Duet

by O'Gorman, Brian

  Nicola looked Greg over. His face was as pale as a ghost and there were beads of sweat standing out on his head. His eyes were closed and he was snoring steadily. The snoring she had heard before in their bed a million times, but right now it was one of the scariest sounds she had ever heard. She knew that he had only busted his knee but to her it looked like he was dying.

  “He looks like shit Louis,” she shouted.

  “Well, don’t worry, once we get through the village it won’t be long until we get to the hospital,” said Louis.

  “What will we do then? I don’t know what we are going to do,” wailed Tina from the passenger seat.

  “Let’s just deal with one problem at a time O.K.? The only thing I’m concerned about at the moment is getting Greg sorted,” said Louis.

  Nicola could have kissed her right there and then had the circumstances been different. Louis had told her before that she would have taken care of him no matter what and she hadn’t known whether or not to believe her. Right at that moment all of that doubt went away.

  They had made a brief pit stop when Nicola’s legs had begun to ache to the point where she thought that cramp was going to set in. They had stopped so that Nicola could sit on the back seat and rest Greg’s head in her lap, turning herself into a cushion at the same time. He had been out of it for the last ten minutes or so and she didn’t like it. She preferred him to be still with her and making stupid and slightly filthy remarks to her just like he always did. She had never seen him vulnerable and hurt like he was right now. It scared her and she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do for the best. She looked out of the window and saw that they were going through the lights and heading up the main hill that led into Hurndell. It was the hill with the best view of the reservoir. That view had been photographed so many times it defied belief. However, she never got bored of seeing it, just like everyone else who set eyes on it. It was by far the most amazing view you could ever set eyes on. As the car inclined up the hill, she began to look out of the window to see the reservoir. As they climbed the view became more and more clear. Nicola frowned at the view out of her window. She didn’t know if it was a trick of the growing darkness, but it looked to her like the reservoir was nearly out of water. Instead of the rippling majesty of the water there was nothing but a big dirty hole where the water should have been. She was about to say something to Louis when the car suddenly came to a screeching halt.

  “Holy shit,” said Louis from the driver’s seat.

  Nicola craned her neck and looked through the front window. The car headlights were on and she could see a pretty good view of what was in front of them. Up ahead and to the left of them was Bluebell Farm. The building’s owner Dan Tatum was half running down the path and onto the road in front of them. He looked towards the car and Nicola could see that his face was frantic with terror. He opened his mouth to shout something at them when he suddenly let out a scream and went down to his knees. It was Louis that saw it first. The water had been chasing him down the path from his house and now it was burning its way up his legs. He had lost all the flesh from his legs right below the knees and for a moment he was kneeling in the water on the road and looking to them for help. A second later all the skin and flesh from his body was eaten away and the remains slumped in a little ugly pile in the middle of the water covered road. Nicola screamed. The sound was deafening in the confines of the car. Louis had seen enough. She slammed the car into reverse and tore backwards down the road. As the car gathered speed she yanked on the handbrake and ripped the wheel hard to the left. The car spun in the road causing Tina to bang her head on the window of the passenger door. Louis shoved the car into gear and took off back down the road towards Hurndell. She glanced in the rear view mirror and saw that the water was running down the road after them. She let out a little yell and hammered the accelerator down to the floor as hard as she could. She clicked the button on the dash to turn on the siren, but she had a deep resounding fear that there wasn’t going to be much in the way of people left to hear it. She glanced at the view of the reservoir and saw that there was nothing left in it. It looked to her like someone had dug a massive hole in the valley. She knew then that what Greg had told her was true. The water was alive somehow, it was deadly to touch and it was somehow chasing them down the road. The adrenaline was pumping through her body and she was fighting hard for it not to turn into blind panic. The car hurtled back down the hill towards town at incredible speed. In the back seat Nicola closed her eyes as tight as she could. She screamed again as hard as she could.

  “Nick, cut the fucking screaming or get the fuck out,” roared Louis. Nicola cut the screaming and reduced it to a series of pathetic sounding whimpers.

  The car reached the bottom of the hill and Louis turned left to head through the centre of Hurndell. If they could get to the far side of town then they would hit the main road which would take them to Burnham. Louis knew that there was a hospital there too. It was a much longer drive, but it looked like they had no choice about it now. It was almost fully dark now and the streets were lit up by the orange glow of the street lights. Everywhere was eerily deserted. Even a small place like Hurndell had a rush hour, but today there was nothing on the roads and nobody walking around. Louis had an uneasy feeling crawling through her belly. She feared that the reason everywhere was so quiet was because there was nobody left. They were passing the small row of shops in the centre of the village. Soon they would be on the far side of town and then they could make a break for it. Louis was starting to relax a little. She though that she had managed to get them to safety and then she saw the road ahead and she slammed on the brakes again. The road in front of them was slowly being covered by a steady stream of water. It was running from all directions. The Meadow pub had water flowing from the windows and from under the door. It bubbled up from the grids that lined each side of the road. It was only a thin puddle at first but it soon grew to a huge pool that cut off their escape route. Louis reversed the car and began to turn it round but behind them, the road was being rapidly cut off too. The water that had followed them down the hill had been joined by more water gurgling up from the drains and running out from under the doors of all the shops and houses that lined each side of the street. Louis realised with horror that the whole village was beginning to flood. Her heart began to pound in her chest, threatening panic. She saw that there was a small side road straight ahead, the one that led to the vets and then round the back of the shops to the local Doctors office. It was a slim chance, but it was all she had. She put the car in gear and shot forwards.

