“Wait up, Kassidy,” called Max, running up behind me. “I’m coming, too. It’s a chance I’m willing to take. I want to find Robert.” He held up his arm. “This stuff inside me is moving. I keep feeling it. It’s like an underwater current that makes my heart race – it’s horrible.”
“I know,” I whispered, gently running the palm of my hand down his arm. “I feel like the clock is ticking for us – like it’s only a matter of time until… until it’s too late. We have to see Doctor Langstone.”
“Hey, if we’re really going to do this suicide mission then we need to plan this right,” Jude suddenly piped in behind us.
I turned around, surprised that he was coming. “I thought you were dead-set against the idea. What’s changed your mind?”
“I can’t let you go it alone. We’re in this together and I did make you a promise the other night, didn’t I?” His eyes twinkled at me.
Feeling embarrassed at the mention of the other night, I looked down at the ground. But it was true. He had promised me that he wouldn’t let anyone take me – he would look after me – all of us.
“And I can’t leave you with that arsehole,” Jude muttered, rolling his eyes back as if to point out Ben who walked slowly behind. “I won’t let him take you.”
My heart skipped a beat when I realised that Ben was obviously going to come with us. But still unsure of his true intentions, it left me with that nagging feeling of who could be trusted. I looked over at Raven who trailed just behind Jude. She nodded at me with that knowing look as if to say – see – none of them could really be trusted. That they all had the potential of being a Demon and had a vested interest to keep us together. But what choice did I have except to trust their stories? For now, I didn’t want to believe such things. Becoming suspicious of everyone in our group would only lead to more problems. Maybe even push me into making wrong decisions which could prove fatal.
CHAPTER FIVE
We stood inside a small ticket office at Rane Railway Station, which was on the outskirts of town. It had been our first opportunity of travel – escape. We hadn’t had to go sneaking through the roads of Rane and avoiding the people who lived and worked there. It had been the ideal situation. Anyone who came across us would no doubt have seen that there was something not quite right about us. The only two travelling amongst our group who looked normal were Jude and Ben – well, Ben as long as he stayed as Ben and didn’t suddenly flip over into Quint. I could quite easily keep my black veins and twisted nails hidden by pulling the sleeves of my top down over my hands. Raven was still covered up with Hannah’s leather jacket – ever fearful that someone would see her flowery top. Mind you – looking at her shadowy face and long greasy hair, might scare someone. But poor Max only had his jeans and a ripped Hellraiser T-shirt on. There was no escaping the sight of his thick, black veins, and even if his veins did go un-noticed, there was no getting away from the fact that we all wore a haunted, shocked look about us. Traumatised – disturbed, was probably a better description.
Looking up at the timetable pinned to the wall, I could see that the first train wasn’t due for another twenty minutes. The clock outside the ticket office had chimed 7 o’clock. I wondered how many passengers would soon be walking through the doors, ready to start their day of work. How many of them would notice us.
I turned away from the timetable. I felt on edge. This twenty minutes felt more like hours.
“Should we wait on the platform?” I said, heading for the door.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” grumbled Raven. “You know what happened to that priest after he left the Bishop’s house.” She held up her hands and did an impression of the priest throwing himself in front of the train.
“That’s not even funny, Raven,” I snapped. “Don’t tell me that shit. I’m already on edge as it is.”
“She does have a point, though,” said Jude, coming away from the front entrance. He had been keeping watch – checking for any signs of the Cleaners or the police. “As much as it pains me to say it, Raven’s right. We need to be very careful.” He spun around as if looking for something. “Don’t they have any of those vending machines here? I’m bloody starving.”
“Is that all you can think about – food?” I moaned. “Is that your idea of being careful?”
“There’s one just outside the men’s toilet,” said Max, looking at his reflection in the ticket booth window. He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to smooth out the strands. “But it only takes coins and we don’t have any.”
“I’ll go check it out,” grinned Jude, disappearing around a corner.
