Demon (Kassidy Bell Series Book 3)

by Lynda O'Rourke

  “There’s a fucking train coming!” I spat at the man. “Do you want to fucking die?” I snatched hold of his face. My nails sliced into his skin as I raked them down. I did it again. And again. In desperation, I stabbed them into his face. Pulled them out. Stabbed them through again. Blood gushed out and ran down his face. He looked like he’d had a cheese grater rubbed up and down his skin. It made no difference. I looked over at Raven. She was still stabbing at the woman. In-out, in-out, the blade came down, over and over again. At least she was off the tracks. Max tumbled over with one of the passengers. His head lay precariously over the rail. He kept glancing to his left. He knew what I knew – what was going to be running over his head if he lost the struggle.

  The sounds of fighting and tussling were suddenly dispersed – overtaken by the train horn. A thunderous rumble echoed all about me. As I lay trapped, tears brimming in my eyes from fear, my hands grazed across the ballast. Instinctively, my fingers curled around one large rock. I lifted my arms. Both hands took hold of it. Adrenaline pumped through me – or was it VA20? A surge of strength brought down the rock. I heard a crack. It wasn’t enough to knock the man out. I brought it up again. Smashed it down. The man’s heavy body gave way, just a little. Enough though to gain the upper-hand. I shunted to the left and smashed the rock into the side of the man’s head. My legs came free. I scrambled to my feet. The man snatched at my ankle. I booted him right in the face. “Have some of that!” I screamed. Then spinning around, I ran to where Max lay across the tracks. His blonde hair fanned out over the rail, his head dangerously in line for the train wheels. Yanking hold of the passenger who held him down, I snatched the knife from Raven and rammed it through the passenger’s neck. It was all Max needed to roll out from beneath his prison. He jumped from the tracks to safety.

  “Help me!” I screamed, shoving the passenger onto the tracks and running to the pile of bodies that seemed to swarm over Jude and Ben in a heap.

  “Leave them!” Raven shouted, grasping my arm. “There’s no time. Look!”

  Her head turned in the direction of two small lights at the end of the tunnel. The train was almost upon us.

  “No! We have to help them!” I screamed. I shook her hand from off me. “Max. Please!” I ran along the side of the track. Reaching down, I pulled the first body off. My heart raced with VA20. Its strength thrust around my insides. I glanced up at the oncoming train. The tunnel filled with a roar. The train horn sounded again. So many bodies – too many to lift in time. I screamed out again. Panic forced me on.

  “Get off the tracks!” Raven yelled at me. She threw her arms about my neck and tried to pull me away.

  Swinging around, I knocked her clean over. She hit the side of the train we had travelled on, falling to her arse – momentarily stunned.

  I turned back to the bodies. Max was franticly trying to lift them.

  “We’re not gonna make it!” he shouted, peering up at the train. It roared down the tunnel toward us.

  I could feel the tears sting my eyes as they bubbled up and trickled down over my face. “Ben! Jude!” I screamed. I stared at the heap. I knew we were too late. I knew I was gonna die trying. I kicked out at the bodies. The frustration and fear pumping through me suddenly seemed to surge to such a point, that I thought VA20 was finally going to kill me. I staggered forward, swaying over the heap of passengers. My eyes hazed over, my vision suddenly seeing everything in red. “Move! Move!” I willed the bodies. As if an explosion had suddenly erupted, the passengers shot up and flew through the air. They hit the tunnel walls – brick dust tumbled down. Without thinking, I snatched hold of Jude by the ankles and yanked him free from the tracks. He seemed dazed. In the corner of my eye, I could see Max. He pulled Ben to safety. The sudden whoosh and roar of the train as it passed us had me spinning – tumbling over. I fell against Raven just as she was getting back up on her feet. The suction of the train as it thundered by felt like a magnet, drawing me in. I clung onto Raven. My hair swept wildly about like I was caught up in a hurricane. Bits of bodies rained down as the passengers’ limbs were torn from their torsos and sucked under by the speed of the train. A shower of blood sprayed up from the wheels, coating me in a layer of red. I fell to my knees. My body and head suddenly felt overwhelmed with exhaustion. The roar of the train rumbled away down the tunnel as the last carriage passed us. I breathed in deeply. My heart raced. My head pounded.

