Chapter 29
Jeff looked over his red Jaguar in disbelief. He sunk into the tan leather seat and found the dashboard and surrounding areas completely intact. The window where the dark stuff had touched was unaffected.
He pushed the brake and start button, and the engine began purring.
He smiled. “Maybe the dark stuff isn’t so bad.”
“Yeah, right,” Laura retorted, getting in on the passenger side. “Going into the dark to find answers is one thing. Having it thrown at you by an angry lunatic is another.”
“True.”
“I’m not ready to die yet.”
“Me neither.” One of things he wanted to do was get to know her better. He hoped she had similar feelings. But more than that, he wanted—no needed—to save the girls. If they were safe, he wouldn’t feel so bad about dying. At least their young lives could grow old.
His phone vibrated in his pants pocket. He answered. Relief overcame him as he heard Marie say her daughter had returned. It wasn’t just relief; it was reprieve from emotional torture that would have consumed him for years if the girl hadn’t been found. “Is she alone?”
“Of course,” Marie answered. “Who else were you expecting?”
“No one,” he said quickly. “We’ll be right over.” He slid the phone back into his pocket and breathed more easily.
Laura asked, “What is it?”
“She’s back in her room, sleeping, like she never left.”
“Ashley?”
“Yes, thank God. Now hopefully we’ll get some answers.”
Driving as fast as possible, motivated by fear for Tina’s safety, he arrived at Ashley’s house in under fifteen minutes. Marie was pleased he was so committed to her daughter’s treatment during this stressful time, thanking him when she opened the door. Though her attitude quickly changed as she talked more about her daughter.
“She keeps lying,” Marie complained. “She keeps saying she never left. You guys were here. You know.” She massaged the tattoo of the spider web on the back of her neck. “What have I raised? I don’t understand how she turned out this bad. I don’t lie. Tell me where I went wrong? I teach her honesty is best. She’s going—”
“I’ll check it out,” Jeff interrupted.
“Maybe you can get the truth out of her, teach her not to lie.” She eagerly showed them to Ashley’s bedroom door. He felt guilty allowing Marie to believe they were there only for the girl’s sake. But he held himself firm in the deception, steadied by his desire for Tina to be safe as well.
Marie paused with her hand on the doorknob. “Get her to stop running away,” she hissed. “I don’t need more stress. She never thinks of others when—”
“Sure,” he agreed. “That sounds good.”
She muttered something as she opened the door, and then she left to the kitchen.
Ashley was rubbing her eyes when they entered. She had been resting on top of the yellow comforter with the same orange sweatshirt, white sweatpants, and pink socks she had on when she disappeared earlier.
He moved beside the bed.
She looked at them, face loose and blank. “What’re you guys doing back here?”
“What happened?”
Pixie looked quite content while sitting beside the girl, licking his paws with his eyes squinted closed, purrs broken only by the intensity of his cleaning. He was very happy. His mother had returned.
“What do you mean?” Ashley asked.
“Where did you go?”
She yawned. “Go?”
“In the dark.”
“I went to sleep.” She petted Pixie on the head, and he only broke his task of cleaning long enough to lick her fingers twice.
“What?” Jeff asked, confused.
Laura informed, “You were taken in the dark.”
Ashley sat up. “What’re you guys taking about?”
“You told us the creatures came out of the dark, and you screamed, and the next thing I knew, you were pulled away from me.”
“I’ve been sleeping here the whole time.”
Laura shook her head.
“No,” Jeff disagreed, feeling annoyed. Why was Ashley not acknowledging the truth? What had happened to her? He wondered if the trauma from the creatures’ attack had given her amnesia. “You were gone the whole time. Marie said she just checked your room about twenty minutes ago and found you sleeping. But you hadn’t been there for the last few hours.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that?”
“You don’t remember?”
“I remember going to sleep after you left.”
He turned around in frustration. These were not the answers he had expected. He wanted the location of Tina, a contact, a message, a phone number, something. He breathed deep and turned back to her. “We were trying to get Tina, remember? Find a way through the dark?”
She frowned. “Tina … why does that name sound familiar?”
He paced beside the bed. He concentrated with all his might to remain patient and calm. “You told me about her. You had sensed the attack on her.”