“Hey, do you think he’s all right?” whispered Max, casually looking over at Ben, who sat on a wooden bench. Then back at me, he added, “He doesn’t say much, does he?”
I shrugged my shoulders and was about to reply to Max when Raven cut in. “Of course he’s not all right, he’s the reason we’re all here. He’s a dirty Demon with evil thoughts going through his head. He’s probably sitting there looking quite innocent but really he’s planning which one of us he’s going to fuck over first!”
Ignoring Raven, I spied a quick glimpse at Ben. He had done nothing but sit there and say nothing ever since we had arrived at the station. He just sat and watched. Watched us. Listened to us. I wondered what was going on inside that messed up head of his. Was he struggling to keep Quint away? Was his silence his way of keeping Quint under control? Or was Quint hiding just under the surface like a wild animal stalking its prey – waiting? His moody stare was unnerving – intimidating almost. But maybe that was just armour – a shield – a don’t mess with me because deep down I’m struggling here look. If I pushed away the horrible things that Ben had been a part of, I realised that his life couldn’t be so great. He shouldn’t even exist. How must it feel to be here with us, a group of people he didn’t even know? A group who had already started to bond in some ways. I guessed Ben felt like an outsider.
Don’t feel sorry for him, that little voice inside my head said. But I did.
I was about to go and sit down beside him when he suddenly stood up and walked over to the front entrance and looked outside. He was checking the time.
“We should wait on the platform,” he said, turning to face me. “The train will be here soon – we don’t want to miss it.” He rolled back his shoulders and straightened up his jacket. He looked like someone on their way out for dinner with his smart waistcoat and suit – completely different to the scrubs he’d worn at Cruor Pharma. His eyes caught my stare – looking him up and down. He returned the same gaze. I turned away.
Jude sauntered back into the ticket office, his arms full with crisps and chocolate bars. “Grub up, everyone.”
“How did you get them?” asked Max, swiping a bag of crisps from the pile in Jude’s arms. “You didn’t use the notes we had, did you?”
“Of course not,” grinned Jude. “What does it matter anyhow? We’ve got to eat. I just broke the lock off the back of the machine and helped myself. Food and booze should be free – why pay?”
“You’re a fool,” snapped Ben. “Don’t you see you’re leaving a trail behind you? Someone’s going to see that the machine has been broken into and then they’ll check the CCTV and see us waiting in here for the first train. You’ve just given away our mode of transport and the direction we’re travelling in.”
“It’s just some fucking food!” snapped Jude. “At least I’m looking after everyone – feeding them. What the fuck have you done to help?”
The lights in the ticket office started to flicker and hum. We all looked up at the same time. Ben walked back over to the front door and peered out.
“The fog is coming.” He looked back at Jude. “We’ll finish this later.”
Jude blanked his comment and turned his attention to me. “Put these in that satchel,” he said, undoing the buckles and shoving the food inside.
“Hurry up,” tutted Raven. She helped Jude shove the last bag of c
risps inside. “We need to get on that train.”
The lights continued to flicker and a sense of doom seemed to fill the room. Gripping me by the shoulder, Ben marched me out onto the platform, and his other hand pulled Max out behind him.
I felt my mood fade as there was no sign of the train yet. I strained my eyes along the track but it just looked empty.
Max paced back and forth up the platform. “Where the hell is that train?”
In the distance, I could just make out the first creeping signs of fog as it slowly lingered along the empty track towards us. Ben had been right. The Cleaners would never give up.
“Come on – come on,” I urged, covering my eyes with both hands and peeking through my fingers. The wait was too much. I could feel myself getting jumpy – fidgety. Where was the fucking train? I looked back at the ticket office door, suddenly nervous that the Cleaners might come through it. I turned back towards the track and felt my heart leap. “Shit, that’s them – look!” In the distance, five shadowy shapes emerged from out of the fog.
“Fuck, let’s bail!” shouted Max, turning back to the door of the ticket office.
“No, wait,” ordered Ben, pulling Max back. “The train is coming.”
