The Broken II: Tainted Trail

by A. L. Frances

  Across the way, camped up in a cosy homerun café with a clear visual of Matthew are DCS Terry and DC Flores. Slurping back his cheap instant coffee and pulling a face, DCS Terry says to his colleague, “Urgh!” Wiping his mouth and hoping the bitter taste of cheap coffee will disappear, he continues, “So, what do we think this is about?”

  “I have no clue, but this guy can travel.” With an I’m-tired-of-this-job expression upon her face, she continues, “Exactly how many locations have we been to in the past… how many days?”

  “I don’t know, Flores, but this one’s got to be the best location by far for people watching.” Nodding his head, he begins laughing as a male and female openly begin arguing in the middle of the small but extremely busy town centre. “Look at that – no one’s even battin’ an eye lid.” The female suddenly swings for the male with her fist and hits him in the head. DCS Terry bursts out laughing and says, “Go on, girl!”

  “Stop staring, it’s not very professional,” Flores says.

  “Listen, I’ve done my research on this town. They used to film a reality-style talk show and I read that the producers of the show never had a problem finding local “talent” let’s say to appear on the programme. Honestly, Flores, don’t worry, this lot love an audience.”

  “Oh, behave yourself, old man.”

  “Who you callin’ old man, cheeky? I’m not old, I’m experienced.”

  Winking, DCS Terry once again sets off sniggering under his breath as the kick-off continues. Shaking her head, DC Flores gives in and smiles back at him as she too drinks her cheap instant coffee. Getting back to the task in hand and being the great efficient Detective Constable that she is, DC Flores says, “Shall we set up the camera just in case?”

  “Just in case what?”

  “Well, you never know – it looks like he may be meeting someone.” DCS Terry stares with a blank expression on his face. DC Flores continues, “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed how nervous he is? The man keeps checking his phone. Something seems, I don’t know, different…”

  Pulling a face as he hasn’t been paying even the slightest bit of attention to what Matthew Honey is up to, DCS Terry smirks back at her. Distracted from the task in hand, DCS Terry’s current focus is one hundred percent on the entertaining kick-off just outside the café window. DCS Terry’s not fussed about the cameras one bit. At present, his only concern is whether he has to move, and so he says in a lazy tone, “Does it require my assistance, Flores?”

  “No,” she says, rolling her eyes. “I just need you to keep watch and let me know if you see anything of interest to record. Is that okay or too much work for you?”

  Laughing under his breath he says, “Can we record this kickoff?”

  DC Flores frowns. Her eyes say it all.

  “Okay, fine, have it your way. As long as I don’t have to move, that’ll do for me. Crack on then, Flores.”

  Matthew continues to check his phone every thirty seconds or so. He’s extremely anxious and is now completely unsure about the woman he spoke to today. Will Dorothy show up? Is this woman genuine or is this a cruel prank? With his faith firmly placed with the powers that be, Matthew tries to ignore the niggling voice taunting him inside his mind.

  “Ha ha! See, I told you she wasn’t coming. Try speaking over me all you like, you know I’m right. She’s not going to help you. Just like the rest, you’ve been lured into a trap. She’s probably sat with a group laughing at you right now! Watching as you keep checking your phone. Go on, do it, go and kill yourself. Actually, why don’t you take a few people down with you? Yeah, let’s have some fun first. You’re going to die, so why not.”

  The clock is ticking, the day is almost coming to an end – it’s now reaching evening time. Too anxious to sit back and do nothing and wanting to stop the voices in his head, Matthew decides he’s not waiting any longer. He reaches for his phone. This time he’s not messing around. He gets Dorothy’s number up and hits the call button. No sooner has it begun to ring in his ear than Matthew hears a loud ringtone coming from behind him. Suddenly it stops and he hears a woman’s voice say, “Hello.”

