by Philip Henry
Lynda got to her feet and walked cautiously toward the pair. The soldier’s body had bore the brunt of the explosion; his arm was blown off and half his face was missing. The Che’al released the soldier’s limp body and stood up shakily. The Che’al’s face was scarred by the blast but it still looked healthy enough to enlist. It turned to Lynda and she could almost sense its malevolence. It was pure hatred as only an animal can hate, unrelenting and totally without mercy. It leapt at Lynda and she brought her sword down on its neck. The Che’al seized the blade and held it. Lynda wriggled and pulled at the sword, trying to free it. The Che’al yanked the blade and the sword flew out of Lynda’s hand and into the air. Lynda watched her weapon twist over and over in the black sky. Her only chance of defeating the Che’al was flying away. Her only chance of surviving was going to end up in the sea. The Che’al stepped closer. Lynda’s gaze remained fixed on the turning silver blade. The Che’al reached for her.
Xavier snapped Lynda’s sword out of the air and he flew full-speed at the Che’al. He rounded on the beast and drove the blade into its mouth and up through its skull. Lynda dropped to the ground, stunned. The Che’al staggered backwards, trying to pull the sword out of its head. Xavier reached for Lynda and helped her to her feet.
“Sorry I’m late. No one told me you were having a party.”
“It was a last minute thing. Didn’t have time to do invitations,” Lynda said.
Xavier turned to the writhing beast. “We need fire,” he said urgently.
Lynda looked round at the campfire. The embers had been scattered and were no longer glowing. She ran to the bodies of the dead soldiers and checked them. Xavier leapt onto the chest of the Che’al and began twisting the sword. The Che’al was punching and clawing at him with its remaining hand and the stump of the other arm. Xavier was being hurt but still holding his own. He turned to Lynda and saw she had found nothing on the soldiers. He flew off the Che’al, knocking it to the ground as he did so. He landed beside Lynda.
“There’s nothing. I’ve checked everyone,” she said.
Xavier looked across and saw the visitors’ centre. “There’s got to be something in there. Go quickly,” Xavier said.
“You could get over there and back quicker than me,” Lynda said.
“I’m not leaving you alone with this thing.” He looked concerned, like a real father would. Lynda saw his good intentions. She saw that he wanted to help her. Xavier grinned and said, “Do as your dad tells you, Lynda.”
Lynda looked at him with admiration. Her dad, who she had thought the worst of her whole life, was going to save the day. They were still a long way from having Christmas dinner together, but it was a beginning. Xavier could see the love in her eyes and was warmed inside by the feeling. He smiled.
“I’ll be as quick as I can,” Lynda said enthusiastically.
Xavier nodded and then watched his daughter run down the side of the hill and onto the bridge. The Che’al grabbed him from behind and drove its claws into his chest. The talons ripped through Xavier’s skin and deep inside. He yanked the claw out and pried himself from its grasp. It had removed the sword and was now even more determined to make someone pay for its pain. Xavier ran and grabbed his sword from the ground then faced it again. He felt the blood running down his chest. He was bleeding very badly and would need to end this quickly. Even now he could feel his strength waning. The Che’al charged at him and he stabbed ferociously at its face. His blade slid into one eye socket and he pushed it deep. The Che’al punched him and Xavier lost grip on the sword and fell to the ground. The Che’al was on him when he turned to get up. It pushed him down to the ground, biting at his neck. Xavier felt the bites and felt the blood draining from him. He grabbed the head of the creature and felt the exit wound his sword had made in the top of its head. The Che’al’s claw ripped into his stomach. Xavier directed the pain into his own effort to hurt the creature and got two fingers into the hole in the Che’al’s head. He thrust them into the Che’al’s brain and it jumped off him as if scalded. Xavier could barely get to his feet. He was so weak. His clothes were drenched in his own blood. He reached down, grabbed his sword and stared at the Che’al. This wasn’t over yet.
