On impulse, he reached out and pulled his sister into a hug. For a moment, she stiffened in his arms, but then she relaxed and returned the embrace.
She spoke against his ear. “I’m ready.”
Chapter 27
A SENSE OF urgency surrounded the group. The need to cover too much ground in too little time strained tensions between them all. Samantha barely seemed conscious, so they might as well have been dragging a mannequin around with them. Tom couldn’t quell his frustration. He hated directing any negative emotions towards Samantha—especially as she was no less a victim than David—but he couldn’t help himself. If they reached the hospital only to discover they were a few minutes too late… Well, for the rest of his life he would question if bringing Samantha along had been the right thing to do.
His brain felt fuzzy with exhaustion. Every muscle in his body ached and every bump and bruise he’d sustained over the last couple of days seemed to have trebled in size. The muscles in his lower back twitched with red hot shards of pain and he worried they would seize up altogether and leave him unable to walk.
Yet, though his body hurt and his brain struggled to piece coherent thoughts together, he pushed himself on. They still had a huge distance to cover and just the thought made his head swim. The possibility of not getting to David on time was inconceivable.
Tears threatened—tears of fear, of exhaustion, of frustration. They clogged up his throat and burnt his eyes. His nostrils flaring, his lips pressed tightly together, he fought them, not wanting to appear weak, but he was losing.
The constant chill in the air sapped the group’s strength and made their muscles cramp. Their bodies burned fuel they no longer had the supplies to replenish. They only had a few cereal bars and some water left in their bags and they rationed out tiny nibbles and sips whenever they stopped.
Tom tasted the damp of the tunnel in the back of his throat, like a glass of water that had been left by the bedside too long and gone stale.
After another hour or so, Sky’s torch finally died. First, the light waned and a couple of sharp smacks against the palm of her hand brought it back to life. But after several times of doing this, the light refused to come back on. Tom retrieved his own torch from her bag and flicked the switch.
The circular yellow beam was already fuzzy at the edges, the darkness encroaching in. He didn’t like to think about the fact that they would only have one live torch left after his also failed. He hoped they would be able to replenish their supplies when they reached the first cavern. They still had so much of their journey ahead of them—the reservoir, the fissure through the rock, the train tunnels beyond the cavern.
Tom sensed evil behind him every step of the way, like an invisible monkey on his back, digging in its claws and weighing him down. Though he barely had time to think about what the Shadows might throw at him next, the possibilities lurked in the back of his mind. He forced one foot after the other, watching the walls of the tunnels pass him by, noticing the small landmarks that let him know he was covering some distance.
A nook where they had rested… A bend in the tunnel… A deep pool of water…
The silence from the others hinted at their own exhaustion.
Finally, Sky said, “We’re nearly there,” and Tom gave a sigh of relief.
Of course, he knew she didn’t mean they were nearly at the surface, only that they had made it to the next part.
The reservoir.
This was where the Shadows had infected Billy. The place most of their troubles had started. If the Shadows hadn’t infected Billy, the infection would never have spread through their group. Samantha would be all right and the others would still be alive. Tom would not have the image of Jo’s impaled head to see him through his nightmares for the rest of his life.
Tom did not know what to expect. He knew the water had been released from the reservoir, he had seen the huge wave rush towards him, but he didn’t know the mechanisms. He had no idea if the reservoir would automatically refill again.
The opening was just ahead.
Automatically, Mack took the lead; Bugs still perched on his shoulder. Sky followed close behind with Samantha sandwiched between her and Tom, who brought up the rear.
The reservoir was empty. They all knew where the water had gone, but seeing the deep, empty hole was like looking at the empty eye socket of a concrete giant. The big metal pipes rose above and around them. Tom remembered the clanging that had deafened them. Now all was silent. Ominously so.
* * *
CAREFULLY, THEY EDGED around the walkway. The dim light meant the risk of misjudging their footsteps was high.
