The Turning (The Forsaken Series Book 2)

by Phil Price

  “Yes. Just a little bit further. Head over that way,” Wilf pointed with his left hand over Jake’s shoulder, making him change course slightly.

  ☨☨☨

  Elias heard the bike approach before he saw the light. He sat against the tree, preparing himself to move quickly if Jake spotted him. He saw him change direction, heading right towards the glade. He closed his eyes to mere slits, watching as the bike passed by, a few hundred yards away. His keen eyes picked out Wilf on the back of the bike. “So you did head to the coast as I thought. And now you are back, trying to head home. Well you’ll not make it tonight Jake. The forest will see to that.” He smiled in the darkness.

  ☨☨☨

  Eddie and Karaa approached the cabin that lay next to a tinkling stream. Low clouds blanketed the land, giving it an almost impenetrably dark feel. Only their keen eyes picked out the water flowing past.

  Alison came to the doorway, her eyes shining bright in the night. “Did you find some food for him?”

  “We did,” Karaa said coolly. She did not like the other woman, feeling the same coolness emanating from her.

  “Well hurry. He’s waking.”

  Eddie walked passed Alison, the unconscious girl’s head-smacking the doorway. No sound came from her mouth. She was out cold. “Enjoy,” Eddie said as he deposited the girl onto the straw mattress.

  Coop’s eyes opened, a low keening noise coming from his mouth. His irises were yellow rimmed in red. They almost seemed to pulse and bulge as he continued a silent wail. Alison knelt down in the darkness, snapping the girl’s neck. The noise was unnaturally loud in the confines, like ice being crunched underfoot. Coop turned his head, seeing the girl for the first time.

  “Drink,” Alison said quietly. He obeyed, crawling over to Lucy like a kitten about to suckle for the first time. He bit into her neck muscles, his wild eyes closing with pleasure as the blood flooded his mouth. The others looked on, feeling the hunger at the back of their throats. They put their need to one side, letting Coop take his first full feed. There would be more opportunities soon. Elias would see to that.

  ☨☨☨

  “We need to move. Look,” Wilf said.

  “Fuck! We’ve got thirty minutes until the door opens. What do we do?”

  “Move further out. We cannot pass through the doorway tonight. We’d not even get close. We’d be burnt to a crisp in no time. We need to head west, towards the passage. I only hope there are no vampires out that way.”

  “FUCK IT!” Jake screamed. He felt helpless. He could almost taste his way home. Almost feel the doorway drawing him towards it. He knew it was fruitless. He only hoped it would open at the same time the following night. He walked over and kick-started his bike, tears pooling in his eyes.

  ☨☨☨

  The flames had driven him from the forest. He had walked in the darkness towards the mountain that lay to the south. Climbing the lower slopes, he found a small cave that offered some shelter. He scrambled in, throwing himself on the ground. His red rimmed eyes looked up at the ceiling, not seeing the black rock above him. He saw nothing. He felt nothing, except for the dull throb at the back of his head. It was getting worse. He lay immobile, his breathing coming under control slowly. He closed his eyes, trying to let sleep take him. After a few minutes it did take him, into a troubled sleep full of dreams. A stiff breeze blew into the cave, ruffling his dark clothing. Ruffling his dark beard.

  ☨☨☨

  Elias felt the doorway open. He’d moved towards the glades as the fire consumed the forest around him. It was an impenetrable wall of flames towards the east. He knew where the doorway was though. He braced himself, coiled like a spring until the last moment. He set off, his dark coat fanning out behind him. His speed increased as he weaved expertly between the trees. What little hair he had on his head was singed, his clothing starting to smoke. He couldn’t feel the heat, but sensed its fury. His black coat tails caught fire as the flames closed in on him. His red eyes made out the rectangle of blackness, standing like a lone sentinel in the blazing forest. He passed through, out of Amatoll, into the Lickey Hills.

