by Fred Crawley
Nathan turned away from the girl and tried to forget about her. She was too high to be of any use to him now but she was safe and that was what he had set out to do. He managed to work his leg up beneath the ghoul and with all his strength extended it.
The ghoul fell back and Nathan scrambled to his feet just in time to see it land in a heap on the floor. He grabbed the girl’s wrist and pulled hard. “Come on,” he said and started running.
The girl resisted, but he was stronger. The ghoul was probably already back on its feet again. A moment later he heard its footsteps on the ground and knew that it was chasing them.
They ran past the post office and around the corner. It was darker here, but he couldn’t think about where he was going. The girl was still struggling and shouting in his ear. Nathan ignored her, dragged her across the road without stopping to check for traffic and ran into the park.
There were no street lights and the cold was so bitter that he thought he would shatter if he fell. There was a path between patches of grass, but it seemed to disappear two metres in front of him.
“What are you doing?” the girl said. She tugged her arm to try and get away, but he held firmly. She didn’t know how much danger she was in and he couldn’t let her go until she was safe. “Let go of me!”
Nathan could hear the ghoul moving slowly towards them. Its footsteps made no sound, but its huffing and puffing made him think of a rhino preparing to charge. He had his hand over the girl’s mouth. She was trying to bite him, but he barely felt it. They crouched together at the base of a statue.
The ghoul stopped moving. Nathan guessed that it was about five metres away. The darkness was so complete that he couldn’t even see the girl. He waited, but nothing happened. A moment passed and then he realised that he couldn’t hear the ghoul breathing anymore.
He relaxed a little but it was still out there somewhere and any sudden movement might bring it back towards them. They needed to wait until it had left the park.
Nathan felt something sharp in his leg. A cold, searing pain, that seemed to go right through the muscle. He jumped and let go of the girl, his hand was barely away from her mouth before she started to scream.
He felt her get up and she started to call for help. He couldn’t do anything to stop her. Nathan reached down to his leg and felt something wooden protruding from his trouser. He reached for it and, when he touched it, he felt more pain. It reverberated through his whole body and he cried out. Even if the ghoul hadn’t returned at the sound of the girl’s voice, it would do so now.
“What did you do to me?” he said. His voice was weak and he could feel something warm and wet in his hands.
“Stay away from me,” the girl said.
Nathan ignored her and put his hands around the wooden thing. He could feel the bottom of something metal and realised with dread that she had stabbed him.
“You fucking stabbed me,” he said. The swear word sounded strange coming out of his mouth, almost as if he was speaking a foreign language. “You fucking stabbed me!”
“Stay away from me,” the girl said.
He could hear footsteps approaching, but he couldn’t even stand up. The pain in his leg was so bad that he thought he might pass out. The only thing that kept him conscious was the certainty that if he blacked out for even a second, the ghoul would find them and he would never wake up.
Nathan reached for the knife. It hurt to touch it, but he had to do more than that. He wrapped his fingers around the wooden handle and gritted his teeth.
The girl screamed with surprise and he thought that the ghoul might have got her, but he had to focus on the task at hand.
The handle was slick with blood. His own blood, he thought with a sickening dread. He tried not to think about what he was going to do when it was out. He wouldn’t be able to walk into a hospital and ask them to take care of it.
He held the handle tightly, braced himself and then started to pull.
The pain came in a wave so strong that he thought he really might have passed out. Everything became fuzzy and dark like he was hung over. When he came back to reality, he realised that he was holding the handle and falling backwards.
He landed against the base of the statue with a thud that he barely felt. The pain in his leg hadn’t lessened noticeably, but he found that he could stand and move with only a slight limp. He knew that it was just the adrenalin coursing through his veins, but that would have to do for now.
Nathan stood still and listened.
He could hear the ghoul breathing and shuffling footsteps. It was dragging something heavy. Nathan wondered whether he was going to save the girl or avenge her. The fact that she had just stabbed him in the leg made it difficult to decide which he would prefer.
He moved towards the noise, keeping as quiet as he could. He tried to picture them, but he found it impossible. He was limping and bleeding and there was an odd twitching sensation in his upper leg.
When he was closer, he was able to see the outline on them. The girl was struggling and trying to get away. She wasn’t making any noise, but she was alive.
Nathan launched himself at the creature. A searing pain shot through his leg and it felt as if he was being stabbed again, but he ignored it. Gripping the knife tightly, he slammed into the ghoul and broke the two of them apart. The pair of them fell to the floor. The pain was so bad that Nathan didn’t know if he would be able to get back up again.
The girl screamed so loudly that it sounded as if her mouth was against his ear. The ghoul was lighter and more frail than he had expected. It offered little resistance, but he could feel it wriggling and struggling to get free. It took Nathan a moment to realise that he was actually on top of the girl.
He rolled away and she helped by pushing him. She was crying and snorting, she didn’t seem capable of making actual words. Nathan struggled to his feet and waited for the ghoul to jump on him from somewhere in the darkness.
