by Amy Cross
Walking carefully across the dark, quiet room, he held his hands out so that he wouldn't go straight into the wall.
“It's getting kind of cold in here, don't you think?” Jenna called out.
“Maybe,” he muttered, finally reaching the wall and starting to feel his way along. “Let's just focus on -”
“Something's happening,” Emily said suddenly.
Stopping, Robert turned and looked across the darkness, but he still couldn't see her. “What?” he asked. He waited for a moment. “Emily? What is it?”
“I don't know, but...” She paused. “I can feel something. It's inside me.”
“Describe it.” He took a step toward her voice.
“I don't know, but it's really uncomfortable,” she continued. She could be heard shifting in the chair, as if she was trying to get free. “Can you get me out of here? It's like something's -”
Her voice trailed off, and a moment later she let out a faint gasp.
Robert took a few steps forward. “It's like something's what?” he asked.
“Mummy?” Lizzie could be heard saying from the other side of the room.
“Emily?” Robert continued, edging closer through the darkness, still unable to see anything. “Talk to me, Emily. What's happening?”
“It's -” She let out another gasp. “It's like hands in my chest. Cold hands.”
“What do you mean by that? What kind of hands?”
“Somebody get some light in here!” Jenna shouted. “Open the blinds! Let's see if we can get some moonlight!”
“It doesn't hurt,” Emily continued, “it's more -” She paused, before letting out a sudden, breathless cry. “It's like they're filling me, reaching up to my -”
“Keep talking,” Robert hissed, as he pulled his phone from his pocket and tried to get some light from the screen, only to find that it was dead. Edging closer to where he thought he'd find Emily's chair, he reached out. “Tell me what you're feeling. I need to hear your voice so I can find you.”
“Hands,” she whispered, “in -”
He waited.
“Emily? Are you -”
Suddenly she let out another cry of pain.
“Is anyone getting the blinds?” Jenna called out.
“Emily, talk to me!” Robert shouted, reaching out in an attempt to find her. Stumbling forward, he turned as he realized he must have gone too far. For a moment, he felt as disorientated and lost as he'd felt on all those drunk, late-night sessions on the campus. “Emily!”
She cried out again.
“Mummy!” Lizzie shouted. “Where are you?”
“It's okay,” Robert continued, trying to follow the sound of Emily's sobs. With his arms outstretched, he waited to find her in the darkness. “Emily, talk to me!”
“Hands,” she gasped, before letting out a sudden scream.
“Hang on,” he told her, stepping forward until finally he felt the chair's wooden frame. Reaching down to her hands, he felt the handcuffs and realized she was gripping the armrest. “You're going to be fine,” he added, running his hands onto her torso, “I'm just -”
Stopping suddenly, he realized that her whole body was tense and that there was something shifting and churning in her chest.
“Emily, talk to me,” he continued, as he felt a distinct shape pressing up from beneath her flesh. After a moment, he realized it was almost as if a hands was trying to break through. “Jesus Christ,” he shouted, “can someone get some light in here?”
“Please,” Emily whispered, “just look after Lizzie...”
“This isn't over,” he told her, as he felt her body starting to shudder. “Emily, stay with me! You have to -”
Before he could finish, he heard the blinds being opened, and a moment later a patch of moonlight fell across the room. As soon as he saw Emily, he took a step back, shocked by the sight of large shapes pushing out through her belly and chest. Her head was tilted back and her mouth was open as she let out a series of slow, regular grunts.
“Mummy!” Lizzie screamed. She ran forward, before Jenna grabbed her from behind and held her back.
“It's okay,” Robert continued, trying to stay calm as he watched Emily's convulsing body. “Emily, try to stay with me. Try to focus on the sound of my voice.” He looked down at her wrists and saw that the handcuffs had begun to dig deep into her skin, causing blood to trickle down onto the chair.
“What the hell is happening to her?” Douglas asked as he edged closer.
“I think something's trying to take her,” he replied, “but the handcuffs are working, they're holding her here.” Looking down at the floor, he saw that the legs of the chair were shuddering, as if something was trying to pull them loose from the bolts.
“What are you doing to her?” Lizzie shouted. “Leave her alone!”
Reaching down, Robert lifted the front of Emily's shirt until he could see her bare belly, at which point he realized that something was definitely in there. He thought back to the description in the Myrkia of human souls stitched into a vast wall, and that was exactly what it looked like: hands grabbing at the inside of Emily's body, trying to pull her through. After a moment, he realized he could hear faint snapping sounds from inside, as if her ribs were being broken one by one. Looking at her face, he saw that blood was running from one corner of her mouth.
“Stay with me!” he told her.
“We need to get help!” Jenna shouted.
“Wait!” he replied, moving around to the back of the chair and looking down at Emily's face. He tried to force her eyes open, only to find that her eyeballs had rolled back, leaving just the whites showing.
“Mummy!” Lizzie shouted. “Why aren't you helping her?”
