HAUNTED

27

Daylight shone through the stained-glass strip that lined the near ceiling on one wall in the office. Cuddled on the couch she rose from his warmth.

…for those of you who are thinking that ‘something’ happened it didn’t…

She kissed his forehead and he smiled in his sleep… she smiled back and walked out to see if she could find breakfast.

She heard a bang against the window in the library.

“Lex,” he mumbled as he woke, not here, his heart sank a little. Shooting up to his feet, worped into the library. “Not here,” he mumbled and worped back. “Lex?!” … not here… “Lex!” he ran out into the library, “Leeeexxx!”

Nothing, silence. Mind spinning, logic she can’t worp, what if I came to the wrong time but I don’t have the gismo, well it won’t be the first time. I didn’t do anything… I didn’t do anything… the gismo can’t be gone… maybe she… no she couldn’t have. Focus Listen…

“What do you want with me,” she ordered.

“Where is the other one?” he heard, a voice didn’t recognise ask… Lex…

“It’s only me,” we have a better chance if they don’t know.

East… Run! I can’t burn energy worping.

“We have a long way to go,” one of them grunted, “move faster. He doesn’t like waiting!”

“What do you want with me!” she screamed and demanded again, “who is ‘he’?”

“Well, something of yours is of interest to us,” the way he said us like they were one person joined by the neck. He studied her face for a moment so close that she could feel his breath uncomfortably taint her skin, “and he is none of your business,” he spoke lowly, then suddenly withdrew.

Smooshed her in the middle of a back seat of a rugged car between two scary looking blank eyed people, grey skinned pale.

She could feel the urge rising, the urge to blank out again…

…I can’t believe I am doing this… he stopped running mid road. The car swerved and screeched to a holt, rattling its contents… they straightened up and walked out like nothing had happened like their bleeding cuts and bruises didn’t hurt or burn at least… nothing not even a flinch.

“is that the other one,” one of them barked out loudly. They had seen him for a moment in the middle of the road. Lex hadn’t the other two in the back had not seen anything either. He went quiet as if he had silently accepted his temporary insanity.

He grabbed her wrist. It hurt… KILL! … She thought sharply. She shook her head as he dragged her out… “Kill” she murmured in a pant and swallowed, “I won’t.”

“What’s that sweet cheeks,” one of them said after spitting out some blood. She didn’t respond, took a breath… he smiled again a little too close with his blood-stained teeth.

“Kill,” she smirked as fury rose, all the crap she had been put through her whole life had just … head butt. He fell back from the impact. Nose purpled and distorted like a chucky caterpillar slapped onto the centre of his face oozing out a thick deep-red nearly black liquid… broken nose.

Her head thumped like she had a sledgehammer in the inside bashing into her forehead, screaming to get out. She remembered, “trust no one.” her eyes flickered for a weapon…

Pinching his nose between his thumb and index finger he nasally uttered, “wasn’t that pretty before anyways,” a wickedly cold chuckle followed, it was as if he was just miming a distant laugh.

“Did you build me to kill!” she yelled, “GOD!” red hot tears burnt her cheeks… everything! It’s too much. Hell! The memories. Was I ever good? Is there good? …all the bad I wished we all didn’t have festering inside us just waiting for a weak moment…

“God. Ha! He can’t help you here Hun,” the filthiest of them spoke, greasy faced and more tattered than the clothes he wore.

“Let me take her,” the other that just looked paedophilic, “I bet she is still fresh,” he hissed out.

“Shut it,” caterpillar nose guy ordered again, “first we figure out what stopped us. F*#& it! Let’s go.” He had a machete in hand that she hadn’t seen him pick up pointed to the woods. “Ladies first,” he smirked, and the stinky guy shoved.

“Too much blood on my hands,” she murmured, ahh! My mind, my mind… what have I done… 322… I could kill them! I know how. I know how… too much… thirst… hunger… she swallowed.

He followed, aching at the look in her eyes. World War Three raging inside his mind, pulling himself back when he got to close… not yet, she is strong enough! ... His marrow ached to pull her close and never let go.

“It takes someone 72 hours to die of thirst. Did you know that?” the paedophilic guy said like a fun fact… not to judge but he just looked like one, it was unnerving…

She didn’t respond… Jacob… she thought.

One of them charged with a heartless howl, “hey! Not yet,” the guy with the dead caterpillar in the middle of his face spoke again.

“shhh,” the stick insect, filthy one spoke, so skinny there was nothing but skin and bones.

“Don’t shush me!” the caterpillar nose bled another trail as he spoke.

“Shut UP!” a deep loud voice came out of the nearly dried up walking corpse of a skinny guy. They all went quiet as something crept out from behind a tree.

Human… at least used to be… in a hunter’s coat looking at us vacant… he writhed and charged recklessly. Click. Bang. His head jerked backwards, and he crumbled under his feet.

“Tim,” the paedophilic one spoke as if he had known the attacking hunter.

“Get over it!” caterpillar nose spoke, “he was already too far gone. More dangerous to keep than let go.”

“What happened to him?” she asked, I might as well try to get answers… she thought.

“We are running out of time,” the caterpillar nose guy, decidedly called Cat after the current state of his nose… tugged her arm and her stomach grumbled, hungry.

You know what they say about hunger and anger, long-story-short it’s a very stressful combination.

Jacob a safe distance away, watching. If they crossed the line. If her life was on the line. They will all be dead in a breath. He watched and followed.

Where is Jacob? She thought, I hope he is okay?

The skinny guy shoved her, and Cat led the way into the woods, the paedophilic dude hummed the smurfs song. It was weird.

Day turned to dusk then to night, they barely spoke a word, they just walked, shoved, gave her a strip of biltong to chew on, that made her hunger worse and the thirst unbearable. If they did this on the biggest loser, everyone would be as skinny as the skinny guy by the end of the first episode.

“Stop,” Cat ordered, “it’s not safe to keep moving.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “He will call any second now.”

“Who,” she asked chap lipped, “Sam?”

“Beats me why he wants you and the other dude,” he grumbled as he took a seat on a patch of dried grass.

“He doesn’t want me, you got the wrong person.” She weakly tried her luck.

Skinny guy took his phone out and showed her an image in her and Jacob on his phone with the caption “FIND THEM AND I WILL GIVE YOU THE CURE”

“Cure?” she questioned. Jacob listened.

“See the guy we shot in the morning,” he sighed, “we all have that, time is running out.”

Cat’s phone rang with a fancy-dancy tune. “Hello, we have her. He can’t be too far.”