Perpetual Darkness: A collection of four gory horror novellas

by Jacob Rayne

  ‘We’ll take your word for it,’ Josh said, the photo he’d just seen fresh in his mind.

  ‘I hoped you’d say that. No one needs to know how the magician does the trick,’ Laverick beamed.

  Josh and Marsha read the disclaimer at the bottom, which basically said that Caleb’s corpse would be destroyed if the experiment was a disaster, then signed.

  ‘There’s another part for you to sign on the last page,’ Laverick said. ‘If you want me to leave while you discuss it I will be happy to sit in the car for a while.’

  Josh flipped the page over to see the heading, Payment Options.

  ‘Yeah, give us five minutes,’ he said.

  Laverick closed his briefcase and left.

  ‘Fucking hell, twelve thousand pounds,’ Josh said, staring in disbelief at the figures on the last page.

  ‘It was hardly going to be cheap, was it?’ Marsha said.

  Josh realised his wife had a point. Cutting edge bionic technology wasn’t something that was ever going to be cheap.

  ‘I really don’t think we can afford this,’ he said.

  ‘Wait,’ Marsha said, turning the last page over. On the back was a payment plan broken down into monthly instalments. The amounts quoted were more manageable, but still far from cheap.

  ‘One payment of two thousand as a deposit,’ Josh said aloud. ‘Then two-fifty a month for five years. Jesus, that’s fifteen thousand in total.’

  ‘Seventeen including the deposit.’

  ‘Shit.’

  ‘You can’t put a price on having Caleb, though.’

  ‘No, I guess not.’ Josh paused for a few seconds while he weighed up the pros and cons. ‘Let’s go for it.’

  Marsha called Dr Laverick in.

  ‘We’ll go for the monthly payments,’ Josh said.

  Laverick nodded. ‘Please read the clause about non-payment,’ he said.

  ‘If the bill should go three months in arrears, a final warning will be sent,’ Josh read aloud. ‘If the outstanding balance is not settled within a month, the contract will be terminated.’

  ‘What does that mean?’ Marsha said.

  ‘It means you will lose your little boy again,’ Laverick said.

  ‘Ok,’ Marsha said. ‘We understand.’ They both signed.

  ‘The first thousand of the deposit will be due now, the second half on delivery of the child,’ Laverick said. ‘It will take me between two and four weeks to modify Caleb. If there are any problems before you receive the child, or within the first month, I will give you a full refund. After that, I’m afraid you’ll need to settle the bill or give Caleb up.’

  ‘Yes, that’s fine,’ Josh said.

  They shook hands with Laverick.

  Josh wrote out a cheque and pressed it into the doctor’s hand.

  ‘Thank you so much,’ Marsha sobbed.

  ‘I won’t take up any more of your time,’ Laverick said. He shook both of their hands and left, leaving their copy of the contract on the settee.

  ‘He seems a nice guy,’ Marsha said.

  ‘A little creepy, but I guess you’d have to be to cut dead kiddies open and shove wires in them,’ Josh said, then clapped a hand to his mouth when he realised what he had said.

  Marsha looked as though she had been slapped round the face.

  ‘Sorry, honey. Just think, within a month we’ll have our little boy back.’

  This thought chased away Marsha’s doubts. She smiled and snuggled into her husband.

  4

  Seventeen days passed and the Walkers had still heard nothing from Dr Laverick. They were beginning to question whether they had been duped. The contract certainly seemed official, but they were aware how easily documents could be forged in this day and age.

  Their attempts to contact Dr Laverick were futile. His phone rang out straight to a dead line, without even an answerphone to take a message. His email address sent out an infuriating out of office reply. Even the text messages bounced back undelivered.

  Josh was on the phone to a friend of his to trace the address quoted on Laverick’s torn business card, which one of the cleaning staff at the hospital must have put into Marsha’s purse, only to find out that the address didn’t and hadn’t ever existed.

  ‘If I ever see that shyster again I’m going to wring his fucking neck,’ Josh bellowed, startling Marsha as he slammed his fist into the table.

  While he ranted and raved, Marsha turned to see a car door open at the bottom of their driveway.

