CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Bryan’s face contorted as he stretched a hand toward Allison. Eyes closed, his head had dropped against his chest, blood flowing freely from his nose over his mouth. Gage could see he was giving it everything he had.
He wondered if Bryan’s all would be enough. If Bryan failed, Riley would use Allison’s body to open the gate.
You can do it, Bryan. You can.
You’ve got to.
Jess was squeezing his hand tightly.
Grimacing, Bryan cried out and fell to his knees, still working his mojo on Allison.
Allison faced them now, teeth bared. She walked toward the gate. Gage picked up one of the shovels. “Grab the other one, Jess!”
“What?” she cried. “Gage, I can’t. I can’t. It’s Allison. She’s in there.”
Gage moved forward. “Well, she’s going to be in here if we don’t stop her. And just a reminder—she’s got company.”
Gage cursed under his breath.
The air began to crackle with electricity. Allison was almost at the gate. God help him, he was about to hit Allison with the shovel if she took a step closer.
Yellow light burst from Allison’s abdomen and a roaring sound like a thunderclap echoed around them. Gage stumbled back and shielded his eyes from the light. When the cracking and popping subsided, Gage opened his eyes. Behind him, Jess was sobbing.
And Allison was gone.
He dropped the shovel. Jess was holding Bryan, who lay on the ground. He was conscious, but not in great shape. Blood soaked his shirt. How much had he bled, anyway? He’d never seen anyone who’d bled as much.
Bryan grinned up at him, weakly. “Just like the spider, Dude. Chicks dig it.”
Jess laughed through her tears and kissed Bryan’s forehead. “You did it, Bryan. Oh my God, you did it.”
But they weren’t in the clear. Not yet. They still had to get out of here and off the property. With Bryan’s condition and Mrs. Hirsch still hanging around, it wasn’t going to be easy.
And the girls would be back. He had no doubt about that. In the meantime, Bryan could bleed to death.
“Come on. We’ve got to get out of here,” Gage said, bending down to help Bryan to his feet.
“Is he going to be all right?” Jess’s face looked as tired and worn as his. She reached through the gate, keeping an eye on Mrs. Hirsch as she retrieved the iron pendant Allison had dropped.
“Yeah, I think so. We just need to get him out of here.”
Jess looked to the spot Allison had last stood, tears pooling in her eyes.
“She’s okay,” he told her. He hoped that wasn’t a lie.
Bryan managed to stand but it wasn’t what Gage would call graceful. “We don’t have a lot of time. Like the girls, Riley’s absence is temporary.”
Except for Allison. Gage doubted Nowhereville was temporary for Allison. Wherever Bryan had sent her, he knew she wouldn’t be back. He only hoped she’d found a place where there were no demons. Not even her own.
The tears on Jess’s cheek told him she felt the same. Allison and Jess had been at odds with each other now and then, but Jess was taking it harder than he’d expected. Even when confronted with the shadowed figure blocking Riley the way it had, and then Mrs. Hirsch possibly being the world’s most helpful zombie, Allison still saw demons.
And Jess still saw angels.
Which is probably why he cared for her.
“Riley won’t stay inside her,” he said, hoping it’d be some comfort.
Jess could only nod as fresh tears spilled onto her cheeks.
Mrs. Hirsch stared at them from the other side of the fence. However useful she’d been, odds were good that at Siler House, she wouldn’t stay that way much longer. They couldn’t get Bryan out of here without getting rid of Mrs. Hirsch first. If nothing else, she’d force them to end her form of existence, too. One way or the other.
“Keep Bryan steady,” Gage said to Jess. She threw one of Bryan’s big arms around her.
Limping, Gage picked up one of the shovels, earning him a frown from both Jess and Bryan, who swayed on his feet. Gage returned to them, using the shovel for a cane as Bryan wrapped his other arm around Gage’s neck.
“We’re going to need the shovel,” Gage explained.
“What for?” Bryan asked.
“Mrs. Hirsch,” Gage replied quietly. “I don’t know how far we’re going to get once we open the gate, but we can’t take any chances. And like Jess said, we can’t leave her like that.”
Mrs. Hirsch didn’t respond to their movement. She stared blankly as they made their way to the gate. Jess released the latch and pushed the gate open. The housekeeper continued watching, but made no moves.
“You’re going to have to keep him upright.” Gage eyed Mrs. Hirsch. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Okay.” Jess accepted more of Bryan’s weight. “Just help me through the gates first.”
She’s not going to be able to keep him on his feet, Gage thought as he helped her guide Bryan through the gates.
Mrs. Hirsch continued to stare after them. He wasn’t sure whether her intelligence was now equal to a bag of hammers, or whether she was just waiting for the right time.
Five feet outside the gate. Ten. He glanced back. Mrs. Hirsch was beginning to follow them.
Fifteen. Twenty. Thirty feet. She was closer now, beginning to pick up the pace.
“Keep him upright,” Gage reminded Jess. “Can you do that on your own for a few minutes?”
“No,” Jess replied. “Gage, I can’t.”
“You have to, Jess. She’s coming for us.”
“Leave me,” Bryan said weakly.
Gage shook his head. “Not a chance, Bro.”
This was impossible. Even if they got Bryan to the road, what then? They didn’t have a phone. Sure, the estate was off a fairly decent-sized road, but that didn’t mean anyone would stop. But he wasn’t leaving Bryan behind.
“Hold onto Bryan,” Jess said. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Jess—” Gage protested.
“Just do it!” she snapped.
Bryan shifted his weight to Gage and he winced at the extra pressure on his injured ankle.
“Give me the shovel,” Jess said. Tears flowed down her cheeks, but her voice remained strong. Determined. “I’m not big enough to support Bryan. You’re the only one who can help him, even with your ankle. Like you said, it’ll only take a second.”
Gage looked at her, then Mrs. Hirsch, who was less than ten feet away now. “You sure?”
Her bottom lip quivered. “To the head, right?”
He nodded and handed her the shovel. “Hard as you can.”
He wanted to tell her she had courage, but the words seemed lost in the situation. Jess was doing this because it was a logical decision. And because she didn’t want to see Mrs. Hirsch like she was any longer.
Come on, you can do it, Jess. I know you can.
He hated that she’d have to be the one to set this right. Fixing it, as Mrs. Hirsch had called it, should have been his cross to bear since he had brought her back. Jess shouldn’t have to go through this.
Shovel in hand, Jess met Mrs. Hirsch halfway. The housekeeper stopped and waited. Jess paused for only a second, then drew herself up and cried out as she swung the shovel hard, making a direct hit to Mrs. Hirsch’s left temple.
Thwaaap!
Jess stepped backward, holding the shovel like a bat, sobbing freely now but ready to swing again if necessary. Mrs. Hirsch wobbled on her feet a second before falling to the ground.
“Fix it! Fix it!” Mrs. Hirsch’s arms flailed at her sides.
Gage was ready to ease Bryan to the ground and take care of the situation when Jess raised the shovel high and brought it down hard into Mrs. Hirsch’s forehead. Jess let go of the shovel and backed away. The shovel remained upright, protruding from the housekeeper’s head. She lay still in the grass. Jess stared at Mrs. Hirsch, then wiping the back of her hand against her mouth, Jess began to sob.
“I’m so sorry, baby.” Anything else Gage might have wanted to say was lost on him. Jess returned to him and Bryan, choking back more tears. What could they say? Any of them?
Without another word, they made their way to the front gate, and from there, to the road.