by P. T. Hylton
“Damn mayflies,” Willis said, snapping Matt out of his deep thoughts.
Matt grunted his agreement. The ground was littered with their dead little bodies. He thought he could hear them crackling under the truck’s tires, but it was probably his imagination. Last year Matt had gone for a run the morning after they came, and he still remembered the way it had felt as they crunched under his feet with each step. And it would be worse where they were going, down by the river.
“Ask you a question, man?” Willis was apparently over his issues with the mayflies. He was like that. One minute, something was a huge deal; the next, he was on to something else.
Matt nodded, keeping his eyes on the road in front of him. He hadn’t ever liked Willis much, even before the man had shown up at his door at three-thirty in the morning packing heat.
“Are you dedicated to this…” he waved his hand vaguely in front of him as if indicating the whole world around them, “….thing? What we’re doing?”
Matt grimaced. He couldn’t flat out say no. He knew from Alice that Willis was carrying a gun, after all. But he didn’t have to pretend he was overjoyed either. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
Willis shifted in his seat, leaning forward eagerly like Matt had just stepped into the trap he’d laid for him. “See, that’s just what I mean. How long we been waiting for this? And you’re just here? Would you even be here if I hadn’t come over last night and prodded you along?”
Matt glanced at his passenger, meeting his gaze as he spoke. “I’ll do what I need to do. You don’t need to worry.”
Willis shook his head. “Man, you used to be something. Remember the fire you used to have? You’d get up for this kind of thing, and I mean way up. What’s changed for you?”
Matt said nothing.
“Is it Alice?”
Matt snapped his head toward Willis, ready to say something he might regret, and he would have if the other man hadn’t spoken first.
“All right, sorry. Don’t get defensive. I’m just asking. Having kids changes people is all I meant. Nothing against yours in particular.”
Matt took a deep breath. They were only a few blocks from Volunteer Park, which meant he only had to be cooped up with this redheaded asshole another minute or so. Then they’d be out of the truck and working. It’d be different. He could deal with Willis in the open space of the park. Being cramped up in this vehicle with him was too much for Matt this morning.
After a moment, Willis said, “I’m not the only one wondering about you. You think it was my idea to come over?”
“Whose was it? Zed’s?”
Willis shook his head. “Nah, Zed trusts you. He says you’re a man who deserves to be trusted, and trust is super important. Something like that, anyway.”
“I take it some of you don’t feel that way?”
Willis shrugged and sighed. “I don’t know, man. You know how tense things are. Nobody wants this to fail. And the way you’ve been acting…its got people a little jumpy, I guess. And, yeah, it made them wonder. So, here I am.”
Matt pulled the truck into Volunteer Park and started down the winding road toward the river. “You think this is really the best time to bring this up?”
Willis laughed his strangely high-pitched laugh. “Hell, man, this might be the only time we’ve got, we mess things up.”
Matt didn’t want to think about that. There was too much at stake. He had to succeed. For Alice. “We won’t mess things up.”
Willis drummed out a ratta-tat-tat beat on the dashboard with his hands. “Now that’s the Matty I remember! I like your confidence.” His voice lowered a few notches. “Though it’s not all up to us. Hinkle’s unpredictable.”
Matt ignored that comment. He pulled into the grass between the road and the Mississippi River. He shut off the truck and opened the door. “Let’s do this.”
They worked in silence, two men who knew their jobs and didn’t need to talk each other through anything. They worked with an efficiency that spoke of competence. For all his flaws, Willis was a great worker. He did his job without question or complaint. And Matt…Matt knew this routine by heart. He’d helped come up with the plan, after all. Back in the days before he hated Zed. Back in the days when this had seemed so much more important. The days before Alice.
They started with the rope. They hauled the heavy coil out of the truck bed and put it in place. Then there was the light.
