Stan went into the cowshed on his own first, clearly hoping to find Brian alive so that he could punch him on the nose again, but after a few silent seconds he called to Nelson, “Don’t worry, it’s safe!”
Nelson stepped into the shed and all at once was struck by how much cow-flavored dust there was in the air. He pulled his T-shirt up over his mouth, and as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw Brian lying in the middle of a huge pile of hay. It looked like a very badly staged nativity scene, but there was nothing funny about the man’s face: the white, bulging fish eyes were gone, and in their place two very sad blue eyes looked up at Nelson.
“I should never have kissed her,” the man whispered. “Years. For years I have been her slave. But now … now I am free,” he croaked, and started to cough.
This wasn’t what Nelson had been expecting at all. “Uh … do you want me to get you some water?” he offered, and Brian’s eyes suddenly became wide with terror.
“No! Don’t drink the water!” he wheezed, before coughing hard again. “She poisoned the water. The day I put her in there. The water. It turned black. The flowers. They all died.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“You cannot save your sister,” whispered Brian.
“What? You know where my sister is?” said Nelson with a great gasp, and Brian reached out and grabbed Nelson’s wrist with his huge meaty hand. The monsters took a step closer, ready to knock Brian into the air, but Nelson raised a hand for calm. The monsters did as they were told for once, and Nelson leaned forward to hear what Brian had to say.
“Turn back. You must turn back. You’re just a boy. If you don’t, you’ll regret it.”
I may be a boy, thought Nelson, but I’m a boy with seven monsters who’s managed to travel all the way to Brazil. And you’re the one lying in the straw.
“I’m sorry,” Brian said with the saddest smile Nelson had ever seen. “It was her kiss. She poisoned me. She made me do it.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“Carla. Your auntie Carla. My … my wife.”
“Who are you?”
“Brian.”
And with one loud exhale that sounded like someone climbing into their own bed after a very long day, Brian closed his eyes and drifted away.