Ramone had been trying to bring Chloe round again to figure out what she had tried to tell him. Chloe was out for the count and he had been playing it over and over again in his head. “Sh’heee. Teller, sh’heee. May sitweek.” He saw Lynda running down the hill towards the bridge and felt she might think less of him for sitting here while his men were over there in the midst of things, dying. Ramone knew the most powerful weapon in any battle was information. Chloe had it and he was trying to get it. He closed his eyes and an image flickered in his mind of a whiskey bottle with the handkerchief sticking out of the top lying on the grass by the tea room. Then it finally clicked in his mind.
“Sh’heee. Teller, sh’heee. May sitweek.”
“It’s heat. Tell her, it’s heat. Makes it weak.”
Ramone scrambled to his feet and ran up the trail as fast as he could. The three boys had slowed to a brisk walk. Ramone raced past them without saying a word. He raced towards the tea room and seemed to know exactly where the bottle would be lying. He grabbed it from the ground. Close-by he saw the leprechaun-shaped lighter. He snatched it too and stood up. He ran back towards the trail. Again he passed the boys and said nothing. Then, on the trail ahead, he saw Lynda running towards him. She met him about half-way and blocked his path.
Lynda snapped the items from his grasp and said, “You got my message. Good.” She ran back towards the bridge.
Ramone was confused but shouted after her, “It’s the heat. Makes it weak.” Ramone bent over and rested his hands on his knees. He just needed a few seconds to catch his breath.
The Che’al pounced on Xavier and they both went rolling down the hill. Xavier lost his grip on his sword somewhere down the slope and skidded to a stop unarmed. The Che’al was only a few feet away from him. They were both very close to the edge and Xavier wondered if the fall would kill it. He raised himself up on his hands and knees and saw a constant flow of blood running from his chest onto the ground. The Che’al shook itself and got up again. Xavier stood up and found he couldn’t keep his balance. It felt like certain limbs kept shutting down for a few seconds and then coming back on. The Che’al approached him.
Lynda was running along the edge on the other side. She could see the two figures fighting on the island opposite. Xavier was in trouble. There wasn’t time to run to the bridge, cross it, and run to the Che’al. She cocked back the leprechaun’s hat and the lighter’s flame lit. She held the bottle over it and the handkerchief went up in flames. She got as close to the edge as she could though it was still easily a sixty feet gap to the other side. She hoped her strength and her aim were enough and hurled the bottle across the gap. She watched the flame cross the sky. She closed her eyes and sent a warning to Xavier. At the perfect moment he stepped back and the bottle smashed against the Che’al’s chest and the creature went up in flames. Xavier stood back as the fire engulfed the creature. He could see the Che’al’s skin start to crack and break. The Che’al was hitting itself frantically all over trying to suffocate the flames.
Xavier watched as the seconds passed. He had to let the fire do enough damage before he made his move or he wouldn’t stand a chance. The flames were starting to die now and Xavier ran at the Che’al and started punching its chest. On only his third or fourth strike he broke through its chest, but he kept punching hard in the same spot. The Che’al clawed at him and the remaining flames burned him but Xavier kept punching until he thought he was deep enough. He reached inside the hole he had made, thrust his hand deep into its chest and wrapped his fingers round the Che’al’s heart. He tore the organ from the beast’s chest and crushed it before the Che’al’s face. It only continued standing for a few seconds after that, then the Che’al dropped and was finally still. Xavier dropped the heart and fell to his knees.
&n
bsp; On the other side Lynda had been frozen to the spot, watching the final battle with the Che’al. Joy exploded inside her now and she wished she had someone to hug. She looked around behind her and saw only Ramone in the distance. She saw Xavier stagger to his feet and look upwards. He was trying to fly away but why? Then she saw the first hints of orange in the sky behind him. Xavier lifted a few inches into the air and then collapsed on the ground. He hasn’t the strength, she thought. And suddenly all her joy was gone and she was worried. Xavier lifted himself up on his hands and knees and began to crawl. Lynda turned and saw he was heading for the bridge. She ran towards the bridge, keeping close to the cliff edge. It was happening slowly. Every second that passed seemed to be filled with an hour’s information. Her legs were running as fast as she could but it seemed to be taking too long. She saw Xavier scrambling towards the bridge with all the strength he had left. She turned her gaze from him and saw the bridge was close now. Very close. Then the flames that had been burning the bridge, finally ate through the ropes and wood, and the bridge fell into two halves.
