by J. D. Oliva
"Abi!" Nick cried out as the door shut.
"Help me push against the wall! Try to get it back open!" Cody said.
Bo flipped Abi over so her back was against the floor and mounted her like an MMA fighter preparing to ground-and-pound. Bo perched on top of Abi's chest, putting all his weight forward. He leaned in close and opened his jaw far wider than any human possibly could. Drool hung from two bright blue fangs.
"Help me!" Abi screamed.
"Squee! Looks like this little piggy should've stayed home. Now she's just gonna go wee wee wee all over herself!"
"Get off of me!" Abi yelled as she wildly swung her arms back and forth.
"Squee! Squee! C'mon, little piggy!"
Bo struggled to hold Abi down as she flailed around, trying to free herself. Abi mustered up every little bit of strength she could and threw her right fist toward Bo's face. The creature just laughed.
"Hahahaha! Ain't she a cutie," Bo's voice trembled. "Ahhh!"
Bo jumped off her immediately.
"What was that?" He said.
Abi saw smoke coming from his leg. Something burned him. She looked down to her pant leg and saw something glowing inside her right pocket. She reached in and pulled it out. Opening her hand she saw the silver ring with the star and crescent moon. Her grandfather's ring.
"Rrrrraaaaahhh!"
Bo charged back toward her. Instinctively, she put the ring on and reared her fist back again. This time, she connected with the monster's forehead. Again, the punch wasn't very hard, but Bo screamed out in pain. His body snapped and contorted around as he started mutating into his true self. A long blue snout, with its own set of jagged buck teeth pushed out from inside of Bo's human face. It continued to writhe in pain as hot, white light sizzled from a crescent moon-shaped wound. Bo convulsed on the floor, grabbing his head, almost like it was trying to keep the light inside of him. He cried out in a dialect no human ears had heard in centuries. Abi quickly scooted back, not sure what she'd done.
"It burns! Owww, it burns!"
The Bo Djinn screamed with a warble that was nearly unrecognizable.
She banged on the door and yelled, "Open the door!"
Finally, Cody and Nick were able to push the door open enough for Abi to slink through to the other side.
"What happened?" Nick asked.
Before anyone could answer, Bo's face shot through the barely open crack in the door, the wound still burning in center of its head. Blue claws and jagged teeth lunged for them, trying to grab anything.
"What's that on his head?" Nick asked.
"Abi, what did you do?" Cody yelled.
The monster burst through the door. They were trapped. There was nowhere to hide now.
"Buuurrrrnnnsss!"
Bo swayed back and forth, not actually attacking. Again, the room started to bend and morph out of shape. Nick fell to the floor and threw up. Abi tried to keep her conciseness as they tried to pull Nick and her back to their feet. Cody stood tall watching the being who might have attacked his brother. Though he could barely stand, he approached the weakened creature who still cried in pain and asked,
"Where is my brother?"
The Djinn turned back to Cody. He saw the white moon still smoldering in its forehead.
It smiled and said, "Abracadabra."
Shrieking louder than anything they'd ever heard before, it took off and erupted through the emergency exit. The force blew the door off its hinges. The kids watched as the creature ran off into the night, the horizon bending and twisting with every step the creature took.
"What are those things?" Nick asked.
"I told you, they're Djinn," Abi answered confidently.
She looked down to her ring and pretended to understand what happened.
"What'd you do to him?" Cody asked.
“I punched him in the face."
"Wow. Apparently Abi's a badass," Nick said. "Who knew?"
Cody looked out the hole ripped through the emergency exit. He saw that the chains around the door handle were still in place, but with the door off its hinges, their escape became much easier.
"Get outta here. Now," Cody said. "Call the cops. Call the FBI. Just get outta here."
"Don't gotta tell me twice," Nick said on his way out the door.
Abi grabbed Cody's hand and tried to lead him out with the rest of them, but he pulled it back. He didn't want to at first. Her touching his hand was the nicest he’d felt since getting punched in the face by Tyler Tomczak two weeks ago. But he couldn't go with her. At least, not yet.