  With a confused expression spread upon his face, Matthew looks over his shoulder. As he turns, he sees an older trendy looking woman with beautiful red hair and a black leather jacket walking towards him with her phone to her ear. Making eye contact, Matthew says, “Dorothy?”

  “Yes.”

  Matthew stands, his hand shaking as he puts it out to her. Returning the gesture, Dorothy shakes his hand. She places her phone on the table and holds his hand inside both of hers. She smiles at him with an expression of sincerity and love as she says, “It’s all okay.” Taking a seat, Dorothy calmly says, “It’s good to finally meet you, Matthew, and please accept my sincerest apologies for ringing you so many times last night. I’d had a drink, you see.”

  “Please don’t be sorry,” Matthew replies, his voice a little shaky with nerves. “I’ve developed somewhat of an evening drinking habit myself.”

  Looking down at the table, Matthew fumbles with a tiny piece of paper to distract himself. Under the table, his leg bounces up and down. Her eyes falling on Matthew’s fidgeting leg, Dorothy says, “So, did you find the place easily, Matthew?”

  “Yeah, erm, my sat nav just brought me straight here.”

  “Oh, right. If you don’t mind me asking, where were you?”

  “I was in, erm, I think it’s called Chester…”

  “Oh, yes, I know Chester, there’s a huge beautiful racecourse there.”

  Smiling and temporarily putting down the tiny piece of paper he’s fiddling with, Matthew says, “Yeah, I went last night. Both my horses won big and I got a bit too drunk whilst celebrating. They kicked me out in the end.”

  “Oh, dear, that does sound like an eventful night.”

  Smiling and huffing slightly as she doesn’t know the half of it, Matthew bites the bullet and tells the truth. After all, what’s he got to lose?

  “To be honest, I’ve gone off the rails since I lost Evelyn Jade.”

  Looking relieved at his mention of Evelyn Jade, Dorothy asks, “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your story, Matthew?” Pausing for a brief second, Dorothy then says, “I mean, I read some bits online about you, but, I mean you can’t always believe what these things say.”

  “My story? Huh. Well, Dorothy, how long have you got?”

  “Believe it or not, all night.”

  Matthew takes a deep breath in and releases it with a huge sigh. He doesn’t know where to begin. “What would you like to know?”

  “Well, where it all… erm… What… Erm… Okay, sorry, let me start again. So, online it said something about your wife and your daughter.”

  “Yeah, believe it or not, Dorothy, I once had it all. Smart clothes, successful business, loving wife, beautiful daughter, family home – you name it, I had it. I was rich with love and money.” Laughing slightly and looking down at his current appearance, Matthew continues, “Huh, now look at me. No family, no business, living out of a car and hunting the unknown. Grabbing any tiny snippet I can to piece together a tainted trail made by the impure. Ha, my how the journey of life can dramatically change.”

  “You said something on the phone earlier that got me thinking, and, well, if I’m honest, you actually scared me. You said I will lose all the children. What did you mean by that?”

  “Dorothy, I don’t want to scare you – the last thing I want to do is scare you. I want to help you. But, if that is my daughter you have living with your family and the entity who has stolen her soul, then we really need to act quickly.”

  “Sorry, what did you just say?”

  “I know it makes no sense to you right now and I honestly don’t know how to defeat this demonic entity, but I promise you this: I will happily sacrifice myself in order to save the souls of our young.”

&
nbsp; “Matthew, without being too judgemental, and please forgive me if I sound blunt, but, there’s no such thing as demons.”

  “Huh, yeah that’s what I once thought. Lemme ask you this – have you been experiencing nightmares?”

  Dorothy looks shocked. She hesitantly replies, “Yes.”

  “Okay, so have you noticed any strange behavioural changes in the children?”

  Closing her eyes she says, “Yes, my granddaughter Hope is currently in hospital with my daughter as they both stopped breathing.”

  “Stopped breathing!” It’s more serious than he thought. Matthew tries to calm himself slightly as he continues, “Erm, anything else?”

