by Sara Clancy
“What are you doing?” Benton hissed, his heart suddenly thundering within his chest until his ribs ached. “Get away from it!”
“So I’m close?” she asked, one hand lifting as if to try and locate it.
“What is wrong with you?”
She sighed like the sound could cover her anxiety. “Could you please be helpful?”
“Helpful?” he snapped.
“Well, It wouldn’t have come here without a reason,” she shot back.
“Its reason is death,” he snapped. “It’s a fairly simple purpose. Pretty straight forward, really.”
“That wasn’t when 'It' appeared to you at Vic’s house, remember? It wanted to warn you. So there’s probably something here that ‘It’ wants you to know.”
“We almost died at Victor’s house,” he mimicked her chipper tone. “Remember?”
“That wasn’t Its fault,” she defended.
“And what about Kimberly?”
“It might have been trying to warn us then too. We just didn’t know how to interpret it.” Turning to the air before her, her unseeing eyes scanned the area as she continued with a soft smile. “I’m sorry about him. He’s under a bit of stress lately. It makes him grumpy.”
“Don’t talk to It!”
The look that she gave him was one of pure rebuke. “Death isn’t your enemy, Benton. I wouldn’t have been able to find you if it hadn’t been for It. If it wasn’t for Death, you’d be ... well, dead.”
“Wait. What?”
She brushed off his confusion and continued, “It gave me a hint about where to look for you. And I think It’s giving you a hint now. So, please, be helpful?”
Benton released a strangled sigh and felt himself being pulled under the weight of her conviction. She was going to find a way to do what she wanted, with or without him, so he might as well get ready for a ride.
“It’s about three feet in front of you.”
“What is It doing?” she whispered.
“Nothing. Just staring at me.”
Nicole squirmed closer to the abyss. Benton’s gut twisted into ever tightening knots as she lifted her hand. The black smoke of death wafted from its being like living tendrils. Death continued to stare at him, unconcerned by Nicole’s progress, but still the air seemed to fill with tension, like a lurking animal ready to strike. Nicole’s breath came in heavy gasps as she reached a little further, the ghostly tendrils twisting around the tips of her fingers.
“Stop!”
Nicole froze, her eyes wide, her fingers shaking slightly. But her voice remained pleasant. “Did It move?”
“You’re touching It.”
“Oh,” she said. “Does It seem angry about that?”
“I’m not even sure It has noticed you.”
Benton staggered back a step, one hand reaching out towards Nicole as the ghostly figure suddenly broke into motion. There was too much distance between the teens for Benton to actually touch Nicole’s forearms, but she still followed his lead and took a few retreating steps.
“Benton, I can’t see.”
Death didn’t walk. It drifted, shifting through the air with an unnatural grace until it disappeared behind the lean table pressed against the wall.
“Benton!”
He told her what he saw and instantly regretted it as she rushed forward and began to examine the table.
“What are you doing?”
“He wants us to do something,” Nicole said with annoyance. “So, I’m doing something.”
She pressed her shoulder against the side of the rickety but heavy table and began to push. The dirt that layered the floor piled up around its base, making it harder to move, but she kept going with a strained groan. Swearing under his breath, Benton rushed forward, grabbed the side of the table, and rocked it onto its side. It slammed against the floor with a pathetic crack and splintered into kindling. Nicole released a strange sound and glanced up at him.
“How are we going to fix that?”
“Why would we?” he shot back.
The annoyance that played across her face broke when she realized that they really didn’t have anyone to answer to about the destruction. With a shrug that acted as both agreement and dismissal, she crouched down and trailed her light over the newly exposed wall. A large metal dish, tarnished and eroded with time, was embedded within the damp mud of the wall. She dug her fingers into the soft, crumbling earth, burrowing them deeper until she could get a solid grip on the edge of dish and yanked sharply. But it held solid. Sitting down, she braced her feet against the wall and put her body weight behind the next attempt.
