While I stayed imprisoned within that coffin, I knew nothing of what went on at Cruor Pharma. As far as I knew, Quint, Trabek, Eras, and the others were still encased within their coffins. It was only when your father opened up mine, and I took your body, that I could see the other coffins all open. I knew then that they had all been released somehow, and seeing as their coffins and bodies were all kept within that room, I knew the demons would be close by. They would all still be somewhere within that place, never straying too far from their rotten corpses. My love for Quint and his love for me is what got us all buried alive. It was forbidden that I should mix with demons so dark. My family and their followers are all demons, too, but we are different. We were not hell-bent on killing and destroying, or taking over the world like Trabek and Doshia. We wanted to live peacefully. So when my father caught me with Quint one day, he summoned our people, and together, they channelled their power and strengths and went after the demons. I begged my family to spare Quint and Eras, and it was because of my begging and pleading that they realised I had to go, too. My mother pleaded my case with the group, but they wouldn’t listen. As far as they were concerned, I had been turned into a demon of darkness and if they allowed me to live, I would rise up one day and destroy them all. So I was buried alive. My love for Quint was not only hated by my family, but by Quint’s family, too. We had singlehandedly ruined Trabek and everything he had wanted to do. And Doshia… well… he had also fallen in love with me. Only, I turned away from any attention that he showed me. I hated him. Doshia was the worst kind of demon you could ever come across. I could always feel when he was nearby. Everything would turn dark and sour. He didn’t even have to be in the same room to turn the place into something of despair and depravity. He hated Quint because it was Quint who had my love. Doshia would take it out on Eras, as he knew that before the two became demons they were brothers—his cousins—and he knew Quint still looked over Eras as his younger sibling.
“They were brothers!” I almost shouted. “I had no idea.”
Ignoring my sudden outburst, Etta continued. But Doshia was stuck, you see. He couldn’t go shouting about mine and Quint’s forbidden love. He knew if he was to open his mouth, my family and their followers would destroy them all, and Doshia couldn’t bear to let go of the power he had. So he made things as difficult as he could for Quint and Eras. It was his way of getting silent revenge. But… we were found out and that was the end of us.
“So why go back?” I pushed, steering the car slightly to the right as we rounded a bend. “After hiding for so long, why let us go back?”
I had to see him… I had to see Quint. It’s been so long… so much time has passed, yet, my love for him has never grown old, replied Etta. I tried to stay away. I knew I had to. I was scared that if I revealed myself, I would put Quint in some kind of danger. I believed that, over time Trabek, Doshia, and the others had probably grown stronger, and if they found out where I was—who I had been hiding in—then they would destroy my body and probably Quint’s, too. I believe that my coffin and corpse has only been kept so as to keep Quint in line. He would never want me destroyed. He would do what Trabek wanted him to do as long as it meant keeping me safe. But it wasn’t just the need to see Quint as to why I went back. I wanted to see if there was a way I could get my body. If I could only just take my corpse, then I would be safe and it would free Quint. But of course we both know that that didn’t happen. Instead, we got caught up in one of Trabek’s experiments to allow the Cleaners to come through and survive in volunteers’ bodies. I had no idea that was going on at Cruor Pharma. If I’d known, I would have stopped you. I would’ve used my power and taken over your mind. I’m sorry. Really, I am.
“I think Quint knows you are in me,” I whispered, glancing at Raven, to make sure she was still asleep. “You know… you must have heard him calling me by your name.”
Yes. But it wasn’t safe to reveal myself. I knew if Quint found me, then we would both be found out and that would be the end of us. That’s why I’ve stayed so quiet. I didn’t want you to know, either, because it was too risky. I could never use my powers, as it would reveal my hiding place. The only time I’ve used it was when you were alone with Sylvia at the gates when the Cleaners had a hold over you. I got you to make a path through the fog. I knew Quint was coming… I could feel his presence and knew he would need a way through the Cleaners. But Kassidy, there is another danger. We don’t know where Doshia is. Whose body is he hiding in? If he is to ever discover that I am in you, he will destroy your flesh and bones. That was why I wanted you to go to Broken Cove without the others. If one of your friends is hiding Doshia, then you are in great danger. I can take another body and survive as long as my coffin isn’t ruined, but you… you can’t.
