The Loners Ch. 08

Greg was confused. What the hell was so important that the two of them suddenly vanished into thin air for? Especially right in the middle of the day? Greg tried Alan's cell phone again, and once again, it went straight to voice mail. Why the hell was he keeping it off?

Not only that, but there was the 'ghost' episode that had taken place in his own store. What the fuck was that all about? When the episode first happened, Greg was called down to talk to several of the customers, and he was calling everyone on shift to ask for what had happened.

That was when he first noticed that Alan and Rachel were both gone. Usually, Alan responded immediately to a summons, but not today. He was a no show altogether, as was Rachel.

His staff was finally assembled, and he could at last interview them. "Has anyone seen Alan or Rachel?" He asked first.

"I saw them earlier this morning."

"I know they were here just a short while ago."

"Yeah, well, he's not picking up, and he's nowhere in sight. If any of you see them, tell them to come straight to me. Now to our main topic, who was present when this...insanity happened? Customers told me that they saw some of you guys, though who I don't know."

Stacy's eyes darted. Rachel had instructed her on not to say anything, but, just how much could she hold back? She had never really been that good with keeping secrets.

"Oh for...don't tell me that it was Alan and Rachel that they saw, who are now gone. No one, no one here saw what had happened?" Greg was probing because he knew who else was there, for some of the customers gave vague but accurate descriptions. Though why she was keeping quiet, that was a concern.

Greg sighed angrily. "Fine. Get back to work." He announced as everyone began to walk away in murmurs. Before Stacy could get too far, Greg caught her shoulder.

"Except for you."

Stacy yelped, and turned to face her boss. Greg led her off to the side where they could relax and talk quietly, which made her more uncomfortable.

"Now Stacy." Greg began. "The customers said that you were there, along with two others of ours, who I'm assuming is Alan and Rachel. I need you to tell me, what's really going on? I'm assuming that because you didn't say anything when everyone was gathered is that something is going on. I need you to tell me what exactly happened, please." Greg asked softly.

Stacy was shaking a little, and her eyes were darting. But then, she spoke. "R-Rachel told me that I shouldn't say anything. That I should pretend that I saw nothing, and that I don't want to know what was really going on."

"Tell me exactly what happened. Tell me exactly what you saw and heard." Greg pressed, now concerned.

"I-I was working, putting items away when Rachel showed up with Alan in tow. She offered to help, which I found strange. In fact, it was strange that they were there at all, but, I didn't even have time to think about it."

"Out of nowhere, Rachel said something like 'my plan is this'. It was then she threw the eggs randomly into the air, and then...and then..." A pause. "The eggs broke and landed in the middle of the air! It was like they hit something solid that wasn't there! Rachel then started screaming and pointing at the floating eggs, which then vanished right before my eyes. It was here that Rachel turned to me and told me not to say anything, then she and Alan just vanished, like magic."

Greg wasn't sure about the customers. He had heard some bull stories before. But, he did know Stacy, and she always had a clear and clean head. All of the stories correlate with each other, and he trusted what Stacy had said.

Greg again dialed Alan's cell phone, which still went straight to voice mail. What the fuck was going on? He thought about going to the cops. Not about the ghost incident, of course. They wouldn't believe him on that, but, they could help locate Alan and Rachel. From the way Stacy had explained the story, it seemed like they may be in some kind of trouble, one that they didn't want to involve others with.

Then again, all of this seemed to border on the point of just plain crazy. In all seriousness, just who or what would be after Alan and Rachel? Sure, Rachel may be a little suspicious, suddenly popping up out of nowhere, but she seemed to be a reasonable enough individual. She was open, friendly, and a good solid worker for the short time she's been around. As for Alan, the guy barely involved himself in anything or anyone outside of work or his home.

Yet, Greg couldn't shake the bad feeling he had. He went outside to check the parking lot, to see if Alan's car was there. It wasn't. He then went to his office and looked through Alan's paperwork, and dug up his home phone number.

*****

Dave was startled at hearing the phone ring. Not too many people actually call the house phone since everyone used cell phones. He was also annoyed at being interrupted, for he was fully impaled inside Ashley, nude, and on the couch.

"Mmm, baby, just ignore it and fuck me." Ashley moaned as Dave faithfully returned to business.

The voicemail picked up.

"Ah yes, this is Greg Chambers, Alan Brooks' boss."

