Proxy (The Dreams of Reality Book 1)

by Gareth Otton

  “What? That’s ridiculous. The cases aren’t even related. Mark is one thing—”

  “Tad, aren’t you listening? When I say fuck up, I mean it with capital letters and exclamation marks. I’m not talking about a mistake, this was done on purpose.”

  Tad stood up so fast his chair went skidding backwards and toppled over.

  “Shit. Jen. She’s on her own with Charles. That won’t be enough. You need to get over there, Kate.”

  “What? The munchkin. You think she’s going after her again?”

  “I know it. I don’t have time to explain, but the man behind your case and Stella’s case is the same guy, and he’s desperate to get his hands on Jen. If they’ve been released, then he’s pulled strings to send them after her. I’m leaving now, but even if I do eighty miles per hour the entire way and there’s no traffic, I won’t be there for at least an hour and a bit. Can you get to her—”

  “Of course. I’m going now. I’ll bring some people with me. Does Stella still have people on Jen? If not, she should do something her end to get that sorted as well.”

  “I’ll talk to her. I’m hanging up now Kate. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  He didn’t wait for her response before he hung up. Everyone was staring at him, but his attention was focused solely on Emily.

  “Time’s up. You’re either coming or you're not, but either way I’m leaving. It’s not just your family in danger here and he’s coming after mine first.”

  “What’s going on Tad?” Stella asked. He shook his head and kept his attention on Emily.

  “Decide. Keep burying your head in the sand or come help us stop him.”

  He didn’t wait for her decision or let the others get the chance to ask questions. He pushed his way out of the pub, upsetting a few people as he went. Their irritation only lasted as long as it took for Miriam and Tony to catch up. All it took was Tony to put his hand through one guy’s arm before there was a very wide path for all of them.

  Tad was already out of the pub by this point and he had picked up his pace. Walking wasn’t fast enough. He was sure that Jen was in trouble and no matter how he did the math in his head, he couldn’t imagine getting home in time to help her.

  Suddenly he was sprinting and still he wasn’t going fast enough.

  30

  Saturday, 29th November 2015

  21:14

  Tad had been right.

  She hadn’t wanted to admit she wasn’t ready for a ghost, but now Jen had no choice. In the wake of Kate’s arrival and the news she brought, Jen was more frightened of Maggie than the woman coming to get her.

  Since Mark was arrested, she had been almost easy to live with. She was still more inquisitive than Jen’s parents, and constantly searched through memories she had no right to, but other than that she was okay. Now she was as close to a mad ghost as Jen had ever seen her.

  “I can’t believe you fucked up this bad,” Maggie said on her way through the kitchen to the back door. She didn’t need to look outside, Charles was watching for trouble. He would raise a warning if necessary.

  “Any chance you can make her real so I can punch her?” Kate asked. Other than Tony, it was rare that anything got under Kate’s skin. She’d only been there half an hour.

  Jen didn’t answer, didn’t want to enrage Maggie any further. She had seen that look in Maggie’s eye the night they went to Mark’s house.

  “What’s going to happen, Kate?” Jen asked. “Are we sure they’re coming here?”

  Kate hesitated before lying. “No.”

  It was the first time Jen caught Kate lying to her and it hurt. Kate had always been on her side. Whenever Tad got on her nerves, Kate was there. Whenever she wanted to know the truth about something, she could rely on Kate.

  Her lying only proved how bad things were.

  “Are they coming here or not?” Maggie pressed. “If they are, then we need to be ready.”

  “We are ready. There are police outside, I’m here and Tad is on his way back. We’re as ready as we can be.”

  Maggie didn’t agree. “We can do more. We need a plan for when they get here.”

  “When they get here, let the police handle it. That’s what they’re here for.”

  “She’s right—” Jen tried to say, recognising where this was heading.

  “No. She’s not. We both know there’s more we can do. You can let me merge with you—”

  “Out of the question,” Kate interrupted. “If it comes to the point where Jen is in danger, we run, we don’t make her fight.”

