Harvest (33 page)

“
See you in a minute.”
Craig put the phone down. Sprayed some deodorant, changed his shirt
for a tee-shirt, brushed his teeth, fiddled with his hair, ignored
how haggard he looked in the mirror and was ready to go. He
suddenly remembered the picture he had taken of Vicki in the
hallway and rushed back to his PC to check it.

He couldn’t help but grin,
Vicki’s discomfort was almost tangible, but she looked perfect. She
looked so natural. Shame she didn’t share that side of her too
often. He could love her like that, but that wasn’t going to
happen. He suppressed a wave of disappointment. Not meant to be. He
moved to close the image window when he saw something in the
background. In the small window of the fire escape door at the end
of the corridor there was a shadowy figure. He magnified the area
but there was no detail, just a silhouette of shoulders and a head
– the head was elongated. The hairs on the nape of his neck
tingled. It was like the figure was wearing a top hat. The
undertaker.

His phone rang. He saw it was
Kelly, checked his watch and cursed. He closed the image and headed
for the front door. “Sorry, Kelly I am on my way. See you in
minute.”

Craig hurried down the corridor
to the lift and stabbed the call button several times. He could
hear the lift stop above him then the machinery kick in again for
it to come down to him. It was followed by some hollow sounding
thuds echoing from the shaft as if there was a scuffle in the lift.
There was a shout and a piercing shriek that so startled him he
leapt back. The cry started above him then rapidly trailed away
into a dull crash far below his feet.

The lift door opened and a
young boy of about ten or eleven scrambled out, his face white and
his eyes rheumy and wet. Craig dropped to his haunches and helped
him clear of the doors that were trying to close on his legs. He
recognised the boy but couldn’t think where from.

The boy looked up into Craig’s
face, his eyes cold and hard. “It – it came for me. I saw it. I saw
it.”

After Craig had quietened the
hysterical boy down he had found out that his name was Jason and he
took him back to his flat and settled him down on the sofa. He
called Kelly, who had also heard the cry from the lift shaft and
had called for the police and an ambulance. Kelly and Rachel
arrived at his flat with a paramedic and a police officer. The
paramedic checked Jason over and told them the obvious, that he was
in shock and should rest, and the police officer had taken his
statement.

“
I was in the lift, David
and Mikey made me ride it while they were on top. I didn’t see what
happened because I was inside the lift, but I heard them shouting
at each other, arguing over something then it sounded like it had
turned into a fight and that’s when I heard one of them
fall.”

They had opened the lift doors
in the basement and found Michael Kent’s twisted body at the bottom
of the shaft. David Renshaw was missing. The police officer’s
conclusion was that David hadn’t hung around to get in trouble.
Craig stood by the doorway of his lounge and watched the police
officer say a few discrete words to Kelly while Rachel pulled Jason
to her side on the sofa. Craig then showed the police officer out
and rejoined the others.

Kelly crouched down to Jason’s
height. “The officer says they have chatted with the headmaster of
your primary school and he has vouched for your character, said how
sensible you are and that you have never been in trouble before.
Whereas the other two had a record of detentions the length of my
arm, mainly for backchat, bunking and bullying, and had received a
few cautions from us for the odd bit of truancy and anti-social
behaviour.” She rubbed his knee. “They believe you, and you aren’t
in any trouble.”

“
No news on the missing
lad, dear?” Rachel asked.

Kelly shook her head and Rachel
tutted.

“
They aren’t going to find
him either are they Jason?”

Kelly and Rachel turned to Craig
but Jason stared into nothing and answered flatly. “No.”

Kelly and Rachel looked puzzled,
their attention drifting back to Jason.

“
Jason, you gave that
police officer a statement that would be easiest for him to accept,
didn’t you?”

This time Jason looked up. “I
couldn’t tell him what happened. I couldn’t, he wouldn’t have
believed me.”

