Gripping Thrillers

by Iain Rob Wright

  Leo grabbed her arm and prepared to beat her, but she didn’t cower. She would put up whatever fight she had left in her. Men might be bigger than women, but they weren’t stronger.

  Leo reached for her neck, and Cheryl glared, offering the only defiance she could. She would bite and scratch, spit and swear, but that was only once the beating had begun. This was the moment before. The moment where she foresaw her approaching death, floating through the mist towards her.

  Had Polly known her death was coming that night?

  Was she as frightened as I am?

  Will I see my dad again? Is he watching?

  I hope not.

  Cheryl collapsed onto her back, her feet kicking at the floor as her throat constricted in Leo’s hands.

  She began to choke. She began to die.

  But then she was weightless, traveling backwards along the ground. She let out a scream, proud that it wasn’t completely fearful. Part of the sound was angry. Furious. She continued travelling backwards, something tugging at her shoulders and dragging her. Leo fell away. He knelt on the floor, clutching his forehead. Swearing.

  A gate slammed shut, bars rattling, and when Cheryl blinked her eyes she realised that a cell door now separated her from Leo. He glared at her through the bars but seemed shocked by something.

  “It’s okay,” said Happy, grabbing her from behind. “He can’t get you in here.”

  10

  Happy had to put a hand over Cheryl’s mouth to keep her from screaming, but it only made her want to scream more. Having her mouth covered was stopping her from breathing. Happy released her and stepped away. The room was covered in sand, almost like a beach. She sank into it almost to her knees.

  “I’m sorry,” said Happy. “You were never supposed to be here, but when you turned up, I panicked and saw no other option but to go through with everything. There was too much planning to throw it all away. It was wrong of me.”

  Leo beat at the bars and bellowed threats at them. Happy yanked the curtain back into place. The curtain that had unfurled after he had apparently suffocated to death.

  But he was alive.

  “Happy, you’re supposed to be dead.”

  “Supposed to be? That’s a little unkind, Cheryl. I hope you meant you thought I was dead, which is understandable seeing as that was the entire point. As soon as the curtain fell, I escaped the sand.”

  “Why? I don’t understand. What’s going on?”

  “Revenge,” he said with a certain, frightening relish. “Revenge on the people who raped and cheated my innocent, dear niece. Revenge on those who took Polly from us.”

  Cheryl stared at the curtain, wondering what Leo was doing behind it. Was he trying to find a way inside? There was no doubt. “Happy, why did you do all this?”

  “Because Justice demands it. All men deserve a chance to atone before they are judged. What better way to prepare them for their fates.”

  “You’ve killed everyone, Happy. They’re all dead.”

  “I did not kill them. In fact, no one needed to die today. Two years have passed since Polly’s death. Two years in which any one of them could have come forward and admitted what they had done. Instead, they watched my sister suffer on national TV, and they worked beside me every day without batting an eyelid. I told you John and I were different. Well, it’s true. John has always been a monster. His first wife was my sister, and I stayed close to make sure he didn’t stray or abuse her. That’s why I helped him set up Alscon. Of course he did stray and he did abuse, but I made sure to get evidence. My sister got away just in time to find happiness elsewhere with a daughter.”

  Cheryl’s eyes went wide. “Polly was John’s daughter?”

  Happy chuckled. “No, not in the slightest. My sister had Polly three years after her divorce, but by then I had already invested too much in Alscon to walk away from John. I didn’t see why I should have to. I own a third of it, after all. Well, all of it once I pay off John’s wife. She’s happy to be rid of him too.”

  Cheryl shook her head in disbelief. “John’s wife knew about the affair, just like Andrew did? The three of you planned all this together?”

  “No, Cheryl. Justice took care of all of this.”

  It made no sense at all. If Happy knew what had happened to Polly, then why hadn’t he told the police? Why had he been a part of all this? Why had he come down into this hole with them?

