Available Darkness Season 1

Abigail’s mind, luring her toward madness.
    However, she wasn’t crying.
    She didn’t seem like she was losing her grip.
    She wore a marble slab lacking any emotion, in fact.
    After a long stretch of silence, her vacant expression changed slightly.
    “What happened?” she asked, in barely a whisper.

    * * * *

CHAPTER 10 — Caleb

    “What are you looking for?” Bob said, repeating the question that had rendered Caleb speechless.
    While Caleb would normally flare up at anyone (no matter how high their ranking) who had the temerity to ask him such a thing, or dared spy on him, he needed to tread carefully. Something big was happening, and for the first time in his professional career, he was at a disadvantage because he couldn’t see the game board, or even the hidden players moving the pawns around.
    Caleb figured honesty was the best policy since he had no idea how much they knew. “I’m remembering things, Bob. Things that don’t make a whole lot of sense.”
    The other side of the line was silent.
    Shit, I said too much.
    Then, after an extended pause, Bob responded. “Let it go, Caleb.”
    Caleb wanted to do anything but let it go. He wanted to jump through the phone and start shaking Bob until answers fell out.
    “Listen, Caleb, I get that you have more questions than answers right now and that it’s frustrating. However, I need your head in the game. We have a killer to catch. The man who, I might remind you just in case you’ve forgotten, killed your wife.”
    “I haven’t forgotten a thing,” Caleb said, pissed that Bob would play that card. He was also somewhat pleased. If Bob was getting desperate enough to try such a cheap tactic, it meant one thing, Caleb was closing in on something that they , whoever they were, didn’t want him to know.
    “We’ll help you make sense of things, soon, Caleb, I promise. Right now, I need to know you’re not going to be sidetracked. I need to know you’re not going to botch this up.”
    Caleb measured Bob’s words. If he responded too quickly, Bob wouldn’t buy the change of heart. Moreover, he’d likely lock down Caleb’s ability to get any information at all, if he’d not already done so. Caleb pulled a deep sigh from the depths of his belly and unscrewed the bottle of whiskey he kept on his nightstand. He took a swig and sighed a second time, half enjoying the show he was putting on for Bob.
    “I’m just so tired,” Caleb said, broadcasting utter exhaustion, “I just want to close this case and end the nightmare.”
    “I know,” Bob said, his voice soothing.
    “You know, I haven’t cried since the funeral,” Caleb said, in a moment of spontaneous honesty, surprising himself with his confession.
    Bob was now the quiet one.
    Caleb continued, “My head hasn’t been right in a while, Bob. I’m not eating or sleeping. It’s no wonder I’m having such fucked up dreams. I just want to catch this guy, Bob, nail him to the fucking wall so my wife can finally rest in peace.”
    “Do you need some time off? I can have Omega take this off your plate.”
    “No, Bob. Just let me get this monster, and then we can deal with whatever else we need to deal with.”
    “If you ever need anything, Caleb, anything at all,” Bob said, “just ask.”
    “Thank you,” Caleb said, taking another sip, “Right now, I’m just gonna get some sleep so I can hit this tomorrow with fresh eyes.”
    They hung up.
    Caleb turned out his light and stared at the computer, wondering how else they might be monitoring him. He glanced at his window, the curtains closed, as they always were. He then rolled off the bed, dropped softly to the carpet, crawled toward the wall, and slowly pulled the bottom corner of the curtain aside just enough to steal a glimpse outside.
    There, about half a block down, he saw a van nearly swallowed by darkness. Inside the van, two dark figures, watching his house.
    Well, hello there.

    * * * *

CHAPTER 11 — Abigail and John

    Abigail

    Abigail’s body moved with alien instincts. She was surprised by her hands locking on Lydia, and startled by the energy, which surged into her fingers, then flowed through her arms and into her brain.
    Memories coursed through Abigail’s mind like a hard wall of waves bursting through a dam. The images were foreign; memories from another life lived — Lydia’s life, unfurling before Abigail as she feasted on the energy swirling from the woman’s emptying shell.
    The memories overwhelmed