The Eyes Have No Soul

by Matthew W. Harrill

  “Hush now. You missed your chance,” it said, his voice dripping triumph. “Now I get both of you.”

  Clare began to hyperventilate, rapid shallow pants coming quickly as she foresaw her own end.

  The creature smiled, cracked skin dropping onto her face. It withdrew its hand from her mouth, the arm stretching, growing thinner as the bone within lengthened. The fleshy sucker, fully extended, brushed across her face, sucking at her skin. “Too late for you, now,” it croaked.

  Viruñas squeezed her shoulders, its unnaturally sharp nails digging into her flesh.

  Clare cried out. But there was no repeat of Saint Vincent's. No drug lanced into her arm like the night before.

  A confused look passed across the face of the creature above her, as if this had never happened before. “What is this?”

  “Looks like you're out of juice, Dan.” With bent fingers she punched the creature in the throat.

  Viruñas fell back, grabbing its neck. A viscous fluid leaked from between the bony claws. Was it the creature's own, or fluid from her brother? Clare lurched to her feet, stumbling onto the landing, looking for the syringe. Viruñas reached out with one hand, attempting to grab her ankle. It missed and sprawled on the floor. If the syringe was broken it meant her life was at an end. There was no sign of it. She held onto the bannister as she descended. Clare heard the creature get to its feet, stalking her from above. Odd guttural noises came from the landing, the floorboards creaking. An appendage scraped along the top of the bannister, curved claws appearing over the edge.

  Clare stumbled down the final step, tripping in the dark and landing front-first on her outstretched hands. Reaching out to try and raise herself up, her hand touched something cylindrical and cold; the syringe. It was still in one piece.

  “If you want me, come get me,” Clare challenged. She was met with a croaking roar as the creature lost its poise. It reached the top of the staircase and began to descend, its breath rattling in its chest.

  There was only one thing for it. Get out of the house.

  Tina emerged from the shadows, waving Clare into the kitchen with her gun.

  The creature reached the top step, bone clicking on wood as it began to descend. Clare pointed at the doorway, urging Tina back, holding the syringe up. She wasn't finished yet.

  Tina shook her head, turning and pointing the gun up the stairs. “Go,” she urged, and fired.

  The roar changed to a scream, the creature still descending.

  “Go!” Tina shouted again, firing off more shots.

  What choice did she have? The creature needed to be led away from her brother. Clare headed to the kitchen, and out the back door.

  Clare stumbled through her garden, heading for the only place dark enough to hide from the monster. Two more shots were fired behind her and then silence.

  Clare paused, waiting. When Tina failed to appear she pushed through bushes and out onto the abandoned railway, following the rusted metal as it led into the incomplete tunnel. Viruñas still followed her trail. Maybe in the pitch black she had a chance.

  Clare climbed over the rotten, wooden boards that had once been nailed across to keep the curious out, scrambling across the dirt beyond as she lost balance and fell into the tunnel. She paused, listening for any sound or pursuit. The kitchen door creaked shut. Viruñas was in her garden. Guided forward by the glint of light reflecting from mineral specks in the wall, she pressed deeper into the tunnel. Clare held on to the image of Viruñas atop Jeff. This was all for her brother now. Pushing her hands out in front only gave rise to more aching. Her stomach pulsed, her eyes stung.

  The floor was uneven. Clare stumbled, shredding her knees until she found what she wanted: A pile of rubble excavated by her and Jeff in their younger, more adventurous days. It was a marker for a hole in the wall just beyond to the right. Crouching, ignoring the pain burning in her thighs, Clare searched for the wall with her hands. Maybe it's too dark for him too.

  The hole was only a foot square, chiselled from the rock by whoever constructed the tunnel. It should have been too small for her. She lay down and pushed forward, scraping the sides as she passed. Beyond the hole was only a couple of feet high. She curled up and waited, her senses attuned to the dark, the syringe held like a dagger across the front of her legs. She wasn't scared. If Viruñas didn't find her, she would die anyway. Her time felt close.

