by Amy Cross
“Go!” I say firmly. “All of you!”
Joseph hesitates, before stepping back. He lingers for a moment, as if he's going to say something else, and then he turns and hurries out of the laboratory. Manny follows, but Adam – still in his wolf form – doesn't go with them.
“Please,” I say to him, “do this for me. I need not to worry about you guys while I'm doing this.”
I head over and reach down, putting a hand on the side of his head. He looks up at me, and for a moment I can only stare into his clear blue eyes. Then, finally, he turns and hurries after the others, leaving me standing alone as the cauldron begins to shake more violently than ever.
Slowly, I turn and watch as the metal sides begin to split open. The explosion is clearly only a few seconds away, and I still don't quite know how this is going to work. I remember accidentally destroying Middlewych, I remember the sensation of all that energy pouring out of my body, so I guess now I just need to do the same thing but in reverse. Easy, right?
Suddenly the cauldron blows, and a vast wall of blinding heat blasts out in every direction. I instinctively hold my hands out and focus on drawing all the energy into my body, breathing it all in with every pore. I feel as if the atoms in my body are cracking open and starting to fill up, and for a moment there's no pain. Then it comes, bursting through me in wave after wave, crackling with an agonizing force as I absorb every last scrap of the cauldron's explosion. I feel as if the entire explosion is rushing into me, and I'm not sure that I can hold it inside for much longer.
Finally, I scream.
Epilogue
Two weeks later...
Footsteps, coming closer through the forest, crunching against the leaves.
I blink, and suddenly I realize that I'm curled up in a ball, shivering violently. I don't know how I got here, but – as I start to sit up – I feel as if every muscle in my body is badly bruised. I take a deep breath, which feels like the first breath I've taken in a while, and then I turn to see that an old man is cautiously approaching. He's staring at me as if he's never seen anything like me in his whole life.
“Are you okay there?” he asks.
I don't know how to answer him. Looking at my hands, I see that they're bruised and muddied. I feel as if I've been beaten to a pulp, but no bones seem to be broken. I try to think back, to work out how I ended up here in the middle of nowhere, but there's some kind of fog in my mind. The more I try to remember, the more the fog seems to fill my thoughts and push me back.
“Did you hear me?”
I look up at the man again. I'm instantly struck by the kindness in his face. He's holding a hand out toward me, and after a moment I take that hand. As soon as he starts pulling me up, however, I freeze as I'm struck by a flash of his life in my mind. In the space of just half a second, I see everything that's ever happened to him, from his birth to his childhood to his life on a farm and on to his marriage and his wife's death and his retirement to a cabin out here in the middle of nowhere. As soon as the flash is over, I look at the man and feel his genuine honesty somehow radiating from his soul.
“You look like you're in a bad way,” he continues. “My place isn't far from here. Let's see if we can fix you up.”
***
There are two photos on the window ledge in the man's front room. One photo shows his wife Ada, and the other shows his daughter Lysette. Ada died eleven years ago, from esophageal cancer, and Lysette suffered a fatal stroke two years later, at the age of only thirty. I don't even know how I know these things. I just do. It's as if I can feel things hanging in the air all around.
“Now, you haven't even told me your name,” the man says as he comes through with a tray of tea and cookies. “I'm -”
“Jonathan,” I say, before I can stop myself.
“And how did you know that?”
“You told me,” I lie, forcing a smile. The strange part is that for some reason his name just popped into my head. “Back in the forest.”
“I did?” He furrows his brow as he sits, and then he winces. Lower back pain. Again, I just know these things. “Well, my memory's not what it used to be. You didn't happen to tell me your name, did you?”
“No,” I reply, “I didn't.”
I pause, wondering how I can even begin to answer the inevitable next question.
“So,” he continues, “what is it? Your name, I mean.”
“I don't know.”
“You don't know?”
“I don't know who I am,” I explain, “or where we are, or how I got here. I don't remember anything before I woke up out there in the forest with you coming toward me.”
“Is that right?”
“There's a hole in my mind,” I add, “and I'm scared to disturb it, in case the rest of me falls in. Does that make sense?”
