A darkness that engulfed him as the pressure around his neck increased a hundredfold and crushed his vertebrae to dust.
***
Gregg Branche couldn’t wipe the smile from his face as Claire leant against him. His hands slipped around her back and he resisted the temptation to slide them down to her ass. Her tears were genuine and Gregg knew one false move would see the bond that drew her towards him broken in a flash. She’d been a bit distant at first that morning as she recovered from her brush with the entity that possessed Alan Sieting. Gregg played it softly for the first few hours. ‘If you want to talk you know where I am,’ he told her. He made sure she ate plenty of breakfast to keep her strength up. He accompanied her to visit Ross, even though the poor guy was still out cold. That’s when the ice had broken. Leaving Ross’s room with Gregg’s arm around Claire as he comforted her. He guided her to ‘somewhere quiet’, away from all the corridors and rooms that now teemed with the new arrivals.
One level down Gregg found an unlocked office door that he locked behind them. He sat Claire down and pulled a chair up alongside her. They sat like that for a while as Claire re-lived the events of the night before and Gregg held her hand. He wished he could hold some other parts of her anatomy.
He didn’t think it was wicked to think this way. He’d always fancied Claire, and there’d been plenty of times when their chats became flirtatious. Of course, Ross had got in there first because Gregg joined the team about a month after Ross and Claire so he’d always been playing catch up. Until now. As far as Gregg cared, Sieting’s possession and Ross injury couldn’t have come at a better time.
Gregg put his free hand on Claire’s thigh and rubbed it up and down. She sniffed and said, ‘Thanks for putting up with me. I’m a complete wreck today.’
‘No, you’re not.’ Gregg squeezed her hand. ‘You just need to work it out of your system. We’ve worked in the crap end of parapsychology for so long that we’ve forgotten the possibility of malevolent entities existing.’
She took a breath that filled her blouse nicely from Gregg’s point of view. ‘I guess,’ she said with a shaky smile.
They sat like that for a little while longer. Talking things through. Ross, Sieting and the malevolent spirit. Gregg tried to hide his grin when she leant over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. ‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘I needed this quiet time. There’s so much happening upstairs that I couldn’t hear myself think.’
‘We don’t have to go back up yet,’ Gregg said. ‘They won’t miss us and I’m happy to just sit here with you.’
‘I know you are.’ She patted his hand where it still lay on her leg. ‘You’re so much more in tune with me than Ross. If he was here right now he’d be trying to get his hand up my skirt. All he thinks about is sex.’
‘Some guys are like that,’ Gregg said with a sympathetic smile. He dialled back his expectations for the rest of the day but figured that within a week Claire would be spending her nights in bed with him. Ross would be long gone, flown out to some military hospital, and Claire would need the company.
He took his hand from her leg with some reluctance. The office desk looked just the right size and height for a quickie. The image of a semi-naked Claire lying back on the desk popped into his head. He wished it hadn’t because Claire thought about Ross and the tears started up once more. Gregg stood up and helped Claire to her feet. He hugged her and made the right kind of sympathetic noises as she rested her head on his shoulder and her tears soaked into his shirt.
She pulled her head back and sniffed a ‘sorry’ at him. Gregg smiled and used his fingertips to smooth the tears from her cheeks. ‘It’s all right,’ he said.
Her green eyes held his. Gregg tried to keep his heart from racing. His hands were still on her back and he could have sworn they were shaking. He drew her closer and her lips parted as if she wanted to say something. Gregg kissed her. Claire made a noise in the back of her throat. It could have been a protest or it could have been a release. Gregg said, ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.’
‘That’s okay,’ Claire whispered. ‘I liked it.’
Gregg took this as an invitation to kiss her again. He let his hands do what they wanted to do and slide down to her ass.
Claire pulled back a little and said, ‘No.’
‘You want me to stop?’ Gregg asked.
‘No... I mean yes... I mean I don’t know.’ She rested forward onto him. Gregg held her. He tried to guess the odds. Try it on and see if he got what he wanted or step back and play the gallant gentleman. Long term, the gentleman routine would score him more points. But right now her breasts pressed into his chest and his hands cupped under her ass. Gregg did not want to be a gentleman.