  “Why not? We know what Tad can do when merged with his ghosts. It makes sense for us to merge and fight them off. Think of what we could do, Jen. We could—”

  “What was that?” Jen looked toward a sound she heard beyond the living room.

  “What was what?” Maggie asked.

  “A noise, like a crunch. It came from that way.”

  “I’ll check it out,” Maggie blurted. Before any of them to could stop her, she rushed toward the front of the house.

  “Listen Jen.” Kate’s voice was insistent and Jen turned from the wall where Maggie disappeared. The large woman was grim, and it only added to the fear creeping through Jen’s system.

  “No matter what happens, don’t let that woman merge with you. Tad told me enough to know it would be a bad idea.”

  “I won’t.” Jen’s answer was sharp, she had no intention of ever letting Maggie in her head in her current state. She was still getting over the last time Maggie had came to her like this. She couldn’t go through that nightmare again.

  “Good—” Kate began, but was cut off when Maggie returned.

  The ghost jumped through the wall with more excitement than when she left. There was a humourless grin on her face.

  “They’re here,” she proclaimed. “The crunch you heard was them dealing with the police out front.”

  Kate jumped to her feet. “Are they okay?”

  Maggie shook her head, but didn’t look unhappy. “They’re all dead. There are men surrounding the house.” She turned to Jen. “We have no choice but to fight. There’s no way out of this. You had better let me in.”

  “No,” Kate answered for Jen. “How many of them are there?”

  “Six, including Mark and someone else waiting in the van. I think it was that Dinah woman.”

  “Did you get the van’s plates?”

  Maggie looked disgusted. “Of course not. I’m more interested in the men who—”

  “Go back and get them. I’m going to radio for help and pass along those details. If anything happens, then at least they have a way of finding us.”

  Maggie looked like she might argue, but finally did as asked. Jen felt a chill as she went, suddenly feeling alone and trapped. Kate was with her but she could use supernatural help right then. If those men were coming, what could Kate do?

  Also, Dinah was there.

  That woman scared her more than all the men combined. She had somehow taken hundreds of Proxies even with their ghosts watching out for them.

  Jen’s vision blurred. She didn’t know what it was at first and turned to look at Kate. That movement caused the moisture in her eyes to spill and she realised she was crying.

  Where had it all gone so wrong for her?

  Over the past few weeks she got herself in danger three times. With the mad ghost, at Mark’s house, and now here. Was this her fault? If she had just done as Tad asked and not taken a ghost of her own, could she have remained unnoticed?

  Kate wasn’t looking, instead staring out the window. Jen wiped away her tears. Kate had enough to worry about, she didn’t need to see Jen acting like a baby. She wasn’t quick enough to stop Charles seeing her though. He slid through the kitchen door making both Kate and Jen jump.

  “Charles, where have you been?”

  Jen had never felt such relief to see anyone. Charles had been her friend for years. He was an old fusspot, but he was kind, funny, and familiar. She f
elt a wave of relief to see him again, especially when he grinned at her. Who knew how much that grin cost him? He was a worrier, but was being strong for her sake. If he could do that, so could she.

  “Sorry. I was going to come as soon as I saw them, but I thought I’d see what they’re up to first. No point in not getting all the information, I say.” Turning to Kate he said. “They’ve come in two vans. The first is parked out front with that awful woman in it and there’s a second out back. The men out front have taken out the police and the three at the back are preparing to move in.

  “They’re dressed like those police on TV. You know, all in black with bullet proof vests and all the trimmings. God only knows what they think they’ll find in here. They have battering rams, so we might want to think about moving.”

  Kate nodded. “You get the plates for the vans?”

  Charles said he did and recited them to her. She was repeating them into the radio when Maggie returned. She was not impressed to see Charles.

  “Great, you’ve finally turned up. Nice early warning."

