Acolyte (45 page)

She looked at Jonah, torn; then she looked at the creature. ‘What can I do?'

‘
So easy!
' said the creature to Jonah.

‘It's
lying
to you,' said Jonah. ‘Don't listen to it!'

The creature wailed, as if in terrible pain. ‘Tess … you feel so far away. I need you to be near. I'm so cold. So lost! Come to me!'

Tess cried out, and Jonah heard the voice in his mind again, mocking:
‘Prepare yourself, Jonah. If you want to slow my rise, you'll have to kill her. If you want to SAVE her, you'll have to kill her.
'

The creature was enjoying this, taunting and goading.

Tess looked at Jonah; he saw something in her expression change, grow somehow cold, determined. She looked back into the chamber. ‘Prove it. Prove you're Michael.'

There was silence from the creature, then a ripple of movement was visible. The dark shapes began to dissipate, separating, becoming shadow-smoke. Jonah looked hard, wondering if it was his imagination, but no: a human form was becoming clear in the swirl of darkness.

Tess watched, transfixed.

The darkness faded.

Standing in the chamber was Andreas, whole and unblemished, clothed immaculately in suit and leather jacket. Smiling.

‘Such simple lies, Jonah
,
'
came the voice.
‘People give themselves no choice but to believe. No choice but to hope.'

Jonah knew Andreas was right: he had no choice. No choice but to enter the chamber and walk, calm and slow, hoping Andreas wouldn't simply finish him before he came close.

He stepped away from the door and walked towards the desk where he'd left the charge and trigger, out of sight of the chamber.

‘Don't, Jonah.' It was Tess, behind him.

‘I have to,' he said.

She was watching Andreas with an expression of curious joy, her eyes wet. ‘Michael,' she said.

As Jonah turned back to fetch the charge he sensed movement from behind. Something hit his head. He fell, his vision dark for a moment, and then he saw Tess go through the chamber door, taking the security card in her hand, the door locking again behind her.

Jonah ran to the observation window and hit the glass.
‘Tess, please!'
he shouted, trying to break Andreas's hold over her. On the card reader by the door he saw an intercom switch. He pressed it, the sounds from the chamber coming through clearly now. He spoke again. ‘Tess …'

‘Don't worry, Jonah,' she said.

‘
See how much she loves her Michael?
' said the creature in his mind.
‘She's mine, now.'
Andreas's smile turned to a rictus grin, looking directly at Jonah.

Tess walked to the centre of the chamber.

‘Good girl,' said Andreas as she reached him.

‘Hold me,' said Tess. ‘Hold me, Michael. I missed you so much. I'm frightened.'

Andreas smiled. ‘Of course. My
love.
'

He turned to the side and held out his arms, triumphant, making sure Jonah had a clear view as he allowed Tess to embrace him.

She drew close, wrapping her left arm around Andreas, keeping her right arm behind her back. Andreas placed his mouth on hers and they kissed, deep, long. Jonah could see the back of Andreas's head shift and ripple. The shape was difficult for him to hold, Jonah thought. They separated, and Andreas smiled at her.

‘I dreamed of freeing you, Michael,' she said, tears falling. ‘From the day it happened. I love you. I always knew I wasn't worthy of you, but I love you.' She took a step back, looking him up and down, smiling. ‘And here you are.'

‘Here I am,' said Andreas.
‘And all the while Michael is inside me
,
'
it said to Jonah.
‘Struggling. Suffering. She'll join him when I'm done with her.'

‘I love you, Michael.' She was still stepping back, six feet, ten feet, twelve, Andreas too busy goading to notice the change in her tone when it came: ‘I love you. I always will. I dreamed of freeing you. If you're really in there, I hope you can hear me.'

Jonah saw what was in her hand; his eyes went to the desk where he'd set down the trigger and charge. Nothing there now.

At last, the creature realized what she'd said. Its expression changed, the smile vanishing. Jonah could see the charge stuck to its back, just below the collar of the jacket it wore. Lines of mouths were opening across its face once again. It lunged towards Tess as she raised the trigger.

