by P. T. Hylton
Colt nodded toward the darkened pawn shop.
The door to the shop opened with a ding, and Christy Havert, her husband, and her little daughter staggered out. Two kids with guns came out right behind them.
Colt said, “Go. Don’t look back. Forget this ever happened.”
Mr. Havert nodded vigorously and led his family quickly down the street into the night.
The Zed Heads watched them go in silence. Then Grant said, “What if they go straight to the police?”
Colt snorted. “You think it matters at this point? By the time the police get here, it’ll be over.” He looked at Sean. “See? I keep my promises.”
Sean leaned toward the young man standing before him, hoping to find some humanity in him. “Let’s talk about what you want with this hammer. I know you think what you’re doing is right. You barely remember life before Zed.”
“Yes!” he said. “That’s what makes us strong. The good news is we have a chance to fix things, to put things back the way they should be. Right here. Tonight. We’ve been talking to Zed.”
Sean squinted at the kid. “What do you mean?”
“He’s trapped in another place. In a world inside a mirror or something. But we can communicate with him using this tree.”
“I saw the messages you carved.”
“Those are meeting times. But we didn’t carve them.”
Sean raised an eyebrow. “What meetings?”
Colt smiled. “You think something like a weak-ass mirror world can hold Zed? He can get out every once in a while, a little bit of him can anyway. He’s been coming to us. Giving us instructions.”
Sean wasn’t sure whether the kid was crazy or lying. But then he remembered the strange way the numbers had been carved on the tree, like they had been carved from within.
“Why you?” Sean asked. “Why not the selectmen? A couple of them are still alive.”
Colt shook his head. “Their time’s over. They failed him. It’s our time now. And we proved it to him. He told us there was a tree in this town with a message about a Tool carved into it, and he told us that’s where we’d find the hammer. We combed the city for days, but we finally found it. Bit of a shame that you found it first. The timing couldn’t have been better, though.”
He gestured toward the tree next to him. “We have someone watching this at all times, looking for new messages from Zed. I believe you met Grant’s little brother the other day while he was on duty. Helps the younger kids feel involved. Anyway, a few hours ago that message appeared.”
Sean crouched and looked at the tree. The same dates as before were there, but now something new was below them:
The time is now—Open the door.
Colt’s voice was alive with excitement. “We’ve been waiting for this moment for so long. I never lost hope.”
The night air had a sudden chill, and goose bumps covered Sean’s arms. “What’s it mean? What door?”
Colt giggled. “It’s the tree! The tree is the door.”
Sean nodded toward the hammer. “Wild guess, but you use that to open the door?”
Colt shook his head. His smile seemed a foot wide. “No, silly. You do.”
Sean looked at the Tool in his hand. It suddenly felt heavier. “Seriously? After all that, you don’t want to be the one to do it? Or, one of your friends here?”
Colt scratched his head with the barrel of his gun. “Ideally, of course. But, well, to be honest, it was Zed’s idea. We don’t know exactly what will happen. You could get sucked into the door. Or the process could kill you. And Zed needs each and every one of us now. So few have been faithful. He can’t spare a single one of us in the fight that’s coming.”
Colt turned to the group. “Guys, as you know I’m not big on speeches. I wish I could talk like Zed, but I can’t. Thing is, tonight you don’t need me to.”
As Colt spoke, Sean’s eyes scanned the street. He saw something—no, someone—peeking around the corner, watching. He gritted his teeth. Dark as it was, he knew that silhouette.
It was Wendy.
Sean didn’t know how she’d found them, but he hoped she would stay hidden while whatever was about to happen here went down.
Colt continued. “You all know what’s at stake here. You know how hard we’ve worked. And you don’t need me to praise you. Soon enough, in a few minutes, you’ll be hearing the thanks of Zed himself.”
A rush of excitement so tangible it was like electricity shot through the crowd.
Colt pointed the gun at Sean. “Officer Lee, I need you to press the broken clock symbol and hit the tree with that hammer.”
Sean took a deep breath. He could act the hero and refuse. But that would only serve to get him shot. They would grab someone else to do it. Maybe it would even be Wendy. No, he wanted to play this out, see how it ended.
There was one thing Sean knew that these kids didn’t. Zed wasn’t the only one in that mirror world. There were allies there. Friends. Jake and Frank. If this would release Zed, maybe it would release them too. His finger found the broken clock symbol.
He pulled back the hammer and swung it forward hard, hitting the trunk of the tree with all his might.
The tree split with a deafening crash. A jagged crack appeared in the trunk, not unlike the crack depicted on the broken clock symbol, and brilliant white light poured through.
Sean blinked hard to clear his vision and then squinted into the crack.
“Get back,” Colt shouted, pushing Sean out of the way. The boy crouched in front of the crack and leaned close. “Zed,” he called. “We’ve done it! Come home!”
There was a moment of silence as the group waited. Then a small round creature sprang through the opening. It whirled through the air and collided with Colt’s face with a thick, wet thud.
6. Sanctuary
Mason clutched Nate’s big hand and struggled to make his short legs move fast enough to keep up. He didn’t understand where they were going and he didn’t understand why. It was always like that. No one ever explained anything.
