Title: 86 Short Horror Stories
1(No Transcript)
2 86 Short Horror Stories Zahid Zaman
all rights reserved 2016. DynamicInk09.
First published in Great Britain 2016.
Copyright Zahid Zaman 2014. Zahid
Zaman asserts the right to be identified as
the author in accordance with the copyright
Design Patents Act 1988. All rights
reserved. This book is sold as accepted or
3 published under the conditions that
no part is reproduced, stored, in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form
or any binding or any cover other then in
which it is published without the
express permission in writing of
the publisher/author and without a
similar condition including this condition
been imposed. Bound and printed in
United States.
4 By Zahid Zaman
Screams From The
Asylum
Torment
The Asylum
The Dark Gift
Ten Macabre Tales Vol
1 Ten
Macabre Tales Vol 2
Ten Macabre Tales Vol
3 Ten
Macabre Tales Vol 4
Dark
Horizon
1200 Pick Up Lines
DNA Wars
A Long Way To
Fall
End
Times Heroes Of The
Darkness vol 1 Heroe
s Of The Darkness vol 2
5 Nightscapes vol1
Nightscape
s vol2
Nightscapes vol3 M
y Story an autobiography and battle
with
schizophrenia
Ten Scary Nightmares
A Novella A memoir Of a Mind
Cult
Deprogrammer A
Memoir of a Modern Day Psychiatric
Hospital
Under The
Darkness
Table Of Contents 1) A Long Way To Fall
6 2) The Immortality Serum 3) The
Inhumans 4) We are Legend 5) The Night
The Demons Came 6) The Set-up 7)
Digital Reality 8) End Times 9) My
Story An Autobiography and a
Battle with Schizophrenia 10) DNA
Wars 11) Dark Horizon
7 12) The Dark Gift 13) The
Asylum 14) Memoir Of A Mind Deprogrammer
15) Telepaths 16) Rampage 17) The
Set-up (short version) 18) The Soul
Demon 19) The Spider and Immortality
20) Wizards 21) Zombie Nightmare
8 22) The Wiser 23) The Stealers 24)
The Robots Rebellion 25) The Light
Within 26) The God Stone 27) The
Book 28) Stranded 29) Runtime 30)
Nightfall 31) Just one more kick 32)
Hunted 33) Eternity 34) Dead time
9 35) Tulia Bellona The Serial Killers
Daughter 36) The Super-zombie 37) The
Son Of Satan 38) The Invasion 39) The
Game 40) The Almanac 41) Split
minds/split worlds 42) Resident 43)
Moonlight Sonata 44) Jack And Jane 45)
Gone Potty 46) Elixir
10 47) Dark Heart 48) The Witches
Sabbath 49) The Storm 50) The
Somewhereman 51) The Meteorite 52) The
Haunted library 53) The Deep Dark
Place 54) Strange Occurrences 55) Sally
Anns' Room 56) October 31st 57) Man
Hater 58) Imaginings 59) Glynnis The
Demon And
11 Jack 60) Digital Reality(short vers
ion) 61) Cold Christmas 62) Voodoo And
The Writer 63) Beware The Sat Nav 64)
The Day Of The Invasion 65) Night Of
The Winged Demon 66) Room 13 67)
The Captain And The Sea Gulls
12 68) The Man In The Cave 69) The
Ring 70) Vial Of The Genome Soldier
71) The Tag 72) The Cellar 73) The
Demons Gateway 74) The Post Humans 75)
Dream Racer 76) Werewolf Of
Yellow Stone Creek 77) The
Virus 78) The Kidnap
13 79) The Blood 80) Six Silver
Bullets 81) Second Life 82) In
Hell 83) Beware The Weegiboard 84)
Beware The Son Of War 85) A Dispassionate
Eye 86) Waking From A Dream
14 A Long Way To
Fall Zahid Zaman all rights reserved
2010. DynamicInk09. First published
in Great Briatin 2010. Copyright Zahid
Zaman 2010 Zahid Zaman asserts the right
to be identified as the author in
accordance with the copyright Design
Patents Act
15 1988. All rights reserved. Th
is book is sold as accepted or published
under the conditions that no part is
reproduced, stored, in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or any binding
or any cover other then in which it is
published without the express permission
in writing of the publisher/author and
without a similar condition including this
condition been imposed. Bound and
printed in United States.
16 By Zahid Zaman
Screams From The
Asylum
Tor
ment
The
Asylum
The Dark
Gift Ten
Macabre Tales Vol 1
Ten Macabre Tales Vol
2 Ten
Macabre Tales Vol 3
17 Ten
Macabre Tales Vol 4
Seven Macabre Tales Vol 5
Dark Horizon
1200 Pick Up
Lines
DNA
Wars
A Long Way To Fall
18(No Transcript)
19 This is for my family.
20 A LONG WAY TO
FALL
La
st Year
21 My legs dangled over the edge of
the twenty-five storey building. I sat
looking down on a city of darkness, ready
to throw myself from the top. The
cityscape below was peppered with tiny
lights. It was Halloween, but there was
very little trick-or- treating
going on. This year wasn't like last year,
when I'd spent the holiday in America with
my girlfriend. This was England and the
police, and some of the less well-off
elderly residents saw 'trick-or-treating'
more as aggressive begging than
children enjoying the Holiday.
