Voices (Whisper Trilogy Book 3) (8 page)

“What’s happening to the picture?”

“I uh, I don’t know. It shouldn’t be doing that. Something’s wrong. The sensors are all over the place.”

Fisher stared at the telemetry screen. The temperature indicator was fluctuating wildly, showing anywhere from minus ten degrees to fifty plus. As he watched, something rolled out of the darkness – an object, or more accurately objects, on the ground ahead. Fisher stared, not sure what to do. Linus brought the GT16 to a halt and turned to Fisher.

“Do you want me to try the spotlights again? Just in case that’s not what it looks like?”

Fisher knew of course that there was no doubting what they were looking at, but nodded anyway, something in him needing to see just how far it went, just how bad it was. Linus activated the light-switch, the picture on screen going dark as the transition was made to the spotlight. As the cavern illuminated, Linus shrieked and threw his chair back.

This time, whatever had been flirting at the edge of the shadows came at them. It was both something and nothing, humanoid but also strangely formless. The GT16 shuddered and tipped onto its side as the thing that attacked it melted away into nothing. Accompanying the assault was a noise that none of them would ever be able to forget. It was almost the sound a lion would make when threatening a rival. A deep growl, filled with malice, charged with so much aggression and anger at the intrusion that Fisher already knew any investigation planned for the catacombs was over. Some things, he decided, were best left alone. The GT16 lay on its side, the image on screen distorted and shaking, but still showing the scene beyond. A split second later, its feed was cut as all power to the unit was lost. They had already seen it though. Fisher recounted grainy photographs from the Second World War, particularly the atrocities undertaken in gas chambers and concentration camps. It was a similar feeling, a similar scale of unimaginable genocide, made more frightening by the attack on the GT16.

“Pack everything up. I want this place sealed off. All doors. All windows,” Fisher ordered, still fighting against the image they’d seen. “I want everyone out of here within the hour.”

Hopkins nodded and left the hotel, the relief on his face clear.

Although the screen now displayed static, Fisher could still see well enough in his mind’s eye what existed in the tunnel.

Bones.

The ground was littered with human bones.

CHAPTER 10

Known as the Romanian Bermuda Triangle, Hoia Baciu Forest covered an area of more than two hundred and fifty hectares. Its bizarre history of paranormal activity, UFO sightings and other unexplained phenomena had made the forest one of the most intriguing and feared locations in Europe. Emma Barrett trudged through the woodland, hands thrust in pockets and head down against the steady drizzle which had been falling for three solid days. Her boots were splattered with mud, and her breath fogged in the chilly air. Although it was mid-morning, the day was dull from the heavy gray cloud cover, which, as miserable as it was, still wasn’t enough to deter her from her journey. Behind her, cheeks flushed from the cold, was Alex Brett. Like her, he was a survivor of the Oakwell massacre, and from it a relationship of mutual need had grown. They leaned on each other when times were tough, helping each other find a way to cope with the events of that awful night. Emma couldn’t help but think of those who had survived, and considered, not for the first time, perhaps the dead were the lucky ones. In the aftermath of the massacre, she had become obsessed with paranormal phenomena. Against the advice of her family, she dived into the subject, doing anything she could to distract herself from the event where she’d lost almost all of her friends in a single night. The more people around her told her that it was a one-off incident, and that she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, the more determined she was to prove otherwise. It had become an obsession which led her to Japan and now Romania in the search for other areas sharing similar traits to the clearing in Oakwell. Using the savings that she’d one day hoped to purchase her first home with, she’d spent more money than she knew she should in order to fund her investigations.

Emma lost her footing, slipping in the wet mud, which pulled her thoughts back to the task at hand. The ground angled downhill now, and she knew they were nearing their destination.

“You see the trees here?” Alex said from behind her.

“Yeah, let’s stop and take some photos.”

She took a moment to catch her breath, ignoring the drizzle as it pattered on her raincoat. The trees ahead of them were abnormal, the trunks growing in mysterious S-shapes, twisting back on themselves before continuing their reach for the sun.

“You see how they’re all like this, exactly the same shape and direction?” she said over her shoulder as she snapped photos from various angles.

“Yeah, it’s especially odd because the same species elsewhere in the woods are fine. You see the charring there?”

“Where?” she asked, lowering the camera.

“There, on the lower branches. Just like the locals said it would be.”

“Oh, yeah, I see it now,” Emma said, leaning closer.

“You think someone did this on purpose?”

“I doubt it,” she mumbled, inspecting the damage. “The locals here are scared of this place. In all fairness, I can see why.”

“Tell me about it, it’s creepy here, it’s just like… like the other place.”

Emma glanced at him. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, it’s just… this is all a bit too familiar, you know?”

“I get where you’re coming from. I appreciate you agreeing to come out here with me. Especially so soon after Oakwell.”

“It was good to get away. Although I’d have preferred sunshine and a beach rather than Romanian rain,” Alex replied, almost forcing a smile. “This place has a weird vibe, don’t you think? It’s heavy… oppressive. It’s a lot like the forest back home.”

“It is. Which is why we’re here. Come on, let’s go on. It should be just a little further ahead.”