  “We’re all gonna die Louis, did you see that water? We’re not gonna make it,” said Tina.

  “We are not going to die, not on my watch. We have to get to higher ground.”

  The car roared down the narrow road. There was no sign of the water down there yet and that meant that they at least had a slim chance. The doctor’s offices were their best chance. Louis had the idea that if they could get in there and get to the upstairs then they might be able to get up on the roof. Beyond that, she didn’t really know what to do next. The road began to widen out and in front of them was a generously sized car park. Just beyond it was the doctors office. Louis was pleased that the front of the building was mostly glass, at least it would be easy to break in. She was going to focus her attention on the building and perhaps even ram the car straight through the front to save time, but then she caught sight of something in the corner of her eye. There was someone standing beside a car to the right of the car park. Louis rolled down her window.

  “Hey, you over there,” she yelled.

  The person turned their head towards the sound of Louis’s voice.

  “You had better come with us, there’s a flood coming,” shouted Louis.

  The figure walked over to the car and then bent down to Louis’s open window.

  “I’m waiting for someone, an old friend,” said the figure.

  “I’m telling you, we have to get in
side that building, if you will just let me….”

  “It’s O.K. She is here at last.”

  Greg suddenly sat bolt upright on the back seat. His eyes flew open and then he saw her too.

  “June,” said Greg and the figure together.

  “Who are you?” shouted Nicola.

  “My name is Francis Bowers. I’m an old friend of June. She needs my help,” said Francis and pointed.

  Walking down the small road where Louis had driven in was June. The flood water was right behind her. It looked to Louis like the water was seven feet high and it wasn’t rushing forwards it was actually following June like a well behaved pet.

  9.

  “Get me out of the car,” said Greg.

  “You can’t, your knee…” said Nicola.

  “I need to talk to her, she is in trouble,” said Greg. He was trying to manoeuvre himself into a position where he could sit up properly, but his knee had swollen up so much that his leg was stuck in a straight position and he couldn’t bend it. The pain that had been tearing through it had dampened down to a dull roar. Greg was still as pale as a ghost and he still had beads of sweat standing out on his forehead but Nicola had seen the gritted teeth and the wide eyes that he had right now, it meant that he was going to do it with or without her help. She let out a little sound that was almost a sob and then she opened her door to get out.

  “Nick, what the fuck…” began Louis.

  “He’s going to do it whatever we say, you know it as well as I do Louis,” said Nicola.

  Louis knew it all right. Greg was a stubborn little fucker at times. She rolled her eyes and got out of the car to go and help her. She went round to the other side of the car, opened Greg’s door and began to help him to get out of the car without doing himself even more damage. They managed to get him to his feet and they both supported him as best they could. Francis had now joined them. Her complexion looked almost exactly like Gregs.

  “It’s got her. The water, the water’s got her. But she is still in there somewhere,” said Francis.

  “How…How do you know that?” said Nicola.

  “She gave me a little gift, a long time ago. I can see her mind. The water, its learning. It’s learning all about us through her. It’s taking everything she has ever known. But she is fighting it all the way.”

  June was still advancing towards them slowly. The wall of water behind her was keeping up with every step she took. They all stood watching it, hypnotized by the bizarre spectacle unfolding in front of them. Suddenly Francis walked off towards June. June stopped walking and waited for Francis to get nearer to her. Francis stopped ten feet in front of her. June looked at her, her eyes rolled over white and then came back into focus.

  “June….June are you still in there?”

  June opened and closed her mouth a few times. It looked as though she had forgotten how to talk. The bottom jaw quivered and twitched again.

  “June here. Me here. Soon June dead. Soon all dead,” said June. Her voice sounded like she was gargling mouthwash. Her chest rumbled and crackled as she breathed.

  “What do you want?” said Francis. Her voice was close to cracking.

  “Was hungry, so hungry. Hunger no more if have life. June have life. June have no hunger. I want life.”

  “You have life don’t you? You have the water. Isn’t that enough life?”

  “Not want to be water. Want to be June. Want to be all like June. You soon be like June. All be like June. Water travel. Find all like June.”

  “Holy Jesus,” said Greg.

  “I have got a bad feeling about this,” said Louis.

  “What the fuck is it Greg?” said Nicola.

  “It fell from the sky. That’s what June said. It fell from the sky and into the water. It became the water. Now it wants to be us.”

  “Greg, we should get inside that building right now,” said Louis.

  “Wait, just wait one more minute.”

  Francis had tears running down her face. She was trying to be as brave as she could, but she had never felt such terror in her entire life.

  “You can’t just steal our bodies. They will fight you, they will fight you to the death. You let June go and you be on your way otherwise you will get a fight.”

