Dark Woods (13 page)

The glass shattered into a thousand pieces as Cal struck it, spraying across the car park like frozen rain. His mind had gone into panic mode now, ignoring the pain as it focused on the task of keeping him alive.

As he hit the bonnet of the pick-up truck, broken glass rattled across the windscreen and he rolled over the side, slamming into the ground with a thump that knocked the wind out of him. He felt blood on his face and saw dark droplets flecking the broken glass beneath him. He was hurt, he knew that much; knew he should find help, find a way to stop the bleeding. But there was no time; if he stayed here he would die.

Struggling to his knees, he cried out in pain but somehow managed to grab one of the truck’s tyres, pulling himself up until he was leaning against the bonnet. He looked at the flickering neon sign above the bar and knew that the dark, unlit road was his only hope. But as he took his first steps across the car park, the window by the door exploded and the man stepped out through a hail of glass, throwing his arms wide as if embracing the night.

‘Let’s play!’ he shouted. ‘I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with . . .’ he turned and pointed the shears at Cal ‘. . .
C
.’

As Cal moved away the man kept pace with him, whispering as he walked. ‘Something beginning with . . . something beginning with . . . something beginning with . . .
C
.’

When Cal was backed up against the van, the man stopped and smiled.

‘Can you guess, Cal?’ he asked. ‘Can you guess what I spy?’

‘I can,’ called a voice.

The man spun round and Cal saw that Eden was standing with her hands behind her back, lit by the flickering sign above the door.

‘Go back inside,’ said the man, and Cal could hear the anger in his voice. ‘I told you what would happen to you if you interfered again.’

‘Yeah, you did,’ said Eden. As her shoes crunched across the glass, Cal saw her ripped clothes and the blood on her face. ‘You like telling people what to do, don’t you?’

‘I’m warning you,’ said the man. ‘Go back inside and stay there.’

‘You’d like that, wouldn’t you?’ said Eden. ‘Left all alone to play your nasty little games. Well, I’ve got news for you, pal. I’m playing too.’

This seemed to cause the man some amusement.

‘Oh, you want to
play
, do you?’

He slowly beckoned to her with his left hand.

‘Come along then, little girl. Come and join the party. I’m sure we’ll have lots of fun.’ He turned to Cal and wagged his finger at him. ‘Now don’t you go sneaking off, you hear me? Don’t go disappearing just because my back is turned.’

‘I spy, with my little eye,’ said Eden, ‘something beginning with
C
. Is that right? Is that how it went?’

‘Come over here,’ replied the man. ‘Then we can talk about it properly.’

‘I’ve got a better idea,’ said Eden as the man’s fingers twitched on the handle of the shears. ‘Why don’t you ask me the question and then I’ll tell you the answer.’

The man considered this for a moment.

‘All right,’ he said at last. ‘But you must understand that if you get the answer wrong, someone will have to pay.’

‘Well I guess that’s just a risk I’m gonna have to take.’

‘Excellent,’ said the man. ‘So, then. I spy with my little eye, something beginning with
C
.’ He paused and Cal heard his soft, shallow breathing. ‘Do you know the answer?’

‘Yes,’ said Eden. ‘It’s cartridge. The answer is cartridge.’

The man laughed.

‘You are an idiot,’ he said. ‘Don’t you even remember your friend’s name?’

‘Sure,’ said Eden. ‘But the answer’s still cartridge.’

‘Enough of this foolishness,’ said the man. ‘There is no cartridge anywhere to be seen.’

‘Well, I guess that makes me smarter than you, then,’ said Eden. ‘Cos I can see two of them.’

‘Where?’ sneered the man, looking up at the stars. ‘In the sky, perhaps?’

‘No,’ said Eden, producing the shotgun from behind her back. ‘Right here.’

She tapped each barrel in turn.

‘One, two,’ she said.

Then she held the gun against her shoulder, closed one eye and squinted along the barrels.

‘Now either you walk away from him, or I’m gonna let you I-spy exactly what’s inside of ’em.’

As the man let out a frustrated moan, Eden said, ‘Get in the van, Cal. Do it now.’

Keeping his eyes on the man, Cal fumbled for the handle and pulled the door open.

