XIV - Josh
Josh was
the first to notice. He saw it like a
vignette, just a moment, frozen in the split second of torchlight illuminating
the scene as he swung the torch lazily across the alley ahead. Charlie was standing by one of the windows
of the factory, leaning in. It told him
nothing, really, and yet it told him all he needed to know.
“Charlie,”
he shouted, breaking into a run almost immediately, “don’t!”
“What’s
happening?” Paige called form somewhere behind him, “what did you see?”
But Josh
just kept running until he reached the spot where he had seen the boy. It was an empty window, a twisted gap between bars of rusted metal,
a single drop of blood, but nothing more.
XV - Hazel
Hazel
stared down at the polished granite surface of the table, now stained, and
allowed herself a small smile. Sure,
she felt slightly sick, but then what mother doesn’t from time to time? Sure, she was a mess now, her hands and arms
red halfway up to her elbows, the smooth bump of her belly painted in swirls
and splashes, but in a certain light it was almost becoming. Sure, someone had had to die, but now she
understood the next steps.
She knew where she had to go.
She looked up, suddenly
remembering where she was, how close she was to a number of bars and clubs and
how easy it would be for someone to stumble past. she had not been subtle, and though she had managed to keep her
victim from screaming, there was plenty for any passer-by to see. She needed to get moving, to wash her hands
or…
Panic cooled again inside
her. She didn’t need to worry about any
of these things. She knew, somehow,
that her baby was being watched over by something more powerful than she, for
it was a very special baby indeed. They
would protect her as they protected it.
She stepped away from the
bloody sculpture and began to walk towards a nearby alley, filled with the bins
and service entrances of a dozen shops.
She could already feel the world changing around her, shifting into a
protective cocoon of warm flesh and gentle whispering, as the first scream
echoed out behind her.
She was going to be just fine.
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