Catori

Julie and Stephen drove down the dirt road off of the 93 towards a shabby old gas station. As they approached the building they saw how dilapidated the place really was, and were surprised to see a car parked in the back and the front door to the building propped open.

“This place looks like somewhere I can catch the Hantavirus.” Julie said.

“Yeah,” Stephen said, “it would be a good reason to miss work though.”

“Miss work and possibly die, but either way you wouldn’t have to mop up soda or sell cigarettes for a while.” They were both smiling. Neither one was ready for their vacation in Vegas to be over, but the weekend had come to an end. With Monday around the corner they were not eager to get back to their regular routine of him working the local 711, and her housekeeping at the Motel 6. Plus there was always their crappy apartment to look forward to. When they left on Friday, there had been a leak from the light fixtures in the hallway outside their apartment door. Stephen hadn’t seen it and slipped, landing right on his back. Julie could tell Stephen was still a little sore from the fall. He had a grimace look on his face as he turned and directed their blue Saturn next to one of the two pumps in front of the station.

The pumps didn’t have a credit card reader, but a wooden sign hung above with white painted words reading, “Pay Inside We Will Pump ''. The building had 2 large windows along the front and the propped open door between the two windows was covered in Patina, which matched the rest of the building.

“Good thing I have cash.” Stephen said, stepping out of the car with a stretch.

“Good thing,” Julie agreed. “I am coming too, I gotta pee.”

They both walked across the dirt lot towards the front door of the building. The desert that surrounded them was still and silent. Julie’s thoughts went to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and she half expected Leatherface to come barreling out the front door at them, his chainsaw chewing at the air as he whipped it towards their throats. But when they neared the entry way the silence was broken ,not by a chainsaw, but the sound of audience laughter coming from a television somewhere inside.

“Sounds like there is life,” Stephen said, smiling back at Julie before removing his sunglasses and entering the doorway. The air inside the station was ten degrees hotter than outside. The front door appeared to be the only source of fresh air except for a small rotary fan on the register counter. There were two rows of mostly bare shelves, and one old Coca Cola vending machine along the back wall of the room. Behind the counter was a man about their age sitting with his feet propped on the counter, and a small HP Computer on his lap. That computer was where the sound of the audience was coming from and when he saw them walk in he paused the video he was watching and set it down on the counter before standing up.

He was an average sized man with shaggy blonde hair tucked under a backwards ball cap. He wore a black Tenacious D T-Shirt that sagged at the collar from all the sweat that was pouring from the man's face. Stephen couldn’t help but wonder how he was surviving right now.

“Do you have a bathroom key?” Julie asked before anyone else spoke.

“Sure thing,” Tenacious D Man said and he grabbed a set of keys connected to a large metal wrench. “Bathroom is along the left side of the building.”

“Thank you” Julie said, snatching them up and quickly walking out.

“She really had to go I guess.” Stephen said he dug his wallet out of the back pocket of his Jeans and pulled out 30 dollars in cash. When he went to hand the money to the man he noticed a brown paper box sitting next to the register. It was a little smaller than a shoe box and it had words written with black sharpie along the top that read, “Mistereos thing 5 bucks”. The misspelled word and shitty penmanship was what initially caught his eye, but his curiosity peaked and he understood he could get a “Mistereos thing” for such a low price.

“That Box” Stephen asked the man, “ Is it all the same item?”

“No man, it is all different stuff.” Tenacious D Man spoke and he seemed to get excited talking about his box. “I have one of these old metal detectors that used to be my grandpa’s. I like to take my Quad through these hills searching for stuff. Sometimes I find cool things like what is in this box, but most of the time it is junk.”

“Well I must go on this adventure with you,” Stephen said, smiling. He liked the man behind the counter, he didn't seem to be the most educated but he seemed like a fun dude. “Give me one mysterious thing and put the rest on my pump.”

“As you wish bro,” he said, returning the smile. He was excited to share the treasure he had found. He took the money from Stephen and the drawer to the register sprang open, the $30 dollars disappeared while $5 appeared, and went away into the Tenacious D Man’s pocket. He opened the box facing it towards himself so that Stephen couldn’t see what was all inside. “I think this one is perfect for you” He said, diving his hand in the box and pulling out a ring.

Stephen reached across the counter and took the ring in his hand. The band was a dark metal that Stephen couldn’t identify and on top was a large turquoise stone surrounded by four smaller red stones. When he took it from the man he was surprised by how heavy the ring actually was. He turned it over with his fingers a couple times then noticed a word engraved inside the band.

