Diary of the Displaced Box Set

by Glynn James

  I moved into the middle of the yard, took out the key and concentrated on locating the wall at the end of the bridge, in The Corridor, the place where the door had opened and allowed us to escape before. My mind reached out in a way that I had forgotten until now, and in front of me a small hole appeared. One that was similar to the random holes that I had seen in The Corridor, after the storm. I focussed on that small hole, willing it to grow, until there was a gap big enough for us to go through.

  I stared at it for a moment, wondering why it wasn't in the shape of a door, like it was before.

  I stepped forward into the gap and walked through, changing the hole from merely an image of the other place, into a real hole. My ears popped as the door was opened.

  So, there I was once more, in The Corridor. The darkness in the pit below made my stomach churn. I knew exactly what was shambling around down there.

  Behind me, DogThing shuffled through the gap, followed by Dha'mir. Dogthing walked over to the edge of the precipice and looked over. He remembered as well.

  "Still zombies down there."

  I turned to Dha'mir.

  "This is it. As I promised. We will keep the door open until you come back. Good..."

  FLASH

  I move quickly through the junkyard. DogThing at my side, Andre, Joshua, Abegail, Chione and others close behind.

  We're in London. At the junkyard. Many years ago. Andre had been watching the area for a long time, investigating every strange phenomenon that happened, confirming that the place called Gallowshill would be the most likely entry point.

  So easily they gave up their secrets, even though they defied us at first, and then cursed and denied their admissions afterwards. The minions had been crawling around London for years, preparing for the arrival of their master, and the Horde that would follow him to Earth. We had caught them all, all of those minions sent to pave the way, and we had burned each one of them until they told us what we needed to know.

  "We don't have much time," shouts Abegail.

  I glance around to where she is looking. Over on the other side of the scrap yard, no more than a few hundred yards away, in the middle of the strange scaffolding platform that the original owner put up to build his house, the air is crackling with energy. Dark swirls of blackened mist are gathering into a cyclone that will precede the opening of the first portal on Earth. If that one is opened, then more portals will open all over the world, and we will have failed yet again.

  I stop and drop my pack to the ground.

  "Here is good."

  The others pull the packs from their backs and haul out the contents. We begin assembling the device, all of us breathing heavily. This has been practiced many times before, and it will only take a few minutes to assemble the device.

  "I can't believe that we are this close," shouts Chione, over the noise of the wind. I can see the fear in her eyes as she hurries to put together the main chamber, the cylinder that will fill with energy.

  "We need to be," I reply, as I fix the first battery to the power coupling. "It has to work this time. This is the only way to catch him for sure."

  Less than a minute later and the device is assembled and switched on, ready to use. Abegail stands behind it with the control pad in her hand, waiting for me to say go. Everyone else has their guns out, trained on the black tornado that is now forming. The six Vigilant soldiers that we brought with us form a line in front of us, also with their guns ready.

  "I've never seen one this close," says Andre.

  "No," I say. "Me neither."

  He shakes his head.

  "We actually got it spot on this time."

  "Don't start celebrating yet."

  Chione looks me straight in the eyes.

  "Dad, what if it's not him? What if those burning ones come through first?"

  "It will be him. Don't you worry about that. He is always first, along with his gate openers. The portal needs to be fully open, and to do that, the opener must step through it. That means him and his cronies. It's important that we kill those gate openers. Without them, he won't be able to open more doors."

  She looks back at the tornado.

  "It's opening," shouts Abegail.

  "Wait," I say. "Not yet."

  She nods.

  The tornado implodes on itself, and the energy tears open the tiniest of holes. Then the hole begins to grow, until I can see dark figures on the other side. The hole expands further, until it is big enough to swallow an entire house. Then the dark figures step through. The misty barrier that separated this world from the other vanishes, and the hole becomes real.

  Four figures appear, pale, thin and gaunt, each of them bearing a chain around their neck with a talisman upon it. They look like compasses, but are really parts of a single device that Nua'lath uses to open the door, each time draining these wretched creatures of a little bit more of their soul. Their skin is nearly dropping off of their bodies. These are the ones Dha'mir told me about, the ones that have to die if we are to trap Nua'lath.

  Nua'lath is the next through, followed by some of his kre'esh pets.

  "Now," I shout and there are several clicking noises as Abegail presses the switches. The device bursts into life and the shockwave deafens me as a cloud of bright energy spreads out around us. Then the noise. The wind as the device opens the rift that will drag us all away from Earth.

  I look over at Nua'lath, who has now seen us and is looking directly at me. He glances behind him, seeing what I see. His portal collapses and we are pulled from Earth into The Corridor. The whole area around us is torn away and dumped into the darkness.

  "Fire," I shout, and the guns answer. Shards of invisible energy tear through the kre'esh at the front. I see Nua'lath run into the darkness, followed by some of his pets. Two of his Gate openers drop dead as the Vigilant soldiers target them specifically, but the other two panic and dash in different directions, heading into the darkness alone.

  I wait a moment, allowing the Vigilants to kill as many of Nua'lath's creatures as possible before they vanish from view.

  "Move," I shout. "To the exit. Time to leave, folks."

