What he guessed was around lunchtime (the heavy mist had still not cleared – but his stomach grumbled in displeasure) the ground beneath his feet began to get softer and less scattered with small stones. Two minutes later he tripped over a bramble and went sprawling to his knees. Rather than scratching his hands on the coarse gravel, his fingers sank into soft earth and glancing up he saw a small scattering of shrubs intermingled with ferns. After another ten minutes walking, the shrubs turned into trees and very soon he was deep within a thickly wooded area. The ground had a gentle incline and coupled with the more humid air, within a matter of minutes he was sweating profusely.
The more he climbed, the thicker and taller the vegetation became. The ever present mist had gradually dissipated and given way to a not much improved gloom created by the canopy of trees. Going was tough as he navigated huge areas of shrubs intermingled with fallen trees that seemed insistent in not letting him pass.
After a particularly tough section, the ground levelled out and he was relieved to find himself in a small clearing. He sat on the edge of an ancient fallen tree and took a swig of water. He was alarmed to see that during his climb he had managed to fully empty two of them and the third was barely three quarters full. At some point during the next few hours he would have to find water to replenish his supplies or he would quickly be in a lot of trouble indeed. He wasn’t hungry, but he ate a couple of pieces of meat. It was dry and tough and in a day or so would be inedible. Where he was relatively confident in finding a supply of water, he was far less confident in finding a food source and the pangs of panic began to stir in his stomach yet again.
He jumped down from the trunk and headed out of the clearing into the gloom of the forest once again. Almost immediately the ground began to rise and this time it wasn’t the gradual gradient from earlier, this was a proper slope and after only a few minutes he was out of breath. Thankfully the going was much easier underfoot and despite the weariness he felt he was making good time. He was also aware of how much more ‘normal’ he was beginning to feel. Where the flatlands and initial parts of the forest had been deathly quiet, these latter segments were full of sounds; from trees creaking to leaves rustling to actual bird song. Despite his loneliness and decreasing supplies, just the fact that his surroundings were snapping back to a form of normality gave him more comfort than he had any right to feel. After another thirty minutes walking he heard the sound of running water and soon came across a tiny stream.
He filled his flasks, splashed water in his face and sat down next to the trickling stream. Looking back down the incline he was surprised to see how steep the slope actually was. He didn’t know what time of day it was, but judging by the angle of the shadows from the trees, he guessed it was late afternoon. With his flasks now full, he considered moving on and maybe putting in another hour of walking. He wasn’t sure how many hours of daylight were left, but going on how quickly the night had closed in the previous evening; he didn’t think many. When he left the campsite earlier that day there was the distinct possibility that he would have to sleep at least one night in the forest and here by this stream seemed as good a place as any to make camp.
Dave laid out the blankets, being careful not to place them too near the water; the last thing he wanted was to spend the night under another soggy blanket. He searched the surrounding area for wood and within five minutes had a healthy pile of sticks and using Katy’s book of matches had the early flickers of a fire going. Feeling incredibly pleased with himself, he wrapped the blankets around his shoulders and helped himself to another feast of two day old ‘squid’. His guess at the time of day must have been pretty accurate as very soon he sensed the darkness closing in. He placed a couple of larger logs on the fire; thankful for the light and heat they were beginning to emit.
The fire crackled and popped and even though he was alone in this weird alien forest, he felt himself dozing. His head lolled twice and the third time, still sitting up with the blanket tight around his shoulders, he fell asleep.
Chapter 17
His dreams were a Hodge-Podge of conflicting vivid visions. At first his sister was sitting by a campfire roasting something white on a long charred stick. It was spitting and hissing in the fire and when she raised it to her mouth he realized to his horror that it was an eyeball. She bit into it and the creamy innards oozed out over her chin. She began to laugh hysterically and he noticed one side of her face was entirely missing. He could see her chattering laughing teeth where her cheek should have been and then he noticed the empty eye socket oozing red and black down the missing side of her face. She took another bite on the eyeball - her own eyeball he now realized - and as he heard it pop in her mouth, he turned his face away and lumbering from the surrounding darkness was one of the huge slugs from the beach, it's misshapen beak chomping and gnashing at the air. He turned away from the beast and the fire and ran into complete darkness, Katy still laughing behind him and no matter how hard he ran her voice remained hissing in his ear.
'You got fat Davey boy,’ she screamed. 'You got fat and lazy and you forgot.’
And then he was falling, falling endlessly down in complete darkness. Falling into one of those bottomless pits between worlds. But it wasn't totally dark. There were bright pinpricks of light all around him and as he fell the lights began to move and swirl. Then they began to strike him, gentle at first and then harder and harder like needles jabbing into him; pricking his skin. Small bright blue beams of light stinging him over and over as he fell deeper and deeper. And as he fell he screamed into the nothingness below as prick after prick stung his face and neck and body.
The pain was excruciating and as he woke still screaming he realized that something was actually stinging his face. He opened his eyes expecting to be in complete darkness but all around his face were bright blue buzzing things like mosquitos. They pitched and dived and stung his face; stung all over his body. Some were beneath his clothes and he felt them stinging him again and again as they tried to escape.
