Perpetual Darkness: A collection of four gory horror novellas

by Jacob Rayne

  Marsha sat up, ready to push now that she had fresh inspiration. Josh’s hand went white as the next set of contractions gripped her. She pushed as hard as she could, imagining she was shoving the pain away.

  Sweat rolled down her brow, into her eyes. Josh moved to wipe it, but Marsha hissed, ‘Leave it.’ Her face was the colour of beetroot.

  She let out a cry that was half pained scream, half triumphant battle cry.

  Josh gripped her hand hard. He felt sure one of the bones in his hand had broken, but he wasn’t about to complain as he could only imagine the pain Marsha was in.

  Marsha let out a final shove and another scream then slumped back to the pillow, drained.

  ‘Excellent,’ the midwife beamed.

  ‘Nice work, honey, we’re getting closer all the time.’

  Marsha eyeballed him. His relentless cheer was starting to boil her piss. Her eyes closed. She’d use the anger to push harder next time.

  The midwife checked the heartbeat again. It was the same pace as before. They both smiled. Hearing the heartbeat was a novelty that never wore off.

  They could picture little Caleb now. It was about time he put in an appearance.

  After another agonising contraction that made Marsha scream in pain and further crush her husband’s hand, the midwife rolled the machine in closer and took the heartbeat again.

  This time the bu-dum-bu-dum-bu-dum was conspicuous by its absence. Marsha was too drained to realise, but Josh felt a pang of alarm. The midwife’s worried expression didn’t help matters.

  ‘Is everything ok?’ he asked.

  The midwife tried the stethoscope against her hand, making muffled thumps as her hand scraped across the jellied surface. She failed to hide her concern.

  She pressed the stethoscope against Marsha’s stomach again. The bu-dum noises came back again, but the worry on the nurse’s face didn’t fade.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Marsha said, sitting up. The tension in the room was palpable.

  ‘The baby seems a little distressed,’ she said. ‘I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about, but I’m going to get the doctor in.’

  ‘My God,’ Marsha screamed. ‘Is he ok?’

  ‘I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about,’ the midwife said, but her expression told a different story.

  The doctor appeared halfway through the next set of contractions. He hid his concern better than the midwife, but his poker face still needed a lot of work.

  ‘Is he ok?’ Marsha sobbed.

  The doctor said nothing as he listened to the heartbeat. ‘The baby is in distress,’ he said. ‘We need to get him out as soon as possible.’

  Then Marsha was being wheeled out of the room at a frantic pace. Her hand was torn from Josh’s grip as the bed disappeared from the room.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Josh wailed.

  Marsha’s cries faded as the bed was rushed down the corridor to the operating room.

  ‘The baby is stuck and he’s starting to panic,’ the midwife said, then raced out of the room after the doctor and the bed bearing Marsha.

  Josh ran after them, but a nurse stopped him. ‘I’m sorry, Sir, but you can’t go in there until the operation is complete.’

  ‘My wife’s in labour,’ he said. ‘The baby’s stuck.’

  ‘I understand, but you can’t go in, I’m afraid.’

  Josh shoved her out of the way and ran down the corridor.

  Two big orderlies came from his left. He dodged the charge of one and cracked the nose of the second with a wild right hook. The first recovered and shoved Josh roughly into the wall. Pain flared in his nose and he tasted blood in the back of his throat.

  ‘My baby’s in trouble,’ he hissed through gritted teeth.

  ‘I understand, Sir, but that doesn’t mean you can assault our staff.’

  Josh struggled to get free until one of the guards pulled his arm up his back. He grunted with the pain and froze.

  ‘Settle yourself down,’ the first orderly said. ‘You need to wait in the visitor’s room until the operation is complete.’

  Josh started to sob as the orderlies led him away. He had a horrible feeling about all of this.

  After the longest half an hour of his life, the orderlies came back inside. ‘You can see your wife now,’ the first one said.

  Josh was so worried he didn’t notice the concerned expression on the orderly’s face.

  He ran down the corridor to the room where Marsha had been taken. The doctor gave him a smile but didn’t say anything.

