Panting a little and sweating a lot, he took a break. He hadn?t paid much attention to what he?d been digging out of the hole, so he turned to that now. Using the side edge of the spade he ran it back and forth over the excavated sand, slowly smoothing it out. And as he did, little bones began to appear.
“Hey, Weez! Look!”
She hurried over and picked up a few for a closer look.
“Not bones. Just pieces—splinters, really.”
“How—?”
Then he noticed a larger fragment in the wall of the hole he?d dug. He scraped away the sand packed around it and found it bigger than he?d thought. He yanked on it …
And came away with part of a leg bone.
“Ew!” Weezy said, recoiling.
“It?s okay. Not human. Deer.”
It ran about eighteen inches long and was very slim. During the course of his countless trips into the Pines, Jack had come across a number of dead deer rotted down to their skeletons. From its angled, ball-tipped end he knew what this was.
“A thigh bone. But look. The lower end?s broken off.”
Weezy leaned closer. “Hey, that looks
Jack looked around. “How did a deer get in here?”
Weezy gripped his arm. “Jack! What ever was caged here needed food. It would have been fed by its keepers. The Pines were full of deer. What ever it was must have eaten every last lick of flesh and then gone after the marrow.”
Jack looked at the shattered bones and deep teeth marks.
“Strong jaws, sharp teeth.”
No question about it now—this structure had been used as a cage. But why so massive?
What had called this place home? Obviously a carnivore, but had it been native to the Pinelands, or had someone imported it? And when? This cage had been here a
Weezy?s eyes danced with excitement. “Let?s keep digging. No telling what we?ll find.”
But after half an hour or so, shifting their dig sites three times, they?d found nothing but more animal bones. He?d gone about two feet down in his latest dig when the tip of the spade hit something—something bigger than the small bones he?d been finding. He widened the hole and dug around it.
It seemed to be curved, like some sort of arch. He worked his fingers around it, got a grip, and pulled. With a wrench it came free and he found himself holding a jawbone.
He dropped it when he realized it was human.
“Weez! Check it out!”
She hurried over and together they knelt and stared at it. Jack found himself nowhere near as grossed out as he?d have thought he?d be. But then again, this wasn?t the first time he?d been through something like this. Yeah, he?d felt a shock, but nothing like when he?d pulled that skull from the mound.
Funny how he?d been thinking just last night about how things seemed to be going in circles, all revolving around the little pyramid, and here he was inside the big pyramid doing the same thing.
With this skull—or part of one—another circle had closed.
“Wh-who could this be?” Weezy said. “It looks so much older than the one in the mound.”
Yeah, it did. Not a shred of flesh left on it. And the teeth—browned, cracked, and not a single filling.
For some reason he thought of poor Cody. Chances of finding him alive seemed about zero.
Someday someone might be digging in the pines and come up with his little skull.
Jack thrust the thought away and focused on the bone before them.
“Where?s the rest of it? And what?s it doing in here?”
He dug further and only an inch or so down found upper teeth and the roof of the mouth—the skull was buried upside down. No fillings in the upper teeth either. He cleaned more off, then worked his fingers around it and pulled the skull free.
“Oh my god!” Weezy cried as he turned it over.
Both stared in shock at the ragged hole in the top of the cranium. Whoever this had been, it looked like his skull had been crushed—cracked open.
She pointed to the edges of the opening. “Are those … ?”
Jack looked closer and felt his gut writhe when he saw the gouges around the hole. Just like the tooth marks on the deer bones.
Something had been gnawing at this skull—maybe even ate the brain inside. Sure. Why else chew on a skull?
“You think … you think that could have been some sort of human sacrifice?”
Weezy was on her feet too, shaking her head. “Maybe one of the keepers got too close at feeding time.”
What had gone on here? No question that something with big sharp teeth had been caged in this space, but what?
His neck tingled and he did a quick turn to see if someone was watching. Just his imagination, maybe? He?d been thinking about the captive just now and then he?d got that sensation.
“What?s wrong?” Weezy said.
“Nothing.”
He didn?t want to alarm her. He walked the inside perimeter, peering out at the surrounding trees through one gap after another. No sign of anyone. Or anything.
But the sensation remained.
Thunder rumbled.
Jack shot a look at the sky and saw that the sun was gone and thunderheads were piling in the west. When had that happened? They must have been so engrossed in their digging they?d failed to notice.
“Are you thinking about that thing that chased us last night?”
He turned to Weezy. “You mean the bear?”
“I mean the
“Yeah, I guess I am.” He cupped his hands to boost her out of the cage. “Let?s get out of here.”
She looked relieved. “Took the words right out of my mouth. So much for this pyramid. From now on we concentrate on getting the little one back. But when we do, I?m bringing it back here and setting it in the top of that center column—just to see what happens.”
As he boosted her up, he said, “Anyone ever tell you that you have a one-track mind?”
“Yeah. I?ve heard that.” She squeezed between two megaliths and turned to offer her hand. “But the truth is I have a
Tell me about it, Jack thought.
5
They beat the storm home by minutes. Jack got in just before his mother and polished off his homework before his father arrived.
The storm was over by the time he finished dinner. He threw on a green Eagles sweatshirt and announced that he was going to take a ride over to the Connells?. Which he did: He rode his bike over to their house, into their driveway, and immediately out again.
Jack hated to lie.
He rode down Quakerton, dodging puddles as he headed for USED. He noticed half a dozen cars parked in front of the VFW, and spotted Walt standing by the front door. He wasn?t keen on announcing his presence, but he wanted a closer look at him. “Walt?” he said, strolling up the walk.
“Huh?” Walt turned and grinned. “Hey, Jack. I hope you don?t think you?re gettin? in.”
In the light from the front of the post Jack could see that Walt?s eyes were still clear. Did that mean he might still be “needed”?
