Dave had to shake these thoughts of mirages out of his head as for a second he thought he saw movement in the distance. He strained his eyes to see, but nothing was clear. The glimmer of hope however, was enough to spur him on.
It didn't take him long to work out there was no mirage and he had been right about movement. The movement belonged to a stray 'slug' that had wandered away from its herd. It was in a sorry state with dry cracks all over its skin and a horrible wheezing sound coming from its midsection. It was lumbering aimlessly and Dave gave it a wide berth. The stench coming from it was unbearable. Despite the beasts sorry state, Dave was buoyed by its presence. These things moved pretty slowly in the daytime and he hoped the rest of its herd was not too much further. If that was the case, then maybe there was an end to this after all.
Thankfully he was proved correct about an hour later when an absolutely huge herd of beasts appeared on the horizon. Before long he had reached the outer edges of the herd and was pleased to see the heat having a similar sapping effect on the beasts. The majority of them were sleeping and those that weren't didn't stir as Dave passed between them.
The other side of the herd and the start of the next 'scene' could not have been any different from what he had just spent the last few hours walking through. Stretched out ahead of him was a lush green meadow of tall grass that swayed gently in a respite giving breeze. Far off in the distance he could make out snow covered mountains and slightly nearer a picturesque forest of tall ferns. But sandwiched between the grasslands and the forest was something that really grabbed Dave's attention; a small thatched cottage with a plume of smoke curling from his chimney.
If the cottage seemed familiar, it was because it was identical to the drawing his mother had shown him all those years ago. Right down to the pretty little garden surrounded by a delicate white picket fence.
He had finally found his mother.
Chapter 21
Apart from a plume of smoke curling from the chimney, the cottage was deathly still. Dave made his way through the long grass - his trousers getting a good soaking from the dew - and approached the picket fence. He saw a sign with the words Lily's Pad engraved on its face and any doubt as to whether this was his mother's house vanished.
Nice touch mum, he thought, opened the gate and walked into the garden.
'Mum?' he called. 'Are you here?'
At first their was no answer and that old familiar twinge of panic swept across his stomach. Then, from what he presumed was the back of the cottage he sensed movement and moments later standing in the open doorway was his mother. Terribly frail and terribly pale, but quite clearly his mother.
'Oh Davey,’ she said. 'I'm so glad you made it, I'm.........' she stopped mid sentence and collapsed in a heap in the doorway.
'MUM!' he screamed and ran to her. He picked her up and carried her inside. She was light as a feather and her bones jutted angrily through her skin. Dry as a funeral drum; the lyrics to an old Pink Floyd song swam into his head which seemed incredibly apt as when he laid her on a plush floral sofa he feared her paper thin skin would rip. He went to the kitchen and filled a glass with water. When he returned she was starting to stir.
'Mum? Are you OK?’ he said.
'I'm fine Davey, really I am. Just a little short of breath that's all.’ She looked him directly in the eye and he acknowledged the lie, but said nothing.
'Here, drink this.’ He offered the glass to her lips and she took two miniscule sips.
'Thank you Davey, I'm feeling much better now. Especially seeing you here. It had been so long since I sent Katy, I feared you had got lost.’ Or died, her eyes said, but Dave gave her credit for her diplomacy. 'and Katy?' she looked past Dave to the doorway that still stood open.
'No, Katy wasn't with me when I woke up. I don't know where she went. I'm so sorry mum,’ he could feel the tears welling up again and had to fight to force them down.
'Davey, you have nothing to be sorry about. The important thing is you're safe. But we don't have a lot of time here, you need to tell me everything.’ Her lack of concern for Katy was disquieting and once again he had the feeling of being deliberately kept out of the loop.
Dave recounted the journey from his parents house up to finding the cottage. His mother only reacted twice, firstly when he spoke about the strange/familiar voice in the garage and secondly when he mentioned the messages on the pebbles.
'I'm guessing that was your handiwork?' he asked.
She smiled and nodded, 'One of my party tricks.’
He continued the story, but got the distinct impression none of it was new news. Again there was very little reaction when he spoke of Katy's disappearance and when he finished she sat in silence for a full two minutes.
'Quite the little adventure you've had there,’ she said, eventually.
'Quite,’ he said. 'But what about Katy? You know where she is don't you?'
'No, not really. I have a few theories, but I don't have a magic ball if that's what you mean.’
'Come on mum, you can do better than that. What's really going on here? I know you know more than you're letting on, so please give me something.’
It took her an age to answer and when she did, he wished she hadn't.
'Davey, I'm dying,’ she said finally.
Dave was silent for a long time thinking of what to say next. He had a hundred questions, but none of them were important right now. Right now she just needed him. He took her in his arms and held her. They sat that way until Dave eventually broke the silence.
'Was it this place that, you know, did it?' he said.
She gave a slight chuckle and released herself from his embrace.
'Surprisingly no,’ she said. 'Just plain old boring cancer for me.’ She gave him a wane smile.
'When did you find out?' he asked.
'A month ago. I've not felt right for a while and getting the results confirmed my suspicions.’
'Have they said how long.......?'
'Two months. Three at best.’
