As the Light Dies

by M. D. Woodham

  Ann spun round in terror and jumped back with both arms up in defence yelling out,“SHIT!”

  Keith dropped the gear he had in his hands and attempted to jump in the same direction as Ann without even looking back. He heard the dog and saw the direction Ann jumped and that was all he needed to know. As he jumped he slipped on the dirty puddle of melting snow on the tile floor and landed hard, face down on his stomach.“Oomph,” he said as the wind rushed from his lungs on impact. Panicking he kicked with both legs and pulled with both arms scrambling across the ash covered floor tangling himself up in his own scarves.

  “SHIT! WHOA, FUCKING SHIT! WHOA SHIT FUCK!” he yelped certain someone had a hold of him.

  Ann backed up against the wall trapping herself, she was struck with terror as she looked back at the big dog. It growled and barked, spitting saliva as it did moving ever so slightly closer. Ann let out a whimper. Then she heard laughing!

  Her mind went numb, she couldn’t understand why or who or what, and then she saw Dean having to hold on to the banister as he doubled over laughing, he was hysterical.

  The realisation hit her and Sam trotted over to the terrorised woman wagging his tail and nudged her thigh with his snout searching for a pat on the head. Ann lowered her arms and took a deep breath.“You prick,”she said.

  Dean howled even harder with laughter.

  “Oh, oh. You’re SO going to pay for that.I so can’t believe you just did that to us. You’re mean, you’re really mean,”she said and patted Sam.

  Keith was confused, he dared to look back while still trying to make his escape.

  Keith’s whimpers and desperate attempt to escape his own scarf just added to Dean’s fun, Dean was out of breath with laughing so hard. Keith stopped making all the noises that he didn’t even realise he was making and shot a glance over to Ann and saw her patting the previously wild attack dog.

  He couldn’t understand it.“Huh!” he said looking at Ann, and then he looked for the source of the laughter and saw Dean in hysterics. He propped himself up on his elbows.

  “Oh yea.NICE!Really funny Dean. We traipse all the way in here for your benefit, and you treat us like this!”

  Sam trotted over to Keith as he lay there semi traumatised and sat beside him and liked the side of his face and let out a playful moan.

  “Yea, hi Sam, your master’s a bad influence on you,”said Keith getting up.

  “Glad you both made it in,”said Dean getting his breath back.“That was priceless.”

  Ann and Keith mumbled their distaste as he checked his watch, it was just after eight.

  “You’re both late. I think I’ll have to dock your wages.”

  “Oh so funny, so, so funny,”said Ann as she picked her gear back up and laid it on top of the long curved reception desk.

  “You get funnier by the second,”she said and then asked him,“You been here long?”

  “Ten minutes maybe, if that.”

  “Who else is in? The place looks dead.”said Ann glancing around.

  Dean shook his head and said,“I’ve got no idea. I was just heading up to check the clocking-in station when you two clowns arrived.”

  “Hey, less of the clowns,”said Ann smiling.

  “Yea.I second that,”called Keith as he tripped over his own rucksack and only just caught his balance. Dean and Ann looked over at Keith grinning as he steadied himself, he saw them looking.“What you two looking at?” he said trying not to grin.

  “Oh boy,”said Dean,“you shoulda seen your faces.”He chuckled and Sam woofed excitedly.“C’mon,”he said looking at Keith.“You can play on the floor later if you really must after we find out what’s going on here. I’ve already shouted down to the pool side and over to the dry side but I got no response. Obviously didn’t hear me, so God knows where they are. The door you guys came in through was actually ajar when I got here so whoever’s here can’t be far.”

  Ann was frowning as she listened.

  “I handed over to Brian this morning....”

  “Trust Brian to make it in,”said Ann,“he’s as bad as you are.”

  Dean smirked.

  “Did you have to wait long?”she asked.

  “Nah. He turned up at twenty past six, I’ve waited longer. Anyway what happened to you guys then? Did you both meet up on the way in or what?”

