Blackteeth Read online

“They don’t think like that,” Mun-Hee said deliberately. “More like they’re trying to follow our scents and figure out where we’re at now. They’re clever enough to set a trap, but we already know what kinds of traps they set. They will think she will go back to the one she just came from. The one from Oregon.”

  Hesper knew about the traps, but in her two years back in the other world, she’d gotten lazy, compliant, and entirely too self-assured. There were traps, and then there was the issue of safety. Choices had to be made.

  “So here”— Hesper pointed to a spot on her makeshift map— “is where we need to go out. I know where this goes. There’s a city right there beside the river. We can get help almost immediately. If the Blackteeth follow us, they’ll be deterred.”

  “What does deterred mean?” asked the French boy.

  “They don’t like a group of humans looking at them,” Hesper said. “They won’t dare come after us if we are in a place where there are many witnesses.”

  Tam and Hadassah stared at the spot that Hesper indicated. “That’s right close to one of their favorite paths,” Tam said. “That isn’t going to be easy. We should go in small groups. Less risk.”

  “We should go all at once,” Hesper said. “The sooner the better. We get you all out, here and now, before they realize what we’re doing and move to stop us.”

  The children whispered all around her. They wanted to go. They wanted to leave this terrible place of fear and blood, but there was always something that had blocked their way.

  “We move across the long gallery,” Hesper said, “slowly and quietly, keeping watch for the Blackteeth, and then to the edge of that area. It’s where one of the biggest piles of clothing are. Then all at once into the pool. I can try to take five or six through at a time. They have to hold onto me. They can’t let go.”

  “We tie them to you,” Mun-Hee said. “We can do that before we go through. We have cloth that we’ve made into ropes. You’ll have to cut it on the other side and then come back for the rest. If we can’t do it at that pool, we take a chance with another pool.”

  “The pools are like destinations?” Tam asked. “One to your river, yes? One to South Africa?”

  “From every place a child has been taken,” Hesper said.

  “You went to your home. You went to the place you were taken from?” Tam insisted. “How could you have found it? There are hundreds of pools.”

  “The piles of clothing,” Hesper said. “I found a hat from Auburn University. A shirt from Texas A&M. A jacket with a U.S. Space and Rocket Center emblem. I found a t-shirt with a middle school emblem on it that I recognized. These are all places close to where I lived and where I was taken. The pool I went through was the closest to that pile. It was a calculated risk. I figured that the Blackteeth might be too lazy to do anything else. They bring us back here. They strip us on the spot, so we don’t have weapons or anything to make weapons from, and then they put us in the holes. It was…efficient of them.”

  The children went quiet again. They knew the routine all too well because each of them had experienced the same thing.

  “We can find our clothing,” Tam said insistently. “We can figure out which pool to take.”

  “I want to go home to Texas,” Luke said.

  “And me to São Paulo,” the boy from Brazil said.

  “Plymouth,” said Nash.

  “Kinneret,” Hadassah said.

  And the others chimed in calling names of towns that Hesper didn’t recognize.

  Mun-Hee cleared his throat. “Hesper said we don’t have time. When we’re back, we’ll make our way back to our homes. When we’re safe.”

  Hesper wanted to say something about that, but she couldn’t bring herself to think past the immediate threat. Once they were in Alabama, the authorities would jump in and insert their own story to fit what they thought must have happened to all the missing children who just happed to pop up in the same place as one Hesper Whitehead. A slavery ring who kidnapped them from all over the world. Some insane person with connections to the man who was currently imprisoned for Hesper’s kidnapping. Who knew what tale they would spin? But more to the point was that they wouldn’t let the children rot away. They would be taken care of in a reasonable fashion. If they didn’t, then Hesper would. She would find a way.

  “If I had to choose between here and Alabama,” Hesper said, “I would pick Alabama. They’ll feed you, they’ll clothe you. They’ll keep you safe until they figure out how to get you back to your homes. If you don’t want to go, don’t go, but the rest of you are coming now.”

