Within half an hour all the toys were packed away and the team were in the hanger of the RAF base they were flying out from. Their kitbags were on the ground waiting to be packed and the pre-flight jitters were kicking in. It was cold, an hour before dawn and a particularly British breeze was chilling them to the bone despite their big jackets, woolly hats and scarves.
Usher stood stomping his boots to keep warm, hugging himself into his big military issue parka and blowing out cold vapour. Isaac appeared next to him and passed him a polystyrene cup of black coffee.
“Boss. Quick brew before skyward?”
Usher took the flimsy cup, trying not to spill the burning beverage over his fingers. He took a sip and winced. Isaac grinned and nodded.
“Made it just the way you like it boss, burnt to hell and three years out of date.”
Usher grinned, grateful for the warmth in his belly.
“Yeah that shitty taste really comes through, cheers. Better get used to the cold where we’re going though Isaac.”
Isaac sparked up a smoke and warmed his lungs on the smouldering coal. “This feels like a weird one, Thom. That stuff Argent was saying before his haircut. Like this thing we’re going after is the granddaddy of monsters or something.”
Usher looked out of the hanger door at the chilly horizon as the first cold light of dawn broke over the trees.
“Everything that has ever crawled through one of those thin spots has been the granddaddy, always worse than the last. And you know what? They all still end up with their head on a spike. I’m tired of being scared Isaac, wondering what nightmare we’re gonna face next. After that business with the Proteus and dealing with what was essentially a God, I just kinda accept my lot now. Our lives are weird, we’ve just got to deal with it.”
Isaac blew out a trail of smoke and gave Usher his cheeky carefree grin, but Usher thought there was a flicker of worry in his dark eyes. Usher raised an eyebrow at him.
“What is it? Getting one of your tea-leaf premonitions, gypsy Rose Lee?”
Isaac looked inward for a moment, shivered at the cold, and then shook his head.
“Nah boss. We’re the Lucky Few aren’t we? When do we ever end up in trouble? Besides if anything kicks off I just stand behind Brock.”
The hulking Scandinavian glanced over at Isaac from beneath a bushy blonde brow when he heard his name. Isaac just winked and cheered his coffee at him. “Between a Brock and a hard place.”
Then Usher heard a nervous voice behind him in the hangar.
“Occult advisor Speedman reporting for duty, Major Usher.”
Usher grinned and turned to see the diminutive scientist standing in full kit carrying a Bergen that was almost as big as him. He was clearly struggling under the weight and seemed to have added all sorts of strange looking occult equipment and contraptions.
Isaac flashed him a wink.
“Oh here he is, Sherlock Gnome, get the good cutlery out boys.”
Usher walked over and unashamedly gave the little scientist a big bear hug.
Since they had rescued him from certain, Ariel had very much become part of their strange little dysfunctional family. He was not the stone cold killer the rest of them were, but he was an encyclopaedic expert on all matters relating the dark magic of the Unseelie Court.
“Good to see you Ariel. How you doing?”
Ariel nodded and smiled. Beneath his woolly hat Usher noticed the white scar tissue where Ariel had lost half of his ear during their first mission together. He thought the young researcher looked tired, like he had been up all night in the lab.
“I’m good Thom. Ready to have me back in the field with you?”
Stromberg strode over and shook Ariel’s hand, slapping his shoulder with a tanned hand.
“Good to see ya brains. Ready to head to Mount Doom? Where’s the other Hobbit?”
Ariel rolled his eyes as Stromberg ruffled his hat. Jeter and Santiago gave Ariel a nod and a smile, Charlie flipped him a middle finger. “Alright wanker?”
“Yeah Charlie I’m good.”
Usher picked up Ariel’s heavy Bergen like it was full of feathers and slung it over his shoulder.
“Let’s get your kit on board Dr Speedman. We’re off into the fray again in thirty.”
Isaac gestured Ariel over to the waiting transport plane.