  Ann started telling Dean their story as Keith finally sorted himself out and wandered over.

  “I left the house at about half six and went round via Keith’s to see if he was gonna come in, and when I got there he was just coming out of his front door to come over to mine to see if I was coming in. That’s how we joined up and we walked in together, and I’m telling ya it was pretty hard going at times. Tim really didn’t want me to come in you know, he wanted me to stay home with him and the kids but I said that if Keith wasn’t coming in I would just go back home you know. Our part of town up at Raigmore Estate has been totally dead for hours. Even brand new batteries straight out of the pack wouldn’t work for long, so you can kinda see where he was coming from.”

  “Yea,”said Dean nodding,“maybe you shoulda stayed home. No-one would ever have said anything, and you know I wouldn’t have, especially with the little ones at home. Right now it doesn’t look like many others made it in today any way. Place looks just how it did this morning....”

  “Didn’t make it inordidn’t bother.”added Ann.

  Dean shrugged his shoulders, not everyone had the same work ethic.

  Ann said,“I thought that this place might’ve been made in to a rescue centre or something you know, so did Keith seeing how big it is and that.”

  “So did I,”said Dean,“but it doesn’t look like it huh.”

  “Nope,”said Keith joining them.

  “That’s the main reason I told Tim and the kids that I had to at least try and make it in,”said Ann.“Just in case there were people here that needed help you know.”

  They all nodded.

  “Right then,”said Dean,“let’s go and find out who’s clocked in and then go and find them.”

  Dean called Sam and they all started up the ramp towards the offices and the clocking in station. Halfway up the ramp Ann noticed the reflection in the pools like Dean had.

  “Wow!”she said,“Look at the pools. They look like they are full of oil.”

  ”Yea. Living oil,”said Keith.

  “Looks eerie doesn’t it.”said Dean as thunder clapped and rumbled breaking the monotony of the shrieking wind, then lightning raced across the bleak sky fully visible through the giant wall of windows. The three of them watched for a minute captivated as they watched the multiple strands of pure electric race through the air as it chased the ground.

  “It’s weird eh! All this ash and shit!”said Dean,“I don’t think anyone really knows what’s going on.”Ann and Keith mumbled their agreement and looked at him with a look of worry and fear on their faces. They carried on to the top of the ramp.

  The entrance for the offices and staff area was just at the top of the ramp, beyond that the floor opened up to form the Relaxation Suite that overlooked the leisure pools with its sauna, steam room, sun beds and jacuzzi and a modest chill out area with beach loungers. It was still and quiet, the magazines lay spread across the tables, fanned out just how Ann arranged them a night ago. Seeing them like this, knowing they hadn’t been touched, knowing no-one had been here in nearly twenty four hours left Ann feeling a strange sense of unease. The place was so quiet, too quiet!

  Looking around Keith noticed the ashy snow reflecting across the surface of the glass table tops.

  “Stuff really does get everywhere eh,”said Keith nodding towards the tables.“It’s like it’s trying to come in after us.”

  “Stop it Keith.That’s not funny,”said Ann giving him a friendly nudge with her elbow.

  Dean walked around the back of the Relaxation Suite where the level opened out along the top of the spectator seating that looked down on to the main pool. He looked
down and was taken aback by the reflection covering the surface of the Olympic sized pool. It looked like an enormous swirling black pit. It looked alive!

  “Wow!” said Ann coming up beside him,“It looks so strange doesn’t it.”

  “I told you, it’s coming in after us,”chided Keith joining them only to get another elbow in the ribs, this time a little harder. Sam wandered over to the top of the steps that lead down through the middle of the spectator seats to the edge of the pool, he stopped with a jolt and crouched down, ears flat against the side of his head and whined.

  “C’mon boy,”said Dean.“It’s ok. It’s just a reflection, it can’t hurt anyone,”he said ushering Sam away from the edge.

  “Poor thing,”said Ann,“he doesn’t know what’s going on. It must be scary for him.”

  Dean nodded and said,“Neither do I, and I don’t like it either.”

