Then the door shut all by itself and the red camaro accelerated out of the graveyard, its exhaust notes stronger than a thunder storm, laying down a trail of flaming treads behind it, and before Officer Seminole could come back and check out what had happened, the car was gone.

Zooming into the horizon as the faint outline of the morning dawn was starting to emerge over the waters of the Atlantic ocean, Phoenix made its way southwest along Highway 1 towards Portland. The rain had slowly faded into mist and a dense fog covered the lower areas of the countryside. David Shaw was in the passenger seat and still trying to figure out what was going on. His body trembled as he would cry out tears of blood that etched themselves into his skin. He received jolts of shocking pain as he experienced more flashbacks and brief memories. A physical reaction perhaps, to something that medical science deemed impossible.

“How are you feeling?” the voice of the red car spoke calmly.

As another wave of of pain wretched through his body and finally began to weaken, David began to slowly sit up and look around. The interior of the Camaro resembled a normal vehicle in some areas but there were other sections that certainly didn’t look like standard equipment. There were three computer screens; a narrow design in place of the instrument cluster, another at the top of the center console where one might find a GPS system, and another monitor over part of passenger compartment. A heads up digital display glowed on the windshield, showing current speed and other conditions. There were several other flashing lights, displays, and controls all merged neatly into the custom interior of car.

“I…I don’t know…” David mumbled. “I can’t remember what happened or how I even got here. Do you know what’s going on?”

“I do.” the car replied. “First of all, let me introduce myself. I am Phoenix… and one of the only machines capable of traveling through both the physical plane and the world beyond. A spiritual weapon.”

“Weapon?” David asked. “Physical plane… Did I get sent to hell?

“I do not know the answer to that question.” Phoenix replied simply with the overtones of its mechanical voice echoing throughout the driving compartment.

“I feel like I’ve been through it…” David said holding his hands against the throbbing headache his memories and emotions were giving him.

“David…” Phoenix began as it began displaying transparent pictures up on the windshield screen. “What do you remember?” 

“Not much…” he grunted in pain as he pulled back his hair and took a deep breath of air. “Pain and screaming… Fear and lots of yelling.. Sharp noises and dark shadows.. horrible suffering and..”

Suddenly David’s eyes opened wide as he experienced the sensation of being shot once again. ”A gunshot!!” he called out feeling the temple regions of his head but finding them intact. “Someone.. somebody shot me!! And people who were close to me.. loved ones.. I feel them.. they were tortured, raped killed.. ungh!!”

“The worst part of your body healing should be over soon.” Phoenix replied calmly. “You should try to rest if you can. We have a long road ahead of us and there is much work to be done.”

“Yeah…” David said softly looking at his left hand and noticing a wedding band around his ring finger. Despite being covered with dirt and rocks, it still shimmered brightly and the reflection brought with it Zelda’s face. She was so beautiful and delicate, innocent and young, with long blonde hair, emerald eyes, and a smile that could warm anyone’s heart. Whether pure exhaustion or the suggestion from Phoenix to rest, David was fixated on the glittering ring as he began to drift into sleep, and the memories began to return. And with those memories also came the dreams… and the nightmares.

[END OF PART 1-1] To be continued…