The Impossible Coin (The Downwinders Book 2) (12 page)

They’re taking him back to the
cave!
Winn thought.
What do I do?

He saw the last of the ghosts pass
through Marty’s trailer, and he climbed down from the platform. Once he hit the
ground, he began to pace.

What do I do?
he thought
again.
They’re taking him to the cave, I know it. My mom is gone, so is
Brent’s father. And Marty. I’m all alone here.

He thought about going to the
cave, but then he remembered his promise to Marty. He got on his bike and rode
down to Marty’s trailer, hoping by some miracle he had returned, but he had
not.

I can’t leave Brent out there
alone!
Winn thought.
If someone doesn’t stop them, that Caller will
bleed Brent into the rock the same way he did with the mountain lion!
Winn
imagined Brent strung up by the feet, his throat cut, his blood slowly washing
over his face and down to the ground, draining away. He knew he couldn’t let
that happen to his best friend, even if he’d promised Marty he wouldn’t go
back. He looked down the driveway, hoping he’d see the headlights of Marty’s
Cadillac returning and he could talk to him about what had just happened. He
straddled his bike, waiting, hoping, becoming frustrated. They’d have Brent
back at the cave soon, and it might be too late.
I can’t wait for Marty to
come back,
he thought.
I have to go save Brent, now.

He placed his foot on the bike’s
pedal and pressed down, launching himself forward. He steered to the path that
ran behind Marty’s trailer and out into the desert, pedaling as fast as he
could go.

He dropped his bike next to the
tree at the mouth of the canyon, and began walking the sides of the rough
riverbed. He wished he’d thought to bring a flashlight. The moon was still
rising in the distance, and there was little light to see by. He felt his feet
land unevenly on the stones and outcroppings.

He was focused on reaching the
cave, but in the back of his mind he knew he had a much bigger problem – what
to do when he got there. How was he going to rescue Brent?

When he was riding his bike
through the desert, racing to catch up with the ghosts, he struggled with the
same question, but he reached a conclusion as to why they’d taken Brent: he had
the coin.
If I still had it,
he reasoned,
they’d have taken me. It’s
the only explanation.

Now, as he made his way along the
canyon floor as quickly as he could, he wondered if giving the coin back would
be enough.
I’ll tell Brent to take it out of his pocket and give it back to
them. If I have to, I’ll take it out of his pocket and give it to them myself.

Would that do it? Would that
satisfy the Caller, or the spirit in the cave? What did they want?

The cave spirit wants to be
repaid,
Winn thought.
Just like Father Kino was supposed to repay it. It
healed him, and he didn’t build the shrine as he promised. The coin it gave to me
– it healed, too. Just like Father Kino was healed. But what was I supposed to
pay?

Then it came to him, as he pushed
aside juniper brush and quickened his pace: the three days hadn’t been an
expiration of the coin at all. It was the cave spirit’s expectation of being
repaid. And when it didn’t get paid, it sent the ghosts, looking for it. Brent
wound up the payment.

He saw the opening in the ground,
ten feet ahead. As he reached it, he listened, hoping to hear Brent, but the
cave was silent.
I promised Marty I wouldn’t go in,
he thought.
But
if I don’t, Brent might die. I have to try.

He slid down and under the
depression, then back up and into the cave, moving as quietly as he could. He began
walking, and dropped into the River, hoping it might give him a way to see in
the darkness. A glow in the distance beckoned him on.
Can’t let them see me
like this,
he thought.
They’ll kill me too if they see me in the River.

He slowly made his way down the
cave’s tunnel. As he approached the open room where he’d seen the apparitions
of Father Kino and the Caller, he stopped and held himself against the rock
wall of the cave, trying not to be seen. The room was filled with ghosts, the
same ones he’d seen following the Caller as they’d marched through the trailer
court. The Caller was standing in the same spot he’d been before, and next to
him was Brent, suspended in the air.

I can’t get to him,
Winn
thought.
He’s too far away. They’ll see me long before I reach him.

Winn waited. There was no
communication between the Caller and the ghosts that he could hear. The ghosts
were moving back and forth in the room, as though they were waiting for
something to happen.

Winn racked his brain.
I could
surprise them, rush them. Maybe try to talk to them. I’d have to drop out of
the River to do that, or they’ll attack me.

He saw one of the ghosts leave the
room, passing back through the crack in the far end of the chamber. Another
followed, and then another. Soon there were only one or two ghosts remaining
with the Caller.

Now?
Winn wondered.
Drop
out and walk in, now?

