Authors: Lucas T. Harmond
The arm slowly moved back into the alley, finger still gesturing as it pulled back and reluctantly he moved to follow. Every particle of his being shrieked not to.
“Greetings Harper.” Nickoloi said from behind a wide smile; despite the rain, he wore sunglasses, and what appeared to be a woman’s Summer jacket. It was bright pink and with it he wore a pair of baggy combats. On top of his thin bald head he wore a battered straw hat.
Behind him standing motionless was Malok. Just a dark shape, standing unflinchingly in the storm.
Harper scrunched his face up. “What the fuck do you want?”
Nickoloi just smiled.
“What the hell’s goin’ on here?” An alarmed voice shrieked through the rain. The tarty-looking barmaid stood, nervously, at the mouth of the alley.
“Leave!” Malok said in his low voice.
She stood there blinking dumbly.
“My colleague wasn’t making a suggestion my dear.” The new voice belonged to Zakeriah. He stepped out behind the bar maid, his tall form wrapped away into a dark long-coat and a black brimmed hat sat on his head, the edge of which water weakly dribbled and spilled from. He stood at the entrench of the alley, the young girl staring up at him.
“
My, it is cold isn’t it
?”
She nodded, eyes wide with fear.
“
Then why don’t you go inside
?
You don’t want to stay out here in the cold, cold night do you
?”
She shook her head silently.
“And that way,” he continued casually, “I wont have to stab you in the eyes and slit your swan little neck. So really, I think we’d all be better off. Don’t you?”
Slowly she began to back away, until she was out of Harper’s vision.
Zakeriah turned his vision to the crowd in the alley. “Everyone here? Good, good, good.”
Harper looked about him. He was beginning to feel weak, the heat was still throbbing and gurgling out of his hand, no matter how tight he grasped the wound. Steam was escaping into the air.
Zakeriah slowly paced down towards him.
Harper looked back at Nickoloi’s leering face, then at the emotionless features of Malok and felt terror welling up in him. For the first time ever he realised how truly
different
they were, like a curtain had just been torn aside.
“That’s a nasty cut, Harper boy!” Zakeriah observed as he reached him. “Still, I wouldn’t worry if I was you. you see, we’ve got some bad news for our old pal, Harper.”
Nickoloi had moved up silently beside him. “We’re going to cut you up and maim you and hurt you and bleed you and stick things inside the little holes and then...”
Zakeriah’s eyes flicked to Nickoloi for the first time as if he had only just noticed him. The look of disapproval and anger was clear.
“Nick, you appear to have forgotten our little talk about blending in. Haven’t you?”
Nickoloi sighed like a scorned child. “I saw a woman wearing it, she looked pretty. So I took the hat and I took her jacket.”
Zackeriah looked mildly concerned. “And the woman?”
Another demon smile. “Oh, I didn’t want her.”
The leader, as he appeared to be, just let his eyes bore into the other. Harper tried to back away but found his legs unwilling to move.
“That’s not true, Zackeriah.” Nickoloi said suddenly, apparently with out motivation.
“Listen,” said the deep voice of Malok from behind. “This isn’t the time. I’m sure I’m not the only one to realise this isn’t the best place to stay.”
Zakeriah drilled his eyes into Nick for a few seconds longer then replaced his fake plastic smile.
“Quite right, Mark. After all, we are business men and in business you should always be business-minded.”
His razor blade smile turned now to Harper. He was shaking violently. There was a kind of icy terror eating up inside him, a sharp, tense pain beating in his chest. Only it all seemed faded and dream like. Something was suffocating his mind, numbing it. Even though he was aware that he should have been more scared, it just wasn’t happening.
For a second, when the man spoke he had sharp teeth. “Harper, did you know that some nasty, nasty men with guns came to see us today?
No
? Well they did, you see, and you’re the ape who told them where we were.”
Harper, in his numbed state tried to shake his head.
“No, don’t try to lie, you are glass! No, in fact, you are plastic. Actually why not? you are spunk! Oh I’m bored. I’ll cut it short. We don’t need you any more and you’re going to die.”
They filed out of the alley. Just shadows in the rain-streaked night. Behind them Harper followed like a lobotomised dog.
