by Seth Patrick
It was another twenty minutes before there was a gentle knock. Kendrick opened the small inset door; he and Sly went out, leaving Jonah, Annabel and Never alone. The seconds crawled by, Jonah feeling the cold seep ever deeper into him. Then the door opened again, Sly indicating for them to come. They hurried over, Jonah and Never carrying the weapons holdalls. They stepped out into a bright wide corridor. Sly closed the door then led the way.
Along the corridor in both directions were doorways, red lights on small wall units beside them suggesting they were locked. The corridor itself was clearly in a maintenance area – a step ladder lay on its side nearby, and just ahead was a cleaner’s trolley next to a pile of garbage sacks.
Kendrick and his contact weren’t visible, but there was a right turn just ahead, by the cleaner’s trolley; Sly took the turn first, Annabel behind, Never and Jonah at the rear. ‘Well,’ whispered Never as they rounded the corner. ‘So far so good.’
At the end of the corridor, maybe fifty feet ahead, was a large black door. Kendrick was already halfway there, another man beside him in a blue security uniform. Jonah presumed he was the contact, Rico.
Jonah felt his stomach lurch; he shouted out Kendrick’s name, screamed it out, as he pointed.
Pointed at the thing on Rico’s shoulder.
50
The moment Jonah shouted, Rico turned. He looked shocked, clearly not expecting to have been compromised. His hand reached for a weapon as he shoved Kendrick to the floor; Sly’s gun was already rising, and it fired with a dull suppressed thump. The shot hit the shoulder of Rico’s gun arm, exactly where Sly must have intended. Kendrick took him to the floor with a sweep of a leg and was on top of the man in an instant, punching the wound as Rico cried out in pain. Jonah saw the shadow glisten on the man’s shoulder, writhing along to Rico’s own agony.
Rico grit his teeth. ‘Fuck,’ he said, his voice shaky. ‘You brought that fucking reviver with you . . .’
‘How long, Rico?’ shouted Kendrick. ‘How long?’
‘Long enough,’ spat Rico.
Kendrick hit the wound again. ‘Where’s Templeton?’ he said, but Rico didn’t reply, just grinned through the agony.
Sly ran ahead to join him. The others stood where they were, starting to understand just how much trouble they were in, just how broken their plans had become in so short a time.
‘Oh shit,’ said Never. Jonah followed his gaze back along the corridor past the cold-storage area to the secure door at the end, the lights on the lock changing to green. The doors opened, blue-uniformed security guards hurtling through, yelling at them to get their hands up.
Jonah stared for a moment, shadows on all of them. He was suddenly very conscious of the holdall he was carrying. He held it out from himself, setting it on the ground and taking a step back, his arms raised. He looked at Never, confused for a moment, Never’s hands already empty and in the air, but no bag in sight. Then Never’s eyes flicked to the cleaner’s trolley beside them, and the garbage bags lying against it. Jonah caught sight of one holdall strap protruding.
The guards were on top of them in seconds. Annabel, Never and Jonah were urged on, arms twisted behind them, then forced to the floor.
Sly and Kendrick were both standing with their guns raised, Rico prone at their feet, the armed guards facing them down. One guard stepped forwards.
‘Throw your guns down and get on the floor, hands on head. Now.’
‘Do as he says,’ Kendrick told Sly.
Sly didn’t move.
Kendrick turned to her, put out his hand and pressed down on her gun to lower it. ‘Do it,’ he said.
Sly scowled at him, then complied, her weapon skittering along the floor. She stepped forwards, planting a solid kick in the groin of the prone Rico. She turned and walked to where Annabel lay, getting on the floor herself. She threw a look back to Kendrick, who was still standing, gun raised.
‘Throw your gun down,’ said the guard. ‘Final warning.’
Jonah could see the rage in Kendrick’s face, but his gun started to lower.
As it did, the security door at the end of the corridor behind Kendrick clunked and opened. Out came two men, dressed in identical black clothing that seemed almost military. Both were carrying large shadows. Jonah stared. The shadows were even larger than the one he’d seen on the FBI agent, Heggarty. Sinuous, writhing masses.
