I felt a sudden lightness within me. It was as if Quint had left my body. A memory came flashing through my mind. I watched as Doctor Middleton, clearing his throat, gave orders to a junior doctor to take up a job at the asylum where Sylvia was being held. His instructions were to pay close attention to Sylvia and report back to him on a weekly basis in regards to her sanity. It felt strange watching Middleton. He had once been a great doctor, that I could remember. But now, as I watched this memory, I could see it was no longer him. I could see the demon in his eyes.
Standing underneath a large canopy of low hanging branches, I said, “So Middleton always suspected that Sylvia wasn’t really insane?”
“He wasn’t sure,” answered Quint. “But he believes now that she’s just been pretending. That junior doctor came back and told Middleton he was uncertain about her mental health. So it was only a matter of time before Middleton sent the Cleaners to the asylum.”
“So is she mad or not? Has she become like the other failed volunteers?” I asked, fearing that if she had, then Kassidy would be in danger.
Quint laughed and said, “I really don’t know. I guess Kassidy and her friends will find out soon enough.”
Feeling frustrated, I shouted, “So why the hell did you let her out?”
“Because now is the time, Ben, to turn my back on Middleton and Doctor Wright. I want something that has been kept from me for what feels like an eternity and the only way I can keep it will be if I have the volunteers,” snapped Quint. “They’re my playing cards, my aces. Without them, I can’t have her…”
“Who?” I asked, stumbling forward as a gust of wind hit me. I could feel the darkness returning inside my head. “Don’t block me out, Quint. Who is it you want?” The dark crawled through my mind, but not quick enough to block out the image of a young woman with long, blonde hair. I felt my heart race as I realised that it had to be Kassidy. “Why… why her? What do you want with Kassidy?”
“That’s my fucking business!” growled Quint.
As I felt the last of my thoughts fade in amongst the shadows of Quint, I could feel myself on the move again. I was running, each heavy footfall with purpose, consumed with anger and a strength of mind that I could never win over. Something deep inside told me that I would soon be seeing Kassidy again. But would I come through the dark and find her alive or with her blood on my hands?
CHAPTER TWELVE
Kassidy
I stood shaking, my arms wrapped tightly about me. Rain ran down my face. I peered out at the surrounding fog.
“Doctor Langstone!” I called over the wind. “Why don’t the Cleaners come in? Why wait?” I took a step nearer to him, careful of where I stepped. The burnt floorboards were slippery and I could feel my feet skating over them.
Doctor Langstone shuffled forward, his dressing gown flapping open like sails on a boat. “They cannot enter without my permission… no one can!” He turned away from the edge of the third floor and headed back toward the door.
Raven came and stood beside me, she wobbled against the wind but managed to stay on her feet. “There’s no way I’m going through that fog!” she yelled. “It would be the walk of death.” She looked over at Max and then back to me. “We can’t leave Max here by himself – we need to get Robert and find a way out of this place.”
Jude, who was still standing beside me, rolled his eyes. I wondered what was really going on inside his head. What was Doshia’s next move? I still couldn’t work out why the sudden change of mind. It made me feel more on edge. I’d had the start of a plan in my head – reach Doctor Langstone and then confront Jude. I thought I’d sussed out Doshia’s plan, but now with Jude talking of leaving without Robert, I felt insecure about confronting him. He seemed unpredictable. Stirring me from my thoughts, I felt a hand take my arm. It was Jude.
Hunching forward against the wind, Jude said, “Let’s get off this roof before we fall off or fall through.”
I nodded and peered over my shoulder at Max. He was still standing near the edge, staring out across the treetops. His ripped T-shirt flapped around his shivering body.
“Max!” I shouted, trying to be heard over the roar of the wind.
He turned his head slowly. “I’m coming!” He took one last glance out into the night, then carefully joined Jude and me.
“Let’s get back inside,” I said. “It’s dangerous up here.” I looked about for Sylvia. Catching a fleeting glimpse of her white hospital gown disappearing back through the door, I carefully made my way across the third floor.