  “You’re confused, Cheryl, I can tell. Obviously I knew Leo raped my niece the whole time. She called me that night, you heard it yourself. I tried to reach her, to get to her in time, but all I found was John and Maggie, standing beside Monty’s crashed TVR. I knew they were involved somehow, but I had no proof. Neither did the police. They couldn’t find Polly’s body and they had no solid evidence to lead them to anyone. My sister went on the news every chance she got, but eventually the investigation was closed. That was when Justice made an offer. We were asked a simple question: do you want to know the truth?”

  Cheryl shuffled back on her butt, not wanting to be too close to Happy as he ranted on like a madman. “What are you talking about?”

  “I am talking about the man who offered my sister and I closure when nobody else could. Justice placed secret cameras in Alscon and had people begin following the staff. The cameras caught snippets of guilty confessions between John and Maggie, and the whole thing unravelled. A couple of months after the investigation began, Alfie even led us right to Polly’s body. Tomorrow, the police will get a tipoff about that container in the woods and she will finally get the resting place she deserves. By then, all those who are guilty will be missing. The evidence of their crimes left behind.”

  Cheryl was starting to see the bigger picture. “You have recordings of everything that’s happened down here?”

  Happy tapped the large badge on his lapel. NEVER GIVE UP. “I’ve been filming the close-ups, but there are also cameras in the TVR’s headlights and placed inside the light bulbs in the tunnel. There are parabolic mics hidden all over the place. Everything shall be edited appropriately and given to the police. The world will know about the monsters of Alscon, yet no one will ever find their bodies.”

  Cheryl began to sob. “My mum will wonder where I am. Don’t let me disappear.”

  He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. “Cheryl, my dear, you’re innocent of all this. No one is going to hurt you. Honestly, I’m not sure what to do with you, but you’re not guilty like the rest of them.”

  She swallowed. “Why all these games, Happy? Surely, you could have got a confession some other way?”

  “Like I said, all men deserve a chance to atone. If the others had played by the rules of the game and done as asked, they would’ve been let out eventually. There has to be fairness for Justice to exist, and it was made very clear that John and the others might end up walking away from this scot free.” Happy grinned unkindly. “But I knew them all well enough to know they would lie and cheat and turn on one another.”

  “Monty was sorry,” she said, not knowing why she felt any urge to defend him right now. Maybe she was trying to make Happy feel some degree of guilt — to check that he was human. “He screwed Polly over a sale, I know, but he never—”

  “Monty’s behaviour caught up to him,” said Happy. “If you hurt people on purpose, you can’t complain about the damage. Trust me, Cheryl, he deserved this as much as any of them. He betrayed Polly. They all did.”

  There was a loud racket behind the curtain. Cheryl realised Leo was throwing himself against the bars, trying to get in. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, Happy, but you’re a dead man as soon as I get in there. A dead man.”

  Happy rolled his eyes. “That burke has no idea.”

  “No idea about what?”

  “There was one person who was not getting out of here alive no matter what. My sister was allowed to pick one person to condemn to certain death. Of course, there was no choice. Leo is past the point of atonement. His death was promised
.

  “How do we get out of here, Happy? I just want to go home.”

  He glanced upwards at the hole in the ceiling. “There’s a hatch up there. A secret exit meant for me. I was supposed to climb out of here as soon as the curtain drew and concealed me. The perspex container popped open just in time for me to escape and catch my breath, but I wanted to stick around and see how things ended. I deserved that.”

  Cheryl peered around and noticed that two sides of the perspex container had slid aside to allow the sand to collapse away from Happy and fill the room. It must have been a terrifying experience, even planned. What if Happy’s co-conspirators had left him trapped and suffocating? What if something had gone wrong, or they were too late? The focus he must have had on seeing this through was terrifying.

  “This is wrong, Happy. You should’ve gone to the police. You don’t have the right to murder people.”

  “The police had their chance. As for having the right — an eye for the eye, isn’t that what they say? Polly’s life gave me the right.”

  Cheryl backed away a little more, shuffling on her butt. This wasn’t the Happy she knew, not the kindly old office manager who tacked motivational posters to the walls. He was fragile and cracked, like a crystal statue teetering on a cement ledge. A mild wind might knock him right over to shatter on the ground. Happy had orchestrated the murder of six people — and seemed overjoyed about it.