22 As I thought about my girlfriend, a
slow tear fell from my left eye and into
the darkness below. I had loved her
she had been my lover and my best
friend. Then she had left me just two
weeks ago. It had been hard. Why is
life so unbearable? I'm in my final year
at university. One more year and then I
will be qualified, and then I will be able
to join the human race as a fully
paid- up member, once I find a job. I
23 university and it won't stop me getting
a jobbutsometimes it's hard. I
looked up at the inky black sky which was
pinpricked with thousands of small stars.
The sky was comforting, I felt it took
away all my problems and made me feel how
small they actually were, but when I
looked back down at the city below they
didn't feel small. A prolonged truck horn
blared. The sound tore into me without
mercy, an echo that refused to go away.
Hell outing me to the world, laughing at
me, triumphantly calling as below drunks
will find a job. Things aren't that bad.
My black skin didn't bar me from getting into
24 I thought about my plan. Am I
really going to do it? Am I really going
to throw myself off the top of this twenty-
five story building? Go through the list
one more time. Age twenty-one, psychology
undergraduate with one year left to go,
handsome by all accounts, excellent grades,
excellent in terms of physical health,
mental status
exchanged profanities with a lorry driver.
25 debatable, what did the shrink call
it, functional depressive. Has whole life
in front of him, bright, bright
future. Everything to live for. Except I
dont see it. I cant see the future at
all. I put my shaking hand into my
pocket and take out my Mirtazapine.
They move like puppets on someone
elses strings. Its been like this
sinceSince forever. This thing I call my
life. A functional puppet. I dont own it
either. I put the pill in my mouth sip my
cola and swallow. There, that should do
it. I smile I wont be able to commit
suicide tonight with the anti-depressant
running through my veins.
26 How useless is the drug my
psychiatrist has given me? It hasn't
stopped my dark moody thoughts. How
useless is the whole world around me. And
why hadn't she understood? I'd
never told her about my childhood, that
was too painful but I had told her some
things. More than I'd ever told anyone
else. At first I thought she had understood
but then she'd grown impatient. She had
wanted sexnot excuses-
27 but I wasn't ready. How could
I tell her about the secret buried in
my past, a secret so dark it still haunted
my nightmares.
It
was night. The hospital was quiet. I was
half asleep and I think I heard the door to
my room open and shut quietly, ever so
quietly. I lay dwarfed in the single bed
my legs barely reaching half the beds
length. The moonlight seeped in through
the only window in the room. a sharp
stinging pain in my arm.
felt the blanket of my bed lifted and then
28 As I lay in a semi- conscious
state, I felt my pyjama top slowly
unbuttoned. The hands were soft and gentle
but there was something about
themsomething slimy. They roamed,
caressing...
"Excuse
me." I looked around and saw a girl who
stood in the orange glare of the roof's
security light. "Do you mind if I sit up
here for a while?"
29 "No, its okay," I said, slipping my
pills into my pocket. She was pretty,
about 5'6 with thin and straight, black
hair down to her neck and a white
t-shirt which hugged her body, and faded
blue denim jeans. The thing that
struck me most about her as she walked out
of the semi-darkness was the paleness of
her flesh. Her face and arms were porcelain
white. She sat down next to me flashing a
bright white smile and I saw deeply into
her wide grey eyes. My pulse
suddenly quickened and I felt my
temperature rise. I knew I was blushing.
30 "It's so nice up here," she said,
looking at the lights below. "I used to
come up here all the time before, but I
don't any more." "YerI like it up
here too." I said, casting her a sideways
glance. "It's so peaceful." We sat in
silence for a short time just staring at
the night below. "What's your name?" I
asked, noticing the ghostly orange
shadows, which her form cast onto the roof.
31 "Louise," she said with sadness,
"Louise Hulbert." Louise Hulbert?
Where had I heard that name before? It was
familiar but I couldn't quite place it. It
didn't matter it would come to
me.
My lungs were out of
air, something moved up and down burning
the back of my throat and making my eyes
water. "Oh GodOh God," I heard
whispered again and again.
I tried to breathe but felt myself choking.
32 I tried to move my body but couldn't.
I knew something was wrong, very
wrong indeed. My arms had no strength
the only thing I could do was lie there
and endure it. I waited for it to
end Eventually I was able to breathe
again. That was the first night of
many.
