Hungry Moon (36 page)

^{By the time they reached the churchyard gate, he was past feeling relieved. When he and his companions kept to the grass so as to avoid the gravel path, the mounds on which he had to tread felt as yielding as the aisle in his nightmare. At last he found the heavy ring on the church door. They groped their way into the church, away from the doors, until they were nearly at the altar. They sat on a pew, Eustace next to Diana, not quite touching her. That was how the night began.}

^{FIFTY NINE}

^{Andrew didn't know how long he'd been at the hotel when his mother found him crouching in the darkest corner of the lobby, near the stairs. Parents of his schoolmates had kept asking him if he was all right, but he'd only wanted to hide unnoticed in the dark. He would have sneaked upstairs to hide on the next floor if the stairs hadn't been so busy with people going up to see Mr Mann. He wanted to find somewhere nobody would find him - he didn't deserve to be with people after what he'd made happen to his father. When someone brought his mother over to him, he crouched down inside himself, because she would know something was wrong if anyone did. Most of all he was terrified that she would make him tell.}

^{She ran to him, dragged him to his feet and shook him. 'What do you mean by scaring me half to death? I was nearly going for the police until I thought of looking here. Where's your father?'}

^{'He went to help someone,' Andrew mumbled, struggling to huddle back into the corner, hide his face against the wall.}

^{'Went where? Who does he think he is, leaving you here without telling me?'}

^{Andrew's mind shrank back from her questions and made up one that he could answer: where was his father now? 'I don't know,' he whispered.}

^{"The way he's been carrying on it's a wonder you know you've a father at all. What sort of a man is he who'd abandon you in all this dark?' She was talking for the benefit of the other parents, who nodded sympathetically, clucked their tongues. 'And who's he gone off to help, I'd like to know.'}

^{Miss Kramer, Andrew wanted to scream at her. At least the teacher wasn't alone at Mr Gift's house, but what might his father have done to them all? He would have brought Miss Kramer to the hotel if Andrew hadn't made him turn into a monster. He'd done that by letting himself suspect his father, by not trusting him enough. Mr Mann said you had to respect your parents, he said you must have faith, but Andrew had thought these weren't really bad sins, not if you couldn't help yourself. Now he saw how bad they were. He'd let himself doubt his father, and the demon from the cave had turned his father into something like the ones that lived down there. The first time his father had needed him, Andrew had failed him.}

^{He'd run away from that as much as from the sight of his father. He couldn't remember what his father had looked like; the memory was a horrible dark place in his mind that he had to keep avoiding. He ought to have run out of Moonwell, because then nobody would have found him. He deserved to be caught by whatever was out there in the dark.}

^{No, there was a reason why he'd run into the hotel. He might remember what it was if his mother stopped staring at him. At last she turned away and peered about the lobby at the crowd outlined by the glow that leaked into the hotel from overhead. 'Just wait until he shows his face,' she muttered. 'I'll wipe the smile off it. I'll get to the bottom of his tricks once and for all.'}

^{Andrew hardly heard her, for he'd remembered: he had to see Mr Mann. He could confess to him as he couldn't to anyone else, and once he'd confessed he would be able to ask for Mr Mann's help. The evangelist could help his father if anyone could. But his mother would want to know where Andrew was going and why, and the thought of trying to explain made his throat clench, made him want to flee into the dark.}

^{When she turned back to him, he made himself smaller, digging his elbows into his sides, squatting as if his bowels had got the better of him, which they almost had during his flight to the hotel. 'Stand up straight, you've made enough of a show of me already,' she muttered. 'Just you stay here and don't you dare move. I'm going to see if your father is in the hotel. If he is I'll be having a few words with him in private.'}

^{The idea of his father mingling with the crowd made Andrew crouch down farther,- terrified of so many possibilities that he wanted to wrap his arms round his head and crush his thoughts. But if his father was in the hotel, wouldn't that keep him from changing now that Mr Mann had made it into a holy place? As soon as his mother disappeared into the crowd, Andrew managed to stand up and dodge toward the stairs.}

