He's been on the road his whole life, more or less.
What he can remember is a stream of small towns; motels and run-down apartments and dead body after dead body, burning flesh and salt on wounds.
Sometimes, people see him. Sometimes, he saves them; keeps them alive and safe and when he leaves town, he leaves them behind. But they don’t forget him- don’t forget the man who saved their lives or the big black car he drove around in. Sometimes- most times- he’s not alone. People remember that, too, but it’s usually his face that they recall when they remember the night they almost died or the night their house attacked them or whatever else it was that almost ended their life but opened their eyes.
He has one phone number that he’s never changed. It’s the one he leaves with the survivors, just in case they ever need someone, or someone they know needs someone. A lot of times, they never use it again but it helps people sleep at night, to know that if something did creep out of the darkness again that there would be someone to call.
He’s on the road most of his life and in that time, there are whispers. Kids talk; telling ghost stories that end with ‘and then he saved us and everyone lived happily ever after’. The stories spread. He’s distinctive; difficult to forget, so there are a few details that are always the same- his height; his eyes; his smile. How safe he could make you feel without realizing.
The rumours made it online. His weren’t the only stories, of course, but he was the best and he took on the worst and won. Like a hero in a Western, ambling from town to town, righting wrongs and blowing away the bad guys. There were websites, dedicated to his successes and chronicling his life, hidden parts of the internet where people met to talk about their experience with the other, secret shadow world.
And in those places, he has become a legend. Flesh made story; saviour made Hero; reality made fantasy.
Sometimes, people remember. The stranger in town with the big black car who saved their lives and asked for nothing in return.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2011-09-02 02:07 pm (UTC)He's been on the road his whole life, more or less.
What he can remember is a stream of small towns; motels and run-down apartments and dead body after dead body, burning flesh and salt on wounds.
Sometimes, people see him. Sometimes, he saves them; keeps them alive and safe and when he leaves town, he leaves them behind. But they don’t forget him- don’t forget the man who saved their lives or the big black car he drove around in. Sometimes- most times- he’s not alone. People remember that, too, but it’s usually his face that they recall when they remember the night they almost died or the night their house attacked them or whatever else it was that almost ended their life but opened their eyes.
He has one phone number that he’s never changed. It’s the one he leaves with the survivors, just in case they ever need someone, or someone they know needs someone. A lot of times, they never use it again but it helps people sleep at night, to know that if something did creep out of the darkness again that there would be someone to call.
He’s on the road most of his life and in that time, there are whispers. Kids talk; telling ghost stories that end with ‘and then he saved us and everyone lived happily ever after’. The stories spread. He’s distinctive; difficult to forget, so there are a few details that are always the same- his height; his eyes; his smile. How safe he could make you feel without realizing.
The rumours made it online. His weren’t the only stories, of course, but he was the best and he took on the worst and won. Like a hero in a Western, ambling from town to town, righting wrongs and blowing away the bad guys. There were websites, dedicated to his successes and chronicling his life, hidden parts of the internet where people met to talk about their experience with the other, secret shadow world.
And in those places, he has become a legend. Flesh made story; saviour made Hero; reality made fantasy.
Sometimes, people remember. The stranger in town with the big black car who saved their lives and asked for nothing in return.