“The magazine. It—it said that we’re destined for a doomed relationship.”
“Really? It says that?”
She nodded, chewing her lip.
“Who the fuck writes those things? Jesus—I thought they were just supposed to tell you good stuff.”
She gave me a weak half-smile, and I pressed on.
“Come on. Who cares what a year-old magazine says anyway? I don’t think we’re doomed. Do you?”
She hesitated before she answered. “No.”
Brushing the dirt from my hands, I lay down next to her, stroking her hair and gazing into her troubled eyes.
“Lori, when this started, I wondered what the sense was in staying alive. I can’t tell you how many times I thought about just ending it all. I mean, what’s the point? The fucking world is flooding and it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop. I felt that way again yesterday, when I found Jimmy. He was my best friend, my last link to my old life. With him gone, there just didn’t seem to be a point to life anymore.”
She started to speak, but I pressed a finger to her lips.
“But you make me want to stay alive, Lori. You are the point. You’re my reason now.”
I kissed her again.
“Kevin,” she breathed. Her body was trembling, her eyes filled with emotion. “You haven’t said much about what happened with Jimmy. If you want to talk, I’m here for you. Or if you want to cry.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that. Right now, it still hurts too much to talk about it. As for crying, well, I don’t cry. You might as well know that now.”
“I’m serious.” She frowned. “You don’t need to impress me, so stop with the macho stuff already. If you need to cry, it’s okay. I’m here.”
“Lori, I’m serious, too. I don’t cry. I’ve never been able to.” I told her about my grandma’s funeral and everything, and she said that was sad, but that she understood.
But despite the emotional pain, I did open up and talk about Jimmy. I told her about the first time Jimmy and I met (playing with Hot Wheels together in the dirt lot between our houses), and what it was like growing up together, fights we had with our parents, the crazy shit we did in high school, those sort of things. Then she told me about her best friend and her parents and her brothers and sisters, and the guy she’d been dating when the rain started.
When we were finished, we made love again. It was better this time, perfect in fact. It was everything I’d ever seen in movies and read about in books—love-making on an epic scale. Maybe that sounds corny to you, but that’s what it was. I’d never felt this way with anyone else. Our relationship was less than twenty-four hours old, but we were already learning our way around each other’s bodies. We both lasted a long time, and when it was over, we lay there, holding each other and listening to the rain beat against the skylight.
I almost fell out of bed when the pounding started. Somebody was at the door.
“Kevin? Lori? Open up.”
Juan. The door shook in its frame as he hammered at it again.
“Kevin! Wake up, man. We’ve got trouble! Are you in there?”
“Yeah! Hang on a second!” I struggled into my boxer shorts and jeans, and Lori pulled the sheets up around her, concealing her nakedness.
I opened the door. Juan stood there, his eyes wide and frantic. He grabbed my shoulder and the strength and urgency in his grip made me cringe.
“What’s up? What’s going on?” I asked.
He took a deep breath. “It’s Louis and Christian.”
“Yeah? Are they finally back?”
“No.”
I frowned.
Juan’s face had grown pale. “The Satanists have them.”
CHAPTER NINE
Anna kept the kids inside, despite their protests and insistence that they should be allowed to go outside and see what was going on. The rest of us ran out onto the roof. I think that most of us didn’t want to see, but at the same time, we were unable to help ourselves. Christian and Louis were our friends, and in some strange, fucked up way, we owed it to them. We were obligated to bear witness.
The group crowded around the edge and took turns with the telescope. Lee accepted it from Mike, put his eye to it, and the color instantly drained from his face. Without uttering a word, he handed it to me.
I looked and felt my stomach fall out from under me. A dozen Satanists milled around on the Trade Center’s roof, waiting for darkness to fall. Some of them carried wet kindling in preparation for the bonfire to come. Others were securing the evening’s sacrifices.
The evening’s sacrifices being Louis and Christian.
I recognized them even from a distance, through the blurry, raindrop-distorted image in the telescope. Their hands and legs were bound with heavy chains, the ends of which were secured to cinder blocks. In addition to Louis and Christian, there was a young woman with a baby, not more than a few weeks old. I watched as the baby began to cry, squirming helplessly in its captor’s grasp, and then I could watch no more. The look of terror etched on both the baby and the mother’s faces made me sick to my stomach. I closed my eyes and handed the telescope off to Sarah.
She pursed her lips. “Oh my God…”
“Those motherfuckers,” Taz growled. “Those dirty, evil motherfuckers!”
“What are we going to do?” Mindy whimpered.
As usual, we all turned to Juan for guidance. He was trying to light a cigarette, but the rain kept putting it out. Giving up, he flung the soggy butt into the wind. A seagull darted for it. He watched the shrieking bird snatch the cigarette and wheel away, and then he met our eyes.
“Do? We’re going to go get them back.”
“Word!” Ducky pounded his fist into his palm. “That’s what I’m talking about. Put a hurtin’ on their ass.”
“Some Rambo-style shit,” Taz agreed. “Bust in, break some off, and bring them home.”
“I’m up for it,” Sarah said.
Mike stepped forward. “Count me in, too.”
“Are you crazy?” Mindy shouted. “That’s suicide! How many of them are over there?”
Mike took her hand in his. “It doesn’t matter, honey. Juan’s right. We’ve got to try. This is Louis and Christian we’re talking about.”
“You’ll be slaughtered! Then what will I—the rest of us—do?”
“Goddamn it, Mindy.” Mike’s face turned red. “Those are our friends over there! What do you want me to do? Stand here and watch while they get butchered? I’m going along to help!”
“No, you’re not,” Juan told him. “And neither are you, Sarah. But me, Kevin, Taz, and Ducky are going to.”
I jumped when I heard my name. “Me?”
“Why not?” Mike asked. “You can’t just expect me to stand here while Christian and Louis are their captives.”
“I can and I do,” Juan said. “You’ve got a woman here that loves you, Mike. And more importantly, I trust you. Let’s be honest here. Chances are I’m not going to make it back, and if that happens, I need you to take over here. Somebody needs to lead and my choice is you.”
“Well then why the hell do Taz and Ducky have to go?” Lashawn angrily jabbed a finger at Lee. “Send Mr. Science here instead.”
“Hey,” Lee shouted back, “don’t call me Mr. Science, bitch!”
Taz took a step towards him. “Don’t call her bitch, motherfucker.”
Lee refused to back down. “Or what, you two-bit thug? Tell me! What are you going to do about it?”
“You best get the fuck out of my mug,” Taz warned him. “Unless you want to get your fucking face split. You ain’t messing with Nate now.”
Juan sighed. “Both of you knock it off.”
Sarah frowned at him. “I still don’t see why I can’t go. I’m just as capable as the rest of you. Is this because of some bullshit macho creed or something? Because if that’s what it is, Juan, then—”