#
“Andrew?”
Shadow’s voice always sounded like it was coming from somewhere on his left side, and it was always the same volume, just loud enough that he couldn’t ignore it. The voice coming from the gazebo was so quiet he could hardly hear it at all. But it was Shadow’s voice.
The pills were still working; Paul could still see in the dark. There was a naked girl sitting in the dirt; she was a little younger than Andrew, maybe thirteen. She had long black hair. Her arms were wrapped around her knees and there was something wrong with her skin, a giant patch starting at her ribs and reaching up the side of her body all the way to her right cheek, bright red and cracked like a broken car window.
“Shadow?” Andrew called back.
The girl closed her eyes, nodded her head, brought her hands up to her face, and slowly rocked back and forth.
Paul took a step away from the gazebo. He slowly kneeled down, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a pill bottle. He shook out a pill and gave it to Andrew.
“Here.”
Andrew swallowed the pill and blinked. His hands flew up to cover his face. He tried to look but couldn’t.
“All right,” Paul said, whispering quickly. “It... she isn’t going to listen to me. You need to talk to her and get her to change back.”
“I can’t.”
Her voice was quiet, but it came right after Paul’s, and there was no possibility that she was doing anything but answering his question.
“I can’t change back.”
#
The three of them made their way from the park towards the highway. Paul gave Shadow his coat and Andrew wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She moved slowly, breathing quickly and shallowly, her knees knocking together.
They waited for Anna at the far edge of a parking lot. The car pulled into the lot with a screech but approached them slowly. Anna rolled down the driver’s side window. She was about to say something but Paul just shook his head.
“Later,” he said. “Let’s just get the hell out of here.”
They drove to another hotel and had Chinese food for dinner. Andrew spent all night whispering to Shadow, but Shadow didn’t say anything back, or if she did, she was careful to make sure that Paul didn’t notice. Eventually they both fell asleep in front of the television, leaning against each other.
Anna and Paul sat on top of the bed, holding each other, looking at the two kids.
“At least he wasn’t too worried about what happened to his friend.”
Paul sighed. “What are we going to tell him when he asks?”
“The truth, maybe.” She had a paper plate with some left over fried rice on it on the nightstand. She got up to throw it in the garbage. “I don’t know. Something. What the hell are we going to do now? Is the medusa going to be able to do anything for us?”
Paul turned to face her and shook his head no. “As far as I can tell, whatever it was she did, she can’t undo by herself. We could try and find a way to reverse it, but I wouldn’t even know where to start looking.”
“So what do we do?”
He scooted himself further down the mattress and put his head down on the pillow so that he was looking up at the ceiling.
“The only person I know that these guys haven’t messed with is Thomas. They found everybody else, and Thomas isn’t too hard to track down just sitting there up on the farm for twenty years, so as far as I can tell, they either think he’s just such a badass they don’t want to mess with him, or he’s made some kind of deal. Either way, he might be able to help us out.”
“Would he want to?”
“If we just knocked on his front door, probably not. But if we go to Rose first, we might have a shot.”
“We might?”
“Yeah, or he still might tell me to go to hell.”
Anna laid down next to him and put her hand on his chest.
“If that happens we’ll do something else, all right? We’re together again. This is going to be all right.”
He didn’t answer; he closed his eyes and put his hand on top of hers. She laid next to him for a few minutes, then she got back up and turned off the lights. She laid back down on the bed.
“Tonight was nice,” Paul whispered.
Anna pulled a blanket over both of them.
“What do you mean, nearly getting killed?”
“No, I mean just now. All of us eating together like that.”
Anna laughed quietly. “One big happy family, right?”
She put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
“What did you do to those guys that were going to hit us, anyway?”
Paul wrapped his arms around her and rested his hands on her stomach.
“I threw them in front of a train.”
CHAPTER 20
#
Rose was looking out her back window watching the snow fall when they arrived at her house. She’d had suspicions, waking up in the morning to find dead plants that shouldn’t have been dead or a back porch faintly covered with moisture, but this was the first time she’d caught the snowflakes red handed. She’d been hoping this wouldn’t happen until later; she still had gardening she wanted to do before everything went white.
She was surprised to hear someone knocking at her door. She recognized Paul through the window. She could always spot one of her kids, no matter how long it’d been. She didn’t know who the others were.
She opened the door. Paul opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off.
“Come inside, Paul. You’re not here to borrow money, right?”
He tried to collect his thoughts, but she cut him off again.
“I know, I know. Just come in.”
#
Josh woke up in his own bed. It was terrifying. He tried to figure out how he got here.
“Your mother took your sisters out of town for a little while. It was decided that it would be better if your father was the first to speak with you. He’s asleep in your parent’s bedroom.”
Josh reached for his glasses and realized he was already wearing them. There was a bald man with a crown of white hair standing in the corner, leaning against the wall.