  Dr Laverick climbed out of the car, cradling a small wooden box.

  ‘Josh, he’s here,’ Marsha shouted, unable to keep the grin off her face. Tears already glistened in her eyes at the thought of being reunited with her son. She pulled the door open and raced down the drive to see Dr Laverick.

  Josh cut his rant off and turned to gawp at the doctor. It was hard to believe that the tiny wooden box he carried could mean so much to them. Anxiety began to gnaw at his stomach.

  Dr Laverick smiled warmly as he came into the house. He very carefully laid the wooden box down on the settee then turned to shake hands with Marsha. Again, she flung her arms around him and hugged him as if her life depended on it.

  ‘We’ve been trying to ring you for days,’ Josh said, unable to help himself.

  ‘Sorry, sorry, I gave you an old business card,’ Dr Laverick said, pulling out a silver business card holder and thumbing a couple of crisp new cards from the pile.

  Josh quickly scanned the details to see if they were different. They were, but he was still suspicious about the non-existent previous address.

  ‘Bet you thought I’d done a runner,’ Laverick grinned.

  ‘Not funny,’ Josh grunted.

  ‘I guess not. Sorry. I’m just in high spirits because I’m about to give you the greatest gift you’ve ever received.’

  Josh smiled at this.

  Laverick gave him a hearty slap on the arm. ‘Are you excited, Mr Walker? You should be.’

  ‘I’m on cloud nine,’ Marsha said.

  ‘Please, take a seat,’ Laverick said. He knelt on the floor in front of the settee and unclipped two metal clasps from the top of the casket’s lid then carefully pulled it up.

  Marsha and Josh gasped as they saw their son lying in the casket. His skin was a healthy reddish pink, flushed with life instead of the livid purple colour he’d been the last time they’d seen him, but he wasn’t moving. Laverick caught the concern in their eyes and shook his head.

  ‘He isn’t on yet,’ he said. ‘So don’t worry.’

  Marsha and Josh hugged each other hard. They kissed and looked back to their tiny son.

  ‘Now, if you have changed your minds, I will refund the money plus interest,’ Laverick said.

  ‘We haven’t,’ Marsha blurted.

  Laverick nodded. ‘Once we put him on there’s no going back. Although, as per our contract, if there are any problems in the first month I will take full responsibility and take him off your hands. After that, you are on your own, although I will be there to answer any queries and carry out repairs if necessary. Do you understand what you are doing?’

  ‘Yes,’ the Walkers said as one.

  Laverick nodded, a smile lifting his cheeks. ‘Then let’s bring little Caleb back to life,’ he grinned.

  He pulled a small remote out of his pocket. It looked like a smartphone but slightly thinner and more advanced. A single tiny red LED flickered on and off at the top of the device.

  He turned it so the screen was facing down and slowly lowered it onto Caleb’s forehead, holding it there for a few seconds.

  The device issued a high-pitched beep which was echoed a split second later by one from inside Caleb’s skull.

  Laverick carefully pressed the device under the back of Caleb’s neck and again the beep issued from it.

  Josh and Marsha watched, enthralled, as the doctor carried out the bizarre procedure.

  The second beep from Caleb did not come, instead the child’s ey
elids fluttered like the wings of a tiny butterfly and opened to reveal stunning deep blue eyes.

  Marsha and Josh gasped. Tears blurred their view of the child they had thought they’d never see again.

  They looked at each other in alarm as Caleb let out an ear-splitting scream.

  ‘It’s ok,’ Laverick assured them. ‘This happens when they first wake up. If you recall seeing birthing videos you’ll remember the child always cries. It’s a good thing.’

  The tiny child finished its cry and started wriggling. The motion was adorable.

  Josh and Marsha sobbed uncontrollably, tears of joy rolling down their cheeks. Their concerns about Laverick’s bill were proven to be nonsensical – it was worth ten times what they had agreed to pay to see their little boy breathing again.

  ‘Who wants to hold little Caleb?’ Laverick asked.

  Josh let Marsha go first although he was dying to hold his son.

  Marsha held Caleb, her tears falling onto the writhing infant. Her arms shook with the force of her sobs. She had never felt so happy in all of her life, even on her wedding day or when she’d found out she and Josh were going to be parents.