This caused both Ashley and Dave to stop. Why was Alan's boss calling?

"Listen, Alan told me he lived with a roommate, and that's who I'm attempting to reach. I haven't heard from Alan or Rachel for an hour or two now and he hasn't answered his cell phone or made contact with me at all. From what I just heard, I fear that he may be in-"

"This is Dave, Alan's roommate, what's going on? What do you mean you haven't heard from him?" Dave said as he and Ashley hovered over the phone.

"Then it's safe to assume that neither him nor Rachel have come home?" Greg asked.

"No. I've been here all day, neither of them have come back, why? What's going on?" Dave asked, both him and Ashley developing a growing concern.

"I'll be frank, I think they're in some kind of trouble. What exactly, I don't know. But it was enough to cause a strange series of events here at the store today."

"What events?"

"You won't believe me even if I tell you, but I'll do so anyway. Several people saw them puff and vanish into thin air, literally."

"What? What do you mean 'puff'!?"

"I didn't see it myself, but, ever since this happened, Alan and Rachel have both dropped off the face of the earth. Alan's cell is off and now I know he hasn't returned home. Along with that, his car is gone. Listen, I'm worried about the guy and you know him better than I do. If you find him, give me a call at this number. Even if you don't find him I want you to call me tomorrow." Greg explained.

"Yeah, sure." Dave answered.

"Thanks. I hope to hear good news." Greg said as he hung up the phone. Dave did the same.

"Dave? What's going on?" Ashley asked as Dave put down the phone. Dave turned to her.

"Alan and Rachel are both missing."

Ashley gasped. "Missing!? What do you mean missing!?"

"Alan's boss said they both just vanished about an hour or two ago. Since then, he hasn't heard a peep from either of them. And you and I have been here all day and we haven't seen either of them, so they haven't come here."

"So then, we should call the cops right? I mean, where would they go so suddenly? Especially Alan, he never wants to go anywhere."

Dave sighed. "I want to talk to Alan's mother first before we do that. Maybe she knows something. Even if she doesn't, I'd rather that she found out from me than get some random call saying that he's missing." Dave and Ashley had both met and hung out with Alan's mother in the past. Despite the somewhat insane and odd streak that she possessed, both of them had decided that they respected and liked Trish Jacobs very much.

"Well, do you have her work number?" Ashley asked.

"Now there's the problem. I don't have either her work or cell phone number, only her house number." Trish was odd in this way in the fact that she only had a cell phone for work or emergencies, and was one she didn't give out. Dave had never asked for it, figuring that he never was going to need it.

"But, it's still a few hours before she comes home right? You want to wait that long before doing anything?"

"Look, maybe they'll turn up during that time, we just don't know. Even so, would you want her to receive the news by the cops randomly calling her?"

"No...I guess not."

"Besides, she might know what's going on, at least, I hope that she does."

*****

It had been a long day for Trish Jacobs. The phone calls, the administrative meetings and the paperwork never stopped. She wanted nothing more than to dump all of her work clothes, slip into something comfortable, and have a nice drink to relax. She proceeded to do just that, and when she was finished, walked into the kitchen and saw Bob there, who had already opened his first beer. She also smiled on the inside when she saw that he wouldn't even look her in the eye. He had been an asshole last night after having a few too many, and even though he apologized profusely this morning, it was still payback time.

"So Bob, what's for dinner?" She asked, almost in a command voice.

"Uh, I'm making eggplant tonight."

"Good. Especially after all of the shit you started last night."

"Oh come on! I said I was sorry."

"Nope, you were an asshole last night. You told me to shut up! And you pointed at me! You know I don't like it when you point at me, and you still did it!"

"How many times do I have to say it Trish? I'm sorry, okay?"

"You'll say it as many times as I want you to say it."

"And how many times is that?"

"Bob, will you shut up and stop arguing with me."

"H-hey! How come you get to tell me to shut up? What kind of double standard is that!?"

"Because I'm not an asshole like you are, especially after I repeatedly told you not to have any more beers, and you blatantly ignored me!"

"Fucking bullshit." Bob grumbled.

The phone began to ring. "No! What's bullshit is your fucking attitude, that's bullshit! Hello?"

How Trish could so easily go from shouting in anger to a calm and sweet hello when she answered the phone is a mystery that many have been trying to figure out for years.

"Hey, Trish? It's Dave."

