“Take it easy, guys,” Codie said. “We’re all tired and not in the best of moods right now. Let’s not start something we can’t finish.”
“You ain’t putting shit on this film, Alex,” Liam said.
Julian had to admit that the guy sounded quite tough uttering the words. In spite of the waver of distress in his voice, of course. Liam’s body trembled against his, and Julian figured it had little to do with the cold.
“I’m the narrator, dumbass,” Alex said. “My voice is going to be all over this film.”
Codie turned from Liam and stared Alex down. “Okay, knock it off, hey.”
Alex shrugged, turned away.
Julian glanced over at Kristen. She’d been standing motionless when the altercation broke out, but now she dropped to her knees and unzipped her sleeping bag. He’d not even gotten his bag out of his rucksack yet, and didn’t like the thought of spending another twenty minutes getting his gear together before trying to sleep on the hard floor.
He yanked the cable from the camera clear of his computer’s USB port.
“I reckon we should go to bed,” Julian said, closing his computer. He looked at Liam. “I’m sorry, man. I’m exhausted; we can take a closer look at this stuff when we’ve gotten some rest.”
Liam gave a sheepish nod and stifled a yawn. Leaning forward, Julian slotted his equipment back into the bag that sat between his ankles. Alex pushed past Codie, grabbed his sleeping bag, and tossed it on the bench beside Liam.
“I’m sleeping here tonight,” he said.
Without a word, Liam moved away. Codie stopped him, whispered something in his ear, and got a nod in return. They’d known each other since before they could talk; Codie would always have Liam’s back. Julian rose from the bench, grabbed his equipment, and moved away to let Alex unfurl his sleeping bag. Julian placed his camera bag next to his rucksack. He kicked at some debris on the floor, swiped his foot across the dirt, and wondered how the hell he’d be able to get comfortable tonight.
In a newfound silence, rain skipped over the windows and wind whistled through gaps in the building’s cracked shell. Light pulsed across the lawn outside as lightning flared over the strait; the thunderstorm would swamp the island within minutes. As a child he’d always believed that lightning would rend a fissure in the earth through which hell’s evil would crawl to the surface.
It may have been the weather, or perhaps a figment of his imagination, but as he lay down in his sleeping bag Julian heard the creak of unoiled hinges as a door slowly opened in the building’s depths.
CHAPTER TEN
She linked her fingers into Codie’s, pulled his hand to her lips, and planted a gentle kiss on his cold skin. Kristen wrapped her free hand around his and hoped her grip would warm him. They each lay in their own sleeping bags, but to help share body heat she wished they’d brought a two-man bag. The storm lay thick and heavy over the island, unlikely to disperse anytime soon. Its howling breath blew a cold wind through the halls, adding a greater chill to a building already freezing from sixty years of disuse. Windows creaked in their frames, doors moved on rusted hinges, but after today’s events she wasn’t entirely sure the weather had anything to do with the building’s sounds.
Kristen activated the light on her phone, its glow from inside her sleeping bag throwing a sheen of luminescence over Codie’s handsome features. His stare fixed hers, his soft blue eyes keeping her captivated as they did every time he looked at her. She’d lost herself in his stare countless times and never wanted to find her way out.
He smiled.
“What?” she whispered.
“That light from your phone makes you look like an angel.”
“Aww, you say the sweetest things.”
“Because I’m sweet on you.”
Kristen didn’t have an answer, could only sigh in response. He made her do that a lot with some of the romantic things he said. He wasn’t one to buy flowers often but such things didn’t matter when he always used the right words. At first she’d thought that perhaps it was his way of wooing her, getting her to love him more, but he hadn’t stopped with his compliments and she’d come to realize this was just his way. An image had wormed into her head three weeks prior, of them both—shrunken and wrinkled, wheelchair bound from age—sitting together in a care home, holding hands, as he told her for the umpteenth time that she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Codie Jackson would make old age a romantic time.
“Are you okay?” he said.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
She wasn’t, and he probably knew it. After only four years together he already knew her well enough to know when something troubled her. At times she suspected he discerned her emotions even better than she did. She hadn’t told him about the girl she’d seen in the bathroom—and she had seen her, there were no doubts in her mind. A fear she’d never experienced before slithered through her emotions, but she didn’t want to admit it to him. Codie would undoubtedly take it upon himself to comfort her, and would neglect the true purpose of his trip to this island. She didn’t want to be responsible for that, would rather wait until they were back on the mainland before admitting how freaked out she’d been. Besides, things were better now, lying here with the man of her dreams, looking into his clear blue eyes while losing herself once more. A minute with Codie made everything all right again—and she would get a lifetime.
“You’d tell me if you weren’t, wouldn’t you?”
“Of course.” And she would, just not yet.
“Is it your mother?”
“Is what my mother?”
“Sweetheart, I can see something’s wrong, so if you won’t tell me I’ll have to guess. Are you still upset about the fight with your mum?”
Kristen sighed again, allowing him to believe her mother was the reason so she wouldn’t have to talk about dead girls in the bathroom.