  The midwife said, ‘They’re in there,’ without lifting her head to look at him.

  As he stepped into the room, the metallic smell of blood hung in the air like an invisible fog. Marsha was lying on her back, her glazed eyes staring at the tiny infant on her chest.

  ‘I’m here, honey,’ he said. ‘The bastards wouldn’t let me in.’

  She nodded but his words didn’t seem to have registered with her. She didn’t really seem to have acknowledged he was there.

  ‘He’s beautiful,’ Josh said. He stroked the back of his son’s head, amazed at the softness of the gossamer thin hairs. A sticky flux of blood and vernix coated his hand. He wiped it on his jeans then stood, staring at his wife and the new addition to the family.

  It took a good few seconds before he noticed the livid purple colour of his son’s skin. His entire body was the colour of a day old bruise.

  After this initial shock registered, he stared carefully at his son. His tiny chest was still. It didn’t rise or fall.

  He put his hand on his son’s back to see if he could feel the movement of his breathing. The cold, clammy feel of Caleb’s skin terrified him. He was as cold as the grave and his chest still wasn’t moving.

  ‘But he’s not breathing,’ Josh said, trying to figure out the situation.

  A single tear rolled out of the corner of Marsha’s left eye.

  The sound of the door opening made Josh spin. The doctor approached, his face ashen. He looked everywhere but into Josh’s eyes.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Mr Walker,’ he began, but the rest of his commiseration was lost beneath Josh’s howl of despair.

  Josh hugged his wife hard, careful to avoid the tender midsection from where they’d tore his stillborn son loose.

  ‘I’m sorry, honey,’ he sobbed, his tears falling onto their tiny, dead son.

  Marsha didn’t react, just continued staring at Caleb’s lifeless body until the doctor carried him away.

  2

  The next day, the reality of the situation had still yet to sink in. Josh drifted through the hospital in a daze, not thinking about anything, just existing. Marsha was still off her face on morphine, and only partly aware of what had happened.

  Josh sat by the bed, staring at his sleeping wife, wondering how the hell they were going to cope with the loss of the child they had both craved so much. The nursery they’d painted in the brightest sea blue was going to lie empty, mocking the hopes and dreams they had held for the future.

  They had enjoyed life as a twosome, but they had gotten used to the idea of a third person in the house. It would be nigh on impossible to imagine going home without Caleb.

  A knock at the door disturbed him from his musings. The sound of a man clearing his throat preceded the visitor.

  A tall, skinny man in a black suit came in. He had a dark monocle clutched against his left eye and had a thin black goatee. His expression was mournful, as though it was he that had just lost his firstborn.

  He cleared his throat again, then wiped his right hand on his trousers and offered it to Josh.

  ‘Hi, I’m Doctor Hank Laverick,’ he said, his voice cracking. ‘I am so sorry for your loss, Mr Walker. The loss of a child in such tragic circumstances is a nightmare come true. My heart goes out to you, it really does.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Josh said, his voice cracking.

  ‘I come to you with a solution to the problem you face. I believe your wife should be awake for this dis
cussion as it is not the kind of decision one can make alone.’

  Josh felt a twinge of alarm at the gravity of the doctor’s tone. He shook Marsha awake.

  Laverick shook Marsha’s hand and offered his condolences. When it looked as though she was alert, he began.

  ‘I don’t know if you have heard of me before, but I am one of the world’s leading authorities on bionic technology.’

  Both of the Walkers pulled puzzled expressions.

  ‘I have a proposal for you. If you are willing, I may be able to give you the child you both crave so much.’ He paused, seemingly for dramatic effect, but neither of the Walkers responded. ‘I am in the business of bringing stillborn children back to life.’

  ‘And how the hell do you propose to do that?’ Josh shouted.

  Laverick held up a hand to calm him. ‘I am conducting research into this very subject at the moment. I have managed to give two distraught families a second chance to have their child. The first few subjects I had were unsuccessful, but the two families I mention have successfully had their children returned to them.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Josh said.

  ‘I place bionic implants into the stillborn children and resurrect them. Sure, it’s a false life, but the impartial observer would never know that. If you are willing to let me take your son’s body, I will do my best to bring him back to life.’

