Children of the Fog (31 page)

She pictured six sweet, trusting faces.

Marina, Holland, Brittany, Scotty, Kimber, Jordan…

"Marina said Sam and Cortnie ran away," she insisted. "Sarge said the same thing."

"He must have found them," Jay said gently. "Before he came after you. He was messing with your head, Sadie."

There was only one way to see if Jay was telling the truth.

She sprinted toward the house.

"Wait!" Jay yelled. "Come back! You don't want to go in there. Trust me."

But she was beyond trusting anyone. This was something she had to see for herself.

Tripping over chunks of blackened wood, she made her way through the damp cinders, kicking up sticky soot that had found refuge under slabs of wood and melted metal. In one corner she saw a broad-shouldered detective standing near a hole in the floor. He looked up as she approached.

"I need to get down there," she said.

The officer peeked over her shoulder.

"It's okay," Jay huffed behind her. "Help her down."

The two men secured a rope around her waist, then lowered her into the hole in the floor. The air thickened as ash wafted down around her, loosened by the motions of the men above. The pungent tang of smoke was everywhere—in her mouth, clinging to her skin and hair, but at least she could see. The basement was lit by strategically placed heavy-duty flashlights, and she was thankful that she wasn't descending into darkness. She'd had enough of that lately.

When she reached the ground, a young rookie unfastened the rope. "This way," he said, his face etched with green pallor.

As he led her through the rubble, she was surprised to see that the fire had not reached the basement. Most of the damage had been done by rain and soot seeping in through the floor and the gaping hole. Everything was covered with a layer of grime, and black rain dripped around her, looking as eerie as it sounded.

She spotted a crib in one corner and a toy box overflowing with games, Disney movies, dolls and Star Wars figures in the other. Beside the toy box, an air hockey table held about two inches of murky water.

"It's behind here," the rookie said, distracting her.

He pulled aside a metal shelf that was attached to a sheet of moldy drywall. Behind it, stairs led downward to another level.

Within minutes, Sadie was back inside the bunker.

"At least I didn't imagine this," she said, her eyes skimming over the room.

"What?" the rookie asked.

"Nothing."

The young man led her to the door with the keypad.

"Mi casa," she said, as he keyed in the code.

The door unlocked with an audible click.

The rookie stepped aside and gave her a worried look. "You sure you want to go in there, ma'am?"

Sadie opened the door.

36

The children were laid out on blanketed crib mattresses on the concrete floor—girls on one side of the room, boys on the other. A blue light above them shed little light in the room, casting the bodies in a ghostly pallor. They were dressed in their pajamas, their hands folded sweetly in their laps.

Sadie's gaze grazed the lifeless bodies. It was too dark to see them clearly and it was obvious from the ripe smell that some were, as Jay had put it, in
'decomp'
.

Tears welled in her eyes. "They look like they're sleeping."

She counted them and stifled a sob. "Seven."

Jay's right. All the kids are here. Even Sam.

She let out tight, unsteady gasps.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" the rookie said behind her.

"No." She turned away. "I have to get out of here."

She was raised up again, into the light and breathable air, and Jay escorted her away from the opening and far from the house.

"I couldn't look at their faces," she moaned. "I didn't want to see Sam. Not like that." She raised her eyes. "Does that make me a terrible mother?"

"No," Jay said, his voice cracking. "It makes you human. You can look at Sam when you're ready."

"I'll never be ready," she wailed. "I
saw
them, Jay! I spoke to them, fed them. I just don't understand. Marina said Cortnie and Sam had escaped. I believed her. For the first time in weeks, I had hope." She held her hands out. "And for what?"

"Sadie, we never would've found them. Not without you. They would've been down there forever. Maybe that's why you saw them, so you and the other parents can get closure, so the children can have a proper burial."

Jay's words made her angry.

"I already buried my son once. I can't do it again." Her sobs came in angry gasps. "I refuse to!"

"You did a good thing here, Sadie. Don't forget that."

But she wanted to forget. Forget the bodies, forget everything.

