The Creator

by Neil Carstairs

  ***

  Kramer tried not to slow as she approached the church but a deep rooted fear made each pace shorter. Her breath came fast as she closed on Scieppend. She tried to keep her eyes down but each sound it made, from a guttural roar to ear-splitting scream, made her glance up. It felt like the creature awaited her arrival and hungered for her soul. At the door she paused. She made sure her weapon was ready and the grenades on her belt easy to access. The door stood half open and she kicked it the rest of the way before she stepped over the threshold.

  A squat thing filled the transept. It had a wide mouth lined with yellow teeth and grinned at Kramer as if she were its dinner. Kramer shot it through the head and stepped over the body before it had even finished twitching. Daylight filled the interior of the church. It illuminated the broken masonry and beams that littered the nave and pews. She walked around rubble and stepped over Delta Two’s legs. The drum beat of Scieppend’s footfalls echoed around the space and set up a pulse in her head. She only hesitated at the bottom of the spiral staircase. More debris filled the steep climb. Kramer took the route slowly, making sure she had firm footing before moving on. Stones slipped underfoot and sent a waterfall of splintered fragments down the staircase. Sunlight increased as she neared the summit and so did the sounds of the beast. Half a dozen steps short of the top Kramer stopped. She checked the MP5 again. She checked her Sig-Sauer and made sure the grenades wouldn’t snag. She closed her eyes and said a little prayer.

  She ran the last six steps onto the open platform at the top of the tower.

  The monstrous form of Scieppend filled her vision. Legs as thick as her waist supported an ovoid body covered by overlapping plates that formed an armour-like exoskeleton. Multiple eyes glistened in the sun. They saw her. Scieppend moved, its clawed feet rattled across the platform. It knocked the lone remaining bell and sent it over the edge. Kramer braced the MP5 to her shoulder and squeezed the trigger. She fought the recoil as the magazine emptied into the bloated creature.

  Body plates fractured and acidic yellow blood sprayed out. Scieppend came on. Its body rose and it screamed. Kramer saw everything in slow motion. For a moment the body wilted until the demon found strength to attack again. As Kramer dropped the MP5 its strap caught on her shoulder. She drew the Sig. She fired in pairs, aiming at one eye that finally burst in a vile green torrent. Scieppend reached out for her but Kramer retreated down three steps. As she pulled the grenades from her webbing they armed and she tossed them in underhand throws. They bounced on the platform and rolled beneath Scieppend’s sternum.

  Kramer didn’t see that part. As soon as the grenades were on their way she turned and jumped. Her target was a slab of masonry that rested on the staircase. She reached it, but the stone tilted and she lost balance. Her head hit the wall and the world dimmed to an out of focus mirage. A shadow loomed above, blotting out the sky as it reached down for her.

  The grenades detonated.

  An explosive shock wave of shrapnel sundered Scieppend’s abdomen. The creature rolled in agony as its chosen form split apart under the weight of its own frame. Blood burned through stone and ran down walls towards Kramer.

  Get out.

  Kramer didn’t know who shouted the words but she heeded them. She rode the debris that filled the spiral of the tower like a surfer rides waves. Sharp edges dug into her spine and ribs. As she slid out of control she grabbed for handholds and screamed as fingernails ripped from their roots. All the time a steaming detritus of blood and molten stone chased her. She saw nothing but brickwork and dust backlit by a sun that seemed to darken with every heartbeat.

  Kramer fell out of the staircase and lay on the flagstone floor of the tower. The MP5 had come down with her. Barrel and magazine left bruised impressions in the stomach and back. Kramer heard thunder roll across the heavens. She came to her feet and stumbled towards the sanctuary of daylight. When Kramer emerged from the church she saw a sky full of the gossamer forms of angels and monsters. They fought a battle that split the air with lightning and thunder.

  And beneath it all stood Ben and Emily.

  ***

  Ben sensed the destruction of Scieppend’s physical form. His understanding of the world as it is had expanded to encompass the whole village. He saw Delta Six as the young soldier struggled to stand. He saw Kramer, bloodied and bruised, as she escaped from the church. He saw the possessed villagers fall as Scieppend’s power waned.

  He saw Connor and Devon in the midst of carnage.

  The sinkhole encompassed almost the entire field now. Only a column of soil ten metres in diameter stood at its centre like some kind of spindle. But even that began to crumble as the churning mass of earth and rock in the sinkhole wore away at the base. Within that mass died the creatures that had escaped the well. Ben’s energy linked to Emily and Connor and back to himself. It formed a triangle that at its heart opened a tunnel to another world. And into that tunnel fell the monsters that would have devoured the world.

  Above, Ben saw angels battle demons. With each victory, a body fell to the earth and disappeared into the sinkhole. And now came the Creator. Scieppend. Drawn from his physical being by a host of angels and wrapped in golden chains. They carried him in the air and flung the demon into the morass. Ben saw Scieppend fall as a man. Emily saw Scieppend fall as a spider and Connor saw a wolf.

