Finally Mossy spoke. “Okay, boys. Make it quick so we can get this done.” He shook his head and tried to laugh but it came out sounding like something much worse. “All these years and suddenly I’m in a big hurry. Go on, Denny. Tell your mom you’re going for a little hike. Grab some food if you can.” His voice broke when he added, “God I miss her.”
Denny nodded. “Cut through these woods but keep the house in sight. There’s a path that starts just behind the back fence. We’ll meet you there in a few minutes.”
The old man looked longingly at Denny’s house for a moment, then turned and walked into the trees. “Okay, Billy, let’s go.” He started to cut across the front yard then stopped. He turned and saw the same wide-eyed terror on Billy’s face that he knew was on his own. “I’m so scared, Billy.” He felt near tears.
“Me too, Denny,” was all Billy said.
He turned and walked toward the house trying to compose himself. Most likely his mom would be off in Never-Never Land and he would get in and out without as much as a word. Then a thought hit him, a thought so perfect he smiled to himself: if this really worked and Mossy came back with them, he might get his real mother back. That thought pushed the fear aside and he almost felt giddy. It’ll be a two-for-the-price-of-one bonus like they do at Maddie’s Ice Cream Shop before they close for the winter. I’ll get my mother and my grandfather! No extra charge! He chuckled out loud and turned to see a bewildered look on Billy’s face. “Just thought of something funny,” he muttered and went into the house.
His mother was in the kitchen, staring out the window over the sink. Denny’s heart fluttered—that window looked out over the backyard. What if she saw him? “Mom?”
She turned slowly, and Denny took a step back. The look on her face was… he thought back to a vocabulary word he had learned at some point… serene.
“I’m going to make spaghetti for dinner, even though I can’t stand the thought of lighting the stove on a day like this.” She stopped and her face brightened as if she’d just had a great idea. “Remember how your father hated eating spaghetti in the hot weather?”
Denny stared wide-eyed at his mother. She never brought up memories of his dad. Ever. “Yeah, he used to call it winter food.” His mother smiled and nodded. Denny felt dizzy; he turned and looked at Billy. He knew they had to go meet Mossy, but he felt like this might be some sort of breakthrough. His mother remained at the sink, with that strange look on her face. Kind of dreamy with a hint of a smile.
“Do you think he can see us, Denny?” Her voice was small and shaky, like a little girl.
He moved closer, wanting to put his arm around her but afraid to. “I’m sure he can,” Denny’s own voice was cracking badly, “and he’s probably telling Jimmy how crazy it is that you’re going to cook spaghetti in the middle of a heat wave.” He felt his eyes filling up, smiling at the same time. He stepped closer to his mother and put his arm around her waist. His smile disappeared when he felt her whole body tense at his touch. “It’ll be alright, Mom. I miss them every day, but it’ll be alright.”
“Denny, we should get that hike in before it gets too dark.”
Billy’s voice broke the spell and focused Denny. “Yeah, Mom, Billy and I are going to hike in the woods for a while.” His mother was gone again, so he turned to leave. He and Billy had reached the hallway when she spoke.
“Denny?”
“Yes, Mom?”
“Stay away from the army base, okay? That place… just stay away from it.”
Denny felt the temperature drop just like it did when his mother mentioned her dream earlier that day. “Sure, Mom, we’ll stay away, we’re mostly just trying to stay out of the sun.”
She stared at him. Really saw him. He could feel her trying to read him. Finally she nodded, satisfied, and turned back to look out the window again.
Denny and Billy left and walked around the back of the house. When they reached the end of the yard, Billy grabbed his arm. “Denny, is she okay? I know she acts weird sometimes, but what was that all about?”
Denny smiled a faraway smile, “I think my mother is coming back, Billy. Let’s go kill this fucking thing.” Billy looked dumbstruck but Denny said no more. Before he bent down to climb through the broken fence he glanced back. His mother was still there in the window, watching. He half-raised his hand to wave, then let it drop, and turned to the woods without another look back at the window.
(85)
Julie’s mind was spinning. What the hell was going on? The drive through town seemed endless. Charlie… that’s what he liked to be called before becoming a Dale Crawford disciple… drove cautiously. And why wouldn’t he, he didn’t have a driver’s license. Julie watched him as he drove, she could see the focus in his eyes, and admired his bravery. He had basically stolen his mother’s car to go visit the girl he loved, faced down the gang of bullies he used to run with, and was now helping her try to save Paul. She knew it was all for Cheryl and she thought it was romantic. An image of Denny popped into her head. Take your filthy hands off her, Crawford, she’s as sick and tired of your shit as I am. If Charlie had taken his eyes off the road at that moment, he would wondered why there was a slight smile on Julie’s face.
When they reached Hillview Julie was relieved to see no Mustang parked on the road or in Greymore’s driveway. She jumped out of the car, then leaned back in and instinctively kissed Charlie softly on the cheek. “Thank you. You may have saved a man’s life. Please, tell my dad what’s going on when you get back to the hospital, he’ll know what to do. Then be with Cheryl, she needs you.” Without waiting for an answer, she slammed the door and ran up the walkway.
She banged on the door, at the same time looking around helplessly for any sign of Dale. She felt like time was running out. She raised her hand to knock again and Paul was suddenly there.
“Julie, what’s wrong? Is it Joe?”
“You have to get out, Paul. They’re coming again.”
Paul smiled. “Haven’t we done this before?”
Julie opened the screen door and grabbed his arm. “Yes, and we’re doing it again, please. We’ll take the canoe again. We can dock at Cat-woman’s house and I can see if Denny and Billy are at Denny’s house. Something bad is happening, Paul. Can’t you feel it?”
Paul stepped out the door and Julie could only think of one word to describe the look on his face: haunted. “As a matter of fact, I can. Let’s go.”
Each of the properties on the lake was built on a cove. There was a natural barrier of rocks and trees jutting out into the lake that gave each residence privacy from their neighbors. Paul began to row out into the lake to get around the small peninsula.
“Cheryl said something came out of the lake and just took her baby. She called it ‘The Angel of Death’ but described it as having tentacles.”
Julie watched Paul’s face as she spoke. It had been unreadable until that moment, then she saw him flinch. They were around the peninsula and heading in toward the Cat-woman’s small dock.
“What is it, Paul? Does that mean something?”
The moment stretched as she waited for Paul to say something. Something that would make sense out of all the craziness that had taken place over the last few weeks. As they approached the dock, Julie squinted to see if Cat-woman was out there or if it would be just the cats to deal with. She could only make out a couple of shapes on the dock that looked like sleeping cats.
“What the…” Paul had stopped rowing and had pulled one of the oars out of the oarlock. He was fishing at something in the water. “Oh, shit.”