by David Gallie
It’s the look I had been expecting. I was now alone with these four strange men and my spirit friends. Even then I wasn’t sure if calling them friends was pushing it a bit too far.
Artemis and Jerub vanish in a cloud of smoke after saying goodbye, leaving me and Slendy to trek back to the car on our own. Its indicator lights flash as someone disarms the alarm and I can hear the locks on the doors open.
The rain is splashing against my face but this time, it doesn’t feel as good as it had done earlier. There is an empty kind of feeling in my chest and I wonder if it’s the sensation of my heart breaking in two. Slendy says nothing to me as I climb into the back of the car but I can sense he wants to say something, he just doesn’t know how to broach the subject.
Once I’m inside I glance out of the window and watch Derek and Steven say goodbye before heading up the garden path. My aunt watches me but the expression on her face isn’t one of longing for a lost loved one. There is something there that I can’t place and I know in my heart it isn’t nice.
‘Your aunt is a sweet old woman,’ says Steven as he climbs behind the wheel. I feel like telling him to shut up and just drive as fast as he can but I say nothing. I just want the night to be over with.
‘That can be debated,’ Derek chimes in as he closes his door and pulls his seat belt. The clicking sound it makes annoys me but his words arouse my interest.
‘How do you know my aunt?’ I ask, curious.
‘It’s a long story that will need to wait until later once we’ve dealt with this little shadow problem,’ I hate the way he says little shadow problem it really gets under my skin because he makes it sound so trivial.
These people seem to forget that this little shadow problem was what landed me in a lunatic asylum for over a year. If anything that was a pretty damn big problem in my eyes.
I’m about to lose my temper when I feel Slendy put his hand on my arm. When I look down I can see my fists are clenched and ready for battle. When I look up at him he’s slowly shaking his head at me, warning me not to make any rash moves.
I take a few deep breaths and allow myself to sit further back in my seat as Steven pulls the car out onto the road.
It doesn’t take long before we’re making our way up the wide road which leads to the Harrington Water buildings. There are bright halogen lamps on the side of each building which provide enough light for us to see where we are going.
All the lights on the dashboard of our car suddenly die as Steven turns the lights off. I wonder why he does that when he steers the powerful vehicle into the darkest patch of shadows he can find.
I can hear the mini-van pulling up behind us as Steven kills the engine and we sit in silence for a few moments surveying the area. Where we are situated no one would be able to spot us unless they really came looking. Over to the far right is a smaller building with a sign which tells me it’s the main office.
Opening my door, I take the other two men by surprise as I climb out into the night, instantly engulfed in the darkness. I pull my hood up so my face isn’t recognized right away if anyone spots us.
‘Lynk, wait for us,’ Steven tries to keep his voice low and shout at the same time.
I’m not listening, though. I keep to the shadows and head straight for the office building. There are no crunching sounds of footsteps to be heard and I guess if there is a security guard he’s either asleep somewhere or having a smoke break.
Either way, I don’t care. I keep marching until I reach the main office door and without thinking, I reach out and turn the handle. I’m surprised when the lock clicks and the door opens. I expected it to be locked.
By the time I ease my slender frame through the opening, I can hear Steven panting behind me and the sounds of the others behind him. As always Slendy is right by my side, silent, but there all the same.
‘Lynk, wait for us,’ he whispers again but I’m already inside.
The main reception area is fairly large. There is a long counter which separates customers from the staff. There are some cheap looking seats lined against the wall for anyone willing to wait, and beyond the counter, I can see desks cluttered with paperwork.
I scan every inch of the room, searching for the small altar made from logs. My thinking is that whoever had it would most likely keep it out in the open since no one is likely to know what it is and what it’s for.
I can’t see it but I do spot another door at the very back of the room. It probably leads to the staff bathrooms and utility cupboard but it was still worth checking out.
I’m the first to vault over the counter. I can hear the others following after me as I navigate through the small sea of desks and head for the door. There’s no lock on the door.
Turning the handle opens the door into a long, narrow hallway. I can see two more doors to my right. One marked with the little badge for a man’s toilet and the other for a woman’s.
Moving past these doors we soon reach a dead. There is one last door on the left and I know this should be a storage cupboard of some kind but when I open it I find it’s actually just the place the cleaners keep their tools such as mops and brushes and a really old looking hoover.
Disappointment reigns inside me and Steven looks at me with those beautiful and pitying eyes of his.
Damn it, I don’t need pity, I just need to find this damn key, I think to myself out of frustration before heading back the way I came.
‘Lynk, take your time, please. We have no idea how many guards are in this place,’ I hear Derek say, but again I just ignore him. I’m not in the mood to deal with them.
As I make my way back into the main room I can feel my heart freeze in my chest. Standing on the other side of the counter, guns and flashlights trained on us, was at least a dozen cops. Beyond them, I could see at least one patrol car parked outside the building.
I wonder how this could even be possible and then it hits me.
My aunty June.
CHAPTER 16
Old Bart, as my aunt calls him, is a mean old cop. His face is lined with years of constant growling and I have to admit that I’m scared. Not just of this huge cop tightening the cuffs around my wrists, but I’m also scared for the others.
