Jason’s wrist and
replaced it in his backpack. “It’s like a tracking device,” he said. “I
modified it from a normal one so it would work downwind.”
“What did you see?” Steven asked.
“He’s there,” Winn said. “It’s a special trance. I’ve seen it
before. This device could bring him back if it was a normal trance, but it’s
not, which is why we can’t just throw him in a car with you and send him home. We’ll
have to go in and get him out.”
“At St. Thomas?” Steven asked. “Somehow he’s there, at a
place that doesn’t exist?”
“Oh, it exists,” Winn said, smiling broadly at Steven. Steven
found the smile cocky and reassuring at the same time. “But I want you to see
it first, before we go there to extract him. I’ve found that people don’t quite
understand it unless I show it to them.”
“You’ve had to do this before?” Roy asked.
“Yes,” Winn said, “I’ve pulled four or five other gifteds
out. I think the ghosts there have begun to figure out what I’m doing, so we’ll
have to be careful. Come on, let’s take my vehicle, it’ll handle the off road
part easier. I’ll bring you back after we’re done.”
They followed Winn out to his Jeep and waited while Winn
removed a dozen CDs that were spread out all over the back seat. Then they
piled in and Winn sped out of the motel parking lot and onto Highway 169, going
south. “It’s about five miles south of here as the crow flies, but it takes 20
minutes to drive it. We’ll have a short hike at the end. I brought lights so we
can make our way around.”
Steven had a million questions, but he’d twice now been told
he needed to see the place first, so he decided to save the questions until
after. Instead of asking Winn about St. Thomas, he asked him about his past.
“My mother taught me how to use it when I was twelve,” Winn
said. “Tutored me until I was twenty. Then she died. She’d lived her whole life
here, so she knew how to deal with the strangeness of it, and that’s what she
taught me. When I go to other places and see how normal the River usually is,
it surprises me. I wonder if I’d be able to deal with normal ghosts – I’m
guessing you can’t use an EM gun on them!”
“Don’t know, never tried,” Roy said. “Maybe it would have an
effect.”
Roy – never one to pass up an opportunity to try a gun, Steven thought.
“I’ll make you one to take home,” Winn said. “Use it on your
normal ghosts and let me know. At least your ghosts don’t turn into raving
lunatics.”
Steven thought of Anita. “Some do,” he said, “but they don’t
transform. I met one that attacked with a coldness. It was awful.”
“The ones down here attack by ripping you apart,” Winn said.
“That’s one of the reasons so many people go missing down here.”
“Talking to Deem,” Steven said, “I got the feeling that it’s
more than just ghosts that are affected. Other creatures?”
“Yes,” Winn said, “lots of others. We know what radiation
does to humans, the kind of abnormalities it causes. But in the River it’s a
whole ’nother wild card. There’s still species being generated from it as
things mutate.”
“Any effect on demons?” Steven asked, remembering his recent
night with Aka Manah, and wondering if he’d tried to contact him at his home,
only to find Steven missing.
“That’s another weird thing,” Winn said. “Demons are smarter
than humans. They stay away from here. You won’t find one within a hundred
miles. They protect their DNA. But people, we know it’s bad and we still live
in it. Probably why I smoke. Nah – demons stay away.”
“Refreshing,” Roy said. “I’ve had my fill for a while.”
“Been battling a few recently?” Deem asked.
“A particularly nasty one,” Steven said, “that killed some
friends of ours.”
“Glad we don’t have them around here,” Deem said. “Though
what we do have might be worse.”
Winn stopped the Jeep as he
replaced it in his backpack. “It’s like a tracking device,” he said. “I
modified it from a normal one so it would work downwind.”
“What did you see?” Steven asked.
“He’s there,” Winn said. “It’s a special trance. I’ve seen it
before. This device could bring him back if it was a normal trance, but it’s
not, which is why we can’t just throw him in a car with you and send him home. We’ll
have to go in and get him out.”
“At St. Thomas?” Steven asked. “Somehow he’s there, at a
place that doesn’t exist?”
“Oh, it exists,” Winn said, smiling broadly at Steven. Steven
found the smile cocky and reassuring at the same time. “But I want you to see
it first, before we go there to extract him. I’ve found that people don’t quite
understand it unless I show it to them.”
“You’ve had to do this before?” Roy asked.
“Yes,” Winn said, “I’ve pulled four or five other gifteds
out. I think the ghosts there have begun to figure out what I’m doing, so we’ll
have to be careful. Come on, let’s take my vehicle, it’ll handle the off road
part easier. I’ll bring you back after we’re done.”
They followed Winn out to his Jeep and waited while Winn
removed a dozen CDs that were spread out all over the back seat. Then they
piled in and Winn sped out of the motel parking lot and onto Highway 169, going
south. “It’s about five miles south of here as the crow flies, but it takes 20
minutes to drive it. We’ll have a short hike at the end. I brought lights so we
can make our way around.”
Steven had a million questions, but he’d twice now been told
he needed to see the place first, so he decided to save the questions until
after. Instead of asking Winn about St. Thomas, he asked him about his past.
“My mother taught me how to use it when I was twelve,” Winn
said. “Tutored me until I was twenty. Then she died. She’d lived her whole life
here, so she knew how to deal with the strangeness of it, and that’s what she
taught me. When I go to other places and see how normal the River usually is,
it surprises me. I wonder if I’d be able to deal with normal ghosts – I’m
guessing you can’t use an EM gun on them!”
“Don’t know, never tried,” Roy said. “Maybe it would have an
effect.”
Roy – never one to pass up an opportunity to try a gun, Steven thought.
“I’ll make you one to take home,” Winn said. “Use it on your
normal ghosts and let me know. At least your ghosts don’t turn into raving
lunatics.”
Steven thought of Anita. “Some do,” he said, “but they don’t
transform. I met one that attacked with a coldness. It was awful.”
“The ones down here attack by ripping you apart,” Winn said.
“That’s one of the reasons so many people go missing down here.”
“Talking to Deem,” Steven said, “I got the feeling that it’s
more than just ghosts that are affected. Other creatures?”
“Yes,” Winn said, “lots of others. We know what radiation
does to humans, the kind of abnormalities it causes. But in the River it’s a
whole ’nother wild card. There’s still species being generated from it as
things mutate.”
“Any effect on demons?” Steven asked, remembering his recent
night with Aka Manah, and wondering if he’d tried to contact him at his home,
only to find Steven missing.
“That’s another weird thing,” Winn said. “Demons are smarter
than humans. They stay away from here. You won’t find one within a hundred
miles. They protect their DNA. But people, we know it’s bad and we still live
in it. Probably why I smoke. Nah – demons stay away.”
“Refreshing,” Roy said. “I’ve had my fill for a while.”
“Been battling a few recently?” Deem asked.
“A particularly nasty one,” Steven said, “that killed some
friends of ours.”
“Glad we don’t have them around here,” Deem said. “Though
what we do have might be worse.”
Winn stopped the Jeep as he
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