“Fucking Hell”
Grimacing, Victor opened his mouth to speak once more then turned his head as he heard a car, his brow furrowing as he watched a marine blue Land Rover drive into view from the direction Bella had walked, the roof a dirty beige.
“Is that her?” Moonshine raised an eyebrow, his own eyes locked to the rapidly approaching vehicle, his voice unsure, “Those fucking things can’t drive can they, Dog?”
“It’s her” Victor sent his friend a smile, climbing over the fence himself to watch as the old Land Rover drew nearer, the familiar figure of Bella sat behind the wheel as she pulled up next to them.
“Put your friend in the back” the silver-haired woman nodded at Victor as she got out of the Land Rover, the shotgun in her hands once more as she glanced about, “I’ll keep watch”
“If you tell anyone about this, I’m going to kill you” Victor stepped to the rear of the vehicle, opening it wide before he moved back to where his friend waited and held out his arms to pick Moonshine up like a blushing bride. Carrying his friend to the back of the vehicle, he sat him on the rear of it, and nodded, “Can you slide in on your own OK or are you going to need help?”
“Nah, I’m good” Moonshine gently rested his broken leg down, and gritting his teeth, he began to scoot himself back into the open rear of the Land Rover, until he had his back to the wall behind the front seats, and Victor turned to meet the gaze of the woman as she moved to their side.
“You two wait here” she nodded, “I’ll go and get the kids and Lexi and Castiel and bring them out…then we can get your friend to the hospital”
The two men exchanged glances at her words, Victor raising an eyebrow, “I thought you said you lived here alone with your grandparents?”
She gave a half-smile, “I said this was my grand-parents farm…Lexi and Castiel are my kids”
Victor nodded, casting Moonshine a glance and then he shrugged, “I’ll come with you”
“What?” she seemed unsure, “It’s fine”
“What if there are more?” he stated, his features grim, “What if the ones that chased us from the A66 find their way to your farm…what then?”
Before him, Bella grimaced, then nodded, “OK”
“Wait here” Victor turned to look in at a pale-faced Moonshine, “Keep the doors locked OK”
His friend winced, and nodded, “Yeah, sure”
Suddenly regretting his decision to leave his injured friend alone but not wanting to back out of his offer to help the woman that had come looking for them, Victor swung the back door of the Land Rover shut and turned, “Let’s go”
She nodded, turning away as she began to walk towards the farmhouse, pausing every ten steps or so, her head turning as she glanced about, the shogun held ready in her hands, expression grim.
“Army?” he asked, as she stopped for a fourth time, and before him she tensed, head shaking.
“Ex-army”
He nodded, knowing that she couldn’t see the act but feeling inclined to show acknowledgement. Before him, Bella began moving once more, then paused with ten feet separating them from the house, her eyes scanning the yard beyond them before meeting his gaze, “How did you know?”
Victor winced, shrugging, “There were a couple of guys in my therapy group who were ex-army, you just seem to have that same feel about you”
Bella nodded, her eyes travelling up and down him, taking in his wet and muddy clothes, before she raised an eyebrow, “You are a therapist?”
His chuckle was bitter, “No, I was a patient”
She licked at her lips, “What was the issue?”
“PTSD” he held her gaze, “Survivor guilt”
Something seemed to flicker in her eyes at his words, the muscles in her cheeks trembling like a vibrating guitar string and then she was turning away, moving towards the backdoor of the farmhouse, her right hand leaving the shotgun to drag a small black key from her jeans pocket.
As she stuck it in the lock and turned it, Victor shifted his feet, glancing about at the farmyard and the distant treeline, searching for trouble, then turned back as the voice of Bella sounded.
“Come on, get inside”
Glancing about, he saw her standing inside the property and with a nod, he hurried to join her, stepping into the cool of a large kitchen as Bella stepped back to the door, locking it behind them.
Without pausing, she turned heading through a door to their left, and into a hallway, the walls clad with wooden panelling, and decorated with a set of embroidered images in picture frames.