START
IT WAS JOSH WHO’D ANSWERED Rufus’ phone. Now he was just standing there, slowly turning to ice. “Is that you, Josh?” The voice on the other end of the phone was nervous, sounded close to becoming frantic. It was the voice of Sarah’s mother.
“Yes it’s me.” Josh said slowly.
“I’m sorry, but is Sarah there with you?”
A very long pause, then he spoke too sharply. “No.
Why
?
Where is she
!?”
“I don’t know, she hasn’t been home for a couple of days. Usually I’m not concerned, but she hasn’t phoned. you haven’t seen her, have you?”
He barely heard her, had heard nearly nothing past the part when he’d been told Sarah had been missing for two days.
“Why didn’t you phone earlier!” He snapped, losing control.
Stunned silence. “It’s... it’s not uncommon.” A pause, a muffled sob. “I, I didn’t think.”
Guilt cut through him. “I’m sorry,” he said more calmly.
“Have you seen her? I’ve already phoned your parents and Sally and Alex and all her friends but...”
“Have you phoned her boyfriend?”
“Alex? yes I just told you that.” Now she sounded mildly pissed off.
Josh fought off the bitterness that was cutting through him. “She’s got a new one. Rob.”
Sarah’s mother sounded surprised. “Oh, I thought he was just a friend. I found his number in Sarah’s phone book, but there wasn’t any reply. I’ve tried it about three times now. Can you think of any one else?”
“No,” A long pause while he searched for anybody Sarah might be with. “If I see her, I’ll let you know.” He hung up.
PILGRIMAGE
RUFUS LOOKED MILDLY disgruntled. Sun was streaming over his face, a rare blast of warmth, but the air was still bitter and winter fresh. Light danced over the curve of his sunglasses as the car rolled forward.
Occasionally he’d dart an annoyed glance towards his passenger.
Josh sat forward anxiously in his seat and turned up the sound of Fear Factory to cloud out some of the terror growing in his mind. The mechanised guitar and machine-like speed drowned out some of his dread. Some of his dread.
Silently, Rufus shook his head again and took a deep drag of the joint he was toking, as if to calm him.
“I’m supposed to be in a frigging’ lecture in half an hour.” He mumbled to himself.
Josh didn’t hear him. He was preoccupied with only one thought.
Sarah was dead.
“Are you sure you know where this Rob guy lives?”
“No,” Rufus grunted. “I’ve only been there once to sell him some pills. I told you we should have phoned Blow-job Barry,
but
...”
Josh finished for him. “...but his phone wasn’t on, was it?”
Sunglasses turned on Josh and he felt the sharp brown eyes behind. “Josh, man, I’m trying to be real understanding here but you are pissing me off. Acting all tripped out and paranoid and bitching at me like some
fucking
,” a pause, while Rufus considered his words, then clearly angry enough not to avoid being blunt, just spat out the last part. “Cunt!
A real fucking cunt
!!”
“Fine, stop the fucking car, tell me where I’m going and I’ll walk.”
A long silence. Shadows of winter-stripped trees rolled gently over the car. Rufus shook his head clearly conflicted.
“No,” his voice soft, reluctant. “You won’t.”
Josh took a long look at the man who had been such a close friend for so long now. Thought about everything he’d done recently to Rufus and managed to dislodge himself from his own mental world.
“Rufus, I’m sorry man. It’s just, that I’m certain, something, is happening.”
The other laughed weakly, took a huge drag of his shit and again shook his head. “Josh, you gotta’ stop saying that. Jesus, get some new material.”
Again he looked over at his passenger, warmer now.
“Look, I don’t know what’s going on inside your crazy-ass head man, really don’t.”
Josh nodded solemnly. He suspected he had in part already seen what they were about to encounter. In a way no matter how bad things were about to get, it would still be reassuring. One way or another it would prove what he was now heavily suspecting.
“I think,” Josh said fixing his eyes onto Rufus. “That when we get to his flat we’re going to see something that will help you understand.”
“MORE THINGS IN HEAVEN AND EARTH...”
A WOODEN CHIP BOARD, which had since been spray-painted, had been fitted over what had once been a glass panel in the flat’s door. The word “cunt” shouted at them in big red letters. It was a charming welcome and Josh paused. Normally there would have been a lock which each resident had a key to. It wasn’t really a concern anymore though, since it had been smashed open at some point.