‘Claire,’ Gregg said, putting a little break into his voice. ‘I think it best if we go back.’
‘Yes.’ She nodded.
Gregg waited. His hands released Claire but she didn’t step back. Gregg stared into her eyes. Tempted by their depth he put his hands back on her hips and waited.
Claire said, ‘Ross is still in the hospital.’
Gregg let his hands drift a little higher. Her waist pinched in and that turned him on a lot. She had the perfect figure. Gregg wanted his hands to go higher to cup her breasts. But right then a rumbling sound reached them through the locked door and Claire said, ‘What was that?’
An unwanted interruption, Gregg thought. Out loud he said, ‘Maybe some machinery the army have brought in? I expect they want to fortify some parts of the complex.’
‘D’you think so?’
The sound came again, extended this time with rises and falls in level. Gregg turned towards the door. In truth, he didn’t think it sounded like machinery. He walked over and snicked the lock open. He pulled the door back just a touch and the volume increased. A chill crept over his skin.
Gunfire.
‘I think we should get back,’ he said as he took Claire’s hand.
She must have sensed his nerves. ‘What is it?’
‘It sounds like shooting,’ Gregg said as they stepped into the corridor.
The muted noise seemed to reach them from all around, as if they were in a surround-sound cinema. Gregg pulled Claire along and by the time they reached the elevators they were running and out of breath. Gregg slapped the call button and stepped back. No lights came on. He glanced towards the doors that led to the stairwell. Big choice. Wait like muppets for the elevator that might never come or walk up and hope they didn’t meet anything bad coming down.
The stairwell door banged open. The shotgun noise made Gregg flinch as two soldiers tumbled into view followed by a third who walked backwards. He aimed his assault rifle into the stairs and fired a couple of quick bursts at some unseen enemy. The door closed and some kind of blessed silence returned to the corridor. Gregg and Claire stared in horror at the three men. They were blood soaked and wild-eyed. Their fear leapt across the floor and hit Gregg like a steam train as he said, ‘What’s happened?’
‘Some crazy fucking monster shit,’ one of the troops said as he pushed past Gregg. ‘Is there another way out?’
‘There’s another stairwell on the far side of this level,’ Gregg said.
A hollow boom came from the door as something smacked against the other side. The soldiers jumped and swung their guns to aim at the door. ‘Which way?’ the same soldier asked.
‘This...’ Gregg never finished as the elevator doors opened like a pressurised can. Strips of metal flew out like shrapnel and one of the soldiers screamed as his blood blossomed from a gash on his face. The three men ran, ignoring Gregg and Claire.
Gregg found out why when a shape dropped into view in the elevator shaft.
‘Oh, my God,’ Claire said over his shoulder.
They ran. The three troopers had disappeared from view but Gregg guessed they knew the basic layout of each level. Up this corridor, first left, ignore two intersections then left again. Gregg dragged Claire round the last turn and then
stumbled to a halt. Claire barrelled into him. The elevator doors stood open. Gregg saw three uniformed bodies on the ground, heads and limbs twisted and broken. And two monstrous, axe-head creatures stalked towards him and Claire. Gregg turned and shoved Claire back the way they had come. Her legs tangled and she fell, almost taking Gregg with him. He jumped her, grabbed a hand and pulled her up.
A whip-like tentacle slapped the back of his neck and Gregg fell. Through his daze, he heard Claire moan. He rolled onto his side and saw her stand, frozen to the spot, as two writhing arms wrapped around her. Gregg caught hold of Claire’s ankle as the creatures pulled her towards them. He slid across the tiled floor, desperate to get some kind of grip. Claire started screaming and so did Gregg as the other axe-head flung its tentacles his way.