I looked back down the track, and out of the fog, two lights appeared just behind the Cleaners. I jumped up and down on the spot. A nervous agitation filled me. “Come on, come on,” I begged. Surely a train could outrun the Cleaners?
The train sounded its horn as a warning to passengers that it was approaching the station. Or maybe the train driver had seen the five ghostly shapes moving along the track. I gasped as it passed through the Cleaners – sending the fog sprawling in all directions. Thick plumes of it swirled up and then got sucked back down under the carriages like a vacuum taking the Cleaners with it.
As the train pulled into the station, Raven was already hammering the doors with her fists. “Open the fucking doors!” she shrieked, peering down towards the driver’s cab.
The cold morning air was suddenly filled with the hiss of the doors sliding open. Spinning around, Raven snatched hold of me and dragged me through into the carriage. Max clambered in behind, followed by Jude and Ben.
“Head down to the front of the train – near the driver’s cab,” ordered Ben, checking one last time out the door. “Hurry.”
“Come on,” urged Raven, shoving Max along the narrow aisle. He bumped into me, sending me sprawling to the floor. “Get up – get up!” Raven continued to push and shove.
“Will you calm the fuck down?” shouted Jude, pulling Raven aside and helping me back on my feet.
“There’s no time for calm when the devil’s slaves are on your back,” glared Raven, climbing over the seats so she could get in front.
“It makes no difference if you’re at the front of the line or at the back,” glared Ben. “If the Cleaners are on this train, they’ll get you anyway.”
“Well I’m gonna make sure I’m the last to go,” hissed Raven, reaching the interconnecting door which led through to the next carriage. She pushed the button and the door slid open.
We burst through, all of us in a panic to keep as much distance between the Cleaners and us.
The sudden sight of four passengers sitting in the carriage seemed to slow us down. Raven stopped abruptly – unsure of the four commuters who stared up at our sudden flurry.
“Move on to the next carriage,” Ben whispered, calmly edging his way to the front of the line.
“Hey, I’m first,” snapped Raven, reaching out to grab Ben as he passed her.
Ben spun around, his blue eyes shadowed. He towered over Raven.
Pulling on her arm, I whispered, “Don’t, Raven. Let him go.” I recognised that dark look. Fearful that Quint was going to come back full-blast, I stepped in front of Raven. Ben faced front and continued down the aisle. “Don’t get him angry. We don’t want his Demon to take over.”
“He should be at the back,” glared Raven. “He’s already got an evil spirit lodger living inside him!”
“Shut the fuck up, will ya? Just bloody move!” Jude stood waiting impatiently at the back.
One of the commuters tutted at his swearing. The man peered over his newspaper, obviously annoyed at all the noise and turmoil we were causing. “Do you mind not using that disgusting language in here? Otherwise I’ll have to get the guard.”
“Whatever!” spat Raven. She continued along the aisle past a man who was peeling an apple with a knife.
“Not exactly keeping a small profile here, are we?” whispered Max, looking at the floor, avoiding eye contact with the passengers.
“That’s the last of my worries,” I hushed, breathing a sigh of relief as the train pulled out from the station. Even though we were on the move, I wondered who else had boarded the train.
As I stepped inside the last carriage, I peered out through the window. There was no sign of any fog. Had we got away? Had we, just by the skin of our teeth, escaped the Cleaners again? I sat down by the window. I had a good view of the door leading back to the carriage we had just come from. If the Cleaners came through, at least I would be able to see them coming. I chewed nervously on my lower lip. An uncomfortable pang twisted and churned inside my stomach. I could feel my heart racing, an unnatural beat of mayhem and unrest. That horrible feeling of VA20 pulsed through my veins like it was pushing deeper inside me – fighting to take over. Anarchy swarmed within me. I tried to take deep breaths, tried to calm down the riot that was bursting through me. I looked down at my nails. They had got longer – thicker. I could almost see my fingers stretching just like Ben’s had looked when Quint had overtaken him. Breathe – breathe. I needed to calm down. My eyes stared back at the door. How the hell was I going to calm down when there was every chance that the Cleaners were working their way through each carriage looking for us? But they might not be. That’s what I had to keep thinking – keep telling myself. I stood up.
