The Sands of Borrowed Time (37 page)

“Oh, they were going north,” he answered, “like me.” It's what they said that inspired me to do the same.”

“North?” Patricia asked.

“Yes?”

“You know exactly where in the North, Daniel?” she asked, putting her hand on his arm again.  There was anxiousness mixed with a strange joy in her face, he thought.

He shook his head, “Sorry,” he shrugged, “we went our separate ways.”

“Kyla,” she whispered as she stared out into the storm.

              Lightning flashed across the sky, behind the car, illuminating the windscreen and turning it into a flickering mirror.  His jaw dropped, a cold shiver running down his spine as he saw the reflection of Patricia’s face, clear as day before him.  He looked into her eyes; one green and one blue, staring joyously back at him.

Then There Were Two

It was a moonless night as they walked through the forest in search of food.  It felt that the darkness had a secret to tell.  The ground was damp with autumnal leaves that had freshly fallen onto a layer of thick, dusty snow from the day's storm.  It was eerily silent apart from the sound of the leaves squelching into the snow under their feet.  The air was still but cold on their faces and harsh on their lungs, all three aware of the sound of their laboured breathing as they inhaled the damp air.

“How are we supposed to catch anything?” Demelza whispered.  “I can’t see fuck all.”

“Why are you whispering?” Hayley replied, also whispering.

“The same reason you’re whispering.”

“And what reason is that?”  Demelza put her finger to her mouth, signalling the others to be quiet.

“I don’t know why you’re doing that, I can barely see you,” Hayley complained, not whispering anymore.

“Jesus!” Demelza exclaimed as something ran over her foot, scuttling noisily off through the undergrowth.

“Jesus, indeed!” Kyla added startled, listening to whatever was bolting from them, standing still with fear.

“Just a mouse,” Hayley giggled.

“And how do you know that?” Demelza asked, still catching her breath.

“I’ve just switched on one of my superpowers,” Hayley joked.

“Which one?” Demelza asked drolly.

“Night vision.”

“Ok then,” Demelza added, “you lead the hunting party,” pushing Hayley to the front of them unapologetically.

“No, you go first, Demelza; find us some tasty morsels to eat as I am on my last legs for sure,” Hayley said, grabbing Demelza by the arm and pushing her to the front.  Demelza looked through the trees, wishing she had kept her mouth shut, straining to see through the grainy darkness, the trees looking strange and somehow alive as their dark branches searched outwards into the suspicious shadows.  She thought how strained their friendships had become lately.  The cottage and the caves were a godsend, but without adequate food, their tolerance of each other was quickly deteriorating.

Are we losing our humanity; little by little, day by day,
she
pondered.
We’re just like the animals now; no time for contemplation, just unadorned reality staring us in the face, waking us from our comfortable slumber into the terrifying arena of the wilderness. 
She suddenly jumped as Kyla grabbed her by the shoulder.

“Anything out there my beautiful scout?” Kyla asked. 

Demelza huffed as she shook her head, “Don’t ask that,” she complained, “as I have already pointed out, I cannot see fuck all in this darkness, unlike some.”

  Hayley giggled, “Ok, ok, but seriously we need to find something fast.  “I am, in the words of a poor orphaned child, fucking starving; so is there anything out there, Demelza?”

“We're all in the same damn boat!” Demelza cried out.  No one said anything further to Demelza's sudden outburst. 
They must be as tired as me
, Demelza thought. 
Too tired to be civil, too tired to argue.  Jesus, it takes so much energy just to be nice, never mind horrible!

The trees got denser as they continued deeper into the forest, the darkness more foreboding, eating into their quickly dwindling hopes.  There was a quick muffled cry and the sound of breaking branches.  Kyla gasped, trying not to scream as she felt a hand viciously clamp over her mouth. She winced as something sharp entered her thigh, losing consciousness almost immediately.

