Posted on April 12, 2008

The Hole: Part 69

Elliot opened the trailer’s door and stepped out. Night’s chill had come quickly and he pulled his jacket tighter around himself. “It’s clear,” he said to Evajean.

She stepped up behind them, then bent down to hug Hope. “You gotta stay here,” she said to the dog. “We’ll be back, I promise, but you need to stay here.” Hope shoved his head against her hands, but she pushed him back. “Stay.” She pulled the door closed. The dog scratched at the inside of it for a few seconds, but then they heard him wander off into the back of the trailer.

“He’ll be fine,” Elliot said.

“Yeah,” Evajean said.

The walked through the industrial park, between buildings and along fences, toward the city. No lights guided their way, though they could make out the skyline against the clouds and moon. They found a road that lead to the core of the city and followed it. Only once did they see any crazies, and those were some distance away, a pack of half a dozen wandering in circles.

“It’s like they’re more crazy here,” Evajean whispered.

She was right. All the crazies they’d met outside of the barrier bordered on not being crazy at all, but in here they seemed dazed and lost, like they truly had gone mad.

“You think it’s because we’re closer— That we’re getting near something that’s making them that way?”

Elliot shrugged. “Could be. Things feel different here.” And they did. The air was cold and carried a tension, like electrical lines were nearby, and Elliot could taste something in it, burnt and musty. Both grew faintly stronger as they walked.

“There’s going to be a lot of them, when we get into the city,” Elliot said. “All those cars, and the ones we saw along the freeway—they’re all going to the city. All of them, all of the crazies and all of the people who are missing.”

“I wondered that,” she said. “How empty the world was, except for Nahom. And the cars gone, too. It’s like everyone just packed up and came here.”

“That’s not going to make getting around the city very easy. It may be pretty dangerous to find this museum.”

“I think we’ll be okay,” Evajean said. “We’re supposed to find it, remember? And the crazies may be on our side, like the ones in the warehouse.”

Elliot nodded. He still thought of them as the enemy and couldn’t shake that impression, not after what happened in Nahom.

“Still,” he said, “we should be careful.”

“Absolutely,” Evajean said.

They walked in silence then, feeling the change in the air and the weight of the sacks of water.

They’d gone a half an hour into the suburbs when they saw the woman. A group of crazies had wandered by, walking down the middle of the street and scanning the houses. Elliot and Evajean crouched behind a wooden fence, staying out of sight. The crazies talked to each other in their strange language as they passed. When the pack had gone, Elliot stood up. “It’s only going to get worse,” he said, “the deeper into the city we get.”

“Just means more being careful,” Evajean said. “I guess it’s good we don’t have Hope with us.”

They were picking up their bags to continue walking when they heard the snap of branches behind them. Elliot spun, looking into the shrubs that lined the fence at the back of the house’s yard. Evajean jumped up, dropping her bag. “What was—”

“Quiet,” he said. The noise had definitely come from back there. Someone was in the bushes. For the first time since they’d made it through the barrier, he found himself wishing he hadn’t dropped the gun on the floor in that terrible basement.

He lifted a water bottle, hoping its weight would lend force to any blow he might need to make. “Elliot,” Evajean whispered, but he ignored her.

He started across the yard, keeping low. He’d gone half way when the woman fell out from behind a bush and ran toward him.

“Could it be?” she called. “The Mighty and Strong?” She stopped when she saw the bottle in Elliot’s raised hand. “Please.” She was panting. “I don’t want to hurt you. Oh, I’ve waited so long.”

Evajean came up behind Elliot and put her hand on his arm. “I think she’s one of them,” she said to him.

He let the bottle drop. “One of who?”

“Like Melvin. She’s supposed to help us.”

Elliot held onto the bottle. He wasn’t up for trusting anyone just yet. “We’re— I guess we’re the Might and Strong,” he said.

“She’s right,” the woman said. “I am supposed to help you. In fact, helping you is all I’ve been able to think about lately. I can’t get it out of my head, actually.”

Evajean stepped forward. “Who are you?”

“My name’s Cassandra Burns. You can call me Cassy. Everyone does— Or did. Everyone did before all this happened.”

“Have you been here all this time?” Elliot asked.

Cassandra nodded. “Since it all started. I couldn’t get out if I wanted to, anyway, because of that thing in the sky.”

“The barrier?” Evajean said.

“That’s what it is,” Cassandra said. “I didn’t go all the way to it, but I could see that there just wasn’t any way through. Except— The two of you must’ve gotten through, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.”

“It was a house,” Evajean said. “The barrier went right down the middle of it and we were able to walk through to the other side.”

“And now you’re here. And I’m supposed to help you.” She suddenly sounded uncertain.

“Have you been into the city?” Elliot said. He’d opened the water bottle and taken a sip and now he held it out to Cassandra.

“Thank you,” she said, and drank. “And no, I haven’t been all the way in. There’s too many of them for that.”