Dead Air County — The Long Night, pt III

Black rain stains the county lines Green lightning splits the city lights Flood cuts hard across the road Doc's place sits dark above the glow Gun uphill through hammering rain Mud kicks hard across the lane Clinic needs hands before roads drown Came to drag Doc back to town He stitched this place up all these years His wife talked mothers through their fears Knew our blood, our scars, our tears Both were fucking family here Porch split open like a busted jaw Blood runs black beside the wall Vinyl cracked, chainsaw right there Find his wife dead by the stairs Concern goes cold, cop brain kicks in Now I'm looking at this shit as sin Where the fuck did that bastard go? Same damn Doc steps through the glow He knows shit he shouldn't know Rain still falls, but sound lets go I hear the storm until he moves Then the damn silence follows too Dead air; county line Black rain; right on time Doc walks where the flood runs high God knows what came back tonight High water; country road Dead radio; signal cold Put him down; he comes around When the air goes dead Don't make a sound Tear downhill through hammering rain Clear Main Street, choke the lanes I'm screaming back; they're yelling “Doc” Fuck, they still think he's all we've got Clinic paints him jaundiced white Half that room damn smiles on sight For one second, shit; maybe I'm wrong Then his tongue slips six inches long Fingers stretch, then snap back straight Checks a pulse like any day Knows some shit his wife alone knew Starts with “we”; then bites it through Sirens spin through sheets of rain Red strobes bleed across the lane Mouths go wide, no voices out Every decibel blacks the fuck out I know Doc; this ain't him now Same damn skin, but wrong somehow One thought pounds behind my Glock What the fuck happened to Doc? Main Street rolls like an open grave Three rounds punch through water spray Doc drops hard, gets swept away Black flood folds around his shape I know I fucking hit that man Saw him drop right where I aimed Run downstream; nothing there No blood, no body anywhere Ten minutes pass; the clinic blows Roof caves in while fire grows Doc gets buried down below Fuck, that's gotta hold him though Then sound slams back through dust and steel Doc screams like the hurt got real That ain't panic in his eyes Somebody else's terror comes alive Hands claw hard at buried stone Foreign bells ride through his tone He's seeing shit I cannot see Then dead air cuts him off from me Lightning hits; fuck, he's on the wall Sideways crawl, no grip at all Fingers drag along the wall Tongue snaps out; I damn near fall Black flood cuts through Cemetery Lane Headstones sink beneath the rain Power spits through busted veins Town lights twitch like a dying brain First bell rings; I think we're clear Second hit; he ain't fucking here Third swing moves, no sound at all Fuck. He's somewhere in these walls Everybody here knows my name Now every face looks fucking strange Old friends turning into alibis Can't trust shit I recognize Look up; Jesus, there he crawls Doc comes sideways down the wall Shoot; Miss; Move; Find the door Reload; Don't think anymore Dead air; county line Black rain; one more time Three times down, still walks tonight God knows what survived the night High water; country road Dead radio; signal cold Three times down; no body found When the air goes dead; Don't make a sound Same old eyes break through that black I see my old friend and take two steps back Cold hand hits; brick starts to crack Rustwater disappears; Into the black!