by Mark Ayre
“It’s lovely to see you.”
She kissed him on the cheek, as close as possible to the mouth without their lips touching. When she pulled away, Benny’s knees wobbled, he seemed ready to drop to them in worship.
Relationships were another pursuit Sam had denied Benny by becoming his dependant. There had been the occasional fling. Sam had never seen him react like this to a member of the gender he so often treated with contempt.
Leaving Benny, the beautiful woman crossed to her newest guest. Her eyes seemed cold yet somehow inviting; her smile patronising but warm. Leaning in, she gave Sam a much more chaste cheek kiss than she had Benny.
“You must be Samantha. I’m so pleased to meet you.”
Sam expected she would have to engage in small talk. Her palms grew slick at the prospect. But the beautiful woman was interested only in business. Having greeted Sam, she returned to Benny.
“Are you ready?”
Benny’s eyes shifted to Sam. Never before had Sam seen in her brother’s expression the reverence he had shown for the beautiful woman, and here was a second first: Nerves. Possibly even fear.
“It’s just this, yeah? Then we’re done?”
Across the woman’s face flashed a look which stripped from her eyes that inviting quality and from her smile the warmth. It screamed Danger. Had she carried a knife or a gun, Sam would have feared for her brother’s life.
Then the warmth returned. The woman smiled and held a hand to her companion, clicked her fingers.
“The bag.”
Letch man’s eyes had stayed on Sam. He was slow to react to the beautiful woman’s command. Sam watched him tear his eyes from her and turn to the room’s corner. Nodding, he climbed from the chair and crossed to the tools Sam had noted upon arrival. From beneath a sheet, he removed a black duffle bag. As soon as Sam saw it, she could not help but think, If this were a movie, that would be filled with money.
The pervy guy came within a couple of metres of the beautiful woman and tossed the bag. Without looking, she caught it. Holding it in the crook of one elbow, she used the hand of her other arm to unzip the top. Catching a glimpse of the contents, Sam could not help but gasp.
Everyone in the room looked her way. The beautiful woman said, “Exactly. You help us with this final task, Benjamin, and you’ll never again have to work. Now, are you on board, or will you leave with nothing?”
Benny’s hands twitched. He looked again at Sam. Part of him wanted to run. Possibly run screaming as Sam had wanted to run screaming. He was in awe of the beautiful woman, but also she terrified him. Whatever she was asking made him more than uncomfortable. Sam wished that would make a difference. She knew her brother too well to allow his reticent look to fool her.
He said, “Let’s do this,” and Sam thought those words were the sound of their fates being sealed.
Twenty-One
Reaching the car, Mercury collapsed into the driver’s seat. Her chest was constricted, her breathing laboured. Her heart hammered. Although she had run from the mansion to her car, exertion was not the primary reason for her condition.
She could see Nanny on the floor, curled into a ball, palm bleeding, eyes watering.
Monster, monster, monster.
Even in a war scenario, in self-defence, Mercury found murdering the infected almost indefensible. Now she was tormenting and torturing innocent humans as a shortcut to information she desired but did not need.
Behind the wheel, she shook too violently to consider starting the car. Could she go on? The cruel tendrils of whatever evil Heidi had left behind curled within her. Every second, she surely became more prone to acts of wickedness. How long before evil overcame her? When she came face to face with Heidi, could she trust herself to do the right thing? Would she turn on the humanity she had been desperate to protect? Would she turn on Amira, her best friend?
Too many questions. For now, Mercury retained the will to kill Heidi if the opportunity presented itself. Before it was too late, she had to act.
She didn’t rush to start the engine or leave the space in which she had parked. For the next few minutes, she focused on her breathing. Battling the increasing number of dark, tortured memories, she focused on the goal. She knew where Heidi was. As had been the plan when she abandoned Amira, Mercury’s torment would still end today.
