Secret Circles yrj-2

by F. Paul Wilson

  “Will it let you?”

  Jack"s gut instantly wound into a Gordian knot.

  “"It"?”

  “The thing that took me.” He began sobbing.

  “Oh jeez, what"s it look like?”

  “I never seen it. All I know is it smells bad. I was riding my bike in the woods

  and something hit me and I woke up here.”

  “But how have you survived without food or water or—”

  “It brings me food and water. Sometimes fruit, sometimes stuff that"s old and

  don"t taste good.”

  Jack was having difficulty buying this. “And you"ve never seen it?” “It"s dark! I can"t see in the dark!”

  Right. Dumb question. But obviously whatever took him had no problem with

  darkness.

  Jack flicked his beam over to the toys.

  “How"d these get here?”

  “It brings them, like it wants me to play with them, but I just want to go

  ho-ho-home!”

  As he started sobbing again, Weezy rose and took him by the hand. “That"s where we"re taking you right now.” She looked at Jack with a frightened

  expression. “As fast as we possibly can.”

  “Even faster,” he said, and led the way through the door—

  —into water. The whole buried town seemed to be filling with water. “Better get a real move on,” he said, “or we"ll be swimming home.” He started to climb the debris mound. “I"ll go first, Cody. You stay close behind

  and I"ll help you—”

  “Jack!” Weezy said in a harsh whisper. “Listen!”

  From somewhere in the distance on the other side of the mound, Jack heard a

  faraway growl.

  “It"s coming!” Cody screamed. “It"s coming!”

  14

  The knot in Jack"s gut tightened further as the air thickened around him, making it hard to breathe.

  What ever it was that had taken Cody, whatever had eaten the meat off those bones, was approaching along their escape route.

  “Quiet, Cody,” Weezy whispered as she pulled him away from the mound. “We"ll go this way.”

  “But we came the other way,” Jack said, keeping his voice as low as hers as he followed her.

  “We"ll get lost.”

  “I think I can get us back by another route—by a couple of other routes, actually.”

  “How?”

  She glanced over her shoulder and tapped her head. “The map—it"s in here. I think we"re under the Klenke house. I"m pretty sure I can get us back to the Lodge. Trust me?”

  “I do.”

  He"d trust her even if he had a choice not to—which he didn"t.

  But they had to move quickly, and with Cody looking backward all the way, he was going to slow them.

  “Hang on, Weez.” He pocketed his flash, then gripped Cody"s arm and squatted next to him.

  “Hop on, buddy. You"re going to ride.”

  Without a word Cody climbed onto Jack"s back and wrapped his arms around his neck.

  Hooking his elbows under the boy"s knees, Jack straightened and turned to Weezy.

  “Okay, you"re in charge. Move as fast as you want. I"ll keep up.”

  Flashlight aimed ahead of her, she took off at a cautious trot.

  Under the Klenke house… the stench Tim had mentioned there … the stink from the bone room seeping upward?

  He"d worry about that later. Right now he was concerned with the water that had risen to mid-shin level, slowing them.

  They"d made a turn and were just skirting a smaller debris mound when an enraged shriek echoed around them.

  Feeling Cody tense and take a breath, Jack turned his head and whispered, “Don"t make a sound or it"ll find us!”

  Cody"s chest quaked with a repressed sob but the only sound he made was a faint whimper. He tensed again as another shriek split the silence, but he kept mum.

  They came to another, larger collapsed area. Climbing over the fallen rocks and dirt wasn"t easy with Cody on his back—the kid was solid—but Jack managed.

  The water rose to hip level, which was bad because it slowed them even further, but might be good if it meant they were getting closer to their goal. It could also mean the lake was flowing in faster than ever.

  Weezy stopped and grabbed his shoulder. She put her lips close to his ear.

  “Hear that?”

  He listened. Somewhere ahead and to the right, a sound like running water—like a small waterfall emptying into a pond. A good-size hole must have opened up in the stone. Bad news, but it meant they were getting close.

