Beneath the Flesh: They kept all the demons out … except one (9 page)

Luke first of all insisted that they go through the door away from the dogs and and lock it behind them, then that Jess reload her pistol. “Better spend time on it now than when a demon comes along,” he said.

When that was done, they found another way back to the main corridor, and from there jogged across the hospital to the front gate. They encountered no resistance on the way. They headed out back into Bridgham, and took the road they'd come down originally. Like they'd hoped, it was free of dogs.

On the way, Jess explained her ideas:

“It's what I said before. The demons are more than just killing machines. They have special behaviours, right? They interact with each other. They even look after each other, sometimes.”

“And I bet you have a theory why the monster in the hospital wasn't doing that?”

“Yeah. I think he was ... broken. He didn't look like a normal runner, did he? I mean, okay, so runners look like all sorts of things, but have you ever seen one with a totally human face?”

“I don't know if that proves anything.”

“Not by itself. Suppose when they used the demon blood on him, it didn't work properly. He stopped halfway, or the process didn't work. That's why he was growing all those arms, see? He was still trying to transform. Then when I came along … I think my parasite sensed something. And it could talk to the dogs somehow … that's why they came to help, and that's why they didn't attack me.”

“So you're, what, a friend to all demons now?”

“No fucking way! I want them gone as much as you do, but ”

“Okay, but two questions. Why didn't the dogs do that by themselves?”

“I don't know. Maybe the thing inside me is a special caste or something. Like a communicator, or a commander, or something.”

“Alright … and why did the dogs only help today? Why did they attack us yesterday?”

“I don't know,” said Jess. Her thoughts went to the egg still hiding on the cart she was pushing. “Maybe it only woke up properly once we got close enough to the temple. That's why it hurt when we arrived.”

They passed the dip in the road, where the empty bus lay on its side, a windowless husk, beside the two crashed cars. This is where the dogs had been waiting. The timing was right, she thought. If they felt her the moment she touched the egg and set off straight away, they would've reached the hospital around the time she and Luke had been chased by the demon.

They headed uphill. To her right was a door she recognised. Maybe ten metres in front of was the trolley they'd abandoned, lying on its side. Eric's apartment. His body inside, at last put to rest after two years of not-life. She nearly stopped, and had to force herself to keep going. Eric … was that the price for her powers?

She looked at the medical equipment. Well, if it was, at least she'd go out knowing she'd helped, she hadn't just been some pathetic victim of circumstance. Now she just needed to get back to Paradise Compound with the equipment, hand it over to Patel.

Along with egg. Because maybe, just maybe, that would work.

As they reached the end of the road and turned right, she checked her watch. Four minutes until departure time. The van would already be waiting. It was going to be a close call.

They turned right again, onto the giant, empty plaza, with all it's detritus scattered about. They were going to make it. Just minute or so more.

Before they were halfway across the plaza, something moved. The giant mass of mould they'd seen before. It rose up into a standing position and moved startling the fast, almost gliding. Definitely human – its arms were outstretched, and there were the pale remains of a face that had pressed against the could concrete.

By the time Luke had raised his gun, it was nearly upon them. Or , rather, Jess realised, it was nearly upon
her
.

In an instant, she made a calculation and a choice. Even if it died right now, it would still slide into her. Cart going over. Medical equipment spilling, Not enough time to get it all. Luke insisting they only take “the essentials” – the stuff to help her.

She she chose to give the cart one final push, then let it go, and let herself barrel at the demon. Just as she reached it, Luke's pistol rang out, echoing, hitting nothing.

The demon reached her, grabbed at her arm. They fell over together as it tugged at her sleeve. Hard concrete thumped into her back. Still holding her sleeve, the demon rolled over her. The sleeve ripped. Another shot rang out, and part of its pale face burst open.

Jess pulled away and tried to get her own pistol out. Before she could do so, another two shots rang out. The demon collapsed on the ground, once again nothing but a dead lump of mould.

She pulled herself up into a sitting position and looked around. Her back was  stinging from the fall, but that was nothing. The cart had rolled safely to a halt a couple of metres away. Luke was approaching it slowly, pistol still ready. She suppose that was a good idea, and kept hers out as she stood. But it didn't move.

Then she realised her sleeve was torn. Her right arm was exposed, all the holes out in the open.

That's what the demon must have been grabbing at.

But there was no time to worry about that! The van. She checked her watch. Two minutes, maybe less. She ran over to the cart and started pushing without explanation.

“Your arm!” Luke said, catching up. “You need to cover it.”

“What I need is to get this stuff to the van on time.”