Nothing happened. He gripped the knife and the girl got to her feet beside him. She took his arm and he could feel her pressing against his side. A moment ago she had stabbed him in order to escape; now she was clinging to him for comfort.
“I think it’s gone,” Nathan said.
The girl was trembling. “What was it?” she said.
Nathan shook his head. “Come on,” he said. He started walking, leaning on her for support, the pain in his leg almost unbearable.
“Oh your leg!” the girl said. “Did I hurt you?”
Nathan limped on towards the light on the other side of the park. “Don’t worry about it,” he said.
“No, you’re hurt,” she said. She seemed to have recovered very quickly but, Nathan thought, she didn’t know the full horror of what had just happened. She hadn’t seen what the ghouls were capable of. “I need to take you to the hospital.”
“It’s fine,” Nathan said. “I’m fine.” He wasn’t fine, but he just wanted to see the girl to somewhere safe so that he could see how bad it really was. He felt weak and warm, almost feverish. If it was bad enough, he would have to go to a hospital. They would call the police and he would be arrested, but it would be better than bleeding to death on the street.
They left the park and he shivered. The ghoul might have been anywhere, waiting for another opportunity to attack them or simply watching to see where they went.
The girl didn’t give him her name, but she insisted she take him to the hospital right up until he flagged down a taxi and pushed her inside. He watched it drive away and stood beneath a streetlight. His trousers were soaked in blood and he was filthy but the pain was starting to become numbness and he felt strong enough to make it back to the warehouse.
CHAPTER 21
AFTER A WEEK, NATHAN’S LEG BEGAN TO FEEL better. The numbness had lasted only long enough to make it back to the warehouse and he had almost fallen down the spiral metal staircase, only catching himself in time to slow his descent into the dirt. He had made enough noise for Garrett to come running
and presented a bad enough tableau for him to start shouting for help. It had taken three people to carry him into the warehouse where Courtney had stumbled over and inspected the damage.
A man called Carpenter had been a doctor in a previous life and, though his hands shook from the alcohol, he was able to stitch Nathan’s leg up. He was sure the conditions weren’t anywhere near sterile, but it was better than going to a hospital and handing himself over to the police while he still had absolutely no evidence of his innocence. When it was over Courtney had sat down beside him and asked him what had happened. Nathan had told him as much as he could, replacing the ghoul with a man and watching Courtney nod as if this sort of thing happened all the time.
For the first three days, the fever got worse and he was convinced that he had an infection and was going to die. He had expected visions and delusions to come in force, but the warehouse had a peculiarly calming effect on him and nothing worse than doubt crept into his mind.
On the fourth day, he was able to sit up and by the fifth the pain in his leg had begun to recede. By the sixth day, he began to feel trapped and claustrophobic and by the seventh he thought that he would go mad if he didn’t see the sky soon.
He limped across the warehouse towards the stairs. Courtney had made sure that he had enough to eat and drink so that he was as far from starving as he had been since he’d arrived on the streets. But he felt weak and vulnerable, as if a stiff breeze might knock him down.
“Where are you going?” Garrett said.
Nathan turned around slowly. The cuts and bruises on Garrett’s face had healed, but he still had the same dirty used look that they all wore. It always shocked Nathan how young his friend looked.
“I need to get out,” Nathan said.
“I’ll come with you,” Garrett said.
Nathan had expected Garrett to try and stop him, but then he realised that this wasn’t that sort of place. He shrugged and they climbed the spiral staircase together. Garrett held the door open for him and Nathan wondered how he had managed to do it himself, as weak as he had been.
The night was cool and crisp. Nathan couldn’t move quickly, but Garrett didn’t rush him. If he made it to the end of the path where the road led up to the station, it would be progress. He tried not to think what would happen if the police, or something worse, saw him. He was not in any condition to run away or fight.
They walked in silence for a few minutes. Nathan focused on putting one foot in front of the other without falling down. Garrett walked slowly beside him.
“So you want to tell me what happened?” Garrett said once they were out of sight of the warehouse.
“I told you,” Nathan said.
He could see Garrett nodding out the corner of his eye. Even from that vague movement it was apparent he didn’t believe a word of it.
It seemed to be taboo to ask anyone why they were homeless but Nathan was tempted all the same, even if it was just a clumsy way to change the subject. He was pretty sure he could guess why most of the people in the warehouse were there, but Garrett remained a mystery. He seemed too young to have succumbed to alcoholism and drugs like the rest.
They walked on in awkward silence and after a few minutes Nathan felt the stiffness in his legs begin to abate. His movement became more confident and he was able to move more quickly. He didn’t feel up to going back into town yet, but he knew that he would do soon. The next day or possibly the day after, he had things that he needed to do.
“Come on,” Garrett said when they reached the road. There were no cars, but he could hear the steady bass from the gentleman’s club to their left. If they went any further, they ran the risk of somebody seeing them.
