“That’s enough, Levi. You’re hurting him.”
Maria stepped forward and tapped Levi’s shoulder. He brushed her away and continued.
“But the energies aren’t the only thing brewing there, Adam. Something else is growing in those woods. It’s searching for a way into our world, and it’s found one. It’s seeping through right now, a little bit at a time. Gathering strength. But it’s almost to the boiling point now, and tomorrow night, those floodgates won’t be able to hold it back any longer. It will swamp the Earth, extinguishing everything that lives, smothering the planet in darkness.”
“No…”
“Oh, yes. You fought one of its minions before. Fought it and defeated it. Hylinus. But now we have to stop the rest of it. We have to stop the thing that Hylinus served.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. You have no choice, Adam. You owe it to your friends. To your wife. It’s time to finish this once and for all.”
“Okay!” Adam shouted. “You win! You’re right. Just leave me the fuck alone!”
Maria ducked down behind the minivan again, gasping. She started to speak, but Levi held his hand up, listening. They waited, but heard nothing.
“Shit,” Maria breathed. “If that didn’t wake anybody up, then nothing will.”
“It didn’t,” Levi said.
“Then this town could sleep through a nuclear bomb attack. Or the Second Coming.”
“Perhaps. Or maybe the Lord is with us.”
Adam started to speak, but they both silenced him. After making sure his outburst hadn’t attracted any late- night attention, they crept out from behind the minivan and snuck across the yard, single-file. The grass was wet with dew and showed traces of their passage. Maria kept glancing at the houses around them, looking for lights, but the homes remained dark and silent.
“Don’t any of these people have dogs?” she whispered.
Levi shrugged.
“I did,” Adam said. “Big Steve. He was my best friend.”
“Where is he now?”
“Hylinus killed him, too.”
They crossed over the second yard and then into the third, darting quickly behind the former woodshed. The corrugated steel structure hid them from the view of the other houses. Now all they had to worry about was someone driving down the alley unexpectedly, or the fire siren going off.
Adam moved to the center of the building’s wall and stood with his back against it. Then, staring at the ground, he counted off twelve paces, putting his feet together, heel to toe. He stopped and crouched down.
“It should be right here. Which one of you brought the shovel?”
Maria and Levi glanced at each other. Levi closed his eyes and shook his head in frustration.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Maria whispered. “You didn’t prepare for this?”
“Well, I didn’t know he’d buried it, now, did I?” Levi protested. “We’ll just have to use our hands.”
Kneeling next to Adam, Levi began digging at the earth with his hands. After a moment, Adam joined him. Together, they tore up clumps of sod and tossed aside rocks, then pawed through the softer dirt below. Earthworms wriggled in annoyance, disturbed by the intrusion. They’d only dug about eight inches when their fingers grazed the surface of the cigar box.
“See? I knew I didn’t bury it too deep.”
“I’ll be thankful when I get what we need,” Levi said.
Adam started to dig again, but Levi gently pushed him back.
“Allow me.”
“I can help.”
“I know you can. But trust me, it’s for the better. With all the pain this book has caused you, do you really want to touch it again?”
Adam shook his head, then stood up and wiped his dirty hands on his hospital smock. Levi clawed at the dirt feverishly, throwing it to the side until he could slip his fingers around the edge of the box. Then he hauled it upward and brushed the soil from the lid. He ripped the duct tape away and then opened the box. Inside, just as Adam had told them, was a slim, brown leather book wrapped in a plastic freezer bag. Levi unzipped the bag and held up the book. Maria leaned forward, reading the tiny gold lettering on the front cover:
“Wow,” she whispered. “That looks really old.”