I had never intended to let anyone get hurt but I have to watch as each one of them is paraded past me by other faceless cops, their heads hanging low. I try to call out to Steven but he doesn’t even look in my direction.
‘Well, care to explain why you and your friends are snooping around in this building. More to the point, would you like to explain why you’re not in the padded cell I put you in?’ Asks Bart.
He makes strange chewing sounds and I’m not sure if he’s chewing gum or tobacco or maybe just his own tongue.
This is the man who my aunt says left me black and blue all over. I have no memory of such a time thanks in part to the shock therapy, but I figure it’s best to keep my attitude in check to save myself a beating anyway.
‘How did you find me?’ I ask, my voice low.
‘I ask the questions first, not you,’ he grabs the chain of the cuffs and wrenches them upwards forcing the metal to dig deeper into my flesh. Tears prick my eyes from the pain but I make no sound. I’m not going to beg him for anything.
‘I know and I’ll answer them if you answer mine first,’ I say through gritted teeth, determined not to cry out in pain.
‘Let me just say that your aunt is a very caring woman,’ the big cop has a vicious tone in his voice and I can tell he is loving every moment of this.
‘Now, how did you end up with four more escaped convicts?’ his words strike me like a blow to the head. Did I just hear him correctly?
Four escaped convicts?
‘They rescued me from the asylum,’ I gulp, ‘I had no idea they were escaped, convicts.’
Old Bart laughs to himself. It’s a deep, devilish laugh that even Satan would be proud of I think.
‘Of course, you didn’t psycho, you wouldn’t have known they escaped f
rom Marshview Maximum security prison over three weeks ago, he says, and I know he’s not telling me this because he cares.
He’s telling me so I can get a sense of just how deep in the mud I was.
‘I honestly didn’t know that,’ I’m stunned and unable to say much else.
‘It’s all good. Roland is looking forward to having his precious little princess back in her room tomorrow morning, but before he comes to get you I need to book you once again,’ he starts dragging me towards the door and the tears I was fighting back manage to break free.
I feel so dumb and naive for trusting these people. I really was just an insane little girl.
By the time Old Bart hauls me outside, the police cruisers containing the four men who I thought were my friends, have long vanished. I find it odd that they are gone so quickly, and even as I squint up at the big cop, I can see a look of confusion on his face.
‘Boys must be wantin’ to get home early tonight,’ he says to himself as he drags me towards his cruiser.
‘Okay my little psycho bunny here is your chariot,’ He opens the door and throws me inside, forcing me to wriggle my body until I’m sitting upright.
The whole car sags to the left and it’s suspension creaks as Bart slides behind the wheel. My stomach is acting funny again, but for some reason, I’m not scared and I don’t know why.
I turn to Slendy but he’s gone, just like the others.
I have no idea how long it takes us to reach the police station on the outskirts of town. It looks like it’s been placed as an afterthought by the town planners who never gave a thought to the fact that bad people might decide to settle in Orange just like they do everywhere else.
I secretly enjoy watching the big cop get soaked as he opens the rear door and begins hauling me outside. I don’t mind the rain. I was just starting to like it before my freedom was snatched from me.
‘Move it,’ he shouts at me followed by a few choice profanities I had never heard before. I make a mental note of them since they might come in handy later in the shock therapy sessions.
A woman wearing the green and brown cop outfit stands behind the front desk. She looks tired and annoyed. The way she stares at me over her rimmed glasses makes me think of Dina back at the dungeon.
I wonder if their sisters as Bart shoves me forward until I slam into the solid wood counter. A sharp burst of pain spreads across my chest where it connects with the wood and for a brief of moment I feel a little breathless and dizzy.
‘Margret, where are the boys?’ Asks Bart.
Margret gives the big cop a distasteful look, licks her cracked lips and shrugs her shoulders as if their the heaviest things in the world.
‘No idea Bart. I thought they were with you,’ she says, and I can tell she’s a smoker because her voice has that croaky sound that most smokers have.
‘What the hell has happened to them?’ The question seems to be more for himself than me or the woman, ‘I better go and find them, will you book psycho bunny in and stick her in a cell for me?’
‘Sure thing Bart,’ Margret nods, licking her lips like a frog.
We both watch the big cop storm out before I turn my attention back to Margret. I don’t stare since I don’t want to antagonize her. But strangely enough, she smiles at me instead.
‘You okay honey?’
‘A little sore but I’ll be fine,’ I take a few moments to think of the words before I speak them. I don’t want to upset this cop even if she seems friendly enough.
‘Yeah, old Bart isn’t terribly good at handling the girls. Doesn’t seem to realize we need a softer touch,’ she says, shuffling some papers into order.
I offer my best smile under the circumstances and wait patiently for her to take me to my cell. I hear the jingling of a set of keys that she picks up from in front of her and then she’s moving around the desk towards me.
When I first entered the room I thought she was sitting down, but Margret is actually a tall woman. Her legs seemed to be longer than the rest of her body and I swear if she licks at those lips of hers again I’m going to do something I know I will regret a lot.
