by E. C. Frey
I lift my disembodied hand, marveling at its animation. “Help.” Deadweight, my hand drops.
Has he come back to mock me? The bone man sits in the corner and laughs silently, his body shaking.
The man comes toward me. I don’t have the energy to struggle. He will finish me off without a fight.
“No. No.”
“Shhhhhh, little bird. I won’t hurt you.”
He lifts my head and lets me sip at water. “Spit it out.”
I should be afraid, but he covers me with his jacket.
“Why are you here?”
“I’m here to save you. You’re one of my little birds. My two birds who shivered outside the fire.”
“But how did you get here?”
“Shhhh. Rest now. I have to take care of the other.”
“No.” I shake my head. Black pins of pain shoot around corners and I close my eyes against the horror. “He’s dangerous.”
He smiles. “I know how to take care of his kind. Don’t worry, little bird. You’re lucky he wanted you to suffer. He killed all the others.”
“What others?”
“Shhh. He doesn’t matter anymore. Help will be here soon.”
He stands in the sun, but I can only see his shadow. “Don’t leave me. The bone man will take me.”
He stares into the corner. “He can’t hurt you anymore.”
And then he is gone and the light fills the interior of the chamber. I close my eyes against it and find darkness again.
I open my eyes to light and noise. There is no kindness in the commotion. I should be thankful to be found, but the sleep was far more merciful.
Men in uniforms scramble around me. My head is rooted to the ground and every movement is an agony.
“How did she get in here? She couldn’t have gotten in here herself.”
“She didn’t. Better get the police in here.” His companion’s head turns as he yells for a stretcher. I cannot make out their uniforms, but the fresh air mingled with the stale reminds me I’m still in between worlds.
The light assaults me still. I’m beginning to welcome the reprieve from the darkness that was so final—the terror of it! I have always been a witness to others’ terror. It’s the reptilian snake that slithers into man’s consciousness and makes him an animal. I felt that animal—and its monstrous child, fear—inside me. I could have been the perpetrator of those same acts if it had only stayed the growing void, the gnawing nothingness of starvation and death. And now I know what it is to be more than the witness—to be the experienced.
I turn my head to the light and let it bathe my skin.
“Who are you?”
“Don’t worry, ma’am. We’ll have you out of here shortly. Don’t move.” A look of concern crosses his face. “Where do you hurt?”
I lift my fingers to my head.
“I thought so.”
His companion reaches to maneuver the stretcher. “That would explain how she got into this mausoleum.”
“Sweet Jesus.”
It would have been a slow and terrible death. Invisible to the world, I would have diminished until there was nothing left but the agony of my last dying breath. Alone. Is that how it felt for Great-Grandmother?
“They were coming.” The tears, unbidden, overwhelm me and scald my face.
“Who was coming?”
“The bone man.”
The men look at me. “Let’s get you to the hospital.”
They lift me onto a stretcher and cover me with blankets, but I shiver against the memory of my ordeal.
As we emerge from the mausoleum, Fiona and Esperanza appear.
“Oh my God, Mariah,” Fiona cries.
“Oh, thank God.” Esperanza crosses herself. “What the hell happened?”
But I do not have any words.
“Eve!” She is speaking animatedly to a man in uniform who writes in a notebook.
Esperanza grabs my hand. “What is it, sweetheart?”
“Why are we here? Weren’t we searching for something?”
Esperanza’s voice soothes me as she strokes my throbbing head. “Mariah, you have to go the hospital. I’m going with you. I won’t leave you.”
“The bone man took my clothes. He took everything. He wanted my soul. He wanted me to die with the ghosts.”
“I know. It’s going to be all right. We’re going to the hospital now.” Esperanza gently strokes my bruised flesh. I float through the anguish and feel myself being lifted, rolled, and buoyed until I’m no longer aware of the light, just the unspeakable torment.
