by Steve Hester
CHAPTER 22
Longsite police station stood on the busy A6, one of the main arteries out of the city. During the day it was a riot of cars, jamming up the road but at this time of night it was pretty peaceful.
It was a pretty modern building with tan and salmon coloured brickwork. The only symbol of its heritage was the traditional blue lantern with 'police' on it that hung from its front. The Sympathetic Man didn't care; he had a mission to complete.
The officer on the front desk looked up from his paperwork as the buzzer to the front doors went off. A pair of tired eyes stared back at him through the glass above a worn smile. His big mistake was letting the strange man in. If he hadn't, he might have lived longer.
…
There were voices; lots of voices, yelling at him, screaming at him. Rob had finally given into exhaustion and had fallen asleep. It had only been for a few minutes but the voices had woken him up. He'd thought it was only a dream, a memory of earlier in the night outside Jason's but when he opened his eyes he could still hear them.
His skin started to feel tingly. A wave of uneasiness swept over him. His stomach tightened as every cell in his body became acutely aware that something in the world nearby was very wrong. He could hear talking from the far end of the corridor on the other side of the heavy metal door. He could barely make it out but he could hear the voice of his guard. He sounded angry and worried.
There was a brief scream that stopped almost as soon as it started and then all was silent again. After a few moments the sound of the metal door opening again echoed down the corridor.
Suddenly it seemed too quiet as if all the noise in the world was being siphoned off leaving nothing but heavy oppressive silence that could be felt pressing down and smothering you. It felt like being suffocated by a cloud. All Rob could hear was his breath and the soft rustle of his jumpsuit.
Then came the footsteps.
They were slow, deliberate and their echo in the corridor seemed to fill up Rob's world. They stopped outside his cell and there was a moment when Rob held his breath and the silence returned.
He heard the tumblers in the lock start to clink together and a final 'CLUNK' as it unlocked and the door swung open.
“Hello again.” said the Sympathetic Man.
Rob felt the hairs on his neck rise and the warning from the disembodied voice echoed in his brain. He had no idea who the man in front of him was but he knew he needed to get away from him.
“Who are you? What do you want?” asked Rob backing up into the cell.
The Sympathetic Man smiled. There was something about that face; it lulled you in, made you want to trust it. It was inescapable.
“I've come for you. You are very, very valuable and I mean to see that you get delivered.” He said.
“I'm not going anywhere with you!” Said Rob but he could already feel his feet itching to follow him.
“Yes you are.” said the Sympathetic Man.
He held out his hand and Rob felt like he'd lost control over his body. Part of his brain was screaming for him to stop but he started to move forward anyway like a marionette obeying the whims of the puppet master. Every step was taking him closer and closer to that smiling face.
An ear splitting ringing broke the spell as the fire alarm burst into life. The Sympathetic Man looked round as a moments confusion set in. Rob staggered and tried to clear the cobwebs in his head before the Sympathetic Man got back his bearings and grabbed him by the arm.
His grip was like steel and even as Rob tried to shake off the effect he'd had on his mind, there was no way he could fight against those hands. The Sympathetic Man's face seemed to have changed. The infectious smile had gone and in its place was a dark gaunt look that seemed to speak nothing but evil.
“You're coming with me!” Said the Sympathetic Man.
“OI!! MATEY!”
Both of them turned to find the newcomer and stood at the end of the corridor was Smithy. Rob's would be abductor snarled.
Smithy turned and dropped his trousers, mooning them.
“Want some of this do you, our kid?” He said turning part way round to give the Sympathetic Man the finger. “Well come on then!!”
Rob was flung back into the cell and slammed into the wall. As he slumped to the floor the door clanged shut behind him, locking again.
The Sympathetic man turned back to face the interloper. By now Smithy had pulled his trousers up and was slowly backing away, his hands out in front of him, goading all the time.
“Yeah that's right... Come get me bitch!” He said.
There was a noise from behind him. Smithy risked a glance over his shoulder and saw a door into the custody room open and two officers walked in. There was a cry as one of them saw the pool of blood that had collected by the desk and the twisted foot of the guard sticking out from behind it.
One ran over to inspect their colleague while the other went over to the open cell corridor door.
“No you stupid bastard, get out!!” yelled Smithy.
The Sympathetic man grinned at the officer and started to advance again. Smithy stood in between the two.
“Don't you bloody dare!” he shouted.
The officer fumbled for his baton but it really wouldn't have done him any good even if he'd been able to pull it out in time. The Sympathetic Man exploded down the corridor and launched himself at the group.
“Oh bugger....” said Smithy.
…
The evacuation was underway. Police officers, duty staff, visitors; they were all filing towards the exits with the slightly double speed walk of those who want to get out but don't want to appear too worried lest it spark a panic. Some were just ambling along chatting while they walked and their only nod to the alarm going off was their heading.
Sarah and Jack were now on the stairs leading to the nearest exit out to the car park.
“Hope it's just a drill.” Said Sarah. “Odd time for one though.”
Jack shrugged. “Has to be. The sprinklers would have gone off by now! Unless they’re knackered again! Soddin’ cutbacks.”