“I -”
Before he could finish, Robert realized the air all around him was getting colder. He looked across the moonlit room and saw Jenna still holding Lizzie tight, and then he turned back to Emily just as he heard a loud ripping sound. A blinding shaft of blue-and-white light broke through from the space just behind the chair, forcing him to cover his eyes and take a step back.
“What the hell is that?” Jenna shouted.
“I have no idea,” he replied, staring into the crack as it grew and grew, as if the air itself was splitting open. “There's something in there,” he added, as her saw a dark shape moving on the other side of the crack.
“Is she dead?” Douglas asked, still holding back a few meters.
Turning to Emily, Robert began to check for a pulse. As soon as he placed two fingers on the side of her neck and pushed a little, he realized her heart was beating hard and fast.
“She's still with us,” he replied, turning back to look at the crack of light, “she -”
Stopping suddenly, he realized a face was staring back at him. With parts of her flesh eaten away, and her skull and many of her other bones showing through, a woman was reaching out with a gnarled, rotten arm. He watched in horror as she put her hand on the back of the chair and closed her fingers around the wood, as if she was trying to anchor herself, and then slowly she began to pull herself through. Too shocked to move or react, he saw that she was reaching through with her other hand too, until finally she grabbed Emily's throat and tried to pull her back. When that didn't work, the dead woman began to emerge from the light, putting her hands on Emily's body and tugging at her.
“Don't look,” Jenna said, turning Lizzie around. “Whatever you do, don't look.”
Frozen to the spot, Robert watched as the dead woman reached down and tried to pull Emily's hands free from the handcuffs. When that failed, she told hold of Emily's wrists and paused for a moment before starting to tug as hard as she could, until finally Emily's skin began to tear and blood ran freely down the side of the chair. The skin on her hands was starting to get pulled away, exposing the raw meat below, until finally the hand became de-gloved. Pulling Emily's bloodied hand loose, with its muscles and bone exposed, the dead woman immediately moved around to start working on the oth
er side.
“Wait!” Robert said firmly, finally managing to get past his sense of shock. “What do you want?”
“Robert, get back!” Jenna shouted.
The dead woman stared down at Emily for a moment, as if she could see even though her eyes were just empty sockets. After a few seconds, she turned to look at Robert.
“Let me help you,” he told her. “Let me study you, let me...” He paused, before reaching out and touching the dead woman's shoulder, checking that she was real. As his fingertips brushed her rotting flesh, he felt as if he'd finally made contact with something from another world. Even though she looked hideous, there was something strangely beautiful about the fact that such a thing could even exist.
“Robert!” Jenna shouted. “What the hell are you doing? Don't go too close!”
“It's okay,” he replied, while keeping his eyes fixed on the dead woman. “You don't have to take anyone,” he told her. “I'm a scientist, I can study what's happening, I can find another way to help you.”
He waited for a reply, but the dead woman simply stared at him.
“Do you understand me?” he asked. “Whatever's happening here, we can study it, we can work out the rules and then we can find a way to make sure that no-one has to suffer. Wouldn't that be better?”
He waited again, before spotting a hint of movement in the light behind the dead woman. Looking through, he realized he could see something far away, and finally he took a step closer until he was right at the edge of the crack.
“Robert!” Jenna shouted. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Wait,” he whispered, peering through the crack. For a moment, the light was too blinding, but after a moment his eyes adjusted and he realized he was high up, looking down on a vast sea of swarming, writhing bodies. Most of the people below were scrambling past one another, but a few of them were trying to climb up.
“Robert!” Jenna screamed. “Stop!”
“It's all true,” he whispered, speaking more to himself than to anyone else as he stepped closer. Looking down into the crack, he saw for himself, for the first time, the vast dead place spreading toward a distant horizon. He knew he should hold back, that he should take a cautious, academic approach, but the sheer excitement of the moment was too much and he found himself taking another step forward.
Familiar voices were shouting at him, telling him to be careful, but their voices were fading to nothing.
“Every word of it,” he continued. “The Myrkia, it's all true.” He paused, before realizing that he needed to start work at once, that he had to find a way to explore this vast new reality. Turning, he had to shield his eyes again as he looked back into the laboratory. The dead woman was watching him intently, while in the distance he could just about make out Emily slumped in the chair and Jenna watching from further back.
As he looked at Jenna, he saw that she was still holding Lizzie tight, and that she was shouting at him, screaming at him, even though he could barely hear her.
“It's real,” he said, taking a step forward before the dead woman blocked his way. Looking into her hollow eyes, he felt a sense of absolute certainty, as if he was somehow reconnecting with the version of himself who, twenty-four years ago, had believed in such things. “We can work together,” he told the dead woman, filled with a sudden rush of excitement, as if anything was possible. “We can -”
Before he could finish, she stepped toward him and put her rotting hands on his shoulders.
“Will you do that?” he asked. “We're on the edge of something extraordinary. Life after death, everything that follows, we can explore it. Please, will you work with me?”
He waited for a reply.