Noise and movement linger, but they are a reminder I still belong in the world. I cling to that truth. I am still here. Gentle hands lift and tug at my head. I don’t mind; I cling to what is real. It is my salvation. The alternative terrifies me and it is equally as real as the pain. It is far better than to be dead, spirited away by the creatures that bound me.
There are so many hands and so many voices as I drift along the fringes of consciousness. Something jagged pierces my flesh, and my awareness fades.
“Mariah?”
My head won’t move. “Eve. Where’s Espy?”
“She went to get a drink. You have a nasty concussion and . . . other injuries. Do you remember what happened?”
“No. I remember being with you. We were looking for something, and then the spirits came for me. They wanted to keep me. They hurt me.”
“We were in the graveyard at the church. You disappeared, and then we found you in a mausoleum. We were looking for him. He must have found you and taken you away while I was on the phone. Listen, honey, the police have discounted the idea of a multinational like AAC. They think it’s far-fetched. Besides, people have seen a scruffy man who fits our guy’s description lurking around the hotel. They have an APB out for him. No one has seen anyone else suspicious.”
“No. It wasn’t him. I know it wasn’t. It was the bone man and his wraiths.”
“What bone man? What I don’t get is, if it’s not the AAC guy, then . . . why you?”
Why is Eve not listening? “I don’t know, but it wasn’t him.”
“It had to be. But why you? Or is he toying with us, one by one? He showed himself to Heather, and now you.”
“What are you saying, Eve?”
“I’m trying to figure out why you? We’ve been so worried about Heather, but it seems he’s after you as well, or maybe all of us. It’s clear he meant you great harm.”
“It wasn’t him.”
“It had to be. Anyone else would’ve left you dead.”
“I’m telling you, it was the bone man.”
“Who’s this bone man? You’re not making any sense.”
“Yes, I am. It was the bone man.” I close my eyes and he is as clear as the light on the other side of my eyelids. He smirks. “He’s still here.”
Fiona quietly opens the hospital door and Esperanza follows.
“What?” Esperanza’s voice trembles.
Eve looks at her quizzically. “What do you mean, ‘what’?”
“You were looking at the door like you had seen a ghost.”
Eve blanches. “I thought I might. Mariah says her attacker is in here now.”
Esperanza’s eyes widen. “What?”
Eve shrugs. “He really messed her up.”
“I’m telling you. It wasn’t him, and the bone man’s still here.”
Esperanza leans against my bed and caresses the bandages around my head. The action makes me want to cry. “What happened? I don’t understand. We were supposed to stay together. Why did you leave?”
“I don’t know. I don’t remember anything. I don’t remember leaving. I swear I don’t remember moving.”
Eve lifts my hand, holds it, and caresses it. “Maybe she didn’t leave. Maybe he hit her while I wasn’t looking. We can’t really rule out anything here. He was always very strong and totally fearless.”
Esperanza shakes her head. “Fearless, yes, stupid, no.”
“We need t
o talk to the police again. This could be much bigger than anything we can handle. Mariah has already been assaulted and left for dead. I can’t bear to think of what happened to her in there. Next time, there may be no one to save us. One or all of us could end up dead. Just like we thought he did that night. Just like the other. And we need to protect Heather. Shannon could be in danger, too. Our little Shannon.”
“Yes, but Eve, that was all caused by Jazmin, not us,” Fiona says.
“How can you say that? We were there and we were the reason his house burned down. Do you think any of that would’ve happened if we hadn’t been there? And what about the guy he killed? We know he’s capable of that, even if we can’t tell the police that.”
Fiona was incredulous. “We were there because he had Heather.”
“He had Heather because we were someplace we were not supposed to be, Fiona!” Eve said. “Do you think Jazmin or Damon would’ve gone to his house if they hadn’t been chasing us? Chasing you? Think about it. We may not have wanted it to happen, but we’re the reason it happened. And then we ran away. Pretended it never happened. Well, a house burned down and someone died because of us. Worse, the whole damn neighborhood caught fire.”