“Yeah, then you can regale us with what we’re up against, and tell us about your World of Warcraft characters.”
Ariel smiled, knowing that the ribbing he got meant he belonged. He had never in all his days imagined belonging to a gang like this.
10.
When Deputy Charlie Dumont burst into the diner, the little bell above the door almost rattled off its fixture.
“The Sherriff! Where the hell’s the Sherriff?”
Bobby MacKay was just gathering up his sports bag with his hockey kit and the Deputy almost piled right into him. Charlie was only a few years older than Bobby and about a foot shorter. He was the Cousin of Bobby’s best friend and had a reputation in high school as an ass-kisser. Bobby heard he once got an erection in the school locker room when the team captain was talcum powdering his balls. From what Bobby knew of Charlie, that sounded about right. Bobby raised has palms.
“Woah Deputy Dumont, take a breath. Sherriff’s out back with Gina, about that break-in the other night. You okay? Got a big case you need to solve?”
Charlie was breathing hard and his face was scarlet. “Not now Bobby! Don’t have time for your smartass nonsense. This is serious.”
Bobby took a couple of steps back and allowed the Deputy to pass. “Alright Charlie, keep your hat on, just hacking on ya.”
Sherriff Daggett strolled out from the back room of the diner. Charlie thought he looked like he had been lifting boxes back there, his face was red and there was some sweat soaking through the beige material of his shirt. The sheriff patted his paunch and waved a dismissive hand at his deputy.
“Charlie I thought I sent you out to Pelican Point to talk to that fella got his pickup stolen. Statement ain’t gonna take itself.”
Charlie hurried up close to the Sherriff, his voice as quiet as his flustered state would allow.
“Marty, you gotta come quick, there’s been some kinda attack.”
Daggett adjusted his gun belt and stood up straight.
“An attack. What the hell you talking about Charlie?”
The young deputy shook his head.
“Dunno exactly, boss. Some kinda explosion up at the old mine maybe, those gas pockets you get. Jesus Marty could be terrorists even I dunno! Couple of the Larose boy’s got hurt, but they won’t let anyone come near’em.”
Bobby McKay dropped his kitbag and stepped in. “Those fuckin’ Laroses! Don’t tell me Charlie, it’s that Freak Billy? Always knew he’d go tonto one day and shoot the place up.”
Daggett placed a hirsute hand on Bobby’s shoulder and gently pushed him back.
“Relax Bobby, it’s police business, so go to your sports game and let me do my job. Kay?”
For a moment Bobby resisted the Sherriff’s hand, his powerful athlete’s frame ready to push back. His gaze caught Gina’s over the counter and she was shaking her head at him. Bobby drew back and shrugged. He motioned Gina to come outside with him but she rolled her eyes and looked away.
Daggett turned to Charlie and ushered him to lead the way. “Ok Deputy, gimme the facts, what have we got?”
Charlie caught his breath and tried to control his voice as they exited the diner and onto the town’s main street.
“Larose boys, old Jake and that young Billy, they come down out the woods about ten minutes ago, crying blue murder. Covered head to toe in blood the two of them, I never seen anything like it. The old boy’s hurt bad I think but Billy won’t let anyone near them. He’s in shock or something, Marty. Got a couple of shotguns with him, been waving them around. Thought you could do a better job talking him down than I can. We don’t wanna have to shoot anyone.”
“Alright, take me to ‘em. We got officers containing the situation? We got ambulances on call if we need ‘em?”
Charlie nodded. “It was shift changeover so the nightshift boys stayed on when they heard, still got their weapons, so with Fran and Pete already there that means we got three squad cars blocking off the main street, six officers containing the situation, but no one establishing much verbal with them yet.”
“You said explosion Charlie, what you mean?”
