She smacks me on the head hard enough to bruise. “I was worried about you! Where have you been? How many times have I told you not to trust anyone?”
I hate it when she does that. There’s nothing more humiliating than being smacked by your crazy mother in front of your friends.
Dee-Dum stares at us, stu
I put my hand out to him. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” I turn to my mother. “He’s helping me find Paige.”
“He’s lying to you. Just look at him.” Her eyes fill with tears. She knows I won’t listen to her warnings. “He’ll trick you and drag you down a filthy hole into hell and never let you out. He’ll chain you to a wall and let the rats eat you alive. Can’t you see that?”
Dee-Dum looks back and forth between me and my mother with shocked eyes. He looks more like a little kid than ever.
“That’s enough, Mom.” I walk back to the metal door beside the gated driveway. “Either be quiet or I’ll leave you here and find Paige by myself.”
She runs to me, grabbing my arm in supplication. “Don’t leave me here alone.” I see in her wild eyes the rest of the sentence—alone with the demons.
I don’t point out that she seems to be the most frightening thing on the streets. “Then stay quiet, okay?”
She nods. Her face is filled with anguish and fright.
I gesture for Dee-Dum to lead the way. He looks at us, probably trying to make sense of it all. After a moment, he takes out his keys, keeping a careful eye on my mom. He tries several keys in the lock before one finally works. The door swings open with a squeak that makes me cringe.
“At the far end of the garage to your right, there’s a door. Try that.”
“What can I expect in there?”
“No idea. All I can tell you is that there are rumors among the servants of…something that might be kids in that room. But who knows? Maybe they’re just midgets.”
I let out a deep breath, trying to calm myself. My heart flutters in my chest like a dying bird. I hope against all odds that Dee-Dum will offer to come in with me.
“It’s a suicide mission, you know,” he says. So much for my hope for an offer.
“Was that your plan all along? Show me where to go, then convince me there’s nothing I can do to save my sister?”
“Actually, my plan all along was to become a rock star, travel the world collecting fan girls, and then getting really fat and spending the rest of my life playing video games while the girls keep comin’, thinking I look as good as I did in my music videos.” He shrugs as if to say, who knew the world would turn out so different?
“Will you help me?”
“Sorry, kid. If I’m going to commit suicide, it’ll be a lot more showy than being cut down in a basement trying to rescue somebody’s kid sister.” He smiles in the dim light, taking the sting out of his words. “Besides, I have a couple of very important things that need to get done.”
I nod. “Thanks for bringing me here.”
My mother squeezes my arm, silently reminding me that she thinks everything he says is a lie. I realize I’m saying goodbye to him as though I, too, believe that this is a suicide mission.
I stuff all my doubts down where I can’t feel them anymore. This is a lot like leaping over a chasm. If you don’t think you can do it, you can’t.
I step through the door.
“You’re really going to do this?” asks Dee-Dum.
“If that was your brother in there, what would you do?”
He hesitates, then gives my arm a gentle squeeze. “Listen to me carefully. You have to get out of the area within one hour. I mean it. Get as far away as you can.”