Chapter Twenty–Two
“I never touched it,” Anna said. “Colbie and I had managed to save your life, but you were still so angry...”
“Who told me I was adopted?”
“Max told you. He regretted it right away because it only made matters worse. Your Jeep was totaled. You couldn’t go back to school. I was afraid you would turn that shotgun on yourself. All of the guns and sharp things were taken out of the house. You lost interest in practicing. You didn’t visit me at my house anymore or want to come into work. You were hurting...”
“I was depressed.”
“Colbie and I tried another protection spell. We asked Alice for help this time. The next day, you were in the hospital.”
“What did she do?’
“We called on Harvester. Alice had forgotten more spells than I know. She told us to cut ourselves, to offer our own blood. But the black candle did not light itself. No energy. I had the feeling that Harvester was done with us all.”
“Maybe Harvester had nothing to do with me getting sick.”
“We asked Harvester to make you forget your pain.”
“I could have died.”
“The fever was very high, but it passed after a few days—“
“You didn’t know what you were doing. Alice probably knew it.” Joshua wiped his mouth with his hand. “I need to talk to her. She can’t stay away from her house all night.”
Anna followed him out. He took one last look at the mural. The tall, white haired woman smiling with her mouth closed, to hide her crooked teeth. He pointed at her. “This is Rebecca. I called her Grandma. She gave me the crystal at the hospital.”
“Rebecca is Liz’s mother?”
“Bonnie didn’t mention it. Probably to protect me and herself.”
“They all hated Alice and Rebecca. After the fire—“
“You said Rebecca found me. Found me where?”
“I don’t know where you came from.”
“I told Brenda I’d check in at the plant. Can you take me there?”
Anna was nearing town when she noticed there were no traffic lights. Local buildings were dark.
“The power went out again,” Joshua said.
“There’s going to be some cold bodies tonight.”
The few traffic lights were a stressful three or four way stop. By the time Anna turned into the empty parking lot at Max Packaging, there was not enough daylight to walk safely. Joshua pulled the flashlights out of the glove compartment.
Anna offered to show Josh his wrecked Jeep. He followed Anna to the garage. Both doors were locked. If he could see his wrecked Jeep, maybe he could recall the accident.
“Was I going to or from Alice’s house?” he asked.
“I’m not sure.”
“I probably didn’t have a chance to speak to her.”
Joshua and Anna found the office doors locked, so they took the production employee entrance to the main floor. The area was dark, the machines off.
They both heard voices, steps coming from upstairs.
“Above the office,” Anna said.
They pointed their lights at the stairwell. Joshua stepped forward, Anna ready to follow. He put a hand on her arm. “Stay down here. If it’s safe, I’ll call for you.”
“It’s not safe down here, either.”
“You can wait in your car. Lock yourself up—“
“I’ll just wait in the office. I have my phone.”
“Do you have protection?”
“Just my wits.”
“You’ve been good to me, Anna.”
She shrugged. “You know enough to defend yourself now.”
“I just wish I knew what–or who–I’m supposed to defeat.”
“Josh, I know what Colbie did was crazy, but that baby is going to need all the help he can get.”
Anna headed for the door that led to the long hallway and the offices. The door was unlocked and she let herself in.
Joshua, after seeing her enter, turned and looked up at the stairwell. He took each step slow, because he wanted the element of surprise, but also to eavesdrop, to know who was up there. He turned off his flashlight.
He came to the last two steps and crouched down at the door, careful not to stumble.
The voices of women.
“...I may be too ill. But Harvester will favor him. Untainted blood...”
“The umbilical cord?”
“I’ve got it.”
“The things doctors can do with cord blood...”
“We don’t need doctors. We live in the harvest. Always.”
“Blessed be.”
“This was the right time, Aunt Becca. Leo can’t last much longer.”
Joshua heard more whispered laughter. “He was at least strong enough to deal with them all.”
“Not Max.”
“I hate that woman. Did anyone ever have the nerve to tell Brenda she’s stupid?”
“Creeping into Liz’s basement to call on Harvester? I was hiding down there. She had her candles and shit, even this thing that looked like a goat’s head—“
“If the ritual works, we can all walk out of here young again.”
“Harvester will bless us.”
Joshua rose slowly from the step. He had to get Colbie out of town.
He steadied himself in the dark. He turned around on the step, ready to dash down the stairs. Instead, he almost lost his balance when he took in the tall figure behind him.
No longer wearing a ski mask, Leo had a perfect hole in the middle of his forehead, a pentagram drawn around it in red. His head was now bald, the white moustache still present, but sticky with blood. His eyes were black, shining in the dark like a dog’s.
He clamped his big hands on Joshua’s shoulders, turning him around to face the door. His rotting smell filled the stairway.
Leo reached up, turning the knob.
Anna heard the noise in Max’s office.
She stepped closer, the door shut. Anna saw a flickering light underneath the door. Candles.
She stepped away, looking around. She kept her flashlight off, heading for the supply room next to the HR office.
Anna knew she could be overreacting, but her instincts were telling her to hide. The supply room door was never locked, and Anna slipped in, closing the door behind her as soft as possible. She turned on her light to take a quick look around; the usual stacked boxes of copy paper, used computer equipment, the closet full of files.
A desk was shoved against the far wall. Anna could see something there, covered with a dark sheet. Her nose caught an odor in the cold darkness. Sweat. Blood.
She took a few steps, but stopped, her light on the desktop. The shape under the cover was bulky and long, tucked tight against the wall.
Her light found the lock of white-blonde hair at one end, peeking out from under the cloth, embroidered with gold designs.
“Colbie?”
Anna called her name again. Already shivering from the cold, she started to tremble. She saw the blood soaking the cloth, drips running down the desk. Blood and gold thread. She ran to the door, hearing a rustling behind her.
“Anna...”
She turned around, trying to keep a grip on her flashlight. The light fell on the pasty white flesh, the belly torn open, blood and fluid running down Colbie’s legs, blood in her blonde hair. On her chest, between her swollen breasts, a pentagram shined in blood, a deep gash in the middle.
“Anna...”
Anna took in the dead black eyes and blood in the corners of Colbie’s mouth. The deep wound in her belly made a smile underneath her navel. Her slow footsteps were sticky on the floor. She raised her arms, as if ready to give a hug, and dashed towards Anna, who was already turning back at the door.
She had her hand on the knob and turned. Colbie’s fingers grabbed at her hair, only catching a few locks at the crown. Colbie yanked hard enough to pull Anna’s head back. Anna pushed herself forward, taking another step. Colbie let g
o of her hair, making her stumble.
Colbie’s scream filled the room. Anna, on her hands and knees, looked up and saw Colbie’s body leap through the air backwards, her head hitting the ceiling, arms and legs spread. She stayed at the ceiling, her head being smacked hard several times. She went limp and dropped to the floor.
Anna scrambled out of the room and into the hallway. The door shut hard behind her.
Harvester, she thought. I have his favor.