'Shit, mum, is there anything they can do?'
'You mean Chemotherapy? It's too late for that Davey, but you can't worry yourself about me. There's much more at stake here. Something far more important.’
'What's more important than this?' he bristled. 'I've just found out my mum is going to be dead in two months. It's pretty fucking important to me! Why didn't you tell me?'
'Because I couldn't,’ she said. 'If I'd have told you, you would have come to the house right?’
'Of course, you know I would.’
'Then your father and I would be dead and you would be.......' he could see her visibly searching for the words. 'You would be under his control.’
'I don't understand. Under whose control?' his mind flashed to his conversation with Katy. Something has been inside dad for years she’d said. Once again his mother closed her eyes and forced herself to speak.
'He calls himself Dex,’ she said. 'And I believe he has been inside your father for many years.’
'What do you mean inside?' Dave asked. 'Like some kind of possession?'
'In a way, I suppose yes. But it's also been more than that. Remember I told you years ago that your father - the man I married - wasn't a violent man?' Dave nodded but didn't interrupt.
'Well he wasn't,’ she continued. 'He was the most kind, loving and caring person I've met. I mean don't get me wrong we had our tiffs, but he was never violent towards me. After the way my father was towards me, you wouldn't believe what it was like to find someone so normal.’
Dave did have some vague memories of his father when he was very young, but most of his memories were tainted by what came later.
'But then he changed,’ at this her own face changed; became darker. 'I now believe this Dex was in my father for most of my childhood's and then at some point - around the time when Katy died is my guess - this thing somehow got into your dad.’
'But mum,’ he protested. 'You can't know this for sure.’
'Davey, you have to let go now. Have you not seen enough in just these past two days to prove to you that there is a whole lot more than your comfortable little life. Look around you. Think about what you have seen trying to get to me. I know this Dex has been inside your father. I know this thing has been feeding off the pain and misery he's caused us - been causing countless other families - for decades. Probably even centuries. I also know that by losing myself over here he doesn't feed as much as he would like. He is desperate, and desperate people - if you can call him that - resort to desperate measures; such as tricking you into coming to our house so he can get inside you and escape.’
'Escape to where?' he asked, but his mouth had gone incredibly dry. He knew the answer.
'Not from where, but from who. He needs to get away from me so he can start feeding again. Feeding on the next unsuspecting family. Feed on.........'
'Feed on Jenny and the boys,’ he said. 'Oh, Jesus. What was I thinking?’
Dave stood up and walked the length of the room to the window. A breeze was blowing through the grass, but other than that, all was calm. Everything was clicking into place now; the random voicemail; the strange yet familiar voice in the garage
'You weren't thinking is the honest answer I suppose,’ she said. 'and you weren't supposed to. Everything revolved around you being oblivious.’
'Is that why you stopped me going back?' he asked.
'I couldn't risk it,’ she said. 'I blocked you because the minute you went back he would try to get into you again.’
'But I don't get it,’ he said. 'I almost got away. In fact if it wasn't for me stupidly leaving my keys in the kitchen, I would have.’
His mother mulled this over for a few seconds.
'I think that might just be its Achilles Heal and it might just be our one way to destroy it.’
'Destroy it?' Dave asked. 'Is that even possible?'
'I think so, yes. In fact I know so. You see this Dex is totally reliant on the person he lives in. Sure he's a cruel, sadistic bastard who can make people do unspeakable things, but he's only as strong as the person he's in. Your father's a frail old man who struggles just to walk upstairs. Most afternoons he'll doze off at the drop of a hat. My guess is that you were incredibly lucky when you first went in and he was sleeping upstairs. Did you check the bedrooms?'
'No, just downstairs. That freaked me out enough,’ he said.
'Nice. But don't you see, it was only your forgetfulness that got you back in the house, if it wasn't for that then he wouldn't have been able to get to you. He may have come up with another plan to trick you - or someone else, I suppose - but each time he's getting more and more desperate and relying on a body that's getting less and less reliable.’
Dave wasn't enamoured by the way she was talking about his father. He could definitely see a chink in this things armour, but wasn't sure how they could capitalize on it.
'Mum, this is dad we're talking about here, not some slab of meat. If there is a way to get this thing out of him then we need to do everything we can.’
'Davey, that's the beauty of it,’ she said eyes blazing. 'It's not in him anymore!'
'Sorry, you've lost me,’ Dave said. 'Are you saying this thing isn't inside Dad anymore?' His mother was nodding furiously. 'Then where is it?'
'It's over here,’ she said. 'Somehow when you crossed over, it came over with you. I think it was about to jump into you as you crossed.’
Dave looked at her incredulously. 'He's over here! But how and who is he in now?'
'He's not in anyone anymore. He's got his own body and for the last two days he's been hot on your tail.’
'But......' if his mind wasn't confused enough already, it was whirring now. To learn he was so close to this Dex without knowing was one thing, to find out he now had his own body was something else entirely. Then another piece fell into place.
'Katy?'
'Katy has brought us some precious time,’ she said solemnly, looking at her hands.
'Bastard,’ was all he could think to say and for now it would have to be enough.
