by Amy Cross
Once we're left alone, Constance smiles awkwardly. "So, I guess you want to see the bits and bobs, huh?" she says. "Would you like me to start with the baubles and work up to the mind-blowing stuff, or would you prefer to go straight for the prized exhibits?"
"Is he for real?" I ask, referring to Benjamin. "He seems crazy".
"He's for real," she says, leading me back through to the main room. "and he's crazy. But I promise you one thing. You can trust him with your life. He values people who are different and who can look at things from a different angles. Once you get to know him, he's a very friendly guy. Don't worry, you'll love it here".
"Yeah," I reply, following her toward a door at the opposite end of the room. "I'm sure it'll be a blast".
Chapter Five
Louisiana, Today.
When I wake up, I find I'm face-down on the cold, wet ground. I'm outside the battered little house, and my left arm hurts like hell. Rolling onto my back, I look down and see that the arm is broken: the bone is jutting out just below the elbow, with blood slowly dripping down onto the ground. Grimacing against the pain, I look over and see a severed arm nearby; Constance was blown to pieces when the bomb went off, and her burned body parts are scattered across the clearing.
Looking up, I see the ruins of the house. One side of the building was almost completely destroyed. Why would Benjamin have set us up like that? Why would he tell Constance to activate a flare device, but then give her a bomb? Clearly he wanted us both out of the way, which can mean only one thing: he's started cleaning his house, mopping up the loose ends as he prepares for the next stage of his plan. Whatever he's got in mind, obviously I'm not part of it and he has no intention of leaving me around. He was the one man I thought I could trust in the whole world, and now I realize he wants me dead.
Hearing movement nearby, I look back at the house and - to my surprise - I see Patrick emerging from the doorway. Walking slowly and carrying a limp, he heads down the steps and glances at me as he passes. The flesh on one side of his face is almost completely burned away. He must have taken a huge hit in the explosion, and it's a miracle that he's even able to walk.
"Where are you going?" I call after him, fighting against the pain. I struggle to my feet, holding my broken arm up in an attempt to reduce the bleeding. Feeling a sharp pain in my ankle, I look down and see that my foot is twisted. Whether it's broken or just fractured, it's going to hurt to walk. I'm effectively crippled out here, in the middle of nowhere, with no hope of being rescued and with barely any food or water. "You can't just leave!" I shout.
He doesn't respond. He just keeps on going, heading back toward the trees.
"Wait!" I call after him, determined not to let him go. I never thought I'd say this, but right now Patrick is my best hope. He might be a cold-hearted killer, and a monster, but at least in Benjamin we seem to have a common enemy. "You have to tell me what you want!" I shout. "Where's Abby?" I hurry after him, but my body is wracked with pain and I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. "Patrick!" I shout as loud as possible. "I need your help! I need you to help me save her!" I struggle forward, determined to keep up with him. If Benjamin is trying to get me killed, I can't possibly go back to the Watchers. "Come back!" I shout, as I stumble and fall; I land on my bad arm, letting out a searing scream as the pain jolts my entire body.
I try to get up, but the pain is too much. Up ahead, Patrick is still limping along. I start crawling after him, dragging my shattered body across the ground and hoping that his impaired speed means I might have a chance of catching him. The truth, though, is that I know I'm dead. I've been in combat situations before, and I've seen how injuries progress. With proper medical help, I might have a chance, but I'm alone out here. Even if the Watchers find me, I doubt they'll do much to save my life. I have to assume that Benjamin is an enemy from now on, and I can't trust him for a moment. He led me into a trap, he used Constance to try to kill me, and he'll hunt me down and make sure I don't get away. No matter where I go, I'll never be safe again.
"Patrick!" I call out. "I'm on your side! We have to help Abby!"
He doesn't look back. Whatever he's doing, whatever his plan, he clearly has no interest in helping me. I still don't understand why he was so interested in this gruesome house in the middle of the Louisiana swamps; if he was trying to send me a message, it's failed to hit home. I keep crawling along the ground, struggling to make sure I can still see Patrick, but after a moment I feel the ground give way beneath me and I tumble down a mossy bank, splashing straight into a river. Although I try to grab hold of something to keep me from going under, I sink quickly into the darkness.
