Blood Water Page 4

  They called through the open door to see if anyone was around. No answer.

  ‘Doesn’t look like there’s anyone in,’ Sean said. ‘What should we do?’

  ‘Well, we can’t just stand here and get wet.’

  ‘What if something’s happened though?’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘I don’t know—’

  Suddenly there was a sound like breaking glass from somewhere inside the building.

  ‘Come on,’ Sean said, starting to turn away. ‘I don’t like this, let’s—’

  Another crash of glass. They stood there, unable to move. Finally James pushed the door further open.

  ‘I don’t think we should go in,’ said Sean.

  ‘Someone might be hurt.’ James clearly expected him to follow.

  Sean had no reply to this, but he still didn’t want to go inside. He had a really bad feeling about the place, but out here he was growing colder and wetter by the minute. He had to get under cover, and if James was determined to go in, maybe it would be all right.

  CHAPTER 8

  It seemed somehow colder inside than out, and darker too. The rain had penetrated the building, but not enough to flood it; the floor was covered with only a thin layer of water. They walked into the reception area and saw a large notice board with posters and leaflets pinned to it – Walks with Wildlife and Discover Algae with the Expert were displayed amongst others detailing more courses and activities. However, it was clear that nothing was going on right now: the place was deathly quiet.

  Sean followed James along a corridor, then into a long room that looked like a laboratory. At first everything seemed normal, but as they moved through to the far end they saw smashed test tubes and other equipment littering the floor.

  ‘What happened here?’ Sean asked, taking care not to tread on any glass.

  ‘Don’t know,’ James said. ‘This is weird. I’ve never seen anything like this before. The caretaker usually keeps this place spotless, and everything was fine when I left last Wednesday.’ He went across to a whiteboard, which had recently been rubbed clean. In front of this was a desk covered with sheets of hastily scribbled notes and what looked like chemical formulas.

  ‘What’s all that?’ Sean came and stood beside his brother, peering down at the notes. The two words that seemed to crop up more than any others were ‘specimen’ and ‘host’ – though the handwriting was often illegible: perhaps the writer had been in a hurry.

  ‘Must be important if they were rushing to write it all down.’ Sean picked up one of the pages and tried to read the scrawled text.

  ‘It looks like Dr Morrow’s handwriting,’ James said.

  ‘Who?’

  ‘He’s one of the scientists here. I help him out with his research from time to time.’

  ‘What sort of research?’

  ‘Oh, just… stuff. You know. Lake stuff. This, though…’ he said, leafing through the papers. ‘This is strange…’

  A word written in red capital letters on some lined paper caught Sean’s attention: dangerous. He pointed it out to James. They looked at each other in bemusement, then both felt a chill – as if they were no longer alone.

  ‘Did you hear something?’ James asked.

  ‘No, but I think…’

  They turned round slowly and saw a figure in the doorway. A bearded middle-aged man was watching them; his white lab coat was smeared with what looked like blood, and in one hand he held an axe. His expression was blank. Sean watched his shoulders rise and fall as he breathed, and wondered if he was mentally ill. Then the man spoke.

  ‘James… Sorry, I thought you were…’ It was a whisper, a painful rasp. ‘Don’t go.’ The man seemed to come to life now. He slowly lowered the axe and leaned it against the door frame before coming forward as if hoping they wouldn’t notice it.

  ‘Dr Morrow?’ James had been working with the scientist for several months, but he looked very different now – tired and drawn.

  ‘What’s going on here?’ Sean asked.

  Morrow approached them slowly. He seemed in no fit state to pose a threat, so they remained where they were. He looked briefly at the notes on the table, his eyebrows raised, then shook his head.

  ‘It’s gone.’

  ‘What has?’ James asked.

  For a while there was no answer, then: ‘The specimen.’

  ‘Specimen?’ Sean asked.

  ‘Yes. It’s gone.’

  ‘No,’ James said. ‘How? What happened? Where’s everyone else?’

