Dark Season: The Complete Box Set (101 page)

"Whatever," I say as I walk past her. "Go fuck yourself."

As I walk away toward the van, I don't even look back, but I see Donna's stunned face reflected in the window as I climb into the passenger seat. Todd starts the engine and the van pulls away. I know it seems crazy to just go off with a bunch of strangers like this, but I trust Evan and Ruth when they say that this is the right thing to do. Besides, they're going to have a baby of their own - a real baby - and they don't need me around for that. I also get the feeling that maybe - just maybe - I'm going to find out the truth about who I really am, where I came from, and why I feel so different to everyone else. I've never been the kind of person who believes in things like destiny and fate, but right now I have this strange feeling deep inside that what I'm doing is right. Still, I'm scared. Terrified, actually. Something tells me this isn't going to be easy.

Shelley

Near Dedston.

"So are you avoiding me or something?"

Staring straight ahead, I try to ignore her. After traveling non-stop for two days, we've finally taken a break at an all-night diner just outside Dedston. Since we left New Mexico, I've barely said a word to Abby. There are two problems here: first, I have no idea what to say to her; and second, her resemblance to Sophie is too spooky for words. It's as if someone has dug Sophie up and given her the mind of this dumb-ass teenage girl. I guess I
have
been avoiding her.

"I'll take that as a yes," she says, sitting on the stool next to me.

"I'm not avoiding you," I reply, turning to her. "I just don't know what we're supposed to talk about when -" I stop, stunned once again by the fact that she looks so much like Sophie. "Never mind," I say, looking back down at my drink.

"Do I look like her?" she asks.

"Yeah," I reply.

"Does it make you feel weird?"

I take a deep breath. "Yeah."

There's a sudden gurgling sound from next to me. Turning, I see that she's using a straw to get to the last drops of milkshake at the bottom of her glass. "Sorry," she says sheepishly.

"Don't apologize," I say.

She smiles. "Did my Mom like milkshakes?"

I think about it for a moment. "You know what? I don't think she did. Not so much, no."

"Well..." She pauses. "
That's
a difference, right?"

Finally, I smile. "Yeah," I say.

"I'm not used to talking," she says, tilting the glass to let the rest of the milkshake dribble into her mouth. "I've always been completely silent, and suddenly now I can chat away but I don't know if I'm doing it right. Am I talking too much?"

"No," I say, shaking my head. "It's just that I've got this..." I pause for a moment, watching her desperately trying to finish the drink. "For God's sake," I say, grabbing the glass and setting it on the counter. "Can we get another milkshake here?" The waitress smiles as she takes the glass to refill it.

"You're not like the others, are you?" she says.

"Who?" I ask

"Benjamin and Todd." She pauses for a moment. "You seem different."

"I guess so."

"How well did you know my Mom?"

"Very well," I say.

"What was she like?"

I take a deep breath. "She was my best friend," I say after a moment. "She was also, at times, a god-damned idiot. Seriously, kid, she made some dumb choices in her life." Reaching into my pocket, I take out a small, crescent moon necklace. I gave it to Sophie years ago, and then I retrieved it from her room after she went missing. "Here," I say, passing it to Abby. "This was your Mom's."

She stares at the necklace, as if she's scared to take it.

"Go on," I continue, placing it in her hand. "It's yours now. You should have something of hers."

"Thanks," she says, clearly a little uncomfortable. She slips the necklace into the inside pocket of her jacket.

"You don't want to wear it?" I ask.

There's an awkward pause as the waitress sets a new milkshake on the counter. "How did she die?" Abby asks eventually.

I glance at the waitress, and I can see from the look on her face that she's overheard part of our conversation. "You should ask Benjamin," I tell Abby. "He's the one with all the answers."

"I'm asking
you
," she replies. "Benjamin keeps telling me he'll give me answers when it's the right time, but I want to know
now
. I mean, I'm not ever gonna get to meet her, so I figure I at least deserve to know what happened." She waits for me to say something. "The more you guys refuse to tell me," she says after a pause, "the more worried I'm getting about the answer."

"It's complicated," I say.

"That's what Benjamin keeps telling me. You're just like him."

"I'm nothing like him," I say. "Look, if two people say the same thing, then maybe you should just accept it's true. Have a little patience."

