The cage — for that's clearly what it was — occupied more than half of the barn's floor space, an area roughly twenty feet on a side. Not only would the so-called "church" look nothing like a real one, but it would also apparently function nothing like the boys imagined.
The vague sense of dread that Finn had been feeling sharpened.
As soon as the cart was empty, Billy and Luke left with it. They returned after a half hour with the generator and hauled it around to the back, where they lowered it to a platform of wood.
When Finn went to check on it later, he was amazed to see that they had already built an enclosure to protect it against the weather.
Adrian showed Bix how to string the flood lamps across the rafters. It was a race against the dying light, as the sun dipped into the trees and the shadows grew darker. When they were finished, it was almost too dark to continue.
He threw the end of the electrical cable toward the back wall and shouted for Jennifer. Then he and Bix climbed down to the ground.
Outside, the gennie started up with a loud metallic rattle before settling into a steady drone. Jennifer threaded the cable through a hole in the wall, and soon the bulbs blinked on, flooding the barn with light.
"Need more lamps there and there," Adrian said, pointing to a couple places still in shadow. He immediately started unspooling more wire through the center of the cage. "Bury this neath the ground," he told Luke and Billy. "Connect it like we did in the other. We'll ground it all tomorrow."
Despite the strangeness of it all, Finn couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment in the work they had done. He'd never built anything with his hands before, much less a structure of such scale. The blisters on his hands stung, and the muscles in his arms and back ached, but it all felt good in a way.
He glanced over at Bix and saw that he was smiling, too. "Look what we did," he said.
Bix's brow furrowed, and the smile thinned, like he hadn't intended to be caught with it on his face. "Yeah."
"Y'all did some fine work here," Jennifer agreed. "But it's getting late, and I ain't even started supper."
"There's still time," Adrian said.
"Time for what?" Bix asked. It was the longest sentence he'd spoken in hours.
"After what y'all seen the past coupla days, I know y'all have questions, perhaps even serious doubts. I don't deny it would've been a shock to anyone. So bear with me a few minutes. Y'all will see that what we done here was worth it."
"Not tonight, Adrian. The boys are tired. I'm tired."
"Luke and Billy's already gone to fetch one, Jenny."
"But it ain't got no roof on it."
"It's safe."
"Safe for what?" Finn asked. He shot Bix a worried glance.
But Adrian gestured at the opening in the wall, where the sound of horses' hooves could be heard growing louder.
Luke soon emerged from the trees, astride one of the animals. As he passed them in the clearing, Bix and Finn yelped in alarm. At the end of a rope, tied to the saddle horn, was a Wraith. Another rope passed from its neck to the second horse which carried Billy. In his arms was one of the blue boxes Finn had seen Jennifer holding the night before.
"Jesus Christ!" Bix whispered. Finn was already backing away. He raised the hammer in his hand, ready to defend himself.
"Don't worry. It ain't gonna hurt no one."
The creature shambled along, its movements restrained by the ropes. Its head sagged forward. Drool dripped from its swollen lip. It showed no desire to touch or attack. In fact, it did not seem to be aware of any of them.
"What did you do to it?" Finn asked.
"We calmed it," Jennifer said in a normal tone of voice. Any displeasure she had expressed earlier for Adrian's decision was gone, replaced instead with a hint of eagerness.
"Stand back," Luke said. "It's still contagious. Y'all don't want it touchin you just yet."
"What do you mean by 'just yet'?" Finn asked.
But Adrian guided the boys to one side as Luke dismounted and pulled the Wraith into the barn. Billy had also dismounted. They kept the ropes taut so the creature couldn't go anywhere except where they wanted it to. Together, they maneuvered it to the cage opening, then swung the gate shut.
"What if it climbs out?"
"It won't," Adrian assured them. "We'll finish the top tomorrow, but fer now, we don't need one."
The men gave the ropes a skilled flick, and the lassoes slipped off the Wraith's neck. Despite being free to move about, it just stood there mindlessly staring at the ground.
