The Creator

by Neil Carstairs

  Movement caught her eye. Bushes at the side of the grassed area had begun to shake. She saw leaves and branches burst apart, shredded in an instant. Was there something in there? Some wild animal, or maybe two, hunter and hunted. She saw shadows flicker and what could have been birds taking flight. Or maybe just figments of her imagination.

  ‘What are you looking at?’ Emily came and stood next to her.

  ‘Oh, nothing,’ Jane said with a false smile. Her thoughts of the cabin being a safe haven were gone now. Banished by fast moving shadows.

  ‘I liked Hurley’s goats,’ Emily said. ‘Can we get some?’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know. This is Pete’s land so he’d have to agree for them to stay here and we don’t know how to care for them or anything.’

  ‘Hurley said I could choose two of his flock. He said to get a boy and a girl so they could have babies.’

  ‘Oh he did, did he?’ Jane couldn’t help but laugh as she hugged her daughter. ‘Well, we can have a think about it but no promises.’

  ‘I’ll ask Pete,’ Emily said. ‘He’ll say yes.’

  Jane watched her daughter leave the room. She looked back outside. Any motion had stopped. The bush now a tangled mess of torn vegetation. Whatever had caused the damage had gone.

  She hoped.

  ***

  Ben and Kramer swapped the driving three times by the time they reached Duluth. Ben said out loud what they were both thinking. ‘Do we stop overnight here or go on?’

  Kramer pulled up at red stoplight and rubbed her tired face. ‘I’d like to push on, but by the time we get closer it will be dark. I’d rather get there in daylight.’

  Ben pointed up ahead. ‘Looks like a mall up there, bound to be somewhere to eat and then we can track down a motel,’ he said.

  ‘I’ll let you buy,’ Kramer said as the lights turned green.

  ‘I’ll put it on expenses.’

  ‘Wow,’ Kramer said, with a sidelong glance. ‘How romantic.’

  ‘I didn’t realise you wanted romance tonight.’ Ben tried to sound surprised. ‘Should I find a florist?’

  ‘If you ever buy me flowers I’ll break your arm.’

  ‘Really?’ Ben looked at her in surprise. ‘Every girl I bought flowers has always liked them.’

  ‘They either lied or they’re stupid.’

  ‘Come on Kramer, that’s harsh.’

  ‘No.’ Kramer took the turn off to the mall. ‘It’s the truth. They were just being nice to you.’

  Ben shook his head in disbelief. As Kramer drove through the parking lot he saw a name he recognised. ‘Head over to the Applebee’s.’

  Kramer for once did as instructed. Ben didn’t comment. He figured tiredness made her cranky. It had been a long seventy-two hours. If they didn’t find Emily tomorrow, then he wouldn’t get much sleep for another few days. Kramer pulled into a slot and turned the engine off. Ben popped open the glovebox and slid their guns out. He passed one to Kramer. ‘So you figure giving me a gun is better than a bunch of roses?’ she asked.

  ‘You are one hard to please woman.’ Ben opened the door and got out as he tried to ignore the words she shouted back at him.

  Kramer got out from her side. ‘Hey, Scarrett, try not to forget I’m actually your superior here.’

  Ben watched her come round the front of the car. ‘Okay, Kramer, you’re the boss. I admit it. Now what?’

  Kramer stopped about a foot from him, her blue eyes narrow. ‘I don’t expect you to please me,’ she said. ‘I figure that’s too much for a man who hasn’t figured out that some women might not want to be a conquest.’

  Ben stared at her. He didn’t get much chance to think about what she’d said. Kramer just turned on her heels and stomped into the restaurant. Ben followed a little more slowly. Kramer blew hot and cold sometimes but he couldn’t figure out where she was coming from on this one. By the time Ben went in Kramer had found a table. Ben walked over to join her but she looked up from her menu and said, ‘I’m eating alone.’

  ‘Come on, Kramer,’ Ben said.

  ‘Alone.’

