The Dark Horde (22 page)

Leaving him with a strange, warm sensation in his belly.

Danny woke from the dream then and realised his fate. Not comprehending how he was back in the Unit he so despised and feared. He lay on his bed, his hand immersed in a bucket of cold water, drenched in his own warm urine, surrounded by the merciless laughter of his fellow Unit members: he helpless, they heartless.

He was back in the real world.

A single flame, a single set of eyes. A single voice, a single purpose...

I bring you misery, insanity and rage.

I herald the beginning, of a dark new age.

You cannot resist me, for you are only man.

You cannot defeat me, nor understand.

On winds of revenge, my spirit flies free,

Merciless my power, to destroy all that be.

Every barrier broken, every chain, every ward,

Now feel the fury, of the Dark Horde.”

WEDNESDAY 6:16
AM

And try as he might, the thought wouldn’t leave.

Howard lay under crumpled, sweat-soaked sheets considering his dilemma. Desperate was the need to urinate, but fear of the dark crushed his resolve. He didn’t even dare open his eyes.

Maybe I can wait it out until sunrise... It’ll be safe then.

I hope I don’t wet the bed.

He returned to sleep’s warm embrace, sanctuary from the night... And biological urges.

What seemed a moment later, Howard awoke again, the pressure on his bladder worse than ever. He could wait no longer.

Semiconscious, he flung off the bed covers and swung his body over the side of the bed.

The pirate in the poster on his bedroom wall stared down at him... Vigilant.

In a daze, he ran to his door, opened it and bolted into the hallway. He imagined figures moving in the dark behind him and raced for the toilet door. He ripped the door open, flicked on the light and slammed the door shut behind him.

Safe.

Able to hold on only seconds longer, Howard rushed to relieve himself...

As shadows danced to the wind outside.

Howard finished and prepared himself for the dash back to bed.

Then coarse laughter began to emanate from down the corridor...

If I go now, I can make it.

Summoning courage, he opened the door onto the hallway. Darkness lurked outside, cloaking figures in wait.

Howard ran the gauntlet of the darkened corridor, trying not to look at the red eyes following him from the shadows at the far end.

Imagining monsters in chase, he charged back into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. His light was on, bathing the dark in a feeble yellow light. He leapt onto his bed and hid under the covers, too scared to move or even breathe loudly.

The sound of demonic laughter reached his ears. It came from the poster facing his bed.

Howard curled himself into a defensive ball but still the mocking sound continued...

And then the bed began to move.

Something was straining at the thin sheet that Howard lay on; what felt like a claw ran down the side of his back.

Howard opened his eyes again to a room filled with an unclean red glow. He leapt from the bed as a hairy taloned appendage tore through the flimsy fabric where he had been a moment ago.

“Weee comeee to claim yooouuu.”

Howard turned to the source of the voice, the poster. A twisted visage gazed down at him, crimson eyes flaring, flanked by tendrils of smoke.

Howard ran from the room, screaming for mother.

Laughter followed.

Focused on flight, Howard ran the length of the corridor to his mother’s bedroom at the far end, where he would be safe from the monsters.

He surged into the master bedroom shrieking “MUUUM!”

And only then did he take in the scene before him...

His mother lay in a pool of blood on the bed amidst a swarm of flies, her clouded eyes framed by a mouth agape in dead silence.

Screaming in horror, Howard shook her violently, unable to believe. Her head rolled over to face him, spilling a torrent of fat squirming maggots from her lifeless lips.

The walls shook with laughter: a maddening panorama of malice.

“Where’s your mummy now, little boy?”

Howard’s sobbing screams subsided as the room swirled into view. Still shaking his mother, he saw now that she was alive and that he’d only been dreaming. Pre-dawn twilight filtered through the curtains, heralding the arrival of a new day.

He had escaped.

“What’s happened, Howard?” Julie said, instantly awake.

“It’s the nightmares again! They’re real, mum!”

“Oh Howard, they’re not real, they’re just bad dreams! They can’t hurt you. Can’t you see that?”

“BUT THEY ARE REAL! YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND! Every night they come and try and take me! They won’t leave!” Howard began to choke with tears.

“Howard, I’ve had enough of this!” Julie rose from the bed as she grabbed Howard’s wrist. “I’m going to show you just how real these silly little fantasies are.”

Don’t you remember what mummy taught you when she tucked you in and kissed you sweet goodnight?

Monsters weren’t real, they didn’t exist. It’s all in your mind.

Don’t you trust your mother? Why would she lie to you, your own mother?