They were across the plaza. She slowed at the ramp, so the cart wouldn't get out of control. Luke moved beside her where the damage to her sleeve might be less visible. She didn't think it would work.

They passed out onto the road. There was the van! Waiting for them, with less than a minute to go.

Richard was there, standing in the van with the rear door open. When he saw them, he slipped the ramp down. Then he looked again, at Jess's sleeve. He jumped out and ran over to them.

“Here,” he called, gesturing at the cart. “Let me take that.”

Jess gave it to him. With her hands free, she could stand beside Luke more easily to obscure her jacket arm from view.

Richard pushed the cart up the ramp into the van. Jess and Luke followed, and seeing there was no-one in the back, Luke pulled the ramp up and closed the doors.

“Ready?” called one of the drivers from the front.

“Ready!” called Richard. The engine, already idling, roared into life, and the van started forward. He turned back to Luke and Jess. “See, I said you'd make it,” he said, shrugging his jacket off. “Get everything?”

“Yeah,” said Jess. She looked over at all the equipment, seeing in it her own accomplishment, and perhaps, just perhaps, her hope for survival. “We did.”

Richard handed the jacket to her. “Better swap,” he said. “Avoid any questions. I can make up something about what happened to me.”

Jess held the jacket, stared up at him, then at the holes in her arm. She felt herself giving a genuine smile. “Thank you,” she said.

The van drove onwards.

Richard sat by the window, looking out at the evening sky. He held a glass of wine – one which before the fall would've sold cheaply, but here was a rare treat.

“Hard to believe they actually did it,” said Alice.

He nodded and murmured assent.

“And everything went well at Foxglove?”

He looked over at her. “I don't know. They're not feeling very friendly, I can tell you that. We might run into problems with them later.”

Alice sighed.

Richard sat back and sipped at his wine. Foxglove Compound interested him less than what he'd run into between Luke and Jess. It had been obvious from the start that they had been hiding something – but he could never had known it would be this interesting.

And he was now a trusted – or nearly trusted – confidante.

They'd keep him more entertained than he had been in months. He took another drink of his wine and considered his next move.

*

“Well,” said Patel, holding a chill stethoscope to Jess's ribs, “I can hear some motion, yes. But I can't give you any sort of detailed interpretation.” She took it off and put it to one side. “The parasite is more active, though.”

“Confirmation. That's the best I can hope for, I guess,” said Jess. She ran her fingers over the holes where the stethoscope had been, feeling the pattern of edges. “Have you had time to look through the equipment?”

“Yes. Everything's there. We should be safe from epidemics – normal epidemics, at least – for a few years at least.”

“Good.”

“Regarding your operation, I should be able to do it sometime next week. We need to keep it hidden of course. But …” Dr Patel sat back and cleared her throat softly. “I want you to understand, it might not solve anything. I might not learn anything. And it could make things much worse – we're still not in an ideal situation. You could still get an additional infection. I'm not full qualified as an anaesthesiologist, so even that could go wrong. I don't think it will, but the possibilities there.”

“Alright,” said Jess. She pulled her shirt back on and started buttoning it.

“I just don't want you to get your hopes up, okay?”

Jess smiled at her. “Because I always wear rose-tinted glasses normally, don't I?” She finished her last button and stared at the bag she'd brought into the infirmary. “I'll let Luke know. But there's something else.”

When the doctor asked, she went over to her bag and pulled out the little red plastic box holding the egg. She set it on the table and took the lid off.

Patel stared first at the box then at Jess, then back to the box again. After a few seconds of silence she said, quietly, “What is it?”

“I found it in the hospital. I think it has something to do with the ways demons communicate. I thought maybe, if we understood it, we might have some more power over them. Maybe we could even get rid of them.” She saw the doctor's expression. “I
know
it's tenuous. But it's worth a try, isn't it? If you could test it, maybe we'll find something.”

Patel took the lid and slipped it back on the box. “Does Luke know about this?”

“Just me and you.”

“You brought something you knew came from demons back here. You hid it from the compound. You even hid it from Luke.”

“I know.”

Patel drummed her fingers on the box. Eventually she took it and put it in a drawer on her desk. “I shouldn't do this. But I trust you, so I'll give it a go. No guarantees it'll work though.”

“There never are.”

“Right, well, if that's it?”

“Yeah.”

“I'll get back to work. Come in with Luke tomorrow, and we'll work out how to do this operation without giving the game away.”

Beneath the Flesh Series

1: Beneath the Flesh (This book)

2: Beneath the Earth

3: Beneath the Soul
(Coming soon!)

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