  Ben sighed and turned round. He found a waitress to get him a table as far from Kramer as possible but somehow he ended up sitting so he could watch her. Ben ordered a grilled onion sirloin and a Stella Artois. While he waited he watched Kramer. She flirted with a waiter, some college kid earning money in his spare time. Ben felt a stab of jealousy as she laughed at a joke the kid told her. Her teeth were even and white and when she smiled her whole face lit up. Ben looked down into his beer. He asked himself a question, did he see Kramer as a conquest? Answer? Kind of.

  He signalled the waitress over and asked if he could borrow a slip of paper and a pen. When she offered them up Ben sketched a bunch of flowers onto the paper He then wrote sorry beneath the drawing before folding the paper and saying, ‘Could you give this to the blonde lady over there?’ he added a five-dollar bill for the waitress’s trouble.

  ‘Sure.’ The girl walked over to Kramer and gave her the slip and pointed across to Ben.

  Kramer looked at the note then looked back up at Ben, her face expressionless. She said something to the waitress and took the offered pen before writing on the paper. She folded it and returned paper and pen to the girl. Ben watched the waitress walk towards him. He took the slip of paper when offered, opened it and read – Apology accepted, asshole. He couldn’t help but smile when he looked at her. Kramer held her glass of wine up in a toast and Ben lifted his beer to do the same. The waitress asked if he had any reply and Ben shook his head. His food arrived and he started eating, feeling a bit better.

  He finished the meal, decided against dessert and paid up at about the same time as Kramer. He met her outside. The sun had dipped down towards the horizon and a chill had crept into the air. ‘Feel better for that?’ he asked.

  ‘The meal or the note?’

  ‘The note.’

  She smiled. ‘Yeah.’

  Ben sighed. ‘One of these days I’ll say the right thing.’

  Kramer reached out and gave him a pat on the shoulder. ‘Maybe you already have.’

  ***

  Delta unit travelled over to the United States from Canada in mid-afternoon through the Pigeon River border crossing. The six man team had flown down from their training ground that morning, picked up a rented seven berth RV and a bunch of fishing gear. Delta Four took the lead as the team’s main fisherman, a hobby he’d had since his dad first took him to down to the Forth and Clyde Canal as a five-year-old. When the border guards checked over their vehicle, Four talked the talk about the seven day Minnesota fishing licenses they’d bought online and their targets of muskie and catfish. They seemed to struggle with his Glaswegian accent, asking half-a-dozen times for him to repeat what he’d said. The border guards waved them through after a thirty-minute delay. Delta Two drove as Delta One, the team leader and only commissioned officer in the unit, took out his smartphone.

  The border guard lady hadn’t looked at their phones. If she had she would have found encryption software that even the U.S.’s National Security Agency didn’t know about. Delta One dialled a memorised number and waited for the call to be route through four different communications satellites. The voice that answered spoke in a refined English accent. ‘Yes?’

  ‘Good weather expected,’ Delta One said.

  ‘Possibly turning to rain later,’ came the reply.

  ‘Wind force four, northerly.’

  ‘Changing to force six westerly later.’

  One relaxed, the codes exchanged he said, ‘We’re through the crossing. No problems.’

  ‘Stay on Highway Sixty-One. In about ten miles there will be a viewing point looking out over the lake. I’m there in a red Chrysler.’

  Delta One relayed the instructions to the driver. He took the chance to enjoy the road trip. For the last eight weeks it felt like he and his team had not had a break from training. The order to go south took them by surprise. More so when they learned of the
ir destination. Most of them read the order at face value. They expected this to be some sort of test of American security. They wanted a few days away from camp. Get some fishing in. Maybe a trip to a big city with plenty of bars and night clubs where they could impress the local girls with their English accents.

  Delta Team came from 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment. Delta Two had the longest service at fourteen years and the rank of Staff Sergeant. He liked to think of himself as a father figure to the younger members of the team, even if they enjoyed taking the piss out of him because of his grey hair. He let them get away with it most of the time because he knew that if push came to shove he could depend on them for his life. Not that it stopped them asking questions about his driving as he steered the brute of a motorhome down Highway Sixty-One.

