The Beast (17 page)

‘She’s not my... wait.
Ex
-girlfriend?’

‘Well, of course, pumpkin,’ Rosie said, hugging me tighter. ‘
I’m
your girlfriend now.’ Her voice took on an excited edge. ‘I wonder what he’ll do to her when he catches her? Whatever it is, I hope it’s painful, the
witch
.’

‘What?’ I muttered. I tried to pull away again, but her arms were like steel bands around my chest. ‘What are you—?’

‘She doesn’t appreciate you. Not like I do. She made fun of you. The little witch
laughed
at you!’

‘Rosie,’ I grimaced. ‘Stop. You’re... you’re hurting me.’

BANG!
The door shook in its frame.
BANG!
Guggs, it seemed, wasn’t going anywhere.

Rosie’s grip relaxed and I heard her give a sigh of annoyance. ‘Why won’t people just leave us in peace?’ she demanded. ‘First it’s
your
friends, then it’s
mine
.’

She stomped over to the door. I watched in horror as she pushed the bed aside and reached for the handle.

‘No, don’t! What are you—?’

I was too late to stop her. She yanked open the door just as Guggs launched himself towards it. He gave a screech of triumph as he flew into the room and landed right beside Rosie.

A moment later, the sound died in his throat when Rosie jammed her fingertips against the centre of his chest. Guggs’ eyes went wide. His neck snapped down in time to see Rosie push her fingertips straight through his chest bone.

Billy’s cousin made a low, gargling sound as Rosie withdrew her hand. His legs went limp and he fell awkwardly on to the floor. In Rosie’s hand, Guggs’ heart pumped twice, then stopped forever.

‘Now, pumpkin,’ beamed Rosie, letting the organ drop to the floor with a
schlup
. ‘Where were we?’

illy’s voice squawked from my hip as Rosie slowly closed the bedroom door. ‘Kyle? You there? We’re back at the police station, up on the roof, over.’

‘Don’t answer it,’ Rosie said. She ran her fingers through her long, blonde hair as she stepped over Guggs’ broken body, leaving a bloody streak right across her scalp. ‘Let it just be you and me for a while.’

‘What... what
are
you?’

She half-smiled, half-frowned. ‘What a strange thing to ask,’ she said. ‘I’m your
girlfriend
, you silly sausage.’

‘Oi! You there or what?’ Ameena’s voice hissed over the radio. ‘Answer us, will you?’

‘You’re supposed to say “over”,’ Billy’s voice explained in the background.

‘Shut up, Billy.’

Rosie’s face had grown darker with every word.

‘Why won’t they be quiet?’ she spat. ‘Why won’t they leave us in peace?’

‘They’re worried about... us,’ I explained.

I recoiled as Rosie reached towards me, but all she did was flip the walkie-talkie’s off switch, silencing the voices on the other end.

She smiled. ‘So let them worry.’

‘You’re one of
them
, aren’t you? An imaginary friend. From the Darkest Corners.’

‘What does it matter where I’m from? All that matters is that we’re together at last.’

‘My dad sent you, didn’t he?’

Rosie nodded slowly. ‘But he didn’t tell me how cute you were.’

She tried to put a hand on my face, but I pulled sharply away. ‘So, what? He brought you and the Beast here together? To kill everyone?’

‘No, silly,’ she giggled. ‘He brought me and I made the Beast.’

‘You... made it?’ I frowned. ‘But how?’

Rosie chomped her teeth together, answering my question.

‘And what about the others? The screechers? You made them too?’

‘A few,’ she nodded. ‘Then they made others, and those others made others still. It’s like a virus, see? Passing from one to the other.’

Her delicate features pulled into a frown. ‘And if your ex really
was
bitten, then she should’ve changed already. What’s up with
that
?’ A thought occurred to her. ‘Bet she was just looking for sympathy from you. Bet she faked the whole thing so you’d give her a hug.’

Rosie curled her fingers in until her nails left half-moon- shaped marks on her palms. ‘Ooh, she makes me so mad,’ Rosie spat. ‘Don’t worry, pumpkin. First chance I get, I’m going to tear that witch’s heart out.’

‘No, you won’t,’ I said.

Rosie glared at me. ‘What?’

‘You’re not going to touch her. I won’t let you.’

She gave a sharp shake of her head. ‘Tell me... Tell me you don’t still
care
about her.’

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I do.’

‘But, but, but you’re
my
boyfriend, not hers!’

‘No,’ I said. ‘I’m not.’

‘But I appreciate you. She doesn’t. She makes fun of you!’

