The Portal ~ Large Print (4 page)

T
ammy laid her
head back on the pillow. After an hour of questioning, the cops finally cleared from her front yard. Bunch of jerks. It would’ve been great to see Miss Priss busted on the hood of a squad car. That might’ve knocked her back a peg.

Still, calling the police had been a bad idea. Vivian was blood, and that still counted for something. Maybe that’s the reason she didn’t tell the cops that her sister had run off with Anthony and his friends.

Besides, those boys had just finished their community service. They didn’t need any more shit. She grabbed her phone from her nightstand. Anthony always hid at the junkyard when things got hot. Maybe she’d just give them a heads up to watch themselves.

Just outside her bedroom window, that damn dog barked louder.

“Will you shut up?” She pulled the curtain back and smacked the window. The pit-bull tried to dig underneath her fence. Nothing else moved out there. Of course. One of these days, she’d fix that dog for good.

Something scraped behind her. Was that someone in her bedroom doorway? The dog barked again. No, it was nothing. Just the darkness, mixed with too much booze.

“Tammy,” a deep voice called out. “Where did Vivian go with my son?”

“Shit.” She jumped up. This had to be the bastard her sister was running from. She snatched the Taser from the nightstand and snapped a warning arc of electricity.

“Get the fuck out of my house,” she shouted. “Or I’ll fry your ass.”

“Tell me where she went.” He stepped forward. “And I’ll let you walk out of here.”

“I’ll scream.”

“I wonder who will hear.” He clicked something together in the darkness. Were they knives? “Your screams. Who will hear?”

Shit. He was right. No one would notice anything over that barking dog. Two kids had been shot to death down the street last week. No witnesses. Her only chance was to fry this nut case and get to her car.

Quickly, she stepped toward the bathroom. He leapt across the room. She zapped the Taser under his chin and dropped him.

Shoving past, she raced down the dark hallway. His footsteps gained on her. Somehow, he’d already gotten back up. Where could she go? The front door. No, it would take too long to unlock.

She barreled through the swinging kitchen doors and yanked the butcher knife from the block. In the glass of the microwave, his reflection moved behind her. She turned and stabbed with all her strength. He howled in pain. The knife stuck from his chest, buried to its handle in the bastard’s heart.

“Serve’s you right,” she said.

His head snapped up.

Jesus H. Christ. His teeth looked like they’d been capped with sharpened bone fragments. He began clinking them together as he pulled the knife from his chest. Blood poured from the wound. She wanted to run, but her legs wouldn’t move. Slivers of light through the backyard blinds showed the corners of his mouth had ripped.

“I like that fire in your belly.” His neck twitched. “What do you say we let it out?”

He swiped at her. She fell back against the stove and looked down. Her shirt had been ripped away. Four long gashes in her stomach leaked blood. The pain buckled her legs.

“Help—” She could barely scream.

“That’s it.” He snatched her arm and sat her at the kitchen table. “Let it out.”

“I don’t know where—” She couldn’t breathe. “I didn’t see where.”

“My car’s still in front.” He punched the table. “Don’t lie to me again.”

Should she tell the truth? No. Couldn’t turn this monster loose on Anthony. Vivian had the kid with her.

“Told you.” She clutched her stomach. “She ran off.”

“If you don’t know anything, you’re not much use to me. Are you?”

“Wait.”

“I’ll let Vivian know what a loyal sister she had,” he said.

Tammy threw herself to the floor and snatched the knife. Something stabbed the base of her skull, and her body went limp. She couldn’t move. Her legs. Her arms. Nothing.

“That should stop your kicking,” he said.

His snort might have been laughter.

G
et over here.”
Vivian’s shout echoed across the warehouse. Though he was unconscious, Jay-Jay jerked as she put pressure on his wound. She couldn’t bear to look at the blood leaking between her fingers. No matter how this ended, she would have a lifetime to feel guilt. Tonight, she had to be strong, mechanical even.

Anthony ran up. Phil followed close behind carrying Cody. Outside, rain pelted the metal rooftop. They couldn’t risk taking him into the storm. The paramedics needed to come here.

“Close that door.” She pulled him away from the raindrops that splashed onto his face.

“Shit.” Anthony held his hands to the sides of his head. He began pacing back and forth. “What the fuck are we going to do?”

“We need to get him to the hospital,” she said. Both boys just stood there. “We need a phone. Do you have one?”

“I left mine at home,” Phil said.

Jay-Jay coughed and then shivered. Though she hated the idea of moving him next to a blaze of toxic chemicals, there wasn’t a choice.

“He needs to be warm,” she said. “Help me move him.”

Phil set Cody down. Grabbing Jay-Jay’s arms and legs, they awkwardly carried him next to the fire. She knelt and put pressure on his side again.

“Get away from him,” Anthony said.

“Hey.” Phil grabbed his shoulder. “Just calm down.”