  The tunnel suddenly filled with the noise of squealing brakes. I looked up. Gone was my vision of red. I stared down into the dark at the train. It was slowing. The metal wheels grated over the rails as the brake was applied. It was some way off in the distance now, but I could still see the train lights.

  “Get up.”

  Ben stood in front of me and offered his hand. I grabbed hold of it. Still feeling exhausted and legs shaky, I let him pull me up.

  “We have to leave – now!” he said. “It won’t be long before this tunnel is filled with police.”

  “I’m not sure I can,” I whispered, staggering about, my head woozy.

  “Now’s not the time to be weak,” he frowned. “You have to keep going. If you give up now, then all of this has been for nothing. I may as well have given you over to Doctor Middleton instead of giving you the key to your freedom.”

  “Freedom? This isn’t freedom. This is a fucking nightmare…” I gasped.

  “You’re gonna wish it was just a nightmare if you don’t get moving,” grimaced Ben. He grabbed hold of my shoulders and manhandled me around. Shoving me forward, he began to frog-march me along the tunnel.

  “Stop pushing me!” I snapped, swiping his hand away. “I can fucking walk unaided.” I looked over my shoulder. The others followed close behind.

  “Speed up,” ordered Ben, blocking my view. “Everyone’s here, you don’t need to stress about them.”

  “I’m just making sure they’re all okay,” I scowled. “Unlike you, I have a heart – I care.”

  “If I didn’t care, then I wouldn’t be here,” said Ben. “All I know is that something very strange happened back there. I was completely overwhelmed by something much stronger than Quint. That’s never happened before. Quint was held back – leaving just me to fight whatever that was. It knew that I, alone, couldn’t fight back. It wanted to rid Quint of my body.”

  “It was Doshia,” I said, slowing a little so Ben could walk alongside me. “Doshia spoke to me. He said he wanted more. More of what?”

  “I don’t know much about these Demons other than what Quint lets me know… but I do know that Doshia can’t kill Quint. Quint can’t kill Doshia, Eras, or the others. They come from the same group… but I think they can kill each other once they have gained full control over the Cleaners. Ridding Quint of the body he has dwelled in for so many years would leave him weak for a while. That’s one Demon out of Doshia’s way. But what I don’t get is why the need for more? I always thought that…” Ben trailed off.

  “What?” I pushed.

  Shaking his head, he whispered, “I don’t know. My head is clouding up. My mind’s eye is blocked. Quint doesn’t want me to know.” Taking hold of my arm gently this time, he picked up pace. “Let’s get out of this tunnel. I know we can’t see Doshia but that doesn’t mean he isn’t with us.”

  Facing front, I sped up. The small pinprick of light in the distance didn’t lift the fear that churned away inside me. Daylight was no longer safe.

  “Kassidy…” whispered Ben, “I’m …” He turned his head and stared at me. “I... I’m…” He faced front. “It doesn’t matter.” He continued to walk forward.

  “What?” I touched his arm.

  “Nothing,” mumbled Ben, shaking his head, “Don’t worry.”

  “Just say it…” I whispered. I could tell he was having trouble in whatever it was that was stuck in his head.

  “No, really – it doesn’t matter, I’ve forgotten what I was going to say. Let’s just get out of here.” His stare fell back to the ground.


  I wanted to push him. I wanted to know what was going on inside his head, but I knew now not to force him. It would only start off a chain reaction with him getting angry, and then me losing it with him, and another argument would break out between us. I decided to let it go. Maybe he would come back at me later.