He watched as the Caller rotated
Brent’s body, saw Brent’s legs rise and his hair fall away from his scalp.

He’s getting ready to do it,
Winn thought. He studied the terrain between himself and where Brent was
suspended, trying to memorize every rock and dip in the floor that might cause
him to stumble. Then he closed his eyes, dropped out of the River, and felt the
blackness wrap him up. He extended his hands in front of him, and began walking
the path he’d tried to memorize.

He couldn’t see anything, not even
his outstretched arms. He listened, and thought he heard movement, but decided
it was the sound of his own feet, shuffling on the ground as he made his way
toward where he thought Brent was. He instinctually widened his eyes, trying to
let in more light – but there was no light to let in. He desperately wanted to
drop back into the River so he could see his way, but he knew that would be a
death sentence, so he resisted the urge and kept walking.

I should be there by now,
he thought,
but I don’t feel anything. Maybe they moved Brent!

He took another step, and felt his
hand brush something. He reached again, and recognized Brent’s stomach. His t-shirt
had fallen down. He was still inverted, hanging in the air.

Winn fumbled with Brent’s pockets,
searching for the coin. He couldn’t find it in any of them, and wondered if
maybe it had fallen out, as Brent had been turned upside down. He dropped to
the floor of the cave and ran his fingers over the dirt and rocks to see if he
could find it.

Then he heard the praying, and he
raised his head to the sound of the voice. It was the same ghost he’d seen on
their first visit – Father Kino, praying in Spanish. He was about fifteen feet
away. His voice was earnest and pleading, and the faint glow of his image cast
just enough light in the room for Winn to see the feet of the Caller standing
right next to him. He looked up, and saw its face, staring down.

He kept moving his hands on the
surface of the cave floor, searching for the coin.
Perhaps it fell and
rolled,
he thought. He began widening the area of his search, moving a
couple of feet from the Caller. Padre Kino was wrapping up, closing out his
prayer for safety and healing. The faint light cast by his image began to
dwindle.

But not before the nickel caught
the light just right, reflecting a quick sparkle to Winn’s eye. He lowered
himself to the spot, reached out, and felt the coin in his fingers. Then he
slowly stood, feeling Brent’s suspended body next to him. He could see the
Caller’s face on the other side. He was holding a knife.

Just grab Brent’s body and run!
Winn thought, imagining that Brent would stay suspended and he could drag him
through the air and out of the tunnel easily. If he surprised them with the
move, maybe they’d be too shocked to chase him.

He held the coin in his right
hand. He placed it between his finger and thumb, and felt its power start to
pass through him. It definitely had not expired in the way he thought it might.

His hands were sweating, and he
worried the coin might slip from his fingers. He rubbed his left hand on the
front of his trousers to dry it off. When he did, he felt an impression from
something in his pocket.

The stone. The stone Marty gave
me!

He slipped his hand into his
pocket and removed the stone. Marty had said it was like a flash bomb – it
would stun the ghosts for a while. He could throw it on the ground, grab Brent,
and run. Maybe the surprise of the flash bomb would give him enough time to get
out of the cave.

The last of Padre Kino faded from
view, and in the final moments of sight Winn saw the blade of the Caller move.
If
I’m going to do it, I have to do it now,
Winn thought, the wave of pleasure
from the coin still rising within him.

He slipped the coin into his right
pocket and transferred Marty’s stone to his right hand.
Marty said to enter
the River and throw it,
he thought.
If I enter the River, they’ll see
me. They’ll know I’m here, and they’ll change from ghosts to zombighosts. I’ll
have to enter the flow, throw the stone, drop back out, grab Brent, and go. As
fast as I possibly can.

He girded himself and slipped into
the River. Immediately he saw the remaining ghosts in the room. There were
seven, moving around the place where Father Kino had prayed. He turned and saw
the Caller, who had moved his blade to Brent’s throat.

Winn raised his arm, ready to
throw the stone to the floor with as much force as he could summon. When he
turned back, he saw the ghosts in the room had detected him, and he watched as
they one by one transformed into angry, screaming freaks – racing for him with
outstretched, clawed hands.

He closed his eyes and brought his
arm down just as the wave of pleasure from the coin reached its zenith. There
was a bright flash of light, which Winn witnessed through his closed eyelids.
Once the flash subsided, he tried to open his eyes so he could grab Brent and
make his escape, but he felt himself collapsing and the heavy hand of
unconsciousness pressing down on his face. He was briefly aware of Brent’s body
collapsing next to him, landing on his legs.

