Desolation

by Derek Landy

  She stepped into the hall, moving quietly despite the fact that her parents and their friends were still in Alaska.

  She didn’t sweat. Of course she didn’t. She could feel the heat, but it didn’t bother her, not as a demon. She walked into the kitchen. Grabbed an apple. Took a bite and munched. Went to the refrigerator and found a carton of milk, poured herself a tall glass. She lobbed the apple into the sink, took the milk into the living room, leaving bloodstains wherever she went.

  On the piano in the corner (her mother was a wonderful pianist) there was a framed photograph. A family photograph. Amber and her parents. Bill and Betty standing side by side and in front, smiling and oblivious to what was to come, was little girl Amber.

  She dropped the photo, crushed it with her heel.

  Taking another swig of milk, she dumped the rest of it over the couch and went back to her bedroom, dragging her hand along the corridor wall and smearing it with blood. She grabbed a bag, stuffed it full of clothes. She took her laptop, too, and a teddy bear she’d had since she was a kid. She put the bag on her back, closed the door, slid the key in and tried to remember what the doors looked like in Virgil’s house.

  “Goddammit,” she said to no one.

  The motel then. She pictured the room she’d stayed in, pictured the door. She wasn’t in Desolation Hill anymore, but maybe the fact that she wanted to return there might spur the key on to cutting her a little slack. She focused, turned the key, and turned it again, then pulled it out as she opened the door …

  … and stepped on to the landing in the Dowall Motel, and the first thing she heard was her mother’s voice.

  “He doesn’t know anything,” Betty said. Amber crouched, her fingers turning to claws once again. It took her a moment to calm down. She hadn’t been detected. Her mother’s voice was coming from below, in the lobby. They didn’t know she was here.

  Her mother spoke again. “Will you please stop him from crying?”

  Amber got to her hands and knees and crawled to the banisters and looked down as Grant tossed Kenneth Dowall over the desk, where he had the good sense to stifle his moans and shut the hell up.

  Grant, Betty and Bill stood around in all their red-skinned glory.

  “Now what do we do?” Grant asked. “Go door to door? Have you seen this girl? It’s done. It’s over. Let’s admit to this failure and go back to the job we were given.”

  “By Astaroth,” said Bill.

  “Yes,” said Grant, “by Astaroth. Before he realises what we’ve been trying to do.”

  “You’re scared,” said Betty.

  “Of course I am,” Grant said. “And if you’re not scared then you’re a fool. Listen to me – we took the risk. We did. It was a worthwhile risk, but it just didn’t work out for us. These things happen.”

  “It’s not over yet,” said Bill.

  “The hell it isn’t,” Grant said. “We have to cut our losses.”

  “I’ve always hated that phrase,” said Bill. “I don’t lose, Grant. We don’t lose. We find Amber – we find the key. None of this will matter when we release Naberius. Then we’ll have all the power we’d ever want.”

  “There’s no such thing,” said Grant, “not for you two. Your ambition is going to get us killed.”

  A door was kicked open, somewhere Amber couldn’t see, and two men came sprawling into view. They ended up on their knees.

  “Found these two fighting outside,” Kirsty said, walking in behind them. “More wannabe demons.”

  Serial killers. Amber’s concern over their fate faded dramatically.

  “I believe our luck is about to change,” said Bill, smiling. “Gentlemen, so good to meet you. I have a feeling you’re going to bring us some good news. We need some good news. My friends are beginning to doubt the course we are currently on. But you … you have been sent here to reaffirm the wisdom of our decision. What’s in it for you, you ask? If you help us, you can live. That’s a reward that just keeps on giving, now, isn’t it? We’re looking for a black Charger, gentlemen. Tell me at least one of you has seen it.”

  “We’re looking for it, too,” said the first killer. “I … I thought we were on the same side.”

  Bill smiled. “You’re not on our side, little man. You’re merely one of Astaroth’s pawns. But you may be of use to us if you’ve seen the black Charger.”

  “I … I haven’t.”

