The Gates: An Apocalyptic Novel (13 page)

Rick was glad he and his
brother hadn’t got a taxi and travelled to drink somewhere further afield, for
they were able to reach his home within ten minutes, and just as night fell.
Keith led the group as if it were his own house they were going to, but Rick
had no inclination to complain. After the losses at The Warren, their group now
consisted of just him, Keith, Steve, Diane, and Maddy, but when they reached
the thick iron gate that protected his property, they discovered a new
survivor.

“What are you doing outside my house?” Rick asked
the man. The blond stranger—perhaps about thirty—wore a black t-shirt tucked
into jeans and was smoking a cigarette. His heavy work boots made him look like
an extra out of
Grease.

“Wow, this your gaff? Nice. I’ve been rattling
away at the gate for the last ten minutes. Never considered you might be out.”

“You weren’t rattling the gate just now,” Rick
commented. “You were just hanging around.”

The stranger waved his lit cigarette. “Fag break,
mate. Try’na batter down an old iron gate is tiring work. ‘Specially after gettin’
chased by demons.”

Keith held up his iron poker and seemed to examine
the dark red blood staining it. “You think they’re demons?”

“I
know
they’re demons.”

“How?”

“Believe it or not, I once studied to be a priest.
Eventually, I was put off by all those rules they expected me to follow, but I
learned a few things.” He looked at Maddy and winked. “Those things are demons
though, you can bet your hats. I’m happy to tell you fine folks all about it,
but I would much rather do it inside this fine mansion, and not out where we
might get eaten.”

There was something about the guy that Rick didn’t
like—he was too casual—but he couldn’t turn a person away with so much danger
going on. They would have to keep an eye on him. It wasn’t like they didn’t
outnumber him.

Rick pulled out his keyring and located the little
key that connected to the modern padlock he’d installed on the gate. Before he
let everybody in, though, he turned to the stranger and asked for a name.

“Daniel,” came the reply. “And very pleased I am to
meet you all.”

“Nice to meet you too, Daniel. I’m Rick. This is my
brother, Keith… Steve, Maddy, and Diane. We’re pretty much strangers, but we’re
bonding quickly. If you want to stay with us then behave yourself.”

“Yeah, of course, pal.”

They crunched up the driveway while Rick closed
and locked the gate behind them, before racing ahead to open up the front door.
The alarm beeped, and everyone had to wait in the porch while he disarmed it,
but then he invited them all into the lounge where they all sat down—exhausted.
It had been a long time since he’d hosted guests, and it made him feel anxious—strange
considering the day he was having. It shouldn’t have been important.

“I’ll get everyone drinks,” said Rick.

“Just water for me,” said Diane.

“Me too,” said Steven.

“I think we should stick to the water,” said
Keith, although his pained expression made it seem that he wanted a drink as
much as Rick. He really had got a taste for it tonight, hadn’t he, but unlike Rick,
he had the willpower to say no. It upset Rick to realise that he was more like
his father than Keith. Perhaps that was why they had always clashed so badly.

“Suit yourself,” said Rick, “but I’m having a
beer.”

He made them all drinks and brought them over on a
tray. A silence descended, and everybody’s gaze fell on the newcomer, Daniel.

“You’re all looking at me like I farted,” he said.

“We want to know why you’re so sure those things
attacking us are demons,” said Maddy. She had unzipped the top half of her
jumpsuit and let it drop around her waist, revealing a tight black vest and
well-toned arms. Everyone appeared hot and sweaty, so Rick got up and switched
on the ceiling fan while they continued talking.

“When I was studying to be a Roman Catholic
priest,” Daniel began, “I spent a little time at the Vatican. There were some
interesting books there, I don’t mind telling you—many of which were strictly
off-limits. But, even back then, I was a bit of a shit, so one night, me and
some of the other novices got hold of a book all about Lucifer and the Fallen
Angels. You know the story: Lucifer refused to bow down to mankind and went to
war against God in Heaven. Got his arse handed to him and was cast down with
the other rebel angels, yada, yada, yada. Well, this book was all about what
happened
afterwards
. Lucifer set up a kingdom of his own and named it
Abysseus.
The Abyss.”