  “What about the loners?” Luke asked. “One over here”— he jabbed a finger at Hesper’s map. “His name is Bullet. He don’t like company much. Then there’s another one over in this area.” He jabbed his finger in another area. “She wouldn’t tell me her name. Traded me for some fungi though.”

  Hesper thought hard. “Mun-Hee?”

  “I’ll send two people to talk to them. Meet us at the pool maybe. Can’t convince those ones that it’s safer in a group.”

  “Meet by this area,” Hesper said. “Make three clicking noises every hour or as close as you can guess that to be. You still do that.”

  Mun-Hee clicked his tongue, and the sound was just like that of the Blackteeth. He made another clicking noise that was like Morse code. Three short. Three long. Then three short again. “Confuses the Blackteeth. They haven’t figured out that it’s us yet. We’ve gotten three of them using that one.” He looked. “Luke. Will you go talk to that girl?”

  “Sure. I’ll tell her. Meet you at the pool or thereabouts. I reckon Alabama is just as good as Texas.” Luke smiled crookedly and Hesper realized the boy was going to need braces when he got back. “Better than here.”

  “Luke,” Hesper said, “don’t take chances. If you can’t find her, then come along. I’ll wait for you.”

  Luke nodded solemnly and then slithered out the entrance.

  “Nash,” Mun-Hee said. “You know where Bullet sleeps. Will you tell him?”

  Nash nodded and said plaintively, “Don’t leave without me.”

  “I’m not leaving any of you behind,” Hesper said.

  Nash nodded at her. “I’ve been here a long time. What’s happening in Britain? Is Queen Elizabeth still alive?”

  Hesper smiled faintly. “She’s going to outlive all of us.”

  “God save the Queen!” Nash said and disappeared after Luke.

  “Listen up, everyone,” Mun-Hee said. “Pack up just what you need. Bring your weapon. We’re moving across the long gallery and across the grand hallway. We’re being super quiet, but we need to hurry before the Blackteeth start locking the place down.”

  “Look at this map on the floor,” Hesper said. “We’re here.” She pointed. “The pool we need is here. If we get separated, meet us there. You’ll hear the clicking noises in threes.”

  “Sharp, sharp,” Tam said. “Get moving, biscuits.”

  Hesper marveled on how quickly the children moved when Tam spoke to them. Obviously, she was the mother figure.

  Moss came up to Hesper still holding Olivia by his side. “We’re going back now?”

  “Yes. Just as fast as can be. Look at this map. This is where we came in. This is where we’re at. This is the area where we’re going.” Hesper looked at Olivia who grinned from ear to ear. “Olivia, if we get separated, bring your brother here.” She held out the pendant to show them all. “This is the key. If you’re in the water and you’re holding the key, you’re transported to the other side. If you’re holding onto someone, they come with you.”

  Mun-Hee got up to look at the things they’d taken from the Blackteeth. He held the light up and went through a pile. “I don’t see another one like that, Hesper. We didn’t know, and we left them with the Blackteeth.” He cursed in Korean under his breath. He knelt and pulled up a long coil of rope that had been made from strips of clothing. He looped the rope over his shoulder and looked at her.

/>   “We’ll make due,” Hesper said.

  Olivia beamed up at her brother. Whatever they’d been discussing, it wasn’t the death of their father. Hesper would have told Olivia that the hard part wasn’t going to be getting out but dealing with the aftermath on the other side, but that would have been a truly shitty thing to say. Let Olivia have a moment of happiness before she has to deal with reality.

  “Get the watch in here,” Mun-Hee told Tam. “Let them get their things and then we’re gone. Don’t carry anything that will make noise.” He approached Hesper. “There are two we’ll have to hold hands with to get them there. They’re scared of everything, and they don’t want to leave this room.”

  “I’ll kill every Blackteeth that comes for us,” Hesper swore.

  “And I can help,” Moss said. He swung the machete in his hand. Olivia lost her smile and clutched his arm, pulling him toward her while shaking her head. She clearly didn’t want to chance losing her brother.

  Tam went to the entrance and made a clicking noise that was all too familiar. She came back in, and two children crawled through after her.

