Damned

by Lynda O'Rourke

  Damned

  (The Kassidy Bell Series)

  Book 4

  By

  Lynda O’Rourke

  First Edition Published by Ravenwoodgreys

  Copyright 2016 by Tim O’Rourke

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organisations is entirely coincidental.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Story Editor

  Tim O’Rourke

  Book cover designed by:

  Tom O’Rourke

  Copyedited by:

  Carolyn M. Pinard

  For Tim

  Also by Lynda O’Rourke

  Drug (Kassidy Bell Series) Book 1

  Dwell (Kassidy Bell Series) Book 2

  Demon (Kassidy Bell Series) Book 3

  Chasing Life (Book 1)

  Damned

  CHAPTER ONE

  Kassidy

  The flickering light behind the iron gate came nearer. If it hadn’t been for the dark, shadowy shape accompanying it, I would’ve believed it to be floating by itself. As the windscreen wipers continued to clear the rain, I peered through the glass into the darkness beyond the gates. I stared round at my friends, who all looked as unsure as I did. Holding the steering wheel tightly, my bare foot resting on the accelerator, I prepared myself to escape should this visit to Doctor Langstone turn out to be the worst idea ever.

  The thrashing wind continued to pummel the side of the van, and as I strained my eyes against the dark, I held my breath. The dark shape reached the cones of light shining from the van’s headlights. It stopped just behind the padlock and chains, which secured the two iron gates together.

  Jude leant through the hatch, and with a serious look across his face he said, “Just remember, Doctor Langstone might be able to help you… but don’t forget, this guy is a demon.” He stared at each of us to make sure that what he’d said had sunk in.

  I didn’t say anything. Inside, I felt angry – bitter. How Jude had the nerve to warn us about demons, when he was one himself, infuriated me. But I bit my tongue. Now wasn’t the time to confront him, shut away inside this van and in the middle of nowhere. But when was the right time? Doshia, who I believed was the demon inside Jude, needed us all together, and soon that need would be accomplished. The missing link I suspected was Robert, Max’s brother, and if he was here with Doctor Langstone then Doshia would have everyone he needed to call on the Cleaners and take control. I stared into the rear-view mirror at Jude and watched him as he peered out toward the iron gates. He had played the perfect cover – pretending to be an innocent victim like the rest of us. He had shrouded our eyes and minds so he could manipulate us all – pretend to be Jude when really, hidden inside that body, lurked Doshia. Something had to be done and soon, but the timing had to be right. I looked back toward the gates and felt myself tense. The padlock and chains appeared to be unravelling all by themselves. The dark figure seemed to blur in and out of focus, waver around in mid-air. But was I seeing wrong? What, with the rain pouring down over the windscreen and the fact that it was dark, maybe I was seeing things? Raven leant forward, her eyes wide as she stared through the windscreen.

  She whispered. “Anyone else think that we’re about to hand ourselves over to the Devil himself?” She peered round at us, her damp hair stuck to the sides of her face like each strand had been dipped in tar.

  Max fidgeted in his seat, and with both hands gripped tightly to his knees, he licked his dry lips and whispered, “Not the Devil… but close enough.”

  Leaning forward so I could see Raven and Max, I asked, “Are you sure you want to go in… I mean…?”

  Before I could continue, all three said, “Yes,” no thought – no pondering – a straightforward yes.