The men took a step forward, then one to the side, taking up positions by the door.
Michael Andreas emerged behind them.
‘Gun down please, Larry,’ said Andreas.
Kendrick didn’t move, but even from this distance Jonah could see his gun lower slightly then rise again. And Jonah could see exactly where that uncertainty had come from.
Andreas had changed.
It wasn’t just the sense of bulk Jonah noticed, a curious feeling that Andreas had grown larger than his body. It was the way that this bulk seemed barely contained, ready to break out. His face appeared oddly fractured, like a broken mirror glued roughly back together, dark lines across it that seemed in flux.
Kendrick fired eight rapid shots. Andreas didn’t move; even though the guards were armed, they simply watched. Kendrick lowered his gun, staring at the holes in Andreas’s forehead, tendrils of black smoke emerging from them, evaporating.
Andreas smiled.
‘Come,’ he said, beckoning to them. ‘We’re just about to begin.’
51
The moment Never Geary saw Andreas he knew they didn’t stand a chance.
Kendrick’s ineffective volley was the icing on the cake. The would-be saviours of the world were directed through the door Andreas had emerged from, into what transpired to be a security station, a mosaic of CCTV monitors showing external night views of the facility’s surroundings.
The two dark-clothed men followed Andreas inside; the fallen Rico was brought to his feet by a guard, in clear pain but awed by the presence of his leader, and the door was locked again.
‘Sit, please,’ said Andreas. They complied, Never noting that neither Sly nor Kendrick were taking their eyes from Rico, clearly wanting to spend a little quality time with their betrayer.
The wounds in Andreas’s forehead were healing, Never could see – but then he corrected himself. The holes simply became thinner, merging with the lines that, from this close, he could see criss-crossing Andreas’s face; lines which yawned open and closed again several times. The impression Never had was of a series of mouths, yearning to be fed.
‘You were wondering,’ sneered Andreas, ‘when Rico succumbed to me. Well, Rico?’
Rico’s face was glistening with sweat and blood. One of his hands was trembling. The shock of his injury, Never presumed.
‘Two months ago,’ said Rico. He smiled.
‘Two months,’ said Andreas, commiserating. ‘So close.’ He took a step nearer Kendrick, who couldn’t keep the distaste from his expression. ‘Your friend Templeton had no idea Rico had been compromised, by the way. Up until Rico killed her. I’m impressed that they avoided attracting suspicion for so long, but when they did I gave them both a choice. Rico made the right decision. He’s been on my personal security staff ever since, a detail he presumably omitted from any communication he sent you.’ Andreas shrugged. ‘And now he’s brought you all here.’ He turned his gaze to Annabel. ‘Miss Harker. Mr Geary. I wasn’t expecting you. Or you, Jonah. I’m particularly pleased to have you with us.’ He said it with a leer.
There was a sound from behind him and another guard stepped inside. ‘They had this,’ he said, passing through Jonah’s holdall. Jonah saw Kendrick glance at both him and Never, registering that only one bag had been found. Andreas took it, ignoring the zip, instead pushing the fingers of his right hand through the bag’s material, a hiss and a wisp of acrid white smoke rising from the plastic as it melted. He ran his fingers along the length of the bag and looked at the faces around him, pleased with the effect. Then he peered inside. ‘You brought toys,’ he said
, smiling. He started to take some items out – automatic weapons, ammunition clips. ‘Imagine what fun you would have had with all this!’ Andreas pulled out a sub-machine gun, turned it over in his hands, then set it back and shook his head, his smile becoming an exaggerated frown. ‘No use to you now.’
He held the bag out for the guard to reclaim, then turned back to his audience.
‘We don’t have a prison cell as such, but the room behind you can be used as a holding area.’ He nodded to another guard, who stepped past them to a door at the rear wall then swiped a security card and opened it. The guard went inside the small narrow room to check it; it looked to Never like a storage room, cardboard boxes stacked against the end wall. He thought back to the David Leith revival, and how rooms that aren’t in constant use inevitably become a dumping ground.
The guard supporting Rico started to guide the wounded man towards the door. Rico cried out in pain as he took a step.
