want to go back there." He paused for another moment.
Abbie, quite surprised by his admission, looked up at him. They locked eyes.
"I believe I am precisely where I am needed to be," Crane added, turning up his mouth slightly.
Abbie smiled back, inserting her arm into his arm as he stood with his hand on his hip. "I think so, too. And I am so glad we have found one another," she answered. She then added, "Let's get out of here and get some sleep. Tomorrow is another day."
They began walking alongside one another to her car.
Not knowing if she meant it literally or if that phrase was part of the vernacular, Crane repeated, "Yes indeed, Miss Mills. Tomorrow is another day."
The End
A/N: I hope you have enjoyed this little story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I appreciate everyone who read it and let me know your thoughts. It's been great to enter the Sleepy Hollow world. -Jenny