  Delta One saw the signs for the viewing point at the same time as Two. The RV slowed and took the tight turn onto the unmade track that led down to the open area of parking. As promised, a red Chrysler had parked up to one side, keeping well away from a small camper that a young family sat beside as they ate a picnic. Delta Two steered the RV into a zone that meant the vehicle would cover any meeting from the view of the family. Delta One told the others to get out and enjoy the view of Lake Superior.

  Delta One recognised the driver of the Chrysler. He didn’t say anything; this wasn’t the time or place to catch up with someone you had gone through Officer Training with at Sandhurst. As far as One remembered, the driver had joined the Household Cavalry. That was long enough in the past for any number of transfers to have taken place.

  The driver opened the back of the Chrysler and Delta One saw two large holdalls. He signalled two of his team over and they transferred the bags to the RV. Once done, the driver said, ‘There are two spooks flying over from London. I’m meeting up with them later. They’ll fill you in.’

  Delta One frowned, ‘So are we operational?’

  ‘I know where my orders came from. And I have hardware to pass on to the spooks as well. Their call signs will be Sierra One and Two. Expect to hear from them early evening.’

  He walked round to the driver’s door and said, ‘Good luck.’

  As the Chrysler pulled out of the parking area Delta Two wandered over, ‘Any more information?’

  ‘A couple of people from London will link up with us.’

  ‘So we’ll be here for a few days then?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘That’ll please the lads.’

  ‘Maybe,’ Delta One said. ‘Maybe not. Get everyone on the RV, we need to check the holdalls out.’

  With everyone on board and the doors closed Delta Six and Three opened the bags. ‘Holy shit.’ Six looked up. Delta One could have laughed. As the youngest in the team Delta Six looked like a ten-year-old with his pale, freckle covered skin and light ginger hair

  ‘What have we got?’ Delta One sat furthest away. In some ways he didn’t want to know what the bags contained.

  ‘L-115 sniper rifle and three CM901 assault rifles.’

  ‘I’ve got two more 901s, magazines and ammo plus stun grenades,’ Three added, in his Northern Irish accent. He reached in and pulled out a grenade. It looked lost in his big hand. The Belfast man looked long and hard at Delta One.

  Silence filled the RV.

  ‘Are we sure this is a training mission?’ Delta Four asked. ‘I mean if the Yanks find us with these the shit’ll really hit the fan.’

  ‘Best drive carefully, Sarge,’ Three said to a burst of laughter.

  Delta One grabbed a tourist guide that he’d found in the RV’s glovebox. He found a campsite that looked to be another thirty miles or so further south. By then the light would be fading but his lads could either bunk in the motorhome or stick up one of the tents the RV carried. ‘Let’s get rolling,’ he said.

  ***

  They found the campsite by late afternoon and Delta One sent two guys to a nearby store to buy eggs, meat and bread. They came back with beer as well which went down a treat. As the evening grew dark the team stripped down the weapons and cleaned them. Delta One would have liked the chance to test fire all the rifles but the campsite had enough civilians to stop them. One decided that the first chance they got in the morning he would have all the rifles tested.

  At eight his phone rang and he exchanged codes with a female who introduced herself as Sierra One. Their flight had taken longer to get over from Europe due to the jet stream which meant they were running late. ‘How close to Robinson are you?’

  Delta One had no idea. He checked the tourist guide and finally found the name north of their current location. ‘Two maybe three hours drive,’ he said.

  ‘We’ll meet you there at ten tomorrow. I can brief your team then. We are driving a red Lexus SUV.’

  ‘What can we expect?’ One asked.

  ‘The unexpected,’ came the reply.

  Chapter 11

  Emily lay in her bed. The open window allowed cool air to filter into the room and let her to listen to the sound of an owl calling in the night. The cabin lay silent around her. Edwin and Joshua were back at Hurley’s place. Hurley stood guard down in the kitchen and Ma Jacobs slept in the guest bedroom with her shotgun for company. Best of all, Mom and Pete were in the room next to Emily, sharing a bed like all proper parents did. Despite everything, that made Emily happy. Jane and Pete were together and this time, it looked like they might be together for good.

