The Book of Dema

CHAPTER TEN + The Night Is Coming to an End

"I need you to level with me," Josh said in the most serious voice Tyler could recall. The two sat in a Greek restaurant a few doors down from Big Fun. The plan had been to eat lunch and talk through their strategy for winning over a record label. After a year of banging around the local circuit, they had finally played a sold out show at the concert hall near the university. They had celebrated Kelly on stage, drawing big cheers from the mass of students who had grown accustomed to seeing her outside the student union trying to convince them to come hear the band. It was her swan song.

The record labels, taking notice of the band's growing popularity, were also starting to call. They were going to have decisions to make. But as much as they needed to discuss their plans, Josh had decided it was time for Tyler to pull back the curtain.

"I'm not blind. You think I don't notice when you stop our practice sessions to check your texts one hundred times, or when Carter shows up while we're mixing a new track with a fat envelope? You've ordered three more of those boxes of masks. I don't see you selling them on our website, but the kids keep showing up in them, and the number is growing. Then you run out at weird times, and I swear I saw you throw an axe into your trunk when I was leaving the other day. I'm not gonna follow you around or hire a P.D., but dude, you gotta tell me what's going on."

The keftedes pita Tyler had ordered lay open-faced on his plate. Tyler had been eating carelessly until the interrogation started. Now he was only picking at it with his fork. He said nothing.

"Look, Tyler, things are going really good right now. We're on the verge here, man. Don't mess it up because you want to keep whatever this is your little secret. Unless it's illegal, I can probably tolerate it."

Tyler looked across the table at Josh. His Moussaka was almost gone. How does he eat so fast? The waitress approached them. Josh smiled at her as she refilled their water glasses. He waited for her to walk away to respond.

"Well, it's not illegal. You won't even believe it's real," Tyler said, leaning forward, lowering his voice.

"Try me. I have a vivid imagination." Tyler scanned the nearby tables. Josh followed his motion. "What are you looking for?"

"See, this is what I mean," Tyler responded. "I do things out of an abundance of caution. You can't understand that. You will think I'm crazy." Josh spread his hands apart in front of him.

"Fine, here it is. I used to go down to the creek and remember playing there with my brother, Zachary. It started as reverie. I just wanted to recall those days. They were so easy. Gradually, the conversations became real. I kinda thought I was delusional, but I figured as long as I didn't say anything, it wouldn't harm anyone for me to have my own little imaginary world.

"Then the conversations got weird about a year and a half ago, before I met you. He starting talking about doors, staying away from the doors."

He paused to read Josh, who was just sitting in his chair chewing on his food. He moved his hand in a circular motion.

"Then I started having dreams about doors and these men in colored cloaks who try to lure you through the doors. Bad dreams."

"Let me guess, the Numan?" Tyler started.

"Yes! How did you know?"

"I told you, I pay attention. Carter was excited to talk to you the last time he came by. You stopped our session but didn't go far enough from the door. I heard a lot of it. He told you how the earplugs worked on the Red Numan." Tyler breathed heavily.

"That kid is going to get us in trouble."

"Maybe, but what for?"

"So it turns out the doors are real, and a lot of people see them. The men in the colored cloaks use them to drag people off to a place called Dema. I don't know why they do it, but they either get the people through the doors or torment them to the point of suicide. That's where Carter was when we found him on the roof. I figured out that if we lure out the Numan–they make the doors appear–we can smash the doors and free the people they're hunting. The kids call themselves the door hunters. The Numan call them the skeleton dancers."