Terah rushed up and stood protectively in front of her. Scanning the woods, he saw nothing. “What is it?” he whispered urgently.
“Let’s keep goin’,” Lindsey said. “Night’ll be settlin’ in soon.”
It had been a cloudy spring day and the woods were encased in shadow. Trees had begun to leaf out and spotting a cave, or at least a protective jumble of rocks wasn’t easy. The encroaching darkness drew Terah’s thoughts back to Wednesday. He ached with hunger but knew complaining would help nothing. She had to be feeling it too.
The Pennsylvania hills here were ancient. Americans equate mountains with the Rockies, new and sharp. These ancient eroded Appalachians had hosted dinosaurs in their day, but time had worn them down. The elements and their constant falling and blowing were even now breaking rock to dust. “There are some cave systems around here,” Lindsey said, “but not many. There’s Crystal Cave and Lost River Caverns, but they’re commercial and not near here.” Gray siltstone left boulders large enough to afford crevices into gloomy chambers with roofs and protection from bears. “Try not to think of snakes,” she said as she squeezed into a promising opening. “Looks empty,” she called after an anxious minute.
Terah hadn’t eaten well for some time, but even so at one point he didn’t think he’d make it through. Images of being wedged between two massive stones, half in one world half in another, head exposed to bears and his right side in the chamber with Lindsey led to a rush of adrenaline that made him crack his head on the stone.
“Be careful,” Lindsey chided as he stumbled inside, his head full of flashing lights and nonsensical noise. “No doctors.”
The bump wasn’t a major one and they began to lay out wood a fire near the opening. Rain had begun to fall. “You know what’d go well with a fire?” she asked. “Food.”
Rubbing his head Terah said “We’ll need to make that a priority tomorrow.”
“There are small communities scattered through these hills. I think we should head to Bangor.”
“What’s in Bangor?”
“Lotsa things. There’s a guy there called Calum. He’ll make sure we’re fed. We met back when I was in high school.”
Even with a headache Terah could feel jealous. How many men knew her better than he did? And they’d spent virtually every minute together for months now. This night was going to be a hungry one.
They’d made a regular practice of gathering dry wood as they walked. If it was raining this was difficult, but the day had been dry until moments ago and the warmth of the fire was welcome. Terah worried about Wednesday, though. The rock tumble in which sheltered had space to move, and that meant space for a demon.
“If you’re worried about Wednesday, don’t be.” Lindsey said it out of the black.
“Why not?”
“You’re still thinkin’ of demons in terms of physical space. If the two of us were crammed into a crevice where we had no choice but to spoon all night, a demon could still show up. They don’t take up any space, ya know. You really should’ve read more about them.”
“Nobody took them seriously back then, not even the church. I had professors telling me not to waste my time on such things. ‘Study psychology,’ they said, ‘medical science can explain it.’ Even when The Exorcist came out they all treated it as fiction. How was somebody as inexperienced as I was to know the difference?”
“I’d have thought college would teach you to keep an open mind.”
“College isn’t what most people think it is. Higher education is very political. At their best colleges are places of learning. They are also businesses. Getting promoted is political. If you don’t play by the rules you end up like me, after having spent a dozen years and thousands of dollars on additional schooling. Look at me. I’m the reality of higher education.
“If they tell you not to look at things like demons you’d damn well better not look. They don’t fit the establishment view. I was simply following the rules. An open mind gets you into trouble.”
“You seem to’ve found trouble anyway.”
“If I could’ve seen the future it would’ve been different. I was a first generation college student—I didn’t know any better. Once you get a Ph.D. in the humanities you’ve cut yourself off from the job market. Publishers and agents don’t think you know how to write because you didn’t major in literature or journalism. Libraries only hire you with another degree. You might get a job at a bookstore but it won’t meet your obligations. I guess you’re right, I found trouble.”
Terah let his gaze linger on her. She broke eye contact. “Stop lookin’ at me.”
“Sorry. I guess I kind of thought you might have some kind of answer.”
“That’s why we’re goin’ to see Calum. He’s wise. An’ he’s even older than you. I’m hopin’ he’s still alive.”
“When did you last see him?”
“Like I said, back in high school. It wasn’t ten years ago, but you know in high school that anyone with white hair’s ancient.”
“Thanks.”
“Yer not so bad. Yer more grizzled.”
“Sound like you’ve been looking at me.”
She smiled. “But not starin’. There’s a difference.”
It was so strange, Terah thought, that the two of them were so intimate yet so far apart. The male mind, it seemed, always raced ahead to a sexual conclusion. It wasn’t that he was only hoping for physical gratification—that was part of it, he had to be honest here—but it was more. He wanted her to want him. But she didn’t. Their age difference could be a barrier. Being on his own for so long, Terah knew, he could not look his best. Nor could he put on the show that professors did in front of their students. In fact, she seemed to know aspects of religion better than he did. This young woman was an enigma. She was an enigma scrambling through the cave opening.
“Need a little private time,” she said through the rain. Terah tended the fire, knowing she’d need it when she returned. The rain was turning into a storm. Even in a bunker like this the thunder bothered him. It was no longer brontide, but the crash was coming shortly after the flash. He worried about Lindsey, hoping she wasn’t squatting under a tree. The flash and boom were simultaneous. And so was her scream.
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