They went down the last of the stairs and into the corridor. A cry rang out and was silenced as at the same time the light coming from the custody room flickered out ahead of them. There was a skittering noise and a baton came to a stop at the junction up ahead. Jack bent down to pick it up and saw that it hadn't been extended. Something wet was on it and as moved his fingers and saw there was blood on them.
“Sarah..!” He whispered and held up his bloodied hand. She nodded and the two of them moved forward cautiously.
The room ahead was dark with only the emergency lighting on giving the place an ominous feel. The alarm was still ringing but as they made their way in they could hear a slight crunching sound.
A shadow detached itself from the gloom and moved its way towards them.
“Didn't you hear the fire alarm mate?” said Jack, his voice quivering slightly. “Come on get a move on.”
The Sympathetic Man took a step forward and the light from the emergency lights caught his face. His eyes were now dark black and the inviting smile was long gone. In its place were rows of impossibly long, sharp teeth locked in a grin that pulled his skin back.
The hideous figure continued towards them with the unstoppable force of a glacier. They could now see the dark patch of blood that was smeared over its mouth and down its shirt and it was then Sarah realised what the crunching sound had been.
Behind this abomination were bodies. She was thankful one was lying on its front so she couldn't see the face but the other one she could. He'd been ripped open, his guts spilled out onto the linoleum floor and they looked, in this light, as if they'd been eaten.
She put her hand to her mouth, a sudden wave of nausea hitting her and she fought back the urge to vomit right there.
“Hold it right there, mate! We're police!” said Jack. He extended the baton with a flick of his wrist. “Lie down on the floor and put your hands behind your back!”
The Sympathetic Man tilted his head like a confused dog for a moment but he didn't stop. He just kept slowly walking towards them. Sarah grabbed Jack's sleeve.
“Jack... Let's get out of here...!”
“I said stop!” said Jack ignoring her. “I'm armed!”
The nightmare in front of them got within arm’s reach. Jack swung the baton.
The Sympathetic Man caught the clumsy swing with ease, twisting Jack's arm. There was a sickening pop of his shoulder dislocating followed by a snap as the bones in his forearm splintered.
As he screamed in pain a hand wrapped itself around his forehead and picked him up off the floor like a sack of dirty laundry. The Sympathetic Man spun him round and slammed his head into the wall near the door. The paint chipped and plaster dust flew everywhere with the impact as he was flung about the place like a dogs plaything. The attack was vicious as he was slammed head first again and again, blood mixing in with the debris until the back of Jack's head was nothing but a pulpy mass.
With one last slam, the Sympathetic Man crushed it into the floor. There was a twitch in Jack's limbs and then he was still.
Sarah backed slowly towards the corridor, her hands over her mouth and he eyes as wide as saucers. Her whole body felt numb with shock. She wanted to run but her legs wouldn't work. She wanted to scream but she didn't seem to have the breath.
“...Jack...” She managed to whisper.
As if she'd reminded him she was there, the creature's head snapped up and fixed her with those dark and evil eyes. It uncoiled from where it had been kneeling and stood up. Gore and viscera dripped from the hand it had used to kill her partner and there was a low undulating hiss that sent chills down her spine.
Instinct took over her legs and she turned running back down the corridor. She didn't know where she was going; her only thought was to get away, to put as much distance between her and the thing that had escaped from her nightmares. Tears started to well up in her eyes as she ran.
There was a searing pain in her lower back and suddenly she was no longer running, she was falling backwards. The ceiling tiles flashed into her vision before she hit the floor and the wind was knocked out of her. Through watery eyes she could see the creature standing over her. A hand came down and grabbed the front of her blouse, lifting her up onto her feet.
The face was even more hideous close up. She wanted to struggle, kick out; anything but somehow she knew that nothing would save her from what was going to come next.
The needle like thin teeth parted and a long thin tongue flicked out an inch from her face, filling her nostrils with the rotten metallic tang of blood and flesh on its breath. Its lips pulled back, splitting the skin almost up to its ears and its jaw opened. All she could do was to stare into oblivion.
It sounded like a whip, a crack that came out of nowhere. The Sympathetic Man's shoulder snapped back and Sarah crumpled to the floor again. A wave of pain washed over her as her head smacked into the floor and she passed out.
With a hiss, the Sympathetic Man turned to his attacker. Smoke curled up out of the barrel of Jacob's gun.
“Don't eat between meals, didn't your mother ever teach you that?” He said.
The skin on the Sympathetic Man’s face relaxed some and his teeth withdrew. In the blink of an eye he looked almost normal again apart from his eyes.
“Jacob. You're too late. The key is ours.”
“I don't think so shark face! Now hand him over and I can promise a nice quick trip back home.”
The Sympathetic Man laughed with a sound like someone gargling gravel.
“And if I don't?”
Jacob shrugged. “Then we'll lock you in the cells, give you to Annie and we'll make you wish you'd taken our offer. Personally, I’d take it; she’s kind of pissed with you right now. Either way you're not leaving here with the key.”
He laughed again.
“How do you expect to get past me to get to him?”
“I don't.” He said with a grin. “I expect to keep you talking!”