"You're coming with us," she said.
"I can't. Not till I find Connor."
"Cody, we've been through this place. You see what's happening. Connor might not--"
"Do not say that! He's here, I just need to find him," Cody said.
He knew that she was probably right. There was no way he could ever face his mother again if anything happened to Connor. Especially if it was his fault, and he knew this entire disaster was entirely his fault.
"Then I'm not leaving. I'll help you."
"No, you're not. Nick!" Cody shouted and Nick grabbed her by the arm and pulled her through the exit.
She tried to fight them off, but couldn't. She knew Connor was dead, and now Cody was going to die inside the Hallow. They already escaped twice. Even if he did make it back how could he possibly be the same? She wanted to tear up, but there was no way she was going to show that much emotion in front of them. Not in front of Nick anyway.
"Cody!" Abi shouted.
Cody turned back and Abi tossed something to him. He caught it, opened his hand, and found the silver ring. Cody looked back to her and smiled. She smiled back, both worried this might be the last time they saw each other. He put the ring in his pocket and headed back into the Hallow.
"Don't worry, he'll be okay," Nick said. "He's the toughest guy I know."
"I know," Abi said, lying to herself.
"Does anybody have cell service--"
Nick stopped mid-sentence and dropped his phone. Abi looked up and saw the ceiling of the Haunted Hallow up in flames. In the commotion, they didn't notice the fire. In minutes the entire Haunted Hallow would burn to the ground with Cody still inside.
XLV
Connor hit the brakes and the back tire of his bike skidded out. He couldn't believe it, the entire roof of the Haunted Hallow was on fire. People were pouring out of the building.
"Tyler, what the hell did you do?" He asked.
Connor jumped off his bike and ran toward the burning building. Outside the entrance, ushering people out was, Dave Yarbrough. Connor had known Dave for years. He ran up and grabbed Dave by the shirt.
"Dave!"
"Connor! What are you doing here?" Dave asked.
"Did my mom come here?"
"Yeah, her and her boyfriend were here about twenty minutes ago."
"Boyfriend?"
"Yeah, the chubby guy with the glasses," Dave said.
"What are you talking about? My mom doesn't have a boyfriend." Connor said. "Does she?"
"I dunno, man. They came in together."
Connor thought about it for a second and couldn't come up with any ideas. Mom had no reason to be here, let alone with someone else.
"Twenty minutes?" He asked. "Where is she now?"
"I don't know. I didn't see her come out."
Connor looked up and saw the fire spread. The sound of the fire trucks and paramedics on their way echoed in the air. Connor had no choice. He grabbed the front door and tried to pull.
"What are you doing?" Dave asked.
"You said my mom was inside!"
"I said I didn't see her come out! That doesn't mean she's still in there!"
"Doesn't matter."
Connor shoved Dave in the chest as hard as he could. He might not have been as strong or as athletic as his brother, but Dave Yarbrough was maybe one hundred thirty pounds. One good push was enough to send Dave into the wall and gave Connor enough sepa
ration to rush into the Hallow.
Connor ran through the Texas Chainsaw scene and right through the vortex. He completely ignored the smoke already filling the rooms. The right turn that would have led to the strobed monkey cage was on fire. Connor fell to the floor. He quickly picked himself up and ran to the left. He found himself inside of a room that looked like a decrepit church. He wasn't alone.
"Mrs. Burk! You need to stop hiding and face the consequences of your actions. Project Cicada needs to be completed."
The man was short and fat with glasses. He matched Dave's description. Connor never saw this man in his life. How did he know his mother? He wanted to say something until he noticed the shotgun in his hand. Connor ducked behind a turned over pew. This wasn't a room that his father built. This was something new. What had he gotten himself into?
"Pssst."
Connor heard something. Without trying to draw any unnecessary attention, he quietly turned his head from right to left, but didn't see anything. Just the crazy man babbling about some government conspiracy.
"Pssst!"