“But I don’t know where Doshia is,” I whispered. “I suspect Robert, but then again… I’ve suspected everyone… I just don’t know!”
“Know what?” yawned Raven, sitting up straight and rubbing her eyes. She pulled her hand up taking mine with it.
“Hey!” I said, yanking my hand back and placing it on the gear stick. “You have to be careful. I’m driving, remember?!”
Before Raven could complain, the clunking at the back of the car started up again.
“What the hell is that?” whispered Raven, her body tensing up.
I shrugged and said, “I think it’s one of the wheels… maybe a slow puncture. It’s been happening for a while, on and off. Although it does sound worse now.” I peered into the right-hand mirror. It was still dark out and the rain made it difficult to see the back tyre.
The clunking came again.
“What the fuck!?” said Raven, peering around. “That doesn’t sound like a flat tyre to me. Stop the car. I want to get out. I don’t like it.”
“We’re not far now from Broken Cove. Look!” I said. “There’s a signpost. Half a mile. Let’s just keep going.”
I pushed my foot down on the accelerator, determined to get this car to Broken Cove. We were so close now. But as I rounded another bend, the clunking became thumping, and as I stared into the rear-view mirror, eyes wide and heart pounding, the boot popped and opened.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Ben
The same question I’m asking myself, Quint almost seemed to growl inside my head. What have they done with Kassidy?
I felt my limbs spring into action as Quint took full control. Heading across the petrol forecourt, taking long, powerful strides, he reached Max and Robert in seconds. The rain was still falling and the two brothers looked like drowned rats, especially Max with his long hair. My arm shot up and before I knew it, Quint had my hand gripping Robert by the neck.
“Where’s Kassidy… where’s the other one… what have you done with them?” demanded Quint.
I could feel my grip on Robert tightening. Quint! I shouted from inside myself. Let go of Robert. At least give them a chance to explain before you crush the life out of both of them. I watched, breath held, and sighed inwardly as my hand let go of Robert. He fell to his knees, face pale, and gasped for breath.
“Why are you attacking us?” shouted Max, his hand holding the side of his head. “We’re the ones who’ve been attacked… can’t you see? Look!” He pointed to his head and it was quite obvious that he was telling the truth. His forehead had been split open, and although it was beginning to scab over in places, there was still a trickle of blood.
Bending over Robert, Jude offered him his hand. Robert took it and stumbled to his feet. His head looked worse than Max’s. Robert held a handkerchief to it to stop the flow of blood.
“What the hell has happened?” asked Jude, staring at them both. “Who attacked you?”
Rubbing his neck from where Quint had held it tight, Robert shook his head, unable to answer. He lowered his gaze and stared at the ground, rain pouring over him.
“Kassidy!” spat Max, staring wide-eyed at Jude and myself. “She was trying to escape us… she knocked out Robert with a police
baton and then attacked me. She left us for dead out in the rain and took the police car—and Raven, too.”
I wanted to ask my own questions, but Quint kept shoving me back. Instead, he asked, “What do you mean by escape?”
“Huh?” replied Max. “What do you mean?”
“If everything was all right between you four, why was Kassidy trying to escape? What did you do to her? I swear… if you’ve hurt her… I’ll…”
“We didn’t do anything!” shouted Max, knocking the rain from out of his eyes. He took a step back, away from Quint, and looked at Jude. “Come on, Jude,” he said, “You know we would never hurt Kassidy. We’ve all been together through this. Have you ever seen me raise one hand to her or Raven?”
