‘I’ll take the risk,’ said Natalia.
‘If it works, that is. I said I haven’t—’
‘Just do it, Freak. Snap the doctor out of it. Block what Thirteen’s doing. Do it now.
I’m going in.’
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
Alex’s eyes darted from the man at the window and back again to Victor. The man at the window had his eyes locked on Victor, and was speaking. The distance dispersed the sound, but Alex recognised it as the technique Victor used when attempting control.
Victor sneered but the worried expression remained. His mouth dropped open and he shouted some words Alex guessed were Romanian – curses, perhaps. He doubted they were greetings. Victor ran towards the bed, grabbing the knife from the floor in a quick sweep of his hand.
‘No,’ yelled Alex, but Victor grabbed Katie’s hair in one hand and yanked her head back. She screamed as he reached behind her and cut the rope that bound her to the bed. He dragged Katie by her hair, off the bed and towards the door. His right hand still held the knife, which he pressed to Katie’s neck, breaking the skin. A thin trickle of blood ran on to the collar of her T-shirt.
Victor kept the knife where it was but flinched, his eyes once again darting to the window, where the wild-looking man still stood.
‘Please,’ begged Alex.
‘Stay where you are,’ Victor said, his voice hammering into Alex’s forehead. ‘You’ve had your time, Dr Madison. It’s over for you. Remember, with your dying breath, this is personal. Your father, you and then this little girl. Three generations of yours in exchange for countless innocents on my side. I forgive you all.’
Alex froze, his body jerking as Victor muttered under his breath. Victor raised his hand towards Alex and shouted several words in quick succession. Alex tried to turn away, to block his ears, anything, but he couldn’t.
There was silence. His nostrils flared as the air got colder.
Alex found himself staring at his mother again. It was her bedroom in his childhood home. She lay on the bed, sheets tucked under her chin. He reached out but she shied away, scared.
‘Leave,’ she said. ‘Leave. You know how to.’
Alex didn’t know what she meant, but he backed away. His footsteps echoed and the room expanded. No matter how far he walked, the bed remained right in front of him. His mother turned over and he saw the back of Sophie’s head.
Something was wrong. Alex had been here before, and he grasped at the edges, trying to recognise where he was. He was on the edge, but in a dream. Victor. He knew what was happening to him. He knew he was under, within his own mind. He knew it wasn’t real.
He tried to spin around but the room spun with him. Focus, Alex. He stopped trying to move and instead decided that he wanted to be somewhere else. Outside the room, on the landing.
The room disappeared and Alex found himself in a corridor. Dark and cold. Concrete floors and orange brick walls. The distance was still hazy, but there was a door. He walked towards the door but with every step it got further away. The fog descended again and his heart thumped. Wrong. He was doing it wrong.
He closed his eyes and willed the door open. He grabbed the door handle and pulled himself through. His heart sank as the silhouette of Sophie strode away from him. Don’t try to catch her up, he thought, glancing around the prison office.
Where do you need to go? Think. Alex examined the structures around him. His mother, Sophie and his family. Images of his failures – mother and daughter lying on the floor. His worst insecurities building themselves around him, in danger of creating a dream he would circle forever until released or ordered otherwise.
But Alex was aware. He understood the method, and could battle it. All it took was a journey in his head. Find his way out and he’d be free. Locations mattered. He needed to find the path.
His mind resisted, his thoughts were slow. The drugs dispersed into his bloodstream.
A dark corridor appeared. It extended forever, without a single door in its black walls. Alex’s feet felt heavy as he forced himself to walk. Faster he paced, until he broke into a run, the walls skimming past as he raced towards the darkness. He heard voices, screams, muffled in the distance. He recognised Katie’s voice in an instant. She was calling for help. A second voice snarled.
The prison flashed into existence. The corridor became clear, the cell doors shut and locked, all except one, facing him. The grey door swung open, revealing an empty cell. Victor’s cell. Alex lunged forwards but he found Sophie inside the cell, sitting on the edge of the bed. She stared at the wall. His gut heaved. Sophie’s face kept flickering, changing and morphing into someone else. She smiled and turned, then disappeared.