  Thirty-One

  Doug put the kettle on, looking at the clock on the wall for the tenth time since he’d entered the kitchen. It was just after seven in the morning. Darkness still pressed against the kitchen window as he stared out at his son’s driveway. “Come on Son. Where are you?” He knew something was wrong. If Jake had made it back through the doorway he’d be home by now. Doug hoped in vain that he’d fallen asleep at a service station. He’d tried Jake’s phone, being told that the number was unreachable by an automated voice. Again, he’d hoped that his son’s phone had died on him. Doug was starting to clutch at straws. Movement upstairs told him that Katherine was awake. He pulled another mug from the cupboard, putting sugar and a teabag into it before filling both mugs with steaming water. He let them brew, leaning against the counter top. Hurried footsteps down the stairs were preceded by Katherine entering the kitchen. Her eyes were bleary, her hair unkempt.

  “Sorry. I was up with Alicia half the night. I finally fell asleep about four.” She stood stock still, dreading to ask the next question. “He didn’t come home, did he?”

  “Not yet Love.” Doug tried to look as optimistic as he could, attempting to smile. It faded when Katherine crumbled to the floor in front of him. He ran to her as she started sobbing. “Hey now. Don’t cry. He’ll be back. We’ve got to believe that.”

  “Then where is he?” she said, her voice cracking with emotion.

  Doug picked her up from the tiled floor, sitting her at the kitchen table. He pulled two sheets of kitchen towel from the roll, handing them to her. She dabbed her eyes and blew her nose as Doug finished making the tea. He sat down at the table opposite her, pushing the steaming mug within her reach. “Get that down ya,” he said, taking a sip of his own drink.

  “Thank you Doug,” she said, sipping her tea. “Where is he? Where?”

  “I don’t know Kath. Hopefully, he’s asleep in his car, exhausted from his trip. Hopefully, Father Stephen is with him, also sleeping.”

  “And if not. What if they are still in my world?”

  “Then we wait and hope they come home safe.” Tears were still falling down her cheeks as she started to get upset again. “Come on Kath. Be positive. He’ll be back. We’ve got to believe that.”

  “And if not? How long do we leave it until we go looking for him?”

  “You can’t go looking for him. You’ve got Alicia to think about. I’ll go.”

  “When?” she asked expectantly.

  Doug thought about it for a moment, dreading the realisation that he would have to leave the two of them. “Two days.”

  He expected Katherine to explode at his suggestion. Instead she merely nodded. “Fine. Two days. Then you must go and get him.”

  Doug took a swig of hot tea as his stomach turned to ice. “Okay. Two days.”

  ☨☨☨

  Way to the north, a front door opened. A dark-haired woman emerged from a house that backed onto the forest. She walked hurriedly to her black Audi, her high heels scuffing the tarmac driveway. She was in a hurry and she was angry. A loud voice from inside filtered down to the car as she fumbled for her keys. Unlocking the door, she dropped the key fob in the centre console.

  “Beata, get here now!” the voice demanded.

  She shook her head, her dark ponytail swaying behind her. “Not now Sham. I’m going to be late for work. We talk later.”

  A semi-naked man came to the door. He was tall and heavily muscled, his dark brow set in a frown. “No. We talk now. Or are you late for a meeting with your boyfriend?”

  “I fucking told you already. Mike is my boss. Nothing more. If you can’t handle that, too bad. We’ve got to have jobs to keep roof on our heads.”

  “So, why dress like a slut for work? Look at yourself. All done up like dogs’ dinner.”

  Beata looked down at her attire. She liked the dress. She like
d the dark nylons and boots too. Her work clothes made her feel important and worthwhile. It was a feeling she had never felt in her home country of Estonia. England was different. It was a land of promise. “I work in an office. This is what women wear. Get over yourself. I don’t stop you going to gym in your shorts and tiny vest.”

  “That’s different.”

  “Why? What makes it different?”

  “Because I’m not looking for women at the gym.”

  Beata’s eyes rolled back, her head looking to the heavens. “I cannot do this now. I have to go.”

  “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

  She looked over at him, realising he was holding her pink mobile. “Give me my phone. I’m serious.”

  “Why. Are there texts from your boss? Sexy text?” He tried to unlock the screen as Beata stalked towards him.

