“Back it up by the front doors as soon as the other truck pulls out.”
“Just leave it here for now then?”
“Pull up about twenty feet against the curb.”
“Done deal,” Gray said, allowing the truck to ease forward when Peckham turned his back. He parked against the edge of the sidewalk and killed the engine, shoving the keys into his pocket. Snow blanketed the windshield as soon as the wipers stopped.
Tossing open the door, he hopped down into the snow and walked around the front of the truck toward the hotel entrance. Garrett burst through the front doors and cut across the middle of the parking lot toward Peckham, who had just finished closing and locking the gate. Taking the other man by the arm, Garrett drew him close and whispered something into Peckham’s ear, eliciting a nod. Both men hurried back into the hotel, nearly bowling Gray over in the process.
“What’s going on?” Gray asked, but neither man so much as slowed. He followed them through the foyer and into the lobby. They crossed through straight toward the door to the stairs and climbed into the shadows as the door fell closed behind them.
“They were in some kind of hurry,” Carrie said, appearing at his side and taking him by the hand.
“Something’s going down,” Gray said, still staring at the closed door, biting his lower lip. “Do you still have the keys to the truck?”
“They’re with our stuff in the room. You should see it. I found us a place on the second floor with a hot tub and everything. Do you want me to—?”
“No,” Gray said, pulling the keys to the semi from his pocket. “Take these. There’s a semi-trailer at the north side of the parking lot out front—”
“What’s happening, Gray?”
“Just listen to me!” he snapped, turning to face her and taking her by the shoulders. “Grab only what you can carry and go get that truck started.”
“You’re scaring me.”
“Just have the truck running and be ready to go,” he said, releasing her and turning to dash across the lobby.
“Where are you going?” she called after him, summoning the attention of those laboring around her, moving all sorts of crates and boxes into the lobby. They all averted their eyes from hers when they noticed the tears streaming down her face.
“I’ll be right behind you,” he said, throwing open the door to the stairwell.
Carrie turned and ran for the foyer, pausing only long enough to grab a coat and some gloves from the communal piles by the front desk where they were being collected as they were unloaded from the trucks.
Bursting through the front doors and into the snow, she veered to the right and sprinted toward the old yellow cab parked at the far end of the lot. Clambering up and out of the accumulation, she jammed the key into the ignition and started the engine with a roar.
“What are you doing up there?” she whispered, turning on the wipers and craning her neck so she could look at the upper floors of the building.
She could see only the hint of light through the third floor windows, vacuous eyes leering back down at her. Lowering her stare, she noted that there was just a hair over half a tank of gas in the truck. The gearshift looked like nothing she’d ever seen before, so she climbed across it and sat in the passenger seat to ensure that she wouldn’t have to drive, no matter how much of a hurry they were in.
Gray had been acting strangely since the moment they arrived. She’d tried to coax whatever was troubling him out into the open, but, as always, he was just too stubborn to allow her to help. He’d said something about Richard and a kid who could see the future, but had clammed up after being unable to clearly vocalize the connection. All she knew was that Gray had told her they wouldn’t be staying long, maybe a couple of days at the most, but had then gone with the other men to help secure supplies from the surrounding warehouses. It didn’t make a whit of sense, but she’d learned through the years to let Gray have his—
Boom!
She jerked her head skyward toward the source of the sound. A drift of snow fell from where it had been perched on the roof of the castle, landing in a pile on the sidewalk in front of her. Those who had been working on the fence slowly abandoned their tasks and wandered closer to the hotel, staring toward the roof like tourists.
Time passed in eternal seconds.
“Hurry up...”
The gathering sluggishly dispersed.
Boom!
Another clump of snow streaked across her field of view and struck the hood of the semi.
“Oh God, Gray. Get out of there.”
II
Mormon Tears
“WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN?” MISSY ASKED. SHE WAS carrying as many of the poles as she possibly could.
“I wish I knew for sure,” Phoenix said. They’d been hauling armfuls of those spears out of the cavern and to the edge of the beach for what felt like hours. His arms ached, as he was unaccustomed to physical labor after spending his life locked in a basement. Missy was smaller than he, but was only now beginning to fatigue. “All I know is that they’re going to be coming for us soon.”
“You haven’t had any more visions?”
They walked out of the tunnel and nearly to the mouth of the cave where the accumulation of snow slanted up toward the buried shore, where it had to be several feet deep by now.
“No,” he whispered, dropping his haul onto the growing pile with a clatter. He could see the others out there through the blizzard. Most of them remained closer to the steep rocky face of the mountain, staking the poles into the ground every couple of feet with the points to the clouds. They weren’t as close together as they had originally planned, leaving enough room to walk fairly comfortably between them. Hopefully it wouldn’t matter. They needed it not to matter.
