Winter Falls

by Eddie Skelson

  Grunts and gasps flooded the room at his words. Peake pulled the robes over his head and dropped them to the floor, he was naked underneath. Scars and tattoos covered his chest and back. Sixty years of worship written upon him.

  ‘Get my clothes.’ He ordered and Macgregor lurched off to a side room. Peake approached the book upon the lectern and began to flip over pages of it until he found the section he was looking for.

  The men quietened and waited, all eyes on their naked leader as he mumbled words over the book. He had to call them. The instructions were clear, precise. Should a bearer of a sigil be lost without reason they must be called. Yet Peake hesitated. To call them was surely to be seen as a weakness, even after all of this time, even though they couldn’t have a doubt of his loyalty to the Father they might question his suitability to be turned.

  He laid his hand on the page he had stopped at. A little blood and the words would bring them. Macgregor returned with his clothes. He accepted the pile of clothing but put it to one side, remaining naked for the time being. Peake instructed his lieutenant.

  ‘Macgregor, bring him up, it’s his time.’

  The big man nodded and left the room.

  Peake raised his arms and called out to his gathering. ‘Brothers and sisters, a rite of calling must be made. Macgregor is bringing our offering to the Father so please prepare yourselves.’

  At this the gathered men began to pull off their robes. Those who were too stiff in body due to their advanced stage of returning were assisted by younger members. In a tidy, practiced order they formed a line which moved toward the rear of the room where a table contained an assortment of objects.

  In a large basket were dozens of slim metal spikes, each a foot in length. One by one the worshippers selected a spike and brought it to their lips, kissing the middle of it lightly as they walked back to their position in the hall.

  Macgregor reappeared but not alone. He pushed forward a well-built man, tall but not as tall as or as burly as the Policeman. The man was naked but for a dirty, bloodied gag that was tight across his mouth. His hands were tied behind his back and a short rope hobbled his feet. He had a thick beard that was matted with filth.

  Macgregor grabbed his hair, put his boot into the back of the man’s knees forcing him to kneel.

  He looked to Peake who nodded. Producing a large knife from his belt Macgregor cut the gag loose and the bearded man gasped and spat onto the floor. Still holding on to his prisoner’s thick hair Macgregor yanked his head back.

  ‘You’re all going to fucking burn you heathen scum.’ The man shouted, his accent was foreign, strange to the worshippers, as the last one had been. Macgregor jammed a worn wooden cylinder into the corner of the man’s mouth and with a deft flourish of his fingers and the knife cut his prisoners tongue out with one slice. He tossed the severed piece aside and dragged the screaming man by his hair to Peake’s feet.

  The prisoner shook his head in agony and his body heaved up and down on the floor. The gathered men began to chant, the ritual was started.

  Now that the man’s mouth was empty of a human tongue Peake could fill it with the items required to send the call to his brothers in the deep, but first, as the outsider was unfit to see the Great Fathers symbols his eyes would have to also be excised. Peake knelt and Macgregor offered his knife to the Doctor.

  Trond whipped his head from side to side until Macgregor knelt behind him and clamped his huge arm around his neck.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Joe noticed the wind that had been driving the snow so viciously an hour ago had begun to drop. Instead of a wall of blinding ice there was now only a sprinkle of flakes lazily drifting down. Even with the large coat and warm boots Joe’s legs were cold, the snow had settled to a depth of three feet at its lowest and it soaked into his denims as he pressed through it. It amazed him the speed at which the wind could switch from a frenzy to gentle an almost gentle, if freezing breeze.

  When he reached the street mild panic flashed through him when he couldn’t see the Nissan, but as he closed the distance it became apparent that the snow had drifted heavily here. The car was still parked outside the Police House but snow had covered the near side almost to the roof. Joe increased his pace as best he could, the snow was a least a further foot deeper on the street.

  Upon reaching the car he moved to the driver’s side and found there was no drift on that side. He pulled out his keys and brushed snowflakes and ice away from the lock.

