The Roanoke Man
Chapter 1:
The past has a way of sneaking back up on you when you least expect it. Like some kind of lithe predator waiting to bite your head off for the perceived slight that you leveled at it long ago. When, most of the time, that slight was just surviving it in the first place.
When you’re as old as I am, there’s a lot of pasts that can come back nipping at your heels. People, well people can hold onto feelings of blood and vengeance a lot longer than most creatures. No matter how far you run, no matter how much you change, sometimes you’ll always be the bastard that they remember.
There are plenty of pasts that I’d like to run from. But there’s one particular one that made me the way I am. Sometimes, when what you’ve done can’t be made better, that past will follow you. No matter what you do.
1867 - From the journal fo Thomas Cassidy
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Grocery stores are a special kind of demonic magical place that Cass, or any other student of the various mystic arts, have never been able to explain. You go in looking for a very specific item, an act which should theoretically only take about ten minutes in and out. But, you come out with a cart full of various garbage an hour and half later wondering what the hell just happened. At least, that’s how it always worked for Cass.
He’d come here for coffee, that was that. Just a new bag for the office, but then he remembered the creamer. Which took him by the cold cuts which he was out of at home. But if he was gonna get them he might as well grab a loaf of bread and some mayo for lunch today. And on and on until he got here.
Thomas Cassidy stood in the freezer aisle wondering what the real difference was between meatloaf tv dinner, and the salisbury steak. The meat looked exactly the same, a block of brown meat in a brown sauce with a “traditional” side ladle of carbohydrate. One had Mashed potatoes, and the other had Macaroni and “cheese”, which to Cass seemed like a pointless distinction. It was all processed garbage anyway.
But, it only took 3 minutes to heat up. Which was the big selling factor for Cass with his workaholic, perpetual bachelors, lifestyle. Anything to keep him from having to cook for himself. He decided on both and tossed them in the increasingly heavy arm basket. The little glass door closed and Cass noticed someone had come over and started looking through the open door at another brand of processed five minute meals right next to him.
“Uhm.” The voice from behind the foggy glass door said. “Mr. Cassidy?”
Red flags started flying like an exciting, and possibly deadly, weekend down in Daytona. Did that guy just say his name?
“Uh.... Yeah?” Cass said. “And who might you be?”
Cass put the heavy basket in between himself and the closing freezer door. It swung shut with a soft hiss revealing a young man clutching a backpack to his chest. He couldn’t be older than eighteen. Standing there in clothes that looked about as worn and ragged as the kid himself. He definitely looked like he’d seen better days
The kid twitched and stepped forward which made Cass take three steps back.
Cass had a natural reaction from his few years living in New York in the mid eighties. That kind of twitch and step might have a blade backing it up. Despite Cass’s magically enhanced body, pain is pain is pain all the way down, and no amount of quick healing takes that away. But it was just a backpack that the kid kept close to his chest.
“I-- I’m sorry. This is weird.” The kid said. “I just needed to find you.”
“Wha--?” Cass said as he unconsciously kept the basket raised to chest height. “Ok, First things first, who are you and what are you talking about?”
The kid twitched again but he didn’t move closer. “I’m sorry. My uh-- I’m Cassey. Cassey Reid. I’ve got a job for-- for--uh” The kid shook his head like something just hit him and then he twitched again. Almost rhythmically.
“Sorry,” Cass said as he turned to walk away. “I’m very busy....uh...” Cass looked at the basket full of miscellaneous groceries. “Look, just call my office and set it up through my assistant.”
Cass saw the kid deflate as he turned. He’d barely made it to the end of the freezer section before the kid caught up with him. The smell struck Cass once they were out of refrigeration. This kid smelled like wet mold and a stale library. It brought back smells of the worst, most trash filled alleyway’s Cass had been in throughout the years.
“I have money.” Cassey said
“Most of my clients do. But it’s not a prerequisite.”
“Look man. I really need your help.”
“And I told you I'm busy right this second.” Cass said as he turned into the self checkout area.
A little box of shelves and self checkout machines with one little old lady standing in the center and nodding off. Cass set the basket down and let the tightness in his forearm relax.
“Please man you have to listen to me.”
“Not really.” Cass said as he scanned items and dropped them into little bags, until he turned to meet the kids' eyes. “In fact, I've been quite patient offering you a consultation if you’ll just call.. my... office.”
The kid looked mad almost, as Cass saw one of his arms twitch as if he was gonna go and open the bag. But something made him stop. Someone walked into the store through the door directly behind Cass. Cass used this moment to scan the rest of his items and get his paying done. The kid stared at the portly guy, who had just walked in to grab some milk, or cheez its, or whatever, for a quarter second too long. Like the kid was zoning out.
The pay machine dinged for Cass to remove his card which brought the kid back to this world.
“Please sir.” The kid seemed determined, single minded almost. “You have to help me.”
Cass sighed and began to walk toward the door. He just had to lead the kid outside, he couldn’t risk whatever was about to happen, happening around the rest of the folks going through self checkout..
