"Don't scream," he told her. "I'm not going to hurt you." He raised the knife, and she whined, the start of a shriek building in her throat.
"Okay," he said, and dropped the knife again. "Shhh. Don't scream. It's okay. I put it down."
Her scream turned into a fearful sigh.
Timmy turned to Karen. "Do you know where it is now?"
"It feeds at night. Usually comes back just before dawn. That's when it… that's when it happens. After that, it sleeps."
Timmy paused, listening for the sounds of the backhoe. He didn't hear anything. He wondered if he'd even be able to hear it this far below the surface.
"The sun will be up soon," he told Karen. "We' ve got to get you both out of here before the ghoul comes back. See if you can help me cut her loose. Then the two of you head straight down that tunnel. It goes for a long way, but keep following it."
"What about you?"
"I've got to find my friend, Doug Keiser. Do you know him?" She paused; then nodded. "Fat kid? Yeah, I know him. Hangs around with you and the Smeltzer kid. I remember now. All three of you guys used to talk to Pat… he liked you. I 'd forgotten. Forgot about… Pat."
Her face blanched, and Timmy thought she might scream. Instead she swooned. He propped her up while she shook against him, her entire body quivering.
"Is he okay?" she asked. "Patis he alive?"
"Yeah," Timmy lied. "Sure. Help me get Deb loose and we'll go see him, okay?" She nodded. Steadying herself, she rose to her feet.
Timmy shined the flashlight back to Deb. This time she met his gaze. Her lower lip trembled.
"Please," Timmy said. "I need to help my friend. Let me help you first, okay?" Her nod was barely perceptible, but she consented in silence. Timmy began cutting her bonds.
"Hurry," Karen urged.
"I'm going as fast as I can. This knife wouldn't cut a wet monkey." Karen frowned at the odd statement. Timmy grinned, and tried to squelch the sudden sadness that overcame him. It had been a longtime private joke between him, Barry, and Doug. Doug had first uttered it one night when they were camping out, and the phrase had never failed to make all three of them laugh.
Now, it just made Timmy want to cry.
"Have you seen Doug down here? I can't leave without him." The vines and roots around Deb' s wrists and ankles fell away. She still looked afraid. Trying to ease her fears, Timmy sat the pocketknife down and backed away from it, still crouched at eye level with the frightened woman.
"We haven't seen him," Karen said. "But why would he have been down here in the first place? Was he helping you?"
Before Timmy could respond, there was a rustling sound behind them. Deb screameda hoarse, wretched sound, like gargling with glass. She clawed at the dirt and stared over Timmy's shoulder. At the same time, Timmy became aware of a faint illumination spreading throughout the chamber. It wasn't much, but it was definitely noticeablea pale, flickering luminescence, much like the light cast by the slime. The foul stench that permeated the entire tunnel network suddenly became stronger. And then something hissed. It sounded like air rushing from a punctured tire. Karen shrieked. Deb pressed against the wall. The hairs on the back of Timmy' s neck prickled. He was afraid to turn around, afraid that if he did, he might pee his pants. But he did anyway, and came face to face with Doug.
His best friend's disembodied head swung back and forth like a pendulum, dangling from the ghoul's left hand. Its long, curved talons gripped Doug' s hair. The creature stood in the entranceway to the chamber, blocking their escape. It looked nothing like the monsters depicted in Timmy ' s comic books. Naked, its body was almost completely devoid of hair, except for between its legs and a few long strands along its body. It was thin, but its limbs were knotted with corded muscles and its stomach bulged considerably, as if it were pregnant.
Its white skin was covered in filth, and yet still shone with an eerie incandescence. It had yellow, baleful eyes, a pointed head, and thick black lips that resembled two pieces of raw liver. Its mouth and face were slicked with fresh blood. The ghoul ' s gray tongue flicked out and licked some away. Then it grinned, revealing pointed teeth. They looked very sharp.
"Are you looking for this, child?" Its voice was like sandpaper. Timmy couldn't speak.
The ghoul held Doug' s head aloft. "A friend of yours, yes? He was succulent. A fine repast, indeed. The fat melted in my mouth. For too long I have fed on carrion. I wonder how you will taste."
Timmy shouted at Karen to run, but even as he did, he realized there was nowhere to run to. His voice sounded very small and afraid. He couldn' t take his eyes off Doug 's head.
"You are trespassing in my home," the ghoul said. "Disturbing my mates, and threatening discord amongst my tribe. You should not have come here." Growling, the ghoul flung Doug' s head at them and then leapt. Timmy flung his hands up in front of his face and dodged right. Karen jumped to the left. The head bounced off the wall, knocking soil loose, and then rolled across the floor. The ghoul followed behind it, landing in front of Deb. Teeth snapping, it whirled toward Timmy. With a frantic, shrill scream, Deb seized the pocketknife with both hands and plunged the blade into the creature' s groin. The ghoul shuddered, then howled. Its hands cradled its wounded testicles.
Blood spilled through its fingers. Timmy stared at it in horror, then glanced back down at Doug ' s head. His dead, sightless eyes seemed to be staring right at Timmy.
"Run!" Karen grabbed his arm and led him toward the exit. As they fled, Timmy glanced over his shoulder. Bellowing with pain and rage, the ghoul ripped the knife free. Still on her knees, Deb lashed out with her bare hands, striking at the creature. It struck back, knocking her to the floor with one swipe of its massive hand. Then it turned and faced them.
"I will kill you slowly, boy."
Timmy ran.
The backhoe's front scoop gouged at the earth. The engine coughed, but kept running. Barry dropped the dirt to the side and then dug up another scoop full. A yawning crevice appeared beneath the soila tunnel, sloping downward at a sharp incline. He' d decided to use the front scoop rather than the back scoop to save time, and the results were worth it. Behind him, the cemetery looked like it had been infested with giant groundhogs. Holes and collapsed graves dotted the landscape. He drove on a few more yards, his progress slowed by weaving the big machine around the tombstones, and then started digging again.
Barry glanced at the sky and saw that it was getting brighter. The first true rays of sunlight crept over the horizon. But here on the ground, it was still dark. He tried to go faster. The backhoe ' s oversized tires ran overtop a small gravestone. He began digging again, dragging the scoop through the dirt, making trenches instead of holes. The back end lurched and Barry glanced around. The left rear tire had fallen into the earth. The dirt had collapsed beneath it, and Barry saw that he was sitting on top of a tunnel. Trying to maneuver away before the entire thing caved in, he gunned the engine. The motor thrummed.
When his father began shouting, Barry didn't hear him.
Timmy and Karen plunged through the darkness, running as fast as they could. The flashlight beam bounced off the walls and floor, jostled by the exertion. Timmy let Karen lead the way, but her captivity had left her weak, and she kept stumbling and slowing down. Timmy urged her on. Behind them, he heard the sounds of pursuit. The ghoul howled, sputtering curses and threats. Its feet pounded on the dirt floor. The tunnels echoed with its harsh, ragged breathing. Karen clambered over the splintered wood from a broken casket, and Timmy urged her to move faster. He cast a terrified glance over his shoulder and saw the ghoul narrowing the distance between them. It ran hunched over, one hand still cradling its wounded groin. It looked like a ghost, the phosphorescent slime glowing all around it as it neared them.