25. That Which Must be Done

That Which Must be Done

This time he was sure. This time things were clear. He felt no weight on his heart. No fear in his soul. The icy hand of bad luck did not caress his brow. This time he was ready to do that which must be done.

Even with his certainty he knew he could not be bold. He knew he must slip quietly into the moment of the taking. He knew that he must be careful not to be seen or heard or smelt. He must leave no mark other than the mark he chose to leave. That was the way it must be done.

It had been less than a week since he’d taken the last one and the town was going crazy. He was amused by the thing they were doing to keep themselves safe. There was no way he was going to be stopped.

He walked down Main Street whistling quietly. He smiled and nodded to most of the people he passed, even the people he didn’t really know. Atlantis was a tourist town but it was a small town and people were friendly.

“Hey, mate!”

As the voice called out he turned to see who was speaking.

“Hey, Josh,” he said when he saw the man standing behind him.

“How’s it going?” Josh asked.

“As good as can be expected, under the circumstances,” the watcher replied.

“Yeah, it’s a bit freaky isn’t it?” Josh’s expression was so openly serious that the watcher almost burst out laughing.

Instead he nodded. “I reckon it’s probably over now. I dunno how anyone could do anything like that.”

“Whoever’s been taking them must be nuts,” Josh said.

“Probably,” the watcher looked at his watch. “Listen, mate, I gotta get going.”

“Things to see, people to do,” Josh laughed and the watcher joined in.

“See ya round.”

“Yeah, see ya.” Josh was still laughing as he ran across the road and climbed into his car.

The watcher smiled and waved then kept walking down the street towards the beach.

The high school was useless to him on Sunday but he figured there would be someone at the beach to help him. Lots of kids played there, even in winter. It was one of the places he thought he’d be able to get one alone.

He crossed over the road and walked across the grassy reserve that helped divide town and beach. He called out greetings to people as he passed them. It was a warmish day and there were lots of picnics going on.

The number of people around made it easy for him to move around. The chances were good that most people wouldn’t remember seeing him and those that did wouldn’t connect him with what was soon to happen. It was the perfect way to do business.

Once he was on the actual beach he stopped and looked around. There were a few people lying in the sun and a couple of brave souls actually swimming. Three or four surfers were out trying to ride the tiny waves. It was not a good day for surfers. People were walking along the beach in ones and twos, taking in the beauty of the day.

Most of the people on the beach were kids. Kids loved the beach no matter what the time of year. They could handle sand in their pants more easily than their parents could.

The watcher watched as some people left the beach and others arrived. Always there were at least two other people around. Finally it was just him and a young girl who was walking along the beach.

“Hi,” the watcher said to the girl.

“Hi,” the girl said.

“Do you know what time it is?”

The girl looked at her watch and he grabbed her. His hand was across her mouth before she had any chance to scream. She was small and light and he picked her up easily and carried her along the beach to the place where he’d hidden his car.

As he tied her up and secured her in the back of the car he thought about how much easier it was getting to plan these things. Anyone who’d seen him arrive at the beach would’ve seen him walk there. No one would guess that he’d hidden his car first.