by Ray Garton
They left the alcove.
Even after they were gone, Lauren’s fit continued, until she was exhausted. Benjamin let her go and she slid from her rock to the ground, limp and panting as she cried.
While the others tried to calm Lauren, Jordan watched Benjamin carefully.
He went back to his rock and sat down, picking up a stone about the size of a child’s head. He growled as he crushed it.
20.
Since they’d stopped to let Marvin answer nature’s call, he’d calmed considerably. He was not relaxed—he would never be relaxed in that helicopter with Flash at the controls and the smell of whiskey in the air—but at least he was able to think with more clarity than before. And he’d been thinking about time.
He didn’t know what time Mark had left Grover, but it had presumably been well before Marvin and Flash had left, which probably had been about ninety minutes; with luck, it had been shortly before they’d left. He would have felt more comfortable if he knew how long it would take to get to the plant once they’d landed. He wasn’t even sure if he could find the plant.
Having taken all of that into consideration, Marvin could feel his doubts swelling fast. He decided that, if he did manage to head Mark off at the plant’s gate, it would be a freak accident.
But he would have a better chance if they didn’t lose another second.
“How long before we refuel?” he asked.
Flash said, “Comin’ up in just a few minutes.”
“How long does it take?”
“Oh, half hour or so.”
Marvin thought a moment, then: “Do you know where Hollis Airpark is?”
“Yep.”
“Can you make it there without refueling?”
“Nope.”
“Not a chance?”
“Nope.”
Marvin sighed, disappointed.
“Might be able to make it to that nuke-yoo-ler plant, though.”
“What?”
“I say, if I don’t refuel, I might be able to make it to that nuke-yoo-ler plant you’re headed for. But that’s a might, now, not a for-sure. Then, a course, you gotta worry about where to land. Can’t just set this ol’ girl down on any ol’ thing, you know. And it’d cost you extra for the risk and for the pain in the ass of gettin’ refueled out in the middle of nowhere.”
Marvin thought about it and the thought chiseled away at the calm he’d managed to maintain for a while. If they ran out of fuel, they’d go down. Naturally. But what if Flash kept a close eye on the gauge so that, if they got too close to running out before they got there, he could set them down. They’d be closer to the plant then and if they weren’t quite close enough, Marvin could catch a ride or hot-wire a car. Hell, he’d steal one at gunpoint if he had to.
“Headin’ down for a pit stop,” Flash called happily.
“Don’t.”
“What?”
“Keep going.”
“You shittin’ me?”
“No. Keep going.”
Flash began to cackle again, long and hard. “Well, now, if this don’t beat the pants off a dyke! If I thought you was talkin’ serious, I wouldn’ta told you we might be able to make it without refuelin’, and remember I said might.”
“Well, I am talkin’ serious. Keep going.”
“Do you know what you’re sayin’? We could crash and burn! Whatta you think it means to run outta fuel?”
“You’re going to make sure that doesn’t happen. Watch it close and when we get too low, land.”
More cackles. “You don’t know what you’re talkin’ about! You just wet your pants for nothin’ and you want me to—”
“Yes! And if you wanna see my gun again, I’ll show it to you!”
The cackling died and he stared at Marvin with a cold sparkle of fear in his eyes.
“I said it’d cost more, so you’d better—”
“Fine, we’ll pay you whatever you want, but Jordy’s got the money, so you’ll have to wait till afterward.”
“We might be dead.”
“Then you won’t need it!”
Flash turned away from him slowly.
They kept flying.
21.
White figures appeared from the woods steadily, joining those who had already come just outside the cave. Light from lanterns and flashlights bobbed through the darkness.
Nathan was the center of attention. As word spread that Orrin himself had named the Chosen One, they came to congratulate Nathan, one after another, shaking his hand, patting his head, hugging him. All thoughts of his mother—or, as Nathan had begun thinking of her since seeing her in the cave, Mrs. Schroeder—were gone.