Relieved to be back inside and out of the wind, we followed Doctor Langstone down to the ground floor. Sylvia was already waiting at the bottom of the stairs. She stood, swaying on her feet, staring up at us. The storm was so strong now, I could feel the building shake and groan with each gust.
Turning around sharply, lantern held high, Doctor Langstone spoke quietly. “There’s a building opposite this one. It’s the staff quarters. I think you will find everything you need in there for a comfortable night. In the morning we will talk. I will tell you what I want from you. Please don’t take my kind offer of a comfortable night as a sign of friendliness. Remember… I have Robert and I’m not kind.” He opened the door to the room with the long table. “You can leave via the way you came in – through the ruin. Mr. Shackleton will be waiting outside for you. He will take you to the staff quarters.”
Doctor Langstone stood in the doorway. I cringed as I squeezed past him, his melted flesh brushing up against me. My stomach churned as my top rubbed across those thick black scabs, which covered much of his stomach. I held my breath, not wanting to smell the awful stench that lingered from his body. He leered down at me, a glimmer in his black eyes, getting some kind of kick out of my discomfort at being so close to him. I shuddered, and once past him, brushed down my top, feeling dirty. My flesh crawled as I tried to rid my mind of the hideous image of Langstone touching me.
“Who’s Mr. Shackleton?” Raven suddenly spoke up.
Closing the door behind him, Doctor Langstone shuffled past us, heading down the length of the room to the door he had earlier locked. He wheezed deeply and said, “Mr. Shackleton is a past member of staff – a very faithful man to my work here at Cruor Pharma. He is my gatekeeper, amongst many other things.”
Max leant against me and whispered, “Must be that floating person who opened the gates and brought us down here.” He looked at Langstone and asked, “Can I see my brother… is he all right?”
Unlocking the door, Langstone spun around and glared at Max. His menacing stare caught us all and it was obvious that Max wouldn’t get an answer. Instead, Langstone said, “Mr. Shackleton is waiting… stay away from the dogs… they have a nasty bite.”
Edging my way past Langstone and out into the ruin, Sylvia already ahead of me, I saw a light a little way off in the distance. Mr. Shackleton, I guessed. Stumbling over burnt rubble, I made my way out of the ruin. The cold night air was suddenly filled with barking and growling. Langstone needn’t have warned me about staying away from the dogs, I had every intention of doing so.
As we reached Mr. Shackleton, I looked back at the building we had just come from. I shuddered as my eyes fell upon Doctor Langstone. He was standing, watching us from the third floor, still holding the lantern. I felt chills run up and down my spine. How had he got up there so fast? I glanced at Sylvia. Of course, Langstone was just like all the other demons and Cruor Pharma victims; he could climb walls and ceilings.
As the storm continued to rage around the isolated buildings, Mr. Shackleton moved smoothly across the ground and headed over to the two story structure I had earlier seen. He didn’t speak and his face was still covered by the long cloak he wore. What was he? What had Langstone done to him? And if this building was the staff quarters – where were the staff? Would they be tucked up in bed? Were they like Mr. Shackleton? I hoped not. I didn’t fancy spending the night in the staff quarters if they were. We followed close behind and in silence. I w
ondered if there would ever be an end to this nightmare?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Kassidy
No sooner had we reached the door leading into the staff quarters, Mr. Shackleton turned away with his lantern and disappeared back along the dirt track toward the gates. I peered up at the ruin and was relieved to see that Langstone no longer stood watching us from the third floor. He had vanished from sight.
The noise of the door opening had me turn around. I looked over Jude’s shoulder into the blackness of the staff quarters. What or who were we going to find in here? I watched as Jude fumbled about for a light switch. After no luck, he stepped inside, pulling Sylvia with him, and we followed closely.
My hands reached out and touched something pushed up against the wall. It felt like a small table. Slowly gliding my hand over the top, I found a box of matches. On further searching, my fingers curled around a thick candle.
Striking the match, I could see we were standing inside a room which looked half kitchen, half lounge. Lighting the candle, I passed it to Max and then lit another one which lay on its side on the small table. I placed the box of matches into the satchel. Holding the candle before me, I quickly checked the walls and found a light switch. Flicking it down, I soon realised there was no electricity.