“What! What was that?” Demelza asked, panting fitfully with fear, looking around frantically in all directions.  Hayley stood frozen, staring into the forest as she caught a fleeting glimpse of Kyla's legs being dragged through the fallen leaves and into the darkness between the trees.  Hayley held her hand over her mouth, her face contorting as she felt waves of horror coldly shiver down her body.  Demelza grabbed Hayley's shoulders, shaking them.

“Tell me; what the fuck was that?  Where’s Kyla?” Demelza demanded.

“I don’t know,” Hayley spluttered back as she dribbled saliva onto her hand.  They could hear rustling ahead of them, until that to faded away into the shadowy distance.  Then there was complete silence, except for the sound of their own terrified heartbeats.

“What shall we do?” Demelza finally asked, looking around full circle, paranoid to the point of totality, her mind breaking down.

“Dial 911 and ask what, why and how?” Hayley replied, sounding dazed.  This time, Hayley shook Demelza’s shoulders, a lot more vigorously than she had done to her.  She moved her face closer to Demelza’s, seeing her large black pupils dilated as far as they could go, reflecting the grimness of the forest.  She shook her again.

“Don’t do that!” Demelza protested, throwing off Hayley's hands.  Hayley huffed and began to walk forward, towards where Kyla was taken.

“Is this a good idea?” I mean…” Demelza began, before breaking off, her mouth trembling too much to continue.  Hayley continued walking through the trees, seeing the smooth snaking trail that Kyla's body had left in the carpet of leaves.  She turned, grabbing Demelza’s hand, feeling it shake in her trembling hands.

“We must do something.  Kyla our friend. Where did she go?” Demelza stammered.

“Who took her, you mean?” Hayley added.

“Taken?” Demelza simply said in a slow whisper, Hayley unsure whether Demelza was replying or just talking to herself.  As they walked further, they could see a glimmer of light in the distance through the dense branches.  They watched in silence as its orange hue flickered.  Demelza looked around, still paranoid with fear that there were others.  She could feel her cold, clammy hand on Hayley's as they gripped each other tightly.  She let go, silently ashamed as she dried her hands on her own skirt, only to tightly hold her hand again for comfort.

“Can't be too far away,” Hayley whispered.

“Maybe there's more, like a gang,” Demelza whispered back.

“Something is not right, though,” Hayley replied, “Something fucking weird is going on.”

“It's off the Richter scale,” Demelza agreed.  “That was too quick, too clean, and too damn good an abduction.” 

Hayley nodded, “It couldn't have been human what took her.” Demelza turned to look at Hayley, Hayley feeling her stare.  “I mean in its execution, dragging away Kyla like that.  She was gone in a flash,” Hayley continued.  Demelza dared to comment, knowing too well what Hayley meant, too scared to pursue the idea.

“Probably just a wild animal,” Hayley finally said, knowing it wasn’t.

“She's gone isn’t she,” Demelza suddenly cried out, almost hysterical.

“Calm down,” Hayley said. “We need to stay on top of ourselves, remain alert.”

“Remain alert.”

“Just in case.”

“Just in case?”  There was a sudden rustle behind them, both girls too scared to scream or turn their heads.  Then silence, apart from the deafening sound of blood pumping through their heads in tune with pulsating, dark blotches before their eyes.  It seemed like an eternity passed before they heard the rustle again.  Whatever it was, it wasn’t a mouse, this time, something much bigger.  Demelza looked over her shoulders, convinced she saw a shadowy figure through the trees behind them, then doubting herself immediately, not able to trust her frozen, paranoid mind.  She tapped on Hayley's shoulder, pointing behind them, Hayley turning her fearful face to confront God knows what.  Their breathing deepened as they searched through the trees and branches, their throats parched with fear.  There was nothing.

“Sorry,” Demelza said, “I thought I saw something.”  No sooner had she said that she turned to look forward again.  Hayley suddenly screamed, and the crows cawed, fluttering frantically as they scarpered upwards hysterically through the tree branches.  She gazed with horror into piercing, blue eyes, the face so close her skin tingled with the anticipation of it touching hers.
 