“Ay, Dios. Stop it, both of you,” Espy says. “We can’t turn back the hands of time. We need to stay in the present.”
“How can we stay in the present when the past is tormenting us?” Fiona moves closer to Eve. Her voice quivers. “I never meant anything to happen. I was as much a victim as anyone else. Do you think I would have wished any of this on us? Do you think I would’ve wanted Mariah to be assaulted? To die like that?”
Eve sighs. “No, Fiona. I’m sorry. We were all equally responsible.”
“Responsible for what happened to us?” Fiona shakes her head. “We were just unlucky. We were at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Well, we need a plan now,” Eve says.
Fiona’s cell phone rings.
“Hello.” Pause. “What do you mean?” Pause. “You’re kidding me. This is disastrous!” Pause. “Well, have you called the police?” Pause. “Yes. We’ll be there in a minute. Thank you.” Fiona clasps her hand to her chest.
It has to be Heather. He couldn’t have been here and there at the same time. Nothing makes sense.
“All right. Thank you for calling. We’ll be there as soon as possible.”
“Fiona, what’s happened?” Eve’s voice wavers.
“I asked the front desk to send someone up to my room to tell Heather we’re at the hospital with Mariah. I told them to check mine and hers, in case she took Shannon back there after she woke up from her nap.”
“And?”
“And no one is in either room. And someone thinks she was the woman who ran out yelling call 9-1-1.”
Esperanza’s voice is heavy with emotion. “Wait. Maybe they’re mistaken and it was someone else.”
Fiona shakes her head. “No one was in the room when they called up, and she wouldn’t have left voluntarily. We need to go find her and Shannon.”
“We can’t leave Mariah,” Espy says. “What if he didn’t do this to Mariah after all and someone else is out there? What if the police are wrong and this AAC guy was the one who abducted her? Then he’s still out there. He’s still a threat to Mariah. Besides, Heather would’ve called one of us. She wouldn’t just leave. Nothing’s making sense. And what did the police say when they arrived?”
“They took down the information, but no one saw anything so they’re not sure there’s anything wrong,” Fiona says. “They said she should’ve stuck around to tell them what her emergency was. Without that, they have nothing to go on. Our rooms looked normal.”
Eve shrugs. “Espy’s right. And the real danger could be here, for Mariah. Even if the police don’t believe it. Mariah believes AAC is serious about stopping her from exposing them.”
I have to shake my head. The pain medication is wearing off. “No, it’s the bone man.”
Ignoring me, Fiona says, “And what if he’s searching for Heather now or he has Shannon and that’s why Heather ran out?”
“I don’t know,” Eve says. “And I’m still worried about AAC. I know the police don’t believe it, but they’ve already killed a friend of hers.”
“Oh my God.” Fiona holds her palm to her forehead. “This is way over our heads. Let the police deal with that. It’s doubtful we can even handle a lone man from our past—forget about an assassin. I’ll talk to the police. Maybe they can put some extra security at her door.”
Eve considers. “We know there’s danger here. I’m worried.”
The bone man winks at me. He knows I will soon be alone. My friends have discussed it in front of him. Security will be outside the door, not inside with the bone man and me.
“It’s a chance we have to take,” Fiona says. “Heather is in trouble, whether it’s from him or someone else, and no one can give us any answers. We have to find them out for ourselves.”
“What about me?” I ask. They cannot leave me here. The bone man will tell the others. They’ll come for me!
Espy lays a hand on my leg. “Chica, you’re not strong enough to come. It’s a miracle you’re alive. Fiona’s right. We need to find Heather and Shannon. We need to leave you here. It’s safer here. There’s security outside your door. We’ll be back before they discharge you from the hospital. We’ll make sure of that.”
“How can you be sure? What if you don’t make it in time?”
Eve squeezes my IV-festooned arm. “We will. I promise. I’m telling the police what you told me in the cemetery. I’ll make sure you have a guard the whole time.”
I grab her arm but she’s slipping away.