“She’s been a bitch to me for a lot of years,” she said. “But some of the things she said this time were nasty, even for her.”
“Aw, baby.” He pulled her hand across the space between them and took his turn to kiss her chilled skin. “She’ll regret everything she said to you. She’ll miss you around the house this weekend and will apologize for all the hurt she’s caused. Just wait and see.”
Kristen smiled. Codie was probably right, but she didn’t know if she really wanted to give in once more and move back in. They’d both lost Jenny, Dad a while before then, but Mum didn’t seem to care if she lost her too. There’d been times previous when they’d fought and she’d packed her bags; gone to Codie’s for a night, and each time she’d gone back home. And each time there’d been a new fight waiting to swamp them once a few days had passed. Sometimes she believed her mother got bored with the niceties and calm existence and created an argument simply for something to do.
“I tell you what,” Codie said, dropping his voice a little lower, “if you don’t want to move back home, why don’t you come and stay with me for a while?”
A tingle of excitement fluttered in her abdomen, a sensation only Codie could impart. She’d been to his house plenty of times in the past, had stayed there on numerous occasions, but he’d never before asked her to stay for ‘a while’. How long he’d want her there she didn’t know, but the thought of them living together in some capacity had graced her mind for almost a year. It helped that she liked his parents, found his older brother amusing; had been welcomed into his family without a moment’s hesitation. Not more than a week into their relationship she’d been invited on a picnic into the Lake District, along with Codie’s extended family of grandparents, uncles and aunts. She’d never really felt wanted by her own mother, but Codie’s family made her feel welcome, as though she belonged with them and nowhere else. It was a quiet, peaceful world apart from what she’d been used to all her life. She didn’t want to stay with him for a while—she wanted to stay with him forever.
“Thank you, Codie, that’s so sweet, but I wouldn’t want to i
mpose.”
“You’re never an imposition, only a delight to have around.” He smiled. “Mum loves you. In fact, I’m sure she’d rather I moved out and you moved in.”
Kristen giggled, and when Codie smiled, his face illuminated so much that she felt sure if she turned off the light on her phone his brilliance would provide enough light for them all.
“You’re so sweet,” she said. “I love your mother and I absolutely adore you.”
Alex mumbled something from where he lay on the other side of the lobby, near the wall. She couldn’t make out his words; probably something derogatory about their affection. She didn’t think she’d been talking too loud but maybe her voice had carried in the echoic foyer. What did it matter anyway? Everyone here knew how much she loved Codie, how much he loved her; surely they could tolerate some level of affection. It’s Alex, don’t forget, he can’t tolerate anybody being happy. It’d irked her the day Codie had told her that he’d taken Alex on board to help fund their indie filmmaking business. The whole project had been Codie’s idea, but with limited cash he’d accepted Alex’s offer of help, with the conditions that he provide the narration for their documentaries and that the company bear his surname. She didn’t like the guy, he’d always been an outsider compared to them, even when it came to Liam and Julian, but she’d never questioned Codie’s decisions regarding his venture and wasn’t about to start.
She hoped he’d find out in his own time.
“I adore you, too,” Codie said, his voice barely a whisper as though he’d made the same assumption as her regarding Alex’s mumbled comment.
Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to his hand, and he leaned in to kiss hers in return. He moved their hands aside, and she leaned in further until her lips met his. His touch was tender, gentle, and it elicited a flicker of passion in her groin. Closing her eyes she savoured his taste, pictured them entwined in the darkness. She wished they shared a sleeping bag not to share body heat, but to explore each other’s bodies. He broke the kiss, turned his head to the side, and yawned.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said. “But I gotta get some sleep.”
They were tired, all of them, and she felt sure she already heard Julian snoring. She repressed a yawn, certain it’d been brought on by Codie’s tiredness. Her lids were heavy, weighted by fatigue, but as she considered closing her eyes and sleeping, the mysterious outline of a young girl in the bathroom corner drifted into her mind, evaporating her grogginess.
“It’s okay, baby,” she said. “Get some sleep. We have another busy day tomorrow.”
Codie had mentioned something about getting more external footage, particularly of the cliff and beach of bones on the island’s northern coast. There were other areas of the asylum they’d yet to investigate, and he’d said that Liam was particularly interested in exploring them during the day before investigating those areas at night. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to sleep tonight, and after visiting all the areas where so much misery and heartache had been dealt, she doubted she would sleep tomorrow night either. But she was here, with the love of her life, away from the arguments with her mother and all the bad feelings they created. So another day on this island of death would be a small price to pay. If Codie held her at night, she knew she’d be safe.
As if hearing her thoughts, he looped an arm over her shoulder and snuggled his face close to hers.
“Good night, sweetheart,” he said. “I love you.”
“Good night, my love. I love you too.”
She kissed his forehead, he smiled, and then his face relaxed.