  Seeing the place empty Dean turned and headed for the offices with Sam close by his side.

  Dean pushed the door open marked‘staff only’, the corridor beyond was pitch black. With the door from the Relaxation Suite open some ambient light poured in managing to improve visibility a few feet or so, but that was all. Keith wedged the door open with a waste paper bin and they ventured in. Dean opened the first office door and called in.“HELLO IS THERE ANYONE THERE?”

  There was no answer. Sam wandered in to the middle of the long narrow office and sniffed at the air.“No one here boy,”said Dean looking at the deserted office, there was a long picture window along one wall that looked out above the aces ramp from reception and faced the big wall of windows opposite. The tiny amount of light that it shed on the room made it clear that no-one had been in here. The room was neat and tidy just how they’d left it the previous night.

  “C’mon boy lets go,”said Dean, calling Sam back and they moved on to the next office, the manager’s office. Dean knocked on this door.

  “Oh! Knocking at this one are we?”said Keith.

  “Old habits,”said Dean and pushed the door open. The modest sized square room was clearly empty, one desk, two chairs and a filing cabinet, nothing or no-one else. Sam only stuck his head in this time, and he sniffed at the air again.

  “Nah, c’mon boy it’s empty,”said Dean and let the door close.

  “Who the hell’s running this place?”said Ann.

  “God knows,”said Keith,“but going by first impressions, I’d say there gonna make a go of the place.”

  He felt another elbow in his side. They moved along the corridor towards the clocking station. They worked their way along the familiar corridor in absolute darkness until they found the clocking-in station. Dean ran his hands slowly over the IN section feeling for clocking cards. He found three and handed them to Keith who went back out in to the Relaxation Suite where the light was just enough for him to make out the names. He called back the names as he read them.

  “We’ve got Brian’s....”

  “What the hell’s he still clocked in for?”said Dean.

  Keith continued,“And we’ve got Jonathan Edwards and Gary Mackintosh.”

  “Well where the hell are they?”said Dean while he waited for Keith to come back. Ann shrugged, then realising Dean couldn’t see her said,“They must be here somewhere. Probably just couldn’t hear you calling earlier. We’ll find them.”

  “Maybe he just forgot to clock out,”added Keith coming back.

  “No,”said Dean,“Brian wouldn’t forget, and he wouldn’t leave it for someone else to do either. He’d do it himself.”

  Dean thought for a moment then said,“Ok let’s check the staffroom, then we’ll head downstairs and check poolside, then work our way over to dry side ok.”

  They moved on down the dark corridor passing the fire escape that doubled as the staff stairwell from the poolside to the staff room and offices. Dean told the others they’d check the stairs in a minute by using them to get down to pool side after checking the staffroom. They passed and checked the toilets which were both empty and then they reached the staffroom.

  Dean pushed open the door and walked in, the staffroom was empty.

  “Ok, back up guys,”said Dean,“it’s empty.”

  They backed up to the fire escape and used the stairs to descend down to poolside checking them in the process, there was nothing to find. At the bottom Dean shoved open the fire exit door that lead out on to the small staff car park. The door took some force to open against the drifting snow outside and the icy catch but when open he peered out and between the whirlwinds and gusts he saw that Brian’s car was still there being buried by the dirty snow, there was no mistaking that old square Volvo Estate anywhere. There were no more cars and no footprints or tracks of any kind in the settling black snow. Dean watched for a moment as the strange almost enchanting mixture of discoloured snow danced in front of him. It weaved and twirled around on itself demanding his attention. Ann crept around him to see what he saw.

  “What is it Dean?”she asked.

  At first he didn’t answer, he just seemed to stare out in to nothingness. Ann nudged him. He blinked and said,“I don’t know. It doesn’t feel right! I mean, I know none of this is right, but something just feels wrong. A bad kinda wrong you know! C’mon,”he said letting the door close and they crossed by the foot of the stairs and pushed through another heavy fire door and came out beside the pool. The reflection across the surface of the main pool was right there in their faces, staring at them in all its glory. Ann didn’t want to get too close. To her it looked like it had a depth to it, a depth reaching down further than the depth of the pool and it looked alive, like something reaching up from within the bowls of the earth, it looked like it might reach out for them!

