“Yes,” we heard from the barn.“Got a bit of a situation in here.”
“Well, what is it?”
“This one won’t die,” we heard.
My blood froze in my veins.
“What you mean?Keep in mind I got guests I’m escorting around the facility.”
The barn door opened, and a blood-spattered man the same general shape as John Jacques sloped out from behind the door.He had a hammer in his hands, and his face seemed almost melted.He stared over at us, and then his face swung, owl-like, to his brother’s.
“Got a beast being a bit belligerent in the barn,” he said.“Bet I brained it, but it bellows still.”
John Jacques nodded.“Well, suppose that’s our tour for now,” he said to us.“Stacey, Al.Maybe y’all should head back to your rooms for the day and wait for your friends.I heard we got some good TV on the television today.You get bored, you might want to pester Carol Anne back in the house.”
“You’re sure you don’t need help here?”Brother Al asked.There was a keenness to his voice that sat unwelcome in my stomach.“I’m adept at dispatching belligerent beasts.”
“We got our own patented process,” John Jacques said.“I think the two of us Hardesty brothers will get it done right enough.”
“I’m sure,” Brother Al said.“Well, Stacey.Push me back to the house.”
“Right,” I said.
7.
Nagi was gone.Every time I called him, his phone went straight to voicemail.Every time I tried to call Eddie or Vic, their phones went to voicemail.It didn’t feel good.Not at all.
Hours passed—Brother Al staring at old reruns on television, and laughing, and my anxiety growing as I watched the sun slip further down the horizon.
Night fell.I could hear laughter and whooping from the churchyard out the window.At some point, I could have sworn I heard someone scream.But then the normal sounds of the night returned, and I found myself staring at my hands.
“I made a mistake,” I said.
“Oh, what would we do without you, Mrs.Garrett?”Brother Al asked, leaning back.“Television.What a human invention.I’ll just say it.This is much better than the old Punch and Judy skits the puppeteers used to play.”
“Al.Are you even listening to me?”
“I am, but I’m also choosing to ignore you,” he said.“You’re interrupting my reruns.This is a very special episode—I saw it in the eighties when it first aired.”
“Al,” I said.“Please pay attention to me.To what I’m saying.”
A knobbled hand stretched forward and clicked the ‘mute’ button on the remote control.
“Why?”he asked, spinning his chair around.
“Because I need you,” I said.“I need you here and present with me.”
“But aren’t I your doddering old grandfather?”he asked.His voice was cruel.“Aren’t I just some deflated old corpse?”
“Al, you know that’s not true.”
“You’ve been patronizing me this whole trip,” Brother Al said.“You and the others.You think I don’t know what you’re up to?”
“What are we up to?”I asked.
“This whole thing,” Al said, moving his hands.“This is like a movie.I’ve seen it before.We’re in the clutches of some cannibal hillbillies.They eat their guests.They couldn’t be more obvious about it, and you couldn’t be worse actors.”
“Al,” I started.