Craig sat on the sofa across
from him and Kelly got up from her uncomfortable looking crouch and
joined him. “You said ‘it took them’. Tell us about ‘it’, tell us
what happened.”

Jason pulled away from Rachel
and sat up, looked at each of them in turn and took a deep breath.
“It was like I said. They made me use the lift while they were on
top, and I was too scared to fight back, but there was no argument.
There is something going on here.” He stared into Rachel and his
tone became agitated, desperate. “You know there is too. Something
took Emily and Amy. It has taken others as well. It’s behind other
disappearances, maybe the few deaths that have happened too.”

Rachel rubbed Jason’s shoulder.
“It’s okay. We know. We believe you.”

“
It has been after me
too.”

“
You have seen it?” Kelly
asked urgently.

“
Not at first. Electrical
equipment would play up, or I would see flashes of green light. I
know that means it’s near, that it’s coming. That’s why I was in
the lift. I didn’t want to stay in one place; I thought that if I
kept moving it wouldn’t find me. When I was in the lift the lights
flickered and there was this noise, like whistling but it got
louder like singing or screaming. The lights went out but the lift
filled with green light, like someone had opened up the back of the
lift and there was a green sun back there, it was so bright. There
was something in the light, it was horrible, it’s body and face
didn’t have any skin, just bone and muscles. It flew at me with
long skinny arms and fingers. It was all ready to grab me. But I
had pressed the button for the next floor and the lift went down.
The roof passed through it. It went through the roof like some kind
of ghost! It couldn’t get me, so instead of grabbing me it must
have grabbed David. The green light went and the lights came back
on. It took him instead of me.” His eyes were wet and his lip
quivered but he didn’t cry. He was one tough kid, Craig
decided.

“
And Mikey?” Kelly
prompted.

“
I don’t know. I heard his
scream go past me. He must have gotten scared and taken a wrong
step, or it knocked him off so it could get to David.”

“
You poor boy.” Rachel
sidled up to him again and stretched her arm around him.

“
You believe
me?”

“
Of course we do.” Rachel
answered. Craig saw Kelly nod so he threw Jason a wink of
reassurance.

Kelly leaned forward, her hands
folded on her knees, her tone soft but even. “The authorities are
having trouble getting hold of your mum.”

“
She’s in hospital, like I
said, visiting my granddad. Whittington hospital.”

Kelly nodded. “So, I said I
would take responsibility for getting you to her. I think after
what you have been through that’s the best place for you. We were
all going to the Royal Free hospital together, so we can take a
detour and go to the Whittington. One more passenger won’t hurt.
You okay with that?”

“
Yeah, great.” Jason was
already on his feet. “Anything to get me out of this building. I
never want to come back here.”

Chapter
Twenty Six

Jason allowed himself to be
shepherded through the corridors of the hospital by Kelly Rachel
and Craig, following the directions that Kelly had been given in
the reception area. Being in the middle of the adults and in the
large busy corridors he felt small. He felt even smaller as they
got closer to the private room that his granddad had been moved to.
The fear and worry he had lived with at The Heights had distracted
him from other worries, ones about his granddad dying and how when
he did die he would join his dad, Emily and Amy as another person
Jason had lost. He would only have his mum left. Suddenly he
realised that it wasn’t he that seemed smaller, but the world and
the people in it. If he lost his mum he would have nothing
left.

His mum could not go home. He
had to make sure that they didn’t go back to The Heights even if it
meant telling her the truth, or at least something like it. Craig’s
hand, that had been clamped to Jason’s shoulder since they had
arrived in the hospital, steered him into a quieter narrow
corridor. The grip was strong but gentle, and Jason felt some of
that transfer into him. He was glad to be with this group of
adults, Rachel accepted his story and was quick to comfort him,
Craig spoke to him like an adult and seemed protective over him;
how he day-dreamed a big brother would be, and Kelly had authority
that was respected by others and shielded him. With these three he
felt protected, and most importantly he trusted them and they
believed him.