The man swivelled his head and stared at Cal, his eyes bright with anger.

‘Don’t you
dare
disobey me,’ he said.

‘Take no notice, Cal,’ said Eden, her finger tightening around the trigger. ‘Just do it. Get in the van.’

But as Cal stepped up onto the footplate, the man came snarling towards him with the shears wide open and his teeth bared like a rabid animal.

There was a loud thump, a bright orange flash and the man twisted into the air, his arms raised like some strange bird as the shears fell from his grasp and skidded beneath the van. Then he hit the ground, rolled over and lay still.

Cal threw himself into the passenger seat just as Eden wrenched open the driver’s door.

‘Bloody hell, Eden,’ he said as she climbed in beside him. ‘Where did you get that from?’

‘Found it behind the bar.’

Pulling the key from her pocket, she thrust it into the ignition and turned. The engine sputtered, strained for a few seconds, then died.

‘Oh come on,’ she muttered. ‘Don’t do this to me now.’

She turned the key again and once more the engine refused to fire.

Kicking the pedals in frustration, she turned the key for a third time and was rewarded by a roar from the engine.

‘Yes!’ she cried, thumping the steering wheel. ‘Thank you!’

Then the side window shattered and a bloodied hand reached through and grabbed her by the throat.

‘Cal!’ she screamed, clawing desperately at the hand that was squeezing her throat. ‘Help me!’

Cal grabbed hold of the man’s arm and pulled with all his strength, but the arm was all muscle and bone and as Cal leaned across to get some leverage, a fist punched through the shattered window and knocked him back into the footwell. Pulling himself up again, he saw Eden struggling to breathe and knew he didn’t have much time.

Through a gap in the seats he saw the wheel brace, still lying where Jefferson had left it. Snatching it up, he twisted round and brought it down hard on the man’s knuckles. He heard the crack of bone and the hand briefly slackened its grip before fastening itself to Eden’s throat once more. Cal lifted the wheel brace and brought it down again and again until at last the hand withdrew and Eden fell forward onto the steering wheel, choking and gasping for breath.

‘Drive!’ shouted Cal, flinging the wheel brace as hard as he could through the broken window. ‘Eden, you have to drive!’

Eden stared at him, blinking as if she had just woken up from some terrible dream. Then she rammed the gearstick forward, revved the engine and they roared across the car park with the van’s tyres squealing in protest. Cal checked the mirror but the man was gone. As Eden headed for the entrance, all he could see was a layer of broken glass and the shotgun lying on the ground outside the bar.

‘Are you OK?’ asked Cal as she spun the wheel and turned out onto the main road.

‘I will be,’ said Eden, ‘once we’ve put a few hundred miles between us and that frickin’ maniac back there.’

‘You shot him,’ said Cal. ‘I can’t believe you shot him and he just kept on coming.’

‘I was aiming at his shoulder,’ said Eden. ‘Next time I’m taking his head off.’

Cal slumped back in his seat and looked at the road ahead.

‘Hey,’ he said as Eden changed gear and began accelerating, ‘don’t forget your lights.’

Eden twisted the control on the dashboard and the road was suddenly flooded with light.

‘Jeez,’ she said, stamping on the brakes. ‘What’s
that
?’

As the van shuddered to a halt, Cal saw what appeared to be a body in the centre of the road. It was lying in an untidy heap and there didn’t appear to be any sign of life.

‘I don’t like the look of it,’ said Eden.

‘Could be a hit-and-run,’ suggested Cal. ‘Maybe we should check it out.’

Eden glanced in the door mirror, scanning the road behind. ‘Or maybe we should just keep right on going,’ she said.

Cal peered out at the dry scrubland and the empty drainage ditches along the side of the road.

‘At least drive a bit closer,’ he said. ‘See if there’s anything we can do.’

‘OK,’ said Eden. ‘But we ain’t hanging around.’

She let the clutch out and the van moved forward.

‘That’s close enough,’ she said, applying the brakes. ‘We don’t want to run him down a second time.’

But as Cal looked at the figure lying in the dust he saw the hood and the pale white hands, twitching beneath the folds of the cloak.