Adam was farther down the bank, nearly to the lake, walking behind the white pickup. They’d strapped a half-dozen poles together and tethered them to the rear of the vehicle. As the driver fought through the snow, Adam kept the makeshift plow angled so that it carved a trench into the ground, piling sand and snow to either side. Several of the others followed behind, shoving the pile closest to the water across the cut and packing it against the other, which was now so tall that the undercarriage of the pickup wouldn’t be able to clear it on the next pass. They would have to continue moving closer and closer to the lake to gather enough sand and snow to make the barricade as tall as they wanted. It wasn’t turning out nearly as well as they’d hoped, but it was still far better than their efforts at blocking off the road leading into their haven.
Without any sort of construction materials, they’d been limited to using whatever sand they could fire from the rear wheels of the truck, which dug so far down into the beach that it left a slanted hole like a swimming pool. The wall of sand was maybe ten feet tall at the most, but could hardly classify as a speed bump for their purposes. All someone would have to do from the other side was simply scramble up it and then slide down into their midst. They needed to make a run into town to gather more formidable supplies if they wanted to even attempt to fully block off the passage, but the old Ford was already running on fumes. While none of them wanted to vocalize their barely restrained panic, it was evidenced in each of their eyes. The harder they worked and the more exhausted they became, the more it started to look as though they would be easily overcome and butchered.
“Well?” Missy said. “What do you say?”
“Hmm?” he said, obviously having tuned out part of their conversation. He scoured the storm for white bodies and even whiter eyes, but saw nothing. There was something comforting about knowing the birds were out there, but not being able to see them engendered the terrifying feeling of abandonment.
“I said, are you ready to get the next load?” She smiled at him, amused by the embarrassed expression that crossed his face, reddening even the tip of his nose. There was definitely something endearing about his innocence and lack of self-awareness. All of the other boys she’d known were alw
ays putting on an act. Trying to be anyone other than who they were. Phoenix, though, he was so lacking in pretension that everything about him was genuine. He wore his emotions on his sleeve and had none of the filters that prevented him from saying whatever came to mind. That made him even cuter.
“Sure. I was just seeing how they were doing out there.”
“Not as well as you’d hoped, I take it.”
“They’re working so hard…” he said, brushing his bangs out of his eyes.
“Here,” Missy said, pulling a hair tie from her pocket. She gathered his hair behind his head, trying not to tug on any of the tangles. Looping the band around the handful, she tucked the stray strands behind his ears. “That’s better.”
“How do you maintain such a wonderful attitude, especially with everything as it is now?” he asked, staring deeply into her eyes.
“What’s the alternative?”
“I don’t know,” he whispered, taking her by the hand. Warmth flooded up his arm from her touch.
“We can either try to live our lives—such that they are—or just accept the inevitable.”
“You mean death.”
“We’re all going to die someday, right? You have to make the most of every moment.”
“You’re even more amazing than in my dreams.”
He felt her breath on his lips a heartbeat before she kissed him. Her life force poured into him, filling him with a tingling sensation that was positively electric. The fine hairs on his back straightened electrically when her arms wrapped around him. He reciprocated, pulling her tightly to him, their hips merging. It was the most wonderful experience of his entire life, so unlike when the Swarm descended upon him to steal his energy, sapping his very life from him. Missy instead transferred her energy into him, their combined life force a blinding supernova. When she finally withdrew her lips, her eyes lingering on his, he couldn’t help but feel as though she took a part of him away with her.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“You don’t have to thank me,” she said, smiling slyly. “It was beginning to look as though if I didn’t do it, it might not ever happen.”
“That was the most incredible moment of my life.”
“Tops my list, too.”
“Can we do it again?” he asked, unable to contain his smile.
“I’d imagine there’s probably more of that in your future.”
Someone cleared his throat behind Phoenix, startling both of them so badly that they released each other and dropped their arms to their sides.
“Um… Sorry to interrupt,” Mare said, grinning so widely that it appeared close to tearing his cheeks. “I’d tell you to get a room, but I’m way too cold to even try to be clever.”
“What do you need, Mare?” she asked.
“More of the poles. That is…if you can spare a few minutes of your precious time.”
She looked at the stack, preparing to tell him to grab any of the number they had just thrown onto the pile, but they were already gone. How long had she and Phoenix been kissing? It had felt like only a moment…
Outside, the snow had to be several inches deeper and the barricade between them and the lake was nearly tall enough to obscure those walking on the other side of it. The truck had obviously burned through the remainder of the gas, as exhaust no longer poured from the tailpipe. Poles stood from the ground everywhere in front of her, a maze she would have to navigate to reach the open stretch of snow.
She looked at Phoenix, who seemed every bit as confused.
“I thought…” she started, but he silenced her with another kiss.
“So did I,” he said, withdrawing and walking toward the mouth of the cave. He scooped up a large snowball with both hands, closing it under his bright red fingers.
“So, um, the poles?” Mare said.