“I guess people lose their memories from time to time,” he replies. “There's probably something they can do to help you at the hospital.” He gets to his feet, wincing again. “You just sit tight, and I'm going to make some calls, you understand? I know the local sheriff, he's a good man, and he'll know exactly what to do in this situation. Just hold on there.”
As he shuffles over to the landline phone in the far corner of the room, I feel an inexplicable sense of panic starting to grow in the pit of my belly. I try to ignore the sensation, but if anything it actually starts to grow. Finally, I have to actively suppress the feeling, but then I watch the man picking up the phone's receiver and I immediately get to my feet.
In a flash, my mind is filled with the image of a powerful explosion. It's as if energy is bursting out of my body and blasting up into the sky, and then I'm thrown backward with such force that I feel like I'm hurtling through the sky. I'm screaming, and a moment later I see that I'm about to crash down toward the top of a forest. I close my eyes and turn away, and then I feel hundreds of branches snapping as I tumble toward the ground.
“Hello?”
Startled, I turn and see that I'm still in the old man's cabin. I must have zoned out for a moment and experienced some kind of intense vision.
“I'm fine,” I mutter. “Please, don't worry, I'm... I promise, I'm okay.”
He hesitates, before reaching down to dial 911.
“Don't!” I say suddenly.
“I'm sorry.”
“Don't call them,” I reply, suddenly convinced that getting in touch with the police would be a really bad idea.
“Why not?” he asks.
“Just don't,” I say firmly. “Put the phone down, and forget all about calling the police or the hospital. I'm not sure exactly what's happened, but I need time to think, so I need you to not call anyone. At least for now.”
As soon as those words have left my lips, I know that I must seem so strange and suspicious. Nevertheless, the old man slowly sets the receiver back down, and I start to realize that maybe he's actually going to listen to me.
“Well,” he mutters slowly, “I wouldn't want to rush you. You just let me know when you want help, okay?”
He sits at the table, and I stare at him for a moment, marveling at the fact that he seems to have done exactly what I wanted. It's not as if I intentionally reached into his mind and forced him to think certain things, but he certainly seems to have behaved exactly the way that I hoped he'd behave. Even now, as he takes a sip of tea, he seems a little dazed, and for a moment I can't help but wonder whether perhaps I somehow controlled his mind for a moment.
Heading to the window, I look out toward the forest.
“I heard a commotion out there a couple of weeks ago,” the old man tells me. “I thought maybe it was an asteroid or something like that. It landed in the forest. I went out to find it, but I didn't have any luck.” He sighs. “Still, it can't be anything to do with you. If you'd been out there for two weeks, you'd be well and truly dead by now. Odd coincidence, though, isn't it? All of that happens, and then I find you in the forest.”
“I agree,” I whisper, as I try again to access my
memories.
“Are you sure I shouldn't call someone?” he asks suddenly. “I really think -”
“No,” I say firmly, before turning to him as I feel guilty for sounding too harsh. “Thank you, but I just think I need to work out what happened first. I don't even remember my name right now.”
Looking back out the window, I suddenly spot movement in the distance, beyond the line of trees. A wolf briefly appears and looks straight at me, and I'm struck by the sense that I've seen this particular wolf before. Where? I have no idea, but I'm overcome by a powerful feeling of familiarity.
“He's beautiful, isn't he?” Jonathan says, having evidently also spotted the animal. “He arrived a few days ago. As it happens, he's the reason I found you. It was almost as if he tried to lure me out there. Strange, now it looks like he's guarding the place.”
Suddenly something bumps overheard, and I look up at the ceiling.
“That stupid bat's flying about in the attic again,” Jonathan adds with a sigh. “He only turned up a day or two ago as well. I wouldn't mind so much if he didn't keep hitting the walls.”
I look back out at the wolf, and after a moment I find myself smiling slightly.
“We don't get many wolves around this part of the country,” Jonathan explains, “but he probably thinks there's some food in the area. He'll soon be gone once he realizes he won't be getting anything.”
“Do you really think so?” I ask, feeling a shiver pass through my body at the thought of the wolf leaving. For some reason, I really want him to stay.
The wolf ducks out of view, but somehow deep down I have a feeling that he'll be back. Hopefully, by then I'll have remembered who I am and how I ended up here.
