by Milo Spires
Raffious mumbled his concerns and asked who was coming. Longinus waited without answering, even though the old bastard had once again saved him from the swamp.
Longinus looked up the passage with his face firmly pressed into the bars to get a good look. When he did see who was coming, he nearly shit himself. It wasn’t just the jailers, as he had expected. This time it was obviously much more serious, because Hoidrious was with them.
Turning around like a child caught out of bed by his parents, Longinus leapt back onto the bench and resumed his statue-like pose from before.
‘Who is it, damn you!’ Raffious cursed, to which Longinus hissed furtively, ‘Hoidrious is coming! Shut up!’
Raffious had expected this moment. He knew that it had to come eventually.
But why had they waited a whole week without addressing me? he wondered.
Surely on Day One of his capture, they would have tortured him to get Rex’s secret whereabouts, which was on a raft bobbing up and down on the Bewl Waters reservoir.
Why hadn’t they?
Then the fear had loaded into his brain as he wondered if this was not, in fact, Judgement Day. Pay or play, so to speak. Give them Rex or they would come in and hack off some limbs or maybe an eyebrow or two. Then leave for a month and come back to do more when the pain had finally begun to subside, as the stump from the missing limb had gradually stopped squirting blood and then healed.
He was well aware of how one would scream as he was being dissected. The sad memory of the blacksmith’s brutal death now flashed before his eyes. The man whose services he had acquired to fabricate the silver sword, and then had in turn fabricated a plan so that he would never have to pay him.
After being shown the thing, he had taken it in his grasp and tried it for weight between both hands. It had been beautiful— about two meters in length, double-edged, and razor sharp.
The blacksmith had been waiting behind him for his reviews whilst, like a kid, Raffious had played out his fantasies. He had completely believed, for just that moment in time, that he was a formidable warrior, a gallant knight taking on some nefarious beast.
After watching his client vehemently swinging and cutting his enemy to pieces, the blacksmith, growing slightly impatient, had coughed a couple times to draw his attention to parting with the coin.
Raffious had dispassionately turned around low and, with a view to truly test its abilities, had given the sword a vicious, horizontal swipe. In doing so, he had sliced off the blacksmith’s legs just above the knees. After that, ignoring the man’s screams, the arms had gone next. Then he had walked over to the limbless, shivering body and, point-down, then skewered the man straight through the back of the head.
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Hoidrious stopped outside their cell with his jailer/executioner-looking goons. Turning to look inside, he grinned openly, his expression looking as if he expected them to leap up and greet him like long-lost friends.
Raffious closed his eyes, and Longinus didn’t move.
Raffious, of course, was paralysed, so it made sense that he didn’t jump at the chance to ingratiate himself with the leader. However, Longinus had a plan, and it involved antagonising Hoidrious just enough to make him snap. It seemed to work, because he was able to telepathically message Hoidrious, proving that messages worked at close range. It was obvious that they couldn’t reach down or up from the cells though.
The message he sent was not a friendly one.
Hoidrious was furious, from the apparent boiled look on his face. Longinus apologised vociferously, saying that the lack of blood had messed with his mind. With this lie, Longinus knew that Hoidrious would still be brewing, looking for the slightest reason to explode.
Longinus’ plan was forming; now he just needed Raffious to engage it unknowingly.
And engage it he would. Longinus felt sure that the lying, treacherous bastard of a slithering little toe rag was sure to fall into his trap.
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When Longinus had been thrown into the cells on Day One, he had realised that there were no telepathic thoughts coming down from the coven above. This had caught his curiosity and made him think.
Could this in fact somehow be used as a way for him to escape? But it would have to be at the right time. He had to time it so that he could rush out the main doors upstairs, finally free of the putrid stench, as night time began to unfurl its splendor. Even though he had no watch, his instincts told him that it was about night time right then.
A dripping sound had come from the next-door cell, which seemed to always be on cue. Every eight seconds, whatever it was, dripped. After he’d gotten over the almost loss of sanity hearing the thing, he had realized it could be used to guide him like a watch. It was monotonously repetitive, but whilst zoning out he had counted the drips. This was how he knew that now, if there was a chance to escape outside, it should be safe to flee. There would be little to no chance that he could burst out the doors upstairs and find himself committing suicide, as he ran headlong into the deathly rays of sunlight.
The only drawbacks had been the damn pangs for blood and the misty swamp. Could he have been out each time, just long enough to ruin his counting and without realizing it, have got the timing badly wrong? Raffious had said they only lasted a couple of minutes each time though, so with one swamp an hour, as it had seemed to be, he reckoned that his mental watch was still somewhat accurate.
