Demon (Kassidy Bell Series Book 3)

by Lynda O'Rourke

  “What’s wrong with you? Lover-boy given you the cold shoulder?” mumbled Jude.

  I felt my face flush as Max and Raven looked up at me. They seemed surprised by Jude’s comment.

  “He’s not my lover-boy,” I glared at Jude. “He’s a cold bastard who obviously doesn’t have feelings for anyone.”

  “That’s why your tongue hangs out like a lovesick puppy every time Ben walks past, is it?” snapped Jude, leaning forward in his seat. “What was I the other night? A stand-in? Your second choice?”

  “I was upset! I couldn’t sleep!” I shouted.

  “So you thought you’d kill time by jumping into bed with me?” spat Jude.

  “It wasn’t like that,” I hissed. “You know it wasn’t!” I sheepishly looked at Max and Raven, who were pretty much stuck in between Jude and me. What must they think of me? Jude was making me out to be some kind of slag, but it hadn’t been like that. I’d been weak – messed up. I’d just wanted to sleep – to not be alone in all this shit.

  “The devil’s hands have already got a hold of you,” glared Raven, “That’s what they do! I might be next! I’m gonna keep my distance from Dr. Fletcher!”

  Jude screwed his nose up at Raven. “I don’t think you’ve got anything to be worried about.” He rolled his eyes in disbelief at her comment.

  “No one’s got their hands on me,” I snapped. “And no one ever will – ever again!” I made a point of directing that comment at Jude. Thank God I hadn’t let it go any further with him. How many more mistakes was I going to make? It seemed that the moment I had stepped foot into Cruor Pharma was when I’d lost all sense of good judgment. Maybe I never had any in the first place? I looked at Max who gave me a reassuring smile. I hadn’t made a mistake in befriending him. I half smiled back. Then standing up, I pulled the rest of the crisps and chocolate bars out of the satchel and threw them at Jude. “Here, gorge yourself on these, it’s what makes you happy!”

  I spun around and slumped myself down on another seat just behind them. I wanted to be by myself, only my eyes fell upon Ben. He sat a little further down the carriage. He stared at me. His gaze seemed to pierce right through me. I glared back at him, folded my arms across my chest, and lifted my feet up onto the opposite seat. Fucking men! Fucking Demons! I could feel my blood pumping again. I could sense the anger building up within me. I clenched my fists. I could quite easily knock every single guy out on this train. Smack them in the mouth and… No, I had to stop feeling like this. This anger was no good for me. I could feel it seeping through my veins like a poison. Think happy thoughts – that’s what I needed. I racked my brain for some. Think – think. No matter how hard I tried to remember happy memories, I just came up with bad. Turning to face the window, I looked out upon the tunnel walls. Was this train ever gonna get moving again? Every second we spent sitting static allowed the Cleaners to get nearer. My concerns must have been playing in Raven’s head as she suddenly stood up.

  “We’ve waited long enough,” she moaned. “Let’s get off this train.”

  “Sit down!”

  I jumped at the sudden outburst that had come from Ben. Only it wasn’t him, it was Quint standing by the door. He looked so angry. Someone you wouldn’t want to mess with.

  “Don’t argue with him, Raven,” I heard Max whisper. He reached up and pulled on Raven’s arm.

  “But we’re in danger just waiting here. They’re coming – I know it -and we’re just sitting here letting them catch up with us!”

  The other passengers had started to get fidgety. Whether it was because of Quint yelling his orders, or Raven’s sudden outcry that we were in danger, or maybe they were just getting pissed off with the train stuck in this goddamn tunnel. Whichever it was, I could hear them moaning to one another.

  “I’m going to be late for my meeting,” said the man who had been reading a newspaper. He shook the creased up pages about in frustration.

  “I don’t understand what all the delay is about, this train has never been late before,” said a lady, dressed in a smart suit. “It doesn’t help that we’re stuck in this carriage with these people.”

  “Degenerates, that’s what they are. Have you seen those black veins on that guy’s arm? Drug takers – the lot of them I reckon. Best just to ignore them,” hushed the guy holding the newspaper.