The cell dissolved, his vision jolted.
His mind swirled and he screamed for release. Spiralling downwards, the fear seared through his throat and into his stomach where it convulsed and wrenched. His back ached and his legs tensed, the muscles jarring and jerking in protest. The pain travelled through his veins, a pulse throbbing into the back of his skull and waiting, building up pressure with every heartbeat.
Still, he couldn’t escape. Trapped and floating, Alex’s head spun with vertigo.
Move, Alex, move, he told himself.
His ears screamed with pain. Somebody was calling him. The words hit him like a hammer but he didn’t understand them. They dug and chiselled away, causing his thoughts to break apart. New thoughts wouldn’t form – they were too insubstantial, and the voice swatted them away like flies.
It persisted. Calling that tugged at the corners of his trance. Primal and cutting, this voice was different. It was familiar and grasped his mind with an equal force, giving him a moment of clarity. He was under, but near the surface. He must break free. Follow the voice.
He saw his car, abandoned in the street, a derelict building behind it. He recognised it. The orphanage where Katie was being held. He forced himself towards the crumbling brick wall and through into the garden. He heard the voice again. Female and calm, it was increasing in intensity, a warning. Alex willed himself through the door and into the bleak interior. He listened for her voice, blocking out everything else.
The walls floated, grey and marked, the plaster falling around him. A door stood open. Two figures silhouetted against the light, struggling. Katie wept but Alex couldn’t reach her. He walked as if underwater, his strides failing to reach the room before the silhouettes faded and disappeared.
Alex entered the room. This was where he needed to be. The voice called to him again. Once more before cutting off.
Wake up, Alex.
A scream shot through the fog. It cut the trance and Alex rose up, lifted and carried out of the darkness. It found him, and dragged him into consciousness. He heard her. Not in a dream, but here and now.
His trance was broken. Somebody had led him out. Alex opened his eyes and found himself in the same room, kneeling at the foot of the bed.
But the bed was empty.
‘Katie.’ His hands were shaking. He was in shock, hyperventilating, his face hot and breath shallow, gasping for air. His panic was boiling over.
‘Victor!’ he shouted, his voice hoarse. He pulled himself up, dazed and uncoordinated. His vision was crooked and he blinked hard. He instinctively reached into his pocket. He must call the police. But his hand met nothing but his car keys. His phone was gone.
‘Katie,’ he whispered. ‘Where are you, Katie?’ He stared at the doorway where he’d seen her last. There was nothing but the scuffmarks of shoes on the dusty concrete. Victor and Katie had gone.
‘Alex.’
A woman’s voice, clear and calm, met his ears. The figure of a woman appeared in the doorway. He was unable to hide his surprise.
‘Sophie?’ he said, with a mixture of desperation and relief, squinting through his tears and the shadows. ‘Is that—’
Sophie emerged into the light. Alex shook his head and blinked. His mind spiralled in confusion.
‘Hi, Alex,’
she said.
‘I don’t . . .’ He tried to refocus, but it was like an illusion. One second it was Sophie, the next she transformed into a stranger. His eyes flickered and his brain struggled to keep up.
‘You were on the precipice,’ she said, leaning forward, looking into his eyes, ‘but I think we got you out in time. You scared me.’
She whispered to him. Her features changed, subtly but surely. Her face danced and his recognition shifted. His head spun.
‘My name is Natalia, Alex.’
‘I’m sorry, I—’
‘We don’t have time,’ said Natalia, nodding upwards. ‘Katie. She’s still here. Upstairs, somewhere.’
Alex struggled to find his voice. ‘Natalia? I don’t understand.’
The woman shook her head. Her eyes were familiar and sad; the troubled depths remained.
‘I’m sorry, Alex. It was the way it had to be.’ She frowned, then called out. ‘Freak. Hurry up.’
Alex backed away and found himself against a wall. He heard glass breaking as the rest of the window smashed, followed by a grunt and the appearance of the short, wiry man. The same man who’d stared through the window and caused Victor to run off.
The man shuffled across to her. He glanced at Alex. ‘Upstairs.’
