Brody walked with Chelsea, keeping his distance from the others, whispering quietly in the girl’s ear. She showed no signs of hearing. Casey peered up at them with deep, lost eyes.
“You need to come back,” Brody said. “I know you are afraid. We’re all afraid. But we are together in this. We can’t do this without you.” His tone was calm and measured. “I promise we’ll get out of here and you can go home. But you have to help. I know you are in the middle of something really bad. I was there. I know what the cloud did to you. But you have to fight to get back.” Chelsea stumbled along in a daze. “Chelsea,” Brody’s voice rose slightly. “Can you hear me? You have to stop this. Stop it now.”
He looked at Casey for help. The boy was moving his lips, but Brody could not make out words. He stopped walking and bent toward Casey, holding Chelsea steady beside him.
“Tell me something. I need help.” Casey stared at him with hollow eyes. “I don’t know what you want me to do.” Brody’s voice cracked with frustration. He fell to his knees, releasing Chelsea’s hand and taking Casey by the shoulders. He shook the boy hard, and yelled into his face. “I don’t want to play this game anymore.” Casey tried to pull away, but Brody would not let him go. “I know you are doing this,” Brody bellowed. “You are going to get us all killed.” Vanessa broke away from Reese and Benton, and ran toward Brody. “Or maybe you want to trap us here? Maybe this is your sick idea of a game.”
Vanessa grabbed Brody’s shoulder. “Brody, don’t. Please, leave him alone.”
Brody shook the boy like a rag doll, but Casey wasn’t fighting. His head wobbled back and forth on his shoulders, his jaw slackened. His eyes were empty. Vanessa pulled on Brody’s shoulder again, screaming in his ear. “Let him go. For God’s sake, Brody, what are doing?”
Brody looked at Vanessa wildly. She let go of his shoulder. He stared at her for a moment as his eyes regained their focus. Then he released Casey, and the boy fell to the ground. Vanessa dropped to her knees, and cradled the boy, rocking him back and forth.
Now, Brody turned his wrath on Chelsea. He grabbed her arms and shook her hard. She wobbled on unsteady feet. “Wake up, damn it. It was our cloud, you stupid girl? We made it happen. You did this to yourself.” Now, Benton was on him, trying to pull him off the girl, but Brody would not be deterred. His dark eyes were wild with fury; his face was red with rage.“You didn’t stop it.” He hollered in her face. “It was your nightmare. And you didn’t stop it.”
“Brody,” Benton grabbed Brody’s arm and pulled him backward. He lost his balance and fell hard, rolling on his side and grabbing at his injured ribs. “Jesus, what is wrong with you?” Benton took Chelsea’s hand to lead her to safety. “You are one crazy son of a bitch.”
Brody did not move. He laid panting on the ground, his eyes closed; the fi ngers of one hand supporting his ribcage. He turned his face into the grassy carpet, gasping for breath.
Larry knelt to talk to his friend. “Boss?” he said quietly. “Are you OK?” Brody did not move. Larry sat next to him and put a hand on his back. He rubbed his hand slowly over Brody’s shoulders, waiting for his breathing to slow.
Brody turned his head to look up at Larry. His face was a stiff mask of misery. His eyes were pooled with fear. “I’m sorry,” he stammered. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s OK, boss. We’re all a little crazy right now.” Brody sat up slowly. He pushed Larry away and crawled to his knees. He stood up and tottered toward Casey.
Vanessa clutched the boy to her chest, defending him against attack. “Don’t touch him.”
Brody shook his head sadly. “I won’t hurt him. I promise.”
Vanessa opened her arms, and Casey slipped away, falling into Brody’s embrace. Brody pulled him in, and hugged him. He rested his chin in the notch between Casey’s neck and shoulder, mumbling words Vanessa could not understand. Casey began to cry, the tears running down his cheeks. Brody pulled back to look at the boy, and Vanessa could see that he was crying as well.
“I’m sorry.” Brody looked at her over Casey’s shoulder, begging her forgiveness. He cocked his head back and looked into Casey’s eyes. Their eyes met for several seconds and something passed between them. Brody wiped Casey’s tears, and whispered another apology. Vanessa got up and walked to them.
Casey looked into her eyes for the first time. He smiled a crooked smile and looked back to Brody. “Love you.” He spoke clearly, pushing against Brody’s shoulder to hug him.
“I know.”