  I shook my head. What an arsehole. If only they knew. One thing I had learnt since entering Cruor Pharma was to not judge a book by its cover – even the nice ones. You never knew what lay beneath its shiny, good-looking cover. I stared back at Quint. He stood at the end of the carriage, watching, making sure that we all stayed put. I could still hear Raven arguing her point that we should all leave.

  The flickering lights started up again and I found myself, face pressed up against the window, looking for fog. The speakers hissed even louder. Why hadn’t the train driver updated us? I pulled open the small window and tried to hear if there was any movement coming from outside within the tunnel. I cursed, unable to hear anything, what with Raven moaning, the static from the speakers, and the music playing from the iPod. It was impossible to make out any kind of noise from outside. Still, there was no fog. But I was sure I had seen some only a short while ago. Maybe I was just being paranoid?

  As I went to shut the window, the lights went out – stuttering into nothingness.

  CHAPTER TEN

  I couldn’t see a thing. I stumbled blindly, reaching out for the top of the seats, trying to find my way into the aisle. The static filled the black void I now staggered around in. The iPod blurted out through the breaks in the hissing and the sound of tripping feet thumped about.

  “Max, are you there?” I called, trying to locate the others.

  I felt a hand grasp my arm. I flinched. Unsure who it belonged to.

  “It’s me – Max.” He squeezed my arm.

  “Is everyone okay?” I asked, letting Max guide me down into a seat. It was like the blind leading the blind.

  A sudden flash of light had me jumping in my seat. I let out a shaky sigh when I realised it was just the iPod that one of the passengers had been using. The silhouette of the owner sat quite casually, selecting another song, seemingly un-scared of the dark carriage. But why would he be? He had no idea of what could be coming.

  The driver’s voice suddenly erupted from the speakers.

  “There will be no service today. Stay seated and wait for me to come and get you – get you – get you – get…” The voice echoed through the hiss of static and then fell silent.

  “What the fuck?” I heard Jude say. “I think it’s time we vacated, don’t you?”

  A shadow appeared to loom over us as we sat in our seats. It came out of the dark and leant over me.

  “Get up. We’re leaving.” It was Ben’s voice but, unable to see, I wasn’t sure if it was Quint.

  “Told you!” I whispered. “We should have left sooner. You, of all people, know what the Cleaners are like.”

  “This isn’t the Cleaners,” he said. “This is something else.”

  “What?” I asked. What could be worse than the Cleaners? What had Ben or Quint seen, if not the Cleaners, that had made him want to leave the train? “Is it the police?” I feared them in a different way. I hadn’t liked the look of Inspector Cropper when I had been hiding in the back of the Cruor Pharma van. I knew he was bent and worked alongside Doctor Middleton, covering up the horrors of what went on in that hospital on top of Strangers Hill. I felt sure that if we all posed a risk of outing what Cropper had been a part of, then he wouldn’t hesitate to dispose of us, regardless of Middleton wanting us taken back to Cruor Pharma.

  “No, it’s not the police… I don’t know what it is… but I think we should go.”

  As I stood up, the whole carriage seemed to shake on its wheels. As it shunted into the carriage behind, an awful crunch of metal filled the air. The groan of wheels forcibly being pushed over the tracks had my heart racing. I fell back down.

  “What the h
ell did that?” whispered Max. “Has Middleton created some kind of giant monster? It must be pretty big to move train carriages.”

  “Where I come from, you don’t need to be big to be powerful,” said Quint. “Now get up.”

  Standing up on shaky legs, I blindly reached out for something to hold – something that would help me find the way out. The lights suddenly sprang back on, but not fully. They blinked on and off like lights at a rave. My eyes tried to adjust to the surroundings in the carriage. Stopping dead in my tracks, I stared at the other passengers. None of them had moved. It was like they were unaware that the train had even smacked into the other carriage. The two who had been reading newspapers still sat with them held up in front of their faces. The guy with the iPod was leant forward staring at the screen. I looked at the commuter who was seated behind us, the one who had been peeling an apple. His face was turned away, peering out through the window. Hadn’t they heard the train driver’s announcement? Didn’t they think it odd? Why weren’t they even complaining? Something felt very wrong here. I turned to Raven. She was still sitting in her seat, only, she rocked back and forth. Her greasy hair hung over her face as she peered up at me. I gasped and nearly stumbled over. Her eyes had that red, misty look about them. The black veins, which ran up her neck, were pulsing, pushing through under her skin like a thick worm wriggling through dirt.

