Page 49 of Deliver us from Evil

He opens his mouth as if he’s about to say something. But he never gets the chance. Someone crashes into him, sends him tumbling over the rose bushes lining the front drive.

Cass becomes Zach. Tall, grim, panting.

A second of frozen time. Then I surge forward, delirious with thoughts of escape. Hardly believing my luck.

He’ll save me.

Wrap me in his arms.

Hold me tight.

But none of that happens. He doesn’t drag me out of harm’s way.

Zach surges forward, and then shoves me. Hard.

I crash into the door. My scream is little more than a choked gasp of pain as my injured hand is trapped between my body and the door.

Zach pushes past me. My head slams against the wood. Sparks flash and pop in front of me as I sink to the ground.

And then he’s gone.

My conscious mind drifts, losing track in a deluge of pain and confusion.

There’s a loud clap in the living room, like a car backfiring. There was a young couple down the road who lived here a few years back. Their car would do that sometimes. Always scared the shit out of me.

Grunts and roars from the living room. Then another clap, this one louder than before.

Then legs swarm past me. I tip my head back despite the pain.

Reuben. Cass. Apollo.

They all look down at me, but only as they pass. Then they move on, deeper into my house.

It’s weird having them here.

Weird being back.

I should show them around. But I have to clean my room first. What’ll they think of the basement? Maybe I shouldn’t show them that. They wouldn’t like it.

I’ll show them the picture of the unicorn. It’ll make them laugh.

Awsum.

“Hey, pretty thang.”

I force my eyes open, catch sight of Apollo’s face. He’s pale, eyes jittery. “Everything’s just fine, hear me? You’re safe now.”

And I believed him.

Lord, Ibelievedhim.

Chapter Nineteen

Zach

Christ, where are my brothers going in such a hurry? I’m too far away to see who’s driving—all I know is that Reuben was inside the Redford Missions of Love church for a few minutes, and then came out empty-handed but with a speed to his steps I haven’t seen in a while. Not full out running—I guess he didn’t want to draw unwanted attention, but it was obvious he was on the move.

When they slam on the gas and throw the car into a U-turn, I almost think it’s because they spotted me.

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