"Why's it such a big deal?" she asks.

"It's not!" I reply, exasperated. I just want to stand up and walk out of here. I could be in New York right now, partying and drinking and not worrying about any of this. Instead, I'm sitting at a diner, close to a town I left sixteen years ago and to which I swore never to come back, and I'm being pestered by a girl who looks like the ghost of my dead best friend. We're the only people in here, apart from the bored-looking waitress. Todd and Benjamin are outside, working on the van. I kinda wish they'd come and join us, if only so I wouldn't have to talk to Abby so much. I look over at the window and see the van outside on the dark forecourt. Something moves over at the other side of the window, but by the time I look over, it's gone. I wait a moment, but I guess I must have imagined it. Lack of sleep, probably. "Just leave it alone for now, okay?" I say eventually, hoping to shut her up.

We sit in silence for a few minutes. "Were my parents happy together?"

I can't help but smile. "If only you knew," I tell her.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

She sighs. "I guess I'll have to ask my Dad when we get to him," she says. "Hopefully he's a little more talkative than the rest of you."

"I wouldn't count on that," I say. At that moment, I hear something directly overhead. Looking up, it sounds for a moment as if something is running across the roof of the diner.

"Did you hear that?" Abby asks.

I turn to her. "Yeah," I say. Behind her, I see the door open and Todd hurries in. I immediately tense up as I see the worried look on his face.

"We need to get out of here," he says, with a sense of urgency in his voice. He grabs Abby's arm. "Let's go."

I can tell from Todd's concerned expression that something's wrong. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I see something move over by the window again. This time, when I look over, I see an indistinct shape move up the pane of glass on the outside, quickly disappearing out of view. Looking up, I hear something scuttling across the roof again.

"What was that?" Abigail asks, clearly concerned.

"Nothing," I tell her.

"Tenderlings," Todd says. "I knew something like this would happen. We have to go." He damn-near pulls her off the stool, marching her to the door. She still has her milkshake. I follow, starting to worry about how things are going. When Benjamin said the other day that 'things' would start seeking Abigail out, I kinda thought we'd have a little longer before they'd show up. I knew we might be in danger, but I didn't know it would be quite so direct. Suddenly I feel as if we're under attack.

"What's a Tenderling?" Abby asks, turning to me. "What the fuck's going on?"

I shrug, trying not to worry her too much. I think I heard Sophie mention Tenderlings once, but I can't remember what she said. Sophie used to talk about a lot of crazy stuff. "Let's just go," I tell Abby. "We can talk about it later."

"It's not safe to be here," Todd says as we reach the door. "There's not a -" Suddenly a face appears at the window directly in front of us. I feel my blood start to run cold as I stare at the horrific creature: it's like some kind of small red goblin with bright yellow eyes, and it seems to be resting on the side of the building, clinging to the glass and looking intently at Abigail. It doesn't look very friendly.

"What the fuck is that?" Abigail shouts, backing away. I grab her arm.

"Stay calm," Todd says, but moments later another of the creatures appears at the window. Reaching forward, Todd locks the door.

"Hey!" shouts the waitress from behind the counter. "What the -" Suddenly she falls silent, which I guess means she's seen that more and more Tenderlings are starting to swarm outside the window. They're scratching at the glass now and rattling the door, trying to find a way in. There's a banging sound from above, as if something is trying to smash through the roof.

"I know this is probably a silly question," I say, turning to Todd, "but are those things dangerous?"

"Something's wrong," he says as more and more Tenderlings appear outside. "Tenderlings are solitary creatures. They don't hunt in packs like this. I've never even seen two together before..." By now, there must be twenty of the things outside, all trying to get into the diner, and more are appearing at the window every second. It's like ants swarming over a picnic.

"Where's Benjamin?" I ask, starting to feel as if we're seriously outnumbered.

"He's outside somewhere," Todd says.

"By any chance, does he have a flamethrower?"

"What the hell's going on?" Abby shouts, turning to me. "What the fuck have you got me into? Who
are
you people?"

"It's okay," Todd says. "There can't be that many of them. Believe it or not, they're not very strong. Just wait until I give the signal, and then run out through the back door."

"Run?" I say. "Is that your big idea? Is that what years of being a Watcher have taught you to do?"