Jude narrowed his eyes, shrugged his shoulders, and said, “No, I haven’t. But then again, I’ve never seen Kassidy strike you. So then I have to ask myself why she felt the need to do so.”
“Come on!” complained Max. “You’ve seen her strange behaviour before. What about the first night we arrived at Doctor Langstone’s? She threw some hissy fit at you for talking about her father, and then she stormed off and smashed everything up.”
“I deserved that,” answered Jude, a sheepish look across his face. “I spoke badly of her father and I shouldn’t have. That was my fault.”
“Okay then,” continued Max. “Did you know that she was going to kill you one night at Doctor Langstone’s—with a knife! Surely that shows she’s capable of attacking us!?”
“That was my fault, too,” said Jude, looking away. “She thought I was Doshia. He shrugged his shoulders. “I guess that’s what happens when you try to cover up who or what you really are. Kassidy just got the wrong demon.”
Robert shuffled forward. “Look, Kassidy attacked us. All I can remember is that she wanted to go to Broken Cove without us. She knocked us both out and has taken Raven with her. I don’t know her as well as you three do, but I heard her talking to herself earlier when she wanted to get out of the car.”
“So what?!” said Jude, folding his arms across his chest. “I talk out loud all the time.” Pointing at me, he continued, “Ben here talks out loud. I talk to Eras—Eras talks to me. Ben talks to Quint and Quint talks to him. We all talk to ourselves. What’s the problem?”
“The problem,” coughed Robert, still rubbing his throat, “Is that you talk out loud to your demon… who is Kassidy talking to…?”
“Doshia!” answered Max, his eyes wide with fright.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Kassidy
In my fright at seeing the boot pop open, I flinched and nearly lost control of the car. With only one hand to steer with, I struggled to pull the car to the left. Yanking on the handcuffs, I forced Raven’s arm up and gripped the steering wheel with both hands. She cried out as she was suddenly pulled to the right.
“Ouch!” she complained, her greasy hair dangling over the gear stick.
“Shut up!” I shouted, bringing the car to a sudden stop. “This is your fault, remember? I didn’t ask to be chained to you.”
Before Raven could continue to moan, a groaning, creaking sound came from the back of the car. I swallowed down hard and stared at the rear-view mirror.
“I told you, didn’t I?” whispered Raven, her voice suddenly high-pitched as she crushed herself up against me to peer at the mirror. “I said before we climbed into this car that it was haunted.”
With heads pressed together, we stared in silence, the mirror allowing us a clear view of the back of the car.
“It’s not haunted,” I tutted. “Maybe there’s something wrong with the catch on the boot. Maybe driving down this lane over potholes jarred it and the catch has broken or something.” I squinted at the mirror. It was still dark and there were no street lamps. The rain continued to patter against the car. I checked the wing mirror, but all I could see was the lane we had already travelled along.
“A broken catch?” hissed Raven. “Are you insane? Broken catches don’t moan.”
“Alright,” I said, feeling frustrated at Raven, but also scared. “Let’s put this crazy story of haunted vehicles to rest, shall we? We’ll get out and check the boot. Then maybe you can drop the ghostly policeman tales.” I reached out and took hold of the door handle.
“What the fuck!” yelled Raven. “No! Don’t do it! Anything could be hiding in that boot. Just put your foot down and let’s get to Broken Cove!”
With my hand still holding the door handle, I considered what Raven had just suggested. Perhaps she was right. Maybe we should just carry on with our journey. After all, we weren’t very far now and my time was precious. I placed my hand back on the steering wheel, but just as I was about to pull away, the boot creaked again. I stared back into the mirror and suddenly, feeling horrified at the sight of the boot lifting higher, me and Raven locked eyes.
“Let’s fucking get away from here! Drive!” yelled Raven.
I placed my foot on the accelerator. The engine rumbled and died.
With heads still together, we turned and faced each other our eyes wide.
“Shit!” we both said in unison.