Today had started out okay. Breakfast with mom. She’d seemed especially happy. She’d even laughed at his knock-knock jokes, the ones Frasier had taught him, and that rarely happened. Then she’d taken him over to Nate’s and dumped him off like she did every week or so.
There was nothing wrong with Nate. He was nice and a little funny, although Mason didn’t think he was trying to be. The best part was he actually liked playing with Mason. He taught Mason games like hide-and-seek and tag, and Mason taught him some of the games he’d thought up himself like stomp-the-Larva and pick-a-tree. So it wasn’t like he hated hanging out with Nate. He always had a good time. But it wasn’t as good as hanging out with Mom. Or Dad. Dad was busy, Mason knew, and he spent time with Mason as often as he could, but Mason couldn’t help but wish it happened more often.
Now here he was being dragged off to somewhere else.
Nate started down the short path that led to the cabin Mason shared with his mother.
“Are you taking me home?”
Nate’s face looked different than Mason had ever seen it. More focused somehow, more intense. “I don’t know, kid. I’m trying to find your mom.”
Mason’s face brightened at that. Though he realized a moment later he had no idea where his mom was, and Nate didn’t seem to either. Certainly she wasn’t at home or she would have kept him with her.
Nate pounded on the front door of the cabin for three minutes, but no one answered. He sighed and looked around. His face was sweaty, as if he’d been exercising or something. His eyes settled on the next cabin over. “Come on.”
He led Mason toward the cabin, once again setting such a brisk pace the boy felt like he was being dragged. This time when Nate knocked on the door there was an immediate rustling from inside.
“Come on, come on,” Nate muttered. When there was no answer, Nate pounded again, louder this time.
He was in the middle of his third round of banging
on the door when it opened. And there she was.
Mason had seen Sophie a few times before. At the banishment, of course, and at a few gatherings at Dad’s house. He’d never forgotten the first time he saw her. Walking the trails with Mom. A rare treat, even if it was only at the edge of the woods. It had felt like the day couldn’t get any better, and he’d rounded the corner and seen her sitting on the porch of the Welcome Wagon next to Frasier. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. She practically glowed. He felt inexplicably drawn to her. He wanted to touch her cheek and run his fingers through her hair.
Her face was red now, like she was angry and she wore a jagged scowl. To Mason, it made her even more beautiful. She glanced down at him, and he thought his heart might burst.
She looked back at Nate. “Any reason you’re trying to bust in my door with your bare hands?”
“I need your help. Something’s happened, something bad, and I need to deal with it.”
“Care to be a little more specific?”
“No. I’m in a bit of a hurry here. I need you to watch Mason for a while.”
Mason didn’t dare breathe. Could this really be happening?
Sophie’s face drained of color, as if maybe she wasn’t quite as excited about the possibility. “What? No, you have to find someone else.”
Nate slammed his hand into the door frame. “You’re not listening. There’s no time to find someone else. I need to deal with this now.”
Sophie shook her head. “I never babysat. I didn’t have any little brothers or sisters. I wouldn’t—”
“Sophie! I don’t have time to discuss this. Take the kid, and I’ll send his mother to collect him as soon as I see her. In the meantime, give him a snack and play with him a little. I think you can manage.”
Without waiting for an answer, Nate stormed off, leaving Mason standing on the porch with Sophie. She rubbed her eyes with the backs of her hands and let out a noise that sounded like a carefully concealed scream.
She gave Mason a barely passable fake smile. “Hey, look, I’m sorry about that. It’s not that I don’t want to hang out. I was a little busy.”
Mason said nothing. He was afraid he might start to cry if he spoke. And if he started, he would be so humiliated he might not be able to stop.
Sophie stepped aside, clearing the doorway. “You want to come—”
He brushed past her and went inside before she could finish.
The inside of the cabin was a bit of a disappointment. The open main area was bare except for a small kitchen table, a couch, a rocking chair, and a few lamps. He’d expected something more...girly. Abby watched him sometimes, and her house was all frills and fancy things. On the other hand, Sophie hadn’t been here long. And there was something kind of nice about the minimal setup.
And the place smelled like her.
He heard footsteps behind him and the click of a door shutting.
“You know what’s got Nate so worked up?” she asked.
Mason nodded. He was suddenly excited to have something to talk to her about. And this wasn’t some lame kid’s stuff either. This was an adult conversation.
“You know Vance? The one who got banished the other day?”
Sophie nodded.
Mason paused, drawing out the moment before he revealed all. “He came back.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“He wandered into my dad’s yard like he’d never been banished. He was naked and dirty, like he’d been crawling around in the mud, and he acted like he’d lost his marbles. He was eating dirt.”
Sophie bent down and grabbed his arms. He felt the heat of her hands through his shirt. “Mason, has this ever happened before?”
He shook his head. “That’s why Nate was freaking out, I guess. Once you’re banished, you can never come back. My dad told me that.”
Sophie stood up. She wandered over to the counter as if deep in thought, and slammed her hand against it. She grabbed a small bag off the counter. She marched to the couch and pulled something out from under a cushion. Mason only caught a glimpse of it, but it looked like his dad’s book.