Andreas looked at him. ‘I think I know how you can serve me best, Rico,’ he said. ‘Your time is almost here.’ Andreas turned to Jonah. ‘I’ve been honouring those most loyal to me,’ he said. ‘The sustenance they provide gives me the strength I’ll need to become what I will become.’ Rico broke into a smile that was almost one of ecstasy.
The guard who had gone into the holding room emerged. ‘All clear, sir,’ he said.
Andreas nodded. ‘Get them inside. You and Wright stay here. Keep an eye on them and monitor the perimeter. The rest of us will go to Lab Two. We’re not to be disturbed, understand?’ The guard nodded, and Andreas turned his gaze back to Jonah. ‘I’ll take my leave, if you don’t mind. Enjoy the show.’
The guard called to his colleague; they took Kendrick first, patting him down carefully and taking the building schematic printouts and another handgun before pushing him hard into the room. Kendrick stood at the back, glaring. Then it was Sly; the guard found another gun and an ankle knife, before taking off a pouch strapped around her waist. He handed it all to Andreas, who opened up the pouch to reveal a field medical kit. He looked at it and smiled at Sly. ‘Interesting,’ he said. ‘You actually thought you might survive long enough to treat your wounded.’
Sly just looked back at him impassively, and was pushed in to join Kendrick. Then it was Annabel’s turn to be searched, then Jonah.
Being last had given Never enough time to realize something uncomfortable. When Sly had caught him and Jonah going through her weapons bag, Never’s instinct had been to shove the security card he’d been holding into his pocket. The moment he had seen the guards coming down the corridor he had hidden the weapons bag, but he’d also moved the card from his pocket to the front of his pants.
The pat-downs they were being given were thorough, and the guard was certain to find it. They needed that card if they were to have any chance at all. He had to create some kind of distraction.
Rico was being led out of the room, and Andreas turned to follow. As the guard finished with Jonah and started to pat down Never’s arms, he knew he had to try.
‘Don’t we get popcorn?’ he said, his voice loaded with as much sarcasm as he could manage.
Andreas didn’t even slow down.
‘Hey, you ugly fucker,’ he said. ‘Surely the end of the world needs snack food? You can’t think much of your little show if you won’t lay on something to eat.’ Andreas didn’t react. In the holding room, he could see the faces of the others, all giving him a wide-eyed warning. ‘You’re a shit host, anyone tell you that?’
Finally Andreas swung around, glaring at him. ‘As I recall, you weren’t exactly invited.’
‘I can certainly think of places I’d rather be,’ said Never. Andreas walked towards him, and Never felt his terror rise. Something about the man’s eyes made Never want to scream. They seemed like a lazy approximation of human.
Andreas motioned to the guard patting him down. ‘A moment,’ he said, and the guard paused, standing beside Never but with one hand on his shoulder, ready to resume. Andreas smiled again, a smile that was pure malice, and from this close Never could see every fine crack, every dark mouth, pulsate in ripples across his face. ‘You really are an incredibly annoying man. That mouth of yours might get you into trouble. I suggest you don’t talk to me like that again.’
‘I guess at your age,’ said Never, the tremble in his voice impossible to suppress now, ‘most things start to get annoying.’ He forced a grin. If he stopped antagonizing Andreas now, he thought, the guard would just start the search again. A little more of a nudge and Andreas would hurl him into the holding room with his own hands.
‘At my age?’ There was pure anger in those eyes now. ‘You have no idea what age means to a god.’ The rippling lines on Andreas’s face were growing more agitated.
‘No offence, but you’re not looking too good on it,’ Never said. ‘For a god. Can’t even magic up a fucking face that works.’
Andreas glared, the anger seeming to overwhelm him. It occurred to Never that he’d pushed enough, that he should stop now, but Andreas looked at the guard and tilted his head. The guard moved away. Andreas came close and put his hand on Never’s shoulder. Inches away from him, Never was suddenly aware of the stench coming from those rippling lines in his face.
He felt the grip on his shoulder tighten. Andreas leaned even closer, the rank smell growing, the thin black lines quivering, thickening, flashes of something sharp within. Never could feel heat on his shoulder where Andreas was touching his shirt; he was aware of a charred odour, too, and hoped it was just left over from the stunt Andreas had pulled with the weapons bag.