“This way” Bella led him onwards, around a corner and towards a closed door at the end, the sound of excited barking coming from behind it.
“Do they bite?” Victor grimaced and she gave a faint smile, her head shaking as she paused.
“Lexi and Castiel? No…not unless I tell them to”
“Your children” he gave a smile, nodding in sudden understanding, then frowned as he caught her suddenly staring at the closed door directly to his left, her cheeks tensing once more.
Turning, his back to the wall, he studied the door for a moment and then glanced back at her, his voice barely audible, “What is it?”
She winced, head shaking, “My grandparents”
Victor grimaced, reaching out for the door handle only to pause as she shook her head, her voice a hushed whisper, “Stop…don’t”
He grimaced, holding her gaze, “Are they dead?”
She nodded, a haunted look in her eyes and he nodded, his right hand grasping the handle and turning it before she could protest once more.
The door swung open with a creak to reveal what appeared to be a sitting room, a large television sitting upon a stand against the far wall, a sofa and two armchairs spread around the walls.
For a moment, he studied the décor, immersing himself in the homely feel of the room, despite its dated carpet and wallpaper, his grey eyes fixing to a large crucifix which hung upon the wall behind the sofa, his hands forming into fists as he studied the diminutive figure upon the cross.
Then with a grimace, he let his gaze drift down to study the two white-skinned figures that lay on the floor, one slumped on its side against the base of the television stand, the top half of its head missing, the other lying upon its back near the fireplace that dominated a wall of the room, its chest a bloody ruin, the former in trousers, shirt and braces, the latter in a pink dressing gown, a slipper still attached to one of its feet.
Without thinking, he moved to crouch beside the figure in the dressing gown, brow furrowing as he studied her features, the same thick white calloused skin on her face as that which had been on the other figures that they had encountered.
On instinct, he raised his right hand, making the sign of the cross before him, his lips moving as he closed his eyes, “Eternal rest, grant unto her, O LORD, and let perpetual light shine upon her, may she rest in peace, amen”
He tensed as movement sounded in the doorway, and he opened his eyes, turning to find Bella watching him in a mixture of grief and disbelief, her head shaking, “What are you doing?”
“Praying for their souls” he turned away from her, moving to crouch beside the figure that had obviously been her grandfather, repeating the male version of the prayer before he rose once more, shrugging as he held her gaze, “What?”
She frowned for a moment, her eyes drifting over him in silence and then she gave a shake of her head, “You said that you worked for the Forestry Commission, not that you were a priest”
Victor winced, “I’m not, not anymore, I failed”
She shook her head, “How do you fail at being a priest, I don’t understand”
Releasing a shaky sigh, Victor shrugged, a hand rising to rub at his forehead, “I lost my faith”
Bella studied him in silence for what seemed an eternity, then shook her head, “If you lost your faith why are you praying for my grandparents?”
Victor’s laugh was bitter as he held her gaze, �
��I never lost my faith in God…I lost my faith in me”
Chapter Seventeen
Nearly a minute passed by as they stood holding each other’s gaze in the sitting room, the barking of the dogs cutting off in the background, and then Victor forced a smile, “The children?”
Bella nodded, stepping back through the door, turning towards the door that they had been approaching before Victor had entered the sitting room, and once again, the dogs began to bark.
Reaching out with yet another key, Bella placed it inside the lock and turned it, her hand resting upon the handle for a moment as she turned around and gave Victor a grim smile, “Best to just stand there for a moment and let Lexi and Castiel get to know you first”
He nodded in reply, grimacing, and then with a turn of her hand, Bella pushed the door open wide to reveal a large downstairs bedroom.
Victor had the briefest of moments to see the familiar faces of the two children at the back of the room, the girl seated upon the edge of the bed, the young boy beside her, then two furry shapes barged past the legs of Bella towards him, a large German Shepherd and Border Collie. Barking excitedly the black and white collie rushed about the legs of the bearded ranger, his hands shoved firmly into his pockets on the off chance that they did bite, while the German Shepherd squatted before him, growling low in the back of its throat, ears flat against its head.