“I dunno the boy ain’t making much sense. All I know is that there seems to be some kinda weird red gas drifting down off the mountains towards Carnival. Old Pete said something about Al Qaeda but I told him Carnival ain’t high on the list of targets, unless they got a jihad against bad coffee. I guessed maybe a methane pocket type thing might have gone off up in one of those old shafts. If that’s the case we might have to evacuate the town Marty, don’t even know if we got enough resources for that kinda task.”
Daggett straightened up his shirt and tried to swallow his nerves.
“Alright then, Charlie, let’s go find out what’s going on.”
The two officers walked out onto the main street towards the police cordon. Three squad cars sat stationary, their lights flashing. Four officers controlled the outer cordon where the street was crossed with police incident tape. They were doing their best to dissuade the quickly gathering townsfolk who had come out to witness the unfolding drama. One middle aged man with a coppery beard stepped in front of Sherriff Daggett as he advanced.
“Sherriff what the hell’s going on? You seen that weird red cloud rolling down outta the woods? It some kinds poison gas or something? I reckon those Larose boys been making a bomb or something in that damn scrapyard they live in. Eldest brother bought fertilizer from the store last week. I bet that’s it, those crazies made a damn bomb and it went off in their face.”
Dagget raised his hairy hand. He had a sudden panic that he may still have some of Gina’s lip gloss smeared across his face but he chewed his moustache and swallowed the idea.
“Easy Jim, I dunno what we got yet. I’ve had no cause to call in the bomb squad yet, far as I been told we just got two injured townsfolk who are pretty shook up. When I got information I’ll give information. Best thing to do is get yourself back to the store and not just stand here craning your neck.”
“What about my kids Marty, they’re still in school. If those teenage Larose’s go all Columbine and we could have done something about it, I’ll never forgive you Marty.”
Daggett took a deep breath and felt his heart pounding in his chest. He hoped to hell it wasn’t something like that, not on his watch.
“Let me go find out what’s going on. People listen to you Jim, would you do me a favour and encourage the rest of these folks to leave and go home. They’re nothing but in the way.”
The hardware store owner blinked his bloodshot blue eyes then turned to the gathering townsfolk. He nodded to the Sherriff.
“Ok Marty, ok. Just keep us in the loop, please.”
Daggett nodded then walked past him and ducked under the police tape to be confronted by one of his deputies, Allan.
“Sherriff, we got two Larose boys at the end of the street where the road heads uphill into the woods. They come running out about ten minutes ago hollering and screaming. Old fella is hurt pretty bad but that young Billy won’t let anybody come close, I think he’s in shock. He got his shotgun on him and he’s been swinging it around but no shots fired.”
Dagget put a hand on his deputy’s shoulder and took a deep breath. Then he moved as low as he could up to one of the squad cars, where two more officers had taken cover. Their pistols were drawn and their bodies tense.
Daggett peeped over the bonnet and saw Billy Larose with his arm around another figure. Daggett assumed in was the Uncle but the injured man was covered in blood and slumped half down on the street. The younger man’s eyes looked wide and crazed. Dagget cleared his throat, which seemed to have closed up on him, and stood slowly up from behind the car with his hands raised.
“Hey Billy, it’s Sherriff Daggett. Don’t raise your weapon or shoot ok? I’m just here to talk. That your Uncle Jake there? Billy he looks like he’s been seriously injured. I want to be able to get him some medical attention, but I ain’t gonna send anyone in there while you’re waving that gun around. Can you tell me what’s going on?”
Billy Larose looked wildly around him then back up the track that led into the woods.
“Sherriff I didn’t shoot nobody.”
Daggett nodded.
“I’m not saying I don’t believe you Billy, but you gotta admit this is a pretty strange situation. You got any idea what that red mist is coming down through the trees behind you? That your doing somehow?”
Billy spun around as if he heard something in the trees behind him. The red mist was trailing at the border of the trees and spilling out onto the street.
Billy turned to the Sherriff with a wild zeal in his eyes.
