Ready or Not (The Hide and Seek Trilogy Book 3)

by Mark Ayre

So she was going to let him.

  The world started to swim. She caught a glimpse of those cold, steel eyes. Such rage. Such hate.

  And she saw beneath his gown, the bandages across his chest. Whenever anything went wrong, Benny let Sam know how it had been her fault. How she had caused it.

  She hadn’t caused this.

  Benny had forced her to help him kidnap Liam, and Liam had died. When Stephanie had told Sam about the ritual, Sam had begged Benny to help Liam or to let them walk away. She was his sister. He loved her. He would protect her.

  Instead, he had hurt her. He wanted her to bend to his will, as he always wanted her to bend to his will.

  Stephanie had threatened Sam with rape if she did not comply. The beauty had terrified and terrorised the teenager. Benny had watched. He looked ashamed. Did nothing to intervene. He stood in the circle, he performed with Sam and Titus the ritual. He had almost died.

  And it was his fault.

  Now, once again, he was angry at Sam.

  He had every right to be.

  Didn’t he?

  No, he didn’t. She’d done nothing wrong.

  No.

  She’d done nothing wrong.

  No. Not this time.

  No.

  Benny shoved Sam. She crashed into a built-in wardrobe and fell to the floor. On the bed, Benny coughed and spluttered. Then he sat up and swung his legs off the edge of the bed.

  He had been playing up how injured he was when Sam entered the room. But he was not in good health. As he stood from the bed, he wavered, looked like he might drop. Didn’t. His need to make Sam his property once more drove him on.

  “I almost died,” he said. “You should have stayed by my side. You should have waited until I was out of hospital. Instead, you go adventuring with strangers. How could you? After everything I’ve done.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  But was she sorry? Yes. Why was she sorry? It was like a pavlovian response. He spoke in that tone of voice, and she apologised. It had always been that way. How could she change now?

  “We were going to land in prison,” said Sam. “I left with Stephanie because she promised—“

  “Don’t lie to me,” he said. His voice should have been a roar. It was more rasp. He staggered rather than charged forward, but Sam was frozen. He grabbed her top and shoved her against the wall.

  “Everything I’ve done for you. All the years I’ve given up to look after you, and you betray me. You walk away the moment a better offer comes along.”

  Why had she done that?

  “I didn’t.”

  “Shut up.”

  He dragged her forward and smashed her into the wall. He wasn’t as strong as he might have been. She still banged her head. It stung.

  “Please don’t hurt me.”

  “Do you think I want to?” He said. “Sam, I love you more than anything. Why do you keep making me do this?”

  He grabbed her shoulder and pinched it between forefinger and thumb until she screamed. There were tears in his eyes. He hated hurting her. Why did she have to make him? She knew he had a short temper. Why did she—

  No.

  “I don’t make you.”

  His hand came away from her shoulder. He stared at her a second, shocked.

  “What?”

  “I don’t make you do anything.”

  He first slapped her cheek, open palm, then backhanded her.

  She whimpered.

  “Do you think I like hurting you, Sam? You know I love you.”

  “Yes.”

  “Exactly, and love means—“

  “Yes,” she repeated. “I think you like hurting me.”

  He raised his hand. “How dare you.”

  She looked at the palm as it became a fist.

  “If you loved me,” she said. “You would lower that fist. If you loved me, you couldn’t contemplate hurting me.”

  He stared at his hand, as though shocked to see it raised, balled. Then back to Sam.

  “You do this to me,” he said. “You know I have a short temper.”

  “That’s your problem. If you love me. Get over it. If you love me, stop using these pathetic excuses to—“

  He punched her in the face.

  “I’m not pathetic.”

  Her head cracked off the wall. He released her top, and she slid onto folded knees. The fist had smacked her jaw. She held the spot where the bruise would appear.

  It wasn’t the first time he’d hit her. Probably wasn’t the hundredth. By heart, she knew the script. What he’d say next.

  “Let me get you something for that.”

