“But it is dark!” added Raven, as if this observation would maybe make me think twice.
I rolled my eyes. Yes, it was dark, and I couldn’t see the guy’s face very clearly, but he definitely wasn’t a ghost.
Lifting my hand, the one attached to Raven, I said, “Do you have the key for these handcuffs?”
PC Partridge squinted his eyes and answered in short gasps. “I’m not… sure… maybe… They could be in the back pocket of my trousers… If you help me out… I can take a look.” He shivered as the rain fell down, soaking his uniform.
I turned back to Raven and said, “You’re gonna have to help me. I’ll use my right hand and you use your left. Can’t do much with the handcuffed wrists now, can we?”
“You want me to touch him?” gasped Raven, a horrified look across her face. “I can’t.”
“Yes, you bloody can,” I snapped. “We wouldn’t have to, would we, if you’d just used your brain and kept well away from these cuffs. Trying to be smart hasn’t paid off, has it? And anyway, when you touch him you’ll be able to relax when you see that your hand doesn’t go right through him!”
Raven stared down at PC Partridge, a sickened expression now evident in the way she curled her lip and screwed up her nose.
“Come on!” I shouted, checking over my shoulder. I didn’t have time to waste. Besides, the Cleaners were always in the back of my mind. They would catch up eventually.
Raven trudged forward like a sulking child, shoulders rolled forward like a hunchback. With her on my left, I narrowed my eyes and took one more look at the officer. I hoped I was making the right decision. But PC Partridge was just a guy—a weak guy by the looks of it. He must have sustained some kind of an injury not to be able to climb from the boot himself. If he turned out to be more like Cropper, handcuffed or not, Raven and I would be able to defend ourselves, I was sure of that.
Taking a deep breath and feeling a little nervous, I bent forward and slipped my free hand under the officer’s shoulders. With my face now so close to PC Partridge, I could see him staring at me. I suddenly became aware that this man could see my black veins and I wondered if he would say something. But he didn’t, and his eyes fell away from mine and onto Raven as she placed her left hand under his knees. Perhaps he was just grateful and relieved to be getting the help he needed.
Together, Raven and I managed to lift the officer from out of the boot. Luckily, PC Partridge was short and scrawny and weighed next to nothing. We got him to his feet and he perched on the edge of the opened boot, still too weak to be standing unaided.
“Keys?!” I asked, hand outstretched, palm face up and the rain pouring off me like I was standing under a waterfall.
“Please… I just need a moment…” replied PC Partridge. “I’m feeling a little faint… unsteady, you know, on my feet.”
“Listen, mister,” snapped Raven, “we don’t have time to wait for your recovery. We want the key, and we want it now!” She looked at me and nodded her head as if to get my backing.
She was right, of course. There was no time to hang around and wait for the policeman to get better. I just wanted to get the key and run.
“Lean forward and I’ll check your back pockets,” I pushed, standing beside him.
“Don’t get too close,” warned Raven, standing as far away as she possibly could whilst attached to me.
PC Partridge bent forward at the waist, still propped up against the boot. His body shook and jolted from the cold rain that fell down and his teeth chattered. I cautiously slipped a hand into his left back pocket. It was empty. Leaning in further, I reached for the right pocket. With my body pressed tight to his, I could feel his limbs almost spasm. It was cold, but not that cold. I looked him up and down and realised that I could see no physical injury. Maybe the officer was suffering from shock.
“There’s no key in either pocket,” I said, looking at the policeman’s face. “Where else could it be?”
“Try the… side pockets.” He shivered, crossing his arms over his chest. His head jerked to the right and he began to rock slightly back and forth.
I reluctantly shoved my hand into his nearest pocket and pulled it away as quickly as I could. “Nothing in there.” I glared at him, stood up straight, walked around his shaking legs, and reached into the last pocket. PC Partridge turned his head violently. His neck sounded as if it had snapped. He jerked forward and got to his feet. I stepped away, and stared at him. The officer seemed to be in some kind of difficulty. His movements were stiff and jerky. His limbs almost seemed to have a mind of their own—like the body wasn’t corresponding with the brain. PC Partridge moved like a zombie.
