Nobody said anything.Eddie banged on the front door, hard.After a few moments, nothing happened.Not a single person stirred inside.
“Hello?”Eddie asked, banging again.“We broke down back on the highway and need somewhere to stay for the night.”
“Unpleasant,” Nagi said.“I don’t like this.”
“What do you think?”I asked Vic.
“Maybe they’re all asleep,” Vic said.“Eddie.You and me.We’ll go around and see if there’s a backdoor or something.”
“Seriously?”Eddie asked.
“I don’t like it either,” Vic said.“But we need in out of the rain.”
“Rule one in horror movies,” Eddie said.“Don’t split up.”
“You’re the most terrifying creatures here,” Brother Al snapped.“Go and get to it already!”
Eddie and Vic wordlessly walked through the tallgrass, past the driveway, and picked their way around the next corner of the farmhouse.
“Children,” Brother Al said.“All who surround me are children, unsure of their strength.Bah.Pox on them.”
“Now now,” Nagi said, voice soothing.
“And none of your theatrics either,” Brother Al snapped.
I turned and nearly jumped out of my skin.The front door had swung open, soundlessly, and a strange white face peered from the depths, its eyes seeming to glow strangely and the face a grotesque mockery of the human form.I could not help but scream.
“Jesus,lady, you got a set of pipes on you,” the white face said after I caught my breath.“Someone bang on the door?My brother was just finishing up our Saturday evening service in the back church.”
He had on a black hood and a robe.I could not help but notice the smallest schmear of blood red on his tennis shoe.
“You’re the man from the sign,” Brother Al said.
“That I am.John Jacques Hardesty, at your service,” he said.“We sell the best damn barbecue in the tri-county area, I’ll tell you what.What can we do for y’all this evening?”
“We require lodgings,” Nagi said.“There are five of us.We would prefer remote rooms, away from the other guests.With thick curtains, if you have them.”
John Jacques looked at Nagi carefully.
“Boy you look like Lady Gaga,” he said.“I love her.Come on in.Get out of this rain.Where’s y’alls luggage?”
“Our van broke down,” I said.“Didn’t have the room for extra clothes.Was wondering if we could get some help in the morning fixing the tire.”
“Oh, well, my nephew’s in town in the morning.He’s handy with a tire iron, so he should get you all sorted out.”
“Fantastic,” Nagi said.
“You said there were three of you?”he asked.
“Five,” Nagi said, voice firm.
“Right,” John Jacques said.“Where’s the other two?”
“They went to find a back entrance,” Brother Al groused.
John Jacques’ face looked concerned.
“Gonna have to find them before they stumble on something they shouldn’t,” he said.At the look on my face, his grimace turned into a frazzled smile.“We got a sizable snake problem, so we have some deterrents in the back yard.Traps and whatnot.Could be bad news for someone unprepared.Y’all come in and dry off in the lobby here.Carol-Anne will get your rooms settled when she gets decent.I’ll go try and find your friends before they get into any trouble.”