^{A man with a Sacred Heart stitched on his shirt pocket stepped in front of him. 'Where are you going, Sunshine?'}

^{'Want to see Mr Mann,' Andrew whispered.}

^{'Not just now. He's calling people up by name,' the man said, pointing to the reception desk. One of Mr Mann's ladies was listening to the switchboard and sending a helper to find whoever was called for. Andrew watched a young man climb the stairs proudly, a smile fixed on his face. He'd seen nobody come down, Andrew realized; dozens of people must be up there -soon there would be no room for him. 'Don't worry, son, he hasn't forgotten about you or any of us. We'll have a prayer soon, I expect,' the man with the heart said.}

^{Andrew didn't find the prospect at all consoling, and that made him feel worse than ever: he'd sinned so badly that even prayers couldn't help him. He went back to his corner and crouched over the hardening lump of guilt and fear in his belly. He was biting his lip and rubbing his stomach when his mother came back.}

^{'Either he's not here or he's afraid to show himself. He'll have to come sooner or later, pretending nothing's wrong, I shouldn't wonder. He'll find out this is one place you can't keep secrets,' she said to herself with a bitter smile, and peered at Andrew. 'For heaven's sake, child, what's wrong with you now? Haven't we all got enough to worry us without you looking like that?'}

^{Then she sat down on her heels and took hold of him. 'Don't mind me, Andrew, I didn't mean to shout. Is your tummy sore, you poor mite? Are you hungry? No wonder, with all the peculiar things you've been having to eat at home. It's far too long since you had anything to eat at all.' She coaxed him to his feet. 'There, there, we'll find something. This is supposed to be a hotel.'}

^{The manager wasn't at the desk or in his office, unless he was sitting in there in total darkness. She pushed Andrew onward, gripping his shoulders tighter as she grew angrier. The ache in his belly dulled and spread through his body. If he closed his eyes it was almost like hiding; he could pretend he was somewhere else, where the sun was in the sky. He couldn't even feel his feet stumbling. If only she would let him sit down, he could stay in the sunlight for a while.}

^{A sudden hush brought her to a stop. The lady at the switchboard was holding up a hand for silence. 'Listen,' she said again. 'Listen to the message Godwin has for us. He says there's food in the kitchen for everyone here.'}

^{There was silence, broken by the whimpering of children, while people caught up with the idea, and then the crowd cheered, so loudly that Andrew covered his ears. He took his hands away as a man struggled to the counter and turned to the crowd, waving his arms. 'Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry to have to disappoint you. I'm the manager, and I'm afraid there's almost no food left in the hotel.'}

^{'Hadn't you better look before you say that?'}

^{Andrew's mother said in a high, sharp voice. 'There are children here who haven't eaten since I don't know when.'}

^{'I know there are, madam, and I wish there were more I could do. But I assure you I know my own hotel.'}

^{'It isn't just a hotel. It's God's house now, more than anywhere else in the town. Don't be so sure you know what's possible. Ifyou don't look in the kitchen, we will.'}

^{'Have faith,' someone shouted as the manager strode to the doors of the dining room. He flung them open and turned, arms folded, to the crowd. Andrew felt everyone grow tense, ready to rush him. 'You may as well come and see for yourselves,' the manager said wearily.}

^{The crowd surged into the dining room. Andrew felt the floorboards shaking underfoot as he was borne forward. Don't let the floor give way, he prayed. The manager ought to tell them there were too many people in here, but he must know they wouldn't obey him. Andrew could only stumble toward the doors to the kitchen so as not to be tripped up.}

^{The kitchen was deserted. Metal ranges glimmered in the faint glow that seeped in from the square; pans and knives hung in ranks in the dimness. The manager strode up and down between the ranges. 'I'm sorry,' he said, though his gesture at the empty kitchen seemed almost triumphant. 'As you can see, there's nothing.'}

