"Shut him up," The Afterdark demanded of Nell, who complied by trying to soothe the boy with words. Meanwhile, Derek tried to listen for vehicles pulling in to the driveway, or for sirens or anything else that could have set the boy off.
Daniel stopped screaming and began to hyperventilate. This sound was quieter, at least, and Derek's ears could pick up more from the air.
Car door opening. Car door closing. Gravel on asphalt being kicked about, subtle tap-tapping of rubber soles. Plastic wrinkling (shopping bag?). Metal clicking against metal (keys?). Scraping, clicking noise of key-in-lock action. Derek made his shadow bigger to cover the doorway. Whoever entered the desolate cellar would be walking into a dark and dangerous land indeed.
The door swung open reluctantly, haltingly, like someone was pushing their way in with their shoulder, but no one was there.
That's not right, The Afterdark thought, it's Seer.
He felt suddenly as though his eyes had adjusted to a stereogram, for Travis Armstrong shifted into focus. He was carrying a shopping bag under one arm, was holding the door open with one foot, and was flicking the lights on and off. He hadn't realized that the dark was false. Derek saw no weapon, and tackled Seer to the floor to find that no one was there. The man must have realized that the darkness was the Afterdark's and had left the illusion of himself playing with the lightswitch.
A car was parked in the lot where before there had been one fewer, but no one stood around.
"Fixer," Derek said cautiously, "We're just gonna leave. He's not gonna come in here and fuck with me, I can see now that he's much more of a chickenshit than I thought. We leave the kid, we call someone to pick him up."
"We can't leave him!" she protested at once, looking between The Afterdark and the boy. "Seer could come back and take him away again."
She was right, he realized. He said, "Then we can take him to the police station and I'll wipe them all--"
They both heard sirens, and Derek's breath seized. "Nevermind, Nell, leave him. They'll be here soon and he'll be okay. We're leaving."
Daniel stopped screaming and began to hyperventilate. This sound was quieter, at least, and Derek's ears could pick up more from the air.
Car door opening. Car door closing. Gravel on asphalt being kicked about, subtle tap-tapping of rubber soles. Plastic wrinkling (shopping bag?). Metal clicking against metal (keys?). Scraping, clicking noise of key-in-lock action. Derek made his shadow bigger to cover the doorway. Whoever entered the desolate cellar would be walking into a dark and dangerous land indeed.
The door swung open reluctantly, haltingly, like someone was pushing their way in with their shoulder, but no one was there.
That's not right, The Afterdark thought, it's Seer.
He felt suddenly as though his eyes had adjusted to a stereogram, for Travis Armstrong shifted into focus. He was carrying a shopping bag under one arm, was holding the door open with one foot, and was flicking the lights on and off. He hadn't realized that the dark was false. Derek saw no weapon, and tackled Seer to the floor to find that no one was there. The man must have realized that the darkness was the Afterdark's and had left the illusion of himself playing with the lightswitch.
A car was parked in the lot where before there had been one fewer, but no one stood around.
"Fixer," Derek said cautiously, "We're just gonna leave. He's not gonna come in here and fuck with me, I can see now that he's much more of a chickenshit than I thought. We leave the kid, we call someone to pick him up."
"We can't leave him!" she protested at once, looking between The Afterdark and the boy. "Seer could come back and take him away again."
She was right, he realized. He said, "Then we can take him to the police station and I'll wipe them all--"
They both heard sirens, and Derek's breath seized. "Nevermind, Nell, leave him. They'll be here soon and he'll be okay. We're leaving."