  Frozen peas. Frozen sweetcorn. Ice pack. Whatever he could find. Next, he would say she had to stay in for a few days. Until she felt better, he would say. Meaning she should wait until the bruise went down. Until he could be sure people wouldn’t ask questions. Of course, that didn’t quite work when they weren’t at home.

  Having no idea from where it came, she found herself laughing. The action made her head throb. Benny paused in the doorway. Stared at her. Dumbfounded.

  ”Sorry,” she said. “How many times have you brought me ice to put on my forehead, or cheek, or jaw? I’ve lost count. Didn’t happen before mum and dad died, did it?”

  “You have no idea what it’s been like, trying to raise you. It’s not like you’ve made it easy. You know—“

  “No,” she said. “No more excuses.”

  She was standing now. He didn’t know how to react. It wasn’t in the script for her to answer back, to cut him off. Also for her to stand before he had bought her the frozen peas. If he were a computer, he would be smoking, ready to break.

  “I have to go,” she said.

  “What?”

  “I have to go. There’s somewhere I’m supposed to be. People I’m supposed to help.”

  She tried to walk past him, he grabbed her arm and yanked her back. Raised his hand.

  “Go on then, hit me. You’ve already proven you don’t love me, so why not?”

  He said, “You’re trying to manipulate me.”

  “I’m not.”

  “You’re not leaving.”

  “I am. You can’t stop me.”

  He hit her.

  He expected her to drop. She didn’t. She raised her hands and smacked his chest. Being far smaller than him, this would usually do nothing. During the ritual, an invisible force had lacerated his torso. He had been under the knife; he was still weak, still in plenty of pain.

  With a scream, Benny collapsed. On the ground, he clutched his chest and moaned.

  “You should be in hospital,” she said. “I’ll call an ambulance before I leave.”

  She turned for the door.

  “Sammy stop. You can’t. You bitch. You hurt me.”

  “Did I?” She said. “Maybe I don’t love you either.”

  He was sobbing. She walked out the door, closed it, and walked away.

  Forty-Six

  The gates swung open. Heidi drove up the path. In the back, Mercury remained quiet, still. The act was good, but it would hold up to no scrutiny. The entire plan had to work perfectly, or it wouldn’t work at all. Heidi was terrified.

  She pulled up in front of the house and got out of the car. Moving to the back, she threw open the door and dragged Mercury out, treating her as one might treat a dead body. This had to be perfect.

  One of Cleo’s infected stood in front of the house.

  “Master is around the back. You may join her.”

  “It’s my house, arsehole,” said Heidi. “I’ll go where I want.”

  Turning from him, she walked towards the side of the house and round.

  It was almost time. She could only pray Trey and Pluto did their bit.

  Trey and Pluto were at the other end of the Michaels’ grounds. Mercury had directed them to the section where she had previously broken onto the property. They did the same, though it was slightly more difficult because there was two of them and they had se
veral weapons, including one that was cumbersome and difficult to transport.

  From their position, they could see the maze and the back of the house. On the patio, shaded by a balcony, stood Cleo and her retinue. Trey’s heart jerked when he saw Amira. Distracted, he forgot about Pluto, and when the possessed slapped him on the back, Trey tripped over his weapon. Something flew from his pocket into the grass.

  “Are you ready?” asked Pluto. More scepticism in his voice than Trey would have liked.

  “Yeah,” said Trey. He reached forward, into the grass, and collected the item that had flown from his pocket. It was small, white. For a second, he wasn’t sure what it was. Then he remembered one of his final conversations with Amira. She had told him to keep it on his person. He hadn’t been worried about losing it so had left it loose in a pocket. He was surprised he hadn’t lost it upon tumbling from a building.

  It felt serendipitous that it should fly out now.

  He looked at Cleo, at Amira who was now named Aurora. His mind began to whir.

  “Trey?”

  “What? Oh, sorry. Let’s do this.”

  From the ground, he hauled the weapon, put it over his shoulder though it hurt. It was locked, loaded and ready to go.

  And so was he.