  “Don’t you leave me,” she hissed, “They’re coming and we have to get out. We’re not ready, I’m not ready yet…” She clawed at the skin on her face and continued to rock forward.

  The lights persisted to flash on and off. I reached down and took hold of Raven’s arm. As scary as she appeared, I knew it was the VA20 that seemed to plague her. She continued to stay rooted to the spot. I looked up for the others. They had already reached the end of the carriage. “Come on, Raven,” I pleaded. “I’m trying to help you.”

  “Kassidy, come on!” shouted Jude.

  The carriage rocked again. I fell onto Raven. She grabbed a handful of my hair, twisting the strands around her palm like she was rolling up a ball of string. Reaching my roots, she yanked down hard.

  I yelled out, trying to release the grip she had on me.

  “You have to stay with me,” she muttered. “We need to keep together.”

  “Raven, please!” I gasped, the pain in my scalp burning. “Please, I’m not leaving you, I’m trying to take you with me.”

  “I can feel it,” spat Raven. “It’s in me.” She clawed at her neck with her free hand, her black fingernails ripping at the veins under her skin.

  “It’s VA20!” I shouted, managing to pull her fingers from my hair. “You have to fight it, don’t let it take you over!” I pulled away from her and stood up.

  My heart almost stopped when I looked down the carriage. The other passengers now sat staring up at me. Only there was no colour to their eyes. Their pupils had disappeared, leaving creamy, white balls in their sockets. Their mouths hung open, like they were waiting to be fed. My eyes skipped nervously from each passenger, then fell upon the end of the carriage where my heart sank, realising that Ben, Max, and Jude had disappeared from sight.

  “I’m leaving, Raven,” I whispered, not taking my eyes from the passengers. “I can’t wait any longer.” I took one last shot at pulling her up from her seat. She wobbled on her feet but made no more resistance to stay.

  Taking a deep breath, I cautiously stepped forward. I didn’t want to walk down the aisle in between the other passengers, but if I wanted to join the others, I had no choice. Should I just run for it? No, that would surely make them get up and make a grab for me. If I stayed calm then perhaps I could just get past them and they would stay seated. They seemed to be in some kind of trance.

  Trying to stay focused on reaching the end of the carriage, I wondered where Ben and Max had disappeared to. I felt relieved to see that Jude was just inside the vestibule. I wanted to shout to him – to let him know that Raven and I could be in trouble, but I feared that would only kick-start the passengers into snatching us. Over the hiss of the static, I could hear a loud bang coming from within the vestibule. Maybe Ben and Max were trying to find a way out of the train.

  What should have only been a few seconds’ walk through the carriage felt more like forever. I took one step at a time. Raven followed close behind. I could hear her heavy breathing and she seemed to be mumbling to herself. I prayed silently that she wouldn’t freak out as I tried to pass by the passengers. As I walked slowly by the guy who had been peering out through the window, he suddenly stood up and dropped his jacket to the floor. His chest was naked and he flung out his arm. My eyes widened as I saw a flick-knife clenched in his fist. I froze. Raven bumped into me.

  He brought the knife down, hard into his chest. I heard the thud as the knife hit bone. Blood oozed as he pulled the knife back out. Then, holding the weapon with both hands he started to cut away at his skin. A series of bloody lines marked his flesh and he started to scream. I could feel myself shake. He was using the knife to write with. His chest was like a sheet of paper. I pushed back into Raven, too afraid to move forward.

  The door to the vestibule slid open. The screaming man had alerted Jude, Max, and Ben that all was not well, but as they came running back into the carriage, the other passengers stood up and stepped into the aisle, blocking their way.