“Was--?” Cassey stuttered as he began to follow behind Cass again. “Was that a yes? Or a no?”
Cassey followed behind pleading until they’d made it out to the lot with no other people around, at least for the moment. Cass turned to confront the kid who seemed to jump back and take an almost defensive stance. But his eyes still read with that deep determination and possible anger that had triggered Cass’s danger senses inside in the first place. The kid twitched again, shaking his head slightly and shaking one leg like a line of energy ran the length of his body and dissipated into the earth.
“Look” Cass said. “I don’t know what the hell this is....”
“Then let me explain it to you. Please, I’m begging here.” Cassey interrupted. “Just hear me ou--”
“No!” Cass barked which caused the kid to jump back even further. “Listen, I don’t know how you found me. I sure as hell don’t remember telling you I was going shopping. But you can’t do stuff like this in a public place. Now buzz off and don’t bother me again. Got that?”
The kid looked resigned to his fate for a moment but then that determination came back. He reached to undo the bag’s zipper. Cass hunched as he tried to drop the groceries as softly as he could as the kid plunged one hand into the ratty Jansport.
“Fulgur Thrume Glatowrl!” Cass shouted as he jutted one arm forward as his off hand made rhythmic finger movements down by his side. Offhand overturned with all fingers jutting downward in rhythmic strikes. Almost looking like a rain cloud radiating lightning. Electricity began to arc between his fingers as the kid finally began to pull something from inside his backpack. The sky darkened and Cass’s eyes began to glow a deep blue.
“I’m giving you one last chance, kid.” Cass shouted down at him. “Whatever you’re about to do, think real damn hard about it.
The kid simply and slowly finished pulling a three ring binder from his bag, He let the bag drop to his feet and he opened the binder, careful to show Cass that it was only paper and little plastic separators inside. Then he flipped a few pages while still tilting it to show Cass the formatting on the page. It didn’t even look like a grimoire of spells. It just looked like an average novel but, printed on big sheets of printer paper.
Thunder rumbled and Cass just stood there dumbfounded. Cass’s electrically arcing fingers dropped from a ‘ready to blast you with ten thousand volts' ' stance to down by his sides. Still arcing but much less intimidating. His eyes still glowed as Cassey twitched again but began to read with a commanding voice.
“I hate the fucking sand. It gets in your boots, it gets in your drawers, it gets goddamned everywhere. And now I've got some red scarfed bastard chasing me. He almost caught me back in Cheyenne. Had to high tail it back south. I think I gave the slip going across the mountains and circling back around to head toward Texas. But who knows.” Cassey finished reading and looked up to meet Cass’s eyes.
Cass came back to himself, only now realizing he stood with his shoulders drooped and his jaw dropped. Some intimidation play this had been. He sighed and snapped his fingers and the illusion melted away to an average day.
“You wrote that.” Cassey said more as a statement than a question, but he at least had the decency to add. “Didn’t you? Back in 1878.” To make Cass feel a little less like he had whiplash.
It didn’t help. Cass didn’t know anything at the moment. What to say, what was going on, even what he was supposed to be doing after this. Something like deja-vu but worse had just smacked him in the face and taken him for a ride.
“Yeah....” Cass finally eaked out as he grabbed the little leather pouch from his coat pocket and began to roll a handroll.
“Mr Cassidy.” Cassey said, with tears in his eyes. “I dreamed about you. And I need your help.”
“OK.” Cass said, still dumbfounded. His brain began to click again as he snapped his fingers and lit the little rolled cigarette of sage mugwort and fairie grass. He took a deep puff and he felt himself rushing back like water right after the dam bursts.
Cass motioned for the kid to follow “Come on.” He said as he bent down to inspect his groceries.
Nothing broken or damaged beyond repair on first looks, but Cass barely cared at the moment. They got to his classic Plymouth and he put the bags in the trunk between those great big fins. Then he got in, unlocked the door for the kid, and started up the engine.
Cass sat there letting the A/C blow on them for a minute with the windows down. Anything to help air out the kids' smell. But he bet he’d have to get moving for that to fully happen, if that would happen at all. He’d already told Val he’d meet her at the office earlier. So he kicked the car into drive and pulled out into the parking lot exit lane.
Cass drove for a bit before the kid obviously got anxious. The twitching got worse when he was sitting in one place. Dancing and jiggling like he was trying to keep himself awake or something. “Hey.. Can I say some....?”
“Hold it.” Cass said with a deep breath out. He didn’t know if he wanted to know more about what that binder contained. But, he knew he had to. “I’ll hear your full story when we get to the office. You’ve got about ten minutes from here. For the trip, I want you to keep reading. Where you left off.”
“Ok. ok, I can do that.” Cassey said as he began to scan pages in the little blue binder.
“Then.” Cass said after a deep puff of his hand rolled herbal cigarette. “I want you to tell me exactly what that book is, how and why I fit into it, and exactly what the hell is going on here.”
Cassey began to read. His voice felt almost hypnotic as Cass continued to drive. Cass almost felt like he was back there.
Back in Texas.