‘I know that,’ she said.
‘He’s weak.’
‘Weak enough?’
‘Maybe.’
‘Did you manage to?’
‘A little,’ said the man, shuffling off again, heading around the corner.
Natalia paused. ‘Follow us,’ she said to Alex. ‘I think your daughter . . .’
‘Katie?’ Alex swallowed, his eyes darting around the room. There was nothing here except the scattered remains of Victor’s squat. Food, drinks and some old clothing.
‘Which way?’ said Natalia.
Alex didn’t remember coming in. He remembered being outside, calling Victor, and then . . . he had woken up in this room. He stared at the woman in front of him, still groggy and weak. He didn’t understand, but Katie was his focus and he lurched past her into the corridor.
Outside, the corridors opened out and around into an L-shape, with rooms feeding away from it. He ran into a couple – classrooms with the odd desk lying around. A few chairs tossed here and there on the floor, several missing legs. No sign of Katie or Victor, but he thought he could hear footsteps. A girl’s voice echoed.
Natalia began to run. Alex, startled, picked himself up and ran after her. He staggered, confused, unable to process what was going on.
They shot around the corner, through a set of double doors and into a stairwell. The concrete staircase was crumbling but intact, with rusting handrails, winding up to the next floor. It smelled stale and earthy. The dust caught in Alex’s throat.
‘Up,’ she said and climbed the concrete stairs, two at a time. Alex followed, avoiding the cracks and newspapers. Shards of broken glass crunched underfoot.
Two flights up, Natalia jolted to a stop. She put her hand out and crept forward. Alex followed. He could hear voices, both male, both speaking Romanian, or that’s what he figured.
The top of the stairs opened into a huge dinner hall. The sun streamed in from the south, and reflected off the steel beams. The floor was thick wood, black after so many years, strewn with broken tables and chairs. Many of the windows were broken and the wind blew in, swirling into the corners where paper and other rubbish piled restlessly.
In the centre of the room stood Victor. He leaned against one of the steel beams that supported the ceiling. Scattered lumps of plasterboard and bricks surrounded his feet. His face was pale and he wheezed, but the fury still burned in his eyes. He held Katie by her hair. She was sobbing, on her knees.
Alex tried to run forwards but Natalia stepped into his path.
‘No,’ she ordered. Alex watched the stranger who called herself Natalia. He was surprised at the authority in her voice.
She walked forward, issuing a stream of Romanian and broken English. Alex wasn’t sure who she was talking to. Her voice was calm, but wavered slightly. Alex felt her fear.
Victor winced. He slapped his right hand to his temple and screamed, his eyes darting around. With his other hand he still had Katie gripped by the hair. A figure emerged from the shadows near the stairway. The man Natalia had called Freak crept around Victor, staring at him, whispering. Freak stood barely three feet away, moving his face left and right, tilting his head in a way that sent shivers down Alex’s spine. The thin man was light on his feet and darted in until his face was within an inch of Victor’s. He said something and Victor screamed again, falling to his knees.
He wrestled Katie closer to him and Alex gasped as he saw the knife. Victor held it to her throat.
‘No!’ Alex shouted.
‘Wait,’ said Natalia. She spoke again, as did the man. Both of them, whispering in concert, alternating as they projected their voices towards Victor. Victor’s face contorted and he scrambled around on the floor.
‘You can’t do this to me,’ said Victor. ‘Why would you?’
Both Freak and Natalia stopped; they looked at each other.
‘We don’t want to,’ said Natalia.
Victor’s pained expression met hers. Something passed between them.
He shuffled into a seated position. ‘I remember you. You’re Fifty.’ He turned to Freak and spat something in Romanian.
‘Please, let her go,’ said Alex. His voice sounded feeble in the huge room. Victor threw him a look of hate and held Katie tighter. The knife nicked her neck and another bead of blood appeared.
‘I am Natalia,’ said the woman. ‘You have a choice, Thirteen.’
Victor breathed heavily for several moments. ‘You sound like them.’
Natalia looked hurt. ‘You’re wrong.’
‘Then leave me be.’
‘I can’t.’