‘Back up,’ he said. ‘Back up now.’

Then the figure rose, turned and pointed through the windscreen. As Eden screamed, more dark shapes began to emerge from the ditches, five, ten, a dozen, slowly gathering and moving down the road towards the van.

‘It’s them,’ Eden sobbed, her hands shaking as she struggled with the gears. ‘They’re coming for me, Cal. They’re coming for me, same as they always do.’

‘Just stay calm,’ said Cal, although his heart was trying to punch its way out of his chest. He put his hand over hers and helped her guide the gearstick into reverse. ‘OK, go,’ he said. ‘Go, go, go!’

Eden released the clutch and the van shot backwards, narrowly missing the ditch as the wheels spun in the dust.

‘Keep it straight!’ Cal shouted, clutching his seat as the van swung round in a wide arc.

‘I’m trying!’ Eden shouted back.

The figures were running now, closing the gap with every step.

Revving the engine, Eden pulled the wheel hard right and they spun back onto the grass verge, stopping an inch from the ditch. But as she fought to find first gear there was a loud thump and Cal looked up to see a figure scuttling across the bonnet. Another landed on the roof and then the door flew open and Cal found himself staring into the glowing eyes of a hooded figure that seemed to have no discernible face, only shadows that writhed and twisted until they became a gaping mouth which bared its teeth and lunged into the cabin with an ear-splitting shriek.

There was no time to think. With the creature tearing at his throat, Cal kicked out hard and then slammed its head in the door with all the strength left in his body. As it thumped down into the dust, another came running full pelt and he kicked the door open again, knocking it backwards.

‘Drive!’ he screamed as more figures threw themselves at the window. ‘Just drive!’

Eden thrust her fist through the broken window and another one dropped from view. Then she spun the wheel and accelerated back in the direction of the bar as two more figures slid off the bonnet, bouncing and rolling to the side of the road. A third continued to grip the wiper blades, pulling itself up towards the windscreen.

‘Oh God,’ whispered Eden. ‘Oh my God.’

She snaked the truck from side to side in an effort to shake it off, but nothing seemed to work.

‘All right,’ she said. ‘Hold on, Cal.’

Pressing her foot to the floor, she accelerated through the gears until the speedometer needle was edging sixty. Then, as they drew level with Bobby’s Bar and Grill, she suddenly stamped on the brakes and the figure flew off like a rocket, slamming into a telegraph pole and rolling away into the shadows.

‘They’re still coming,’ she said, glancing in the mirror. ‘And we don’t have much gas left. The tank’s nearly empty.’

Cal looked over his shoulder and saw a mass of dark figures running down the road towards them.

‘We have to go back,’ he said quietly. ‘It’s the only way.’

He looked at Eden and saw the fear in her eyes.

‘Back where?’

‘To Jefferson’s place.’

‘What? Why?’

‘Because that’s where it all started.’ Cal checked the mirror on his side of the van and nudged Eden with his elbow. ‘Come on. Go.’

‘So what if that’s where it started?’ asked Eden as the van pulled away. ‘How’s that going to help us?’

Cal stared at the dark woods and the mountains beyond.

‘Because there has to be some way of undoing this,’ he said. ‘Jefferson’s the only one who can help us to find our way home.’

Eden took a last look in the mirror.

‘You’d better be right about this,’ she said.

Then she turned the wheel, took a left and soon they were heading back up the mountain track. And the only light was the glow from the headlights because the sky had clouded over and all the stars were hidden from view.

‘Soon as we’ve stopped, get out fast and run for the door,’ said Cal. ‘Those things could be anywhere. At least if we’re inside, we’ve got more chance of seeing them coming.’

‘And then what?’ asked Eden.

‘And then we’ll figure something out,’ said Cal.

The van skidded around the final bend and before the motor had died they were out and running towards the cabin.

The back door was open, just as they had left it, and the rooms were in darkness.

‘Damn it,’ said Cal. ‘I was sure he’d be back by now. Where’s the torch? You had it last.’

‘I dropped it on the floor, I think,’ said Eden, scrabbling through piles of papers in the dark. ‘Are you sure you didn’t pick it up?’