Coming Soon
The Middlewych Abomination
(Chaos Gear Annie book 2)
BOOKS BY AMY CROSS
1. Dark Season: The Complete First Series (2011)
2. Werewolves of Soho (Lupine Howl book 1) (2012)
3. Werewolves of the Other London (Lupine Howl book 2) (2012)
4. Ghosts: The Complete Series (2012)
5. Dark Season: The Complete Second Series (2012)
6. The Children of Black Annis (Lupine Howl book 3) (2012)
7. Destiny of the Last Wolf (Lupine Howl book 4) (2012)
8. Asylum (The Asylum Trilogy book 1) (2012)
9. Dark Season: The Complete Third Series (2013)
10. Devil's Briar (2013)
11. Broken Blue (The Broken Trilogy book 1) (2013)
12. The Night Girl (2013)
13. Days 1 to 4 (Mass Extinction Event book 1) (2013)
14. Days 5 to 8 (Mass Extinction Event book 2) (2013)
15. The Library (The Library Chronicles book 1) (2013)
16. American Coven (2013)
17. Werewolves of Sangreth (Lupine Howl book 5) (2013)
18. Broken White (The Broken Trilogy book 2) (2013)
19. Grave Girl (Grave Girl book 1) (2013)
20. Other People's Bodies (2013)
21. The Shades (2013)
22. The Vampire's Grave and Other Stories (2013)
23. Darper Danver: The Complete First Series (2013)
24. The Hollow Church (2013)
25. The Dead and the Dying (2013)
26. Days 9 to 16 (Mass Extinction Event book 3) (2013)
27. The Girl Who Never Came Back (2013)
28. Ward Z (The Ward Z Series book 1) (2013)
29. Journey to the Library (The Library Chronicles book 2) (2014)
30. The Vampires of Tor Cliff Asylum (2014)
31. The Family Man (2014)
32. The Devil's Blade (2014)
33. The Immortal Wolf (Lupine Howl book 6) (2014)
34. The Dying Streets (Detective Laura Foster book 1) (2014)
35. The Stars My Home (2014)
36. The Ghost in the Rain and Other Stories (2014)
37. Ghosts of the River Thames (The Robinson Chronicles book 1) (2014)
38. The Wolves of Cur'eath (2014)
39. Days 46 to 53 (Mass Extinction Event book 4) (2014)
40. The Man Who Saw the Face of the World (2014)
41. The Art of Dying (Detective Laura Foster book 2) (2014)
42. Raven Revivals (Grave Girl book 2) (2014)
43. Arrival on Thaxos (Dead Souls book 1) (2014)
44. Birthright (Dead Souls book 2) (2014)
45. A Man of Ghosts (Dead Souls book 3) (2014)
46. The Haunting of Hardstone Jail (2014)
47. A Very Respectable Woman (2015)
48. Better the Devil (2015)
49. The Haunting of Marshall Heights (2015)
50. Terror at Camp Everbee (The Ward Z Series book 2) (2015)
51. Guided by Evil (Dead Souls book 4) (2015)
52. Child of a Bloodied Hand (Dead Souls book 5) (2015)
53. Promises of the Dead (Dead Souls book 6) (2015)
54. Days 54 to 61 (Mass Extinction Event book 5) (2015)
55. Angels in the Machine (The Robinson Chronicles book 2) (2015)
56. The Curse of Ah-Qal's Tomb (2015)
57. Broken Red (The Broken Trilogy book 3) (2015)
58. The Farm (2015)
59. Fallen Heroes (Detective Laura Foster book 3) (2015)
60. The Haunting of Emily Stone (2015)
61. Cursed Across Time (Dead Souls book 7) (2015)
62. Destiny of the Dead (Dead Souls book 8) (2015)
63. The Death of Jennifer Kazakos (Dead Souls book 9) (2015)
64. Alice Isn't Well (Death Herself book 1) (2015)
65. Annie's Room (2015)
66. The House on Everley Street (Death Herself book 2) (2015)
67. Meds (The Asylum Trilogy book 2) (2015)
68. Take Me to Church (2015)
69. Ascension (Demon's Grail book 1) (2015)
70. The Priest Hole (Nykolas Freeman book 1) (2015)
71. Eli's Town (2015)