“You’re so fortunate, Nathan,” a doughy, aging woman said, kissing his forehead.
A man shook his hand firmly and said, “You’ll be talked about for ages to come, son. People will speak your name with reverence.”
A young woman knelt and embraced him, holding him tightly for a long time. “My husband wouldn’t let my little boy come here with me,” she said solemnly. “I haven’t seen him in almost three years. But if he had come, and if this had happened to him, I would have been so proud. I’m very happy for you, Nathan.”
They continued to come with their congratulations and praise. Hester watched proudly, smiling. When Nathan had a free moment, she leaned over and whispered, “I hope that visit with your mother didn’t upset you. Just remember that everyone here understands what you’re doing and, as you can see, they all love you for it.”
More came, forming a line that led to Nathan.
“Ms., uh … Ms. Thorne?” a faint voice hissed. “Ms. Thorne? Psst!”
Hester squinted into the surrounding darkness, moving away from Nathan so she wouldn’t steal any of the attention from him. She saw Luis Jimenez standing a few yards away and went to him.
“Yes, Luis?”
“I called, Ms. Thorne. It took me a while to reach my old partner, Frankie, but … well, I told him everything and—”
“You gave him the description of Mr. Ackroyd?”
“Yes, yes, and he wrote everything down. He said they couldn’t do anything because the plant is outside the city limits, but it’s still in Santa Clara County. So he said he’d call the sheriff’s department and see that they took care of it.”
“So they’ll be there? Waiting for him?”
“Unless he gets there before them.”
Hester nodded, then took his hand. “You have no idea what you’ve done, Luis. Someday you will, but for now, please accept my gratitude and Orrin’s.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m happy to help. Um …” He looked around, puzzled. “May I ask what … what’s, uh …”
“You mean what’s going on here?”
“Yes. If you don’t mind my asking.”
“Not at all, Luis. Surely you’ve heard of the Inner Circle.”
“Of course, but I didn’t know—”
“Tonight is our last meeting.” She put an arm around him and began leading him toward the cave. “And after what you’ve done for us tonight, I think it’s only appropriate that you join us.”
22.
“Do you hear something?” Jordan whispered, asking no one in particular.
Lizzie and Joan were flanking Lauren on a long flat stone, watching her closely; she had become unnaturally still since Nathan had gone. Jordan had gotten off the ground and seated himself beside Coogan. Benjamin watched them, but kept a distance, fidgeting, pacing and grumbling to himself incoherently.
They listened closely in response to Jordan’s question and when they spoke, they whispered, hoping to avoid another explosion from Benjamin.
“I hear something,” Coogan said, squinting, “but my ears are lousy, so I can’t tell what it is.”
“Voices,” Lizzie sa
id. “Outside the cave.”
Joan listened for a moment, then said, “I hear laughing. It sounds like a cocktail party.”
“They’re gathering,” Jordan said. “They’ll be starting soon, I suppose.”
That got a reaction from Lauren: “Starting? Th-the ceremony? Are … are they killing Nathan?”
“No, honey,” Lizzie said, one hand on Lauren’s shoulder, “not yet, and we hope to try to stop them.”
Lizzie got a glare from Jordan for that.
“I said we hope to,” she reminded him, “that’s all.”
Jordan said, “I think that, under the circumstances, even that’s a gross exaggeration.”
“The voices are louder,” Joan said. “I think there are more of them now.”
“They’re coming to see Nathan die,” Lauren whispered in a flat, tear-dampened voice.
The silence that followed Lauren’s remark was thick with frustration and fear.
Lizzie looked at Lauren’s blank, puffy, wide-eyed face, at Joan’s nervous and fearful twitches, at Coogan’s weary sadness and, finally, at Jordan’s demeanor of frustrated surrender.
