Babbling Brooks

Chapter 1 Jeff Brooks rested inside his 1993 white van filled with thousands in cash stashed in a floorboard safe. He and the late Cory Blake had sweated for hours as they designed and built the hidden safe. In the distance blinding yellow sunshine ripple off the ocean. Obscuring the horizon a translucent figure approaches along the beach. Sophia Martinez’ wore a silky beige dress that revealed her hourglass figure and firm breasts. Her long dark hair danced in the wind as sunlight passed through its long strands. Jeff’s heart fluttered as he watched what must have been a mirage. A tall blonde man wearing blue jeans, a navy blue T-shirt and a black baseball cap greeted Sophia. The bleach blonde hair clashed with the ball cap, much like white socks with black shoes. She stopped to speak to the handsome stranger, which made Jeff churn with jealousy. The conversation seemed to grow in intimacy quickly as Sophia threw her hair back and lightly brushed the stranger’s arm. Jeff scrambled to get dressed and began to panic as he searched for his clothing. Finally dressed, Jeff reached for the door handle but found it missing. The tall stranger lovingly brushed Sophia’s hair from her shoulder. Jeff looked for a way out, but all the door handles were missing and the windows tightly shut. When Sophia and the stranger approached the vehicle holding hands, Jeff had a flash of recognition. Spittle flew from Jeff’s mouth as he roared in fear, “You bastard get away from her! Haven’t you done enough? Sophia, run!” Jeff kicked the windshield, bracing himself against the driver’s seat to get maximum force. The window seemed to laugh at his feeble attempt to break free. Heat rose from the sand as they stopped and embraced. “Why is this happening to me?” Jeff wondered. The stranger pulled out a long surgical knife from the rear of his pants and pulled back Sophia’s head exposing her neck. He pecked tenderly as he kissed the softness of her neck. At the sight of the knife, Jeff threw everything he could find in the van as he tried desperately to smash through the glass. The stranger stopped embracing her neck and looked toward Jeff with a wink and a crooked grin. In one smooth motion he sliced through the vulnerable victim’s neck, showering the van’s windshield with blood. Jeff thrashed inside the van in disbelief from what his eyes had just witnessed. When Sophia’s body stopped pumping out blood, the stranger released her hair, allowing her to plummet toward the ground making a hollow thud as she hit. Jeff felt as drained as his beloved Sophia. The stranger approached the van and stood next to the driver’s side door with his head tilted down. The ball cap covered his face. Slowly, Cory Blake lifted his head to reveal his face to Jeff. Cory spoke in a slow deliberate tone. “Jeff, why are you so upset? I did this for us. You are nothing without me. I am nothing without you. Come with me, Jeff. Why are you screaming? Don’t you understand me?” Jeff stared at the dead man from his past. He screamed in terror as he watched Cory raise his hand with the super glued Smith & Wesson .38 to his temple and pull the trigger. The skull flexed like a pumpkin under great pressure as the bullet passed through. A red mist shot out from the blast. He remained on his feet, staring into Jeff’s eyes while a slow steady stream of blood poured from the hole. Jeff Brooks babbled incoherently as his diaphragm filled with air to work itself into a terror scream. Sophia shook him hard to release him from his nightmare. Sophia kept repeating, “Jeff, you are safe. Jeff, you are safe.” The windows and walls inside the van dripped with condensation as the ocean lapped a steady rhythm on the beach. After ten minutes of silence, Sophia finally asked, “Jeff, what was your nightmare about?” “Just an unwelcome visit from a past demon.” As Jeff guardedly answered in a croaky voice he felt as if an angry spirit invaded his body. Chapter 2 For the last three weeks, Jeff had lived in his van parked on the edge of Sophia’s father’s farm. He had come to know the Martinez family as God-fearing Mexicans who held family traditions close to their hearts. On this morning, the sun blazed through the makeshift yellow curtain used to divide the seats and the cargo area of the van where Jeff slept. He watched the side of Sophia’s chest rise and lower with each breath as she slept soundly, snuggled to his right side. He wondered if restful sleep would ever come to him again. Sleep had become his enemy ever since that fateful day when he left Cory on a bench outside of Geary Hospital with a severed spine and a gun glued to his palm. After running away from Junction City, Jeff finally stopped in Zempoala, Mexico, a small coastal farming town nestled near the slopes of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain chain. The chain parallels the Gulf Coast in central Mexico. The term, “breathtaking” really did not do it justice. “Heaven on earth” was probably closer to the truth. As Sophia began to come out of her sleep, she did a morning stretch against his body with a tiny shiver and a purr. She rolled on top of her mighty American lover and caressed his smooth, well-defined chest. Even without sleep Jeff’s body would always respond to a wake up call of this nature. As their rhythm and speed increased, they both reached paradise together. After the explosion in Jeff’s mind from the orgasm, he thought that this physical connection surpassed any psychiatric session money could buy. Yet still, uninterrupted sleep eluded him. For the last several days, Sophia had been leaving her room at night, once her parents were asleep, to meet Jeff by the fire pit on the beach. In the morning, she would feed the chickens before re-entering the farmhouse. The plan seemed to be flawless. If her parents asked, she was up early feeding the chickens. That morning, when Jeff showed up at the farmhouse an hour after Sophia for breakfast, everyone looked upset. Alfonso Martinez looked up at Jeff as he entered the farmhouse kitchen area and motioned him back out the door. Jeff followed Al into the chicken coop. Al turned and began speaking in very rapid Spanish. “You may be here on my land with permission. You provide us with an income by paying for your meals, but milk is not free. I will not let you break my daughter’s heart. The milk is not free.” Jeff’s Spanish was average at best and he understood enough of this conversation to know that he had upset the Martinez family. This was the last thing he wanted to do. When they had discovered Sophia missing in the middle of the night, all signs pointed to Jeff on the beach. He replied in his best Spanish, “Señor Martinez, I love your daughter Sophia. She is the most important person in my life. I promise to never hurt her.” Al grabbed a chicken from a separate caged pen and pointed the hatchet at Jeff. He brought down the hatchet across the chicken’s neck and the head popped off. He grabbed the headless, gyrating chicken by the feet and tied it to the fence to drain. With blood dripping from the hatchet, Al pointed his index finger at Jeff and added in broken English, “You’d better not hurt her!” Chapter 3 Things improved dramatically with the Martinez family over the next several months. Jeff became less of a stranger and more of a family member. Sophia floated with joy. Her family’s acceptance made her feel as if the puzzle pieces of her life were falling into place. The bond between Al and Jeff grew with each day. Jeff radiated when his new father figure offered him praise. For the second time in twenty-six years of life, Jeff took a leap of faith and spoke to Al next to the pigpen. Al stopped serving the slop as Jeff approached. Jeff looked nervous and in his best Spanish said, “Señor Martinez, as you know, I love Sophia with all my heart and very much wish to make her my wife. I am asking you for your blessing.” He held his breath. Al knew that to stand in the way of the in