  Stupid thoughts, she told herself trying to shake the thoughts from her head.

  Dean looked around at the vast empty space, no-one to be seen and nothing out of place. He looked down at the flat calm water, but it wasn’t calm, that was the problem. It grabbed his attention as it danced around on the water’s surface. It felt like he was looking in to something far deeper than the pool. It was like a big window in the floor looking in to the ground. Sam growled at the water’s edge disapprovingly and snapped his jaw twice before backing up to be beside Dean again.

  “Easy boy,”said Dean and even though he wasn’t looking at the reflection directly anymore he could feel the movement out of the corner of his eye calling for his attention, shouting for him to look! He almost felt unsteady on his feet, like he had when he was walking in, when he stared at the strange black snow for too long and became disorientated. Then he almost flinched as a feeling like he was falling seeped in to him and he imagined for a split second someone falling in. Someone being pulled in by the reflection, looking at it for a moment, amazed by it, marvelling at it like they all were right now and then becoming dizzy with the motion of its constant movement and losing their balance and falling in and banging their head on the side.

  “HELLO!” he yelled making Ann and Keith jump.

  His echo bounced around a few times, and before it died out he yelled out again but it was no good, there was no answer. Dean stepped forwards to the edge of the pool and looked down and through the reflection at the bottom. It was hard to see without the pool lights on and the reflection fighting for his attention. He started walking along the poolside, peering down through the visual quicksand. Without looking back he called over his shoulder to the others to start searching the pool.

  Keith immediately started along the opposite side understanding what Dean meant.

  ”Oh No!You don’t think....”started Ann when Dean said,“No, I don’t but it’s best to check. You just stay there for a sec Ann ok.”

  She did. She hugged herself and prayed that neither man found anything as she watched them work their way around the edge of the pool that from where she stood looked just like an oil slick in a storm or like some weird man-eating thing from one of the horror movies that Tim liked to watch late on Friday nights. A shiver ran do
wn her spine as the men rounded the last two corners and started moving towards each other.

  If there gonna find anything or anyone, they’re about to do it any second, she thought.

  The closer they got the more nervous, the more anxious she became, picking at her nails until both men came within ten feet of each other and she had to turn around and face the wall.

  Dean and Keith rejoined at the far side and spoke for a moment. Ann couldn’t bear the wait. She thought that they must have met up already.

  Why haven’t they said anything,she wondered fearing what the answer might be and she turned back around desperate to know if they’d found anything while desperately hoping they hadn’t at the same time. She went to call across and realised she’d been holding her breath without knowing it, she suddenly felt like her lips must be turning blue and she took a deep breath, almost a gasp and blurted,“What is it? What have you found?”

  Dean looked up and raised a hand.“Nothing Ann it looks clear, we’re just gonna work our way back round. Hang on.”

  Ann sighed with relief and breathed easily as both men traced the other’s steps back around the pool back towards her.

  “It’s all clear Ann,”said Keith returning.

  “Thank God,”she said turning to face Dean as he approached.

  “Did you really think....”she started but Dean cut her off.“Accidents happen,”he said and he glanced around once more. There was nothing more they could do here.

  “C’mon,”he said and he led them through the archway under the spectator seating and Relaxation Suite to the mass of changing cubicles by the pleasure pools.

  As they checked the changing cubicles Dean yelled out a couple of times sending his lonely echo bouncing off the walls only to receive no answer. They didn’t stop; they continued onwards checking the leisure pools that through the day were made in to rivers and waves by mechanical wizardry housed beneath the pools. Dean looked up at the diving tower and water slides, there was no-one there. He called out again, still no reply. Frustrated, they moved on and left the pools behind as they headed over to dry side where the gym and the sports halls were.