She inhaled slowly, then released an explosive breath, her fists clenched. The voices were growing louder; more people were coming. They didn’t have much time left. She closed her eyes, whispered a short prayer—“Lord, you know the situation. We need your help. In Christ’s name, amen.”—then stood.
Jordan watched her with an annoyed expression.
Lizzie started toward Benjamin and, as she walked past Jordan, said, “You shouldn’t give up quite so easily.”
Benjamin was sitting down and leaning forward, his forearms dangling between his spread knees. He heard Lizzie’s footsteps and sat up suddenly, growling.
“Benjamin, I have to speak with you. Please listen to me. And please don’t get angry, because there’s no reason for it. You know I’m your friend and that I don’t want to hurt you. So will you please just listen?”
His lumpy, fat lips pulled back over his teeth and gums as he stared at her, then he finally made a small, hoarse sound.
“In a little while, your mommy is going to kill the boy who was in here,” she said slowly and solemnly. “She is going to stab a sharp crystal in his body and kill him, then feed him to that bad blue light out there, do you understand?”
Benjamin’s head made jerky movements and he said, “Ruuhh … reeee-embaawwdy.”
“No, Benjamin, she is not going to re-embody him. Nathan will not be reborn in another body. He will be dead. There is no re-embodiment, there is no reincarnation. What she is going to do to Lauren’s little boy is bad, do you understand? You at least have this cave and your things here—your doll and your fire engine and your picture, and your photograph of you and your daddy—but when your mommy is through with Nathan, he will have nothing. He will have no toys, no home, no vision, no hearing … nothing. He will be dead, Benjamin.”
He slapped his hands over his face several times, then stood, pushed her out of the way and began circling the lantern again, his broad shadow falling over them again and again as he moved.
“I think you’re wasting your time,” Jordan said. “And probably risking your life.”
Her frustration turned to a fiery anger, which got the best of her. Lizzie spun on Jordan and snapped, “How can you possibly be so glib? You’re going to be dying, too, doesn’t that mean anything to you.”
“Lizzie,” he said calmly, but with a slight tremor in his voice, “it scares the hell out of me. I just don’t see what we can possibly do about it.”
She had nothing to say to that because she understood perfectly; she was fighting to hold onto her faith and let go of her fear. She reached out and grabbed Benjamin’s arm as he passed and said sternly, as a mother would, “Benjamin, stop. Listen to me. We need your help. You have to help us, otherwise—”
The blow came quickly and when it hit—a backhand to the right side of Lizzie’s head—her feet left the ground and her back slammed against the stone wall. Bombs exploded in her head and she was suddenly sick, falling over on her side and vomiting on the ground.
Jordan shot to his feet but watched, helpless—he knew that to do anything else would be useless and suicidal—as Benjamin went to Lizzie and picked her up. Lizzie made another retching sound as Benjamin shoved her against the stone wall and began hitting her in the face.
Benjamin stopped suddenly, froze with his arm raised to strike again, and stared at Lizzie.
Her nose and mouth were bloody and one eye was already swelling. She managed to speak, but her words were almost as unintelligible as Benjamin’s.
“Puh-peeeze, Bennumun. Peeeze … hehhp ush.”
Benjamin threw her to the floor and uttered an anguished cry before retreating to the corner and squatting on the floor, facing them. He watched as Jordan and Coogan went to Lizzie and moved her away from him. And, as he watched, he knocked his head against the stone wall hard, again and again and again.
“Ahm okay, Ahm okay,” Lizzie sputtered as Jordan and Coogan moved her gently to where they’d been sitting. “Really. I’m okay.” Her speech was clearing up quickly and she pulled away from them to sit up on her own. “Anybody have a rag? A hanky?”
Coogan pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and said, “It’s clean, too. You’re lucky.”
“Thanks.” She dabbed at her cheeks, her mouth, running her tongue over her teeth to check for damage. “Teeth’re fine,” she said. “My lip’s cut, though. And I bit my tongue.”