  ‘Everyone else?’ The man looked directly at him now, as though seeing him for the first time. ‘They’re dead. They’re here, but… they’re dead.’

  James exchanged a worried look with his brother.

  ‘For some reason it went crazy.’

  ‘What is it?’ Sean asked.

  ‘It’s an organism I discovered lying dormant in a pool near the lake a few days ago. I couldn’t identify it – it appeared to be a type of sea slug, but after further study it became clear that it was a new form of life entirely. I dedicated all my time to examining it. Imagine my surprise when I found that it could enter the bodies of other animals and control them, even learn from them. But it seemed restless; it didn’t like being kept here. All it needed was some idiot to come along and set it free. And that’s exactly what happened. Holland became infected. I wondered if the specimen could take control of a human being, but I… I never wanted it to happen. Oh, God.’

  ‘Infected?’ James really didn’t like what he was hearing, and neither did his brother. Sean was remembering the incident by the bank of the swollen stream, and was beginning to wonder if it had been real after all.

  ‘The specimen got inside Holland’s body. It was able to make him do anything it wanted. I locked myself in my room when I saw what it was doing to him. He killed the others in a terrible rage, then stormed out. I waited until I was sure it was safe, then came out.’

  ‘He didn’t come after you?’ Sean asked.

  ‘No. Thank God.’

  ‘This all sounds so…’

  ‘Insane? Yes, it does, but that’s because this thing is something no one has had to deal with before. This is a new life-form, or at least one we haven’t identified yet.’

  ‘I think I saw this Holland guy,’ Sean said. ‘By the stream in the park. He looked terrible, like he was really ill—’

  ‘What? You’ve seen him?’

  ‘I think so.’

  ‘How did he get there? Unless… The river.’

  ‘What about it?’ James asked.

  ‘While that thing was inside him Holland kept screaming the word "home". Perhaps it made him go back to find the pool where it had come from. You… You didn’t approach him, did you?’

  ‘No. He mentioned the centre. I think he might have been trying to tell me where he came from. Then he slipped back into the water. Although before that he was violently sick, with blood and everything, and the… that thing fell out of his mouth.’

  ‘The specimen? Perhaps it left his body because he was no longer of any use… I can’t think of any other reason why it would leave its host.’

  ‘I saw it move. It was disgusting. How did it get inside him?’

  ‘The same way it got out, I presume,’ Morrow said. ‘Through his mouth.’

  ‘Oh God… Mr Phoenix, my teacher, said he might have a look by the stream to check out my story… What if—?’

  ‘We have to find your teacher and make sure he hasn’t been infected. Where will he be now?’

  ‘At school.’

  ‘The High School?’

  ‘Yes.’

  Morrow and James exchanged concerned glances.

  ‘There are hundreds of kids there right now,’ James said, ‘and this rain is going to cut the whole town off soon. They’ll be trapped. If we go there we’ll be trapped too.’

  ‘No, no, the school is on a hill, isn’t it? It might be cut off from the town but there’ll still be the back roads. We
should get there as soon as we can. If your teacher is infected, I can try and extract the creature before it does too much damage.’

  ‘How?’

  There was an uneasy pause.

  ‘I have no idea. I’ll have to work that out when we find it.’

  Sean and James looked at each other, but in the absence of a better plan they followed the scientist out into the car park.

  CHAPTER 9

  It made no sense. When he regained consciousness he was already pulling himself up the bank. How was that possible? He was like a spectator inside his own body. He could hear himself gasping for air, could feel his arms and legs move as he scrambled out of the raging water, heaving his wet body with energy dredged from somewhere within. Moments ago he’d been drowning, dying. Now he was performing a feat of incredible strength – except it didn’t feel like he was doing it. It felt like someone else was. He watched, perplexed, as his body continued to drag itself up the muddy bank, seemingly of its own accord, until it lay down on the ground and rested. He tried to concentrate on moving his right hand – pain lanced across his head. He moaned, although the sound seemed to stay inside, in thought form. He tried moving a foot this time – and again the same pain. It was as if there was a cold bar of metal inside his brain that throbbed every time he tried to do something.