Tom tried to shine the torch in every direction, trying to share the light between them all. Sky stayed close to him, keeping within the beam of the torch, as they half-carried Samantha between them. Mack found his own way without much difficulty, his years of living in the dark having focused his senses.
They walked with their toes close to the edge, the drop too close for comfort. Falling in now would be even worse than before. Before, they would have landed in the relative safety of water. Now, they would fall twenty feet onto concrete. If one of them broke a leg, or even their back, they couldn’t exactly call an ambulance.
Tom held on to one of Samantha’s arms and Sky held the other. Neither trusted what she might do. Tom had already decided if she took a leap, he would let go. He wasn’t going to risk being pulled in and he hoped Sky would do the same, though he didn’t have the balls to say so out loud.
A sister. I have a sister.
The idea was like a foreign word, unfamiliar and clumsy in his head.
“Why hasn’t it done anything yet?” he asked. “It’s all too quiet.”
“The Shadows aren’t as strong up here,” said Mack. “Until it’s released on the surface, the farther away it is from the essence of itself—the sea—the harder it will find to affect the real world. But I still doubt we’ve seen the last of it.”
Tom grimaced. “I’d forgotten how I can always rely on you to come up with something reassuring. Any ideas about what we can expect?”
They’d almost reached the other side of the walkway now, close to the exit.
Mack’s voice came out of the dark. “I have no idea, but I expect it’s saving its strength for something big.”
One by one, they reached the other side and entered the crack in the rock.
All at once, panicky feelings of claustrophobia gripped Tom. The stone pressed down all around him. His chest tightened and his hands grew sweaty. He switched the torch to his other hand and wiped his palm on his jeans. At least this was the last stage before they reached the cavern where the underground homeless had pitched their tents. Soon they’d be in the company of others again and they could get some more torches or batteries and maybe even something warm to eat.
The memory of the beans he’d been served on his way down made his mouth water, though his stomach ached. He relished the thought of the warmth as much as the food. The cold had seeped down to his bones and he wondered if he’d ever be warm again.
As his steps carried him on, the scent of ammonia assaulted his nostrils. They got closer and his eyes and the inside of his nose stung with the acrid stench. He knew what the smell meant—guano. They were getting closer to the bats.
Tom pressed through the rock, knowing the space would open up again briefly where the bats lived. Despite the stench, he welcomed the reprieve from his claustrophobia. Only a couple of feet separated the rough stone walls here, closing together again just above their heads. But at least he was able to walk properly and didn’t need to crawl or edge along sideways. Tom shined the torch ahead, tying to light up the way for the others. It worked better that way. If Mack held the torch at the front then behind him would be total darkness and the others wouldn’t be able to see themselves putting one foot in front of the other.
The smell of the bats grew stronger and Tom put his free arm up over his face, trying to breathe through th
e cloth of his sweatshirt.
Suddenly, vibrations trembled through the soles of his feet. Within seconds, he noticed the beam of his torch shaking and realised the whispers had returned, only quietly—gentle touches of sound like butterfly wings against his ears. In the dark, he imagined the disembodied ghosts of the people the voices belonged to hovering nearby and a jolt of terrified panic lurched through him. The whispers were quiet, but also angry. It wasn’t hard to believe they were capable of hurting him.
They didn’t stay quiet for long and the voices became a hiss of accusation.
“Can you hear that?” Tom asked, his voice higher than he would have liked.
Sky turned around, squinting in the torchlight. “Of course! What do you think I am—deaf?” Her eyes flicked down, noticing the trembling of the ground beneath foot. She frowned. “What’s that?”
Mack had also noticed. “We’ve got to move here, people!” he called back at them.
“What is it?” Sky said again, but as both the trembling and the whispers grew louder, Tom didn’t bother to answer. The rock face was too close here. Only a slight change in structure would be needed to close the rock around them, crushing or trapping them like a giant stone vice.
