Authors: Unknown Author
Untitled (37 page)
"He can't," stated Samantha.
"What makes you so sure?" asked Harrison.
"Two reasons," she replied. "Since you opened his eyes he no longer has control over them. You have severed the link between man and beast."
"And secondly?" queried Harrison.
"If he does then you'll kill him," she said, seemingly pulling another blade out of thin air and offering it to Harrison.
"I do not fear death," exclaimed Chappell.
"You should," sneered Megan before turning away and making her way down towards the growing moans of the Slavis.
Samantha followed close behind, already having magicked another two blades into her hands. Harrison came next, keeping the lead tight and forcing Chappell to walk in a hunched position. Kaci brought up the rear.
The air around them felt strange, a fresh breeze coming in at their back, cooling the sweat on their necks. This was counteracted by the warm, foetid air that swam up to greet them, caressing them with the greasy promise of death.
The deeper they travelled the more hazardous the ground became
underfoot. The sandstone had began to crumble, weakened by the blood that had already been spilled. The gruel of body waste also covered the walls, a slick coating speckled with shredded flesh and shards of bone.
Harrison paused, running the tip of his knife through the gore. He inspected the residue left on the blade, recoiling from the smell.
"Fresh, wouldn't you say?" Chappell smiled.
Harrison snatched the collar sharply, cutting off Chappell's airway. He pulled the Doctor close and then pushed him into the wall, smearing his face into the human remains and pressing the blade against his neck.
"I said I wouldn't warn you again." Harrison pushed forward, causing Chappell to hiss as the blade broke the skin.
"Wait!" Chappell croaked.
"For what?"
"Guard the child!" came the shout from deeper within the ground.
"For that." As the screaming started Chappell smiled.
Samantha didn't wait for the others and set off at run, pulling open her robe in readiness for the upcoming fight. Megan and Kaci did their best to keep pace with the older woman, but she left them behind without losing breath.
Harrison was with Chappell, the Doctor refusing to move at anything more than a slow walk.
"Move," growled Harrison.
"I think not, Mr Policeman." Chappell pulled against the lead.
"You don't have a say in the matter." Harrison spun on Chappell and
slammed a fist into his stomach.
"You should be thanking me," coughed Chappell, bending double. "Not beating me."
"And why's that?" Harrison yanked up on the lead viscously.
"Because that could be you screaming right now," Chappell replied. "I just saved your life."
"Fuck you," snarled Harrison, this time bringing his fist up into Chappell's jaw. One punch became several and Harrison kept beating until the Doctor slumped to his knees, his face a bloodied pulp.
Harrison struggled to drag an unconscious Chappell to his feet and was almost out of breath as he hoisted the limp torso across his shoulders. Tiredness hit him and he suddenly found himself considering the option of failure, of just sitting down and waiting for it all to be over.
"Harrison!" The sound of Kaci shouting his name pushed through the haze of exhaustion and he started downwards.
forty Two
Samantha lead the way, forging ahead as Megan and Kaci did their best to keep up with her, moving deeper with each step, closer to the chanting from below. As the hushed prayers grew clearer the darkness appeared to be pushed back by a dull, flickering light that cast bizarre shadows up the ancient stone.
"What is that stench?" Kaci panted the question, screwing her nose up against the foul aroma that hung around them like a thick cloud.
"It is them." Samantha had come to a stop on the next landing and held her hand up as a signal for them to stop and then slowly pointed at the congregation of Slavis blocking their way.
"Oh shit," Megan gasped, grabbing Kaci by the arm and holding her back, before turning back to warn Harrison of the new discovery only to find no sign of him.
"Where's Harrison?" Megan whispered, terrified of attracting the attention of the Slavis.
The creatures hadn't noticed them, they seemed transfixed by the chanting. They made no attempt to move forward, but shuffled around as if agitated, hissing and growling unintelligible curses.
"What the hell are they doing?" whispered Kaci, watching the human like demons against the dim light from below.
"They're waiting," Samantha replied.
"What for?" Megan asked.
"For me!" announced Chappell as Harrison threw him from his shoulder and pushed him forward.
The Slavis heard his voice and turned away from the chanting that had held them in its spell, recognising his voice and sensing the offer of fresh meat.
"My children," Chappell cheered just before Harrison punched him a crushing blow to the kidneys.
"Your children?" snarled the lead Slavis form a jaw that protruded too far from its pustule covered face. "Your hold over us is weak and grows weaker with each sacrifice we take." The Slavis ran a forked tongue over its upper lip, tasting the blood that seeped like oil from the cracked flesh. "We shall feed on you and grow stronger."
"Yes," Chappell sighed. "You see what treats I bring you."
"The servant of Christ will make an unusual addition to our being." The creatures moved forward as a whole, a hive conciseness. "And we shall savour the first born like no other."
"And then I shall join you," Chappell cried. "Take my rightful place at your side."
"You shall not join us," barked The Slavis in unison. "You shall be no more than food, your empty shell a receptacle for our defecation." They glared at Chappell, the black mist within their eye sockets boiling with anger.
"No!" wailed Chappell. "You can't do this to me. I opened the door. I broke the seal and offered you freedom."
"You won't live to regret it." The creature's animalistic laughter filled the confines of the stairway.
Chappell looked from the Slavis to Megan and then to Harrison, a look of fear creeping over his scared features. "You've got to untie me."
"Not a fucking chance," snarled Harrison, pulling tight on the rubber lead tied around the Doctor's neck.
Samantha took on a defensive stance, but still stepped backwards, doing her best to keep a safe distance between herself and the Slavis. If and when the creatures attacked she wanted the room to retaliate.
"Set him loose," ordered Samantha without looking over her shoulder.
"Are you mad?" Harrison snapped.
"I'd do as the lady says," goaded Chappell. "You're going to need me."
"Untie him now!" Samantha raised her voice.
"We can't trust him," argued Harrison.
"We don't have to," Samantha threw back. "But if he wants to live he'll fight with us."
"She's making sense," added Chappell, holding up his bound hands.
"Shit," Megan cursed, turning around and slicing through the tubing at Chappell's wrists.
"Thank you, Megan," said Chappell, flexing his fingers and then glaring briefly at Harrison.
"You fuck around and I'll kill you where you stand," warned Megan.
"You'll need this." Samantha held out a knife to Chappell and he took it, weighing it up with a grin.
"Sharp steel won't save you here," hissed the Slavis, surging forward with hatred on their blind faces.
Forty Three
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