Through Glass Darkly Episode 1 (12 page)

The entrance in the corner of the building looked a bit bigger and more open, so I decided to head in that way. We managed a fairly noiseless approach to the offices through all the debris, and then carefully opened and entered through the doors. Inside the floors were much clearer so it was easier to move around silently.

We checked the rooms out along the back of the building first, which seemed to comprise a locker lined changing room, conveniences and a small first-aid bay. None of the lockers were big enough for the creature to hide in so it was straight-forward for the most part. As the only one who could be sure of seeing the thing I invariably lead the way, quietly opening the doors with one hand while scanning the room with my loaded Webley in the other hand.

As soon as we’d cleared the offices along the back of the building, we moved back to the corner, past the stairs and across into the offices that were attached to the side of the building. These rooms seemed to consist of a large cafeteria area with counter and checkout area, space for the usual dining tables and chairs, most of which were now missing, and then behind these a set of kitchens and pantries, where the food would’ve been cooked and prepared.

Once we were sure the floor was clear, we went back to the wide staircase and slowly and quietly ascended to the next floor.

This was more lushly fitted out, with carpets throughout, and quality wood panelling on the walls that made me think this must’ve been the area where the boatyard owners or managers worked. We followed the same pattern as before and checked out the offices on the back wall first. These seemed to contain what would’ve been an open office area with a couple of smaller side offices sectioned off them, and then a much larger main office come boardroom. Again all the furniture barring a few filing cabinets had been removed, and there was a conspicuous hole in the wall from which a small safe had clearly been removed.

Once we cleared the offices across the back of the building, we slowly moved across to the offices along the side, where it was clear a lot of the design work had been done within the business. This must’ve have been one of the areas along with the boardroom that the owners liked to show off, as it had also clearly been remodelled not long before the business moved premises.

Unlike the boardroom though several of the fixtures and fittings still remained, including a couple of large built in drawing boards, a large light-table in the centre of the room and what I could only guess were several glass display panels that drawings or other papers could’ve been fixed to for reference while the designers worked on their boards. Even after the several years that the site had been abandoned this room still looked surprisingly modern.

That was when it happened. The rooms had looked so undisturbed I think we’d started to relax.

It was so easy to forget we were looking for a deadly creature that was considerably stronger than a man and had butchered any number of people. As I stopped examine one of the drawing boards, Riley silently stepped past me to go and examine the light-table where the designers would have been able overlay several thin sheets of paper with design details on in order to seem them all together.

It was such an innocent thing to do, but just as I was turning back to centre of the room I saw Riley through one of the glass display panels extend his hand and flip the switch on the table to see if the light beneath would still come on.

Even as I watched I saw the scaled razor-claw of the Lamphrey slowly appear from beneath the table and take hold of the edge on the far side, followed by a second and third claw and then the head, its black eyes looking straight at Riley, who couldn’t even see it.

Time slowed to a crawl in that instant. The creature clearly hadn’t seen the rest of us because of the glass panels which it couldn’t see through.

As it extracted itself from beneath the light-table and raised itself up to its full height just a few feet away from where Riley stood still looking down at the flickering glass surface.

My gun was in my hand and I had a relatively clear shot at the thing. I saw Riley absently brush his hand across the surface of the table and start to turn away, and then just as I was squeezing the trigger, Blake must have caught sight of me and misunderstood.

‘Watch out,’ he shouted to Riley, thinking I was aiming at him, and lunging for me at the same time, hitting me just as my gun went off.

My bullet shattered the display panel that had hidden me from the creature, but between Blake’s shout startling the creature and the fact he just managed to nudge my arm as I fired my shot missed its chest where I’d been aiming and fortunately hit it in the face, shattering half the creatures face plating to expose raw pale coloured flesh.

This caused the thing to scream in a way I’d never heard before, and flickered out of the invisible light spectrum to where we could all see it.

I bodily threw Blake off against the wall with a curse as I tried to bring my gun back up for another shot, but the creature was faster. Having recovered from the wound to its face, it ripped the light-table up from the floor and flipped it across the room burying the stunned Riley beneath it. The monster then started to move away from us down the room toward the exit at the far end.

I just couldn’t get around the drawing board and up ended light-table to get another shot in, but just as I thought it was going to get away again, I heard three shots being fired in quick succession off to my side. It was Shelby, who was shooting through another glass display panel straight at the fleeing creature.

I don’t know where he hit it, but it screamed again, and loosing it’s balance slightly it ploughed into the edge of another drawing board and then straight through one of the glass panels.

It gave me enough time to get around the drawing board to where I could fire again.