‘I’m sure,’ said Cal. ‘Look again.’

‘I wouldn’t bother,’ said a voice.

There was a click from the corner of the room and Cal was dazzled by a light shining in his face.

The torch beam moved across to Eden and as she held up her hands to shield her eyes, Cal could make out the silhouette of Jefferson sitting in the armchair. In one hand was the torch. In the other was a revolver, and it was pointed straight at Cal.

‘I already used four bullets on those things out there,’ said Jefferson softly. ‘You know what that means?’

‘No,’ said Cal, squinting as the torch beam shone in his eyes again.

‘It means I’ve got two bullets left,’ said Jefferson, resting the torch on the arm of the chair so that it cast long shadows across the walls. He pushed open the chamber of the revolver, checked the remaining bullets and clicked it shut. ‘Two bullets,’ he repeated. ‘Ought to be enough, don’t you think?’

‘Wait,’ said Cal. ‘Why are you doing this?’

Jefferson smiled but his eyes were lifeless, like water or glass.

‘Because you betrayed me, that’s why. You killed the only thing I ever loved.’

He shook his head, but when he spoke again it was more in sorrow than in anger.

‘I would never have hurt you, don’t you see? I only wanted to bring something good back into this world. But now there is only evil; the evil you did and the evil which came out of your heads. And it’s out there looking for you, you know that, don’t you? It’s out there stalking you, hunting you down.’

‘That’s why we’ve come back,’ said Cal. ‘To ask for your help.’

‘You want
my
help?’ Jefferson laughed bitterly. ‘Give me one good reason why I should help you.’

‘Because we didn’t kill your dog,’ said Eden.

‘You shut up,’ said Jefferson angrily, pointing the gun at Eden. ‘Just shut up with your filthy lies.’

‘She’s not lying,’ said Cal. ‘She’s telling the truth.’

‘Oh yeah? And why should she be any different to all the others?’

The gun trembled in Jefferson’s hand as he continued to point the gun at Eden, his finger tightening around the trigger.

‘No one tells the truth, Cal. Not the vet who told me she could save my dog. Not the people who pretended to be my friends. Even my own mother lied to me.’

Jefferson wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

‘Do you know what she said to me the day she died? She said if I got a scholarship, she would take me out to dinner and buy me anything I wanted. She promised me, Cal. She
promised.
Any damn thing. But then she left me, same as everyone else. And she didn’t even say goodbye.’

As Jefferson spoke, Cal thought of all the times that he had been let down in his life, of all the times he had believed in something or someone, only to have it taken away from him. But suddenly, he saw that it didn’t have to be that way. And in that moment – more than anything else – he wanted Jefferson to see it too.

‘But we came back,’ he said. ‘We didn’t know your dog was dead, not until you told us just now. That’s the truth. And here’s something else that’s true, whether you believe it or not: Eden wanted to go back for Tansy. She wanted to save her.’

‘You’re lying again,’ said Jefferson, shaking his head. ‘You’re lying to protect her.’

‘She doesn’t need my protection,’ said Cal, ‘but it’s true just the same. Your dog knew something was wrong. And if you ask me, she sensed that our lives were in danger. So when the man came out of his cell, she didn’t give a thought for herself. She just took off and went for him.’

Jefferson stared at Cal as the torch beam flickered on the wall behind him.

‘The man?’ asked Jefferson. ‘You saw the man?’

Cal nodded.

‘We’ve brought some bad things into this world and now it looks as though we’re going to have to pay for it. But the truth is, we brought a good thing into the world too. And that good thing was your dog. She died trying to save us.’

Jefferson swallowed, lowered the gun and looked at Eden.

‘You really wanted to go back for her?’

Eden nodded.

‘I wanted to, but I couldn’t.’ A pause. ‘And I’m real sorry about that. She was a beautiful dog.’

‘Thank you,’ said Jefferson. He placed the gun on the arm of the chair, put his elbows on his knees and covered his face with his hands. For a few moments there was silence. Then Jefferson took a deep breath and let it out again, long and slow, as if he was reaching some kind of decision.