  “Yes.” Again, she pauses, as if she’s reluctant to tell him something. Breathing deeply, Dorothy quietly whispers, “I watched as Hope’s eyes turned black and she went grey.”

  Matthew’s jaw drops. He has been waiting for this day for months and now that it’s here he has no clue how to process this information. Remaining in shock, he says, “Oh my goodness, Dorothy. Not to panic you, but I truly believe this is Jezebel and my daughter.”

  Suddenly, overwhelmed by the facts he has just been fed, Matthew’s chest has gone tight and his head begins to spin. He has been waiting for this day for such a long time and he truly didn’t believe he’d ever get his wish. Throwing himself back against the chair, Matthew goes slightly limp and holds his chest.

  “Matthew, Matthew, Matthew, are you okay?” Dorothy asks, panicked. There is no response, so she shouts to one of the girls cleaning the table across the way, “Excuse me, can we have some water, please?” Grabbing the glass of water from the waitress when she brings it, Dorothy presses it against Matthew’s lips. “Here, sip this.”

  Taking tiny amounts at a time, as the colour returns to his cheeks and he regains control, Matthew says, “I’m sorry. I’ve been waiting for this day for, well, a year now.” Checking his phone he sees it is six in the evening and the date is the seventh of the seventh, “Actually, it’s a year to the date. Please… erm… don’t… Crap… Dorothy, I believe if you’re going to lose your loved ones, then it could potentially be tonight.”

  “WHAT?!” Dorothy shouts. “Hang on, we don’t even know if it is your daughter – and who is Jezebel?”

  “Jezebel is the demonic entity who has stolen my daughter’s soul and has a sick impure intention to unleash upon us all. She’s doing this by using the souls of the young and the vulnerable.”

  “Well, there you go, I don’t know a Jezebel.”

  “Can I ask who is with my daughter?”

  “Eve has moved in with her dad, Jesse. There is no Jezebel in my daughter’s house.”

  “Does your daughter have an ex-husband, or is the children’s dad around?”

  “No, Phil died over a year ago. I’ve only just found out that he took his own life.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. That’s very sad. Please accept my sincere condolences. Suicide is terrible. Believe me, I’ve contemplated it enough. It’s only because Eve is still living that I haven’t, you know, ended it all.” He is trying to empathise with Dorothy and doesn’t want to seem heartless, but Matthew is aware that, should his predication be correct, he’s on a very slim time limit. “Can I ask if Jesse looks like… Phil, did you say?”

  “Yes, it’s Phil. Erm, well, I don’t think I’ve…” Dorothy pauses for a moment. Then, as if something has just clicked into place in her brain she continues, “Yes, he does look like Phil. I never really noticed it before.”

  “Dorothy, I’m sorry, I know this is the last thing you want to hear, but that’s how this demon does what it does so quickly. It preys on broken homes and takes the form of the missing parent to get into the home quickly and without question.”

  Dorothy looks as though she is struggling to process what Matthew is saying to her.

  “What do we do?”

  Reaching out and holding her hands, Matthew breathes deeply as he says, “Dorothy, I really don’t know, but as I said, I will happily die trying to stop this sadistic entity from taking our young.”

  Looking to Matthew, Dorothy says, “So we pray for answers?”

  Overseeing the events taking place, DCS Terry and DC Flores are recording the footage of Matthew and the unknown woman. Suddenly DCS Terry spots something of huge interest, “Quick, give me that camera, Flores.”

  She passes it over and DCS Terry begins filming a group of young people heading in the direction of the café window. Within this group is a young male and a young female who have their arms around one another. Peering through the lens on the camera, DCS Terry says, “I don’t believe…”

  “What, sir?” DC Flores asks. Getting no response she repeats, “You don’t believe what?”

  Dropping the camera on the table, DCS Terry rushes out of the café. He looks around but the whole group, including the young male and female, have all disappeared. DC Flores appears from the café holding all their belongings in her arms. “Sir, what is it?”