“We need to get out of here!” Tom yelled, reaching past Samantha and pushing Sky ahead.
Not content with trying to bury him underground once, the Shadows were attempting the same thing again. Only this time, Tom could not use his trick of dropping back in time. He had Sky to think about now and he needed her to stay alive.
Sky pulled Samantha along by her arm. Tom pushed her from behind, but they were painfully slow. The whispers chased him along the crevasse, whipping up behind him like a wind he could hear but was unable to feel.
They burst into the bat cave. Above them, hundreds, if not thousands, of furry bodies clung to the edges of the rock face, tightly packed together, their wings wrapped around themselves in leathery cocoons. They clambered over the top of each other, their sharp claws finding new niches in the rock in which to settle
The ground was thick with bat shit and Tom’s feet slid as he tried to run. All around them the rock vibrated.
Sky glanced around, frantic, her eyes wide. “What is it? What’s happening?”
Tom didn’t get the chance to answer.
The first proper tremor sent the bats reeling from their roosts, circling like a cloud of sparrows looking to settle for the night. Sky and Tom clung to each other, trying to keep their balance. Samantha fell to the floor and Mack held onto the wall. The high-pitched shrieks of the startled bats filled the crevasse, the air moving from the beating of their leathery wings. Confusion and panic swept through the nocturnal creatures. They had never been disturbed from their sleep before.
They circled upward, their squeaks growing fainter, their numbers lessening. The initial frenzied behaviour developed into order and they seemed to be going somewhere.
Tom remembered the thought he’d had on the first way through.
There must be some way out. An opening to the real world. A way for the bats to go out and feed.
A baritone rumbling came from deep in the rock, while overhead the stone cracked and shattered. Pieces of rock fell down upon them and they bent over, their arms over their heads to protect themselves from the falling rubble.
But the trembling rock did not enclose around them. Instead, the opposite happened.
Tom looked up and, as the small furry bodies and wings disappeared from view, caught a distant glimpse of light.
If they could climb up, it would save them a day of walking. It might mean the difference between David living or dying. Tom shook his head. The plan was madness—too dangerous! Falling would kill them. Was it worth the gamble?
In the chaos, Tom had dropped his torch. It lay on its side, illuminating one side of the bat cave wall. He rushed over and placed his palms against the walls, feeling for hand and foot holes. Guano covered the surface, but his fingers dug into it and touched the jagged rock face beneath. He found some finger holes and started to pull himself up. The entire rock face shook and the whispers hissed in his ears. Once again, he was able to make out what they were saying.
“Failure… you... will... all... die…”
Tom gritted his teeth and edged his hand up, desperately trying to hold on, despite all that was vying against him.
“Tom! What the hell...” Mack yelled, but Tom ignored him.
Only a couple of feet from the ground, his fingers slipped. He fell through the air and landed, his head slamming against the ground, his teeth cracking together. The air burst from his lungs in a huuumph and he lay in several inches of guano, trying to catch his breath. Pulling himself up wasn’t possible—he would need professional climbing gear and he still probably wouldn’t make it.
Sky rushed to his side. “Are you okay?” she shouted above the din. “What the hell were you thinking?”
He put out a hand and she helped him to his feet.
“Look,” he said, pointing to the chink of light in the darkness positioned as if a new moon in the night sky. “If we can climb up, we’ll save a day’s travel easily.”
Sky glanced up at where he pointed, but didn’t get the chance to speak.
All of a sudden the tremors increased. The ground rippled and churned under their feet, like giant worms hollowing out the earth beneath them. Tom and Sky clutched each other, trying to stop themselves being thrown to the floor. Mack lost his footing and slid down, landing on his back in the muck.
Hundreds of years of bat shit fell from the rock walls, an avalanche of encrusted excretion sliding down around them. It spattered on their backs, heads, and shoulders, heavy and painful.
Around them, the rock cracked and groaned. The sound was deafening, as though the world was collapsing around their ears.
