Nobody here.
Disappointed, he climbed back down and headed back through the house to the laundry room. Once he’d shimmied down the makeshift rope, he turned his attention to the endless array of softly glowing lanterns heading downhill. Liam and Madison must have headed that way, descending toward the world Caleb had created.
He began the trek, knowing he had a long walk ahead.
Caleb’s World, he thought with a shiver.
Chapter 5
Caleb crammed the last of the strawberry truffles in his mouth and stood defiantly with chocolate around his mouth and hands on his hips.
“You said I could go home,” Liam said to him. “You told me I could go and get your dad. How was I supposed to do that with a dragon in the way?”
“You weren’t,” Caleb said, still chewing. “You were supposed to get eaten.”
A silence followed.
Caleb licked his lips. “These are so good,” he said at last. “Daddy brought some home one time, and I made hundreds of them. They were everywhere—in the kitchen, the living room, the bedroom, even in the bathroom.”
He giggled, and Liam glimpsed chocolate-coated teeth.
“Daddy was so mad,” Caleb went on. “He said chocolates aren’t good for me and told me to get rid of them all. I didn’t, though. It’s hard to get rid of things.”
Liam couldn’t help himself. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you know,” Caleb said simply, as if the answer was obvious. When Liam merely stared back, Caleb rolled his eyes. “I can make stuff, but I can’t unmake stuff. Once it’s made, it’s made.”
“What about bits that aren’t completely made yet?” Liam asked. “Like those black, fuzzy areas in hallways. Those bits aren’t made yet, right?”
Caleb nodded. He stared at Liam as if mildly impressed. “Daddy said it’s like clay. When I make something like a shop or a car, sometimes I don’t bother with the bits nobody can see. That black, cloudy, unfinished stuff is like wet clay. I can fix it later if I want. But the rest of the clay goes hard. Once it’s set, I can’t change it.”
So even Caleb’s enormous power had limits. “Is that why you can’t . . . fix people?” Liam asked tentatively.
Caleb narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Well, all these people in your world are deteriorating. Why can’t you fix them? Make them better? Make them new again?”
“Because they’re used already,” Caleb snapped. “I just told you that. I can’t fix them. I can only smash them into a million pieces or melt them into puddles of goo. Don’t you listen?”
Liam spread his hands. “I guess I’m still trying to figure it out. I’m not as smart as you, Caleb. Sorry.”
Another long silence ensued as the boy nodded thoughtfully and turned to stare at the shop windows. There was absolutely no sign of movement from any of them except Ming’s a few doors down, where Liam caught sight of the small Chinese woman moving around. Light streamed from the windows, one of the few sources of illumination in the village.
“It’s sad, isn’t it?” Madison said quietly. “Don’t you think? All the shops being empty and dark, I mean.”
“Not all of them,” Caleb said defensively.
“I know, but most of them. All but the food shops are closed now.”
Liam nodded and joined in. “I saw a woman with a basket leaving her house to go grocery shopping. Did she get what she wanted? Who does she go home to?”
Caleb said nothing.
Now that he thought about it, Liam couldn’t help wondering what happened to all the food that was baked each morning. Or if not baked, then created. Whether baked or created, it was good enough to eat or else Caleb wouldn’t eat it—and if it was good enough to eat, then surely it had to be capable of rotting. It had to go somewhere, but where if nobody came and bought it?
“What happens to old food?” he asked, unable to resist the urge. He had to know.
“It only has a limited shelf life,” Caleb said as if repeating something he’d been told a long time ago. “After that it disappears.”
An idea struck Liam. “So you can make stuff vanish? What about the deteriorating people? Can’t you make them disappear?”
Caleb threw up his hands in obvious disgust. “Are you deaf?” he shouted. “I already told you I can’t do that!” As if realizing Liam’s point, he lowered his voice and added, “Food is different. Daddy said it has a limited shelf life, so I made sure it only lasts a few days.”