"Now," Adrian said, "do we all agree what will happen if it touches us?"
Both Finn and Bix looked up in alarm.
Adrian walked over to the bench where the equipment had been arranged. He selected what appeared to be a cattle prod, an eight-foot long metal rod with two knobs at the end. Extending from the handle was a cable, and the cable was plugged into an electrical power strip.
Sparks flew when he touched the tip to the chain link.
Before they could stop him, he carefully threaded the prod through an opening in the gate. For a moment, Finn flashed to a childhood memory of him and Harper playing the game Operation. His brother had steadier hands and almost always won.
Any moment now, he's going to touch the wire and a buzzer'll go off, and then it'll be Jennifer's turn.
But the man's hands were rock steady.
"Don't," Bix whispered. He gripped Finn's arm. "It's not right."
But Finn was fascinated. He wanted to see what would happen.
The tips touched the skin of the Wraith, and a loud bang! rang out. The lights dimmed at the same moment that sparks exploded off the creature's body. It flew half the length of the cage before rolling in a tangled heap on the ground.
"You killed it," Bix cried.
"It's a Wraith," Finn said, his eyes glued to the motionless figure. The sharp tang of burning flesh pinched his nose.
Adrian pulled the prod out and set it back on the bench. "Forty-five seconds," he said, holding up a stopwatch. "That's how long they're harmless."
He nodded to Billy, who went inside the cage. The look on his face as he reached out a hand at the creature was one of kindness.
"What are you doing?" Bix cried. "Stop!"
Billy laid his palm on the Wraith's scalp.
"No!" Finn yelled, but of course it was already too late.
"It's okay," Billy said. He showed his hand to the group, as if the absence of any change was proof he hadn't been infected. He walked back over, a big smile on his face.
"Twenty seconds," Adrian said, and let him out.
Finn peered into Billy's eyes. He saw no trace of the Flense.
"You've figured out how to make them not infectious!" he gasped. "That's incredible!"
"It's only temporary," Jennifer said. Excitement danced in her eyes. "Even so, it's a start."
"The first step to salvation is always the hardest," Adrian said.
"And what is that?"
"Forgiveness."
Finn turned to Bix, his thoughts whirling. He didn't know what to say.
But Bix did. "This is wrong," he whispered. "It's not salvation. I don't know what it is, but I do know it's wrong."
"Finn. Hey man, wake up!"
Finn's eyes popped open. Bix's disembodied face hovered over him, a dimmer shade of night than the ocean of darkness it swam in.
For a moment, he thought he was back in the bunker, and Bix was getting him up to stir up some form of mischief. Wasn't it time to rearrange Jonah's food supplies in the upstairs pantry? He couldn't remember if they'd already done that this week. He almost told him to keep it down or else he'd wake his father.
"What? What's happening?"
"They're gone."
Finn blinked into the darkness. He felt stupid for not understanding. "What's gone?"
"Not what, who. Everyone. Adrian and Jennifer, Billy and Luke. The house is empty."
Finn sat up, pushing Bix away. "What th
e hell are you talking about?"
"I couldn't sleep. I was thirsty, so I got up to get something to drink. I didn't think anything of it at first, but when I passed Billy's bedroom, I didn't hear anything."
"So?"
"So? That guy snores louder than a hive of bumble bees stuck inside a tin can.
"Bumblebees don't snore."
"Not relevant. The point is, I went down to the kitchen to get some water, and I was standing there looking out the window, and I see this glowing through the trees. Scared the crap out of me at first, because I thought it was moving, like one of those willow wisps."
"Will-o'-the-wisp," Finn corrected.
"That's what I said, like a ghost or something. But it wasn't a ghost. It was just the wind blowing the trees and making it look like it was moving, which made me think about—"
"Bumblebees? Ghostly fireballs? Get to the point, Bix." He resented being woken up. He'd been dreaming about Bren, and to have her taken away from him, especially right at that particular moment, had not put him in a good frame of mind.
