vn

At their own table in the play room sat Percy Marsane and Georgie Corners. They were surrounded by other orphans but kept to themselves. Georgie had an eye on the ailing television, Percy did minor stunts with his wheelchair. All gazes in the room shift to the door where Sister Nice, a young beauty hidden under a nun’s habit, sweeps in another unwanted child. There are no introductions. The new child – a boy named Czeslaw Meier – scans the room and notices a cold air around Georgie and Percy. He senses, knows they are more than they appear. Csezlaw is greeted with stern looks as he sits at their table. Before the three amble through getting to know one another Sister Nice addresses the room; she announces a Halloween party and doesn’t miss the opportunity to remind the orphans that they are a burden on everyone. To her side stood Father Prost, smiling and indifferent to her hate speech. Nice finished condemning the kids and they returned to play.

Czeslaw, Percy, and Georgie remained quiet. Percy and Georgie had a bond unlike any other. Both shared their bodies with ancient spirits; results of pacts they made when face to face with death. Czeslaw possessed a heightened awareness. His expression told much. It was a look the twice-dead-two didn’t see often but knew what it was saying: I see more than I should. Czeslaw didn’t see the full picture. A psychic of Czeslaw’s strength could pick up on the whispers vibrating from the orphanage walls, maybe read shadows on the floor that weren’t there, and recognize other signs of a world beneath. Percy and Georgie had been to the land of the dead. For a short time, they were part of the finality of all things, then were escorted back through the gates of hell only to find the living realm is a mass grave.

Georgie started to express his unease with Czeslaw when Patty the Rat invaded. She pushed Czeslaw aside and toppled Percy in his wheelchair in a show of dominance. Another ruffian called Garius Krink (only two orphans could see Krink was demon-possessed) capitalized on Percy’s prone state and landed a swift kick to the stomach. Patty and Krink shared giggles for mere seconds by the time Father Prost and Sister Nice intervened. Nice yanked Patty to the front of the room. She hated her job because she despised orphans; she abused the children into order whenever Mother Escherwhim wasn’t around. Patty was beaten with gusto to teach all the orphans the cost of misbehavior. Her fury terrified.

By contrast, Garius Krink fought back. The Sin-Eater orphans watched the demon in Krink flare up like dark flames, reveling in the violence and panic, thrashing and kicking in response to Prost’s grappling attempts. Finally, orderlies came to the father’s aid. Together they dragged Krink away, snarling and squirming like a rabid beast. Georgie overheard Prost threaten to “shock the demon out” of the imperiled boy.

The remaining orphans were then let out into the yard. As other kids stretched and recovered from play room violence, Georgie and Percy let Czeslaw come along to investigate rumors about a ghost called Captain Midnight. Some orphans claimed he would appear to capture orphans that wandered away from the orphanage. The legend proved true. The storied biplane appeared overhead and the orphans began their retreat back to the compound. Czeslaw managed a significant lead over the Sin-Eaters, however, it put him in a field, exposed to Captain Midnight, who dove to the ground. A collision of spectral machinery and psychic boy produced an explosion of ectoplasmic radiance that left no evidence of the disaster (not even a body). George wheeled Percy back to the orphanage. Neither could cope with what they had just seen.

In the cafeteria, the Sin-Eaters counted Krink among the kids and noted all signs of possession amiss. Instead, the heathen was inert and unblinking, skin at the sides of his face appeared discolored somewhat blue. Patty the Rat was missing. Father Prost erupted into the cafeteria in clown costume and Percy and Georgie fled.

Czeslaw Meier suddenly saw sky below him. He was falling fast into a necroscape of infinite cloud, lighted by the defeat of pilots who died in wartime. From Czeslaw’s vantage it looked like flies swarming the aftermath of a dusty battleground, but the flies were really ghosts in perpetual replay of their tragic tales, exploding plane and all. Czeslaw entered the clouds. He knew then that Midnight had killed him and flew him to the Underworld. Peering through the war gloom he saw a person walking toward him on the cloud. It closed the distance on Czeslaw fast but its motions showed no sign of hurry, more odd was how he kept eye level with him despite his quick descent. When in reach the figure offered its hand; the thing was a mirror image of Czeslaw blurred into perfection. Even (technically) falling its features were neat, gone were the marks of famine and dereliction. Czeslaw it wanted more than to help, it was offering a bargain of sorts. He looked down and saw only gray with flash of artillery; he could tell that his fall would reach depths unfathomable if he refused the pact. He grabbed the hand of his ghost reflection. The clouds dispersed and below him he could tell was the real world. His doppleganger brought him back, was still with him and perhaps forever would. It had its spectral extremities wrapped around Czeslaw, told him that the impact wouldn’t kill him but the pain would be glorious. Faster he plummeted toward the earth until it stopped him. He pushed himself up from the green yard and looked up at the orphanage. His body cracked and snapped as it trudged to the entrance.