“Are we sure we want to do this?” Benton asked.
“I am. I can’t speak for you. I’m not a mind reader.”
Cautiously eyeing the wall, Benton edged closer and crouched down behind her. With the beat of his heart surging into his throat, he eyed the wall carefully. Death didn’t reappear. Nicole gnashed her teeth as she pushed back harder. With a wet, suction sound, large clumps of earth broke away and the metal dish jerked free from the wall. Nicole slumped back into him, striking his chest hard enough to knock the air from his lungs with a grunt of protest.
A rush of heated air pushed against him, scorching his chilled skin like a barrage of needles. As it cleared, they found themselves staring down a long tunnel carved into the earth. A light flickered at the far end but wasn’t bright enough for him to be able to get any sense of the distance separating them. The hole was barely large enough to move through, even on all fours, with twisted roots breaking though the surface, ready to snare anyone who attempted to pass.
“Okay, we’re leaving,” Benton said.
“What? Now?”
“Don’t tell me that you actually want to crawl down that thing.”
“Death wants us to.”
Benton tried to calm down his anger but couldn’t stop it from drenching his words. “Who cares? Nic, we came here with the sole purpose of checking on the symbol. We’ve done that.”
“What if the answer we need is down that tunnel?”
“What if it’s at the end of a Google search?” he snapped back. “Can’t we try that before the possible fire tunnel of death?”
She twisted in his grip until she could meet his eyes. “Fire tunnel?”
“The flame at the end,” he snapped with annoyance. “And the heat is a pretty big tip off.”
Her eyebrows nearly rose up to her hairline before a renewed energy lit up her face. Snatching up his wrist in an iron grip, she lifted his arm to trail the light from his phone to the hole. Even when she added her own light, there wasn’t much extra detail to be seen.
The sudden realization made his stomach drop. “You don’t see a light, do you?”
“No. Which means that there is something paranormal down there,” she said with far more joy than he believed the situation warranted. “I knew I was right.”
“Or,” he said slowly, “I’m insane. Seriously, you never asked if I’ve had a cat-scan.”
Benton knew he was in trouble when his protests couldn’t even distract her long enough to give him an annoyed look. He struggled to keep ahold of her as she surged forward. Despite his efforts, she easily squirmed from his hands and pushed herself onto all fours. Benton blindly swiped his hand along her side, trying to latch onto the waistband of her jeans. Still, she crawled hesitantly forward, studying the tunnel with a renewed fascination.
“I don’t think it’s that deep,” she mumbled softly to herself. “The earth is too soft here for it to hold up that long. Or would that make it easier? Why don’t I know more about tunnels?”
“Nicole?”
She acknowledged him with a 'hmm,' but didn’t pull her eyes away from her new curiosity.
“Can we go now? Please,” he said with emphasis on the last word, ensuring that she heard it, hoping that she couldn’t let the polite gesture pass.
It worked to some extent. She did turn to look at him but continued to twist her lon
g hair over and over. Somehow, that actually kept it back off her face.
“We have to see what’s at the end.”
“We really don’t,” he retorted with barely controlled panic. “Or we could at least hold off until we plan this properly.”
“It’s crawling down a hole.”
“And what if it caves in?” he countered.
But reasoning didn’t usually win out against a determined Nicole Rider.
“It won’t,” she cut him off before he could respond. “What if the answer for how to get rid of the horseman is down there and someone dies because we didn’t go looking for it?”
“People die. It’s kind of what we do,” he said gently.
“Okay, well, you stay here and make a list of all the people you’re willing to let get slaughtered, and I’ll go.”
“That’s not fair,” Benton snapped.
“I can’t just walk away, Benton. We have to try.”
“I have tried! For ten frickin’ years I’ve tried! It never changes anything.”
Nicole didn’t immediately raise her voice to meet his, and he instantly resented her for it. Instead, she reached out, and covered his hand in her own.