‘Come with me honey, I’ll show you to your cell,’ she says, looping her arm around mine and she leads me towards a door that I remember very well.
I know beyond it was a row of six cells designed to hold up to four prisoners at a time. As far as I understood it, the county didn’t have a major crime problem so as she led me to the end of the hall and brought to me to a stop outside cell 6, I wasn’t surprised to hear nothing.
The other cells were empty.
I watch as she unlocks the cell and then my cuffs before nudging me towards the small room. I don’t bother putting up a fight. There’s no point to it. I obediently step inside and turn to watch her close the door.
‘I never believed you killed all those kids. You’re just too sweet to do something like that,’ she says before slamming the door shut and locking it.
My jaw drops at her last words. I never expected to have a friend, or at the very least a sympathizer within the police force. This is a first for me.
The cell is dimly lit and there’s a small cot on the far side of the wall facing the door. A pristine metal toilet sits just off to the right and I check to see if I need a pee. I don’t. Instead, I find my legs are heavy and I need to sit down.
The cot feels surprisingly comfortable. Much softer than the one waiting for me back at the dungeon. I can already see Roland’s smiling face, his eyes full of hate for me as he hauls me down the hallway past the other loonies to the shock room.
It’s an unpleasant thought but it’s not like I have a whole lot of other things to look forward.
I sit on the edge of the bed with my head in my hands. The tears are still threatening to resurface but I manage to keep them at bay. I’m trying to figure out just how much of the today’s events have been real, and what ones my mind decide to fill in for me when Slendy breezes through the steel door like a ghost.
‘What do you want?’ I ask aloud, not caring if anyone else hears me talking.
The tall, slender man, tilts his head at me as if he can’t understand why I’m upset.
‘I had to go help the others,’ he says, and although I don’t show it, there is a part of me that is glad of this.
But then my anger comes back.
‘How come you help everyone else except me? Even those other two guys have been absolutely no help. No one is ever around when I need them,’ I blurt, a stray tear escaping one eye. Damn it.
‘I’ve told you before, I’m only allowed to help you under extreme circumstances. Other than that I’m simply here to monitor your progress,’ he sounds more like a computer than a living thing.
‘Whatever,’ I groan and put my head back in my hands. I’m trying not to think of anything but for some reason, Steven’s face keeps cropping up at the front of my mind. Even if what I was told is true and he is an escaped convict, then he could be just as crazy as me. So at least we have something in common after all.
‘Please don’t be upset with me. I have been warned not to mess with your destiny,’ says Slendy and I don’t bother to look up at him.
‘It doesn’t matter, come morning I’ll be transported back to the asylum and the dungeon and my destiny as you call it will mean nothing anyway,’ I sound bitter as I hear my own words leave my mouth.
Maybe I was but can anyone blame me for feeling that way?
‘You are far too precious to be left to rot in an asylum, all will be well. You will see,’ the man known as Death says.
‘If you say so,’ are the only words I can think to say to him. No witty comeback or even a little bit of sarcasm.
Death takes a spot in the corner near the shiny metal toilet as I lay down on the bed. I don’t sleep, though. I just keep my eyes closed so I don’t have to stare at Slendy.
I almost doze off when I hear the sound of a door being wrenched open further up the top of the hallway outside. Followin
g that comes the sound of heavy footsteps which I know can only belong to one man. Bart
Swinging my legs off the bed, I quickly jump to my feet as the door unlocks and after a brief screech of metal against metal an enraged Bart stands in the doorway, his nightstick in his hands.
‘Where are they?’ he screams at me, rage in his eyes.
‘Who?’ My legs begin to tremble with fear.
‘Don’t give me that you little psycho. Where were the five of you supposed to meet if you got away?’ he screams again and I can see thick blue veins popping on both sides of his forehead.
‘There wasn’t any meeting place because we didn’t think we were going to get caught,’ there was no hint of a lie in my voice but that didn’t seem to be enough for the big cop and I realized at that moment the only thing he wanted to do was hurt me.
I knew this because my aunt had already told me he had left me black and blue over the last time. I have no option but to accept my fate so I turn my back to him, wondering where the nightstick will hit me first.
‘You little tramp, don’t you dare turn your back on me,’ he screams and my heart races like it’s never done before as I he rushes up behind me.
I feel a tremendous burst of pain across the top of my head as his nightstick collides with my skull. A short yelp escapes my mouth and my legs buckle and the world is swallowed by an infinite blackness.
CHAPTER 17
When the blackness recedes I find myself staring up at the night sky in all its vastness.
A frown crosses my face when I notice that I’m moving but I’m not using my legs. I look down to see my feet being dragged across grass. When I tilt my head back I can see a hooded figure holding onto my head as he pulls. Panic rises up inside me like a serpent.
As the old farmhouse comes into view I realize I’m back in Ezikal’s field. This field is situated at the rear of the building where I had been frozen inside the ritual circle. Fear eats at me as I try to escape but it seems the man under the hood is either superhumanly powerful or I’m not really moving my body.
