Blood Water

by Dean Vincent Carter

  They turned and carried the headmaster back towards the hall; his feet banged against the steps leading down. When they had crossed the hall, Waites tutted angrily, realizing he’d done something stupid.

  ‘We haven’t got the key,’ he said.

  ‘I know where it is,’ Sean said. ‘The caretaker keeps it in a mug on his desk. I saw him get it out when I had to help him set up for assembly once. He doesn’t keep it in the locked cabinet with the others because he uses it so often. I’ll go and get it.’

  ‘OK. But hurry up. I don’t like to think what might happen when our friend here wakes up.’

  Sean nodded, turned and ran out of the hall, then up a small flight of stairs to the caretaker’s office.

  Emily Rees was beyond distraught. She’d already seen what had happened to Nigel Phoenix, and could only assume that the same was going to happen to her. She couldn’t stop crying, and her thoughts, rather than dwelling on her inevitable fate, were now centred on her husband and children. Mark would still be at work, but her children would be at home, probably watching television or doing their homework. She realized she wasn’t going to see them again, and the thought horrified her.

  She suddenly heard a deep, painful coughing from the boys’ toilets. She had a good idea who it was, and wanted to keep as far away as possible, yet she had a powerful urge to know what to expect, so she went in. She saw him straight away, slumped against the far wall; his hands lay in his lap, covered in blood. He looked up at her, his face pale, pitiful. She approached carefully, unsure of what he might do in his condition.

  ‘Are you OK?’ he asked.

  ‘No,’ Emily replied, cringing at the sight of his sunken, bloodshot eyes. ‘I… What’s happening to me? It was inside my head.’

  ‘Probably the same thing that’s happening to me. The same that happened to Nigel. I’m sorry,’ he said, looking away.

  Emily stood there staring at him, eyes imploring, waiting for some words of hope.

  ‘It’s best you stay here,’ Morrow told her. ‘Just in case whatever’s happening to your body is infectious. I don’t think it’s airborne; I think it’s something only the specimen can put in your system, but I could be wrong. It could be highly contagious, so we need to remain here until the authorities arrives. Besides… do you really want your family to see what’s going to happen to you?’ It was callous but it had to be said. He coughed and spat a wad of red mucus onto the floor.

  Mrs Rees gazed at him in horror, her stomach turning. ‘I… I can’t. I’m sorry.’ She started to back away. ‘I have to see them. I have to see my children before… You understand?’

  ‘No!’ he shouted, leaning forward with one hand outstretched, before arching his back in a spasm of pain. He groaned as the agony consumed him. ‘For God’s sake,’ he cried, his eyes closed at the agonizing sensation in his spine. ‘You can’t leave! You can’t leave, do you hear me? You could have a disease inside you! You could end up killing everyone!’

  But Emily Rees was gone.

  CHAPTER 18

  The key was lying at the bottom of the large green mug on the caretaker’s desk, exactly where Sean had expected it to be. As he picked it up, he was aware of movement outside the window. He turned to see the drenched figure of Mrs Rees, stumbling and then falling, splashing on the sodden ground. He watched, his mouth open, as she ran on behind the annexe towards the main road that led to the town.

  Why is she running? Sean wondered. He hurried back to the hall and found the other two waiting anxiously by the cupboard door with the inert body of the headmaster.

  ‘I just saw Mrs Rees,’ he said, handing the key to Waites. ‘She was running away from the school. I’m going to check on Dr Morrow, see if he knows anything about it. I think something might be wrong. She wouldn’t just take off like that.’

  ‘All right,’ Waites said. ‘But hurry back. James and I will get Titus into the cupboard.’

  It didn’t take Sean long to return to the toilets and find out from Morrow that Mrs Rees believed she was infected.

  ‘You have to find her,’ Morrow implored. ‘She mustn’t spread the infection.’

  ‘OK, I’ll try.’ Sean headed back to the main hall, wondering how he had been given so much responsibility. After all, was he really capable of doing anything to stop it?

