Evil Origins: A Horror & Dark Fantasy Collection (22 page)

“What do you
want?” Samuel asked as he stepped around Mara to face the entrance to the cave.

Major appeared
from behind an outcrop. His hair appeared more silvery than it had before. He
walked with a lurch, and the headband slipped lower on his forehead, making his
eyes forlorn.

“There’s a lot
about this place that you don’t know, son.”

“So you’re my
father now, my caretaker, is that it?”

Major chuckled
and waved a hand in the air.

“You and the
girl come out here so we can talk like human beings?” Major asked. “Ain’t like
I can do that with the stalkers or the pack now, can I?”

Mara shook her
head and tried to pull Samuel toward a third unexplored passage deep under the
mountain. He bit his bottom lip and stepped in front of her, pulling his hand
from hers.

“Okay.”

“I’m really a
business man, Samuel. Once you understand that, I think you’ll find what I have
to offer will be a fair trade, one that benefits both parties involved.”

“Don’t trust
him, Samuel. He’s devious and manipulating. He belongs here. He deserves to be
eaten by that cloud, swallowed by the Reversion.”

“Mara, dear. Such
ugly words from such a tragic beauty as yourself.”

“You say you
have business with me,” replied Samuel. “Let’s hear it.”

“I wouldn’t have
saved you from the alpha male and sent you to the Barren to get rid of you. That
would have been a foolish waste of resources and time, neither of which occur
in abundance in this shit-hole of a world. Scary to think this is the nicest
locality I’ve been in since I started slipping. Not exactly postcard material.”

Samuel scoffed
and wiped the back of his hand across his forehead. “You have thirty more
seconds before we run headlong into the mountain. If the Reversion is coming, we’ll
go on our own terms, with each other. Judging by the ghouls that didn’t follow
you in here, and the limp you got going on, I don’t think you’re in a position
to chase us down. What do you want, old man?”

“Fine. I’ve
made many deals in my time, and I’ve always believed a certain level of
civility helped to ease the negotiations.”

“I never said
we were negotiating. You’re down to twenty seconds.”

Major stepped
forward, distributing his weight on both legs. He looked over a shoulder at the
entrance to the cave, where dark coats of fur had begun to pace back and forth
at the threshold.

“They’re scared
of it. Won’t come in. Yet. The wolves and ghouls will wait, but I won’t. I need
to slip again, and you have the talisman to do it. I don’t know what it is, but
it doesn’t matter—you’re going to slip with me. I’ve done it before, slipping
with someone else. It’s risky, sure, but no more risky than remaining here in
this dying place. And the girl, well, it would be good business to leave her
for the wolves. She’s flickering out, one way or another.”

Mara shivered
and reached for Samuel’s hand.

“I don’t even
know if I can slip with another. And if I did, why would I take you? I can take
Mara with me.”

Major laughed. His
voice echoed throughout the cavern and brought a yelp from one of the pack that
strayed too close to the entrance.

“And how are
you going to do that, Samuel? Tell me. Exactly how are you going to slip into
another locality, let alone find a way to take her with you? You may have the
talisman, but I have the know-how,” Major said, tapping the side of his head
with his index finger. “You got the Dodge Daytona, but I got your keys.” A
dark, greasy smile spread across Major’s face.

“You’re an evil
son of a bitch,” said Samuel.

“We don’t have
time for empty insults, young man. You get the knowledge of the slip in return
for my ticket and the girl. Take it or leave it.”

Mara growled.

“How do I know
you really know how to use the talisman to slip this locality? How can I be
sure you’re not tricking me?”

“You don’t!”
said Major, fighting the laughter erupting from his mouth. “You can’t be sure. When
do you ever get certainty in life? Thought you’d at least wised up to that in
your time here.”

Samuel turned
and tucked his chin to his chest. He used the back of his hand to caress the
side of Mara’s face. She closed her eyes and pulled his hand closer with her
own.