Her lower lip was swelling rapidly; her right eye was nearly swollen shut.
“Nose isn’t broken, is it?” Coogan asked, leaning close to take a look.
“No, it’s just—” She touched her bloody nose and winced, “—just injured, is all.”
“Look,” Jordan said, one hand on her arm, “I know what you were trying to do. But don’t. Do it. Again. He’s liable to kill you next time. And for nothing. It’s not doing any good. Okay?”
“I know, I know. You’re right. I won’t do it again. I’ll still think he didn’t mean to hurt me, though.”
“What, he beat the shit out of you by accident!”
“No, no. He’s just confused. I’m confusing him, I think. I’m making him think.”
“Yeah, well, if he’d thought any harder, we’d be peeling your skull off that wall. Let’s just sit here quietly and leave him alone, and if something comes up, I mean, if we see a chance to do something, we’ll do it. But not until.”
A hand fell on Lizzie’s shoulder from behind and she looked up to see Lauren leaning toward her.
“But thank you,” Lauren said. “For trying, I mean.”
They did just as Jordan had suggested; they stayed quiet and ignored Benjamin. Until Hester arrived.
She stepped into the alcove with her mouth open, about to speak, but stopped when she saw Lizzie. She smiled.
“Ah,” she said, “I see you upset him.” To Benjamin: “Very good. Keep it up, if necessary.” Then she looked at the others again.
She didn’t see Benjamin turn his back to her, didn’t see his fists clenched at his sides.
“The ceremony will begin soon,” Hester said. “As I told you before, I’m going to wait until Orrin has materialized before deciding exactly what to do with you. I have a pretty good idea what he will do, but I’m going to wait just the same. In the meantime, I don’t want to hear a sound from any of you. It’s a very important ceremony and I won’t stand for interruptions. I’ll wait for Orrin to re-embody you, but I will punish you myself if you step out of line. If you’d like to watch the ceremony—” She smiled at Lauren, “—and you really should, it’s a beautiful ceremony—you can watch it from right here.” She gestured to the archway. “But do not go any further.” To Benjamin again: “Did you hear me? You can let them watch if they want, but do not let
them go any further than right outside. Do you understand? And they are not to make a sound. If they interrupt the ceremony in any way, I will punish you, too.”
“Why, Hester?” Lizzie asked. “Why are you destroying the plant? Why do all those people have to die? How can you live with yourself knowing you’re responsible for so many deaths?”
“Re-embodiments. It’s impossible for you to understand as long as you cling to such a barbaric concept as death. They will live again. As for the plant … the moment it happens, every network and television station in the country—in the world—will cover it. Countless people will see it. It will be linked to Orrin’s warning. And they will believe. Then Orrin will come.” A slow, heartfelt grin. “Isn’t it wonderful to live in a time when things happen so fast.”
Hester turned and started for the archway, but Lizzie called her name and she stopped and turned.
Lizzie said, “Do you know about the demon that’s inside you?”
“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about. You mean Orrin?”
“Orrin is a lie. It’s name is not Orrin. Do you know that it’s there? Do you know where it comes from?”
Hester glared at Lizzie for a long time; for a moment, she looked as if she might step forward and strike Lizzie. Instead, a cold smile grew slowly on her face and her eyes narrowed. When she spoke, it was not with her voice. It was the same deep, hoarse, male voice that had spoken to Lizzie before. “I can see by your face that your god is not doing a very good job of protecting you. Perhaps you should get another.”
Then she left, humming a quiet tune that faded as she headed for the mouth of the cave.
23.
Hester came out of the cave and clapped her hands three times. The chattering voices silenced instantly and all eyes turned to her.
“Come inside,” she said. “I think we’re about ready to begin.”
As everyone entered the cave, Nathan stood and stared at the cave’s yawning black mouth as it swallowed all those white-robed believers, adults and children alike.
Hester saw that he wasn’t going in with the others and went to him.