Her feet slipped a little as she quickly turned on the sodden ground, pulling hard on Demelza's skirt, feeling the full weight of her frozen fear until she too turned to run, running as hard as they could, blindly through the trees from whence they came, already shattered and hungry, looking for the last they had in them, perhaps their final chance for life.

Epilogue

“You’re quite a catch, Kyla,” the plump man with glasses said as she looked up at him drowsily, unable to move on the bed.  She noticed his hair was ruffled as he came into focus like he couldn't do anything with it, not minding to leave it looking wild and unkempt.  “We have been watching you for some time,” he continued as he shone a light into each eye, checking for a pupil reflex, smiling each time when he saw them constrict.  “Beautiful eyes,” he mumbled to himself. “The blues of the ocean in one, and the greens of the forests in the other.”  He looked at them for a while, mesmerised before walking over to a bench, grabbing a syringe and needle.  “We have been watching you longer than you could care to imagine, since you were a child, in fact, that day when you, I guess,
lost
your mum, across the hills, far, far, away.” He coughed a little, and his face flushed as if he was embarrassed to have mentioned it.  “We sent Cain and his, well, female friend to rescue you as I’m sure you remember.  I do apologise for her, but he insisted on having her.  No one is perfect I guess, especially in tough times like these, not that it matters anymore.”  He rubbed his nose as if he was about to sneeze but nothing came.  “You have quite a story to tell about yourself, about your friends, and those that are not, but it seems you have a story to tell about us as well.  I wouldn’t worry, though, you will forget that soon enough, and you will be back to your normal self, trusting what you want to believe as you go through your life like all the others.”  He looked back at her and sighed.  “Only the hooded man knows the other half of the truth.  That ship holds a terrible secret, and we must catch him as we did you.”  He coughed a little again, his cheeks burning red.  “I don't believe you've met him?  Anyway, he’s a slippery little bugger.  We did almost get him once, you know.”  He frowned, clenching his fist tightly.  “Apparently, that's why he hides his face under that hood of his.  They tell me he’s found an interest in oil.  Might make for an interesting sideshow for you lot, at least, as it's always been.”  The man attached the needle to the syringe and carefully broke through the rubber seal of a small vial with it, gently pulling up some liquid into its barrel before continuing.  “It's all a bit of a mess to be frankly honest; unforeseen hitches if you like,” he rambled on as he walked back over to her.  He sat down next to her, looking a little apprehensive.  “These things happen, although I’m told they should not.  It's all for the best we believe to rectify such matters. Otherwise, it will all fall apart.”  She looked up with dread as the man primed the needle, gently pushing the plunger of its syringe, a small amount of liquid spraying high into the air from its sharp, metallic tip.  She wanted to scream, hearing it only in her mind, unable to open her mouth as she felt the man lift her arm, the needle entering a vein effortlessly with a little jolt.  She tried to flinch from the pain, but she couldn’t move, not one muscle.

“I do apologise,” the man said, his face cringing as if he felt the pain himself.  “That was a bit naughty, I know, but I assure you it's for your own good.”  Her heart began to beat faster and faster as the drug flowed through her veins, her clothes starting to feel damp as she began to sweat.  “We would like you to continue your story, the history of the World will be far more fascinating with you in it, without doubt.”  The man smiled again, looking down into her eyes.  It was a warm and genuine smile, she felt.  “I must say, though, and I do mean it, it has really been a great honour to meet you.  You're a special girl, and I wish you all the best of luck on your tough but crucial journey through life.  I wish I could be out there with you, cheering you on,” he said waving his fist.  He looked into her eyes one last time, his face guilt ridden.  His chest slowly rose before he gave out a deep sigh, “We had to create a few bogeymen just to keep you away from the real ones.”  He stood up and smiled again, like he really meant it, looking like a cherub with his round, chubby face.  He gave her a friendly pat on her side before walking away towards the door.  He looked back over his shoulder as he grabbed the door handle, looking at her one last time as his smile faded to a look of concern. He turned away and switched off the light, the sound of the door opening in the darkness.  She heard the door swing shut behind him with a hollow thud.  She felt a sudden wave of nausea as a key turned in the lock.  Then there was nothing.