“What a surprise,” I mumbled to myself. The lounge had three green sofas and a coffee table in the middle. A larger table was placed more in the kitchen area with eight chairs around it. I was surprised at how clean it seemed. I had half expected it to be filthy and forgotten – abandoned.
I watched as Jude began to open the cupboard doors in the kitchen.
“Bowls and plates,” he muttered. Then he opened another cupboard. “Saucepans, more matches, and some candleholders.” He held them up and Max and I fixed the candles into them, placing them on the kitchen counter.
“Where’s the goddamn food?!” moaned Jude, pulling open another cupboard. “There must be something in here to eat, I’m bloody starving.”
“Try the fridge,” suggested Max.
“I’ll look,” said Raven, taking one of the candles. She pulled open the fridge door and recoiled back. “That’s disgusting! Everything’s mouldy, it stinks! Even the food has been tainted with evil!” She slammed the door shut, her hand covering her nose.
“There’s no electricity, the fridge won’t work,” I said, glancing over at Sylvia and wondering what we were going to do with her tonight. I didn’t like the notion of falling asleep with her wandering about the place. She stood in the middle of the room, shoulders hunched forward, hair over her face.
Jude suddenly called out, making me jump. “That’s more like it!” He held up a bottle of whisky and a packet of crisps. “This will go down nicely.”
Glaring at him, I said, “Don’t you think we should be checking out the other rooms first before you start hitting the bottle? I thought you didn’t want to stay here anyway – looks like you’re gonna make yourself at home now!”
Banging the bottle down onto the kitchen counter, Jude snapped, “I don’t want to stay! We shouldn’t be here! But you three seem quite happy to live it up with Langstone, so a bottle of whisky will go some way in helping me come to terms with your fucked up decision to stay!”
I glanced over my shoulder at Sylvia, who had started to laugh. Trying to ignore her creepy giggling, I shouted, “Don’t get arsy with me! None of this is my fault… I’m not a fucking demon!” I jabbed my finger toward Jude.
“Well it’s not my fucking fault either!” yelled Jude, snatching up the bottle again and unscrewing the lid. He took a large swig from the bottle in defiance. Holding out the bottle in my direction, Jude spat, “Here… have some… it obviously worked for your father!”
His words were like an arrow in my heart. I snatched up the candle, anger suddenly threatening to erupt. Clenching it in my fist, I rushed at him, burying the flame against his chest.
“What the fuck are you playing at?!” yelled Jude, knocking the candle from my hand and quickly brushing himself down.
In a blaze of fury, I pushed past Raven and Max and stormed away. Kicking open a door, I marched down a small corridor, my heart pumping round sharp bursts of VA20. It raged through my veins like a violent poison. My head was suddenly ravaged with an aggression I had not felt before. I squeezed my hand into a fist and lashed out in the dark, striking at objects I couldn’t see. The silence in the staff quarters was broken. Glass shattered onto the floor and items rolled from off shelves. Snatching at pictures I could barely make out hanging on the walls, I ripped them off. In an endless torrent like a tornado rushing through, I repeatedly smashed them down onto the floor and against the walls, until I had come to the end of the corridor and there was nothing left for me to destroy. But that wasn’t enough. I wanted to hurt someone. I wanted to beat the evil that kept Jude living, like he had taken the life of my friend Hannah. With nothing left to tear down and break, I used my voice to vent the anger that splintered all rational thoughts.
I screamed at the top of my voice. “You bastards had better stay away from me… I’m warning you all… I’ll fucking kill the lot of you… I hate you all…!” I wanted to run. What was happening? This wasn’t me. In a blind fury, I ran at the wall, no longer caring for my own safety.
Expecting to feel pain on the impact, it didn’t come. The anger disappeared. It vanished as soon as it had come. Instead of finding myself sprawled out across the floor, I was upside down, my hands and feet against the ceiling, nose pressed against plaster.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Kassidy
My breathing was laboured. I felt out of breath. My head confused. It was like waking from a dream and not knowing where I was. But I did know, I just couldn’t work out how I had come to be attached to the ceiling.