  Bill’s smile faded. “Unfortunate,” he said, and kicked the killer’s face through the back of his skull. He turned to the other one. “What about you, my friend? Have you seen the black Charger?”

  “Or the girl?” said Betty. “Overweight, with brown hair?”

  The second killer licked his lips nervously. “I … I haven’t seen her yet. Her name’s Amber, right? The, uh, the demon girl? I haven’t technically laid eyes on her yet, but if you want, if you think it could help, I can go outside right now and keep looking for her.”

  “No, that’s all right,” sighed Betty, and reached down and snapped his neck.

  “What do we do if we can’t find her?” Kirsty asked.

  “We will,” said Betty.

  “How? She’s going to be extra careful now that she knows we’re here. We’re not going to stumble across her again.”

  Bill sighed. “Are you still with us?”

  “What?” Kirsty said. “What does that mean?”

  “Are you with us?” he repeated. “We’ve gone over a hundred years working together, and haven’t we reaped the rewards?”

  “Sure,” said Kirsty. “But now Alastair and Imelda are dead, after Imelda betrayed us, and the only reason the Shining Demon isn’t trying to kill us right now is because he thinks we’re bringing him your daughter. We’re on dangerously thin goddamn ice.”

  “We just have to remain calm,” said Bill.

  Kirsty’s eyebrows rose. “That’s our plan? Remain calm? If the Hounds get Amber before we do, not only will we not have the key, but we’ll have proven ourselves useless to Astaroth, and then we’ll be right back where we were. I don’t like being on the run, Bill. It doesn’t suit me.”

  “This is ridiculous,” Betty said. “We’ll find Amber, all right? We’re her parents. We know her better than anyone. We’ve been right on her heels every step of the way so far, haven’t we? And she’s not running anymore, so now is our chance to catch up with her. After everything we’ve done for you, Kirsty, I would think that a little good faith wouldn’t be too much to ask for.”

  “Everything you’ve done for us?” Kirsty said, letting her anger cloud her perfect features. “It’s your fault we’re in this mess in the first place! At least our kids died when they were supposed to die!”

  “Oh,” Betty said, squaring up to her, “I’m sorry for raising a child who can actually think on her feet.”

  “You’re proud of her?” Kirsty said, frowning. “You’re actually proud of that little toad?”

  Betty struck Kirsty – hard – across the face, and the slap stunned the room into silence.

  “Now, ladies …” Bill said, stepping forward.

  Kirsty held up her hand. “Don’t say a goddamn word, Bill. Betty, you ever touch me again and I will rip your arm off.”

  “Fair enough,” Betty said. “I’m sorry, Kirsty. I didn’t mean to do that. We just need your trust for another few hours. Give us until midnight. I swear to you, we will find Amber, we’ll get the key, and we will help Naberius tear Astaroth to shreds.”

  “Midnight,” Kirsty said.

  “So where do we start?” asked Grant.

  “We start by having a backup plan,” said Bill. “You’re absolutely right, the both of you. We need to protect ourselves. Astaroth wants us to bring him either Amber or Jesper. We don’t know where Amber is, but everyone knows where the mayor resides.”

  “He’ll have guards,” said Kirsty. “Maybe even more of those cops.”

  “We can handle it,” Bill said. “We can handle anything. After you, ladies.”


  Betty walked out first. Kirsty followed, with Grant trailing after her. Bill took a look around and Amber ducked back.

  When she looked again, he was gone.

  SHE CALLED MILO, and Virgil came out to pick her up. Amber didn’t say much on the ride back, just sat and bled all over his seat. Virgil assured her he didn’t mind.

  When she got back to the house, Linda did her best to patch her up. Amber took a few painkillers. She was crashing hard after all that adrenaline, so she went to lie down and feel sorry for herself while Milo headed back out with Virgil to visit the town’s nuclear bunker. Two came with her, and she snuggled him and fell asleep, shivering despite the heavy blankets.

