by Jay Mason
For the better part of the afternoon they took it in turns to stand or sit in front of the mirror. Three hours later Joe asked, “Anyone feel any different?”
Alex shook her head. Rusty yawned. “There’s got to be more too it,” said Alex. “We have to be missing something.”
Alex’s phone buzzed. She read the message. “Guys, I have to go. Dad says Mum’s back home.”
“Of course,” said Rusty. “Go.”
“We’ll carry on for a while,” said Joe. “I hear they do good steaks here. If nothing else we can have dinner in a couple of hours.”
****
Alex drove too fast. She clipped a hedge, scaring herself and a cat that barely made it out of the way in time. She slowed down then. But by the time she drove into her home drive, her heart still sped.
She jumped out of the car, not locking it and ran towards the house. By the porch light she could see two silhouettes, which seemed to be dancing together. This time her heart didn’t so much race as miss a few beats. She’d love to think her parents had made up, but some instinct told her that whatever they were doing it was far removed from dancing.
She opened the front door to see her mother pick up the small table under the mirror and throw it at her father. He put up his arm to deflect it, wincing at the pain on contact. The table spun through the air, landing in pieces in the far corner.
“Irene,” he cried. “Control yourself.”
Her mother, alerted by the sound of the door opening, turned towards Alex. Instead of the sleek, well-groomed mother Alex knew, she saw a wild-eyed woman with unkept hair and spittle foaming on her lips. Alex barely dodged to one side as Irene, fingers outstretched like claws, went for her. Alex slipped on the low hall step, sitting down heavily on her spine. Her eyes watered and pain shot up her back. Irene uttered a cry and closed on her. Alex put up her arms to shield her face.
Her mother didn’t make contact. Alex lowered her arms and opened her eyes to see her father struggling to hold her mother in an arm lock. “Alex, in the kitchen, the zip ties we use for the rubbish. Get them.”
“I hate you,” screamed her mother, but Alex had no idea which of them she was talking to. Alex ran to the kitchen and pulled open a drawer. She felt sick bringing the tags back into the hall. She knew what her father meant to do. But Lewis shook his head. “It’s taking all I have just to hold her. I’m sorry, Alex, you’ll have to do it. Her legs first.”
With shaking hands, Alex untied the zip tie and threaded it around her mother’s ankles. This proved far from easy. Lewis had to throw her to the floor and put his leg over hers to stop her kicking out at Alex. As Alex slipped the tie on, murmuring, “I’m so sorry, Mum,” she heard a sickening crunch. Irene had thrown her head backwards into Lewis face. Blood poured from his nose. Lewis didn’t let go.
“Hurry up,” he said with remarkable calm.
Alex moved up and bounded her mother’s wrists. Lewis let go and stood away from his wife. He felt his face gingerly. “I’m not sure if she’s broken this,” he said touching his nose.
“There’s blood everywhere,” said Alex grimly.
“It can be cleaned.”
He reached down and picked up his wife by one arm. “Don’t follow me,” he said.
Alex watched him manoeuvre her struggling mother down towards the basement. The back of her mother’s blonde hair shone red with his blood.
Ten minutes later he reemerged. A handkerchief held to his nose. “Make you a deal,” he said thickly. “You help with my face and I’ll clear up the rest of the hall.”
Alex’s mouth felt arid. “What about Mum?” she managed to croak.
“She’s quiet now she’s alone,” said Lewis. “We’ll see how she is after a night’s sleep. I’ll need to call Straker again tomorrow.”
“You don’t seem that bothered,” said Alex.
“Oh no, Alex. My wife of twenty-five years turns into a raving maniac and tries to kill me and then her own daughter. I’m not bothered at all.” He stalked off to the kitchen.
Alex followed.
“I didn’t mean you don’t care,” she said as she opened the first aid kit. “You seem so calm.”
“Ouch,” said Lewis, “Careful. I don’t think she did more than badly bruise me, but it hurts like hell. What a wildcat.”
