So the Story Goes on and on and on

Part One by JBaz

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four ⬇⬇⬇

Carl sat in the third row of the black Suburban with Special Agent Scallon. The children were asleep in the seat in front of them, and Carl could see Jaylene staring moodily out of the passenger window as the other agent, Special Agent Cochran, maneuvered the SUV through the sparse traffic. Now and then, Felix would mew loudly from his cage in the cargo area, and Barker would nose Carl’s neck or shoulder to remind him that he was still back there, Carl supposed.

The children reacted to the strangers and the new vehicle like they were on a grand adventure. If Carl looked at things from their perspective, he supposed they were on some escapade. He hoped he could preserve their innocence and protect them from what lay ahead, for he hated to see anything come between them and their childish wonder.

They’d been on the road since three that morning, and Carl was starting to worry about Jaylene. In the eight years they had known each other and been married, Jaylene had never been quiet for this long. For the entire ride, she sat up front, tilting her head onto the passenger window, just staring out. He knew she wasn’t asleep; he didn’t need to see the future, to know for sure, he just knew. He wished she’d talk, ask some questions, so he’d know what she was thinking. This silence had him scared.

He was deep in his muddled thoughts, only halfway listening to Agent Scallon, when he heard the agent mention the bounty hunter. His attention now entirely focused on what the agent was saying, Carl turned towards Agent Scallon and asked him to repeat himself.

“I was saying last week a shuttle like yours landed in Oregon, just outside the unincorporated hamlet Remote. The same day that the satellites had picked up this object, everyone inside the facility that had held you was murdered, and the computers were destroyed.

“The next place that the individual from the shuttle went was a farmhouse on the outskirts of Riddle, Oregon, where he killed a farmer and his wife, then we presume, took the farmer’s truck to the next town called Grants Pass, where a Mikey’s Munchie Stop gas station attendant was slaughtered,” pausing when he noticed Carl’s face paling, the agent asked, “Mr Duine, are you alright?”

Carl had made a gagging sound, and shaking his head, he said, “Special Agent Scallon, are you telling me that the cosmic bounty hunter is following my escape path and killing anyone I may or may not have had contact with in all the places that I stopped?”

“Please, call me Thomas, Mr. Duine,” the agent asked Carl.

“Call me Carl, please, then.”

Thomas nodded and continued, “It culminated last night, at approximately ten pm, about five hours after you and your family had left the house in such a hurry. Our superior officer had already sent out the four pairs to search the directions you could have taken. Since we were in the groups sent out to find you, we only heard what happened on the radio as it was called in, you understand, Carl?” When Carl nodded yes, Thomas continued, “The team that had remained behind searched your house, hoping to find some clue as to where you may have headed. They reported a seven-foot male bursting through the front door of your home, and from what could be understood before the reports went quiet, he proceeded to tear them apart by hand, and bullets ricocheted off of him.

“The local police reports began coming in at that point. Calls had been made about the shots being fired, then the screams of the team while they were being torn apart. More calls flooded the police lines, an explosion was reported on your block, and several houses were on fire.

“Emergency vehicles had responded to the reports and instituted safety measures, sealing off both ends of your street. Nothing prepared us for what we heard next on the radio. The calls flooded in. A giant had leaped out of the inferno, landing on a police cruiser and crushing it. Shots were fired, and he ripped the arms off of some of the cops present. The final report we heard before flipping off the radio and ditching the Yukon we had been in was that the giant had stolen a police vehicle.

“As I said, we switched SUVs as soon as we heard the report. Not knowing how compromised we were. Without all our government stuff, I was glad I used the GPS I bought for your dog. I turned it on, and it was like we were meant to find you, because BING, there was the dot that was your beautiful shepherd. It was already after midnight, and we knew we had to get you moving, so we went straight to where the GPS said you and your family were. The rest, you know,” Thomas said, catching Carl up on events that had led to them finding Carl and his family.

Carl sat for a while, watching cars pass them in the passing lane, silently thinking. "Thomas, why are you helping us?"

Thomas doesn't get a chance to answer. From the seat in front of him, Adam says, “Dad, Denny’s farting again.”

At that exact moment, Agent Cochran gasped, “Dear, sweet Jesus!” Then started rolling his window down.

Denny began to denying it, swearing he hadn’t farted.

Jenny giggled sweetly from her seat and piped up, “It was me!”

Carl couldn’t believe such a rotten odor could come from an adorable three-year-old. He had been sure his eyes weren’t the only ones that burned from the fumes. Without anyone asking, Agent Cochran stopped at the next gas station, a Gus’s Gas and Grub, to allow the children to have a restroom break. For this, Carl was thankful.

As they got back into the Suburban, Carl had a bad premonition. As they left the parking lot, he looked around, wondering what was causing his apprehension. When Agent Cochran pulled the SUV back onto the highway, Carl said, “Something’s wrong.”

Just then, a loud blaring klaxon sounded, and a tractor-trailer bumped the back of Suburban's tail, causing the SUV to fishtail across the highway. Agent Cochran narrowly missed oncoming traffic and pulled the vehicle back into their lane. Carl looked out his window at the semi bearing down on them and the cosmic bounty hunter behind the wheel.

Tires screech all around, the Suburban comes up on two wheels. Horns were blaring, and sounds of metal crunching. Barker started whimpering loudly in the cargo hold, and the cat was yowling and trying to escape his cage. Glass busted out by Carl’s head, and Thomas grabbed him and shoved him down. Then, Thomas leaned over Carl and began shooting out the window as Cochran continued speeding away.

When Carl raised his head, he saw the giant running behind the vehicle, attempting to catch up. The Suburban continued to speed, and they left him behind, but Carl knew they would see him again.

----------- 𝔗𝔬 𝔟𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔲𝔢𝔡 -----------