  "He brought us more useful information than you did," Jen snapped. She hated how Maggie treated her friend. Her resulting anger was a much hotter emotion than the cold fear. It actually felt good. "All you're doing is trying to get us to panic. At least Charles is helping."

  Maggie scoffed. "Helping? This guy? He's too afraid of anything to help. Look at him, he—”

  “That’s enough,” Kate snapped. “We don’t have time for this. I’ve just called for backup and we have people on the way. But they won't be here for at least five minutes, so we need to hold them off.”

  “Then Jen needs to let me in. It’s the only way.” Maggie jumped on the opportunity.

  “No. We need to fortify the house. Let’s barricade the doors, then go upstairs, lock ourselves in a room and do the same thing there. It won’t buy us long, but it might be enough.”

  “Oh, this is ridiculous.” Maggie turned on Jen and took a step closer. “We can end this. You know you want it. Isn’t this what it’s all been about? To prove to Tad you’re worth something.”

  Jen cringed and looked to Kate for support. The detective looked furious.

  “This will not happen—”

  Kate’s words cut off when Maggie lunged for Jen. It was too quick for any of them to stop. Maggie dematerialised and though Jen flinched, she felt her ghost battering at her senses.

  Jen didn’t know what to do. No ghost had ever tried to invade her before, it should have been useless to try on a Proxy. However, she previously let Maggie in. Once accepted, it was harder to stop it happening again. She had to pit her will against Maggie, and as she knew from the countless times she had done it before, she was no match for the woman.

  “Let me in,” she heard in her mind. It was loud and Jen flinched. It was all the opportunity Maggie needed. Jen felt another shove against her senses and suddenly she wasn’t in control anymore.

  She could still see through her eyes, but they were no longer looking where she wanted. She was locked out and unable to control a single muscle. Her eyes were the worst. She didn’t realise how often she moved her eyes. To have them not look where she wanted was making her feel sick.

  Maggie waved Jen’s hand in front of her face, twisting and turning it before curling it into a fist. Jen was helpless as she watched her own eyes turn to the breakfast bar. Maggie lifted Jen’s fist and brought it down hard upon the counter top.

  It was terrifying to realise that even locked out of control, she could still feel pain. The healing properties of merging with a ghost countered that pain, but Jen felt it as an ache in her hand. She hoped nothing was broken.

  But something was broken. Maybe not bone, but there was a crack running through the granite worktop where Jen’s fist impacted.

  That sight was enough to forget her pain. Maybe Maggie was right. Maybe they could do this.

  “Maggie. It’s not too late—” Charles said. He was ignored.

  Maggie turned Jen’s head away from the portly ghost and looked toward the door.

  Finally!

  The word was clear in Jen’s mind and it spoke with Maggie’s voice. It thrummed with a tone of triumph and Jen was privy to the thought process that accompanied it. Maggie remembered the night of her death, how powerless she was, how her huge, ex-rugby player husband so easily overcame her defences.

  The memory triggered a score more just like it and it fuelled her rage. Now he would see what it felt like to be powerless. Through Jen, she had the power to enact that revenge.

  For the first time, Jen thought she might understand why they were called Proxies. She was not in charge, she was simply a conduit for Maggie’s will. She was a bystander and had never been more afraid.

  Please don’t do this, she begged. It was no use. Maggie ignored her just as she ignored the others in the room. It was already too late. There was a shadow growing against the kitchen door. There was a bang, and finally Maggie got her chance for revenge.

  The door didn’t survive a single blow from the ram. The lock shot out like a rabbit leaping for safety, and the PVC and metal doorframe split.

  Maggie wasted no time rushing forward.

  It was like watching a video game. Jen had no control of her character, but she saw through its eyes. The world rushed by as they moved with boosted speed. The men grew bigger as they advanced and again Jen felt that icy touch of fear.

  Maggie felt no such thing. She was consumed by fury. Maggie pounced on the first man, curling Jen’s fingers into talons and striking with Jen’s nails. The man had no time to react other than to raise an arm in defence. It wasn’t enough.