Too afraid to move for fear of falling, I peered along the dark corridor. The last time I had been on a ceiling was when Quint had put me there. Was that why I was now hanging upside down? Had Quint come back? I dropped my head back and tried to see. It was disorientating in the gloom, and trying to look from such an awkward angle was difficult. The floor was littered with broken objects from my rampage.
“Quint, are you there… did you put me up here?” I whispered. I waited for a response, but nothing came. Just the heavy beating of my heart in my ears and the rush of wind zipping past the staff quarters. I tried again. “Ben…?” Feeling ever more confused, I said, “Look… if you’re here, Quint, then just show yourself and get me off this bloody ceiling!” I was beginning to feel sick from hanging upside down. “Quint!” I listened but there was no reply. I lifted my head, nose pressed to the ceiling. If Quint wasn’t responsible, how had this happened? I couldn’t stay on the ceiling but how was I going to get down without falling and hurting myself? Taking a deep breath, I prepared to move. I knew as soon as I took one hand away from the ceiling, I would fall.
“Here goes,” I muttered, bracing myself for the drop. I removed the fingers first, palm still pressed tight against the ceiling. “Okay!” I was surprised to still be attached. Slowly, I pulled my hand away and let it dangle. I tried a foot next. It came away from the ceiling, yet I still didn’t fall. Bringing the detached hand and foot back to the ceiling, I nervously attempted to crawl toward the wall. I must have moved an inch when I heard Max call out.
“Kassidy… can I come in… is it safe? Are you still angry?”
The sudden sound of his voice made me freeze. I didn’t want him to see me on the ceiling. What would he think? What did I think? I was crawling along a ceiling! What did that make me? My fear of turning into one of those disturbing creatures seemed even more real. Was that what was happening?
“Go away!” I shouted, scared he would push open the door and see me. My panic made me move faster. As I reached the wall, I seemed to lose all concentration. I fell, tumbling against the wall and flipping over. I landed on my right shoulder, scattering the broken objects across the floor.
“Are you all right… do
you need help?” Max called from behind the door.
Staggering to my feet and a little stunned, I shouted, “I said, leave me alone! I don’t want to talk to any of you!” Shaking myself off and checking my limbs were all in working order, I looked back up at the ceiling. If I was turning into one of those deranged killers, then what should I do? Lock myself away? I walked over to the wall. Stretching up both arms, I pressed my hands against it. I tried to climb but couldn’t. I backed away. I would try to take a running leap. Charging along the corridor, I hurled myself at the wall, arms outstretched – palms ready to make contact. I hit the wall at speed and rebounded off it, falling hard on my arse. I felt so confused. So much so that I began to wonder if I hadn’t dreamt up the whole thing.
Max’s voice suddenly echoed down the corridor. I looked at the door, quickly getting back to my feet.
“I’ve made you something to eat… would you like me to bring it to you?” he asked, his voice nervous.
Not wanting to see him or anyone, I shouted, “I don’t want any fucking food… and I don’t want to see any of you!”
There was a pause before Max spoke again. “Okay… if you’re sure…?” His voice sounded sad and it made my heart ache. I felt bad. Max didn’t deserve any of my anger. I wasn’t mad because of anything he had done. But after what Jude had said about my dad, I couldn’t face any of them, not yet. And besides, my head felt too messed up to even think straight. Looking back at the door, I said more calmly, “I’m gonna go and check the bedrooms… by myself.”
Not wanting them to join me, I headed up the stairs, stopping when I reached the top. It was dark, so I reached into the satchel and pulled out the box of matches, striking up one of them. I cupped my hand around the flame and walked down a short hallway. I stopped outside the first door, my hand hovering over the handle. I should knock first, I thought. There could be someone sleeping in there. Although deep down, I didn’t believe there would be, not after the noise I had made in the corridor below. I knocked gently at first, and getting no response, I knocked again, only louder this time. Silence. Feeling satisfied that the room was empty, I turned the handle and stepped in.
Damned Page 5