"I know things can
be hard sometimes," she said looking
straight down "but you
33 must never give up. One day you
will have the happiness you
deserve." I looked at her, that was
strange a thing to say to a stranger
you've just met. It was as if she knew
what was on my mind. I suddenly felt a
lump in my throat. "My girlfriend left
me," I said angrily "Two weeks ago, she
just threw away all the memories we shared
together like they were nothing and left."
Tears blurred the lights below. "I
had a boyfriend," she paused "but I left
him behind." "Ohwhere are you from?"
34 "I'm from down South originally." A
tear fell from her eye into the darkness
and in the semi-orange darkness, I
saw, glistening tear tracks running down
her face with a supernatural
twilight-esque glow. "But I like it up
here," her voice, steady and
even. things I couldn't tell her about
myself." "I hid things as well from my
parents, my friends and even my boyfriend."
"My girlfriend," I muttered "There were
35 "What did you hide?" "Ohjust the
way I was feeling," she wiped her eyes, "I
didn't tell them what was on my
mind." "Was it really that
bad?" "My grades were falling with
every assignment...I just couldn't
concentrate." "So what did you
do?" "I started coming up here like you,"
she paused, thinking. "And just watching
the city below."
36 "What course are you on?"
Silence "Do you know that on Halloween,
all the ghosts of the dead are allowed to
roam free?" "Yer, but that's just
rubbish. Nobody believes in ghosts. Don't
tell me you're a ghost," I said jokingly.
I stretched out my hand and touched her
arm, it was soft and warm. I let my hand
rest there for a second. She looked at me
with her wide deep almond shaped eyes and
smiled.
37 "I have to go in a short whilemy
time is almost up," she said. "Do
you have lectures in the morning? God, you
should have been asleep hours ago." I
paused unsure whether or not to make the
joke and then I did. "No wonder you're
failing your assignments." She didn't
laugh. "Eternity is a really long time to
spend alone," she said in the saddest
voice I had ever heard. My mirth
suddenly vanished as I thought about my
own suicide bid. Louise Hulbert?
Where had I heard that
38 name before and then it hit me.
My mouth fell open and I felt the drum of
my heart beat in my ears. I remembered
the name. When I'd started my course
two years ago, the story had gone all
around campus. A girl named Louise
Hulbert had killed herself thrown herself
off a building. The same building I was
on now. I looked at her and slowly,
ever so slowly she turned her head towards
me. Her eyes were bloodshot and
so indescribably sad.
39 down her cheeks, "don't do it,
please don't do it," she said. I thought
about the hospital and burning tears
sprang up on my cheeks. We stared
at each other in the orange glare of the
security light, tears running down both
our cheeks. I leaned towards her and
hugged her. Her skin was soft and warm
under my hands. "Forgive and forget," she
whispered in a broken voice. I felt an
unbearable pain in my heart and closed my
tear stained eyes and screamed as the
memories came back.
"Eternity is a really long time," A tear ran
40 Suddenly I felt her heat dissolving.
I opened my eyes and found
myself hugging empty air. All the pain
the memories were gone. I laughed a
joyful timeless laugh. It was as if a
giant weight had been lifted from of
my shoulders. I heard her soft sad
voice whisper back to me. "Eternity
is a really long time to spend alone"
41 LOUISE'S STORY Louise
sat atop the twenty-five storey building
ready to throw herself from the top. Tears
streamed down her cheeks like a small
river and her mascara had run but she
didn't careshe didn't care about anything
anymore. She was in her final year at
university, one more year and then she'd
be qualified. I wish I was dead.
42 She felt wretched and miserable. Not
hing mattered in her bleak empty world any
more.
Louise had met her
boyfriend the first day back at
university, and fallen head would turn out
to be a two timing slime ball. Two months
after meeting him she had given herself to
him, to her it was a big thing as all her
religious and spiritual
over heels in love. Little did she know he
43 morals had screamed against it but
she had been in love To a quite
Christian girl like Louise morals and her
faith mattered, they mattered a lot ever
since her grandmother had taken her to
church as a little girl and taught her how
to pray, on her knees with her hands in a
steeple and her eyes tightly shut. She
had prayed then, prayed with all her
heart. "Please make mummy better,
please God make her cancer go away," and
it had worked, mummy's cancer had
gone away and Louise's faith from that day
44 had been cemented like an iron
girder on a bridge, nothing could shift or
dent it. And then on her first day
back at university she had met him and
fallen in love. For Louise her faith was
everything to her.
"I love you. I will never leave
you Louise," he said staring deeply into
her eyes as they sat on her bed in the
dim light of the bedside lamp.
45 I'm so nervous and excited. They
kissed and Louise felt a wave of passion
sweep over her. She felt so hot and sweaty
like nothing she had ever felt before, his
hands roamed caressing and feeling her
body lighting little sparks of beautiful
sensations in her brain. He was
experienced and Louise found it hard to
resist his masculine charms but she
tried. "Stop," she said drawing her
flushed red face back and away from his,
he just leaned forward pressing his body
46 against hers even more tightly.