Shaking my arm as Raven yanked her hand up, she screamed, “Turn the key… turn it… come on… get the car started!” She reached across me, fumbling for the ignition and key.
“Stop it!” I yelled, arms flaying everywhere and handcuffs clinking. “Stop it, Raven. I can’t see.” I knocked her arm away and pinched at the key. Turning it, the car almost seemed to splutter and gargle. But it showed no sign of life. Instead it just faded and died. “Okay,” I started, my voice nervous and my throat dry. “We have to get out. There’s no point in staying inside the car. It’s fucked.”
“We’re fucked if we get out,” muttered Raven.
“Maybe,” I replied, “but I’d rather get it over and done with than sit here waiting for it to happen.” I reached for the door handle and pulled.
As I opened the door, the cold night rushed in and I heard Raven curse. “I can’t believe we’re doing this. This is madness! We’re about to walk into the arms of a dead man.”
Ignoring her, I placed both feet down on the ground and yanked on the handcuffs. “Come on!”
“I’m coming… I’m coming!” Raven glared at me, climbing across the seat.
I stood and waited for her to fully emerge from out of the car, keeping my eyes on the boot. “Hurry up!” I pushed, cursing these damned handcuffs. One, because I was stuck wearing them, and secondly because they were sharp and I had already caught myself on them several times.
As Raven got to her feet, I reached in and grabbed the satchel placing the strap over my head. A loud thump rang out and the boot fully opened.
“I’m getting out of here,” cried Raven.
We both began to run, only Raven went one way and I pulled in the other. The handcuffs strained against our wrists and Raven came flying back. She fell to the ground, landing on her back. I reached down and attempted to get her back on her feet.
A voice groaned from the boot of the car. “Help me!”
Raven looked at me as she clambered to her feet. “Did you hear that?”
I nodded my head, but remained silent. Listening for the voice, it came again.
“Please… I need help… my head… I was attacked. My name is PC Partridge.”
“See!” spat Raven. “I told you the car was haunted by one of those policemen.”
I took a step nearer to the boot, dragging Raven along with me. She slipped and skidded on the wet earth as she tried to dig her heels in.
“What are you doing?” she snapped.
Ignoring Raven, I continued to edge nearer to the boot. Maybe this police officer had a key for these handcuffs. Perhaps if we offered him some help he would kindly unlock the cuffs? I stepped forward until Raven and I were standing beside the boot. Instead of pulling in the opposite direction, Raven now stood huddled up against me.
“Dear God,” I heard her mumble. “This is it… this is wher
e our life is ended and we go to Hell.”
Standing on tiptoes, I peered into the boot.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Kassidy
I heard Raven whimper as a hand suddenly appeared from out of the boot. Its fingers snatched at the air like scrawny spider legs. We both took a step back. I was aware that I could be making a bad decision by even interacting with this policeman. Not because I believed for one second that this was a ghost of one of the officers that Raven seemed so intent on believing. No. That wasn’t the reason. I was cautious because after all, he was one of Cropper’s team and they had been after us ever since we had escaped from Cruor Pharma. And if he was anything like Cropper, then we were in trouble.
I spoke to Etta. I need the key to the handcuffs. If you want me to get to Broken Cove without Raven then I’m gonna need the key… don’t you think? But Etta didn’t respond. She wanted to stay hidden and show no sign to anyone that she dwelled inside of me. Feeling frustrated, I stepped forward, pulling Raven with me.
I jumped at the figure of PC Partridge who lay cramped up inside the boot. He was on his side, knees bent and eyes peering up at me. He beckoned for me to come forward.
“Can you help me get out?” He spoke quietly like every breath he took was causing him some discomfort. “I’m weak… I can hardly talk.”
“Prove to us you’re not a ghost first,” piped up Raven, her confidence coming back.
I turned and glared at her. “Isn’t it obvious that he’s not a ghost?! Does he look see-through?” I looked back at the officer.
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