"What's a Watcher?" Abby asks.

"You want to stay in here?" Todd asks, just as one of the Tenderlings opens its mouth and bites straight through the window, fracturing the glass. Realizing that the technique worked, the others start doing the same.

"You still say they're not very strong?" I ask, turning to Todd.

"Now!" he shouts. The three of us turn and run, making our way through to the diner's kitchen and straight out the back door. As we go, a Tenderling appears straight in front of us; without thinking, I push it out of the way, feeling its slimy red body against my hands. We run a few meters from the diner and then Abigail trips and falls; her milkshake drops to the ground and the glass breaks. I help her up, glancing back and seeing that the Tenderlings are literally swarming all over the diner, tearing the building apart. It's as if they haven't noticed that we've escaped yet. Moments later, the waitress comes running out the front door, with three or four of the creatures hanging onto her. She doesn't get far before she falls to the ground and the Tenderlings start ripping stringy chunks of flesh from her body. Her screams are quickly cut short.

"This isn't right," Todd says. "This isn't how Tenderlings behave. Something's changed."

"Over here!" shouts a voice in the distance. I turn to see that Benjamin has the van waiting for us, with the engine running.

"Come on!" Todd says, grabbing Abby and pulling her along with him. He doesn't even look back to make sure I'm okay, which I guess shows how his priorities are set. I look over at the diner just as one corner of the roof collapses. There must be two or three hundred Tenderlings, all of them literally tearing the place apart. Suddenly one of them looks over at me and snarls. The others all look as well, which I guess means they've finally noticed we got out of the building. They start racing in my direction. I turn and run after Todd and Abby.

"Move!" shouts Benjamin. I've never heard him sound so agitated before. He's usually so cool and calm.

"Get in the van!" Todd shouts, grabbing Abigail and literally throwing her into the back, before pulling me inside as well. Benjamin floors the pedal and we accelerate across the car park, as Todd struggles to close the door. At the last moment, a solitary Tenderling manages to jump toward us, grabbing hold of the seat next to me. Staring at me with its hideous yellow eyes, it lets out a snarl and bares its rows of sharp little fangs. Before I have a chance to react, Todd swings a punch that knocks the creature down; he quickly follows this up by kicking it in the head. The Tenderling falls out of the van and there's a crunch as it's crushed under the rear wheel. Todd finally manages to slide the door shut. "Are you okay?" he asks, turning to me.

"I'm fine," I say, still trying to catch my breath. I look over at Abby. She's curled up in the corner of the van, her eyes squeezed tight shut, rocking back and forth. I turn back to Todd. "But she's not."

Abigail

Dedston.

I wake up in a strange, dark place. For a moment, I forget all the stuff that happened and I feel like maybe I'm back at home, sleeping in my old bed. Gradually, however, the truth settles in my mind, and I remember everything that happened back at the diner. Sitting up, I look around and see that I'm in a dark, bare room with no windows. The air is very still, as if I'm underground. There's no furniture, other than the bed, and on the other side of the room there's an opening that looks as if it's been carved out of solid rock.

"Hey," says a voice from the corner. Startled, I look over and see that Shelley is sitting on the floor. She gets up, groaning a little with the effort, and then she comes over to me. "How are you feeling?"

I stare at her, and it takes a moment before I remember that Benjamin took the braces out of my mouth and I can talk. "Fine," I say. Damn, I'm still not used to my voice. "Fine," I say again. I need to work on this speaking business. Right now, I really don't like my voice at all.

"Well that's bullshit," Shelley says, sitting on the end of the bed. "Don't bullshit a bullshitter. You can't possibly be fine, not after all the crap you've been through. How are you
really
?"

I pause for a moment. "What happened?" I ask. "Those things at the diner..."

"Apparently they're called Tenderlings," Shelley says. "According to Todd, they're solitary creatures that rarely display overt aggression, so... go figure. They definitely seemed to be displaying overt aggression last night, and they didn't seem very solitary."

"Are they still after us?" I ask.

"They can't get to us down here."

I look around the room again. "Where are we?" I say.

"Dedston," she replies. "Well, technically we're
underneath
Dedston." She smiles awkwardly. "Believe it or not, Dedston is the town where your Mom and I grew up. It's where everything happened, back in the day."