Matt’s forehead was covered with a sheen of sweat by the time they were through, in spite of the cool morning air. He put his hands on his hips and surveyed their work, running through the mental checklist for the third time. If this thing didn’t turn out like it was supposed to, it wouldn’t be from an oversight on his part. Finally, he gave a satisfied nod and turned back toward the truck.
Now would be the hard part. The waiting.
They got back in the truck and sat for a long while, the silence hanging over them like a spell. Matt was surprised to find his stomach was in knots. Even though he had no love for Zed, he desperately wanted Zed to win this round. He wanted it like he’d never wanted anything.
Willis finally broke the silence. “You ever wonder,” he asked, speaking slowly and thoughtfully, a tone Matt had never before heard him use, “how things are going to be? After we save the world?”
Matt shrugged. “I guess it’ll be just like it is now, right? That’s the goal. Keep everything from dying.”
“Nah, man, I disagree. What we’re doing, it’s gonna change things. One way or another, it’ll change them. People are gonna die.”
Matt gritted his teeth. He knew this. They all knew it. But he sure as hell didn’t want to talk about it. Not now.
“I had a dream about it once,” Willis said. “We won. And it was, like, years later.”
More out of politeness than anything else, Matt asked, “What was it like?”
“Trees, man. So many trees.”
Then Matt saw them. Zed walking along the riverbank with Sophie and the Hinkle boys. Without a word, Matt and Willis got out of the truck and waited to begin.
3.
Sophie turned off the car and glanced at Frank in the rearview mirror. He had that look on his face. It was like he wasn’t there. She noticed it happened a lot. She wondered if maybe it happened to him more during times of stress. Come to think of it, she had never seen him during a non-stressful time.
“Yo,” she said, and at the sound of her voice his eyes snapped to life, like someone had turned on a light switch in his head. “You ready for this?”
His gaze bore into her, even reflected in the mirror. He nodded sharply. “Yeah. I was just drifting.”
They’d talked late into the night, discussing what had happened. They’d considered how Zed could have possibly known they would be at that restaurant and what they’d order. They’d speculated about what Zed had planned for this morning. The one topic they hadn’t discussed was Zed’s promise to bring back Jake, Logan, and Heather. Sophie didn’t even let herself think about it. It was too big to be hoped for.
They’d considered the possibility that maybe Zed had found a way around Frank’s locks. But that didn’t feel right. He’d claimed not to be able to see them when they’d arrived at the restaurant, after all. And the locks seemed too interesting and mysterious to Zed. He hadn’t figured them out yet.
However Zed had managed to determine where they were going to be last night, the group agreed it had been a genius move. He’d caught them when they weren’t expecting him, when they were tired from a long road trip. He’d skillfully manipulated them into showing up this morning.
But even though they knew he was using them, they also agreed they had to go. They’d come all this way to find Zed, and Zed was going to be here. They couldn’t not meet him.
Sophie glanced at Mason who sat in the passenger seat. He looked grim but more focused than Sophie had ever seen him. Being here in King’s Crossing with Zed seemed to have sharpened him somehow. He wasn’t the ram
bling, scattered old man she’d driven up here with. He wasn’t the boy she’d babysat in Sanctuary either, though she saw that boy somewhere deep behind his eyes. This guy was something new. Something almost scary.
Frank cleared his throat. He was back, and now he’d try to take charge again. That was fine with Sophie. She’d invited herself along on this excursion; it was his show. Until she disagreed with one of his decisions, anyway.
“Remember what we talked about,” Frank said. “Whatever he shows us, whatever he has planned, we hear him out, and that’s it. We don’t commit to anything this morning.”
Mason chuckled. It was a low, throaty sound. Sophie found it disconcerting. She exchanged a worried glance with Frank in the rearview mirror.
“Something funny?” Sophie asked.
Mason shook his head. “This is what he does. He works people.”
“We know,” Frank said. “The difference is, we’re expecting it. Whatever he’s got planned, we’re ready to deal with it.”