"I knocked on everyone's door to alert them about the light. You know, because it might be a fire or something. But no one answered. Everyone's gone."
They got dressed and slipped out of the house. The grass on the front lawn was wet with dew. Above them, a nearly full moon sat high in the sky, making everything look like it had been plated in liquid silver.
Navigating was difficult, as there were no lamps yet along this part of the trail. And the moonlight didn't penetrate through the forest canopy that well, so they found themselves stumbling off the path once or twice.
"Glad thing those mines aren't right off the trail," Bix whispered.
Finn was beginning to wonder if there were any at all, or at least as many as Adrian made it sound like. He recalled how Billy and Luke had raced through the trees that first day. Maybe they knew exactly where the mines had been set, but that didn't explain the horses venturing into the wood on a couple of occasions. He didn't think the animals would know exactly where to avoid.
Billy and Luke were running outside the wall.
That was another thing that didn't sit right with him. Wouldn't it make sense to lay the mines there, rather than inside, stop Wraiths before they had a chance to get in?
They're already inside.
The boys were still a ways off when they determined the light Bix saw was coming from Adrian's new church. "Maybe they're working on it," Finn suggested.
"At night?"
"You saw how eager he was to get it up and working again. Jennifer, too. And if they're really close to—"
An odd sound reached their ears, both familiar and unexpected. Neither boy could place it at first.
"Cheering?" Bix whispered. "It sounds like cheering."
And by more than just a few people, too.
"One of Father Adrian's roof-raising sermons?"
"Good thing there's no roof."
The man's voice boomed out from inside the church as they arrived at the clearing. His words were muffled by the walls and distorted by the wind. Light rose into the sky.
"Sounds like a freaking carnival barker," Finn said.
Bix nodded grimly. "Or a religious revival."
"For just the four of them? In the middle of the night?"
Keeping in the shadows, they skirted along the edge of the clearing, circling around until the barn door opening came into sight. Each step revealed a little more of the scene inside . . . and swept away any doubt the boys harbored about the couples' intentions.
There were perhaps a dozen people crowded just inside. They were shouting and waving their arms in excitement. Adrian stood in back on the cart and shouted through his cupped hands. His words were clear enough now for the boys to understand. He called out numbers, pointing to various individuals in the crowd. It sounded like an auction. Each cry elicited more cheers.
He soon stopped, and the hubbub died away, and the strangers milled restlessly about, as if waiting for something to happen.
Through the bodies, the boys caught a glimpse of the cage. The Wraith they had seen earlier was still inside of it, except that it was now completely naked. The creature was chained to a long, thick post hammered deep into the ground in the center of the cage, so it couldn't climb out the open top. It attacked the fence, eliciting excited shouts from the onlookers.
Skeletal arms reached through the openings, trying to get to them. Trying to touch or tear.
Billy and Luke stood just outside of its reach. They poked at the creature with the cattle prods, but the electrical pops were considerably smaller than before. They must have dialed down the current. Each shock didn't incapacitate the Wraith, only infuriated it all the more.
"What the hell are they doing to it?" Bix whispered.
"I don't know."
"I told you it was wrong."
The boys watched in disbelief for several minutes. "Maybe this is part of the rehabilitation," Finn wondered aloud.
Bix didn't answer.
The sound of scuffling feet and muffled grunts forced the boys deeper into the shadows. "Look," Bix whispered, and pointed toward the lake.
Several rowboats were tied up at the end of the dock, gently knocking against one another. A man stepped out of one. He reached down and heaved something large out from the bottom of the craft. It landed on the dock with a thump and an audible cry.
"That's a person!"
"Or maybe another Wraith," Bix said.
"Those men aren't wearing gloves."
"It's wrapped up."
A second body was thrown to the dock. It took several men to wrestle each one to its feet and then along the dock toward the barn. "Clear the way!" they shouted, and shoved the packages through the doorway. Both fell to the dirt.
"Stand them up," Adrian cried.
They were pulled upright.
"Let's see them!"
The hoods were yanked off.