  He thought about Mrs Rees and the effect the disease would have on her and her family. If she was indeed infected and died in the middle of town, amidst thousands of other people, they would be facing a far greater disaster than the one they were currently trying to deal with. The authorities would then determine the source of the problem and descend on the school before he, James and Waites were able to deal with the parasite. Right now they were the only ones with any understanding of it. The government would have to quarantine the place. The creature had to be destroyed before it got away.

  ‘We have to stop her,’ Sean said simply when he’d explained the situation to the others.

  ‘All right,’ Waites said. ‘You and James go after her and bring her back here – by force if necessary. I’ll stay and watch Titus.’

  ‘Maybe you should go and see Morrow before he… you know,’ Sean suggested. ‘Just in case he’s remembered something that could help us kill this creature – he said he would try to think back in case there was something…’

  ‘Maybe I will. But I don’t think I should leave that thing unguarded for long.’

  ‘Yes, do be careful, Mr Waites,’ James said. ‘If that thing manages to get out…’

  ‘All right. You two, just go. Go and find Emily before it’s too late.’

  Sean led his brother out of the hall, pushing the entrance doors open and grimacing at the ferocity of the rain. He pulled the zip on his coat up as far as it would go and tugged the already wet hood over his head. But suddenly he realized James was no longer behind him; he was standing by the stairs, deep in thought.

  Sean shook his head and opened the door again. ‘Come on, James, we have to find her!’

  His brother looked up, confused at first, then nodded and followed him. ‘Sorry, I just remembered something…’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Oh, nothing… Let’s go.’

  They ran across the car park towards the main road. They had considered taking James’s car, but the roads could now be so flooded that it would only be a hindrance. It was even darker now; the sky was covered in thick, heavy clouds. They crossed to the narrow pavement and ran down the winding hill towards the town, hoping Mrs Rees hadn’t found somewhere to hide.

  Waites was pacing up and down outside the cupboard, biting his nails and wondering what he would do once the thing woke up and started trying to get out. He had no idea whether the cupboard would hold it – or whether he could overpower the possessed headmaster if he got free. There was no sound from within, so there was no need to panic just yet, but the time would inevitably come. And he couldn’t help wondering how long Morrow had left. Had the man remembered something useful – something that could be used to kill this creature and reverse the effects of the infection? If the man had information, it might be valuable. Perhaps he should risk leaving the headmaster unattended for a short while and go and talk to Morrow before it was too late. He paced a while longer, his eyes on the locked door, then made up his mind: he ran across the hall, then out into the corridor.

  Morrow had coughed up so much blood he couldn’t believe there was any left. Surely he didn’t have much time now. The pain within had been replaced by a numbness that made him feel shrunken and deflated. His head felt like a huge hand was squeezing it, and his teeth were loose, and moved every time his dry tongue passed over them. He didn’t feel human any more; he felt like a different creature altogether. With his remaining energy, he prayed that Waites or the boys would come back so he could pass on the piece of information he had just remembered – otherwise they’d have no chance of beating the thing.

  He waited, his laboured breathing the only thing disturbing the sil
ence. His head was hurting so much now that even thinking was painful. Please, he willed. Please come. But it sounded as if everyone had gone – he had been abandoned. Such a big tomb, he thought wryly. Then, without warning, there was a huge explosion in his chest, and all at once the veins in his arms felt like they had been pulled tight, constricted. Oh hell, he thought. Here it comes. And unlike Emily Rees, what was on his mind as death came sweeping towards him was not his family, but the overwhelming need to deliver his message.

  By the time Waites reached the boys’ toilets, Morrow was dead. He’d actually begun speaking to him and only stopped when he saw the glazed look in the man’s staring, lifeless eyes. His shoulders sagged. He was too late. But as he approached the blood-soaked corpse he saw what Morrow had done with his last few seconds of life. A message was written in the man’s own blood on the tiled floor nearby.

  Sall…

  Morrow’s finger lay curled near the last letter, its job apparently done. But the message couldn’t be complete. Sall… What did it mean? Perhaps Morrow had been trying to write Sally. If so, who was she, and what was her involvement in all this? Waites knelt and looked again into the dead man’s eyes.