  As I stumbled over the train tracks, I started to think about what had happened in the tunnel. My head felt fogged up. I tried to put everything in order – replay the events that had just taken place. If Doshia wanted to get rid of Ben so Quint would be weak, then that would explain why so many passengers had piled up on top of Ben. Imprisoning him on the tracks would have only led to the ruin of Ben and his body – Quint would have been without a home. Only me, Max, and Raven had had one passenger to contend with – just enough to hold us back so we couldn’t help Ben but not enough to have us killed. After all, Doshia needed us – needed our bodies. But what about Jude? Why so many bodies piled up on him? Perhaps Doshia didn’t have a use for him. Maybe his body wasn’t needed? Jude was the only one from our group who didn’t have the black veins. There was no sign of VA20 inside of him. Why keep him? He would be useless to Doshia. I shook my head as a sudden unnerving thought came to mind. Raven’s earlier suggestions of not trusting anyone in our group sent goose-bumps over my skin. I took a quick glimpse over my shoulder. Jude was walking a little way behind me. I looked away as our eyes met briefly. I needed to speak to Ben. But would Ben know the answer? Or would I have to wait for Quint to resurface to ask him? I picked up speed. Ben was just a little way in front but I didn’t want to speak with him where the others may hear. Determined to catch up with Ben, I pushed forwards.

  Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to see Jude trailing behind. My heart sank as I knew I would have to wait for the next opportunity that came to speak with Ben privately.

  “Hey, I just wanted to say thanks for helping me back there,” said Jude. “If it wasn’t for you – I’d be gone – this body of mine would be splattered over the tunnel walls.”

  “We’re in this together, aren’t we?” I said, still feeling a little angry with him after what had been said on the train, but feeling a little nervous, also, with suspicious thoughts raging around inside my head.

  “Yeah, but you could have got yourself killed. I am grateful,” he whispered. “But don’t put yourself in harm’s way again for me – okay? I’d miss you if anything happened… I know that’s probably hard to believe after what I said on the train… but it’s true.”

  “Look – Jude, I’m sorry we had a row and I’m sorry about what happened the other night at the Bishop’s. I was messed up that night – tired – confused – scared. I wasn’t thinking straight. I didn’t mean for that to happen. I really like you, I really do, but… as a friend.” I looked down at the ground, feeling awkward.

  “I can take that,” said Jude, “for now, anyway.” He smiled. “When I first saw you at Cruor Pharma, I really liked you. I still do. You actually made me rethink my life. I realised what a shit existence I’d been living. I just want some fun – some friends to hang out with.” He stared at me with that cheeky glimmer in his eyes – the same look that had attracted me to him on the first night in the hospital. But was that cheeky glimmer a look to trust? Was I being paranoid again? Only Ben or Quint would be able to put my mind at rest – at least, that’s what I hoped.

  I could feel my earlier resentment that I’d had for Jude melt away. Who couldn’t like him? Yes, he said the wrong things sometimes – he spoke without thinking, but he had an energy about him, he was dependable – ready to get stuck in. He was good at reassuring me. He made me feel safe. In fact, it had been because of him that I hadn’t walked out of Cruor Pharma that night when I’d started to get cold feet. He had reassured me then. Yes, he had been wrong that time and I should have listened to my own gut-feeling, but that wasn’t his fault. Or was it?

  “You want fun?” I half-smiled, trying to remember the last time I had felt that. “This ain’t fun.” I stared up at the tunnel roof. “Not sure I’ll ever feel that way again.” I tried to act casual. If I was wrong in my suspicions then Jude would probably be hurt by my sudden mistrust of him, but if I was right – what would he do if he knew I had discovered the truth about him?

  “You will,” whispered Jude. “I’ll make sure of it.”

  “Not if those fucked-up Satanist passengers come looking for us!” hissed Raven, leaning in between Jude and me. “The only fun we’re gonna have is when we get to Doctor Langstone’s – get this shit out of us – and find Max’s brother.”

  “Something tells me it isn’t gonna be all that,” grimaced Max, catching up with the rest of us. “None of us have any idea what to expect when we get there.” He turned and looked at me. “Didn’t think we were gonna get all those bodies off of Ben and Jude. Whatever you did, it was pretty amazing.”

  “I didn’t do anything,” I said. “The bodies just moved by themselves – I think?” I stared past him back into the dark of the tunnel. Nothing seemed to be following us but did that matter? Doshia seemed to be able to travel amongst us unseen. I wrapped my arms about myself, suddenly feeling a nervous chill race up my spine.

  I carried on walking. The light coming from the end of the tunnel had become bigger. I knew we should be running – trying to gain as much distance between us and everything that followed – hunted us. But the energy had gone. My legs felt like two concrete posts. My eyes stung from tiredness, and I just couldn’t seem to think straight anymore. One thing I did know, though, was that I wasn’t going to be sorry to see the end of this dark, damp tunnel.