  ‘Don’t be frozen.’ he thought.

  He pushed in the key and turned it. There was a satisfying ‘clunk’ as the central locking did its job. Joe pulled on the door, easily dislodging the soft snow that clung to it. A light at the top, centre of the windscreen frame illuminated the inside.

  ‘Hello baby.’ Joe said and climbed in.

  For a reason he couldn’t explain he had expected it to be warm inside the car, but it was far from it. The windscreen was a mess of patterned ice and his breath appeared more visible inside. He put the key into the ignition, not allowing himself any time for pessimistic thoughts of the Nissan not starting. The engine immediately hummed into life and the dash lit up.

  Joe hadn’t realised how much he had missed colour. Bright blues and greens appeared on the fuel gauge and speedometer.

  ‘The snow is too deep though,’ he thought. ‘I’m not being negative here, it’s just too fucking deep.’

  He turned the heater on and tried the windscreen wipers, which he thought would be stuck to the screen. To his surprise, almost as if to prove him wrong, the wipers immediately kicked into life and began to push the snow away. He pulled out his wallet and slid a Costa Coffee loyalty card from it. The air-con was not yet strong enough to move the ice so Joe scraped at it with the card creating a little ice storm across the dashboard. The street ahead became visible. Joe put the Nissan into gear, the tyres bit into the snow and ice and moved steadily forward.

  Negotiating the unfamiliar streets proved more difficult than getting the car to work its way through the snow. Fortunately he was able to follow his own tracks, the only ones visible and soon saw the Doctors house. He could see that the door was open, wide enough for someone to look out and see a car approaching.

  As he pulled up to where he thought the kerb might be the door to the house opened wide and Melanie appeared. By the time Joe had climbed out of the Nissan and made his way towards her Melanie had already managed to hobble halfway towards him. Joe ran as best he could to intercept and help her.

  ‘What about Billy?’ He said as he reached her. He looked toward the house half expecting to see Duggan appear in the doorway.

  ‘He’s not going anywhere, don’t worry. We will be long gone when they find him.’ Melanie mirrored Joe, putting her arm around his waist and tightened herself up to him.

  Joe eased her down the steps. Although she appeared to be managing the injury well he allowed her full weight onto his shoulder.

  ‘I should check those ties before we go.’ He said

  ‘Joe it will be fine.’ Melanie insisted ‘He’s tied up and half blinded. Even if he got loose he would have to wander around in the snow. Leave him for my father, we need to get out of here now.’

  ‘Okay, okay.’ He replied feeling a little chastised.

  He pulled open the door and Melanie climbed in. Joe pushed her door shut and returned to the driver’s side, taking a final look at the doctor’s house before getting in. He pulled away from the kerb, the Nissan slid a little as he negotiated turning in the snow but it regained its strong traction as he straightened up and moved forward.

  The engine was powerful, the tyres were well balanced and the thick tread bit into the snow allowing it to power though the constant blanket that lay ahead. But Joe knew that it wouldn’t be able to make it, not all the way. There would come a point where snow had drifted to four or five feet. The Nissan would build up a wall of snow in front of it as it resisted being pushed it to the side, and it was that, if it wasn’t
a skid into a wall, which would bring them to a dead stop. The question wasn’t whether they would be stranded, but when.

  But he had a plan. When the town psycho’s found Billy and saw that the Nissan was gone they would come after them. Trying to get back to Roscregan, through the snow would be impossible. It was too cold and Melanie would slow them both down. The townsfolk knew where they were going, he didn’t and Melanie had stated that she had never left the town so she couldn’t help so the answer was simple, if he could pull it off. He had to make them think that they had already escaped. At least for a while.

  The road Joe had taken into the Falls and to the street on which he had found the Police house had been straight. Once he was out of the street in which the Doctors grand house stood he recognised that this was the wider road that he had come in by.