Raven grabbed hold of my arm, yanked me toward her, and said, “It’s like the Night of the Living Dead. Let’s just go!”
We both jumped as the policeman let out a gargled scream, his hands to his throat and nails digging and scratching at his flesh. His whole body shook and his eyes rolled back in their sockets. Standing, arms outstretched to the sky, a low growl seemed to travel up through his body. I watched as his throat appeared to bulge and a growl erupted out through his mouth.
I held onto Raven as she clung onto me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Kassidy
PC Partridge staggered on his feet. With arms and legs lashing out in fitful spasms, I cringed at the sound of his bones crunching and clicking. It was like watching someone struggle to pull on their tangled clothes, only he seemed to be struggling with his own body, like wearing his own skin was something foreign. His eyes were still rolled back, and even with the rain falling hard onto his face, he didn’t blink once. And as Raven gasped and pulled on my arm, the wailing that came from the policeman turned my blood to ice. Before either of us could do or say anything, the officer’s eyes swivelled back in their sockets and we were met with two black, staring pupils.
“He’s not a ghost!” Raven gripped my arm tighter still. “But he’s not normal, either!”
I nodded my head. My legs felt weak. How could I have been so blind? The behaviour of this man was that of a demon. The jerky movements, the crunching of bones, and the black eyes. I had seen it all before.
The policeman stood slightly hunched forward, rain dripping off his chin and eyes, watching us. His chest rose up and down rapidly like he’d been running. And as my heart pounded, I felt it jolt as PC Partridge began to smile. A low, guttural laugh seemed to come from deep within him. I screamed as he sprang forward, and then I slipped, taking Raven down with me. We landed on our backs in the mud, and before I could even blink, the police officer was on us. He snatched a handful of my hair, and with his other hand, he gripped hold of Raven’s face, digging his claw-like nails into her flesh. The weight of his body crushed the handcuff into my wrist and I cried out.
“Thought you’d got away from me… didn’t you?” Thought you’d left me back at my home without a body.”
It took me a second to realise who we were dealing with. “Langstone!” I cried out as he twisted my hair tighter in his fist.
Shoving his face into mine, his breath putrid, he screamed. “I found a body… this body…!” He dribbled and gnashed his teeth together, nose touching mine.
I cringed as I watched the skin on his face ripple and stretch as the demon forced himself to fit into his new body. The face contorted and I felt my stomach turn as the flesh around his nose split open. His body no longer felt weak and scrawny as he pushed Raven and me flat to the ground. Langstone had found new strength. I turned my face away from his. I saw Raven struggle to move as Langstone pushed his fingers harder into her flesh. Her mouth and nose was covered by his hand and her eyes looked like they were going to pop. I screwed my eyes shut as the pain from my scalp felt like my head was on fire. Langstone wrenched at my hair and I felt some of it rip away. With only one hand free, I smacked the palm of my hand hard into his face and continuously hit at his bloodied nose. I prayed there was a weakness. After all, Langstone hadn’t been in this body for lo
ng, and with his unsteady movements, it seemed that a demon needed some time to take over the body comfortably before he could wear it as his own.
“Help me!” I gasped looking at Raven. “Do anything! Just hit out… use your legs… your hand. Just attack this piece of shit!” I screamed as I used all my strength to unsteady the body that lay on us both. But I needn’t have bothered, as no sooner had I screamed at Raven, Langstone had snatched us both by our necks. He pulled us from off the ground, and with a strength that only demons possessed, threw us both back toward the car.
Raven cried out as she hit the boot. I heard the crunch of metal as I collided with the car. The handcuffs cut into my wrist as they strained against us both. Getting to my feet, I pulled up Raven. She looked stunned, eyes wide and fearful.
Pulling her near, I yelled. “Keep close together! We have to go in the same direction otherwise this isn’t going to work!”
“What isn’t?” she asked, staring at Langstone as he headed toward us through the driving rain, a mad grin across his face.