  “Mun-Hee,” Hesper said. “Pair them up. Get them to that pool. I’ll give you the pendant. Just jump in with them holding onto you. Tie them up if you have to. But you’ll have to come back for the rest.”

  Mun-Hee might have seemed mature, but Hesper could see the cracks in his façade as he considered what he would have to do. Coming back was wretchedly abhorrent. He shuddered at the thought of it, having just obtained an unruly escape.

  Tam glanced at Mun-Hee and visibly understood his fear. She said, “I’ll come back for the rest of you. I swear.”

  “We’ll need a knife for the ropes,” Hesper said. “Cut them away on the other side and come right back.”

  Moss produced his buck knife. Hesper had forgotten about it. He handed it to Tam. “It’s sharp.”

  Tam nodded. Then she put it in a pocket of her tattered pants. She held her hand out for the pendant, and Hesper handed it to her. Hesper wavered for a moment. As she stepped closer to the complicated machinery on the walls, the blue light got brighter. She saw it, registered it, and went back to what they needed to do because there wasn’t time to muck around with the builders’ equipment.

  Hesper took a moment to explain to the other children what would happen and how it would happen. The others shivered with excitement or fear. Or both.

  “Does everyone understand?” Mun-Hee asked.

  There were nods and low assents all around.

  Mun-Hee nodded at Hesper.

  Tam led the way. They used the lights until they were three jackknife turns away. Then Mun-Hee nodded at all of them and whispered, “All quiet, all the time, click if you need to, or use your hands. Tam’s leading us over. Then I’m in the middle with Talia and Nick. Hesper’s in the back, keeping us safe.”

  “Where do you want me?” Moss asked softly.

  Mun-Hee considered that. “You should go through first with Olivia and Tam. You can protect them if needs be.”

  Hesper said to Moss, “If you see a Blackteeth, Moss, don’t hesitate. Kill it and then ask questions later.”

  Moss nodded slowly.

  They all went silent for a moment and then Mun-Hee said, “We don’t pray much anymore, but if you’ve got a god you still think is good and all knowing, you might want to take a moment to pray to him.”

  They began to move out. It was slow getting out of the initial tunnel because of the rocks and debris concealing the entrance. They moved as little as possible and then they were in the outer parts. Hesper remained at the back, her hand on the child in front of her, who was the boy who had been sucking his thumb. She didn’t remember his name, but he moved certainly in the black nothingness.

  Hesper wished she had a watch to look at. Moss had his phone, but she hadn’t thought to look to see if it was still working. It might still be keeping time, or due to the lack of satellites to tell it what was correct, it might have gone blank. She kept a count in her head. She went to a hundred and then started over, keeping track of her steps in the darkness. They came out on the roofs of the builders’ constructions and kept on a steady course toward their destination.

  They stopped twice. One stop was for water supplied by a canteen that had been made from some kind of animal skin. The second stop was to watch the lights going on and making a path across the grand hallway as something moved in a very specific manner. When the lights died away, they waited a little while and then returned to their trek.

  Hesper could almost feel the fear like a cloud in the air. She couldn’t imagine what these children were feeling. Here was the dangling bait of escape from the Blackteeth but only if they could make it to their destination without being caught.

  The darkness was overpowering. It pressed down on them and crawled across Hesper’s skin like an insect. She wanted to brush it off and run fleeing. She’d escaped, and she’d been insane enough to come back. She would have made the choice the same way, but it didn’t diminish the uncontrollable sense of foreboding inside her. That foreboding grew like it was alive, and she had to reckon with it.

  The Blackteeth were clever. They communicated with each other. They used humans to do their bidding. They set a trap for Moss and Hesper. They’d managed to block the roads in the directions they thought Moss and Hesper would go.

  Underestimating the Blackteeth would be a deadly mistake.

  Hesper thought they wouldn’t think of the pool she’d used to leave the first time, which was almost certainly the same pool that a Blackteeth had dragged her through originally. But because of her actions, they hadn’t forgotten her, and they wouldn’t forget that pool. They had been there looking for her after the fact because she’d read the reports from off-the-wall websites about urban legends. They would expect Hesper to return to that pool. Even if they didn’t, then she shouldn’t take the risk with all of their lives. Doing the opposite of what was expected was not just urgent, it was paramount.

