by Amy Cross
I wait, but deep down I know she's already dead. I can even just about make out her blackened, charred face at the heart of the flames, with her mouth wide open and burned.
“Esther, please,” I stammer, “say something.”
Again, I wait.
Again, there's no reply.
“I couldn't do what you wanted,” I continue, with tears in my eyes. “I don't belong here. I don't even understand what's happening around me, but I don't belong in the world you had down here. I don't want anything to do with devils or witches or any of that. I just want to save my father. I'm sorry.”
I stare down at her for a moment longer, before realizing that there's nothing more I can do for her.
Hurrying over to the far side of the chamber, I start picking Dad up in my arms. There'll be time to understand what happened later, but right now I still have to find a way out of these tunnels. I struggle a little to lift Dad off the ground, but my heart is pounding and I figure adrenaline will keep me going. I step over to the gap in the wall and look out, and to my horror I see that the whole forest seems to be ablaze, with fires running all the way to the horizon. It's hard to believe the devastation could have spread so far and so fast, and for a moment I swear it feels as if the whole world out there is coming to an end.
“I'm going to find a way for us to get out of here,” I stammer, looking down at Dad's unconscious face. “I don't know how, but I'm going to to find a route through the tunnels. I promise, Dad. You're not going to die tonight. And if that means making a deal with someone bad, then I'll worry about the consequences later.”
Even as those words leave my lips, however, I have no idea how I'm going to get us to safety.
“Save me,” a voice whispers nearby, behind me in the darkness.
I freeze, telling myself that I must be imagining things.
“You can still do it,” the voice groans, filled with pain. “Free the witch so she can save me!”
I turn, just in time to see Esther's charred, fleshless figure rising slowly from the ground. Parts of her back and arms are still burning furiously, and there's no skin left on her face at all.
Only a few scraps of muscle, still clinging to bone.
“You can save me,” she whispers, as flames ripple across what's left of her left cheek. “It's not too late.”
“Esther,” I stammer, taking a step back, “please...”
“Save me!” she shouts suddenly, lunging at me.
I barely have a chance to get out of the way before she rushes past me and topples over the edge. Turning, I see that I'm too late to catch her.
She screams as she falls.
I watch as she tumbles toward the fires below. Her burning arms flail helplessly, and then she crashes against the rocks with such force that the flames briefly roar before dying completely.
She's gone.
“I'm going to get us out of here,” I whisper, still holding Dad in my arms. “Even if we have to wander the tunnels in darkness, I'm -”
Suddenly I hear a loud rumbling, splitting sound that seems to be coming from every direction at once. I step back from the gap in the wall, as the floor starts shuddering beneath my feet and the entire chamber lurches slightly. A moment later, several large rocks tumble past the opening, falling through the night air until they crash down into the river below. I take a few more steps back, but the chamber is shaking so violently now that I'm quickly knocked to the floor and Dad slumps from my arms.
At the same time, the impaled witch starts sliding toward the ridge.
“It's okay,” I stammer, holding Dad tighter, “everything's going to be okay.”
The splitting sound suddenly becomes more intense, and as I look toward the gap in the wall I see that the chamber seems to be tilting slightly to one side. The air all around is filled with a deafening roaring sound, and I put a hand over one ear while reaching out with the other hand to grab Dad and keep him from slipping out of the chamber altogether. The floor beneath me is still tilting, however, and I turn to take hold of a protruding section of rock that at least lets me stay close to the wall.
Finally, as the cracking and splitting sounds get louder and louder, I squeeze my eyes tight shut and start screaming, and I feel the floor of the chamber start shaking violently beneath me until – a moment later – there's a massive crashing sound and I jolted so hard that I let go of Dad and slither across the ground.
“I'm here!” I yell, hoping against hope that Dad can somehow hear me as the roar becomes deafening. “I won't let go!”
Suddenly there's an almighty crash, shaking every bone in my body, and then the chamber falls silent again. All I hear is the crackling of the forest fire.
Opening my eyes, I see that somehow we're now down by the edge of the river. I scramble to my feet, with Dad still in my arms, and then I carry him over to the gap in the wall, and I see that we're now down at ground level with the flaming forest straight ahead. A landslide must have brought the cliff crashing down, although somehow the chamber has remained mostly intact. More rocks are still tumbling toward us, dropping just a few feet away, but the night sky is starting to lighten now as dawn arrives. Stepping out through the gap in the wall, I turn and look up, and I can see where the cliff sheared and broke away.
Another miracle.
They're really stacking up lately.
When I turn and look back toward the burning forest, I'm shocked to see that some of the trees have stopped burning, forming what looks like a perfect path running between the flames, heading back toward town. This must be what Sebastian mentioned earlier. This must be my chance to take his deal, take Dad to safety, and avoid facing my greatest fear.
“Aren't you going to take it?” a familiar voice whispers all around me, as if it's being carried on the flames.
Turning, I see no sign of Sebastian, but I can hear air rushing through the cracks in the burning trees.
“You seem unsure,” the voice continues suddenly, coming from behind me now. “Perhaps you still believe you can deny the deal once you've gained what you want from me.”
