by Amy Cross
He glanced at Annie.
“I guess that kinda talk's a little premature for you, huh?” he added with a grin. “What is it you said you do, again?”
As they entered the gloom of the barn, Annie struggled for a moment to think of an answer.
“I get by,” she said finally, figuring that she might as well tell the truth. “I sell junk online, mostly on auction sites. I make enough to live.”
“Doing what you love?”
“I guess.”
Setting one of the tool-bags on a nearby bench, Richard started rifling through the contents.
“So is there really no-one out there waiting for you?” he asked casually. “No family, no friends? No-one at all?”
“It's complicated.”
“So you could just sit here for the rest of your life, and that'd be fine?”
She opened her mouth to reply, but it took a moment for her to work out her answer. After a little over twenty-four hours at the farm, she'd begun to feel disconnected from everything else that had happened in her life. The whole story about Lakehurst and Nurse Winter and Elly and Katia and Langheim seemed so far-fetched and preposterous, she was starting to doubt whether it was real at all. She knew she had a poor grasp of reality, and that in the past she'd hallucinated. Now she was wondering whether she'd just been running around in circles and chasing her own tail. If Elly hadn't been real, how did she know that all the others were?
Maybe, her inner voice kept suggesting, you're just a mental patient with delusions of grandeur.
“I can't stay for too long,” she said finally. “I wouldn't want to inconvenience you.”
“You're not inconveniencing anyone,” Richard replied, as he began to set out some tools. “To tell the truth, it's nice having sombody else around here. After Clarice -”
Stopping suddenly, he seemed shocked by the sound of that name, and it took a moment before he was able to force a smile and keep working.
“Just stay as long as you want, that's all I'm saying,” he added. “No offense, Annie, but you strike me as someone who might be a little stressed from time to time. There's no harm in taking a little time off now and again. There might be -”
“Do you believe in ghosts?” she asked suddenly.
She hadn't meant to ask the question, and now she wished she could take it back. She couldn't, of course, so she simply had to stand and wait for an answer.
“I don't think much about that sort of thing,” Richard said finally, clearly feeling a little uncomfortable. He turned back to his tools, and then after a moment he headed over to the tractor that was parked at the far, darker end of the barn. “If you ask me, a man can only focus on what's right in front of him. A woman too, for that matter. If you start thinking about all sorts of crazy other things, well... That's when the human mind can get a little wobbly. Now do you want to see the inside of this engine? Let me tell you, it's impressive stuff.”
***
Thistles danced in the breeze, as Annie sat by the side of a small river and watched the water trickle past.
She'd excused herself after lunch, telling Carrie and Richard that she wanted to explore the area. They were being so generous, and she was starting to feel that they expected her to stay for a longer period of time. The idea was crazy, or so she kept telling herself; it was clear that both Carrie and Richard were, in their own ways, struggling through grief, and Annie worried that she might be taking advantage of their sorrow. At the same time, it felt so good to finally rest, and during the morning she'd gradually forgotten to keep searching the internet for the mysterious Eldion House.
Maybe it wasn't real.
Maybe none of it had been real.
She'd definitely gone to Lakehurst, that much she was sure of. She'd shot Taylor, and she'd been sent to a psychiatric hospital. She supposed that the early period at Lakehurst had also happened pretty much as she remembered, and that Nurse Winter and Doctor Campbell and Mark and all the others had been real. At what point, though, had reality and fantasy begun to merge? She was fairly sure that she was no longer at Lakehurst, that she really was at a farm out in the middle of nowhere, but she struggled to understand why and how she was free?
Had she simply been released?
Had she somehow escaped?
The calmness of the river helped her mind settle, and for the first time in many years she actually felt as if she was at peace. She allowed herself to close her eyes, to listen to the sound of the water, and now all her fears were starting to float away. She knew she couldn't stay forever with Carrie and Richard, that she couldn't take advantage of their hospitality, but she couldn't deny the allure of this period of rest. The madness was over and she finally allowed herself to believe that there was no great, all-encompassing evil waiting to destroy the world. She wasn't in some kind of crazy one-woman battle to save everyone, she wasn't the heroine in an over-the-top horror story. The madness had come to an end.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath as she reached down and pressed her hands against the cool grass.
Chapter Twenty-One
One week later
“I hung everything up and then I cleaned the laundry room. Then I went into the basement and cleaned out that old freezer you were talking about, I think it should be good to use now. I was thinking, though. There's another room down there, and it'd be a good place for drying out the garlic. So if there's nothing else you want me to do this afternoon, I was planning to go down there and clear the place out.”
“You've been busy,” Carrie said with a faint smile, as she watched Annie washing her hands in the kitchen sink, scraping away chunks of dirt. “You know, you are allowed to slow down a little. You don't have to do all this work, just to stay here.”
“I want to help out,” Annie replied.
“You already help out just by being here.”
“I don't have any money.”
“I know, you keep mentioning that.” Carrie set a bowl of carrots on the table. “I appreciate a little help around the place, but you don't have to go crazy. Thank you for bringing these in, but Annie, please... Relax. Just go outside and smell the fresh air for a few minutes.”