Liam shook his head in amazement. Every answer the boy offered raised a dozen more questions. The potential for his power went beyond mind-boggling. He had a sudden image of Caleb being spirited away to a secret military base and used to build weapons. Or worse, falling into the hands of the enemy and being used against America. What a terrifying thought!
He suddenly felt burdened with an awful responsibility. He and Madison had to do everything in their power to befriend him. He suspected she’d already figured that out, hence her gentle conversation.
“Doesn’t it make you sad, Caleb?” Madison persisted. “Have you ever thought about the future? What will you do? Just stay here alone?”
“That’s why I want my dad back,” he said sulkily.
“A lot of time has passed by outside,” she went on. “Your dad is much older now. He’s been waiting for you the whole time, spying on the house you once lived in—where Liam lives now.”
“But now we can take you to him, if you’ll let us,” Liam added.
Caleb rubbed his nose, inadvertently smearing chocolate all over it. His hands were still sticky, and no amount of licking seemed to help. “I could have brought him down here if I’d known where to look. I only knew where the house was.”
“Right, but your dad wasn’t in it,” Madison said quietly, nodding gently. “Maybe you should come with Liam and me to the surface. It’s safe as long as we sneak you out and take you straight to your dad.”
Liam had to wonder about the wisdom in this plan. Someone like Caleb running around loose? But perhaps Barton should be the one to shoulder the responsibility.
Caleb thought for a moment. Then: “Dad said I could never live on the surface. He said they’d take me away and do horrible experiments on me. Stick needles in me.”
“Not if you’re really, really careful and stay hidden,” Madison urged. She bent to look into his eyes. “You look like a perfectly normal and very handsome boy. Nobody would ever know there’s something special about you as long as you didn’t do any magic.”
Caleb blushed at her well-placed compliment. Still, he shook his head. “No, it’s not safe. Daddy never let me go anywhere except the lake at the bottom of the lane. I hated being stuck inside the house all the time.” He waved his hands expansively. “Here I get to do whatever I want.”
Liam felt his patience ebbing. “Well, we can’t stay here with you. You get that, right? Madison and I need to leave. Our parents are worried about us. And if we don’t show up soon, the police will be heading down that tunnel to find us.”
His thinly veiled threat had the desired effect. Caleb’s eyes grew round.
“Now,” Liam growled, “move that dragon out of the way and let us go!”
For a moment, Caleb’s eyes were wide with fright under his hanging hair.
Liam gripped the boy’s shoulders and stared hard at him. “I’m not going to lie to you, Caleb. You have the power to do whatever you want to me. But I’m not going to stick around here, and nor is Madison. We’re leaving through that tunnel. You’re invited to come with us—or you can stay here alone. I hope you decide to come, but only you can make that choice.”
He stepped back. Caleb looked confused.
“Your dad is up there on the surface,” Liam said, jabbing his thumb upward. “We can take you to him.”
A silence stretched between them. Caleb was obviously deep in thought.
“Yes or no?” Liam prompted.
Still Caleb seemed undecided.
Without another word, he and Madison climbed into the land speeder. Liam powered it up and carefully turned the vehicle all the way around until the bright beams washed over the eight-year-old. Caleb blinked furiously in the glare.
“See you, Caleb,” Liam said over the hum of the engines. Receiving no reply, he sped away down the street.
As they left the paved road and headed across the fields with the dazzling beams bouncing off ugly bushes and wizened trees, Madison sighed and said, “Think he’ll get rid of the dragon?”
“No idea. Honestly, I don’t even know how he controls it. Or if he controls it.”
The beams picked out their escape route—a black hole at the foot of the flimsy-looking bungee tower. One of the broken trap doors still hung from its hinges, partially obscuring the squared-off frame that surrounded the tunnel opening. Liam kept expecting the dragon to leap out and blast them with fire.
“The dragon’s probably still in there,” he murmured.
“Let’s wait a bit,” Madison said. “Maybe Caleb will ask it to leave.”
“How? With telepathy?”
“Funny enough, I find that really easy to believe.”
