Demon (Kassidy Bell Series Book 3)

by Lynda O'Rourke

  “Help me,” I panted at Raven.

  She jumped off the chair. Snatching a handful of the man’s hair, and with the other hand firmly placed against his bare back, we ran full-force, smacking into the window. The glass cracked and fell out into the tunnel. We both looked at each other, and as if thinking the same, we both yelled, “Throw him out!”

  Pulling him back and then charging again, the man hit the side of the carriage and toppled out into the dark. The sound of his knife hitting the track clattered through the tunnel.

  Trying to catch my breath, I turned around. The passengers had moved forward. My eyes quickly checked their hands and I was relieved to see no more knives. Still, I didn’t think I had enough strength left in me to fight my way through this lot. As I contemplated escaping out through the broken window, the passengers were suddenly knocked aside like skittles. They smacked up, hitting the roof. Some flew so hard that they became embedded into the side of the carriage walls. I stared in disbelief at how their bodies were thrown so easily like they were made of tissue.

  Quint strolled down the aisle. His black eyes shone in the flashes of light. His stubbly jaw flexed, a glare spread across his face. As he stared at each passenger, one by one, the awful sound of bones splitting and snapping had me screwing my eyes shut tight. I cringed as their necks broke. Opening my eyes when the noise had stopped, I was met with the grim picture of bodies – their heads hanging limply on scrawny, twisted necks, embedded into the punctured metal of the walls.

  “About time!” hissed Raven, glaring at Quint.

  In a blink of an eye, Raven was dangling in the air, her legs kicking out as she clawed at her throat. She thrashed about, gasping as an unseen pressure was applied to her neck.

  “You want to join the passengers?” grinned Quint, his eyes not leaving Raven.

  “Stop it!” I yelled, pulling on Quint’s arm. “Put her down!”

  He laughed. “I’m not holding her.” He held up his empty hands as if to prove it wasn’t him.

  “Yes, you are… somehow,” I snapped. “Do it… you’re gonna kill her!”

  Raven’s feet touched ground. She fell to her knees, gasping for breath.

  I glared at Jude and Max, who just stood there. “Thanks for the help!”

  “You invited him, remember?” snapped Jude.

  I ignored his sarcastic comment and helped Raven to her feet. She glared out from under her hair at Quint but didn’t say anything.

  “Now what?” asked Max, looking over his shoulder. “What do we do now?”

  “We get out of this train and follow the track out of the tunnel,” I said. “Quint may have killed all these people, but whatever got under their skin is probably still here.”

  “What makes you say that?” asked Jude, brushing dirt and dust from the knees of his black trousers.

  “The guy swinging his knife cut a name into his chest – Doshia. You remember Doshia, don’t you?” I asked, grim thoughts of what had happened to Hannah creeping into my head.

  “Doshia killed Hannah,” whispered Max, his eyes nervously darting about the carriage. “He’s one of the Demons that the Bishop mentioned.”

  “One of your lot,” sneered Jude, his eyes narrowed as he glared at Quint.

  “We should go,” said Quint, his voice no longer menacing but softer – concerned even.

  His expression made my stomach start to churn. I knew how strong Quint was, I had seen it with my own eyes. How he could kill someone without even having to touch them. So why the concern over Doshia?

  “Is there something you’re not telling us about this Demon?” I asked. “Is there something different about him?”

  “Doshia has been missing for years,” said Quint. “He has the ability to leave his host for long periods of time yet still keep the body living. He can multiply himself amongst human bodies, like you’ve just seen for yourself.” Quint stared up at the lifeless passengers implanted into the carriage walls. “Doshia didn’t have the patience to wait for Trabek to come up with human bodies compatible to hold the Cleaners. It was thought that he had just disappeared – content with wrecking human lives, whoever had the misfortune of crossing his path. But… it seems he has come back… back for you lot, I imagine.”