  “More sport than your parents,” croaked Viruñas from the entrance of tunnel. The remaining boards groaned as they were ripped asunder. The monster was inside. “They just lay there, like a couple of honey ants ready to be popped. Those are my favourite type. You know how I found them? Your captain; he kept me fed. Information and bodies. It's funny how someone reacts when you threaten their family. I have hunted, and hidden within the body of this being for many lifetimes. There is no way to conceal your presence from me.” There was a scraping noise. It was close. She could hear the rattle of its breath as it neared. Then the breathing stopped.

  Clare peered at the entrance to her hiding place, waiting for the glow. Nothing. She pushed back from the gap, flattening herself against the back wall, trying to make herself as difficult to reach as she could.

  She listened as something reached through the hole, scraping the floor as it searched around. Slow at first, then with increasing frequency. Clare tried to arch herself up, bracing her feet on each side of the hole. Pain lanced through her right ankle as something sharp snagged it. She screamed.

  “I know all the tricks,” said a guttural voice from the other side of the wall and extracted her from the hole like a winkle from its shell. Clare thrashed about, mindless of the damage she was doing to her body, but Viruñas had her now. Blind panic overcame her and she kicked out, snapping her captor's bones. The creature paused, the sound of the broken bones resetting in a series of small clicks. She tried to sit up. Viruñas yanked on her foot, scraping against her ankle and she nearly passed out. Nearly, but not quite.

  Clare was dragged deeper into the tunnel. The syringe dangled from her hand. She managed to hook her pinkie through the circular grip as she was pulled over a mound of loose rubble, the stones scoring her back as they reached the rock face where the workmen had finished digging. She was picked up and dumped onto another pile of rubble, lying prone as the creature made a rustling noise. She realized it was removing its clothing with slow deliberateness, shedding any remaining link it might have to its humanity. The eyes began to glow a sickly white and she realized it could see in the dark. There had never been any chance of concealment.

  Breath rattled close to her face, the scent of strong, rotting fruit. A blinding white light lit up the tunnel, dazzling Clare. She held her right hand up, shielding her eyes. Viruñas stood above her, naked, glowing, its body wraithlike and thin, muscles tight across its shoulders, non-existent in the extremities as the limbs stretched long and thin, needle-like. Across the surface of its body, more pads like those on its hands were puckered, ready to absorb the fluid left in her body.

  The creature leaned in. “I thirst. You denied me two meals now. You'll not deny me a third.”

  “You truly are a monster.”

  The soulless eyes glowed brighter with anticipation. Viruñas leaned forward and for the third time, talons pierced her skin. Clare screamed as the nails tore into her arms, the pain flaring through her without Mescaline to dull the sensation. Viruñas lowered, preparing to make full contact with her body, the puckered scars sticking out, eager to absorb.

  Fur flashed by, a tail whipping the side of Clare's head. Steve the cat launched from a pile of rubble straight at Viruñas' face. Claws flashed and the tortoiseshell grabbed hold of the creature's head, digging in.

  Viruñas reared back screaming, arms ripping from her shoulders, the abrasive pads taking skin with them. With a roar it ripped the cat from its face and hurled Steve down the tunnel.

  Clare thrust up with the syringe. As Viruñas turned back she stabbed it where the heart should have been on a m
an, insulin filling the creature.

  Viruñas stared down at the syringe, uncomprehending. “What have you done?”

  Triumphant, Clare replied, “I've cured you, Daniel. Let's just call it vengeance.”

  Viruñas slammed her back down on the cold rubble. Her vision swam as unconsciousness reached for her. “What… have… you..?” The glowing face began to lose its light, the skin sagging. The creature tried to speak again but all that came out was a gurgle, incomprehensible and alien. Bubbles frothed in its mouth, liquid spilling out. White light faded to grey, the surface melting like hot wax. Viruñas collapsed atop her, the scars on its body pulling at her skin through her clothes wherever they made contact. The force lessened as the creature's body began to shut down. It let go of her arms and grabbed her face, putrefying flesh falling from its bones. The head moved closer. They were nose to nose. Clare couldn't even scream. The mask above her dissolved, the discharge running into her mouth and nose, leaving an elongated skull and two glowing eyes. The creature tried to growl but instead vomited a thick liquid onto her face. The jaw moved. Was it trying to laugh? Then the eyes faded and the skull toppled forward onto her chest. It was done. She closed her eyes, finding it harder and harder to draw breath. Oblivion awaited.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Clare stirred. The surface was no longer rocky and cold. Clare felt surrounded by soft warmth, comforting and reassuring. She drew breath. The pain was gone. The aches, the knots in her stomach, the fire in her veins. All vanished.

