Adermoor Cove: Donovan Road - 11. Chapter 11

Carlos drifted in and out of consciousness. When he went under he dreamed/remembered his father. This last time he remembered their last conversation, when he'd gone to his house for beer after leaving Lane's. I'm sorry I haven't been the father you deserved, Enzo had said. I know it's a little late...we're both old men now, tired and bitter from the things we've seen, but I'd like to rectify that while I still can.

Me too, Carlos had said, lifting his glass towards his father.

Now he found himself stuck in the maws of the bear. He wasn't sure how it had happened. One minute he had been running after Lane, trying to keep up, and the next he was here...in this predicament.

He did his best to remain still. The bear moved at a leisurely pace it seemed. The foulness of its breath made his stomach turn but he willed himself not to make a sound. He hung limply, watching as the ground passed beneath him in a blur of green and brown. Where is this thing taking me? he wondered. Why doesn't it just kill me already?

He thought of Lane. Where was he now? Still running through the woods? Wondering what had happened to Carlos, wondering if he'd abandoned him? The world stopped shifting. The bear gently set him on the ground. He clenched his eyes shut. He was afraid the bear would hear the deafening thunder of his heart.

He cracked his eyes open enough to be able to make sense of his surroundings. Several feet away he could see the mouth of the cave - the cave Ted and his father said had never been there before. But it was there now, as tangible as the last time he'd seen it. Something about the darkness, the way it appeared to move and shift, was somehow more frightening than the bear.

He lifted his head. The bear had its back turned to him, watching the trees intently. At the moment it wasn't paying him the slightest bit of attention. What the hell is it doing? It's almost like its standing guard, waiting for someone…

Then he knew: it was waiting for Lane. It had grabbed Carlos to draw Lane to it. But why would a bear do that? They were wild animals, they didn't act like dogs. What impulses was it following?

Lane, Carlos thought, please don't come looking for me. Just go, stay safe. He closed his eyes. If he could just keep still maybe the bear would leave him alone and walk away eventually. But he did not pray.

When he'd first moved to Boston he went to church on a regular basis, a beautiful Catholic church with stained glass windows and vaulted ceilings. Back in those days, when he'd been gullible and optimistic, it had been easy to believe in a higher power; to believe to confess your sins to the priest was starting anew and partaking in communion was symbolically and truly cleansing to drink the blood of Christ. But the more he encountered the evil that existed within humanity the more he began to doubt. It wasn't so much that he didn't believe in God - how could you believe in God but not the devil? - he just thought the deity, if he truly did exist, was an asshole.

Lane, just stay away.

Thunder cracked loudly. Still the bear had not moved.

He looked up at the sky, wondering if this was the last time he would get to take in its beauty.

A strong gust of wind blew through the trees, bringing with it the scent of pine; the breeze was strong enough Carlos had to close his eyes and turn his face away from it. The trees stirred. A flash of lightning struck a tree and it burst into flame, the crack loud enough to make Carlos’s ears ring. The bear let out an almost human groan, tensing apprehensively, but it did not move from its spot.

Still, Carlos got the sense something was getting ready to happen. Something big. He knew what it was. Lane.

The wind continued to pick up, wailing in fury. The rain turned to hail, pelting Carlos with shards of ice. He had no choice but to shield himself with his jacket. How it was raining hail he didn’t know but the pain of being hit by it was real enough. Bear be damned he scooted over until his back was pressed up against the rock wall, making sure to stay well away from the entrance of the cave. The trees bent this way and that in a mad dance. A dark, human form stepped out from between the trunks. A flash of lightning struck a tree and it burst into flame, the crack loud enough to make Carlos’s ears ring. Through slitted eyes Carlos watched as Lane drew closer to the bear, his eyes seeming to glow with white light, the pupils had gone just as they’d been when Lane had confronted Enzo at the police station.

Lane stopped just feet from the bear.

Carlos shouted. “Lane, go back! Just run, don’t worry about me!”