“Catori,” Stephen said, looking up at the man. “What does that mean?”

“I am not really sure,” he said, hiking up his left eyebrow. “I found this outside some burnt ruins over in the canyon. “Looks like it could be a nice gift for your lady, or something.” He gave a light chuckle and shut the box, satisfied with himself. “Now let's go pump some gas.” He walked around the counter and stepped out of the door, Stephen followed.

While outside Tenacious D Man went over and activated the pump and began to fill the tank to the Saturn. The numbers on the red and white pump flipped backward counting up.

Stephen continued to inspect the ring. It was a really neat piece of jewelry and although it looked as though it had been wiped clean there were still specs of dirt between the red stones. He was digging out some of the dirt when Julie walked up next to him.

“Much better, do you need to go?” She asked

“No, I am good. Hey look what I got you from the mystery box inside.” Stephen slapped on a goofy grin and handed it over to her. Giving her little trinkets like this always made him happy.

“Oh wow!” She said, she took it and her face twisted in curiosity as she inspected it like Stephen had. “This is really unique”

“Yeah the man here found it out in the canyon along some burnt down ruins, or something like that.”

Julie twisted the ring in her hand,“Catori? Any ideas?” Stephen was shaking his head. “We will have to look it up when we get our service back.” She said, then began sliding the ring on and off her fingers until it fit perfectly on her left index finger. “I actually really like it, thanks babe.” She kissed him on the cheek and handed him the bathroom key before getting back into the front car.

Stephen looked over at Tenacious D man and he gave him a thumbs up, it was then the pump clicked off.

“Well thank you for everything man” Stephen handed him the key to the bathroom and walked back to his driver side door.

“No worries, you drive safe.” He Said Walking away.

“He seems like a nice enough guy.” Julie said once Stephen was back in the car.

“Yeah he was and that ring seems pretty neat. He picked it out for you, did you know that?" Stephen giggled to himself.

The two set off back down the dirt road in their Saturn and turned onto the 93 towards Phoenix. After another 20 minutes down the road Julie began to fall asleep, so she laid her chair back and snuggled into the headrest.

***

“Caatoorii” A woman was whispering to Julie from somewhere in the pitch dark. Julie didn’t know where she was but she could feel cold air on her skin, and her feet… her feet weren’t on the ground. “Caatoorii” The whisper repeated itself growing louder as if it was coming nearer. A rotten smell permeated her nasal cavities and burned the back of her throat. “Caatoorii”. Julie could feel the fear bubbling inside her as the darkness seemed to press on her. Something was there with her but she couldn’t see what. “Caatoorii” The whisper sounded as if it was only a few feet from her now. She tried to move her legs but they felt heavy like they were stuck in mud or clay. Her knees couldn’t bend and when she moved her hands down to feel them, she was met with something wet and sludgy.

“Caatoorii”. The whisper was next to her now and the fear sent tingling throughout her body. Julie held her breath, waiting. There was a moment of silence and everything was still, except for warm air on her face. It was someone breathing on her, she could hear it breathe in and out, the warm air pushing at the baby hairs around her face.

“CAATOORII!” The whisper turned to a scream and a bright green light filled the space revealing a woman with no eyes or nose. Her mouth, an inhuman set of razor teeth wide open with a long black tongue protruding from deep in her throat. She had pale skin, bright red lips, and long black hair that covered her shoulders and chest. The woman grabbed Julie's hand where the turquoise ring sat on her finger, and she plucked one of the red stones from the band. The woman continued to scream and it was then that Julie realized she was also screaming.

As quickly as it started the room began to fade and the bright green light turned to a dull white glow. Julie jerked awake and blinked rapidly, letting the white light from the day wash away the rest of the dark room, and the screaming was replaced by the sound of Stephen's voice.

“Jesus are you okay!” Stephen asked, his face was full of worry and confusion.

Julie realized she was breathing hard trying to catch her breath, her hands were gripping the handle of the door like she was afraid to fall into the deep end. “What the fuck was that?” She asked herself, trying to bring herself back into reality. She noticed there was a slight burning from her left hand and she looked down. The ring with the turquoise stone sat where she had left it only now it was missing one of it’s four red stones.

“NO!” Julie screamed and she tried to rip the ring off of her finger. No luck it was stuck and her flesh began to burn as she tugged at it. “GET IT OFF GET IT OFF!” She looked up towards Stephen for help and began to scream. Where Stephen had been sitting only seconds before now sat the woman from her dream.