Lanherne Chronicles (Prequel): To Escape the Dead (30 page)

‘Per favore…,’ she begged breathlessly, her head spinning as dancing stars began to appear in the corners of her vision.

Barely a metre from the door, and Carmella’s fingers, numb from the reduction of blood flow to her limbs, simply no longer had the strength to pull her any closer.

‘Please…,’ she cried, switching to English in the hope someone may hear her faint pleas, ‘P… Please h… help me… my baby… p… p… please save my baby… ‘

‘My baby…,’ she continued, her words barely a whisper while swirling shadows threatened to swallow her.

But the darkness would not relinquish its claim on her and as Carmella drifted into unconsciousness the last sounds she heard were the cries of her new born son and her own whispered prayers to save him. For she knew she was dying and she knew that with the last breath leaving her body she would be reborn minutes later as a monster. She would return to the land of the living as an unholy thing, an abomination, a hungry cancer gnawing away at life and the living. And as consciousness finally slipped from her grasp her final thought was that someone would find her body and destroy it before her corpse could rise to feast upon the only other living thing in the room; her baby.

***

Standing in front of the locked door, the candle shaking slightly in her hand, Freya fought back the urge to be sick. Since leaving Parker and Baxter taking an unconscious Fran to the basement she had felt her sense of guilt and shame twist and churn in her stomach. God only knew what Zak had planned for the woman of this group but if her own experiences at Saint Xavier’s were anything to go by, they certainly wouldn’t be thanking her anytime soon. In fact she knew they would look at her with nothing but hate in their eyes from now on and quite frankly she wouldn’t blame them at all.

Just like the other women, and those few others before her who had somehow managed to escape, Fran had been forced to prostitute herself simply to ensure her safety at the Academy. It had horrified her when she had been ‘given’ to one of the guards upon her arrival and even now it still sickened her when Aiden laid his hands on her but at least she had it better than most, at least it appeared as though he had grown to care for her. In fact he had even seemed happy when she had told him of her pregnancy; some of the other woman had not been so lucky in this regard and many a vicious beating had quickly dealt with the little growing problems inside them.

Abby, being a lesbian had found the whole ordeal unbearable and had begged Freya to escape with her but she had seen it as hopeless; especially in her condition. Freya knew it would be hard enough for Abby, Justin and Karl to make their escape without having a heavily pregnant woman slowing them down and even though it broke her heart to see her leave, she had insisted the three of them take any opportunity to flee as soon it arose. But they had been caught and now Karl was dead, killed by the Dead at the gates and Abby was being held somewhere probably having the fight beaten out of her; just what had happened to Justin, she had no idea. Freya was helpless, Zak had her sister and it was clear that if she wanted any chance of seeing her alive again she had no choice but to do as he said.       

‘Please forgive me,’ she whispered to the darkness as her fingers tightened about the key in the lock.

With a soft ‘click’ the key turned and she pushed open the door. Moving on its well-greased hinges the door barely made a sound as it swung open and as Freya stepped into the room the flickering light from her candle illuminated Anne, her wide blue eyes peeking over the blanket pulled up to her chin.

‘Don’t move!’ growled a woman’s voice to her left as Freya suddenly felt the cold metal of a blade beneath her chin.

‘Wait!’ Freya urgently whispered, afraid to move. ‘Please… Fran… Fran sent me. You’re in danger… please… please you must believe me…’

‘What?’ said Sally, lowering the blade slightly. ‘Fran sent you?... not Liz?’

‘Yes,’ Freya continued, slowly turning her head to look at the woman next to her. ‘Look, we don’t have much time… Please you’ve got to come with me now.’

‘Where’s Lizzy?’ said Anne, her large eyes already filling with tears as she pushed aside the blankets.

‘Oh, Sweetie… I… I don’t know,’ Freya replied, looking from the young girl back to Sally, the candle illuminating the worried look on her face. ‘I don’t know, I really don’t but please… I need to get you both somewhere safe and we need to go now!’