  "What about the other two Gate openers?" shouts Abegail.

  "No need," I answer. "Dha'mir told me about them. Two are dead. He needs all four. He will need to kill them now, and create four more. Which is why we don't want anyone alive in here now. We've done it."

  Then we're running through the darkness, following the markers that will guide us to the gates. Abegail is running at my side. Every few hundred yards we meet another group of Vigilants, who then join us in our exodus. They were placed there to back us up if we were followed.

  "We did it," shouts Abegail over the noise of dozens of boots on the hard ground. "We got him."

  "Yes," I answer, as I gasp for breath.

  We pass the old London bus. The Waylander team has already packed up and is waiting for us.

  I stop, out of breath. Everyone around me is crouching over, gasping for air.

  "Okay. Two minutes, that's all. Then we move again. We have a day's journey ahead of us. Andre. Radio ahead. Tell them to evacuate and secure The Warrens and wait for us. Then call the team at the waterfall. We need that exit shut and sealed up."

  FLASH

  We're in The Corridor. It's years later. Maybe only a few months ago. Abegail, DogThing and Andre are by my side.

  We are standing on Merriwether Avenue, in The City. Just down the street I see the top window of the safe house is open, music drifts from the open window and the curtains blow in the breeze.

  "You really think that music will bring him here?" asks Abegail.

  "I think so. We know that he comes here, and the noise of the music seems to travel like no other sound does. It has to work. It has to keep him snooping around here whilst we find out what is going on out there."

  "I hope so."

  "Okay. You all get down into the bunker and wait for us to get back."

  "I'm worried. We should
come with you."

  "No. We need to be quick, and draw little attention. We need Nua'lath distracted long enough to locate whatever he is using and destroy it, and I need somewhere to run to if we get into trouble. Be ready. Chione has my key, and the coordinates for the bunker, she will be able to get us out of there."

  "You be careful," says Abegail.

  "Always."

  I turn to the four Outriders that stand a few feet away, waiting for me.

  "Let's go and do this."

  FLASH

  A week has passed and we have travelled across The Corridor and finally finished up at The Junkyard. Other places turned up nothing, but now we have found how Nua'lath is still causing chaos.

  I'm standing on the scaffolding, looking at the door to the pocket dimension. I curse. How could we have missed it? How could we have misjudged that pulling an opening portal from Earth, and through to The Corridor would create such a strange phenomenon? It confirmed our suspicions. Nua'lath was able to reach outside because he was able to step into another dimension, albeit another sealed one. But once there, the confines of The Corridor were no longer a problem. It was surprising that he hadn't figured out a way to escape yet.

  Nearby, the four Outriders stand nervously looking out into the darkness around us. None of us even see the kre'esh moving swiftly through the darkness towards us until it's too late. Before I can even react, or warn them, all four of them are knocked off of the platform, falling into the junk below. I hear guns going off, but also screams. Lot's of kre'esh are moving around down there,

  I start to run down the scaffolding, to go and help them, but something moves behind me. I spin round, as Nua'lath lunges for me. I try to duck out of the way, but I'm not fast enough. DogThing is. A flurry of movement and a flash of fur and DogThing and Nua'lath tumble off of the edge and down into the junk below.

  I stop. I could go and help DogThing, or I could make an attempt to destroy whatever device Nua'lath is using to reach outside.

  I hesitate, but then chose the latter. DogThing may just be able to keep him busy long enough for me to do something. I dive through the open door, into the space beyond. The room is empty except for a dressing table in front of me.

  A mirror.

  I grab my gun and turn it in my hand. He must be using the mirror to scry. This is how he is still controlling the Horde, even from within his prison. I step forward, about to smash the mirror with my gun.

  Something moves in the mirror and it's not me. I falter for a moment and try to focus on what it is. The image is clearing. A face. I don't know who he is but our eyes are locked together and now I cannot look away. I'm stuck, unable to move.

  I curse, and try to break free, but I don't have the strength. Something grabs me from behind and pulls me away. A hand is around my throat and I am being lifted off of the floor and dragged back out of the room, all the time I can see the man in the mirror, his mind locked with my own, and just as terrified as I am.

  We're out on the platform and Nua'lath is holding me by the throat.

  "Now I shall finally feed on you, Rat."

  My jacket and my armour are torn from me, weapons and equipment thrown off the platform and into the junk forty feet below. All the time his tight grip breaks bones and tears muscle. I see his mouth open as he pulls me in. Sharp, bloody teeth are about to bite me.

  But it doesn't happen.

  Another flash of fur, DogThing was still alive, and Nua'lath is launched away from me once more. I drop to the ground, one foot hitting the wooden planks, but the other foot kicks out into open space. I'm falling. I see the ground rush up to meet me. Then I burst through the junk and hit the ground. I lie there, barely conscious as everything seems to be slipping away. I can feel the junk collapsing on top of me. The last thing I can remember before I pass out is hearing the thoughts of someone else echoing in my head.

  FLASH

  The flashbacks receded, and I was back near the entrance once more, with Dha'mir and DogThing, but something was wrong. Pain exploded in my chest. I couldn't breathe. Something was stuck in my chest. Dizziness washed over me and I collapsed to the floor. I could see the handle of my blade, the one I took from CutterJack, sticking out of my ribs.

