by JG Faherty
“And may I enquire as to your purpose?”
“A funeral,” I said. “My aunt has passed, and I am taking my parents and sister to Newbury for the burial.”
“My condolences. So you’re looking to hire both driver and carriage? For how many days?”
“No driver. Just the carriage and horses. And it will be, hmmm….” I made a show of considering the time required “Four days. Possibly five, depending on the weather.”
“I see. And how will you be paying for this?” Hazelton looked askance at my simple clothes.
“In coin.” I placed several dollars on the counter. It hurt to part with such a large amount, but knowing I’d never be returning the carriage eased the pain somewhat. In the long run, we’d save a good deal of money by not having to pay for further transportation. It was my fervent hope that mentioning we were planning to travel north would steer Hazelton and the police in that direction to look for us when he realized we’d absconded with his property. By then, we’d be well south and west of Massachusetts. Perhaps even past Pennsylvania. With any luck, they’d never find us.
Hazelton led me round back to a covered stable that held the special carriages, the ones reserved for when some high society bigwig or pompous politician required public transportation. At the end of the row stood one that was pure black and devoid of decoration. Unlike the others, it wasn’t polished and shining, and more than a few nicks and scratches marred the paint.
“This is the best I can do for the price,” he said. “I was getting ready to repaint it, but it will suffice for your trip, I think.”
I nodded. It would do just fine. A four-seater with ample room for our luggage. Hazelton ordered one of the stable hands to get it ready and we went inside to sign the contract. I used a false name and address, hoping that would help cover our theft even further.
Hazelton supplied two black mares, rather long in the tooth but not in such bad shape that they couldn’t do a decent day’s travel. I offered no objection; for the price, they were a bargain. I rode off, more than a little guilt digging at me for having cheated an honest man. Still, I would move heaven and earth to keep Flora safe. If that meant breaking the law or bending my principles, so be it.
I returned to my house and loaded my trunk and bag into the carriage. Before departing, I took a last look at the place. It harbored few pleasant memories and I wasn’t sorry to be leaving. My only regret was that I couldn’t sell it. The money would have gotten us off to a nice start in our new life.
“Ah, good riddance. Let it die with my father.”
Ben was waiting when I arrived, one large trunk at his feet. He’d dressed for the road, with a black jacket and derby hat. In his left hand he carried his favorite cane, the one with the silver wolf’s head handle.
After climbing into the seat beside me, he tapped the cane on the footboard and gave a whistle. “You picked a good ride, Henry. I hope you have the coin to feed these nags. It’s a long ride to California.”
I swore. That was something I hadn’t thought of. Ben laughed. “Don’t get your knickers in a bother. I’ll help out. I stopped at the bank and withdrew the largest sum I could without raising too many eyebrows.”
“Thank you.” I tried not to think what Ben might demand in return for his largesse.
We rode to Flora’s and my heart grew lighter with each street we crossed. We were really doing it! Leaving Innsmouth. For once, the future looked bright. A fresh start would be difficult, to be sure. But with Flora at my side I felt as if I could conquer the world.
Neither Ben nor I were surprised when we found the sidewalk outside Flora’s building empty. Independent they might both be, but no self-respecting woman would ever think of carrying luggage down from a third-floor apartment.
The approaching dusk cast the street in shadows, lending a decidedly threatening air to the neighborhood. I was hesitant to leave the carriage unattended, but just as I started to mention this to Ben a terrible scream caused us both to jump and draw our pistols. Despite our urgent situation, we both ran in the direction of the single, pain-filled cry. I know not Ben’s reasons, but my own were purely selfish: to ascertain if the ruckus would draw the attention of the police, thereby making our departure more problematic.
Half a block down sat the dark mouth of an alley. We slowed and peered into its gloomy depths. Sure enough, two figures occupied the narrow passageway. One prone on the ground, the other bent over it, quite obviously up to no good. Pistol raised, I charged into the alley, Ben at my side.