If the younger man had heard him he didn’t show signs of it. All the snarkiness and emotion had been stripped away; in its wake was something else. The power that existed within Lane, whatever it was, had taken over, and it was every bit as primal and powerful as the darkness that had infected the bear. Carlos sensed this power, this entity, was the antithesis of the darkness.

The bear growled once, clawing at the ground, and then charged at Lane.

...

Lane went to meet the bear and brought the tide with him.

The tide was all around him as well as inside of him. It felt good to let go for once, to not be afraid of it. He was tired of being restrained, trying to get past the wall Nora had put in place. He knew she’d only put it there because she thought it was what was best for him but it had only made things more difficult.

Because of the wall he was not at full capacity. He was uncertain if he had the strength to take on the bear but he had to try and save Carlos. I’ll be damned if I’m going to let a person die in front of me, he thought, not if I can help it.

The trees parted, blowing away from him as if trying to get away from the tide as he came to the cave. The bear was waiting for him, and behind it, pressed up against the rock wall was Carlos, alive and unharmed. The bear had only used him as bait. Smart.

What controls you? Lane wondered. Who’s your boss?

For now it wasn’t important. He would find out later.

Lightning flashed, hitting the tree beside him. Blazing flames spouted, burning against the shower of hail that had begun to fall. The hail pelted Carlos but the sting of it making contact with his flesh was a distant one. He met the eyes of the bear, misty white on night-black. Somewhere deep inside, beneath the tide, he was afraid. Afraid of failing. Afraid of dying, afraid of not getting the answers he was looking for.

More than anything he was afraid of the darkness.

“No!” Carlos shouted, his voice made tiny by the chaos happening around them. “Lane, go back! Just run, don’t worry about me!”

I won’t run. I’m done running.

Then the bear charged.

With all his concentration and might Lane pushed the tide at the bear. The bear immediately skidded to a stop as if it had hit an invisible brick wall. It snarled, trying to reach him, but unable to move. Its black eyes stared into his with a very human glint of hate.

Already Lane had reached the limitations of his power. It was like trying to maintain a grip on something slippery and heavy. He gritted his teeth and willed himself to keep pushing. The tide crashed and pushed. Thunder lashed the ground just feet away from where he was, scorching the ground. He could still see Carlos out of the corner of his eye crouching helplessly on the ground like a frightened child.

Despite the hold he had on the bear, it took a step towards him, and then a second one and a third. I can’t do this much longer, he thought, I have to do something now!

He pushed harder than he’d ever had to push before, trying to push past the wall that had kept him locked away from his true potential for so long. His head had begun to ache profusely. It felt like someone was stabbing him repeatedly in the head. Blood had begun to seep from his nose, something that had never happened before. And still he pushed, pushed with everything he had, pushed for Charlie and Vanessa, who had been taken by the darkness, and for Carlos.

The bear groaned. Like a box being crushed by hands on every side, its skull began to crumple in on itself. Its eyes burst out from its skull with an audible popping sound. A mixture of parasites and black fluid leaked from its empty eye sockets, its ears, its nose and mouth in a volatile stream that stained the grass. Then the bear collapsed, its head an unrecognizable mass of flesh.

The tide drew back, then faded.

Lane’s head ached profusely. Blood covered the lower half of his face. There were black spots in front of his eyes. He tried to keep standing but his legs gave out, dropping him towards the ground. Before he could land hands caught him, lifted him back to a standing position. Strong hands.

Charlie? Lane thought, dazed. But of course it wasn’t Charlie. Charlie was dead. He found himself looking into the eyes of a different man. Carlos. “I’m okay,” he said in a weak voice. It was hard to speak. He felt weak all over, like his body was falling apart. “I think I just pushed myself too hard. Are you okay?”

“I’m okay,” said Carlos. “God, your nose. Does this usually happen?”

“No, not like this.” Lane could feel himself starting to become stronger. The throbbing in his head was subsiding. “I think I can walk now.” He frowned looking over Carlos’s shoulder. “It’s gone. The cave’s gone.”