It was louder this time. It wasn’t until he looked to his right and beyond another stack of overturned pews that he saw a slight separation in the wall. His dad designed several false walls over the years that lead to the back hallways. This might have been a secret entrance to one of them, but with it being a new room, he wasn't sure.
"Pssst," the voice said for a third time.
A female hand emerged through the wall and motioned him to come toward the secret entrance.
"Mom?" He whispered.
Leah peaked her head through the dark entrance and mouthed the words, ‘this way’ to her son. Connor turned back toward the fat man, who was walking toward the exit. Was this guy crazy enough to stay inside of a burning building?
Hunched over, Connor crept over toward the back hall entrance.
BOOOOM
The pew he hid behind exploded and Connor hit the floor. He picked his head up and saw the fat man running toward him, aiming the shotgun.
CLIK CLIK
"Connor let’s go!" Leah shouted.
Connor jumped and ran the extra few steps to the back hall. Leah closed the false door behind them.
"Let’s go!" She shouted.
BOOOOM
The false door exploded and Leah screamed. Connor grabbed her by the hand and they ran through the maze-like darkened halls. Blake was closing in, but the passages were so narrow and the turns so tight it slowed him down.
BOOOOOM
Another shot, but this one was nowhere near them. Then they heard him fall over.
"Dammit!" He shouted.
Connor pulled his mother's hand, essentially dragging her through the maze. It had been a few years since he was back there himself, but the years he spent running those halls with his little brother served him well. He knew every turn and quickly found his way back to the entrance.
"Oh my God, what was that?!" Dave shouted.
"There's some psycho with a shotgun inside there!" Leah shouted back.
Connor grabbed his mother and pulled her in tighter than he probably had since his father passed that summer. They shared a few quick tears as she kissed his forehead.
"Mom, please tell me that guy isn't your boyfriend," he said.
She laughed at the thought and wiped away an errant tear.
"Connor!"
He turned back and saw his brother's friend, Nick. With him was the Muslim girl that he helped push off her bike a couple weeks ago. Looking back on that, he felt like an asshole. Still holding his Mom's hand he walked them away from the flaming Hallow.
"What are you doing out here?" Abi asked.
"I got home, and I saw what they did to my house. Then with the smoke in the air, I kind of put two and two together."
Connor lowered his mother to the ground allowing her to rest a bit.
"But how did you get out of the Hallow without them seeing you?" Nick asked.
"What? Why would I be in the Hallow?"
"You weren't in there with Tyler and them, were you?" Abi asked.
"No. I thought the whole thing was kinda funny," Connor paused.
He knew something was wrong. "Where are they?"
Abi and Nick looked at each other and immediately looked down to the floor. Something was very wrong.
"Where's Cody?" Leah asked.
"Connor, we're in a lot of trouble," Abi said nervously.
"You got no idea, little girl."
All of them turned back toward the Hallow. The roof of the Hallow was completely ablaze. Standing between them and the burning building was Roscoe Slater.
XLVI
"There's a very dangerous man around here, and I think he's looking to hurt all of you," Roscoe said with a smile and extending his hand toward the group.
"Mr. Slater?" Leah said trying to regain her composure.
"That's right, Ms. Burk," he said.
"Who are you and how do you know my mom?" Connor asked.
"I'm Roscoe Slater. I'm the gentleman who bought this here house from your mother. Unfortunately, it looks like my past is trying to catch up with me."
Roscoe kneeled down before Leah and gently took hold of her hand.
"On account of all this fire, I'm guessing y'all've met Blake?"
"Is that the guy that broke into our house, Mom?" Connor asked.
"Yes, he's insane. That's the maniac that tried to kill us."
Roscoe stood up and helped Connor get Leah back to her feet. He was very careful to put her arm around her son's shoulder.
"Why is a crazy person who likes to start fires after Mr. Slater?" Nick asked Abi in a whisper trying to make sure that Roscoe couldn't hear him.
"I know exactly why," Abi said.
"Dammit! I'm real sorry, Ms. Burk. Just follow me and I'll make sure to take real good care of y'all."
"No, don't go with him! He's one of them!" Nick shouted.
