Thirteen Roses Book Three: Beyond: A Paranormal Zombie Saga (24 page)

The thought gave her courage as they shuffled along in the gloom.
 

The light from the cavern soon appeared, and the hostages formed a queue as, one by one, they made their way down the steps.
 

After what felt like forever, she stepped out onto the shelf and stared down. The cavern was filled with blonde women, spreading out into the torch-lit space. To one side stood twenty five or so soldiers, guns slung over their shoulders, gazing at the hostages. A couple had their gas masks around their necks, faces displaying undisguised admiration. Bayleigh sneered and then shrugged. She couldn’t blame them, not really.
 

At least none of them were getting rowdy. These guys had been promised the women and now they were walking out on them. But not one looked ready to attack. Some of the soldiers had come from the tunnel behind and stood with her on the shelf. She turned to the one who had been following her. ‘Do you really want to work with Etienne?’

The guy opened his eyes wide and mumbled something. Then he pulled his gas mask down and spoke more clearly. ‘He is the leader. He is the voice through which God speaks to us—’

‘Hang on. You know the guy who’s down there?’ She pointed at Luke and the man nodded. ‘You know who he is, right? You understand he’s an angel. Not some human who thinks he’s better than everyone else. An actual angel.’

The man stared at the floor, fingers opening and closing around his gun. ‘I don’t know that, not for certain.’

‘Well, any time you change you mind and want to live with sane people, you’re welcome.’

The soldier blushed and shook his head. ‘I live to serve God.’

‘Yeah, right, whate—’

‘Leaving so soon?’ The voice boomed across the cavern and Bayleigh ducked. ‘I thought you’d hang around for a while. Your friend certainly wants you to.’

She gasped as a figure rose up from the floor of the cavern on huge red wings shot through with veins that pulsed in time with their beating. The hostages screamed and Bayleigh only just stopped herself from joining them. She nudged the soldier next to her.
 

‘See that? That’s who you guys are working for. He look much like God to you?’

David

David froze, feeling the rough stone beneath his hands and the warmth flooding through it from the room below. The demon stared straight at him and any thoughts he had of running scampered away with what remained of his courage.

‘Come on, come on down, show yourself.’

The voice compelled him, though whether through supernatural means or sheer terror, he couldn’t say. He scrambled down into the lounge-cum-gangster lair.
 

‘Please, take a seat, get comfy.’

‘I, um, I. Who are you?’

‘My name is Az. And you are David. How’ve you been feeling lately?’

‘Alright, I guess.’

‘No impure thoughts about a certain young lady?’

David flushed and examined his hands. He was about to mutter that she wasn’t that young when the demon burst out laughing. ‘You’ll have to forgive me for that. I just like screwing with you.’

David’s head jerked up and he stared at the demon. ‘That was you?’

‘Come on, have you ever asked someone whether they were a virgin? Is that really your style?’

David flushed again. He wouldn’t mention that he didn’t even remember saying it. The demon lounged back in the seat, folding his massive hands behind his head. David glared at him, then remembered who he was and looked down. Beads of sweat trickled down his neck.
 

‘Are you going to kill me?’

‘You don’t sound too broken up about that.’

‘I’m… I don’t think I am. I should be but I’m…’ He stared at his hands, overwhelmed with the urge to spill his guts. Why the hell did he want to do that to a demon? Heh, ‘why the hell’. That was kinda funny. Was the demon messing with him again?

‘Are you making me want to talk to you?’

Az put his head to one side and smiled. ‘I’m just an approachable guy, what can I say?’

David smiled back. Az wasn’t at all what a demon was supposed to be like. He had the horns and the red fur and even teeth sharp enough and big enough to make David squirm, but he wasn’t evil. At least, he didn’t seem to be. Perhaps that was the point.
 

‘I’m broken. I’m just… he broke me.’

He looked at Az and the demon blurred as tears filled his eyes. He scrubbed them away and snorted. ‘And I’m pathetic. I can’t hold a thought for longer than five seconds, I can’t remember half of my life. He did this, he…’

His hands ached and he stretched them out, breaking them free of the fists into which they were clenched. Az nodded, face wearing something that looked vaguely conciliatory but could easily have been humour. ‘That sucks. I can help with that.’

