His mother shrugged her shoulders at this. ‘I don’t even want to begin to understand the power that Lycheen had. For some reason he is a shapeshifter over here and something different back home. You could drive yourself mad trying to figure it all out. The only thing we need to worry about is stopping this Dex before he grows too strong and fully realizes exactly what his purpose is.’
‘But how mum?’ he said. ‘How the hell do we stop it?’
‘I have an idea,’ she said, and explained her plan to defeat Dex.
They had moved back downstairs past the odd array of photographs and into the lounge. Dave helped his mother prepare a plate of sandwiches which they ate wordlessly listening to the wind throw up dirt against the windows. He chased the meal down with a glass of what he presumed was milk, but it tasted like no milk he had ever drunk before. He lay his plate aside and turned to his mother.
‘Now, let me get this straight,’ he said. ‘You think the only way to defeat this Dex is to take him back to our world? The place where he has already caused so much damage.’
His mother nodded.
‘And once there,’ he continued. ‘If I can get dad and myself far enough away from the house, you think this Dex will simply, what? Blink out of existence?’
‘That’s pretty much the jist of it, Davey.’
‘That's a pretty big if there mum. How do you know he won't simply just fly up the street or something?’
‘Because he hasn’t yet has he?’ she came back. ‘If I’m right and that thing has been inside your father for all these years, then I don’t think he can jump that far. He’s never tried to get into me and that may be because of my abilities. It may also be just because I’m a woman for gods sake! But think about it, he had to lure you back to the house to get into you. If he could fly off down the street, then he would have years ago.’
Dave thought this over. There was no denying the logic, but the risks were huge.
‘Ok,’ he said. ‘Let’s just say that I can get myself and Dad out of harm's way. How are we going to get Dex back there.’
‘By using the same power that's stopping you from travelling back.’
‘Is that even possible?’
She gave him an exasperated look. ‘Of course it’s possible,’ she said.
‘Then why not just move dad over here, you know transport him?’
‘Don’t you think I’ve not thought of that? I can’t transport your father over here because his body would remain over there. Dex could then potentially still get into him or even worse kill him. Don’t forget that our bodies are over there too. We don’t know enough about him to know what he can or can’t do. The one thing I am certain of is that Dex cannot survive outside of a human body in our world; not for long anyway. I told you it was his Achilles Heal and we need to take advantage of it now.’
‘You’re sure of this aren’t you?’ he said.
‘Yes Davey. I’ve had a lot of time over here recently to think of a way out of this mess. This is the only way.’
‘Then cross back with me,’ he said. ‘We can get all three of us to safety.’
His mother was shaking her head at this. ‘Davey, I’ve been bedridden for two weeks now. My body is too weak. It would take you too long to move me and I fear that if I go back, I won’t have the strength to come back here,’ she motioned to the cottage.
‘But what about dad? What about you?’ he protested.
‘Your Father will be fine. He will need you to get him through this, but as for me...’ she trailed off and sighed. ‘I think I will be fine just here. My body will eventually die I suppose, but I would much rather see out my days over here than suffer some ugly painful death back there, and anyway you can come visit!’
‘Oh mum,’ he said and held her again. This time the tears came from both of them, leaving tiny droplets on her dress.
‘When everything is over,’ he said. ‘Could we not bring dad over? Tell him everyt………..’
His mother's body stiffened.
‘Mum, whats wrong?’
‘Quiet Davey,’ she said.
‘Whats….’
‘SSSHHHHHH!’ she hissed. ‘He’s here.’
Dave immediately released her from his embrace and she moved to the window. He silently moved in beside her and looked out over the grassland. It was still dark but the very first lights of morning were beginning to seep through.
‘How can it be getting light already?’ he whispered.
‘Time moves differently over here,’ she whispered back. ‘Now be quiet, I need to concentrate.’ She continued to stare across the open plain for a full five minutes, the only sounds audible were the ticking of an old grandfather clock in the corner of the room and the infrequent gusts of wind.
‘Ok,’ she said finally. ‘We still have time. He’s on the edge of my Primer. I felt his presence when he emerged from the staircase. But he’s moving fast Davey, he could cross the no-man's land in a matter of hours. You have to go.’
‘Now?’
‘Yes. Now. Cross back and get your father and yourself to safety. I have a few tricks to keep him busy a while yet but it won’t keep him long. Before he gets too close to me I will have to cross him back and when I do……….’
‘Don’t worry,’ he said. ‘I’ll be long gone by then.’
‘You’d better be Davey. Don’t underestimate how weak your own body is going to be either. You took quite a hit before you crossed here, but you need to see through that. You have to get yourselves clear.’
He had been so caught up in things these past two days, he had completely forgot about his injuries back in the real world. He knew he wasn’t dead, but for all he knew he would be crossing back into an unconscious body still sprawled out on the garage floor. But it was too late to worry about that now, the wheels were turning faster and he had to act.