^{'Hadn't you better look in the freezer?' Andrew's mother said.}

^{'If you insist, madam, though you realize the freezer isn't working.' He stalked down the kitchen to the milky glimmer of the double doors and pulled the heavy lever that unlocked them. He stepped back as they swung open, and then he stood there, hands sinking. 'Good God,' he whispered.}

^{The crowd lurched forward, and Andrew saw what the manager had seen. Beyond the metal doors, melting ice drooled down the walls; to Andrew it looked as if the metal walls were squirming. Faint light reflected from the ice outlined what was hanging in the freezer. There was a headless, limbless carcass on every hook.}

^{The manager stepped in, his feet sloshing in melted ice, and peered closely at the nearest piece of pale meat, sniffed at it, squeezed it gingerly. 'I don't know where this came from or what it is,' he said. 'I certainly can't be sure it's fit to eat.'}

^{'Let me take a look, sir.' A broad-shouldered man pushed forward, and Andrew heard a murmur that he was the hotel chef. He examined the meat carefully, then he turned to the crowd. 'I think it's all right. If Godwin says so, I'm sure it is. I'm willing to try it, at any rate.'}

^{'I want it to be clearly understood,' the manager said loudly, 'that I take no responsibility for this meat. I can't vouch for it, I'm sorry.'}

^{'You don't need to. Godwin's word is all we need,' Mrs Scragg shouted.}

^{More of the cooks pushed their way through the crowd to the freezer. One tried the ranges, and looked surprised when they lit, with a pale flame that reminded Andrew of the light from Mr Mann's window. 'Could you please all go back to the lobby,' the head chef called out. 'We'll let you know when it's ready.'}

^{'Back to the lobby,' the manager repeated. 'The public shouldn't be in here at all.' As the crowd trooped cheerfully after him, Andrew saw people licking their lips.}

^{In the lobby Mrs Scragg started a prayer. 'We thank Thee, O Lord, for giving Your servant the power to perform this miracle . . .' Andrew knelt and bowed his head and said amen when everyone else did, but he felt guilty for being about to be fed when his father was out there alone in the dark.}

^{Mrs Scragg kept them praying and singing hymns while the smell of cooking drifted out of the kitchen. It made the congregation sing louder, but Andrew was beginning to feel sick; the thought of the limbless shapes}

^{hanging on the hooks didn't tempt him, nor did the smell of cooking that wasn't quite like any meat he knew. Were the young people who'd been called up to Mr Mann coming down to eat, or had they got theirs upstairs? He was praying fiercely for his father when a waitress announced the first sitting for dinner.}

^{This was for the old folk, and for children and their parents. An old man with a drooping eyelid sat opposite Andrew and eyed the boy's plate greedily when Andrew only toyed with the slices of meat, steaming in the dimness. 'Eat up, Andrew, and then you'll feel better,' his mother urged, and tasted a forkful before spiking another for him. 'It must be pork, it tastes like it. Don't start getting finicky over your food.'}

^{Andrew tried the mouthful and only just managed to swallow. He tried not to watch the old man, who was chewing open-mouthed as if to demonstrate how his false teeth worked; it looked like the smile Mr Mann gave everyone gone wrong. When his mother went to get a plateful a waitress was offering, Andrew transferred his helping to the old man's plate and was rewarded with a secretive wink.}

^{As soon as his mother finished eating, Andrew fled back to the lobby. He ought to have dodged out before, he thought, while she was busy eating and nobody was going up to Mr Mann. How could he sneak upstairs? People came out of the dining room patting their stomachs, and the second sitting took their place. Mrs Scragg marched out of the hotel bearing a covered plate. Andrew closed his eyes to be in the sunlight inside his head, but he felt as if he'd scarcely closed them when Mrs Scragg came back, screeching. 'There's evil on the loose out there. Our police inspector's dead, torn to bits.'}

^{In the stunned silence, people looked fearfully at each other, huddled toward the stairs and Mr Mann. Then Andrew's mother spoke up, her voice not quite steady but growing stronger. 'If there's still evil in this town, it's because there are still a few people who are against Godwin. And I know where some of them are.'}