He leapt to his feet and did a kind of Indian rain dance to get the things away from him. But whatever he did they continued to buzz and swirl and sting like an endless cloud. He had a vague sensation that the tiny blue insects were zapping him with sharp bolts of electricity and then he tripped over his rucksack and fell face first into the stream.
The sudden fall and splash seemed to momentarily confuse the flying things and they temporarily ceased their assault. Dave didn't need a second chance, he sprang to his feet and bolted.
He had no idea which way he was running; as far as he could tell he could be sprinting back down the slope from the previous day. But he didn't care, he just needed to get away from the stinging nightmare. The forest was pitch dark and many times he ran straight into a tree; once quite hard, bloodying his nose. Every now and then he spotted a bright blue cloud of buzzing insects and changed course.
After running flat out for ten minutes, he pulled up with a stitch creasing his side. He doubled over to let the pain ease and catch his breath. In all the confusion he had left his pack back at the stream and in the darkness he couldn’t be sure which way back was. All his water and food were in the bag, leaving him with a deadly dilemma; try to retrace his steps and rescue the bag tonight or wait until morning when the light would make it one hundred times better to find his way. He thought the mosquito things were more likely to be nocturnal by the way they glowed, but the thought of waiting all night without any supplies was a risk he wasn’t sure he wanted to take.
He did have a third option; write off the bag as a lost cause and continue up the slope in the darkness, but considering how hot and humid the previous day's climb had been, this was close to suicide. The pain from the stings had dissipated quickly and he didn't think they would leave any permanent damage. So, in his infinite wisdom he thought the best course of action would be to retrace his steps and look to retrieve the bag tonight.
It was a clear night, but the canopy of trees stopped any moo
nlight getting through. He thought his run had predominantly been uphill so he set off in what he reckoned was a downhill direction. Pretty soon however it became clear that he was completely lost. What trees he could see all looked identical and the almost complete darkness was disorientating. He tried to detect the sound of running water but nothing could be heard over the rustling trees.
'Shit,' he muttered.
He spent another few minutes trying desperately to get his bearings, realised it was a lost cause and gave up. Even in his panic he knew the more he stumbled around in the dark the less chance he had of retrieving his pack in the morning. He made his way to a decent sized tree and sat down against it.
Despite the adrenalin still pumping through his body and despite still being on red alert for a second mosquito attack, he couldn't hold off the waves of exhaustion that rolled over him. He was cold, wet and uncomfortable as hell, but even so, within minutes he was fast asleep.
This time there were no dreams.
Chapter 18
Dex's tale (part 3)
Now, we know that Dex is not a particularly nice individual who has over the years made his hosts do unspeakable things to their nearest and dearest. We also know that as a physical being he (or it) doesn't really exist. However, to a casual observer, his first few hours in his new 'body' would have been hilarious. His manifestation into human form had a few benefits - namely not having to rely on a host for survival - but the drawbacks certainly outweighed any advantages. In the end, it all came down to a fundamental lack of basic coordination and for the first few hours he had flapped around like a literal fish out of water.
It would be unfair to be too harsh though as he technically was only born today.
Dex's plan was a relatively simple one; keep as close to the boy and his bitch sister until such a time that an opportunity arose to pounce. But unfortunately his current form was making this incredibly hard to execute. The trek from the beach had been a nightmare from start to finish. Desperate to stay within touching distance, he had crawled and stumbled and eventually learnt to walk with a kind of lurching sideways gait.
He only just made it past a pack of slugs that were beginning to stir and was acutely aware that at his current speed his prey were moving further and further away. The walk across the 'no man's land' was excruciating. Pain, hunger, thirst - all feelings he had never felt before - stole over him in uncontrollable bursts. The climb up the cliff face was horrendous but nothing compared to the journey down the staircase in which he nearly fell half a dozen times. It was blind luck that he actually came out on the same level as Dave and Katy and it was more than fortunate that he was able to find a hiding place high up on the cliff where he could keep a close eye on them.
What he hadn't accounted for however was the complete exhaustion that overcame him as he hunkered down watching the two of them talk. He only caught snatches of conversation and the distant murmuring made him drowsy until eventually his 'body' gave up and he fell asleep.
You do have to give credit to Dex's perseverance, but for such a wily character who had waited years for his chance to escape, it was an incredibly tough baptism of fire. What was also unfortunate was that his first day of freedom was also the first time in a long time that he fully let his guard down.
It was an opportunity Katy wasn't going to miss.
'Morning freak.’ Katy said and Dex's eyes sprang open. Being only his second morning as a 'human' his senses were immediately bombarded by a hundred different sensations. The first and most immediate one was that it was very clearly daylight and he cursed himself for allowing his body to sleep so long. The second and most telling sensation was a rope pulled tight around his neck and wrists. He started to move and the rope pulled tighter cutting his airway.
'I wouldn't do that if I were you,’ Katy said. 'The more you struggle, the tighter this gets.’ She gave another yank on the rope to prove the point and it inched ever tighter on Dex's throat.