Sure enough, the mouth of the cave was gone, as if it had never been there in the first place. There was only the rock wall.

“I wish I could say I am surprised,” said Carlos. “But after all the crazy shit I’ve seen over the last couple days I’m not.”

They began making their way back to Donovan Road. Both men were sore from the ordeal that had just transpired. Lane’s body ached in a thousand places. He could still hear Enzo’s screams as the bear ripped into him and knew it would probably haunt him for the rest of his days. He could only imagine how Carlos must be feeling.

Once again it had stopped raining. Lane’s clothes clung to his skin, heavy and uncomfortable. If it wasn’t for the fact the forest floor was rought, full of sharp things, Lane was tempted to take his shoes off and throw them to the side. Several times he became overwhelmed by a fit of coughing, snot and blood draining from his nose. I’ve probably got a cold by now, he thought.

Lane lost himself in his own thoughts, trying not to think about how far they walked, how much further they had to go. He thought about the cave. It had been there, he’d seen it with his own eyes; and then it was gone. Just gone. He hadn’t even seen it disappear. How could something like that just fade out of existence?

Lane was getting ready to voice this question when he walked into Carlos. The man had stopped in the middle of the woods. It wasn’t long before Lane realized why. Voices were calling for Carlos, men’s voices. A rescue party.

“Over here!” Lane shouted before he could stop himself. “We’re over here!”

The trees parted and one of the officers Lane recognized from the sheriff station passed through the trees, Jack Nichols. “Oh God,” he said, panting heavily. “I was starting to think we weren’t going to find you.”

                        ...

Carlos was back in the hospital, this time has a patient.

He had a few cuts and bruises but he’d survived the car accident mostly intact. As far as his mind though, he could not say. He’d watched his father be turned inside out by a bear and had been carried off by it. He’d seen things no one outside of Adermoor Cove would be able to explain; if he were to try and explain it himself he’d just be thrown in a psychiatric facility. If he were to try to talk to anyone in town about it they would simply look the other way and come up with another story. The article in the newspaper would tell a different story of how Enzo Santino had died, to misdirect the rest of the world.

But there was one person who he knew he could talk to, one person who wouldn’t lie to him or try to convince him he was crazy. He watched Lane dozing off in the chair next to him. He’d already been checked and cleared by a doctor, and given a statement to one of the officers about what had happened out on Donovan Road. Carlos insisted he go home but Lane resisted, choosing to stay by his side like a guard dog. Though Carlos couldn’t fully bring himself to admit it, he was glad for the company.

For the moment Carlos was glad for the chance to be able to rest. Soon the chaos would begin again. He forced himself not to think about what would happen next. For the moment it was easy. He was numb with shock. The reality of his father’s death hadn’t hit him yet, which he was grateful for as well.

The nurse, a blonde woman in her thirties - Merrin was her name - came into the room to check on him once more. She glanced quickly at Lane then turned her attention back to Carlos. In a honey-sweet voice she asked if he needed anything. Carlos told her he was good. He didn’t even have the energy to truly think.

“Just thought I’d ask,” she said. “The doctor should be seeing you shortly.” She left, heels clacking on the tiled floor.

Lane sat up, yawned, and blinked at Carlos through sleepy eyes. His eyeshadow was all smeared around, making him look like a raccoon. “Sorry,” he muttered. “Didn’t mean to fall asleep on you. The shit these doctors give you is some good stuff.”

“I don’t mind. I was entertained watching you.”

Lane yawned again. “You were?”

Carlos smiled. “I like watching you.”

Lane smiled back but said nothing.

“Thank you,” Carlos said.

Lane’s brow creased together. He was silent for a long time before asking. “For what?”

“For saving my life.”

Lane looked away, clearly uncomfortable. Again he was silent, in the midst of an internal struggle. Carlos watched him battle with himself. When Lane looked back, he smiled and said, “You’re welcome.”