  Aromas began to register in her mind; fresh linen, a pine scent, overtones of wood. She opened her eyes, finding herself in a panelled room, books perched high on shelves that reached up to the ceiling of the wall opposite.

  “I thought I might be in Heaven,” she groaned, closing her eyes again. “I'm in Ashby?”

  “You're lucky you're anywhere,” said Dominic.

  Clare turned her head to the right, letting the pillow take the weight. She was just too cosy to try sitting up. Blue eyes under a mop of black hair regarded her with obvious relief. “Dominic. Hi.”

  “Welcome back,” Dominic Holden said through a smile. “You're lucky to be here. You dropped into a hyperglycemic coma. Your blood sugar… well let's say your blood was more like syrup than liquid for a while there. How do you feel?”

  “Numb,” Clare admitted. “I don't really feel anything. How long was I out? How did I get here?”

  “It's late Tuesday afternoon. You've been unconscious for a good thirty-six hours. When we found you, covered in bones and slime, you were already unconscious. You have Detective Svinsky to thank for that as well as a rather unique member of our team.”

  Confused by his enigmatic smile, Clare turned as he nodded in the direction of the doorway.

  Tina stood there, smiling and holding on to a furry ball full of claws and purrs. “Nice to see you again,” she said, depositing Steve on the bed.

  In an instant Steve was up by her head, sniffing at her face. Evidently satisfied by what he found, he proceeded to rub the top of his head under her chin, nuzzling in to settle down beside her, his warmth so very welcome.

  “He was outside the tunnel, yowling at the top of his voice,” Tina said, taking Clare's good hand and holding it tight. When you didn't come out and no lights came on, I radioed for back up and went in myself. Your brother was…”

  “No…” Clare pre-empted Tina's comment, her heart preparing to implode.

  “Relax, he's fine. Just had an extended mescaline trip is all. It was out of his system by this morning. I can't say the same for his lady friend.”

  “She was dead when I got in there. Daniel…”

  Clare closed her eyes. Twin orbs of white shone back at her in the darkness. “I guess the insulin worked.”

  “From what we can tell, the introduction of so much rapid-acting insulin didn't just bind blood sugar. It totally destabilised the structure of the creature. There was just bones and goo left. That's all been cleared up now, taken away for study.”

  Clare shifted, attempting to sit up. A drip was once again in the back of her hand. “So that's it, right? Saving untold generations in return for a lifetime of medication?”

  “Would you prefer death?” Dominic's voice was edged with scorn.

  “No, I guess not. Why did you choose Ashby though?”

  “Coz some damn fool thought a hospital in Worcester might mean a lot of questions asked.” Terrick walked in, a grin shining across his face. “I took a team of paramedics, came when Tina called, avoided all the paperwork. You go back when you're ready, girl. They got everythin' you need here.”

  “Including a department of Harley sympathizers, many of whom we shot recently.”

  Terrick frowned. “Yeah well about that…” he fell silent, looking troubled.

  Clare started to panic. “What?”

  “It seems there was a roundin' up of local law enforcement after your showdown with your captain,” Terrick explained. “State police're runnin' the show now. Ashby police've been officially closed down as have several other departments.”

  “How?”

  Tina leaned forward. “They tore Harley's office apart after the chief had him arrested. Turns out one of the reasons he liked that particular office is he had a private closet built into the wall. The room was full of damning documentation, a whole collection of forged Federal files. Mr. Harley was very fond of concealing information under the Federal seal. All manner of government agencies have expressed interest in talking to him.”

  “Where is he now?”