"Please stop" but her voice
faltered To her it was the best
experience of her time but it was just
another lay. He whispered sweet nothings
into her ear and they made love late into
the night. He kissed her all over her body
and her mind swooned. This was pleasure
like she had never experienced before,
she had laughed and smiled then, feeling
so happy.
life. To him Louise didn't know this at the
47 Their lovemaking had been noisy
and the bed shook with each and
every movement, her boyfriend put the
music on and a simple love song came on
the radio. Never break my heartsay
you will never leave menever break
my heart At the song her boyfriend
had laughed even louder and then
something happened that made Louise laugh
just as loud and long, her neighbour
next door was banging on the wall.
48 "Quiet it down in there!" came
the muffled voice through the wall.
"I'm trying to get some sleep." It
was the best night of Louise's life
and she had given all of herself to
her boyfriend, her love, her faith and
her virginity. So Louise was devastated
that when she awoke in the morning to
find he was gone. Without a word.
Louise looked around for any signs of him
and then she saw the note on the table
next to the lamp. A
49 note she would later wish that she
had never found. "Every holes a
goal. Every goal is a hole. You were an
easy lay. Never call me again you dirty
whore." At first Louise, couldn't believe
what she had read, she read it several
times to make sure what it said. Oh
my God! Tears streamed down her cheeks
hot and burning. She was horror
stricken and devastated and instantly in
that
50 moment hated herself for giving
herself to him so easily and completely
but she had known him for two months and
yet to her it felt like a whole life
time. That was the beginning of the end
of Louise's world. A few weeks
later Louise went to the sexual disease
and health clinic. She had had her
unpleasant tests and now waited for the
results. The wait was agonizing. She
wished shed never met that jerk now.
51 A woman came out and asked Louise
to go with her. Louise followed her to
a room and sat on a material cotton
chair. "Louise, I'm afraid I got some bad
news for you. You've caught an infection.
Not a serious infection but an infection
none the less," "Oh no!" Louise
burst into tears. "What infection have I
caught?" she asked through bleary
tear-stained eyes.
"Mum,
I brought you some flowers," said
52 Louise as she walked into the
hospital room and looked at the shrivelled
and shrunken thing of a woman that used
to be her fit and energetic mother.
The cancer had returned. Her mum
lifted her hairless head and tried to
smile but the effort was too much and her
head fell back onto the pillow again, her
eyes listless. The radio was on
low. This is it. She isn't going to make
it
53 Louise sat on a chair next to her
mum's bed, she held her hand in her
own. Such a small, weak, fragile
hand. It was clammy against her
skin. Suddenly her mother seemed to
awake a little. "Louise? Louise are
you okis something wrong dear? You don't
look yourself." Louise suddenly
felt tears in her eyes for her mother and
herself, her mother who cared about her so
much even now that
54 she was at deaths door she was
more concerned about her little
daughter. "Nothings wrong mother," Louise
lied "I'm fine. Honestly I am," she said
her voice sounding fake to her own
ears. Her mother lay back again the effort
to sit up and talk too much for
her. The song finished another song
came on. Louise listened to it as she
smelt the sickly smell of disinfectant and
disease.
55 Never break my heartsay you
will never leave menever break
my heart Louise couldn't stay any
longer, she kissed her mother and left,
tears in her eyes. I can't bare see
my mother like that, no way not like
that She had prayed again in church
that day, on her knees eyes shut tight,
hands in a steeple, like she had done
when she was a little girl. Her hard worn
face set in an expression of resolute
56 determination and piety but God
had abandoned her. Maybe for my
sin Her mother didn't live too
long afterwards. Her shame and
guilt from losing her virginity to a two
bit slimeball and the death of her mother
took their toll. She started sleeping late
and getting to classes even later, her
grades started to slide. She just couldn't
concentrate.
57 She started at nights going up to
the roof of her flat building and just
staring at the night. Life is just
so unbearableI can't copeI just can't
cope. Tears flowed done her face night
after night and she took on a
dishevelled sunken appearance. Her
only company as she sat atop the flats was
the roofs yellow security light, it cast
dark foreboding shadows of her form onto
the roof. And then it happened. It didn't
come as
58 a surprise, she knew it would
happen but still she had been hoping
against hope that it wouldn't. Her
teacher, Miss. Hope had called her into
her nice plush office. "Take a seat,
Louise. Louise some of the other students
have noticed you're not been yourself
lately," "Uh..Hu?" Louise managed to
mumble. Whets this all about?