  ‘What were you trying to say?’

  He remained there a moment longer, then remembered his captive in the hall. He was tempting fate by staying away any longer than he needed to. If that thing got out and headed towards town, it would be all over. He left the toilets, jogging back towards the hall and hoping the headmaster was still unconscious.

  CHAPTER 19

  Emily Rees reached a very important decision as she staggered down towards the high street in the rain. She could go home, collapse into her family’s arms, tell them she loved them, then die in front of them in a horrific manner, or she could get as far away as she could and die somewhere no one would find her. Her family would still be traumatized, but at least they would never see her final, appalling moments; they would not be left with that awful memory.

  She reached the bottom of the hill and saw cars everywhere, some parked on the pavement, others backed up all the way along the high street. Their owners had obviously abandoned them and sought refuge elsewhere. About halfway down there appeared to have been a collision, but there were no emergency vehicles present: no doubt they were more urgently needed elsewhere. The torrent surged through the jam of vehicles and Emily didn’t like the idea of climbing over them, only to slip and injure herself. Looking to her right, she saw a path that led away from the town. It meant crossing a stream that would inevitably be flooded, but it might still be safer. She turned and jogged along it, sending up cascades of muddy water with every step.

  As she ran she fantasized about heading home instead, seeing the lights on, someone moving about inside. If she got close enough to the house she might be able to hear the television, maybe even her kids… She shook her head. No, she mustn’t allow herself to succumb to the temptation. She shrugged the thoughts away and continued along the path that led to the swollen brook. When she reached it her heart sank. It was almost twice its normal size and the stepping stones that normally allowed access from one bank to the other were now completely submerged. She stared at the raging water and shook her head. This was as far as she could go.

  Behind her, somewhere in the town, she heard a loud splash – she didn’t know it, but it was the sound of the small public toilet block collapsing into the river. She gazed deep into the swirling torrent. She wasn’t ready to die. Not yet. She backed away from the water and found a spot by a tree where she could sit and watch the patterns in the dark, angry brook.

  She remained there, for an eternity it seemed, waiting for the pain to start, then for the end to come…

  * * *

  Waites was relieved to find the door to the cupboard still closed. He pressed an ear to one of the doors. He could hear nothing to begin with, but just as he was about to move away… a hoarse, tired voice:

  ‘Is that you, Daniel?’

  Waites froze. It was certainly Titus, although he sounded strained and in pain. Knowing that something foreign could be inside the headmaster, controlling him, Waites found the words chilling. He didn’t answer, but kept his ear to the door, curious to hear what the thing said next. The four words were repeated, then there was a cough followed by movement. Whether this was the creature trying to make itself more comfortable or to find a possible means of escape, he couldn’t be sure, but it seemed to be having difficulty. He sat down and kept his ear to the crack in the door, wondering what the creature was prepared to say or do to secure its freedom. He heard grunting and panting, and what sounded like another exclamation of pain.

  ‘Whoever is out there’ – the voice returned, clearer now than before, and more authoritative – ‘would you kindly tell me what on earth is going on? What am I doing in here?’ Waites remained silent. ‘Hello?’ The voice was angrier, more impatient now – Titus was in his element, Waites thought. There was a pause, then the headmaster started banging on the door in frustration.

  ‘I’m not unlocking the door,’ Waites said firmly.

  The banging stopped. ‘What?’

  ‘I said I’m not unlocking this door.’

  ‘Do you mind telling me why, Daniel?’

  ‘You know why.’

  ‘I’m afraid I don’t.’

  ‘Yes, you do,’ Waites replied, shaking his head. ‘This is crazy,’ he muttered to himself. He hadn’t been trained to deal with alien parasites, or whatever this thing was. Unruly pupils were bad enough, but this thing was a killer.

  ‘Look,’ the headmaster began, ‘if this is something to do with Emily… I’m not sure what happened. She attacked me. I tried to throw her off and then… I don’t know what happened. I must have hit my head.’

