All he had wanted then was to get Hannah’s help, but he was confused, feeling like his head was being held underwater. So he had groped his way to the steps to find an adult. An adult to please just make it all okay. He was tired of being afraid.
Ted had blamed Nathan of course, and almost flattened him with that hammer, but the doctor stepped in and saved him. After they pulled Hannah out into the courtyard, they completely lost interest in Nathan, which meant he was suddenly free to do as he pleased.
He had felt a burning desire to get away, to get away from these people who hated him, and who he had wronged so badly. If he was so different, then better he not be around ‘normal’ people anymore.
Part of him also wanted to leave before he was forced to watch them all die.
He had hung around for a while, thinking about what to do and where to go. Hannah—barely alive—and Dr Kamiyo started speaking about what was going on. He slunk around the side of the castle, deciding to listen to the adults talk while he summoned the courage to escape.
They said a gate was opening beneath the lake, and that a living person could close it by passing through, and that it would then explode like a bomb—a bomb that would only kill demons. The demons who had taken his sister, Sophie, and his mum. And almost everyone else. Suddenly, things had become very clear to him once more. Killing himself was the only answer that ever ended up making sense, but this way he could also do something good. He might never be normal, but it felt important to do the right thing before he died. Maybe his final act would make up for killing Jackie.
So he had slid out of the sally port right after Hannah, Philip, and Kamiyo did. As if through fate, he did so just as the demons around the walls became distracted by some massive creature marching up the hill. They were so enraptured by its presence that he’d been able to clamber down the slope and into the forest without any of them noticing.
He had chosen the forest side of the slope instead of the lake because he didn’t want to be seen by Hannah or the others. They wouldn’t trust him, and Hannah might even try to shoot him. If that happened, his chance of doing something good would get snatched away from him. Then he wouldn’t ever see Sophie again. She would be in the good place, and the only way he could join her was by saving everyone else.
When Nathan re-emerged from the forest behind the cabin, he had been set on immediately by monsters, and as he’d feared, he was completely unprepared. He had forgotten to bring his bow, or any other weapon, and all he could do as they approached him was scream. He wished his mum was there, holding him.
Then adults had appeared, spirits of the forest summoned by his terrified pleas. They leapt out of the trees and started throwing rocks and slashing at the demons with knives and axes. Within seconds, all the demons near Nathan were dead. A large bearded man with a bald head shook him by the shoulders.
“Where’s Dr Kamiyo? He told us to come here. Shite, this is a fucking shitshow.”
“I... I don’t know.”
“Damn it! This place is supposed to be safe.”
Nathan didn’t know what to say.
“Pritchard!” someone shouted. “I think I see the doctor. He’s in trouble.”
The big man cursed the air, then raced away with his small army. Once again, Nathan had found himself alone and ignored—just a weird kid that no one wanted to be around.
Next, Nahan went into the boat shed, avoiding detection of a dozen large demons that took off after a smaller demon. Inside the boat shed, he found rope and several industrial-sized paint cans. He picked the heaviest and attached it to his ankle via the rope. Then he wandered outside towards one of the row boats that sat along the water’s edge. A warm, floaty feeling came over him, and the swishing he always felt in his tummy was gone. He felt calm. For the first time in his life, he wasn’t doubting himself or wondering if what he was doing was wrong. It felt good to be sure about something.
Hannah and Kamiyo were both in danger, but he couldn’t help them. If anything, their peril was helping him do what he needed. The demons were all distracted. The huge demon by the water’s edge was the most distracted of all, staring at the frothing waters of the lake.
A giant hand broke from the water, followed by an arm and an elbow. Translucent skin shimmered over bulging muscles, and as the hand rose into the sky, a massive creature emerged beneath. It was the most beautiful thing Nathan had ever seen—a giant figure with golden wings and fair hair. An angel if ever there was one. Nathan wondered what would happen to it if it died. He hoped to find out.
While he was awed by what he was seeing, Nathan pushed the boat out onto the lake and got in. He bobbed about on the unsettled water, in danger of capsizing, so he picked up the boat’s oars and rowed with all his strength.
The angel lifted a leg and waded through the lake. It sent up giant waves that tossed Nathan’s boat into the air. His tummy flipped, and he remembered the time he and Sophie had gone on the pirate ship at the safari park. The echoes of her happy squeals put a smile on his face and made him even more eager to