It clearly wasn’t going to stay down, but as it rose from the floor again I noticed that in addition to the bullets a large shard of glass had also impaled it through the chest as it had fallen. It barely looked at us as it picked itself up and tried to continue its flight, but we had it in our sights now, and before it had taken another step I’d emptied my five remaining Manstoppers straight into its back, while Shelby added his other three bullets.

With each of the Manstoppers it seemed large pieces of the things carapace armour splintered and fell away or cracked to reveal pale bloody flesh beneath.

The force of the combined firepower floored the thing, knocking it across the room to hit the windows at the end of office overlooking the warehouse below.

The thing was done for. But I was taking no chances, as I walked toward it I calmly reloaded with another six Manstoppers, and as the creature dragged itself painfully up the wall, I fired all six straight into it at point blank range.

The massive force of the bullets hammered the thing into and through the wall and glass windows that separated it from the open air of the warehouse.

Even as it fell my hand was retrieving another reload from my belt, but then something stopped me dead in my tracks.

As the thing had crashed out of the window and started to fall, I’d finally seen its face where my first bullet had smashed its face plate off.

And in the centre of the exposed pale flesh was an eye that flickered open involuntarily, a pale blue human eye, surrounded by dark lashes and a brow.

A human eye that was exactly the same shape and colour which Ariel Shilling’s eyes had been, before she’d fallen to her death from our ship when we’d first arrived.

The story continues in:

‘Through Glass Darkly – Episode 2’

THANKYOU

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SAMPLE

And finally:

In the next few pages you’ll find a taster of one of my other stories also set in the 1930s ‘The Flames of Time’.

Here’s the back page blurb, followed by a sample chapter.

‘Africa keeps its secrets well,

and its ancient secrets best of all.

Untouched by the crash of '29 Kenya is the glamourous and exotic retreat for many seeking to escape the privations of the western world.

But when a group of friends get drawn into a strange shamanic ritual that reveals tentative clues to the existence of an ages old secret. A secret which threatens to re-write the history of the known world as well as the future destiny of mankind, they find themselves on a path they cannot help but follow.

To re-discover this long buried truth, they must search some of the world’s most ancient sites and seek clues contained within some of the oldest writings known to man.

However, there are those for whom keeping such secrets buried is not only a responsibility, but also a solemn duty. Powerful individuals who will apparently stop at nothing to protect the world as we know it from such things being found.’

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CHAPTER 7 – STEPPING STONES

Mkize was scrambling out, helped by some of the others, but there was no sight or sound of Harry from the abyss as I called out his name.

The others had obviously seen that something was up, and had raced up to join me. I briefly explained what had happened. The earth around the hole we’d dug, and the gap that had now opened up into the cave, forming a steep sloping funnel.

We sent Peter and the severely shaken Mkize to retrieve a rope and some torches from the camp, while the rest of us waited and continued to call after Harry.

‘I’m going to try and get down to the mouth of the hole, and see if I can see anything more from there,’ said Marlow.

It was a good fifteen feet down, surrounded by loose and crumbling earth, and with very little at the mouth to hold on to or stop yourself from sliding straight down into the darkness below. But by using one of the shovels as a makeshift tether, we managed to lower him most of the way, and he was just able to slide the last few feet and brace himself across the opening to see down into the hole.

‘Harry! Harry are you all right?’ Marlow was shouting into the cave. ‘I think I can just make him out. Yes he’s waving.’

A moment later and Peter had arrived with the ropes and torches and we were inside and had found Harry, before the danger of what we were doing had even occurred to us. He’d obviously been winded, and was holding his head as though that was a problem also. It made for a worrying minute or two not knowing how badly he was hurt, but after Jean offered him his dampened handkerchief and some fresh water he recovered enough to explain.

Apparently in a graceful attempt to stop himself from sliding into the hole, he’d grabbed at his shovel, the handle of which had unfortunately swung round and hit him squarely between the eyes.

Much relieved that it was only his ego which was seriously hurt, we helped him to his feet and started to look around the cave. It was a good fifty feet tall in places and at least half that again wide. As we lit more torches and were able to see further into the darkness, we began to realise just how much rock and earth was blocking the entrance. We could’ve spent weeks trying to dig our way in, even with the proper equipment, and still not managed it. The rock fall blocking the entrance was colossal.

Realising how lucky we’d been, we turned back to the cave, which was fairly clear of debris, but at the same time was quite plain. The floor seemed to have a slight incline, down which a small stream of water flowed in a purpose built channel, before swelling to form a sizeable pool behind the natural damn of the rock fall. On closer inspection, both the dome of the chamber and the walls appeared to have been worked, to give them a smooth and regular finish, whilst the floor seemed to have not only been smoothed, but also laid with expertly carved paving seamlessly incorporated into the bedrock of the walls.

Checking that Harry was fit to walk, we moved up the incline toward a rectangular tunnel, which we could just make out at the back.