  They began moving again, struggling against the cold water. Jack knew he"d be shivering if not for the exertion. Weezy led them off one passage onto another when a loud splash sounded from the passage they"d just left. A rapid series of smaller splashes followed it.

  “It” was coming their way.

  Jack pointed to an empty doorway.

  “Here!” he whispered. “Light off!”

  Weezy turned off her flash as they ducked through a doorway into a watery space as dark as the bottom of a mine shaft. The splashing was growing louder, coming closer.

  Jack squatted until the water was up to his neck— now he was shivering. He tugged Weezy down next to him, then pulled Cody off his back and positioned him between them.

  “Can you hold your breath underwater?” he whispered to the boy. “Like bobs at swim school?”

  When he felt him nod in return, Jack leaned closer and said to both of them, “When I give the signal, duck under and stay under as long as you can.”

  He didn"t know about the thing"s sense of smell, but if it was anything like its vision—what sort of eyes could see in this blackness?—the water could help mask their scent. And that might save their lives.

  The splashing grew louder and closer—“it” was pushing hard through the water.

  Closer …

  Louder …

  Closer …

  With his lips next to Cody"s ear Jack whispered, “Okay now, deep breath and down!”

  He pushed Weezy down and went under himself with Cody, praying they hadn"t ducked too soon. He had decent breath control, and was pretty sure Weezy was okay, but Cody … he had no idea how long he could stay under. If he had to come up for air too soon—like when their pursuer was right outside the door—it could mean the end of all of them.

  The absolute darkness above the surface seemed even darker below it. The splashing was still audible, but muffled. He felt Cody start to squirm—out of fear rather than need for air, he hoped, because it was too soon. The splashing was only a few feet away. Jack could feel the turbulence of its passing swirl through the door.

  Cody was struggling now, pushing upward. Jack didn"t want to hold him down any longer, afraid he"d gasp and sputter when he broke the surface and give them away. So he nudged Weezy and all three of them rose.

  “A breath and back down!” he whispered in Cody"s ear as they broke the surface.

  Cody gasped twice, then sank again along with Jack and Weezy.

  The splashing outside stopped. Had it heard them? Its own splashing should have drowned out what ever sounds they"d made, but it must have heard something—or thought it had. Why else stop?

  Jack tried to Obi-Wan it along, thinking, Move on…nothing here…move on…

  After an eternity during which Cody again began to squirm, it began splashing

  again—splashing away.

  Jack nudged Weezy and the boy to the surface where they gulped air as quietly as they could.

  The splashing was growing fainter.

  “It"s going the way we were headed,” Jack whispered.

  “We can go another way,” Weezy said, her teeth chattering.

  “You"re sure?”

  “Pretty.”

  Jack would have much preferred “totally” or “absolutely,” but he"d take what he could get.

  They waited until the splashing died away, then he hoisted C
ody onto his back again. Weezy flicked her flashlight, but nothing happened. She shook it but no light.

  “Jack?”

  Oh no! No-no-no! The possibility of water shorting out the flashlights hadn"t even occurred to him. Without light they were doomed.

  He grabbed Mr. Rosen"s from his pocket. It felt rubberized. As he hit the switch he prayed it had a better seal. The room lit up.

  “Thank God!” Weezy said as she snatched it from him and turned it off. “I"m going to turn it on for a second at a time. We"ll attract less attention that way.”

  “Good thinking.”

  The less attention the better.

  With Weezy in the lead, turning on her flash just long enough to give them a direction, they started moving again, retracing their path back to the previous intersection and turning right.

  The water had risen above Jack"s belt and he was detecting a current—slight, but it slowed their progress more. On the good side, though, if the water was flowing through the crumbling barrier, they need only follow the current to the trapdoor.

