Brian Keene - The Conqueror Worms

“Thanks. I appreciate that. Right now, it still hurts too much to talk about it. As for crying, well, I don’t cry. You might as well know that now.”

“I’m serious.” She frowned. “You don’t need to impress me, so stop with the macho stuff already. If you need to cry, it’s okay. I’m here.”

“Lori, I’m serious, too. I don’t cry. I’ve never been able to.” I told her about my grandma’s funeral and everything, and she said that was sad, but that she understood.

But despite the emotional pain, I did open up and talk about Jimmy. I told her about the first time Jimmy and I met (playing with Hot Wheels together in the dirt lot between our houses), and what it was like growing up together, fights we had with our parents, the crazy shit we did in high school, those sort of things. Then she told me about her best friend and her parents and her brothers and sisters, and the guy she’d been dating when the rain started.

When we were finished, we made love again. It was better this time, perfect in fact. It was everything I’d ever seen in movies and read about in books—love-making on an epic scale. Maybe that sounds corny to you, but that’s what it was. I’d never felt this way with anyone else. Our relationship was less than twenty-four hours old, but we were already learning our way around each other’s bodies. We both lasted a long time, and when it was over, we lay there, holding each other and listening to the rain beat against the skylight.

I almost fell out of bed when the pounding started. Somebody was at the door.

“Kevin? Lori? Open up.”

Juan. The door shook in its frame as he hammered at it again.

“Kevin! Wake up, man. We’ve got trouble! Are you in there?”

“Yeah! Hang on a second!” I struggled into my boxer shorts and jeans, and Lori pulled the sheets up around her, concealing her nakedness.

I opened the door. Juan stood there, his eyes wide and frantic. He grabbed my shoulder and the strength and urgency in his grip made me cringe.

“What’s up? What’s going on?” I asked.

He took a deep breath. “It’s Louis and Christian.”

“Yeah? Are they finally back?”

“No.”

I frowned.

Juan’s face had grown pale. “The Satanists have them.”

CHAPTER NINE

Anna kept the kids inside, despite their protests and insistence that they should be allowed to go outside and see what was going on. The rest of us ran out onto the roof. I think that most of us didn’t want to see, but at the same time, we were unable to help ourselves. Christian and Louis were our friends, and in some strange, fucked up way, we owed it to them. We were obligated to bear witness.

The group crowded around the edge and took turns with the telescope. Lee accepted it from Mike, put his eye to it, and the color instantly drained from his face. Without uttering a word, he handed it to me.

I looked and felt my stomach fall out from under me. A dozen Satanists milled around on the Trade Center’s roof, waiting for darkness to fall. Some of them carried wet kindling in preparation for the bonfire to come. Others were securing the evening’s sacrifices.

The evening’s sacrifices being Louis and Christian.

I recognized them even from a distance, through the blurry, raindrop-distorted image in the telescope. Their hands and legs were bound with heavy chains, the ends of which were secured to cinder blocks. In addition to Louis and Christian, there was a young woman with a baby, not more than a few weeks old. I watched as the baby began to cry, squirming helplessly in its captor’s grasp, and then I could watch no more. The look of terror etched on both the baby and the mother’s faces made me sick to my stomach. I closed my eyes and handed the telescope off to Sarah.

She pursed her lips. “Oh my God…”

“Those motherfuckers,” Taz growled. “Those dirty, evil motherfuckers!”

“What are we going to do?” Mindy whimpered.

As usual, we all turned to Juan for guidance. He was trying to light a cigarette, but the rain kept putting it out. Giving up, he flung the soggy butt into the wind. A seagull darted for it. He watched the shrieking bird snatch the cigarette and wheel away, and then he met our eyes.

“Do? We’re going to go get them back.”

“Word!” Ducky pounded his fist into his palm. “That’s what I’m talking about. Put a hurtin’ on their ass.”

“Some Rambo-style shit,” Taz agreed. “Bust in, break some off, and bring them home.”

“I’m up for it,” Sarah said.

Mike stepped forward. “Count me in, too.”

“Are you crazy?” Mindy shouted. “That’s suicide! How many of them are over there?”

Mike took her hand in his. “It doesn’t matter, honey. Juan’s right. We’ve got to try. This is Louis and Christian we’re talking about.”

“You’ll be slaughtered! Then what will I—the rest of us—do?”

“Goddamn it, Mindy.” Mike’s face turned red. “Those are our friends over there! What do you want me to do? Stand here and watch while they get butchered? I’m going along to help!”

“No, you’re not,” Juan told him. “And neither are you, Sarah. But me, Kevin, Taz, and Ducky are going to.”

I jumped when I heard my name. “Me?”

“Why not?” Mike asked. “You can’t just expect me to stand here while Christian and Louis are their captives.”

“I can and I do,” Juan said. “You’ve got a woman here that loves you, Mike. And more importantly, I trust you. Let’s be honest here. Chances are I’m not going to make it back, and if that happens, I need you to take over here. Somebody needs to lead and my choice is you.”

“Well then why the hell do Taz and Ducky have to go?” Lashawn angrily jabbed a finger at Lee. “Send Mr. Science here instead.”

“Hey,” Lee shouted back, “don’t call me Mr. Science, bitch!”

Taz took a step towards him. “Don’t call her bitch, motherfucker.”

Lee refused to back down. “Or what, you two-bit thug? Tell me! What are you going to do about it?”

“You best get the fuck out of my mug,” Taz warned him. “Unless you want to get your fucking face split. You ain’t messing with Nate now.”

Juan sighed. “Both of you knock it off.”

Sarah frowned at him. “I still don’t see why I can’t go. I’m just as capable as the rest of you. Is this because of some bullshit macho creed or something? Because if that’s what it is, Juan, then—”

I could see the anger building in Juan seconds before he snapped.

“All of you shut the hell up, right fucking now!”

Shocked into silence, they waited for him to speak. He stood there on the roof, his chest heaving, rain dripping from his face, fists balled in rage. Slowly, he unclenched them and his voice returned to a normal tone.

“Now that I have your attention, here’s how we are going to play it. Despite what you might think, this is not a democracy and it is not open for debate. Those things died with the rest of our civilization. Welcome to Juan’s world.”

Sarah opened her mouth, but he cut her off again.

“You’ve all trusted me up to this point and you’ll have to trust me now. Sarah, Mike, and Lee have talents that are irreplaceable to the group. I need them here in case something happens to us. Taz and Ducky are used to guns and violence. I need them with me, for what we are about to do. We’re not going over there to sell Girl Scout cookies, people.”

“But why does Kevin have to go?” Lori whispered, so softly that we almost didn’t hear her above the rain.

Juan grinned. “Because I like him. And because I think he might like to pay those sick fuckers back for what happened to Jimmy.”