Lynda skidded to a stop on her side and looked over. Xavier had seen what had happened, too. He had stopped crawling. Lynda looked around for anything she could use, any way she could get to him, but found nothing. Xavier managed to drag himself to his feet and stood facing his daughter. The sky was getting brighter behind him. Lynda’s eyes glassed over and tears slipped down her cheeks as she locked eyes with him. She had a thought and sent it to him.
The house! There’s a house on the island. Go there.
Xavier looked at the sky and knew in his current condition he would never make it; it was taking all his strength just to stand up. He shook his head gently at his daughter and gave her a thin smile. Lynda shook her head and tears were shaken from her cheeks.
Xavier could feel the heat of the sunrise behind him. Every instinct in his body was telling him to run, but he couldn’t even if he tried. He thought of Claire and Tom. He thought of Tom saying: “Don’t go to the island, daddy” and realised where he was. He would regret not seeing Tom grow up. He would regret not growing old with Claire.
As the first arc of the sun broke the horizon Lynda screamed “No!” at the rising killer. There was only a second between them, when Lynda looked into her father’s eyes and saw his resignation and bravery in the face of death. He closed his eyes with a serenity that was almost prayer-like. Xavier burst into flames. Lynda dropped to her knees, crying. She watched his figure blacken in an instant and saw his legs buckle under him as he fell to the ground. She buried her head in her hands to avoid seeing him reduced to ashes.
Nicholl made it back up to the others just after dawn and passed Ramone talking on his satellite phone: “I need a clean up crew and a med-evac. Yes, Larrybane Tea Room and Carrick-a rede Island. You’ll know it when you see it, believe me.” He hung up and gave Nicholl a look that said: If you’re ever in trouble again, don’t call me.
Nicholl walked down the trail and looked across at Carrick-a-rede Island. She saw the dead Che’al, saw a burning body, the collapsed bridge and lastly saw Lynda crying by the cliff edge. Sometimes she hated her job. She walked back to the tea room car park.
Nicholl’s car pulled up a few minutes later and Rek got out with his sword in hand. He ran to Nicholl, surveying the devastation as he approached, and asked her, “What the hell happened here?”
“Hell indeed,” Nicholl said. “And there’s still Kaaliz to find.”
“I got Kaaliz,” Rek said brightly. “He’s history.”
Relief blossomed on Nicholl’s face. “Oh, Rek, I could…” She put her arms around him and kissed him on the mouth. She released the embrace and stepped back, a little embarrassed. “How did you get him?”
“Claire helped a little. Actually, she helped a lot if I’m honest.”
Nicholl smiled. “It doesn’t really matter as long as he’s dead.”
“That’s what…”
Nicholl’s phone ringing interrupted Rek. Nicholl dug inside her jacket and brought out her phone. Water ran out of the corner of the casing and she was amazed it still worked. She had a very brief conversation and then put the phone away again. “Ward’s tracked one of the vampires that escaped from HQ to Cambridge. I have to go to work.” She looked exhausted and fed up. Rek felt sorry for her. A young woman like that should be leading some idyllic suburban life with kids and dinner parties and a family dog, not fighting hell’s representatives on Earth. “Good working with you, Rek.” She patted his shoulder and walked off towards her car.
“Hey, Nicholl.” She stopped and turned. Rek walked over to her. “Listen, Nicholl – you got a first name?”
“That’s against the rules, Rek.” She smiled at him. “Amanda.”
“Amanda, OK, listen I was just…” Rek’s plea died at that point in the sentence because he knew there was nothing he could say that would make her stay and anything he did say would just make them both feel worse. Still, he didn’t want her to leave like this. “Amanda, I just wish…” He stopped again.
