Still, it’s weird. Wouldn’t the gasoline have drained into the ground by now? It’s been several days since they left the house, yet judging from the sounds under his feet, there are still fresh puddles everywhere.
Dan’s mind is searching for an explanation as he walks on, and with every step he feels more and more apprehensive, like something is poking at the outskirts of his consciousness, trying to warn him about something.
He approaches the staircase carefully and looks up. The door to the cupboard is open. It’s from there the faint glow is coming, and Dan is pretty sure he can make out the silhouette of a person standing just on the other side.
He’s about to say something when a voice beats him to it: “Stop right there. Don’t come any closer.”
Dan stops by the foot of the stairs, squinting up at the figure. “Dennis? It’s me, Dan.”
“I know.”
Dennis’s voice is different than it was on the phone. It’s colder. Sterner. Older, even.
He might just be nervous, Dan tells himself.
“Thank you for letting me in,” he says, trying to sound as casual as possible.
Dennis doesn’t answer.
Dan stares at the head of the silhouette, straining his eyes to make out Dennis’s face. For some reason, he wants desperately to read his expression. But he can’t.
“Is it okay if I come up?” Dan says, taking a step up. “The smell down here is really bad and I—”
“I told you to stay.”
Something in the voice makes Dan stop abruptly. It sounds completely unlike the one on the phone, so much so that Dan for a moment wonders if the figure up there really is Dennis. On the phone, he sounded hesitant, anxious, someone you could persuade. The voice coming from atop the stairs reminds Dan more of the woman who told them over the phone that she had killed Holger and wouldn’t think twice about killing any of them either unless they got the hell away from here.
But it is Dennis. Dan recognizes the voice, despite the stark shift of tone.
“Listen, Dennis, there’s no need to be afraid …”
“I’m not afraid,” Dennis answers right away. “And I’m done listening to you. Put down your weapon.”
Dan holds out his hands. “What weapon?”
“The one you’re hiding somewhere.”
“I’m not hiding anything, Dennis. I told you I was coming unarmed.”
“You also told me you were coming alone.”
Finally, it clicks.
Of course Dennis must have been watching from the windows. He saw the van drive to the well cover after Dan had got out. He figured out someone else was out there, waiting for him.
“Look,” Dan says, sounding oddly guilty. “I only brought a friend because I don’t know how to drive a car.”
“Really?” Dennis asks, his voice still very cold. “So there’s only one person in that van?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you just say so on the phone?”
“I … I guess …” Dan fumbles for the right words. Then he decides on the truth. “Look, I just thought you maybe wouldn’t believe me. That you wouldn’t let me in if I broke the promise of coming alone. I couldn’t run that risk. You understand, don’t you?”
The silhouette nods. “I understand.” The voice doesn’t change, though.
“I’m glad you understand,” Dan says, feeling his pulse under his chin. Something about the situation suddenly strikes him as dangerous. “I hope you don’t intend to do anything rash, Dennis. I’m sorry I lied to you, but you need to trust me.”
Dennis scoffs. “Trust you? How can I trust you when you already lied to me? You’re probably lying again right now.”
“No, I’m not. I wouldn’t—”
“You probably have all your friends out in that van,” Dennis cuts him off without even raising his voice. Yet Dan can hear—for the first time—how the words are shaking, like Dennis is either afraid or very angry or both. “They’re just waiting for you to give them the signal. Once you’ve killed me and my mom, you’ll let them all in and you’ll have the place to yourself again. Isn’t that why you’re really here?”
“No!” Dan says, shaking his head with emphasis. “It’s not that at all.”
“It is,” Dennis says. “You want the house back. And you want revenge for Holger.”
“I couldn’t care less about the house, Dennis. Honestly. And I don’t even care that you killed Holger. I only came to speak with your mother about this thing going on and how we can stop it. That’s all I want.”
Dennis doesn’t answer. He’s completely still up there. To Dan it seems like he’s considering.
Then he asks: “Are you really not carrying a weapon?”
“I’m not carrying anything.”
“Show me.”
Dan lifts up his shirt and turns around slowly all the way. He looks back up at Dennis. “See? I told you.”
“That’s good,” Dennis says. His voice is a little softer now. He pushes the door open all the way, revealing his full figure. He’s tall for his age, at least half a foot taller than Dan.
“Can I come up, then?” Dan asks.
“Sure,” Dennis says.
Dan feels a big rush of relief. “Thank you, Dennis.”
“But you might regret it.”
Dan stops in his track. “What do you mean?”
Dennis moves his hands and there’s a ritsch-sound, then a tiny flame flares up in front of Dennis’s chest. He holds it close enough to his face that Dan can make out his features. His eyes are staring right down at Dan, and the look in them is terrifying.
“If you come up here, I’ll throw this down at you,” Dennis says. “I’ve filled the tunnel with gasoline.”
Dan’s throat tightens to the point where he can hardly breathe. “Dennis,” he croaks. “Put that out right now.”
“You don’t tell me what to do.”
“You don’t get it. You need to put that out. You’ll burn the both of us alive. There’s enough gas down here to light the whole goddamn house on fire.”
Dan’s