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‘Apology accepted,’ Hoidrious said to Longinus for ignoring him, ‘but the next incidence of insolence will be punishable by death.’
Longinus swallowed deeply. Raffious chose this time to open his eyes, curious as to what was going on.
Hoidrious then claimed he had something extremely funny to show them. He paused for a moment to allow their curiosity to grow, then told Longinus to remove the arrow from Raffious’ leg.
Longinus paused, then slowly reached down. Just as his hand was beginning to pass through the gases coming off the thing, Hoidrious startled him.
‘Not bare handed you fool. The thing will kill you. Take this.’ He threw a leather glove through the bars.
Longinus picked up the glove cautiously, not really sure he wanted to take it to pull the arrow out, in case Raffious just left him there on his own. He knew the old boy had said he would never leave him after all the caring he had done for him in the cell, but then again Raffious was the reason he was there to start with. Surely he would just laugh as he vanished—a cold, demeaning laugh, as on the hillsides of Brighton with Vius.
Longinus knew his plan for escape involved Raffious, and wouldn’t work without him.
‘Do it!’ Hoidrious shouted.
With the glove on, Longinus took hold of the arrow. Looking up into Raffious’ eyes, he whispered furtively to him, ’Take me with you!’
Raffious blinked twice, a pre-agreed Morse code between them for “yes”.
Behind them, Hoidrious burst out laughing.
Longinus quickly pulled backwards and the arrow ripped out of the old boys leg.
Instantly, Raffious leapt up. He intoned some words as Longinus stood there gaping, the luminescent shaft in his gloved hand, glowing.
Dropping the arrow behind him, Longinus grabbed hold of Raffious, knowing that he was summoning spells and was just about to leap out of there.
Raffious booted him in the stomach, winding him. Then he pushed him away.
Longinus had had his suspicions confirmed—the old boy was trying to leave him there. But as the words were spoken, Raffious looked more and more shocked.
Hoidrious burst out laughing again, and his goons joined in.
Longinus grabbed Raffious by the arm again, desperate to be taken out of there.
Not understanding what was happening himself, the old boy screamed out, ‘My spells are gone! Nothing works!’ Then he aggressively ripped his sleeve out of Longinus’ grip and said, ‘Get off, you fucking idiot!’
Longinus was shocked, but Raffious more. All the time they had spent arguing in the past week about pulling the arrow out, it hadn’t matter anyway; his spells wouldn’t work.
‘Did you really think I would leave you down here in the same cell if there was a chance Longinus might pull it out and both of you then vanished?’ Hoidrious chortled, looking at his goons.
Longinus was furious. All the caring he had done and all the bullying Raffious had done to him before in the outside world, and still, given the chance, the fucker was going to leave him there. He had just proven it.
Almost bent over double now in hysterics, Hoidrious was banging the rust-flaked bars of the cell with his hand whilst stamping a foot. ‘Fucking hilarious, wouldn’t, you agree?’ His croaky voice stammered. He stumbled slightly as he stepped backwards, because he found the whole scene so funny.
Chapter 33 – I Don’t Think I can Fit.
Kaine reappeared. He was dressed in his perfectly clean and fully ironed battle gear that Regina had washed for him. His hair was slicked back and his face was now much paler, which meant he was feeling a lot better.
‘They are digging again, darling,’ Regina said, pausing to see his reaction before continuing. ‘I guess because you decided the answer was no to accepting the offer and then I told Becky that I had decided I am not going to accept it either, Heaven restarted time again.’ She was looking quite worried.
‘Don’t worry about those fools just yet, darling, as I have some more tricks to come their way.’ At the alarmed looks he was getting, he hastened to say, ‘And not oxy acetylene either, so please stop with the looks. I doubt I will ever blow that up again—damn nearly killed myself with that stuff.’ He laughed.
He then said in a more serious tone, ‘Anyway, first I want to say that the angel was definitely not Raffious. Don't ask me how I know, I just know. I also believe we should concentrate all our thoughts on an escape plan now, rather than anything else. I'm not overly concerned though, because if we don't find a way out and they break through the rubble, they have fucked me off so much with all of this, im gonna fucking kill em all.’ He said, changing his tone as rage then began to build within him.
