Windkill

Dolan led the Ottingers on the hard surface of the road past the towers as they walked to the valley. Looking up, he saw a ghost of an army soldier standing in the window of a tower. The ghost watched them slowly pass his post.

Following the psychic’s gaze, Cal thought he saw a hint of light in the tower. A hand touched his and without thinking, he grasped the hand, then looked to see who walked to his side. Bryon looked at his father with worry.

Cal gave Bryon’s hand a squeeze and continued down the gully, the sheer stone walls preventing any sudden urge to run. They passed more towers and the wreckage of a truck smashed against a wall.

To look at the truck and towers was to understand people had died in them. This was not a spot on the highway where cleanup crews disposed of mangled vehicles and grieving family set flowers or a cross. These were the remains of death no one wanted to touch. How long did the driver’s body stay in the truck before someone pulled it from the wreckage?

The object of the game tonight was no longer speculative, no longer an idea that he could simply think about without repercussion.

Glancing at her husband, Marilyn rolled her eyes then returned her attention to the path. A man was supposed to be strong, he was supposed to be a knight in shining armor battling anything that threatened his family. To look at Cal was to see a weakling who thought too much about the consequences.

If Cal had any backbone at all, he would have demanded a part of the company she formed. Instead, he stood back and allowed Marilyn to push the company to greater heights. He helped her to understand and solve the problems without once claiming a price.

He was a fool. If the children wanted to ally with their father, then they were fools as well; none of them would see the money from the business. With the money rolling in from this show, she could buy anything, including a new man.

Walking behind the family, Mark was struck by the barren feel road. Thus far, he only walked a short distance in to the valley and this occasion was the furthest he had come. Maybe after the show he would take a stroll in the valley. He smiled at the decision. If he were lucky, he would see one of Dolan’s ghosts.

Glancing at his watch, he saw show time was only an hour away. They would need to splice the introductory film in to the show. They would use a caption box in the upper left corner of the screen to display the interviews and Brock’s reports while the main screen kept track of the Ottingers. It was a daring step, but with the family in the valley live, they had to let the audience know they would see everything that happened to the victims. Mark worked the show in his mind, oblivious to the mist that passed him to the left and entered the tower.