“Can you trust
me?” he whispered.

Mara nodded
without speaking.

“We do it on my
terms,” Samuel said, spinning to address Major.

“If we don’t
get going soon, there aren’t going to be terms to follow.”

Samuel took a
deep breath and nodded at Major.

“First thing
you need to do is stand with your arms outstretched, what the boys in
Soundgarden used to call a ‘Jesus Christ Pose,’” Major instructed.

Samuel raised
an eyebrow.

“I was alive in
the ’90s, too,” said Major.

Samuel followed
the old man’s instructions. He walked to the center of the open cavern while
Mara remained with her back to the limestone.

“Good. Now
close your eyes and visualize another place. Think white, sandy beaches and
palm trees. Any locality without a fucking cloud would be perfect.”

Samuel closed
his eyes, and his face wrinkled as if he were devouring lemons. “I can’t. My
mind is racing. I can’t think.”

Major stepped
closer and spoke under his breath, so only Samuel could hear. “If you can’t do
this, big man, that little tart of yours is going to become a meal for the
pack. And you and I won’t be far behind. Close your eyes and try again.”

Samuel clenched
his fists and brought them down to his waist before stopping and letting them
fall against the sides of his legs. He concentrated, trying to clear his head
of the distractions in the cave and the desperation of his situation. The air
surrounding him lightened, and he felt a faint breeze blow across his face.

“Don’t open
your eyes,” said Major, as if reading his mind. “That’ll break the connection. Keep
going.”

Samuel forced
his mind clear again, and this time a pinhole of light appeared. He watched it
grow behind his eyelids and dart back and forth like a chaser in his vision. Samuel
could see the edges becoming fuzzy and rolling back from the center, like sand
pulled out by the tide. He lost sensation in his limbs and could no longer tell
if he was standing or lying in the limestone dust on the floor the cave. Major’s
voice cut through, sounding as if the old man were inside his head.

“You got one,
boy! You grabbed on to another locality. Now let it open up and make sure it’s
not all brimstone, lake of fire, or any of that other biblical bullshit that
keeps Christians in the pews every week.”

Samuel blinked
within his vision without opening or closing his eyelids. He watched the center
spread until the fuzzy border pushed out to his peripheral vision. Samuel had
to remind himself to breathe. He now stood on the shore of a narrow, long lake.
The water sat like a sheet of ice, reflecting the towering mass of earth above
it as if another mountain existed inside the lake. Tall pine trees bordered
water that cut its way through a high mountain pass. Patches of snow clung to
the ground in places hidden by shade. He saw the wind push the pine trees,
nudging them into each other with a gentle shake. Samuel could not hear a sound
in the vision, and he was about to tell Major that he saw no sign of life when
a dark dash pinned to a deep blue sky came across his field of vision and
stopped at the top of the tallest pine. He watched the bird spread its wings
and take flight in the opposite direction, and Samuel was able to identify the
hawk in this locality.

“Is it alive?”
Major asked within his head.

“What?”

“The locality. Is
there a cloud? Is a Reversion coming?”

Samuel went
back to his vision, searching the landscape with all of his senses, even ones
he did not realize he had.

“Seems okay.”

Major laughed,
and Samuel heard the slapping sound of his hands coming together.

“Perfect. The
next thing you need to do is focus on a point inside that locality. Find a
rock, a tree, something physical that you can latch on to. This is your
coordinate for the slip, in a manner of speaking.”

Before Samuel
did that, he spun around inside his vision to find the best perspective
possible before attempting anything. When he faced the west, Samuel felt it
before he saw it. The unmistakable baffle choking the light and life from the
sky. He saw tendrils of slate swirling in the blue sky, turning it gray.

“Yeah, this
place looks perfect. Let me find us a decent landing pad.”

Major snipped
with excitement, and Samuel felt him temporarily exit his mind. He hoped Major
would not take it upon himself to serve Mara to the wolves.