Kelly, who had taken the lead,
held up her hand and they all stopped. “Your granddad’s room is up
ahead, I am going to go and talk to your mum first, tell her about
the incident you were involved in.”

Jason nodded and Kelly walked
further down the corridor and hesitated at a doorway and knocked on
the door jamb, his mum appeared and met Kelly without looking his
way. Both Kelly and his mum spoke quietly, and although he couldn’t
hear what was being said, he saw his mum raise a hand to her mouth
the way he had seen countless people do on TV when they had
received bad news, she closed the door to granddad’s room so that
he couldn’t hear. Kelly put her hands on his mum’s shoulders and he
knew she was telling her that Jason was okay and he wasn’t in any
trouble. Kelly beckoned for him to join them and he could see the
relief on his mum’s face. Craig’s hand fell away and Jason found
himself rushing to his mum. She crouched to his height and wrapped
her arms around him. He fitted in his mum’s arms perfectly and it
was so much more comforting than the hugs Rachel had given him. The
embrace was tight, strong and long. Hugs had become like this since
dad had left.

“
I am so sorry I left you,
Jay.” The hug tightened. “I didn’t want you to be here. Sorry I
left you.”

“
It’s okay.” He could hear
her breath catching in her throat and he knew she was going to cry.
He spoke more firmly. “It’s okay, mum.”

“
Your granddad isn’t going
to be with us long.”

“
I know.” He admitted
after a little while.

She pulled away but stayed on
her knees at his height and wiped at her red eyes. “I don’t want
you to see him the way he is now. He wouldn’t want you to see him
that way. He would want you to remember him the way he was.”

Granddad had been a military man
when he was younger, and he had remained tall and broad and strong.
As fun and loving as granddad could be he didn’t do emotions, he
had always relied upon nanny to do that for him. When Jason had
stayed with his grandparents he had always gone to his nan for
comforting any grazes, frustrations or sadness. It was always her
that made a fuss of him and gave him sweets, treats and pocket
money, maybe that was why granddad held back – didn’t want to spoil
him. Granddad did answers to questions, rough and tumble games,
learning to ride bikes and swim, and disapproval.

No. Granddad would not want to
be seen vulnerable and frightened. Frightened? The only time he had
seen granddad sad and scared was when nan had died, it had
frightened Jason to see him that way, but he had reassured Jason
that as strong as men were there were times they all needed to cry
like children. “I don’t want to go home.”

“
Oh, you
have had a terrible day, honey. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to
do.” She struggled back onto her feet and pulled him to her
side.
“Thank you so much for bringing him to me Kelly.
It was really nice of you…”

“
It was nothing
really.”

Rachel stepped forward. “Have
you got any family or friends that perhaps Jason could stay with
for a few days? Give you one less thing to trouble you.”

Jason knew there was only
Claire and they hadn’t heard from her since Amy.

His mum shrugged. “There isn’t
really anyone. He will have to stay here.”

“
I wonder if Kelly and
myself can help out. I realise you don’t know me, but I would be
more than willing to have him over at mine for the night, or even a
few days if it helps.”

Jason knew he would be safe at
Rachel’s, but his mum looked surprised and uncomfortable and she
made shapes with her mouth but couldn’t find the words, he leapt in
before she could say no. “Mum, really it would be okay, Rachel’s
local and she’s really nice, and a friend of Kelly’s, and she’s a
policeman.” Jason yelped and clutched his ear that was suddenly
sore and realised Kelly had flicked it.

“
I am
not a police
man:
just
because you have a truncheon it doesn’t mean you are a
man
. I know several men that would
benefit from that advice.” The last part she said directly to his
mum.

She laughed at this and seemed
to relax. “I can second that.”

“
Seriously though, I’m
spending the day and possibly the evening with Rachel and I drive,
so I am more than happy to fetch him back and forth for you. He has
said a few times that he didn’t want to go back home, I think what
happened on top of everything else that’s been happening at The
Heights really shook him up.”