They seemed to be waiting for something. Salvation, perhaps?
It had to return to the hunt. It could ponder the afterlife later.
The girl’s hand snagged its shirt. It pulled gently free, but the girl’s eyes held it in place where her tiny hands could not.
“Are you the devil?” she asked.
“No,” it responded. The sound of its own voice shocked it. It hadn’t uttered a real word since returning. It sounded dry and full of rocks. It could only imagine its appearance. It had avoided reflections, only making a rudimentary effort to hide its withered and broken body. It could only imagine the nightmare it must resemble.
“Oh,” she sighed, “I thought he’d finally come, but he’s forgotten us too, I think.”
It fought to form the words. They came out with difficulty, but it managed to say, “Why do you wait for him?”
“Because I wasn’t good enough.”
It held her eyes a few seconds longer and turned away.
5
Josh ran. He could hear them, they whispered, as though talking amongst themselves. He couldn’t make out their words though. It all blended into an indistinguishable hum. Before long he’d reached the pit again. The sky had begun to lighten now, becoming a dark blue, and he could begin to make out the shapes of the broken children. He could make out the other side, maybe the distance of half a football field. Though it would take too long to go around, he thought he could make it across. The bodies should support him. He was light enough, and hopefully it would be more difficult for James.
He sat down, dangling his feet over the edge. The sheer drop looked steep. From behind him he heard the man approaching rapidly.
“I see you, there’s nowhere to run,” James said. Josh could just barely make him out in the emerging dawn. “You don’t have to do this the hard way.”
Maybe he didn’t have to drop, if he stuck close enough to the side he could slide down. He leaned his body out over the edge, balancing only on his hands.
He let go.
The ten feet went by quickly, and when his feet hit the bodies his legs buckled and he fell to his hands and knees. The bodies shifted somewhat, but held. He rose slowly, fighting for balance. As long as he stepped directly in the center of each child on the top, he thought he could make it. He took his first step as James reached the edge.
“Damn it, kid,” he cursed, “Give me your hand. I’ll lift you out.”
Josh took another step forward. He suddenly realized that the word ‘kid’ had lost its original meaning. It objectified him. It no longer implied a young human, but something less than human. It sounded derogatory coming out of James’ mouth.
He looked back to see James aiming his odd looking gun at him. He tried to walk faster, but his foot caught in a t-shirt nearly tripping him. He tried not to step on their faces. The light crested the mountains, spilling over the mounds and giving him a better view of each step.
The children had their eyes open. They did not stare blankly, but watched him in interest as he passed over them. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I have to get away. I don’t mean to.”
He heard James slide down, followed by a thud and a loud curse. “You’re only making it worse on yourself,” he called, “The more you run the more trouble you’ll be in. Do you think anyone else wants you? You’re broken. Nobody’s ever going to want a kid all torn up like that, it’s no wonder your parents threw you away.”
Josh blocked out the taunts. The other side still looked impossibly distant. He saw a slope that didn’t look too steep, and altered his path to reach it. He heard a click and hum as his pursuer charged his gun.
“I’m not going to chase you,” James said, “I will break you.”
Like Angel. He remembered her blank stare, more lifeless than these children. He stopped, and slowly, awkwardly, turned back around.
“That’s good,” James gestured with the gun, “Now walk back over here.”
Josh shook his head. He couldn’t run from him, but he couldn’t go toward him either. He looked down at the broken things, the children staring up at him. They shifted beneath him and he staggered, losing his balance and falling backward. He landed softly, in the arms of the other children.
Their hands were all over him. They rolled and moved about him, the bodies shifting and separating to pull him under. Strangely, he was no longer afraid of them. He closed his eyes as they pulled him down into their dark embrace, deeper into their numbers.
“What?” James’ disbelieving voice came through muffled. He could barely hear him as he sank deeper.
6
Cody and Neil reached the pit just in time to see Josh pulled down into the bodies. James ran awkwardly over the children, arms swinging and legs wide, looking strangely comical as though he’d stepped out of a cartoon as he tried to keep his balance atop the unstable mass. He dropped his tablet and device and attempted (and failed) to lift the limp bodies to dig him out.
The two watched him struggle for a minute, not saying anything. Finally Cody called out, “Hey!”
So intent on his prey, James didn’t hear him. Cody yelled two more times before he finally stopped and looked up. Sweat soaked his shirt and ran down his face, and he breathed heavily. “Go away. This doesn’t concern you!”
“I believe it does,” Cody said back, “It appears that somebody hurt my girl. What did you do to her?”
James glanced down at his gun and back at Cody. He didn’t reply but his eyes narrowed menacingly.
“I take it that means it was you. Nobody messes with my girls.”
“So what are you going to?”
“I’m thinking that nobody’s going to find you in this pit.”
James rose awkwardly and picked up the device. Cody watched him suspiciously. It had an odd shape, more like a box with a copper coil sticking out of the top of it. The front had an antenna, making it almost resemble the barrel of an old science fiction ray gun. A toggle switch poked out of the side of the box.
“What, you built a laser gun? You’re going to shoot me with that?”
James ignored the jab. “That kid with you… he friends with Josh?”
“Excuse me?”
“Two kids escaped from Kidsmith two days ago. It looks like I won’t have to return empty-handed after all.”
Neil stepped to the edge of the pit. “Screw you.”
James flipped the switch. No laser shot out. It briefly made a high pitch whine and a popping sound. Cody shook his head and laughed. “I think your toy is broken.”
“No, I think yours is.”
Next to him, Neil went limp. Before he could react, the boy’s body tipped over and dropped to the bottom of the pit. He landed upside down on top of the other bodies on the back of his neck with a sickening crunch.
“Neil!” Cody shrieked.
“He’s property of Kidsmith,” James said, walking back with as much arrogance and dignity as the bodies he walked upon would allow. “Now if you have any proof of ownership?” He waited a few seconds for an answer, but Cody was speechless with shock. “I didn’t think so. Now if you’d be so kind as to get lost, I won’t have to report you for trespassing.”
Cody weighed his options. He could go after Neil, but did the boy really matter that much to him? He valued his freedom and anonymity, and he knew of people that went to prison for his hacking… and theft… and sabotage… Hell, there were a lot of reasons he didn’t want them investigating. He decided to cut his losses. He turned and ran.