Dark Company (21 page)

A man’s shout echoed through the trees. The Company men were getting closer. Arms outstretched, face turned to one side, Caddy wiggled into the rock mouth. The stone was cool and rough as a cat’s tongue. Now that she was inside, she could see that the mouth opened into a small cave, its throat narrowing before it widened. She inched forward, the opening growing tighter and tighter, restricting her breathing. Caddy panicked and pushed herself back, wedging herself deeper and dislodging one of her sneakers. There was no way to turn around. She would have to go forward. Gritting her teeth, she gripped the stone and pulled, her fingers cut and bleeding by the time she reached the edge of the opening and fell to the cave floor.

The girl was there, arms clasped around her knees, eyes wide in the dark. Caddy crawled in beside her, her breathing laboured. She shivered uncontrollably, her wet clothes clinging to her. A shadow darted across the mouth of the cave. The girl grabbed Caddy’s arm. Caddy picked up a rock the size of a softball from the cave floor and held it. She would use it as a weapon if any Company men came calling. Her hands started to shake and the
rock fell from her grasp. The bad feeling was coming. She wanted to stop it, to derail the train before it hit, but it charged over her, dragging her into the Emptiness.

The first thing Caddy saw when she returned was the girl’s distraught face.

“Are you okay?” she whispered, her eyes more frightened than before.

Caddy struggled to sit up. The girl helped, propping her against the cave wall.

“Thanks,” Caddy murmured, her tongue a handful of dust in her mouth. “I just need some time to pull myself together.”

They sat in silence, Caddy waiting for her hands to stop shaking, the girl watching her closely.

“Was I out long?” Caddy eventually asked.

“I thought you were going to die. What is it? Epilepsy?”

“No … visions.” She could have lied and saved herself a lot of trouble. She had to trust someone.

“Bad ones?”

“Yes.”

The girl looked so concerned, Caddy worried she’d made a mistake being truthful.

“You were moaning pretty loudly,” the girl said. “I thought the Company men would find us.”

The heat rose in Caddy’s face. “I’m sorry.”

“Does it happen often?”

“Often enough.”

Caddy expected condemnation. The girl surprised her with kindness.

“We were told about you,” she said. “I’ve never seen anyone in the vision before. I didn’t know what was happening. Does it hurt? It looks like it hurts …”

Caddy considered lying this time, to save the girl further anguish. But what was the point? “Yes.”

The girl frowned sympathetically. “That’s awful. I hope you’re okay.” She extended her hand. “My name’s April.”

They shook. She seemed genuinely kind. “I’m Caddy.”

“I know.” April noticed the welts on her face and neck. “You’re beaten up pretty badly.”

“Yeah.” Caddy drew back her sleeve. The mark was bloody and raw from her trip through the stone. The bandage was shredded. She dabbed at the blood with the cuff of her jacket, then pulled her sleeve down and explored the welts left by the maple saplings. They were hot and tender to the touch. They would heal and fade with time. The mark wouldn’t, though. It was hers for life—however long that would be. And now she’d outed herself to this girl. She was relieved, really. She wouldn’t have to pretend anymore. Not to April anyway. She looked at the stone lying next to her.

“Did anything happen while I was out?”

April shook her head. “Do you think they’re gone?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is it bothering you?” April pointed to Caddy’s blood-stained sleeve. “The mark, I mean.”

Yes, Caddy thought. In so many ways. She shrugged. “It stings.”

“We can take care of it once we find the others.”

“If there’s anyone left.” The look of horror on April’s face made Caddy retract her words. “I didn’t mean it …”

April tucked her knees under her chin. She looked like a lost child. “I wish we could just stay here.”

“Me too.”

“How old are you?” she asked.

“Seventeen.”

This made April happy. “I’m nineteen. It’s nice to have someone my age around.”

Even a freak like me? Caddy wondered. “What about Poe?”

April’s face lit up. “Oh, yeah. He’s really nice. I’m kind of shy to talk to him, he’s so smart.”

“I know what you mean. We went to school together.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Caddy caught a glimpse of her sock foot and thought of Meg. She would never forget the image of her lying beneath that Buick. “I saw his girlfriend killed in a car accident.”

April’s smile fell. “Oh.”

“I’m sorry,” Caddy apologized again. “It’s just … I guess I’m kind of in shock about everything.”

