The Golden Cage

Jack and Tina took Tommy s car, drove out onto the beach near the water s edge, listening to the waves crashing into that water while they looked upward, the full moon and stars against the backdrop of the black of space without the smog of the city to dim the glow. It was beautiful looking into the night sky, listening to the ocean roar, smelling the salty sea air as they filled their lungs with the sweet taste of nature s purified gulf breezes. Jack knew the full moon had an effect on most people; it certainly was having one on him. He looked at the silver glow from the moon on the water. It made him sad. Such sorrow filled his soul, his very being was being tested by the thoughts of the horrible things he had running through his mind. He felt the worst about the men that had died on this night of horror, He felt so sorry for the loss of Tina s voice due to her accident. In his heart he wanted to do whatever it was necessary to help her get it back, but he knew it would be as difficult for him to accomplish this task as it would be for him to bring those men back from the dead. Who was he kidding? He couldn t do anything to help her. Tina wanting Jack s attention, touched him. He turned to her. She was pointing to the edge of the water where there were fish feeding on smaller fish, churning the water so it was flashing in the moonlight. The fish were almost on the sand as they chased the smaller fish in their feeding frenzy. Watching, Jack thought to himself, How could the world have all of this beauty, yet there was a demon he had brought to the city and there of all places he found the people that should protect the people in the city wouldn t believe in the demon, wouldn t even believe it was real? Here he was, free to enjoy this beautiful night and there was still the chance others might be dead before the sun came up. How many more would die before this living nightmare was over? Was there really justice in this world, or could this be one pitiful joke on the human race? There wasn t one person believing in the demon except for Tommy, Sue, Tina and Charlie. It was going to be a long, hard fight for the five of them. Jack started the car, then drove to one of the access roads leading from the beach to the highway. The highway ran north-east along the coast towards Galveston. It would be a forty-mile trip to the heart of Galveston along the seawall. Jack wanted to take Tina to a fine motel she would really enjoy. He wasn t about to lose sight of the fact that life had to go on. He would be damned if he were going to let some demon of the Devil spoil the enjoyment of being young and alive with a beautiful lady by his side.