“I could wake him up if you’d rather not talk to me.”
Josh glanced at the door. “Who the hell are you?”
“My name’s Jeremiah.”
#
Rose and Paul sat in the kitchen and drank tea while the others went upstairs.
“So what do you need me for again?” Rose asked him.
“You know why.”
“Why don’t you explain it to me?”
“There are people trying to kill me,” Paul said. “And Anna, and probably Andrew. Thomas is the only person I know who can protect us, but there’s no way he’ll agree to do it if I just go to him myself.”
“Are they trying to kill the little girl too?”
“I don’t know, it’s complicated.”
“What’s her name?”
“That’s complicated too.”
“So you don’t know what her name is.”
“No, I just don’t know what to call her.”
#
Shadow hung on Andrew’s arm all the way up the stairs, but he didn’t look back down at her until Paul was out of sight. They hugged each other.
“I’m scared… it hurts… I’m so scared…”
Andrew put his hand on top of her head. Her hair was coated in sweat and grease, but her skin was as dry as sandpaper.
“It’s all right… you’re going to be all right…”
They just stood there in the hallway.
Anna waited at a polite distance until it became clear that they were not going to acknowledge her. She stepped past them; the second floor of the house was a hallway with seven doors, three on either side, and one on the end. The side doors led to an empty bedroom with a bunk bed and a dresser.
The seventh doo
r was closed. Anna took a step towards it. She looked over her shoulder. Andrew and Shadow had moved into one of the bedrooms, but Anna could still hear them whispering.
She reached for the door. It was locked.
#
“So who is it that’s trying to kill you?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know why they’re trying to kill me either.”
“It must have something to do with all the good things you’ve done.”
Paul looked up from his tea and all of the sudden he felt like an adult again.
“I know I’m an asshole. You don’t have to tell me. But there’s no reason to drag them into it.”
Rose looked out the window.
“When was the last time I saw you, Paul? How old were you?”
He had to think about it. “I was seventeen.”
“Weren’t very polite, as I remember. But you were a kid, I don’t have much of a problem letting all that slide. How long were you with Thomas?”
“Two or three years.”
“It was at least three. How do you think it made him feel when you snuck off in the middle of the night?”
Paul didn’t answer.
“I have an idea,” Rose said. “How about you go to Thomas, without me, and get on your knees and beg him to protect those children? Just leave yourself out of it. How about that?”
#
“It’s probably locked for a reason.”
Anna turned around. Andrew was standing alone in the middle of the hallway.
She smiled nervously. “I guess. So how’s our girl doing?”
“She fell asleep. Her pulse keeps speeding up and slowing down again.”
Anna couldn’t think of anything to say. Andrew turned back towards one of the bedrooms and stayed there, perched in the doorway with his hands on the frame.
“Did you think it was funny when you sent me that postcard?”
Her mouth opened but no words came out. She looked intently at the floor, as though the answer to his question were written there.
“I took Josh to the cave, and we got his brother to drive us. His brother got killed. It kind of messed him up. You still remember Josh, right?”
“I’m sorry.”
“You should just leave. Get out of here. You’ll probably live longer anyway.”
He went the rest of the way into the bedroom and closed the door behind him.
Anna stayed where she was, perfectly still. She heard Shadow’s voice.
“Andrew, I had a bad dream… I’ve never had a dream before…”
#
“That’s the plan,” Paul said. “If that’s what I have to do, then I’ll do it. But it’d be stupid not to ask you first. I don’t want to die.”
Rose sighed.
“Good for you. Let me take your cup. You’re not going to finish that, right?”
Paul shook his head no. Rose took the cup from his hand, along with hers, and washed them both out in the sink.
“Are you still a vegetarian?”
It was a phase he’d gone through when he was sixteen. He’d abandoned it when he started obsessing about who his father was, but he’d left her house a few weeks after that and maybe she hadn’t noticed the difference.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“I was thinking we’d have dinner here tonight. We can talk to Thomas in the morning.”
#
“I first saw Andrew the evening of your brother’s funeral. I was only there because it was clear to me that something supernatural had happened and I wanted details. I noticed Andrew because he had the familiar, which I recognized because it was last in the possession of Andrew’s uncle, Paul, a man I doubt you’ve heard of.
“I followed Andrew back to his home and introduced myself. He was distraught over his part in your brother’s death, so I offered to bring him back to life in exchange for some books of his uncle’s.”
Josh’s mouth opened slightly, then closed. He shook his head.
“No. There’s no way.”
Jeremiah opened his briefcase and took out a book with a red leather cover. He handed it to Josh. Josh looked through the pages. He recognized the handwriting, the way the code was written, the style of the diagrams, everything.