“Hey, now! Stop that.”
The figure on top looked up.
Flora!
We came to a halt several feet away. Dark fluids coated her face and dripped from her chin onto her clothes. In the dim light it appeared as if someone had splashed a bucket of pitch at her. Except I already knew what it was.
Blood.
I didn’t need to see the body beneath her to know what she’d done, but the details of it embedded themselves in my brain because I couldn’t look away.
A gaping hole in his neck showed in grisly detail how the poor bastard had died, his throat torn away to expose the tubes and vessels within. A larger wound in his belly leaked grotesque fluids and what looked like rows of sausage spilled out over the edges and onto the ground. As we drew closer, the unmistakable warm stink of fresh shit reached us.
“Good Lord. What in hell…?” Ben’s words trailed off and he gripped my arm. Flora stared up at us from her knees, her eyes two wide, white buttons behind a mask of red.
“Henry? Ben? What’s the matter?”
“Flora…what have you done?” I could only manage a whisper, but she heard me.
“I don’t know.” She looked at her hands, which still held a dripping piece of organ meat. “I was so hungry. There was no food in the house.” She raised the bloody chunk to her mouth and bit into it.
Ben gasped and turned away, his hand over his mouth.
“Have to eat,” Flora said, her words muffled by the human flesh stuffing her mouth. “So hungry.”
Cold dread filled my belly. How could she have done this? The obvious answer was I’d somehow infected her with one of the alien creatures, but that couldn’t be right. She showed none of the signs. No tentacles emerging, no transformation into some kind of sea creature.
Just a taste for human flesh.
No. Not my Flora. It had to be something else.
Brain trauma.
Yes! That was it. After all, she’d been dead for several hours. The creature’s blood hadn’t finished repairing her body yet. That’s why she wasn’t acting herself. Why she was so starved for food. She needed the energy, the nutrients, to rebuild herself. She’d probably gone into some kind of fugue state when the hunger got to be too much and….
A new thought came to me. How had Flora come to be in the alley in the first place?
“Callie!” Ben stole the word from my thoughts.
“Go.” I waved at him. I’ll be right behind you.”
Ben took off at a run. I approached Flora slowly, my hands out to my sides. As much as I feared for Callie’s life, I had to get Flora out of the alley before someone found her in such a ghoulish state.
“Flora, dear, we need to leave.”
She looked up at me, her eyes pure innocence behind their mask of blood. “But I’m not done.”
“We’ll get more food, I promise. But the police will be here soon and this….” My words failed me then. If she truly didn’t understand what she’d done, how could I explain it?
Luckily, she nodded and stood up, still holding a reddish-brown lump in one hand. I let her keep it. I took her by the other arm and guided her back to the carriage, where I got her inside and made her promise not to leave again. She gave me a distracted reply, already biting into her revolting meal.
Knowing I didn’t have much time bef
ore she finished and went looking for another victim, I dashed up the stairs to her apartment, where I found Ben cradling a bloody Callie in his arms.
“She’s alive,” he said.
“Thank God for that.” I meant it. Flora was first on my mind but I’d have felt awful if any real harm had come to Callie because of the situation I’d placed her in.
I knelt down to inspect her wounds: a deep gash in her thigh that looked suspiciously like a bite, and a purple welt on her temple where it appeared she’d fallen and struck her head. Her breathing was steady, and she moaned when I patted her cheek. Her eyes opened.
“Henry. I’m…sorry. I tried…she’s not the….” Her head lolled back as consciousness departed again.
“See if you can find some spirits and clean cloths so we can sterilize and bind the wound. She’s lost some blood but she should be fine as long as we prevent infection.”
Just as I’d hoped, Ben hurried from the room without objecting. I checked Callie’s breathing once more and then placed a pillow under her head and stood up. Ben was more than capable of dressing Callie’s injuries. She shouldn’t even require stitching. On the other hand, Flora needed me and I couldn’t trust that she’d remain in the carriage.