  Held by Heidi as a prince might hold a princess in a Disney movie, Mercury kept her eyes closed, remained limp, and prayed Heidi wouldn’t try to emulate those Disney princes by giving her an unsolicited kiss.

  She knew they were going around the building. It seemed to take forever. Perhaps that wasn’t surprising. After all, they were rounding a massive mansion. Not a bungalow in a run-down council estate.

  Eventually, they made it into the gardens. Mercury knew because she could hear voices, then Heidi spoke.

  “Hey-oh, I bring gifts.”

  No one responded. Cleo and whoever she was with presumably turned to see Heidi, who muttered, “They hate me so much.”

  Then she was walking in silence again. Mercury was uncomfortable. She could sense Heidi’s nerves. Probably would have been able to hear the monster’s beating heart, had not her own been smashing against her rib cage. She had to get this right. She was afraid.

  And she couldn’t stop thinking about what Heidi had said.

  She didn’t have to be evil. She could change things. She could be good. She could take in Xyla and Edie. Be a mother to them. Protect them. Love them. She could be human.

  Except she couldn’t. No matter what, it ended for her today.

  No matter what.

  Heidi arrived.

  “The dead bitch.”

  She dropped Mercury on the floor.

  Cleo moved in.

  Pluto and Trey saw Heidi approach. As all eyes turned to the possessed and their fake dead friend, they began to run, hoping to get within range before anyone noticed them. Stepping away from the balcony’s shade, Cleo approached Heidi and Mercury.

  “This will have to do,” said Pluto.

  Trey nodded, pulled to a halt. Dropping to one knee, he shifted the weapon on his shoulder, tried to line it up. Though Dwight had given them a non-live demonstration, Trey did not feel confident with the weapon. After all, he had never before used a rocket launcher.

  “Are you sure you’re up to this?” Pluto asked.

  “Don’t have much choice, do I?”

  “I want to make sure you’re ready.”

  “If you wanted a go, you shouldn’t have lost an eye.”

  Heidi dropped Mercury at Cleo’s feet. The master of all monsters seemed to beam. She began to bend towards Mercury. Trey lined up his shot.

  “Are you sure you’re aiming that right?”

  “Shut up.”

  Cleo touched Mercury’s shoulder.

  Trey fired.

  The plan was simple.

  Heidi would drop Mercury at Cleo’s feet. When Cleo went to inspect the body, Trey would fire the rocket. At the same time, Pluto would charge.

  The rocket would hit Cleo, throwing her, tearing into her, detonating on her. Pluto would arrive to occupy Aurora and the retinue of infected.

  Heidi had concealed in her belt a poisonous knife. As the missile hit Cleo, Mercury would be rising. Heidi would toss her the knife and Mercury would chase Cleo. Heidi would rush to meet Pluto and would help him kill the infected and waylay Aurora.

  In the wreckage, Cleo would take far less time to recover from the missile blast than would a normal possessed. She would still not be ready to go for at least a minute. Mercury would find her, roll her onto her back, and plunge the knife into the monster’s chest. The ultimate power would enter Cleo’s killer. She would rush into the maze and stop the world-ending weapon.

  Easy.

  Everyone loves a happy ending.

  The plan was simple.

  It could still not afford to go wrong.

  It just had.

  Mercury heard the rocket whistle from its launcher and fire across the grounds.

  She was up, she turned to Heidi and saw wide eyes.

  Then Cleo had Mercury by the throat and was hauling her up.

  The rocket hit home. But it didn’t hit Cleo.

  “Well, you’re less dead than advertised,” said the monster who should even now be in so many pieces.

  She leaned her lips close to Mercury’s ear.

  “For now.”

  The rocket smashed the back of the mansion. Windows shattered, the wall exploded. Torn free from the building, the balcony split and crashed to the ground, crushing Aurora in the body of Amira and the infected who surrounded her.

  Trey was already moving. He knew it had been a risk to deviate from the plan. He couldn’t leave Amira like that. In the sack, he found a new rocket. As he was bringing it to the launcher, he noticed Pluto in the corner of his eye.

