and dropped down. Owen
followed quickly. They could hear branches snapping and leaves rustling above
them. The dogfish wasn’t far behind.
Chris and
Owen were now close enough to the ground to jump. They landed hard, but did not
waste any time. They made their way to the path running along the river. Owen
could hear the sound of claws on pavement. He didn’t dare turn around to look.
He knew the creature was running after them.
“Hang on!”
yelled Chris. Owen stopped running and saw him grab a nearby trashcan. The
dogfish leapt at them. Chris caught it in the can and then tipped it upside
down, trapping the creature inside.
CHAPTER
8
Les wiped his forehead with
the back of his sleeve; he couldn’t remember the last time he had sweat so
badly. He drove his shovel into the ground, wanting the hole much deeper than
it had to be. He didn’t want anyone finding Marco’s head. Ever.
He looked
back at the head; it was in a black garbage bag. After he buried it, there was
still the matter of cleaning the blood in the fridge. He looked back to the
house, where Michael was more than likely going through Les’s stuff.
“I wish
you’d never been born, Michael. I don’t care what you are.”
“Careful
now,” a voice said from the darkness. “That’s my brother you’re speaking ill
about.”
Les nearly
emptied his bladder. He looked around frantically, but couldn’t find the source
of the voice. “Who’s there?”
Suddenly he
saw a figure in the darkness moving toward him. Les’s heart hammered so hard in his chest that he felt light-headed. The figure
finally made it into the light of the moon so Les could see him. It was a young
man, dressed nicely in a black suit with a red tie. He had short blond hair.
“Michael can
be a little aggressive,” the figure said, looking at the garbage bag, “but he’s
a good boy once you get to know him.”
“You’re his
brother?” Les asked nervously.
“That I am.”
Les became
even more nervous.
The figure
smiled. “You can call me Jason.”
Jason spoke
very politely. That didn’t put Les at ease very much.
“Pleasure to
meet you,” said Les. Then, he bowed.
Jason
laughed and bowed his own head. “I don’t mean to intrude,” he said, “but I just
stopped by to give my brother something. He’s going to need it on his quest. It
helps him think, so to speak.”
Les realized
Jason was holding what looked like a brown bowling-ball bag.
“His quest?
You mean the person he’s looking for?”
“Exactly. My
brother tends to be a little hasty, and when beginning his search, he left an
important item behind.”
Jason set
the bag down by the hole Les had dug.
“What is
it?” Les asked.
“I suppose,
since you’re courteous enough to help Michael, I can tell you. It’s a device,
one I need to use but don’t have the means to operate. I believe the person
we’re looking for can operate it.”
“What does
it do?”
Jason
smiled. “You’re very curious. I like that, however, I cannot tell you what it
does. Not because I don’t know, but because it’s a secret. Life is full of
secrets, isn’t it? That’s what makes it so interesting. You can understand,
can’t you?”
“Yes, sir.”
Jason
laughed. He grabbed the bag with Marco’s head and dropped it into the hole.
“This is a
fine hole you’ve dug. I think it will do just fine.”
“Would you
like to come in and say hi?” Les asked, indicating his house.
“No, I
mustn’t. I don’t want to distract Michael from his task. He was already
reluctant to begin in the first place,” Jason said, shaking his head. “If he
sees me, he’ll beg me to come back home, and what I have charged him with must
be done. Tell him to take care of the device. I would hold on to it myself, but
Michael needs it more than I.”
“Your
brother killed this guy,” Les said hastily, pointing to the bag in the hole.
“I figured
he would. I told him to do whatever it takes to get the job done.