It takes me a couple of seconds to get my head above the surface. This is a stagnant little river, full of mud and dead leaves, but in my incapacitated state it takes me a couple of minutes to haul myself out. The bank is steep and I know there's no way I can make my way back up. Closing my eyes for a moment, I try to think of a way to get out of this mess, and I realize I'm out of options. The dirt and mud of the river has already got into my open wounds; looking down at the water, I see a think trail of my own dark red blood spilling out. For a moment, I feel as if there's no point fighting. I should just sit here and wait to die; finally, though, I realize I have to keep fighting. No matter how bad things seem, there's always a chance. Someone told me that once, a long time ago, and it's my only option right now.
Looking down at my foot, I realize that my best bet would be to see if I can straight it out somehow. I reach down with my one good arm and, before I have time to rethink what I'm doing, I attempt to snap the foot back into place. The pain is brutal, causing me to scream as I feel the sharp, broken bones rip through my flesh. After what feels like an eternity, the pain becomes a little less intense and I look down to see that the foot is a little better.
Hauling myself up the side of the steep river bank, fighting against the pain, I somehow manage to get to the top and roll onto the grass. Staring up at the gray sky, I take a deep breath and try to gather together my remaining energy for the journey ahead. It's going to take me hours to reach the nearest road, and I'm not even sure of the quickest route. All I can do is hope that some opportunity presents itself. Still, I've always known deep down that I'll see Sophie again before I die, so there's a part of me that thinks there has to be some way out of this. I'm not going to give up.
"Patrick!" I shout as loud as possible. I can't see him, but I know he can't have got too far. There's no sign of him, though, and I realize with a sinking feeling that he's left me behind.
Reaching into my pocket, I pull out my communication unit and check for signal. Nothing. I hold it up, hoping that somehow - miraculously - I might be able to call for help. After a moment, I see a single bar of signal show up on the display. It's almost impossible to believe, but I quickly cycle through the contact numbers, trying to think of someone - anyone - I could get in touch with. Finally, I realize that every single person in my life is somehow connected to Benjamin and the Watchers. I don't have any friends or family. Going through the list of numbers again, I eventually find the one person who I feel I can call. She won't be able to help me, of course, but it'd be good to hear her voice one more time.
The phone rings and rings until finally she answers. "Hello?" she says tentatively. I can hear the caution in her voice, and I don't blame her.
"Shelley," I say, trying not to let her hear that I'm hurt. "It's me".
There's a pause on the other end of the crackly line. "What do you want?" she asks after a moment. "I told you I don't -"
"I just wanted to hear your voice," I reply, interrupting her, "and to warn you. You were right when you said Benjamin can't be trusted. He's going to come after you, so make sure he can't find you".
"Are you okay?" she asks.
"I'm fine," I reply, wincing as the pain in my arm starts to get worse. "Just promise me you'll be careful".
"Where's Abby?"
"I don't know," I say. "We found Patrick,
but there's no sign of her. I'm pretty sure Benjamin hasn't tracked her down. Hopefully she's strong enough now to take care of herself. She should be pretty much untraceable, as long as she's careful".
"You sound bad," she replies. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing".
"Bullshit," she says. "Tell me. I can hear it in your voice".
"I'm fine," I reply, "I just..." I sigh, trying to decide how much to tell her. She might be the last person I ever speak to, and I feel like I want to think of something profound or deep to say. The problem is, I'm not a profound or deep kind of person. My adult life has been focused on one thing, and one thing only: the Watchers. There's been little room for anything else. It's sad to admit this, but Shelley - even though I don't know her very well - is the closest thing I've got to a friend.
"Where are you?" she asks. "Are you in Dedston?"
"No," I reply. "I'm a long way from Dedston".
"Are you in New York?"