  “I swear that was…” Scratching his head, DCS Terry continues, “Can we rewind on that thing?”

  “Yes sir, why?”

  “I need to watch something back, come on.” Checking to see that Matthew is still sat at the coffee shop engrossed in conversation with the unknown woman, DCS Terry heads back inside the café with DC Flores. Sitting back at the table by the window, he says, “Rewind that for me.”

  “How far?”

  “I don’t know – five minutes or so should do it.”

  Rewinding the footage, they both begin watching intently. DC Flores has no clue what she’s searching for and yet DCS Terry is on high alert for what he has just seen. Suddenly he shouts, “There! Stop the footage.” DC Flores pauses the footage, struggling to see what he’s seeing. Continuing he says, “Zoom in on her there.”

  Zooming in and bringing the image closer to her face, the realisation sinks in. DC Flores says, “Oh my goodness.”

  “Yes, is that who I think it is?”

  “Sir, I believe so.”

  “That’s fucking Evelyn Jade Honey!”

  They both sit back in their seats, trying to process what they’ve just captured. This was the last thing they thought they’d find when they started this assignment. Now, they both have no clue what to do next. Looking across to Matthew through the window, they are gobsmacked. Staring back at his colleague, DCS Terry says, “So the bastard was telling the truth all along. She’s alive.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Expand the Empire

  The hands on the clocks are striking loudly one after the other. Every tick and tock can be heard echoing throughout the empty corridors of Wythenshawe Hospital. It is just past six thirty in the evening on the seventh of July. Alice and baby Hope are sleeping in their beds. Inside their room, the bleeping from the machines, which they are both hooked up to, sounds louder than normal alongside the deafening silence. The genius inventions are taking both Alice and Hope’s vital observations at thirty-minute intervals.

  The specialists who were flown in specifically to find out what is taking Alice’s life and making baby Hope so poorly were left scratching their heads. They got no closer today than they did yesterday to figuring it out.

  Though the welfare of their sick patients is the biggest priority, the hospital staff are having issues of their own. The vast majority are in deep mourning. The bodies of their colleagues Zander, Jack and Emily have been found in the laboratory, having been brutally killed on the hospital grounds. Without any answer to how these horrific and sickening murders occurred, all the staff are anxious, afraid and overcome by a deep internal sadness. With no suspect, motive, or CCTV evidence, Wythenshawe Hospital remains on high alert. Nervous about falling victim to another unprovoked attack, but aware that the show must go on, the staff must still tend to their poorly patients. A huge decision has been undertak
en. Due to the graphic disturbing nature of the three murders and the need to put the safety of everyone, both staff and patients, first, the powers that be have decided they have no choice but to place the building on lock down. No visitors are permitted to be on the hospital grounds. This has never happened before.

  The corridors are empty. The hospital is extremely quiet and has an eerie vibration circulating throughout. In fact, it’s so unnerving that the overworked hospital staff, who are more often than not on the brink of insanity due to upheaval and stress of visiting hour, would now love nothing more than to have the chaotic distraction.

  Inside Alice and Hope’s room, darkness is upon the sleeping pair. The blinds are closed and the windows along with the doors are shut tight. All appears as it should be. Both Alice and Hope are dreaming, locked inside their minds. An unexpected energy develops within the room and begins blowing the helium-filled balloons alongside the curtains. As if feeling a chill, Alice shivers under the bedsheets. With her eyes closed tight she can smell something disgusting.

  The sinister breeze has not entered the room alone. A dark manifestation is making its presence known. Fierce, relentless and unnerving, this powerful energy immediately takes over the room, and a grey mist begins to seep inside. No sooner has this cunning manifestation formed than it initiates its mission. It travels across the room to the door. Wrapping around the handle, the mist travels inside the keyhole. The lock is turned. Now no one can get in or out of the room.