by Amy Cross
“Course not,” he told her. “Just don't scare me like that again, okay?” He waited for a reply, but her eyes seemed strangely vacant. “Karen?” he continued. “Can you hear me?”
She nodded.
“Didn't you hear the radio? They're telling people not to drive.”
“I came to tell you about the squirrel,” she continued, “and about the stuff I discovered about Leadenford Hospital. I think we're really onto something here.” She paused again, before frowning as if her moment of vagueness was finally passing. “The official story is that terrorists seized the hospital and then blew it up,” she told him, sounding more animated than before, “but there are stories online that suggest it was something very different. It all seems to have been focused on a cancer ward run by a man named Doctor Andrew Page. The place was nicknamed Ward C, because of Doctor Page's work with unusual types of cancer. I pulled some of his research papers, and his theories were -”
She stopped suddenly.
“His theories were what?” Freeman asked after a moment.
“They were...” Pausing, she reached around and rubbed the back of her neck, where a small cut ran down past her shirt collar. “He was ridiculed,” she continued finally, seemingly back to normal. “In one paper, he presented evidence to suggest that certain types of cancer might actually be sentient, that they should be classified as parasitic creatures that emerge from within the body and challenge the brain for control. He believed that they'd developed an ability to patch themselves into their hosts' nervous systems.”
“That sounds ridiculous,” Freeman pointed out.
“He had data,” she continued. “Lots and lots of data, but none of his evidence was accepted by his peers. The ridicule basically cost him his career, which is why he ended up working on a hospital ward. The crazy thing is, according to some online forums, the incident at Leadenford Hospital wasn't anything to do with terrorists. Some people claim to have seen a major military presence there, and there are even stories that it wasn't a bomb that destroyed the building. It was missiles, fired by the military themselves. There was something in that hospital that they wanted to destroy.”
“Careful,” Freeman replied. “Talking like that, you're starting to sound like me.”
“I think the black masses in that squirrel, and in some of the other animals you've found, might be linked to whatever happened at Leadenford. They match Doctor Page's descriptions.”
Freeman paused for a moment, staring into her eyes.
“Leadenford,” he said finally. “That name was on the side of some medical waste bags I found today.”
“Where?”
“Up at Camp Everbee. Turns out, Crystal Wallace has been taking back-handers to dump stuff at the site without a permit.”
“What's in the bags?” she asked.
“Waste from the hospital. I didn't get a chance to look properly, but I don't think even she knows for sure.”
“This can't be a coincidence.”
“No,” he replied, “it can't. Also, tonight I saw the freakiest thing. There was a deer, all damaged and hurt, but it was stumbling about and I think it had one of those same creatures inside it, except it was bigger and it was aggressive. It took several shots to bring the thing down, and even then it still had some fight left in it. The parasite survived even after the deer itself was long-gone, like some kind of -”
Stopping, he heard the kettle finish boiling.
“We need to get onto this fast,” he continued, standing and heading back to the kitchen. “Get out of those wet clothes, take some of mine from the bathroom. We need to call Environmental Services and get them on the case. There are twenty-odd kids up there at the camp, they might be in danger.”
“I hope we're wrong,” Karen replied, getting to her feet and making her way to the bathroom. “I really, really hope this is all just some kind of fever dream.”
Once she was in the bathroom, she locked the door and then began to undress. After throwing her wet clothes into the washing machine, she grabbed a towel and began to dry herself; once she was done, she wandered over to the sink and looked at her reflection in the mirror for a moment. As she stared into her own eyes, she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right, that her mind was a little foggy and that something else was staring back at her. She tried to remember the accident, but she couldn't think of anything between leaving her surgery and waking up in the wreck. Still, she was convinced that she'd forgotten something, that there had been -
Letting out a sudden gasp of pain, she felt something slicing up her back, as if it was slithering around her spine. She gripped the sink to keep from falling, but the sensation continued: something was moving inside her body, wrapping its tendrils between her bones. As a sense of deep nausea began to grow in her belly, she felt something sharp moving through her rib-cage, and a moment later she realized a tendril was slithering around her pounding heart.
“Chris...” she whispered, barely able to speak at all. “Help... I need...”
The tendril's sharp tip poked at her heart, threatening to break through, before moving along.
Gasping again, she realized she could feel several tendrils moving all through her body, wrapping themselves around her bones and organs as they slithered into every gap. She tried one more time to call out to her brother, but something was moving through her neck and poking at her vocal chords, and finally she realized she could barely even remember her name. She tried to focus, to repeat her name over and over in her mind, but something seemed to be pushing her thoughts aside until, finally, she found herself turning away from the mirror and taking a couple of faltering steps toward the door, even though she had no such intention.
It was as if something else was in control of her body. She tried to scream, but instead a faint smile crossed her lips.
***
“I don't care,” Lizzie said as she slipped her arms into her coat, “we have to go and find her.”
“Listen to the weather out there!” Laura replied, limping over to her. “You can't spend two nights in a row wandering through a dark forest looking for some idiot who doesn't have her head screwed on properly!”