When her heart had calmed a little, when steady breathing was natural, not forced, she turned the key in the ignition, started the car. On her phone, she plotted the route to a building purchased under the name of Olivia Michaels, where Heidi would again attempt to raise her master, the most powerful of her kind.
Once before, Mercury had thwarted this plan. She had to do it again, and this time ensure Heidi was too dead to make it third time lucky.
When the monster was gone, if Mercury lived, she would make an end of herself. All of Heidi’s darkness would die today. Both the bulk of it, which used Olivia’s dead body as a puppet, and whatever remained within Mercury.
U-turning, Mercury sped towards Heidi’s location. Having left that morning, the monster had no doubt already been for some time preparing. How close was she? How long did Mercury have to stop Heidi’s ultimate plan coming to fruition?
Perhaps 90 seconds from her destination, Mercury had her answer.
Ordinary possession required only a symbol on the ground, a willing or unwilling host, and three corrupt people willing to perform the necessary rites. Once the chanting began, any who came within a few metres of the action would know something beyond the realms of the natural was taking place.
The ritual to bring forth the most powerful of Heidi’s kind still involved a single host, willing or unwilling, but required hundreds of infected to chant and to be sacrificed. When it began, people from miles around, by only stepping outside, would know some supernatural event was about to transpire.
A mile from her final destination, Mercury watched as a hurricane of mist and smoke fired into the sky, twisting turning with furious speed.
The ritual had begun.
Time was almost up. Not only for Mercury but for the world as well.
Twenty-Two
Across the hall from the room to which Benny had led Sam, in which they had met the vile Beauty and perverted Beast, was another. In size and shape, it was identical to the first. This one had neither the tools in the corner nor the metal chairs in the centre. Where the chairs had been, in this room, someone had drawn a strange symbol. Upon that symbol lay Liam, bound and gagged. Both rooms needed dusting.
In the doorway, Sam baulked at the sight of the boy she had the previous night seduced into walking her home. He was gagged but not blindfolded. When he saw her, the look in his eyes broke her heart.
“It’s okay, sweetie,” said the Beauty. “This is a wonderful opportunity for young Liam. We’re to turn him into a God. That he needed restraining is unfortunate, but he wouldn’t play nice, nor step up willingly to his destiny. Trust me; soon, he’ll thank us.”
Beauty stepped past Sam into the room. Benny took his sister’s shoulders as the perverted Beast brushed past on the other side.
“If it’s such a treat, why aren’t you in the circle?”
Sam was looking at Beauty; she had no idea from where she had found the strength to speak, nor why she had taken such a risk. At her shoulders, Benny’s hands clenched in shock, and she winced in pain. Her brother tried a false, pathetic laugh.
“Don’t listen to Sammy,” he said. “She’s nervous is all.”
Beauty shook her head. “There’s no need to defend your sister. She’s a brave young woman, speaking her mind. I would never punish someone for courage.”
Benny’s hands relaxed. The tension did not leave Sam’s shoulders. While kind sentiment might fool her brother, Sam held her gaze on Beauty’s eyes, where the feeling expressed by her kind words was not reflected.
Despite this, Sam managed to say, “Will you answer my question?”
Benny had released her shoulders. His he
ad whipped back to hers; anger rushed into his eyes. She knew he feared less for his sister’s safety than for his potential loss of income. Across the room, Beast leered while Beauty stepped from the bound Liam towards Sam.
“Let’s get something straight,” she said. “I’m paying you and your brother to do a job. That means you do as I say without question. I said I wouldn’t punish someone for courage, but I would discipline a subordinate for forgetting her place. Do as you’re told, and you leave here rich. Ask no more questions.”
Beauty turned away, crossing the room and removing from her jacket several slips of paper.
On the floor, a sobbing Liam twisted his head to see Sam. There was hurt in his eyes, but more than anything they pleaded. He wanted to be free. Having seen Sam’s reticence to go along with Beauty’s plan, perhaps sensing she was more unwitting stooge than black-hearted conspirator, he looked to her as his only potential source of support.