Mason shook his head. “No. You don’t know him like I do. This is his thing. Whatever he’s got planned, it’s going to go beyond anything we’re expecting. Trust me on that.”
Frank just grunted. “Way I see it, as long as we don’t agree to anything, we’ll be okay. We’ve got our locks.” They’d agreed that at the first sign of trouble, the first act of aggression from Zed or any of the townspeople, they’d disappear and scatter. They had a place picked out on the north side of town to meet if that happened.
“Hey,” Sophie said. She nodded toward the riverbank where a tall figure stood, hands in his pockets. He was facing the water, but even from behind, she knew it couldn’t be anyone other than Zed. They hadn’t seen him arrive. He must have been here longer than they had. “Should we do this?”
Frank grinned. “I’ve never been partial to asking myself that question.” He opened the door and got out.
Sophie turned to Mason. “Guess that’s a yes.”
The three walked across the pavement toward the riverbank, dead mayflies crunching under their feet with each step. When they reached Zed, he spoke without turning to face them.
“Frank, your brother shot me in the face on a riverbank not dissimilar to this one. Twice actually.”
Frank waited a moment before speaking. “Well, good for him. Glad he made the effort.”
“It was right after I shot his friend Todd and threatened his family, so I guess I did provoke him a bit.”
Frank shifted his weight. Sophie could see he was irritated.
Zed continued. “Your brother disappeared later that night. When I think of all the time we spent looking for him…and he’d escaped through the mirror. I’m honestly ashamed I didn’t figure it out.”
“Zed,” Frank said. “What are we doing here?”
Zed turned toward them, and his smile was alarmingly large. Sophie wondered how wide that mouth could open, whether it could swallow them whole. “We’re talking. Reminiscing. Exchanging pleasantries.”
“Your definition of pleasant must differ from mine,” Frank said.
Zed chuckled. “This story does have a purpose. See, Jake and I both made the same mistake. We underestimated each other. He thought I could be stopped with a bullet. I thought he wouldn’t be able to use the mirror in the unlikely event that he somehow found it. My error cost me years of futile searching and his, in a roundabout way, cost him his life.”
Zed gestured toward Frank. “But I didn’t learn my lesson. I thought you could never escape the Away, and you did.” He turned to Sophie. “And I thought you a pointless troublemaker. But you hid the Rook Mountain tree away from me in Sanctuary.” He looked at Mason. “And I thought you had nothing special to offer me. But you figured out how to use the book.”
“Damn right, I did,” Mason muttered.
Zed’s smile flickered. “If I’d realized sooner what you’re capable of, I could have made great use of you.”
Sophie felt a bit of anger flare up in her. Maybe it was because he was the one and only person she’d ever babysat, but she felt protective of the old guy. “That’s the problem, Zed. You’re always using people. You see them as currency you can spend or trade. You make me sick.”
Frank gave her a worried look, then turned back to Zed. “Get to the point.”
Zed nodded curtly. “Point is, I won’t underestimate you again. Any of you. And I expect you won’t underestimate me, either.” He looked out at the river for a moment. The water was calm. “Hard to believe all those millions of mayflies were waiting in this peaceful water, waiting for their chance to hatch, to fill our skies and die on our streets.” He gestured toward a gardening shed hidden among a stand of trees fifty yards away. “Come on. What I want to show you is in that shed.”
He turned without waiting for a response and started walking. Sophie, Frank, and Mason followed.
When they were about halfway to the shed, they passed a stand of trees, and Sophie saw a pickup truck with two men standing next to it. Zed waved, and they walked over.
Sophie could feel Frank tense next to her.
Apparently Zed could too, because he said, “Don’t worry. These are two of my friends. Matt and Willis.”
“That’s supposed to make me less worried?” Frank asked.
Zed glanced back at him. “You remember the old saying as well as I do. Trust is a must. For this to work, I’m going to require just a bit of your trust this morning.”
Frank let out a strained laugh. “That’s a lot to ask.”
