Joseph felt the impact first. Something hit his gun, although he thought it seemed more like a kick, but he couldn't see what happened. His rifle jumped again, leaving his grasp, and he could have sworn it hung in the air for a moment before flying straight down the stairs. For a brief moment, he watched as the deadly weapon clattered and slid down the stairs before a man's leather shoe stopped it ten feet away from him. He looked upwards, taking in the man's features, and stopped when he saw the stranger's angry face staring back at him with a look of dark fury. Lightning crackled from the coast's direction, briefly illuminating the man's straight-bridged nose that seemed to resemble an eagle.
The man lifted a finger towards him, his eyebrows settling on Joseph as the target. "You. Joseph Denton," his voice boomed above the thunder that cracked and rolled about them as the first drops of rain spattered upon them. "I want you."
Joseph stepped back as another flash of lightning flared from behind the stranger whose eyes seemed to glow, but it was a trick of the light.
"I don't know even know you," Joseph shouted into the thunder that rolled around him. "Who are you?"
"You don't know the people you killed either, Joe," the stranger roared back. "But that hasn't stopped you wantonly killing them."
"But they deserved to die!" Joseph retorted, watching as the tall stranger reached his level.
"Just as Shane and Jai died?"
Joseph stood still, shaken, and recovered after a brief moment. "You leave them out of this."
Joseph lunged forward, whipping out a knife to slash towards Craig who dodged backward and to the side. The sniper recovered his footing, preventing himself falling down the stairs, and circled to face Craig who had moved behind him. Each wanted to say something but there was no time as they faced off like two wild beasts in the jungle. The cobra and the mongoose. Joseph lashed outwards with his large knife, slicing through the air; Craig sidestepped again, pushing Joseph's knife arm away to push him off-balance before delivering a triple punch to Joseph's head.
The rain puddles created a slick surface on the metal platform and their boots slipped under them. Both Craig and Joseph regained their balance easily, but there wasn't much room to manoeuvre. Joseph shook his head, holding his guard up to stop Craig's advances, and blinked away the pain in his head. He knew his opponent was not military trained, but his fighting technique was strong. Using a criss-cross pattern with the knife, he steadily moved forward towards Craig who stood his ground.
"It doesn't have to be like this, Joseph," Craig shouted into the drumming rain. "The police are coming too, and there's another detective already here."
Joseph kept moving forward towards him, inching closer with the wicked blade. Craig knew it was going to have to end soon. He stepped forward, catching and locking Joseph's knife hand as his foot planted a hard boot heel into Joseph's foot. The sniper screamed, his fingers releasing the knife which clattered off the platform and down to the river below. Craig repositioned, keeping the joint lock and thrust his elbow into his opponent's face. Joe slipped on the platform, overbalancing, and Craig pushed him; he thumped down the stairs, rolling and bumping halfway to the next platform down before he stopped himself.
The sniper reached out with one hand, grabbed a railing, and pulled himself up. Craig didn't move, just stood there, waiting on the high ground. Neither of them noticed Brianna hurrying up the stairs, about thirty metres away from Joseph. It may not have mattered even if she was closer.
Joseph's hand moved quicker than a striking taipan. No one heard the loud report as lightning struck and thunder slapped the air, rumbling around them. Something flared from Joseph's hand at the same time.
Brianna screamed, and Emily yelled something, but it was too late.
Craig spun to the left, his head jerking to the side, then fell to the ground as the bullet hit him.
Chapter 34
Brianna screamed into the thunder, but only Emily heard her. They could do nothing but watch the handgun's muzzle flash. Thunder outclassed the sound of the gunshot.
Brianna watched in horror as Craig spun on the spot. His hands flung out wildly, but he couldn't control his fall, and he landed like a rag doll on the platform above. She reached for her own handgun, and watched, as things seemed to slow down. Joseph Denton turned towards her voice, his handgun raised to fire at her, but his hand flew to the side. Brianna thought she heard Emily shout something; she sounded angrier than a swarming hive of hornets. Something thumped, clanging. She saw the small shape of Joseph's handgun drop from his hand and then his head snapped to the side. A vague shape, like a black rag or cloak, moved through the air and whirled around the sniper.
Joseph Denton's mouth screamed, and it was the bastard child of unadulterated fear, confusion and pain. His arms flailed about to block the blows but it was no use. Then his hands clawed at his throat, and his voice was little more than a choking gurgle as Brianna finally came close enough to hear. But, there was another voice as well, one that seemed familiar but she couldn't place it. A male's voice that hissed in anger.
Then Joseph rose into the air as though something were holding him up by the throat. His legs kicked at empty air, one hand grasping for something near his throat and the other trying to push at something else. Could it be a face he's trying to push back? Brianna wondered.
"Emily! Stop!" Brianna implored. "Don't kill him."
"It's not me," Emily's voice answered from beside Brianna, making her jump. "I'm right here."
"Then who -?"
