"Never saw a tit before?" she cackled. "Where do you think you suckled, boy? Ain't nothing to be ashamed of."
"Yes ma'am," Eric said. "I mean, no ma'am."
"Well, is it yes or no, boy?" she laughed. "Can't have it both ways."
His face had turned an alarming shade of red, clashing with the much lighter shade of his hair.
The woman laughed again, exposing the pink gums in an otherwise empty mouth. Geoff watched the buttons strain on her blouse, hoping for Eric's sake that his first glimpse of breasts wasn't right around the corner.
"Your lady friend doesn't look so good," she said, motioning to Stacy with a gnarled finger. Geoff moved in front of her protectively.
"She's fine," he said. "Just a little tired."
"Little more than a little by the looks of her. Nothing but skin and bones. Why don't you take a load off? Get off your feet? Looks like you've been on the road for days."
"We're just passing through," Eric said. "We can't stay."
"Passing through, you say? No one just passes through The View these days. Not without a reason."
Stacy stepped from behind Geoff's back and offered a sweet smile. "I'm Stacy," she said. After a short silence, she asked, "You're not going to eat us, are you?"
The woman erupted in another fit of laughter as drool dribbled down her chin. She leaned against the crooked cross to keep from falling over.
"Ain't you a firecracker?" She rubbed the drool from her chin and wiped it on the front of her dress. "I promise you I'm not going to eat you. There's plenty of food to go around. The good Lord provides."
Geoff felt his muscles loosen and exhaled a sigh of relief. Even in this desolate land, religion hadn't been forsaken. It gave him hope, that even in this dying world, there were still those who preserved the old ways of life. He hadn't felt this relaxed since slipping into his sleeping bag. Last night? A thousand years ago? Time had become a very muddy concept.
"You're free to stay the night," the woman offered. "There's only a handful of us left now, and we don't mind sharing what we have. I don't need to tell you how dark it is out there when the sun goes down."
Eric slowly swung his head from side to side. Geoff wondered exactly how much the boy knew, and what he was willing to share. Perhaps the old woman could fill in some of the blanks.
***
She introduced herself as Pauline, but informed them the others in their small community referred to her simply as Granny P. Geoff found this rather amusing, picturing a rapping grandma wearing gold chains and handing out mixtapes to the members of her bridge club. He kept this observation to himself and hid a smile behind his hand.
When they rounded the back of the building, they were stunned to see a small, green field standing out in stark contrast to the rest of the town. It wasn't very large, but at once, Geoff picked out several sections of healthy crops: wheat, corn, and potatoes. Smaller gardens contained tomatoes, squash, and peas. A single apple tree grew close to the rear of the church, partially shading a handmade chicken coop.
Eric looked up at Geoff with wide eyes when he heard the soft low of a cow.
A cow, he mouthed. A fucking cow.
From what Geoff could tell, there were a dozen people living here, all chipping in to maintain the crops and take care of the few animals they'd managed to cobble together. Pauline - as Geoff refused to think of her as Granny P. - looked over the land proudly. He couldn't imagine how long it must have taken to create something out of nothing.
"Here in The View, we take care of our own. We eat what we grow and we replace what we eat. It might look like something to you - and I guess it is - but it wouldn't take much for this land to dry up and leave us with nothing. We get by with a lot of hard work and a healthy dose of faith."
"The View?" Eric questioned.
Pauline laughed and patted the boy on the head like an obedient dog. Geoff understood Eric was digging for answers even though he suspected the boy knew more about their fate than they did.
"Elmview," she clarified. "There was once a whole town right here when I was a girl. Seeing as to how we ain't got no elm trees anymore, it seemed silly to keep the name."
"What happened here?" Geoff prodded.
"That's a story for later. How about we get some food in you before we start sharing tales of the old days, huh?"
Geoff nodded agreeably, reddening when his stomach grumbled.
"That's good," Pauline laughed. "Got yourselves an appetite. Sit tight and I'll get you something to fill your bellies."