She fled across the field. When she reached the shed, she slumped with her back against it and sank to the damp ground.

"You imagined it all. There were no kids…no Sam. It's all a lie!" She smacked her head against the shed. "Stupid, stupid drunk!" Tears streamed down her face, momentarily blinding her, and she cradled her head and wept for the children, for Sam and for herself.

"Ssssadie…"

Hearing her name, she lifted a tear-streaked face and saw a gray fog rolling toward her. The sight of it paralyzed her as it churned and separated. Then six ghostly forms stepped forward.

The children. The
dead
children.

"What do you want from me?" Sadie cried.

Marina moved toward her. "We want to thank you."

"Thank me for what?"

"You came back for us."

"But it's too late."

"It's never too late." Marina reached out with both hands, framing Sadie's face. "You did
exactly
what we asked you to."

"What do you mean? I didn't do anything."

"Remember the things we left you?"

"Your message, 'help us'?"

Marina nodded. "Well, you did. Help us, I mean."

Sadie moaned. "No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did," the girl insisted. "You saved us from being with
him
. You've given us peace. And our freedom."

Sadie struggled to her feet. "Freedom? You're all dead!"

"And you brought us all
home
." Marina hugged her. "Thank you, Sadie O'Connell."

Before Sadie could say a word, the girl tore herself away and ran across the field. As she reached the edge where the dead grass met the swirling fog, the other children joined her. They stood in a row, holding hands, facing Sadie…smiling. Then, one by one, the children began to merge with the fog, until only Marina was left.

"Wait!" Sadie pleaded. "Don't go!"

"We have to. But we're leaving you three last gifts."

Marina turned away, then peered over her shoulder, a glowing smile shaping her lips. "There's a light beyond the fog, Sadie. The most beautiful light. It's warm and peaceful, and filled with so much love it takes your breath away. Make sure you tell my parents that. Tell them I love them and that I'll always be a part of this world. I'll be in every sunrise and every sunset. We
all
will. It's our destiny."

A finger of pulsating ethereal light reached out and caressed Marina, gently pulling her into its core. Then laughter, soft and sweet, mingled with the breeze, and the fog dissipated, as if it had never existed.

"Goodbye," Sadie wept.

A startling squawk shattered the calm, and her bleary eyes snapped skyward. Beyond the trees, a crow circled the peak of a rocky hill. Even from the distance, she could make out a dark recessed area near the top. A cave.

'We're leaving you three last gifts,' Marina had said.

Sadie's heart skipped a beat. "Wait! I only saw
six
children."

She stared at the crow.

And then she knew.

Sam and Cortnie
were
alive, and there was just one place Sam would feel completely safe.

Cadomin Cave!

Clamping a hand over her wounded arm, she raced through the woods until she reached the base of the hill. Then she began to climb. The trail—if one could call it that—was about a foot wide and barely detectable in some places. It had most likely been carved by a meandering stream trickling down the hillside.

Half an hour later, the radio in her pocket crackled.

"Sadie?"

"Yeah," she panted.

"Where the heck are you? I thought you went back to your cabin."

"I'm on my way to Cadomin Cave."

"What? What the hell are you—?"

"Sam and Cortnie are in the cave."

Pause.

"Listen, Sadie, you're hurt and you've lost a lot of blood. You're not thinking—aw, hell. Never mind. I'm on my way. Wait for me."

But there was no way in hell she was waiting.

The higher she climbed, the more the landscape changed. The dense forest at the base of the steep slope thinned, and evergreens and low shrubbery with early spring buds gave way to loose, chalky gray rock and ridges with sheered edges.

Somewhere on the other side was the common path, the one the tourists took to Cadomin Cave. And somewhere behind her, she guessed, Jay was trying to navigate the same path she was taking. But he wouldn't be catching up any time too soon.

She wiped a grimy hand across her brow and squinted up at the peak. Martha said it would take an hour and a half from base to cave. For Sadie, it was a grueling two hours. As she finally glimpsed the cave entrance, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Cawww!" the crow cried above her.

