The Extreme Horror Collection
Page 65
‘Don’t,’ Aiden said. ‘Please. I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry.’
Josh stood over him, ready to tear the weaselly little fucker apart.
But he stopped himself. Though his fists were clenched and rage coursed through his veins, Josh knew he wasn’t a killer. He’d known that when the Order had tried to make him murder someone only a few days ago.
He would let this cockroach scuttle off. After all, without his masters to serve, Aiden would likely be lost and useless. Josh turned away from the sobbing man.
Tears streamed down his face. It was supposed to be him. He was the fuckup. Beth didn’t deserve what happened. He should have been the one to give his life for her. He should have looked out for his sister for once. But no, he’d failed again, and Beth had been forced to clean up his mess.
The madness of the last few days, hell, the last few years, had been unbelievable. But Josh knew he couldn’t let his sister’s death be for nothing. While the sect in this town was gone, the Order at large still remained.
No more drifting through life. No more ducking responsibility.
Josh had purpose now. He would make all of those fuckers pay. Alone, if he had to.
‘Come on, girl,’ Josh said to Jess as he started to walk away. The dog followed, head held low. She cried.
Josh knew her pain.
Chapter 50
The moment Beth had crushed the head of the dark entity underfoot and strolled out of the town of Netherwell Bay unchallenged, she’d felt the changes within her speed up.
She walked and walked and walked, making her way through the alien hellscape, seeing nightmarish things. Eventually, her body had stopped responding and she fell. A surge rippled through her, blasting out an invisible energy that gave off a booming sound so great Beth thought her head would explode.
Then, she felt a weight on her. Not a physical feeling… but something else. Looking up to the skies, she’d gazed at the great cosmic eye, and somehow felt its maddening and infinite gaze focus in on her. It had taken notice.
Over the course of what felt like days, her form bloated and expanded. Beth felt every part of the transformation. Her limbs stretched, fingers worming themselves into the ground like the roots of a plant. She noticed the change in her skin—thicker, darker, with diamond-shaped scales forming. Seeing her own body slowly morph and elongate was terrifying.
The process was horribly slow and prolonged an unimaginable agony. Beth expanded further, wanting to die, and her body bloated out into a massive and pulsing mess of flesh and congealed limbs. Over the course of many agonising weeks, the disgusting lump she had become grew upwards. Her tumorous form rose into the air as her roots burrowed deeper into the ground. Soon, her sight was lost as her own flesh swallowed her face. Then, Beth took on the shape of a fleshy pillar.
Her skin darkened. Hardened. She grew and grew. Her mind broke.
In the years that followed—hundreds and thousands of them—Beth’s new form grew to touch the sky. A new and expanding knowledge coursed through her, giving Beth a greater purpose and meaning far beyond what her original mind could have comprehended. Over the aeons she changed to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ashklaar and others like it in this world. She reached up to Vao, while at the same time casting dominion down over those below her. Beth was long lost, a faint echo mixed in with the tortured souls who had been consumed since the new and great formation.
She had become something else now. Something greater.
Something infinite.
Chapter 51
One year after the incident at Netherwell Bay…
Josh sat waiting in the pub.
It was Saturday, and the place was quite lively. However, he was situated at the back, away from the gathered crowds who had come to watch the football match on the large screen at the front of the pub. He’d deliberately picked an area that was private enough for what he needed.
But the woman he was due to meet was running late. He’d never met her before, though he was very interested in talking to her.
He took a sip from his lemonade. No alcohol anymore. Not with so much to do.
Jess sat by his feet, watching the archway that separated this quieter space from the main body of the pub beyond.
‘Think she stood us up, girl?’ Josh asked, and gave Jess’ head a quick scratch.
Another sip.
Then Josh spotted someone moving through the crowd. A tall woman with long, red hair and a strong build. He knew it instantly.
This is her.
Besides the scars on her face—slight burn marks that, while not too severe, were somewhat noticeable the closer she got—the woman had a definite aura about her.
She had been through something terrible. He could sense it.
The woman stopped at the other side of his table, standing above him and looking down.
‘You who I’m here to see?’ she asked.
He nodded. ‘I am. Did you bring it?’
She dumped the rucksack she had been carrying onto the table with a thud. ‘The book is in there. Pulled it out of hell myself.’ Looking at her, he didn’t doubt it. ‘You were in Netherwell, then?’ she asked. ‘When it happened? When it vanished?’
Josh nodded. ‘I was, so I’m all too aware of the Order. And I have a little inside knowledge on them, too. Something your friends might be interested in. Care to sit?’ He motioned to the empty chair. After a moment’s hesitation, the woman before him took it.
‘Those people need to pay,’ she said. ‘They took people very close to me when trying to steal this book from me.’
‘Sounds like them,’ Josh said. ‘And I agree. They’re the reason my sister is gone. I have a score to settle.’
‘Okay, then,’ the girl said. ‘If we want stop them, this book can help. The people I know can help as well. If you want in, then you are swearing to help us put a stop to all this shit for good. But, well, you know the risk. You’ve seen it before, haven’t you.’
‘I have,’ he confirmed. ‘And I’m in.’ Josh then extended his hand over the table. ‘Josh Davis.’
She looked at his hand for a moment, then smiled and shook it.
‘Ashley,’ she replied. ‘Ashley Turner. Welcome aboard.’
THE END
The Supernatural Horror Series
Separate stories. The same, terrifying universe.
The Demonic: A woman returns to her childhood home to lay to rest the ghosts of the past. But in this house the ghosts are real, and evil has found a home.
The Mark: A satanic cult. A woman's brutal assault. Can one woman face her darkest fears before a demonic entity is unleashed from the depths of hell?
Forest of the Damned: A group of paranormal researchers investigate the infamous Black Forest, hoping to find proof of the afterlife and learn more of the infamous Mother Sibbett. But what they find is far beyond even their worst nightmares.
Buy each book individually, or all three in one volume for a reduced price:
The Supernatural Horror Collection
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www.leemountford.com
About the Author
Lee Mountford is a horror author from the North-East of England. His first book, Horror in the Woods, was published in May 2017 to fantastic reviews, and his follow-up book, The Demonic, achieved Best Seller status in both Occult Horror and British Horror categories on Amazon.
He is a lifelong horror fan, much to the dismay of his amazing wife, Michelle, and his work is available in ebook, print and audiobook formats.
In August 2017 he and his wife welcomed their first daughter, Ella, into the world. In May 2019, their second daughter, S
ophie, came along. Michelle is hoping the girls doesn’t inherit her father’s love of horror, but Lee has other ideas…
For more information
www.leemountford.com
leemountford01@googlemail.com
Acknowledgments
Thanks first and foremost to my editor, Josiah Davis (http://www.jdbookservices.com), for such an amazing job.
The cover was supplied by Debbie at The Cover Collection (http://www.thecovercollection.com). I cannot recommend their work enough.
And the last thank you, as always, is the most important—to my amazing family. My wife, Michelle, and my daughters, Ella and Sophie—thank you for everything. You three are my world.
Copyright © 2020 by Lee Mountford
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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