‘No! You wouldn’t.’ Mather was losing control of the situation now, and he knew it. ‘Not after all I’ve done for you!’
You did all I told you to do, nothing more.
‘But there has to be another—’
Just then I heard the mosquito utter a shrill cry. It must have been louder in Mather’s mind because he lowered the shotgun and raised his left hand to his forehead. He was clearly in great pain. ‘Stop! Stop! Why are you doing this to me?’ He seemed now to be on the verge of tears.
The mosquito didn’t relent; instead she continued her assault, clearly unwilling to end Mather’s suffering until he gave in to her thirsty demand. Then, to my surprise, the hand fell away from his head, and he once again held the gun up in both hands, levelling it straight at my chest. I heard Gina gasp. Perspiration was saturating Mather’s brow, his teeth were gritted and a barely audible whimpering could be heard, exposing the immense strain involved in fighting the insect’s will.
‘You!’ Mather was talking to me now. ‘This is all your fault! You should be long dead.’ I could see his finger tense over the trigger. My body was frozen in shock. My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth as I prepared for the inevitable impact.
Noooooooo! He’s mine!
The mosquito flew at Mather, diving straight into his hair, no doubt seeking his scalp so she could plunge her feeding tube in. Mather danced about, screaming and fired into the air, deafening us. He dropped the shotgun and started slapping at the insect with his hands.
‘We need to get away from here fast.’ Gina stared in sheer amazement at the spectacle taking place some metres away.
‘The tunnel,’ I replied. ‘I forgot about it. It’s our best chance.’
‘Tunnel?’
‘I think there might be a tunnel under the island. Soames showed me the entrance. I think . . . I think it’s the only chance we have.’
‘Who?’
‘I think it connects to the mainland somewhere.’
‘All right. How do we get there?’
‘There’s a trapdoor in the forest. I think I can remember the way there.’
Gina’s face fell. She didn’t like the prospect of running off into the darkness of the trees. But we hardly had a choice. We were about to move when Mather finally detached the insect from his head, scooped up the shotgun and ran towards the building, the incensed mosquito in close pursuit. He rushed inside and immediately closed and bolted the door behind him. The Ganges Red changed course, headed round the side of the house and flew in through the smashed bedroom window.
‘OK,’ I said to Gina, who now clung to my right arm for support. ‘Come on. Maybe they’ll kill each other, maybe not. If not, then one of them is going to come after us. And whichever one it is, they’ll want blood. Let’s go.’
I took her hand and led her to the path. Although it was dark, and much of the forest looked the same, I was pretty confident of finding my way to the hatch. Despite my tender ankle, we were able to make good progress. With the threat of murder still strong, maybe it’s little wonder that I was still able to move fast despite my injuries. We stopped just where the forest began. From somewhere behind us we heard more breaking glass. Gina pushed the branches away from her, allowing some to fly back and hit me in the face.
‘Ow!’
‘Oh, sorry.’ She stopped to let me move ahead and lead the way. I soon became worried that I was getting us lost.
‘Where now?’ Gina looked around, seeing nothing but unfamiliar forest. I was about to admit defeat, when through the trees to our left I spotted a familiar rise in the ground.
‘It should be straight ahead of us somewhere!’ We continued forward, and a couple of minutes later broke into the larger clearing, in the middle of which was the trapdoor. I knelt down with some discomfort and grabbed the rope handle.
‘Look,’ Gina said. I turned and saw she was pointing up into the night sky. There was a cloud of black smoke rising from the island and obscuring the pale moon above us. The research centre.
‘Clever,’ I said. ‘He gets you to take photographs for posterity, then burns the bodies.’
‘He hasn’t got the photos,’ she said, patting her camera. ‘I have.’
I gave her a grin. ‘Well, we can’t do anything with those until we get off the island.’ I hoisted up the trapdoor, Gina bending to help me. We threw it back flat against the ground, disturbing the leaves.
I took to the ladder, which had been crudely fashioned from logs, and descended carefully, mindful of my wounded ankle. The tunnel could only have been about seven feet high. I could have jumped down from the forest floor if I’d had two healthy ankles. Nevertheless, I dropped off the ladder onto a soft, almost spongy mud floor which, even in the gloom, I could see was peppered with dead leaves and the odd puddle. There was a bad smell of age and damp that meant the tunnel had been around for quite a while.
‘Pull the hatch down behind you,’ I called up to Gina.
‘OK.’ I heard her try to grab it and pull it down. After a few moments she gave up. ‘I can’t move it. It’s stuck.’
‘All right, leave it – we haven’t got time.’
Seconds later Gina dropped to the floor behind me with a splash. Complete darkness swallowed us up. She blinked at me.
‘Let’s go.’ I started down the tunnel. After only a few steps I stopped. It was pitch-black and I hated the idea of tripping over again. ‘I don’t suppose you brought a torch with you?’
‘No, I didn’t,’ Gina replied.
‘Ah, hell.’
‘Sorry.’
‘It’s not your fault.’ Then I remembered. ‘Wait, your camera . . .’
‘What about it?’
‘The flash is working, isn’t it?’
‘Of course.’
‘Good, then we’ll use the flash to light the way.’
‘Good idea.’ She raised the camera and moved ahead of me.
Gina led the way, lighting up the tunnel each time the flash warmed up. We made good time, and before long emerged into a large round chamber. Gina’s flash was still working fine. I asked her to aim it at the walls. To my surprise, in the first flash I glimpsed what looked like a trapdoor. The flash went off again and we could both see that there was a hatch in the ceiling of the chamber over by the far wall, above a small set of steps that seemed to be hewn out of the natural rock.
‘It probably leads to the house or something,’ I said. ‘Let’s just carry on.’
Gina pointed the camera at the continuation of the tunnel to our right, and fired off another flash. As we were about to head into the opposite tunnel, the hatch was thrown open and a shaft of light penetrated the open chamber. I saw the barrel of a shotgun, and moaned.
‘I can see you! Don’t move or I’ll kill you both!’
Gina swore; I just hung my head and sighed. This will never be over, I thought. Never.
He crept slowly down the steps, the gun never leaving his target. His hair was bedraggled, his face pale and haggard. A torch was tucked under one arm, allowing him to hold the gun with both hands. Like me, Mather had been through some pretty rough moments in the last few hours. He looked like a vampire, drained and deathly, as he dropped into the water with a splash.
‘So, you thought you were out of here, eh? I’m afraid I can’t allow any happy endings. In fact, the end is going to be particularly unpleasant for both of you.’
‘Where’s the mosquito?’ Gina fixed Mather with an evil stare.
‘She is otherwise engaged right now. I’ll deal with her presently.’
‘I think she’s going to be dealing with you,’ I said. ‘That’s if she can handle the dragonfly.’
‘The dragonfly will also be taken care of, don’t worry about that. Besides, if it were capable of doing anything, it would have done it by now.’
‘I wouldn’t be too sure.’
‘You know nothing, Mr Reeves. Absolutely nothing. It’s a real shame that the operating theatre is no more. I had so
me really exciting plans for you.’ He turned his attention to Gina. ‘I would have had an enlightening evening with this young lady too, if you hadn’t so rudely interrupted us.’ He smiled. ‘No matter. Perhaps there are things I can do with this,’ he said, waving the shotgun, ‘that can provide some amusement. Now then,’ he went on, moving to the side of the steps. ‘Up we go.’
We couldn’t believe it. Just when we thought we’d been given a second chance at freedom, Mather had thwarted us again. Our luck seemed to have deserted us completely. We emerged into the living room of that hateful house. Mather ordered us to stand against the fireplace. There was no sign of the Ganges Red, but I figured that if the living-room door and window were closed, there was no way it could get to us.
‘Well now, who shall go first? The journalist or the photographer? I suppose the lady should go first, although as she’s a photographer, she may appreciate the artistic splendour of death at close hand. Eh, Mr Reeves?’
‘Go to hell,’ Gina said.
‘It’d be a short trip,’ I remarked. ‘But you’ve been very sloppy over the past few hours. Pretty soon there’ll be police officers all over this island.’
‘Well yes, I realize that now. But they’re not going to have an easy time of it. Once the Lady has calmed down I shall persuade her to stick to our original plan.’
‘Which is?’
‘If they come . . . we kill them.’
‘All of them?’ Gina looked incredulous.
‘Well, as many as possible before the odds become too overwhelming. I think we’ll be able to plough through a good many first though – she with her fatal bite and me with my good friend here.’
‘Do you want me to state the obvious?’ My eyebrows were raised in barely controlled disbelief.
‘And what would that be?’
‘You’re mad,’ Gina said for me.
Mather laughed. ‘Oh I see. Well, madness is subjective.’
‘Not in this case,’ I said.
‘Yes, well, enough procrastination – I think we should get on with it.’
Just then there came a curious sound from a dark corner of the room, the one to the left of the door. Gina and I looked in that direction. Mather, who was facing us, clearly wanted to look, but couldn’t take his eyes from us. It had sounded to me like the high-pitched whine of a small motor, straining to turn something that was just too heavy for it. It continued for about fifteen seconds, then stopped. We then heard a soft vibrating sound, like rapidly beating wings. Mather was trying hard not to show it, but I could tell he was scared, quite possibly terrified. And he had very good reason to be. The sound had to come from one of two creatures, and Mather was on bad terms with both of them. He seemed to be shaking.
‘You’re in trouble now.’
‘Perhaps,’ Mather said. ‘But I’ll deal with that when I’ve blown you into little bits.’ He raised the shotgun to eye level. I closed my eyes.
In what could have been my final seconds, I started praying fast and hard that something or someone would intervene and save us. Instead of a shotgun blast there was an odd whizzing sound. Opening my eyes, I saw a small shape fly from the shadows like a sleek, silver dart and skate across Mather’s balding scalp before disappearing back into the shadows. There was a chance that Mather could have pulled the trigger in a reflex action, but thankfully he just span round, intending to face his attacker. He aimed the weapon at various places around the room, but couldn’t find what he was looking for. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something and wheeled round to face the window. There it was.
Now that it was in the light I could see that the Yemen dragonfly was mainly grey in colour, with the odd sparkle of silver. Its wings were huge and the head, with the large segmented eyes, seemed to radiate a sharpness, an intelligence. Mather clearly wasn’t interested in examining the creature, as he quickly unloaded the shotgun at the window. Amazingly, the dragonfly was gone before the first pellets impacted on the glass. There was a wide, gaping hole in the window now, but no sign of the insect.
Mather cursed. ‘Damn! Where did it go?’
‘I don’t know, but you’re a pretty lousy shot,’ Gina sneered. It was as though the shotgun didn’t worry her in the slightest.
In response Mather pointed the weapon at her. ‘I don’t always miss my targets, young lady.’
‘No,’ I insisted. ‘Please don’t do it!’
‘Of course’ – he aimed at me again – ‘I forgot what I was doing for a moment. You were first in line, weren’t you?’ I was staring down the barrels of the shotgun once more.
‘That’s a double-barrelled shotgun,’ Gina said. ‘So you’ve only got one shot left. I’ll get you before you reload.’
‘Oh, I don’t think so. I’ve still got my dagger. Goodbye, Mr Reeves. It really is a shame to waste you like this.’ He was adjusting his aim, perhaps for the last time, when the Ganges Red flew through the broken window and fastened itself to Mather’s forehead, before plunging its feeding tube directly into his right eyeball.
XVI: EXTERMINATION
The shotgun fired, blowing a large chunk of plaster out of the ceiling. Through the cloud that descended, Gina and I could see the ordeal unfold. Mather was waving his hands around in agony, while the mosquito made all sorts of wild noises. It sounded furious. As we watched, shocked and repulsed but too stunned to turn away, the flesh around Mather’s eye bubbled and melted apart. Everything I’d heard was true. The Ganges Red really was as lethal as the legend had claimed. Soon the rest of his face was suffering from the effects of the toxic saliva. He kept on yelling his agonized protest, not letting up until he’d screamed himself hoarse. Steam rose from his head, adding an utterly detestable stench to a truly abominable sight. From the hissing skin below the eye, blood began to pool, landing on the carpet in small red circles.