“That’s when you were alone,” she said sweetly, her eyes somehow beseeching and encouraging at the same time. “You’re not alone anymore.”
Desperate for something, anything, to break through her denial, he went for a low blow. “And yet Victor’s still in a coffin.”
He cursed the light coming from the tunnel. Without it, he might have been able to avoid seeing the pain that crossed her face. But the orange glow danced across her face, clearly illuminating every ounce of anguish the words had caused. He tried to hold her eyes, but it was a losing fight. He ducked his head and lowered his eyes to the floor, the motion just weakening his argument.
“We didn’t save Vic. But we did save all the people it would have killed after him. And that means something, Benton,” she said with certainty. Her fingers squeezed his palm, the gentle reassurance making him hate himself just a little more. “I’ll be quick. I promise, I’ll be right back. You can stay here.”
“You know I can’t do that,” he mumbled as he took his place on the other side of the tunnel. Finally meeting her eyes again, he jabbed a finger towards her. “When this goes bad, and I’m no record for saying that it will, I don’t want to hear any positivity crap. Instead, you’re going to tell me horrible, embarrassing, negative things about yourself in penance.”
Nicole just shrugged that she was okay with that and began crawling into the tunnel. Benton wasn’t quite sure what to do with his mobile phone. After watching her feet slip out of sight, he tucked the phone between his thumb and index finger, and shuffled in behind her. The soft earth bowed under his palms and turned to mush under his knees as he crept deeper into the tunnel. Roots snatched at his hair and jacket as he continued on. Before him, Nicole’s body cut off the flickering light as she moved, leaving him with only his phone for guidance. The heat encompassed him, creating sweat beads on his skin before soaking into his shirt. The temperature climbed, the air grew thick and humid, the sensations worsening as they continued at an excruciatingly slow pace until he could barely choke down a breath of the steaming smog. With a high squeal, Nicole jerked down. The heel of her foot crashing against the top of the tunnel, dislodging clumps of earth before she disappeared from his sight completely. The now open gap blinded him with a sudden burst of light and he cringed back, shielding his eyes as they burned.
“Nicole?” he gasped with a hint of panic.
“I’m okay,” she replied quickly. “I didn’t see the tunnel stop short. Wait a second and I’ll help you out.”
Benton squinted and blinked, his eyes already adjusting to the brilliance. Her shadow dipped back into view, eclipsing the inferno slightly and sparing his eyes from the burn. She trained her phone back to highlight him, but the soft glow was actually pleasant after the precious glare. She reached for him. He waved her off but she didn’t take the hint.
“It’s okay, I can see.”
Before she slipped out of sight once again, he caught a glimpse of a frown and a muttered, “That’s cheating.”
Although the opening was only about a foot off the floor, there wasn’t enough room for him to actually turn around, so entering the room with any kind of dignity was impossible. He dropped onto his forearms and pulled his legs out awkwardly behind him. The heated mud seared his skin despite the protection of his jacket sleeves. The fire ravaged air blistered against his eyes and made them water. Shielding his eyes, he felt Nicole’s hand tracing along his arm and drifting over his fingers.
“Do you mind if I borrow your phone? You don’t need it and the light on mine is horrible.”
He nodded and let her take the device from his hand. Nicole's body heat naturally ran on the warmer side. It was both startling and disturbing to find that her touch felt like ice compared to the heat radiating within the room. Seeing things while awake was a new development, and he was still grappling to find a way to deal with it properly. He wasn’t prepared for all of his senses to combine in promoting a delusion like this. It was hard to believe that it was just a trick of his mind when everything was telling him that it was real.
He opened his eyes, squinting into the light, and instantly threw himself back. The hot mud of the wall burned him as he stared at the blazing inferno before him. Fire spewed from the floor, creating thin sheets that towered over him. The plumes of fire didn’t crackle or sputter. Their thin trails tracked patterns that filled the huge room in a blistering intensity of light.