  “Sham. I’m fucking serious. Stop playing these stupid games!” He retreated into the house as she walked over the front door threshold after him. Loud voices filtered from the front door into the street. Some English voices, some foreign. A minute later Beata walked from the house, her pink phone in her hand. “We will finish this later,” she said over her shoulder. “You need to.” Her voice trailed off as she looked at where her car should be. In its place was an empty driveway. “SHAM!”

  He came to the door, still pissed from the heated argument. “What?”

  “My car has gone! Someone has stolen my car. Call the police!”

  By the time Sham’s call was finished, the crime reported, Elias was pulling onto the motorway. The fancy leather seat was racked all the way back, the height lowered to accommodate his frame. He accelerated, taking the car up over eighty miles per hour, heading south west, towards Cornwall.

  Thirty-Two

  “Where the hell is the doorway?” Jake said with growing frustration.

  “I left a marker,” Wilf said as he walked next to him. The forest floor was blanketing in grey ash. Some of the thicker trees still smoked and smouldered in the weak light of dawn. Glowing embers pulsed on the forest floor where some smaller trees had succumbed to the flames. The smell of smoke coated the two men as they headed east. The older man rounded two trees that were now blackened, beckoning Jake over. “Here. We’ve found it.”

  The younger man sighed with relief, clapping Wilf on the shoulder. “Good thinking. At least the trees survived the fire. Let’s just hope the doorway did too.”

  “What do we do in the mean time?” Wilf asked.

  Jake felt his stomach rumble. “Is there anywhere to get some breakfast round here?”

  Wilf pondered Jake’s question for a moment. “There is the Tacklebox Inn on the other side of the forest. Or we do some hunting. There should be animals close by.”

  “Hunting? Hunting what?”

  “Deer. Stags. Bison. They will not be hard to find if we head west.”

  “I’d rather have someone serve me breakfast than having to shoot my own. Let’s head for the inn.”

  ☨☨☨

  “Fuckenell!” Wilf said as they rounded the bend. The extent of the fire was becoming more evident to the two men. “There’s nothing left of the place.”

  Jake looked at the pile of burning timber that was once the Tacklebox Inn. The smoke blew from the inn gently across the lake next to it, giving the water a misty appearance. Two men sat in the grass, staring across the water. They were blackened by the fire, their clothing tattered.

  Wilf jumped off the bike and stood in front of them. “Are you the only two left?”

  “Aye,” was the curt reply from one of the men. It was only then that Jake noticed blackened bodies lying in the grass. He counted a dozen or so, twisted and burnt beyond recognition. He guessed that many more perished in the wooden building.

  “Did you salvage anything? Food or water?” Wilf asked.

  “Over there. On the cart.” Wilf and Jake looked further along the shore of the lake. A cart stood, its wheel’s half submerged in water. They left the men to their thoughts, heading over to the water’s edge.

  “Poor folk. They are in shock. But while they are let’s fill our bellies.” They uncovered a hessian blanket to find enough supplies to keep them stocked for a week. Two legs of ham sat next to some odd-looking fruit and six clay jugs with corks in the stoppers. Wilf popped the cork and took a series of long glugs, the liquid drenching his beard. “That’s just what I was waiting for. Here Jake, get that down ya.”

  The younger man took the offered jug and matched Wilf’s glugs, the dark liquid running down his neck. “Bloody hell. That’s strong stuff. I’m probably over the limit now.”

  “Over the limit?” Wilf asked confused.

  “Never mind. Just something we have at home.”

  The older man nodded absently before pulling a leg of ham from the cart. Taking his knife from his boot he sliced two long thick slivers of dark meat, handing one to Jake. They ate in silence, looking at the ruins of what was once a way station for wanderers and traders alike. Wilf handed Jake another piece of ham, his fingers slick with pig fat.

  “This is good. How much shall we eat?”

  “Those poor folks have no idea what we’re doing. We could take it all and they would not notice. Let’s not be too free with our appetites. One leg of ham, two jugs, and a few pieces of fruit should keep us going. You could leave the men one of your crosses as a thank you.”

