Deceived

by Lynda O'Rourke

  I shook my head and stared out of the window. I don’t know? With my life in an ever more precarious situation, I knew that if I carried on this journey with Robert, Max, and Raven, wouldn’t I just be bringing the executioners to the slaughter to finish off Ben, Jude, and now myself? But where did that leave me if I went it alone? I would somehow have to get to Broken Cove before them. But Robert was the driver, with the car, he had the means to get there before me.

  I’m not sure I can do this. I don’t think I can do it alone, Etta.

  You’re not alone, she whispered, you have me.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Ben

  As we traipsed through the remnants of the fog, I looked down at my bloodied hands. There was still traces of Cropper’s brain stuck to my palms and I quickly wiped them across a leg of my trousers. The Cleaners had left us for now, satisfied with Cropper’s splattered head for their lust of blood. But it wouldn’t be long before they came looking, before they remembered that they had to stop Quint and Eras. The Cleaners knew now that we were the enemy, and it was Doctor Middleton—Trabek—who held the power—who had every intention of giving the Cleaners what they wanted: bodies. Quint and Eras stood in their way, so it was only a matter of time before they would seek us out. But I wondered who they would go after first; us, or Kassidy and the others? And what about Doshia? Where was he? Whose body was he travelling around in? No one seemed to know.

  “He’ll show himself soon enough, Ben,” answered Quint out loud, pushing on through the last strands of fog that curled and twisted around my ankles.

  “Who are you talking about?” asked Jude, his blue eyes back and no sign of Eras left to be seen.

  I went to answer, but Quint pushed me back. I’m doing the talking, he said inside my head, then turned to Jude and continued.

  “Doshia… that’s who I’m talking about. If there’s one demon I could destroy for good… it would be him. I hate him with all the hell that lives through me… for what he did to us and for who he once was. He never needed the touch of the devil… never! He had it in him from birth. Our cousin should have been drowned the moment he took his first breath. What do you say, Adam?”

  Taken aback by what I had just heard, I watched Jude intently. This was the first time I had heard Quint call Jude by the name of Adam. So there was something of Mathew left inside Quint’s head. Mathew’s soul did live on and so did his memories of his past with his younger brother.

  “I say let’s kill him,” glared Jude, only now he looked like Eras. A dark shadow had fallen across his face and his black eyes oozed hatred, as much hatred that seemed to fill me from head to toe with the loathing that Quint felt for Doshia. Keeping pace with Quint, Eras spoke through clenched teeth and said, “Our cousin was an evil bastard before he became Doshia. He used to stab me with his pocketknife when I wouldn’t do what he wanted. I can’t even remember how many times he would go running to our uncle and tell lies about me—about you, just to get us punished. I hate him too… I…I still hurt… I can’t forget…I…”

  I listened quietly and watched Eras shake his head as he fell silent. It was strange to see the body of Jude, the anger of Eras, and hear the feelings of Adam. This one body carried three souls and I guessed that it was the same for my own. This was my body, my thoughts, yet I had to share it with Quint and a little bit of Mathew, although I had never heard Mathew, but then again, Quint was strong and had probably pushed Mathew away to the furthest reaches. So, before Doshia had become the demon he now was, he had been Mathew and Adam’s cousin.

  We continued to walk, leaving the fog behind us. I stared up at the surrounding valley that towered over us from both sides. The daylight had gone and early evening had shadowed the ground. Two police cars up ahead caught my attention. Their blue lights cut through the dark valley, and as I got closer, I could see the occupants were all dead. I wondered who had killed them.

  Crouching down beside one of the bodies that lay on the grass, Quint said, “This isn’t the work of the Cleaners. And I don’t think your friends are responsible.” He turned my head so we were staring at Jude. “This looks more like the work of a demon… Langstone probably.”

  “You think Langstone has taken my friends?” said Jude, his eyes narrowing.

  “Maybe. Or perhaps he’s travelling with them, unnoticed… invisible. He no longer has a body, after all. The volunteers must have taken the other car and unknowingly taken Langstone along for the ride.”