As soon as the woman shuffled away, Geoff leaned in conspiratorially and whispered to Eric. "What is going on here?"
"I don't know... they shouldn't be able to see us. Maybe it has something to do with all of this." He spread his arms for emphasis. "Maybe their faith has kept them rooted in reality."
"That doesn't make any sense. Don't you think those people had faith when they were eaten by giant rats? They couldn't see us."
"No, but the dog did."
Geoff sighed, more confused than ever.
"Does it make a difference? We're here, they're here, and the Skryel is not. Enjoy it while you can because it will come for us. It's only a matter of time."
The color drained from Geoff's face. "No. Oh, my God. We're killing them just by being here."
Eric nodded sadly but seemed resigned to the fact that wherever he went, chaos followed. Geoff wondered exactly how many times the boy had gone through this struggle in his own mind as he traveled between worlds. He noticed Geoff watching him and explained without having to be asked.
"I've been to a lot of places, and this is the first one I've ever seen where people had survived the Skryel's anger."
"Do you think Pauline remembers what happened? She said she lived here as a little girl... maybe she can tell us something."
"Do you think that's going to help?"
"I don't know, but there has to be some reason why that thing hasn't come back to finish the job."
They grew silent as Pauline approached, carrying a tray containing three steaming bowls of watery looking soup.
It smelled divine.
"It isn't much," she said, "but it's better than nothing."
Geoff lifted a bowl from the tray and sniffed at the aromatic steam. His stomach begged for a taste.
He spooned a chunk of potato into his mouth and chewed it noisily.
"This is the best thing I've ever eaten. Ever." He slurped broth greedily and let it slowly run down his chin. Stacy followed suit. Eric played with chunks of carrot but ate very little.
"You don't like my soup?" Pauline asked.
"It's amazing, thank you. I'm just not very hungry."
Geoff seemed to remember the boy saying he no longer needed to eat or drink to survive. One more thing to add to the list of everything wrong with this situation.
"This is wonderful," Stacy added. Geoff was happy to see that she'd gotten an appetite. Some of her color had returned. She sat up straight, taking stock of her surroundings for the first time. If she had any thoughts on the matter, she didn't express them between mouthfuls of spiced potatoes and corn.
"When you finish up, I can answer your questions. I can see it in your eyes that you're full of them."
Eric nodded and offered a thin smile as Geoff and Stacy finished their soup and politely asked for more.
Having this respite from the madness that had followed them was more than any of them could have asked for.
Just as Pauline had said earlier... the good Lord provides.
Geoff had never felt more like praying in his life.
***
The sky had slowly faded to gold as the sun dipped beneath the horizon of the forgotten town. Three bowls of soup had turned Stacy back into her former self; Geoff rubbed his stomach, content, but bloated and sleepy. Several fires had been lit to keep the approaching darkness at bay. Eric had grown quiet and sullen, and when prodded, wouldn't elaborate on his sudden shift in mood. Geoff hoped there
was nothing wrong with the boy. He was their only way out of this mess.
Pauline dragged a chair over to where they were sitting and plopped down with a groan.
"I haven't seen one so young in many years," she said, motioning to Eric. "Others have come through here, but you're just a baby."
"I'm sixteen," he said moodily.
"Oh, well then, you're almost a man ain't you?" She chuckled to herself, imagining her sarcasm had fallen on deaf ears. When no one spoke, she continued. "I guess you want to know what happened here? You're all far too young to have seen it for yourselves."
Eric bit his bottom lip.
"How did you survive?" Geoff asked. He was still very new to this reality-jumping, monster-chasing, teenage-boys-with-superpowers way of life. Although Eric had offered brief explanations, Geoff didn't understand any more now than he had after waking in the abandoned grocery. He'd expected Stacy to be the first to question the old woman, but she remained silent.