‘What about Charlie and the others?’ asked Sally, taking the knife completely away from Freya’s neck. ‘Shouldn’t we get them first?’

‘There isn’t time,’ Freya whispered, making a show of nervously looking back down the hallway, ‘and anyway it’s not them they’re interested in, it’s you. I’ve got to hide you both until morning… Come on, please. We’ve got to go before someone comes… Fran’s waiting…’

‘You… You must trust me!’ she finally said, hoping the shadows hid her shame.

For a few seconds Sally looked at Freya, unsure what to do.

‘OK,’ she finally whispered with a nod remembering the note of warning Liz had found from the young woman. ‘We’ll come…’

With Anne jumping from the bed to run over to take Sally’s hand, Freya once again made a show of cautiously looking for anyone coming along the hall.

‘Come on,’ she whispered, stepping back in to the corridor. ‘Stay close and be as quiet as you can…’

‘And hide that knife,’ she continued, turning a corner to lead Sally and Anne down a small staircase. ‘If we come across any of Zak’s guards I’ll say I’m taking you to see Carmella’s baby… just play along, OK.’

‘Has… has she had her baby?’ asked Anne, her short legs working double time to keep up with the strides of the two quickly walking women.

‘A little boy,’ she replied, turning to smile down at the young girl.

The happy grin that spread across Anne’s face only made Freya feel worse about what she was doing.

‘So, where’s your sister? Where’s Liz?’ she quickly asked, hoping that at least one of the women would be spared.

‘She got your note,’ replied Sally, pausing briefly to take the woman’s advice and hide the knife down the side of one of her socks. ‘The one you slipped in her jacket.’

‘Oh, I had hoped she’d find it sooner,’ Freya muttered, watching Sally pull her trouser leg back over the concealed knife, ‘at least when you all had a chance of getting out of here before…’

‘Before what?’ hissed Sally, suddenly realising Freya had made no attempt to explain just what was happening. ‘Just what’s going on here?’

‘Zak and his guards,’ said Freya, ‘they… they claim all the women. They make us pay for our safety.’

‘Pay?’ Sally whispered. ‘Pay with… Oh!’

Sally knew the way of the world and it was a world she was well used to in one way or another. All her life she had known men like this; men that required this type of payment, men that would use their power and influence to get what they wanted no matter what.

‘And you have no choice in the matter?’ Sally asked, following Freya across a black and white tile hall.

‘Choice?’ said Freya choking back a sad laugh. ‘Once a woman gets this side of the walls of Saint Xavier’s there isn’t the option to leave again… and if they catch you trying to escape…’

‘Punishment can be very harsh,’ came a man’s voice suddenly from the shadows.

‘Kyle!’ jumped Freya, the candle slipping from her grasp.

Rolling across the tiled floor until it came to rest under the toe of Kyle’s boot, the candle abruptly sputtered and then went out.

‘Here, allow me,’ said Kyle somewhere in the darkness.

Suddenly a door opened, sending a rectangular shard of electric light across the hallway floor.

‘Fran and your sister are down here,’ he said, nodding towards the door while his eyes flicked to Freya’s, the single glance between them telling her she had better keep her mouth shut.

‘What the fuck’s going on here, Freya?’ barked Sally, feeling Anne’s small fists clutching at the fabric of her trouser leg.

‘I…’ was all Freya could say, tearfully turning her head away to look at the floor.

‘You fucking bitch!’ sneered Sally, tempted to make a grab for the hidden knife.

‘Now, now, ladies. There’s no need for any unpleasantness,’ said Kyle, ‘this is nothing sinister, Sally. I just need you and the child to wait in the basement with Fran and Liz until morning.’

‘And why would we do that?’ snapped Sally, still on her guard.