“No … it’s okay. I didn’t even know he had a girlfriend. He never said anything. What was she like?”

Caddy massaged the back of her neck. She’d wrenched it crawling through the opening to the cave. “Meg? She was beautiful. Popular. I didn’t know her very well but she seemed nice.”

“How sad.”

“I know.” Caddy studied her hands. They were banged up pretty bad. Thankfully, they’d stopped shaking. It was going to hurt like hell to go back through the rock. She’d be smarter this time though. She’d remove her jacket and go slowly, try not to freak out. “We should probably go.”

April shrank with fear.

“I’ll go first,” Caddy volunteered. “Wait until I’m through before you start. I’ll give you the all-clear.”

April clutched Caddy’s arm. Her voice was earnest. “I promise not to tell anyone … about the visions.”

It was a comfort to hear her say it, even if Caddy knew everyone would find out soon enough. She smiled. “Thanks. I’m really glad you’re here.”

She peeled off her jacket, and looked through the rock. The sun was shining on the other side. If there were Company men lurking out there, so be it, Caddy thought. They couldn’t stay in
this cave forever. She exhaled and reached into the mouth of the stone, pulling herself in. Flattening against the rock, she inched along, pushing her jacket in front of her. It was a tight squeeze, but not as tight as before. And she was moving toward the light so she could actually see where she was going. Her fingertips burned as she gripped the stone, but the fear of what might be waiting on the other side kept her mind focused.

When she reached her shoe, Caddy freed it and held it in one hand as she crawled. At the opening, she shoved the shoe and her jacket out of the mouth and waited several seconds. Nothing. She shimmied from the rock like a lizard and looked around. The woods were quiet. A light breeze moved through the trees. No one would ever guess people had been killed here. With a wave of her arm, Caddy signalled to April, then crouched beside the rock and quietly pulled on her damp shoe and jacket. She checked the woods for movement. After several minutes, April squirmed from the rock and squatted next to her.

“We can call the others with the mark,” she whispered.

Caddy nodded, even though she didn’t want to use it. If her father was alive, she didn’t want to risk his safety. She couldn’t explain this to April. All she could do was hope that everything would be okay. “We should find a safer place. We’ve been here too long.”

They walked, searching the trees as they went. At a thick clump of cedars, Caddy stopped.

“We’ll be well hidden here.”

They crept into the cedars. April faced her, taking her hands. “Concentrate on the mark and they’ll know where we are.” She closed her eyes.

Caddy hesitated. Her mind was a whirlwind, spinning from her father to the Company men to Poe. Had he made it to safety? She would have to use the mark to find out. She hoped her father was smart enough not to answer the call, wherever he was. Reining her
thoughts in, she held them still and called up the mark, a sparkling mandala in her mind’s eye. She imagined herself walking its path, weaving around and around, in and out. There was a buzzing at the back of her neck and the sensation of her body lifting. Within minutes, the Dreamers arrived, gathering in the cedar grove. Caddy waited for Poe. He didn’t come with the others.

“There are only twenty-two of us,” she said. “Who’s missing?”

The Dreamers stood, too afraid to answer.

“We do not dwell on the past,” a man said. “We must always look forward. It is the only way to stay whole.”

“What if some are injured?” Caddy asked. “What if they need help?”

“We can’t risk the safety of those who are here—for the sake of the dream, we must carry on.”

“There’ll be no one left to dream if we don’t take care of each other.” Caddy petitioned the others for support. “Who have we lost?” she asked again.

The man flew into a rage, spitting through his teeth. “Attachments are dangerous. They’ll get you killed. Hex would want us to move forward.”

“We can’t leave people behind.”

The man took a threatening step toward her. Caddy thought he was going to hit her until a woman intervened.

“Nicholas,” the woman said, her voice quavering. “I saw him fall to the knife.”

The man glowered at her. There was an uncomfortable silence. Another Dreamer spoke.

“Theresa. I saw her fall.”

“Prita,” another said.

“Christophe.”

“Madelaine.”

Caddy held her breath, waiting for his name. “What about Poe?” she asked. “Did anyone see him fall?”

The man exploded. “Enough! We have to move to safety and wait to be contacted.”

“We can’t leave without Poe,” Caddy insisted. “If no one saw him fall, we have to look for him.”