  Marsha burst into tears. ‘Get him out of here,’ she sobbed.

  Josh nodded. He’d heard about enough of this too.

  Laverick handed him a business card. Josh tore it in half and dropped it. ‘Get the hell out of here,’ he snarled. ‘Or they’ll have to wheel you out.’

  Laverick said, ‘I understand. This is the worst possible time to do this and I do apologise. But, please, I can give you your son back. Call me if you change your mind.’

  ‘Get out,’ Josh said, planting a hand in the small of the doctor’s back and launching him out of the door. He slammed the door shut, sending the bottle of water and photo frame on the bedside table tumbling to the floor.

  He held Marsha and the pair of them shared their despair.

  A few days later, Marsha was released from hospital. The wound from the caesarean was still sore, but the grief at the loss of her son numbed her to everything.

  The home they had shared together and had wanted to raise Caleb in seemed like an empty shell. Neither of them had any idea what to do next. They just sat on the sofa, staring blankly at the wall.

  A full week passed before either of them felt up to talking about what had happened.

  During that time, neither of them had ventured into what would have been Caleb’s room if he hadn’t been snatched from them so cruelly. It was Marsha who first plucked up the courage to go into the room.

  She faced the door with the trepidation of a woman about to enter a room full of knife-wielding maniacs. When she saw the freshly painted blue walls, the tiny cot and the rows of untouched cuddly toys waiting to welcome the new arrival, she let out a scream, sank to her knees, sobbing and pounding her hands into the floor.

  Josh heard his wife’s agonised cry and realised what had happened. He ran up the stairs to find her lying on the floor, screaming and sobbing her heart out.

  He threw his arms round her and started crying too.

  This broke the ice between them. After they had ran out of tears, they held each other, and started to talk about what had happened.

  They checked the messages on their answering machine – something they hadn’t bothered with since returning from hospital. Among the PPI claim information and other marketing junk, they found a message from the strange, slightly sinister, Dr Laverick.

  ‘I realise that I approached you at a very bad time, Mr and Mrs Walker,’ the voice said. ‘And I do apologise, but I wonder if you have given any more thought to my proposal?’

  The question hung in the air for a moment while Laverick pondered his next words.

  ‘If you do not want to go ahead with it, then delete this message and I promise you will never hear from me again. If, on the other hand, you have changed your mind, then call me on the following number…’

  The number was hidden as Marsha turned to Josh and said, ‘Maybe it would be worth a try. I can’t break down like this every time I go in his room.’

  Josh nodded. ‘The whole process sounds so unnatural though.’

  ‘Yes, but if it gives us our little Caleb back…’ she trailed off, having no idea what else to say.

  ‘We’ll give it a day to have a good think about it. If we decide to do it we can call Dr Laverick tomorrow.’

  Marsha kissed him on the side of the head. She already knew she wanted to take the chance.

  3

  The next day, they again discussed Dr Laverick’s proposal. After having twenty four hours to think about it, both had seen nothing but the fact that they would get to hold their son and have him as a part of their lives. There was no discussion needed; they were both in, despite Josh’s doubts about the procedure. Marsha called Laverick, taking the number from the answering machine message.

  ‘Hello, Mrs Walker,’ Laverick beamed, sounding unsurprised but genuinely pleased to hear from them.

  ‘We’ve changed our minds,’ Marsha blurted.

  ‘I see. I hoped you would.’

  ‘We think the slightest chance of meeting him is going to be worth the risk.’

  ‘There isn’t much risk involved, I’m sure you’ll be pleased to hear.’

  ‘That’s a relief. What do we need to do?’

  ‘If you like I can pop round tomorrow on my way home from work. There is quite a lot to discuss. Forms to fill in, etc.’

  ‘Of course. Is it ok to put my husband on? He has something he wants to say to you.’

  ‘Yes.’ He paused upon hearing the muffled scrapes as the phone was passed between hands.