I shrugged. ‘At least she’s real.’

‘
I’m
real, pumpkin,’ Rosie said.

‘No,’ I said. ‘You aren’t. And that story about your parents. That wasn’t real either, was it? You made it all up.’

She didn’t answer me.

‘Thought so,’ I said. My heart crashed against the inside of my chest as I moved to go past her. ‘Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go and find my
friends.’

‘Mind?’ she cried, and her voice became a shriek. ‘
Of course I mind!
Don’t you
dare
walk out on me!’

‘I’m going, Rosie,’ I told her. My hand closed around the handle of the door. ‘Deal with it.’

‘You’re not going
anywhere
!’ she said, and her shriek became a screech. She covered the gap between us in a fraction of a second. Her hand clamped down on top of mine, squashing it against the door handle. The colour drained from her eyes and they became a rich, oily black.

Her hand was changing shape when it pressed against my chest. The fingers were widening, the knuckles becoming sharp, ragged bone. She gave a grunt and shoved me. The room passed in a blur as I was propelled away from the door. My back struck the wall and I dropped to my knees, winded.

Get up
, screamed my brain, but my legs struggled to obey. At the other end of the bedroom, Rosie was also down on the floor. She was hidden by the bed, but the cracking of bone and the tearing of flesh and the sound of her frenzied screams told me a very different Rosie was about to get back up.

A chill draught rolled in through the window. Shakily, I placed my hands on the sill and pulled myself to my feet. A small porch with a slanted slate roof sat just outside.

As Rosie continued to writhe on the floor, I clambered through the open window and let myself fall on to the porch roof. The slates were slippery and I lost my footing right away. My bum thumped against the roof, and then I was falling. The snow proved to be an effective cushion again, and I escaped unhurt from the drop.

My legs were still unsteady as I began to run in the direction of the police station. My hands fumbled for the walkie-talkie as I ran. ‘Ameena. Billy. You there?’

Nothing. Then a crackle. Then, ‘Finally,’ Ameena said. ‘Where are you?’

‘Heading your way!’

Static hissed at me for a moment, before Ameena’s voice broke in again. ‘You can’t come here. Turn back. You hear me?’

I heard Billy’s scream in stereo – over the radio and from just around the corner. Ameena swore, then there was a clatter, and then there was nothing but the soft crackle of static.

‘Ameena?’ I said, jabbing the speak button. ‘
Ameena?
Answer me.’

KA-RAAASH!

The bedroom window and part of the wall behind me erupted. A snarling, screeching monstrosity landed on all fours in the garden, making the ground tremble beneath my feet.

I hurled myself on, tripping and tumbling through the snowdrifts. I had to get to the police station. Had to get away from the monster that had been Rosie. Had to make sure Ameena was...

Was...

The police station was half-buried beneath an onslaught of screechers. They were there in their hundreds, battering against the walls, throwing themselves through what remained of the glass doors.

There were even some on the roof. I could see Billy and Ameena swinging at them, knocking them back, but there were more climbing up on all sides, and others still behind them.

Some of the screechers were bent double, howling and screaming, the bones erupting through their flesh as they changed – evolved – into Beasts.

I stopped. There was no point running now. There was nowhere left to run to. Instead I turned around, and got my first proper look at the thing that Rosie had become.

It looked like the Beast, only a new and improved model. Its head and body were bigger, its limbs longer, the muscles more defined. An exoskeleton of ragged grey bone almost covered it completely. Other bones jutted from its joints like machete blades, each one more lethal-looking than the last.

The mouth was made up of four sections. They all opened outwards as the creature launched itself at me, revealing four complete rows of saw-like teeth. A shock of electricity zapped through me. It took every ounce of my willpower to push it away. My dad needed me to use my powers so he could unleash the Darkest Corners on the world. This, all this, was just a taster of what would happen if I did. So I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t help him. I wouldn’t give in.

Even if it meant dying.

I held up my hands, ducked down, screwed shut my eyes. The monster roared as it descended on me, closing in for the kill. In the darkness behind my eyelids, I heard another sound – another roar, just as wild and as savage as the first.

Opening my eyes, I saw not one but two monsters, joined together, each one tearing and clawing at the other. They crunched on to the snow in front of me, then bounced over my head. They were still spitting and swiping at one another as they rolled and spun down the hill towards the police station.

The sound of the Beasts scattered the screechers. They fell and leapt and clambered over one another in their hurry to escape the approaching monsters. Not that the monsters had noticed them. They were too busy fighting, too locked in battle to notice anything else going on around them.