I take a deep breath. "Is it a nice place?" I ask.

"No," she says. "No, it's a shit-hole."

"Then why are we here?" I say. "Is..." I pause. I'm almost afraid to ask the next question. "Is my father here?"

She pauses for a moment. "Yeah," she says eventually, seeming a little uncomfortable.

"Can I meet him?"

She nods.

I stare at her. "Can I meet him
now
?"

She stands up. "I guess there's no point putting it off any longer."

Getting out of bed, I find that I'm still wearing the same clothes I wore when we left New Mexico. The only difference is that there seems to be a stain on my shoulder from where the milkshake got spilled. I should probably change, but right now I just want to go and meet Patrick. "I'm ready," I say, even though I don't think I'll ever be truly ready for this moment.

"Don't you want to clean up first?" Shelley says. "There are showers here."

"I just want to meet him," I tell her.

"Come on, then," she says, leading me out of the room. We walk along a dark corridor. It's weird down here, as if we're in some type of cave system. "Your Dad doesn't speak," Shelley reminds me, "so don't expect a great conversation. He's also... well, he's a little moody."

"Do you know him well?" I ask.

"Not really," she replies. "I met him a few times, years ago. He's not exactly the life and soul of a party." There's tension in her voice, as if she doesn't really want to be talking about him. We reach another door and she turns to me. "Go in there. Todd and Benjamin will take you the rest of the way."

"Aren't you coming?" I ask. For some reason, I want Shelley with me. She seems kind, whereas Benjamin and Todd put me on edge a little.

"You don't need me there," she says.

"What's wrong?" I ask. "Don't you like my Dad?"

"I don't want to see him right now," she says. "Is that okay?"

"Please?" I reply. "I'd really like it if you come."

She shakes her head. "I can't."

"Why?" I ask. "What did he do?"

She sighs. "Nothing," she says, pushing the door open. "Fine. I'll come with you." We walk into a large room, where Benjamin and Todd are sitting at a table. They seem to be going over a bunch of papers. On the other side of the room, there are some technicians sitting at banks of computers. Suddenly I feel like I've stepped into some high-tech secret world.

"Hey," Todd says, getting up and coming over to me. "How are you feeling today?"

"I'm fine," I say.

"Great," he replies, smiling. "I guess..." He pauses for a moment. "I guess you want to meet your Dad, huh?"

I swallow hard. "I guess."

"So where is he?" Shelley asks. She seems really nervous, as if she desperately doesn't want to be here.

"He's in the holding cell," Todd says.

"The
what
?" Shelley replies.

"There's something you need to know about your Dad," Todd says, turning to me. "He's not... Well, he's not the kind of guy who's always good to be around. He's a bit of a loner and he -"

"You
captured
him?" Shelley asks. "How the fuck did you manage that?"

Todd sighs. "We recently had an opportunity to confine Patrick," he says. "We took that opportunity. It's for the best."

I stare at him for a moment. "Wait a minute," I say, trying to work out exactly what's going on. "You bring me all this way to meet my father, and you conveniently forget to mention until the last moment that you're holding him as a
prisoner
?"

"There's a lot we still have to tell you about your father," Todd continues. "He's not like the rest of us. He's old. In fact, he's kind of ancient. He's from an old species that died off a long time ago, and now he's the last of his kind."

My first instinct is to turn and run. These people sound crazy, but at the same time I feel as if something is starting to make sense. I hear that noise in my head again; the noise that used to drive me crazy, the sound of a powerful heartbeat that's stronger and wilder than anything I've ever heard anywhere else. "What is he?" I ask, feeling my hands start to tremble.

"Come with me," Benjamin says, walking over to a door at the far end of the room. "You can see for yourself."

"No,
tell
me," I say, refusing to go with him.

"It's easier if you just see," he replies.

"He's a vampire," Shelley says.

I turn to her. "He's a what?"

"He's a vampire," she says again. "He's the only vampire left in the whole world."

"It's true," Todd says. "He doesn't turn into a bat. He doesn't live in a coffin. He doesn't come from Transylvania. He doesn't sparkle. But he's a vampire. A real, live vampire."

I run my tongue against the two sharp teeth near the front of my mouth. "My father's a vampire?" I say, trying not to panic. "So what does that make me?"