59 "Louise, your grades have tumbled
over the last few months, I know its
been hard on you the death of your
mother, but has anything else
happened?" "Like what?" Louise
asked. "I don't know anything at
all?" "No. Nothing, I'm just upset at the
death of my mother," Louise lied. "That's
all." "Well Louise, I'm afraid I got some
bad news for you, you failed your
exams, you going to have to repeat the
year," Louise didn't show any emotion. "Ok"
60 she said quietly. "Louise, I feel you
need a little help coping with everything,
so I've made you an appointment with
the counsellor. Louise didn't keep
her appointment with the counsellor, she
didn't need their help. She wasn't any
fruitcake. me on medication. And all for
what? I fell in love with a slimebalI. My
mother died of cancer and I've failed my
exams and will have to repeat a year.
Next thing I know they will probably put
61 Another year in this hell hole of a
life I can't take itI just can't
take it A person can only take so much
and when a heart is broken so many
times, nothing can put it back together
again nothing! Louise's heart had
been broken beyond repair and she knew
there was no way back, nothing could fix
it. There was only one way
out. Suicide. At the thought of it
Louise's heart jumped with joy, peace,
bliss, a way out
62 of her nightmarish hell that had
become her life. Even still it
wasn't an easy decision, no matter how
desolate and desperate someone is, the
thought of ending one's own life isn't
taken lightly, especially someone as pious
and holy as Louise used to be. But
God has abandoned me, and now I reject him
in return.
63 So slowly night after night, as she
sat her resolve strengthened and it
was then that she met him. He was
tall and broad shouldered with jet black
hair and seemed to have a tenderness that
Louise had rarely seen before. They
went out for a few weeks. I can't trust
him. I will never be able to trust another
man as long as I live. When he tried to
kiss her she withdrew, when he tried to
hold her hand or touch her she withdrew
again. Louise knew it
64 was unfair to put all her hate onto
him but she couldn't open up to him.
He seemed to understand and wasn't
fazed by her lack of affection and Louise
in her her it was too late. He was
poetic too, and she would always cherish
the poem he had written for her. She took
the crumpled piece of paper out of her
jeans pocket and read it now in the glow of
the roofs yellow security light.
heart loved him all the more for it, but for
65 Wanting
you I feel so sad and lonely. Wantin
g so much for you to be there. To help you
through your grief which you're at a loss
to share. I really do care. Your
life destroyed through the abuse of days
gone by. Your happiness all gone dried up
and dead.
66 Like a zombie you walk through life
I know deep inside wishing to be
alive instead. Like a schizophrenic
with anhedonia, unable to feel the
smallest thing. All the love and joy I
could bring. Time will heal. I have
an illness which isn't real.
67 But you were never a fiction of
my imagination. I am still burning
with infatuation. Carve your name into my
heart. I Am still waiting for my life to
start. I hope it does before I'm old
and decrepit. Unable to do the
smallest thing. on me like a stranger in
the night.
This insipid insidious feeling creeping up
68 So sublime and difficult to
fight. End. My heart has been
broken too many timesjust too many
times It was Halloween. The autumnal
night sky atop the flats greeted her with
a cold bite and shrill sound, but Louise
didn't feel the cold, she didn't feel
anything. She was in another place, a place
so deep in her mind it was as if
nothing mattered.
69 It was like as if she was in a trance.
She remembered the song on the
radio Never break my heartsay you
will never leave menever break
my heart Burning hot tears sprang
up on her soft white cheeks. It is
too unbearablejust too unbearable
She jumped. The ground rushed up towards
Louise, she welcomed it with open arms. She
70 welcomed the release death would
bring from her torment. The air
rushed through her hair, the sightless
windows now dark with blackness flew pass
her with incredible speed. She had
no regrets. Louises
body hit the pavement below. There was
intense pain for a second and then it
passed. Louise found herself
surrounded by white light and doctors and
nurses all rushing around her, I.V
someone shouted. We losing her, a womans
71 voice in her early thirties.
Blackness swallowed her.
Louise awoke she was in a warm
soft bed. She heard the beeping of
medical instruments, her eyes opened
painfully. She was in a side room, the
letters ICU were on the door. It was so
quiet for a hospital, and yet it was a
hospital. A nurse came in
Louise, youre awake, why miracles will
never cease, said the old
nurse. Louise, youre got a
visitor, do you want to see
them? Louise just nodded. And then
he walked in, tall, broad shouldered
with rich jet black hair and a
tenderness which Louise was in awe of.
72 Louise, I cant believe you
actually survived such a long fall,
Louise suddenly felt embarrassed and sad
all at the same time. Lifes never so bad
that you have to end it, he said. And
Louise suddenly realised he was right but
at the time she had been so depressed
and acted. I pray god will forgive me
for attempting to take my own
life. Jack held her hand in
his, she looked up into his eyes. I love
you, he said and she knew he meant it.
Right there and then she couldnt bring
herself to say it. Ido likeyou Jack,
she said,
73 she saw the smile shrink a little but
the eyes held so much warmth.