“Cas!” the voice of Bella took on a stern tone, and as if she had flipped a switch, the tail of the bigger dog began to wag lazily and he moved forward to sniff at the shoes of the ranger.
“Hey guys” Victor lowered his gaze to watch as apparently satisfied, the German Shepherd sat down before him, and the border collie joined it, then he raised his eyes to find Bella watching him curiously, “Are we good?”
They seem to like you…I trust them” she nodded back at him, “More than most people”
“I get that” he found himself smiling grimly, “I do”
For a moment, the woman matched his awkward smile, and then she gave a short whistle, the dogs turning to move back inside the room and sit by her, as she gestured towards the children, “There you go, as promised”
Suddenly awkward, realising with shock that he didn’t actually know the children’s names, Victor took several steps towards the bed and stopped, unsure exactly what to say, “Hey”
Upon the bed the brother and sister exchanged glances, and then to his surprise raced across the room towards him, the boy wrapping his arms about his legs while the girl threw hers about his waist, their faces pressed against him. Throat tight with emotion, touched by the moment, Victor raised his face to meet that of Bella and she gave a smile, gesturing for him to embrace them, but he shook his head, wincing as he did so.
as if on a pre-arranged cue, both children suddenly broke their hold upon him, the girl raising a eyebrow as she met his gaze, her nose wrinkling in disgust, “Why are your clothes soaking wet…oh my God”
“Is it sweat?” the boy asked with interest as he glanced up at Victor, “I sweat a lot”
“Shut up, that’s gross!” the girl sent him a glare then turned to stare at Victor, “It’s not, right?”
He shook his head, “No, I fell in a river”
“How did you fall in a river?”
Victor winced, glancing at Bella and then looked back at the boy as he spoke again, his voice a hushed whisper, “Were you fighting one of those snow people!”
“Snow people?” Victor frowned for a moment and then nodded in understanding, “Yes”
“Are there more?” the girl asked, fear in her tone.
“Are we going to be eaten?” the boy sounded close to tears, his face screwing up, and forcing a smile, Victor turned from the girl and dropped to a crouch in front of him, “What’s your name?”
“Eric…Eric Kim…I’m six”
“OK, Eric” the ranger nodded, forcing a smile, “My name is Victor, but people call me Dog”
“Why?”
“They just do” Victor frowned, “It’s a nickname”
“What’s a nickname?” Eric made a confused face.
Closing his eyes, wishing that Moonshine was there with them, Victor shook his head, and met the gaze of the boy again, “It doesn’t matter, what matters is that you are not going to get eaten”
“Promise you’ll keep me safe?” Eric held his gaze.
“Sure” Victor blinked, recalling a similar time with his own children many years before, the subject of the moment gone from his memory.
“You have to say promise, or it isn’t true” Eric looked suddenly scared, his eyes drifting to the face of his sister before drifting back to Victor.
“I promise I’ll keep you safe” he nodded, the words like ash in his mouth, the cries of his children sounding in his memory as they burned.
Suddenly dizzy, he rose to his feet, a hand rising to rub at his temple for a moment, then he glanced back at Bella as she spoke, “Are you OK?”
He nodded, knowing that it showed upon his face that he wasn’t, but instead of seeing judgement, he saw the look of understanding in her eyes.
Oblivious to the tension, the young boy suddenly raised a hand gesturing at the girl, “This is my sister Emily Kim, she’s twelve or something old like that”
“I’m thirteen you toad”
“Don’t call me a toad!” the boy was indignant.
“Then don’t call me old” she sent him a withering glare, rolling her eyes as she turned back to look at Victor, “Are the police here?”
“No” he shook his head at her, eyes drifting to Bella, “Can we phone them?”