  Emily turned onto her side. She smiled into the darkness. This is what she had wanted ever since her mom first met Pete. Emily had been suspicious at first about this older man taking an interest in Jane. Emily worried that he might want to be friends with Jane but not want some little kid tagging along. It hadn’t turned out like that. Pete didn’t have children of his own and it was like he saw Emily as the daughter he’d never had. Over the first few times they had met Emily began to see Pete as the father she had never had. He was funny, generous and loving. Just like a real dad.

  Emily sat up, feeling cold. The window rattled to an unseen breeze. She thought she heard a whisper of sound that could have been footsteps on the roof.

  The roof?

  Emily looked up. She tried to look through darkness and wood at whatever was up there. Most likely a squirrel.

  Did squirrels come out at night? That thought chased another one through her head. If something was on the roof how did it get there?

  It’s the shadow.

  Emily shook her head in denial to the inner voice that spoke to her. She slipped from the bed and tiptoed across the rug covered floorboards to the window. Moonlight illuminated the grass and cast shadows from trees and Hurley’s pick up. The air grew colder on her skin. It made goosebumps rise on exposed flesh. Emily closed the window. She tried to do it without making a sound before she peered through the pane as she saw movement down by Hurley’s truck. She lost focus for a moment as her breath fogged the glass. She wiped it clear. Waited for a moment.

  Yes.

  Emily took a step back. She didn’t breathe. Put her hand out so the tips of her fingers rested on the glass and she could feel the chill coming through from outside. Emily stepped forward and looked down. No movement. Just the pick-up and its moonlight shadow.

  A floorboard creaked behind her. Emily whirled.

  A boy stood in her room. Emily stepped back until she bumped against the windowsill. The boy had dark skin and looked about her age. He looked afraid as well. As if he wanted to be somewhere else. Just like Emily. Finally, he focussed on Emily and he put his hand out. As he did another shape formed beside him and Emily let out a little moan of fear as a man appeared. He looked more certain of himself and knelt next to the boy and put a hand around him in comfort.

  Emily wondered if they were ghosts. But where would they come from? And why?

  The boy’s lips moved as if he were trying to speak, but no sound came out. The man tried as well, both of them looking at Emily. She realised that they were not there to scare her. She stepped forward and concentr
ated on their faces as she tried to read their lips. She couldn’t hear any sounds; it was like watching a muted television. If they are ghosts, Emily thought, then maybe I can talk to them. She closed her eyes. Pushed all thoughts away. Her best visions always came when she least expected them, and they always had sound.

  When Emily opened her eyes the man and boy watched her with interest.

  ‘Hello,’ Emily said. She kept her voice low so she didn’t wake Mom and Pete.

  Man and boy looked at each other. ‘Hello,’ the boy said. ‘My name’s Connor. This is Alex.’

  ‘You speak funny,’ Emily said.

  The man smiled. ‘That’s because we’re in England. We’re seeing you through an astral projection.’

  Emily had no idea what he was talking about. Other than they were thousands of miles away. ‘England?’ she said.

  ‘London to be exact,’ Alex told her.

  ‘We know you are in danger,’ Connor said. ‘I’ve had visions of things attacking you. And we know there is something following you.’

  ‘The Shadow,’ Emily said, as she gave it a name.

  ‘It’s only part of a bigger being,’ Alex said. ‘We have psychics here who have sensed emanations. We think that there is a demon controlling the shadow and trying to kill you.’

  ‘Why?’ Emily’s knees went a little weak. A demon? Trying to kill her?

  ‘We don’t know.’ Alex glanced up towards the ceiling, as if he could sense something up there. ‘But we have friends who are coming to protect you. We can bring you to England with Connor and me. With our other friends we can keep you safe, find the demon and destroy it.’

  ‘What about my mom?’ Emily asked.

  ‘She’ll come as well.’

  ‘And Pete?’

  ‘Who’s Pete?’ Alex asked.

  ‘My mom’s friend. He’s not my dad but I love him like he is.’

  ‘Him too,’ Alex said. He started to look nervous, and that transmitted to Emily.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked.