Slaughter Series

by A. I. Nasser

  She gazed directly at him. “Oh, how I’ve missed you, Alan Carter.”

  ***

  Jeff stuck to the walls as he moved down the hallway towards the Chairman’s office. The screams were louder here, and he immediately recognized Elizabeth Gardiner’s voice pleading to be let out. He quickened his pace, his gun raised as he moved forward, squinting as he tried to see through the darkness.

  The blow came from behind, a hard thump that was meant for his head but had found the soft spot under his neck instead. Still, it had the desired effect, sending him to his knees as he dropped his gun and rolled away from his attacker.

  Ivan was furious. He hadn’t expected a welcoming committee upon his return, and the fact that the Sheriff and FBI knew he was here was all the proof he needed that Brewster was going to sell him out. Luckily, he was a lot more adept at stealth, and the agent on the floor in front of him seemed far too inexperienced to be a worthy opponent.

  Ivan leaped out from his hiding place and kicked out, feeling his leg slam hard against the agent’s side as the man hurled to the floor. Elizabeth Gardiner screamed again, and in the darkness, Ivan could feel her screams pierce through his mind and linger there painfully. It threw him off his game, and before he could regain his concentration, the agent’s body slammed into him and propelled him against the wall.

  Jeff stepped away from Ivan, his eyes quickly darting back and forth as he tried to make out his weapon in the darkness. He felt Ivan move towards him, and he reacted on instinct, throwing up his arms to block a blow meant for his face. The man was strong, he would give him that, and as Jeff returned the attack with a punch of his own, he felt his blow swish aimlessly in the air as a fist slammed into his side.

  Ivan grabbed Jeff by the neck and slammed his fist into his face, his knuckles protesting in pain with the strength of his blow. The agent slumped to one knee, and just as Ivan was about to kick at him, Jeff threw himself against him, lifting Ivan off his feet and dropping him hard on the floor.

  Ivan felt the world around him swim as his head connected with the hardwood, and he kicked out weakly, trying to regain any sort of control. He rolled onto his stomach, pushing himself to his feet and turning to continue the fight when his head shattered into bright lights as the agent’s fist slammed into his temple.

  Ivan slumped against the wall, grabbing out for support and sliding down onto the ground. Feeling like he was losing ground, he quickly reached into his ankle holster and pulled out his blade. He could see Jeff’s silhouette in front of him, and with the last bit of strength he had left, Ivan sprung to his feet and stabbed, smiling as he his blade dug into flesh and Jeff’s cry of pain rang through the hallway.

  Jeff staggered back, grabbing at his side, blood spurting through his fingers as he suddenly began to feel very lightheaded. He dropped to the floor, exhausted and in pain, slowly coming to terms with the fact that he had failed. He watched in somber resolution as Ivan staggered towards him, a dark shadow looming over him as the man moved in for the kill.

  Jeff fell back, his hand resting on his gun, and a sudden burst of adrenaline raced through him coupled with the hope of getting out of this alive. He felt the man swing at him, and Jeff fell back, barely avoiding the blade, and brought his gun up.

  He fired twice and watched in satisfaction as Ivan staggered back and slumped against the wall, sliding down slowly as his blade clattered against the floor. Jeff maintained his aim, fighting through the pain and the heaviness of his lids.

  When Ivan didn’t move, Jeff lowered his weapon and fell back, his eyes closing slowly as he drifted away.

  ***

  “Go! Now!”

  Alan turned and faced the woman in red, blocking the way between her and Miranda Cole. The old woman rushed back towards the tree line, dragging her grandchildren beside her. She never looked back, breaking through the branches as she urged the children forward.

  Victoria smiled at Alan, a terrible smile filled with promises of pain and suffering, as if she would enjoy tearing him apart. From the side, Sally moved in closer, gun raised and slowly making her way around Victoria, hoping to sandwich the woman between them. Alan saw Victoria’s eyes shift to the FBI agent, then back to him, and her smile widened.

  “This is of no use, Carter,” she said, her voice soft, yet menacing. “You know this better than anyone.”

  “This ends now,” Alan replied.

  Victoria cocked her head to a side and pouted. “But we were having so much fun,” she said. “I enjoy this world; it’s naïve and reckless; perfect for a woman like me.”

  Alan shook his head. “There is no place for you here,” he said firmly. “It’s time to go home.”

  “Home?” Victoria laughed. “What do you know of home, Alan Carter? You were just a visitor. You do not know what it means to patrol the corridor, to make sure the children stay in their rooms, to ensure that he is always satisfied. That is not home.”

  “That was your doing,” Alan said.

  “Actually, I was going to get away with it just fine if it hadn’t been for the Carters,” Victoria hissed, suddenly furious. “You created the monster. You imprisoned me.”

  “Copper imprisoned you,” Alan replied. “Apparently, he was just as angry at you.”

  Victoria’s features suddenly relaxed, and she smiled. “Well, that’s all in the past now. You brought the Coles to us, and now we can end this. I can be free to do as I please.”

  “I said, it ends here!”

  “But where’s the fun in that?” Victoria giggled. “You’re starting to sound like my last toy. He didn’t want to play anymore, so I had to break him. I just learned how to do that. It’s a lot more fun when you don’t have to kill them. They become so helpless and lost.”

  “You talk too much,” Sally said, now standing fully behind Victoria.

  Victoria turned to her, barely looking over her shoulder as she smiled at Sally. “Very well,” she said. “Let’s stop talking, then. I’m sure Blake will be thrilled to have his auntie back.”

  Sally felt a sudden rage burst through her, and without hesitation, pulled the trigger twice.

  “No!” Alan said, rushing forward.

  Victoria broke out into hysterical laughter, obviously unaffected by the bullets that had just buried themselves in her. Sally looked at her in disbelief, briefly lowering the gun, unable to comprehend what she was seeing.

  “You stupid girl.”

  Sally raised her gun again, about to fire again, when a hand suddenly burst out from the earth beneath her. Long fingers wrapped around her ankle, squeezing tight and crushing her bones as she screamed out in pain. Sally fell to her knees, and with a massive tug, she was pulled to the ground and dragged towards the maple.

  “I deny you!” Alan yelled as he rushed forward, but his words had no effect.

  Victoria’s laughter pierced through the night as she cut in front of him, and as he struck out at her, she grabbed his hand and flung him to the side, her strength taking him completely by surprise.

  The woman in red laughed again, and as Alan pushed up to his feet, she moved towards him with a killer’s intent.

  ***

  Alexandra Bail broke into the Chairman’s office just as the lights flickered back on.

  A sudden stench filled her nostrils as the air inside swooshed free, filling the hallway and forcing her to gag. She stepped into the room, careful not to lean too hard on her shot shoulder, her gun raised as she looked for another intruder.

  The office was empty, except for Elizabeth Gardiner.

  The woman was lying in a fetal position on the floor, shaking like a leaf, crying as she begged and pleaded with an invisible attacker. Alexandra rushed to her, dropping down to her knees as Elizabeth screamed and scurried away.

  “Miss Gardiner, it’s me,” Alexandra said. “Sheriff Bail.”

  Elizabeth didn’t respond, pushed up against a wall and pulling her knees to her chin. “Please leave me alone,” she sobbed. “Please don’
t take me. I didn’t do anything. Please don’t take me.”

  Alexandra frowned as she watched the woman rock back and forth. “Miss Gardiner?”

  Elizabeth kept mumbling, tears streaming down her face in torrents, her body shuddering every few seconds. Alexandra looked around the room, trying to find any clue as to where William Brewster was, but it was as if the man had disappeared completely.

  “Miss Gardiner, where’s the Chairman?”

  Elizabeth sobbed harder, shaking her head vigorously. “Please don’t. Please.”

  “Miss Gardiner?”

  “He took him,” Elizabeth said. “He came from the darkness and he took William.”

  ***

  “You have no power here, Carter.”

  Victoria lashed out, her nails scratching at Alan’s face as he backed away. He could feel the darkness tighten around him, almost as if the woman controlled it. The shadows reached out from him, a supernatural slither of fingers that threatened to hold him in place while she attacked.

  He could see Sally wrestle against the hand holding her ankle, kicking out as she writhed in pain, Copper’s grasp too strong for her efforts. He watched in horror as the hand pulled her away, the earth opening and threatening to swallow her whole.

  Alan raced towards her, forgetting about the woman in red, his only thought to stop Sally from disappearing forever. He felt a cold hand grab him as Victoria lashed out again, and as her fists connected with his face, it felt like sledgehammers against his bones. He saw the real her for the first time.

  Victoria’s face had shriveled, the skin pulling against her teeth in a manic grin. Her eyes blazed in twin golden flames, blood pouring from the sides of her mouth in torrents. Her hair fell in various places, the skin beneath rotting away and peeling off in slips of ivory and green. She was losing herself to this world, and Alan could tell the strain of keeping her appearance here had finally taken its toll.

  Victoria grabbed Alan with both hands, wrapping her fingers around his neck as she pressed with incredible strength. Alan gasped for air, and with a strength he did not know he possessed, struck out at Victoria. His hand hit flesh and buried itself within, a fire scorching him as he wrestled for release.

  “You underestimate me, Carter,” the woman hissed. Her voice had changed, matching Copper’s as it tore at Alan’s mind. “There is no escape now. You had the chance, and you failed. This is not a fight you can win!”

  From the corner of his eye, he saw Sally grab for her gun, bringing it around as she fired one shot after the other at the hand holding her ankle. Alan could sense the urgency of the situation, and as he pulled back, trying to free himself of the fires inside Victoria, he felt something pulse just above his hand. Victoria’s eyes burned brighter, and Alan immediately knew what he had found. Without hesitation, he twisted his hand inside her, forcing a shrill scream out of her that ripped through the night, and grabbed onto her heart.

  “You cannot win!” she gasped, tightening her grip.

  Alan felt the muscle between his fingers pulsate faster, and he knew exactly what he had to do. With a cry of fury, he squeezed his hand shut, feeling his fingers tear into the muscle. Victoria’s hands dropped from around his throat as her head fell back, her screams deafening. She pulled back, but Alan quickly wrapped himself around her and continued his onslaught, feeling her heart burst in his hands.

  Victoria exploded in a white fire that engulfed the both of them. Alan shut his eyes against the blinding light and felt the world around him dissipate.

  When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer in the field.

  Chapter 13

  Alan knew where he was.

  He hadn’t been here before, but he knew. There was nothing that should have been familiar about his surroundings; the trees looked different, the sky above was filled with far too many stars, and for some inexplicable reason, not a single sound emitted from the surrounding woods. It was as if the world had stopped completely, this plane of existence only present for his convenience.

  Yet, he knew where he was.

  The grass beneath his feet seemed to grow and shrink on cue, as if the earth itself was breathing. The wind carried the familiar stench of rotting flesh, his senses overwhelmed by how strong the scent was. He could feel the weight of the night on his skin, alive and greedy, waiting to suck another victim into its endless abyss.

  Alan knew where he was, and it scared him.

  He looked ahead, his eyes falling on a small cabin nestled between the trees, a trodden path of dead grass and fallen leaves curling through the forest to the cabin door. It was an unwelcoming sight, but his destination nevertheless. He took a step forward, then another, slow and cautious, concentrating on the front door as he moved.

  The path shifted then, and right before his eyes, the cabin pushed away, furthering the distance between it and him. The trees seemed to grow taller and bend with the added weight, lowering their branches in wait for him, ready to pluck him off the path as he would eventually walk past them.

  Alan stopped his progress and waited.

  He could hear heavy breathing around him, a gasp of air and a rough sigh that shrouded him in its presence. Alan knew the monster was waiting, surrounding him from every angle, here and there, yet nowhere in particular. A raspy chuckle echoed through the trees, a brief gesture of satisfaction at the fear Alan was experiencing.