  ‘Thank you, thank you,’ she sobbed. The tiny child in her arms looked up at her with a puzzled expression. His blue eyes were beautiful. The memory of holding his limp, cold corpse was chased away by the sight of him alive and breathing in her arms.

  ‘This is the most amazing part of the process,’ Laverick said. Josh wouldn’t have sworn it, but he was sure he saw a tear slide down the doctor’s cheek from behind his monocle. ‘The moment the child breaths again is incredible, but when I see the relief and gratitude on the faces of the parents it really brings it home to me how wondrous a gift I have brought to the world.’

  His eyes brimming with tears, Josh rushed in and hugged the doctor. ‘I have to admit I thought you were a charlatan, but I was wrong. I can’t thank you enough.’

  Laverick hugged him back. ‘It’s an honour to do this for such a nice couple. I just know you’re going to make brilliant parents.’

  Josh let go of him, feeling slightly ashamed for his sudden outpouring of emotion. ‘Mind if I cut in?’ he asked Marsha.

  Marsha was peeved at having to put Caleb down, but she passed him to her husband. ‘Oh, Josh, he’s beautiful,’ she said, tears still flooding out of her eyes.

  Josh held his son, staring at him in wonder. The feeling was as he had imagined only much stronger. He already loved his little boy with every fibre of his being.

  Caleb’s eyes seemed to focus on him, just for a second, then he thrashed his arms and started looking round the room, letting out a frustrated cry.

  ‘Oh, hey, little man, take it easy,’ Josh smiled. The feel of his son in his arms was something he thought he’d never feel. And he had the strange, slightly unsettling, Dr Laverick to thank for it.

  Laverick watched with a grin on his face. ‘You’re a natural, Mr Walker,’ he said. ‘Now, there are a few things to run through before I leave you with your beautiful new arrival.’

  5

  He pulled a thick book out of the briefcase. ‘Think of this as the instruction manual,’ he grinned. ‘You can use most normal baby books, but bear in mind that little Caleb here is anything but your average baby. This is your bible when it comes to raising him.’

  ‘Digital Children,’ Marsha read aloud.

  ‘Patent pending,’ Laverick grinned. ‘This is one of the cool things about Caleb. In almost every area of modern life the physical is being replaced by the digital. We have digital books, digital music, digital movies. Why not go one better and have a digital child?’

  Josh didn’t hear, he was too wrapped up in staring at Caleb.

  ‘And this is one of the nice features,’ Laverick said, brandishing the smartphone with relish. ‘Downloadable content. Sleeping patterns, eating habits, personality traits, to name but three. Think Caleb seems a bit slow? Download an extra intelligence package. Think other kids are picking on him? You’ll be able to instantaneously teach him a martial art with a flick of one of these buttons. If Caleb is ever unhappy, you can pick him up instantly with the mood elevation package. If he is looking a little overweight, you can download dieting software or even speed up his metabolism to shed the weight.’

  Josh and Marsha stared, open-mouthed, at the doctor’s spiel.

  ‘There is plenty more to take in. I could stand here for a week and merely brush the surface. This device is most important to you. There is a backup. I suggest you use one and keep the other in a very safe place. Of course, you can just fly by the seat of your pants like you would with a normal child and not download any software, just let things turn out as they will, but why not use the technology if it’s available?’

  ‘This is all a bit much,’ Josh said.

  ‘There’s a lot to take in,’ Laverick said, ‘But I’ve cancelled all arrangements for this week so I can spend some time with you to get used to the unique opportunities Caleb provides.’

  ‘That’s very good of you,’ Marsha said.

  Laverick smiled. ‘Yes, there are a few important pointers we need to go through.’

  He raised the remote and aimed it at Caleb’s face. ‘Now,’ he said, gesturing in an exaggerated fashion so that both of the Walkers could see what he was doing. ‘If you want Caleb to sleep, you just touch the Z icon on screen. It will give you a couple of options. Firstly, if you want Caleb to crash right out or drift off gradually. It’s a slide on the touch screen. Top is fast, bottom is slow.’ He handed the control to Marsha.