Alex couldn’t think of a word to say, so she patched up her father in silence.
“You should go take a drive,” he said. He put his hand in his jacket pocket. “Don’t think she got blood on my wallet.” He handed Alex a fifty. “Go take that pal of yours out to dinner.”
Alex took the money. “Thanks,” she said.
****
She couldn’t get her seat belt fixed. It wouldn’t work. Then she realised she was shaking. She pressed the on button for the car, and using the voice system dialled Rusty’s number. He picked up almost at once.
“Rusty,” she began.
“Thank god you phoned,” said Rusty. “Joe’s gone off his head.
5. And Then There Were Two
“Are you okay?” asked Alex.
“I’ve got him locked in the closet,” said Rusty. “I’ve pushed the tallboy against the drawers.”
“Right. You’d better lean on it too. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Alex put the car into drive Her hands had steadied. She felt a rush of adrenaline. “I’m almost enjoying this,” she said out loud as she roared out of the drive. “I’m a freak.”
Dusk had come and the country lanes leading to the Inn appeared very different than earlier in the bright afternoon light. Alex’s headlights drew monsters out of the trees and shrubs. She did her best to ignore the shadows — and almost ran over a rabbit in the process. Only the glitter of its yellow eyes caught in the light made her brake in time. Taking a deep breath to centre herself, Alex put her foot down and roared on to the Inn.
Once there, she nodded to the receptionist and walked quickly up the stairs before anyone had a chance to question her right to be there. She found Rusty leaning against the tallboy as instructed. From the closet came the sound of muffled thumps.
“He’s calmed down a lot,” said Rusty. “I thought he was about to break through, but it’s like he’s lost all heart.”
“What happened? Did you carry on trying the experiment without me?”
“No,” said Rusty. “That would have been stupid. We were chatting about stuff — waiting till we could go down to dinner, when he suddenly shouted at me that he was fed up with parasites and tried to throw me out of the room.”
“Was he looking in the mirror when he changed?”
“He’s an actor,” said Rusty.
“Fair point,” said Alex. She pulled out the zip ties from her pocket. “We’ll have to restrain him and get him down to the car. Then put him in the basement with my mother.”
“She’s back?”
“Just turned up and bat-shit crazy.”
Rusty eyed the ties. “How do we get these on him? Let alone persuade him to walk out nicely to the car.”
“Damn,” said Alex. “I should have brought some chlorophyll.”
“He’s too big to carry,” said Rusty. “Besides, I’d like to see you explain that away.”
“He’s not making a lot of noise,” said Alex. “Do you think he’s calmed?”
“I’m not comfortable with discussing him as if he’s a wild animal,” said Rusty.
“You didn’t see my mother,” said Alex. “Joe?” she called. “Are you feeling better?”
“Nothing,” said Rusty. The two of them stood side by side, leaning over the tallboy.
“He might have injured himself,” said Alex.
“No,” said Rusty.
“No what?”
“No we’re not moving the tallboy and checking. That’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it?”
“What if he’s hit his head? What if he’s having a brain haemorrhage?”
“Oh fine,” said Rusty. “Help me, then.”
>
Together they pushed the tallboy away from the front of the closet. Then Rusty stepped back and motioned Alex forward. “It was your idea.”
Alex pulled a face, but stepped up to the door to listen. “Still nothing,” she said. Then she turned the key in the lock and opened the door.
Joe, wild-eyed and drooling, sprang at her. Alex screamed and slammed the door closed as Joe went for her. Joe and the door collided with a hard smack. Then came a dull thud.
Rusty, rather pale, said, “I think you’ve knocked him out.”
Gingerly Alex reached for the door. The muscles in Alex’s arms tensed as she readied to slam it again, but this time there was no Joe about to spring out like a demented jack-in-the-box. Instead, he lay crumpled against the back wall, unconscious and with a reddening patch on his forehead.
“Window?” said Rusty.
“This is getting old,” said Alex.
“Gotta be easier than the trailer.”