Leaving the lights on full, Liam climbed down from the land speeder. “Let’s hide behind that tree over there.”
They waited in silence, hidden in the darkness. High above, the twinkling stars lazily circled the moon like meteoric debris around Saturn. It was a detail that bore little relation to actual science; this was pure childish imagination. Still, it was extremely pretty and certainly beat the planetarium Liam had visited with his class a few years back.
A noise caught his attention. It came not from the tunnel ahead but from somewhere off to his left. He swung around, squinting in the glare of the speeder’s beams.
The noise came again, a faint rustling in the grass. And another several yards away.
Shadows moved into view—shambling, stumbling figures closing in from all around. Liam let out a moan.
Lurkers.
Chapter 6
“Run,” Liam whispered to Madison. “To the tunnel!”
“The tunnel? But the dragon—”
He had to agree with her reluctance, but as twenty or more Lurkers came stumbling in from all around, the framed tunnel entrance became their only possible alternative. Even the land speeder was out of their reach now; two Lurkers came around the side, flinching as they moved into the glare of its beams.
The tunnel, Liam thought. Maybe the dragon won’t hear us . . .
He and Madison made a dash for the square, black hole in the ground. Lurkers came after them, their moans and pants filling the air. Glancing back, Liam saw them silhouetted against the land speeder’s blinding lights, several shadows converging into a single mass, a clumsy but relentless mob.
“What do they want with us?” he gasped as they arrived at the tunnel.
Before Madison could answer, a thunderous roar stopped them in their tracks. A burst of flame shot straight up out of the square hole, hot and blinding, causing Lurkers to rear backward with their arms shielding their faces. Liam stumbled against the flimsy tower and absently clutched at the bungee cord to steady himself.
The dragon’s snout appeared. With a bellow, it began to struggle out of the tight space, squeezing its bulk through the wooden frame. The remaining door held fast, wide open and lying flat against the grass.
“We’re dead,” Liam moaned.
The dragon seemed to be having trouble this time, though. The frame restricted its movements. It had squeezed out earlier, then back in again, but this time its wing had snagged, and it lacked the gumption to back up and try again. It grew angrier with every thrust, fire licking from its mouth.
Liam and Madison retreated—into the path of stumbling Lurkers, who rushed forward, clutching and grabbing. Madison screamed as she was pulled away, and Liam yelled in terror as the weight of multiple bodies pressed in. Then his shouts caught in his throat as the reek of rotting onions made him gag repeatedly. The mob pushed him this way and that, and abruptly Liam went down amid grasping hands.
The dragon roared again. The Lurkers either didn’t notice or didn’t care. Liam couldn’t decide if he’d rather die in a blast of fire or at the putrid hands of an angry mob. He gasped as the weight of the Lurkers threatened to squeeze the life out of him. A boot clubbed him in the ear, and a knee dug into his shoulder.
With every passing second, he marveled that these zombified monsters had not yet begun the process of pulling off his limbs, clawing out his intestines, and chewing on his brain like they did in movies. He decided he’d rather have the dragon end it all quickly. Anything but this.
The dragon continued its frantic struggles, rumbling and snapping in fury. But those frenzied noises, along with the moans of Liam’s attackers, became a distant murmur compared to the sound of his thudding heart and gasping breaths.
Meanwhile, Madison yelled angrily the whole time.
The idea of being outdone by a girl sent a jolt through him. He was Liam Mackenzie, the boy who couldn’t die! He’d survived far worse than a bunch of walking mannequins and a dragon too fat and stupid to escape from its lair!
He scowled, suddenly clear-headed as he peered up at his assailants. Since these monsters were unable to form coherent sentences with their creepy lipless mouths, they merely grunted and moaned. Liam recognized a word here and there but couldn’t make out what they were trying to say. The main thing was that they weren’t trying to kill him. They weren’t even trying to hurt him.
Something pressed into his right hand. A balled-up piece of paper.
