have a look.
He shifted into park and we all got out. It was raining sideways, but only lightly; it was more of a mist. It was Springdale, Oregon. Portland wasn’t far off, and neither was the Columbia River.
The wind was ripping through the place, making the yellow police tape gyrate wildly all around the burned out buildings. There wasn’t much left but portions of some of the walls. The place was giving me the creeps.
“Wow. He really knows how to party,” Kim said. She came alongside and together we ducked under the police WARNING tape. Two black birds, ravens I guessed, sat on the jagged top of one wall. They looked down at us as if we were the most interesting prey they had ever seen.
Michael had turned and walked off the other way, saying something to us about splitting up. I watched him walk toward the ruins of a different building.
“Okay,” I said. “We’ll have a look over here.” I felt largely at his mercy, him being the professional. All I could go on were my feelings, whatever I sensed coming at me that had the feel and character of my grandfather. What little I know of him, anyway.
I turned and walked ahead. I was struck that we had managed to evade the cops—or the FBI or who knew what other agency—all the way to Oregon. I was thankful that Michael had it all together; it was easy to follow his lead when he was sure enough for both of us. I wondered what gave him such easy confidence. Was it all that cash? The security that was lining his pockets? What would happen when that ran out? What was his plan then? Did he have a plan B? I didn’t know. I shook my head and walked on.
Most of the ruin was wide open to the hanging and smudged sky. What used to be the floor was now a quarry for brick remnants—and, given who had destroyed the place, human remnants turned to ash and blown off—and I hobbled over the roughness of it in my lightweight hikers. It was cold. Off to one side, a solitary doorway led into a dark space. I saw the look on Kim’s face as I looked back and forth between it and her. She grunted, shoving her hands into her pockets.
“Hey, at least it’ll be shelter from the wind and rain.” I pulled the hood of my sweater over my head.
“Go on with your bad self, then. I’ll be right here if you need me. This place is way creepy.”
I nodded and stepped through the rubble toward the doorway. I could make out little details, but not much. “Be careful.” She said. I kept picking my way over the rubble.
“So what, Kim’s intuition is right?” I asked under my breath.
Nothing.
I stopped and closed my eyes, focusing. Better not to take chances, especially given how quiet She had been lately. I hoped that if Kreios was still close I could reach out and find him with my mind, possibly break loose and let him know I was here—I was alive. I waited for something but nothing happened. I felt really foolish, like an amateur in a pro world. “Come on. No use being all quiet now,” I said quietly. “You’re the one that might be able to help me right here, right now. Please.”
I stood motionless. Finally She stirred again. I plugged my ears, drowning out the sound of the wind and rain. “One is coming who will guide you on your path. Only be careful.” Classic She; I got nothing more.
“You know what, you are impossible.” I opened my eyes and walked on, toward the black doorway. “This is stupid. What do we think we’re gonna find? A love note, telling us where he’s going next? To go kill and destroy?”
Just as I reached the frame of the door, a chill feeling crept into me. I turned back to Kim but she was in the zone, looking off to the horizon, in her own world. I shrugged the feeling off and turned back toward the doorway. I picked my way through crumbled brick and splintered ash. It was dark, and I had to pause to let my eyes adjust. I looked down and around on the floor inside the huge room. It was pitch black; I couldn’t see anything beyond the first few feet inside the room.
A flash of bright light, and I was spun around. Something—someone—grabbed and yanked me from