  A little surprised at their determined decision to go through with seeing Doctor Langstone, I sat back in my seat. I could understand Jude not hesitating to go in, but both Raven and Max seemed too sure. I knew Max wanted to find his brother but that didn’t stop him from being usually nervous – a little hesitant. I glanced at Raven. With all her talk of demons, ghosts, and witches, even she didn’t seem fazed about going in. I looked out through the windscreen. The heavy, rusty padlock and chains were lying in a heap on the sodden dirt track. The night was suddenly filled with the screech of old hinges as the iron gates slowly opened. I swallowed hard. I felt scared. Not just because I was about to come face to face with Doctor Langstone, but because my head was suddenly filled with dubious thoughts about my friends. That unmistakable nagging, worry of who to trust, was rising up from the pit of my stomach. But why? I already knew who Doshia was. Why would I start doubting Raven and Max? I looked down at my hands that still gripped the steering wheel. Those ugly veins stuck out like gnarled, black twigs. Everything about going through those gates seemed wrong. Hadn’t I ignored my inner instincts before, which had led me to here? Shouldn’t I start listening to my doubts? But what else could I do? I had nowhere to go, and with the Cleaners always close behind, where was there to hide? Yet the urge to open up the van door and bolt was so strong. Without even realising I had done it, my hand left the steering wheel and was now gripping the door handle. I glanced up into the rear-view mirror. My eyes met Jude’s. He stared back at me with a look that said he knew what I was thinking – what I was planning to do. I took my hand away from the door handle and broke the stare between us. No. I had to go through those iron gates. I had been through so much just to get here. Too much had happened to just turn away. There was no one else who could help me rid my veins of VA20. I had to keep my cool, swallow my nerves, and stick to the original plan, regardless of my fears and paranoia that I had about my friends. I tried to reassure myself. Paranoia – that’s all it was, and who could blame me? Ever since I’d stepped into Cruor Pharma on top of Strangers Hill, it had been nothing but broken trust and lies between us. No wonder my head was full of such concerns.

  Taking a deep breath and peering out through the windscreen, I stared at the dark figure with its outstretched arm, beckoning us to follow it. Was this Doctor Langstone? I was about to find out. I put the gear into first and slowly drove the van through the open iron gates.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Kassidy

  We followed the figure carrying the lamp. The van crawled slowly forward. The dirt track looked more like a muddy river as the rain continued to pour down.

  Switching the wipers to a faster speed, I said, “Do you think that’s Doctor Langstone or someone else?” I leant forward in my seat to try to get a better look but it was pointless. All that could be seen of the figure was its long, black cloak trailing behind it, swishing wildly about in the wind.

  “I doubt it,” answered Max. “Someone like Langstone wouldn’t come out in this weather – he’d send someone else.”

  Raven leant forward so she could see me and said, “Yeah, that’s probably one of the Devil’s hands – some kind of servant.”

  Devil’s hand or not, I didn’t like the way it moved along the dirt track like it was floating. I looked into the rear-view mirror at Jude and said, “I’ve seen some creepy shit, but this place…” I stared out into the night at the dead-looking trees that thrashed about in the wind. “…This place not only looks bad… it feels bad… like everything yo
u can imagine that’s evil resides here.” I shuddered. “But not just evil… there’s a sadness… pain… sorrow… death. I know I sound like Raven.” I looked to my left and peered at her. “Sorry, Raven… but maybe the dead leave something behind.”

  Tucking a greasy strand of hair behind her ear and hunched forward, Raven whispered, “Only the dead who die at the hands of evil… or the evil themselves leave something behind. Their wretched souls can’t rest… they linger… haunting the very place where they died or the people they hated in life…”

  Jude poked his head further through the hatch and said, “Yeah, alright, Raven, I think we’ve heard enough. By the looks of this place… there’s really no need for horror stories.”

  Turning sharply, Raven hissed, “They’re not stories! You, of all people, should know that!”

  With eyes wide, Max and I stared round at Raven. Now wasn’t the time to point the finger of blame. As far as it seemed, Jude had no idea that we believed him to be Doshia. I looked into the mirror to see Jude’s reaction. His usually clear-blue stare had gone, now replaced with a sharp look that could cut right through me.

  “What the fuck does that mean?!” snapped Jude, glaring at Raven.