  I tried to quicken my pace. It was so much effort to keep going. Thoughts of a nice, warm bed, soft pillow, and eyelids that could shut without fear of waking up to find the Cleaners had crept up on me circled around in my mind. I had to stop thinking about it – it was slowing me down. I needed something that would keep my mind sharp – alert. I thought about what Max had just implied a few moments ago. The whole situation in the tunnel had happened so fast. It had been nothing but a nightmarish jumble of crazy people, blood, and the sheer fright alone of nearly being crushed to death by a train was enough to send anyone into meltdown. I had used a knife on someone. Stabbed it through their neck. Did that make me a murderer? It was self-defence – wasn’t it? That wouldn’t be how the police viewed it. There were a lot of bodies left in the tunnel. It looked more like a massacre. Add the new body count to the one that we had already been framed for – I didn’t think self-defence would go down too well in front of a jury. But had it been me that had somehow moved those passengers? I hadn’t even been touching them when they suddenly flew off of Ben and Jude. I had willed them to move – that was all. That kind of thing was more suited to Quint. But even Ben had said that Quint had been unable to do anything. Maybe Doshia had done it? No, that didn’t make sense. Doshia had wanted them dead. That overwhelming feeling of VA20 had been present when I’d lost it with Raven on the train, when I’d had to fight the man with the knife. But it had been at its strongest out by the track when I thought all was lost in regards to saving Ben and Jude. I looked down at my arms. It was too dark to see clearly and I knew my skin was covered in blood. Could VA20 make me do such things? I stared at the back of Ben, who was still up ahead. Move – move. I tried to concentrate – focus on shifting Ben, but nothing happened. I shook my head. Stupid, I’m so stupid – of course I can’t move people. Perhaps Max had played a part? The two of us combined, both desperate to save Ben and Jude? I really didn’t have a clue. I trudged on. My eyes narrowed as daylight filtered through the mouth of the tunnel. The cool air hit my skin as I stepped out. What way now and how were we going to get there?

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  I breathed deeply. The cool autumn air seemed to revive me a little. I looked down at myself. What skin I could see had blood splatters over it. At least I was wearing black clothing – it hid the bloodbath I had just been involved in. I could easily wash my skin and cover up all tr
aces of death that lingered on me. Staring at the others, Max seemed to look the worst. What, with his ripped T-shirt and black veins on show – now he had the added disadvantage of bloodstains over him.

  I turned around and took in the view. We still stood on the tracks – a group of lost travellers. Tall trees swayed their branches like brittle bones ready to snap from a strong gust of wind – the curled-up leaves scattered across the rails. I looked back at the mouth of the tunnel and shuddered. My eyes caught sight of a narrow bridge over the tunnel, the road twisting down from over the top of it. Maybe we could follow it? It might lead to somewhere we could clean up. I could hear Jude, Raven, and Ben each putting across their ideas on which way to go. Their voices weren’t angry but I could hear the tension in them. Everyone seemed to know where we should be heading. The same argument of whether we should find Doctor Langstone’s and not just go on the run cropped up again. I closed my eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. We were just going around and around in circles. Never mind the tension I could hear in them – it was beginning to build up inside of me. Frustration and pure weariness was starting to take hold.

  “Shut up!” I screamed. “The plan is to get to Doctor Langstone’s – to find Robert – and to get VA20 out of us! How many more times are we gonna waste precious moments talking about it? We should be moving – not bitching at each other.” I stood, arms folded across me. Looking at Ben, I glared and said, “I want you to take me to Doctor Langstone. No more of this, should we–or shouldn’t we crap. I’m going and you’re gonna take me.” I jabbed my finger in his direction. “If you’re really sorry for what you’ve done to me – then you’ll take me – no arguments. And Jude,” I turned my attention to him, “as much as I like you, this whole going on the run thing and having fun – it’s bullshit! We can’t live like that! Look at what’s happened to us ever since we left Cruor Pharma. We’ve had just a small taste of what living on the run is like. And I don’t fucking like it!”