“I know,” Zed said. “But I promise you any trust you give me will be repaid in full very shortly.”
Frank said nothing, but he kept following Zed. Sophie gave Frank a little nod to show her support.
The two men met them at the door to the shed. Their only greeting was a business-like nod at each of the three strangers. One of the men had a bright red shock of hair that fell to his shoulders. The other was a bit taller and wore his dark hair trimmed high and tight. High and Tight opened the door to the shed, reached in and flipped the light switch, illuminating the interior in harsh fluorescent yellows.
Zed waved toward the entrance. “Step inside, please.”
Frank paused. Sophie knew what he was thinking. If Zed got them in that shed and locked the door, turning invisible wouldn’t do them much good. They’d still be trapped.
Zed smiled at Frank. “Remember. Trust.”
An old proverb Sophie had heard somewhere popped into her head, and she said it aloud. “Trust God, but tie your camel.”
Zed nodded his assent. “Understood. What I need to show you is in that shed, however.”
Frank said, “You and your people first. We stand by the door.”
Matt and Willis looked at Zed. He motioned for them to proceed. Sophie followed Frank and Mason into the shed. What she saw gave her pause.
“Kinda makes you wonder where they keep the actual gardening supplies,” she said. No one laughed.
The shed was empty but for three items. In the nearest corner, there was a large coil of thick rope. In the far corner stood a spotlight, the kind that was used in theaters. The spotlight was turned off but pointed toward the last object.
In the center of the room, there was a large hole cut in the floor of the shed. And growing through that hole was a small, twisty tree.
Sophie drew a breath. This was smaller and much, much younger than any she’d seen, but still she recognized the tree.
“Is that what I think it is?” Mason asked.
“Assuming you’re referring to the special breed of tree that grew in your home,” Zed said, “then yes it is.”
“Wait,” Frank said. “I thought they only grew outside of time. That’s why you took Sugar Plains out of time, right? And what you were trying to do with Rook Mountain. You wanted to grow these trees.”
Zed bowed his head a bit like a teacher disappointed in his students. “Not exactly. The ingredients required to grow one of these trees are a great deal of power
and a great deal of time. I took Sugar Plains outside of time to provide the second element. It seems good old King’s Crossing has had a great deal of power for a long time already. It’s a wonder the Exiles haven’t found it by now.” He lovingly patted the tree trunk. “With this tree, we can access the things that live outside of time. Even without my old pocket watch.”
Frank said, “Why would you want to do that?”
Zed ran a gentle hand along the twisted trunk. “You’ve met some of the creatures that live outside time. The Unfeathered, dangerous in their own way, but ultimately mindless enough to be manipulated. The Ones Who Sing and their young offspring, the Larvae, are much more dangerous. But they aren’t the most dangerous thing that calls the timeless lands home.”
Zed stood up straight and pulled the compass out of his pocket. “Now stand back. I’m going to bring one through.”
“Why the hell would you do that?” Frank asked.
“I want you to see what we’re up against. I don’t want you to underestimate them.”
Sophie could tell he had something else to say, so she waited.
“And,” Zed said, “I need a hostage.”
4.
Frank couldn’t stop looking at the tree growing through the floor of the shed. Whatever Zed was about to do, it was likely going to come through there. The shed suddenly seemed much smaller than it had a few moments ago. After everything he’d seen, from the Unfeathered in Rook Mountain to the Ones Who Sing in the Away to the Larvae in Sanctuary, he thought he could handle anything. But the idea that there might be something else, maybe something related to those things, something worse, made his skin crawl.
“If this thing is as dangerous as you say, is it a great idea to be trapped in a shed with it?” Sophie asked.
“Probably not,” Zed said. “But we’ve taken great measures to minimize the risk.” He nodded toward the spotlight.
“Is it a gremlin?” Sophie asked.
Zed screwed up his face in confusion. “Sorry, I’m a few decades behind in my pop culture references.”