Chapter 10: Chapter 10

Belinda and Edward are still alive and just walking into the second haunt of the night. Edward looks from left to right as they come in, just to see if he can spot something suspect. Once it becomes apparent that there are employees of David Oswald in the building anything they have to hide will be covered up immediately.

The barman regards them with an angry glower, very similar to the manager of the previous establishment. “Why don’t you just do yourselves a favour and get the hell out of here while you’ve still got your fucking legs?” Charming, eh?

Edward looks the man up and down and, without saying a word, shakes his head. Belinda knows from his body language in the last bar that he isn’t comfortable with this aspect of the job but thinks that he handles himself really well. He does learn things very quickly. Her first instinct is always to consider turning round and leaving, but she knows that it is something that she can’t do.

“You know who we work for?” Edward asks. His voice doesn’t even crack.

There are a variety of shady looking individuals regarding the two newcomers. Most of them are human but it is very apparent that some of them are not. Belinda and Edward try to ignore them for the moment, although it is not that easy.

“Of course I do. I can almost smell him off you. Tell him we don’t know anything.”

Belinda decides that she has to get in some of the action or she will be annoyed at herself. “You don’t know what we’re looking for… or do you?”

“We don’t know anything about anything.”

Belinda can feel the beginnings of a sarcastic comment bubbling up in her throat and she knows that there is nothing that she can do to stop herself from delivering it. It is the sort of answer that might inevitably lead to a fight but she is not in control of that part of her sense of humour. She is a prisoner of sarcasm.

Still, it cannot be considered a godsend when the comment is lost to the sound of the bar door bursting open, with a force that makes it sound like it is being wrenched off it’s hinges. The comment is trapped in Belinda’s throat and then lost before it can constrict her breathing. She and Edward both spin round in synchronisation, something that might almost be considered cute under other circumstances.

“Is that any way to treat guests?” The newcomer purrs in a seductive voice, gently closing the almost ruined door behind her.

Edward cocks his head slightly, more out of confusion than anything else.

“Isabelle?”

CHAPTER FIVE

1.

Tuesday 27th April 2010

02:14

To say that coincidence does not exist and fate and destiny control everything is part of a larger argument that isn’t important right now. Suffice to say, Robert is walking home with a couple of his friends around about the time that Edward and Belinda have walked into the Brethren Haunt, completely unaware of the messages that his co-workers have left on his answering machine.

A strange twist of coincidence or fate or destiny… a strange twist of something anyway… is going to mean that he will find out about the events of the night before he reaches his house.

As they walk home, one of his friends suddenly points over at the most horribly dingy bar that he has ever seen in his life. It is just on the edge of an Industrial Estate that they are passing.

“Has anyone ever been in there? Who would drink in a place like that?”

Robert shakes his head and the whole world spins. The alcohol is affecting his judgement ever so slightly. If he had been more sober he would never have said a word. “I’ve not been in that one, but I know for a fact that you wouldn’t want to go in.”

“Why not?” His other companion just has to know.

“You probably wouldn’t get back out!” He manages to say before he can stop himself.

They both laugh at this.

“The place is a dive but it can’t be that bad.”

Robert is just about to give them an answer to that, despite the fact that practically every part of his mind screams out for him to end this conversation right this minute, when he spots Belinda’s car sitting outside the bar.

“I know that car!” He says.

“Which one?”

He points at the car. He has no idea what the make is; he isn’t very good at that sort of thing. It has four doors and it is dark green. “I know the woman who owns it!”

“Well she doesn’t seem to have a problem going into bars like that!”

It is amazing how quickly a human being can sober up. This is exactly what happens to Robert. Suddenly he is aware of everything and he feels a horrible shiver run up his face. It isn’t pleasant. He hates that sensation and wishes that he didn’t suffer from it. Why can’t he have shivers up his back like the people in horror films and novels? No, he has to get that horrible cold spasm in his face, threatening to cramp his jaw just at the climax.

Just why is Belinda in this bar tonight? Recently there has been nothing happening and he had been convinced that it would be safe to go out tonight without David having a reason to assemble the team.

His hand thrusts into his pocket, and his friends wonder what is going on and why there is this sudden change in Robert’s demeanour. He pulls out his wallet and opens it quickly. He quickly flicks out a card, which he hands over to the nearest one of his companions.

“I want you to go to the nearest phone box and call this number right now. A man called David Oswald will answer. I want you to tell him that Robert is going into Haunt 9 and might need some backup.”

“What the fuck are you talking about, Robert?”

Robert looks at the two of them. They will comment the next time they meet (in just under a weeks time both significantly better dressed than they are now) that they have never seen him look so serious in their lives. “Please just listen to me. This is very important.”

Without waiting for their reaction, he away and starts running towards the bar that he just before described as being a danger to whoever entered. The two remaining members of the group watch him for a moment before kicking into action and heading towards the nearest payphone just across the road. They have no idea what was going on, but don’t like it, even in their drunken state.

By the time they are beside the phone, Robert has reached the bar. The two groups are now out of sight of one another and he suddenly feels even less safe than he had a moment before. He can see that there is something wrong with the door, as if it has been wrenched open. Something is beyond this door that he is sure he won’t like.

He opens the door and it almost falls away in his hands. But somehow it manages to stay on its hinges. It seems dangerously quiet inside and this just seems to make Robert’s suspicions worse. He tries not to make a noise and he opens the broken door as much as he can so he can peer inside.

His heart misses a beat as a hand flashes out from the darkness within, as if from nowhere. It is attached to an arm, naturally; it grabs him by the throat, dragging him inside before he has the chance to resist.

2.

Tuesday 27th April 2010

02:16

David has remained just as quiet on the journey back from their impromptu visit to Kevin Reilly, but for a completely different set of reasons than his silence on the way there.

The silence is so complete that Alice jumps a little when his phone rings. Her mind has been on other things since she is unable to have a conversation with her boss. She was trying to think of an appropriate nickname for him. So far she had not got beyond Dave, which, frankly, was quite rubbish.

Without taking much notice, he pulls the phone out of his suit jacket pocket and flips open the activation flap, his driving unaffected in anyway. Alice is sure that she would have swerved off the road.

“David Oswald.” He tells the phone.

“Is that David Oswald?” Asks a timid voice.

“Yes!” He replies.

“Robert told us to call.”

This attracts David’s attention. “Who is this?”

“We’re friends of Robert. He told us to call and tell you that he’s going to…”

There is silence on the other end of the phone for a moment

Then: “What did he say again?”

Another voice pipes up, the first evidence that the caller is not alone. “Haunt 9!”

“Oh yeah. Robert said he’s going to Haunt 9. He also said he might need backup.”

“I understand. Thank you!”

With that, David flips his phone off, his eyes still concentrating on the road. He hasn’t missed a beat.

Alice is looking at him, wanting to know what was going on. “What is it?”

“I have no idea how but Robert seems to have got himself involved in the nights events after all.”

“You’re joking?”

David shakes his head solemnly. “I’m really not in the mood to be joking right now.