Page 26 (1/2)
She earing a white dress It al dress or a communion outfit Her heels were made of satin She had pearls around her neck and in her pierced ears A baby-blue headband lay across her stringy, greasy mouse-brown hair
Her face hite and drawn, dark circles ringing her eyes If I didn’t know better, I would have thought she was a ghost froo to a co-out party or a debutantes’ ball - notfrohost" She squeezedher nails in my skin
I tried to shake her off "Cut that shit out, Winky She’s not a ghost"
The girl just stood there, watching us and saying nothing
I finally succeeded in getting Winky to let irl fully
"Hello My na over my shoulder "We’re not here to hurt you or take any of your stuff or dae your house We just want to knohat happened to our friend"
"Is he your boyfriend?" she asked, tilting her head to the side slightly It was creepy as hell, how cal there in her for exactly forward Her hands were hanging limply at her sides
"Yes, he is And I really miss him and need to find him"
"Maybe he’s dead," she said flatly "Most of the people are dead"
"I know But he’s not"
"How do you know? So are dead too Did you know that?" She sounded like a small, innocent child
Oh shit She really is bonkers "Yes," I said, "I do know that Their souls are dead Like the kids we killed here They were dead souls"
She s me feel a little sick with the nervousness it created in me "Yes They were, weren’t they? Especially The One"
"The One?" asked Winky in a high-pitched near-whisper
The girl turned her head slightly to acknowledge Winky standing just to the left of and behind me
"Yes The One The one they called Loco He ca bad was co I didn’t want to know The sweat started pouring out of led "What happened?"
The sound of an infant’s cry broke the following silence
My mouth dropped open and ust Oh God, please don’t … please don’t let that be what I think it is …
The girl spoke, cutting offon an emotion finally: desperation And I kneould hear her words in htmares for the rest of my life
"Will you kill it for me?" she whispered "Please?!"
She took a step forward, her hands out
Winky and Iover each other in our need to get away from her
"Please, don’t leave!" she sobbed "I’ve tried to kill it … I’ve tried! But I can’t!" Her last words cauish or despair, but she had no tears; and that , I didn’t knohether to run or smash her in the face to protect Winky andat me in waves
"That’s a baby down there," said Winky, sounding a little unhinged herself "She’s got a fucking baby down there, Bryn"
"Yeah, I know," I said, searching the Lost Girl’s face, looking for her to telegraph her nextShe looked like innocence personified, dressed all in white with her little-girl headband on her stupid head, but her lack of tears and grossly freaked out expression ht evil My only sense of relief cans of any ability to take me in hand-to-hand combat; but I remained on the alert nonetheless
"It’s his," she said, talking low, as if so her whisper though, giving it an eerie quality that set e "He ca He … he … did that thing to estured to the space below her parents’ cabinet "You have to take it away Kill it Make it go" She put her ar a little before continuing "It’s ugly It cries all the tihtbulb went on in ed for me to appreciate or even understand And she had this baby down there to take care of A baby I couldn’t fathom the torture it had to be for her in her current state Revulsion and pity warred inside uy raped her and she had his baby?" whispered Winky, disgust in her voice "Oh, that is so onna do?" Winky cairl in front of us
"How old is it … is the baby?" I asked
She shrugged, looking off to the side, alo into weeks and weeks go into o into decades and people leave and people die and the world ends and we get left alone and terrible, terrible things happen and nothing will ever, ever be alright again …"