Andreas looked Never in the eye. ‘Look at you, such a faithful little pet. Only here to watch after your friend. So loyal, but what has it earned you? Without Jonah, right now you would be at home, asleep. Safe and oblivious to what’s coming. Instead, you’re here to die. And look at him. He always gets the girl, doesn’t he?’ A quick glance at Annabel. ‘Almost greedy of him, wouldn’t you say? Don’t you deserve a share? But you’re right. I’m not a god, not yet. If I was a god, I could do anything, couldn’t I? Do you know what the Christian Bible says was God’s first act of violence against man?’
All Never’s bluster had deserted him. He could only shake his head.
‘Oh come on, you remember! Think of Adam. And think of Eve. God’s first act of violence against man was the creation of woman. You must know how He did it, yes? All He needed was Adam’s rib, torn from the poor man’s chest. Such a quaint little story. I can’t help but imagine the care that a god would have to take. It’s major surgery, after all: slicing through the skin, cutting under the bone without rupturing the thoracic wall, then severing the rib without puncturing the pleura. Not to forget cauterizing the wound, to prevent poor Adam bleeding to death. All done with the hand of a god.’ Andreas raised his own hand and flexed his fingers, his smile widening, almost rupturing his face, and Never couldn’t look away from the rippling black lines, a thousand hungry mouths opening and closing.
Andreas’s smile faded. He turned to the guards by the storage-room door. ‘Lock those four in,’ he said. ‘We don’t want them getting in the way.’ As the door started to swing closed, Never could see the look of dread on Jonah’s face, on Annabel’s. And while Kendrick was impassive, even Sly was looking at him with something that might have been dismay. Looking at the condemned man. The lock went red, and Jonah came to the door’s window, desperation in his eyes.
‘Now then,’ Andreas said to Never. ‘What say we give it a shot?’
He turned to his black-clothed escorts and nodded to the table along one wall of the control room. ‘Clear it,’ he said, and they swept monitors and keyboards from the surface. The escorts and two guards pushed Never down onto the table and held him as he struggled. Andreas looked gleeful, his eyes locked to Never’s, the darkness in them infinite. His hand slid underneath Never’s shirt.
It was only when Never felt the pain in his chest that he cried out, the touch of Andreas’s fin
gers at his sternum, the heat growing, growing, as the touch became a push that became a terrible agony and he smelled the stench of his own flesh burning. He was aware of Jonah’s muffled shouts, then the sound of his flesh cook, and crackle, the crunch of bone, all underneath the noise of his own screaming. He was desperate for the escape of oblivion, but the pain had too tight a grip of his mind.
With a slow, deliberate motion Andreas slid his fingers across and under the rib, pushing hard against Never with his free hand to keep him still, while the other hand tracked around to Never’s side.
There was a final wrench, a final crack, as Andreas pulled the rib free. He held it up for Never to see, a piece of himself, burned out of his body: steaming gently, dripping charred blood.
Andreas held Never’s shirt out of the way and examined his work, nodding with satisfaction. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘Breathing seems viable, so the pleura’s undamaged. Bleeding kept to a minimum. A job well done! You’ll be glad to know you’ll live, for a while yet. And you’re finally quiet! Lesson learned! What now, I wonder? Have I got what it takes to turn this into a woman?’ He held the rib up high, studying it, then shrugged, waving the wet, blackened bone. ‘Another time maybe. It’s not quite marriage material, I’ll grant you. A shame, but then I’m not a god, am I? Not yet.’
As he dropped the rib to the floor, Never’s consciousness finally slipped away.
52
With the holding-room door locked, all Jonah had been able to do was watch his friend suffer.
Andreas walked across and looked at him through the small window in the door, looking self-satisfied. He nodded to the guards; two of them lifted Never’s limp body and moved towards the door, which a third guard opened. Guns trained on them, Sly and Kendrick stepped back slowly, Jonah and Annabel following their lead. The guards laid Never down and backed out again. On the floor, Never’s eyes were closed, but his mouth was moving in silence. Blood from the wound had saturated his shirt and jeans.