Homecoming

by Kent, Jonathan

  'Dad, much as I appreciate your bedside manner, we don't have a lot of time here. We have to get you to safety.’

  'Safety from what?' he said. 'I don't understand.’

  'You really don't remember anything? Not digging the hole? Not calling me?' his father was shaking his head the whole time. 'Not hurting mum?'

  This last part hit a nerve and his father broke eye contact and picked at the mud on his fingers. 'I never wanted to hurt your mother, it's just sometimes I.......' he trailed off.

  'Dad, it wasn't you. Don't you see that? Something has been inside you the whole time. It wasn't you hurting mum, it was him! At the moment he's gone and if you don't want him inside you again, we have to move.’

  'But David, the things I've done. To you. To your mother!'

  'I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to wallow in self pity later. But for now, if we don't get moving, everything mum has done is going to be for nothing.’

  Dave bit through the pain and got himself into a scrunched sitting position that favoured his 'good' side. He shuffled to the end of the bed where he perched awkwardly. Waves of nausea had begun to sweep over him and along with his throbbing head, he could see the next part being incredibly difficult.

  Through the pain he could hear his father speaking again. 'David, I need to tell you something,’ he said. 'It's about your mother. She's very ill.’

  'I know dad, she told me yesterday,’ he said.

  'I don't understand. You've been lying here for the best part of two days and your mother is sleeping in the next room. How could you know?'

  'Dad, there's a lot more going on here and I promise I will tell you everything. But you have to help me here, I'm not sure I can stand on my own.’

  'But your mother?'

  'Dad, for fucks sake. Help me here!'

  His father was about to protest, when a look from Dave silenced him. Instead he stood and put an arm around him; being extra careful to avoid his injured side. He helped him to his feet and together they shuffled towards the bedroom door.

  Progress was painfully slow, made even slower through a combination of Dave's injuries and his father's frailness. In ten minutes they had only managed to get halfway across the landing; every step seemingly followed by an excruciatingly long rest period. How his father had ever managed to drag him upstairs was beyond imagining.

  Although not as skinny as his mother, his father was still tortuously thin and Dave could feel ribs poking through his shirt. He also smelt bad. The dreadful smell he had picked up from the garage was obviously coming from him; a combination of sweat and rot from a body that had been virtually used up by its unforgiving host.

  They lent on each other for support and if it wasn't for the deep bruise on Dave's forehead, it would have been difficult to identify who the injured party was.

  At the top of the stairs Dave's father paused yet again and motioned to his own bedroom. 'What about your mother? How are we going to move her?'

  'There's no need to dad. We just need to get ourselves clear.’

  'I'm not going anywhere unless I know she's alright too.’

  Dave rolled his eyes in exasperation. 'Dad, listen. You have to believe me here. Mum is going to be fine. This thing can't hurt her unless he's in you. Do you get it?'

  'I...I...suppose so,’ he said. 'But none of this is making a lot of sense. I can remember doing those things to your mother. I wanted to. How is that possible because I could never hurt her?'

  'It wasn't you Dad, it never was. Mum knows that. This thing is from...........from somewhere different. It feeds off pain and it's been controlling you for years. You've got to try and get your head round this no matter how weird it seems. That thing can't survive unless its got someone to live in and it really isn't choosy. If it gets into either of us then it's game over.’

  'But...'

  'No buts Dad! Mum is doing what she can to slow him down, but she can't hold him forever. We have to get out of the house!'

  Realizing there was no point in discussing this any further, his father tightened his grip around Dave's waist and started for the stairs. As they took their first step an ear splitting scream came from his mother's bedroom and Dave knew time had just run out.

  Chapter 26

  The cottage was quiet when Dex entered; too quiet. It was also deserted. Dex wasn't completely surprised by this, but a small part of him had hoped for Lily to make her last stand here. Instead, it would seem she was determined to drag out the inevitable. He made his way through the living room into the small kitchen. So far there had been no further traps since the grassland, but he doubted if she had used up all her tricks. He tried the door which opened to the rear of the house, paused as the door unlatched and stepped through. The passage through the house had been far too easy for his liking.

  Ahead of him lay a neat little vegetable patch with a cobbled path through its centre. Beyond that was a ramshackle wall that enclosed the rear of the house and beyond that was the looming forest; presumably where the mother had made her escape.

  For someone so alert and presumably ready for whatever Lily was to throw at him next, he really should have been paying much more attention to what was directly in front of him. If he had been, then he would have seen the sharp thorny brambles long before they began to curl around his legs. It wasn't until he tried to move that he noticed them and then it was almost too late.

  The thorns dug deep into his legs; the same legs that had been torn to shreds by worms only minutes earlier. He let out another scream, more from surprise than pain this time, and fell forwards into the dirt. This was another poor move as immediately vines shot from the ground and wrapped around his neck; digging in and leaving ugly grooves in his skin.

  The vines weren't just ensnaring him, they were also dragging him down into the dirt. Before long his face was pressed flat against the earth and he was struggling to breath. Annoyed at himself for falling so easily for another of her tricks and annoyed to be using priceless energy having to change form again, he transformed into a bear and its giant claws made light work of the vines; slashing them from around his throat and legs.