  What the hell has happened to me? he wondered. And then he remembered the slug thing, and the way it had slithered into his mouth before he was lost in the floodwater. Oh God. It couldn’t possibly… He panicked, instinctively trying to get to his feet and run – as if that would do him any good. And he was in agony once again, and again he screamed soundlessly, this time retreating further back into his mind, into a dark corner where he could watch, hoping that somehow someone would set him free.

  They ran towards the car to get out of the rain.

  ‘I had no idea the weather was so bad,’ Morrow said.

  ‘The bridge is flooded. The water is into the town now. I’ve never seen it like this,’ Sean told him. ‘I don’t know how the rain can last this long. There hasn’t been a let-up to allow the water to drain away.’

  ‘Looks like the specimen chose the perfect time to escape. So much panic and confusion.’

  ‘Where did you find it, Dr Morrow?’ Sean asked as he watched his brother struggle to get a clear view through the windscreen.

  ‘In a small pool near the caves beyond the lake. It was dormant, asleep. I thought it was a rock at first, it was so hard. But when I picked it up it must have sensed the warmth in my hand and it just… came to life. I don’t know how long it had been like that, but some marine life can remain almost lifeless for years and years before reawakening.’

  ‘Why didn’t it infect you?’

  ‘It was slow and sluggish to begin with. And unlike Holland I was careful. I’d never seen anything like it before so I kept it in a jar while I studied it, only taking it out when I wanted to see how it behaved with other creatures. I used a mask and handled it with forceps. It’s funny, I thought the precautions I was taking were silly. I was treating it like any other animal when… when things started to go wrong.’

  ‘What other creatures did it infect?’ Sean asked.

  ‘Just fish and one of the pythons. I didn’t have time to test it on anything else, but I imagine the results would have been similar… If it was able to absorb information from those creatures – basic information like the way they moved – imagine what it could learn from a human being… Although now I don’t think I want to imagine that at all. Several good people have died. I would be quite happy to find that thing and destroy it, even if it is one of a kind. It’s far too dangerous. Shame… It could be one of the most important discoveries of the natural world…’

  ‘But human lives come first,’ James said.

  ‘Yes, exactly. Besides, we have no idea what its agenda is – if it has one.’

  ‘Agenda? You mean it’s not just killing for the sake of it?’

  ‘I don’t think so – at least not completely. When it was in Holland it seemed agitated, like it was looking for something. Maybe it did just want to go home. Maybe it killed them all because it was scared. God, what have I done?’

  ‘It’s not your fault,’ James said. ‘You had no idea this would happen.’

  He drove as fast as he dared. Sean watched the road ahead for dangers. They came to two more floods, both times driving through carefully. Morrow stayed silent for a while, sitting back in his seat and thinking, perhaps formulating a plan.

  The sky was growing ever darker and the rain was heavier, if anything. Sean kept thinking of the river water encroaching on the town, sliding hungrily towards the shops. It could already be seeping into ground-floor rooms, pouring into basements. What damage would it do if it was allowed to rise even further? The visions that went through his head were almost apocalyptic. He’d seen news reports of floods around the world: people on rooftops being winched up by helicopters, upside-down cars floating down rivers, buildings collapsing, possessions sinking or floating away for ever. It couldn’t possibly get that bad here, but if the rain didn’t stop soon, it would certainly cause devastation. He wondered if his own house was in danger. He didn’t think so. They were quite a distance from the river, and higher up than the town, but… Horrible thoughts came into his mind, setting off his headache again.