  “He's incarcerated in a Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Cedar Junction, awaiting Federal trial,” Dominic said, “at least for all the mundane crimes. He's far enough removed from the upheaval here to be safe for trial, though I wouldn't wish that place on him. Most of his bedfellows are there too. It turns out he had dealings all over the state. Corruption, larceny, bribery; more than one state judge has been picked up too. It was a right little empire. He won't see the back end of the trial, though. He's got too much information.”

  This scared Clare. She stroked Steve's purring body for reassurance. “They'll let him go?”

  “Not quite. Andrew Harley might just disappear. He has a lot of information on a project called 'Iuvart': that mean anything to you?”

  “Viruñas called that name out when it was hunting me, like it had been betrayed. I swear it was communicating with someone… or something.”

  “They also found detailed files on you,” Tina added. “Your biological father as well.”

  “Viruñas said my dad… my real dad, was called Maygan.”

  “Bud Maygan. Is that all you know of him?”

  “I never met him, but I know plenty. I have a half-sister too.”

  A nurse came into the room. It was Dominic's sister, Ellie, who smiled a greeting. “Time for your insulin shot,” she said. “Glad to see you're awake for this one. Everybody else out. Let's give her a bit of privacy. She's been through a lot.” Not willing to argue, Terrick and Dominic left quickly, Tina more reluctant to follow.

  Pulling out what looked like a six-inch brightly-coloured pen, Ellie proceeded to screw a lid on it, pulling a plastic cover free to reveal the tiniest of needles. “This might be a bit of a shock to the system: do you want to do it?”

  Clare took the insulin pen, turning it over in her hands, examining it. “This is my future? At least it's bright. What do I do?”

  Ellie turned a dial. “That's your bolus, or amount of insulin, on the dial. Just push it into the skin on your stomach and press down on the plunger.”

  Clare did as instructed, feeling a nip as the needle went in and a slight chill as the insulin entered her system. It was nothing compared to the bodily abuse suffered by Viruñas. “That wasn't too bad.” The realization of what she was doing hit home. “Is that what you do to Jarret Logan?”

  Ellie shook her head. “No, he took his insulin through the drip.”

  Clare didn't miss a beat. �
��Took?”

  “His body finally succumbed to the creature's assault, late Sunday night.”

  “About the time I killed it. Was there a link?”

  “We'll never know,” Ellie said, leaning over to tickle a very receptive Steve under the chin. The cat sauntered down to the bottom of the bed and curled up by her feet.

  “Can we come back in now?” Terrick called from outside.

  Ellie looked at Clare, her eyebrows raised.

  “Yes Terrick, please do.”

  Terrick returned, carrying an enormous bunch of flowers. He placed them on the bed. “These're for you, girl. They were waitin' outside.”

  Clare plucked the gift tag from the wrapping and unfolded it. “Congratulations,” she read aloud.

  “Nothing more?” Terrick took the card from her. “Funny. You fancy some food? I was gonna bring a box of chocolates but it seemed a bit insensitive.”

  “Sure, I'm hungry. It'll be a while before I'm up to eating stuff like that, I think,” Clare admitted. “I've got a lot of learning to do to keep this under control.”

  “It's not the end of the world,” said Ellie as she tucked Clare back into bed. “Far from it; a little care and attention and nobody will know the difference.”

  “And don't forget,” added Terrick, “that it's sugars that you gotta watch most. You can eat as much steak as you want!”

  Ellie and her assistant left the room, closing the door behind them.

  Dominic stood. “Now you're all here together there's a couple of issues we have to discuss.”

  The serious look on his face led Clare to worry. “Oh?”

  “This needs to be kept quiet. Everybody knows Harley's a tyrant, and will expect him to go down for what he did. Some aspects of this affair have been explained away, some have been kept quiet.”

  This riled Clare. “How does silence make us any better than Harley?”

  “Maybe it doesn't but that's how it is. The stranger elements of what you saw. The girl in UMASS, the creature people witnessed. It's being explained away. Daniel Acosador succumbed to a rare tropical disease. Flesh eating, very deadly.”