  The next time Weezy flicked on her flash Jack noticed that the formerly clear water was now muddy. Must have been picking up dirt from the caved-in spots. He saw it swirling their way from around the corner just up ahead to their right. Which meant that was the way to go. He was struggling to catch up to tell Weezy when she angled that way and turned off her light.

  Either she"d come to the same conclusion, or was listening to her uncanny sense of direction.

  As they rounded the corner a second later he ran into her back.

  “What"s wrong?” he whispered.

  “I can see light up ahead.”

  Jack pushed ahead for a look. He wanted to shout when he saw the glow seeping from a side passage maybe two hundred feet ahead on the left.

  Even though he was ready for it, the current was stronger than he"d expected. Cody was an extra drag, but Jack leaned forward and plowed on. Vaguely silhouetted ahead, Weezy kept the lead, her raised arms stroking the air as if swimming as her lithe body cut through the water—which now swirled around Jack"s lower ribs. Good thing he had Cody on his back. The little guy would be completely submerged here.

  When they made it to the last intersection, Jack wondered if the little pyramid was still sitting at the center. Doubted it. The current had probably washed it away.

  The flow strengthened further as they rounded the last corner. Jack could hear the water rushing in beyond the shaft of light beaming through the trapdoor. He was pretty sure he"d never seen anything so beautiful as that light. He felt a burst of strength and, even though the water was up to his armpits now and Cody seemed heavier than ever, he picked up speed.

  He jumped as he felt something brush against a leg. Were fish being washed in from the lake?

  Weezy gave up walking and swam ahead with smooth, strong strokes. It was slow going against the current but eventually she reached the stone ladder and hung there, panting. She had her face turned up toward the doorway when Jack felt a surge of water behind him. Without warning, a deafening shriek of rage filled the passageway and a bolt of pain lanced his scalp as Cody was torn from his back.

  Weezy screamed and Jack fell forward, plunging face-first into the cold flow. When he regained his footing and turned, he saw nothing but swirling water.

  Cody was gone!

  15

  “Oh my god!” Weezy screamed from the ladder. “Oh my god!”

  Jack tried to wade over to her but had to swim through the neck-high water. “What happened?

  Did you see it? Where"d he go?”

  She pointed a trembling hand toward the darkness of the passage. “Something

  took him! I heard it screech, and when I looked it had Cody and was diving under the water with him!”

  “Flashlight!” Jack said, holding out his hand. “Give!”

  Weezy pulled it out of reach. “Are you crazy? You can"t go after it! You"ll never find it, and if you do it"ll kill you!”

  But he couldn"t just stay here and do nothing.

  “What"d it look like?”

  She shook her head. “I saw wet black fur and claws and then it was gone. But it was big, Jack.

  Way bigger than you. That"s why you can"t go.”

  “But—”

  “Right now the best chance Cody has is if we can go find help and get the police and firemen here.”

  She was right—Jack knew she was completely right—but he felt as if he was abandoning that little boy.

  “All right. But we can"t waste a second. Let"s see if we can find a phone upstairs.”

  He wished they"d done that when they"d first heard Cody"s voice. But who knew? Who could have imagined this?

  “I—” Weezy gasped and pointed to his head. “Jack, you"re bleeding!”

  Jack touched the back of his head where it hurt and his fingers came away red.

  “Must have happened when it snatched Cody.” That explained the pain, but he had more important things to worry about. He rinsed his fingers in the swirling water and pointed up.

  “Come on. Let"s go.”

  As Weezy hauled herself out of the water and began to climb, Jack pulled himself under her and readied to follow. But as he took his first step, something grabbed his trailing leg and pulled him off the ladder and under the surface.

  He hadn"t had time for a breath. He had no air. He felt clawed paws grip his arms and pull him through the water and away from the light. He choked and fought against inhaling water.

  It"s trying to drown me!

  Suddenly it lifted him from the water and pushed him face-first against the side wall. The slam expelled the water that had been seeping into his throat, and he choked and gasped as he drank air, glorious air.