  He obviously saw her trepidation, because he reached out a hand to her again. “Cheryl, it really is okay. It’s over. You’re safe.”

  Despite his words, Cheryl flinched and shuffled backwards some more. She wasn’t sure why she didn’t get to her feet, but the thought of doing so made her feel vulnerable. Sitting on her butt, facing him, nothing could surprise her.

  The curtain startled her as she moved into it. It tangled around her, and she flailed to get free. Her body bashed up against the barred gate. The impact knocked the wind from her.

  Happy still had his hand out, but he moved forwards now cautiously, like a tribesman attempting to retrieve a snake. “It’s okay, Cher. It’s okay. Just stay calm, okay? This was never about you. We’re going to get out of here now, I promise?”

  Despite his current state of vengefulness, she saw in Happy’s eyes that he meant her no harm. She believed him, this had never been about her. Her heart was dubstepping, but she took a long breath and attempted to calm herself. She let out the breath and nodded. “Okay, Happy. Please, just get me out of here.”

  “I will I promise. Just move away from the—”

  The back of Cheryl’s head struck the bars, ponytail yanked backwards by an unseen hand. She was still dazed when a slender arm wrapped around her throat. “Open this fucking gate, Happy, or I’ll crush her windpipe.”

  Happy’s expression changed from desperation to anger. “Leo, you let her go or I’ll take you apart limb by limb.”

  “Come out here and try, old man.”

  Cheryl gagged. Her head suddenly felt too small, like her blood was going to burst out of her temples. She wanted to cry out for help, but her throat was closed shut.

  “Let her go, Leo. This doesn’t involve her.”

  Leo gave a low, mean chuckle. “Oh, it does now. I might deserve to die, but Cher-bear is innocent. Just like sexy, little Polly was. Oh, Happy, your niece was the best piece of ass I ever had. So tight.”

  Happy roared and approached the bars. “I’ll kill you. I’m going to tear out your eyes and feed them to you, you sadistic little worm!”

  Leo squeezed harder, and Cheryl’s arms and legs flapped uncontrollably. “Don’t do anything silly, Hap. I say she has less than a minute, but if I keep squeezing, she could—” He made a popping sound “—go anytime. Do you know how much pressure is too much? Let’s see.”

  Cheryl squirmed as the pressure on her throat increased. Along with the pressure was agony, a sharp jolt stabbing her in the centre of her throat. Her head continued shrinking, and she became sure it was going to explode.

  Happy put his hands up and nodded profusely. “Okay, Leo. Please, just let her go.”

  “Unlock the gate.”

  “Okay, I’m unlocking the gate.”

  Leo didn’t release Cheryl — he was too smart for that — but he did slacken his hold on her slightly. Even that much was a blessed relief. She managed to take half a breath.

  Happy reached for the gate and fiddled with the mechanism. It clicked.

  Cheryl fell forwards, forced by the bars shoving at her back as the gate swung open. Leo rushed inside and threw himself at Happy. He started beating on the older man, but Happy fought back, drumming his fists against Leo’s back.

  Cheryl could do nothing. Her legs folded beneath her and she sucked at the air, trying to fill her barren lungs. Even though the pressure on her neck had removed itself, she still thought she might die. Her temples pounded like firing cannons.

  Leo upended Happy by grabbing his thighs and spilling him onto his back. From on top, he rained down blows. “You stupid fuck,” he yelled. “You think you can screw with me? You sad, stupid fuck.”

  “I’ll kill you,” said Happy groggily. He was still fighting back, but most of his energy was being expended on dodging blows. Cheryl had to help him. Leo was too strong, too much younger.

  She got onto her hands and knees, wobbling at first, but then managing to steady herself. It was only her will to live that kept her body from giving up. The only thing in the room besides Leo and Happy was the sand. It was everywhere. Instinctively she grabbed at it, feeling safer with her hands full.

