One minute we were in Holden’s kitchen, and the next I was here in odd nothingness. What the fuck would happen next? “Shouldn’t you be able to catch him without using me?”
“With you, it’s much easier. I just need you until Happy shows up. Hal won’t be far behind her, and I’ll get him. End of story.”
I sucked in a breath and stared at the man. “What about Holden? What’s going to happen to him?”
EZ grinned. “He’s going to be fine. You wanna know what he’s doing now?”
Suddenly, we were in a hospital room with Holden sitting in a chair holding my hand. “Come back to me, sweetheart,’ he whispered.
I glanced at the bed to see someone who looked like me with a large bandage on his head while being hooked up to machines, so I turned to EZ. “Is that me? What happened to me? Am I going to die?”
“No. Remember the wreck when you were heading home after Christmas? You hit your head.”
I nodded, not sure where he was going with the information. My perplexed expression must have given me away.
“You had a little brain bleed from the accident, so they shaved a spot on your head and went in through the temple to drain the accumulated blood. Now you’re in a coma so they can monitor you to see—I’m no doctor, okay? They treated it and you’ve got a bald spot. After I get Hal, you’ll be just fine.” EZ stepped closer, but the dogs stayed seated. Clearly, they had more patience than he did.
“What kind of dogs are those?” I looked at the two huge canines by his side to see they weren’t even looking at me.
EZ grinned. “Hell hounds. They won’t hurt you unless you give them a reason. Go sit over there and wait.”
I turned to see a couch like the one at Holden’s house, so I walked over and sat down. I had no idea what the fuck was happening. All I wanted was to get back to Holden.
“You want to watch television or something? We might be here for a minute.” EZ handed me a remote control but I couldn’t find anything to aim it at. The place was odd—no walls that I could see, but it felt closed in. Never had I experienced anything like it.
“What kind of channels do you get? Where the hell am I?” I definitely needed answers.
Just when shit got good with Holden and me, I was snatched away. Who was that cruel to fuck it up?
“Aw, now, don’t think of it like that. What if you’re like a confidential informant? You know, like the human cops use?” EZ petted his dogs as he stared at me.
“I have nothing to say that might help you, EZ. Why is Happy missing?” She’d just been with me at Holden’s house earlier, though I had no idea how much time had gone by.
EZ smiled. “Avery, you have Happy’s heart, and she doesn’t want to be away from it yet. She needs to decide where she wants to spend eternity. With Hal after her, I think she’s feeling pressured to be with him. I know where sheshouldgo. She just has to figure things out on her own.”
That made sense. “What does she need to figure out?”
“You’ll see. So, here’s what you’re missing.” EZ pressed a button on that remote, and the space in front of me lit up like a big screen television. I saw myself in the bed, and Holden in a chair next to the bed with his forehead on my left hand.
“Am I going to die? What’s wrong with me?” Now I was getting pissed.
“I told you that you had a small brain bleed from that accident. You’re going to be okay. I’m not telling you again,” EZ responded.
He wasn’t exactly nice, but he wasn’t rude. “Sorry.”
EZ grinned. “You wanna come look for Holly with me? Maybe we can get this over with sooner?”
“Lead the way.” I wanted to get back to Holden. It wouldn’t be long before my parents were called, and they’d been through enough already.
“Do they eat?” I pointed to the two gigantic pooches that seemed nothing like sweet little Oscar, who I missed a lot. He was a sweet little boy, and I’d never had a pet so I was looking forward to helping Holden take care of him.
“Of course they eat. They eat souls. The souls of the damned who think they can get out of paying for their misdeeds by escaping the eternity they created for themselves. Like Hal. The boys are looking forward to having Hal for breakfast.”
That sounded ominous. “What happens to Hal if they eat him?”
“He’s no more.Poof.Gone. He won’t get the chance to live again. All souls have a chance at earning forgiveness and getting another chance for atonement among humans. Some call it reincarnation. You get the chance to take another trip through a human cycle to do better. Between births, you spend time in a place according to your previous transgressions.
“For instance, Hal actually killed eighteen young women, not just eight. Some of those victims may never be found because he lied. Let’s just say he’s nasty business, so his time before the next rebirth would be spent receiving punishment for his actions. Hal decided he did nothing wrong. The ones he eliminated deserved his wrath because they’d been foolish enough to trust him. Now,he’s escaped. Therefore, he forfeits his chances for redeeming himself, and my hounds get a treat.” That was a lot to take in, especially from a guy—entity—who minced no words.