"Oh hi Dave!" Trish greeted. She had always liked Dave and Ashley. "What's the occasion? You never call, and I keep telling you and Ashley to stop by more often too."

"Yeah, uh, sorry about that. Listen, have you heard from Alan or Rachel today?"

"No, why?"

"Listen, I need to tell you something. Both Ashley and I are coming over."

"What? What's going on? Is Alan dead?" Panic quickly entered Trish's voice.

"No! At least, we don't think so. To be honest, we don't know. Here, Ashley and I will be there in a few minutes, we'll explain everything then."

"Honey, what's going on? What's wrong with Alan?" Bob asked. Trish barely heard him.

"Please! Tell me anything you know!" Trish was on the verge of hysterics.

"I'd rather tell you face to face, we'll be there shortly. See you then." Dave replied, hanging up the phone.

Those few minutes felt like an eternity to Trish as her mind raced. Was he arrested? On drugs? Dead? Hit by a car? Suffering? All of these thoughts came in and not in any particular order. And what about Rachel? Did that hussy cunt whore have anything to do with this? She tried calling Alan, but all she got was going straight to voice mail.

Bob tried a few words of comfort, but all of his words fell on deaf ears. As soon as she heard the door opened, Trish rushed to the door and all but attacked Dave.

"Tell me what's happened to my son!" She demanded in tears.

Dave lightly put his hands on Trish's arms to stop her from shaking him. "Let's sit down and talk." He suggested.

"No! Tell me what the fuck is going on! I want to know what's happening to my son!" She demanded again. Ashley, who was behind Dave, came up and put her hands on Trish's arms.

"Trish, please, let's sit down, and we'll tell you everything."

"It was that cunt wasn't it!? She did something, that fucking whore did something to my baby!" Both Ashley and Dave winced at hearing the word 'cunt' from Trish. She rarely used that word because of her dislike for it, and only used it for those she held an exceptional hatred towards.

Bob came up and put his arms on Trish's shoulders. "Honey, let's sit down and hear everything they have to say first."

Trish finally got the message, released her grip from Dave, and they all sat down.

"It started when we got a call at the house earlier today from Alan's boss. He told me that some sort of strange incident occurred at the store. He didn't tell me exactly what, but apparently, it involved both Alan and Rachel. He said that ever since then, the two of them simply vanished. Alan's car was gone, and I assumed he tried Alan's cell but didn't get through."

"I tried calling myself, and all I got was his voice mail. Neither of them came to the house at all today, and now I know that you don't know anything either. I don't know what's going on, but it's as Alan's boss said, they suddenly vanished. I tried calling everyone that I know he knows, and they all said they haven't seen or heard from him."

Trish was now crying. "I bet it was that fucking cunt bitch! I knew it! I fucking knew it! There's no way someone like her would just come along and just suddenly fall in love with Alan. I knew there was something wrong with the picture! That filthy whore! That little shit kidnapped my baby!" She cried out, a mixture of anger and pain in her voice.

Ashley moved to sit next to Trish, and gently patted her, who was on the verge of tears as well. Bob was stunned, and said nothing as Dave painfully continued.

"Look, I figured it would be best if I told you first before we went to the police. I didn't want you to find out through them, I wanted you to hear it from me first."

Trish softened up. "Thanks, I appreciate that." She muttered between sobs.

Dave then stood. "I think it's time we made that call though, are you ready?" Dave asked Trish, who nodded.

*****

Alan was now fighting his exhaustion. Night had fallen a little while ago, and even though it was still relatively early, he was still tired. Then again, being stuck on the road for several hours doing nothing but quietly driving can drain just about anyone.

Alan had no clue how, but Rachel slept for most of the drive, only occasionally waking up to shift slightly before falling asleep again. Although Alan had wished that she had stayed awake longer to keep him company, he also knew that it was important that she get some sleep so that they could stay on the road as much as possible.

Finally, though, Alan had reached his limit, and pulled over at rest area. The rest area itself was rather large with a number of still cars, though there were no signs of anyone awake. When he stopped, Alan finally allowed himself a really good, long, and loud yawn, and stretched his desperately cramped arms. His yawning was actually enough to wake Rachel, who moaned.

"What's going on? Are we there yet?" She tiredly asked.

"Uh...sorry. Not even close." Alan answered, turning to her.

She stretched herself and opened her eyes, and saw that they were stopped, and that it was night out.