"We ain't so easy to kill," Pauline laughed. "The human race may be much smaller these days, but we're a stubborn lot. When everyone else was leaving town and trampling all over each other like a human stampede, some of us hid in the basement of this church and waited for the worst to pass. We huddled in prayer as our neighbors died in the streets, burning, choking, killing each other. When it got quiet, we sent people to the surface to see if there was anything left."
"Was there?" Geoff asked.
"A few houses, the church, some burned out cars. There were corpses piled three deep in places, just clogging the street like trash. The smell... oh, the smell was the worst. The rotting bodies brought the flies and rats..."
"Rats?" Stacy asked. "No more rats... I hate rats."
Pauline cackled and patted Stacy's leg reassuringly. "Don't you worry yourself about that. We ain't seen a rat here in decades; figure they probably all died out a long time ago."
Geoff sighed with relief. If he never saw a rat again, it would be too soon.
"What did you do?" Stacy prodded.
"We cleaned up the mess and figured out how to survive. Those first few years were the worst. So many of us went hungry. More bodies to bury; fewer people to work the land. This church was one of the last buildings still standing. We knew we'd been spared, that we had a purpose: to keep the human race alive."
"Did you see it?" Eric asked. "Did you see what happened?"
"I was just a girl. I don't remember much. The stars went dark, the ground quaked, and the world ended in fire. I hate to say it, but it happened just at the right time. God saw what we were making of his Earth and he sent the angels to baptize us in flame."
"You're glad it happened?" Geoff asked. He had grown uneasy. Something had changed in the old woman's voice.
"The world was getting too big for its britches. People were getting lazy. Boys were marrying other boys and girls with other girls... it was going against everything we were taught. It was unnatural, and it had to come to a head, eventually. After the Nine-Eleven War, most of the country had been wiped out... the good Lord saw His chance to get a fresh start."
"The what?" Geoff squeaked. "The Nine-Eleven War?"
"Started in the big city; lights streaked out of the sky and brought down those big towers..."
"I know what happened in New York," Geoff barked, "but there wasn't a war. Not here."
"It's been over eighty years, son. Whatever you think you know is wrong. I saw it all unfold right on my dad's television... a television is..."
"I know what a TV is," he interrupted. "What is she talking about?"
Eric shook his head and shrugged. There was very little of what Pauline was saying that made any sense.
"I know it sounds crazy, but I saw it with my own two eyes," Pauline replied. "Those buildings crumbled, and the sky went dark... angels fell from the heavens and entire city blocks were erased in seconds. The cursed city slipped beneath the waves and the sinners were sent to the abyss..."
"Hold on a minute," Geoff said harshly. "You're telling me you think it was God's will? Do you people really believe that? I saw what happened... a cowardly terrorist attack that killed thousands of innocent people. God wasn't flying those planes, and he certainly didn't destroy New York City."
"Now you listen," Pauline growled. "I'm going to let your insolence slide because you don't know any better, but I'd appreciate if you didn't take that tone with me, young man. I have more nights behind me than the three of you combined. You weren't there, you didn't see what I saw."
"I did see..."
Eric grabbed Geoff's arm and squeezed tightly, pleading with his eyes to keep quiet.
"It's fine, boy, let the man say what he's gotta say," Pauline rumbled.
Stacy watched them silently and licked her lips.
"Forget it," Geoff exclaimed. "Maybe I'm... confused."
"Confused? Yes, that must be it. Otherwise, I'd think you were arguing against God's will, and that simply won't be tolerated."
"God has nothing to do with it," he shouted.
"He has everything to do with it," she scolded. "This church, these people... we were saved so we could spread His word. Our church was spared so we could worship Him and share his gospel."
Pauline quieted as she watched Eric cover his mouth with his hand. His eyes grew wider by the moment, and a sudden recognition passed between them. She squinted and pressed her lips tightly together as she stared at him with a newly discovered hatred.
"It's you," she hissed. "The boy... the Traveler. I've seen you before."
Eric stood and pulled on Geoff's arm. "We have to go."