“Daggett, I know you think I’m nothing but trouble, but you gotta get the townsfolk barricaded in somewhere safe right now. There’s something in that mist. I don’t know where it comes from but it killed our dog and it ain’t human.”
Daggett peered behind the boy at the advancing wall of red. He had never seen anything like it. It didn’t make much sense to him that a dumb backwoods boy could have anything to do with this. Some primal fear was rising in him and he knew that he needed more help than Carnival had to offer. He turned to the nearest Deputy.
“I want you to radio in to the city, tell them we may have a chemical leak of some kind and that we need some help down here. Maybe get in touch with the boys at the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.”
The deputy tried his radio a couple of times but all he got was static. He shrugged at Daggett. “Nothing’s working boss. I don’t think any signal’s getting through that fog. Strangest thing.”
Daggett then saw the blue flashing lights of the patrol cars flicker and die. He brought his mobile phone out of his pocket and saw that the screen was blank.
What the hell?
He looked up at Billy, who was staring behind him into the mist. His Uncle Jake was on his knees using Billy to steady himself. He looked like he was losing a lot of blood. He started to realize that Billy Larose was not the real threat here today. Usually displaying an aura of arrogance delinquency, now he looked like what he really was, a terrified boy. Daggett called over to the boy, keeping his own voice as steady as he was able.
“Ok Billy, we want to get you away from that mist and we want to get your Uncle some medical attention. Will you please put the shotgun down and trust me? I know we got history Billy but no one here is gonna hurt you.”
Billy’s guard seemed to falter and then finally break. His shoulders slumped and he let the shotgun fall to the pavement. He nodded and helped his uncle slowly to his feet and then made his way across the concrete towards the waiting police cordon. Dagget beckoned the boy forward and gave him an encouraging smile.
Then he noticed a strange silhouette appear in the mist behind Billy. It was incredibly tall and thin, stretched out and oddly angular like a water bird. There was a thorny shadow around its head that looked almost like antlers. Dagget was dumbfounded for a moment and then called out to Billy.
“Run Billy, get over here!”
A shape suddenly shot out of the mist. At least ten foot tall, with grey skin and an oversized mouth cut with a skull’s grin. Daggett’s instinct was right it did have antlers. It seemed to be wrapped in a grey leather cloak but this suddenly spread open to reveal they were actually wings, formed by a skin and muscle membrane stretching from its elongated fourth finger to its hind limbs, like a Pterodactyl.
“Billy! Jake! Run!”
Daggett fired his service pistol into the creature, aware that he could hit Jake but instinctively knowing that the old man was already dead. With a hiss the creature vanished back into the thick red mist and was lost. Billy was scrambling to his feet and screaming for his Uncle. He was about to run back into the mist when Daggett suddenly ran forward and grabbed him, dragging the boy back towards the police line.
“Lemme go lemme go it’s got him!”
“He’s gone Billy, you go in there the same will happen to you.”
Billy kicked and writhed and then suddenly went limp with exhaustion. Dagget sheltered him behind the wheel arch of a patrol vehicle and clamped two strong hands on the boy’s shoulders.
“Now Billy I know you’re hurt and scared, but I need you to focus for me. I never seen anything like that my whole life, so can you tell me what the hell it was?”
Billy Larose looked up at him, his one droopy eyelid now open wide in confusion and terror. He seemed to be looking inward as is very far away. He shook his head slowly then fixed the Sherriff in the eye.
“Vampires, Sherriff Daggett. I think they’re vampires.”
Daggett looked at the boy in slowly dawning horror, then his head snapped around as he heard a noise in the mist. At first he couldn’t place it, a strange castanet clacking that started as one but in moments became a chorus of many.
Then his stomach turned as he realized it was the sound of many sets of teeth chattering together. Communicating with one another.
11.
Debruler walked down the steep winding staircase into the depths of his mansion. He passed sculptures and statues lurking in alcoves at regular intervals as he descended.
The Last Line Series One Page 41