The nurse was back and whispered so
mething into Jacks ear. I have to
go now, he said sadly and
Louise suddenly felt sad and once he left
went back to dozing.
He returned the next day with
some fruit and Lucozade. Louise,
he sounded worried. She looked up at
him, his face pale and drawn, and his
hair lanky and wet, hed been in the rain.
It was odd how she noticed all these
little details now. L
ouise, this is very important, listen to
me She focused on him and sat up.
74 Jack? she asked
suddenly concerned, what is
it? We must leave he
looked worried, very worried.
What? she asked
We got to go, now, Wh
y? I cant say here,
there isnt enough time. All I can say is
if he finds you, he will kill
you. Who? she asked back
sitting up, Why me?
Because of something you did.
oh no
75 Jack pulled the curtain
round the bed. Quick get changed there is
no time, Louise slipped on her jeans
and top. The nurse
came in Whats going on here? she
asked We got to go, said
Louise. The nurse stood back obviously
concerned but too worn out herself to try
and stop them, one nurse for about 14
patients, she must be run of her feet no
wonder shes not trying to stop
us. Suddenly a wind
started to blow throughout the ward. Oh
shit! hes here Jack said and Louise
sensed the fear in his voice. He grabbed
her by the hand and almost dragged her
towards
76 They exited the ward onto the
corridor and down the stairs, behind them
they heard shouts and commotion and
a metal bowl falling onto the
floor. They made it to the
ground floor and headed to the car park.
Jacks Mazda x5 was parked near the front
of the car park. They got in and Jack put
his foot down. As they exited the car park
the hospital doors suddenly flew open,
and Louise couldnt believe her eyes,
there stood against the hospital doorway
was
the exit in the other direction of the wind. a
demon, 6 foot tall and blazing with fire.
77 Tendrils of flames could be seen
coming of the demon.
Oh my god! screamed Louise.
Dont worry, Louise, I will
protect you. She looked him then, Who
are you? she asked him.
Me Im Jack. Jack who?
What are you? She looked frightened and
anxious, What are you, she said a little
less loudly. I will explain
everything, he turned right, Louise saw
the road sign for the motorway. Just give
me a little time and let me get away from
the demon. Where are you
taking me? Im taking you
as far away as I can from the demon,
78 and as to your question,
Im an angel, Louise
suddenly laughed, An angel, she
said. yes, Im here to save
you, Why?, why
me? Because of something
you did, Louise just went
quiet, thinking about her
past. Soon they were
heading east along the motorway, the rain
falling against the car window, the dark
night outside trying to get in. There was
a kind of pleasant
79 monotony to it. Louise seemed to
fall into a light sleep. An
angel! Louise dreamed about
Sophie, her sister, her now dead sister.
She would always remember that fateful day
when Sophie had passed away. An
accident is what had been reported to the
police, no one knew then about Louises
secret. Not even her parents, but Louise
had more than one secret. She
awoke. Which one is Jack
referring to? What did I
do? She asked guarded. Jack
laughed a short little laugh, Still the
same Louise, he said still trying to get
away with things, What
exactly do you mean? She was stressed now
and her breathing
80 strained Im Christian, Jack
looked at her then. A calm knowing look.
Were those tears she saw in his eyes? He
looked the other way.
Louise suddenly regretted all the
bad things she had done. Im going to
hell, she thought. Not if I can help it
Louise, Im your guardian
angel. He is really
handsome, Louise thought looking at the
ripped muscles under his sports top.
81 Suddenly Louise felt tired
and exhausted, How long until we get
to where we going? she asked Not
long, we running low on fuel, I need to
make a stop at the next petrol station.
He paused only one problem, I got no
money. I havent either,
said Louise becoming more
alert. Look in the glove
compartment, she did inside was a
gun. I will fill up and you
make sure we get the petrol. Louise
was suddenly apprehensive, she had never
held a petrol station up before. I
thought you are supposed to be protecting
me.
82 that demon is to hold up a petrol
station then take your pick.
The rain increased until it was
hitting the car with force, Jack put his
window wipers on full.
Louise looked behind her into
the darkness thinking the demon was
out there somewhere and after her.
And she suddenly felt a deep
love for Jack and what he was doing for
her, she wanted to confess her secret, she
was about to confess, she even started to
If its the only way to get you away
from Ok I will do it said Louise
resolutely.
83 say Jack but then he pulled up
onto the motorway petrol
station. She took the
gun from the glove compartment and headed
into the store. It was one of those petrol
stations where you have to pay before you
get your fuel. Louise
walked into the petrol station her brown
hair hanging limply and he pale face
looking worried and drawn in the bright
light of the store. Hehe,
get a bit wet did we, said an old man
from behind the counter who seemed to be
perving at Louise. Louise didnt like him,
but there was something about him, he
stared at her from behind
84 dark sunglasses. There
was no one else in the store, Press the
switch on number 3, she said drawing her
gun. The mans attitude
changed instantly. He pressed the switch,
and stared back frightened Please dont
shoot. Louise
heard the petrol
pump machine kick into gear
and waited breathlessly, then she heard
another car pull up onto the forecourt.