  “Go the other way!” yelled Jude. I could just make out the top of his head, the rest of him hidden behind the passengers.

  “Raven, you need to turn around,” I whispered, my voice wavering. “We have to go out the other way.” I flinched as the man with the knife started to swing it wildly around, the blade glinting on and off in the flickering overhead lights. His arm swung with such force, it was like he was lifting a heavy axe. The knife missed me by an inch and thudded into one of the seats.

  “Look,” whispered Raven, pointing at the man’s chest.

  “What?” My eyes widened as I realised that the bloody lines scratched out upon the man’s skin spelt Doshia. Trickles of blood seeped from the letters and with each move the man made, the lines opened up wider, like fleshy slices cut into raw steak. “Move back.” I elbowed Raven in the stomach, stepping on her toes as she tried to turn around. Regaining her balance, she suddenly stopped dead.

  As I stepped backwards, the knife sliced through the air just in front of my face. It glided so fast it was like a bolt of lightning.

  “You need to keep moving!” I screamed at Raven. “Or I’m gonna end up with my face sliced open!” The gap between me and the man was getting slimmer. I knew that his next attempt with the knife would cut me.

  “I can’t,” shouted Raven, “It’s blocked!”

  Shooting a look over my shoulder, I realised we were trapped. There were more passengers who had stepped into this carriage from the one adjacent to ours. They all wore the same empty, white-eyeball look - mouths hung open.

  I turned back just as the knife rained down. I darted to my left and jumped up onto one of the seats. With Raven’s back to the knife, I knew the man was going to aim for her. As he swung his arm up, I threw myself onto his back. The man staggered to and fro like a tightrope walker threatening to fall. We weren’t going to simply escape from this train. Not now. With VA20 raging through my veins, the anger spurned me on. We were going to have to fight our way out.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  My arms clung around the man’s throat. His skin was hot and slippery. I wrapped both legs about him and swayed back, hoping to throw him off balance and bring him down to the floor. His arms swung widely at Raven, the knife slashed in all directions as if hoping by chance it might hit a target.

  The passengers in front of Raven began to push down the aisle, forcing us back along the carriage to where the other commuters blocked Jude, Max, and Ben. We were trapped in the middle. Over the hiss from the speakers, I could hear Jude shouting at Max, seats being clambered over, and bodies tumbling about.

  Knowing that if I didn’t do something fast, R
aven, sandwiched in the middle, would soon have a knife in her back.

  I slapped the palms of my hands across the man’s face, and gritting my teeth, I shoved my black, twisted nails into his eyes. I felt them pop as the nails pierced through. My stomach lurched. Wet, mushy clots splattered onto my hands like raw egg. It clung between my fingers in a stringy slush. Still, it didn’t stop the shiny blade from slashing wildly towards Raven.

  “I need some fucking help here!” I screamed, hoping that Quint might show himself. When I didn’t get an answer, I yelled at Raven. “Kick out the window! The one in the middle… it’s an emergency exit.”

  Raven darted in between the seats and climbed up and over. She kicked at the glass with the heel of her foot. “These freaking shoes,” she screamed. “I can’t do it!”

  The carriage suddenly shunted back again. The loud clang of metal thundered through the train. I held onto the man’s neck as tightly as I could. The sudden movement of the carriage had him toppling down, with me wedged underneath him. I caught sight of the wet mess dribbling down the side of his face where it leaked from his burst eyeball. It had dripped down onto his chest and mixed with the blood running from the slashes he had cut. He held the knife up and stabbed it down just above his shoulder. It missed me – just. Snatching hold of his wrist as he brought it down again, the sharp point glinted just above my face. The other passengers crowded the aisle in front of us. Their empty eyes lacked any kind of emotion. They were like brain-dead spectators. The carriage seemed to tip slightly to the left. I used its momentum to haul the man off me. Clambering to my feet, and with all the strength I had, I pulled him up by his hair, running at the window – him as a barricade. His body hit the glass. Dragging him back, I ran again. Face-first, he smashed into the window. The glass buckled slightly.