72. The Horror of Raven's Briar Orphanage (Dead Souls book 10) (2015)
73. The Witch of Thaxos (Dead Souls book 11) (2015)
74. The Rise of Ashalla (Dead Souls book 12) (2015)
75. Evolution (Demon's Grail book 2) (2015)
76. The Island (The Island book 1) (2015)
77. The Lighthouse (2015)
78. The Cabin (The Cabin Trilogy book 1) (2015)
79. At the Edge of the Forest (2015)
80. The Devil's Hand (2015)
81. The 13th Demon (Demon's Grail book 3) (2016)
82. After the Cabin (The Cabin Trilogy book 2) (2016)
83. The Border: The Complete Series (2016)
84. The Dead Ones (Death Herself book 3) (2016)
85. A House in London (2016)
86. Persona (The Island book 2) (2016)
87. Battlefield (Nykolas Freeman book 2) (2016)
88. Perfect Little Monsters and Other Stories (2016)
89. The Ghost of Shapley Hall (2016)
90. The Blood House (2016)
91. The Death of Addie Gray (2016)
92. The Girl With Crooked Fangs (2016)
93. Last Wrong Turn (2016)
94. The Body at Auercliff (2016)
95. The Printer From Hell (2016)
96. The Dog (2016)
97. The Nurse (2016)
98. The Haunting of Blackwych Grange (2016)
99. Twisted Little Things and Other Stories (2016)
100. The Horror of Devil's Root Lake (2016)
101. The Disappearance of Katie Wren (2016)
102. B&B (2016)
103. The Bride of Ashbyrn House (2016)
104. The Devil, the Witch and the Whore (The Deal Trilogy book 1) (2016)
105. The Ghosts of Lakeforth Hotel (2016)
106. The Ghost of Longthorn Manor and Other Stories (2016)
107. Laura (2017)
108. The Murder at Skellin Cottage (Jo Mason book 1) (2017)
109. The Curse of Wetherley House (2017)
110. The Ghosts of
Hexley Airport (2017)
111. The Return of Rachel Stone (Jo Mason book 2) (2017)
112. Haunted (2017)
113. The Vampire of Downing Street and Other Stories (2017)
114. The Ash House (2017)
115. The Ghost of Molly Holt (2017)
116. The Camera Man (2017)
117. The Soul Auction (2017)
118. The Abyss (The Island book 3) (2017)
119. Broken Window (The House of Jack the Ripper book 1) (2017)
120. In Darkness Dwell (The House of Jack the Ripper book 2) (2017)
121. Cradle to Grave (The House of Jack the Ripper book 3) (2017)
122. The Lady Screams (The House of Jack the Ripper book 4) (2017)
123. A Beast Well Tamed (The House of Jack the Ripper book 5) (2017)
124. Doctor Charles Grazier (The House of Jack the Ripper book 6) (2017)
125. The Raven Watcher (The House of Jack the Ripper book 7) (2017)
126. The Final Act (The House of Jack the Ripper book 8) (2017)
127. Stephen (2017)
128. The Spider (2017)
129. The Mermaid's Revenge (2017)
130. The Girl Who Threw Rocks at the Devil (2018)
131. Friend From the Internet (2018)
132. Beautiful Familiar (2018)
133. One Night at a Soul Auction (2018)
134. 16 Frames of the Devil's Face (2018)
135. The Haunting of Caldgrave House (2018)
136. Like Stones on a Crow's Back (The Deal Trilogy book 2) (2018)
137. Room 9 and Other Stories (2018)
138. The Gravest Girl of All (Grave Girl book 3) (2018)
139. Return to Thaxos (Dead Souls book 13) (2018)
140. The Madness of Annie Radford (The Asylum Trilogy book 3) (2018)
141. The Haunting of Briarwych Church (Briarwych book 1) (2018)
142. I Just Want You To Be Happy (2018)
143. Day 100 (Mass Extinction Event book 6) (2018)
144. The Horror of Briarwych Church (Briarwych book 2) (2018)
145. The Ghost of Briarwych Church (Briarwych book 3) (2018)
146. Lights Out (2019)