  They would have to take another pool. It was a gamble, but any place would be better than the builders’ world with the Blackteeth pressing down on them like malevolent beings intent on tearing them to bloody shreds.

  They hadn’t addressed the issue of the three children still in the holes. Hesper hadn’t forgotten it, but the matter of getting the others out superimposed itself over that problem.

  Perhaps it was because it didn’t need to be said. Hesper knew what had to be done, regardless of the consequences.

  Hesper made another plan in her head. Tam would take half over the first try and then come back for the rest. Hesper would go with the second group just to get her hands on the pendant. Then she would come back to free those three children. She wouldn’t stop to argue, and Moss could get all the children safely away from the river’s edge. Once they were secure, she could return to her original plan. She would go through the abyss if she had to but there would be no more of this fiendish hell.

  They paused, and Hesper made her way to the middle of the group. She used hand gestures to Mun-Hee to indicate that they should take the first pool they came to instead of the one she’d indicated.

  Mun-Hee drew a question mark on Hesper’s arm.

  Hesper traced a word on Mun-Hee’s cheek. Trap! He stilled as he perceptibly considered her thoughts and then nodded into her hand.

  There was a crisp click from the front. Hesper immediately looked up and over to see what had alerted Tam.

  It was already too late. The trap had been sprung. The Blackteeth had obviously been waiting just in case someone appeared, and they had detected them. Ten separate lines of lights began to appear, slowly coming to fruition but increasing in pace. The lines raced toward them as more Blackteeth caught their scent, and their rapid movements triggered the automatic lights even if it was long after they’d passed. It was as if a blinking neon sign had suddenly lit up in a mad fashion with them at the epicenter of all of those lines.

  One of the childre
n whimpered, and it was all Hesper could do to not let her knees buckle because of the sudden immense fear that overwhelmed her.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Cast no dirt into the well that

  has given you water. – proverb

  Hesper grasped Mun-Hee’s arm and said, “The nearest pool, now! Tie them to Tam, and don’t come back for me!”

  “But…” Mun-Hee protested.

  “NOW!” Hesper looked up and saw the lines changing direction. They had been headed to a spot due north of them, but now they were aimed squarely at them. Yelling commands couldn’t be helped. They didn’t have time for hand signals, and they didn’t have time for subtlety.

  Hesper heard Mun-Hee and the others scrambling along the walls and then Tam said furiously, “Follow me and keep quiet!”

  Moss said from beside her, “Hesper?”

  “Take Olivia and go, Moss,” Hesper said shortly. “Time for that final push. Go!” She heard hasty movements in the dark, and she knew she had been left alone.

  Hesper took a breath and deliberately slashed her arm with the bush axe. She scuttled along the wall opposite from the children, losing sight of the lights popping on as they indicated the precise direction of the Blackteeth.

  She purposely swung her arm around and splattered her blood in a semi-circle. Then Hesper ran, leaving a trail that the Blackteeth wouldn’t be able to ignore. The scent from her blood would be irresistible. The lights just began to come on behind her, having been triggered by her body heat. She could now dimly see the long line of the grand hallway stretching out before her. She took note of the direction she needed to go and put her head down, using her arms to pump up and down as she moved. She ran blindly hoping she could keep a straight line in the darkness. It had been some time since she had done it, but she hadn’t forgotten how.

  Hesper imagined she could hear the Blackteeth coming up on her rapidly. The claws would be clicking on the stone floor and throwing up dirt as they raced toward her. They would smell her blood and be all the more enraged for it. After all, a few drops in the Willamette River had brought them running so quickly that it was almost comical. The fact that it was probably an unfortunate coincidence of the proximity of a single Blackteeth was not something she cared to think about. Or perhaps they had been using humans to narrow down her location and that was why they had been in the area. That theory worked well enough. They had been closing on her when Moss and Abel had jumped the gun on their silly strategy. It hadn’t been serendipity. It had been the utter opposite of serendipity.