  She felt a little daunted at the immense power she held in her hands.

  ‘Give it a go, Marsha,’ he smiled.

  ‘Top is sudden, bottom is gradual,’ she said aloud to try to get her head round it.

  Laverick nodded, grinning. He loved watching people getting used to the technology.

  Marsha gently pressed the Z icon with her thumb. The screen lit up and the slide control came on. She slowly slid her finger to two thirds of the way up the slide.

  ‘That’s it,’ Laverick said. ‘Now tap the tick icon to confirm.’

  She did so. The red LED on the top of the control blinked twice. Caleb’s tiny mouth opened in a yawn. Marsha and Josh were both amazed by how cute the motion was. He raised his arms above his head and yawned once again.

  ‘Aw, bless him,’ Marsha said.

  Laverick smiled.

  Little Caleb yawned a third time, then nuzzled into Josh’s arm. His eyelids slowly closed. His breathing slowed, became a sigh. A couple of minutes later, he was sound asleep.

  ‘That was amazing,’ Josh said.

  Laverick beamed. ‘That’s only the tip of the iceberg, my friends.’ He felt a little envious of them, of the amazing world they were about to discover. ‘Now, Marsha, the Z icon should still be on screen.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Press it again.’

  She did so. A list of numbers appeared.

  ‘The screen should give you a range of numbers,’ he said. ‘One to twelve.’

  Marsha nodded. ‘What’s the question mark?’

  ‘Random. It may be half an hour, it may be ten hours. Pick one and press the tick icon.’

  She did as he said. The LED lit up three times then the control beeped.

  ‘You picked three hours, didn’t you?’ Laverick said. While Marsha and Josh gawped at him, he winked and said, ‘The LED flashes once for each chosen hour. Also the beep was for three seconds.’

  ‘Clever stuff,’ Josh said.

  ‘Mr Walker, you can safely set Caleb down now, he won’t wake until three hours pass, or we decide to wake him.’

  Josh carefully laid Caleb in the Moses basket they had brought downstairs. His son raised his legs to his chest, curled into a foetal position, smacked his lips a couple of times then started snoring.

  ‘Let’s let the little fella get some sleep while we run through the basics,’ Laverick said. ‘Mrs Walker, please pass the control to your hu
sband.’

  She passed it over. Josh too felt a little overwhelmed by the device he had been given.

  ‘Don’t touch the Z icon,’ Laverick said. ‘You’ll wake the little mite up. But, that’s a quick way of doing it should you need to. Just tap it twice quickly like you would double-click your mouse. He’ll be up like he’s on fire.’

  Marsha jotted this down.

  ‘No need, Mrs Walker,’ Laverick said, holding aloft a sheet of A4 paper. ‘I’ve compiled a quick guide.’

  ‘So, double tap the Z icon to wake him up?’ Josh said aloud.

  ‘Yes. The other way is better though, it allows him to wake gradually. Tap the Z once then slide the control to determine how slowly or how quickly he wakes. I find that the waking pattern is best when it mirrors that of the descent into sleep, but, of course, it is all up to you.’

  ‘I’ve got that,’ Josh said.

  ‘Now, possibly the best function for the early days,’ Laverick said. ‘You see the second icon from the left?’

  ‘The one that looks like a nappy?’ Marsha said, squinting at the screen.

  ‘Yes,’ Laverick said. ‘As with every situation you will face as the parent of a digital child, you can use this device to control the bathroom functions as much or as little as you like. You can leave it to nature, to experience the real joy of being a parent, or you can implement a routine. You can decide when and how often you want little Caleb to fill his nappy.’

  Josh laughed.

  ‘Very handy if you fancy a good night’s sleep,’ Laverick said, raising his eyebrows. ‘So, to regulate your child’s bodily functions, click on the nappy logo.’

  Josh pressed it. Two slide controls came up again, this time with little numerical scales along the left hand side of each of them.

  ‘Left is number ones, right is number twos,’ Laverick said. ‘The numbers give you the option of how many minutes between the next dirty nappy. Or, as with the sleep menu, you can click the question mark to let nature take its course. Click on the ten for me, please, Mr Walker.’