“What’s that?” he asked.
She didn’t answer. Instead, she slung the bag over her shoulder, crouched down next to him, and touched his arm again. All thoughts of the book melted away.
“Mason, we need to go somewhere.”
He nodded slowly.
“It’s in the woods.”
He looked at her questioningly. No way would his mom go for this. She very rarely let him walk in the woods, but only in the night when the Larvae were asleep. She didn’t even go in the woods during the day herself.
“I know it’s dangerous, but did you hear how I can kill the Larvae?”
He nodded. It had made him fall in love with her even harder.
“Then you know I’ll protect you.”
He paused for a moment. Going into the woods in the daytime frightened him, terrified him actually, but no way was he going to chicken out in front of Sophie. In an act of unparalleled bravery, he reached up and took her hand. His heart soared when she didn’t pull away. Even better, she squeezed his hand.
After this, a walk in the woods would be cake.
She led him out the door, and they walked down the steps hand in hand. She stopped at the trailhead and pulled a round, gold object out her pocket. She held it tighten in her free hand while she squeezed her eyes shut. He heard her mutter, “The message. Take me to the tree with the message on it.” Then she opened her eyes.
She groaned and shook the object in her hand. “Come on. What’s wrong with you?” She shook the object, squinted at it, and groaned again. “What the hell? Okay, take me to the Rook Mountain tree.”
She looked at the object and smiled.
“What is that thing?” Mason asked.
She paused for a moment and then brought the object down so he could see it. “It’s a compass. Ever seen one?”
He shook his head.
“You see that little needle? It tells you which way north is. On most compasses, anyway.”
Mason had never heard the term north, but he decided to let that go for now.
They walked the trail in silence. To Mason’s surprise, the walk went without incident. He’d imagined the woods during the day would be teeming with Larvae, so many you couldn’t take five steps without being swarmed by the creatures. But they’d been walking more than five minutes and hadn’t seen a single one.
No sooner had the thought entered his mind than he saw a black shape in the center of the trail. His body tensed and his feet refused to move.
“It’s okay,” Sophie said. “Stay here.”
She pulled her hand out of his cold, sweaty grip and took a large knife from her bag. Then she approached the creature casually, as if going for a morning stroll in Sanctuary. She wasn’t hurrying, but there was also zero hesitation in her walk.
When she was almost to it, the creature compressed, and Mason drew a sharp, terrified breath. His mom had taught him the behaviors of the Larvae. He knew they compressed like that before they attacked.
But it was Sophie who sprang into action. She lunged with her knife, diving at the thing on the ground and plunging her weapon into it. The creature melted into a puddle of black goo.
She wiped her blade on a nearby fern and dropped the knife in her bag. She nodded at Mason. “It’s safe now. Let’s go.”
Mason felt himself move toward her, his body on autopilot, his mind enthralled with what he’d seen. He’d heard what she’d done, but seeing it with his own eyes was something different. No one had been able to figure out how to kill the Larvae before Sophie came here. Not even Dad.
“That was amazing,” he said.
She took his hand and continued down the trail.
A few minutes later, they rounded a corner and Sophie put out a hand to stop Mason.
They stood at the base of a large tree with an especially tangled root structure. Sophie
stepped off the trail, and Mason let out a soft, involuntary, “Eep!”
She wandered all the way around the tree, muttering a string of curse words, some of which the boy had heard before and others he thought she might be making up.
As Sophie rounded the tree and came back into sight, Mason saw her face was pale and her eyes were filled with tears.
“What is it?” he asked. “Was this what we were looking for?”
“It’s gone,” she said, her voice hoarse with emotion. “The message is gone.”
IN THE WOODS (PART SIX)
1.
Mason crept through the undergrowth, his eyes scanning the ground for Larvae and his ears alert for any sounds of movement that might give away his uncle’s position.
The frustration was like a cold ball of steel in his gut. He’d been waiting and preparing for this day ever since he was eight years old, and it wasn’t going well.
At first it had played out exactly as Zed had scripted it. He met his uncle and earned his trust like Zed asked him to. He genuinely bonded with the man. Yeah, maybe he told a lie here and there, but most of it had been true. The stuff that mattered. And then, at Dad’s house, something amazing happened.
It had always been the plan to enlist Frank’s help to find the book. Zed knew the Hinkles had a way of hiding things from him—he’d told Mason about how they kept the Tools from him, probably for years—and he was hoping Frank would be able to use that same technique to find the book. They planned on slowly introducing the idea and enlisting his help over the course of weeks. They discussed the possibility that the search could take years.
But all it took was a single glance.
How had Frank located it so quickly? Even though Mason was delighted, he was also annoyed his uncle did something in mere moments he hadn’t been able to do in years of trying.
Still, mission accomplished.
He led Frank back to his cabin, knowing full well Zed would be waiting for them. He felt a little bit of sadness that Frank had to die, that he’d only gotten to know his uncle briefly. But there was nothing to be done about that. None of it was his fault. He was standing at the end of a long line of dominoes, watching them fall. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for the mistakes of his father. And his mother. And especially that woman, Sophie.