There are no monsters, Howard.

Believe.

Julie dragged Howard to the doorway of his room and released her grip on him as she pushed open the door...

Howard’s untidy room greeted them, devoid of red glow, torn sheets or animated posters.

“You see.” Julie turned to Howard, keeping her voice down so as not to wake Samantha next-door. “There are no monsters, Howard.” Then slower and more deliberately, “
No monsters.
”

“But, but they were here just a moment ago.”

Julie strode to the clothing cupboard and flung it open, revealing a lifeless interior. “No monsters in here.”

Howard pointed to the wall. “What about the poster?”

“It’s just a poster, Howard!”

Howard persisted. “Look behind it.”

Julie sighed as she lifted the poster from the wall. Only white paint lay underneath. “Nothing there either.”

“What about under the bed? They were there too.”

Julie crouched down and called out under the bed, “Are there any monsters hiding under here?”

Only silence answered.

Julie stood up again, pulling the sheets back to reveal a bare mattress. Satisfied she had scoured the room, she turned back to Howard. “There are no monsters here, Howard, or anywhere else.
They don’t exist.
”

Howard ran into his mother’s arms as tears began to flow once more. Soothing, she stroked his hair and said over and over, “No monsters Howard, no monsters.”

No monsters Howard, no monsters.

No monsters Howard, no monsters.

No monsters Howard, no monsters.

The words became a rhythm, the rhythm became a mantra, a mantra echoing endlessly inside his mind, dispelling the darkness.

No monsters Howard, no monsters.

There were no monsters. It was just a dream, just his imagination, just his mind playing tricks on him.

No monsters Howard, no monsters.

Listen to mummy. She knows best, she knows what’s real and what’s not. Listen to her, her words, her wisdom.

No monsters Howard, no monsters.

Howard began to whisper the words with her now, joining in the chanting game, blindly believing.

No monsters Howard, no monsters.

No monsters Howard, no monsters.

No monsters Howard, no monsters.

With clenched fists, he drove away the voices of the night, purging their memory as if they had never existed. Fantasy and wild imagination were banished to their rightful place.

No monsters Howard, no monsters.

Awareness of the room around him returned and with it, the warm embrace of his mother’s arms, her wide and loving smile drying the tears on his face.

He was safe now.

WEDNESDAY 8:14
AM

Cracking his knuckles, Sergeant Douglas McDougall entered the sound-proofed interrogation room, a bandage around his neck. Brian sat impassively at an empty table, handcuffed behind his back. Constable Robert Harrington stood by the doorway, baton in hand. Douglas and Brian exchanged a steady gaze.

“Good morning, Brian.”

Brian grunted.

Douglas walked to stand before a chair opposite Brian, smiling down at him. “Close the door please, Robert.”

“You’re not even getting your lackey to fetch a syringe this time.” Brian said to Douglas. “Trying to keep up appearances, hey?”

Douglas stepped towards him. “I’m glad you’re handcuffed behind now, Brian.”

Brian didn’t flinch.

“Makes it a lot easier to do this.” Douglas smacked his fist into the side of Brian’s nose. Brian lurched sideways as blood began to trickle down onto his shirt.

Brian coughed and spat bloody phlegm onto the floor next to him. He raised himself to turn to Douglas. “Does it make you feel a man to know that this is the only way you can beat the shit out of me?”

“Does it make you feel a man to know that I’m going to kill you because you won’t cooperate?”

Brian took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I’ll cooperate.”

Douglas raised his eyebrows. “A change of heart, Brian? That’s unlike you.”

“I’ll cooperate providing you set me free and leave me and my family alone. Otherwise no deal.”

“You do everything I say or I
will
kill you. That’s the deal.”

Brian took another deep breath. “Okay.”

Douglas’ face was beaming. “Excellent.”

Rubbing his hands together, Douglas took a few paces away and turned to face Brian. “First of all, let me tell you-”

“First of all, tell me why you’re even bothering to recruit me,” Brian interrupted. “When according to you, it makes no difference?”

“Let’s just say it’s important for operational security.”

Brian snorted, blowing bubbles of blood out of his nostrils. “For the fucking aliens? Or you?”

“You cannot understand how fortunate you are to be given this opportunity.”

“How’s it feel to be their puppet? Always knew you were a spineless sheep looking for a new arse to lick.”

Douglas clenched his teeth and turned to the statuesque Robert. “Robert, pass me that baton, would you?”

Robert robotically passed his baton to Douglas.

“Who else have you got in your arse-licking cult?”