  With the added strength of Maggie’s ghost, her nails sank into the arm, biting into the muscle and pulling it from his face. He wore a balaclava so Jen had only his eyes to gauge his reaction. Shock. Pain. Surprise. It was hard to tell, and she didn’t have long to work with.

  With her free arm, Maggie grabbed his forehead, throwing him back hard. He was wearing a tactical helmet, but the force of his collision with the wall guaranteed a concussion.

  He dropped hard and didn’t get up.

  Jen felt sick. Maggie roared with primal satisfaction.

  Maggie turned Jen toward the second presence and was just in time to see him recovering from the shock of their attack. She caught his hand, which held a baton, and squeezed it hard enough to make him yelp.

  Even though she was not in control, Jen felt how little effort it was to overcome his strength. For the first time she felt excited.

  Maggie was not in her right mind and didn’t care about defending the body she was using. She focused only on hurting the man and paid no attention to the third shape that stepped through the doorway.

  Jen felt her body moved aside, and it was neither Jen nor Maggie who had done it. Maggie snarled as she lost her grip on the man she was so intent on hurting and turned on Charles. Jen could see he helped her and wanted to thank him. Maggie saw only that he was in her way.

  His back was too them as he sought where the next attack might come from, so he was unprepared for Maggie’s response.

  No!

  Jen’s cry was not enough to stop her. Maggie swiped at the side of Charles’ head with contempt. Her strength against humans was incredible, but a Proxy always had the upper hand with ghosts and this was something else. It looked as though Charles’ head had been struck by a train. It flew across the room, dragging a startled Charles behind it. He vanished through the wall and Jen lost sight of him.

  She had no idea what would happen if you struck a ghost like that. She realised just how little she knew about being a Proxy. She should never have pushed Tad as hard as she did.

  It’s too late now, a cold voice whispered in her mind.

  Maggie tried to surge forward yet again, to rain devastation on the men who were regaining momentum. This time it was Kate who stopped her by grabbing Jen around the waist from behind and lifting her from her feet. Maggie may be strong, but
she had the body of a twelve-year-old girl, so she didn’t weight much.

  “Enough of this,” Kate snarled in Jen’s ear. “We need to—”

  Her words cut off as Maggie grabbed Kate’s hand and squeezed. Kate grunted and the grip around Jen’s waist vanished. Maggie turned and pushed Kate hard, her hand striking between her breasts and knocking the wind from the large woman. Kate staggered back and tripped over a stool, landing on the floor.

  Jen wanted to make sure she was alright. She was too late. While they had been struggling, more men had entered through the front door and even though their identities were hidden by their clothing, Maggie had no problem spotting Mark.

  Again Maggie’s memories flashed through Jen’s mind. A blur of images that told the tale of Maggie’s failed marriage and the events that led to her death. They added fuel to Maggie’s rage.

  She focused on Mark and with a scream so loud it made the men approaching pause, Maggie hurled Jen at her husband.

  That was when she heard it. There was a sickening crack that sounded internal. Jen felt a flash of pain, but it didn’t seem real.

  The main thing she felt was confusion.

  She couldn’t understand why one moment she had been rushing at Mark, and the next the world blurred and the floor was coming up fast. She hit hard and felt that pain with more clarity than the first.

  Maggie snarled, thinking she had tripped, and tried to push herself to her feet. Something was wrong. She was pushing up with her hands, but her legs weren’t moving.

  Now isn’t the time to fight, Jen, she shouted internally. Jen didn’t respond. She didn’t need to. Maggie was a part of her mind and knew her thoughts.

  Jen wasn’t fighting for control. Her legs wouldn’t respond.

  A hand grab her arm. Maggie thrashed against the grip, her strength still enough to break the hold. But the hands returned. Their fingers were tight about Jen’s flesh and it hurt.

  Maggie was stronger than any man there, but she was not as strong as three without proper leverage or momentum. She struggled against them, but without her legs the strength had no grounding.