“Where ya going?” asked Jude.
“I’m just trying to relax.” I paced up and down, stumbling slightly as the train rocked from side to side.
“Relax?” sneered Raven. “We’re not going on holiday, ya know.”
Before I even knew what I was doing, I had a hold of Raven around her throat. My vine-like fingers slipped around her neck and I yanked her up off her seat. “Why don’t you just shut that vile fucking mouth!” I slammed her back down onto the seat and continued to hold her tight around the throat.
“Kassidy, Kassidy, can you hear me?” Jude’s voice sounded off in my ear. “Let go of Raven!” He pulled on my fingers, trying to release the grip I had on her.
I stared down into Raven’s hazy red eyes. Her black, twisted nails dug into my flesh. “Get off,” she spluttered, reaching up with one hand and wrenching down on my hair.
What the hell was happening to me? I felt so confused, so angry. I could hear Max shouting for me to stop and Jude trying to prise my fingers from Raven. Then all of a sudden, two strong hands wrapped themselves around me and pulled me away like I was as light as air.
Raven shot up from the position I had held her in. She leered out from under her greasy hair. “She’s fucking crazy! There must be a Demon in her already.”
“Of course there is,” Ben whispered, still holding me tight. “There’s six inside her – six in you – in all of you. That’s what VA20 is.”
CHAPTER SIX
I’m sorry,” I whispered, not really directing my comment at anyone in particular. “I just felt really anxious and then angry – really angry. I don’t know what happened.” I looked at Raven’s stormy face. She was fucked off. Seething, in fact.
“Hey, it’s all right,” smiled Jude, patting my knee as he sat opposite me. “We all feel like doing that to Raven.”
“Fuck you,” spat Raven, turning her back to us. She folded her arms across her chest and stared quietly out the window.
“I don’t like this crap in my veins,” I said. “I want it out of me. It’s like i
t takes over. When I get anxious or angry it seems to get stronger. I’ve never attacked anyone before – only since this shit was injected into me.” I held up my arms and rolled back the sleeves of my top. “Just look at it. It’s like a disease.” I stared up at Ben, who stood beside my seat in the aisle. “You did this! This is your fault.”
Ben let out a deep sigh and nodded his head slowly. “If I could change the past, then I would. But I can’t. All I can do is help you get to Doctor Langstone – even though I believe it will be a wasted journey.”
“Do you think we got away from the Cleaners?” asked Max, peering out the window.
“Fuck knows,” answered Jude, leaning over and opening up Father Williams’ satchel. He pulled out some crisps and settled back in his seat. “Maybe the good doctor here can answer that.” He tipped up his crisp packet and emptied half the bag into his mouth.
“You know what the Cleaners are like,” said Max, staring at Ben, “Do you think they’ve gone?”
“I have no control over the Cleaners. They do what Doctor Middleton asks them to do – for now, anyway,” said Ben. “All they want is a body to live in. They will go to whoever gains sufficient bodies that will be strong enough to withstand them. So a Demon who has you four will be an attraction to the Cleaners but…” He trailed off.
“But what?” I pushed.
“You’re not enough,” Ben stared down at me. “More bodies are needed.”
“How many more?” asked Max.
“I thought it was just four… but… I don’t know now… something inside me… I feel like… I don’t know,” Ben shook his head. “My brain is so full of shit… it’s so dark in there. I have my thoughts, my memories, well sometimes, but I’ve got this other thing living inside me… his thoughts eat away at me – infect me. He blocks out stuff he doesn’t want me to know. Makes me forget myself – takes away my identity.”
“Is there no way you can get rid of it?” asked Max, “Can’t we take you to a priest or Bishop so they can perform an exorcism? If we got it out of you, then you could help us more – help us get this drug out of our veins.”
Demon (Kassidy Bell Series Book 3) Page 3