'Bitch,’ he hissed.
'Now, now,’ she said conversationally. ‘That's no way to speak to a lady, especially one you've only just met.’
'Release me now or I will.........'
'Or you'll what? Kill me? Try again fucktard, I think you'll find that one has already been taken care of.’
Dex snatched a burning breath in preparation for another outburst. Realizing the predicament he was in, thought better of it and allowed his body to relax. In doing so the rope around his neck loosened ever so slightly and his next breath was marginally more comfortable.
'There's a good boy,’ Katy said. 'Maybe there is a chance for you after all.’
'What do you want with me,’ he managed.
'That, my freaky little friend, is a very good question indeed. I've been sitting here these last few hours mulling over exactly what I wanted to say to you and do you know what? I haven't got a fucking clue........' she trailed off and looked down towards their makeshift campsite where Dave still slept. 'What is important though is that you leave my brother alone'.
'I don't know who your brother......'
Katy gave a hard yank on the rope cutting Dex off mid sentence. 'Don't give me that shit. You know exactly who Dave and me are. And I know exactly who you are.’
Dex started to protest, but again settled himself, conceding the point.
'Very impressive,’ Katy said. 'We are learning fast aren't we? The less crap you can spin me the better it'll be for everyone.’
Dex sensed rather than saw her shift her position and for a split second the rope around his neck slackened off completely. When she spoke again, her voice came from slightly below where he lay; presumably along the path she had climbed from the campsite.
'You and I need to have a chat.’ She said.'But not here. My brother is going to wake shortly and I want to be well out of eye and ear shot when he does. What we are going to do is move on up this path and along the side of the cliff. Do you see where I mean?'
Dex tilted his head slightly, saw the remnants of a cliff path past the mouth of the cave and nodded.
'Good. Now this path is not in the best of shapes and with all this mist is going to be mighty slippy. You try anything funny and I'll give a good old tug and down you go. Do you understand that too?'
Dex nodded again. She had a firm grip on the rope, but it was nowhere near as tight as it had been earlier.
'What about my hands? How can I keep balance with them tied like this?'
'That, dear boy, is your problem. Now up and at 'em, we've got some climbing to do.’
For the time being Dex reluctantly conceded and scrambled to his feet. There wasn't a lot to choose between being throttled or falling to his death, but to keep his options open he chose the former. The bitch sister had snuck up on him whilst his pathetic body had slept and for now she had the upper hand. But Dex was crafty and as we know a dab hand at playing the long con. He knew an opportunity would present itself sooner rather than later, and god help poor Katy Strutter when it did.
Katy was aware of Dex's presence from when they left the beach the previous morning. She had pushed Dave hard to put as much distance between them as possible. She thought they may have lost him on the staircase, but wasn't totally surprised to see him crouching along the cliff face whilst they collected wood. Dave obviously hadn't spotted him, but Katy was well aware that at some point a confrontation was on the cards and she was determined that any confrontation was going to be on her terms.
After their campfire chat, she had rolled over and pretended to sleep. After only a matter of minutes Dave's breathing had settled to a deep steady rhythm and she knew he was under. She left it another twenty minutes to be sure and then untangled herself from her blankets. Her rucksack was at the foot of her bed and from it she grabbed a short bladed knife and a coil of rope. She had no idea what she would need them for, but felt a modicum of comfort to be at least taking something.
She looked over to where Dave was sleeping. Some part of her knew that she may never see h
im again and that selfish part wanted to wake him and hug him and squeeze him and have the proper goodbye they were so cruelly denied all those years ago. But she couldn't wake him, if he had any inkling of what she was about to do, she knew he would try to talk her out of it or at worse force himself to go with her. That couldn't happen. He literally was their last hope and her role in this was to do whatever was needed to keep him safe.
He had got fat and lazy and she hadn't pulled her punches showing her frustration. But from this point on he would have to continue alone and that deeply troubled Katy.
Mum, if you're watching, she thought. Dave needs serious help here.
As if to answer her thoughts, the fire popped and three still burning embers fizzed into the air. Katy jumped at the sudden sound and followed their gentle looping flight to the ground. She expected them to slowly darken, but instead each of them began to pulse and grow brighter. The embers had started out as no bigger than thumbnails, but as they continued to glow they grew in size until they were the size of a fist. They glowed brighter still and let out a faint fizzing sound and then simultaneously all three blanked out.
Katy gingerly walked to the nearest one and saw a perfectly formed pebble with the word Quiet! Inscribed on the surface. She glanced at the other two and saw the rest of the cryptic instructions.
Thanks mum, she thought. Lets hope its enough to get him to you.
Chapter 19
The fire was down to just flickering embers, nonetheless she still circled the camp at a distance. The last thing she wanted was to wake Dave and have to explain exactly what she was up to, especially as she had no idea what she was up to anyway.
She found the cliff path they had descended earlier and made her way slowly up it. She made herself stop every ten or fifteen paces to listen for any sounds from above. None came and as she approached the place she guessed was roughly where she spotted Dex she hunkered down, drew the knife and edged forward.
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