Suddenly, Samantha shrieked and staggered up from the ground. Thick guano coated her left side where she’d fallen, smeared across her cheek and matted in her hair. Tom turned just in time to see her rushing for him, her eyes wild, her hands reaching out, her fingers clawed. Her mouth was stretched open as though she intended to bite him. There remained no sign in her face of the gentle and intelligent woman he had got to know.
Tom stood, his mouth open in surprise as Samantha rushed at him. Mack managed to get to his feet and he lunged for her, Bugs clinging to his shoulder. The older man collided with her and they both fell to the ground.
Mack turned his face to Tom. “Go!”
“Mack, no!” Sky yelled back. But he paid no attention. Samantha fought and bucked beneath him, screeching like a wild thing. Bugs’ tail whipped around Mack’s neck like an angry cat.
“No, Mack, get off her,” Tom yelled. If Samantha touched him, she would pass on the infection. He would become just like the others.
Mack had Samantha pinned down by the shoulders, the cloth of her long-sleeved t-shirt preventing skin-to-skin contact, but she bucked and flailed, her hands ripping out at him. He ducked as her hand almost skimmed his face.
But Mack couldn’t hold her like that for long. He pressed his lips together in determined resignation and grabbed for her hands.
“Nooooo!” Sky screamed.
He jerked back, his face widening in surprise, but only for a moment. Then he forced Samantha back down with renewed strength, knowing the effects of the Shadows would take a little time to take hold.
“Just get the hell out of here!”
Bugs gave a high-pitched squeal and leapt from Mack’s shoulder, landing at Tom’s feet. The rat ran off towards the back of the cave, away from the exit leading towards the cavern.
“Bugs!” Sky ran after the sleek body of the rodent, rounding the corner. Her head popped back around the corner. “Tom! Hey, you’ve got to see this!”
Tom cast an anxious glance towards Mack and Samantha. There was nothing he could do now except concentrate on getting out of the crevasse. He ran after Sky, his hands held out either side of him to try to keep his balan
ce as the floor continued to rock and convulse beneath his feet.
The stone had fractured, creating a narrow opening, leaving steps cut into the rock. Above their heads, the narrow slip of light had widened to a wedge of daylight.
The other side of the wall was only a couple of feet away, so they could use both walls to wedge themselves in and push themselves up the rock face towards the light.
“Just go!” Mack yelled from the other part of the cave.
Tom boosted Sky up the first couple of feet. She used the opposite wall to support herself, bridging the gap as she reached for the next wedge in the rock. To Tom’s surprise, Bugs leapt out of the darkness and wrapped its smooth body around his neck. The initial shock wore off and Tom followed Sky, the rat tucked in close.
They climbed, Sky first, Tom following. He would try to catch her if she fell, though most likely she’d send both of them plummeting into the darkness below.
Don’t look down, don’t look down, don’t look down...
Higher and higher he climbed, the trembling walls making his ascent even more of a struggle. His foot slipped and his stomach dropped, but he managed to hang on, his fingertips clinging to the rock face, his heart pounding. He wouldn’t fall right down, it was too uneven, but he could hit his head and knock himself unconscious and bounce off the rock the rest of the way down.
Don’t think like that.
He looked up, relieved to see Sky scaling the jagged face like a professional. Each time the ground gave a particularly vicious shake, she stopped and clung to the crannies until it was safe to move again.
More debris dislodged from above, dirt falling in his eyes, pelting the top of his head.
All around them the rock shuddered and groaned, threatening to knock them from their precarious position, but as they climbed, the crack of light grew bigger and brighter.
They reached the opening and the whispers changed, building into shrieks of rage. The screams of a thousand tortured souls chased them out into the daylight.
Paranormal After Dark: 20 Paranormal Tales of Demons, Shifters, Werewolves, Vampires, Fae, Witches, Magics, Ghosts and More Page 319
