The shadows gathered. They flooded into the white porcelain case on the floor and rattled the bones. The murmuring fell away. It sounded like all the wind was being sucked out of the room through a small hole. The sound whistled and swirled. The shadows rose to meet the bottom of the apparition. Alan saw their shapes, outlined in white light. Their faceless heads turned up towards the light and their stubby arms reached towards it. They seemed to consume the light, pulling it down with their greedy, fingerless hands.
The light began to wane, absorbed from underneath by the creatures. On the floor, the woman gripped Pauline to her breast. Her light had gone out—the two looked up and watched the apparition.
Alan’s back found the wall. His eyes were burned from the light. As it faded, he was left looking at purple images of the woman in the hoop dress. He slid along the wall and tripped. He felt air rushing into the little cabin and he pulled himself into the wind, hoping to find the door. He still clutched Joe’s clothes and the letter with one hand. The other hand felt the way. It found wet bones and soft organs.
Alan heard a laughing behind him. He looked back and behind the purple blobs burned into his eyes, he saw the fire swell. He felt the heat on his back. Alan crawled farther. His hand found the book. He pulled that to his chest and gathered it in with the clothes. The wet ribs of Rick Prescott crunched under his knee and Alan spilled out onto the porch. He found his feet and ran. Behind him, he heard an explosion of fire.
A dark shape loomed in front of Alan. He tried to turn, but he crashed directly into the trunk of a maple tree. Alan fell backwards and the world spiraled to black.
Alan woke. He couldn’t tell if his eyes were open or closed. The world was a purple blob. Both of his arms were wrapped around Joe’s clothes and the book. His toe throbbed. He was being dragged.
Alan twisted and fought his way out of the grip of whatever was dragging him through the forest.
“Are you okay? Get up,” Bob said.
“I can’t see,” Alan said.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Hotel
OCTOBER 24
“ARE YOU awake?” Liz asked.
Alan opened his eyes and blinked against the light.
“Too bright,” he croaked. His throat felt like he’d swallowed broken glass. A loose sheet and a blanket were draped over him.
“Sorry,” Liz said.
He heard curtains being drawn and the world on the other side of his eyelids dimmed. Alan tried his eyes again. Despite the ache, he could see shapes and shadows. His arms were gripped tight around his torso. Liz pulled at his hand and Alan fought her.
“It’s okay, Alan. You’re okay,” she said.
He let her unwrap his arms and pull him into a hug. He held her tight. She was sitting on the bed next to him. He saw the flickering light of the TV over her shoulder.
“Where are we? Where’s Joe?” Alan asked.
“We’re at the Kingston Village Inn. You always said you wondered what it would be like to stay here. Joe’s got the adjoining room.”
“I don’t remember.”
“You were pretty out of it. Speaking of which, it’s time for your pills. How’s your pain?”
“I don’t know,” Alan said. “Fine. It hurts. What did they do?”
Liz handed Alan a cluster of pills. He tossed them back and then she helped him lean forward so he could take a sip of water.
“They took off a chunk of your toe and then sewed it up. You’ve got painkillers, this anti-swelling stuff, and antibiotics,” Liz said. She pulled back the blanket. Alan’s foot had a loose bandage around the toe. “You’re supposed to use those until the stitches come out.” She pointed at crutches leaning against the wall.
“And eye drops,” Liz said.
Alan tilted his head back while Liz squeezed a couple drops in each of his eyes. He tasted salt and iodine in the back of his throat.
“Bob! Is Bob okay?”
“Yes, he’s fine,” Liz said. “You don’t remember your trip to the hospital? Bob drove.”
“No,” Alan said. He swallowed.
“I have to go into work for a few hours to take a couple of meetings. I’ll open the door to Joe’s room. You can yell if you need anything,” Liz said.
“Okay.”
“You’re going to be okay?”
Alan nodded.
“When I get back, I want to hear what happened,” Liz said. “Bob told me some of it, but he didn’t know all of the details.”
Alan nodded. He closed his eyes. They felt better closed. There was still a purple dot in the center of his vision and a frustrating itch that originated somewhere within his skull. Liz kissed him on the cheek.
A knock woke him up.
Alan pushed back the blankets. He felt sticky and hot under the covers. He pulled himself up to more of a sitting position.
“Joe?”
Alan blinked. He heard his son jogging up to the bedside.
“Yeah Dad?”
“The door,” Alan said. He reached for the water. It felt like there was a cricket trapped in his throat and it struggled to get free whenever he talked. He gulped at the water, hoping to drown the insect. The water helped.
“Who is it?” Joe asked. He stood on his tiptoes to see through the peep hole.
Alan couldn’t hear the answer. Joe opened the door and Bob was standing on the other side.
Joe turned to Alan. “Can he come in?”
Alan waved Bob in. Joe closed the door and set the chain again. Joe lingered by the foot of the bed for a second and then went back through the door to his adjoining room. Alan heard Joe’s TV come on.
Bob set his bag down and pulled up a chair.
“How are you doing?”
“Okay,” Alan said. He drank the rest of his water.
Bob took the glass over to the sink and refilled it.
“You were pretty out of it after you came out of the cabin,” Bob said. He kept his voice low. “I got you back to my car and then you passed out again.”
“How did…” Alan began. He cleared his throat. “How did you get out?”
“Manchester Road,” Bob said. “The flooding had gone down so I went around the barricade. No big deal. My cell started working again as soon as we got out of Kingston proper. Your wife met us at the hospital. Look, I hope I didn’t screw everything up. When I saw all those things going in through the windows of the cabin, I figured you might want the box in there. After I pushed it through the window, the place exploded. I hope that wasn’t my fault.”
“It was,” Alan said, “I think. But it was a good thing.”
“Huh,” Bob said. He sat back.
“Dad?” Joe called from the doorway. “Are we going to get some dinner soon?”
“In a bit,” Alan said. “Where’s my cell?”
“Your phone is toast,” Bob said. “You soaked it. Your wife said she was going to try to pick up a replacement at some point.”
“Oh,” Alan said.
“What happened in that cabin?” Bob asked.
Alan tried to piece together all the strange events. He tried to order them in his head so he could convey them efficiently to Bob. Nothing made sense.
“I’m having trouble…” Alan said.
Remembering.
“Talking? Yeah—your voice sounds terrible. It’s okay. I can tell you what I figured out. Or, at least what I think I’ve figured out,” Bob said.