Go For Stories

“Weapons?” asked Nigel.

“Well, we need something. You saw that thing.” She waved her hand in the direction it had left. “If we don’t have something to protect ourselves, we’ll all be dead by the end of the day. That thing, those things will come back and we can’t just hide every time they do.”

“But what weapons?” asked Milly. “Security didn’t have guns. Only tasers. There’s only so much that tasers can do. Maybe it would knock them down for a minute, but they’ll be back up and after us in no time.”

“For a start,” Anne said, “that’d be enough for us to get away if we have to. Also, we don’t know how they’ll respond to the tasers. It could be more effective on them than on us.”

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” said Milly. “To get those, we’d have to make our way to Security. And that is a trip that is fraught with danger.”

Nigel put a hand on Milly’s shoulder. “Anne has a point. They might not react the same as us.” He pictured the cloaked beast in the other world and its melting organs and dying smell. He shuddered. “I have reason to believe we’ll need them if we’re to get out of here alive.”

Milly threw her hands in the air. “Okay. Fine. Let’s get the stupid bloody tasers. Let’s get killed on the way. Seems counterproductive, but whatever.”

“We could always take these,” Jacob chimed in. He held what looked like a torch with a red button on the side. “There’s plenty of them down here.”

“What is that?” asked Anne.

“Portable welders,” he responded. “We use them around the place for temporary repairs.” He pressed the button and a bright white arc flashed from the tip. They shielded their eyes against the glare. “Reckon they’ll do alright in close quarters at least.”

Nigel nodded. He reached down and grabbed one out of a wooden crate. It was a simple device with the one button and a threaded cap down the bottom to disassemble it if required.

“I’m not fond of the idea of wrestling with one of those … Albinoids, but something is better than nothing. How long do they last?”

“About five minutes of constant use.”

“That’s plenty enough. Everyone, grab a few. We might need them; we’ve got a whole lot of stairs to climb before we get to Security.”

“Not to mention that nice, open plaza,” muttered Milly.

“Exactly,” said Nigel, pocketing three of the welders and grabbing another to hang onto. They all did the same. “I’m not going to lie, compared to what we had before, these things make it feel like Christmas and New Year’s wrapped into one. We’ll still have to be careful, though. If anyone sees anything, let us all know and we can find somewhere to hide.” They all nodded. “Alright? Let’s get out of here.”

He wished for nothing more than a shot of whiskey to calm his nerves as they headed out of the relative certainty of the workshop, where they could see and hear anything coming and maybe have the time to act accordingly. As soon as they reached the racking, there were plenty of places for a monster of any description to jump from. They were at the mercy of their own instincts and he didn’t like it one bit. At least the chittering in the ducts had stopped, but that brought with it its own tension. Where had they gone? Would they be back?

“Hey,” Jacob said right in his ear. “How many of those things do you think there are? Like, are we walking into an army of them, or is there only the one?”

“There’s at least two,” said Nigel. “We saw them fighting on one of the balconies. Even without seeing it properly, it wasn’t pretty. They don’t hold back … neither should we.”

“Cool.” Jacob nodded his head, as if doing some calculations. “There’s something I need to do before we leave.”

Nigel watched as Jacob dashed over to his computers and opened a program. He typed furiously for half a minute, stunning Nigel with his speed, before putting the screen to sleep and re-joining the group.

“Okay. It’s done.”

“What was that,” asked Anne, looking over at the workstation.

“Nothing, really. Just a bit of extra security.”

“Would you care to elaborate?” asked Nigel, narrowing his eyes at the wild-haired man.

“Not really. You’ll find out if you need to. Hope you don’t,” he said in a tone that was half joke, half threat.

Nigel stared at Jacob, scrutinising him for any sign of deceit. He found none and reluctantly let it go. If at any point he had any reason to mistrust him, he would get the information out of him then.

“Satisfied?” he asked Jacob.

“Very.”

“Good.”

He walked through the banks of computers and reached the door. Reaching out, he grabbed the handle. It felt warm, almost like a warning.

Don’t go out there. Stay in where it’s safe.

He hooked the welder onto his belt and unlocked the door, still holding the handle. He would be in full control of the door until the last second. He looked to his companions for the go-ahead. Anne nodded, Milly gave a half smile and Jacob waved his hand in a small circle. Continue.

Nigel took a deep breath, retrieved the welder from his belt and turned the handle. The latch clicked and he threw the door open. In that moment, he imagined a thousand scenarios, each more grim than the last. He pictured his death dozens of different ways and felt various types of pain he’d never imagined.