‘I should never have brought you here,’ he said. ‘I see that now. All the bad things that have happened since then are my fault. I thought I could control everything, thought I could make the world the way I wanted it. But I was wrong, and now it’s too late.’

‘No it isn’t,’ said Cal. ‘It’s never too late.’

‘It is for me,’ said Jefferson, getting up from his chair, ‘but maybe not for you.’

‘What do you mean?’ asked Eden.

‘I saw those things in the forest, the dark things from your dreams, but they weren’t interested in me. It’s you they want. And I’m afraid they won’t stop until they get you.’

Jefferson took a hurricane lamp from a hook on the wall.

‘It’s the same with your guy, too,’ he said, lighting a match so that the flare of paraffin suffused the room with a warm yellow glow. ‘He’ll attack whatever stands between him and you, that’s for sure, but ultimately it’s you that he wants.’

‘But why?’ asked Cal.

‘Because there’s a darkness in all of us,’ replied Jefferson. ‘The only difference is that we’ve taken yours from your mind and given it life in the physical world. But it’s still a part of you, Cal. And it’s a darkness that will destroy you if you let it.’

‘I don’t understand,’ said Eden.

Jefferson turned to her.

‘Then close your eyes,’ he said.

‘What?’

‘Close your eyes and try to remember the last time you had these dreams.’

‘But—’

‘Just do it, Eden,’ said Cal. ‘We may not have much time left.’

‘OK, OK. Just give me a minute.’

Eden walked across to the sofa and sat down. She clasped her hands in her lap and closed her eyes.

After a few moments Jefferson asked, ‘Are you seeing them?’

Eden nodded, her eyes still closed.

‘I’m seeing them.’

‘Good. Now this is important. I want you to try and remember exactly how these dreams end.’

‘I don’t need to remember,’ said Eden. ‘I already know. They always end the same way.’

Jefferson nodded, as if this was the answer he had been expecting.

‘And how is that?’

Eden opened her eyes and Cal saw the light from the lamp reflected in them.

‘They’re chasing me through the dark and I’m running away. I’m running through the woods and I can hardly see because it’s so dark, but then I come to a house and I can hear their footsteps behind me and they’re really close, getting closer and my heart feels like it’s about to burst . . .’

Eden’s breathing was faster now, the dream becoming more real to her as she spoke.

‘And then?’ asked Jefferson. ‘What happens next?’

‘I run towards the house and the door is unlocked, so I push it open and go inside. But then I hear them outside the house, I can hear them moving and whispering so I know that they’re out there. And I’m scared because I know they’re going to find me. So I crouch down by the window and make myself as small as possible. I think that if I do this they won’t see me, they’ll think I’ve gone somewhere else and they’ll move on. But then . . .’

‘Yes?’

‘Then I hear a noise and it’s like a scratching above my head. At first I don’t want to look, so I just bury my head in my arms and screw my eyes up tight. But then the scratching becomes a tapping, and although I’m scared I can’t stop myself, and I look up at the window. Then the tapping stops.’

‘But that’s not the end, is it?’

‘No. It’s not the end.’

Cal looked at Jefferson and saw the gleam in his eyes.

‘All right, that’s enough,’ he said as Eden watched the shadows from the lamp flicker across the wall. ‘Can’t you see how frightened she is?’

‘We have to know how it finishes,’ said Jefferson. ‘We have to know what the ending is.’

He turned back to Eden.

‘There is a moment of relief, yes? For a moment, you believe that you’re safe?’

‘Yes.’

‘And then it happens.’

‘Yes. But I don’t—’

‘Eden, listen to me. I want to help you. But you have to tell me how it ends.’

Eden clutched her hands to her chest and stared at the floor.

‘I’m still shaking, but I get up, real slow, onto my knees, and I’m looking out of the window. And then a face appears and the window breaks and suddenly I’m screaming and screaming . . .’

‘And then?’

‘And then . . . I wake up.’

‘Yes!’ said Jefferson triumphantly. ‘I knew it!’

‘What?’ asked Eden. ‘What did you know?’

‘That this is the moment,’ said Jefferson, ‘the moment when they finally get what they have come for.’

The room was silent except for the soft roar of the hurricane lamp.

‘It is the moment of your death.’