"No," I say. "It doesn't matter where I am. All that matters is where you are. You can't trust Benjamin. Are you in a position to go somewhere safe? Do you have family anywhere?"
"I have a friend in -"
"Don't tell me!" I say, before she can say the name of the place. "This line is probably bugged. Listen to me, Shelley. You have to do exactly what I tell you. Put this phone down and run. Don't take your phone, or your computer, or anything with you. Benjamin has connections and he'll be able to trace you if you're not careful. Withdraw as much money as you can and try not to leave a digital trail, okay? Just keep low for a few months. Hopefully he'll lose interest after a while and won't see you as a threat once Abby is out of reach".
"Can I see you?" she asks.
"No," I tell her. "This is goodbye. I'm -" I pause for a moment as the pain in my arm becomes so unbearable, I can't talk. It passes a few seconds later. "I'm not going to be able to get in touch with you again," I tell her. "I'm going to hide". It's a lie, of course, but I can't tell her the truth: I can't tell her that I'm going to die.
"Is there anything I can do to help you?" she asks.
"Nothing," I reply. "Just promise me you'll run".
"I promise". She pauses. "I'm sorry we couldn't save Abby".
"I think we did," I say. "She's not with Benjamin, so she's free. She can find her own way. She's getting stronger by the day. We did what we had to do. We kept her away from Benjamin and Patrick for as long as possible. And... if you ever see her again, tell her I love her. Tell her she's the best niece anyone could ever hope for".
"Why can't -" she starts to say, but I cut the call dead, before throwing the phone down into the river. There's no point being sentimental: either Shelley will take my advice and be okay, or she'll ignore what I said and probably end up dead. I'm just going to assume she'll be smart. Crawling across the ground, I decide to keep looking for a way out of here. Sure, my chances are almost zero, but I can't give up. It's just not in my nature to sit here and wait for Death to claim me.
Eventually, after I've been crawling along the ground for what feels like hours and hours, I lose all strength. Stopping in the middle of a small clearing, I take a deep breath and realize I can't go any further. The wound on my arm is already becoming red and swollen, indicating that an infection is likely, and I've lost more blood than perhaps I initially realized. The pain has become so complete and total, I've almost become accustomed to feeling it run through my body like a second pulse. Finally, as I try to haul some more energy from the depths of my soul, I sense someone standing behind me.
It's her. I can feel it.
Tears well up in my eyes and start to run down my cheeks. All this time, I've been sure that I can't die yet because I haven't seen Sophie. Ever since her funeral, all those years ago, I've been certain that I'll get to see her one more time before my death. Now, broken and dying, I know in my heart that if I turn around, I'll see her. Delaying the moment, I can feel her presence so strongly, it's almost as if she's inside my body. Finally, I turn and look straight at her.
Chapter Six
Afghanistan - Five years ago.
Everything is calm and silent. Tranquil, almost. Except, that is, for the distant sound of artillery fire, interrupted every few minutes by the boom of mortar shells hitting their targets. It's surprising how easily you can ignore the sound of death and destruction, once you get used to it, and around here you have no choice but to get used to it. This is a war, and people are dying every day.
"You okay?" asks the sergeant, watching me from the shadows. He's been sitting there for a while now, casually examining a gun while sipping shots of whiskey. Frankly, he's giving me the creeps.
"I'm fine," I say.
"You're fine?" he replies, as if he doesn't believe me.
"Like I said," I tell him again, "I'm fine". The truth, though, is that I've spent the evening trying to figure out how I ended up here. When Benjamin said he needed to train me, and ensure I'm physically capable of working with the Watchers, I thought - at most - he'd sign me up for a gym. Instead, he sent me to study various physical disciplines in Asia, before moving me on to Afghanistan. Now I'm surrounded by a war I don't understand, and I have no idea when I get to leave. I feel like a puppet, being pushed around for the benefit of Benjamin and the Watchers. The only way I'm getting through this is by forcing myself to focus on the goal: one day, I'll use all my newly-acquired skills when I go and hunt down Patrick.