"One of them?" Roscoe responded.
"He's a Djinn!" Abi shouted.
"A what?" Roscoe asked again, even more perplexed.
Abi and Nick grabbed hold of Leah and Connor, pulling them with as they tried to run away.
Roscoe put his hands up into the air and tried to calm the situation down.
"Now hold on a sec. I don't know what these youngins is talking 'bout, but I can promise you I ain't no--"
CLIK CLIK BOOOOM
The four of them dropped to their knees and instinctively covered their heads. Abi was the first to open her eyes and look up. A frustrated Roscoe stood in the same place, his lip curled in a slightly annoyed manner as he looked down at the giant hole blown through the center of his chest. Blue energy swirled around the gaping wound creating a window through the middle of his body. Roscoe shook his head, remarkably disappointed.
"Dammit," he sighed.
Blake emerged from behind, clutching the still smoking shotgun. He cocked it again and took aim at Roscoe's head.
CLIK CLIK
"This is Colonel Roscoe Slater. He's the rogue leader of an underground military project. He takes people and brainwashes them into becoming perfect killing machines. They set up camp and destroy small towns like this. I've just destroyed his reconditioning site," Blake said.
"Colonel?" Roscoe asked.
"What the hell is that?" Connor finally asked.
Roscoe sighed again and said,
"Blake, you have to be the dumbest son of bitch I have ever met. This whole little fantasy of yours is over. Do you hear me?!?" Roscoe shouted. "Did you know that I kept this body in perfect shape for over a hundred-fifty years? A hundred and fifty years! And look what you did!"
They were paralyzed in a strange state of fear and confusion. Roscoe turned to face Blake and grabbed hold of the muzzle of the gun, yanking it out of his hand. Roscoe carelessly tossed the gun over his shoulder without breaking his stare.
"Do you know why I've let you stay alive all these years when it would have been so simple to rip
your damn face off and chew on your greasy skin? Do you know why I let you burn all those podunk, little shitholes to the ground?"
Roscoe's right hand grabbed Blake by the lapels of his tattered trench coat.
"You're my spare."
His left hand twisted and snapped into a barbed claw that shot out and clasped around Blake's head and began to squeeze.
"In case of emergency...break...Blake!"
White light shot out from Roscoe's eyes and his right hand snapped and mutated into a gnarled spike that drove straight into Blake's midsection. The atmosphere warped around them. The night's black sky bled over on to the brown earth. Roscoe and Blake's bodies contorted and twisted as they merged like liquids flowing into each other. Roscoe pushed his Djinn-self into Blake's body the same way Kyra stole poor Aileen Dake's body.
BOOOM
The buck shot struck the coagulated Roscoe/Blake mass.
BOOOOM
Another shot separated the two. Blake's body took most of the abuse. His eyes were empty and vacant. Leah, still struggling to maintain her balance, took aim again, this time at what was left of Roscoe.
CLIK CLIK BOOOOM
Roscoe turned his mutated half-human, half-Djinn head toward her and shrieked. Leah walked toward him and unloaded again, pushing Roscoe further toward the Hallow, now a scorching pyre, with flames pushing up to the sky. She unloaded three more times, each shot driving Roscoe further and further into the fire until he could finally take no more and ran inside the hearth.
"Mrs. Burk, stop!" Nick said, trying to pull the gun away from her.
"Now that monster can burn in there by itself!”
"You don't understand, Cody's still inside!" Abi said.
"What?" Leah screamed.
"We all thought Connor was inside. Cody is still trying to find him," Abi said.
Connor heard what she said. Cody was trapped inside of a burning building with a monster and the whole reason he was there was because he was looking for him. If only he'd stood up to Tyler and stopped him before they jumped Cody. If only he had stood up to him back when Tyler insulted their dad. If only he'd stopped Tyler from harassing Abi in the first place. He had a million opportunities to stand up to a kid he knew was dangerous, but he didn't. His little brother did. His little brother stayed in a burning building filled with terrifying creatures to find him. Connor never felt lower, so he started running.