‘Well, as I’m sure Freya has told you, when it comes to women Zak and his friends tend to be a little…’ he continued, pausing briefly as he thought of the right word, ‘forceful. So I thought I’d keep you all out of harm’s way until morning and by then I’d have had time to talk to Zak… who knows, perhaps he can convince the others to see reason rather than just give in to their baser instincts… It’s purely for your own safety I assure you… and you’ll be released by morning…’

‘And what about Abby?’ asked Freya, knowing everything he had just said to Sally had been nothing but lies. ‘When are you going to release my sister? Please Kyle, I’ll make sure she doesn’t try to leave again, I promise… Please, Kyle. I…’

‘In any society there must be rules,’ said Kyle, holding his hand up to silence Freya’s pleas, ‘whether you agree with the rules or not, there must be structure, there must be order and by default there must be punishment for those who transgress those laws.’

‘But…’ Freya began, wiping away a heavy tear that escaped her eye.

‘Abby will be released soon enough,’ he interrupted, clearly already bored and irritated with the pregnant woman’s near hysteria. ‘Now, I think you should get back to Carmella… see just how the new mother and baby are doing.’

Bending down, he retrieved the extinguished candle and began to search his pockets for a lighter.

‘But…’ said Freya, confused at just which parts of what Kyle was saying were the smokescreen to get Sally and Anne into the basement and which were true.

‘Freya,.’ Kyle said coldly, and she instantly knew a line had been drawn; she was to leave that moment if she ever wanted to see Abby again.

‘Yes, Kyle,’ she replied, forlornly stepping forwards to take the candle from his outstretched hand.

Holding her gaze, as if still daring her to disobey him, Kyle flicked the lighter with his thumb, sparking the flame to life.

‘Can’t have you stumbling around in the dark, now can we?’ he said, his words lacking any real concern.

‘Thank you, Kyle,’ she replied, her own words barely above a whisper as he lit the candle on the second attempt.

Tearing her eyes away from Kyle’s cold stare, Freya stole one brief glance in Sally’s direction, turned and walked away as briskly as her condition would allow.

‘Now,’ Kyle continued, turning his attention back to Sally, ‘we really should get you two hidden before Zak’s guards find out you’re missing.’

‘Erm…’ Sally began, still unsure if she could trust Zak’s brother.

‘I’m unarmed if that’s what you’re worrying about,’said Kyle, making a show of opening his jacket to prove he wasn’t carrying anything concealed.

Sally nervously chewed on her lip and wondered if she could hold her own against Kyle in a fight with him. Unlike the guards she had seen, Kyle was hardly a muscular specimen and as he had spent all of the last five years inside Saint Xavier’s he simply wasn’t used to fighting for his life but then again, neither was she particularly skilled in that area either. The only thing she could see going in her favour was that she had one surprise up her sleeve or rather up her trouser leg. She had the knife.

‘OK,’ she reluctantly said, realising her options were severely limited.

Stepping aside so she and Anne could pass him, Kyle gestured towards the open doorway.

‘Down the steps and through the door at the end,’ he said, pulling the door closed behind them as they began to carefully descend the staircase. ‘Mind you don’t slip.’

The moment she led Anne through the second door, Sally realised she had made a terrible mistake. There facing her with an arrow already drawn in his bow was a tall blond haired guard while behind him a second leant nonchalantly against a table picking at his teeth.

‘Welcome, come in, join the party,’ said Baxter, nodding for Sally to move further into the room.

It was only as she stepped in to the room that Sally noticed Liz, an unconscious Fran and a bloody faced girl who she assumed to be Freya’s sister, all lying on the floor, their wrists and feet bound with zip-lock ties.

‘Lizzy!’ cried Anne, about to dart forward to her sister.

Knowing any sudden movement could mean their deaths, Sally grabbed hold of the fleeing child and held her in place.

‘You fucking piece of shit!’ snapped Sally turning to glare at Kyle.

With a speed that she found unexpected, his hand suddenly shot out and slapped her hard across the face.

‘Don’t ever talk to me like that again, bitch!’ he growled, allowing his true self to flare momentarily.

‘Parker, get off your arse and tie these two up,’ he continued, visibly gaining control of himself again.

With a ‘huff’ and a roll his eyes, Parker pushed himself from the table and grabbed a handful of the ties before walking over to Sally.