They manoeuvred the unconscious actor on to the bed and tied the cover at each corner to make a suspended bundle. Then heaving Joe back on the floor in his makeshift cradle they stripped the sheet off the bed and fashioned a rope.
Rusty opened the large sash window and with much grunting and groaning they manoeuvred Joe out of the window and down onto the ground outside.
“Thank goodness it was only one storey,” said Alex, her face damp with sweat. “For a thin bloke, he weighs a fair amount.”
“We need to get down there before someone mistakes him for a dirty laundry bundle,” said Rusty.
Alex felt a laugh bubble in her chest. “I’m becoming a bit hysterical,” she said.
“I feel like I’ve stumbled into a zombie movie,” said Rusty.
****
Alex drove her car through the staff car park and up to the side of the Inn. Rusty heaved Joe into the boot and climbed in. Alex resisted the urge to speed away and drove slowly out of the Inn’s grounds.
“Any security cameras?” she asked.
“I didn’t see any,” said Rusty. “I did look. While you were getting the car.”
“I was as quick as I could be,” said Alex. “I had to look like I wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary.”
Rusty gave her a quick grin. “We’re getting quite good at moving bodies, aren’t we?”
“I’ll be sure to put that on my CV,” said Alex.
****
Alex’s house stood in darkness.
“Damn,” said Rusty as Alex drew up as close as she could to the porch steps. “I was hoping your dad would be here to help us.” Alex shot him a look. “Unless you have a sturdy garden shed.”
“No, basement is best,” said Alex. “We’d better put the zip ties on him before he comes round. I don’t want him attacking my mum.”
“I just hope he hasn’t woken up,” said Rusty. “There’s no noise from the trunk, but we know he can play dead.”
“I wouldn’t have thought Joe could be so crafty.”
“Yeah, but he’s Evil Joe now,” said Rusty. “Pop the trunk once I’m at the back of the car. I need to be ready to slam it down if I have to.”
Alex handed him the ties.
But when the trunk opened no Joe leapt up.
Rusty snapped the ties round Joe’s wrists and ankles. “It’ll be easy if we leave him in the sheet,” he said. “We can carry him carpet-like.”
Alex came round to help him get Joe out. They heaved him to the edge of the trunk. “Ready,” said Rusty, “Now lift!” And Joe fell heavily to the ground.
Alex stepped back, rubbing her arms. “Sorry,” she said. “I think this is all beginning to take a toll on me. Either that or he’s got heavier.”
“We can drag him,” said Rusty. “You take that end and try and keep his head from bumping off things.” He gave another slight grin. “I mean, I know he’s not that bright, but he’s already had a head injury.”
“Probably two,” said Alex. “The door in his face and the back of his head when he fell in the closet.”
“He’s got a hard head, Alex. Find me a torch when we’ve got him downstairs and I’ll check his pupils.”
“He’s been out a long time.”
“Probably just asleep,” said Rusty.
Using a combination of dragging and short lifts they got Joe to the basement entrance. Very carefully they slid him down the steps, with Rusty in front to ensure he didn’t gather speed. They paused at the point where the stairs turned. Rusty used his sleeve to wipe his sweat from his forehead. “This is going okay” he said.
“I don’t know what state my mother is in,” said Alex in a small voice.
“Maybe your dad has taken her back to the Centre,” said Rusty. But when Alex unlocked the door and switched on the light, Irene was clearly visible tied to a chair. Her head slumped forward onto her chest. She didn’t react when they entered.
“Mum?” said Alex, dropping her end of Joe again.
“Careful,” said Rusty.
Irene didn’t move. “Is she dead?” said Alex.
Rusty went forward and put two fingers on her wrist. “No, there’s a pulse. Slow, but steady. I’d say she’d been given a sedative. Your dad is full of tricks.”
“Let’s get Joe in here,” said Alex. “I don’t …” she broke off.
“Sure,” said Rusty. “They’ll both be safe here for now.” They arranged Joe on the floor as comfortably as they could, checking the ties were tight enough to hold, but not cutting off blood to hands or feet.