‘This is the child of the devil,’ said Victor. His face was dripping with sweat and his breathing laboured.
‘You are misguided, Thirteen.’
Victor pointed at Alex. ‘They must pay. Don’t you see? I have them.’
He winced again and opened his mouth as if his ears were popping. ‘Your friend . . .’ He turned to Freak. ‘He . . . What is he doing? If you must kill me, then do it, but not until I am finished.’
‘We did not come to kill you,’ said Natalia. ‘We came to rescue you, comrade.’
Freak smiled. Alex backed away; his eyes darted to Katie and back to Natalia. Alex’s mind churned as the pieces began to match up.
‘Sophie . . .?’
Natalia raised her hand towards Alex. Her eyes softened as she addressed him. ‘I didn’t know, OK?’ she said. ‘About who your father was. That bastard. I didn’t know. We didn’t piece it together until it was too late . . .’ She trailed off, her eyes darting to Freak, who looked away.
Alex staggered back.
‘Everything you did,’ said Alex. ‘It was all to get him . . .’ Alex indicated Victor. ‘This man is a monster.’
Katie whimpered, but Victor held her fast.
‘I didn’t lie about everything, Alex,’ said Natalia, giving him a weak smile. ‘And it wasn’t easy.’ She raised her eyebrows, the battle behind her eyes clear to Alex. He saw the familiar anxiety he’d watched in Sophie. But it didn’t make it any less of a betrayal.
‘I confess,’ she said. ‘You know my motive. But please believe me when I say I didn’t have a choice. This,’ she indicated Victor and Freak, ‘is bigger than you or I. I’m sorry you got dragged into it. Truly I am.’ She turned away for a moment, then sniffed and threw her shoulders back. ‘But we have him now.’
She turned to Victor. ‘And you, Thirteen,’ she said. ‘You thought we were coming to kill you? You’ve screwed up, and death is nothing more than you deserve, but that’s not my call. We’re here to bring you in. From the cold.’
She pointed at Katie. ‘And let the girl go. You know she’s innocent. You know you’r
e wrong. Killing her won’t fix anything. Killing her will only deepen the chasm. It won’t bring back Laura, or any of our friends.’
Alex’s heart thudded. He watched Victor wrestling with her proposition.
‘Please,’ said Alex. Victor looked up. ‘Whatever happened to you, she had no part in it.’
Victor looked again at Natalia. Alex watched her leg shuffling as she held his gaze. She was nervous, desperate. ‘Let her go, Victor,’ she said. ‘It’s time for us to leave.’
Freak leaned in once again and whispered in his ear. Victor clenched his jaw and groaned in pain, the knife falling to the concrete with a clatter. Whatever Freak was doing, it was eating away at him. With a roar he writhed on to his side, causing Katie to fall back on her hands. She scrambled away and into Alex’s open arms. He grabbed her tight and backed away, his heart leaping.
‘Freak,’ said Natalia. ‘Don’t break him.’ She moved quickly, bending to retrieve the knife from the floor, along with a loose brick. She trembled but didn’t hesitate. She ran at Victor and brought the brick down hard on his forehead, the crack echoing across the hall. She released it as if her hand had been shocked, and stepped back as Victor’s screams turned to gasps. The thin man remained close. He was still talking, repeating a phrase to Victor, even as blood poured from his head. Then he did a strange thing. He pulled his shirt off and made it into a bandage, tying it around Victor’s forehead, applying pressure to the wound.
Natalia placed her hand on Victor’s shoulder. She turned to Alex, who was standing protectively in front of Katie. She whispered under her breath and nodded to Freak. He nodded back.
Alex felt her words rather than heard them. They spoke to him in a whisper. Warm and sensuous, they seeped into his mind and he relaxed. The room became bright and airy. The sun broke through the panes, casting rays of light on to the dark concrete. He listened as a second voice joined her. It snuck and twisted, jolting parts of him and grabbing at his stream of consciousness, even as he saw it unravel before him.
They both spoke to him, and he listened until all he could hear was silence.
‘Alex.’ Her voice was loud and clear. He opened his eyes and stared at her.
Trance Page 29