“Go to hell,” I stammer, stumbling forward with Dad still in my arms.
“Perhaps I need you to accept with more force,” the voice adds, roaring with the flames. “Perhaps I need you to prove that you really, truly make this choice. Show me how much this means to you, Ramsey. Fight for your father's life.”
“Go to hell!”
“Now how can I make you fight one more time? What can I do to you, Ramsey?”
“I'm not listening,” I mutter under my breath. “I won't -”
Suddenly my right foot buckles and I drop down onto one knee. At the same time, my right wrist spits with pain, and I almost drop Dad.
Almost, but not quite.
It takes a moment, but finally I manage to get back up and start limping along again.
“Oh, so brave and strong,” the voice continues, taunting me. “You certainly look the part of the hero, Ramsey, but you haven't really done anything heroic. Not yet. I think perhaps I should give you an opportunity to change that. After all, every hero has to face an enemy at the end.”
“Go to hell!” I hiss again, keeping my eyes fixed on the path again. “Do you hear me! Leave me alone!”
He starts laughing.
“Enjoy yourself while you can,” I add. “You won't be laughing soon.”
“Won't I?” he replies, as a blast of hot air brushes against my cheek. “Oh Ramsey, I think I know exactly what to throw at you.”
I open my mouth to ask what he means, but suddenly I hear a crunching sound over my shoulder, followed by an ear-piercing scream. Turning, I'm horrified to see Esther's broken, burned body rushing toward me with its feet dragging against the ground, and I duck out of the way just in time to keep from having her crash straight into my chest.
Dad slips from my arms as I fall, but I quickly turn and see that Esther's body is still being held up by some invisible force, which seems to be keeping her
in place as she's silhouetted against the burning trees. She's facing away from me, but a moment later she snaps around and I see her dead, burned face.
“No-one is forcing you to agree,” she says suddenly, as her body shudders with the force of air being forced out through her broken neck. Her voice sounds twisted and guttural, and I know Sebastian is just using her body to taunt me. Even her eyes, which are twitching as they look at me, are clearly dead. “If you take the deal, you can't blame anybody else. A deal is only a deal if you accept of your own free will. And if you fight for what you want! It's the fight, Ramsey, that seals the deal.”
Stumbling back, I stare in horror at Esther's burned, broken face. One side of her skull has been completely shattered, probably from the fall, leaving a section of her brain exposed. Every scrap of flesh has been burned, either charred black or left bright, bloody red with glistening bone poking through, and her shattered limbs are hanging loose like parts of a doll. Her neck, meanwhile, has clearly been broken in several places, even though Sebastian is somehow keeping her head upright.
Suddenly she starts sliding toward me, once again dragging the tips of her feet through the dirt.
“You love your father so much, don't you?” she continues, and a moment later her mouth widens to form a broad, unnatural smile. “Don't be ashamed, Ramsey. You have to do whatever's necessary in order to save him. And that means taking the deal, but I need to -”
Before her voice can continue, I hear a deafening cracking sound over my shoulder. I turn just in time to see a huge, burning pine tree coming crashing down. Rushing across the clearing, I drop to my knees and lean over Dad's unconscious body, trying to protect him. Fortunately, the tree has already smashed into the ground several feet away, although a moment later I look over and see Esther's shattered body being dragged once more through the flames, heading this way.
I turn and look around, but the clearing is surrounded by flames and the heat is really starting to burn my face.
“How far will you go to save him, Ramsey?” Esther's voice screeches, and suddenly she's thrown at Dad. I manage to push her away, but not before her laughing body has battered the side of his face.
“Leave him alone!” I scream.
“Then seal the deal,” she sneers. “I need to know beyond doubt that you really mean this. I'm not going to let you back out later.”
She lunges at me, but I grab a sliver of broken wood and swing at her. I miss, however, and the wood flies out of my hand as I tumble back against the ground.
Laughing, she pulls away, and then I watch as she places her left hand on her right arm, just above the elbow. Slowly, she bends her arm to one side, until the bone shatters and tears through the flesh. Showing no sign of pain at all, and with Sebastian clearly still controlling her corpse, she starts twisting the broken arm, tearing the scraps of flesh that still link it to the rest of her body, until finally she's able to pull it free entirely.
“What are you doing?” I stammer.
“Making you prove that you accept the deal willingly,” she sneers, turning the broken arm around and holding it up so I can see the sharp section of broken bone that protrudes from the fleshy stump. “This looks sharp enough. I'm sure Esther would be glad to know that her body is being used for something important.”
With that, she turns and drops down onto Dad's chest, while raising the broken arm up high and then bringing the sharp slice of bone crashing down toward his throat.
“Stop!” I yell, lunging at her and pulling her back at the last moment, just enough so that the bone hits the ground instead.
“Accept the deal!” she screams.
“I do!”
“Prove it!”
“I accept! Don't hurt him!”
“Accept the deal!”
“I already did!”
“You have to prove it!” she shouts, trying again and again to drive the broken bone down toward his throat. “You have to show me that you really mean it!”
