The Night of Dagon by Brandon Berntson

Author:Brandon Berntson [Berntson, Brandon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-06-26T22:00:00+00:00

—

“What’s your name anyway?”

“Abigail. But momma calls me Osha. She think it funny. She say it’s the name of some talk show host.”

“I like Abigail better,” Macky said, following the girl down the street.

“Not me. Sound like some ugly, old lady.”

“I see your point.”

Macky followed the girl between two brick buildings and into an alleyway. As they walked, he thought someone tried to spit on him from above. The sound was unmistakable as it hit the ground behind him, a thick, wet thud. He looked behind him, then up, and saw a black silhouette waving at him. Macky sighed and continued to follow Abigail.

The smell of the alley grew stronger, a damp, rotten food smell. There was something else, too—hot, smoldering gas, things burning or things already burned, like a permanent stain in the alleyway. The ghosts of past fires had been lit here by the dozens. Their memory was in the blackened soot and burnt-out trashcans. He could smell gasoline, a tinge of gunpowder, as if Boom-boom had used the entire neighborhood for his experiments. Even the temperature seemed warmer here.

“Here we are,” Abigail said, and turned to hold out her hand. “That will be twenty bucks.”

“Twenty bucks? We never agreed on twenty bucks.”

“I don’t care what we agreed on. We might; we might not. How else you gonna explain taking a fourteen-year-old girl into an alley after dark? We ain’t got no cops. We got the Justice Team. They volunteers, making sho’ everyone is safe. I jus’ have to whistle.”

Macky looked at her and shook his head. He fished into his pants, pulled out his wallet, and gave her a twenty. “You drive a hard bargain.”

“Nah. I jus’ gotta eat. He right there through dat door, mister,” she said and pointed.

Macky looked in that direction and saw a large metal door fixed into the brick wall.

“Can I have another twenty for my little brother?”

“I thought you said he was missing?”

“You give me twenty, maybe he come back.”

“Don’t push your luck.”

“Hope you make it out alive.”

“Thanks for the encouragement,” Macky said.

Abigail started down the alleyway, and Macky turned to the door. There wasn’t a handle, but he managed to get his fingers between the metal and the brick. He pulled as hard as he could. It was heavier than it looked. When he got it open all the way, he slipped inside, and it slammed shut behind him, sealing him in darkness.

He felt around with his foot and realized he was standing at the top of a staircase. Carefully, he started down, reaching into his pocket. For whatever reason, he didn’t have his lighter. “Are you kidding me?” he said to himself. He must’ve left it back at the office.

He held onto the wall with one hand and made his way down. “Hey, Boom-boom!” he called.

Glass broke from below.

Macky made it to the ground floor and was relieved to see a light at the end of the corridor. It brightened as the door opened. A figure stood silhouetted against a yellow light.

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