Up on the rooftop, Ameena kicked the last of the screechers off, then snatched up her walkie-talkie. ‘What the hell’s going on?’ her voice hissed at me. ‘Why’s there two of them?’

‘One of them’s Rosie,’ I explained. ‘The bigger one.’

‘I
knew
there was something dodgy about that girl! No one cries that much.’ Ameena almost sounded pleased. ‘Not so pretty now, is she?’

‘The mucus is a bit off-putting, yeah,’ I said.

‘How come they’re fighting?’

I hesitated, my finger held over the talk button. Eventually, I pressed it. ‘The Beast... saved me.’

A static buzz, then: ‘Why?’

I considered just coming out with it, but decided I should build up to it gently first. ‘I thought the Beast was the one biting people and turning them into screechers, but it isn’t. It’s Rosie. She’s the monster.
She
bit someone and turned them into that thing. The Beast, it was just Rosie’s first victim.’

I hesitated again. I didn’t want to believe what I was about to say, but what choice did I have? It was the only answer that made sense. ‘Or rather,
she
was the first victim.’

The monsters rolled apart and turned to face one another. The Beast – the first one – stood with its back to me, blocking me from “Rosie’s” view. It was crouching low, its limbs tensed, ready to leap into battle.

‘I thought whatever had attacked the policewoman had taken Nan prisoner, but... these things don’t take prisoners. You either outrun them or you die, and Joseph told me Nan wasn’t dead.’

The walkie-talkie gave a crackle. ‘You’re not saying what I think you’re saying?’

I looked across to the monster that had just saved my life. ‘I... I think I am,’ I said, nodding slowly. ‘The Beast didn’t take my nan. The Beast
is
my nan.’

he Rosie-monster let out a bellowing cry, drowning out most of Ameena’s response.

‘...what you saying? Your nan’s brain’s in that thing?’ was all I caught.

I watched the Beast snap and snarl, trying to scare its opponent into running away. ‘I don’t think so,’ I replied. ‘The screechers, they’ve all lost their minds, and I think so has Nan. Mostly. But there must be a part of it in there that recognises me, or something. She’s a monster, but a monster who doesn’t want to see me get hurt.’

‘That’s convenient.’ I could suddenly hear Ameena’s voice in both ears. I turned to find her hurrying up behind me, with Billy at her heels.

The creatures screeched and howled as they resumed their fight. Rosie was bigger and more powerful, but the Beast was fast. It slashed out with a bony spike just as Rosie charged towards it. The blade pierced Rosie’s shoulder and was driven deep in by the monster’s weight.

‘Way to go, Kyle’s nan,’ Ameena whistled, but she had spoken too soon.

There was a loud
krik
of breaking bone and the Beast let out an agonised howl. Rosie pressed forward, appearing not to notice the spike sticking out of her shoulder. Her fist slammed like a sledgehammer against the Beast’s chin, flipping it on to its back. It shrieked again as its weight snapped the spikes that jutted out from its spine.

Rosie was on it in a heartbeat, thundering more blows against its head, slashing it with her bony blades. Thick, oily blood began to stain the snow around them, and Rosie threw back her head and howled in triumph.

‘She’s killing her,’ I realised. ‘She’s going to kill her!’

I moved to run forwards, to help, but Billy caught me and held me back. ‘You can’t!’ he told me. ‘You can’t get in the middle of that, you’ll be killed.’

‘Get off, Billy,’ I growled. ‘I’m not just leaving her.’

‘Of course not,’ Billy said. He gave me a curt nod and let go of my arm. ‘But just... let’s be careful. I’ve got your back.’

He extended a hand to me. I shook it without hesitation. ‘Thanks, Billy,’ I said.

‘Can we save the bromance, please?’ Ameena said. ‘Kyle’s nan. Fighting a monster. Remember?’ She shook her head. ‘God, my life just gets weirder and weirder.’

‘Um... OK, here’s the plan,’ I said. ‘Ameena, stick next to me.’

‘What about me?’ Billy asked.

‘Snowballs,’ I said.

Billy raised his eyebrows. ‘Snowballs?’

‘Hit the big one with it. Pelt it as hard as you can.’

‘Why?’

‘To get its attention. To annoy it.’ I patted him on the shoulder. ‘I know you can do annoying, Billy.’

‘Maybe I should do the snowballs?’ Ameena suggested. ‘I’m a better aim. Billy and I should swap.’

‘No!’ I said quickly. ‘Definitely not! Billy, snowballs, Ameena with me.’