“Something's wrong,” Lizzie continued, heading to the door. “I can feel it, I know you can feel it too.”
“We're at a camp,” Laura pointed out, “for people with cancer. Messed-up people who know that more likely than not, they'll be dead within the next couple of years. For most of us, this is our only chance to act normal. Do you seriously think we should all sit around in our neat little cabins, being told what to do? Lay off, okay? If Kirsty wants to go swimming and whatever else with that guy, let her, and if Beth wants to go wandering around in the dark, let her. To each her own.”
“I know, but -”
“We're dying,” Laura said suddenly.
Lizzie turned to her.
“We're all dying,” Laura continued. “I mean, maybe one or two of us might get a lucky break, but the rest of us are just going to die slow, painful deaths in the next year or two. They don't send people to this camp unless the outlook is bleak.” She paused for a moment, clearly exasperated. “My bone cancer has spread. It's in my liver and my kidneys and I know damn well that this time in a couple of years I'll be gone. Everyone here knows what's what, but we all put on a brave face and act like we have a future. We don't have one, but that doesn't mean we can't try to have fun at camp.” She paused again. “When camp is over, what are you doing next?”
“I have a three day chemo session.”
“I have radiation therapy,” Laura replied. “I'm gonna spend the best part of a month throwing up. I wouldn't actually mind if something crazy happened while we're here at camp. At least we'd get a chance to go out in a blaze of glory, instead of slipping away on a hospital bed.”
Lizzie opened her mouth to argue, but she could tell that Laura meant every word she was saying.
“The only way to beat cancer,” Laura added finally, “is to die f
rom something else.”
“So we should just ignore the fact that something' wrong?” Lizzie asked.
“Fuck it,” Laura continued. “Nothing's wrong, and even if something is, even if we're that goddamn lucky, just leave it be. Let it happen. Would you rather die in six months, fading away in some hospital bed while you piss your goddamn pants? Or would it be better to live a little? I don't think for a moment that there's actually anything dangerous out there in that forest, but frankly, I hope there is. I'd rather die in an adventure than end up on some cancer ward, and if you think I'm bullshitting, that's just 'cause you don't know me well enough.”
They stood in silence for a moment.
“Maybe you're right,” Lizzie replied finally. “I know my cancer has spread, even though I don't get the results of the latest scan back for another two weeks. I just know. I can feel it in my own body.” She paused. “But that doesn't mean I'm going to just sit here and let people get into danger. If there really is something out there, then what the hell? Neither of us have got anything to lose.” With that, she turned and opened the door. “Besides -”
Stopping suddenly, she found herself face to face with Beth.
“Hey,” she continued, “I was just coming to look for you.”
“You found me,” Beth replied darkly.
“Where have you been?”
“Out.”
“In the rain?”
“Out in the rain.”
Lizzie paused for a moment, before glancing at Laura and seeing that she too had a hint of concern in her eyes. Turning back to Beth, she couldn't shake the feeling that something in Beth's gaze seemed strangely intense, and there seemed to be nothing left of the nervous, skittish girl she'd first met just forty-eight hours earlier.
“I'm going to go and look for Kirsty,” Lizzie explained. “I just want to make sure she's okay.”
Beth shook her head.
“What's that supposed to mean?” Lizzie asked.
“It means she's fine. You don't need to go.”
“Yeah, but I -”
Without letting her finish, Beth reached out and pushed Lizzie back a couple of paces before stepping into the cabin and pushing the door shut.
“I have to go out there,” Lizzie explained. “I have to check on her.”
“No,” Beth replied, with a faint smile on her lips. “I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Incompetent idiots,” Crystal muttered as she pulled a drawer out of her desk and tipped the contents out. “I swear I have to do everything myself these days.”
Outside in the dark, a gust of wind blew rain against the window.
Sorting through the paperwork, she began to throw certain items into a metal bucket next to the desk. She was working fast, as if she was desperate to weed out anything incriminating, and she checked her watch every few minutes. Finally, with the bucket filled to the brim, she grabbed her phone and brought up Marlowe's number.
“Come on,” she hissed, waiting for him to answer. “How long does it take to haul a bunch of sacks down to the lake? Can't I find anyone to do a little hard work now and again?”
She waited a moment longer, before cutting the call and setting the phone down. Filled with anger, she grabbed the bucket and carried it over to the door, before setting it down and then lighting a match. Dropping the match in with the paper, she watched as it began to burn, while carefully wafting the smoke so that it drifted out into the rain.
After a moment, once she was certain that the paperwork was burning, she closed her eyes and put her hands together in a kind of prayer.
“Calm,” she whispered. “Zen. Just focus on the task at hand.”
She paused for a few seconds, before opening her eyes again and staring straight ahead.
“What the hell am I talking about?” she whispered. “Fuck Zen. I have all the workers I need, right here.”
