F Wilson - The Dark at the End

Good. That was good.

Now she was leaning close to the electric blanket that covered him, touching it here and there.

“Oh, dear. Look here. Some of your body burns have oozed through the blanket and dried. Ooh, it’s going to be stuck to you. That’s not good. I’ll get another blanket and we’ll try to ease that one off you.”

He finished the oatmeal and put the cup down. With his remaining hand, he grasped the edge of the blanket and yanked it free of his skin. He gasped a few hissing breaths through clenched teeth as pain screamed through his body.

“Oh, dear God!” she cried, backing away. “Why would you go and do a thing like that? I could have taken it off you real easy like, without all that pain.”

Didn’t she know? Pain was good. Other people’s pain was better, but even his own pain was better than none. Pain meant he was alive. Pain would stimulate his healing powers.

He handed her the soiled blanket and watched her hurry off to find a replacement. Then he lay back and closed his eyes. Sleep beckoned again. He answered the call.

Weezy placed the baby’s sippy cup to his lips, and once more he turned his head away.

Gia had picked up a few of the cups last night on her run to a nearby CVS. He couldn’t chew through the mouthpiece, which was good, but he kept rejecting them. Weezy didn’t think the cup was the problem. More like its contents. Formula wasn’t doing it for him.

At least he wasn’t screeching, but his attachment to Vicky was a bit unsettling. The four of them sat at the kitchenette table, and as long as the little girl was present, he limited himself to baby noises. But God forbid she left his sight. He sat on Weezy’s lap, but seemed largely unaware of her. He had eyes only for Vicky and watched her every move.

“Maybe he can’t stomach formula,” Weezy said.

What was she going to do? Dawn’s child was unique-the closest thing this world had seen to his species in millennia. Well, except for the creature she and Jack had encountered as kids; she was convinced that had been a q’qr.

“Maybe he needs different food.”

Gia sat across from her, sipping coffee. “We can try something solid when Jack gets back. I mean, he’s got teeth.”

Jack had risen, made a brief appearance-they hadn’t told him about the biting incident yet-and gone out on a bagel run.

“Maybe we don’t have to wait.”

Weezy retrieved the loaf of bread she kept in the refrigerator-she didn’t eat much bread-and tore a length of crust from a slice.

Gia took it and held it before the baby’s mouth. He gave it a cross-eyed look, sniffed it, then chomped-but caught Gia’s fingertip instead.

Gia dropped the crust and sucked on her finger. “Those little teeth are sharp.”

As they watched, he reached out a stubby, black-nailed hand and wrapped it around the crust.

Gia shook her head. “Palm-grabbing already.”

“What’s that?”

“A crude form of grasping. Most babies can’t do that till they’re four months old.”

The end of the crust was sticking out of his fist. He shoved it toward his mouth, missed, tried again, then made it on the third go. He bit off the end and chewed.

Gia’s expression was full of wonder. “Feeding himself…”

But after only a few chews he spit it out, letting the mush drip down his chin.

“So much for bread,” Gia said. She looked at her scraped fingertip. “Seems to like fingers, though.”

“He’s going to starve,” Weezy said.

She felt responsible for Dawn’s baby, for its survival. But this was no ordinary baby. Who did she turn to? She was pretty damn sure Dr. Spock’s book had no sections on the care and feeding of q’qr babies.

Gia didn’t look too concerned. “Usually that’s not a problem with children, even with the fussiest. As a rule, if they get hungry enough, they’ll eat. He’ll-”

The buzzer for the downstairs entrance sounded.

Who could that be? Jack had a key. She carried the baby to the intercom and pressed the talk button.

“Hello?”

“It is I.”

Weezy knew that voice, and the recognition startled her.

“Lady?”

What was she doing here? They’d left her in the Pine Barrens. Even better question: How had she gotten here?

“I wish to visit.”

“Well, um, sure. Of course. Come up.” She buzzed the door open. “Seven-C.”

“I know where you are.”

Well, of course she did.

Gia looked surprised. “The Lady… here?”

“You’ve met?”

Now she looked a little frazzled-Weezy had never imagined Gia’s composure could slip. “Yes… and no.”

Weezy cocked her head toward Vicky who was playing with the Band-Aid on her finger. “Does she…?”

Gia shook her head. “No. Better that way. Gabby-gabby, if you get my drift.”

Weezy got it. Better that Vicky knew nothing about the Lady’s true nature, because she’d talk about her and everyone would think she was either lying or deluded.

A few moments later she arrived, looking perfectly dry and comfortable in her short-sleeved housedress, as if she’d stepped in from a balmy spring day instead of a winter storm that was still snowing and blowing.

Weezy felt a bit awkward introducing her as “The Lady,” but Gia already knew who she was, and Vicky… Vicky seemed unaccountably in awe of her. She stared at the Lady like the baby stared at her.

“I believe we’ve met,” Gia said softly.

The Lady nodded. “Yes, we have.”

“Thank you. I know what you did… thank you.”

“Would that I had been allowed to do more, but it was not possible.”

Gia’s throat worked. “I know that, but…” She glanced at Vicky. “Thank you.”

Weezy had to ask. “How did you get here from the Pines?”

“I walked.”

Gia blinked. “You walked? In this storm? From south Jersey?”

“I do not feel cold or rain or wind. And to be honest, I rode much of the way.”

Weezy had a vision of the Lady walking along the side of Route 206 with her thumb out.

“Don’t tell me you hitched a ride?”

“People are kind to an underdressed old woman caught in a snowstorm.” She focused her attention on the baby in Weezy’s arms. “You hold the reason for my visit. I wished to see him in person.” She leaned in for a closer look. “Interesting.”

The scene struck a discordant note in Weezy.

“But aren’t you aware of everyone?”

“Only the sentient. Newborns aren’t self-aware. And this creature, even when grown, will function mostly by instinct.” The Lady leaned closer. “Where are the tentacles?”

“Tentacles?” Gia said.

“They appear to have been removed,” Weezy said.

The Lady frowned. “Show me, please.”

Weezy unsnapped his shirt and worked his left arm free. She raised it to expose the underarm area. While washing up the baby yesterday she’d looked for the tentacles and had found a healed but recent scar in each axilla.

“If you look closely you can see a little-ohmygod!”

Yesterday when she’d touched the scars she’d felt a little lump beneath each. Now this scar appeared to have split and something was protruding from it. Weezy remembered how Dawn had described the tentacles-“like slim little garter snakes.” This was no more than an inch long, but that was what it looked like. Or maybe a rat tail. As she watched, it curved and straightened.

The Lady nodded, her expression impassive. “They are growing back.”

Gia’s face was ashen.

Vicky, who was out of the line of sight, said, “I have to go to the bathroom, Mom.”

“Go ahead, sweetie.” Gia’s eyes were glued to the tentacle. “Go right ahead.”

With Vicky out of sight, the baby began screeching. He fought Weezy as she tried to reinsert his arm in the sleeve, and struggled maniacally to break free from her grasp.