  I glanced to my right, to where DogThing was still looking over the edge of the cliff, down at the zombies below. I tried to call out. He turned, his eyes lighting up with anger. He rushed forward, but there was movement next to me, and a sudden gust of strong wind, and DogThing was hurled over the edge of the cliff, down into the mass of zombies below.

  Dha'mir stood over me and smiled. Even though I couldn't turn round, I knew from the darkness around me that the door was no longer open.

  "What a fortunate turn of events. Those flashbacks of yours are quite dangerously distracting are they not? I was content to know that I would be able to finally kill Nua'lath and take the power that is rightfully mine. But to leave you to die in here as well, and take this? Most opportune."

  He was holding the compass key. Nua'lath's key.

  In the distance, below us, I could hear growling and gnashing of teeth, and the moans of countless zombies. DogThing was putting up a good fight.

  I watched helplessly as Dha'mir pulled my pack from my rucksack and rifled through my things. He took out a single bottle of oil and one of the cigarette lighters and placed them on the ground, and then he threw the pack out into the darkness. It plummeted down towards the zombies and disappeared amongst them.

  "Does that hurt?" asked Dha'mir. "Such a shame. I should kill you right now, and I may regret not doing so, but because you have been so helpful to me, I will let you die up here, slowly, out of the way, where the zombies cannot get to you. Maybe you will even live, maybe your friends will figure out how to re-open the door and come and help you, as unlikely as that may seem. I think that blade will be your end. I am truly regretful for doing this, but you have to understand that I could not miss out on this opportunity. You would, after all become an issue later on, and to remove one of the Horde's most prominent enemies is most fortunate. For me."

  One by one he pulled my guns out of their holsters and tossed them over the edge. I couldn't help but feel the irony of being stripped of my equipment yet again.

  "Farewell, Mr Halldon. I hope it does not take you too long to die."

  I couldn't move. The pain was too much. All I could do was watch as Dha'mir walked off across the scaffolding bridge. It wobbled under his weight, but still held. As he walked away, I saw the trail of oil that was pouring out of the bottle that he had taken.

  He vanished into the darkness, but moments later there was a spark of fire, and the oil took light. The flash rushed along the wooden boards and then spread out, until it engulfed the entire platform.

  Below, the zombies were still once more and everything was quiet, apart from the crackling of the flames.

  Day 53

  So I'm still sitting here, up on this small rock outcropping in The Corridor, alone and injured once more, looking out at the burned ruins of the bridge across the zombies. There is no sign of DogThing after his fall. I can only presume that he fell to them or escaped somehow. If I'm right, it will be a couple of days before he regenerates, and then he may be able to help me.

  After passing out at least twice, I managed to pull the sword from my chest, and it's lying on the floor next to me. The gaping hole has already closed up, and I know it will only take a day or so before most of the damage is gone. I'm surprised that Dha'mir had so little experience of the Resistance to not know that we could heal from nearly any wound if given the time.

  If only I hadn't had the flashbacks. I could have turned around when he was gone, walked out of the door with DogThing, and sealed the two of them in to kill each other and then found a different way to get to my family, wherever they are. Now it seems that both CutterJack and Dha'mir are sealed in together, but I'm here as well.

  Dha'mir burned the scaffold platform, so he didn't intend coming back here, which means t
hat either he knows something that I don't know, something that CutterJack wasn't able to figure out in the decades that he was trapped here, or he doesn't yet realise that the key won't get him out of here in any other location. He has to come back this way.

  What I wouldn't give to have my friends with me now. Rudy and Adler. How useful would they be getting through the zombies that now trap me? Or Reg with his shotguns. Or maybe Marie. I don't know how well she fights against zombies, but I would imagine she is dangerous.

  Out there is not just one, but two nightmarish enemies, and one of them has my key.

  But this time I'm not as confused as I was before. This time I know I'll be able to kill the creatures that prowl this place. And I already know where the mushrooms are.

  And I know that Abegail and my daughter could well still be down here somewhere, wherever the bunker is, they must be locked away in there, waiting to be rescued and they have been waiting for nearly two months. I just need to remember where that might be, or wait for a memory flashback to tell me. They can't be anywhere else, and I won't accept the only other answer.

  I know one thing. This time I won't fail. This time I will somehow destroy both CutterJack and Dha'mir.

  This time it will be different.

  Book 3

  The Ways

  Knowing that death is not coming is the strangest of feelings...

  It may have been days that I've laid here on the rocky cliff, in pain, but somehow I don't think it's really been that long. I hope that the time that has passed in between each unconscious period was merely hours. Every moment that I lie there, not moving, not trying to get away, was more time wasted as Dha'mir wanders around in The Corridor, hunting for CutterJack, and maybe hunting for Abegail and Chione, wherever they were.

  It would be very handy if CutterJack or Dha'mir were already dead when I finally managed to get away, but I had this terrible feeling in my stomach that it would not be quite that simple. A few times I had managed to push myself up and look over the edge to see if the Zombies were still there, and search for any signs of DogThing, but nothing changed.