  “So Trabek is Doctor Middleton, and you – Ben, you’re Quint… or is that the other way round? Who else was there?” mumbled Max, looking lost.

  “Eras,” I said, staring at Quint. “Whose body does Eras live in?” I had already seen Eras, only he hadn’t been in a body. He had been like a shadow gliding across the floor at the Bishop’s house.

  Quint’s eyes seemed to light up. “Eras lives within Middleton’s son… he isn’t really a son of Trabek, it just so happened that when Doctor Middleton opened up our coffins – our prisons – his son was there. Eras took on the role of…”

  “Look, we don’t have time to be standing here listening to a history of Demons,” moaned Jude. He had been leaning out the broken window, staring into the tunnel. “If this Doshia is on our backs, then we need to be going.”

  Just the name – Doshia, sent shivers up my back. I couldn’t rid my head of what he had done to Hannah – what he had made her do. If he could get inside me… then… I didn’t want to think about it. I began to wonder if it was ever going to be possible to reach Doctor Langstone with so many Demons and people after us. There was also the added danger of lone Demons wandering about who would love to live within us.

  I headed for the broken window. At least we would no longer be trapped in the train. But peering out into the dark tunnel didn’t make me feel any better.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  We dropped from the train window, into the tunnel. Our feet crunched over the broken glass as we landed with a thud. It was cold and damp. I shivered as a drop of water from the roof of the tunnel splashed down onto my face. I peered along the side of the train. The last carriage was a little way off in the distance, its lights spluttered on and off like the rest of the train, but looking beyond it, I couldn’t see the entrance into the tunnel. As I checked the other way, I realised that we must be right in the middle as I could see no sign of daylight. If it wasn’t for the train lights, we would be in pitch-black.

  “I don’t like it out here,” mumbled Raven. “It’s creepy.”

  “You can always stay with the other passengers,” said Jude, taking Raven’s arm and pulling her in close to the train. “Stay off the other track, you never know when another train is gonna come along.”

  “Didn’t know you cared,” mumbled Raven, surprised by his thoughtfulness.

  “I don’t,” said Jude. “I just don’t want bits of your twisted-up body splattered over me.”

  My foot caught something loose on the track, it clattered across the ground, echoing through the tunnel. I bent down and realised it was the knife that had nearly ended up in me and Raven. I stood up quickly and strained my eyes in the dark for the body of the knife-wielding man. Feeling sick in my stomach when it was obvious that the guy must still be somewhere in the tunnel, I turned to Quint.

  “Quint, the man who tried to stab me and Raven, is still in here – his body has gone,” I whispered, peering through the dark, expecting to see the man jump out at us from the shadows.

  “Best we get going then, and it’s Ben – not Quint.”

  I stared up into his face, catching a glimpse of blue eyes in the flickering train lights. “Sorry,” I whispered, hearing an annoyance in his voice. “You change from one to another so quickly – it’s hard to keep up – especially in the dark. I can’t see your eyes too good.”

  “Great!” hissed Raven, reaching down and picking up the knife. “Now we’ve got to watch out for that devil-guy leaping out at us. He could be anywhere!”

  “Let’s go back the way we came,” said Jude. “We have no idea how long this tunnel stretches for – it could go on for a lot longer than the way we came in.”

  “No!” snapped Raven, stepping in front of Jude. “We have
to keep moving forward – we should never go back. Those Cleaners are following us – if we go back then we’ll end up walking straight into them.”

  “I agree,” said Max, rubbing his arms with his hands, trying to keep warm. “Going back just delays our journey to Langstone’s place. I want to find my brother and I want to get this drug out of me. I don’t like the way it makes me feel.”

  “But we could get out of this tunnel quicker if we just go back the way we came in,” persisted Jude. “If we go the way you want then we might be stuck in here for ages.”

  “I’m not going back that way!” snapped Raven. “You go if you want to, but I’m going with Max – and Kassidy.” She took hold of my arm like she’d already made the decision for me.