Phoenix opened his hands to reveal not merely a snowball as Missy had expected. A single green blade grew from the packed snow. As he held it, the plant thickened and grew to form a stem before blooming into what looked like a dandelion painted the colors of the sunrise. The flower yawned wide and then died back, turning into a collection of wispy seeds.
“Make a wish,” he said, offering her the plant.
Missy closed her eyes and placed her hands over his. Drawing a deep breath, she blew on the feathery seeds. Some clung to his coat, while the others flew over his shoulder to be stolen by the wind and blown out into the storm.
“I think I’m going to puke,” Mare said, rolling his eyes.
“What did you wish for?” Phoenix asked.
“If I tell you, it won’t come true.”
He smiled and held her hands.
“I think it just might.”
Behind him, several thin green blades rose like grass from the snow, the union of their palms wet with his blood.
III
Salt Lake City
GRAY HEARD SHOUTING BEFORE HE EVEN REACHED THE TOP FLOOR. Easing up the final staircase, he pressed his back to the wall and opened the door just wide enough to see with one eye into the hallway. Kerosene lanterns were positioned on the floor beside every doorway, the small flames lining the walls with dancing shadows. The corridor was empty as far as he could see, the heated voices coming from around the corner. With the flickering fire and the yelling, the whole scene reminded him of how he imagined hell.
“You aren’t getting past me!” a female voice screamed.
“I heard him through the wall,” Richard said, his voice low and menacing. “He’s having one of his dreams. I know it.”
“He’s only a little kid! Why can’t you just leave him alone?”
“His dreams are the key to our survival.”
“You told everyone that you were the one who had visions. They all think you’re a prophet.”
“What can I say?” He lowered his voice even more. “I lied.”
A thick silence filled the hallway like a sentient entity.
“That’s why you need us,” Susan said. “You need to know Jake’s dreams so you can claim them as your own, don’t you?”
“Clever girl. I thought it would take you much longer. I’m impressed.”
“You’re not using my son.”
Gray opened the door quietly, holding his breath so he could hear even the slightest sound, and sneaked out into the hallway. Turning the handle, he closed the door and allowed the latch to settle back into the wall. He darted across the hall and pressed his back to the wall, inching his way toward the origin of the voices.
“How about we make a deal then?” Richard said from just around the corner. “You just report everything he dreams about to me, and in return I’ll make sure that neither of you want for anything. Food. Water. Clothes. You name it and it’s yours.”
“All I want is for you to leave my son alone. Don’t you think that this has been hard enough on him already?”
“It could always be so much harder.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Just stating the obvious,” Richard said. “I’m offering you so much more. The world outside may be a much different place now, but that doesn’t mean that you should have to live like paupers.”
“Leave us alone.”
“Susan… You’re being unreasonable.”
Gray reached the end of the wall, sliding along in almost imperceptible movements as the lanterns cast his shadow on the wall around the blind corner.
“I don’t care what you think. He’s my son!”
“Don’t rush to any rash decisions you might regret.”
“Another threat?” she screamed. “We’ll see how almighty powerful you are when the others learn just how much of a prophet you really are.”
“I can’t allow you to do that, Susan.”
“You can’t stop me! I’m taking my son and we’re—!”
“Susan…”
“Get out of my way or so help me I’ll scream as loud as I can and you’ll have to try to explain this to everyone!”
Jesus, Gray thought, watching both Peckham and Garrett shifting nervously from one foot to the other, tossing each other the occasional wary glance. Back down, lady. Just back down.
He looked across the hall to the open doorway leading into Richard’s suite, now lit by a string of lanterns running the length of the countertop past the door. At the far end of the room he could see a sliding glass door. He hadn’t noticed from the front of the hotel, but apparently the rooms on the back side had balconies.
“You don’t want to do that,” Richard said, taking her by the hand.
“Let go of me!” she shrieked, yanking her arm away. “Don’t you ever touch—!”
There was a loud slap and Susan’s head snapped to the right. Richard had moved with such astounding speed that by the time Gray saw his arm move, there was already a welt forming on the woman’s cheek.
She looked back at Richard in disbelief, tears pouring down her face.
“You were starting to become hysterical,” Richard said, justifying his actions. “Why don’t you take a few minutes to calm down and reconsider—?”
Susan screamed and launched herself at him, slamming him against the door. Fingers curled to claws, she slashed at his face, banging his head repeatedly against the wood, throwing curls of skin from beneath her nails.
Garrett grabbed her by the arms and pulled her away from Richard, holding her to his stout chest with her arms pinned behind her. She continued to scream and kick at Richard.
“Crazy bitch!” Richard spat, smearing the blood from the diagonal lacerations on his cheeks to inspect it on his hands. He held up his bloody palms. “Look what you’ve done to me! Look what you’ve done!”
Blizzard of Souls Page 12