"There's nothing for you here," she yelled.

Distracted, she didn't see the sinkhole until her foot—the same one she had twisted earlier—sank into it and disappeared up to the knee. She plunged forward and went down, hard and fast, her injured arm slamming into the ground. She howled in pain, not knowing which to clutch first, her arm or her foot. As she lay on the ground, she prayed she hadn't broken anything.

After a few minutes, she took a deep breath and withdrew her leg from the hole. With a disdainful chuckle, she said, "You're going to end up in a body cast at this rate."

She took a quick inventory. Her jeans were torn and her leg had a patch of angry scrapes and welts, but no broken bones.

Her gaze wandered toward the cave. Doubt set in. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she had climbed up this godforsaken hill, risking limbs and life for nothing.

The cave beckoned her.

She limped toward it, ignoring the numbness in her arm and the shooting pain that flared up her leg.

Beside the entrance, a plaque was mounted on a metal stand.

"Welcome to Cadomin Cave," she read.

The greeting was followed by a number of safety rules, including one on carrying sufficient lighting.

Sadie cursed under her breath.

Resigned to another dark journey, she moved toward the mouth of the cave. The ledge above it was low and she ducked her head.

"Sam?"

Her voice echoed back, teasing her mercilessly.

"Sam, are you in there?"

Then the mouth of the cave swallowed her.

37

The cave was bone cold. Even dressed in a winter jacket, Sadie felt an extreme drop in temperature. She groped at the damp wall, feeling her way as the light faded. The ground was slick with mud, so each step was measured and cautious. A few yards in, a foul odor slapped her in the face.

"Jesus!"

She kept moving.

Finally, the narrow corridor opened up to a cavern about thirty feet wide by fifteen feet high. She moved on autopilot, walking until the light behind her was almost gone and she could hardly make out the path or the rock formations ahead.

An imperceptible shift in the air made her pause.

"Sam?"

'Sam…Sam…Sam…'
the cave mocked.

Something stirred in the shadows.

"Sam? It's Mommy!"

The ground began to vibrate and a frigid current of air made her shiver. Before she knew what was happening, a black mass swarmed toward her. She screamed and ran towards the light.

Bats—hundreds of them—whirred past her, scratching her face, desperate to escape the cave. One flew into her hair. She swatted at it, shrieking and crying at the same time. Covering her head, she sank into the mud and pressed her body against the wall. When the bats were gone, she stood shakily and was about to continue on her way when she heard a soft murmur.

Voices. And they were coming closer.

Two shapes emerged from the depths of the cave.

"Hello?" she said softly.

With a whimper, a small body flung itself at her.

She touched a cool shaved head.
Could it be?
"Sam?"

There was a shudder, then quiet sobs. Recognizable sobs.

It
was
Sam.

"Oh my God," she cried, stroking his head. "You're alive."

Sobbing with relief, she rocked him in her arms. "I found you, Sam. Mommy found you."

She leaned back and studied him. His skin was clammy, caked in mud. She stroked his dirty face. He raised his eyes and the terror she saw there made her heart stop beating.

"You're safe, honey. Mommy's here."

"Are you taking us home?" a girl said from the shadows.

Sadie held out a hand. "Cortnie."

"Ashley," the girl said, shuffling closer. "Father said no one can call me by my old name."

Sadie's eyes swam with tears. "He's wrong. Your name is Cortnie Bornyk. And your real dad is waiting for you."

Cortnie let out a sob. "I want my daddy, not that other man."

Sadie grabbed the girl, hugged her close. "It's okay, Cortnie. That man can't hurt you anymore."

"Father wanted us to go to sleep, with the others."

Sadie cringed at the girl's words and stood up quickly. A little too quickly.
I have to get them out of here. Before I pass out.

"Come on," she said.

Cortnie took Sam's hand, but neither of them moved.

"Sam, Cortnie," Sadie said softly. "Let's go home."

She was relieved when they moved toward her, and she led them to the mouth of the cave. A few feet from daylight, her head started pounding. She leaned against the wall.