Pausing and then adding, ‘And I say this only once. I want to fight them alone. Sorry Becky, but I can’t be watching out for you. Nor you, my beautiful wife. I know that you all have a feeling I'm better off left alone in battle, I'm sure of that. Well, trust that feeling, because when they start coming up the stairs I'm going to go absolutely crazy. Walls will get destroyed, concrete stairs smashed to pieces and used as weapons…you really don't want to be there, trust me.’
‘What about the dogs?’ Regina asked as a wave of fear raced through Jenny.
‘I fight alone. They stay and protect you women, and you hide together with them. Don't worry though, because I will be coming back. You must not come out of hiding, whatever you hear. If it sounds like I'm screaming, just think to yourselves that it is part of a plan. You never come out of hiding, do you understand, my lovely ladies?’
They all nodded, exchanging worried looks among themselves.
The noise inside the walls was getting increasingly much louder now.
Becky remembered back to when she was a little girl at the orphanage, and there were builders in their basement. They were digging out the downstairs two floors below them for the new playroom. They had big machines and there were lots of men too. She couldn't remember nearly as much noise from them, or at least nowhere near the same as what she could now hear coming from these evil vampires, who were also, only a couple of floors below them too.
‘Jenny, do you remember when we had those builders digging the basement playroom out at the orphanage? Well that was only two floors below us in an old building too. We couldn’t even hear them banging away down there. How come then the noise is so loud here? We are two floors above the vampires,’ she said.
‘What are you saying, Becky?’ Kaine asked, looking at her inquisitively.
‘I don't know, it’s just much louder. Are the walls maybe hollow in here or something, Kaine?’ she asked, looking at him questioningly.
Kaine thought about her question for a second and then had a flash back. He remembered back to when he was doing a job putting up some shelves in the lounge. The drill he had been using, had hardly started going into the wall before it had pushed forwards, as if it had gone into thin air behind it. He had loads of hassle finishing that job, as he had to go out specially to get some cavity wall brackets that were designed for hollow walls. At the time he had asked himself the same question.
Doubting Becky had something but still, he ran over to the wall and started tapping on it in different places. Within seconds, his curiosity got the better of him. Stepping back, he gave the surface an under arm punch from waist height and was shocked as his arm vanished into a void behind.
Pulling his arm back out with bits of plaster dropping everywhere, he crouched down and then peered inside. Waiting milliseconds for his vampire vision to take over, he was shocked because of what he saw.
‘I can’t believe it. There’s a set of steps inside that seem to be leading down. Hang on…yes, there’s a passageway at the bottom,’ he said with a delighted chuckle.
This was perhaps the answer to his long-unanswered question of how the old cable cars were drawn back and forth many years before. All the time he had lived there with his wife, they hadn’t figured it out and it had annoyed him.
Standing back up, he took a couple of paces back before hurling a frenzied attack on the innocent wall, punching and kicking it until there was a huge hole that he could walk through.
‘Well done, Becky!’ Regina said as she looked across at her. Becky could only grin at her own serendipitous cleverness.
‘I’m going in,’ Kaine said eagerly, then he disappeared into the darkness beyond without waiting to discuss whether he should or maybe shouldn’t go.
‘Why don't you go and help Kaine?’ Regina said to Becky, knowing that this was a perfect time for her to try out her new vampire eyes.
Becky glanced across at Jenny as if in need of approval, and Jenny nodded before saying, ‘Go on then.’
So she did.
Stepping cautiously forwards into the darkness, she found that as she did, so the blackness suddenly vanished. Everything was bright all around her, as if somehow there were lights concealed in the ceiling, or she was outside on a gorgeous mid-summer’s day.
‘Wow, this is absolutely amazing! I can see as if it’s daylight!’ she shouted excitedly, like a child getting the perfect Christmas present.
Regina laughed ‘I knew you would like it. But hurry—we have no time, so go and try to find a place to hide in there. Or better still, see if there is another way out.’
Jenny watched as her friend started running down the stairs, sidestepping fallen bricks from the demolished wall that were lying precariously in front of her. A moment later, she could only see Becky’s silhouette, then nothing at all as she disappeared into the darkness.
Regina put her arm around Jenny and gave her a little squeeze, ‘Come on, we need to go in there too. You can’t see, so we have to be really quick and make some torches.’ She leaned in, a devilish grin on her face. ‘Unless you want me to turn you into a vampire, that is.’
Jenny smiled back at her, realizing just how much she had grown to understand her new mate in the short time that she had known her. If she had said that line to her a couple of days previously, she felt sure she would have shit herself and screamed. Now though she knew straight away it was only a joke.