The pair moved on, past the misshapen trees and deeper into the forest. Alex was right. There was an atmosphere here that she hadn’t felt since her time back in Oakwell forest. There was the same kind of dark oppression, the heaviness, and a feeling of anxiety that came back all too clearly. The only other place she’d visited that gave off such a skin-crawling sensation was Aokigahara forest in Japan. It was better known as the Suicide Forest, a place where, year on year, people would go to end their lives. Such is the density of the vegetation there, sitting as it does at the base of Mount Fuji, that many of the bodies are never found, while others leave behind photographs of family or loved ones, or tents which had been the location of their last night’s sleep before the owners headed into the trees to find a place to take their leave of the world. Unlike Alex, who had been swamped by the events in Oakwell, Emma had tried to use it in a positive way. She was desperate to understand what they had experienced in Oakwell, and perhaps by understanding, learn to live with it. Convincing her parents to let her go on this and the trip to Japan had been easy, although she hadn’t told them the reason for her wanting to come. She simply explained she needed to get away from the town, away from the memories, and they in turn were happy to oblige. Any guilt she felt for deceiving them was pushed aside by the thought of finding out what had happened and why. She had experienced things that couldn’t be explained by any way she knew, and was determined to discover the truth, no matter how far she had to go.

The land ahead leveled out, and traveling became easier. The darkness between the branches grew lighter, and she spied the break in the trees ahead. Her heart, already working hard from traversing the landscape, started to beat a little bit faster.

“This is it,” she said. “We’re here.”

Alex followed her as she walked into the clearing, her stomach tightening at the similarities between it and the one in Oakwell. It was formed into a rough circle, one which, based on the geography of the place, shouldn’t be there. Nothing grew in the middle apart from a thin, sick-looking covering of yellowish grass. The silence was almost total, and both Emma and Alex were grateful for the steady song of the rain.

“Holy shit, it’s got the same feel…” Alex whispered.

Emma nodded. She scanned the clearing, opening up her senses to take in everything. It was remarkable. She lifted her water bottle, her shaking hands having difficulty unscrewing the cap.

“Let’s get started. We have a lot to do,” she said, forcing herself to venture further into the clearing.

“Do you want me to get some soil samples?”

“Yeah, I’ll take some photos and video, then we can do some EVP work.”

“You really believe in that stuff?” Alex asked.

“EVP?”

“Yeah.”

“Actually, I do. I’ve heard quite a lot of convincing recordings.”

“I’m not sure I buy into it all. Recording the voices of the dead… It all sounds a little bit farfetched to me. Besides, it’s easy to mishear things. Background noise or static can sound like voices if you want it to.”

“Still, I’d rather have the recordings than not.”

“Hey, you’re the boss. I’ll set it up,” Alex said, grateful for the distraction. Emma took another moment to look around, then set to work. She had no intention of staying in the clearing any longer than she needed to.

“You know, when you head back there, I won’t be able to come with you. To Oakwell, I mean,” Alex said.

“I know. I understand. You experienced more than most. I’d never ask you to go back.”

“It’s just too much for me. I hoped that working with you might act like a form of therapy and let me find the strength to do it. Truth is, I’m no less scared now than I was then.”

She paused, looking over her shoulder at him. He had never opened up, never spoken to her or anyone else about what had happened.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s just… I can still feel it, you know? That thing crawling around in my head. I’d like to think it was all a dream, that maybe I imagined some or all of it. Then I remember how it was, how little control I had. I couldn’t put myself through that again.”

“I know how hard it is for you. I wouldn’t ask you to go back there. Have you ever thought about seeing someone about it? A doctor or something?”

“Come on, you know better than that. What would a doctor say? They’d either tell me there was nothing wrong, or they’d put me in a nuthouse and throw away the key.”

“It’s not healthy to keep things like this to yourself. You need an outlet. Someone to talk to. Therapy maybe?”

“I don’t
want
to talk about it. That’s the problem.”

“You know you can talk to me if you need to. I understand. Hell, I’m probably one of the few who does.”

“I appreciate that, although I probably won’t take you up on the offer. To tell you the truth, I was worried you might be angry.”

“Angry? Why would I be?”

“I don’t know,” he said, forcing a grin. “I know how much figuring this out means to you. I thought you’d be disappointed.”

“Not at all. I respect your decision. How about we talk about this later and focus on getting these samples, then we can get out of this rain?”

“That’s one thing I can agree with you on. It’s cold here.”

“Tell me about it.”

They went about their tasks, Emma taking photographs, Alex collecting soil samples.

“Hey, Emma?” he said, looking at her from where he crouched.

“Yeah?”

“Why are you so determined to do this? To go back there after everything that happened?”

“I’ve asked myself that same question. I think it’s something I feel obliged to do. I don’t know if it’ll prove to be a good or a bad thing, but I feel like I don’t have a choice. If I don’t at least try, I’ll regret it.”

“Maybe,” he said, staring off into the distance.

“Anyway, let’s get on with this. I don’t want to be here after dark.”

“I don’t know why we’re even here at all if I’m honest. This link you keep talking about with Oakwell. It’s… flimsy.”

“Look, I just find it interesting. This place is said to be the way it is after fifty local peasants were killed in the forest and their enraged spirits trapped there. I think it’s well worth looking into.”

“But for what?” Alex said. “What can we do?”

“I don’t know,” Emma replied, wishing she had a better answer. “Maybe I can find some common link – something that ties them together.”

“The problem is, we’re not looking for something physical. Shit, Emma, I don’t have to tell you. After all, you were there too. What do you expect to find?”

“Who knows? Either way, it’s getting late. We can talk it over later when we’re back at base camp.”

“What I wouldn’t give for a hot bath and a soft bed,” Alex said with a sigh, casting a frown to the grey, rain-filled skies.

“Quicker we get on, quicker we can get back.”

“Yeah, I suppose so.”

“Besides,” Emma said, trying to lighten the mood. “Next time, you can pick where we go.”

Alex didn’t answer, a frown crossing his face, and he wondered if he should tell her that this would be his last trip with her. He decided against it, only because it didn’t seem right. He set about collecting his soil samples as the rain continued to fall.