  “Well,” said Jude, a scowl on his face, “There’s not much we can do while we’re here and they’re somewhere else. We have to catch them up. At least they’ve got a good head start away from the Cleaners. But if Langstone is travelling with them…” Jude broke off and shook his head. I could see it in his eyes that he was worried. I was worried.

  I could tell that Quint wasn’t so happy either, but he seemed to hold his displeasure back. He was angry still that we had all split up—allowed Kassidy and the others to go on ahead without us. But it had been the right decision at the time. And as I thought about Kassidy and wondered how far away she was, another thought entered my head. I looked at Jude, my voice breaking over Quint’s, and said, “Demons can’t kill demons can they? So how can you ever kill Doshia?”

  Like a flip of a switch, Eras came back, a wry smile on his face, and said more to Quint than to me, “We’ll find a way… demons always do.”

  And with that, Eras turned away, opened the driver’s door, pulled out the body, and climbed in.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Kassidy

  As I sat and stared out of the window, my thoughts consumed with what Etta had said I must do, I felt conflicted. Even if I found a way to leave the others, could I really ditch Raven and Max? They had been with me since the start of this nightmare. I had come to rely on them and they had come to rely on me. We had helped each other, and just the thought of going it alone made me feel guilty—made me feel scared. Suddenly I felt vulnerable. Surely it would be better to stay together. We were stronger as a group. But wasn’t the problem Robert? It was him causing all the uncertainties. It was Robert churning out all the ideas and giving the orders. Couldn’t I take Raven and Max with me? Leave Robert behind somehow and get to Broken Cove before him. If I could get Raven and Max to myself, tell them my plans, maybe they could be persuaded. But as I stared out through the windscreen at the dark road ahead, I glanced over at Max and realised that I didn’t stand a chance of convincing him to leave his brother. He wouldn’t do it. This whole journey for him had been about finding his brother, and now he had found Robert, I knew deep down that Max would never leave him. I stared at the back of his head, his long blonde hair had become matted and dirty. We had been through so much together that thinking about leaving him tugged at my heart and made me feel sad. And what about Raven? Could I take her? Could we do this together? She wasn’t exactly brave, and could be downright impossible sometimes, but… I wasn’t brave, either. I didn’t want to do this alone. I glanced over at Raven. She sat hunched forward, fingers pulling and twisting at the black nails on her left hand. One of them had started to bleed.

  Reaching out, I placed my hand on her arm and said, “Don’t do that, you’re gonna hurt yourself, and besides… these nails are too thick and solid to just be torn off. I’d be surprised if bolt croppers could do the job.”

  “I don’t like them,” she mumbled. “It’s like I have the mark of the devil on me.”

  I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Even if you could get rid of the nails, you’d still have the black veins.”

  “Would I!” she hissed, holding up an arm. “I’d like to get a knife and slice open a vein and let all that black, evil poison out… watch it drain away.”

  “You mean watch your life drain away,” spoke Robert. “What a ridiculous thing to even think. You’d die.”

  “We still might,” huffed Raven. “Most people would head away from danger… not go charging towards it like us. I mean… how do we know that this i
sn’t some kind of trap… heading to Broken Cove?”

  Shifting round in his seat to face us, Max said, “How could it be a trap? Doctor Middleton has no idea we’re heading to Broken Cove. This isn’t his idea… its Robert’s.”

  As if thinking the same thought at the same time, Raven and I glanced at each other. Was she considering that perhaps Robert was attempting to set us up? She looked at him suspiciously. Maybe I could persuade her to come with me. Play on the idea that Robert was leading us into a trap—that perhaps he was really Doshia.

  You can’t trust anyone, spoke Etta from somewhere deep inside my mind. You must go alone. No one knows where Doshia is or whose body he travels in. You must leave these people and soon, otherwise it will be too late for us both.

