by Amy Cross
“I prefer Sophie,” I say. After all, it's only one extra syllable.
“Okay, Sophie,” he says as we reach a set of steps and head up. “We're going to try something different with you today. That's why I came to find you. And I think it's going to be fun”.
When we get upstairs, Dr. Lucas opens the back door and indicates that I should go out into the garden. But as soon as I step outside, I realise there are four rather large men waiting for me, with a van. I turn back to Dr. Lucas.
“Don't be alarmed, Sophie,” he says. “They're just going to take you to another facility for some treatment that we can't give you here. You'll be back with us by dinner time. It's just a little road trip for a few hours. Is that okay?”
I look at the men. They don't look particularly friendly. Dressed all in black, they seem kind of intimidating.
“I'd rather not,” I say, turning to go back inside. Inevitably, Dr. Lucas puts a firm hand on my shoulder.
“I'd like you to go by choice,” he says, “but if you refuse, I can have these gentlemen take you by force”.
“Does Dr. Penfold know about this?” I ask.
“It's Dr. Penfold's idea,” Dr. Lucas says. “He's always been a proponent of electro-shock treatment and -”
“Electro-shock?” I ask, interrupting him. “You're not doing that to me!”
“Relax,” he says. “It's not like you see in movies. It's not big jolts of electricity to your head. It's a series of very thin wires inserted into your brain and stimulated with relatively small currents. You'll barely notice it”.
I look at the four men waiting for me, and the large, dark van.
“I don't think I want to go,” I say, trying to stall for time while I think of a more effective way out of this.
“You'll be glad of it once it's over,” says Dr. Lucas.
At that moment, something strange happens. Something I never expected, something I never saw coming. As I look at the van, I start to cry. It's completely irrational, it makes no sense at all. I've never been much of a crier, but tears start rolling down my face. “I don't want to go,” I say, trying to sound firm despite my lower lip starting to wobble. I turn and try to walk back inside, but Dr. Lucas grabs me and then the four other men come over and start pulling me towards the van.
“No!” I shout. “No!”
“See you this evening, Sophie,” says Dr. Lucas, smiling. “It'll be fine, I promise you. I wouldn't let them take you if I had any doubts that this is the best course of action for you”.
Though I struggle as hard as I can, I can't stop the men getting me to the van and throwing me into the back. They then slam the door shut and lock it before they go around to climb in at the front.
Dr. Lucas walks up to the van door. “Please don't cry,” he says. “We have to think about the baby as well now. If you've given birth, there's a baby out there and God knows where it is or who's looking after it. We have to get your head in gear so we can help you and help your baby”.
“Patrick has it,” I say through the tears.
“Patrick's not real,” says Dr. Lucas. “Therefore, Patrick doesn't have your baby. Therefore, there's a big problem. Let's just hope that someone is taking care of it, okay? There are...” He pauses, seemingly a little uncomfortable. “Well, Sophie, there are consequences for you if it turns out that you gave birth and then you allowed any harm to come to your baby. So it's in your own best interests for us all to get this resolved as quickly as possible”. He bangs the side of the van. “If we don't do this, something bad might happen”.
The engine starts and the van starts to pull away. I stare at Dr. Lucas as he, and the facility, recede into the distance. There's no way I can allow this to happen. I can't have electro-shock therapy. There's nothing wrong with me, apart from maybe a spot of amnesia... well, okay, a whole year of amnesia. But I don't need electro-shock to get me out of this mess. I need to find Patrick and find out what the hell he's done to me. As the van speeds away from the facility, I start banging on the sides. They have to let me out of here. They have to let me go and find Patrick. They have to understand!
8.
Ennis Penfold, my grandfather, was most certainly a racist, murdering old bigot. But he was also the man who sat me on his knee, told me stories about his life, and taught me to hunt. He was in many ways a good and decent man. To those he loved, he was true and loyal. He would have given his life to save me, or to save my mother. So although he had his bad sides, he was very much a product of his time. He went too far, obviously, when he lynched those men. But despite all of that, despite everything that the history books say... He was not a bad man.
“Any sign of the child?” asks a voice from behind me.
I turn suddenly, midway through pouring myself a glass of whiskey. I had no idea there was anyone else in my office. But he's here. He's standing in the corner, behind the curtain.
“Not yet,” I say. “I've sent her off for some special treatment at another clinic. Electro-shock therapy”.
Silence for a moment. My visitor, though familiar, chooses to remain behind the curtain so that I can't see his face properly. “How's that gonna help,” he says eventually. He takes a sip from his own glass of whisky. Nice. Obviously he helped himself to my drinks cabinet while he was waiting for me.
“If it unblocks her amnesia,” I say, trying to explain everything clearly, “it could help us to discover where she left the child”.
I hear laughter from behind the curtain. “Dr. Penfold, I don't think we're going to have much luck even if we do track the child down. Not at first, anyway. I think you know why”.
I take a sip of whisky. “Patrick,” I say.
“He's dangerous,” says the voice. “He's unstoppable. Well, not completely unstoppable. I stopped him, once, but he managed to get going again. But if he's got that child, we sure ain't gonna be able to just waltz in and take the little angel”.