  When she woke, the shivers had stopped and the painkillers had worn off and Two was kicking out in his sleep. Groaning, and moving slowly, she tipped herself out of bed and shuffled from the room. She smelled food. Javier was cooking for the house, and there was a plate set aside for her. Ronnie and the others had been over the morning’s events again and again, she could see it in their faces – the triumph after finding Austin, and the wariness after their encounter with the Narrow Man. By the time she sat beside Warrick and involved herself in the conversation, they’d moved on to cheerier fare. They told her and Austin stories about their previous last-minute escapes. The way they told it, it was all chases and scares and running down mineshafts and through old hotels. They left out the murder and horror and death. Amber appreciated that. It was nice, this, being part of a group. She’d never experienced it before. It was comforting.

  Milo and Virgil got back a little before four.

  “The bunker will do us just fine,” Milo said once they were all gathered in the living room. “It’s basically a fallout shelter left over from the sixties, obviously never used. It’s safe, secure, and far enough out of the way that no one will stumble across it. It’s opened by a keypad, though, so we’ll need the code.”

  “And where do we find that?” Ronnie asked.

  “About five or six years ago there was this town-wide scandal,” said Virgil. “Couple of high-school kids were using the bunker to party and drink and do whatever it is young people do nowadays. They were found out, grounded, and the mayor said the code would be changed – but I don’t think he ever got around to it. You just have to find one of those kids, get them to tell you the code they used.”

  “Any idea who they were?” Linda asked.

  “Don’t remember their actual names,” Virgil said, “but I remember a nickname. Ridiculous thing, it was.”

  “The Party-Monster?” Kelly guessed.

  Virgil looked surprised. “You know him?”

  “We’ve met.”

  “I know him,” said Austin. “Well, not know him, but I know where he lives. I can show you if you want. There’s a house at the end of Barn Owl Road with a purple truck in the drive. It belongs to his dad.”

  “So that’s your job,” Milo said to Ronnie. “Talk to this Party-Monster individual. We’re going to need the bunker tonight.”

  “Still going ahead with your plan, are we?” Javier asked.

  Milo looked at him. “You sound like you don’t approve.”

  “Just playing Devil’s advocate,” Javier said. “You’ve gone to all this trouble to get Austin here back safely and stop the sacrifice … and now you want to sacrifice someone, anyway?”

  “We want to sacrifice Jesper,” said Amber, a little irritably. She immediately felt bad, but the pain from her shoulder was sending spikes into her mind. “He started all this. He’s responsible for all the evil done in this town.”

  “I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve it,” said Javier, “I’m just questioning the wisdom. You’ve managed to get a check in the win column – shouldn’t you just count your blessings and hightail it while you can?”

  “Finding Austin does nothing to save Amber from the Hounds,” said Kelly. “She helped us, now we’re helping her.”

  “By turning this town evil,” said Javier. “That’s what’ll happen, yes? When you do sacrifice Mayor Jesper, all that craziness you said will happen will actually happen, right?”

  Amber looked away. “Right.”

  “And, while the town goes crazy, we’re all sitting in the bunker? That doesn’t sound very heroic.”

  “Then it’s a good thing we’re not heroes,” said Milo. “The curfew’s at eight, that’s when all the kids have to get off the streets, and sunset tonight is, what, ten-thirty? Then it’s an hour’s wait until it’s actually dark. So ten o’clock is when we meet at the bunker. It’s tight, but I think we can do it. By then, Amber and I will have Jesper in tow and hopefully you guys will have the code to let us all in.”

  “You need any help?” Kelly asked.

  “We’ll be okay on our own,” said Milo.

  Kelly frowned. “Is it because I haven’t showered today? Warrick takes forever in there.”

  “I really do,” said Warrick.

  “I’m gonna shower the moment we finish talking.”

  “It’s not your hygiene,” said Milo. “Amber and I, using Shanks’s key, should be more than enough to snatch Jesper. The fewer the better. We bring him to the bunker, which you will have opened, we wait for the barrier to drop, and, when it does, we take Jesper to Naberius.”

  “Where you’ll kill him,” said Javier.

  “Where we’ll do whatever we have to do,” said Milo. “Then we’ll rejoin the rest of you while the town takes care of the Hounds, and wait till morning. Anyone have any questions?”