“Benton?”
“You don’t see that?” he screamed as he shuffled back to the hole, seeking some kind of refuge from the climbing heat.
Nicole looked around her, one phone in each hand, waving them about like she was trying to land a jumbo jet. She ducked and weaved, searching every corner, obviously straining to catch sight of what he was talking about.
“There seems to be a big room, deeper than I would have thought, but it looks pretty much the same as the other,” she replied calmly. “Oh, wait. I think there’s something carved into the floor.” He lowered his hand as she made an annoyed noise. “There isn’t enough to make out the pattern.”
She began to edge towards the flames and he forced himself back up to his feet.
“We need to go,” he gasped as he surged forward to pull her back.
Losing his nerve at the last moment, he pressed back against the wall. His eyes had adjusted and, now that he could look into the eyes, he couldn’t look away.
“Not again,” she sighed.
He turned just in time to see her stepping off from the wall, striding towards the flames with renewed purpose. This time, when he lunged for her, he didn’t pull back. But he wasn’t fast enough. Without a moment of hesitation, Nicole took the final step, disappeared into the erupting pit, her hand vanishing before he could grasp it.
Without her hand to hold onto, Benton edged back as far as the wall would allow, his eyes constantly searching the flames. They were too thick for him to even make out the silhouette of her shadow play against the burning wall. The flames released only a low hiss, but his voice cracked as he called for her. When her reply wasn’t instant, his panic drove him to desperation. He took a step forward, felt the flame press against him, and quickly retreated once more.
“Nicole!”
“I’m right in front of you,” her disembodied voice replied. “I thought you said you could see.”
“You’re in the flames,” he snapped.
“Really?”
She must have caught sight of the glare he sent her because her next words weren’t nearly as excited.
“You really can’t see me? It’s okay, it’s not real. It doesn’t hurt.”
The sincerity in her voice couldn’t compete with the flames that rose as silent pillars reaching the ceiling, or the way the heat burned his eyes and blistered his lungs with every brea
th. Her hand emerged from the hellish blaze and she coaxed him to take it. Pushing deeper into the agonizing heat of the wall, he shook his head rapidly.
“Okay,” she said softly. “Stay right there. I’ll take some photographs of this pattern and we’ll go.”
“Nicole.”
“I’m okay,” she replied instantly. “Just hang tight.”
Balling his fists, he stood as much against the wall as his skin could stand. He bit the inside of his cheeks and tried to endure. The flames never weakened and his head was spinning as the heat continued to consume him. His mouth became a dry pit. His heart pounded until he felt each beat hammering against his spine.
“Nicole!” he croaked as his lips began to crack.
“Almost done,” she called back, her tone matching his haste but lacking his need.
An iron grip suddenly crushed into his stomach, creating an icy hold around his intestines and twisting him up until he released an anguished cry.
“We need to go,” he nearly begged through his pain as the stench of rot filled the space. “Now!”
She came crashing through the flames, all reassuring smiles and the wave of a phone. She hadn’t fully left the flames behind before a shadow blackened the fire just beyond her shoulder. A split second later, the horseman rose up behind her, the spinal whip thrashing as it narrowed the distance between them. He bellowed as he darted forward. Seeing his expression, she whirled around, trying to spot what he was looking at. But she couldn’t see the figure charging towards her. It grabbed her shoulder. Wrenched her back. Her feet kicked up as she was yanked once more into the inferno. Benton latched on to her wrist but couldn’t stand against the pull. His feet sunk into the mud as he was towed towards the flames.
Agony rushed through him as the flames licked across Benton's skin and welled against his palm. He could feel the blisters forming as he hurled himself back. His back slammed against the wall and his knees buckled in. The scent of burning flesh polluted his nostrils as he writhed, gripping his own wrist until the bone felt like it was about to break. The pain was nothing compared to the sensation of his flesh blistering.