Todd tried not to show his feelings as the vision of his father passed. It had been so real, as if it had been happening right there in front of him. Dad was alive! He knew it. He had seen him. Had heard him. And he was coming for them. He even knew where they were.
He tried to keep his feelings quiet, though. He knew the demon could tap into people’s thoughts and feelings, and he didn’t want to give anything away. Surprise might be his Dad’s only advantage and he didn’t want to take that away. It was all they had going for them right now.
He looked at his mother and wondered if she knew, if she had seen Dad, too. Her face was all twisted in pain, though, and her eyes were closed. She gritted her teeth and seemed to be straining as she tried to push the baby out.
“She’s coming, Todd,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “You know what to do.”
“Ok, Mom,” he said. He tried to sound confident but his insides were torn up with fear. If only this baby could wait a little while longer, until his Dad could get here. Dad would know what to do.
But it wasn’t meant to be that way. He saw a blackness appear, and realized it was the top of the baby’s head. She had thick, black hair, a fact that both surprised and fascinated him. He’d thought babies had no hair. But this one seemed to have a full head of it.
He put his hands down and her head pushed forward into his grasp.
“Hold her head, Todd,” his mother said. “Don’t let her drop.”
Todd held her head firmly. He found that he didn’t have to pull her; his mother’s pushing was enough. She was wet and sticky, covered in blood and mucus, not at all clean and neat like the babies he’d seen on television. He pulled her slowly away, and quickly cut the chord like his mother had told him. A gush over afterbirth followed and the baby began to cry.
Todd was surprised at how quick the birth itself had been. It was weird, because it had taken so long to get to that part, and then it was over.
His mother tried to sit up.
“Can I see her?” she asked.
Todd crawled around her and placed the baby in her arms. She took her and carefully cradled her.
That was when Todd saw the demon coming closer.
“Ah, what have we here?” it said. “Just what we’ve all been waiting for. I’m afraid I’m going to have to take that.”
“No! You can’t have my baby!” his Mom screamed.
The demon reached forward. His Mom scuttled back, trying to get away.
“No!” she screamed.
The demon moved towards her, arms outstretched as she held the baby away. Todd could see the outcome as clear as if it had already happened. The demon would kill the baby as part of some weird ritual that it did to get more power. He could see it all before it even happened. And he knew what had to be done.
Without even thinking, he grabbed the baby from his mother’s arms and darted away from the demon. He knew it would buy just a few moments, at best, but his body just reacted from instinct. This was his baby sister. He couldn’t let this thing take her. He put his head down and ran for the horizon, using every bit of speed he could get. He didn’t look back, didn’t even think about what would happen next.
— 4-
Erik knew where he had to go as clearly as if he had a compass in his head. Not that a compass would have done any good in this place that had no directions. But his path was marked clear and straight.
He and Dovecrest had set off immediately once Erik knew where to go.
“I don’t think they’re very far away,” he said. “The demon is still there. Do we have a plan yet?”
“Find them,” Dovecrest said. “And then see what happens.”
“I’m really not comfortable with ‘see what happens’,” Erik replied.
“Neither am I. But do you have a better idea?”
Erik had to admit that he had no idea. Still, he couldn’t hide his frustration.
“Didn’t your legends give any idea about what we do once we find it?”
“It never went that far,” Dovecrest said. “I’m afraid we’re writing the instruction manual.”
“That’s a comforting thought.”
“This is a comforting place.”
Erik forced a laugh and tried not to betray the terror that was eating away at him. It was ridiculous-to have come so far and still not know what to do. If the thing didn’t have Vickie and Todd he would have just turned around and gone back home. Although come to think of it, he didn’t know how to do that, either.
He knew it wasn’t much farther. They had to pick up the pace.
Then he felt an odd tightening in his chest; he stopped and dropped to his knees. He suddenly couldn’t breathe, couldn’t continue. He wondered if he were having a heart attack.
“What’s wrong?” Dovecrest was at his side.
“I…I don’t know…I think something’s…happened.”
He closed his eyes and relaxed his breathing. That’s when he felt Todd’s presence close to him and he knew something had gone terribly wrong. He could hear Todd calling out to him over the vast sands, calling that he needed him, that they needed him. He felt three spirits calling to him now, not just Todd, but Vickie as well. Somehow, she knew he was near. And a third one, someone he didn’t know….
The baby. The baby had been born, and even though he didn’t know her, he could feel her presence calling out to him as well.
They were in serious trouble, and although he didn’t know how to save them, he and Dovecrest were their only hope. And he knew that there was more at stake than just his wife and children. If the demon succeeded here, he knew it would return to the earth again to cause more doom and misery. He couldn’t let that happen. But most of all, he couldn’t let his family be taken.
Erik swallowed hard and straightened up. “Come on!” he said. “This thing is coming to a head right now!”