  June tipped her head back and uttered a loud gargling laugh. Flecks of water shot out of her mouth and onto the tarmac in front of her.

  “It has. Already. Begun.”

  June smiled, a ghastly, grisly sight that made the hair on the back of Francis’s neck stand on end, it was like watching a corpse smile. Suddenly the water behind her began to turn backwards on itself. It looked like there was a huge tidal wave suspended in front of them. It reminded Francis of the parting of the red sea in The Ten Commandments. Shapes began to appear inside the water and then a moment later the shapes became human forms. They began to step out of the wave and onto the car park.

  “Oh my God in heaven,” said Louis, “We have to go, right now.”

  Nicola and Greg stood frozen for a moment and then they realised what it was that was coming out of the water.

  The first human form stepped out onto the car park. Louis recognised her straight away. It was Cory Walton the woman who had reported the dead ducks just a few days ago. She was dragging something along with her that looked like her daughter Abby. Then Louis saw that she wasn’t dragging Abby along, their arms were fused together. Both were naked and their skin was as pale as snow. They shambled forwards, the white skin rippling as they walked. Cory’s face looked swollen and bloated as if it might burst open at any moment. Next to step out of the water was Pam Davidson. She had the same grotesque appearance, but her mouth hung open on the right hand side and a steady stream of water was cascading down her front.

  More and more figures began to step from the water. Louis realised that it was the whole population of the town. The water had consumed them and turned them into something else.

  Francis began to back away. As she did so she heard June’s voice inside of her mind.

  How do you kill a circus?

  She turned and ran. Louis and Nicola began to half drag and half carry Greg towards the building. They were halfway there when Louis noticed that someone was missing. Tina was still in the passenger seat of the car. Sweat was pouring down her face and her body was quivering with terror. She was pressing her hands against the window as if it was enough to keep the shambling parodies of human beings from getting to her.

  “Tina, come on,” shouted Louis.

  Tina didn’t even register Louis’s voice she just kept on staring out of the window. She hadn’t even noticed that Louis had left her door open. Louis paused for a moment, wanting with every fibre in her being to go back and drag Tina along for the ride, but there wasn’t enough time. The townsfolk were surrounding the car, bumping into it and trying to get hold of Tina through the glass. Tina’s paralysis suddenly broke and she screamed and scrambled away from the window. She turned and saw that the driver’s side door was open. She tried to grab the handle so she could pull it shut, but it was too late. Cory Walton appeared in the doorway and started to get in the car. Tina shrank away from her and squeezed herself into the foot well of the passenger seat. She pressed her head into her knees and put her hands over her ears and began to moan. Cory opened her mouth and a gargling noise began to emit from deep within her throat. A moment later a massive torrent of water shot from her mouth and began to fill the car. Tina felt the water hit and began to try and escape again. She frantically tried to grab for the door handle but it was to no avail. The other townsfolk were pressed against the passenger door. The water filled the car right up to the roof. Tina managed to get half a breath of air into her lungs before she was engulfed. The water stayed inside the car. None of it spilled out, or leaked through the door panels. It was as if it was being held in there by an invisible force field. Tina couldn’t get out of it, no matter how hard she tried, even with the Cory thing standing in the open door way. Black spots began
to appear before her vision. Her lungs felt like they were beginning to burn and adrenaline flooded her body as she realised that her time was running out. She was about to let out one last bubbling scream when the Cory thing let out a gargling roar. The next moment Tina was nothing more than an assembled collection of bones and intestines floating in the water bubble. A moment later a white skinned, bloated copy of Tina began to emerge from the water inside the car. Louis turned away and started moving the three of them faster. Francis pulled ahead of them and got to the door of the building first. She pulled at the handle but, just as she expected, the door was locked. She pounded on it with her fists in the vain hope that there would be someone inside. Louis, Greg and Nicola made it to the door. Louis unshouldered Greg who grimaced in pain and she took her retractable baton from her belt.

  “Watch out everyone,” she said and got ready to swing with the baton, but something stayed her hand. There was water inside the building. It was filling up from the bottom of the glass door.

  “Shit, no good, no good,” said Greg.

  The townsfolk were beginning to advance towards them with June leading them. The wall of water was still in the same place and it was still giving up the ghostly corpses of Hurndell’s residents. Louis ran to the side of the building and disappeared for a moment. Then she stuck her head round the corner of the wall.

  “Fire escape, let’s move it,” she yelled and then came over to help Greg to get moving again. They managed to get round the corner of the building and there were some black iron steps that looked like they went all the way to the roof of the four story building.

  “I’ll go first with Greg. You two, watch our backs,” said Louis and threw Francis the baton. She drew another one from Greg’s belt, opened it up and handed it to Nicola.

  “Anything comes near us, let them have it,” said Louis. She shouldered Greg’s arm and then began to climb the steps. Their progress was slow, far too slow for Nicola’s liking. She turned round and saw the townsfolk were nearly on them. June had stopped in front of the building and was pointing towards Nicola and the others as if she was ordering her minions to attack. Francis gave her a shove and started her up the first few steps.