Nathan stood for a moment. The town centre was on the other side of the office blocks that lined the opposite side of the road. He wondered if Gwen was still there. For the first time, he allowed himself to wonder if she was really still alive. It seemed impossible. He had seen what the ghouls did. No one seemed to survive an encounter with them.
As much as he wanted to believe that he and Gwen were the exception he knew it was unlikely. If she was dead, however, his chances of proving his innocence fell to near enough zero.
“What is it?” Garrett said.
Nathan turned towards him and forced himself to smile. “I was just thinking,” he said and didn’t intend to say any more.
“Yeah?” Garrett said. “About what?”
He shook his head. “Just a girl,” Nathan said.
Garrett smiled. “Listen, you wouldn’t be the first guy to end up here because of a girl.”
Nathan nodded as if his words gave him comfort at all, but they didn’t. “Thanks.”
“So what happened? Did she dump you?”
Nathan shook his head and then he remembered that Gwen had dumped him. He nodded. “Sort of, it’s complicated.”
“Did you kill her?” Garrett said.
“No,” he said. He shook his head. It was his last chance to turn around and go back to the warehouse without saying anything but if he did that Garrett was bound to think he was a murderer. He didn’t think he would be sent away for it, but he needed someone to believe he was innocent. “No, but they think I did.”
They turned and walked slowly back along the dusty path towards the warehouse and Nathan told Garrett what had happened - about his car crash and Gwen breaking up with him. He skipped over the parts where he had imagined the nurses were trying to kill him and the months he had spent in Happy Trails. He told him about the night they had almost gotten back together and about waking up to find her gone and then the police accusing him of doing something to her. He told him about his housemates getting killed and about going on the run.
By the time they reached the warehouse, the story was over. Garrett held the door open for him. “What was her name?” he said.
Nathan sighed. “Gwen.”
Garrett nodded and that was the end of it. Nathan didn’t know how much of it he believed, but he felt better for telling someone. A weight had been lifted off his shoulders, not because he thought Garrett would be able to do anything to help but because he wasn’t the only one who knew the truth.
CHAPTER 22
THE GIRL WITH THE DARK HAIR STOOD ON the opposite side of the road beneath a tree. She was wearing a black dress with a red belt across her stomach. She had high heels on. She was talking to two men in shirts and ties while they smoked.
An old man pushing a bike blocked Nathan’s view for a moment. He was crouched in the alleyway between two shops. It was the third time he had seen her in three days, her schedule was easy to predict. He thought that meant something. If she knew he was there then maybe she wanted him to see her.
The shop to his left rattled and he turned to see the shutters being pulled down. A gnarly old woman stared at him down her nose and he was left in little doubt about what she thought of him. He turned back to the dark-haired woman in time to see her drop her cigarette on the floor and squash it under her shoe.
She said something to the two men and then they turned away from one another and she started walking.
Pain shot through his leg as he stood up. His movements were slow and clumsy, but the worst of the pain was behind him. He wasn’t sure why he was following the woman, but she had helped him once and he was beginning to think that she would help him again.
It was just after six in the evening and the light was starting to fade. The high street was full of people so he couldn’t get close to her, but she was tall enough in her heels for him to see over most people’s heads and he followed her without much difficulty.
At the corner of Mason Street, she stopped and reached into her red bag. She took out a packet of cigarettes and lit one. Nathan stopped beside a key cutting shop and watched her red lips pucker as she sucked on the white stick. A moment later he could smell the bitter smoke.
She started walking again and he followed.
She walked towards the park and the pain in his leg flared u
p again as if it was sensitive to the location where the wound had been inflicted. He slowed down as the crowd thinned and tried to stay far enough back that she wouldn’t realise she was being followed.
A group of men in suits with their ties loose came storming out of a pub laughing and jeering. They didn’t notice Nathan, but he had to detour around them and wasted precious moments in which the dark-haired woman might have gotten away. Instead, he found her staring in the window of a clothes shop and once he could see her again she continued walking.
He followed her down the road by the post office and remembered meeting the ghoul and the girl there more than two weeks ago. He wondered what had happened to the girl and if she was alright, what she had made of the things that had happened to her. He wondered whether she knew how close she had been to death and then he told himself that she had been so off her head that she probably didn’t remember anything at all.
The dark haired woman stopped in front of the second-hand book shop and he thought that she was going to go in. She looked in the window for a moment and he ducked around the corner by the newsagent. He realised that she knew he was following her, but she didn’t want it to be too obvious.
He risked looking around the corner and saw that she had started walking again so he hurried after her.
She turned left at the end of the road and walked towards the bridge. He wondered where she was going, where she was leading him and why. He knew that there had to be a purpose for it though and maybe that was enough. She was showing him somewhere that might help him and he was overwhelmed with gratitude for that.
There were fewer people on the street leading away from the city centre. He briefly considered going up to her and saying something, but there was a reason why she hadn’t stopped long enough for him to catch up. Maybe she knew about the ghouls, maybe she was scared and didn’t want them to know that she was involved. Yes, that had to be it. She was risking her life by trying to help him so he had to respect her wishes.