Joseph screamed as he fell into the murky darkness towards the black river water below. Brianna knew it was too late for Joseph Denton, but she didn't care about him, anyway. Her feet pounded and her breath burned her throat as she ran up the stairs towards Craig's body. Had that been Craig's ghost that killed Joseph? Why couldn't she hear him?
Both Emily and Brianna sat near Craig's still body that lay in an uncomfortable heap. The detective squeezed his hand. Lightning flashed, illuminating Craig's face, and she could see the rain washing the blood away from his mouth. The same storm disguised her cries as she held Craig close, cradling his head to her chest.
The thoughts in her mind were only for her loss of Craig, but this was so like when she lost her first love while serving in the Army. Memories flooded back with painful vengeance, reminding her of their arguments when they first met, his cocky attitude, and their first kiss. Tears came to her eyes. She knew she should call for help, but her phone wasn't working; even if it were working, the rain would have waterlogged it beyond working order. Brianna settled for holding him close, rocking with him back and forth in the rain. She couldn't save him, but she could comfort him until-
Brianna heard a cough, and Craig's body stiffened. His head moved, and she felt embarrassment crawl over her. Not daring to breathe, she watched as Craig turned his head to the side and opened his eyes before looking up at her. His eyes seemed to jump from one thing to another without focusing; grogginess. How long did he have to go?
"Emily, we're going to need an ambulance," she murmured. "I know you're a spirit but can you do something?"
Craig's expression changed, and he seemed to wake up and regain lucidity. "Ambulance? We don't need one." His voice sounded strange, almost choked off.
Brianna tried to shush him. He shook his head, pushing her back a bit so he could have room to sit up.
"Rest," she said, shivering against the cold wind blowing in the rain. "You've been shot."
Craig looked amused. He held out his hand, leaned over it, and spat something into his upturned palm. He held it out to show her. She looked at the small glob of blood in his hand and gasped. She thought it was a tooth, but her eyes focused in the dim illumination from the bridge's streetlights reflecting upward, and she saw a small object. Her eyes opened wide in surprised relief.
"Holy shit!" She couldn't stop herself from saying it when she recognised it as a bullet. "How did you do that?"
Craig picked the bullet up in his fing
ers, held it up for her to see better, and grinned; he had a tooth sitting askew in his mouth. "With my teeth," he answered.
Brianna couldn't help laughing, and she hugged Craig close. His arms went around her too as he joined in with some chuckles as well.
"Should I do this more often?" Craig quipped, only to be punched hard, but playfully, by Brianna in response. He groaned with a laugh.
Chapter 35
Craig Ramsey woke the next day with a start to find sunlight flooding in to his room. His room? It wasn't his own bedroom. He took in the sterile details of the walls: a simple painting of a tree; a wooden carving of Jesus on a cross, and a stench of disinfectant in the air. He winced from the lump on his head and turned to see Brianna sitting in a padded chair next to the bed. Craig watched Brianna's face, the peacefulness of her closed eyes, as she breathed in gentle sleep. Emily appeared at the foot of his bed, the television on the wall showing through her translucent blue figure.
"Well, well, well, sleepyhead," Emily whispered with a smile. "How are you this morning?"
Craig blinked, trying to remember how he came to be in hospital. "What happened?"
"You passed out again," Emily explained. "You were concussed from the fall to the ground after Joseph Denton shot you."
He winced, feeling the bump on his head. "How long am I here?"
They turned towards Brianna who was now waking, taking a deep breath as she stretched with a wide yawn. Brianna noticed Craig looking at her. "Oh, you're awake," she yawned again.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," Emily said to Brianna. "Our patient is looking much better this morning although I have seen plenty better!"
"What happened to Joseph Denton?" Craig wanted to know. "The last thing I remember is when he pulled the trigger on me."
Brianna started to explain. "After he shot you - or at you - and you fell, Emily went for him. He couldn't see her and -"
"No!" Emily responded. "I never touched him. I had been out of the way while you fought him, Craig. There was another spirit there."
Craig took a swig of water from the glass next to his bed. He winced as the cool water hurt the tooth that moved out of place when he caught the bullet. "Who?"
Emily shrugged. "I didn't get a good look, but it was male."
Brianna's face lit up as she remembered. "Yes, it was male," she added. "I'm sorry I thought it was you, Emily."
"Was it Shane Denton?" Craig asked, although he couldn't understand why Shane would have tried to hurt his own brother. "But, more importantly, you have caught Joseph, right?"
Brianna shook her head. "He went over the railing and into the water." She paused. "It's a long drop to the river below. They are still looking for his body."
A couple of hours later, a stiff and sore Craig Ramsey walked alongside Emily and Brianna towards Shane Denton's room. As he approached, he noticed the police guards were missing from the door but said nothing. They were released from duty after the news of Joseph Denton's deadly drop in the river.
"Can I help you, Father?" the nurse at the reception desk called out to him.
"Father?" Brianna said, but Craig shushed her as he recognised the nurse.
"I'm here to see Mr Denton," he responded. "I meant to see him yesterday but-"
"Mr Denton has been transferred," the nurse told him. "I thought you would have known."