Shit.
The machine had only been going for
30 seconds she had to act fast. Should
I hold the newcomers hostage, or
hope we got enough to make it to the
next stop and fill up there. Taking
hostages
85 was dangerous, someone could
get injured or worse. She walked out
hiding the gun under her t-shirt. She
walked as fast as she could, suddenly
she heard the sound of
a shot gun been cocked and something
whizzed past her shoulder,
and she started
to run. Fli
nging her arm backwards with the gun, and
there it was the split second choice fire
back, kill or be killed.
86 She fired, two shots and then she
was at the car and flung open the door and
got in. Jack was already in the drivers
seat and now put his foot to the floor.
She watched the cars petrol
gauge going up, breathless and shaken.
A quarter, a half and then
it stopped. Damn will it be enough to get
us to the next stop? did it! What? You did
it Louise you held up a petrol
station. I think I just
killed someone she said.
Jack was silent. you did Louise,
is all he said and Louise saw
something drop from his eye into his lap.
Jack looked at her and he smiled, you
87 Tears.
How do you feel about the person you
killed Louise, he asked.
Louise was shocked
by the
question but couldnt let it
go and thought about it. but people do
what they have to survive. said, she knew
he had read her mind. Now
it was Louise's turn to get emotionally
upset,
How do I feel? It was wrong I know
that, Is survival all that matters
then, Jack
88 Sophie she sobbed.
You remember, her death
wasnt an accident was it
Louise, No.
she thought no one knew but now
here was Jack reading her mind and yet he
is here to protect me? Why
is that demon after me, she asked s
omething you did. Louise
was quiet again, deep in thought
Sophie I know about Sophie
Louise, dont my brother on top of that
building.
Like Ive already told you because
of worry Im your guardian angel, Im going to
help you the way youre going to help
89 Louise started to sob again,
poor Sophie her twin sister, who died at
18, two years ago. Sh
es not dead, What, she
is She survived, she knew
what was going to
happen and
made preparations. Im taking you to see
her now. Louise knew
she was dead after all she had her heart
beating in her, there was no way anyone
could survive
90 without a heart. you
re lying shes dead, Jac
k just gave her a look, what those dark
sunglasses held behind them she would
never fathom. The harsh
rain continued to pelt the car
window. to the guy in the petrol station,
do you think what you did was
right? to get away from the demon,
and he shot at me first, although its not
right. What choice did I have? she shot
back. You always have
a choice Louise, even if
that choice is only to die.
you will see, he said, And now back My life
was in danger I needed
91 Louise gave him a baleful
look. She saw he was turning off the
motorway onto a slip lane. The car slowed
down but instead of carrying on into the
city he turned right down an unmarked
country lane and within thirty seconds
pulled up outside a large old mansion.
Come on lets go meet your sister-Sophie,
I m sure you got lots to talk
about, Louise suddenly felt
ill, her sister had been dead now for some
two years and her death was connected to
Louises dark secret.
92 They got out of the car and
headed towards the mansion, the
darkness surrounded them all sides, the
rain came down
heavy and cold,
the mansion stood in
front of them, an old Victorian building
and which seemed empty and devoid of all
life but then louse noticed a light in an
upstairs window. And a few moments later
the door was opened by Sophie, looking
just like she remembered her, not a day
over 18. Louise,
come in, Louise
entered and they embraced, Sophie was
warm and smelt of summer flowers.
93 Louise knew she was cold and
smelt of cold rain and sweat.
Dear sister, its been
too long, Sophie
said Yes too long
Sophie, Louise said back knowing full
well that her sister could not be alive
otherwise she would be dead.
I am very much alive, just like
you are, How can
this be, I dont know
but why dont you tell me why you find it
so hard to believe I am alive. She said
as they sat down in the sitting room sofa
next to the fake log
94 fire, which gave out enough heat
to make them all feel happy to be
indoors. Im just going to
use the mens room, said Jack and left
them. A maid bought a
tray of tea and biscuits and they settled
down to drink and talk. Louise was on
edge, the tea and biscuits relaxed her
somewhat but still she was nervous and she
had good reason to be, her secret. If my
secret is real and not imagined there is
no way I can be here with
Sophie. Louise
remembered their
holiday
95 together to Greece, they were just a
few hours form their flight home and
they had been walking along the balcony
of the apartment and somehow
Sophie had fallen over in her drunk stupor
and hit the hard floor five stories
below. So.how could so Sophie be here
now, unless I am dreaming or
dead. I feel like I am
dreaming or dead, Louise
said youre not dead and
youre not dreaming.
Then how can this be happening.
All will become clear dear sister
in good time, Louise felt a shudder run
up her spine.