None of these came to pass, as the corridor was quiet and empty. No beasties came charging at them and no spooky demons dropped from the ceiling or sent him to an alternate world. He, and his compatriots, let out a sigh of relief.
“Well, that was the hard part,” he said with a smile, looking back at the others. “Now we just have to survive the rest of the day.”

“Maybe,” said Milly in a quiet, confused voice, “she can tell us how she did it.”

She pointed to the end of the corridor. Nigel followed her finger to see someone standing at the corner, shock etched across their features. It was Bec.

“Reynolds?” asked Nigel, his voice high with incredulity. “What are you doing here?”

She held her hands out in an open gesture. Happy, yet surprised. “I should ask the same.” The surprise had spread from her face to her words. She expected to see them just as much as they had expected her. “What the fuck are you guys doing down here?”

Milly ran to Reynolds and threw her arms around her.

“I’m so happy you’re alive,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

Bec gave her an awkward pat on the back. “Yeah, me too.”

Milly released her and began to pull at her, moving around her in a circle and looking all over, prodding her, here and there.

“What are you doing?” asked Bec.

“Are you hurt at all? Did they get you?”

“Did what get me? No,” she took Milly by the shoulders and pushed her gently away, “I didn’t get hurt. I’m fine.”

“Where have you been?” asked Nigel stepping up to the pair. “How did you survive?”

“What? I’ve been in my room. As soon as the sirens started I ran straight back there. Must’ve dozed off. Hey,” her eyes lit up with excitement, “what happened out there? There’s blood everywhere. And, actually, I haven’t seen anyone else. Where is everyone?”

“What do you mean ‘blood everywhere’? Reynolds, there are bodies everywhere.”

She shook her head. “Not that I could see. I mean, it was fucking crazy walking through the plaza without slipping. Thought maybe it was a prank or … I dunno what I thought really. Bit creepy.”

Nigel cast a look at Milly and back to Anne and Jacob. They stared at him. He returned his attention to Bec and shook his head before heading to the end of the corridor and within sight of the killing field.

She was right; where he expected limbs and blood and cold, dead faces, there was only blood. Lots of blood, but nothing to show for why there was so, so very much. The creatures must have dragged the bodies away. For what nefarious purposes, he couldn’t imagine. He couldn’t care to imagine.

“This doesn’t make sense,” he muttered. “They’re gone. They’re all gone.”

He shuddered as a sudden breeze blew past him. It was barely there, yet it held a deep weight to it. He searched for the source, but there was nothing to see. He stepped out of the perceived safety of the corridor and into the open.

“Nigel, wait.” Milly stepped towards him.

He held out a hand. “It’s okay,” he said. “It’s fine.”

There was still no sign of anything that would cause the breeze. In his heart, he knew there was nothing. Nothing tangible at least. Whatever the cause, it was there just for him. He closed his eyes and felt for the source. A strange, prickling sensation ran down his spine and travelled out the left side of his body. He opened his eyes and turned towards the feeling.

A figure cloaked in shadow stood in the distance, away from the plaza. It stood as still as death and, despite the lights lining the ceiling above, no features could be seen on its face. From here, it looked no taller than Nigel, shorter even and it stood, watching. Nigel stepped closer. Without moving, the figure stayed the same distance away. Its arms hung down at its side in an open, almost vulnerable gesture. Nigel imagined he could hear its breath teasing the hair by his ears.

“Who … what?” he asked, so quiet he could barely hear it himself.

The figure raised a hand with great care. It turned its palm up to the roof and extended a single finger, curling it in, beckoning him forward. He moved closer. It stayed. Another step and he could hear its voice; an empty and sad voice. The voice of one that had suffered much in a short amount of time. It spoke not in words, but emotions.

It beckoned again. Nigel froze. For a moment, a brief flash, its face revealed itself. A flash of vacant eyes and drawn, ragged skin. Its mouth hung open as if its jaw was broken. As quick as the image appeared, it disappeared again; replaced by shadow once more. Its long finger curled again. Come closer, it said. Closer.

“Whatcha looking at?” Bec’s voice made Nigel jump out of his skin. He spun around to face her with fist and welder raised.

“What?!” he half-shouted, aware of the unnatural pitch in his voice.

“Geez, jumpy little fella, aren’t you? What’s over there?” She craned her head to look around him.

He turned back to see an empty hallway nestled between a series of shops. Whatever it had been, it was only meant for him. He could no longer feel its presence and the sound of its breath and misery had faded with it, leaving yet another mystery in its wake.