“Hell?” said Diane.

“Yeah, darlin’. Hell is exactly what it is. Anyway,
God, in all his glory, protected the Earth from this kingdom of Abysseus by
creating six thousand Heavenly Seals. Each one protecting a spot where Hell
encroached upon the Earth. You see, Heaven and Hell are both tethered to the Earth,
a bit like the ropes on a hot air balloon. Heaven is the balloon, it keeps everything
afloat. Earth is the basket, it gives us all something to stand on. But
hitching a ride on the bottom is Hell. Hell is the ballast; it drags everything
down, and drains away all the effort Heaven puts into keeping us all afloat. If
Hell gains too much influence, we all go down, you understand? Anyway, to keep
everything nice and separate, God created the six thousand seals.”

Rick’s eyes narrowed. “The black stones are the seals?”

“Yep, them stones are the six thousand seals the
book mentioned. Each one protecting a gateway between Hell and Earth. If Hell gains
dominion over the Earth, that’s a whole lot of extra ballast dragging down
Heaven. Maybe that’s what this is all about: Another shot at ending God’s
kingdom. But, hey, this was all stuff I read in a book one time. Make of it
what you will.”

Rick put his beer down and leaned forward. “If the
stones were put there by God, why have they opened and allowed Hell to come to
Earth?”

“Dunno.”

Rick grunted. “You don’t know?”

“Hey, you’re asking me to speculate based on a
dusty old tome I read as a teenager. My guess would be sabotage opened the
gates. Nothing in Hell can affect the seals, so someone on Earth must have had
something to do with it. Or maybe God was so pissed off that he summoned the
seals and switched them all off himself. Like I said, I dunno.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “We don’t have any reason
to believe your story over any other.”

Daniel shrugged. “Nope, you don’t. The only thing
we need to agree on is that them things are dangerous. We should stick together
and hope for the best.”

“Good plan,” said Keith morosely.

Daniel threw his arms in the air. “It’s the best I
got, pal.”

“We should barricade this place,” said Maddy
seriously.

Diane nodded. “Yeah, we should totally do that,
like in the black and white zombie movies. We should hammer boards over the
windows.”

Rick frowned. “This isn’t a zombie movie, Diane. Do
you have any boards on you?”

“In the films, they used doors.”

Rick looked around the open-plan living room and
frowned again. “It’s all open down here. There’s a door on the office and the
rooms upstairs, but… Well, I suppose we might be able to work something out.”

“What about that big garage you have out there?”
asked Keith.

Rick flinched. “No, there’s nothing in there.”

“Probably worth checking out though,” said Steven.

“No.”

Maddy stared at him. “Come on, Rick. We need to
find whatever we can. Where’s the harm?”

Rick tried to find argument, but couldn’t. “Fine,”
he said. “I’ll open it.” He stood up and looked at them. “Well, come on then.”

They all got up and headed outside and around to
the side of the house. The double garage sat beside the property but had rarely
been used to park a car. Its main use was as a junk storage shed, and when Rick
opened it, he felt his cheeks glow. He knew Keith would be the first to comment,
and he wasn’t disappointed.

“Are these all your albums, Rick? Oh dear.”

Rick looked down at the boxes upon boxes of unsold
music albums and cringed. “I’ve told you before that my record label went bust
while I was still in contract with them. This is all the stock from their
warehouse. They were just going to chuck it.”

Keith sniggered. “And you thought it would be
better keeping it in your garage?”

“I didn’t know I’d never get another record deal. I
assumed I’d sign a new contract and sell this stuff on as signed copies or
something.”

Maddy studied his face. “Wait… That’s how I know
you. You’re that Rick Bastion guy.”

Keith chuckled. “His real surname is Monroe.”

Rick shot him a glare. “No, it’s not. I changed
it.”

“Shouldn’t have bothered.”

“I think it’s cool,” said Diane. “You were really
a pop star, Rick?”

He smiled. “Yeah, for about five minutes.”

“I have to admit,” said Maddy, picking up one of
the albums and studying it. “I liked that song.”

Steve laughed. “Can’t say that I did, but it’s
still impressive. Well done.”

