by Wood, Kolin
Juliana’s chest swelled and she took another step forward. Tanner matched her, unwilling to allow her the chance to lose her temper, but ready to intervene should she do so.
“Look,” she said. “His name’s Doyle. He’s big, got blonde hair to here.” She motioned with her hands to the top of her shoulders.
But the eyes that looked back at her showed zero sign of interest.
“Doesn’t sound like anybody here, I’m afraid,” came the silver-tongued reply. “Not sure I can help you.” From behind him, a hoarse, barking yell suddenly sounded from the darkness, followed by another.
Tanner watched him turn his head slightly so that his ear faced in the direction of the sound. When he looked back, there was worry in his eyes.
“Was there anything else?”
Juliana’s jawline tensed tight.
As much as Tanner would not give a damn should she decide to waste the Addams’ Family-looking motherfucker right here and now on the steps of Dracula’s castle, there was something about the man that unsettled him. He was just too confident. “No,” he said, firmly. “That’s it. Thanks for your time.”
From the corner of his eye, he saw Juliana turn to face him but chose to ignore her. He knew the look.
“Very well,” the man said.
Tanner realised that they still had no idea if the person was indeed Tidus Church or not.
“Safe travels then.”
And with that, the tall man backed away, eventually turning and ducking swiftly through a small door off to one side of the barricade that neither of them had noticed. The door shut with a bang.
Juliana turned on him. “Thanks for your time?!”
Tanner shrugged. “What did you want to do? Gun him down and take the castle by storm?” His tone was light and unserious but Juliana was clearly not in the mood for semantics.
“We could have at least pushed. It was obvious he was lying!”
Tanner shrugged. “I agree on that count. Whatever he’s got hiding in there, it sure didn’t sound healthy.” His head swooned but he said nothing.
Tired and annoyed, Juliana turned away from him. “So, what then? I’m not going back; not till I know that Doyle’s not holed up in there somewhere.”
Tanner considered his options. The sun still hung high in the sky, granting them at least another few hours to work by. H knew Juliana well enough to know that she could not be budged if she had her mind made up on something. Beyond the fence, the top halves of the trees swayed in the gentle breeze from the park.
“The trees,” he said. “With my arm, I won’t be able to join you, but if you could climb high enough, they might allow you a view into the yard. Maybe if we back off a bit, they’ll come out.”
Juliana followed the look and seemed to consider the suggestion for a moment. Eventually, yet still sounding fed up, she said, “Okay. Let’s do it.”
Chapter 18
The branches of the large oak took her weight easily as Juliana climbed higher, pulling her body amongst them. Suddenly, the ground below looked a long way down. To begin with, the branches had been sturdy and wide apart, forcing her to reach and grab, and already her shoulders and legs burned from the climb. The foliage lower down had been thicker too; clumps of twigs and leaves blocking all but the most limited of views. But finally, just as she felt that she would not feel comfortable going any higher, she found herself with a clear view of the yard. Holding herself against a sturdy bough with both arms, she stopped to catch her breath.
Sweat dripped down her forehead and mixed with the dirt, itching her face. Her hands were now cut and green. She looked down and could just make out Tanner sat with his back against the trunk, rifle set across his lap. The lack of low-lying branches on the tree meant that Juliana had needed his help gaining a foothold to get her started. He’d winced as she put her weight down on his shoulder, and she had tried to keep herself on the good side of his body, away from the damaged shoulder, but he had lifted her, regardless of the pain. He was strong, even with one arm; there was no denying that. But he had not looked in the best shape recently, and it worried her. A few minutes rest would do him good.
With an unsettled feeling and the first pangs of hunger in her belly, Juliana wrapped her legs around the closest branches of the tree to anchor herself in place, and settled down to wait.
***
It didn’t take long before the creeping onset of dusk let itself be known in shadows. The canopy below held a dark blanket over the ground, leaving her visibility at virtually nothing. Cramps threatened her arms, and her fingers ached from holding on so tight. In an attempt to shake some of the stiffness from her buttocks, Juliana shuffled awkwardly. She been perched there uncomfortably for hours, and had so far seen nothing.
The snapping of twigs below roused her from her semi-docile state. It had to be Tanner stirring. He must be getting anxious, she thought. After all, she had been gone some time. The plan had not worked, and they would have to rethink their strategy. If Tidus would not let them in voluntarily, then maybe they would have to try a more direct and forceful approach.
Such as blowing away one of the lanky fucker’s knee caps, like I wanted to originally, a voice in her head said. Then we’ll see who was letting who in.
Wiping the grit from her face, Juliana took a deep breath of cold, night air and readied herself for the climb down.
She was only one branch from her perch, when it happened. A loud scraping sound followed a thunderous bang, as one of the large fence panels encircling the yard toppled over.
With her heart in her mouth, Juliana pulled herself back up so that the thick trunk was against her cheek and squinted her eyes against the encroaching night. A breeze kicked leaves down the street, muddying the sounds around her. She felt her skin prickle with cold.
Two people walked slowly across the cluttered space, weaving steps between the weed-covered rubble. One of them, a young man, she thought—perhaps twenty or so, shouldering a backpack and carrying a gun had his arm around the waist of another person, a girl of similar age, with a shock of frizzy red hair hanging past her slim shoulders.