Jonah reflexively dived to the floor. He heard shrapnel break through glass and fly past him as he fell. He stayed down for three long breaths before standing again.

The glass in the doorway and in the observation window was shattered but holding steady in the frames. Jonah took a chair from behind him and swung it again and again at the door until the laminate fell away. He climbed through.

The first thing to hit him was the smell, of hot blood and rancid meat underscored by the same acidic odour the shadows had made. The stench was appalling. The dim red light of the chamber seemed even darker than it had been, and he paused – there was a layer of black mist close to the floor, and under the mist a shape was just visible where Andreas had stood. He watched it for a moment, but it was still.

He turned and saw Tess. He ran to her.

She was trying to sit up. Blood was pouring from a shrapnel wound in her side. He clamped his hands over it but the torrent of red couldn't be stemmed, gushing past his fingers. Tess looked up again, and he saw reluctant acceptance there. They both knew what was about to happen.

‘I had to do it,' she said. ‘He wouldn't have let you get close.'

‘You have to hold on,' he said, crying. ‘We need you, Tess.'

She shook her head, and smiled. ‘No tears,' she said. Then the smile faded. ‘Do you think … do you think Michael heard me?'

‘I know he heard you,' said Jonah. ‘You didn't think you were worthy of him, Tess, but you were. You always were.'

He took her right hand. It was already cold. He whispered her name. Her breathing grew rapid and shallow, her eyes unfocused.

‘Jonah,' she said. Fading, almost inaudible. He leaned close and listened. Six words, the last things she would ever say. The weight of those words settled on him as her breathing grew even more rapid. Then, suddenly, it slowed and stopped.

He closed his eyes against the tears, her cold hand still in his.

Then he heard it behind him.

A choking, wet sound, a movement. He opened his eyes, not wanting to turn, but he had to.

The head was the worst. Ripped open and much of it missing, the remainder was somehow managing to cling together, scalp torn from bone. There was an expression of
defeat
in the sole remaining eye. The right arm was gone, too; the upper torso had been devastated. It was trying to pull itself along using the left arm, rising a little with each attempt.

There seemed little doubt that the creature wasn't able to simply re-form, that it was in genuine difficulty. Taken by surprise, Jonah thought. It had returned to a human form before it was ready, used too much of what strength it had left in its effort to torment Jonah.

Even so, he could see that it was trying to knit itself back, and while it was failing now, Jonah knew it would succeed eventually.
Time
was all it required.

Jonah felt drained. He imagined himself condemned to stay in this chamber, repeatedly destroying the flesh of this damned creature. Beating it to a pulp with his bare hands, if that was what was needed. He began to stand.

Then he caught movement from the control room. Through the spider-webbed glass of the observation window he saw a black-dressed figure enter. It came to the doorway, a silhouette, the face
misshapen, inhuman. One of Andreas's acolytes had survived, he thought. It was over.

The figure ducked through the hole and stood tall. It looked first at Jonah, and then turned to the shape that was pulling itself along, desperate to survive.

It was only when the figure spoke that Jonah realized the face was covered in a mask. A gas mask.

‘Let's finish this,' said Kendrick. He was a mess, left arm soaked in blood and strapped to his chest.

What was left of Andreas took another wet breath, shifting where it lay. Kendrick stepped over and brought a boot down on the open skull. He took the black cylinder from his belt.

‘Out,' said Kendrick, and Jonah lifted Tess's body and carried her through the door. Behind him Kendrick began to deploy the contents of the cylinder. Jonah looked back to see white smoke billowing up, the bulk of Andreas trembling and twitching as the flesh dissolved. He kept watching until the movement stopped.

Jonah could feel his eyes sting, and knew he had to get out of the reach of the fumes before they became debilitating. The door to the upper corridor was open; he carried Tess's body out and set it down on the floor. The bodies of the other acolytes were on the ground, all as dead as those Jonah had come across in the control room.

It was a few minutes before Kendrick emerged and took off the gas mask. He had a long cut down one cheek, his left eye vividly red. He looked at Tess for a moment, then at Jonah. ‘Andreas is no more,' he said. ‘For what it's worth.' Kendrick seemed to steel himself before speaking again. ‘Sly?' he asked. Jonah could almost hear the prayer in his voice.

