The Haunted Forest Tour

CHAPTER THIRTY

Christopher made no attempt to struggle. He silently willed the bird to fly faster, even though he knew it was ridiculous to think that Pestilence would allow the bird to drop him off in time to warn his mother.

But he wasn’t going to let his mother die. Absolutely not. No matter what it took, even if he had to rip that demon’s smirking head right off its shoulders, he wasn’t going to let his mother die.

Just don’t bleed to death, and you’ll be fine. Mom will be fine. Everybody will be fine.

He cried out in pain as his legs crashed through some branches. The bird wasn’t being quite as attentive to his personal safety this flight.

And then the bird swooped down through the trees, into a small clearing. It didn’t set him down but instead hovered about ten feet above the ground, wings flapping. Birds weren’t supposed to be able to hover like that, but they also weren’t supposed to be able to do the bidding of demon masters.

Lee, Barbara, Tina, and Tommy were below. So was his mother. They all stood close together, staring at Pestilence.

“Ah, our guest of honor has arrived,” said Pestilence, looking up and winking at Christopher. Christopher tried to shout out a warning, but no words came out, just complete silence. He kicked and struggled and continued to scream silently.

“Mindy, step forward,” said Pestilence. Christopher watched in horror as his mother took a hesitant step forward. Lee put his arm out, blocking her from going further.

“What do you want from her?” Lee demanded.

“You’ve already proven yourself, skeptic. This is Mindy’s chance. This is her chance to save all of you, most especially her son.”

Christopher shouted with such force that his lungs burned, but he still had no voice.

“You’ll have to come through us to get her,” said Lee.

Pestilence nodded. “If that’s how it must be. I’ll happily scatter your body parts for miles. You’ve all survived a lot this fine day. It seems a bit foolish to let yourselves die a ghastly death when you’re so close to sweet freedom.”

Mindy pushed past Lee. “What do you want?”

“Oh, nothing substantial. I just want you to sacrifice yourself. Give your life for the others. That’s not such a big deal, is it?”

“You’re not going to touch her,” said Lee.

“Enough out of you.” Pestilence smiled. “You’ve had a good, long life, haven’t you, Mindy? Is it worth giving up your own life to save a young boy, a hero, and a widow? Perhaps not. But what about your son? Is it worth giving up your life to save your son?”

“How do I know you’ll let them go?” his mother asked.

No!

“Well, you could trust me, but I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have trustworthy features. So we’ll go with something a bit more over-the-top.”

Pestilence gestured, and the bird flew toward one of the trees, bashing Christopher into it.

“Sacrifice yourself, and the trees will part like the Red Sea, revealing the path to freedom. Be a selfish old hag, and your son gets beaten to death by a giant bird, and I kill all of you anyway. When you stop to think about it, there’s really only one good choice.”

“He’s lying,” said Lee. “Don’t listen to him.”

Pestilence’s smile vanished. “Skeptic, you are in grave danger of losing all of the good will I feel towards you. If you say one more word, or so much as utter a syllable that sounds like it might be in the process of forming a word, I will kill you where you stand. It won’t be a heroic death. It will be a senseless and embarrassing one. I’m offering Mindy the opportunity to save all of you, so please stay out of it. Nod if you understand me.”

Lee stood motionless for a moment, and then gave an almost imperceptible nod.

“Good. Now…”

Pestilence stared at Lee, who stared back. The two almost seemed like they had some sort of… connection. Like they were communicating without words. Christopher had no idea what they might be saying, but there was definitely something going on.

The demon blinked in surprise, as if suddenly realizing where he was. “Mindy, step forward.”

Mindy stepped past Lee and the others. Even from his vantage point, Christopher could see that she was trembling.

“No need to be afraid,” said Pestilence, his smile returning. “I guarantee that this will be painless. Much less painless than this.” He gestured, and the bird slammed Christopher against another tree. This time he thought he might have broken a rib.

“Leave him alone!” Mindy wailed.

“Well, now, that’s an option. Another option is for my feathered friend to bash your son against that tree until there’s nothing left to hold on to. It’s all up to you, Mindy.”

“I’ll do anything.”

“I like that attitude. Unfortunately, it’s a lot easier to say you’ll give yourself up as a sacrifice than to actually do it and mean it. Come closer.”

Mindy looked up at Christopher. He shook his head wildly and mouthed, “Don’t do it!”

She took another step towards Pestilence.

“That’s the way to do it,” said Pestilence. “One small step at a time. That said, I can’t keep the forest creatures away forever, so you might want to pick up the pace a bit.”

Mindy took another step. Now less than five feet separated her from the demon.

“I need proof that you’ll keep your side of the bargain,” Mindy said.

“What sort of proof would you like?” Pestilence asked, stepping forward and closing the gap between them to three feet.

“Let them go.”

“All of them?”

Mindy nodded.

“I’m not sure I see the logic there. If I’m asking you to sacrifice yourself to save the others, why would I let them go before you’ve made the sacrifice?”

“I’m an old woman. Where the hell am I going to go? Do you think I’m going to kick you in the balls and run away?”

Pestilence walked forward and put his scaly hand on her shoulder. “So if I let them go free, you’ll willingly sacrifice yourself to me?”

Mindy nodded, her face glistening with tears.

No! Please no! Don’t do it!

“That’s very selfless of you, Mindy. Are you sure?”

“You have to let them leave the entire forest.”

“Of course.”

“All of them. Including my son.”

“That can be arranged. So if I do that, you’ll offer yourself up as my sacrifice?”

“Yes.”

“Look me in the eyes.”

Mindy looked into Pestilence’s eyes. Christopher thought his lungs were going to rip free of his chest from his silent screaming.

“I need to believe that you’re telling the truth.”

“I am.”

Pestilence’s grin widened. “You are. And unfortunately for you, that’s all I need.”

The blow caught her underneath the chin. Her head was not merely ripped from her body, but it seemed to explode in a shower of blood and gore that drenched Lee and the others.

Christopher’s screams were no longer silent.

The bird dropped him and he fell to the ground, crying out in both pain and anguish.

Pestilence shook some of the blood off his hand and let out a loud, cackling laugh. “Now the real fun begins, ladies and gentlemen. Enjoy the show.”