  “Let’s just think about this for a minute,” said Jude, his voice sounded impatient.

  “We don’t have time for a debate,” said Ben. “You have everything you don’t want following you and many more that will cross your path on your way. I know what the Cleaners do. I know how they work. When they catch up with you, they’ll take over your bodies – your brains – everything. And before you know it, you’ll be back inside Cruor Pharma, only your minds will no longer be yours. If Doshia gets…”

  A noise suddenly echoed through the tunnel, stopping Ben in his tracks. It sounded like dragging footsteps shuffling over loose stones. It came from one of the last two carriages.

  “What was that?” whispered Raven, still clinging to my arm.

  “Rats?” said Jude. “This tunnel must be full of them.”

  “Bloody big rats,” hushed Max, peering into the dark, the shuffling getting nearer.

  “I’m going!” Raven said. “Come on.” She pulled on my arm and grabbed Max.

  Not needing to be persuaded, I turned away and followed close behind Raven. My heart thumped loudly in my chest. I looked over my shoulder and was thankful to see Ben and Jude walking behind me. I didn’t want our group to split up, but more so, I didn’t want to be the one at the back of the line.

  As we reached the carriage we had originally sat in, the shuffling noise from behind seemed to now be coming from a different direction. But the echoes within the tunnel from our feet trudging over the tracks made it difficult to pinpoint where it was coming from. I wanted to run. I wanted to get out of the dark and into the light. I knew that a sunny day would offer me no protection from the evils that hunted us, but the dark gave us nothing but a disadvantage.

  “Come on! Hurry up!” Raven looked over her shoulder. I could just make out through the dark her face etched with worry – her voice full of urgency.

  I stumbled along the track, using my right hand to slide along the side of the train to help me keep my balance. Every couple of seconds, I peered back over my shoulder. Ben and Jude walked in silence, the dark behind them seemed to be chasing close behind – waiting to swallow them up. I shuddered as more drips of water fell upon my face. The train windows almost seemed to beg me to look at them with the lights spluttering on, then fading into dark. I tried not to stare up at them – afraid that a face would suddenly appear, pressed up at the glass. I wanted to tell myself to not be so stupid but I couldn’t even console myself with that thought. I knew what horrors existed. I could never ever kid myself again that paranormal things were nothing but stories, films, and books. It was real – all of it, I believed.

  Lost in my thoughts, my eyes checking each window as I passed by, I suddenly felt something snatch at my ankle. As I fell forward, I watched Max tumble down in front of me – then Raven. I gasped at the sight of a hand stretching out from underneath the train. It clawed at the air like bony spider legs as it tried to grab hold of my other ankle. I kicked out with my free leg, but the hand caught me. With both legs now held firmly, I twisted over onto my front and grasped at the other track. The hands pulled down tighter. I clung on to the running rail. I could feel my body shunt over the cold ground as the hands tried to drag me under the train. My fingers started to slip from the metal rail.

  “No – no!” I gasped. “You’re not taking me under that train!” With the will to stay alive, I took one hand off the rail and flung my arm forward as far as I could. My fingers blindly reached for the furthest rail. I propelled my body forward – snatching at the cold metal. The hands wouldn’t let go. Instead they came with me. Shifting further and further up my body. I could feel a dead weight lying across the backs of my legs. Looking to my left, I could see Ben and Jude pinned over the tracks. They were held down by several people, only they weren’t people anymore. They were just like the passengers on the train. Empty stares with mouths hung open. They must have come from the carriages further down. I could hear Raven screaming and Max shouting. The silent tunnel was now filled with the horrific sounds of a struggle. The body on top of me dragged itself further up. I could feel it breathing in my ear. I didn’t want to turn my head. I didn’t want to see its face so close up.

  A male voice breathed into my ear. “Did Daddy not love you…?”