‘Ok mum, I’m ready,’ he lied, closed his eyes and crossed back.
Chapter 24
Dex was moving fast, but he was also tiring. The girl had given him enough sustenance to get going, but he had known she wasn’t really there in a physical sense and what energy she had given him was draining fast. It was now very clear that he needed to catch the boy as a matter of some urgency.
Two interesting things had happened since killing Katy and making his way down the cliff. The first, was a gradual realization that he knew exactly which way the boy had gone. He no longer needed to rely on guesswork (or blind luck for that matter) but he instinctively knew the way. This was particularly helpful and enabled him to travel at speed without the worry he was going in completely the wrong direction.
The second interesting thing was he now had the ability to change his form and this was proving very useful indeed. It had happened quite by accident whilst he was making his way up the wooded incline. The lower section was particularly tough going with numerous fallen trees and twisted vines and he wished there were a way he could traverse through the foliage more quickly. He imagined how a smaller animal could scurry between the branches and then he was that animal. A wild dog in fact bounding between the trees and brambles which had been so slow going before.
He came to a clearer section of trees and turned himself back to human. There was still the pressing need to continue the chase, but a little time experimenting with his new found talent might, he thought, prove beneficial later on.
He tried turning into various different animals, each with different degrees of success. Anything larger than say a wolf or a bear seemed a challenge. He tried a horse but for whatever reason his body just couldn’t manage it. The best he could achieve in that respect was a medium sized deer; not the most intimidating of beasts. Also, anything smaller than a hare had distinct limitations. He found the smaller animals made his mind think in too simplistic a way. He attempted to turn into an Otter, but his thoughts turned far too basic and he swiftly turned back. Any longer and he feared he may not have the mental capacity to return his body back to human form.
In effect he had to turn back human sooner than he wanted to cross the lake. By this point the light had began to fade and he decided to rest up for a few hours before tackling the stairs. His rationale being the stairs were dark whether it was day or night. He waited for the sun to go down completely and took a drink from the lake. It refreshed him, but no more than that. What he really needed was food and unfortunately for Dave Strutter, he knew exactly where to find it. At least he thought he did.
He negotiated the staircase with ease and was soon out on the plains of the no-man's land in Lily’s Primer. With the smell of blood in his nostrils, he turned into a sleek wolf and ignoring his weakening body screaming for him to slow down; set out across the open land at a gallop. He had been denied his prey once and would not allow this to happen again.
Lily had not been entirely truthful with Dave about Dex’s exact position. Rather than being hours away, at the speed she knew he was now travelling, he would reach the slug herd in less than thirty minutes. There was a great deal more she wanted to cover with Dave before he crossed back, but Dex’s imminent arrival had put paid to any fine tuning of their plan. As expected, Dave had protested but nowhere near as much as she thought and with time running out, even Dave knew there was only one way out of this.
She had also been not entirely truthful with how many tricks she had to slow Dex down. Sure, she had some control over some of the physical elements of her Primer but she didn’t think they would hold him for long. The one weapon she did have was the ability to flip Dex back to the real world and this came fraught with a whole lot of other problems. She was relying on one man with some quite serious injuries and another that had been under a spell for the past thirty years. For this to work, they were going to need a lot of luck.
After Dave had flipped, she had bolted all the doors, firmly closed the window shutters and grabbed what weapons she could from the kitchen. Sharp as they were, she didn't think two carving knives would pose much of a threat. Deep down she knew she would need much more than primitive weapons to stop him in his tracks.
Between a gust of wind she heard a roar in the distance and knew that Dex had reached the herd. At this time of early morning the slugs would still be pretty active and she hoped they may slow him down just enough for her to lay a few traps. She sat crossed legged on the floor and went to work.
Dex was on his last reserves of energy as he approached the herd. His wolf form had made incredibly light work of the no-man's land, but as he'd earlier feared, it was beginning to take its toll. A number of times during his run he had been struck with waves of lightheadedness. The last one had been particularly bad leaving him on the verge of passing out. To come so far only to be let down by his puny body was something Dex would simply not allow. It was however, something that was becoming less and less under his control.
The slugs were very active and they clearly resented the fact that a wolf was now amongst them. A large slug charged him, knocked him off his feet and left him sprawled on the ground badly winded. The very same slug let out a deafening roar and would have taken a bite out of Dex if it too hadn't been charged by one of its own. Whilst they were preoccupied with fighting each other, Dex regained his feet and after two further close shaves made his way out the other side of the herd.
The sight that Dex faced when he emerged from the herd was not what he expected. The morning light was yet to fully materialize, but despite this he could still make out the silhouette of the cottage and the swaying grass that lay before it. He sensed his prey was now within touching distance and he turned back to his more energy efficient human form. He made his way slowly through the tall grass and without realizing, walked into Lily's first trap.