  Afraid that Jude’s secret was about to be aired, I jumped in before Raven could continue. “She means… what, with everything we’ve been through and seen… you can’t just deny the existence of such things. They aren’t just stories or tales… I mean, take a look at that thing that’s leading us through here… it’s not even walking… it’s bloody floating! It removed the padlock and chain without even touching it! Can we even call it a person? Who knows what the hell is under that cloak!” I shuddered as goose-bumps dotted my skin. “That’s all Raven meant… isn’t it?” I glared at her, hoping my angry stare would shut her up.

  Raven didn’t answer. She nodded her head reluctantly and slumped back in her seat.

  “What is that?” Max suddenly asked, squinting his eyes, peering around me and out of the window.

  I glanced to my right. At first, all I could make out were just more dead-looking trees flogging their branches in the dark. But as I continued to look, there was more than just trees in this desolate place.

  “What the hell?!” I wound down the window and was immediately hit by a torrent of rain, driven on the lashing wind. I eased my foot a little off the accelerator. “There’s something hanging in the trees… what is it?”

  I stuck my head out into the rain. Whatever it was there were lots of them, but it was so dark and the trees so dense, I couldn’t tell. There was something else, a noise. But with the wind howling it was hard to tell what it was I could hear. Whispering? I shook my head. It must just be the wind. But could I also hear the sound of dogs barking. I tried to concentrate but it was useless. My eardrums were getting a pounding from the storm. I faced front again and made sure I was keeping the van steady on the track. How much further did we have to follow the cloaked figure before we reached the medical facility? It seemed the further we went, the darker it got.

  “Wind the window back up, it’s bloody freezing. Whatever is out there, we ain’t gonna see until morning,” complained Jude.

  I felt relieved at closing the window, blocking out the creepy sounds I could hear. I leant back in my seat. Whatever it was hanging in the trees had rattled my nerves. A feeling of something menacing – a gathering of everything evil plagued my mind, and no matter how hard I tried to calm those intrusive thoughts, I couldn’t. I remembered back to when I had been inside the Cruor Pharma van with Ben, after escaping down Strangers Hill. Ben had warned me about going to Doctor Langstone and now here I was, wishing that perhaps I should have listened. As I continued to drive the van along the dirt track, I felt my heart sink. I wished Ben was here now. Not just for protection, after all, I never really knew if he was going to be Ben or Quint, but I wanted him close because I liked him. I shook my head. Who was I kidding? Liked him! It was more than that. But those feelings seemed so wrong. I shouldn’t be thinking or feeling in such a way, especially not after what Ben had done to me – injecting VA20 into my veins. Yet, I just couldn’t seem to shake off the pull I felt toward him. Never before had I felt such a connection – such a draw toward a guy. But did it matter now? I wasn’t even sure if Ben was alive. The last time I’d seen him was when we had split up – gone our separate ways. Me, Raven, and Max, and then Ben with Jude – or should I say Doshia? But the feeling I had in my heart told me that it did matter – Ben mattered to me.

  A loud thump from the back of the van pulled me from my thoughts about Ben. I swerved the vehicle across the track. It was Sylvia who had made the sudden noise. I had forgotten all about her. I’d become too consumed with fear and paranoid thoughts, and had let them cloud my mind.

  Without taking my eyes off the dark figure ahead of us, I spoke to Jude. “What’s Sylvia doing?” I was still unsure of her. I wasn’t completely convinced that she was as mad as she perhaps pretended to be. There was something in her stare that made me think she knew what was going on around her. She had a conniving look in her eyes but I still couldn’t be sure. And if she wasn’t as deranged as she played, whose side was she on?

  “Does she still have those handcuffs on?” asked Max, crouching forward in his seat away from the hatch.

  Jude disappeared from view then reappeared and calmly said, “She’s fine – just stumbling around in the back, and yes, she still has the handcuffs on.” Jude nodded at Max.

  Seemingly reassured, Max sat back. He stared ahead and whispered, “I think I can just make out the shape of a building.” He pointed forward.