  Alan braced himself and moved forward.

  “Carter.”

  The voice came out from all around him, as if Copper were speaking from right above Alan, looking down at him from the heavens where he reigned supreme. Alan’s skin crawled at the sound of his name, the ghastly echo of its resonance in the woods around him. The trees bent and turned as the voice echoed through the room, as if dancing to Copper’s tune, branches twisting and turning as they formed wooden smiles that grinned manically at him.

  Alan continued forward, his eyes lowered as he watched one foot set shakily in front of the other. He would not be intimidated, even though the sheer knowledge of Copper’s presence around him was enough to freeze him in place. Yet he fought through the fear, clenching his fists as his body screamed at him to stop, forcing his legs to carry him onwards.

  “Carter.”

  Alan ignored the voice, knowing what the monster was trying to do.

  “You are in my house now,” the raspy voice chuckled, the weight of the air around Alan thickening as if something were closing down on him. “We are going to have so much fun!”

  Alan frowned in concentration, fighting the way Copper’s voice was playing with his mind, continuing towards the cabin at a steady pace as the chuckle turned into laugher, and the laughter became hysterical.

  A hand grasped him, reaching out from the shadows, nails digging deep into his shoulder as Alan cried out in agonizing pain. He felt fire race through his veins, stretching to every part of his body, burning him from within as the hand on his shoulder forced him down to his knees.

  The stench was stronger now, closer, and Alan knew that if he were to look behind him, he would see the grotesque face of Copper staring back at him. He could imagine the horrible smile, the twin flames of eyes, and he clenched his own eyes shut to keep the pain from overwhelming him.

  And just as suddenly, the hand let go, and Alan fell forward as his shoulder grew numb and his arm immobile. He pushed himself upwards, and from the shadows around him, laughter crackled dangerously close.

  Then he saw them.

  Dozens, hundreds even, small figures in the shadows that slowly materialized into the light. They were children of all ages, staring at him through lifeless eyes, their mouths hanging open as their arms hung limply at their sides.

  Alan could feel his mind breaking, his head snapping left and right as more children came out of the shadows. He recognized many, and knew them all. As if on cue, his mind recited their names one by one, a checklist that stabbed at him from within, throbbing unbearably against the inside of his head.

 
“Carter,” one of them whispered, and almost as if they had been practicing it, the children began to chant his name. It started slow, soft, a hum in the night that was incoherent at first but slowly grew in volume and pace until the children were screaming it at him.

  “Save us!” came a lone cry in the midst of the chant.

  “The doors!” came another.

  Alan closed his eyes and covered his ears, the children’s chant unbearable. He needed to shut them out, but couldn’t, and as he looked around, they seemed to multiply in front of him. Their mouths opened and closed in unison, their eyes rolling up into their heads to show only the whites, and one by one, they began to move towards him.

  Alan tried to get up, but the hand grabbed at him again, squeezing on his fresh wound until he was forced to his knees once more in pain.

  “Listen to them, Carter,” Copper sneered, his lips wet against Alan’s ears as the rot filled every inch of his sinuses. “Listen to the children you failed.”

  Alan fought against the pain, against the chants, against the tears. He tried to pull away, but the hand holding him was stronger, its poison seeping into his wound and paralyzing him in place. The children moved in closer, their hands outstretched, their faces bent into scowls as his name seeped out from between their lips bitterly.

  It was all he could do to keep from going insane, and with a final burst of strength, his last ounce of energy called upon to save him from this hell, Alan pulled away from the hand and felt his skin and muscles tear.

  He jumped to his feet, without looking back, immediately taking off down the path and leaving the chants behind him. Copper’s laughter followed, relentless, nails clawing at Alan’s back as he raced away.

  He could feel the thing behind him approaching, its breathing louder as it neared, and the grass around his feet standing at full attention as if saluting its master. They cut at him, slowing him down even further, but Alan pressed on.