The Devil in Silver

Even though they were as far from the nurses’ station as they could be, Wally’s voice still sounded too damn loud there in the pavilion. Everyone flinched or curled up expecting some kind of attack. But Wally remained oblivious, too excited by his realization to feel afraid.

“It’s a fucking exit door!” he said.

“Keep your voice down!” Mr. Mack snapped.

Wally looked around, as if he’d just stepped into traffic and someone had called out that a truck was bearing down.

“Oh, yeah,” he said more quietly. “My bad.”

But now that Wally said it, all the others could see the door more clearly. As he’d just described it. Before it had been repurposed. The stainless steel door of a stairwell exit. Only silver from a distance.

“They’ve got it living in a stairwell?” Redhead Kingpin asked.

She almost sounded sympathetic. Even in the dimness Mr. Mack saw the spark of pity burnishing her face.

“I want to remind you what’s on the other side of this door,” Mr. Mack said. “I don’t care if it has a lazy eye and a wooden leg. That damn Devil has been feeding on us like we were the sheep! And it is the wolf at the door.”

He knocked on the door to make his point. The sound echoed across the landing and the patients drew closer to one another.

“Before you get all weepy about where this beast makes its bed,” Mr. Mack continued, “please remember a few names. Dennis Drayton, who we all called Fogey. Miss Grace. And Sam. Coffee. Dorry. Maybe Glenn, too, if he ends up dying in the ICU. Remember them before you go feeling sorry for their predator.”

Mr. Mack reached back and knocked on the silver door lightly. Then he reached into the breast pocket of his sport coat. He pulled out a small gold key.

“I’m not going to tell you what to do,” he said. “I’m going to ask you a question. How long have you been scared?”

They watched Mr. Mack silently, but each seemed to lean toward him, his voice so full of gravity.

“How old is that fear we all been feeling?” he asked. “Sometimes I think I’ve been afraid my whole life. Like I got born with it and didn’t realize it was with me all along.”

The moonlight streaming through the great glass eye in the ceiling couldn’t reach them on the landing. Standing in the dark, they appeared nearly like phantoms, even to one another.

“Well, I’m tired of that feeling,” Mr. Mack admitted. “And more than that, I’m angry. I find myself wanting to send a message. You’re not going to abuse me no more. I don’t care what is on the other side of this door, I only know it is my enemy. And I want to finally fight what’s out to kill me.

“I vote for taking a stand.” Mr. Mack raised one hand. “Who’s with me?”

When Pepper looked at Loochie he was surprised to find she’d already raised her hand. And she looked just as startled, because his big paw was in the air. He hadn’t even realized he’d done it. Other hands rose as well. Seemed like everyone’s went up.

Then Frank Waverly reached out from the crowd. He plucked the little key right out of Mr. Mack’s fingers.

Frank Waverly put his body between the crowd and the silver door. When he turned to the crowd, what did he see? So many angry faces. Stupified with rage. Not shouting or cursing but seething silently. They weren’t really looking at him. Their eyes locked on his right hand, the small gold key.

“Don’t be dumb,” Mr. Mack barked. “You can’t save nobody.”

Frank Waverly’s mouth opened, the lips hung open for just a moment. “But you can help,” Frank Waverly finally said.

It was the first time any of them—even Mr. Mack—had heard old Frank say a word. His voice sounded raspy from disuse, it wavered and showed he was scared. But everybody heard him. Surprise kept them rooted as Frank Waverly lifted the key to his lips. And then, do you know what he did?

He swallowed it.

Suddenly, it was like Mr. Mack’s spell had been broken. At least for Pepper. He didn’t wait a beat. He grabbed Loochie by the arm. He yanked her sideways, hard.

She stumbled into Pepper, looked up at him with confusion.

“Let’s go,” Pepper said. “This is about to get ugly.”

Consider Loochie and Pepper the breakaway vote. Loochie went with Pepper when he pulled her. Who else did she trust as much? Only herself. And even she wasn’t sure what to do just then.

They ran along the landing. Leaving the others behind. They reached the door to the room that sat right above Mr. Mack and Frank Waverly’s room.

Pepper pushed at it, but couldn’t open the door all the way. Just wide enough to fit his head and shoulders through, but no more. Pepper peeked inside but couldn’t make out what might be blocking the doorway because the windows had been boarded over. His eyes had adjusted to the level of darkness on the landing, but in here he found darker shadows.

Pepper reached inside, too keyed-up to be cautious. His hand caused a clang when it connected with some enormous piece of metal. Pepper strained and finally slipped into the room. Then Pepper reached out of the doorway and clapped a hand around Loochie’s wrist.