‘She's injured,' he said. ‘She can't walk. Downstairs, across the circle, in—'

Kendrick was already moving.

Jonah waited in silence. Eventually Kendrick and Sly were
there, Sly leaning on Kendrick for support, taking each step as a hop on her good foot.

‘We would've been faster,' said Kendrick, ‘if she'd let me carry her.'

‘
Nobody
carries me,' said Sly. She saw Tess's body and was silent for a moment. Then: ‘Has anyone tried the radio again?'

‘I lost mine a while back,' said Kendrick.

Sly handed hers to Jonah. Wary, he pressed the button. The static had decreased significantly, but it was still there, still with the eerie almost-intelligible background noises.

‘Annabel,' he said. He waited.

‘We're here,' said Annabel, relief in her voice. ‘What happened?'

‘We're on our way out,' said Jonah. ‘Andreas and his people are dead.'

‘Tess?' said Annabel.

‘She didn't make it.' Jonah paused. ‘Is Never—'

There was silence, and Jonah felt hope drain away. ‘You need to hurry,' she said.

They took the direct route to the security room, the deadlocked Lab Two door opening from inside without a hitch. Lying on the floor, Never was unconscious. Annabel took Jonah to the side as Kendrick helped Sly over to Never, along with the medical essentials and saline taken from the surgical room. Kendrick started hunting for something in the cupboards.

‘Hold this,' Sly told Jonah, handing him a bag of saline she'd hooked up a line to. She quickly put a cannula into Never's arm.

‘Got it,' said Kendrick, brandishing a set of keys for a security patrol jeep. ‘We need to leave.'

Sly looked at him and shook her head. ‘We need to wait.'

Kendrick opened his mouth, then closed it again.

After ten minutes and one full bag of saline, Never's eyes flickered open. He looked at Sly, barely conscious.

‘Hey,' said Sly.

‘Hey,' said Never.

She looked at him, appraising. She smiled, a genuine one.

Kendrick took Jonah and Annabel, retracing the path they'd used when they'd entered the facility. In the corpse storage unit they found two gurneys and returned to the security room, carefully lifting Never onto one of them. Jonah used the other for Tess's body, and they made their way out to the patrol jeep.

The air outside was bone dry, but fresh. Jonah breathed it in. Once Never and Sly were safely in the back seat of the jeep, Kendrick threw Annabel the keys. ‘You and Jonah will have to share the driving,' he said, nodding to his strapped arm. Annabel nodded and got inside.

Jonah insisted on putting Tess's body in the back of the jeep himself. He closed the tailgate and turned to look at the building they'd just left. Peaceful, now; impossible to think of how much death lay inside.

‘What about the revivers?' said Jonah. ‘You saw them, didn't you? They were part of the machine …'

Kendrick nodded. ‘There's nothing you can do for them.'

‘But we could find a way to switch off the cryogenic chambers, and put them out of their …' He stopped, seeing the expression on Kendrick's face: grim, and earnest.

‘I already did.' They stood in silence for a moment before Kendrick spoke again. ‘Do you think all the shadows died? Even those who weren't here?'

Jonah shook his head.

‘Me neither,' said Kendrick. ‘We need to go. I don't doubt for a second that they know something went wrong. They're on their way here, right now.'

Kendrick got into the jeep, but Jonah paused, looking again at the building. He thought of what Andreas had said in the chamber:
The door is open now, Jonah. It will not shut.

He had felt it then, and could feel it now: their mission had
not been the success they had hoped for. The flow of power had not been halted, not completely.

Andreas was gone, but it wasn't enough, because Andreas had only ever been a vessel. Whether that
specific
vessel could ever come back or not wasn't the important thing, not really, because there were others out there ready to take its place. Jonah thought of them, all those who carried shards of what had been within Andreas. Heggarty. Silva's family in Bethlehem. He didn't want to think about
how
many there could be, let alone how many were in positions of power.

Shadows were everywhere. The door was open.

Tess's final words came to him, then.