  Though he could hear Weezy"s voice screaming his name from a distance, he couldn"t see the thing here in the dark with his cheek pressed against the cold rough stone, but he could feel the creature"s hot breath on his neck as it growled close behind him. Jack sensed rage and hunger in that sound, and he knew right then he was going to die.

  Something like a smooth, thick wet rope snaked around his throat and squeezed. Was it going to strangle him?

  Its grip tightened and he shuddered as he felt something warm and rough—it could only be a tongue—squirm against his neck and lap at the blood oozing from his scalp.

  The creature stiffened and backed away a few inches, but didn"t release him. After what seemed like a long wait as the water rose toward his chin, the tongue licked him again.

  Suddenly the rope uncoiled from his neck and the paws released him. He was free. He heard a splash behind him and spun in the water, but saw nothing. He was alone and that was fine, that was wonderful.

  He began kicking and stroking with everything he had toward the light and Weezy"s calling voice.

  “Jack!” she cried when she saw him. Her words became mixed with sobs. “Hurry, Jack! Hurry!”

  He was stroking too hard against the increasing current to speak. Finally he reached the ladder and clutched at it. He looked up and saw Weezy"s tear-streaked face staring down at him.

  “Oh Jack, I thought you were gone forever!”

  So had he. And the thing was, he didn"t know why he was alive or how he"d survived. Once the thing had a taste of his blood, it lost interest in him. Was there something wrong with him? With his blood?

  Well, if so, he was glad of it. He would have loved to take a few moments here to think about it and catch his breath before climbing, but every second counted for Cody.

  His foot found a rung somewhere underwater and he was just starting his climb when he heard a loud crunching crack! to his right. He looked and saw a wall of water rushing toward him.

  The lake was exploding into the lost town.

  Terror ignited a burst of speed in his limbs as he rushed to escape the tsunami, but he"d climbed only halfway through the trapdoor when it hit him. He gasped as the force of it tore his feet from the ladder and dragged his legs along with it.
He might have been sucked back into the torrent if Weezy hadn"t grabbed one of his arms and helped him the rest of the way through.

  “What happened?” she said as he lay dripping and gasping on the floor.

  “The barrier must have given way.”

  He looked over at the trapdoor opening and saw the foaming water lapping at its edges. He pushed himself to his knees as an awful realization hit like a speeding truck.

  “Cody … he hasn"t a chance.”

  She shook her head. “Don"t say that! We"ve just got to find a phone and—”

  A splash and movement in the opening.

  Jack rolled away, expecting the creature to emerge. But instead Cody appeared, rising through the churning water as if propelled from behind.

  He was being propelled. Jack saw a pair of thick, black-furred arms pushing him out of the water. His limp form flopped onto the floor where he rolled over onto his back and lay still.

  Jack saw those two furred arms reach over the edge of the doorway, saw the sharp yellow talons of its hand like paws frantically claw at the floor, trying to find purchase, but they couldn"t hold.

  Slowly they slipped toward the opening, leaving gouges in the concrete. Something that could have been a snake or an eel or a smooth tentacle whipped out of the water and waved about as if trying to find something to grip.

  And then with a final scrabbling rasp of claws on concrete, the paws slipped through the opening and disappeared along with the eel or what ever it was.

  Jack stared in openmouthed shock. It had saved Cody—pushed him out of the water. He kept waiting for the hands to reappear, but they didn"t.

  He turned to Weezy. “Did you—?”

  “Jack!” she cried, pointing to Cody. “He"s not breathing!”

  Jack leaned over the boy and saw that Weezy was right. His face was white, his lips blue.

  Cody Bockman was dead.

  16

  Maybe not, Jack thought as he sorted through his shell-shocked brain, trying to tease out what he"d learned in life-saving class about drowning victims who weren"t breathing.

  Pulse—check for pulse!

  He thrust two fingertips against Cody"s throat, pressing into the

  flesh about an inch from the midline. He felt a weakly beating artery.

  “He"s alive!”