Dastardly Bastard(58)

His mind was pushing away the unneeded parts, focusing on the good. The real. He pushed himself off the ground, his sickness fleeing him. When he finally stood, Donald found himself on Flat Rock. The name of the place was there in his memory banks; the tour guide had told them about it. But the guide hadn’t mentioned the bridge. Donald remembered it, but in his mind, it had been older and looked much less stable.

The sky above him was cloven in two. To the north, the sun sat sturdy and bright. In the south, the man in the moon gazed down upon him. A line ran down the middle of the heavens. One side blue, the other starry night.

Not everything was back to normal.





45


MARK HAD COME TO FEELING much better than Lyle. The boy was at the curve of the trail, vomiting on the other side of an outcropping. Lyle was the only person Mark saw. Marsha, Jaleel, Trevor, Donald, and Justine were still absent. He knew that meant something. Moreover, the world above him was off, way off.

He went over and rubbed Lyle’s back. Lyle looked up at him with soft, watery eyes.

Mark could tell the boy realized they weren’t fully safe yet. “You all right?”

“No. It’s all disappearing. I can feel my memories leaving, like they’re being sucked up by a vacuum. You feel it?” Lyle wiped gunk from the corner of his mouth.

Mark glanced down at the thick fluid on Lyle’s hand. It was charcoal black and smelled of death. “You remember, Lyle. You remember your mom and dad. You focus on that. Understand?”

Lyle nodded somberly. “When did you get your camera back?”

Mark looked down. Resting atop his belly was his prized Nikon. He couldn’t help but smile. “Well, whataya know?”

“So, now what do we do?”

“We gotta find Justine and Donald. Squirt’s gotta be around here somewhere. He was the first one to go.” Mark cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered, “Donald!”

“Down here!” The response was weak, followed by a coughing fit.

Mark took Lyle in one arm, laying his thick bicep around the boy’s shoulders, and pulled him along. The curve around the outcropping lengthened to a flat area. Standing in the middle of the expanse was Donald. The little guy looked like shit warmed over. As Lyle had, Donald was wiping stuff from the corner of his mouth.

“Where’s… where’s everyone else?” Donald straightened his sports coat as if it really mattered at that point.

“We’re still inside, if that’s the right terminology. I’m out of ideas, little man.”

Donald quirked an eyebrow.

“Sorry,” Mark said, feeling guilty. “I’ll try and refrain from commenting on your size.”

“Thanks.”

“Justine didn’t come through?” Lyle asked. The boy was coming back into himself, figuring things out. Mark could see the pieces coming together in his eyes.

“She couldn’t. Something about the Bastard never getting her, is all she said.” Mark thought the statement true. He had willfully saved Lyle back on the trail. He didn’t know how Justine had crossed over, but he saw no reason for her to lie.

“The bridge looks new,” Lyle observed, running a hand through his hair.

“Think we should?” Donald asked.

“I don’t see any other choice.” Mark gazed across the expanse, saw things moving in the shadows of the cave entrance on the rock face opposite them. He knew something lived there, something he didn’t want to face. But he’d promised Justine, swore they would find her.

“It didn’t go so well for me last time, guys.” Lyle quirked a smile, but it died before fully forming. “Mom told me not to… not to go. I didn’t listen. I should have. Maybe—”

“Sorry, kid,” Donald cut in. “But fuck the maybes. We were balls deep in this shit as soon as we started this tour.”

“My stomach hurts.” Mark could tell the boy wasn’t looking for sympathy. Lyle was just stating the obvious.

Mark didn’t wait around for Lyle and Donald to follow. The bridge took his weight easily. His footing was sure as he made his way across the wooden planks, using the handholds for stability.

“Last time I followed you over the chasm, I ended up being chased by a monster,” Donald said from very close behind him. “Then, the next time I saw you, we were chased by a monster. I hope the pattern doesn’t keep.”

“I have the feeling we’re the ones doing the chasing now,” Lyle said from further back.

“Good point. Duly noted. But that’s kinda what scares me.”

Mark laughed.

They reached the other end of the bridge without any trouble. Mark was thinking about how easy it had been, when a figure stumbled out of the cave’s mouth.

Lyle screamed. Donald made to turn, but paused, looking at Mark for answers. Mark recognized the guy instantly.

“What the fuck!” Trevor bleated, falling to his knees. He looked as though he was going to be sick. “Where the hell am I?”

“Good to see you, too,” Donald said.

“Where… where’s Justine?” Trevor was shaking badly, looking at them through matted hair that clung to his forehead. “You guys look like shit.”

“You should see yourself,” Donald said.