***
“Everyone please assemble outside your cabin door,” Crystal's voice screeched over the speaker in the cabin, “wearing rainproof clothing. I know it's the middle of the night, but this is the perfect opportunity for a team-building exercise. Please be ready in five minutes! This is a Camp Everbee emergency!”
As the speaker cut off, Lizzie turned back to look at Beth, who was still standing in front of the door.
“Hear that?” Lizzie asked. “Now what? We have to go outside. If we don't, people are going to come in and look for us.”
“You can't keep us in here,” Laura added, leaning on her crutches as she made her way to the door and stopped next to Beth. “Who the hell do you think you are?”
“Who the hell do you think I am?” Beth asked with a smile.
“Get out of my way.”
“We need to find Kirsty,” Lizzie said, interrupting them. “She's out there in the rain. I know she wanted to go for a midnight swim, but that was before any of us knew how bad this storm would get. She should be back by now.”
“You can't go out there,” Beth replied calmly. “For your own safety.”
“I don't remember anyone putting you in charge,” Laura pointed out.
“The strongest should always be in charge,” Beth told her. “That's just the way things are.”
“The strongest?” Laura smiled, before turning to Lizzie. “Did you hear that? Little Miss Hairy Cell thinks she's the strongest girl in this cabin.”
“Not the strongest girl,” Beth replied. “The strongest species.”
Laura turned back to her, and although she was still smiling, the smile slowly began to fade.
“Are you high?” she asked finally. “Is that what this is? While everyone else was busy getting their knickers in a twist over a few drops of booze, did you go straight to the good stuff? Seriously, if you've got weed or even anything stronger, I'm totally down for that. I'd have brought some myself but, well, I knew my parents were gonna search my bag before I left and I didn't fancy getting any of my stash confiscated.”
“I have no idea what you're talking about,” Beth replied.
“This is dumb,” Lizzie continued, heading over to the door. “You heard the announcement just now. We have to go outside anyway. If we don't, someone's going to come knocking on the door to find us.”
She waited for Beth to answer.
“You know I'm right,” she continued. “You can't keep us in here.” She paused for a moment. “What happened to you, anyway? Ever since you were lost in the forest on the first night, you've seemed different. If you need to talk to someone, we're right here and we won't judge you.”
“Yeah,” Laura added, “cut the enigmatic bullshit. It's not fooling anyone.”
“You have no idea,” Beth replied.
“Then tell us,” Lizzie continued. “I know we only met the other day, but I feel like we could be friends if we just get on with things. I mean...” She looked back over at the carving on the wall. “Those girls who were here in the cabin one time before us, Lucy and Kate and Sophie and Ally... They seemed to get on pretty well. Maybe by the end of our time here, we'll be carving our names in the wall too.”
“Stranger things have happened,” Laura muttered.
“Did someone hurt you?” Lizzie continued, reaching out and taking Beth's hand. “Wow, you're cold. And wet. Don't you want to dry off? You're going to catch pneumonia if you don't get out of those things.”
“Thank you for your concern,” Beth replied, fixing her with a determined stare, “but I don't need anything from you. You have nothing to offer.”
“Charming,” Laura replied, rolling her eyes.
“Then what's wrong?” Lizzie asked. “I can see it in your eyes, Beth. Something's different. What is it?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Of course. Maybe we can help.”
“I...” Beth paused, with a faint smile on her lips. “I'm not -”
“Open up!” a voice shouted from outside, banging on the door. “Come on, ladies!
Team-building time, it'll be good for you!”
“Crystal,” Laura muttered. “Great. Let's go bond in the middle of a storm.” Pushing past Beth, she opened the door and stepped out into the rain, just in time to see other bleary-eyed campers doing the same as they emerged from their cabins.
“You coming?” Lizzie asked, stepping toward Beth.
“I must ask the Great Memnon,” she replied.
“The what?”
“He gives guidance.”
“You're not part of some cult, are you?” Lizzie asked, making her way past Beth. “Memnon sounds like a cult.”
Stepping out of the cabin, she joined Laura on the steps.
“What do you think?” Laura asked.
“About her?” Glancing over her shoulder, Lizzie saw that Beth had walked over to her bed and was now kneeling on the wooden floor, apparently praying. “I think I don't know what to think. I think she might just be crazier than anyone else I've ever met. Maybe she's just cracking up.”
“She's giving me the willies,” Laura continued. “Like, I seriously think something might be wrong with her.” She tapped the side of her head. “Up here.”
“Ladies and gentlemen!” Crystal called out, standing at the end of the line of cabins. “I know the weather is not exactly conducive to outdoor work, but needs must when the Devil drives and we have to all pull together in order to look after the camp. Unfortunately, with the weather being as it is, we have a slight problem with some sacks that mustn't be left out in case they get too wet, so I'm going to have to ask you all to follow me and help move these particular sacks to a new location. It's not dangerous work, but there will be some pulling and pushing, I'm afraid.”
“Seriously?” Laura muttered, as groans arose from the others. “Manual labor? At cancer camp?”
