just little pieces on the hissing lady’s game board. The nice man listened to the woods above them, and once he was satisfied that the imaginary people and deer had moved on, he finally spoke out loud.
“Remember,” the nice man said in a comforting voice. “That hasn’t happened yet. We can still stop it. I know you’re scared. So am I. As she gets stronger, I get weaker. I used to be able to reach people on the real side. Now I scream until my throat becomes hoarse, and the only person who can hear me is you. But I love people too much to ever give up hope that they can be saved. I just can’t do it by myself anymore. But we can do it together. Someone is going to die tonight. It’s either the hissing lady or the world as we know it. I know how she thinks tonight is going to end. But what she doesn’t understand is that we have a secret weapon.”
“What?”
“You. The tree house has been turning you into something extraordinary. I have never seen anyone from the real side who can be as powerful as you. Not even David. So, if we can use that power to save you from this terrible place, you will save your mother and everyone else in the town. Will you help me?”
“Yes, sir.”
The nice man smiled. And patted Christopher’s shoulder.
“Thank you, son.”
Christopher smiled at the nice man, his teeth broken. His body battered.
“What is the tree house turning me into?”
The nice man stopped. Gravely.
“If I tell you, you have to promise me to be humble. Because David wasn’t until it was too late.”
“I promise, sir,” Christopher said. “What is the tree house making me?”
The nice man offered his hand one more time. Christopher took it and saw the answer.
Chapter 74
It’s making me goD.
Kate Reese stopped and looked at the childish scrawl on the paper. She couldn’t believe what she had been reading. She quickly flipped back to the previous page to make sure she was understanding this correctly before speaking out loud to Ambrose. They were in Christopher’s room. She had been there since the nurses finished turning over her son’s bed. Reading poor David’s terrified scrawl.
June 21st
I don’t really know where I am anymore. I don’t know what’s real or what’s imaginary, but we can’t wait any longer. The hissing lady is everywhere disguised as the flu. We have to complete the training now before she takes over the tree house. I asked the soldier why the hissing lady wanted it so much, and he explained what it is doing to me. The power that she wants for herself. It was so simple. It explained everything I was going through. I wanted to tell Ambrose what was really happening to me, but I couldn’t have him call me crazy again. So, I waited until he was asleep, and I got into bed with him. I whispered really quietly in his ear just in case the hissing lady was listening.
“Ambrose. I have to tell you something.”
“What?” he said asleep.
“I have to tell you what the tree house does.”
“Fine. Go ahead,” he said in his sleep. “What does the tree house do?”
“It’s making me God, Ambrose. The tree house makes you God.”
“Jesus Christ,” Ambrose said.
Christopher’s mother stopped reading and looked at Ambrose. She couldn’t see his eyes, but the rest of his face was frozen with grief. She turned to her son, unconscious next to her. She thought of the things he knew. The things he felt. His perfect test answers. His spontaneous genius. His healing touch.
“Keep reading, Mrs. Reese,” Ambrose said.
Christopher’s mother thumbed the page and continued reading in a whisper.
“Fine. You’re becoming God. Go back to sleep,” he said.
Then, my brother fell back asleep. I kept explaining that I wasn’t becoming God all the way. I can’t create or destroy worlds or anything like that. But I know everything, and I can heal things. The soldier said if I went any further than that, my head would explode. That’s what the headaches are. It’s God pushing on my skull like a baby chick tapping on an eggshell. It felt good to say all that out loud to Ambrose. I kissed his cheek and told him I loved him. I know he was asleep and didn’t hear what I said. But it was wonderful to pretend that he listened to me and didn’t think I was crazy. I want to think that he loves me like