“Did you see that?” Nando asked.
“Yes!” yelled Will, Nick, and Ajay.
They heard the bug hit the inside of the door, then watched as its pincers speared straight through the wood like twin drill bits, secreting an acidic red-orange fluid that quickly liquefied a pulpy wet hole.
“What is that thing?” shouted Ajay.
An automatic pistol appeared in Nando’s hands.
“Dude’s got a gat,” said Nick.
Nando fired three shots, point-blank, as the thing wriggled through the hole it had made. The creature exploded into loose fluids that splattered and burst into flames. Liquid fire flowed down the door.
“That is not a bug native to Southern California,” said Ajay, shaking.
“Ya think?!” yelled Nando.
“Get out!” yelled Will.
“I’m getting,” said Nando.
Nando ran out the door as the fire quickly spread. They saw another bug just outside, perched on top of the banister. It leaped and attached itself to Nando’s leg. The camera spun frantically as Nando hopped down the hall, trying to slap the thing away as it crawled all over him, jaws snapping wildly.
Ajay and Nick jumped as if it had landed on them, slapping at their legs.
“Get to my room,” said Will. “Use the window—”
“Damn, it’s on my back,” said Nando.
Nando slammed backward into a wall. They heard a hideous screech and a loud crunch. Nando quickly turned. The black smear and gooey debris that had splattered from the thing burst into flame.
“Go, go!” yelled Will.
Nando had reached Will’s door when they heard a sickening skittering sound. When Nando turned, they saw a stampede, hundreds of the monsters pouring upstairs, scrambling over each other. Nando fired a burst at the head of the swarm, setting off the combustible bugs like a string of firecrackers, flames erupting.
Nando threw himself into Will’s room, slammed the door, ran to the window, and pushed up the sash. They heard a chorus of band saws behind him. Nando whipped his head around, tilting the phone sideways: A thousand bugs were chomping their way through every inch of the door, all at once, dissolving it before their eyes. Nando emptied the clip at them and what was left of the door exploded.
Then he was on the roof, breathing heavily as he crunched across the shingles. “Somebody call the damn Orkin man!” shouted Nando.
He reached the edge of the roof and jumped into the air. The camera jerked. They heard him grunt as he broke his fall on the branch of a tree, then groan as he dropped to the ground. He scrambled to his feet and limped for his taxi.
He opened the door and turned just as the whole house went up, flames bursting from every window. Nando climbed in behind the wheel and slid his key into the ignition, then jammed the taxi into gear and pulled into the alley.
“Are you okay?” asked Will.
“I’m a long way from okay,” said Nando. “But I’m alive—”
Another bug dove straight into the windshield, screaming. Nando shouted and swerved hard right.
The screen went blank.
OceanofPDF.com
A TINY PIANIST
A message came up on-screen: CALL DISCONNECTED. When Will turned around, he saw Nick and Ajay with their arms wrapped around each other.
“Monsters,” said Ajay faintly.
“Dude,” said Nick. “I am believing anything else you ever tell us for the rest of my life.”
They separated, a bit self-consciously. Nick staggered out of the closet, gulping in some deep breaths. Ajay and Will followed.
“You think Nando’s all right?” asked Ajay.
“I’ll try to call him,” said Will, taking out his phone.
“So those bugs are from the same place as the other ones?” asked Nick.
“Yes.” Will hit Nando’s number. The call went straight to voice mail.
“Well, we didn’t need special glasses to see these,” said Ajay.
“No,” said Will. “I think that means they came across a while ago.”
“From this place you called the Never-Was,” said Ajay.
“Right,” said Will.
“And they get here through those Weasel Holes,” said Nick.
“Yes.” Will punched REDIAL. “Damn, he’s not answering.”
“Dude,” said Nick. “Your house is on fire. Call the local fire department.”
“And tell them what?” asked Ajay. “That we saw it burning from Wisconsin?”
“I don’t know,” said Nick, throwing his hands up. “If they hurry, maybe they can catch one of those crazy cock-a-roaches.”
“They won’t find anything,” said Will. “It’ll all be wiped out by the fire. That was a trap set to go off if I came back. That’s how the Caps planned it.”
“You mean … they want to kill you?” asked Ajay.
The hell with rules or what my parents wanted. My friends are involved now, in harm’s way, and I put them there. Time to come clean.
“Yes. Did you record any of what we just saw?” asked Will.
“All of it,” said Ajay.
“Get the girls,” said Will. “Let’s meet in the great room.”
Five minutes later, Elise and Brooke had joined them, huddled together on the couches in the great room, listening as Will told them the whole story about how the Black Caps had chased him that morning in Ojai. He showed them the mechanical bird they’d used to spy on his family before his parents had been kidnapped, or worse. He told them about the monsters in the hills and on the plane, about Ride Alongs and Weasel Holes and how people at the school were now summoning monsters from the Never-Was. He didn’t mention Dave or the Hierarchy—he didn’t want them to think he was completely crazy—but he did say that Todd and some of the seniors on the cross-country team, along with Lyle and the rest of the Knights, appeared to be the ones who were bringing monsters over.
“Monsters?” asked Elise skeptically. “That’s laying it on a bit thick.”
“I want to believe you, Will,” said Brooke, wide-eyed and a little shaky. “Do you have any proof of all this?”
“Show them,” said Will to Ajay.
Ajay played back Nando’s phone call on his tablet for them. When it ended, Brooke and Elise looked stunned. No one in the group said anything for a moment. Wood crackled in the fire.
“So basically,” said Elise slowly, as if intrigued by the idea, “everything we know … is wrong.”
“One question, Will,” said Brooke. “Why are they coming after you?”
Will shook his head. “I think that my parents must have known, considering how much we moved around.” He told them how they had ordered him to stay under the radar, how he’d always pulled back in school and in athletics. “Then I aced that test,” he said. “If it hadn’t been for that, my parents might still …”
Brooke scooted over and took his hand. “Whatever’s going on,” she said softly, “I’m really glad you told us. And we’re all going to help you.”
Will’s chest tightened; his eyes burned. Elise sat on the other side of him and patted his shoulder. There wasn’t much of his game face left now.
“So it’s all connected,” said Ajay, on his feet, pacing. “The Knights, the locker room, the tunnels to the Crag, and what happened to you back home. Now if we can just find out the reason for all of it.”
Will looked at Elise and when their eyes met, he could swear that he heard her thinking something. Almost as if she’d “pushed” a thought into his head.
Ronnie knew about this.
“I’ll tell you what I think,” said Nick, pacing and agitated. “I think that the bastards who did all this to you are in for a prime-time ass-kicking—”