“They’re coming,” I say. “I know they are. He’s coming and he’s bringing them.”
Fiona frowns. “Mariah, no one’s coming. You’re safe here. There’s security everywhere. Right now you’re safe here, but Heather and Shannon may be in trouble.”
“There’s nothing in the dark, nothing but the cold. Nothing but the bone man.” A lone tear slides down my raw face.
In the corner of the hospital room, the bone man smiles and licks his lips.
30 Esperanza
It’s been six hours since we left the hospital. Six hours since we left Mariah by herself. Six hours since we received the desperate call from Heather. Come. Brandon has Shannon. Heather in the rental car, racing up Highway I-95 like a bat out of hell. Following Brandon. We are going. Heather has the rental car we would have all been using for the vacation. Our vacation, which has turned into . . . what? Revenge? Punishment? Reckoning? What did we ever do but be normal teenagers? God is merciful. He protects innocence—and we were so damned innocent. No! We were one up from that . . . we were naïve.
I take Angelica’s floppy bunny from my suitcase and lay it next to Izzy’s Pegasus drawing. My precious relics will take the last place in my suitcase, on top. It was only yesterday that I first packed them. I thought the next packing would take me home. Life has a funny way of changing plans midstream. Running home is not an option. To be surrounded by my husband, children, and the comfort of everyday domestic rituals—what a stark contrast to the unknown danger ahead. I retrieve my rosary from the bedside table and tuck it into the side pocket of my purse.
A knock on the door startles me. Fiona and Eve are distorted by the curvature of the peephole.
Fiona practically falls through the door when I open it. “You’re shut up in here like it’s Fort Knox,” she slurs. Her gestures are extravagant.
“How many?”
“How many what, Espy?”
“How many drinks have you had?”
“What does it matter? I’ve only had a couple. I need them to make this ridiculous trip.”
“Why do you need them, Fiona?”
“Because I won’t be of any use to you in Connecticut, but Eve’s still making me go.” Fiona plunges onto the hotel bed.
“We’re all going or we’re not going a
t all,” Eve says. “How many times do I have to tell you this, Fiona?”
“Yup. You’ve already told me, my fine, serious friend.”
Eve moves to the window. Folding the curtain back, she peers down at the courtyard. The light illuminates her worry lines. “We need to go now. Our ride will be here soon. We have to get on that plane.”
“Aren’t you a little worried about Mariah?”
“Of course I’m worried, Espy. I don’t know whether we should move forward or stay. But look, Mariah is safe in the hospital. The police have put a guard at her door and detectives are going to ask her some questions.”
Fiona, giggling, kicks off her shoes and belches into the comforter.
“Fiona, get up!”
Fiona rolls over and swipes blond tendrils from her face. “I guess this means Mariah’s better off in the hospital than Heather is out of the hospital.” She laughs hysterically before rolling off the bed.
“She’s got a point, Eve,” I say. “We’re leaving Mariah alone to deal with this awful assault. It’s not right. We’re better together. Remember? I just don’t feel good about this.”
“I understand, but what do you want to do? Forget about Heather? She asked us to come. We don’t even know what’s happened to her. It’s a long way between here and Connecticut. Who’s going to let us know? Moving makes more sense than sitting here waiting for the next thing. We’re like sitting ducks. And we can’t really go to the police without telling them everything that happened that night and revealing the part we played in it. A man died and we don’t even know who he was. So how are we going to defend ourselves in his death? And the guy who probably did kill him doesn’t even exist anymore, except in our minds.” Eve pauses. “And there’s more.”
She tells us about Mariah’s threatening letters from the multinational water company. That her coworker was found dead in his hotel room.
“Fiona’s right,” she concludes. “Let the police deal with it. This is bigger than we can handle. We’re in way over our heads. Heather we might be able to handle. It’s Brandon. He’s a snake, but he’s just an ole rat snake.”
“But I can’t bear to think of her lying there alone,” I protest. “She’s so lost and terrified. It breaks my heart.”