"Go? What? What's happening?"
"There's no time to explain, we just have to leave."
"Now where do you think you're going to go?" Pauline asked, getting to her feet. "You were here before, long time ago, but now I remember your face, boy. He has warned us about you."
"What is she talking about?" Stacy asked.
"And so it is written, the boy who walks between worlds will return and tear the Earth asunder. HE'S HERE! THE BOY HAS RETURNED!"
Eric stumbled back, breathing heavily as the old woman was surrounded by the rest of the flock. Several held torches in their upraised hands, glowering at them with murderous fury.
"He of The Silver Eyes has prepared us for this day," she shouted. "The Traveler will return to bring death and chaos to everyone he meets. Here is your sacrifice! Here is your enemy, Lord of Shadows!"
"Oh my God, you pray to that thing," Stacy moaned. "That monster!"
"He hears your words," Pauline croaked. "You will burn with the Traveler; your sacrilege will fuel the fires of atonement!"
"You stay back," Geoff warned. "You and your crazy lynch mob... don't even think about doing something stupid."
"Your death will not be quick," Pauline said, spitting on the ground between her feet. "The Shadowking will make sure of that."
Geoff grabbed Stacy and yanked her away from the approaching mob, but when he turned to run, he realized they'd been surrounded. Those brandishing torches held them high above their heads, their eyes glistening in the orange glow. They smiled like a room full of maniacs, slobbering from the thrill of what was to come.
There was only one chance to escape.
Through the Church of The Shadowking.
***
Geoff didn't give the others any indication of where he was going, he just grabbed them by the hands and ran for his life. He cleared the church's rear steps in two giant leaps, dragging Eric and Stacy behind him like a pair of shopping bags.
"GET THEM!" Pauline shrieked. "Don't let them escape."
Before the mob had a chance to give chase, Geoff turned and slammed the heavy door behind him, barring it with a handy piece of wood sitting nearby. He wondered if Pauline's flock used it to keep themselves safely inside or to keep something else out. Either way, it was the momentary reprieve they needed.
"What the hell is happening?" Geoff shouted. "They worship the Skryel? I thought
you said it hated humans. Why did it keep them alive?"
"They pray to it," Eric panted, "and in return, they're allowed to live."
"Not to mention they seem to absolutely adore you," Stacy added.
"That's not fair," Geoff said.
"She's right. I was here before. When I died, this is where I woke up. I didn't recognize any of this... didn't remember her. It's my fault."
"Like hell it is," Geoff scolded. "You didn't ask for this."
"Was she serious about New York City?" Stacy asked. "It was just... wiped out?"
Eric shrugged. "Maybe, I don't know. Anything is possible. The Skryel thrives on putting on a show."
"We saw what happened on September 11th," she said. "It wasn't like that."
"This isn't your world," Eric explained. "There's no way of telling what happened here."
"Or when," Geoff said. "She was talking about it like it happened a hundred years ago."
"And here, it probably did," Eric explained. "Time has meant nothing for me since that summer. 1986. Everything after has been a steady string of different places and times, and I don't belong in any of them."
Heavy hands pounded on the door, shaking it in its frame. As much as Geoff would love to catch up on the history of the universe, he knew it would only be a matter of minutes before they had company.
"Can we go out the front?" Stacy asked.
"It might be the only option."
Geoff walked ahead, into the gloom beyond, ready to strike if anyone jumped out of the shadows. Decorative candelabras lined the aisle but did very little to eradicate the darkness. It was as if there was something wrong with the light; it didn't illuminate the room as it should. Geoff crept along the center walkway, passing empty pews and listening to the angry voices shouting outside. He was getting a headache from squinting into the blackness.
"That's it," he mumbled.
"What did you say?" Stacy asked. She and Eric were only a few steps behind, their footfalls muffled by the carpet.
"There's nothing wrong with the light. It's the room."
The Traveler (The Great Rift Book 2) Page 15