At first he presumed the ground was soft from overnight rain, but the further he went the deeper he sank. Before long he was thigh deep in a dark, shifting mud that was sucking him deeper and deeper. He tried to slow his descent by laying his arms flat on the surface and pulling himself up, but the more he pulled the quicker he sank.
To add to his difficulties something was now stinging and biting his arms. He lifted them and attached were six or seven jet black worms. Each had needle sharp beaks that were biting and burrowing under his skin. He screamed and attempted to pull them off, but any sudden movement only made him sink quicker. The worms were now ripping through his clothing and biting all parts of his body beneath.
The only option left to him was to change and unfortunately it had to be an animal small enough to skip across the surface of the mud. Whatever he did had to be quick and without missing a beat he turned himself into the otter. It proved a wise choice as the lighter frame lifted easily from the quagmire and carried him to the relative safety at the edge of the grassland; directly next to Lily Strutter's picket fence.
He turned himself back and lay breathing heavily. It was a decent attempt and again he was begrudgingly impressed. He would have to be extra alert from this point on; another exertion like that could be the end of him.
He closed his eyes in an attempt to locate the boy and had a startling revelation; the boy was no longer here. No, here was something much more interesting. If he wasn't very much mistaken, the one person that had caused Dex so much misery these past years was now within his grasp; Lily Strutter. She was the one who had trapped him inside the father for so long. She was the one who had kept him like a lab rat, starving until he barely existed. And she was the one that Dex would take extreme pleasure in killing and filling his weary body with blood. She was also the one who had set the quicksand trap and Dex needed to proceed with great caution; who knew what else she had in store for him.
All thoughts of hunting Dave had now slipped from his mind. Now he had a chance to claim an even bigger prize and no pathetic booby-traps were going to stop him.
The quicksand trap had worked far better than she had hoped and for a minute she thought she had him. The flesh eating worms were a last minute touch that she was particularly proud of. She watched the entire spectacle from her top floor bedroom window; saw his freakish transformation into what she first thought was a weasel and then his transformation back when he was clear of the mud.
He lay on his back for an excruciatingly long time and she thought he was unconscious; maybe even dead. Then, gradually he started to move, dragging himself into an awkward sitting position and looking back towards the mud trap.
I nearly had you there, didn't I? She thought.
She watched him get to his feet and push through the gate. Then Lily was on the move. She sprinted down the stairs, through the kitchen, out the back door and through the small vegetable garden. The forest lay ahead of her and she started up the gentle incline towards it. She did have another couple of tricks up her sleeve, but after that it would all be down to Dave.
Chapter 25
Thankfully Dave wasn't unconscious. He was also no longer on the garage floor. He'd crossed back to find himself comfortably tucked up in a bed and if his memory served him right, he was in the back bedroom of his parents house; originally Katy's room. Sunlight was streaming in and he judged it to be around 7am, although he had no idea what day it was.
He sat up and immediately wished he hadn't as a jolt of pain shot across his side. His head also throbbed with a dull ache. He surveyed the room and sitting in the corner on an old nursery rocker his mother refused to throw away, was his father. Inexplicably he was covered head to toe in dried mud and he more closely res
embled a coal miner finishing a particularly long shift. He was sat slumped to one side with his head lolling on his chest and Dave feared the worst.
'Dad?' he said. No response. 'Dad!' slightly louder this time, still no response.
Despite his body screaming out not to, he slid out of bed and attempted to reach him. With the first bit of weight, his right leg gave out and he fell back on the bed. This in turn strained his side again and he let out a sharp scream in pain. There was, however a silver lining to this cloud as his father stirred.
'David?' his father said. 'Is that you?'
'Yeah it's me, I'm here. What happened to you?'
His father lifted his hands as if seeing them for the first time. 'I...don't...know,’ he said. 'Everything seems a little...fuzzy.’
'Yeah, well that's something you get used to,’ he said. 'It's been happening a lot lately! I mean the mud? Why are you so dirty?'
'I'm not sure,’ he said. 'Have I been digging?'
Dave thought about the hole he discovered in the garden. Something that seemed a lifetime ago. 'You've been digging in the garden. Something big. Any idea what its for. Can you remember?'
'I remember finding you lying on the floor of the garage. You were pretty beaten up, but I don't remember digging a......' his hand shot to his mouth and his eyes widened. 'My god,’ he said. 'It was for Lily.........and me!'
'Ok, that explains a lot,’ Dave said and attempted to get up again. 'Change of plan though. That's definitely not going to hap .......' a third shooting pain shot across his side and chest. This one much worse than the others. Again he fell back on the bed.
'You can't move David!' his father said. 'You really are in no shape. I've patched you up the best I could, but you really need to rest.’
Dave felt below his shirt where a tight bandage was wrapped around his chest. 'When did you.....?'
'When you were out cold,’ he said. 'I managed to stop the bleeding and drag you up here. Since then you've been sleeping the whole time. Your body needs to recover David, it's had a huge shock.’
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