  Still in bear form he leaped the garden wall and headed directly for the forest. The mother had had her go.

  Now it was Dex's turn.

  From her vantage point at the edge of the forest, Lily watched the vine trap spring on Dex. Nowhere near as spectacular as the mud-trap but equally effective, it had also eaten up valuable minutes. The slight delay she had placed on the vines had at first surprised Dex, but he still freed himself with relative ease. He was now bounding up the incline towards the trees. The speed in which he could turn was unnerving and one thing was clear; no matter how fine she wanted to cut this, in a one on one situation he definitely had the upper hand. She hoped it wouldn't have to come to that.

  She watched him slow as he neared the first row of trees. It was still a long way short of her current position, but she wasn't about to take any chances and began to move deeper into the woods. Dex, still in bear form, stopped just short of the tree line and sniffed at the air. He seemed to take a moment to decide what to do - maybe his new sensitive animal nose was taking some getting used to - and then set off at a run directly towards her.

  Lily was still creeping backwards as silently as she could, but when she saw the bear charge, she sprinted. For an elderly lady she was surprisingly nimble and skirted through the trees with ease, but compared to a full grown bear she was no match. The trees cleared revealing a rough semi circle of open ground. She had just the one surprise for Dex. Nothing as grand as the previous two traps, but maybe enough to buy David a few more precious minutes. It was time for Lily's last stand.

  Dex had a pretty good idea where Lily was hiding, but the bears acute sense of smell made it far easier for him to pinpoint her exact location. He had expected her to spring a third trap as he entered the tree line, but as yet none had materialised. The cuts on his arms and legs were bleeding badly and even in bear form the
gash on his neck was deep. He could also feel his body on the verge of giving out.

  He burst into the clearing where the ground was covered with a light brush. He was expecting a trap, but what he wasn't expecting was Lily to be stood directly in his path. He stopped his charge, turned back to human and walked towards her. Any second he expected her to turn and run but weirdly she just held her ground and stared at him.

  'Do you have any more tricks old woman?' he said. 'Or are you done?'

  'Not quite!' she called back.

  'Then do your worst, stop with these games.’

  'In time,’ she said. ‘You're that desperate to die?'

  He laughed at this. 'Do you really think a few pathetic tricks can stop me? Look how easy I slipped through your previous attempts.’

  'Maybe I was just warming up,’ she said. 'Anyway, you look pretty done in there. I reckon they took more out of you than you're letting on.’

  Right on queue, a wave of nausea overcame him and he staggered, nearly losing his feet. He did well to regain his composure and stop himself from falling.

  'Having problems there Dex?' said Lily.

  He tried unsuccessfully to hide his surprise at hearing his name.

  'That's right Dex,’ she said. 'I know all about you. Pretty slim pickings recently, don't you think? I mean, I'd be pretty pissed if I was kept trapped like that. Pissed enough to set off on a revenge mission without thinking I could actually pull it off.’

  The distance between them was now down to less than fifty feet and yet she still hadn't moved. 'Be quiet woman,’ he said. 'Both you and the boy are going to die tonight. You may have thought you could fool me, but you will fail.’

  'Oh come on Dex,’ she said with more than a hint of sarcasm. 'Look around. David's not here. You're not going to find him!'

  'Rest assured bitch, I tracked you down. Finding your son will not trouble me.’

  'Don't bullshit a bullshitter. You have no idea where David's gone because he's not in this world anymore! You will never be able to get to him. You can do what you want to me, but you'll be trapped here just like you were trapped inside John. Only I can free you.’

  'You lie!'

  'Do I? Look inside yourself. You know deep down I'm telling the truth. If you kill me then you'll never get to David and you'll never get out of here. You've been played your whole pathetic life and you know what the funny thing is? You've had no idea.’

  A number of the things she said had troubled him. Amongst them was the location of the boy, but being so close and smelling the blood pulsing through her veins put all rational thought out of his mind. His animal instinct took over and he transformed once more into the bear; making one final desperate lunge.

  Then his world was full of fire.

  As Dex pounced, her one thought was Shit, I've left it too late.

  It had taken every ounce of her nerve to remain still as Dex approached. The minute he entered the clearing all her instincts were screaming to run. But in order for this to be truly effective, it had to be left to the very last minute.

  He turned from bear to man and his deathly white complexion told her he was on his last legs. He was also sweating profusely and when he stumbled and nearly fell, her heart leaped. Miraculously though, he managed to remain upright and continued to move ever closer. Her goading had seemed to be working for a time until he got so close he could smell her. Then he was the bear again and Lily had to play her last card.

  The second he leaped, Lily darted to the left and conjured a wall of flame between them. The fire arrived with such ferocity that she was thrown off her feet, landing awkwardly on her back in the dirt. The wall shot skyward to the height of a house bathing her in an unbearable heat. Her plan had been to fully engulf Dex in the flame, but what she hadn't accounted for was the speed and shear weight of the bear. She knew the flames had caught some of him, but when he landed - fur still ablaze in places - she knew it was nowhere near enough.

  'IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE WOMAN?' he boomed and coming from the mouth of a bear this was incredibly disconcerting. 'IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO?'

  Lily was still flat on her back as Dex loomed closer and fruitlessly tried to shuffle backwards in an attempt to keep as much distance between them. She backed up against a tree and even though she had absolutely no idea if David had got to safety, she knew the time was now.

  'No Dex,’ she said. 'I'm afraid I'm not quite done yet. Time to take a trip.’ She closed her eyes and sent him through the space between worlds back to the house. She hoped beyond hope that this would finally be the end of all the years of pain and misery and her once love of her life could live out the rest of his days in peace. She also wanted to give David as much advantage as possible and a split second after she sent Dex, she crossed back herself.

  Chapter 27

  Three things happened virtually simultaneously as Dave and his father started their descent of the stairs.

  Firstly, there was the totally unexpected 'DAVID! HE'S COMING!' scream from his mother. They should have been well clear of the house and the scream was intended as a final hurry up. Unfortunately though, it came through with such ferocity it had completely the opposite effect and froze them like a pair of statues.

  The second thing to happen was the eerie feeling as Dex shot straight into him. He didn't so much see him, as sensed another presence in his mind. Dave could hear the thoughts as if they were his own and rather than an instant hostile takeover, he had the distinct feeling that Dex was far from happy to be inside.

  Thirdly, a fraction of a second behind the scream and not really thinking of the consequences, Dave pushed his father down the stairs. He had time to hear a crumpled oomph from below and then his own leg gave way. With Dex now inside him, he too fell down the stairs

  Dex also had a number of very strange sensations as he was flipped over by Lily. One minute he was a bear preparing to bite down on her and have the feed his body was so craving. The next minute he was formless again and flying across a softly carpeted room. He had the vague sensation of someone beneath him shouting words he couldn't quite make out. He was then through the door and directly in front of him was the prize he had been seeking the whole time. Without hesitation he flew straight into Dave and then the problems really started.

  On every previous occasion when entering a body, the man he was taking over had absolutely no idea he was inside him. With Dave this was not the case. On first entering, not only did he discover awareness but he also discovered resistance; something he had never encountered before. It wasn't as if Dave’s body was throwing up a natural defense as it would against a nasty infection; Dave simply knew he was there.

  As he became more and more aware of Dex's presence, the initial resistance alarmingly turned into something far more concerning; entrapment. Unfortunately for Dex, for the time being Dave had worked out a way to stop Dex escaping. Without the ability to control him, he knew remaining was not an option. He needed to get out and with the father close by, this seemed the only viable option. First though, he had to get free of Dave.

  Remarkably, as Dave landed at the foot of the stairs he was not just able to keep his consciousness but also his concentration. The pain as his wounded side hit the floor was unbearable. Black dots began to blur his vision and he physically had to fight to keep himself from passing out.

  The plan was going south very quickly, but somehow Dex had failed to gain the same sort of control over him as his father. Dave was well aware of Dex inside him and somehow for now he was keeping him there. He could sense Dex's desperation to escape and whilst he still could, Dave was going to do everything within his power to stop him leaving. If Dex continued not to have any control over him, then this was a surprising piece of good fortune. What this meant was the plan was now very simple; get his father free of the house.

  He felt his father move past him, but worryingly not towards the front door. From his position on the floor he tried to turn and call after him, but as he did a searing pai
n shot down his side and across his chest. This was not a pain caused by any sudden movement, this pain was caused by Dex.

  The boys body was still suffering from the injuries from his fall a few days earlier and Dex saw this as his opportunity. He could feel the body drifting in and out of consciousness and from inside Dave he threw himself at the injured area down his side. He thought he could either make him fully pass out or at the very least force him to drop his guard. With the first blow he felt the entire body shake and heard the boy scream out in pain. After the first blow, he remained conscious, but for a split second Dex thought he felt the prison around him falter. With a small chink of hope, he struck out again.

  The second blow was even worse. The black dots had been replaced by huge circles in front of his eyes and he felt the need to vomit. He tried to call out again but a third blow crashed through him. He knew exactly what Dex was up to and felt totally powerless to stop it. All his mental effort now was on keeping Dex trapped inside him. If he fell unconscious then it was game over.

  'Dad!' he croaked. 'He's in me, but I can't hold him much longer. YOU HAVE TO RUN!' this last part was shouted as a fourth blow creased his side.

  Dave's heart fell as his father's silhouette appeared in the kitchen doorway. He hadn't even been trying to escape.

  'Dad!' he said. 'What the hell are you doing? You have to go, I can't hold him!' two simultaneous blows ripped through him and he felt his bladder go; his crotch area suddenly filled with warm wetness.

  'No David,’ he said and held his ground.

  'What do you mean no? Dad! I'm like mum. He can't hurt me. But if he gets into you it'll be just like before.’

  'No David,’ he said again. 'It won't be like before. It all ends today.’

  'That's what I'm trying to tell you,’ he screamed. 'If you run he dies!' another crippling wave of pain shot through his entire body. Another blow like that would end it.