“She doesn’t know what she’s doing.” He slapped his hand away. “She’s going to kill him.”

“We don’t have time for this,” she said. “I need towels.”

“I told you to get away from him.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw Anthony move toward her. Pushing Cody behind her, she jumped up and faced him. Luckily, he was shorter than most men. They stood eye-to-eye.

“He is going to die if you don’t quit your bullshit,” she said.

“None of this would be happening if it wasn’t for you.”

For a moment, he looked like he would hit her. Then he stared down at Jay-Jay, and tried to blink away his tears. Now, despite the razor blade tattoo on his neck, the attitude and spiked clothing, he looked too young to be here.

“It is my fault.” Her voice shook. “And god, I’m so sorry, but please help me. We have to stop the bleeding.”

His face softened. He wiped his eyes and said, “I’ve seen towels on the second floor before.”

“Go. I need a first aid kit, too. And scissors.”

He ran off. Seconds later, glass shattered upstairs. She turned to Phil. “Do either of you own a vehicle?”

“My car is down the street from your sister’s house.”

“Get it and come back. Don’t let the police see you.” She didn’t want to give him the opportunity to argue, so she turned and knelt back down. “Go now.”

Phil turned just as Anthony ran down the staircase. He handed her a stack of white towels, professionally cleaned and bundled. Then he gave her a first aid kit. Behind them, the metal door screeched open and then shut.

“Scissors?” she asked.

“It’s all I could find.” He handed her a rusted X-Acto blade.

“It’ll do. Now, spread the towels out on the ground.” He did, and then they both moved Jay-Jay off the oil-stained concrete. Leaning over, she whispered, “Stay with us.”

Cody touched his cheek.

“Baby, he’s going to be fine.” She held him back. “He needs space.”

“No,” Cody said. “It’s too late.”

“I promise, I’ll fix it. Now go sit down. And don’t look over here.”

He moved next to the fire and sat in the folding chair that faced away from her. She sliced the bloody shirt down the center with the blade. Peeling it back, she gagged. Just below his ribs, a fist-sized crater had been torn from his side. Five claw marks surrounded the edges.

“Fuck me.” Anthony stepped back.

“Mommy.”

“Turn around.” She pointed at Cody. “Now.”

Originally she thought that Jarod’s people had hurt Jay-Jay. Now she knew the severed hand was responsible. When she’d seen the thing earlier, it hadn’t been that mobile. He must have brought it close enough to latch on.

“Keep your feet off of the floor,” she said to Cody, just in case. He scrunched up his knees.

After dabbing blood from the wound, she grabbed one of the bleached towels and taped it to Jay-Jay’s chest. When finished, she covered him with the rest of them.

“What’s going on?” Anthony returned with his arms folded. “Is he going to live?”

Jay-Jay’s breathing seemed strong considering. And he was young. All of this played in his favor. Still, she couldn’t take her eyes from the trail of blood that led from the front door.

“Phil really needs to hurry,” she said. “Was there a phone in the office?”

“There’s no dial tone.”

She sat in a chair next to the fire, her hands sticky with blood. With her sleeve, she wiped her forehead. All they could do now was wait. When Phil arrived, the two boys could take Jay-Jay to the hospital, and she would split off with Cody.

Hold on—

“Where’s Cody?” she asked. Anthony looked around. Sharp objects filled every inch of the garage. And that hand could be anywhere.

“Baby.” She raced behind some type of drill press. “Where are you?”

A faint giggle somewhere in the distance.

“Cody,” Anthony shouted.

“Shhh.” She waved at him. “Don’t move.”

He stopped, leaving only sound of rain. Something scraped above them.

“Where are the stairs?” she asked.

“You have to walk behind the pickup to see them.”

“Stay with Jay-Jay,” she said. “I’ll get him.”

She felt her way to the stairs in near darkness and raced up. At the top, a suspended catwalk led to a doorway. Light crept underneath.

Cody said something, but she couldn’t make out the words. She ran down the hall and shoved the door open. Her stomach dropped. He sat alone on his knees, rocking back and forth in front of a desk. In his left hand, he held the razor blade that she’d used to cut Jay-Jay’s shirt. His eyes were open, but they had rolled back to show only white.

“No.” He held up the knife, and said to the wall. “I won’t do that again.”

The lamp on the desk buzzed brighter. She could have sworn it was hotter, too. Shadows moved across the walls, until the light popped into complete darkness.

V
ivian didn’t dare
breathe. With the blade in Cody’s hand, she couldn’t move to him. What if she tripped? She couldn’t shake the image of her baby bleeding in her arms. Through the only window, electricity cracked the sky. Briefly, the light showed Cody’s position. She raced over and pulled the knife from his hand.

“Cody,” she whispered in his ear. “It’s okay. Mommy’s here.”

“No.” He pulled away. The darkness returned. “I don’t want to do it.”