“Can’t you see the trouble you’re causing?” the man said. “Hex will not be happy with you.” And then he calmed himself and smiled as though everything were fine. “It’s time to move.”

Caddy didn’t care what Hex or anyone else thought. She wasn’t going to abandon Poe. If he was alive, she would find him. She only wished she could do the same for her father. “I won’t go.”

“Then stay,” the man said. “It’s your choice.”

Caddy hoped April would stand beside her, but she was already mingling with the other Dreamers. They moved, quiet as deer, into the forest. As soon as they were gone Caddy started to question her decision. What made her think she could possibly help Poe? What if he was already dead? She couldn’t leave without knowing. If it had been her who was missing, he wouldn’t stop until he found her. She believed this.

Searching the ground, Caddy found a branch with a thick knot on the end. It was a good, strong stick, a heavy club. It made her feel better just to hold it. She stayed close to the trees, mouthing the words of her song, moving from shadow to shadow. Before long, she was clearing the hill and could see the river.

On the bank, she discovered a dark, wet stain. She touched it, rubbing her fingers together. Blood. Around the stain were the signs of struggle—torn grass, an upturned stone. But no body. Caddy looked closer and caught something glinting in the grass. It was a thin gold chain with a small green stone. A lump formed in her throat. It was Poe’s fluorite talisman, the same as hers. She picked the necklace up, holding it in her hand for a moment before cleaning it in the river and pushing it into her pocket for safekeeping. It didn’t mean he was dead, she told herself. Maybe he’d dropped it while running.

Downriver, Caddy found more blood on some boulders. She kneeled, cupped her hands in the water and washed the stones. “I will remember,” she promised the one whose blood had been spilled. When the stones were clean she crossed the river, jumping from rock to rock so as not to get her feet wet again. At the last stone she leapt onto the bank. The cabin was at the top of the hill, its door ajar. Everything was quiet.

With small fox steps, Caddy crept up to the building, club raised. She peeked through the window. The cabin was empty, except for the blankets abandoned on the floor from when the Dreamers had escaped. Now what? She stared down at the river and wondered if Poe hadn’t run with the others after all. Maybe he’d doubled back and gone in the opposite direction.

Caddy set out, away from the cabin and the river. Creeping through the trees, she nearly shouted when a partridge burst from a bush in front of her, its wings a drum, beating in her chest. She hid in a thicket to collect herself, checking carefully several times before moving again.

At a stone outcropping she stopped. It looked like a reclining giant, its shoulders sharp and angled at the end and easily fifty feet high. It wore a beard of mud-swallow nests, and the birds flitted in and out, undisturbed. This would be a smart place to hide, she thought. Good vantage point. Substantial cover. And the birds would give warning if anyone came near. Caddy was thinking this when she suddenly spied Poe’s face shining out among the bushes at the edge of the cliff. Her hand shot into the air to grab his attention. He pointed ominously to something behind her.

Caddy’s blood froze. Less than fifty feet away was an enormous black dog.

She bolted, the swallows erupting in a blur of wings. Poe burst from the bushes, scrambling along the edge of the cliff toward its base. The beast was on her in seconds. It leapt and she cranked around, wielding the club. With a bone-crushing thud, she hit
the dog in the head. The animal yelped and rolled. It shot to its feet, mouth frothing, teeth flashing, and attacked, hitting her in the chest with its paws. Caddy fell, blocking the dog’s deadly jaws with the club. It snarled and snapped, over and over, inches from her face.

Poe jumped, clearing the last eight feet of cliff, a rock held in his hand. Swinging his arm, he smashed the stone down, crushing the dog’s skull, killing it instantly. A Company man crashed from the trees, knife gleaming. Caddy screamed. Poe hurled the stone at him and charged, hitting him in the stomach and knocking the blade to the ground. They fought, a flurry of fists and feet. Poe managed to snatch up the knife and drive it into the man’s throat. The man grappled and clawed, blood spitting from his lips. His face contorted with confusion. Poe pushed the knife deeper, pressing with all his strength, until the man went limp.

From the shadows, a raven appeared. Then the shadow itself congealed and took form. Caddy watched, convinced it was a trick of the light when the shadow shivered over the ground and hung above the dead Company man. The man’s body convulsed violently, and the shadow darkened before dissolving between the trees.