Chapter 58
A sound rises above the noise of the wind and surf, even above Elias’s agonized cries, and Malcolm realizes what he hears are the screams of other monsters carried to them on the breeze.
It might be the sunrise, but he feels something inside him, the tug of a thousand strings in his gut, and he knows they are all digging.
Burrowing. Hiding again from a world that has refused to allow monsters to run free.
He feels a bit of warmth on the back of his neck, but he keeps at his work, filling in that grave. The world brightens around him.
Violet sits on the snowy road and keeps Elias company.
He was good to her at the beginning, when he was pretending to be a better man.
She had longed for love and family, someone to cherish her, and a place to belong.
Despite his neglect, when he brought her home to Elkhart, Elias gave her those things, though not in any way either of them had imagined.
This hideous thing, this malformed monster with bleeding eyes, isn’t really Elias.
She knows that. Nevertheless, she stays with him through his pain.
He tries to shift the Frazer from on top of him, but if he ever had such strength, he certainly doesn’t now.
She thinks she sees a glimmer of the old Elias in his eyes, and she feels sorry for him, but not for herself. Not at all for herself.
When the sun edges over the horizon and he ignites, she turns away. His pain she could withstand, but this is another level of horror, and she is only human.
Violet stands and waits, giving him that much.
When his screams are done and the sound of his burning has died down, and even the smell has been whisked away on the wind, she turns to look.
There are bits of ash and clumps of blackened wisps that might be scraps of skin.
The wind blows them to the water’s edge, into the surf.
They wash away, and then it’s as if there’d never been a man named Elias Wise at all.
Malcolm has finished filling in the grave. He stands with Benjy at the graveside, both with their hands clasped respectfully in front of them, like a father and son lost in prayer.
Violet goes to them. Malcolm slips his arms around her, each keeping the other from collapsing. He kisses her gently. She releases a shuddering breath. There will be other comforts to come, but this morning, neither of them has the strength—nor even the need—for more than this.
They walk to the Frazer. Benjy races past them and climbs into the back seat, slamming his door.
Malcolm glances toward the ocean. Violet follows his gaze and sees Jennie’s body lying in the surf.
Together they walk to the water and carry her back to the Frazer, bundling her into the trunk.
Violet almost suggests burying her next to Maggie, but thinks better of it.
She knows without asking that Malcolm has other plans.
They’re going to bring Jennie home. Give her the farewell she deserves, with all the love and sorrow and gratitude of true family.
By the time they drive back over the bridge, leaving Shediak behind, morning has broken.
November in Maine is quiet, and the snow is already beginning to melt.