Her expression was grim, “I’ve tried…all morning…I can’t get a response from anyone, they all seem to be too busy…”
“Too busy?” Victor swallowed the tightness in his throat as he pictured the pile-up on the A66, suddenly unsure how far spread this event was.
“We should get your friend to the hospital in Thames” Bella held his gaze, “I’ll drive, we can contact the police there for these two”
“Sounds like a plan” Victor nodded, “How far?”
“About fifteen minutes if there’s no traffic”
No traffic. Christ.
“Come on” the woman began to head back out of the room, the shotgun brandished before her once more, the dogs running beside her, and nodding, Victor and the children followed, he taking up the rear. They turned as they reached the bend in the corridor, and then Bella cursed, turning to throw them a glance, “Wait here”
“Problem?” Victor raised an eyebrow and she shook her head as she moved to a door to their right, holding the shotgun with one hand as she opened it wide to reveal what looked like a study.
“I only have about three shells in my pocket and two in the gun, I better grab some more from grandads gun cabinet just to be on the safe side”
He nodded, watching as the dogs ran off down the hallway towards the back door, and then turned to study Bella as she took three steps into the room then stopped, her eyes turning to stare to the left as she cursed, the sound thick with dread, and on instinct, he stepped to the door.
His bearded features twisted in dread as he saw the trio of white-skinned figures that stood outside the rooms wide window, one of them pressing its hands to the glass as it stared in at them, smearing the pane with the sickly beige liquid that had run from its eyes down its face.
“Easy, the ones in the forest couldn’t see us when we stopped moving…keep still” Victor let out a shaky breath, as he edged back from the door, his hands gesturing for the children to back away.
“If I keep still, they won’t see me?” the voice of the woman was tight, her words barely audible.
“Maybe” Victor whispered back, his brow furrowing as he saw her right hand leave the shotgun and slide down towards her jeans, the movement so slow that the action took almost a minute. Heart in his mouth, he watched as she reached into her pocket, and withdrew the car keys, her whisper sounding again, “I am going to thr
ow you these…get the kids, my dogs and your mate out of here”
“No” his voice was a hiss, his head shaking even though she was facing away, “Don’t you do it!”
“Shut up” she gave a soft chuckle, “Not your call”
He grimaced, “Bella!”
She flinched slightly as from beyond the glass, one of the creatures suddenly gave a snarl, and instantly Castiel and Lexie were back, rushing down the hallway and into the room with their mistress, barking and snarling defensively.
Almost at once there was a smash of glass and shouting in fear and anger, Bella spun, the shotgun sweeping wide across at chest height, discharging both barrels into the intruders.
There was a roar of rage or pain, and then the woman was backing from the room as she broke the shotgun and ejected the shells, her fingers snatching two more from her jeans pocket to fill the barrels, voice loud as she called to her dogs.
“Run!” Victor shouted at Emily as he snatched Eric up into his arms, a gasp of pain shooting through his ribs from his collision with the tree.
Instantly she was off, racing for the back door, and following her, Victor glanced back, watching as Bella backed towards him, still calling for her dogs, concern in her voice as frenzied snarling from both the animals and the intruders erupted within the study. Then suddenly they were there, barking like mad as they raced from the room, barging past as they raced into the kitchen.
Turning back around, the young boy hanging tightly onto him, Victor saw Emily already at the back door, and he called out, “Get to the car!”
“It’s locked!” she cried out, fear in her eyes as she glanced back at him, “I can’t open it, Dog!”
“Bella!” Victor spun about as he reached the girl, his voice loud, “We need the fucking key!”
She turned as she reached the kitchen, a hand thrusting deep into a pocket and then she threw the small black key to him, his right hand releasing his hold on Eric to catch it cleanly.
Heart in his mouth, trying to focus past the terrified screams of the children, and the barking of the dogs, he passed the girl the key, and turned back to stare down the hallway past Bella, his stomach knotting as he saw the trio of white-skinned figures shambling into view, snarling.
Ghoul: The Beginning Page 9
