The Reaping (37 page)

Taking a deep breath and sending up a silent prayer to the God I was beginning to think really was up there, I twisted the door knob and stepped through.

And there I was, in the room with Nathan and the girl.  And I wasn’t too late.  I watched as the girl rose onto her feet in the center of the bed.

“You deserved that.  And more!”
The girl was shouting at Nathan and I knew her threats would come next. 
“Just wait until people find out what kind of a monster you really are.  Only a total loser has to take what he wants because no one is willing to give it to him.  And that’s what you are—a monster and a loser.” 

It was like the scariest déjà vu ever.  And just like in my vision, I watched Nathan’s face blanch and the girl become smug.

As the blood began to fill Nathan’s face, one thought rolled on a loop through my head because I knew what was coming.
What do I do?  What do I do?  What do I do?

I watched the surreal scene play out as if in slow motion.  Nathan’s face turned beet red and he shook with rage.  Then there was the cry, the one that proclaimed he was out of control and homicidal.  It still sent chills down my arms, just like it had earlier. 

I watched him jump up onto the bed and grab the girl by the throat.  My mind scrambled for what to do.  That’s when I saw Grey outside the window, watching.  In reality, the look on her face was hunger.  And pleasure.  And that spurred me into action. 

Distract him,
I thought.

Concentrating on the curtains, I lit them on fire, hoping that would distract him long enough for the girl to escape.  He didn’t even notice.  I shook the ground, the bed trembling on its heavy frame.  Nathan didn’t pause.  He was intent on killing the girl.

I saw the fire burning higher and hotter and wondered if I’d acted too impulsively.  Just then a vicious wind blew open the window and rain started peppering in on the curtains, quickly dousing the flames. 

And my eyes met Grey’s.  Her lips twisted in a dark, satisfied smile that enraged me.

I looked around frantically for something to use as a weapon, but I heard the girl’s choking sounds begin to fade.  In desperation, I leapt up on the bed and kicked Nathan in the head as hard as I could. 

Dazed, he sat up, releasing the girl’s throat, his body weaving dizzily.  I took advantage of the opening, curled up my fingers and punched him as hard as I could in the jaw, knocking him back onto the bed. 

I screamed at the girl, “Get up!  Get up!”  She didn’t move.  I bent to look into her face.  Her eyes were open and she was conscious. 

“She can’t hear you,” Grey said, appearing on the other side of the bed.

I reached down to grab the girl by the shoulders and shake her when a mighty wind blew through the window and knocked me off the bed and into the wall across the room. 

The gale force of the current pinned me against the wall.  Helplessly, I looked back at Grey.  She held one hand out toward me and with the other, she was flicking her fingers at Nathan’s face. 

“Get up, loser,” she was saying.

I watched helplessly as Nathan sputtered and sat up.  Disoriented at first, he looked down at the girl.  I held my breath, hoping he would forget his deadly intentions.  I was encouraged at first when he got off the bed.  But then I heard Grey whispering something.  She was chanting below her breath.

I watched Nathan go to the dresser and pick up a handheld mirror.  He broke it against the wall then bent to pick up a long, jagged shard.  I looked back to Grey.  She was still chanting, nodding in approval as he walked slowly back to the bed. 

“No,” I screamed, but no one seemed to notice.  Was he hearing Grey or was she doing something else to him to get him to do her will, influencing him somehow?

I had to stop him.  And I had to stop Grey—without killing her.  I closed my eyes and pictured the black sweater and jeans she was wearing.  Then I pictured them on fire. 

I didn’t open my eyes until I heard her screams then I turned my attention to the boy.  With Grey distracted with the flames, the wind died down and I slid to the floor.  I sat back on my haunches and watched Nathan as he lofted the piece of mirror over his head, aiming roughly for the girl’s face and neck.  And I pictured his hands on fire.

Suddenly, they burst into flame.  He shook his fingers and jumped back as if he’d touched something hot.  But there was no escaping the fire that was consuming his flesh.  Not unless I willed it. 

As he hopped around the room, squalling, shaking and swatting his hands in the air, I hurried to the bed.  I put my hands on the girl’s shoulders and urged her into a sitting position.  I grabbed her legs behind the knees and turned her around until her feet dangled off the edge of the bed.

Grabbing her hands, I pulled her off the bed and hurried her to a door on my side of the room.  I opened it up.  It was a closet, nearly empty, so I shoved her inside.  I closed the door behind me and turned my attention back to the two people on fire. 

The flames were working their way up Nathan’s arms.  He was on the floor writhing in pain.  In my mind, I doused the flames and they dwindled to nothing, leaving only charred and melted skin in their wake.

Grey was not in as bad a shape.  She had walked to the window and let the rain blow in on her, effectively extinguishing most of her flames.  Her eyes were on me.  And they were murderous.

The wind began to blow again, even stronger this time.  Quickly, I was pinned to the wall again, but then I was sliding along it toward the other door in the wall.

As I neared it, the wind blew it open and I was propelled inside, slamming against another wall, this one above the tub, which was full of water. 

My heart beat pounded against my ribs and thumped in my ears.  A knot of fear lodged in my throat and my mouth went dry.

