Chapter 36
Elina still had more questions than answers. This newcomer, Jack, fascinated her, but his story was chilling. And while there were still some missing pieces, he had certainly shed light on the N’watu and why the people of Beckon were doing what they did.
But she didn’t know how many others there were. Was the whole town infected by this substance? This perilium?
And she wondered further about the couple she had encountered the day before. They seemed genuinely unaware of what was going on in this place and completely appalled by their discovery of the dungeons below Vale’s palatial lodge.
But it had been too long since their encounter. Clearly, if these people had been able to call for help, they would have heard something by now. Either they had been caught or killed—or worse, perhaps they were both part of the town’s conspiracy and had just been toying with them by pretending to help.
Elina felt like screaming. She hated not knowing what was going on. Hours had passed since they had brought Jack, but she couldn’t tell what time it was or even what day it was. She was filthy and hungry and now more angered than scared. But at least with Jack she had someone who knew more about what was going on.
They discussed various theories about the N’watu and the creatures that were apparently lurking farther down in the cave. They talked for hours, but Elina was getting more and more frustrated. All this talk was just fine, but it wasn’t getting them any closer to escaping—even to formulating a plan for escape. And in the back of her head, Elina knew it was only a matter of time before Vale came for another sacrificial offering. Before it was time for the Soul Eater’s next meal.
She peeked out the window in her door. “Jack, I can’t just sit here and wait around for them to come and get one of us. We have to try to escape.”
She heard Jack’s voice reply, “What exactly did you have in mind?”
“I don’t know, but I’m tired of waiting.”
“How many others are down here?”
“The best I can tell is maybe five or six,” Elina said.
Elina could hear Jack testing his cell door, inspecting the lock, the hinges, and the window bars. After a few minutes he issued an exasperated sigh. He sounded like he was giving up hope. And she couldn’t let that happen. Down here, hope might be all they had.
“Jack… do you believe in God?”
There was silence for a few seconds. “I guess so. I mean, my father would take me to church when I was a kid, but it always seemed so… I don’t know. Lifeless. And when I see places like this, I wonder if He’s even real at all. And how He could allow stuff like this to happen.”
“I don’t have a very good answer for you there,” Elina said. “I’ve only been going to church for a couple months.”
“A recent convert?”
“Well, more like a revert.”
“What do you mean?”
Elina sighed. She’d never shared this part of herself with anyone before. She had never seen the need to. She had always been too arrogant and independent. But her current circumstances seemed to provide an opportunity.
“My father was such a good Christian man. I was only thirteen when he was murdered… and something happened to me. I guess I just stopped caring about God. I couldn’t forgive Him for letting my father die.”
She heard Jack grunt softly. “I think I can relate to that.”
“So I was angry most of my teenage years and even through college. And when I joined the LAPD, I was an angry cop. A good cop, but an angry one.”
“You said you used to be on the police force. What happened?”
Elina’s chest began to ache. “I was on a call, a robbery. And I ended up pursuing a suspect. I followed him down an alley and lost sight of him for a moment. When I found him again, he had turned and was walking toward me.”
“Was he armed?”
“I thought he was, so I fired my weapon. But I didn’t warn him. I didn’t identify myself. I just fired. Three or four shots. One to the head. And I didn’t care. I didn’t know who he was, but I hated him and I wanted him to die because he was just a thug like the one who killed my dad.”
“But it wasn’t the right guy, was it?”
“No….” Elina could feel the tears in her eyes. They dripped down, cutting a salty path through the grime and dirt on her cheeks. “He was just some kid. Some innocent kid the guy had passed in the alley. Some kid just walking home from a party.”
“Let me guess—an internal investigation, a reprimand. Mandatory leave?”
“The suspect was black. The kid was black, and the guy who killed my father was black….”
“So… they tried to make it a racial incident?”
“Somebody had heard me make derogatory comments in my rookie year, and all that came back to haunt me too.”
“So was it about race?”
“That’s the thing,” Elina said. “I’ve been hating black men since my father was killed. And I didn’t care what people thought.”
“I guess there wasn’t much tolerance on the LAPD for that mentality.”
Elina wiped her eyes. “I kind of hit rock bottom. I had lost my job and stirred up all kinds of racial tension in my neighborhood. Then a few months ago I started to rethink some of my values. Started going back to church. Praying more. You know, trying to humble myself before God.”
“Do you still hate black men?”
“Not since I’ve come back to God.” Elina chuckled softly. “Now I only hate some of them.”
Jack laughed. “So why are you telling me all this?”
Elina sighed. “I don’t know. I guess it’s a little cathartic to talk about it. But mostly to pass some time.”
She could hear Jack moving around in his cell again. His voice held a tone of frustration. “There’s got to be a way to break out of here.”
“I haven’t seen any way out,” Elina said. “They feed us twice a day, I think. A bowl of oatmeal slop and a cup of water in the morning and evening. No utensils.”
“Have they taken anyone away during that time?”
Elina paused. “Mmmm, no. Not that I heard, anyway.”
“So as far as we know, it’s been at least a few days since this thing was fed. I wonder how long it goes between meals.”
Then Elina heard voices echoing up the tunnel, getting closer. Her heart began pounding. “I’m guessing a few days.”
The chorus of wails and curses from the other prisoners started up again, and Elina pressed her face against the bars, straining to see into the main passage. She glimpsed the erratic beam from a flashlight glancing off the sides and floor of the tunnel.
In moments a group of figures appeared around the corner. In the painful glare of the flashlight, Elina thought she saw four men. One in the lead with two others behind him, carrying a fourth man between them.
One of the men chuckled and Elina recognized his voice: Carson.
“It’s like Grand Central Station down here.”
The man in the lead stopped at the head of the passage and pointed to the door next to Elina’s. “Put him in that one.” She could tell it was Vale.
The other two dragged the man past Elina’s cell. She caught a glimpse of his face and gasped.
It was the man who had discovered them yesterday. The man she had hoped was going to call for help.
They deposited him in the cell with a sick-sounding thump and closed the door. Vale shone his flashlight in the window. “I’m sorry your wife lacked the vision to join us, George,” he said. “But I’m a forgiving man. You know that you’re more than welcome to come back, should you have a change of heart. You could still have a long and happy life here with us.”
Elina heard muffled curses from behind the door, but Vale only laughed and then turned his attention to the other cells, peering in through the bars.