Craig smiled. "People never tell me everything I need to know," he grinned, hoping his injured tooth wasn't too noticeable. "Which hospital?"
The nurse looked at some paperwork nearby, paused to read it, and looked back up. "It seems he's been taken to-"
"Gemini Research Centre," Craig said, finishing the nurse's sentence and surprising her.
She couldn't hold back the surprise on her face. "Yes! Did someone tell you after all?"
"I had a feeling they would be interested in Mr Denton," he responded, turning to walk away. A dark cloudy expression covered his face as he walked away.
Brianna hurried after him. "Project Gemini?"
"Yes," Craig growled. "The government bastards have him, and they have figured out what a weapon he can be."
As Brianna drove them home to Craig's place, Brianna told Craig about how the mobile phone towers were all working again. He nodded, not appearing to take it all in, although she knew he was mulling things over in his head.
"And," she said, with a happy note. "Today is the first day in just over a month I haven't received a phone call about a mobile phone related traffic accident."
"That's something," Craig answered, looking out the window at the people walking along the footpaths.
"I wonder if Sally Green's interview and the video clips on social media have made an impact," Brianna spoke, adding a slight upward note to the statement so it almost sounded like a question.
Craig looked at a group of people playing some game on their mobile phones, walking along the footpath as they did, completely oblivious to the pedestrians and vehicles they almost collided with. The game involved catching video game creatures and was location-based. He shook his head, a sarcastic look coming over his face. "Yeah, and if I flap my arms really hard, I can fly to the moon."
People never changed. Just like Narcissus and his fatal obsession wih his reflection, they loved their technology; it was an addictive obsession tainted with doom. And, he could do little about it.
But Craig Ramsey had other things on his mind. He hadn't been completely unaware of things after hitting his head. Craig remembered flashes of Joseph's assailant, and there had been something familiar about his saviour. He looked at his phone, flicked to the messages screen, and saw an unread message waiting for him. It was from Tyrone. His heart beat faster in realisation as he pondered if he should open it or not. At last, he made his mind up, read it, and dropped the phone from his trembling remorseful fingers. Colonel Ryan was right.
Never turn your back on the living for the sake of the dead.
Acknowledgments
Thank you for reading Dead Cell. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing it for you. It's been a wild ride while writing it.
I have special thanks for my beta-readers. Helen Odins is a good friend of mine who I first met in 2005 when we worked together selling mobile phones. She's a voracious reader and a quick proofer. Kris Verity is a writer friend of mine, and you will see her work in the future. Her comments on the characters verfied my interpretation of Inner Muse's thoughts.
Dead Cell is based on a short story idea that came to mind in 2012. The original adversary was Joseph Denton, a trained assassin with superb abilities that killed drivers for the same reasons. I won't name those reasons in here because I know some people jump straight to the end to find out what happens. If you did that, ha ha! You missed out.
Not long after completing publication of Twelve Strokes of Midnight, I decided to look at this idea closer. Who would the hero be? I went through a few different versions there. Emily Fraser was originally a male spirit. I won't divulge his details because I see him coming up in a future book with the same characters.
As you know, Tyrone is in a new predicament, and Colonel Ryan hinted that a big storm is coming in the future. Craig Ramsey's work is not finished, and there are some bumpy times ahead for him and Brianna Cogan.
My wife Katrina and I are preparing for our firstborn child, and we're both looking forward to the adventure. In between helping with nappies, feeding, burping, and whatever other things come up, I will try to write more about Craig, Brianna, and Emily. As for how the stories appear (novel or short story) I can't say at this time. But there is more, and I hope you will join the journey.
Please feel free to visit me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ChrisJohnsonAuthor. Drop me a note. Say, "hi", and tell me what you think. And please, post a review at your favourite bookstore.
Until then, take care!
About The Author
Chris Johnson was born in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia, at a very young age to parents who,
for reasons unknown, treated him like a child in his very early years. He later ran away as a young adult and now lives with his wife and a spoiled cat in Brisbane where he works as a stage mindreader. His other work includes "The Trick" and "Twelve Strokes of Midnight".
Chris Johnson can be contacted through his FaceBook page http://www.facebook.com/ChrisJohnsonAuthor and his website http://ChrisJohnsonAuthor.blogspot.com.au
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Did you love Dead Cell? Then you should read Bootstrap's Journey by Chris Johnson!
When Claire Hilyer receives a mysterious letter and package from her best friend Tony, she thinks it an unexpected romantic gesture.
Then she learns Tony sent it over twenty-five years ago, before his birth.
Intrigued, Claire visits Tony's house. She arrives in time to see him fighting a stranger, and a moment later, they vanish before her eyes into the past.
Tony's package is a cry for help from 2017 to Claire. He must learn to survive without money, family or friends in an era before his birth. Meanwhile, a deadly enemy craves Tony's invention - a time travelling device - for his own deadly purposes and stalks him from the past and the future.
Can Claire save Tony and bring him home before time runs out?
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