  Melanie said nothing from the moment he had started to drive. When Joe stole a glance at her she looked to be in a state of sheer terror. The high beam of Nissan’s headlights reflected in the snow as it showered the windscreen, ploughed up by the car as it pushed through. Beyond this only a couple of metres of the road or at least where Joe assumed the road should be was visible.

  ‘Is this the first time she has been inside a car? He wondered.

  ‘Don’t worry, I just need to get some distance,’ He said hoping to reassure her. He found he had to shout over the noise of the engine and the pelting of the shredded snow against the windscreen. Melanie nodded, not taking her eyes off what she could see of the road.

  Joe had a destination in mind but he wasn’t sure that his landmark would be visible. He became fairly certain that it wouldn’t as he passed the last of the cottages with large gardens that marked the edge of the town.

  The drifts had built up to the middle of the side windows. He had vainly hoped that the bicycle would show up perhaps as a bump or even dark handlebar sticking out, prominent against the white background. It didn’t, however he found his spot through other means.

  He recalled that the bike had been propped near to a stile and as Joe drove along he noted a sudden dip in the snow bank, indicating a gap in the wall. He gently braked, only shooting past his mark by about three feet and turning the wheel slightly so that the front faced where the wall would be in a graceful and deliberate slide.

  ‘Why have we stopped? What’s the matter?’ Melanie asked. The panic in her voice made her sound a little shrill. Joe reached between the seats and grabbed the bag of supplies she had brought.

  ‘We need to get out here.’ He said.

  ‘Why? What’s the problem?’ Joe had unbuckled his safety belt and Melanie, seeing this, did the same.

  ‘The car isn’t going to make it much further, I’ll guarantee it. Plus the further we go the more dangerous it’s going to get. It’s not just the snow either. If we get lost out there, and trust me we will, they will easily catch up by following the tracks we leave.’

  ‘What are we going to do?’ She asked.

  ‘We’re going back into town.’

  ‘WHAT! Are you out of your mind?’ Melanie’s eyes were wide and her mouth hung open. Joe thought she looked angry, she also looked scary.

  ‘Mel, there is no way we can go forward but we can go backwards. The forest is really close to the road here.’ He pointed to the dark tree line that the deer had vanished into after almost causing him to crash. ‘We are going to make tracks into the trees then double back and then do the same in the tread marks of the car. We can get off the road when they approach and let them pass us. By the time they have figured out that we haven’t gone into the forest we can be in the town.’

  ‘Why would we be any safer in the town?’ Melanie said. ‘We can’t hide there, and you can trust me they will find us.’

  ‘We aren’t going to hide in the town. We’re leaving this shit hole tonight and I don’t think they will be able to follow us. We can take....’

  Joe was interrupted by a sound that carried through the air and grew steadily in volume. It was a deep tone, so low that as the sound wave enveloped the car a vibration ran through its body.

  ‘What the fuck is that?’ Joe asked. He looked through each of the windows to see if there was anything visible.

  Melanie slumped in her seat and stared out once more at the wall of snow lit by the headlights.

  ‘It’s a call.’ She closed her eyes and let her head drop. ‘My father has called them.’

  ‘Called who? His phone is trashed.’ Joe paused. ‘Macgregor’s phone I guess, who has he called? What’s that fucking noise?’

  ‘It’s not who it’s what, and he wouldn’t use the phone even if he had it. There’s no one he needs to call on that phone.’ She said flatly.

  The sound continued for another minute, fading a little and then blasting again. Joe listened until it appeared to have stopped completely.

  ‘They’ll be coming now.’ Melanie said in an emotionless tone.

  ‘Then we need to get going, whoever it is that’s coming.’ Joe said firmly.

  He had to push heavily against the door, forcing a wall of snow away from it. Once the door was open he stepped down into the drift. He left the engine running and the lights on to allow him to see the tracks they would make towards the forest, at least as far as was possible. No doubt the townsfolk would have torches so he wanted to make sure they couldn’t see through his ruse to soon.