And then I was under water.  I struggled to lift my head, but I couldn’t.  It was as if huge invisible hands held me under, hands that were impossible to move.  I tried to clear my mind enough to focus on Grey, but panic had taken over.  My worst fear was coming to pass.  I was drowning.  And it was all I could think about.

In the back of my mind, I saw my father and Derek and remembered that this was the deal I’d made.  If I was to free them, I had to let Grey kill me.  But something in me, some primal part of my spirit, wanted nothing more than to survive.  And it fought.  It fought
hard.

I kicked my legs and flung my arms, but there was nothing to grab onto, nothing to help me.  My lungs burned with the need to breathe, but still I fought.  Then my head started to spin lightly, an almost pleasant feeling amid the turmoil I was otherwise feeling.  My arms got heavier and heavier until they felt like they weighed a hundred pounds each.  It got harder and harder to move them. 

I shook my head to clear it, but that only served to make it spin faster.  And then the urge to breathe was just too much.  I opened my mouth to gasp and…air filled my lungs.

I coughed and sputtered, struggling to catch my breath.  When finally my head began to clear, I was more confused than ever.  I opened my eyes to look around and saw Grey hovering over me, her hands on my shoulders.

Then anger struck.

“Why did you save me?  I was almost gone.  I could feel it.  Why did you do that?  I’m supposed to
die!”

Grey shrugged nonchalantly and leaned her hip against the sink, her red hair cascading over her shoulders.

“A, it’s not that easy.  See?”  She held out her arms, which should’ve been burned to a crisp, yet there was not so much as a single blister to indicate she’d been on fire.  “And B,” she said, stepping to the edge of the tub and bending down to whisper in my ear.  “
I
have other plans.”

With that, she straightened, gave me a chilling smile and then she was gone.

I sat in the tub, silent and dumbstruck, trembling in the aftermath of what had happened.  A low moan startled me into action.

Rolling out of the tub, I was on my feet and through the door in a flash, only to find Grey hovering over Nathan, her teeth buried in his neck. 

“Grey!  What are you doing?”

She ignored me, sucking voraciously on his artery.  My mouth watered and my throat burned with sudden thirst.  My gums ached and the throb of another pulse beat in my ears.

With a thump, she let his head drop back to the hard floor and she stood.  “You can’t save everyone, Carson,” she said, wiping her forearm across her bloody mouth.  “And now I have help.”  And then she was gone.  Really gone.

I was alone in the room with Nathan, who was lying barely conscious on the floor.  His hands were a burnt mess and his throat was ravaged.

A pounding to my right brought my attention to the closet.  I rushed to open the door.  The girl just stood there for a minute, looking confused, before she peeked curiously around the room then took a tentative step forward.  Like a frightened doe, she eased out little by little until she was clear of the closet.

I closed the door behind her and she screeched, jumping like I’d pinched her.  She whirled around and looked sharply about.  It was then I remembered that she couldn’t see me. 

If she can’t hear me and she can’t see me, then how can I help her?  How can I tell her she’s got another chance?

She backed cautiously away from me, stumbling into the bed.  Clearly spooked, she hurriedly bent to pick up her clothes and get dressed.  I looked around in frustration, searching for some way to communicate with her.  Then I saw the desk in the corner.

Rushing to it, I saw a stationary box on top, along with a pen.  Quickly, I wrote her a note and carried it over to the bed.  Gently, I slid it onto the bed behind her where she’d see it when she turned around.  And she did.

Slowly, cautiously, the girl picked up the note and read it.  Her brow furrowed in perplexity and I saw her eyes go back to the top.  She read it again.

This won’t make sense, but you were supposed to die tonight. At Nathan’s hand.  You’ve been given a second chance at life, at
choosing
where your soul will end up.  Don’t waste it.  Believe.

I watched the girl’s face crumple as she squeezed her eyes shut.  Then the tears began to fall.  She fell onto the bed and put her face in her hands and she wept.  For several minutes I stood there, feeling accomplished and satisfied, but then I remembered that there was now a creature, more dangerous than ever, lying several feet from where this girl sat.  I needed to get her out of there.  Fast.

Scanning the room again, I spotted some cosmetics on the floor by the girl’s overturned purse.  I picked up a lipstick and uncapped it.  Red.  Perfect. 

I walked to the dresser and penned letters onto the attached mirror then threw the lipstick at the girl to get her attention.  She first looked down at the lipstick and then up, in the general direction from which it had come.  I knew the instant she saw my message; her mouth fell open. 

Get out NOW!

Within seconds, understanding prodded her into motion.  She swiped the lipstick off the bed, bent to her purse, shoved the contents back inside and took off out the door.  I followed her as far as the driveway where she hopped in Nathan’s car, started the engine and peeled out toward the main road at the end of the short drive.   

I walked back inside and went to stand over Nathan.  He was beginning to stir more and smack his lips, as if they were parched.  I knew what was coming for him, at least as far as what I’d experienced with Leah.   And I knew it wasn’t good.

As I watched Nathan, a symbol appeared on the door behind him.  I assumed it was the door that led to the rest of the cabin, as the other two were to the bathroom and closet.   The symbol was the one I’d seen on the girl, the same one I’d found on the door that brought me here.  Stepping forward, I was thinking,
It only stands to reason…