Only when his breath morphed into the drawn-out sigh of slumber did she reach to her phone and extinguish the light. Night flooded the asylum hallways and the encompassing storm added its darkness. She willed sleep to claim her too, but it avoided her, and she lay motionless with wide eyes, listening to the building’s moans while watching the flutter of shadows in the room’s darkest corners.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The storm came to life as electricity lanced like scars across the cloud’s bloated underbellies. Strobes flashed through the lobby’s high windows and burned light onto the walls. Shadows dispersed into the vaulted ceiling until all that remained was a dark figure coiled around the chandelier’s branches, watching them sleep.
Three a.m. and awake, Liam smiled.
The entire building was alive; more alive than any place he’d been where the dead inhabited. Thunder bellowed over the island and echoed through dark hallways. Light from the flash dispersed quickly and darkness flooded in once more, swallowing the figure in the chandelier.
He wondered if the spirits harvested the electrical energy pulsing overhead, and would they become more active now the storm enclosed them. The thunder’s growl dwindled into nothing and, while a non-believer might think the fading moan to be just an echo, Liam was convinced it was the call of something more ethereal. The evening’s events circled in his memories letting him know this building had much more to offer. They’d not encountered all the ghosts lurking here, he felt certain of it; wondered why the entities were being so withdrawn. Had they not provoked them enough during the night? Did Liam need to demand more from the tortured memories infecting the asylum’s walls? It shouldn’t be too hard to achieve; the entire island bled with the trauma and heartache of thousands of destroyed lives. They should be exploring the ruins now, instead of sleeping. He understood the others’ tiredness; fatigue plagued him too, helped by the lingering aftereffects of the crossing, but they were wasting valuable minutes in the company of some exceptional paranormal activity. Codie had suggested they sleep late in the morning, explore the island to get more external footage, and then make a later tour of the hospital tomorrow night. He seldom disagreed with Codie, would probably do anything the man asked, but Liam couldn’t contain his anxiousness to explore. Maybe the static cameras had captured some good activity.
Another burst of light illuminated the lobby as more electricity forked outside, but their visitor in the chandelier had moved on.
Propping himself up on his elbows, Liam glanced about the foyer. Alex lay near the far wall, atop one of the old benches; his shape a silhouette amid dark shadow draped across the wall. Julian had spread himself out a few feet away in the middle of the lobby’s floor, one arm outstretched to touch his camera gear as though protecting it from theft. The man sucked in a deep breath, his snore echoing in the vacuous room. Glancing to his right Liam located the darkened outlines of Codie and Kristen lying together near the reception desk. The cramps of jealousy about their relationship had left him years ago but he wished it were him lying by Codie’s side. Liam would stroke his hair as he drifted into slumber, and be there to hold him when he woke. Unfortunately such a thing was nothing more than a beautiful dream.
Exhaling a sigh of yearning, Liam shifted his gaze to the ornate staircase before him. Just a tangled outline in the depths of darkness, he studied its balustrades as they swept up to the second floor. He’d placed the first static camera up there almost twelve hours ago—hopefully it had taken some good images.
Liam drew the zipper down on his sleeping bag and folded it away from his legs. He’d retired for the night fully dressed but hated sleeping in clothes. They provided warmth though, yet even wearing dry pants he felt the building’s cold air slid like ice over his skin. Sitting up, he reached over and picked up his torch and EVP recorder. With an item in each hand he lifted his feet clear of the sleeping bag and stood. Lightning pulsed through the lobby, a crack of thunder reverberating around the asylum almost immediately.
Julian snorted in a breath and lifted his head. “What?”
Stepping forward, Liam leaned down to speak in a whisper. “Shhh, Julian, it’s only me.”
“Liam?” Julian rolled onto his side, pulled his sleeping bag over his exposed arms. “What are you doing?”
“I’m just going up to the second floor, check on the static camera.”
“You should get some sleep, man.
”
Liam shrugged, but Julian wouldn’t see the movement in the darkness through his closed eyes. “You know me, I’m too excited about this place and I can’t sleep.”
Julian mumbled something, a word or two lost as sleep drifted over him once again.
Liam smiled, and headed for the stairs.
Directing the torch light towards the steps so he wouldn’t stumble on debris, he ascended quietly to the second floor and hurried to the windows. The lawn lay below, the ocean further out, yet a storm as black as pitch settled over the island and obscured everything. As he moved close to the glass, the reflection of his face illuminated in the flashlight glare hovered as a pale orb in the blackness. Lightning forked through broiling clouds and the sea reproduced the electrical path across its turbulent surface. The island flashed under the released charge; raindrops falling like shattered tears, bushes trembling like frightened children in the wind. Light pulsed through the hallway and in that split-second of brilliance Liam saw something amiss.
Turning from the windowpane he picked his way down the corridor, playing the torch’s beam over the debris-laden floor and cracked walls. Thunder growled against the building in a rumble that vibrated the loose-fitting glass in its rotting timber frames. The wind flung rain against the windows in a splatter of constant droplets.
Halfway along the corridor he stopped, breath trapped in his chest. It should have been there, two doors further along the passage. Leaves on the floor lay undisturbed, shards of peeled paint curled where they’d fallen—but the wheelchair was gone.
Highland Cove Page 7