  He went around to the passenger side to help Melanie in case she struggled with the door, but she was already out of the car when he got there.

  ‘Okay, so the plan is we head to the forest. Make as much of a mess in the snow as you can. Do you need me to help you across?’

  Melanie shook her head. She looked down, she no longer looked scared but rather depressed. As she went to where the dip in the snow bank indicated the location of the stile Joe helped her anyway. If there was anything more likely to cause someone to fall than a climbing over an iced stile he didn’t know of it.

  Melanie pushed her hands into the snow and felt the cold wood of the stile. Using only a faux memory of where the struts ‘should be’ she attempted the step up and over the platform and then through the gap. She managed it without issue although the drift on the far side was deeper due to a drainage ditch that ran beneath it. When Melanie stepped into the snow came to her chest.

  Joe quickly followed. The climb also presented no problem for him but he lost his footing as he stepped off and fell into the drift behind Melanie.

  ‘Jesus!’ He cursed as snow poured over him. He wasn’t hurt but ice dropped onto his neck and melted instantly, the freezing trickles finding their way down his spine.

  Melanie didn’t look back. She trudged slowly through the blanket of white, a couple of feet deep past the drift. Joe regained his footing and as much composure as he could and took a few long strides to catch up to her. He walked at her side, taking her hand. Hers was cold to him and he squeezed it as if to put a little of his own heat into her.

  It only took a couple of minutes to reach the edge of the forest. Joe scanned the perimeter to try and find a suitable entry point. Just along to Melanie’s right the brambles were low to the ground. Joe moved to the spot and peered into the gloom. The Nissans lights added nothing to the visibility here and Joe could only make out more snow albeit less deep.

  ‘Come on, we’ll walk in a little.’ He said.

  Melanie dutifully followed, remaining silent and looking glum. Joe stepped onto the brambles and felt them snap and crunch under his boots. He moved ahead of Melanie so that she could follow his path. The forest was still and it was silent except for the noise of Melanie’s awkward steps towards him. He was barely inside the line of the first few trees and visibility was now practically zero.

  Suddenly the area ahead was bathed in a cold light. Joe was a little surprised until he gathered that Melanie had turned on a torch. She swept the beam back and forth revealing only more trees and snow.

  ‘Do we have to go deeper?’ She asked quietly.

  ‘N
o, I don’t think so.’ Joe replied. ‘This should confuse them enough. He pointed at the brambles. ‘The snow is thinner here and the brambles mess up the tracks enough to keep them busy at for a few minutes at least.’

  He put his hands on his hips and took a final look around. He thought of the deer crashing through here, its home, and wondered if perhaps they should try to press on through the forest. Getting lost was the problem. Fall over here and when you stood you would have only a trail of your own footsteps to guide you, a trail that would be followed by the townspeople. No, he would stick to his plan.

  ‘Let’s head back now.’ He said gently to Melanie, who turned and began to follow the trail they had made back to the car. Joe couldn’t help but notice that she walked surprisingly well considering she had not long ago had a blade rammed into her calf.

  At the Nissan Joe turned off the engine and closed the doors. Melanie waited for him, she stood in the deep tread mark left by its large wheels. Joe stepped into the parallel furrow and together they began to head back towards the town holding hands across the snow barrier created by the perfectly good car they were leaving behind.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Peake hadn’t wanted to call them but he really had no choice. Someone in the community had died and if a community member died they had to be called. He now he had to find out who it was and what had happened. There were a few of the men awaiting the call, incapable of movement until their hardened skin finally cracked and they were reborn. They were sat in their homes counting the days until the Return.

  Duggan was out there, and although he knew that Macgregor and Duggan were more than capable of looking after themselves he couldn’t shake the idea that it was one of his lieutenants that succumbed in some way.

  It had to be the Government man, Clarke, somehow he was involved, and of that he had no doubt. Killing him would bring unwanted eyes upon the town but they would have to deal with that situation when it happened.