The mosquito moved from Mather’s forehead and attached itself to his neck, making considerably less noise now. It positioned itself comfortably, despite Mather’s continuing frenzy, and proceeded to drain the blood directly from his jugular vein. Its wrinkled abdomen began to stretch and inflate as it gorged itself on the warm red liquid. As it grew, reclaiming its vitality, its wounds seemed to disappear. Glancing at the window, I could see that the dragonfly had returned. It was hovering in the hole created by the shotgun blast.
Gina had seen it too. ‘Come on,’ she whispered. ‘Let’s leave them to it.’
There was a huge explosion which could only have come from the research centre. Perhaps the generator’s fuel tank had blown. Gina tugged at my arm, then pulled at the hatch. I helped her hoist it up and swing it over. Looking around, I saw Mather’s torch lying on its side. After I’d grabbed it and switched it on, I couldn’t help but take one last look at him. His face was already unrecognizable. There was a deep hole where his eye had been and parts of his forehead and right cheek had been reduced to a vile yellow substance. Perhaps it was my imagination playing tricks, but I could swear that in that instant his remaining eye turned to stare at me. I was about to scream when Gina grabbed my sleeve and pulled me down into the darkness of the tunnel, the trapdoor slamming behind me.
We waded across the subterranean chamber to the other side where the tunnel continued. I still had no idea where it headed, but it didn’t really matter as long as it led away from the island. With the torch to illuminate our way, we made good progress. My limbs felt so heavy it was an effort to keep them responding to simple commands.
‘Well,’ Gina said as we hurried along, ‘at least that maniac won’t be bothering us again.’
‘It’s not him I’m worried about.’
‘Well, unless that creature can eat through the trapdoor in the forest, I think we’ll be safe.’
‘But we didn’t close that trapdoor.’
‘Oh God, don’t worry about it. We should concentrate on getting to the other end of this tunnel.’
‘If she knows about that entrance, and it’s open, she can get down here.�
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‘We haven’t got time to worry about it. Besides, that dragonfly’s still around, isn’t it? It attacked the mosquito before, so maybe it’s going to finish the job.’
‘Maybe. But we can’t rely on it. The Ganges Red has proved herself to be pretty resilient – I can’t believe what she just did to Mather.’
‘You’re not feeling sorry for that freak, are you?’
‘No, of course not. He got what he deserved.’ I could only imagine what was left of Mather by now. It was hard to wish that sort of death on anyone, but it was also difficult to believe he didn’t deserve it. The pain in my ankle was getting worse and worse. I wanted to yell at Gina to slow down, to give me a break, but it wasn’t an option. We simply had to get away from there as soon as we could, pain or no pain. Gina looked up and down the tunnel, a slight look of unease on her face.
‘Why was that thing so interested in you anyway? You weren’t serious about it wanting your blood so it could become human . . . were you?’
‘Yes. Although . . . I’m not sure now. Maybe it was the bang on the head that did it after all.’
‘But you were convinced you could communicate with it. Mather talked to it as well.’
‘Yes, well, we’re finally getting away, so who cares, right?’
‘Right.’
We maintained our speed for about half an hour before we heard something behind us. We stopped, looking at each other, our lips trembling. Gina pointed the torch back down the tunnel. The whining sound was growing in volume, but we could see nothing. We couldn’t move, let alone run, so we had to simply wait to see what happened. I saw it first. Its startling size was matched only by the dazzling red glow of its body. It seemed to be absorbing the light from the torch, becoming brighter, more intense.
‘Oh God,’ I said. I think we both knew that it was pointless to run, so we stood our ground. The mosquito would be upon us in seconds. Instead Gina drew the torch back behind her head, preparing to strike. I didn’t think it would do much good. One or both of us was going to die – I could feel it. The mosquito slowed down, then stopped to hover before us.
The Hand of the Devil Page 19