‘How? How can you help me? My mind’s a mess and everyone thinks I’m mad, which they should because I am. So how can you help?’

‘I can change your mind.’

His words fell into a silence that seemed to swallow David whole.
 
He went with it, his senses dulling as the world closed in around him. He stood before the demon, his gaze fixed on the jet-black eyes that burrowed deep into him.
 

‘I can change you so you’re no longer mad. You will be the sanest person on the planet, though that ain’t the greatest boast right now. Would you like that?’

He didn’t know. He didn’t know anything anymore except his longing to hurt and kill Luke. Beyond that, nothing mattered. He nodded, though he wasn’t sure what he was agreeing to. Az stood, placed a hand on his shoulder, and pushed him gently down into the sofa.
 

‘Relax, take the weight off. Think about it for a while. There’s no rush.’

There was a rush, though. His friends were doing something upstairs. He couldn’t remember what now. It was important. It had something to do with the hostages. Now if he could just remember who the hostages were. He scowled and his mouth pulled this way and that. He prodded it with his fingers, feeling the skin, feeling how it stretched and went taut.
 

He giggled and prodded his head. His hair was very different to his skin. He was fluffy. He giggled again. Az was staring at him with the strangest look on his face. Then he nodded as though he’d reached some mysterious conclusion. David stopped giggling.
 

‘When Luke cursed you, what happened?’

David put his head in his hands, then peeked out from between his fingers. Az waited, arms folded over his chest. He was so big.
 

‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

‘Just give me the basics.’

David let out a long sigh and nodded. He told him about the empty streets of London, about how he’d woken up in his bed to discover the world was empty of people. He told him how he’d walked all the way to Steph’s in central and not been able to get in. When he’d finished it was like someone had reached inside and pulled out all his bile and hatred and fear.
 

He sat straighter and rested his hands on his legs. It was a gesture that reminded him of his father. Father had always been an upright sort of person. There were worse things to call yourself. Az rocked his head from side to side.
 

‘I think Luke sent you to Hell. I’m not sure he knew because as far as he’s concerned, Hell doesn’t exist anymore. But I think that’s where you went.’

‘Hell doesn’t exist?’

‘Mmm. The Father closed down Heaven and Hell a few centuries ago. He thought it was fostering a divide in his family. Poor old bastard didn’t realise the divide had been there for millennia already. Didn’t know most of us didn’t care either. So yeah, he closes them down, moves everyone to the Flights and, just like that, we’re all equal. Everyone working towards the same goal.’

‘What’s the goal?’

‘Balance. Grey. Mediocrity. Call it what you want.’ Az perched on the arm of his huge armchair and idly picked at one of his six inch long nails. ‘Of course, the enterprising ones among us knew that Hell didn’t just disappear. That’s some quality supernatural real estate right there. So we had ourselves a search and found it.’

‘You found Hell?’

‘Exactly. Then we found a way in and opened it up, just enough for some of the old shit in there to spill out into the world and make things more exciting. Helps me with the old power business as well. Anyway, you don’t want to hear all this. You want to be changed.’

He let it hang and David nodded, sliding forward on the sofa. ‘I do. There’s something else as well.’

Az raised an eyebrow.
 

‘My name isn’t David.’

‘No?’

‘No.’ He shook his head and frowned. ‘They all call me David, but I’m not David. I’m Dave. That’s who I am.’

He nodded. He was sure of that at least. He was Dave. ‘I want to be changed. I don’t want to be broken anymore.’

‘Excellent. I had a feeling you’d say that.’

Az rose and stood before him, then placed his hands on Dave’s head. They stayed like that long enough for Dave to open his eyes and prepare to ask if anything was going to happen. Just as he opened his mouth, he felt it. Something came from Az’s hands, worms that slithered across his scalp. He moaned and tried to move his head but he was fixed in place.
 