  Happy’s arms dropped to his side, and Leo beat at his unconscious face with both hands. It wouldn’t be long before he turned his focus back on her. She had to act fast.

  “Hey, little boy!” she yelled.

  Leo glanced back over his shoulder. His bloodstained, scowling face was demonic, and it almost caused Cheryl to turn and flee. Instead, she tossed two handfuls of sand right into his face.

  Leo howled.

  Leo clawed at his eyes and wailed. He fell away from Happy and staggered to his feet. The loss of sight had sent him into a panic, and Cheryl knew this was her chance.

  But her chance to do what?

  Happy was barely conscious, his face a bloody mess. The only real weapon in the tunnel was buried in Monty’s skull. She could punch and kick at Leo, but eventually he would shrug off her attacks and grab hold of her again.

  Nothing had changed. She was still trapped with no way out.

  No, there is a way out.

  Happy had told her there was an escape hatch in the ceiling. Could she reach it in time? Could she climb out before Leo recovered and came after her?

  “You slag. I’m going to make you regret you were ever born.” Despite his rage, Leo could only swipe at her blindly. Cheryl dodged out of his range and dared to glance upwards at the open hatch above the chair she had watched Happy die in. Nothing was visible except a crawlspace.

  Leo lost his footing in the sand and crashed against one of the perspex walls. He yelped in pain, then released a litany of curses. If he managed to get his hands on her she was done for. He’d tear her apart with his bare hands.

  She got moving, climbing up on the chair and stretching for the hatch. It was low enough to reach, but she still had to pull herself up, which would be easier if she stood on the chair’s backrest. Even without being a nervous wreck, it was hard to balance, so she almost fell as she attempted it. Somehow she managed it though. The hatch was now at the height of her armpits, low enough to climb into, but just as she began to feel like she might escape, Leo got the sand out of his eyes and grabbed her. He yanked her ankle and she fell hard, fell awkwardly. Her chin struck the back of the chair and her ankle twisted in the uneven sand. The world filled with agony and she went sprawling onto her front, mouth full of blood as she bit through her cheek. She groaned.

  Leo was on her immediately. Seeing her ankle was injured, he stamped down and made it hurt even worse. Spikes of
hot agony shot up her leg. She screamed.

  Leo laughed.

  She clutched at more sand, but this time when she threw it Leo turned his head. In response, he kicked her in the head but not hard enough to knock her out — he was a cat batting around a mouse.

  “Please don’t do this, Leo. Happy is the one who did all this. I-I—”

  “Shouldn’t be down here, I know. Blah blah blah. Life isn’t fair, sweetheart. As much as we think we’re gods, we’re still just animals. The strong abuse the weak. The confident take from the meek. The lions eat the deer. Sometimes people just die without reason.”

  Cheryl moaned. “I don’t know whether you’re deluded or insane. You think you’re so powerful? Ha! You have a mid-level office job and no girlfriend. Maybe you believe your own bullshit, Leo, but I see through it. You’re just another loser.”

  Leo roared, and perhaps he did have a lion inside him, but Cheryl couldn’t help but see a weasel. Being murdered by a sexual predator was her worst nightmare, and she hated him with every fibre of her being. She also hated herself for letting it happen.

  Before he could hurt her again, Cheryl leapt up and scrambled through the open cell door. She hurtled into the centre of the tunnel but almost collapsed as her twisted ankle buckled in protest. Her body felt empty, buzzing with electricity. She managed to shove the pain aside, but it didn’t fix her ankle. She wouldn’t be able to get away.

  Leo tackled her outside the cell that contained the supplies but didn’t manage to get a solid hold on her. He snatched at her denim jacket, but she straightened out her arms and let it slide off her. She kept on running, limping. The end of the tunnel loomed ahead. There was nowhere to go. The TVR marked the end of her escape with its sleek headlights like sad eyes. Before she reached the car though, something else caught her attention. A word flashed in her mind. PULL.

  She grabbed the lever Monty had first used to light up the tunnel. She sank them into darkness, buying herself some time. It was only a temporary solution but every second was a win.