  ‘What do you want?’ Waites asked, ignoring the explanation.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘What was worth killing them for?’

  ‘Killing who? Are you daft?’

  ‘This is pointless.’ It was. It was useless trying to get anything out of this thing. It clearly wasn’t stupid: like any prisoner it would deny everything until it had an opportunity to get away.

  ‘My head really hurts, Daniel. I think it’s bleeding.’

  Waites didn’t respond. This new tack was to be expected. It was trying to get sympathy now, appealing to his sense of humanity, his compassion. It would no doubt exaggerate its pain and misery until it got the result it wanted. Except that moment would not come. Waites wasn’t going to give in and allow the creature to kill again.

  ‘Did you hear what I said, Daniel?’ The voice was almost pathetic, most unlike the headmaster’s normal manner. It was just the two of them in the school now. With the rain refusing to let up and the emergency services no doubt already stretched to the limit, it was likely to stay ‘just the two of them’ for quite some time. Oh God, Waites thought. This is going to be a long night.

  ‘She could be anywhere,’ James said, spitting out rainwater.

  ‘I know, but…’ Already Sean could see the futility of trying to track down the teacher. Who knew where she had gone? He heard people shouting and turned to see three men wading through the water, which had now completely swamped the road where the first few shops began. They seemed to be enjoying themselves. Sean turned back to James to see a look of deep concentration on his face.

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘Oh, I was just thinking… Maybe we should go back to the study centre.’

  ‘What? The road there was bad enough earlier on; it’ll be worse now.’

  ‘I know, but if there’s a way of stopping that thing, the answer might be there.’

  ‘But it’s locked up in that cupboard now. As long as it stays there until we can get help, we should be all right.’

  ‘Yeah, but help is a long way off. Look at all the water. It’ll take ages to sort things out. The town flooded before, remember? It took a while to recover from that, and this is worse.’

  ‘Well, maybe
we should just go back up to the school then. Make sure Mr Waites is OK before we do anything else.’

  ‘Yeah, all right.’

  ‘Better phone Mum and Dad again too,’ Sean said. ‘They’ll be worried.’

  ‘What was the black thing?’ Titus asked after another long pause.

  ‘What black thing?’ Waites responded noncommittally.

  ‘The thing that came out of the tap. I… I saw it. Like a big slug or something.’

  ‘That’ll be you,’ Waites told him.

  ‘Me?’

  ‘The "big slug". That’s you.’

  ‘Have… have you lost your mind?’

  ‘You got into Titus’s head and now you’re controlling him.’

  ‘That’s ridiculous, Dan.’

  ‘Is it? You did the same thing to Nigel and that doctor – who is now dead too, incidentally. You certainly made a mess of him.’

  ‘That thing is not inside me! The last I saw of it, it was crawling into James’s mouth.’

  Waites didn’t reply. This could so easily be an attempt to confuse him or plant doubt in his mind. If he were the creature, wouldn’t he do the same thing? And yet the possibility couldn’t be completely discounted. He and Sean had reached the headmaster’s office after the switch had occurred. Emily had said it was ‘in him’ – which could have meant either Titus or James. Waites felt more and more unnerved as he began to realize the implications of his discovery.

  ‘What is it, Daniel? What is that thing?’ Titus asked, sounding tired, confused and frightened. ‘It looked hideous and… it seemed to have a mind of its own.’

  Waites said nothing; he was trying to think.

  ‘Look, Dan, whatever’s been going on here, I swear to you, that thing is not inside me.’

  ‘I’m not listening,’ Waites insisted.

  But he was. Of course he was.

  CHAPTER 20

  The two brothers ducked down to shelter under a tree and phoned their parents. Rather than waste time trying to explain the unexplainable, they just told them they were waiting at the school for the weather to improve with some other pupils and teachers, which was partially true. Mum was livid that Sean still wasn’t home, but nothing could be done about that. When James hung up, they started back up the hill towards the school, wondering what they’d find when they got there. Sean was already imagining horrible scenarios, most of them centred around the creature escaping and disappearing into the night. At the top of the hill they could see water gushing down the road like a river.