Seeing the exchange of glances, Benny stepped between victim and sister, taking the hands of the latter and speaking to her in a low voice.
“This won’t take long. I know it’s tough, but think of the reward.”
He smiled. It saddened Sam to know that, to her brother, this was a winning argument.
“I don’t care about the money,” she said. “Look at Liam. Look at what we’ve done.”
“Look at what we’re about to do. Make the guy a God.”
“You don’t believe that,” said Sam. “You know if something terrible wasn’t going to happen, they could have found a volunteer. They wouldn’t have needed to kidnap someone and tie them up in a construction site. I know you’ve done some bad stuff Benny, and I know you’ve done it for me, but this is too far. We can’t do this.”
Benny’s expression was clouding. To a stranger, the incoming anger would have been difficult to spot. Sam knew her brother better than anyone; she knew the signs. When they came, she would usually recoil, or grovel. Even with him standing in her way, she could see Liam, and this time neither cowered nor begged.
“You said you’d do this for me,” said Benny. “You said you’d make it up to me, well now’s your chance. We need to do this.”
“We don’t. I won’t.”
He closed his eyes. In a second, he released Sam’s hands and grabbed her wrists. He squeezed until there were tears on her cheeks.
“Don’t be a selfish bitch,” he said. “I’m doing this for you. This money, it’s all for you.”
“I don’t want it,” she said. “If we do this, I’ll never forgive myself.”
Still Benny squeezed harder. Despite the fact it felt as though her bones might snap, Sam resisted the urge to scream. She would not give in.
“Please,” she said. “Take my side.”
Releasing one of her wrists, he drew back his fist. Before he could throw a punch, Beauty’s delicate fingers had clutched his shoulder.
“Step away, Benjamin.”
Fist still drawn back, Benny looked at Beauty. Conflict raged. He wanted to deal with this himself but feared losing the money.
“Let me talk to her,” he said.
“Looks like you’re done talking, hence the fist. Now move aside, please, before you do something you regret.”
Benny cast another glance at Sam. He wanted her to say she would support him and do as Beauty instructed. That way, they could avoid further unpleasantness, and he could save face in front of this girl who so captured his devotion. But Sam was resolute. She met her brother’s eye but did not waver. Frightened as she was, she could not.
Dejected, resigned, Benny released his sister’s wrist and stepped away. Sam turned to Beauty. As she did, Beast crossed the room, grabbed her throat, and slammed her against the wall.
Pain tore through her back. She cried out and tried to wriggle free. He held her close, one-handed. She raised her hands to grab his face, to claw out his eyes. With his free hand, he caught one of hers and twisted. She screamed.
“Next time, he breaks it,” said Beauty. “Lower your hands. It’s time to listen.”
Still sobbing, still in pain, with a hand around her throat, Sam could not speak. She closed her eyes and prayed for this to stop.
“In a minute, my friend Titus is going to drop you. When he does, you will take a slip of paper from my hand and step to the edge of the symbol. Titus and your brother will take slips of paper also. When I say go, you’ll walk in a circle, reading the words on the page. Before long, you’ll feel, flowing through you, an energy which will guide you the rest of the way. It’s all straightforward. Are you with me so far?”
There was no strength to speak. Sam wanted to shake her head, but Titus’ hand was like a vice; she couldn’t move.
“When you complete your task, you and your brother will walk away with a boatload of cash,” Beauty continued. “However, seeing as the carrot seems not to be working, Let’s discuss the stick.”
Titus lifted his hand and in one swipe ripped free Sam’s dress. Beneath it, plain underwear and pale skin. Her cheeks flushed red. Her eyes burned with horror and misery.
Titus ran that rough hand up her stomach. Leering, grinning, he lowered it and grabbed her thigh.
“You don’t do what I want,” said Beauty, “Titus will take you across the hall. I don’t need to tell you what happens next.”
