Brendan nodded but said nothing. Dr. Carroll smiled, revealing slightly yellowed but perfectly aligned tiny teeth that ended in almost-points as if he’d filed them. Piranha Teeth. It was as if at any moment, Dr. Carroll might morph into a man-eating centipede and bite Brendan’s head off.
“Your aunt called me,” he said in a nasally voice. It was the voice nerds used in the movies. “May I speak with her?”
“I guess,” Brendan said and stepped back to let Dr. Carroll in.
He entered, touched Brendan’s shoulder. Brendan forced himself to not shrink away. “How are you, son? This has been a traumatic time. Do you feel down?”
The man’s eyes twitched when he spoke. Perhaps it was the centipede fighting to come out. Brendan shook his head, said he was fine thank you.
“If you ever need anything, someone to talk to, don’t hesitate. You don’t need to be tough in times likes these. You need to grieve. It’s a natural process. You must let your guard down. I know that can be scary, but I can help you through it. I have things that can help.”
“Drugs?”
Dr. Carroll pushed his glasses up his nose. “How’s your mother?”
He shrugged. “I don’t see her much.”
“And your father?”
“You should ask him.”
Dr. Carroll nodded, flashed those teeth which had gotten pointier still, and made his way up the stairs in squeaky shoes. He was soon down the hall and knocking on Brendan’s parents’ door. A moment later, the door opened and shut and Aunt Steph said, “Oh, thank God.”
What was Dr. Carroll going to do? It was probably messy whatever it was and Brendan had no time right now for more messiness. One cleanup job at a time.
He returned to the kitchen.
What would Dwayne say once he finally gave the signal? What was the plan going to be? No matter what it was, Brendan would help Dwayne any way he could. He had to protect his brother, had to keep him safe. If something horrible happened to Tyler too then there would be no purpose to anything anymore. Brendan would best serve the world by checking out of it. But that’s not what God had in mind. Dwayne and Ellis had told him how special he was, how God had touched him, marked him for unique accomplishments. This would be the first of many wonderful experiences in the name of God.
No matter what.
“What’re you doing?” Tyler stood in the kitchen doorway. He wore jeans and a brown T-shirt. His hair stood up along the side of his head as if that part of his scalp had been electrified.
“Nothing.”
“Who’s here?”
“Dr. Carroll.”
“Really?” Something like a cloud past over Tyler’s face.
“Helping Mom, I guess.”
Tyler was gazing off into the corner of the kitchen. He was thinking something over. “You came home late.”
The cloud past abruptly. “You were waiting for me?”
“Couldn’t sleep.”
“Spying on me?”
“What happened with that girl?”
Tyler glanced down the hallway and then turned back and spoke to Brendan in a whisper, leaning his body toward him. “I never should have told you anything. I know you really want to help but you can’t. You need to let me handle it, okay?”
“What if I can help?”
“Brendan, I love you, I do, but you’re too young for this shit.”
“I know her name is Sasha Karras.”
Tyler clenched his jaw for a moment. He knelt before Brendan and grabbed the chair by both arms. There was something on his hand, something written. “Did you go through my stuff to find that out?”
“I can help,” he said. “I know you don’t believe me, but I have ways.”
“This isn’t one of your stories. This is some truly demented shit. You need to stay back, for your own good. Okay?”
Brendan nodded. Tyler would never be convinced, maybe not even after he and Dwayne took care of the problem entirely. That was fine. Brendan didn’t need credit; he just wanted his brother to know that he cared about him.
“What happened to your hand?”
It wasn’t writing on Tyler’s hand; it was a symbol.
Tyler glanced at his hand and pulled it off the chair. He buried it in the pocket of his jeans with a grimace. “Nothing. Never mind.” He stood. “Stop trying to help me. You got that?”
“Yes.”
Tyler went back down the hall. Brendan wouldn’t try to convince his brother again. It was too late for that. Tyler was too caught up in something bad to realize he needed help.
When the phone rang, Brendan jumped out of his chair and almost tripped.
“Are you alone?” Dwayne asked.
“Yes.”
“I’ll be around this evening to pick you up. Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because God wants me to be.”
“Good boy. Did you tell anyone?”
“No.”
“Just after sunset, okay?”
“Yes.”
“God speed, my special boy.”
The conversation had happened so quickly that Brendan was barely aware it had happened at all. He had answered Dwayne’s questions so quickly, so easily, so naturally; it was almost frightening. This was what God wanted.
He went to his room. His mother was crying again. No doctor could help her. Only God. But that would come in time. One mess at a time, after all.
First, Brendan had to deal with Sasha Karras and the arrowhead symbol branded into Tyler’s hand.
4
It was the morally right thing to help Sasha to the bathroom and try to help her remove the blotch of spray paint from her face, but with Sasha’s mother glowering over them, long, scraggly hair dangling past her face like the tentacles of a squid, Tyler rethought his responsibility.
“Mom, no,” Sasha said. She was sitting on the toilet, wet towel pressed to her face.
“Things will only get worse. The ritual sacrifice of the love child must be made.”
… sac rice luff chide …
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“How can you say that?” The harsh light in the bathroom revealed deep creases in the woman’s face as if her skin was a wrinkled paper napkin. “I am your mother. You owe me all you have. And all I have is because of the great Earth Goddess.”
Violent sobs wracked Sasha’s body. She screamed from behind the towel. “Stop this! Stop this shit! It’s all bullshit and you know it!”
Instead of screaming back, Sasha’s mother straightened up; her nose stuck out from the vail of hair like a slug. Her voice adopted a deep, heavy tone that sent chills through Tyler’s body: “It is time that you sacrifice your blood for the love child you have created. If you do not, you will continue to endure the harshest of experiences. I know you are in pain, my sweetheart, but this must be done, and both of you must agree.”
Tyler could run straight at the woman and push her to the side and then be out the front door in a few seconds. If she proved stronger than he expected, there could be problems. But indecision was no improvement.
Sasha’s sobs calmed; her anger faded. “Alright, Mom, fine. But Tyler doesn’t need to stay, this isn’t his problem.”
“The Earth Goddess demands both parents be present for the ritual. Only one and the ceremony may not work. Both life forces are necessary.”