What are you doing? Juliana thought, but she didn’t have to wait long for an answer.
Without warning, the young man drew the gun up into his shoulder and screamed, “Tidus!”
The girl pulled up a crossbow and held it out with both hands, pointing it at the door.
The sky darkened with the flapping of wings as hundreds of agitated birds took flight.
From her hiding spot, Juliana watched on curiously as the brazen pair began to ascend the steps. At the top, the young man—who sounded like he wanted blood—reached out and banged a fist on the door.
For a few moments, nothing happened. The pair waited.
Slowly, the main barricade was pushed aside by invisible hands, leaving a gaping black space like a waiting mouth. From within the dark entrance, Juliana was certain that a shape moved, just beyond her field of vision.
“Tidus!” the young man screamed again. “Show yourself!”
Something stirred within Juliana’s subconscious, a powerful feeling that prickled the hairs on her arms and sent a shudder down her spine. But before she could even consider the cause, the pair nodded to one another and disappeared inside.
With her fingers gripped tightly around the closest branch of the tree, Juliana sat and waited for something to happen. The cold breeze whipped the loose strands of hair around her face.
A scream, loud and terrifying, ripped out from within the huge building. It was a girl’s scream, cut short as quickly as it came.
Juliana’s heart pulsed as the sound of the skittering leaves on the road below once again dirtied her perception. Her limbs began to shake as her temper spiked. Something inside the building was very wrong. But there was nothing that she could do. She could only sit, rooted in the tree, her eyes scouring the entrance for any sign of the tall man.
At first she thought that it was the dying light playing tri
cks on her. She blinked repeatedly in an attempt to change it, but every time, the scene reset itself the same. Black shapes, moving at speed, began to pour out from the opening. Only a few of them at first, and then many more, their faces a blur of red and yellow, their movements erratic and their bodies stooped. Human, she thought, but only just.
Juliana could neither move nor tear her eyes away. A feeling of dread swirled in her gut as the shapes kept on coming, scurrying down the steps like ants on a disturbed hill, soon lost in the deepening shadows on the floor of the building yard.
What in the hell…?
But there was no time to sit and figure it out. Something bad was coming at them, and it was coming fast.
Spurred into action by the spike of adrenaline, Juliana began to half-fall, half-climb down through the branches of the thick oak beneath her. Every crack of a broken bough made her aware of her proximity to the yard, and with each additional movement, she tried harder not to attract any more attention than necessary. Down she went, lower and lower, her eyes searching the darkness, looking for Tanner.
“Tanner!” she hissed, her breathing rapid, the sickly, sweet smell of tree sap suddenly overpowering.
The distance between the branches increased, forcing her to slow. With each drop, she would hang from the branch and swing her feet, hoping to catch a blind foothold. One slip and she would fall and break something, and she knew only too well that a broken leg would mean End Game.
“Tanner!”
Something moved below her, a faint oval shape in the darkness, and she realised with relief that it was Tanner’s face looking up. The sight spurred her on and she dropped confidently, landing heavily in the soft, leafy earth at his feet.
Beneath the canopy of the trees, it was far darker than Juliana had expected it to be. On one side, the solid blackness of the high wall separated them from the street. It might just buy them some time.
“Juliana, what the fuck?” Tanner’s voice sounded tired, as if he had been asleep.
Her ankle twinged as she set weight on it. “Something’s coming,” she said breathlessly. “There’s… loads of them.” The skin on her hands burned from the bark scrapings as she reached out to take her back pack and slide it over her shoulders.
Tanner glanced around confused. Sweat glistened on his forehead. In the gloom, his dark-ringed eyes made his face look like something akin to a wet skull. He began to protest.
“I’m sorry, Tanner. But there’s no time to explain.” Juliana ducked to pick up her rifle from against the tree, and then grasped him by the elbow. “We have to move, NOW!”
He pulled her back and his misted, confused eyes searched hers for answers.
“Just trust me, please,” she said.
This time, Tanner nodded.
They began to run away from the gate. Every so often, Juliana would glance behind, but her eyes were unable to pick out anything but the faintest outline of the tree trunks in the dark. At a small clearing, they stopped, turning together and raising their guns. To their left, the wall held a firm line of impenetrable black, hiding what was on the other side from sight.
Panting, Juliana faced Tanner. “Are you okay?”
In response to her question, Tanner suddenly bent over and spilled the contents of his stomach over the carpet of dry leaves under his feet. The smell of the vomit caused her to wince and turn away. He hawked, coughed and spat, and then stood.
“Just dandy.”
Juliana frowned. There was no way that he would make it far.
“The buildings in the park,” she said, fighting against the bite in her lungs. “The derelict ones… we need somewhere to hide.” If nothing else, the rotten pavilion would give them a place to stand and fight. Out in the open they were like targets on a range.
Tanner wiped his mouth on his sleeve and nodded again.