“I was thinking I might go over and see if Richard needs anything.”
“Richard likes to be left alone sometimes,” Carrie continued, “to tinker with his engines. I doubt he needs any help right now.” With that, she winced as she felt a twinge in the small of her back, and then she headed through to the hallway. “I just need to sit down for a while,” she added. “Don't go running yourself ragged, Annie. We live life at a slower pace out here.”
“I know you do,” Annie replied, as she began to wash her hands in the kitchen sink. “I like it.”
***
Annie headed out onto the pack porch and then over to the small shed where she'd earlier finished rearranging the gardening tools. She knew Carrie was right, that she should take things easy, but deep down she was still worried that suddenly she'd be asked to leave. Picking up a set of shears, she figured she could use the next couple of hours to trim the bushes that were almost blocking the path around the northern side of the barn. And then she could -
“Why aren't you coming?” a voice gasped suddenly.
Spinning around, Annie saw that there was nobody else in the shed with her.
“Annie, please,” Nurse Winter's voice continued, sounding increasingly pained and fearful, “you promised you'd come!”
“You're not real,” Annie replied, still holding the rusty shears in her hands.
“Are you kidding me?” the voice snapped. “Annie, you should have been here by now. They're almost ready to finish their work on Katia. The poor kid's screaming all day and all night. This morning they performed a final test run on another girl, and now they're prepping for the main phase. They've begun to draw the entity here, and he's coming. Annie, I can sense him arriving with the storm, but I can't do anything without your help. I'm in the system at the radio telescope building,
all our plans are going to come crashing down if you don't -”
“I can't hear you!” Annie said firmly. “You're not real! I'm not crazy anymore, I don't hear voices!”
“If I was there right now, I'd slap you so hard, you'd think it was Christmas!”
“You're not really here,” Annie replied, carrying the shears back toward the door. “You don't exist.”
“Are you running away like a little coward?” Nurse Winter asked.
Annie stopped in the doorway. Ahead, she could see the sun-soaked yard, but after a moment she turned and looked back into the gloomy shed. To her shock, she spotted a face in the darkness, as if Nurse Winter's features were struggling to form in the shadows.
“For better or for worse,” Nurse Winter continued, “there's a plan to save the world, and you're an integral part of that plan. I knew this would be hard for you, Annie, but so far everything's working. I'm in place, I'm waiting for you, but you have to come!”
Annie shook her head.
“I can't believe I'm having to do this,” the voice added. “If you knew how weak I already am, you wouldn't make me reach out like this, but fine... I guess I'll have to show you what'll happen if you wimp out. If you don't come, Annie, I can't stop what the cult is going to do. The entity is made of pure evil, Annie, but it's never had a human body before. If it achieves that, there'll be no end to the horror that'll seize the world. There'll be nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Horror will destroy everything.”
Again, Annie shook her head.
“This is what will happen if you try to hide, Annie,” Nurse Winter continued, as her face flickered in the shadows. “This is how the world will end if you don't step up.”
“No, I -”
Suddenly a scream rang out in the distance. Annie turned and looked across the yard, but in an instant day had become night and she saw that the farmhouse was a ruin. The roof had buckled and one of the walls had been torn away, and a moment later the scream returned.
“Carrie,” Annie whispered, as she realized that she recognized the cry. “Carrie, I'm coming!”
Still carrying the shears, Annie raced out across the yard, only to find that her feet quickly bogged down in the thick mud. She struggled on for a few steps before falling and landing on her hands and knees. As she began to get back up, she looked toward the farmhouse and realized that the entire world had suddenly changed around her. Now the sky was a churning mass of gray clouds, and the nearby trees had all been stripped of their leaves. An icy wind howled through the air and buffeted loose wooden boards on the side of the barn, and a moment later Carrie's scream rang out again.
“I'm coming!” Annie shouted, filled with panic as she hauled herself up.
This time she was more careful to make her way through the mud. Finally she reached the steps and hurried up to the porch, and then she picked her way around the broken screen door that hung loosely and almost completely blocked the way inside.
As soon as she was in the farmhouse, Annie saw that the place had been trashed. Furniture was overturned, and there was dried mud all over the floor along with patches of dead leaves. A foul smell of faeces and rotten food filled the air, causing her to grimace slightly, but she focused on clambering over an upturned sofa as she tried desperately to find Carrie.
Reaching the hallway, she flinched again as she heard another scream. Realizing that Carrie was in the dining room, she hurried through, and then to her horror she saw that Carrie had been pinned down by a naked, desperately-thin creature with pale, almost translucent skin that hung tattered from a bloodied back. A snarling sound rose from the creature's hidden face, as Carrie repeatedly punched her attacker's chest without any apparent impact.
“Leave her alone!” Annie yelled, rushing forward and grabbing the creature from behind.
The creature cried out as Annie ripped it away, and then again as it was slammed against the side of the dining room table. Now Annie could see its face, and she saw that the creature had a few remaining strands of dark hair dangling on either side of its face. Before she had time to react, however, the creature lunged at her, smashing into her chest and shoving her hard against the wall. For a moment, Annie saw nothing but hatred and hunger in the creature's eyes, before suddenly Carrie lunged into view and drove a carving knife straight into the side of the creature's neck.