  “What are you doing? You’re supposed to be over there. Get Cleo.”

  Pluto fell to his knees. Though Trey had to focus on mounting the new rocket, he turned to his ally and saw the tip of the blade protruding from Pluto’s chest.

  “It wasn’t only the car I stole.”

  As Pluto collapsed onto his front, Trey turned to see Stephanie. She had stolen a poisonous blade. From somewhere she had also procured a gun. Trey dropped the rocket, preparing to defend himself.

  Before he could so much as climb to his feet, she pulled the trigger twice and hit home with both bullets.

  “Oh, dear. Did that go how you thought it would?”

  Cleo gave Mercury no time to answer. Lifting her high, she held her enemy aloft for several seconds, then brought her down with incredible force, rendering the human unconscious.

  A poisoned blade remained in the back of Heidi’s belt. She made no move to grab it as Cleo turned to the woman who had shot Trey. By this point said woman had removed the knife from Pluto and placed it in her jacket along with the gun with which she had shot Trey. This mysterious ally of Cleo’s approached. As she did, the rubble of the balcony exploded into the air and Aurora appeared, cut and bruised but otherwise unharmed. Kicking the dead body of an infected from her path, she approached her master from the other side.

  “Heidi,” said Cleo. “Why do I get the feeling you don’t want to go home?”

  Heidi said nothing. What was there to say? The plan had failed. Mercury’s obvious state of aliveness revealed Heidi’s treachery. There was no lying about that. Best not to speak.

  “You want to stop me destroying this world? Well, your allies are done. But you still stand. Will you give it another go? I’m right here.”

  Still, Heidi didn’t speak. Why bother? Cleo knew the answer. Heidi had been reticent when she had Trey, Pluto and Mercury on side. Now Pluto was dead, Trey probably dead and Mercury incapacitated. She was alone. It was game over.

  Aurora had arrived. She and Cleo met eyes, but Cleo did not check how her second in command was doing. They hadn’t that kind of relationship. While Aurora kept an eye on Heidi, Cleo turned to the newcomer.

  “Who are you?” />
  “Stephanie,” said the woman.

  “What do you want?”

  Stephanie considered. Shrugged. “For a long time, I wanted to be happy. Couldn’t work out how to do that. Blamed myself. Then realised humanity, as it stands, is the problem. So I thought I wanted to bring forth some Gods to take over the world and remould it into a form I could get behind. Now I realise that was childish.”

  Cleo smiled. No doubt she was bored by the mini-speech. As Stephanie had felled a couple of those who had stood against this master, she was willing to listen. For now.

  “You’re going to destroy the world, right?” said Stephanie.

  “That’s the plan.”

  Stephanie nodded. “Good. I want to see how it ends.”

  Cleo kept eyes on the girl a few moments longer, then shrugged. She knew Stephanie was human, and humans meant nothing to her. There was no chance she would thank Stephanie for killing two enemies that may have caused her problems.

  Cleo returned to Heidi.

  “Do you know what happens now?”

  Heidi still didn’t speak. This time she nodded.

  “Are you sure? Do you expect me to kill you.”

  Heidi shook her head. When Cleo didn’t come back with something else, and when Cleo, Aurora and Stephanie all stared at her, Heidi felt she had to speak.

  “You’ll let this body burn when you rip a hole between worlds. When I return to spirit form, you’ll spend the next thousand years putting me through unimaginable torment. You’ll make my previous existence in that shithole look like lunch at McDonald’s.”

  “You like McDonald’s?”

  Heidi returned to keeping mute.

  “You’re wrong,” said Cleo. She paused, letting that seep in. Then said, “It’ll be far longer than a thousand years.”

  Heidi said nothing. The knife remained in her back pocket. Maybe she would get a chance. She had been telling the truth when she told Mercury the cost of taking Cleo’s power was too high. Given now, no matter what, she was returning to her barren world, why not take control? It sure was better than the alternative.

  If she even got half a chance at a poor shot, it might be worth it.