Nicholl stepped close to him and kissed him on the cheek. “So do I, Rek,” she whispered. Rek could see the longing in her eyes. He also knew she had her duty to do. She walked away, got into her car and started the engine. She lingered for a second, looking through the window at him, and just for a moment Rek saw the vulnerability under her tough exterior. She gave him a smile then dropped the car into gear and sped off to save the world again. Rek stood and watched her dust trail disappear. Though he had said nothing, he was confident she knew how he felt about her and that there would be at least one guy glad to see her if she ever wanted to come back.
never endings
Kaaliz awoke before the two days that a vampire usually takes to counteract the Ministry’s most powerful toxin – something else he could attribute to the hand wrapped around his heart. He was in total darkness and restrained. He tried to sit up and felt the smooth surface of plastic on his face. He could only move about half an inch upwards but it wasn’t chains or bindings that were holding him back it was something solid all around him. His arms were by his sides and there wasn’t enough space to move them to his face or anywhere else. He pressed his forehead to the plastic above again and felt a hard ridge with his forehead. It was the zipper on a body bag.
The phone had awakened Mat Croxford the previous night in the wee small hours. His girlfriend had looked panicked when he had turned on the bedside lamp – phone calls in the middle of the night were never good news. Mat was not as scared as his girlfriend. He had been expecting this phone call for a week now and knew it might come in the middle of the night. He spoke into the phone and then told the caller to wait. Mat turned to his girlfriend and told her it was nothing to worry about but that he would have to go out for a while. Mat had not told her in advance that this call would be coming but she suspected all the same. She had lived in this town long enough to know that secret things went on in the night, sometimes. She also knew who Mat’s friends were. You didn’t need a calculator to add it all up. She decided to forego the hundred or so questions that would usually be required for a man to leave his girlfriend in the middle of the night after a mysterious phone call. Instead she just told him to be careful and let him go.
Mat brought his cup of coffee with him in the van. The streets were dark and he was able to get where he was going quickly and without incident. He arrived first and got started mixing the cement. The building site was far enough away from any other dwellings that he wasn’t going to wake anyone who would ask questions. He started the second cement mixer and had two full loads ready by the time Rek’s car arrived on site.
Rek greeted his friend and Mat showed him the hole. “The surveyors report said that because of the depth of the bedrock we had to put in really deep foundations to avoid subsidence. There’s six feet of concrete in there already that we poured yesterday. There’s room for another eight feet on top of it. Are you sure you want to do this, Rek?”
Rek
nodded and led Mat to his car and opened the boot. Mat felt a chill creep up his spine when he saw the black shining plastic with the zipper from top to bottom. Rek reached in and grabbed the shoulders.
Mat stepped forward and then stepped back. “Jesus, Rek. This is really freaking me out. Are you sure you want to do this?”
Rek kept his gaze focused on the bag while he spoke to Mat. “I want him to suffer. I want him to know what it is to really hurt and be totally powerless to do anything about it. It might take decades or even centuries for him to die down there, with nothing to think about, but what he did.” Rek turned to Mat. “Your goddamn right I’m sure. I’ll do it myself if I have to. If you want to go home right now, Mat, you do that. I won’t think any less of you.”
Mat considered the proposition for a few seconds and then said, “We’ll get it done quicker with both of us.” He grabbed the body-bag and felt the feet and ankles inside. Rek nodded his appreciation and grabbed the shoulders. The two of them carried Kaaliz over to the hole and dropped him in. The body-bag landed with a hard thump at the bottom. They both brought a cement mixer over to the edge and emptied the load on top of the bag. It took another two hours of mixing cement to fill the hole. Mat showed Rek the optimum mix for quick drying. There was no way Kaaliz would be awake in time to climb out but Rek wanted to take no chances. They finished just before dawn and Rek left saying he had friends to help. Mat went home and showered. He came back to bed and his girlfriend – who had not slept since he left – asked him if everything was all right. Mat nodded slowly. He would not sleep again that night either. He thought about that thing crawling up through the setting cement and escaping. He was so exhausted when his alarm rang that he called in sick – after checking with the foreman that everything was normal on site – and stayed in bed most of the day. His girlfriend phoned the school where she worked and said she was sick as well. They spent the day together without ever mentioning the events of the previous night. That night he thanked sexual exhaustion for putting him to sleep. Each night would be easier after that. Mostly because when he went to work the following morning he was able to stand on the foundation he and Rek had poured. The surface was smooth. Nothing had crawled out.