She picked up Pixie and kissed him. “Sensed? Oh, yeah, the picture I drew.” She opened her eyes wider. “Yeah. I remember that.” She yawned widely.
“Then we came here, and you brought out the candle.”
“Yeah. There were some noises. We turned on the lights, didn’t find anything, and you guys left.” She placed Pixie in her lap, stretched her arms up, and arched her back.
“No,” Jeff replied with more irritation than he wanted. He paced faster. He reminded himself this was not her fault. He was sure she hadn’t forgotten the past events on purpose. “The trauma or something made you forget, Ashley.”
Laura nodded in agreement.
“Do you remember anyone or anything?”
“I don’t remember dreaming, either.” She put Pixie on the bed, stood up, crossed her arms, looking confused and worried now. “I did really want to find Tina. It doesn’t make sense that I would have given up so easily.” She looked at Jeff, and her face pulled into a configuration much older than fourteen years. “She needs us.”
“Good,” Laura encouraged. “Keep going in that direction.”
She put her hands on her forehead, rubbing, then on her temples. “I don’t know why I gave up. Why would I give up?”
“You didn’t.” Laura explained to her exactly what had happened three hours ago.
The girl appeared relieved. “That makes more sense. I like that story better.”
“It’s not a story,” Jeff said. “It’s the truth.”
“I just remember being so tired, then falling asleep.”
He told her about the bum who had been chasing them with the dark blobs, just in case that meant anything to her, possibly jarring loose a memory. But it didn’t. He looked at Laura in frustration. “What’re we going to do?”
“We can try again,” Ashley offered.
“No,” he replied quickly, feeling his heart accelerate. “I won’t risk losing you again.”
“Can I see your arms?” Laura asked her.
“Why?”
“Maybe … for clues.”
Ashley pulled up the sleeves of her orange sweatshirt as she sat on the bed beside the lamp. A little red hole was on the side of her left arm.
“It looks like a needle puncture,” Jeff ascertained. “Did someone give you a shot recently?”
“No. I haven’t been to the doctor in months.” She suddenly froze.
“What’s wrong?” Laura asked.
“I’m not sure. I … got like déjà vu.”
“What do you mean?”
“Like … just a feeling like I had been in a doctor’s office.” She frowned and bent her head down. “I can’t remember.” She looked up with tears in her eyes. “I want to remember. I just can’t.”
“It’s okay,” Jeff said.
“Maybe it’ll come as time passes,” Laura added.
“Yes. We have to get going, but call me as soon as anything comes back to you.”
Ashley nodded.
Jeff drew Laura away from the girl and spoke quietly. “Maybe we can try without her. We can light some candles at your house.”
“I can hear you, you know,” Ashley said from the bed.
He smiled over at her.
“I want to find Tina, too. You guys can’t bring out the creatures without me.”
Pixie mewled, as though the thought of losing his mother again were pure agony.
“I think she’s right,” Laura agreed.
“We can’t risk losing you,” Jeff groaned. “We’re lucky you came back at all.” A thought occurred to him. “You came back. Maybe Tina’s back.” Excitement warmed his chest and relaxed some of the muscles that had tensed in his neck over the past two days since Tina’s disappearance. “Maybe you did save her.” He fumbled for his phone in his left pocket, dropping it in his haste.
Ashley got to it first and handed it to him.
Understanding filled Laura’s eyes.
He explained anyways, “I’m going to call Charlie to find out.”
All his clients’ phone numbers were programmed into his phone in case of emergencies. He listened to the phone ringing on the other end.
He prayed Tina would be back. Everything would be great if she was just back with her father. They could forget about these last two horrible days and make better ones. If Tina was safe at home, he didn’t fail her and he could continue to help her deal with the dark. He believed her now and would find a way to keep the monsters from ever returning. The phone rang and rang.
“No answer,” he gasped, realizing he had been holding his breath.
Laura suggested, “Let’s just go to her house.”
He hated waiting. If she was safe that was fine, but he had to know if she still was in danger. He wouldn’t waste any more time driving around until he knew for certain. If she wasn’t with her father, Jeff would have to make another plan, do something, anything to get her back without endangering Ashley. He wouldn’t sleep until Tina was safe with Charlie.
He continued to wait for someone to answer the phone.