Welsh Road (The Depravity Chronicles) Read Free Page A

think
the storm will pass over?” Trevor asked, attempting to make small talk.
    Anna didn’t
answer. Instead, she dropped to one knee and traced Tim’s gravestone with her
forefingers.
    “Mom?” Trevor
said.
    “I still can see
those eyes,” she whispered. “I hear the sound of sawing through bones.”
    Trevor nodded.
“I still see Dad.”
    Anna stood and
hugged her son tightly. “Me too, honey. Me too.”
    Simon, Trevor’s
best friend, walked up to offer his thoughts. He was followed by Sam King and
Father Matthew McMillan.
    “We’re the only
ones who survived,” Simon said, running a hand through his pale blonde hair as
he spoke.
    “Well, there’s
Geraldine and Anish,” Matthew offered.
    “Where is Anish?
I thought he would be here,” Anna asked.
    “He sends his
apologies,” Matthew said. “He had some things to take care of today that
couldn’t wait.”
    “I see,” Anna
said. She let out a deep sigh. “I still miss Geraldine. But I don’t blame her
for moving to Florida. Sometimes distance is the only option.”
    “True that,”
Simon added. “And hot beaches, apparently.”
    Anna nodded and
watched as the others placed a single rose on Tim’s grave. They repeated this
at several gravesites, each marking the names of those who died during the
siege of the demons.
    “I can’t believe
it’s been a year,” Sam said. “Sometimes it feels like yesterday.”
    “Tell me about
it,” Anna said with a dry laugh. “In my nightmares, it was last night.”
    “I’ll second
that,” Sam added. “My wife still thinks there’s something I’m not telling her.
This whole serial killer cover story has holes in it. I have nightmares, too.”
    “No, the story
is solid,” Anna said. Somehow it didn’t sound reassuring. “The only reason it
seems weak is because we know what really happened. And I have nightmares,
too.”
    Sam shrugged. He
hated lying to Lisa, but he also knew that if he came clean then she would
insist on moving away, just like Geraldine had done. He loved his job, enjoyed
living in Crimson Falls, and prided himself on not walking away from anything.
Even if that ‘anything’ is evil incarnate.
    As they laid
their last respective roses over Jake O’Reilly’s gravestone, Anna couldn’t help
but laugh.
    “What’s so
funny?” Matthew asked. “I could use a good laugh right about now.”
    “God, he was
such an asshole,” Anna said about Jake.
    “That he was,”
Sam agreed.
    “You shouldn’t
speak ill of the dead,” Trevor said sharply. Everyone looked at each other, and
after a moment of tense silence, they began laughing.
    “Now who’s the
asshole?” Sam chuckled.
    It felt good for
everyone to let go a little. After all, nearly a year had passed since the
proverbial shit hit the fan. And so it goes…time stops for nothing and no one.
This remains true even when you’ve been a witness to unthinkable crimes
committed by unimaginable creatures.
    The small group
of survivors returned to their cars, their scars – emotional and physical –
binding them together for life.
    Gradually, the mundane
realities of everyday living resumed their positions of authority in the minds
of the citizens of Crimson Falls. Though the wounds of the battle were still
quite real for the small group of heroes, they continued to move forward. One
day at a time.
    For Trevor and
Simon, time seemed to creep by, month after monotonous month. Being a good
mother, Anna had prepared herself for the return of Trevor’s most dangerous
nemesis: boredom. Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop, she would think
to herself. Sure, he went through the motions and fulfilled life’s general
expectations for a teenager. Perfect school attendance, distinguished honor
roll. You name it, Trevor achieved it.
    Yet there was
still something missing in his life, and it wasn’t his father. Nor was it the
knowledge that his dad had become possessed by an ancient maniacal demon.
Simply put, something had changed in him