“Holy shit, really? She found something out about the cult?” I said.

“Yeah, or she seems to think she found out where we can learn more about them, at least,” Caleb said. He went to the fridge and prepared himself a huge bowl of Froot Loops and sat down on the gray loveseat that was pushed up against the left hand wall. He was always eating something. I don’t know how he didn’t weigh four hundred pounds.

“The Tunnels,” he continued with a mouthful of blue mush.

“The Tunnels? The tunnels under the city with the stores and all that shit?” I said. I had never been, but Freddie told me about tunnels under Houston. There wasn’t a whole lot down there, according to him. It was lined with gift shops and restaurants — not cult memorabilia.

“No. The other Tunnels,” Caleb replied.

“What are you talking about?”

“The Tunnels under The Tunnels is what she called them. She says there’s a secret entrance somewhere in Houston, and that almost nobody knows about them.”

“And she thinks the cult meets up there?”

“No. If they were here, they would’ve found us by now. But she’s tailed three people who have gone into The Tunnels under The Tunnels, and they’ve all been people who are heavily into occult shit.”

“Hey, watch your fuckin’ language,” Anita said lazily from the couch, still mostly asleep.

“Sorry,” Caleb said, though he didn’t look it. “They’re all heavily into occult crap.”

“So what do we do?” I said. “Doesn’t seem like we can just knock on the door.”

“We thought about going in disguised as new recruits,” Caleb said, “but it’d take too long to gain their trust enough to be able to ask questions.”

“We?”

Caleb slurped the last bit of milk out of his cereal bowl. “Yeah? Mom and I?”

Until this point, I had never realized just how much Caleb takes after Anita — way more than I do. Their hair is nearly identical, though Anita always keeps hers in a bun; the way both of them seem to look into you instead of at you was uncanny; he was smart, strategically-minded, and had the drive to help Anita tackle this insane situation we were in. He was everything Anita hoped I would be — with a few teenage tendencies that she would probably try to iron out in the next few years. And thank god he was. It meant Anita could stop hoping I’d turn my life around and become a lawyer or some shit. Maybe that’s why she’s been so much easier to get along with this time around.

“But it would probably make more sense for you to go in alone, wouldn’t it?” Caleb continued. “If we were caught, we’re dead. If you’re caught, they’re dead.”

He looked at me and the corners of his mouth twitched a little bit. It was a look of admiration and respect — a look I was not familiar with in the slightest. But I knew there was a twinge of fear in there somewhere too, though, even if he didn’t show it. That was much more familiar.

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“Depends on how many of them are down there and what they’re capable of,” I said. I didn’t want to brag, but he was probably right, as long as everyone down there was still human. “But yeah, you’re right. It should be me.”

“Gonna have to convince mom, since she thinks you’ll fu—I mean screw it up,” he said. “I don’t think you will, though. I’ll talk to her.”

Why was he being so nice to me? Since we’ve met, I’ve gotten his — our — father killed, had his home destroyed, and now some powerful people probably want him dead. Yet here he was, saying he trusted me and would put in a good word for me with Anita. Why?

“Thanks,” I said, not sure what else to say. It’s not like I exactly wanted to go down into some secret tunnel system full of lunatics, but I appreciated the gesture. Really, I just appreciated the fact that there was someone that liked me and didn’t try to run me over with a fucking truck.

Caleb got up to put his bowl in the kitchen sink.

“Ya know,” he said while rinsing the milk out of the bowl, “if you’re gonna go around killing criminals, you should probably have a mask or something too. I’m guessing you don’t want to get caught.”

I tensed up hearing him talk about my other life. How did he know? Was he already some sort of master detective, a prodigy trained by Anita since he was born?

“How do you know about that?” I asked.

“You left the list of names on the end table,” he said and sat back down on the loveseat, slinking down until his chin was tucked into his chest. “But unless you’re better at hiding your mask than you are at hiding your hit list, it seems like you’re going out there with your face showing. Probably not a good idea.”

“Nobody that’s seen my face is gonna be talking any time soon,” I said. That sounded way cooler than I meant it to. Caleb smiled, a full, genuine smile that time.

“Still,” he said, “might as well not take the chance, right?”

”I kind of feel like you just want to dress me up as a superhero,” I said.

His smile quickly changed to a look of embarrassment. His cheeks turned red and he stopped looking me in the eyes. I really have a way with people, don’t I?

“Fuck it, let’s go costume shopping,” I said. “I’m not wearing any goddamn underwear outside of my pants though, got it?”

“Language!” Anita yelled again, still half-asleep on the couch. She must’ve thought Caleb said it, because she gave up on trying to get me to stop cussing before I started middle school.

“We don’t need to go shopping,” Caleb said, “I already got it for you.”

He slid off the couch, went to his room and came back with a bundle of clothes; there was a black hoodie, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black mask. It was made of a thick plastic, or maybe fiberglass, and had two big holes to see out of and six smaller holes near the mouth to breathe from.

“I thought about a fencing mask instead, but figured a hockey mask would be easier to take on and off, in case you ever need to blend into a crowd,” he said. “Everything else is just black clothes from Wal-Mart. No outside underwear.”

I immediately stripped down to my boxers and put the outfit on. Caleb looked a little uncomfortable. I was far from modest, but not because I had a body worth showing off. My bones stick out more than they should, especially my ribs and shoulder blades, and I have a nasty scar starting near my left kidney and ending right above my ass cheek from a close call with a crust punk who thought I wanted to fuck his girl. Fortunately for Caleb, I got the clothes on quickly, including the mask.

“Damn,” he said quietly, “you look like you’re ready to rob a bank.”

I went to the bathroom to look in the mirror, and Caleb followed behind. I felt fucking ridiculous, walking around with a hockey mask on. Concealing my face didn’t seem like a bad idea though. All of my victims had been fairly small-time so far, but that might change as I work my way down the list. Some of these people will definitely have protection with them, and if one of them got away, they could tell the rest what I looked like.

“Thanks, Caleb,” I said to him. I really tried to sound friendly, but I felt like I sounded like a hooker saying ‘I love you’.

“No problem,” he replied. “Hopefully mom gets up soon so we can work out a game plan.”

We went back to the living room, and Anita was off the couch, sitting at the dining table, looking as serious as ever. She had taken a thirty-minute nap and was ready for action once again. She had a binder on the table in front of her, and she flipped it open.

“You guys get over here,” she said. “Here’s what we’re gonna do.”