  “Just ethical ones,” Javier said. “But I don’t suppose anyone’s interested in those.”

  “What about the Narrow Man?” asked Linda. “We’ve taken his sacrifice away. We had hoped he wouldn’t notice until it was too late, but obviously that chance has passed.”

  “Hey, yeah,” Warrick said. “What’s to stop him from just snatching some other kid?”

  “We’ll need to keep an eye on him,” Ronnie said. “On Oscar Moreno, rather. I’ll do it. The rest of you get the code and I’ll tail Moreno, if I can find him.”

  “He knows your face,” said Amber. “He knows all our faces.”

  “Oh, for God’s sake,” said Virgil, “we’ll follow Moreno, all right? We’re not completely goddamn useless, and he hasn’t seen our faces.”

  “Uh, he’s wearing Javier’s, though,” said Warrick.

  “I’m an old man,” said Javier. “He’s not going to recognise me.”

  There were some uneasy glances passed around.

  “We’re not imbeciles!” Javier snapped. “We can find someone and follow him and make sure he’s not off kidnapping any more children. It’s not rocket science.”

  “But it might be dangerous,” Ronnie said.

  “Son, at our age going to sleep is dangerous,” Virgil told him. “This is nothing.”

  “Well, okay,” Linda said. “That sounds like a … like a good idea? Maybe? I think it does. We’ll take Austin with us, then. Cool.”

  Virgil nodded. “That’s settled.”

  “Amber’s parents,” Kelly asked. “Are they likely to cause us trouble?”

  “If this were a complicated plan, maybe,” Amber said. “But it’s pretty simple. Simple plans have fewer things to go wrong.”

  “You hope.”

  Amber shrugged, the movement sending fresh waves of pain coursing through her. She clenched her teeth to stop from crying out.

  “I got one more question,” said Virgil, not noticing her discomfort, “just because nobody else seems to be asking it. What then?”

  Milo glanced at Amber, then looked back at Virgil. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, what then? Supposing all this works out. The Narrow Man doesn’t snatch another kid, you get the code for the bunker, you grab Jesper, the Hounds come in, you kill Jesper, the town tears the Hounds apart … then what? You’re all going to ride off into the sunset? What’s going to happen to Desolation Hill? What’s going to happen to the people? Is the Narrow Man goi
ng to keep bringing those kids to that Demon they’ve got locked away?”

  “We’ll deal with the Narrow Man,” said Ronnie.

  “How?” Virgil asked. “I just got treated to a fifteen-minute, blow-by-blow account of how disastrously that went for you all this morning.”

  “He wobbled, though,” Amber said tightly. “As the Narrow Man, yes, I don’t think we hurt him one little bit. But, when he changed back to plain old Oscar Moreno, he limped. And he bled. I think when he’s disguising himself as, well, as you, Javier, he can be hurt. Maybe even killed.”

  “So then we go after him when he’s Moreno,” said Virgil.

  “I’m afraid it’s not as simple as that,” Milo said. “He changes form in a matter of seconds. We’d have to take him by complete surprise and I don’t see that happening.”

  “Well, take me along with you,” said Virgil. “I’ll distract him, you hit him from behind. Whatever he is, he’s a kid-killer, and kid-killers need to be got rid of.”

  “I’d agree with you there, sir, but things are moving pretty fast right now.”

  Virgil scowled. “I can still hustle when I need to.”

  “We’re not hustling, sir, we’re sprinting. I’m sorry, it’s just too dangerous.”

  “Don’t treat me like a goddamn child.”

  “I wouldn’t dare, Mr Abernathy, but the reality of the situation is that you are old, and going after the Narrow Man is no job for you.”

  “You need me,” Virgil said angrily. “If it wasn’t for me, you’d have no idea who this Narrow Man was. I figured it out. This started with me.”

  “And it’ll end with us,” Milo said. “I mean no disrespect, but you’ll have to view this from the sidelines. You can keep an eye on Moreno because you’ll be out of harm’s way, but that’s as close to the action as you’re going to get.”