He let go of Claire and rolled away, over and over until he hit a wall. One look showed Claire on her back. She screamed and thrashed but more of the creature’s limbs had her in their embrace. The second axe-head lost interest in Gregg as it turned to Claire. Gregg saw a dagger-like hand drive into Claire’s chest. He heard her ribcage shatter. Claire’s screams ended as the hand pulled out a beating heart and shoved it into a waiting mouth. Gregg puked and crawled away as the creatures fed on Claire. He reached the corridor intersection and turned the corner.
He gave up hope when he saw he wasn’t alone.
There were three of them. They looked like some kind of hound. All teeth and claws and muscle. Gregg tried to stand but his legs gave way. He waited as the hounds scented him. Watched as first one, and then the others, stepped forward. Gregg put his hand up to ward off the first attack and lost his forearm to the iron jaws as they clamped down on his flesh and bone. The weight of the beast drove Gregg onto his back. He didn’t see the next hound tear a hole in his guts.
But he lived long enough to hear them feeding on him.
Chapter 6
Jane still didn’t know if she had made the right decision to go with Julie and Karen. Norfolk lay fifty miles behind them. The little red car ate up the highway as Karen drove and Julie chatted away. She twisted in the front seat so she could look back onto Jane and Emily.
All the talk was for Emily’s benefit as they distracted her with amusing tales of spirit conversations and oddball clients. Emily laughed at times, but would then fall silent and stare down at her lap as her eyes filled with tears. That was the time for Julie and Jane to exchange worried glances. Jane knew her daughter had this strange talent. But she only understood its power when she met people like Julie who treated Emily as someone special. Alan Sieting had been the same. He had been an artist and would let Emily pose for him and give her the resultant pencil sketches as presents. Emily had treasured them because they made her look like a princess.
Jane bit her lip, looking out of the window at the passing terrain. They had lost that now. Not just the drawings but almost all their possessions that counted as anything were at the base. She’d never get them back now. Even if Emily’s visions were wrong, Dawson would have Jane sent to prison, and Emily made a ward of the government, as punishment for them running.
‘They’re dying.’
Jane had never heard her daughter sound so sad. It almost broke her heart when she saw the tears on Emily’s face. The girl pressed into Jane’s arm, wiping her tears on the sleeve of the dress that Jane wore. Jane didn’t want to ask who was dying. So Julie did it for her as she asked, ‘Emily, sweetheart, be brave and strong when you look inside yourself. Tell us what you see.’
‘Monsters.’ Emily’s voice was almost lost in the noise of the car on the road. ‘The monsters are eating the men.’
Jane saw Karen’s reflection watch them from the mirror. She seemed to get smaller with every passing second, as if the words Emily spoke sucked the essence from her. A turn-off sign flashed past. Karen took the opportunity to take the right turn towards Emerson. She pulled off the road into a dusty patch of ground half occupied by a large mound of grit. Karen turned the car so it faced the road before she switched off the engine. A pick-up went on towards Emerson. Behind it the road was empty. The sudden silence unnerved Jane.
Karen half turned like Julie and in profile she resembled a bird as she said, ‘I need to know what’s happening.’
‘Why?’ Jane asked.
‘Karen communes best with those recently departed. While they are still confused about what has happened,’ Julie answered. ‘If she can contact one of those who have died at Kenyon she may be able to learn more about the events that took place.’
‘Why do you think anyone has died?’
‘Because Emily said they have.’ Julie reached out to put a gentle touch on Jane’s arm. ‘Jane, I still don’t think you understand Emily’s gift.’
‘Is it a gift?’ Jane asked. ‘I sometimes think it is a curse.’
‘I can see why you would. But truth is, Emily has a talent and if we can guide her use of it then we will all benefit.’
Jane’s eyes began to fill with tears again. Knowing Emily could see into the future was one thing, understanding it another. Right then, Emily said, ‘I feel sick.’
‘Out of the car,’ Karen said as she fumbled with her seat belt.
Jane opened her door, grabbed Emily’s hand, and pulled her out. Her daughter looked pale and even before her feet touched the ground Emily bent over and puked onto the dusty gravel. Jane looked up as a car drove by, the elderly couple in it stared at them as if they were exhibits in some national park. Karen came around from the driver’s side and said, ‘Well, at least she was out of the car.’ Then added in explanation to Jane’s reproachful glance. ‘It’s a hire car. I wouldn’t want to pay for any cleaning.’