  I slumped back in my seat. Etta was right. Who could I trust? And besides, my life depended on me getting to Broken Cove before them. If Etta’s coffin was destroyed with her body inside, then I, too, would be finished. And anyway, I wasn’t really going against Raven and Max. I still had every intention on destroying the coffins of Trabek, Doshia, and the others who meant us harm.

  The inside of the car had fallen silent and I heard Robert yawn. Max too looked sleepy, and as I glanced at Raven, I could see that she rested her head against the door. Maybe this was my chance.

  Leaning forward, I said, “I’m so tired, are you two?”

  Rubbing his eyes, Max looked round at me and nodded his head. “I think I could sleep forever.”

  Looking at the time on the dashboard, Robert said, “Does everyone want to take a break then? I mean, we’ve made good time so far. If we take a break for an hour, it would give me a chance for a nap. We’re far away enough from the Cleaners. They won’t catch us up for a while, and we can still make it to Broken Cove on time.”

  Before Raven and Max could answer, I had jumped in. “Yes. I think we should have a rest. I mean, I can’t remember the last time I fell asleep.”

  “Sleep it is then,” said Robert, switching the indicator on and pulling off the lane. He stopped the car behind a group of trees, away from any prying eyes that might happen to come along this way from the lane. Pulling up the handbrake, Robert turned the key and the engine fell silent. “See you in an hour then,” he said, turning his back on everyone and resting his head against the driver’s window.

  “See you in an hour,” I replied, watching Max get himself comfortable. Raven had already dozed off. I sat back in the seat and acted like I, too, was going to have a sleep. I had to play this out right. I had to wait for everyone to doze off and then I would leave them. Leave Raven and Max and hope that I could get to Broken Cove before them.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Kassidy

  I stared at the time on the dashboard. It had been twenty minutes or so since everyone had closed their eyes. My stomach knotted and I felt nervous. As I stared out through the window, I could see nothing but dark. Nothing seemed to stir. It was silent, and that scared me. How was I going to get out of the car without them hearing me open the door? And was I even certain that they were all asleep? I leaned forward slowly, the leather seat creaked as I moved. I looked at Raven and although I couldn’t see her face, I could hear her gently breathing like she was in a restful sleep. Turning my ear toward Max, I felt satisfied that he was fast asleep, too. I could hear him every so often snoring. As for Robert, he lay slumped up against the door, mouth open and appeared to be in a deep sleep. I sat for a few more moments, breathing deeply to calm the beat of my heart as it began to rapidly speed up. I reached out slowly and grasped at the handle on the door. I pulled it gently, hoping I could open it without the need to yank down hard. The seat creaked again as I applied more pressure to the handle. I glanced over my shoulder at Raven. She still slept soundly. Closing my eyes and gritting my teeth, I pulled again, only this time harder. The catch on the door lifted with a dull clunk, and all of a sudden I could feel the cold night air. Fumbling around by my feet, I took hold of the satchel and began to ease myself out. With one foot on the ground, I pushed myself up and out with the other foot, my hands placed on the doorframe. I stood outside and closed the car door as quietly as I could. My heart raced as I tried to find my bearings in the dark. There were no lights out here on this lonely lane, and it seemed that no one lived nearby. No traffic had passed by since Robert had taken the car off the lane. I stumbled forward a few steps and peered into the dark. I could just make out the lane ahead of me. My feet crunched over fallen leaves, and as I gripped onto the satchel, a hand fell on my shoulder. I jumped and let out a small cry.

  “Where are you going?” asked Raven, towering over me. “Are you leaving? Are you going without us… without me?”

  I gasped out loud and held my hand to my chest as if my heart might just fall out. “You scared me… you made me jump.” I took a step back from her, but she came forward and grabbed my arm.

  “Tell me what you’re doing,” ordered Raven, her hair hanging over my face as she leaned in closer.

  I shook my head and tried to pull away. “You wouldn’t understand, Raven, there’s no point and no time for me to explain.”

