“Are you in pain, Dad?” asked Luke of his father.
“No. It’s just this queasy feeling, like I’m going to be sick to my stomach but I can’t bring myself to vomit.”
“What the hell is happening here?” whispered Luke.
He walked up to Rusty, one of the bison. His horns were pointed toward the earth but Luke knew that he sensed his presence. If the animal were to become frightened, he could charge Luke and kill him instantly.
“It’s okay, big fella,” he said gently, reaching a hand between his horns. “It’s alright. Nothing will happen.”
The bison gave a big snort, nodding his head as if he understood every word that was said.
“Luke?” muttered Trak as he walked past him. Luke gave another pat to the huge animal and followed Trak as he kept walking. He cocked his head, unsure if he was seeing what Trak saw.
“Ma’am?” called Trak. “Ma’am, you cannot be here.”
The woman stared right at the men but they all stilled, realizing something was wrong with the woman.
“What the hell?” mumbled Cam. “How did she get out here?”
“Ma’am? You can’t be here. This is private property.”
She walked toward Luke and Trak, slow, careful steps. As she neared, they realized there was definitely something wrong with the poor woman.
For one, she wasn’t dressed for the biting cold of the bayou in winter. She was in a flimsy, cotton dress made more for the summer.
And the second thing that told them something was wrong, was the large hatchet sticking out of her back.
“Shit,” said Eric walking toward the woman. He reached out to grab her shoulders but she passed directly through him. He gasped, dropping to his knees, coughing, trying to catch his breath.
“Eric!” called Joseph, kneeling next to his friend. He watched the woman pass by them, the others attempting to touch her as well.
“Can she not see us?” asked Cam.
“She can’t see or hear you,” said Matthew. “She’s stuck in a place that doesn’t allow her to go to either side.”
Luke stared at the woman’s back as she slowly disappeared. Finally, Trak and Nine grabbed Gaspar by the arms and took him off the island and toward his home.
“Let’s go,” said Luke. “We have some things to figure out.”
CHAPTER TWO
Isaac Andrews had been driving a city bus for New Orleans going on forty years. He’d watched changes throughout the years, some that he loved, others that he hated. He’d fought off attackers, gropers, thieves, and potential killers.
He’d had the pleasure of delivering two babies over the years, both grown now and doing well from what he last heard. Most of his passengers knew him by name and he’d watched many of them retire over the years, no longer needing the bus service he provided.
His route had changed a bit in the early years but once he got the prime route of Canal to the Quarter, he was thrilled. That’s when he had his regulars, plus tourists coming in and out of the city.
On New Orleans Saints game days, the buses were fully loaded and could get pretty chaotic. That’s when the bus service had a guard riding along with him. Drunken, disappointed Saints fans were no joke. Neither were those attending Mardi Gras.
He’d had his fair share of vomit in the aisles, urine, and even some questionable material he didn’t care to identify.
But the bus was his life. He worked a ten-hour shift every day that allowed him to buy a small house just outside the quarter where he and his wife, Millie, lived for almost thirty years now.
It wasn’t quite Mardi Gras season yet, so the crowds weren’t too heavy this blustery day. It was cold outside but nice and warm on the inside of the bus. He made sure it was always comfortable. Warm in the winter, cool in the summer and every long stop he had, he picked up the trash and wiped down the seats for the next group of passengers. He wanted folks to see that New Orleans wasn’t just the dirty streets of the Quarter. It was clean city buses with drivers who cared for them.
Yes, sir. Isaac Andrews was proud of his bus and he made sure that others saw that pride in the bus itself.
Today he’d had a smattering of people. His usual early morning, riding to work crowd and then a big lull of just a few passengers here and there.