96 So the last time we were
together was on that fateful day two years
ago in Greece, right?
Right, What happened
that day isnt clear to me,
can you fill
me in on
it pleaseSophie
queried Louise took a deep
breath, sudden tears coming
to her
eyes. Sophie continued, it
was the day that you had a
97 telegram, youd been
feeling ill
all week. yes,
wellumwe were
both drinking on the balcony in the
day and somehow you leaned over the
wrong way a little too much and
you know she let it hang in the air not
finishing the sentence. to me,
Their eyes met. Jack
re-entered the room.
Listen Sophie we got to go, we
got police looking for us and they likely
to search all the area for our car,
Oh I remember now its coming clear
98 Louise was go.
We going to meet again, Sophie said
sadly It wont be as pleasant.
Louise didnt say anything, just
closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Soon they were outside by the car, the
rain still falling, the moon shining
spookily through the
clouds, and
the wind
relieved to be getting of so lightly, without it
really going where she didnt want it to
99 howling restlessly through the
trees. They both got in glad to be in the
safety of the car from the cold of the
night. Jack set off, Do you
like philosophy Louise.
I dont really care for it,
Not even if its relevant to the
self? what do you
mean? He
followed the
sign for
the motorway. Why do
we do the things we do even if they are
evil. I guess we do what we have to do
to stay alive. She paused looked at him
a second noticing his rippling
muscles underneath and continued Or to get
I dont know I never thought about it,
100 what we need at a certain time in
point. Or is it, Jack
said That people are evil, we are the
things that are evil, Y
er but why, asked Louise, as he entered
the motorway. why are
we evil, is it because god made us like
that or do we choose to be evil,
Why pass the blame onto God,
why not just accept that we are
flawed. Louise was silent, she knew what
he was getting at. My secret. Oh God
why did I do it? Am I dead? Am I dreaming?
101 on? who are you?
she asked suddenly suspicious,
I told you who I am, Im Jack
youre guardian angel,
Where are we going?
You will find out. Its some
where you never been before.
Great I feel reassured
now, Jack looked at her
then, her pale drawn face, lanky brunet
hair which hung down to her chest, red
nail polish, black sports top and jeans.
He smiled his kindest smile and something
in both of them seem to melt.
They both settled into their own
Who is this Jack and what is really going
102 thoughts, the dark night flashing by
like there was no tomorrow and the
constant drum beat of the window wipers
and pelting rain. Whe
re are we going now? Jack was silent a
long time and then he said, to see the
weaver, Louise was curious, but too
tired to question Jack any further about
it. She just lay back in her seat and
rested and all too soon she had fallen
asleep.
103 She was in a dark room, there was
an old woman in the room, spinning on
an ancient spinning wheel which
creaked and groaned as it spun, faint
light of a dying sun seeped in through the
one square glassless window of the
anceint hut. The woman suddenly stopped
the spinning wheel, and lifted a pair
of scissors, This is the life of your
sister which you cut short. She cut the
piece of string. Louises heart cried out
in anguish. and this is your life
which should have been cut short, the
woman held the scissors to
it...paused...and then let it go. Then she
picked up both peices of string and
twirled them together , and cut them both.
Then she
104 picked up small stick which she
dipped into a small pot and glued one of
them together, which one-her or her
sister Louise had no way of knowing.
Louise was transported again to the day
her sister died. They were on the
balcony, laughing drinking, drinking a
little too much and then her sister had
stumbled nearly over the balcony, Louise
moved forward, her sister was suddenly
alerted, but too late. Louise watched her
fall, sudden tears stinging her eyes.
Her head at an impossible angledead.
sister lay sprawled five stories below her
105 Dead? said an evil
menacing voice which sent goosebumps up
her arm and a shiver down her spine.
She turned towards the apartment away
from the balcony. Dead? it queried
again. There standing in the doorway was
a creature made up of pure fire. About
six foot tall and burning brightly and
making Louise feel hotter than a oven.
Louise had to get away, the heat would
kill her she knew if she stayed near
this creature for long. She backed
up against the balcony.
There was a table next to the
balcony just in arms reach and on it was a
large vase filled to the brim with water.
Do I dare?
106 I didnt do anything! she
screamed at the fire demon.
Your sister is dead, said the
demon quietly. Tears sprang to her eyes
once again. I know,
she said simply. Im coming
for you. Jack where are you
now, she thought. Louise! Louise! Wake
up! Whatwhoa
Louise were there, Louise
opened her eyes.
107 I was dreaming, she
said wiping crusted lumps from her eyes
Jack Im glad youre here to protect
me. Jack opened the car
door, Come on, he said, Louise struggled
out of her seat and Jack continued, a
little more gently, come on
Louise They were in a small town, Louis
knew this from the look of the houses and
run down buildings and businesses,
there were no high rise buildings, and
Louise