Then the worms began to burrow. His mouth stretched wide open but he had no breath with which to scream. He jerked, his body flailing about beneath his captured head, like a doll in one of those claw machines at a fairground. The worms got through and the world went black. He didn’t lose consciousness, but he’d forgotten how to see. He’d forgotten everything. Except his name. He was Dave. He clung to that like a laser baton in the
Sarlacc
Pit
.

The worms didn’t crawl back out. They grew warm and melted, leaving him with the overpowering sensation that he was leaking from his nose and eyes. He blinked and the world came back. He stared at the red, muscled body before him and felt a twinge of jealousy.
 

It was jealousy. He knew that because he could recognise the physiological responses in his body. His forehead became slightly hot, the muscles in his neck and head tensed and some of his neural pathways associated with logic closed up. It was fascinating watching it all. Jealousy was such a challenging emotion. It did so much harm to the body. He probably shouldn’t feel that. He blinked and the jealousy went away.
 

‘That’s it, you’re done. You are no longer insane.’

‘No, I’m not. It’s amazing. I’m also aware that as I say amazing I’m not feeling it. There’s no amazing feeling in me. It’s like someone just typed amazing in my brain.’

‘Like I said, sane as houses.’

‘What have you done?’

‘I’ve removed all the things that made you insane.’

‘Such as?’

‘Oh, nothing you really need. Emotions and judgment and values and biased. All the messy things that screw up how you guys live.’

 
‘You’ve taken away my emotions? How… is that interesting? I think that’s interesting. I’m not sure.’

‘You’ll get that a lot now. Don’t let it worry you. Listen to me. I’m going to save the world and that’s a good thing. Do you think that’s a good thing?’

Dave nodded. It sounded like a good thing. He was in the world so saving it seemed sensible.
 

‘Great. I need your help. I need you to be my eyes.’

‘You already have eyes. I don’t think you can take mine it—’

‘Yeah, right, it’s an expression. Come on, I didn’t take your memories.’

‘My memories. Oh yes. They don’t… they don’t look real. It’s like watching a movie in my head about someone else.’

‘That’s probably for the best. It’s not been the best couple of weeks for you. Anyhoo. Being my eyes means I need you to keep an eye on things and let me know what’s going on.’

‘Going on where?’

‘With your friends. Luke and Alex and Bayleigh and Jackson and Ed and Krystal. They are your friends, right, and I’m worried about them, so I need you to keep an eye on them. That will help me save the world.’

It was strange because the demon spoke to him like he was a child and he wasn’t a child at all. Not only had he been alive for twenty nine years, he was unburdened by all the things that made most people do silly things. His mind was clear and sharp and… empty. In one little corner of it was the request the demon had just made of him. In another corner were pictures of the six people he’d just listed. That was about it.
 

It made things remarkably easy.
 

‘How will I tell you what’s going on?’

The demon pulled a phone from his pocket and handed it over. Dave examined it, opening the screen and going to the texts. There was only one number in there. He nodded. ‘This all seems simple enough. And we’re doing this to save the world?’

‘Exactly right. Now. I need to distract your friends while you slip out of here. I think Luke might be suspicious if I let him go without a fight.’

‘What’s suspicious?’

The demon rolled his eyes. ‘I really did a number on you, didn’t I? Were you even a little bit smart before this all happened?’

Dave frowned and shrugged. ‘I think smart must be a judgment call. I don’t know.’

‘Yeah, well, I think I’m seeing why a fortnight in Hell screwed with your mind. Anyway, suspicious means to doubt the reason someone’s doing something. But it’s not important. Once I distract Luke, sneak out of here and go and help Krystal get down, okay?’

Dave nodded and sat back in the couch. He should be tense. Words like sneak and help implied something that should lead to tension, shouldn’t they? What happened to make you feel tense? He shrugged and watched the demon. He climbed up the steps, his wings tucking in tight to his body as he squeezed through the door at the top.
 

Dave looked around the room once more then followed him up. He could hear things, people murmuring and talking and foot steps in the cathedral. Then a voice boomed out, the voice of the person who wanted to save the world. ‘Leaving so soon? I thought you’d hang around for a minute. Your friend certainly wants you to.’