I looked down at the handcuffs. The silver metal glinted in the downpour. “When he gets close… we’re gonna rush at him… we’re gonna use these cuffs around his throat. We have to destroy the body he’s using!”
Nodding her head, a look of determination on her face, she said, “We strangle him!”
“No… we have to cut into his neck… that body he’s using is still weak… the skin around his throat is loose and saggy… we can do it… just use all the strength you have, Raven… it’s the only way!” I turned and faced Langstone. He still lurched about in irregular movements. He hadn’t quite mastered his new body yet. But the longer we left him, the stronger he would get. As if in battle, Raven on my left, we both faced the enemy and charged forward as Langstone jolted toward us. We lifted our handcuffed wrists and hit him with such force that he fell back, smacking the ground hard. Throwing ourselves down onto him, the metal handcuffs across his neck, we pushed with all our strength against his throat. Langstone’s neck bulged against the pressure. He gargled like his throat was full of vomit. He lifted his arm to snatch at me, but I pinned it down with my knee.
I screamed, desperate to finish his body for good. I rammed my hand down, pushing the cuffs tight against his throat. Raven followed suit, and in unison, we fought together. Langstone’s black eyes bulged as the rough metal cut into the flesh.
“Use it like a saw!” I screamed, watching the blood begin to trickle down Langstone’s neck. I could feel the adrenaline rush through me as the panic to destroy him became too much. The sight of us cutting through his neck turned my stomach inside out, and I gagged.
Raven yelled as blood spurted out. It sprayed up like a fountain and fell down with the rain, peppering Langstone’s new face. His legs kicked out as Raven and I moved with speed from left to right as if we were cutting a joint of meat. I heaved again as pieces of flesh were torn and frayed and became stuck to the cuffs. I breathed heavily as the momentum began to take its toll.
“Don’t stop!” shouted Raven, peering at me through her long, straggly hair. “Keep going!”
I continued to push the cuffs and heave them back. Langstone opened and closed his mouth, and then suddenly, he gargled, made a choking noise, and a cascade of blood spewed out like projectile vomit. I felt it hit my face. The warm, sticky blood smelt of rot and decay. I screwed my eyes shut and shook my head in a bid to stop the flow from running into my eyes. The muscles in my arms hurt. The constant moving back and forth were taking its toll. I could feel Raven tire. She had begun to slow.
Looking down at Langstone’s neck, it was impossible to see how far we had cut through. A large pool of blood covered the area, and with each cut, the blood just seemed to swell. I looked at Raven and gasped, “How much more? I… can’t… go on… it hurts!”
Before Raven could answer, in a last attempt to fight us off, Langstone heaved his body and spluttered, “I will get you… I know where you are going…”
I stared in disbelief as his voice was heard yet the mouth of this stolen body didn’t move. The black eyes gaped wide and bulged, and then all of a sudden the body lay limp. The policeman’s face was still and the struggle and fight had left.
“Stop… stop,” I shouted at Raven, as she continued to saw away at the neck. “He’s gone… Langstone’s left the body.”
Peering up at me, rain still running down her face, Raven said, “We should finish what we started. He might be pretending to have left. He might come after us when we turn our backs on him.”
I looked down at the officer’s bloodied throat and said, “What? With his head hanging half off? He’s not gonna go to Broken Cove looking like that… is he?”
Raven sat quietly for a moment, shrugged her shoulders, and whispered, “I don’t think demons care about how they look.”
Maybe not,” I glared, “but I’m sure Langstone would rather have a body with the head still intact… don’t you? I mean… how the hell would he be able to see…? He’d only be able to view what’s behind him, and that would be upside down, too?!” I shook my head and glanced back down at the policeman. My stomach turned again at the grisly sight—and more so because I had done it. I looked away and tried to blank out the image.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said, “I’ve wasted enough time.” I got to my feet pulling Raven up with me. We were still chained together and it seemed that I had no choice but to go to Broken Cove with her against Etta’s warning. But that wasn’t my fault. Maybe if Etta had helped this would have never happened.
I can’t reveal myself, Kassidy, Etta suddenly said. I will not speak out loud. If the demons knew I was in you, then they would destroy you and I would be hunted all over again and imprisoned back inside my coffin.