Astonishment settled over him as the Lurkers gently lifted him to his feet. His legs were so shaky that his knees buckled repeatedly. He swayed and tried to compose himself as a sea of ugly melting faces danced before him. Beyond, the dragon paused, panting hard. It ducked down, disappearing from sight.
“Liam?”
Although Madison sounded a million miles away, her voice cut through the chorus of unintelligible moans as Lurkers nudged her into view. She looked disheveled but unharmed, a puzzled frown on her face. She joined Liam, and they stood there together as the circle closed around them.
“What . . . ?” Liam croaked. His throat and lips were dry from his own ragged panting. He licked his lips and swallowed. “What’s all this about?”
“Look and see,” Madison urged, peering with interest at the balled-up paper clutched in his hand. He’d been holding it aloft as though it were a prize.
Blinking, Liam looked around the shadowed faces, seeing half-melted skin and white skulls, bulging eyeballs as well as eyeless sockets, eerie lipless grins, and more than a few missing limbs. The stench hit him again. He turned in a circle, confirming that he was surrounded by a wall of jostling figures.
They fell silent and waited expectantly, obviously wanting Liam to look at the paper. With one hand, he smoothed the paper against his belly and peered at it. Stained and crumpled, it smelled of fish and chips, possibly stolen from Ming’s, or more likely retrieved from a trash can. Words were scrawled across it in untidy handwriting, the writing smudged but perfectly legible:
help us die
At first Liam thought the word “or” was missing. Surely it should read help us or die. That made much more sense where these hideous monsters were concerned.
But, slowly, the true meaning surfaced in his addled brain. Help us die. These creatures were slowly melting, becoming less mobile as feet broke off or legs twisted and buckled. Some of them were blind, stumbling around in perpetual darkness, keenly aware of their gradual demise.
He looked at Madison. “They’re becoming self-aware,” he whispered.
She nodded sagely.
What a terrible notion—that th
ese poor Lurkers were growing smarter while their bodies deteriorated! Liam tried to imagine what it must be like to wake from a hazy but relatively happy dream only to find his skin sloughing off and his limbs rotting away. What kind of life could these poor souls look forward to? And Caleb refused to destroy them.
Liam’s fear and disgust evaporated. Now he felt nothing but pity. Of course he and Madison had to help them. Who else would? Certainly not Caleb.
In a flash, Liam remembered the puddle of nastiness on the rocks at the foot of the waterfall. Madison had suggested the Lurker had fallen, but perhaps it had been an attempt at suicide. Had it been successful? Had the rotting mannequin’s pseudo-life ceased the moment his head smashed open on the rocks?
Well, duh, he thought. If it had died, it would still be there.
So it hadn’t hit the ground hard enough? It had only dented its head instead of cracking it open? How horrible.
Liam looked from one grotesque face to another. He couldn’t bear ask them how he could help them die, so he modified his question slightly. “How can we help?”
Two words came back, repeated in unison by all, surprisingly clear:
Kill usssss . . .
Madison closed her eyes, and a tear broke free and rolled down her cheek.
“But how?” Liam asked shakily, hardly able to believe he was even having this conversation. There was no way he could kill them, and he knew it. No wonder Caleb had been unable to. A responsible adult could do it if there was no other choice, like shooting a severely injured horse to put it out of its misery. But Liam was certain he couldn’t do it. Not this. And a young boy like Caleb certainly couldn’t. The thought of murdering these people, even at their request, made him break out in a sweat.
Thankfully, the conversation ended abruptly when the sun flared into life, blinding and hot. Liam and Madison staggered and shielded their faces, aware that the Lurkers were screaming and throwing themselves onto the ground.
Liam blinked in the blinding sunlight as heat warmed his skin. He squinted and watched with horror as, all around, dozens of Lurkers huddled on the grass trying to protect their eyes. Faint wisps of smoke rose from their shoulders. The smell of rotting onions sharpened. Many of the creatures jerked to their feet and staggered off across the field toward the village in what Liam guessed was an urgent dash for the darkness of shops.
Power of Imagination Page 3