“No, Theo, we can’t.”
His face is flushed and hair tangled. “But—”
“Wenn’s your brother — closer than blood. If he’s alive, neither of us will be able to forgive ourselves.”
Theo touches my cheek and sulks down the corridor.
When I return to the main room, the fire’s blazing and everyone is bundled up in their bed rolls, including Theo.
I don’t sleep the entire night. Eventually, my companions rise, settling into their routines. Theo awakes cheerful, whistling as he goes outside to gather snow for tea. There’s no sign of the troubled boy I saw last night. He glances at me and smiles. “Hi Sprouter.” I’m puzzled and slightly annoyed.
Bets returns mid morning with a turkey, a rare find. We’re delighted about augmenting Sam’s menu. The food he produces from our waste, tree limbs, and sawdust is edible and nutritious, but not particularly palatable. The food synthesizer lost something while sleeping for centuries. I’m plucking the bird when Sam announces that two rabbits are at the perimeter. “Thanks Sam, no need to tell us anymore.”
“Amy, it is best that I keep watch. Three more rabbits and a fox have arrived. They are as cold as the snow, emitting no body heat.”
“Sam, now you’ve got my attention.”
I call the others and we peer out the window. There are twenty small animals on the north woodline of the lodge. They’re acting like the bear, gimping through the deep snow and leaving trails of brown tracks behind them.
“Holy shit.” Gorian grabs her tablet.
“You’re not planning to set the charges are you?” Bets places her hand over Gorian’s screen.
“Nope. But I’m preparing. If their friends arrive, we need to be ready.”
More animals have gathered, including raccoons, squirrels, and a few wild dogs. The dogs bother me. My gut squirms at the thought of my mauled mother. The dead creatures mill haphazardly about, surrounding the lodge. I swallow hard. “They’re scouting out the location. Thresh is on her way.”
I concentrate, searching for my faithful caribou or other woodland creatures willing to take me in. My mind’s blank, except at its periphery, where I feel Thresh’s familiar, frenetic vibe. If I can sense her, she’s close and may be able to reciprocate. While we watch the animals pace back and forth, I wonder why Thresh can’t possess me the way I can occupy her. Perhaps she can and hasn’t discovered that talent yet. Gods help us if she does.
Late afternoon arrives and the shadows grow. The animals are obscured by the dark trees. Gorian tells Sam to hit the lights, and the exterior of the lodge shines, bright as day. The animals are visible once again, seeming unconcerned by the brilliant light. The snow’s muddied by their slime.
Sam declares, “I’ve detected three human figures with no apparent body heat at the east perimeter.” We cringe. Theo and Bets run to the east window and crack it open, rifles extended. Three shots crackle through the air. Sam confirms. “The figures are motionless and have been eliminated.”
“Thanks Sam,” Theo says. “I’m headed to the roof to get a full view of the grounds. Those were definitely not live people. You should have seen ’em when they were hit. They shattered into chunks.”
“I’ll relieve you in an hour,” Bets says, checking the charge strength of her rifle.
We spread out, covering the windows at each corner of the building, weapons ready. Hours pass with no sign of more shuffling, frozen people. The warmth of the lodge and the hum of the air through the vents make me groggy. Theo appears from his post. “We should start taking breaks, so we all get some rest. Amy, you’re first to hit the sack.”
I protest, but not too convincingly. My lack of sleep from the previous night has taken its toll. I crawl into my sack and drift off. I awake in an encampment in the snow. I’m back in Thresh and staring at a group of grubs. Strangely, their legs aren’t sunken in the drifts. Rather, the beasts lumber weightlessly above the white crust. Even in the cold, the smell of decay’s overwhelming. In the distance, beyond the firelight, I hear the murmur of dead voices. I cannot begin to count the number of mouths making those unearthly sounds.
Thresh is very happy. She’s singing some sort of lullaby about fairies in the woods. Spread before her on a large table is an odd map with curving lines on it. A spot on the map’s circled with ink. I’m assuming that it marks our location. From her elation, I infer the camp’s not far away from the lodge.
“Come over here.” Thresh motions to a pale, muscular man in an enormous fur coat. He saunters over. She smiles and purrs, “We’re very close darling. Three of my friends told me that they’re holed up in an old dwelling about a day’s journey from here. It’s a shame that those awful people had to kill them.”
He kneads her shoulders, which feels really good. “Thresh, my sweet, I love you. But do you have to refer to those dead things as if they’re alive?”
“I’m sorry, Jonah. It’s hard for me to explain. But they really do feel like my children. I can see through their eyes and almost imagine their pain. I’ve always wanted a family. Next to you—”
“I’m so sorry to upset you. I understand how lonely you were. But you have me now. And Eliza. We won’t leave you.”
Thresh turns and kisses him. “I’m so lucky to have found you in that town. We really have become a family.”
He laughs. “Those villagers were so gullible, weren’t they? They thought you were going to save them from the beasts. Instead, you showed them the truth of the dark. If it weren’t for you, I’d have rotted in their prison. And for what? All I tried to do was to preach to them — show them the truth.”
She hugs him tightly.
He whispers. “You are the chosen one.”
I desperately want to gain control over Thresh again and kill her and this awful man Jonah before I lose my grip. However, an invisible boundary leaves me a helpless spectator.
She rises and heads for the same tent she used when I was her captive. Magarat stands at the opening in the same blue dress. “Ma’m, she’s sleeping soundly.”
Thresh coos. “How long?”
“It was about an hour or so.”
“Oh, I so wanted to tuck her in. We’ll be leaving in the morning. You keep her here safe at camp. We’ll be gone for about two days and then we can travel to our permanent home in the mountains by the blessed waters. We’ll find such joy there.”
Curiosity flashes across Magarat’s face. But she clearly knows not to ask questions. Thresh sets down her scabbard and sword on the table and shuffles quietly to Eliza’s cot. My baby’s curled up with a blanket clutched in her hands by her face. Her chest slowly rises and falls as she sleeps soundly. My heart strains to control Thresh, force her out into the bonfire in the center of camp. Instead, I feel the soft threads of my daughter’s hair through Thresh’s fingers. I yearn to gaze at Eliza longer, but Thresh rises and leaves without taking notice of Magarat.
Thresh walks to another tent. A small oil lamp flickers inside. The sweetly sick smell of decomposition’s overwhelming. A blowfly passes Thresh’s face, which she brushes away. I wonder how a fly can live this time of year and then I see a rotting, matted hulk on the floor. Thresh raises her left hand and the body struggles to rise. It was a woman, perhaps in her late twenties. Thresh grins. “Hello sister.” The body writhes as if in pain. “Didn’t think that your little sister would find you? Well here I am. You left me to those people. Now I’m going to keep you as my pet. You can watch as I consume everything.”
To my horror, the corpse whispers hoarsely, “No.”
Thresh seems to have harnessed a way to not only animate the body of her victims but their minds as well. She continues. “Step daddy did things to me. You let him. You liked him, didn’t you? You could’ve taken me with you but you were selfish. You bitch.”