No!
he thought, as he sunk
further and further.
No!

He was out.

▪
▪
▪

Winn woke, and the same panic he’d
felt in his throat when he blacked out returned, causing him to sit upright. He
opened his eyes, and saw nothing. Disoriented, he dropped into the River.

Ghosts, lying everywhere. Not
moving.

They’re knocked out,
he
thought.
Marty’s stone worked!

He turned to his right, and saw
the Caller asleep on the floor. The knife had fallen from his hand. Next to him
was a dark lump. Brent.

Winn dropped from the River and
reached over to Brent. He placed his hand on his chest to see if he was
breathing, and he felt a slow rise and fall.

Thank god,
he thought.

He took Brent by the shoulders and
began to shake him.

“Brent!” he whispered loudly,
trying to lower his face to Brent’s ear. “Wake up, Brent!”

He kept shaking his friend as he
felt Brent’s muscles begin to take over, trying to twist out of his hold.

“Wha..?” Brent said.

“Shh,” Winn whispered in his ear,
feeling Brent’s body begin to tense underneath him. “Don’t speak loudly. It’s
dangerous.”

“Why is it dark?” Brent whispered
to him. “Where am I? Is that you, Winn?”

“It’s me,” Winn whispered back.
“We’re in the cave, but we’re surrounded by…” he stopped.
I need to keep
this simple,
Winn thought,
and not confuse him.
“…creatures. They’re
asleep, and we need to make our way out of here before they wake up. Can you
follow me?”

“How’d we get in here?” Brent
asked.

“Later,” Winn said. “I’ll tell you
later. First we have to get out without waking them up. Let’s stand up.”

Winn placed his feet under himself
and stood, feeling Brent do the same. Brent reached out in the dark and grabbed
Winn by the shirt. “Don’t ditch me!” he whispered.

“Follow me, and be quiet!” Winn
said. He took a step in the direction of the tunnel. He decided to drop into
the River for a moment to get his bearings one more time, and to make sure they
avoided the ghosts.

As his eyes opened to the images
in the flow, he felt panic rising in his chest once again. A couple of the
ghosts in the room were recovering from the knockout effect of Marty’s stone.
As he looked at one, he saw it turn to face him, and its face turned to a
scowl.

“We gotta run, Brent!” Winn said.
“They’re awake!”

Winn bolted for the tunnel, Brent
right behind him. Winn could feel Brent slowing him down, unsure of where he
was walking and being led. He tried to speed up, and felt Brent’s hand slip
from his shirt.

“Winn!” Brent called.

“Run to the sound of my voice!”
Winn called back. “You’ve got to run, Brent! They’re coming!”

Winn checked the tunnel in the
River, making sure of his path. He turned to look back at Brent, who was
blindly groping with his arms outstretched, running toward him. Behind Brent he
could see three figures, rapidly approaching. They had completely turned from
ghosts into corporeal creatures, and when they saw Winn in the River, they
screeched and accelerated.

“Come on, Brent! Run!” Winn said,
dropping from the River and grabbing Brent’s hand. He pulled him forward much
more rapidly that he’d been stumbling, and Brent fell to the ground.

“Get up!” Winn cried. “We’ve got
to get out of here!” he pulled Brent forward even as his friend was trying to
stand, prepared to drag him from the cave if necessary.

As they ran to the cave’s
entrance, Winn could see light coming in from outside, and it confused him.
Moonlight?
he wondered. He threw himself down and under the depression in the entrance,
and then climbed out of the two foot hole. The light from the sun stung his
eyes. He turned to look back into the opening.

Brent’s arms appeared as his body
entered the depression and he reached up toward Winn. Brent’s face recoiled at
the sunlight, but he called to Winn.

“Help, I’m stuck!” Brent said.

Winn reached down, grabbing one of
Brent’s hands, and pulled. The lower half of Brent’s body remained hidden
behind the depression.

“There’s nothing to get stuck on!”
Winn yelled at his friend, pulling him as hard as he could. “Come on!”

“No, something’s holding my leg,”
Brent said. “It’s…”

Winn watched as Brent’s eyes
widened and his mouth opened to form a scream. His whole body began to shake.
Brent clawed at the ground with his other arm, digging into the dirt of the
hole, trying to gain traction and pull himself the rest of the way out of the
cave, but his hand just slid on the dirt.

“Help me!” Brent screamed.

Winn reached into the depression
and grabbed for Brent’s other hand. He pulled back with all of his strength.
Brent’s body was lifted off the ground. Something on the other end had him, and
wasn’t letting go.