"We don't know yet," Benjamin says. "You're not a vampire, at least not in the conventional sense. But you're not completely human, either. You're somewhere in-between."

I take a deep breath, trying to stay calm. Is this why I've always felt so different and weird? Is this why people like Donna always used to pick on me? "I want to see him," I say, even though there's a part of me that just wants to turn and run away from this place and never stop.

"I'll wait here," Shelley says, taking a step back.

"No!" I say, turning to her. "You've got to come with me!"

"Shelley should wait," Todd says.

"If Shelley doesn't go through that door," I say firmly, "then I'm not going through either."

"Shelley can come," Benjamin says. "That is, if Shelley
wants
to come."

"Please," I say, turning to her. "I need you to be in there with me."

"Okay," she replies, even though I can see that she really,
really
doesn't want to see my father again. I reach out and take her hand, and we walk together across the room until we're standing with Benjamin.

"Todd," Shelley says, turning back to him, "are you coming?"

He shakes his head. "I don't want to see him again."

"This might be very difficult for you," Benjamin says to me. "Please remember that your father is a very strong individual. It takes great effort to keep him in a place like this, but we wouldn't restrain him if we didn't feel that it's absolutely necessary. We couldn't let him remain loose. He's too dangerous."

"You make him sound bad," I reply, trying not to let them see how scared I am. "You make it sound like he's some kind of killer, or a monster."

"He's just different," Benjamin continues. "The way he sees the world is different to the way I see the world, or the way any human sees the world. But... There's only one person left on the whole planet who might understand how Patrick thinks." He pauses. "That's you, Abigail. Your father is the last of his species, but you're his daughter so, in some ways, you're like him. Not the same, but very similar. Do you understand?"

"Let me see him," I say. My heart is racing so fast, I feel like it might burst out of my chest at any moment.

Benjamin reaches down and unlocks the door. "Don't be scared," he says. "There's no way he can hurt anyone. And this is as much for his own good as for ours."

"Why would he want to hurt me?" I ask.

"Not you," Shelley says. "The rest of us."

I look into the dark room, but I can't see anything.

"Go ahead," Benjamin says. I step past him, and I immediately feel as if I can sense a presence nearby. Somewhere in the dark, something is breathing slowly and harshly. It almost sounds as if there's a wounded animal in here. More powerful than the sound, though, is the sensation in my head. It's hard to describe what it's like, but it's as if I can feel his heartbeat in my own body, beating alongside my own; it's as if there's this extremely strong and forceful presence that's entering my soul, perhaps even becoming part of me. As I step further into the room, I feel as if - in some strange way - I actually belong here. It's the weirdest thing, but for the first time in my life, I feel like I'm where I should be, even if I'm terrified at the same time.

"Where is he?" I ask.

"I'll turn on the light," Benjamin says. Moments later, a fluorescent light flickers on.

"Oh shit," Shelley says behind me.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Benjamin continues. "Just remember that, and stay calm"

I stare, unable to comprehend quite what I'm seeing. In the middle of the large room, there's a huge metal dome on the floor, and sticking out from the dome there's a big metal spike. The spike runs straight up to the far wall, where there's a man hanging from metal handcuffs. He looks to be barely conscious, and his face seems old and young at the same time; he's wearing dark clothes, but the large spike is running straight through his chest and pinning him to the wall.

"What have you done to him?" Shelley asks.

"When Patrick is injured," Benjamin explains, "he has the ability to heal his body, but this healing process requires time and energy. The only way we can keep him here is to ensure that he's constantly hurt, so that all his energy is continually directed toward the healing process. In that way, he doesn't have the strength to break his shackles and escape. The spear retracts and re-pierces him every six hours."

I walk across the room, until I'm just a few paces from him. "Dad?" I say, my voice sounding so small in this large room. I stare up at him, and it's hard to believe that someone could still be alive after this was done to them. Blood is dripping from the wound in his chest, and he looks so pale.

"He won't be able to hear you," Benjamin says. "He's not strong enough to remain conscious while he's healing like this."

Slowly, however, he starts to open his eyes slightly, and he stares straight at me. I feel a cold shiver run through my body as I realize that I'm finally face to face with my father. My real father. Patrick.