“I’m almost
ready,” said Samuel. “What’s next?”

“Walk to it. Touch
it. Hell, lick it if you have to. Get yourself a physical connection to the
object there, which will help target the slip. We won’t land on that fucker,
like Plymouth Rock, but we’ll be damn close. Make sure it’s not too close to
water. I don’t wanna get my hair wet.”

Samuel realized
he could shut Major out, like closing a door or hanging up the phone. He
reached out to Mara, still inside the cavern.

“Hey,” he
said.

“Samuel?”
she asked.

“Listen, and
don’t speak. When he gets close, push him in the back.”

“But I don’t
know what you mean—”

“Mara. Stop.
We don’t have time. When he gets close, push him. Do you understand?”

Samuel felt her
head nod. He switched communication from Mara back to Major.

“I think I’m
almost ready,” he said to the old man.

“I will not
miss the howling of those wretched beasts. And the goddamn horde can rot in
hell. Let’s do this.”

Samuel sent a
final flash to Mara before opening his eyes. The portal from inside his head
now hovered above the ground inside the cave. The opening rose up ten feet and
expanded to a length of twelve. He felt as though he was sitting on top of a
cloud, looking out of a bay window on another world below. The ambient sunlight
spilled from the portal and illuminated the cave, chasing the wolves even farther
away from the entrance and forcing their retreat into the forest. Major and
Mara held their hands over their faces to protect their eyes from the blazing
light they had not experienced for so long.

Mara stepped
forward and made eye contact with Samuel. He winked and then turned to face
Major.

“Sure is a
beauty, eh? I knew once you conjured the portal that nothing would stop you
from slipping this locality, not even your little Goth princess over there. I’m
sure you wouldn’t mind some young pussy, but even that ain’t enough, right?”

“Just do it,”
replied Samuel. “I want out of this filthy place.”

Major nodded
and lifted his chin at Mara.

“Let’s go, hon.
You belong to the alpha male now. Sammy and I are going to send you a postcard,
don’t you worry.”

Mara dropped
her head to her chest. When she raised it, tears streamed down her face.

“Can I just
look at it for a minute before you two go?”

“I don’t see no
harm in that,” Major said, lifting his shoulders at Samuel.

Samuel shrugged
and stepped back from the edge of the portal to allow Mara and Major space to
step up to it.

“Take a look at
that beautiful, virgin land,” said Major, gazing upon the eastern end of the
distant locality.

Mara inched
forward. She shook her head, more tears following. Major stepped to the side
and put an arm around her. He whispered into her ear.

“Could be
dinosaurs with eight heads in there somewhere. But you know what ain’t there? This
place. This stinking shithole ain’t.”

Major stepped
forward and spread his arms as if to embrace the vista. He tilted his head back
and let the natural sunlight ease the tight scar tissue on his face.

“Now!” yelled
Samuel.

Mara had taken
two steps back from the edge and one to the side. She had positioned herself
directly behind Major while he was basking in the glow of the portal. With her
dark, straggly hair covering all but her piercing eyes, Mara lunged forward
with both hands. Her palms struck Major’s black overcoat like a slap to the
face. She locked her elbows and extended her arms, driving her weight through
the push and forward toward the open portal. Major gasped as the shove knocked
the air from his lungs. He stumbled forward and almost regained his balance
when his left foot slid on the loose limestone and into the portal. His left
leg dropped, and his body torqued to the side as whatever force ruling the
portal sucked Major in like gravity would from the precipice of a cliff. Samuel
saw the shock and the anger in Major’s eyes as his body slid farther into the
portal, alone. His fingers grasped the fuzzy edge of the vortex, and he pulled
his chin up to them.

“You fucking
liar!” he shouted. “I swear to God I’m coming back for you, you son of a bitch!”

Samuel closed
his eyes again. When he reopened them, Mara stood by his side, both of them
staring at the cavern wall where an open portal to another locality used to be.