I was halfway to the door when Ben called my name.
“Henry. Where in blazes do you think you’re going?”
“To fetch a doctor,” I said, thinking I only needed a few moments to make my escape. If I could get Ben to—
“You damned liar. You’re still planning on taking Flora away from here. I won’t let you. She’s the cause of this, and so are you. You’ve created a bloody monster, and now we’re taking her to the police.”
“The hell you are.” I didn’t draw my gun, but the temptation was strong.
Ben let out a cry of pure animal rage and charged at me. His attack caught me by surprise and I reacted far too slowly. One of his massive fists struck my shoulder as I tried to dodge him and I stumbled into a wall. His second fist missed me by inches and dented the plaster next to my face. He might have ended things right then – he was stronger and faster than I, and far more experienced at fisticuffs – but he made a fatal mistake.
He spoke.
“That creature won’t see the light of day again for what she’s done.”
The possibility of Flora locked away forever in some cell – or worse, sentenced to hang – brought a rage to life within me that I’d never known I possessed. My vision turned red and I lashed out with blind fury. My knuckles met his nose with a sound like ice cracking. Ben howled and fell back. I threw myself at him, fists swinging wildly. Blow after blow landed on his face. He tried to push me away and I kicked him in the knee, feeling no shame at my womanly attack. He went down, holding his injured leg, and I kicked him again. And again. Until I felt sure he wouldn’t get up to follow me.
Then I ran for the door. I paused before leaving, looking back at my old friend who was now my sworn enemy. He stared up at me with a face dripping in blood, his hair and beard now crimson instead of orange.
“I’m truly sorry for Callie’s pain,” I said, and I meant it. Had things been different in the world, Callie and I might have been betrothed already. “But I won’t let you or anyone take Flora from me. I’m giving you warning. Don’t come after us. If you do, I swear I’ll take your life before you take ours.”
Then I was out the door.
I knew I had only minutes to make my escape. The Ben Olmstead I knew wouldn’t heed my warning; he was as hotheaded and stubborn as they came. Injured or not, he’d have the police on my trail the moment he took care of his sister’s wounds. Maybe even before.
When I reached the carriage I half expected to find Flora gone again but she’d obeyed my command and stayed in her seat, which now was covered in tacky blood. Her eyes were half-closed, reminding me of a sated tiger after a large meal.
I climbed into the driver’s seat and paused. Where to now? Ben would have the police after us within the hour. I couldn’t go north, because I’d told the liveryman we were heading in that direction. And now south was closed to us as well, because Ben knew my planned route.
And how could I risk bringing Flora anywhere? Until her mind healed, she wouldn’t be safe in any community. I had to find a way to return her to full sanity before we risked venturing out into the world. But how? I was no doctor of the mind, and I refused to even consider locking her away in some awful asylum. And what could they do anyhow except feed and watch her until she healed?
If that even happened.
The very real fear that Flora’s condition might be permanent made me want to curse God for his treachery. It was he who’d sent that creature to our world, and he who’d put me and those I loved in harm’s way. How could a simple man such as I hope to prevail against the supernatural?
The supernatural.
The moment the words appeared in my thoughts, I knew where to find the answer I required.
In the book of spells.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
A sensation of déjà vu gripped me as I lowered myself into the dank sewer once more. My life seemed to be repeating itself, a terrible echo of time that grew worse with each reiteration. We’d exited the carriage several blocks away in an attempt to mask our true destination, but I had little hope my ruse would work. Ben would recite my tale of curing Flora to the police, and no doubt the moment Flannery heard the news he’d be sure to send officers into the tunnel to search for us.
With transportation and belongings gone, I’d already decided that our only chance would be to hide in the caverns until the police gave up their search. Then we’d take the sewers into Old Innsmouth, where we could follow the Manuxet River inland until we reached the point where it crossed the Miskatonic. From there, we’d make our way to the university and search the library until I found a way to translate the book of spells.
