Dastardly Bastard(30)

“Holy shit!” Justine cried.

Jaleel continued while Justine focused her attention on the craziness happening up above, “The sun’s been moving in the wrong direction since our little warping session.”

“What?” Trevor exclaimed.

“In case you guys didn’t pay attention in school, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Since we’ve been down here, it’s been moving south.”

“That can’t happen, man,” Trevor scoffed. Justine chanced a glance at Trevor. His neck bent at an angle while he watched the sun inching its way across the sky.

“I noticed it a little while ago. It’s speeding up, too. It crested the chasm wall just as you started your story, Trevor, and now it’s in the middle of the opening up there, headed in the wrong direction. Remember how I told you guys the chasm runs north to south? Well, the sun is now running parallel to it. Not over it like it normally does at this time of day.” Jaleel ran a hand over his short, curly hair.

“That’s not possible,” Marsha said, echoing Trevor’s disbelief. Justine was glad to see the lady could once again form a coherent sentence.

“Yeah, neither is anything else that’s happened.” Jaleel emitted a nervous laugh.

“True. Never mind.” Marsha dropped back a step.

Justine was unnerved by how easily everyone was taking things. Well, everyone but Marsha. The events before the camera man’s fall, combined with their nearest star suddenly having a mind of its own, should have sent the party into a screaming frenzy. Human beings denied the improbable. It was in their mapping, their structure. Justine didn’t like the oddity one bit. She didn’t like the thing waving at her from the bottom of the slope either. She decided just to ignore both.

“So, what now?” Trevor asked, any ideas of trying the loop again apparently abandoned.

“If anyone cares…” Lyle held up his cell phone. The pictures were closed; a dashboard showed instead. “I don’t have a signal. We’re on our own.”

“Great. Just peachy,” Trevor said. “We know we can’t get back to the cars. What about going further down the slope? What’s down there, Jaleel?”

“There’s Flat Rock, then Scooter’s Dive just beyond that. No other way up.”

“You think the portal works both ways?” Lyle asked.

“How so?” Trevor inquired.

“Okay, so this… whatever it is, keeps setting us further down the trail when we try to go up. Right? So if we go down, maybe it will spit us out up top? I don’t know. Just a thought.”

Justine shrugged. “Worth a shot, I guess.”

Marsha said, “Anything to get my son out of here. Let’s just go. Please.”

“Wait!” Lyle spun around in a circle.

Justine’s stomach dropped. She had a brief flashback of Jaleel and his crazy little song and dance.

She didn’t feel any better when Lyle finally spoke again. “Where’s the little guy? What was his name?”

“Donald,” Jaleel said, looking around.

“Well, damn it,” Trevor said. “Now we have a missing person. Shit!”

“He didn’t have anywhere to go. Unless Lyle’s theory is right.” Jaleel scratched his chin. Justine almost laughed at the fact that the tour guide actually looked as if he were thinking.

Marsha said, “I’m lost. What’s Lyle right about?”

Jaleel answered, “The portal might take us back to the beginning if we continue toward Scooter’s Dive. Donald could have snuck off further down the trail and stumbled upon the way out. We’re moving on, anyway, guys. We’ll just look for Donald as we go. He couldn’t have gotten far. Just keep an eye out for shadows. Eh, Justine?” Jaleel winked at her.

Justine could have sworn she saw sparkles of pink and blue flitting from the tour guide’s eyelashes. She wouldn’t have discounted the sight if it had been a shadow. That, she had seen before. Sparkles and glowing were new. “Right,” was all she could think to say.

At the outcropping, that improbable horror waved at her.

“Come on, babe.” Trevor took her hand.

Justine stepped forward. “I don’t like this.” She looked down the slope, meeting the thing’s eyes. It seemed pleased the group was progressing and smiled as they continued.

I know that’s not you, Justine thought.

Sure it is, Just.

She wasn’t a bit surprised that it was able to answer her. No, it’s not. And when I find you, whatever you are, I’m going to rip your heart out for trying to use her against me. So you better crawl back under that rock of yours, because I’m coming.

What makes you think you have any power here, girl?

Because you’re hiding from us. And only something that’s afraid hides.

“You okay?” Trevor asked, breaking her concentration.

“Yeah. Just making a promise to someone.”

“Huh?”

“It doesn’t matter. I just hope we find a way out of this mess.” She wrapped her arm around Trevor’s waist again.

“Me, too.”

At the bottom of the slope, standing there in her purple sundress and pink bunny slippers, Nana Penance smiled.