Still trying to hold her back, I wrap one arm around her shoulder while placing my other hand on her chest. Feeling burned scraps of flesh coming loose from her bare ribs, I quickly realize that I can only hold her away from Dad for so long. At the same time, I don't have a weapon. Reaching up, I try to grab her severed arm, but she's keeping it just out of reach above her head.
“Prove that you accept!” she gurgles. “Prove that you'll do anything to save him!”
“I promise!”
“Actions, not words! Prove it!”
I dig my fingers into her chest, grabbing hold of her rib-cage and starting to pull until finally several of her burned ribs snap away. I turn them around, fumbling to make sure the sharp, splintered ends are aimed inward, and then finally I drive the broken ribs deep into Esther's chest, cutting straight through what's left of her heart.
Immediately, her body falls limp in my arms, and I manage to pull her away from Dad. We collapse together onto the forest floor, with trees still burning wildly all around the edges of the clearing, and I quickly push Esther's corpse away. As she lands on the ground, her head twists to look directly at me.
“Excellent choice,” she groans, before starting to laugh and then abruptly falling still.
The broken ribs are jutting out of her chest, with their sharper ends buried deep in her heart.
“Dad!” I yell, clambering over her and checking to make sure that she wasn't able to cut him at all. “Can you hear me? Dad?”
I wait, but he doesn't respond. He's badly hurt, so I lift him up and start carrying him across the clearing. Ahead of us, the wall of fire clears a little, once more leaving a safe path through the burning forest.
Epilogue
Five days later
It's gone. All of it. The forest burned and burned for several nights, until eventually a vast rainstorm came and doused the flames. Frankly, the whole thing seemed almost biblical in scale, and I know more than a few people in Deal who seemed to think that the fire was sent as some form of retribution. Others have blamed hobos, or kids, or sabotage by a company that wanted the land. Everyone wants to blame someone, although so far I haven't heard one person advance a theory that comes even close to the truth.
There was a forest here once. Now there's just mile after mile of ashen, destroyed land with a few remaining charred stumps poking up from the carpet of destruction. A few patches are still smoldering, but for the most part the fire has been extinguished. It's too late for much to be saved now, though. The forest is gone and I guess nothing can be done now to bring it back.
And the wind is blowing all around, whistling between the few remaining trees. Occasionally, it almost sounds like a voice.
“Why didn't anyone do anything?” I whisper. “Someone should have tried to save the forest.”
“Mayor Halperin ordered all the town's emergency vehicles to keep the fire from reaching the town,” Dad says as he limps over to join me, having left some deputies over by the police cruisers. “He says there was nothing left to send out to contain the fire. Whether you believe him or not is up to you. He certainly seems pretty pleased that the forest is gone. I think he sees it as payback for what happened to Leanne.”
“Are you in pain?” I ask.
He shakes his head, but I can tell he's lying.
“What about the tunnels?” I continue, glancing past him. “Did -”
“They didn't find anything,” he tells me, having clearly anticipated the question. “They didn't find anything in the rubble, either. I know you keep insisting that there was some woman who -”
“I saw her!” I say firmly. “She was the witch, and she was in that chamber with us!”
“I'm not saying I don't believe you,” he replies. “I'm saying nothing was found.”
“He took her,” I continue, turning and looking around at the vast, devastated landscape. “He hid her away somewhere new, to keep her safe.”
I pause for a moment, thinking about the tunnels that still run for miles and miles
beneath this land. The forest might be gone, but the tunnel system remains with only a few collapses, and it's certainly possible for someone to disappear into that vast darkness. No-one has found any trace of the house where I met Sebastian, but I know he survived and I'm certain he's out there somewhere, probably content in the knowledge that when I had to make a decision, I chose to save my father.
I took the deal, and I confirmed my choice over and over. There can't be any doubt.
“You should go to the hospital,” I say, turning back to Dad. “You need to get checked out.”
“I've got pain-killers.”
“Pain-killers aren't enough!”
“Well, if you're serious about sticking around for a while, then I've got you too, haven't I?” He smiles. “I'm sure you won't let me relax for too long.”
“But you're feeling okay right now?”
“I'm too busy to be sick. I've got this mess to deal with, I've got Hinch still screaming in his bed on the psych ward, I've got Katie in intensive care, I've got Lewis's body to find, and I also have to figure out what I'm going to tell the parents of Tommy Hague. I feel like the whole town has gone insane over the past week.”
“But your health is -”
“We'll talk about it later,” he adds, interrupting me. “Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to the guys and start figuring out how to deal with this mess.”
With that, he turns to walk away. He seems to have made such a miraculous recovery, but I can't help wondering whether I made the right choice.
“How do I know if I did the right thing or not?” I call out suddenly.
He stops and glances back at me. “What do you mean?”
“Just hypothetically,” I continue. “If I made a choice about something, and in one way it feels like it was absolutely the right thing, but in another way I'm worried that I let my own needs come before something bigger... How do I figure out whether I was right or not?”
He pauses for a moment, before shrugging.
“I guess you just listen to your gut,” he says finally. “If you ask me, deep down you know the answer, even if you don't want to admit it. Why? What choice did you have to make?”
