Part 16 (1/2)

”They sound scared,” Clay said.

”It's that.” I pointed into the darkness. ”They sense the same thing we do.”

”Maybe they're smarter than we are,” Clevon whispered. ”After all, they don't seem inclined to get any closer to it.”

”If you want to go,” I told him, ”then go now. That goes for the rest of you. If anybody else wants to leave, do it now. I won't think any less of you. But you all see what's happening. It's just going to get worse. If we don't do something soon, it might be too late.”

”I'm staying,” Drew said. ”But I've got to be honest. I'm still not sure this will help us get a handle on our situation.”

”Maybe not,” I admitted, ”but it's a start. It's something.”

We strode to the edge of the barrier and gathered around the symbol in the dirt. The dogs refused to go any farther. Drew and Clay had to grip the leashes tightly to keep them from running away. The dogs strained against them and whined.

While we were still huddled together, I asked once more if everyone was sure they wanted to go through with it. Figured I'd give them one last chance. They all nodded, signaling that they wanted to stay. A few seemed more scared now that we were actually at the dark's edge, but they didn't back down. We pulled out the ropes and tied a length around each of our waists, making sure the knots were tight. I hadn't accounted for various waistlines and stuff, but we kept about two feet of slack between each of us.

”We can go twenty-four feet max,” I said.

”That ain't far,” Stan the Man said.

”It's far enough. If something is going to happen to us in there, I imagine it will happen right away. Me and Russ and my girlfriend watched some firemen drive into it out on 711, and they started screaming right away. So if we make it the full twenty-four feet, we'll know we can go farther next time. Maybe try it with a vehicle or something.”

Stan the Man shrugged. ”Sounds stupid to me.”

I sighed, trying to control my temper. ”Then why are you doing it?”

”Because T said we got to. Why you doing it?”

”Because I want to help. I want to do something-anything.”

”But why?”

I paused before answering him. ”Because n.o.body else is. Somebody has to.”

”So let's do it already, man,” Cranston said, ”before we talk ourselves out of it.”

”Okay.” I took a deep breath and exhaled. ”Who's going first?”

Before they could answer, a twig snapped. We all spun around and s.h.i.+ned our flashlights back at the strip mall. I figured it was Anna returning-maybe to apologize or looking for more trouble-but Dez stepped into the beams, s.h.i.+elding his eyes with one hand.

”Hey,” he called. ”Listen for a second. You can't go any farther! You really can't.”

”Look who's back,” Clevon said, rolling his eyes ”What's he want now?”

”Oh for f.u.c.k's sake,” Russ muttered. ”We don't have time for this s.h.i.+t.”

”Be nice,” Olivia said. ”He can't help the way he is. If anything, we should be watching after him.”

”Screw that,” Clay said. ”We got enough problems.”

”Go on home,” I told Dez, speaking calmly and slowly, as if he were a little kid. ”We're okay. Don't worry about us. We're not going to go far. We just want to try an experiment.”

”Experiments are bad.”

”No, they're not,” I reasoned. ”Look at all the good things in life that have been the result of an experiment.”

Dez shook his head. ”The Black Lodge men tried all kinds of experiments and look what happened. There was a Philadelphia experiment. The Havenbrook experiment. Mount Saint Helens and Mount Shasta were both experiments. South America. That incident in the Pacific during World War Two.”

We glanced at one another in confusion and shrugged.

”Although,” Dez continued, ”some of those didn't happen on our world, so maybe they didn't happen at all. It's hard to say sometimes. If something happens on another Earth but didn't happen here, then did it really happen? If another you dies but you're still alive, then what does that mean? It makes my head feel funny if I think about it for too long.”

”Anybody know what he's talking about?” Cranston asked. ”Because I'm lost, man.”

”I do,” Clevon said. ”At least part of it-Black Lodge. It's a conspiracy-theory thing. There's all kinds of stuff about them on the web. They're supposedly some kind of black-ops division. An international paramilitary group that deals with the paranormal. At first they were American. Then they fell under the auspices of the United Nations. And then, finally, they supposedly branched off on their own.”

”Yeah,” Russ agreed. ”I've read about that, too. The same people who believe in them also believe that the royal family are lizard people and that the New World Order controls everything and that FEMA has death camps scattered across the United States and that 9/11 was an inside job.”

”9/11 was was an inside job,” Drew said. ”Our government did it. First step toward turning us into a communist state.” an inside job,” Drew said. ”Our government did it. First step toward turning us into a communist state.”

”Do you really believe that?” Olivia asked.

Drew nodded. ”Watch the footage. Ain't no way those planes did all that damage. And it was a missile that hit the Pentagon.”

”That's ridiculous,” Russ said, sighing. ”People believe in this stuff because they need a reason to be scared. They need something to focus their fears on. There's no such thing as the NWO or Black Lodge. It's all bull c.r.a.p.”

Mario elbowed Stan the Man and whispered, ”You hear this crazy s.h.i.+t?”

”Motherf.u.c.kers be tripping,” Stan the Man agreed.

”Listen,” Dez said, interrupting them all. ”You can hear the darkness breathing.”

I s.h.i.+vered. Suddenly I was overwhelmed with a desire to flee-convinced that my idea would never work.

”He's confused,” Olivia whispered. ”This situation can't have been easy on him.”

”Confused, my a.s.s,” T said. ”Motherf.u.c.ker be-”

”Tripping,” Clay finished, eliciting another round of laughter from the homeboys.

Dez shuffled closer. His movements were timid, and he looked like he was ready to cry again. He glanced down at the runes and then back up at me.

”Hush,” Olivia whispered. ”You guys are hurting his feelings. Have some compa.s.sion.”

I started to walk toward him but forgot about the ropes until I felt them tug at my waist. I held out my hand instead.

”Look,” I said, keeping my voice calm, ”this is important. We have have to try this. I know you're scared of the darkness. So are we.” to try this. I know you're scared of the darkness. So are we.”