  CHAPTER 10

  As they approached the town, they started seeing other cars. People were either leaving work early or collecting their children from school, knowing it might be impossible later. When they drove past the industrial estate, they could see more evidence of the rain’s work. Even though they were on high ground now, blocked drains were spewing out water: there was simply nowhere underground for it to go. However, the driveway leading to Orchard Wells High School was clear, so James drove in and parked. They walked up to the new reception annexe. The receptionist, Mrs Evans, looked curiously at the scientist, asking his name and the nature of his visit but ignoring Sean and James – whom she knew.

  ‘Yes, hello. My name is Richard Morrow. I’m from the Lake Byrne Field Study Centre. I, er… need to see Mr Phoenix urgently.’

  ‘Mr Phoenix…’ Mrs Evans checked her log book. Sean and James exchanged worried glances, wondering what they’d do if Phoenix was elsewhere or, worse, missing. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t have your name down here in the visitor’s book. Are you sure your appointment was today?’

  ‘Yes – no – look, I really need to see him right now – it’s very urgent. Could you please call him?’

  The receptionist merely checked the book again, as if to say That’s not how it’s done around here, I’m afraid.

  Sean decided to have a go: ‘Mrs Evans, it’s really important we see Mr Phoenix. He found something of scientific interest and Mr Morrow needs to evaluate it. It could be very, very important.’

  ‘Really?’ She looked up. ‘What did he find?’

  ‘It’s, er, a rare species.’

  ‘A rare species of what?’

  ‘We don’t know yet.’

  ‘All right, bear with me a second.’ She sighed, shaking her head as she picked up the phone.

  Pupils and teachers alike were leaving reception and heading out into the rain, beginning their journeys home. Sean had a feeling that for some of them it might already be too late; some were going to get stuck. He looked down the corridor and saw Mr Titus, the headmaster, conversing with two teachers and pointing in the direction of the main hall. He looked very animated and concerned.

  ‘He’s not answering his extension,’ Mrs Evans said eventually, after being interrupted by several teachers and pupils asking about the weather conditions and travel arrangements. She hung up her phone in a manner that suggested she had more important things to do than chase errant teachers. ‘He might have gone home already. I remember seeing him go out earlier, but not coming back. You could see if his car’s in the car park, it’s the black Honda Civic… By the way, Sean, aren’t you supposed to be off
sick?’

  ‘I am. It’s a long story. Thanks, Mrs Evans.’ Sean then remembered that Mum would be home by now. He didn’t have his mobile – he hadn’t thought he’d need it on his walk – but James should have his. He would wait until they’d checked the car park, then get James to phone her with a plausible story for his disappearance.

  With no other obvious course of action they went back out into the rain, scanning the cars for the one belonging to Mr Phoenix. James spotted it almost right away.

  ‘There it is.’

  ‘He hasn’t gone home then,’ Sean said. ‘So he must either be here, or… he never returned from his walk.’

  They stood there getting wetter and wetter in the rain, trying to decide what to do. Suddenly there was a flash of lightning, followed closely by a loud clap of thunder, and the rain intensified.

  ‘This is ridiculous,’ Sean said, the water dripping off his hood.

  ‘Come on,’ Morrow said. ‘Let’s get back inside – quickly.’

  * * *

  The rain prevented any part of him from drying out or getting warm. Not that he was concerned. He couldn’t even feel the cold anyway. He was numb, devoid of sensation. All he could do was watch and listen as the thing controlling his body took him up the road to the top of the hill. Phoenix didn’t know what the thing was planning to do with his body, and he didn’t care, he just wanted it back. But he knew where it was taking him – that seemed pretty clear now, though he couldn’t work out what it intended to do when it got there. He kept getting flashes in his mind – images of murder and mayhem involving people he didn’t recognize. Were these memories? Things the creature had done while in someone else’s body? He remembered the horrible pain he’d felt when he’d tried to regain control of his body earlier. The cold, searing sensation in his head was like an icy dagger. He knew he had to try again at some point, but the idea made him feel nauseous. Was he ill? Would it allow him to be sick? Maybe not.