Rufus, who had already began opening the large door looked back at him.
“What?”
Josh took a step back and looked up at the huge block of grit-decorated concrete and dark windows that towered over him. The bright winter sun made the block of flats seem almost black.
He was beginning to feel sick. There was a low repellent hum inside his head, like a voice he couldn’t quite hear.
“This is going to be bad.” It was said really to himself.
Rufus misunderstood his apprehension. “It’ll be fine. Man, no one’s gonna’ bother you. Jesus, I spend most of my life in places like this.”
“No I didn’t mean...” Josh didn’t bother to continue since Rufus had already pushed inside.
He took one last look up and followed.
Eventually the aluminum lift doors parted to reveal a few names scrawled in marker pen and a strange smell which was difficult to identify.
“Lovely,” Josh said and stepped inside.
Rufus jabbed one of the buttons. “I think it was that floor.”
The machine hummed and rattled. Old cables creaked and groaned unpleasantly. The light above them flickered rapidly, hurting their eyes.
Rufus, who was still wearing his sun glasses despite the gloom, was watching Josh cautiously before suddenly speaking. “You know, your obsession with Sarah’s getting a little out of control?”
Josh sighed as the lift juddered to a stop. “Trust me on this one.”
Narrow corridors stretched out on both sides. There was no natural light and everything was bathed in an unhealthy-looking yellow glow. The world seemed to flicker as dirt-cloaked bulbs hummed in every direction. There was a distant hissing sound, although Josh couldn’t be certain it was really there. vague white sound which seemed to pulse. There was a sharp pain expanding inside his head, presumably from the sickening light. Nausea was growing inside his guts and there was a strange smell beginning to assault his nostrils. As they moved up the corridor, the sensations increased and he realised that the experience wasn’t entirely new. He’d felt something very similar when he had encountered Carthy.
“Is that the one?” Josh asked as Rufus paused at a door.
He just shrugged and knocked. That the door slowly creaked open didn’t fill either of them with confidence. Rufus turned his gaze on his friend and finally removed his sunglasses.
He pushed the door open slowly, revealing a darkened corridor with three doors leading from it. There was no denying there was a sickening smell coming from inside. Again Rufus glanced at Josh, and then with more caution than normal knocked the now open door and quietly called out Rob’s name.
“I don’t think he’s here.” In truth, Josh knew he wasn’t. Still, the flat felt far from unoccupied.
“Should we just go in?”
Now Josh shrugged. He felt no great desire to, but pushed past his friend anyway.
Another wave of sickness swam through him and he shivered hard. “Jesus.” He whispered.
‘Help me.’ The voice scythed through his senses.
Rufus didn’t react and Josh could tell it was only him who had heard the voice.
“Rufus,” he caught his shoulder as he moved towards one of the doors. “Man, be careful.”
The other said nothing and turned the handle, cautiously opened the door.
An olive green toilette stared at them, next to it, a grubby shower curtain over a bath of a similar colour.
“Yo, Rob?” Rufus called out to the rest of the flat, then turned to Josh. “I don’t think we should just go around in his flat while there’s no one here.”
Josh looked nervously at the other two doors, before speaking. “He’s probably just in bed.” It was a complete lie, he just needed to reassure his friend.
“Yeah, but that doesn’t make it any better. If we just burst in, it’ll scare the crap out of him.” He laughed suddenly. “And what if he’s having a little ‘me’ time? I don’t want to see that sucker beating the meat!”
Josh was barely aware of the last comment, as he opened the door at the end of the hallway. Rufus grumpily said something but he didn’t hear what. The other door opened behind him, but when he turned he saw it was just Rufus looking inside. Rufus paused a second then moved into the kitchen he had just discovered, leaving Josh looking at a surprisingly large living room.
The walls were bare, apart from a few strips of remaining wallpaper and pieces of a leftover boarder, which was largely peeling off. An oldish television and video sat on the floor in one corner and the whole room was drenched in light from the large windows that looked out onto a small balcony. The only other things there were a few arm-chairs and a cardboard box full of videos. Beside that the room was empty.
Blocks of flats faced him from across a small green with some long-disused swings. Charcoal clouds drifted behind them, slowly. Terraced streets and old factory buildings stretched out in most directions in the distance, below him.