  Scieppend fell into the void and the void fell into itself.

  ***

  Devon saw Natalie’s body slip out of view as the lip of grass she lay on cascaded into the hole. With it went another metre of the column upon which she and Connor stood. Her son did not move, still locked into a trance that made his hands electric to touch. Devon wanted to shake her son until he woke. They had to escape. But there was no escape. The earthquake that had formed the sinkhole returned to close it. As the walls pressed closer Devon felt the column of earth upon which they rested sag. She screamed.

  Connor’s eyes opened. ‘Don’t be scared,’ he said.

  ‘We’re going to die.’ Devon fell to her knees.

  ‘I know.’ He rested a hand on her shoulder. ‘Look.’

  Devon saw her mother waiting for them. She floated in the air and her smile held warmth and love for Devon and her grandson.

  Devon’s world tipped and fell. She lost hold of Connor. She saw him tumble into the void and saw darkness reach out to claim her. A moment later they were both carried up in the arms of her mother as the ground sealed their bodies away forever.

  ***

  Something like watery sunlight filtered down onto the churchyard. It lit Delta Five’s path as he walked between gravestones towards the ruins of the church. He held his rifle ready, expecting some kind of danger to erupt into view. Five didn’t quite trust that it was all over. He’d seen Kramer on top of the tower and what he thought of as the death of Scieppend. But then there’d been all the ghosts, angels, monsters and demons. Not to mention the earthquakes and lightning strikes. It had been like witnessing some kind of war between heaven and hell.

  He found Kramer first. She looked like shit and moved like an arthritic old woman. Five helped her to an eighteenth-century memorial where she sat down and stared off into space. ‘Have you seen any of the others?’ Five asked.

  ‘I saw Scarrett and Emily,’ she said, waving her hand over towards the boundary wall.

  Five started making his way when she called him back and said, ‘Is your sat-phone still working.’

  ‘Sure.’ He handed it over. ‘Booking an appointment at a beauty parlour?’

  ‘No. Just calling off an air strike.’

  ‘Oh.’ Five resumed his search and saw Ben and Emily a little way up. When Five reached them he saw Jane on the ground. For a moment he thought she was injured but then saw the smile on her face as she held Emily’s hand. Ben stood up and said, ‘It’s over.’

  ‘I bloody hope so,’ Delta Five said.

  ‘I saw Delta Six over that way.’ Ben pointed across the churchyard. He didn’t tell Five
how he’d seen the young soldier. Five set off and came back a few minutes later helping a limping Delta Six.

  As the two Delta soldiers moved on towards the road Jane and Emily went with them. Ben hesitated and cut across the lines of graves to look out across the pasture field. The mixture of grass and soil looked like some giant shell hole from the First World War. He saw no evidence of life and said a prayer for Connor and Devon. He heard the sound of rotor blades and searched the sky until he saw the bulky shapes of RAF Puma helicopters. They circled and landed, disgorging troops who spread out around the village.

  Ben found a soft patch of grass and sat on it. He rested back against a headstone where he closed his eyes and wished he could sleep for a year.

  Chapter 17

  It took three days for Ben to make the decision to pack his bags and return home. Most of that time he spent at Sheddlestone Hall, either down by the lake or sitting in his room. He spoke to Chrissie four times a day. She spent most of the calls talking about the new man in her life. Chrissie was evasive about how long she’d known Dan but they were getting married and she wanted Ben to give her away. The conversation went something like.

  ‘How long have you known him?’ Ben asked. ‘He wasn’t on the scene when I left was he?’

  ‘Well, I kind of know him through the health food shop I buy my lunch at.’

  ‘Kind of?’

  ‘Sort of kind of.’

  Ben laughed. ‘So which is it? Sort of or kind of?’

  ‘Neither,’ Chrissie admitted in a quiet voice.

  ‘Chrissie?’ Ben tried not to sound too much like an adult talking to a child.

  ‘He came to Mitsumata to take me out to lunch.’

  Ben thought between the lines of Chrissie’s answer. ‘You mean this was your first date?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And you’re going to marry him?’

  ‘I know he’s the one. You know love at first sight? When you see someone you know they’re the one for you. Hasn’t it ever happened to you, Ben?’

  Ben told her no, with a laugh. But thinking about it afterwards he couldn’t get Joanne Kramer out of his head. He’d seen her three times in the days since the returned from Darlford. Once at breakfast and twice at dinner. She hadn’t exchanged much more than a dozen sentences with him. Ben had thought about going down to her room the previous evening. Discretion proved the better part of valour. So he stayed in to watch some soccer match between two teams he’d never heard of. Ben didn’t mind if she wanted to forget what had happened in the bed and breakfast. He’d just have liked a warning that Miss Ice Maiden was going to make a sudden return.

