Where Darkness Dwells Read Free Page A

for you. Just think about what you're doing before you do it," Jimmy said. The humor had left his voice. "That's all I gotta say."
    "What's that supposed to mean?"
    "Means I'm thinking about enlisting in the Army. My mom might have to sign something, but I'm strong for my size. They should take me, even though I ain't eighteen."
    "What the hell're you getting at?" George was shocked, unable to figure why someone would enlist. Especially someone whose dad had died not long after coming home from the European trenches, his lungs just about liquefied from mustard gas.
    "I gotta be a man. Make a living for myself."
    "That's not what we planned." Their plans went back many years. George would take over the farm from his dad and buy the vacant land next to their fallow plot. Jimmy would work his acreage with his brother Jacob; together, with their mom, they'd make a go of it.
    "Yeah. Things change." Jimmy stared at his fishing line. George hadn't bothered casting again after pulling in his line. This was serious news. What about picnics with their future wives and future kids? Sitting on the porch as old men, sipping hard cider and swapping familiar stories?
    "What about Louise?"
    Jimmy opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but then clamped it shut.
    "Jimmy?"
    "That's the problem. I think I might be a father soon."
    "Christ… really?"
    "Yeah," Jimmy said, staring at the water. Eyes widening, he pointed to something cutting through the water. "Shit, what's that?"
    George jumped to his feet and reached for his tackle box, ready to tear tail out of there. Then the fish changed directions and he realized just how small it was. It might've been a bluegill, a crappie at most. Nothing dangerous. Neither fantastic nor mythical. "That's a pan fish, dingy."
    "I knew that. Really I did." Jimmy sighed with relief. Both seemed to want the adventure of searching for White Bane, but nothing of the actual confrontation. "I thought you were going to push me in front of you, let that big, scary pan fish get me instead of you."
    "I would have, too. Don't you doubt it for a second." They laughed.
    George swung his tackle box around as he reached to pick-up his pole again. In the process, he knocked the lantern over, sending it cracked and broken into the underground lake.
    Instantly, they stood in utter darkness. Their breath hitched in their throats, otherwise, all they took in from their senses was the cold air.
    "Damn, George, now what are we supposed to do? We're damn near a mile underground."
    "It ain't near that far."
    "Might as well be. We're blind."
    Not knowing what else to say, but needing to hear his own voice, George said, "Maybe our eyes'll adjust."
    "You got your matches, right?"
    "Yeah, I think I've got a couple left. Let me check." He patted his pockets, found the smashed box. He slid it open, felt inside.
    "Okay, don't panic," Jimmy said.
    "I'm not. I still got three matches."
    "I wasn't talking to you, just thinking out loud."
    "Hell, just find something to burn. We can make a torch."
    They hunted around on the floor, their hands encountering mud and flaked rock. Anything flammable would've quickly rotted and disintegrated in the damp atmosphere.
    "How about in your tackle box?" Jimmy asked, his voice sounding far away.
    "Didn't think of that. Let me check. How about you? Don't you have a comic with you when you fish?"
    "Let me see… If I can find my box… Here we go. Tarzan might have to burn to get us out of here." Jimmy tore open his tackle box. Spoons and hooks rattled as he removed the top tray. Turning toward Jimmy's racket, George saw something, a glimmer, a phantom movement, something , in the distance hovering by the lake.
    "Jimmy," George whispered.
    "Damn. Nothing. I bet Jacob snatched my last Tarzan. I'm gonna whip his ass when I get home."
    "Jimmy!"
    "What the hell are you yapping about?"
    "I see something. At least, I think I do." George did see movement. A flickering light, maybe a reflection off the