Titus’s hand continued to explore Sam’s thigh, from her knee to the line of her underwear. Crying, she found the strength to move her head. Looking past Titus, she met Benny’s eye, her pleading expression presumably reminiscent of the one Liam had given her.
Noting Sam’s stare, Beauty turned to Benny. “Is there something you’d like to say?”
Benny stared at his sister. In his eyes, there seemed to be genuine sadness. He loved her, didn’t he? Could he stand by and watch her suffer? Now was the time to prove himself.
“Do as they say,” was all he could manage. “Everything’ll be okay.”
Titus released Sam’s throat. She crumbled to the floor, a blubbering mess. With a sigh, Beauty dropped beside her.
“I think we understand each other now,” she said. “Will you do as I say, or should I send you across the hall with Titus?”
Sam looked at Liam. More than anything, she wanted to find the strength to reject Beauty. But what then? Titus would rape her, and she’d do what Beauty wanted. Whatever the case, Liam would never escape.
Looking to her brother, Sam nodded. She couldn’t speak. She hated herself far too much for that.
“Fabulous,” said Beauty, rising with a clap. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Twenty-Three
Dense clouds of what appeared to be but was probably not soot filled the sky, shielded the sun, and brought the night to this part of the world twelve hours earlier than expected.
As Mercury made it onto the long road above which this event occurred, she found pedestrians not screaming and running for their lives, but standing in crowds, laughing and chatting, their heads tilted to the sky as though enjoying fireworks. And why not? Mercury alone knew what the black clouds portended.
After firing into the sky like a hurricane of black dust, the clouds began to descend, shrouding from view the top floors of the tallest buildings and lowering every second. Despite the unnatural cloak obscuring its uppermost levels, Mercury could pinpoint the tallest building and see it was, as expected, under construction. Impossible though it was to tell, Mercury knew it was from the top of this building the display above had emanated.
Slamming the breaks, Mercury parked illegally and fled her car as though it were a ravenous beast hungry for human flesh. Racing across the pavement, she made her way from land owned by the council to land owned by Heidi masquerading as Olivia.
Scaffolding clung to the building. Possibly, Mercury could climb to the building’s peak. It would take too long. Leading to swing front doors was a temporary tunnel. Mercury hesitated only a moment before rushing along this, flinging open the glass doors, and entering what woul
d soon be the lobby of the largest building in town.
It was far more complete than the higher levels. The floors and walls gleamed with new tiles; the windows sparkled with recently installed glass. There was even the shell of a desk which someone would soon fit with computer, phone, and whatever else it was a receptionist needed. No doubt they’d add chairs in which could wait those who had arrived for appointments with hotshots too important to immediately greet their visitors. Maybe a water feature would fill the large open area between doors, desk, and lifts. Although Heidi planned to conquer the world and would have no need of the building, Mercury had no doubt she had mapped out the project as though she intended to complete it.
Turning to find the stairs, Mercury saw instead a fire extinguisher; noted it a second before it collided so hard with her side that it launched her from the ground and several feet across the room. As she landed, she cried out but did not stay down. Rolling with the fall, she sprung, turned, and ducked the second blow. Backing up, she took in her assailant.
“And there was me,” she said, “hoping my bungalow would keep you pinned for weeks if not forever.”
Having been blown up by a grenade, almost decapitated by a kitchen knife, and crushed by a falling house, Betty looked far from her best.
The possessed were close to immortal. You could kill their kind only with a blade infected with that concoction that was poisonous to them, or by chopping them into thousands of pieces and burying them over hundreds of miles. Despite this resilience, they could sustain damage. In many locations, Betty’s skin was missing, revealing bone. One of her legs had twisted so far it was almost facing backwards. Perhaps having been hit by a falling beam, half her face and one eye were absent, revealing skull and an awful, half skeletal grimace. She would heal, but her injuries were severe. It would take at least a few days, if not a week.