  I shivered. Not only from his breath tingling down my neck like tiny needles, but the mention of my father. I turned my head. Cloudy white eyeballs glared from out the dark at me. “What did you say?”

  “Doshia is waiting… he wants you…” The man lifted his head slightly and seemed to be staring at Ben – or was it Jude? With nothing but the whites of his eyes showing, it was hard to tell.

  I tried to shift my body from underneath the man, but everywhere I moved – he moved with me. It was like our bodies had become attached. “Who is Doshia?” I asked, trying to wriggle free.

  The man’s empty gaze came closer. He pushed his face into mine. His cold hands slipped up my arms and latched tightly around my wrists, pressing them hard into the running rail. Instead of answering me, he lay on top of my body and laughed.

  “Please… let me go…” I panted, feeling the air from my lungs being crushed out by the weight of the man. He continued to laugh. “If Doshia wants me… then why hasn’t he taken me yet?”

  The man laughed again, his body vibrated against me. “Because… I… need… more…”

  I took a deep breath. I couldn’t just lie here, I had to try again to move this man from off me. Holding tight on the tracks, I pulled with all my strength. I slipped out just a little from underneath him. The top half of my body was now lying over the tracks. With a little freedom, I twisted myself over. I could now see Max and Raven. A passenger had crawled up over Max, but Raven had managed to escape from underneath the woman who had held her down. I saw a flash of something glinting in the darkness – the knife that she had picked up from off the tracks. Raven swung it down into the woman’s chest. Over and over again. With each stab came a panicked yell from Raven’s lips. I continued to struggle with the man on top of me. The rails dug into my back. I lay at such an awkward angle it was impossible to shift the man – his weight crushed me. I looked right again. I couldn’t see Ben or Jude for the heap of bodies that had piled themselves on top of them.

  “Raven!” I yelled. “Help me!” I slapped the palms of my hands across the man’s face as he leant over me, his mouth still hung open – dribble splattered my cheek in a thick slush and ran into the corner of my mouth. I shook my head and spat it out. He continued to laugh like a crazy person who had escaped from some mental asylum.

  “Get… the fuck off… me…!” I shouted, grabbing a handful of his hair and pulling his head away from over mine. “Get…” I stopped yelling. Another noise sounded in my left ear. What was that? With all the other noises going on inside the tunnel, it was hard to tell. Was it a humming sound? No, maybe hissing? Both? I slapped the man’s face away as he lunged at me again. The sound of hissing was still there, only this time, I could feel a mild vibration under me. I looked to my left. The tunnel was like a black hole – never-ending. The vibration was stronger. I felt suddenly sick. I knew what was coming down the tunnel. Pinned to the track, I knew I had to get off and warn the others.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN
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  The sudden realisation that a train would soon be passing through this tunnel had me fighting for my life. It spurned me on. I heaved and bucked my body. The weight of the man still crushed me to the tracks. Using my fists, I punched them into the sides of his face. His head just wobbled like it was attached to a spring.

  “Train!” I yelled. “TRAIN!” I had no idea if the others had heard my cry. I looked down the tunnel. It was still pitch black. No sign of the train lights yet. I turned my attention back to the man on top of me. He still lay there laughing. I smacked my fist right into the centre of his face. Again, he still came back at me with his open mouth, dribble seeping down his chin. I tried to move my legs. They were stuck. I flung my arms around his fat body – trying to roll us both over. It was useless. I could barely move my hips. Where had all that strength gone that I’d had when fighting the man with the knife back in the train carriage? Where was Quint? Why hadn’t he surfaced – taken over Ben? I pulled out the rosary beads from under my top. The silver cross glinted in the dark of the tunnel. I held it up – jabbing it at the man’s face. Nothing! No reaction whatsoever. I screamed out in frustration. What did I have to do to move this lump of a man from me? My heart beat so hard that it matched the vibrations coming from the tracks. The hiss had got louder. Another quick glance down the tunnel. Still no train lights but I knew it wouldn’t be much longer.