Assuming I found the damned thing.
If not, our only hope lay in making our way along the coast in the darkness of night to the next town south, or possibly farther if we could manage it.
I prayed that wouldn’t be the case, as it would leave us in dire straits, made all the worse by Flora’s inhuman hungers.
Chill air enveloped us and the rank stench of raw sewage filled my lungs, but I paid no heed. I led us forward, the route burned into my memory so that even without light I knew the correct direction. Flora followed close behind me without any complaint. That she placed her complete trust in me buoyed my heart and tempered any doubts I might have had regarding her soul. No one tainted by evil could give themselves so thoroughly, could show such love and devotion.
No, her problem stemmed not from corruption but from a medical cause. Whether physical or mental, that was to be determined. And whichever it was, I would find the cure and we would still make our new beginning. I’d come too far, risked everything, to give up hope now.
We reached the entrance to the cavern and I slowed our pace, remembering the destruction we’d caused with the explosives had left the trail all but completely blocked ahead of us. Trying to climb those rocks safely in the pitch dark would be a fool’s game, and no doubt leave one or both of us with a broken ankle from a fall. And there was no way of knowing if my father’s lair remained intact on the other side.
However, the only alternative was to enter the river and swim downstream.
And if that way was blocked as well?
Indecision brought me to a halt. I couldn’t see ten feet ahead of us. How was I supposed to navigate through tons of rock, let alone find a book amid all the rubble?
I couldn’t. I took a deep breath to calm myself. Think logically, not emotionally. Something my father used to say, and for once I was glad to hear his voice in my head. My actions needed to be rational, analytical. Calmer, I reconsidered my plan.
Finding the book in the dark? Impossible. Escaping up the c
oast with no food or money? A fool’s journey. Returning to Innsmouth? Certain death. What did that leave?
The library.
Yes! I’d already considered it an option for having the book of spells translated. But hadn’t Professor Gardiner mentioned there were other books of dark magic in Miskatonic’s possession? Surely one of them would hold the answer I sought. And if not, I’d keep looking until I found one that did. All we had to do was make our way to Old Innsmouth, where no one would dare look—
“Henry.” Flora’s voice made me jump; she’d been so quiet up until then.
“Yes, my love? Don’t worry, we aren’t staying here. We’re going to—”
“Someone is coming.”
Damn. Already? I held my breath and listened. Nothing reached me except the sounds of the river.
“Are you sure?” I whispered. “The mind plays tricks down here.” Perhaps she’d only heard her own heart, or a humming in her ears.
“Several men are approaching. I can smell— Oh.” Flora’s hand gripped mine painfully tight, distracting me as I tried to focus on her words. Had she said smell? That couldn’t be. I’d heard wrong. More likely that—
A flash of light pierced the darkness. And then another. Back the way we’d come. The tunnel! But how had they arrived so quickly?
Flannery. It had to be him. No one else knew the route well enough. Seconds later, his booming voice confirmed it.
“Gilman? Are you down here? Give yourself up and we’ll go easy on you. You have my word. This is your only chance, though.”
Judging from the number of lights, he’d marshaled the entire damned precinct. And they’d all be armed. I had my pistol, but six bullets versus an army didn’t leave me with good odds, even if I took cover and ambushed them.
“Henry.” Ben Olmstead’s voice this time. He must have taken Callie to the police station and Flannery immediately rallied the troops. My damned Gilman luck again. “Just give us Flora. They don’t want you.”
“Never!” The shout left me before I had a chance to consider what I was doing. All the lights instantly turned my way. Despite the distance between us, the illumination was enough for me to see that we were trapped. There’d be no climbing the mountain of stone behind us, and unless we wanted to try a suicide leap into the river and the beast that waited there, only one chance of escape seemed possible. Plead my case and hope that Flannery showed mercy on us or that the creature in the river awoke and attacked the approaching men.