“Please,” he continued, as she began to push against his shoulders, “just trust me. I need you to believe in me, the way I finally believe in you. We just -”
And that was when he realized he was starting to fall back.
“No!” he shouted, reaching out and trying to grab hold of something, anything, to keep himself up. He managed to brush his hand against the dead woman, but he couldn't get a grip.
The last thing he heard was Jenna screaming his name, as he tumbled back and began to fall. The whole vast new world spun around him as he tried to turn back and take hold of something, but it was far too late and he fell down until, finally, he crashed into the sea of bodies below. Some of them stayed standing and some of them crumpled, but they broke his fall until finally he hit the muddy ground with a pained grunt. As he struggled to get back up, he realized he could hear groaning voices all around, and finally he found that he was right in the middle of the sea of bodies, with gray-skinned, rotting figures pushing past him as they desperately tried to get past.
Turning, he looked up and saw the vast gray wall of souls towering high above.
Chapter Thirty-One
Forty-nine years ago
“And what's this place?” Robert asked, pointing at a large green shape on the map.
“That's China,” his mother replied.
“And has that been explored?”
“I think so. Pretty much.”
“Then where hasn't been explored?”
“Well,” she added with a smile, “I think people have been pretty much everywhere now, but that doesn't mean there aren't still things to discover. At school tomorrow, maybe you should -”
“I want to explore somewhere that no-one's been,” he said firmly.
“You might have to settle for something a little less crazy,” she told him. “There's still so much to discover in the world.”
“I want to go somewhere new,” he replied, staring at the map with a hint of annoyance that every spot seemed to have been colored and named. “I want to be an explorer. I want to find new things.”
Today
“Get some lights in here!” Jenna shouted, racing across the laboratory as the flickering blue-and-white light shrank to nothing. By the time she reached Emily, the crack was gone and there was only moonlight in the room.
“Mummy!” Lizzie screamed, racing forward.
“Robert!” Stepping past the chair where Emily was still in a slumped position, Jenna looked around desperately, hoping to spot Robert somewhere. She'd seen him falling into the light, and then she'd lost sight of him completely. She knew he couldn't be gone, that he had to be around somewhere, but there was only one way in and out of the room and she was certain he hadn't gone that way. A moment later, all the lights flickered back on, along with the computers and monitors on the workbenches, and she saw that not only had Robert disappeared, but so too had the dead woman.
“Mummy,” Lizzie whimpered, climbing up onto her mother's lap and reaching out to put a hand on the side of her face. “Mummy, please be okay,” she added, with tears running down her face. “Please...”
“Where is he?” Douglas shouted, hurrying over to join them.
“He's gone!” Jenna replied, still turning, still hoping to spot Robert somewhere. “I saw him falling, and then...”
“Bullshit,” Douglas continued as he reached her. “He has to be here somewhere. A man can't just disappear into thin air.”
“Robert!” Jenna shouted, with tears in her eyes. “Robert, can you hear me?”
“Mummy?” Lizzie continued, nudging the side of Emily's face. “Mummy, say something.”
“Jesus Christ,” Douglas muttered, tilting Emily's head to one side and checking for a pulse. “She's alive,” he added, before looking down at her bloodied, skinless hand, “but barely. We need an ambulance. Her pulse is weak and she's lost a lot of blood.”
“Where is he?” Jenna replied, looking down at the spot where she'd last seen Robert. “Where the hell did he go?”
***
“Let me get this straight,” the police officer said with a frown as he sat with Douglas and Jenna at a table in the hospital's cafeteria, “you're claiming that -”
“We already told you everything,” Douglas replied firmly, interrupting him. “Please
, don't make us go through it all again. It was hard enough the first time and our story isn't going to change.”
“Right...” The detective paused for a moment, staring at his own notepad as if he didn't believe a word he'd written down. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out; a few seconds later he tried again, but there were still no words. It was clear that he had no idea where to start. “You do realize,” he said finally, “that a man is missing, right? That's a serious situation, and the version of events you've given me -”
“Is what happened,” Jenna said coldly, staring at him with tear-stained eyes. “Word for word, that's exactly what happened in the lab a few hours ago.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Huh.” He paused. “I'm sure you can understand that I -”
“We have no proof,” she added.
“No, you don't.”
“You can ask us for proof until you're blue in the face,” she continued, “but we've got none to give you. No photos, no videos, no samples or substances. There's nothing.”
“All the equipment failed,” Douglas continued. “Obviously the event, whatever it was, caused some kind of...” His voice trailed off for a moment. “To be honest, I'm not sure what is caused, but on two occasions now it has been able to shut off equipment in its vicinity. Whether by accident or design, it would seem to be almost impossible to capture a visual or audio record of the phenomenon.”
“And we probably can't recreate it,” Jenna added, “because... It got what it wanted. It took the place of someone from this world.”
“And that would be Mr. Slocombe?”
She nodded.
“We need to focus on finding him,” the detective replied, “and...” He paused, eying them with suspicion. “He's one of the men who was at Emily Stone's house the other night, isn't he?”