The sudden reminder that my life was hanging in the balance left a nasty feeling inside of me. I felt panicked that maybe I had wasted precious time in trying to get the handcuff keys and now Robert and Max may have gained the lead into reaching Broken Cove. I had coffins to save and demons to destroy, but with everything and everyone out to stop that from happening, I wondered if I even stood a chance. I peered over my shoulder. There was no fog, no Robert and Max, and no sign of Doctor Langstone. Shivering, I gripped the satchel in my free hand and headed toward the direction of Broken Cove dragging Raven with me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Ben
I wanted to speak. I wanted to have my say. And as I stood silenced by Quint, the frustration at such a ridiculous suggestion by Robert and Max made me seethe. How could they possibly think that Kassidy was really Doshia? How? This is bullshit, I spoke to Quint, hoping he would listen to me. Kassidy is not Doshia. She just hears voices in her head—evil voices—that’s all.
I know who she hears, said Quint responding to me, and it’s not Doshia.
Before I could say anything more to Quint, Robert spoke up.
“We have to stop Kassidy. If she’s Doshia then…” He stopped talking when he realised that I was watching him—Quint was glaring at him.
“You know nothing!” snapped Quint, pointing a finger at him. “Nothing of Kassidy—and nothing of the rest of us.”
“I’ve been through enough and seen enough to know more than you realise,” shouted Robert, dabbing at his head again. “I’ve lost friends thanks to you two, and if everything turns to shit at Broken Cove… I might lose my brother, too.” Robert looked at Max and shook his head. Then, turning back to face me and Jude, he said, “But I’m not willing to let that happen. I’ll destroy you both if it comes to it—if it means saving Max and myself.”
“Then let’s finish it now!” growled Quint, shoving Robert in the chest.
“No! Please. I’ve only just got Robert back. Please. There’s no need for this,” begged Max. He looked at Jude. “Please, Jude… you have no idea how much I need my brother.”
Stepping in between Robert and Quint, Jude said, “Let’s just chill, lads! There’s a time and a place for this, and no
w isn’t that time.” He looked around the petrol forecourt and said, “People are watching us. We don’t need the attention. Let’s just be on our way, and…”
“I don’t give a shit about these pathetic humans!” snapped Quint. “And neither do you, Eras!”
“I’m Jude. I want to be Jude.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and shivered as the rain came down heavier.
“Whatever!” Quint sneered, shoving between Max and Robert. “You’ll soon want to be Eras when your corpse is under attack.”
“Where are you going?” called Max, his hair plastered to his face.
“I’m taking a fucking car… then I’m going to Broken Cove,” shouted Quint.
I could feel the anger well up inside of me. It wasn’t my anger. It was Quint’s. “Whose voice can Kassidy hear?” I asked, now able to speak. But Quint didn’t reply. He continued to march me across the forecourt toward a guy who had just paid for his petrol.
“Wait up,” called Jude.
I turned around to see Max, Robert, and Jude following close behind. Jude had his usual smile across his face like nothing seemed to matter. I pitied him just like I pitied myself. And I knew now that underneath that smile there was a young guy who had lost his life and was fighting every day to keep his soul alive. But what seemed strange about Jude was that he had a demon who would rather take on his host’s personality most of the time. And although Jude always seemed all smiles—he knew that everything rested on us reaching Broken Cove and destroying the other coffins, even though we both knew that by doing so, we would forever survive having to share ourselves with the demons who kept us going. I wondered if we could both go an eternity with our own souls intact. How hard would it be? The thought filled me with dread, but I had nearly ceased to exist just a short time ago. Quint had nearly left me. I didn’t want that. I knew that now. I wanted to survive. I wanted to be with Kassidy.
“Look…” started Robert, “I just want to point something out to you both and I know you won’t want to hear it… but at least think on it. Kassidy was gonna kill you, Jude. She didn’t and do you know why?” Robert continued to talk without even waiting for a response. “She couldn’t. Demons can’t kill demons… that’s why.”
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