Billy hesitated. ‘But... but what if it comes after me?’

‘That’s the entire point,’ I told him, then darted off before he could complain.

Rosie was still pounding on the Beast. She raised both arms above her head then brought them down hard. The Beast squealed as Rosie’s exoskeleton smashed hard against its face.

‘Now, Billy!’ I hissed. I’d pulled Ameena off to one side, out of Rosie’s direct line of sight. Billy wasn’t so lucky. He was standing directly in front of her. All she had to do was raise her head and she’d be looking straight at him.

Billy, to his credit, did as he was told. Crouching, he hurriedly pressed together half a dozen snowballs and cradled them in the crook of his left arm. With his right he picked up the first one, took aim, and threw.

The snowball landed silently in the snow beside the writhing bodies of the battling Beasts.

PAF
!
The second one found a target, but it was the wrong one. Pinned below Rosie, the Beast gave a growl as the snowball splattered across its head.

‘He’s useless,’ Ameena muttered. ‘I’m swapping places.’

‘No, you can’t,’ I told her, holding her back. ‘I need you here with me.’

‘Why? What for?’

I felt my lips go dry. ‘Um... you’ll find out.’

The third snowball exploded against the Rosie-monster’s chest. Billy recoiled in horror, getting ready to run. But she kept pummelling on the Beast, clawing at it, biting at it, and Billy took aim once again.

PAF
!
The snowball struck her right in the centre of her face. Her head snapped up and her black eyes became slits as she locked on to Billy.

‘Um... hi,’ he whimpered, and then he dropped the remaining snowballs, turned on his heels, and ran.

With a kick of her back legs, Rosie set off in pursuit. Billy screamed as he ran. He dodged between cars, only for them to be flattened beneath Rosie’s immense weight.

‘She’s going to kill him,’ Ameena winced. ‘She’s too fast.’

I hurried over to the Beast. It –
she
– lay on her back in the blood-slicked snow, barely moving. Barely alive.

‘Hold on, Nan,’ I said softly. I rummaged in the snow beside her until I’d found what I was looking for. ‘You’re going to be OK.’

I ran back over to Ameena, struggling with the weight of the object in my hands. ‘What are you doing with that?’ she asked.

‘No time to explain,’ I said. I felt my cheeks prickle red. ‘And, um, whatever happens next, don’t hit me, OK?’

Her eyes narrowed. ‘No promises.’

‘Right,’ I nodded. My hands were shaking and my head felt light at the thought of what I was about to do. ‘Here goes.’ I put a hand to the side of my mouth, took a deep breath, and shouted as loudly as I could. ‘Hey, Rosie!’

Across the street, Rosie had just begun tearing through a fence Billy was using to hide behind. At the sound of my voice, she stopped. ‘Over here!’ I cried, waving one hand above my head. With the other, I wedged the thing I was holding into the snow between our feet.

Rosie’s face drew back into a snarl. She began to advance slowly. That was no use. I needed her running, charging at me, full speed. I’d hoped I might not need to put the second part of my plan into action, but it looked like Rosie was leaving me with no choice.

‘I just wanted to let you know...’ I began. With my free hand I grabbed Ameena by the front of her coat, pulled her in close to me, and kissed her. Her lips were cold and chapped and her eyes were wide with surprise. As first kisses went, it probably wasn’t an all-time classic, but considering the circumstances, I could be pretty sure I’d remember it for the rest of my life.

I leaned back, flashed Ameena an apologetic smile, then turned to the Rosie-monster, ‘...you’re dumped.’

That did it. She set off like a racehorse from the stalls, splitting the night with her terrible screech. The ground shook beneath us. The snow bounced into the air, as her colossal feet pounded against the pavement.

With a final, blood-curdling scream she launched herself towards us, arms splayed wide. Shoving hard, I sent Ameena stumbling backwards. At the same time, I threw myself clear, leaving only the long broken spike of the Beast’s bone sticking up from the ground.

Rosie’s black eyes widened as the spear-like point pierced the centre of her chest. There was a
crack
, then a scream, then the sound of something wet being torn in two. The bone burst through Rosie’s back and she hit the ground, face-first.

For a moment, she flailed around, coughing and gargling as her life ebbed out on to the snow. And then, like that, she stopped.

‘I don’t believe it,’ Ameena said, her voice a hushed whisper.

‘We did it,’ I nodded.

‘What? Oh yeah, that,’ she nodded. ‘But I meant...
You kissed me!
’

I turned to look at her, trying to read her face. ‘Yes. I did. Sorry.’