As blood sprayed against her face, Annie pulled away, and then she turned to see that Carrie was stabbing the creature over and over. Slithering to the floor, the creature let out a few final, desperate cries before falling still, and then Carrie immediately began to drag it through to the hallway.
“What was that thing?” Annie asked breathlessly.
She waited, but Carrie merely grunted as she hauled the carcass out of view.
Hurrying after them, Annie reached the door to the kitchen and then stopped again, just in time to see that Carrie had laid the dead creature out on the floor. For a moment, Annie stared at the body and began to realized that what she was seeing was an emaciated, terribly thin girl. Human, even. And then, before she had a chance to say anything, she watched as Carrie straddled the corpse and then began carving chunks of meat from its shoulder.
“What are you doing?” Annie whispered, and then she watched as Carrie bit down into the freshly-removed meat. “Carrie, stop!”
Fresh blood dribbled down Carrie's chin, and she let out a slurping sound as she tore the meat away.
A moment later, hearing a bump over her shoulder, Annie turned and saw another creature scratching its way through the hallway. This creature was male, a little smaller overall than the female but almost slightly thicker-set, and it stopped as soon as it saw what Carrie was doing to the other.
The new creature now took a faltering step back.
Suddenly Carrie screamed and lunged forward, shoving her way past Annie and racing after the male creature. Her target turned to run, but Carrie was too quick and she managed to drive the knife straight into the boy's back. Howling with pain, the child slumped down against the wall, before Carrie started dragging him back into the kitchen where she laid him down next to her first victim.
“What are these things?” Annie gasped, watching as Carrie got back to work on the girl, carving chunks of meat from her shoulder and chest.
A moment later, hearing a snarl over her shoulder, Annie turned and saw that a much larger figure was lumbering into the farmhouse. Stepping back, it took a moment before Annie recognized Richard, and then she watched as he made his way into the kitchen. Wearing tattered clothes and with a wild, angry expression in his eyes, Richard stopped for a moment before dropping to his knees and starting to tear strips of flesh from the two corpses, using his bare hands to shovel the meat into his mouth.
Horrified by the sight and by the gnarling, slurping sound, Annie backed against the wall.
“Please no,” she whispered, watching as Carrie and Richard ravenously chewed on the dead bodies. “This can't be real. You're not -”
Suddenly Carrie turned and looked straight at her.
“No,” Annie said, shaking her head as she instinctively raised the garden shears in her hands. “It's me. Please, this isn't really you. Please, you're not -”
Before she could finish, Carrie stumbled to her feet and lunged at her, shrieking as she waved the knive toward Annie's face. Startled, Annie stepped back again, only to bump against the wall. With nowhere left to run, she raised the shears again without even thinking, opening the two blades just as Carrie got closer. One of the two rusty blades sliced straight into Carrie's chest, crunching through her ribs with such force that Carrie stumbled slightly. Still trying to slash Annie with the knife, Carrie managed only to dig the tip into the wall next to Annie's face, before starting to fall.
For a moment, Annie kept hold of the shears, in turn keeping Carrie up. Then, finally, she let go and stepped aside, allowing Carrie's gasping body to fall to the floor.
Hearing a bumping sound, Annie turned and saw that Richard was
now stumbling toward her. She fumbled her way to the door, ready to bolt, but then she watched as Richard began to kneel on the kitchen floor. Carrie was still writhing in agony, trying desperately to pull the shears from her own chest but not quite managing, and a large pool of blood was spreading across the floorboards as she tried to lift herself up.
“I'm sorry,” Annie stammered, “I was only -”
Suddenly Richard leaned down and bit the side of Carrie's neck, causing her to scream louder than ever. Annie watched with a growing sense of despair as Richard began to tear skin and flesh from his wife's body, even as she tried in vain to fight back. Blood began to splatter against the wall, but Richard showed no sign of slowing down as he ravenously tore away more and more meat. Carrie let out a gasp and slumped back, but her eyes continued to twitch for a few more seconds until finally she fell still.
All Annie could do was continue to watch, until suddenly Richard turned and stared straight at her. Blood was caked all around his mouth and he was struggling for breath, causing bubbles to form in the blood around his nose.
“This isn't real,” Annie said, taking a step back, out into the hallway. “Richard, please, none of this can be real.”
Slowly, Richard got to his feet.
“You'd never hurt anyone,” Annie continued. “You're not -”
Suddenly he lunged at her, snarling and raising the knife. Annie instinctively slammed the door shut and used her weight to keep Richard from getting it back open, but a moment later the knife's blade sliced through the wood and missed her left hand by less than an inch. The blade wobbled, as if Richard was struggling to pull it back out, and at the same time the handle shook repeatedly. Annie knew that he'd get out as soon as she let go of the door, but she was too terrified to run.
“Do you still think you can sit around and do nothing?” Nurse Winter's voice asked. “This isn't even the worst of what'll happen. This is the first few weeks of life once the entity has control of its human body. Those who die first will be the lucky ones.”