Emily burst into tears. ‘Mummy, I want to go home,’ she said.
‘I know sweetheart.’ Jane squatted next to her and put an arm around Emily’s shoulders for a hug.
‘I mean our real home.’
Jane bit her lip. Did they have a real home? As a single parent, Jane had moved around. She got what work she could to fit in with childcare. When she thought she had finally settled with a half decent job as a paralegal Emily’s visions had started. Trouble with the police led to difficulties with her employer and then awkwardness with Emily’s school. Any friendships Jane believed she had soon disappeared as rumours spread about “Strange” Emily DeForrest.
So Jane didn’t think she had a home. Not a proper home to go to at the end of the day. Where a parent might be waiting or a husband. And husband would be another topic that could make a conversation last all day. Only one man had ever entered Jane’s life in years. Jane kept a barrier up that stopped any relationships developing. She had no time outside working and being with Emily to find a man. So where was home?
‘I want to go see Grandpa Pete,’ Emily said.
Grandpa Pete. Jane stood, wiping perspiration from her face. Julie and Karen watched her intently. Emily tugged at her hand. ‘Can we?’ she asked.
‘Where does he live?’ Julie asked.
‘Just outside Chicago,’ Jane said.
‘Well. That’s not so bad,’ Karen said. ‘We were heading for Sioux City anyway because that’s where I flew into and hired this car. We can see if we can get you a flight out from there.’
‘Is that a good idea?’ Jane asked. ‘I’d need to show identification and the only thing I’ve got is my driver’s licence. As soon as Dawson knows we’re missing he’ll put a watch on my name.’
‘If he’s still alive,’ Julie said.
Jane felt a creeping horror that made her flesh go cold in the warm sunshine. That thought hadn’t even crossed her mind. She couldn’t imagine Dawson being dead. He was like a big old bear. Good to the people he liked but with an underlay of ferocity for any he considered a foe.
‘He’s alive,’ Emily said.
Karen knelt next to Emily. She took one hand in hers and said, ‘Tell me what you can see.’
‘I can see monsters killing soldiers.’
‘I need you to be brave,
’ Karen said. ‘I need you to look at the soldiers. Sometimes they have name tags. Try to ignore the bad things and just look for a name.’
Emily closed her eyes, swaying as she concentrated on the scene that played out in her head. Karen still held her hand. She stroked the back of it and made soothing noises. A truck rumbled by on the highway. Jane saw a flash of yellow as a western meadowlark broke cover and flew out of the field they were next to. Emily began to shake and made a soft whimpering noise in her throat. ‘There’s a soldier,’ she said. ‘He’s trapped by one of the creatures. It’s died on him and he can’t escape.’
‘I need you to go closer,’ Karen whispered. ‘Can you see his name?’
‘He’s shooting at something. There’s another thing…it’s trying to get him.’
Emily’s voice rose as tears squeezed out of her still closed eyes and ran down her cheeks.
‘His name,’ Karen said, her voice more demanding this time.
Jane started to interrupt but Julie laid a hand on her arm and gave a shake of the head to stop her.
‘Oh, God.’ Emily took a step back, bumping into the wing of the car. ‘It’s like an octopus. It’s got tentacles.’
‘Ignore the creature. Look for the soldier’s name.’
‘I can’t.’
‘You can, Emily. Just be brave.’
The girl’s chest rose and fell as panic began to take hold of her.
‘Stop,’ Jane said.
Karen ignored her. ‘Emily, look for his name.’
‘No.’ Emily shook her head not at what Karen was asking but at what she was seeing. ‘It’s got him. It’s got him.’
Karen grasped Emily hard and her fingers sank into the flesh of the girl’s upper arm.
‘His name!’ she shouted.
‘Stop it. Leave her alone.’ Jane grabbed at Emily, trying to pull her daughter out of Karen’s grasp.
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