"Shit!" Bix cried, before clamping a hand over his mouth.
"Not Wraiths."
"What the hell are they going to do?"
"Which one begs forgiveness?" Adrian demanded.
A man stepped out of the crowd and studied the two bound men. After a moment, he pointed to one. The men cheered.
"Finn?" Bix moaned. "Please tell me—"
There was a sharp crack! and a flash of light, and the cage-bound Wraith fell to the ground and didn't move.
"No! Please!" the man who had been selected cried out. "Please, no! I won't do it again! I'm sorry! Pleeeeease!"
His bindings were removed, then he was quickly stripped down naked except for his underwear. He struggled against the men holding him, trying to escape, but they were ruthless.
"Thirty seconds by my count!" Adrian shouted.
The crowd started to chant: "Twenty-nine! Twenty-eight! Twenty-seven . . . ."
"No! NOOOOO!" the prisoner screamed.
"Finn! What are they doing?"
"Shhh! I don't know, Bix."
"Twenty five! Open the gate!"
"Twenty-three! Twenty-two!"
"Positions!"
"You can't do this to me! Reverend! You know me! Don't do this!"
"Twenty! Shove him in!"
The men threw the victim inside the cage and immediately swung the reinforced cage door shut. The man flew across the dirt and landed with a pained cry. He immediately tried to climb the chain link. Luke touched the cattle prod to the wire and the man fell off.
On the other side of the cage, the Wraith began to stir.
"Seventeen!" Adrian shouted. "Sixteen!"
"Fifteen!" the crowd chanted in turn. "Fourteen!"
"Holy shit!" Bix cried. He grabbed Finn and shook him. "What the fu—"
"Do it," Finn growled, pushing Bix away. His eyes were glued to the scene inside the barn. "Do it, man! Get up!"
"Eleven!"
The man stood up. He spun around to face the recovering Wraith.
"Ten!"
"D
o it!" Finn yelled, no longer caring to keep his voice down.
"Nine!"
The man ran at the Wraith just as it lifted its head. The crowd screamed "Seven!" The creature stood unsteadily. The naked bodies slapped against each other. The Wraith flew into the wire and fell to the ground.
"Six!"
"Do it!" Finn screamed. Bix tugged on him, pleading with him to run. But Finn didn't seem to notice. "Goddamn it, kill the Wraith!"
"FOUR!"
The man grabbed the creature by its head and dragged it into the center of the cage. He wrapped his legs around its body for leverage and tried to twist. The Wraith was fighting back now, its strength returning.
"TWO!"
They wrestled. Then, just as the crowd cried out "ONE!" the Wraith's body went limp. The man was underneath. He heaved the dead creature off with a desperate cry.
"ZERO!" the crowd screamed.
The man stumbled away from the corpse. He fell against the wire, but managed to hold on. "Let me out," he panted. "LET ME OUT OF THIS CAGE!"
The crowd stilled and went silent.
"Goddamn it, Adrian! I did it, okay? I killed it. Am I forgiven? Please, let me out."
"No. You took too long."
The man stumbled back, collapsed. He threw his hands up to clutch at his head.
"Finn!" Bix whispered into his friend's ear. "We have to go. Now!"
"No, wait!"
A high, keening cry escaped from the prisoner's throat, rising until it shattered like glass, leaving nothing but a thin, dry whistle in its wake.
"Sorry," Adrian said. "But you are not worthy of salvation."
A gleeful cheer rose from the crowd.
"Finn? We—"
"Yeah, I know. Let's get the hell outta here."
He stood up and turned around, only to find Bix having some kind of seizure. A moment later, his friend collapsed unconscious to the ground.
Bix sat up, groaned in agony, and fell back onto the cushion. "Where am I?"
"The house. Try not to move, sweetie," Jennifer quietly told him. She rewet the washcloth in the bowl on the floor and reapplied it to his forehead. "I'm afraid you got a double zappin before I realized it was you two and not a couple of ferals."
Condemn (BUNKER 12 Book 2) Page 11