  “If you don’t tell me what you’re up to, then I’m gonna scream this place down right now.” Raven let go of my arm and stood before me, hands on hips. “Well?”

  I glanced over my shoulder at the lane. There was no point in running. Raven would catch up easily enough or if she decided to stay and scream like she was threatening to, then my plan to escape would be finished.

  “Raven,” I whispered, peering at the car. “I have to get to Broken Cove before Robert. I have to go by myself. It’s too risky to take everyone.”

  “Why?” cut in Raven.

  I shook my head. I didn’t have time for this. I could feel the panic in me begin to rise, I could hear it in my voice as I said, “Because any one of you could be Doshia, that’s why.”

  Taking a step back from me, Raven said, “You could be Doshia.”

  “Well I’m not, and that’s why I’m leaving now,” I whispered, beginning to turn away.

  Snatching hold of my wrist, Raven yanked me back, voice slightly raised and said, “There’s more to this than what you’re telling me… isn’t there?”

  I looked back at the car, ever fearful that Robert or Max would wake up. “What do you mean?” I hushed.

  “I’ve heard you… I’ve heard you talking to yourself… mumbling and cursing. I’ve seen that strange look in your eyes. I saw it back at Doctor Langstone’s and then again at the fence when you were running from the Cleaners. There’s something in you. I can sense it.”

  Don’t tell her, Kassidy, said Etta. You can’t tell anyone that I’m in you… not yet, anyway.

  Struggling to think of something to say, and I knew I had to come up with something or else Raven would give me away, I blurted out, “Yes… you’re right… I do appear to be talking to myself… I do curse… it’s because I can hear voices in my head… running through my veins. They won’t shut up… they won’t leave me alone. But I’m not Doshia…I’m something else.” I looked away. I wanted to tell her I was dead. That’s what I was. But I couldn’t. Meeting her gaze, I narrowed my eyes and said, “You must hear the voices, too. The same shit that travels through my body travels through yours.” I glanced back at the car. I knew I didn’t have much time left before Max and Robert would wake up. I had to go.

  Raven lowered her head. She heard those voices. Her silence told me so.

  “Take me with you,” she hissed. “It’s Robert. He’s Doshia… I’m sure of it!”

  I shook my head. “I can’t. You can’t come with me.”

  Clasping her hands together as if she were begging, Raven said, “Please… don’t leave me here alone… not with Doshia… the haunted car and my voices… please. I’m gonna go crazy. You don’t know what those voices say to me. Their evil… pure evil!”

  “No,” I said. “I have to do this alone.” We stood and stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.
A light rain had started to fall and the silence of the night was disturbed by the drops of rain hitting the leaves in the trees above us.

  Pointing a finger at me, Raven came forward, almost hunched over and spat, “You fucking take me with you. I’m not letting you go without me so you can gain some kind of advantage. I know what you’re up to!” She jabbed her finger at my shoulder with force causing me to stumble back. “I know… they’ve told me.” She lifted up her left hand and slapped herself in the side of the head. “They’ve told me about you.”

  “Who? Who are you talking about?” I whispered, still afraid Robert and Max would wake up. I shivered. Raven was scaring me. She looked like a creature from hell more so now than ever before.

  “You’re gonna make a pact with the devil… I know because that’s what they’re telling me.” She jabbed her finger at her head and bared her teeth like a wild animal ready to strike. “The voices… they speak the truth… I…” She turned on her heels and began to pace back and forward.

  “The voices…” I closed my eyes briefly as I realised that Raven suffered like me… like Sylvia had. “Raven… don’t listen to the voices… they’re lying to you… don’t…” I tried to keep my voice down. This wasn’t going how I’d planned it.

  Etta suddenly spoke up. Her voice seemed louder and more forceful inside my head. Leave now, Kassidy… while she’s pacing back and forth. Do it now while her mind’s occupied.

  I shook my head. “I’m not sure that I can. I can’t just leave her here like this… she needs help… not abandonment.” I could feel myself shake. I didn’t know what to do for the best.