“So what's your plan?” I ask. “If you don't think you can do anything to stop him, or to take the child, what's the point of all this?”
There's silence for a moment. “If we can get that child, we can use it as the seed to start a new race of vampires. No need to cut it up and figure out how it works, we can just breed it with humans and wait for our little army to arise”.
“And that's really what you want?” I ask. “A new race of these... creatures?”
“Of course, doctor,” says the voice. “It's been decades since the vampires were wiped out. It's high time we got ourselves a new generation, only this time they won't be skulking around in the shadows. They'll be the dominant species on the whole damn planet and that's when we'll be able to control everything”.
I pour another whiskey and glance at my watch. It's almost lunchtime. Sophie should be almost finished at the other facility by now. The van should be ready to bring her back, and then we can see how the electro-shock therapy went. “You want to create a new race of vampires, just so they can be your slaves?” I ask.
“Nothing wrong with slaves,” says the voice. “Your grandfather like slaves, didn't he, Dr. Penfold?”
I down the glass of whisky. “John Tarmey mentioned Patrick today. At first I thought it was a coincidence, but then I realised there must be a link. What's going on?”
“Tarmey's a piece of the puzzle,” says the voice. “An unimportant piece, but a piece nonetheless. You'll see. His time's nearly up anyway. His job's nearly done”.
The phone on my desk rings. I pick it up. “Penfold,” I say.
“Dr. Penfold, it's Malcolm Armitage from Stevenage,” says the voice on the other end. “Your patient hasn't arrived yet, I just wanted to check if you're still sending her”.
Instantly, I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “They should have been there over an hour ago,” I say.
“So they're still coming?” Armitage says.
“Yes,” I say. “I'll check up on them. I'll call you back”. I disconnect the call, then I dial anothe
r number. After a while, with no-one picking up, I put the phone down.
“Problem?” asks the voice.
“Sophie should have reached the other facility more than an hour ago,” I say. “But there's no sign of her. And the van drivers aren't answering their phone”.
There's more laughter from behind the curtain. “Sounds like the vampire's got a few things to say about your plan, Dr. Penfold. I hope you've got a back-up, 'cause I'm gonna be very unhappy if you start fucking things up”.
“Nothing has been fucked up,” I say.
“Then where's the van?” the voice asks. “Where's the girl?”
“They're on course,” I say. “I have this all planned out. They're just a little delayed, they probably had a flat tyre or something”.
“You really believe that?” says the voice, sounding angry. “The only thing you had to do was get the girl to answer our questions before the fucking vampire turned up. You couldn't even do that. Your grandfather would be ashamed of you”.
“It'll be okay,” I say. “And don't you dare talk about my grandfather”.
“I knew him better than you ever did,” the voice says. “You were just a child when the racist old bastard used to read you children's stories on his knee. I heard his real stories. I knew the real Ennis Penfold”.
I try to call the guards' van again, but there's still no answer. “I'll send someone to check on them,” I say. “One way or another, this is still going according to plan”.
9.
After about twenty minutes, I stop banging on the sides of the van and sit back. There's no point wasting energy now, I might as well wait to see if there's any chance that I can escape once we get to wherever we're going. Besides, I feel like a fool, raging against something that seems totally inevitable. I glance over at the small window that opens into the front cab, where I can just make out the four guards who have been assigned to accompany me on this journey. The fact that there are four of them seems a little excessive, but I guess I'll take it as a compliment. They sure seem determined to get me where I'm going.
Eventually, I find myself almost falling asleep. I sit in the corner and my head starts to droop. I haven't been sleeping properly lately, and the rhythm of the van's movement is quite pleasant after a while. As I start to sleep, I find myself dreaming of a simpler time when I used to visit Patrick and Vincent in their underground home, when Vincent would open out his old books and tell me some arcane story while Patrick would skulk about nearby. It's hard to believe that Vincent's really dead, and I can't help feeling that Patrick has changed since that terrible night. It's as if Vincent kept Patrick calm and made sure he made good decisions. Lately, Patrick has seemed more wilful, more determined, more... dangerous...
Suddenly there's a loud bang and the van skids to a halt. I fall onto the floor and bang my head against one of the other seats. Sitting up, I hear animated discussions taking place in the drivers' cab.
Eventually, I hear one of the front doors open, then slam shut, and footsteps make their way slowly along the side of the van. I go to the back window, and after a moment I see one of the four guards is out there, checking to see if the van has been damaged. He keeps glancing off into the woods by the side of the road, as if he's not sure what we hit.
“Is everything okay?” I shout.
He just looks at me and carries on walking around the van. I follow the sound of his footsteps as he walks along the other side, but there's a sudden loud bang and the whole van shakes, then there's another, then a cracking sound, and then I hear what sounds like someone climbing onto the roof. I stare up at the ceiling, listening to what sounds like someone walking about up there. Did the guard go up to take a look? Suddenly there's a sliding sound, and as I look at the back window I see something fly off the roof and land on the road. I walk over and look out.