“Baby, we have to go.”

Outside, more veins of lightning branched dangerously close to the metal warehouse. With his eyes rolled back, he reached for the window. Again darkness.

“Killing twelve early this morning,” a thin voice called out.

Just feet away, a radio had turned on. It dialed through the stations. Celine Dion melded into La Bamba, until only a gentle shushing sounded. Whispers came through the static first. Then children’s voices, dozens of them, chanting and giggling.

“Screw this.” She picked up Cody.

The voices from the radio grew angry, hissing against her eardrum.

“Ring a ring a roses,” Cody said. Neither his voice nor his rigid body possessed the playground innocence of the rhyme. “Pocket full of posies. Ashes. Ashes.”

Trailing one hand on the wall for guidance, she found the door and raced down the catwalk.

“We all fall down,” he said.

“Everything’s going to be okay.” Carefully, she descended the stairs into the dim light of the trash can fire.

“We all fall down,” he repeated between frantic breaths. She choked back her tears when she saw that his eyes were still white.

“You found him,” Anthony said as she ran up. He was sitting on a chair next to Jay-Jay.

“We need to get out of here,” she said.

“What about Jay-Jay?”

“We’ll carry him.”

“In the rain? You said he could die.”

For a moment, she considered telling him about Jarod’s hand, about Cody and the radio. He already thought she was crazy though. Maybe she was, but every tingling hair on her body told her it was time to go.

“Somebody was upstairs with me,” she said. “We’re not alone here.”

“What do you mean? I was just up there, and nobody’s come in.”

“We all fall down,” Cody said.

Anthony pointed. “What the hell’s wrong with him?”

She held Cody’s face against her shoulder. “It’s just something we sing when he’s nervous. Now we need to go.”

“Those government pigs are probably still out there,” Anthony said. “People that you brought down on us. We can’t take Jay-Jay out there.”

“Listen, I don’t care if you believe me or not. Somebody or something is upstairs right now.”

“Something, huh?” Anthony rolled his eyes. “You’re not taking Jay-Jay anywhere. I won’t let you.”

“London’s burning,” Cody said over her shoulder. “London’s burning. Fetch the engine.”

“Can’t you get him to stop?” Anthony asked. “He’s creeping me out.”

She sat down in a chair and held Cody in her lap. Pushing sweaty strands of hair from his forehead, she said, “Baby, please wake up.”

She shook him gently. A massive thunder strike rattled the building. The warehouse’s metal beams moaned like a collapsing submarine. Cody breathed quicker. More than ever, she knew it was all connected. Jarod’s deformation. The storm and Cody. Finally, she couldn’t take it. She shook him harder and shouted, “Wake up.”

An explosion above. Dozens of windows that lined the warehouse’s ceiling imploded. She dove to the concrete and smothered Cody. Shards of glass sprayed down. Luckily, they were near the center of the building. Wind and rain poured through the windows now. Trash blew everywhere.

“Christ.” Anthony pointed at Cody. He started to back away from them. “It’s him. He’s doing this.”

He ran to the steel doors, pulled them open, and disappeared outside. She couldn’t worry about him now. At this point, he wouldn’t be much help.

“I’m sorry, baby.” She slapped Cody’s face to wake him. The second time, his blue eyes rolled back. Immediately, the storm seemed to die down.

“Ouch.” He rubbed the side of his face.

“You scared me.” She hugged him tight. Though she wanted to end it there, it couldn’t wait. “Who were you talking to?”

“He wants to come in again,” Cody said.

“Who does? Who wants to come in?”

Before he could answer, the door squealed open. Phil ran up with a giant blanket folded under his arm.

“Oh, thank God,” she said. “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to make it.”

“I told you my car was parked all the way back on K Street.”

“I’m sorry. We need to leave. Did you see any police at Tammy’s house?”

“No, but her front door was wide open.”

Jay-Jay’s skin color was pretty good considering. For the first time tonight, she felt as though they might actually get out of this.

“Where’s Anthony?” Phil asked.

“He went for help, too.” She couldn’t be sure how Phil would react if he knew the truth of the night’s events. The front door opened again.

“He’s back,” Phil said.

She looked up to see Anthony’s bald head peek into the warehouse. Did he have a change of heart? No, he’d probably come back for his friends. Time for damage control. She needed to convince him that he hadn’t seen anything unusual. That shouldn’t be too hard considering the story.

“Use the blanket,” she said to Phil. “We’ll carry Jay-Jay on that.”

A wet thudding sound filled her ears. Anthony’s head rolled face up at her feet. Spattered in blood, his expression had frozen in terror. Skin hung from his neck from where it had been torn off.

“Cody.” She snatched him up and covered his eyes.

Phil looked as though he knew what he was seeing, but couldn’t process it.

“Vivian,” Jarod growled from the shadows. “You’ve been a bad girl.”