Page 107 of Deliver us from Evil

I shake my head, throw them the finger, and go back to staring at the room. “What am I looking for?”

They don’t answer, because I guess it’s obvious.

A fucking clue, idiot.

But like…what?

Hair? DNA? Fingerprints?

Or stuff like whether the bed was chosen at random or for specific child molestation purposes?

The camera catches my eye again, and I realize why.

I know there won’t be a tape or anything inside. I mean…duh.

But as soon as I make a beeline for it, Zach calls out, “Leave it alone, Apollo, the rest of the room is more—”

I throw him another zap. “You wanna micromanage me, then come down here and do it yourself,” I yell up.

“There won’t be a tape in there,” Rube says.

“I know,” I say, drawing out the last word. “But this is…”

I trail off, rolling my eyes. Every time I talk tech, my brothers’ eyes start glazing over. Only Cass humors me every now and then, but I doubt even he would understand.

This camera is old. Like the eighties old. But it’s in amazing condition, especially considering the fact that it’s been in this damp basement for God knows how long.

I want to take it off its stand, but I’m sure there are all sorts of fingerprints on it. Luckily I’m wearing long sleeves today—I pull them over my hands and use them to pop open the cassette compartment.

“It’s empty,” I call out.

“Told you,” Cass says.

But then I turn the camcorder around, and frown. Under the fat sans-serif type of the brand name, there’s a slanted word in script. It has the eighties jagged feel to it, like ACDC’s logo.

LIMITED EDITION

Right. Got it.

My brothers step aside so I can come out of the basement. Cass puts out a hand to stop me. “Where you off to in such a hurry?”

“Library. Or internet cafe, whichever comes first,” I tell him. Then I hold up the camera for them to see. “Unlike the van, this thing is one in a million.”

“How’s that going to help us?” Rube asks as I start walking away.

“Don’t know yet,” I call back. “But I’ll let you know soon as I figure it out.”

* * *

Cass drivesme to the local library while Rube and Zach stay behind in Trinity’s old house. I’m not sure that’s the best idea, seeing as how Zach flipped out earlier, but I guess if they do rip the whole place apart it might end up being all cathartic and shit.

I don’t really care.

I’m too focused on how this camera is going to help us find Trinity.

It doesn’t look like the kind of tech that’s been in use since the eighties. It looks like a camera you buy on eBay at a ridiculous price because it’s vintage, barely ever been used, and has some of its original packaging.

I’m hoping it’s unique enough to have left a trace I can find quickly and easily.

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