She nodded. ‘So you should be,’ she said. She punched me on the arm, but I couldn’t help but notice she didn’t hit me nearly as hard as she usually did.

‘We did it,’ I said again. ‘And I didn’t even have to use my powers.’

‘Still the little problem of the infected villagers,’ Ameena reminded me.

I sighed. ‘Don’t spoil it.’

Billy ran up to join us. He was breathing heavily and his face was as white as the snow. ‘Did I do good?’ he asked hopefully.

‘You were great, Billy,’ I said, but my attention was now on the creature that had once been my nan. Her breathing was shallow, her body awash with blood from her many gaping wounds.

Before I could approach her, though, I heard a slow hand-clapping from somewhere behind us. I turned and an all-too-familiar face smirked back at me.

‘Bravo,’ my dad said. He was on his own, strolling casually through the snow towards us. ‘You did it, son. You actually did it.’

‘Son?’ Ameena muttered. ‘You mean, that’s...?’

I nodded. ‘What do you want?’

‘Oh, just to congratulate you, that’s all,’ he shrugged. ‘You said you wouldn’t use your abilities and you didn’t. You proved me wrong.’

‘I know,’ I said. ‘I’m not going to help you. Face it. You’ve lost.’

He nodded in the direction of the Beast. A grim smile played at the corners of his mouth. ‘Looks like I’m not the only one,’ he said. His expression became one of mock concern. ‘Did I follow things right? Is that
really
your grandmother trapped in there? I can’t imagine how upsetting that must be for you. Watching her die. As a monster. I can’t imagine.’ He cracked a smile. ‘Oh, who am I kidding? Of course I can imagine. I’m the one who arranged for her to be at your house, called the police, the whole thing. All so our little Rosie could turn her into
that
.’

He blew on his fingernails and wiped them against his checked shirt. ‘Of course, you could always change her back.’

I felt my stomach tighten. ‘What?’

‘With your special gift,’ he continued, smiling innocently. ‘You could change her back. Fix her. You could fix everyone. Your nan. His sister. Everyone.’

I felt Billy go tense. ‘Lily? You could... you could help Lily?’

I shook my head. ‘I... I...’

My dad strolled over to where the Beast lay. She flinched, but only a little, when he rested his hand against her bruised and bloodied head. ‘Oh, what to do?’ he smirked. ‘What to do?’

‘Back off, scumbag,’ Ameena growled. ‘Go and crawl back under whatever rock you came from.’

He fixed her with a long, lingering look. ‘You must be Ameena,’ he said, at last. ‘I’ve heard so much about you. In fact, I heard you got yourself bitten today.’ He scratched his head. ‘I wonder why you didn’t change,’ he said. ‘Isn’t that odd?’

He took a pace towards her. ‘Then again, that’s not the only odd thing about you, is it, Ameena? It’s odd, for example, the way you just turned up out of the blue like that to save my son here from Mr Mumbles.’ He looked at me. ‘That’s odd, isn’t it?’

I shook my head. ‘No, it’s—’

‘It’s odd how you became so loyal so quickly. How you would give your life for a boy you barely know.’

‘What?’ she muttered. ‘What are you...?’

‘It’s also odd that when he is scared, you are brave. When he is down, you raise him up. When he is lost, you’re there to find him. It’s almost like...’ A shimmer of dark delight shone behind his eyes. ‘...you were
made
for him.’

He let the sentence hang there in the cold and in the dark.

‘And you,’ he said to me. ‘You trust her so much, and yet you know nothing about her. What’s her last name, for example?’

I would’ve loved to tell him, to wipe the smug grin off his face, but I realised that I had no idea what Ameena’s last name was.

‘Don’t know?’ he asked. He turned to Ameena. ‘Go on then, you tell him. Tell us all. What’s your last name?’

Ameena opened her mouth. A look of panic flashed across her face, but then it was gone, replaced by her usual sneer. ‘None of your business.’

‘When were you born, Ameena? What’s your date of birth?’

She didn’t say anything, but there was that worried look again.

‘No? Let’s try something less challenging, then. Tell me, what were you doing before you hit Mr Mumbles with that baseball bat? Where were you going? Where had you been?’

Ameena stumbled around for an answer. ‘I was... I was...’

My dad turned and loomed over me. ‘In the garage, when you needed a light, you created a light. When you needed a weapon, you made one from nothing. A shield. A mattress. Even a dog. When you needed all these things most, your mind reached out and it made them. It made them.’