  So Chrissie was happy. And Ben not so. The aftermath of Darlford still generated enough copy to fill news and internet sites. The British authorities blamed it all on an earthquake caused by an undiscovered underground cavern. The villagers died in collapsing buildings. The military and intelligence agency casualties had their deaths brushed under a carpet of heavy security. Ben wondered if the conspiracy theory websites would ever actually believe the truth if they knew it.

  So Ben decided to leave. Get back home and see Chrissie and meet his brother-in-law to be. He packed his bag in about fifteen minutes and put a call down to reception to request a taxi. That had been ten minutes ago. Now he sat on the edge of his bed and waited for a call to say his transport had arrived. The knock on the door took him by surprise. He opened it and found Kramer in the corridor. She came in without any invitation, looked at his bag and said, ‘You’re going.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Ben closed the door and leant against it. ‘I guess my call downstairs set some wheels in motion.’

  ‘Sure did.’

  ‘You here to tell me I can’t go?’

  ‘No. I’m here to ask you to stay.’

  ‘Is that an official request or a personal one?’

  She looked at him. ‘What d’you mean?’

  ‘Well you haven’t exactly been friendly these past few days.’

  ‘I’ve been busy.’ Kramer walked over to the window. ‘I’m General Dawson’s representative over here. After the debrief it’s been all meetings and web-conferences.’

  ‘Not even ten minutes spare?’

  ‘Of course there is,’ she said. ‘But I’m aware of our position here. We’re working with our allies and I don’t want any gossip starting up. It could affect both our careers.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Ben sighed. ‘So did they order my taxi or not?’

  ‘Not yet.’

  ‘Will you authorise it?’

  ‘Most of the meetings have been agreeing on a future strategy for our two organisations.’ Kramer ignored his question. ‘We agreed this morning to merge our units into a joint U.S.-U.K. task force. It will investigate and protect against paranormal activities. You and I will get positions with the unit. I’m here to offer you a post as field analyst.’

  Ben couldn’t meet her blue eyes. He looked down at his bag and fought the urge to accept. Into the silence, Kramer said, ‘We’ve got our first mission. There’s a fishing village in Cornwall where people disappear and reappear at random. Congrave wants us there tomorrow.

  ‘You’ve got to be kidding,’ Ben said. ‘I’m looking forward to a break and then getting back behind a desk. All this field shit almost got me killed. I’ve had a knock-down drag-out fight with demons and I’m still aching in places I didn’t know existed.’

  Kramer nodded, her eyes narrowed and Ben knew that ‘I’m pissed’ look when he saw it. He stepped aside when she reached the door. In the corridor, she turned and said, ‘You’re not the only one who’s hurting. And I guess you should count yourself lucky to be alive. There are plenty who didn’t make it out of Darlford.’

  Ben closed the door and rested his forehead upon it. He didn’t want to watch her walk away. But he did manage to figure out that he’d just screwed up big time. He called himself a few names that would have made a drill instructor blush. When the knock came it travelled through the wood and resonated in his bones. He opened the door.

  Kramer again. She stood with her hands in pockets and a softer look on her face. Ben didn’t move to invite her in. He just asked, ‘What?’

  ‘Do you know the best cure for aches in places you didn’t know exist is a full body massage.’

  He thought about that. ‘Are you offering?’

  ‘Only if I get one in return.’

  Ben counted to fifteen. He didn’t want to seem too eager but she must have seen something in his face because she said, ‘Come on, Scarrett, loosen up.’

  He let her in. She walked over to the window and stood looking out. Ben walked up behind her and slipped his hands around her waist. She rested against him. They had a view of the lake, still populated by ducks and geese who were enjoying the morning sun. They stayed like that for minutes, Ben breathing in her warmth, until he said, ‘So when you say they disappear what do you mean?’

  ‘Someone can be walking down the street, then they just blink out of existence only to reappear ten yards further on.’

  ‘Do they know this happened to them?’

  ‘Adults do. Kids, not so much.’

  ‘Do they see anything different?’

  ‘They see a desolate landscape. Bare rock or sand. No houses or trees or grass. Most think they are still in the same area as the village because the shape of the land matches the real world.’ Kramer turned in his arms and said, ‘Interested?’

  ‘Maybe.’

  ‘Still leaving?’

  ‘I’ll have to go home sometime. Chrissie is getting married. She wants me to give her away.’

  ‘That’s wonderful news,’ Kramer said, and hugged Ben. ‘Although it does mean you’ll get to see me in a dress.’

  ‘Will I?’ Ben frowned. ‘Why?’

  ‘You can’t go to your sister’s wedding on your own. I’ll have to come with you as your guest.’

  Kramer stood close enough that Ben could feel her heartbeat. He liked that. He also liked the thought of her at t
he wedding. And in a dress.

  ‘I’ll get Chrissie to invite you.’

  ‘Good.’ She kissed him. ‘So are you coming to Cornwall with me or heading home?’

  ‘Coming with you.’ He could drown in those blue eyes.

  Her smile held a thousand promises. ‘I’ll fill you in on the details once we’ve got the massages out of the way.’

  ***

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