"No-one's fine in a place like this," the sergeant replies, drinking from his glass of whiskey. "The only people are claim to be fine are the ones who've been shell-shocked, the ones who are numb inside, the ones who don't give a shit any more".
I smile, looking down at the book I've been trying to read for the past few hours. Unfortunately, I've been so distracted that I've read the same page over and over again, and I still have no idea what the words are saying. It's impossible not to think about the possibility that - at any moment - a lucky strike could land straight on top of this tent and blow us to pieces.
"You want to know how I'm doing?" the sergeant asks.
"Sure," I reply. "How are you doing?"
He grins. "I'm fine!" he says, before laughing hard at his own joke.
"That's good," I say, still trying to focus on my book.
"What you reading?" he asks after a moment.
I hold the book up for him to see.
"Never heard of it," he replies. "You know what I like reading? Fucking Russian literature. Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, that sort of thing. Stuff with real meat, you know? Big fucking books like door-stops. And you know the best thing about those books? They're so big, you could swing one at a guy and knock him clean out". He laughs again. "That's my kind of book. One that can be used as a weapon if someone disturbs you while you're trying to read".
"Yeah," I reply, trying to be polite. I've never read any Russian literature in my life, and this is hardly the place I expect to be dragged into a high-brow conversation. I just want to be left alone until I get word that I'm out of here. Benjamin clearly sent me here so I could get used to combat situations, but I don't get why I can't just turn around and leave right now. I've seen people die, and I've experienced moments when I worry that I could be next. The last thing I need is to sit around here much longer and listen to the sounds of people dying in the distance. Hopefully Benjamin will give me the signal to get out of here soon.
"You're one of them, aren't you?" the sergeant asks after a moment.
I turn to him. "One of who?"
"The Watchers". He pauses for a moment. "I've heard about you. Every so often, a bunch of you arrive for some kind of training exercise. You sit around, looking bored, and occasionally you go out and spend a day with the real soldiers, but you don't really do nothing. I still don't get what you're actually doing here".
"Training," I say, feeling a little uncomfortable.
He smiles. "Top secret, huh?"
"I guess". I look back down at the book, but I'm very much aware that the sergeant is w
atching me.
"So what kind of stuff does your organization deal with?" he asks.
"This and that," I reply.
"This and that?"
"Yeah".
He sighs. "You're not a very talkative guy, are you?"
I smile, hoping to defuse the tension. "I'm just tired, man. I don't mean to be rude".
He stares at me for a moment. "No, you're not being rude," he says eventually. "You're being a professional. I like that. I'm a professional too. We're very similar, you and me. Very fucking similar".
Taking a deep breath, I turn the page of the book before realizing I can't remember what I just read.
"There are werewolves on the border between India and Pakistan," the sergeant says suddenly. "That's the rumor, anyway. Never seen anything myself, but I know some really good guys who swear they've seen these... things out there. Always at night, never in direct confrontations. But they're real and they're big, strong things. Sometimes they attack the locals, but for the most part they keep to themselves. There's some fucking horror stories out there, that's for sure". He pauses. "Seems like the kind of thing a guy like you might be interested in".
"Why would I be interested in that?" I ask.
"I dunno," he replies. "I guess I just assumed..."
"Pretty big assumption," I reply, starting to get worried. Before I left the US, Benjamin explicitly warned me that I have to ensure the Watchers' activities remain below the radar. This sergeant, however, seems to know rather too much about the kind of work I do, which means he's a potential security threat. Security threats have to be dealt with...
"I just thought you might want to go and see these creatures," he says, setting his gun down on the table. "Thought you might want to go and watch them". He emphasizes the word 'watch', making it clear that he knows more than he's letting on. "Maybe you could take me with you," he continues. "I'm good with that kind of stuff, and I'm sick of this bullshit war. I want to get involved in something more meaningful, something that really counts. I don't want to sit around waiting to get killed, you know?" He's clearly warming to the subject now. "Modern war's about luck. A man can't make his own destiny. I want to be in control".