Keith bristled and looked at Daniel. “Were you a fan
of Cross
to Bear, Daniel?”

“Never heard it. Sorry.”

“Oh come on,” said Maddy. “You must have heard it.
My love for you is just a cross to beeear
!”

Daniel looked nonplussed.

Rick patted him on the back. “Always glad to meet
a non-fan—truly. Anyway, I told you there was nothing in here. I wasn’t lying.
Unless you think we can pay the demons off with signed copies of my albums.”

“I think not,” said Keith.

Maddy ran her fingers over the surface of the
album and kept glancing between it and Rick. The sight of his pink hair and
leather jacket made him cringe. “Could you please put that down,” he begged
her.

She smiled and tossed it back into the box.
“Sorry.”

Steven slipped inside the garage and looked around.
“You have a few tools in here, Rick. That nail gun could be handy. The
stepladder too.”

“Take whatever you want. We should start getting
the doors off to use as barricades. I think there’s a tool kit in here
somewhere.”

“Where are your keys, Rick?” asked Keith. “I’ll park
our cars up against the gate; stop anything barging through.”

Rick reached into his pocket and handed them over.
“Good idea. The iron fence goes all the way around, so it should hold, but the
gate is rickety and only held with a padlock.”

“Can I borrow your phone, too?”

“Yeah, of course. You want to call Marcy?”

“I’m thinking she isn’t answering because it’s my
number coming up—or perhaps I’m hoping that’s the reason. Anyway, it’s worth a
try.”

Rick offered his phone. “Take it. Keep trying
her.”

Steven started yanking stuff out from the back of
the garage and piling it out front. In short order, he had added a hammer, a
toolkit, and a garden shovel to the nail gun and ladder. It wasn’t much, but it
wasn’t nothing either. Keith got the cars moved, parked them side by side in
front of the gate. Next on the list was getting the bedroom doors off and nailing
them against the ground-floor windows. For that job, they all worked together.

“So, Rick,” Daniel said to him as they propped a
door in front of the office window. “What’s the deal with your brother? He’s
not really the supportive type, is he?”

“You could put it like that.”

“Why does he give you so much grief?”

“Don’t ask me. I never got on with my dad, but Keith
was joined at the hip to him. I think he took over where my old man left off,
criticising me all the time. Keith hated when I got a recording contract. Dad
had groomed him to be this great businessman, but I went and leapfrogged him by
making a couple mil overnight. I can’t be certain, but I think he even went so
far as setting up a fake account and leaving my albums bad reviews online.”

“Yikes, that’s a little…” he looked at the door
they were holding, “
unhinged.
”

Rick shrugged. “Can’t pick your family, I guess.”

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is
born for adversity.”

Rick held a nail in place and prepared to strike
it with the hammer. “What’s that?”

“Proverbs 17:17. Priest school, remember? I can’t
believe I still remember that stuff.”

“You really visited the Vatican? What’s it like?”

He shrugged. “A bit religious for my liking. Nice
buildings though.”

They shared a laugh, and before long, they had the
door nailed across the window and were off to the next task. Steve was busy in
the living room while Maddy and Diane were in the kitchen making phone calls
and trying to get help. They got through a couple of times, but only ever
received bad news. The police were tied up, and the Army were concentrated
around major cities. Nobody would come rescue a few people in a mansion on the
edge of nowheresville. The call operators had started to be quite blunt about
that. So Maddy and Diane had switched tact and were now focused on trying to
find out what was happening in the country. Rick had loaned them his laptop to
aid their research. Maddy had already managed to contact an uncle in Leeds who
claimed everything was okay, and Diane had spoken with her mother hiding out at
her home in Exeter. People still lived, so perhaps things weren’t so bad.

Keith was in the hallway making calls of his own.
It was obvious from his expression that Marcy still wasn’t answering. Rick felt
for him. Not knowing if his wife and son were okay must have been torture. Once
again, it made Rick wonder why his brother was there.

A beeping sound brought everyone into the entrance
hallway. Rick knew it was the security system, and he went to the control panel
on the wall. The video feed had switched on, activated by the proximity sensors
on the gate. The security floodlight bathed the driveway in a spooky
yellow-green glow.