His mother stood and made her way to the kitchen. He heard her tinkering away, but didn’t offer to help, instead he continued to stare out over the gently swaying grass that lead up to the cottage. The sun was much lower in the sky than he expected; as if their conversation had taken up a full afternoon rather than the thirty minutes it actually had. He judged it would be full dark in less than two hours and shuddered at the thought of this Dex being out there tracking him down.
His mother came back in carrying a delicate tray with what must have been the most ornate tea set he had ever seen. She set it on an equally delicate looking side table and poured them both a steaming cup.
‘It’s getting dark,’ he said and took a sip. It was hot and just what he needed, but it wasn't tea.
She saw his surprize. ‘Unfortunately it’s this places idea of tea. Not quite the same and can give you very vivid dreams if you drink too much. Like most things over here, best to be taken in small doses.’
‘Are we safe here? I mean if this thing has been hot on my heals for two days, how close is he?’
‘We don’t have long, but he would be a complete fool to set out in the dark. You’ve seen how this place turns on you?’
He nodded and took another sip. It was good and he could feel heat and warmth flowing through his body. ‘What's the play,’ he asked. ‘Do we just hold up here and wait for him.’
‘God no!’ she exclaimed. ‘That’s likely to get us both killed.’
'Then let's lose him here,’ he said. 'This place is huge. We can just cross back and leave him. I mean, I nearly died twice, what chance has he got?'
She was shaking her head furiously at this. 'No Davey, we can't do that either. All the time he's over here, the more powerful he gets. Every hour that passes, he grows stronger and the more he remembers. I told you there was more at stake here than you know and if this thing remembers where he came from, many more people are going to die.’
'Are you saying he came from here? I thought this place was created by people like us. Did someone create this thing?'
'Not in the way you're thinking,’ she said. 'But he did come from here. There's an awful lot I need to tell you about this place that I couldn't before.’
'I thought you showed me everything. You taught me how dangerous this place was and how I needed to stick to the rules. Scared the shit out of me when I was young.’
'I know it did and I also know you pretty much stuck to them. You were always very good at following rules,’ she smiled a little at this, lost in a faraway memory. 'Anyway, those rules were put in place to stop young travellers like yourself from getting hurt before they got to learn how to control this place. Then, when they're old enough, usually when they turn eighteen, although I have known some that have been well into their twenties. Then their mentor shows them the real power of this world. But I never got that far with you.’
'Because I was only eighteen when I left home with Jenny?' he asked.
'Partially yes,’ she said. 'But I think you would have been a late developer anyway. You were such a rare case.’
'Rare?' He asked. 'How so?'.
'Because Davey, in the last five hundred years there has only been two other recorded instances of a male being able to travel between these two worlds.’
Dave sat in stunned silence for a long time - something he seemed to be doing a lot lately. It was now full dark outside and the breeze from earlier had turned into a gusting wind that intermittently rattled the windows. Without noticing, his mother had lit a handful of small oil burning lamps that gave the room a comforting glow.
'Jesus mum,’ he finally managed. 'There's nothing like breaking it to me gently. I always thought this was a hereditary thing. You know, kept in the family.’
'It is Davey. My mother could do it. Andrea, myself and obviously Katy, who was particularly strong. But only on the very rarest of occasions h
as it been handed down to a male. I mean only three times in five hundred years is pretty rare!’
'Do you know what happened to the other two?'
She gave him a sheepish look that he didn't much care for. 'One was quite recently actually. A man called George Meadowbank; also from England and lived not too far from where we live. Around the turn of the century he was quite active over here and then just stopped. I struggled to get much more than that on him. The other one, well,’ she paused, uncertain whether to fully commit. 'The other one is a different story and I'm not the only one who believes that our friend Dex may be a creation of his. A creation that could mean the end for not only our world, but for the whole of Shael.’
Chapter 22
At first Dave he thought his mother had said shave. Considering he had been over here for the best part of two days, he reckoned he did have a decent growth of beard. But after her almost constant stream of revelation's, he couldn't see how the length of his facial hair was relevant.
'I'm sorry,’ he said. 'Did you say Shale as in the underground gas?'
'Oh Davey,’ she laughed. 'Always so literal. No, Shael, S.H.A.E.L, the name of this place. The name of this world!'
'And they just keep coming,’ he said. 'Now this place has a name. Next you’ll be telling me it has a postal service.’
'Not quite a postal service, but it's not the empty world I led you to believe it was either.’ She glanced past him through the window and stood up.
‘Is there a problem?’ Dave asked.
‘No, but he’s a lot nearer than I thought he would be and changing,’ she said, a hint of concern in her voice.
‘Is he here?’
‘No, he’s still a long way off. But time is getting very short. You need to come with me.’
Dave followed her up a steep wooden staircase to the second floor. The walls were adorned with numerous photographs. The majority he recognised as old family photos she must have taken and framed from their old house. He noticed that very few actually showed his father. Interspersed with these familiar family photos were a handful of shots containing people he didn’t recognize. Some could have been older photos of his mum and her sisters, but quite a few were newer and judging by the background, quite clearly taken over here.
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