She tugged on his arm and set off, steering him away from the wall and deeper into the copse. It did not take long to break the tree line. The great, tangled, open space looked quiet in the onset of the creeping night. The faint shape of a crescent moon hung low in the sky. Frogs croaked warnings and crickets rubbed their legs. Brambles tore at their skin as they ran, tiny needles snagging their clothing and hair. Nettles bit at any exposed flesh.
They were half way across the old football field when Tanner pulled her to a stop. “Wait!”
With her arms and legs on fire, Juliana turned to face him.
He was now pouring sweat. His shirt clung to him like a second skin. “Tell me… what we are running from.” As he spoke, he wiped slithers of blood from his face.
She cast her eyes over his shoulder just in time to see the first black shape burst from the shadows beneath the tree line and plough headlong into the undergrowth. Her heart chilled as another two shapes followed in behind.
“Just run!”
Gripping his arm even tighter than before, Juliana took off again; this time completely uncaring of the impeding foliage. Behind them, the hunters crashed and screamed, harrowing sounds which carried over their heads like warning sirens.
Some distance away, the camouflaged shape of a building appeared to them from the vegetation. Flashes of pain peppered her skin, but she pressed on, lifting her knees as high as possible in order to give her feet the best chance of avoiding a fatal entanglement. Tanner stumbled along behind, his heavy legs threatening to anchor them in place at any minute. With every clumsy step, the building drew closer until Juliana could see the vine-strangled, wooden beams and smell the damp rotten stench emanating out from within.
At the doorway to the building, Juliana stopped and let go of Tanner’s arm. With dusk now in full force, she was barely able to see more than a few feet inside. The same thick and earthy smell that she had caught wind of outside closed in around her like a suffocating blanket, stifling her breaths. Destroyed wooden floorboards left perilous gaps in the mossy surface. Juliana had to focus hard to stop herself from falling into one, as she moved cautiously toward the far end of the room, her gun trained, scanning for any signs of danger.
Behind her, Juliana heard a crash as Tanner fell down. Wood and metal scraped on the floor and he cursed under his breath. Evidently, the floor was not strong enough to support his weight.
“Tanner, are you okay?” she hissed, immediately worried.
A few moments of silence followed before he answered a strained “Yep.”
His darkened frame moved in silhouette as she watched him climb to his feet.
“Get the door,” she called out, as she walked back toward him and turned to survey the large room. Just like the floor, the walls were in a similar state of decay. Gaps showed patches of grey sky. Creeping tentacles of fauna hung in great looping black wires as the inquisitive push of nature drove the shoots ever farther into the darkness. A solitary metal loft ladder in the centre of the room pointed up to a large dark opening above.
Tanner struggled with the door, closing it with a final kick.
“Will it lock?” she called out in a hushed voice.
“No,” he replied. “But the vines should hold it closed.”
He moved towards her with slow steps, cautious not to fall again. She knew that he was acting on pure, blind trust, and she felt grateful to have him with her, even in the poor state that he was in.
“Now what?” His breathing sounded laboured and the faint hint of stale vomit carried on his breath.
Juliana glanced up at the broken and decayed ceiling. It was high, far higher than a normal house room and peppered black with holes.
“The hatch,” she said; her voice barely more than a whisper.
Close enough that she could make out the strong features of his face, she watched him look up at it and then back to her. She heard him take another deep and strained breath.
“Jules, stop. Tell me what we’re running from.”
That was when she heard the heavy panting sound from outside.
Juliana raised her hand and gently covered Tanner’s mouth.
His thick beard was wet with sweat and his skin felt unnaturally hot beneath it. He raised his gun and she shook her head.
“Wait,” she whispered.
The panting continued. It sounded unnatural, full of phlegm, each breath a sick rattle. Twigs snapped. For a moment, Juliana wondered if it might be a wild animal.
Frozen to the spot, she barely dared to breathe. With each passing second, the noise outside dissipated, until the only sound was the faint whistle of an early evening breeze as the weather picked up through the gaps in the wall.
Tanner’s dark eyes stared hard into hers for answers as she considered their options. If they remained quiet, perhaps the things would simply carry on past. She had no way of knowing how dangerous they were or even what they were, but a dark feeling in her gut told her that they were in no state to find out. Besides, to fight them now might risk alerting others.
Her thoughts turned once again to the ceiling above. The loft would likely be a fair size, easily big enough to hide them both, should it hold.
Juliana nodded to the hatch and gently removed her hand from Tanner’s mouth. Even in the darkness, she could see the confusion and sense his doubt but, after a few moments, he nodded and held up his rifle for her to take; he would need both hands to climb.
He ascended slowly, one hand followed by both feet followed by that same hand again. Higher he went until the whole of his top half was out of sight through the hatch. Juliana surveyed the ceiling again, noting the discouraging number broken boards. It was a far from perfect solution, but as long as the wider beams were able to take their weight, then it should be enough. Soon only one of Tanner’s feet showed through the gap above her. The darkness hid the rest of him completely.
As Juliana readied herself to climb, she heard a loud cracking sound, followed by a yell. Wide eyed, she glanced up in time to see his boot disappear through the hole and then stepped back as the ladder crashed to the floor with an ear-splitting bang.
“Jules, are you okay?” Tanner yelled, just as a horrific, breathy scream sounded from outside the door.