****
“Got anything to eat?” Rusty asked.
“It’s the middle of the night,” said Alex.
“Yep, second supper time. It’ll do you good.”
Alex found tinned soup and bread. Rusty insisted she join him and when she did, Alex found to her surprise she was very hungry. Weirdly, the soup and bread tasted better than she had ever had before.
“The flavouring of relief,” said Rusty. “Nothing beats it.”
“We still don’t know what’s going on,” said Alex.
“We know the Centre is doing a mind control experiment and we’re guessing when some people look into a mirror at certain times they turn into mindless, violent zombies.”
“When you put it like that, it sounds so ordinary,” said Alex, smiling.
“I have an idea of what we can do next,” said Rusty, “but I don’t think you’re going to like it.”
“Okay,” said Alex, “Spill.”
“I think we should continue taking it in turns to look in the mirror.”
“What?” said Alex, dropping her spoon. “After what happened with Joe?”
“Listen, we need to know what’s happening. If one of us could get affected, but described what’s happening as it happens, we could get a much better idea of what we’re dealing with. The other could stand by the mirror and smash it before whatever it is takes full hold.”
“We don’t know that could work,” said Alex. “It might only take a moment to change.”
“It’s all I’ve got,” said Rusty. “We have to do something.”
“I’ll make you a deal,” said Alex, “if my dad doesn’t come back with news of what’s going on tomorrow, then we try your plan. I’m far too exhausted to do it tonight.”
“Guess, I’m walking home then. If you’re that tired.” Rusty sounded grumpy. “It’s not like I didn’t do all the heavy lifting.”
“You can stay,” said Alex. “Take one of the sofas in the lounge. I can find you a blanket or something, but I don’t know how comfortable it will be.”
“You’re all heart,” said Rusty.
****
The next morning Alex came down heavy-eyed to find Rusty working his way through the cereals in the kitchen. “Do you think I could be going through a growing spurt at my age?” he asked. He looked up at Alex. “You look awful.”
Alex sat down at the table and reached for a bowl. “Thanks,” she said. “I had trouble sleeping with those two down in the
cellar.”
“I checked on them,” said Rusty. “Your family must hold the record for the world’s most uncomfortable couches. I couldn’t find one that fit me.”
“How were they?”
“Your mum’s still out. I –er– assisted Joe with a bathroom break. Not that he was grateful.”
“Ugh,” said Alex.
“So have you thought of which mirror you don’t mind smashing?”
“No sign of my dad?”
Rusty shook his head.
Alex sighed. “Yeah, there’s on old one in the attic. It’s hideous.”
“Problem is we have two major variables,” said Rusty. “If we regard the mirror as being a necessary constant we still have to consider both the person and the time.”
Alex nodded. “Not everyone has been affected and because we don’t know why it happens we can’t get a fix on the time.”
“Go get the mirror and I’ll clear up,” said Rusty.
Alex returned fifteen minutes later with a carved oak framed mirror. Rusty regarded it with horrified expression. “That’s the nastiest thing I’ve seen in a long time.”
“Dad said the carvings round the side are meant to be lost souls trying to escape from limbo.”
“You’re sure it isn’t a family heirloom? No offence, but why else would anyone keep it.”
“Dad got it at a yard sale. Mum hates it.”
Rusty edged around the mirror, peering at the portrayals of the faces in twisted agony that lined it. “I’m with your mum,’ he said. ‘Be a pleasure to smash this.”
Alex handed him a meat tenderiser and took a heavy pizza cutter for herself. “Only if it’s necessary,” she said. “You go first. Fifteen minutes each?”
Rusty nodded and sat down opposite the mirror. Alex set a timer. She stood tensely by the mirror, ready to smash it. It didn’t take long before Rusty started asking if time was up. Finally, he started to amuse himself by trying to copy the expressions of the carvings and soon had Alex in stitches. When the timer finally went off she had tears of laughter running down her face.