  As the van lights lit the way ahead, what looked like some kind of ruin suddenly came into view.

  Swallowing hard, I whispered, “What the hell has happened here? This can’t be all that’s left – can it?” I peered up at the charred remains of what once must have been Cruor Pharma’s sister company.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Kassidy

  We were stunned by the burnt-out remains of the building in front of us. The inside of the police van was quiet. The only sound was the constant swish of the windscreen wipers and the wind hurling more rain at us.

  Thumping her fists down onto the dashboard, Raven hissed, “Is this it!? She glared round at me, her face like the storm outside. “Is this what we’ve come all this way for?”

  “I… I don’t know,” I whispered, feeling confused.

  “You don’t know!” spat Raven. “Didn’t that demon you love hanging out with happen to mention that this place had suffered a serious inferno?”

  “Why don’t you shut that sour mouth of yours!” snarled Jude. “In fact, turn away from me, I’m sick of seeing your sullen face!”

  “Oh yeah?! Well, why don’t you return to the pits of hell where you belong, you lying Devil lover!” Raven spat.

  “Enough!” I screamed. “We’ve only just arrived and you’re already at each other’s throats.” I turned to Raven, and trying to stay calm for fear of setting off the movement of VA20 through my veins, I said, “I know as much as you – don’t bite my head off!”

  “Did you call me a Devil lover?” glared Jude.

  “Just ignore her,” I snapped. “It doesn’t matter now. What you should be worried about is this place.” My eyes fell upon the figure who had led us here. It waited in the middle of the track, its finger beckoning us to follow it again. Pushing down on the accelerator, I continued to drive along the track. It led round to the right, and as we moved further along, the true state of the building became apparent. It loomed up in the darkness, half of it just a burnt out shell. The other side was still intact. There were other buildings to my right. A two-story dwelling, and from the loud barking and snarling, it became obvious that one of them was a kennel. Between these two buildings was a one-story structure. There were no lights coming from any of them. The whole place seemed to be surrounded by dead trees. They had all been set on fire at some point.

  The figure came to a st
op and turned to face us. Still, it stayed hidden under the hood of its cloak. It held up the lamp, waiting for us to get out. Steering the van over to the left, I parked up alongside the burnt ruin and turned the ignition off. With no noise now coming from the engine, the night was dominated with the powerful blasts of wind and the sound of snarling dogs.

  “Do you think we should get out?” asked Max, his unblinking eyes fixed on the figure holding up the lamp.

  With arms folded over her chest, Raven snapped, “Not much point, is there? Looks like we’ve had a wasted journey!”

  “Have we?” glared Max. “I hardly believe trying to find my brother a wasted journey! His life is just as important as ours.”

  I stared round at our surroundings. There was nothing nice about the place, nothing welcoming. No warm, inviting light coming from any of the buildings, just dark, empty, forlorn structures that seemed void of all life.

  I shifted in my seat so I could face the others and said, “I don’t like it here – this feels worse than the Cruor Pharma we escaped from.” I paused and looked up at the imposing burnt ruin. “But… we’ve come all this way, and to cut a long story short… there is no other option. We could turn right around and leave, only to be faced with the prospect of getting caught by Inspector Cropper or the Cleaners… and if that happens… well, we all know where we’ll end up – back on top of Strangers Hill.”

  Jude cleared his throat. “We could find Max’s brother and then run.”

  “Run where?” I sighed, leaning my head against the back of my seat. “There is nowhere to go. And what about these?” I held my arms up and stared at the black veins. “I came here to get this crap removed. If I leave now, then that means I’m stuck with this shit until it kills me!”

  Running his fingers down one of the black veins on his arm, Max said, “I say we get out and face this place.” He peered out through the windscreen. “I’m not leaving… not now. You’re right, Kassidy, this place ain’t nice but we’re pretty short on options, so let’s do it.” He turned and looked at Jude. “Pass me my shoes.”