  Jake nodded as he chewed on a hunk of salted pork, making his eyes close in silent delight. “Shall we head back to the doorway once we have finished here?”

  Wilf thought about the question while he ate. “We could do. Or we could do some foraging and exploring. It’s a long time to sit and wait for a door to open.”

  “Where shall we go?”

  “We could head west, towards the passage. I’ve never been that far. In daylight, we should be safe enough. Agreed?”

  Jake nodded. “Why not. Beats sitting waiting all day. What could possibly go wrong?”

  ☨☨☨

  The black Audi pulled into a lay-by on the Atlantic Highway, as a steady drizzle hung over the Cornish coast. Elias switched the engine off and let his thoughts centre on his plan. He checked the display. It was almost one in the afternoon. He knew where they would be. He knew how long it would take to drive back north. He could foresee no issues. I will make my move at eight. That will give me plenty of time, he thought as he reclined his seat back as far it would go. He closed his eyes, welcoming the darkness. His mind started to wander as he drifted off to sleep. His last conscious thought was the baby. The special baby that was soon to be his.

  ☨☨☨

  “Can you see the entrance?” Wilf said over Jake’s shoulder.

  “Yes. It does not look too inviting,” he said as he took in the view in front of them. The western sky was dark and low, seeming to cling to the top of the craggy peaks. As they neared they could make out a small stream that meandered from the gorge, out across the grasslands towards the south. A small wooden shack sat nearby, framed by a few stunted trees.

  “Turn off your bike,” Wilf said.” Someone may hear us coming.”

  Jake cut the engines, coasting to a stop in the long grass. He quietly pulled his bike onto its stand as Wilf pulled a stake from his coat.

  “Be quiet Jake. Who knows who or what lives around here? The sun is dropping fast too. I don’t like exploring unknown places in the dark.” Jake nodded, pulling his shotgun from his pack, checking it was ready. They silently walked towards the front doorway, noticing a figure lying in the grass. They stood over the prone form, their expressions grim. Wilf knelt down and turned over the body, tutting to himself as a blank pair of eyes stared back at him. The girl’s neck had been snapped. Two puncture wounds were visible just under her ear. The skin was sallow and lifeless. “Vampires. They are close,” he said as he looked towards the shack. They crept closer until they were standing to one side of the entrance, listening for any sounds. A blast of wind echoed through the gorge, ruff
ling the grass around them. It made the hairs on the back of Jake’s neck stand to attention. The wind seemed to call out to him, inviting him to enter the gorge it had come from. He cast the thought from his mind, his fingers tightening around the shotgun. Wilf peeked his head around the entrance, slowly drawing in his breath.

  “What is it?” Jake asked, his heart hammering in his chest.

  Wilf stepped into the entrance, motioning for Jake to take a look. “The whole family. At least I think it is,” he said as he tried to pick the sleeping vampires out in the dark confines.

  Jake looked over the sleeping forms, his stomach tightening. “Elias is not with them.” The words hung in the air for a minute as they tried to digest what this meant. “I hope I’m wrong, but my gut is telling me that Elias is not in this world.”

  “Fuckenell. I have to say I agree. Maybe that’s why he torched Amatoll. To stop us going through the door, so he could!”

  “Oh shit!” Jake said as his legs suddenly felt rubbery. “I need to get home. Elias may have…” his voice trailed off as his mind kicked into overdrive.

  “How long until we can be at your home?”

  “Three hours after we cross over. There will be no traffic. We must get back to the doorway. Now!”

  “I agree. We must leave them sleeping. They will awake soon enough. We need to be as far away from them as possible.” Another blast of wind echoed through the gorge. Eddie stirred in his sleep, turning over towards them. They slowly backed away, heading across the grass to the bike. Jake kicked it off its stand, steering the bike a full one hundred and eighty degrees until it was pointing back towards Amatoll. They headed away from the gorge, their pace quickening as a low drone came rumbling across the grass behind them. In one fluid motion, Jake jumped onto the saddle, kick-starting the bike. The engine idled for a few seconds as Wilf climbed on board.