  ‘Hi, Dr Laverick, this is Mr Walker. I just wanted to apologise for—’

  ‘—not at all, Mr Walker. I completely understand. My timing was less than immaculate. But there was a reason for my turning up at that moment. You see, the fresher the body is the more likely this procedure is to work.’

  ‘Fair enough.’

  ‘Despite your furious protests, I sensed a willingness to explore my proposal, so I hope you don’t mind, but I asked the hospital to put little Caleb’s body into the freezer to preserve it in case you changed your mind.’

  Josh didn’t know whether to be angry or not.

  ‘I’m going to have to go, I’ve got a meeting,’ Dr Laverick said. ‘If you text me your address I will see you tomorrow, say sixish?’

  ‘Yes, that’s good for us. Thank you.’

  ‘Thank you, Mr Walker.’ The phone cut off abruptly.

  After a furious spate of housework, Josh and Marsha sat waiting for Dr Laverick. A beef joint cooked in the oven, in honour of the man who had offered to resurrect their son.

  At exactly six o’clock, the doorbell went. Dr Laverick extended his hand to Marsha as she answered the door. She pulled him into a bear hug that threatened to crush the air from his lungs. He laughed uncomfortably at the warmth of her greeting.

  ‘Hello, Dr Laverick, thanks for coming,’ Josh beamed. ‘And I’m sorry for the last time I saw you.’

  Dr Laverick waved away his protests. ‘Is that beef I smell?’ he asked, sniffing the air curiously.

  ‘Yes, we wanted to thank you for your kind offer.’

  ‘You shouldn’t have, we’re both doing each other a favour here,’ he said. His lopsided grin made Josh feel a little uneasy but he ignored it.

  ‘Beer? Wine?’ Marsha said, the doting host role fully assumed.

  ‘I’ll have a coffee, please. Don’t want to cloud my judgement.’

  ‘Please, take a seat,’ Josh said, indicating the settee.

  Dr Laverick sat in the chair, propping his tan briefcase against the side of the settee. He nodded a thank you as he took the cup and saucer from Marsha. />
  Josh and Marsha sat on the two-seater across from him. They both felt inexplicably nervous.

  ‘Please, relax,’ Laverick smiled. ‘Now, first of all, I need you to understand what it is I will be doing. It is not just a case of popping a battery into Caleb and charging him up. This is a very invasive procedure which will involve major alterations to Caleb’s internal biology.’

  ‘Ok,’ Josh and Marsha said, both feeling a little uneasy at the idea of their beloved son being cut open and tinkered with.

  ‘I do the bare minimum, to preserve the original genetic makeup as much as possible, but there is a lot of… rearranging… required to make this work. I have photos of some of the internal modifications if you would care to see them?’

  Josh was mildly pissed off at the terms Laverick was using as it made it sound as though his son was a car or a computer. He turned up his nose at the thought of seeing the grisly ‘modifications’ the doctor had mentioned.

  ‘No, thank you,’ Marsha said, feeling distinctly queasy at the idea.

  ‘No one ever does,’ Laverick smiled. ‘So, yes. As long as you are happy for me to open little Caleb up and make the required modifications then we can go ahead. There are a number of advantages my digital children have over regular children. I will go into those in greater detail in future. For now, it is enough for you to know that you will get to bring up your son as you had hoped.’

  Josh and Marsha exchanged a little smile at this.

  ‘So, there are forms to be filled in,’ he said, pulling open his briefcase. He hastily hid a glossy A4 photo but not before Josh had clapped eyes on the open torso of a small child with wires, LEDs and what looked like solar panels inserted into each of its organs.

  His stomach did a flip.

  ‘Sorry,’ Laverick said, noticing the pallor that Josh’s face had taken on. ‘Got to have that in there, in case anyone ever wants to see it.’

  Josh swallowed hard.

  Laverick pulled out a beige cardboard wallet. ‘Here we are,’ he muttered, raking through and pulling out a thick pack of forms. ‘Now,’ he said, pointing with the top of his pen to a long list under the heading Modifications, ‘if you want to read the full list of what I need to do to bring life back to your son, then be my guest and read there before you sign. I warn you that it is a little stomach-churning if you aren’t used to the processes involved.’