"Alan, I thought I told you that I would handle the night driving."

Alan shrugged. "It's no big deal, I wanted to go as far as I could." He said, stepping out to properly stretch and bring life to his legs. Rachel got out as well.

"You don't have to torture yourself for my sake, we're doing this together. Don't try and do it all yourself."

"Look, I just said it's no big deal allright? If anything, you're the one that's trying to do everything by yourself." Alan snapped, immediately regretting that he did so.

"I'm sorry." Alan quickly followed with.

Rachel shook her head. "It's allright. You've been driving for hours, it's understandable that you're edgy. Not to mention our situation as a whole is stressing. Where are we anyway?"

"I don't know, Wisconsin, I think? I haven't really been paying attention. Maybe we're still in Ohio, or Indiana."

"Wow, you really haven't been paying attention, haven't you?"

"No, I'm just paying attention to the road and what the GPS tells me."

Rachel shrugged. "That's fine, as long as we've made some progress. If we were still in New York, that would be a problem."

However, both of them did have a problem at the moment, though they were reluctant to bring them up. Alan, remembering Rachel's promise, began feeling a stirring in his groin in that it was technically time for her to pay up. But, he wasn't sure if or how he should bring it up, not wanting to sound like a demanding ass.

Rachel's problem, however, was even worse. She was hungry.

Rachel walked up to Alan, and spoke in a low voice. "Alan, I think we can kill two birds with one stone, but it's also a problem." Rachel began.

"What?"

"Well, we can ditch the car here, but the real problem is that I'm hungry."

Alan's eyes darted around, forgetting about his own issue at the moment. Although the rest area was quiet, there was still a few cars here. If they randomly decided to attack someone, they could easily be noticed.

Alan swallowed hard. "Uh...s-so, what do you propose? Do you have any ideas?" Alan asked.

"Alan...before I do anything, are you sure about this? I can't really be picky here, I have to take what I can get. Even if it is a perfectly happy married man or woman, as long as they're alone, they're the best targets for us. Are you sure you want any part in it? Or in any part of this ordeal as a whole?"

To Alan, that question was getting easier to answer. "Look, we're already on the run, so I don't really have a choice anyway. On top of that, I've said before that, even though it bothers me, I'll stick by you no matter what."

Rachel's eyes fell. "I'm sorry."

Alan put his hands on her shoulders. "Don't be. You can't help it. I wish that it wasn't the case, but, we can't do anything about it."

Rachel's eyes met Alan. "Thank you. You don't know how much it means to me, even though you keep saying it. It still means so much for me to hear."

Alan smiled. "I'm glad I can help. It also means a lot that you keep asking. It shows that you really care."

Rachel smiled as well. "That's because I do care."

Alan's smile faded. "So...what should we do?"

Rachel's eyes scanned the area. "I'll go this way." She said, pointing. "And you go that way." She said, pointing in the opposite direction. "Check the cars to see how many are inside. Don't bother with the trucks, since they're owned by companies and will be easy to trace."

"Also, make sure you don't make it obvious that you're checking them out like some kind of stalker. Just casually walk by as though you're just enjoying the night breeze and glance at them."

Alan nodded.

"For now, only look and point out the ones that have a single person in the car, okay? That way only one has to...sorry." Rachel caught herself before she said 'die.' But Alan knew that was what was going to happen.

Alan simply nodded again. "It's okay, I know. Well, I guess we'd better get started then, huh?"

Rachel nodded, and silently, they parted, walking in opposite directions.

To Alan, it was one of, if not, the most uncomfortable sensation he had ever felt. He was literally picking and choosing just who would die tonight, like he was Death itself.

He walked by a minivan that looked like it had a full family in it. That was beyond out of the question. A cheap Nissan sports car with a couple in it. A really expensive Ferrari with a single man in a business suit. It occurred to Alan at that moment that they should also pick cheap cars to drive around in to avoid attention. A Jeep with a pair of guys in it.

A cheap and large Honda with a single man inside sleeping. That's one candidate. Alan took note of this one as he walked on. Surprisingly, very few traveled alone, and there was only the one, aside from the Ferrari. However, as he walked back, Alan noticed that the man with the suit, who appeared to be asleep earlier, had his eyes open, and there was an attractive woman in the passenger seat. Both of them appeared to be collecting themselves as the man started the car again.