“This is just one of the volumes I took in payment. Andrew kept the rest. I also gave him the materials and instructions he needed to resurrect your brother. I’ve noticed that he hasn’t done that. I’ve also noticed, just taking a quick look around your room, that you’ve been working very hard on decoding the contents of the books. When did you start working on them?”
Right after Tom died. It helped take my mind off of what happened. He didn’t say it out loud.
“Do you think that Andrew could have accomplished what you’ve accomplished without your help?”
Josh looked down at the cover of the book. He flipped through the pages some more.
“You still haven’t told me what you want.”
#
Anna sat down in one of the other bedrooms. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a plastic bag filled with white pills, and swallowed one of them. She whistled; the familiar came leaping through the door a minute later and made a rolling landing on the floor.
She laid back on the bottom bunk and pointed her finger from one corner of the room to another. The familiar leaped and flipped, following her every instruction with vacant enthusiasm.
Her head sunk into the pillow. She hadn’t been sleeping much for the last few weeks, but she was only just feeling it now. She wondered if it was safe to take a nap with a psycho teenager next door. Paul had called them a family. She loved him, but Paul could be an idiot sometimes.
She briefly wondered if what had happened to Josh’s brother was her fault. She had a headache. She rubbed her temples but it didn’t go away.
She fell asleep and was awoken by quiet footsteps. She opened her eyes.
“I didn’t mean to wake you.” The familiar slithered between Rose’s legs but she didn’t notice. Anna sat up and rubbed her eyes.
“I’m fine.”
“I have a pot of chili almost done cooking. Want to come downstairs and have some dinner?”
Anna hesitated before answering. Rose smiled, nodded, and interrupted.
“You’re tired. Please don’t try and be polite, the chili will keep. Get some rest.”
Anna tried to summon the energy to be grateful.
“Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Rose turned back towards the door but didn’t make it all the way through.
“You’re everything to him. But you should leave.”
Anna’s eyes opened, but otherwise she didn’t move.
“He was a sweet little kid but he’s all grown up now and he has people with guns trying to kill him. He’s bad news. You should get out of here.”
Anna’s eyes closed.
“Thanks for the advice.”
Rose left.
#
Rose poked her head into the bedroom next door. Andrew was inside, sitting in a chair next to the bed where Shadow was sleeping. He was staring into space and didn’t seem to notice her or anything else.
She went back downstairs. Paul was sitting in his old seat at the dinner table.
“I don’t know about dinner,” she said. “Shadow is sleeping, Anna would rather not eat, and I think Andrew is better off by himself for the moment.”
Paul thought for a moment.
“You’re probably right about Andrew. But Anna’s always hungry. I’d better go talk to her.”
He got up and went upstairs.
Rose watched him go. She sighed and went to start setting the table. Maybe the smell would finally bring them downstairs.
She went into the kitchen and came back with the chili. Andrew was sitting in the seat across from Paul’s.
“Is your sister still upstairs?” Rose asked.
Andrew stared down at the table. “She’s not my sister,” he said quietly. “She’s sleeping. I think she’s going to be okay.
Rose nodded. “All right, all right.” She put the chili down in the center of the table. “I need to get this table set for five people, do you want to help me out?”
“What’s going on the table?”
“Five plates and five cups, for starters…”
Andrew ran into the kitchen and came right back out with five plates and a pile of silverware. He put them down and went back for the rest. Rose was putting everything in its place when she heard something break.
She followed the noise. A drinking glass had fallen to the ground near the sink and Andrew was trying to pick up the pieces with his bare hands.
“Andrew, don’t do that, you’re going to kill yourself…” She carefully kneeled down on the floor and tried to get between Andrew and the glass. “I own a broom, you don’t have to do this…”
She realized that he was crying. She put her hand on top of his, and he dropped the piece of glass he was holding.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… I didn’t mean to break the glass, I’ve just got a lot to think about right now… my grandmother and…”
Tears were streaming down his face. Rose watched him for a moment. She grabbed a napkin off of the counter and kneeled down.
“There you are… it’s all right, it’s all right…”
#
Paul went into Anna’s room. She was curled up on the bed with her eyes closed, but he knew that she wasn’t sleeping. He sat down next to her; she put her head on his lap without opening her eyes.
“You know, if you’d never met me, you’d probably be serving someone their soup right now.”
“I’d rather be in jail. And I’d rather be here than locked up, so there you go.”
They stayed where they were.
“We’ve been lucky, haven’t we?” Paul said.
Anna didn’t answer.
“Rose really would appreciate it if you joined us for dinner.”
“I don’t think Rose likes me all that much.”
“How do you figure?”
“She suggested that I get the hell out of here before I got killed. Which isn’t so bad I guess, it’s just really patronizing coming at a time like this.”
“Don’t take it personally. She had to have a little bit of bite to her, keeping all those kids in line all the time.”
White Rabbit Society Part One Page 18