Crumpled on the ground, about ten metres from the van, is the body of the guard. Someone just threw him off the roof. There's a patch of blood under him, and he's clearly dead.
I look back at the other end of the van as I hear the front door open again. Another guard has come out to see what's happening. Almost instantly, there's another loud bang, as if something has been slammed against the side of the van, and then there's silence.
I hear the other guards trying to start the engine, but it won't engage. They sound pretty frantic. Finally, I hear the front doors open and then I hear the sound of them running around to the back of the van. I go to the window. One of them is running as fast as he can down the road, jumping straight over the dead body of his colleague, while the other is trying to open the back door to get me out.
As I watch, the one who's trying to get me out is suddenly lifted up in to the air. I look up at the roof, and I can hear what sounds like a fight up there, culminating in some more banging and then, finally, another cracking sound. After a moment, another dead body falls off the top of the van and lands in the road.
I listen as someone walks about on the roof of the van.
“Patrick!” I call out.
No reply
“Patrick!” I'm sure it's him. It has to be him. Who else would – who else could – do something like this? And why's he here? Why did he kill those three guards and let the other one escape? Is he here for me? Is he here to stop them taking me to the electro-shock therapy? Or is he here because he wants to do something to me himself?
“Patrick!” I shout for a third time. “I know it's you! Let me out!” I go to the back door and shake it. “Let me out, Patrick!”
I wait. Silence. Then I hear a creak up on the top of the van, and I know he's still there. What's he doing? What's he waiting for?
I grab a box from the corner of the van and throw it up against the roof. I figure I've got to get his attention somehow.
“Patrick!” I shout. “For fuck's sake, Patrick, open the fucking door!”
Silence.
I wait.
Nothing.
Usually, when he's being quiet, I can at least see his face. I can at least work out what he wants, and to some extent what he's thinking, by looking at his eyes. But I can't even see him this time. All I can tell is that he's obviously angry, and... I look out the back window at the two dead bodies on the road. I'm pretty sure he killed at least one more guard as well. I've seen Patrick kill before, but never... Did he have to kill those men? Couldn't he have just let them run off?
A sudden chill rushes up my spine. What does Patrick want with me? Why is he here, and why is he delaying coming down to see me? Is he trying to avoid something?
“I need to talk to you!” I shout.
Nothing. But I know he's still up there, I don't know how, I just know.
“You have to tell me what happened!” I shout. “You owe me that! Why was I missing for a year?”
There's a slight creak as he moves a little up on the roof. I grab the box and throw it up against the inside of the van again, to get his attention.
“You can't just ignore me like this!” I shout.
Nothing.
And then -
The sound of him jumping off the roof and landing on the road beside the van. I listen, and after a moment I put my hand on the inside of the van wall.
“Talk to me!” I shout.
After a moment's silence, I hear a rustling sound as he walks away into the forest.
I step back. Looking down at my hand, I see that it's shaking. I'm not sure why... Anger? Fear? Maybe a little of both. I walk back to the van wall and start banging on the side. “Come back!” I shout. “Patrick!”
I turn as I hear a noise nearby. Going over to the little window, I see a car has stopped further back, and someone is checking one of the dead guards. I guess they must have scared Patrick off. He would have come down and listened to me, wouldn't he? He owes me an explanation for what has been going on. And why did he attack the van, and kill the guards, only to then walk away and leave me once again at the mercy of Dr. Penfold and the staff at the psychiatric hos
pital.
The back door of the van opens and Dr. Lucas stares in at me.
“What the hell happened?” he asks, shock written all across his face.
“Patrick,” I say.
“No kidding,” he replies. “All the guards are dead. Who did that?”
“Patrick,” I say again.
“This isn't...” He pauses. “This isn't supposed to happen”. He looks around at the forest. “Where is he?”
“You believe me?” I ask.
“I have no fucking choice,” he says. “There are four dead guards on the road”.
“Three,” I say. “One of them escaped”.
Lucas nods. “We'll find him. But we have to get out of here. Come on”. He reaches a hand out, waiting for me to take it and follow him.
“No,” I say. “I'm staying here to wait for Patrick”.
“Patrick... If he was here, he's gone. Come with me”.
I shake my head. “You scared him away. If you leave, he'll come back”.
“And do what?” Lucas asks. “You think he came to save you? Then why didn't he save you?”
I open my mouth to argue back, but the truth is: I don't know what to say. I have this dark, sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that tells me Lucas is right about this.
“If he's real,” Lucas continues, “then you pose the biggest threat to his secrecy. Do you really think he wants you wandering around, telling everyone about him?”
“He wouldn't hurt me,” I say.
“For fuck's sake, Sophie, you've got to come with me!” He states at me, and I can't help feeling that he actually cares. He's not like Dr. Penfold, who seems determined to just keep on doing the wrong thing at every step of the way. I don't trust Dr. Penfold, but there's a part of me that thinks I can trust Dr. Lucas.
“Patrick would never hurt me,” I say. “Never in a million years”.
“You want to risk that right now?” Lucas replies. “Do you want me to leave, and leave these doors wide open? You want to wait until it gets dark, and see if he comes back for you? And even if he does, are you really sure you want that?”
