Part One is Here

Alex – Saturday: 5 Days to Plague Day

Alex’s wife, Lisa, was pretty. Ever so slightly lopsided and with a slightly larger nose than he’d like, but pretty nonetheless. Kali, on the other hand, was beautiful. She was the colour of chocolate and had a face that was perfectly symmetrical. Her smile seemed to promise things and despite the crisp Indian accent, they were things he thought he’d probably never even imagined. She had eyes the colour of night. He’d thought they were brown to start with, then the light had caught them and they’d glowed so dark blue they were almost black. And her body…

Luke grabbed her arm, snarling as he dragged her toward the church.

‘There’ll be clothes in there, find some and put them on.’

Kali’s eyes widened, searching Luke’s face as though she would find the answer there to why he was being such a dick. Alex almost reassured her that he was always this way, but he had the feeling the two of them had known one another far longer than he had.

They raced into the church, which was disappointingly ordinary inside and found something for Kali to wear in a duffel bag hanging on a set of hooks. She took the robe off and dropped it on the floor, entirely unselfconscious about being naked in front of the two men. She even turned to Luke with a look that made Alex shiver and said. ‘Sara sends her regards. She misses you.’

Luke turned away and Alex, blushing red, did the same, but not before catching her eye. She gave him that smile again and he stopped turning, unable to take his eyes off her. She kept smiling, taking a long while to pull the t-shirt over her head. Even with it on, her figure was on display and his face grew hotter. She finished getting dressed slowly, not taking her eyes off his.

Luke cleared his throat and grabbed Alex’s arm. He pulled him away across the church and smiled. It wasn’t his normal smile, nor the evil look he seemed to enjoy so much. This was a forced smile, dragged up from somewhere but reluctant and overworked.

‘What’s wrong?’

Luke stared, eyebrows rising and then he let go and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths. His face relaxed and when he opened them, his eyes bored into Alex. ‘Is that better?’

‘I don’t know. You look better, sure, but—’

‘I’m fine. There’s nothing wrong. Kali over there is a succubus. You’d do well to steer clear of her. She is very sexy and very beautiful and will happily ensnare you with the sole motivation of eating your soul. Your only consolation will be that the last few minutes of your life will be very pleasurable.’

Alex grinned and Luke shook his head. ‘That isn’t as nice as it sounds. Trust me, someone doing anything to your soul is bad enough. Eating it is on the outer limits of what you can handle before your brain goes pop.’

‘I wasn’t grinning about that, I haven’t heard the word succubus in years, not since I played Dungeons and Dragons.’

Maybe he should ask Kali whether Luke had a mental issue or something. He turned to walk over to her and Luke’s hand wrapped around his wrist. ‘When will you start believing? You saw what I did to those soldiers’

‘And believe you me, it was impressive. But the whole God thing and now succubus? I mean, really?’

Luke smiled more naturally this time. ‘I really will enjoy watching your face when it hits you. When you can no longer deny it, it’s going to be so much fun.’

Luke shoved his arm away and stalked across the church. Kali was clothed now, though managing to look even more alluring in a tight t-shirt and tight jeans and just tight everything. That she had no underwear on made it even worse. Alex gritted his teeth. He needed to focus on the cure, on the formulas. There were so many things he had to remember that weren’t on the board. Pages of stuff he hadn’t thought Luke needed to hear.

The crazy man grabbed Kali by the arm and dragged her across the church toward the altar. She struggled for a brief moment, but something he said stilled her. Alex rushed over. Why was he being so unpleasant? He couldn’t believe he was still wondering that, but Luke had just rescued her, so that had to count for something. Why rescue her and drag her about like she was worthless?

As he grew closer he heard what they were saying.

‘The Father didn’t send you, don’t lie to me. Who sent you?’

The smallest of worry lines marred Kali’s forehead, but made her no less stunning. If anything, the addition of humanity made her even more desirable.

‘It was him. He was worried about your behaviour here so far, he—’

‘So who’s watching me? If you’ve seen my behaviour, who else has?’

She cast her eyes to the ground and looked up at Luke through long dark lashes. ‘Everyone. There’s a screen in the Dome. It’s on all the time so you can just go and watch it.’

Luke burst out laughing. ‘So I’m the entertainment. Where has the Father gone?’

‘He’s still at the Do— oww!’

Luke slammed his hand across her cheek and let go of her wrist. She dropped to the floor, knees making a dull thump that chased her cry of pain around the church.

‘The Father wouldn’t put up a screen. He wouldn’t make this a spectator sport, not for you or anyone else. Who did this?’

She looked down again, shaking her head. Luke knelt beside her and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. Alex stepped closer. ‘Look, Luke, surely we can do this nicely, you don’t need to hurt her.’

Luke waved his hand in dismissal and Alex hesitated.

‘Who did this?’

Kali’s mouth stayed shut. Luke stared at her for a moment and Alex caught a glimpse of his face. His eyes flared, golden light spilling from the edges and his mouth was so tight his lips all but vanished. Alex took a step back as Luke surged to his feet and turned. ‘You want proof? You want to be enlightened?’

He hauled Kali up by the arm and dragged her over the altar and past it to where a huge golden cross towered above them. Kali writhed and whined and the sound wasn’t entirely human.

‘I don’t want proof. Whatever you’re doing, stop it, I don’t want proof.’

Luke turned back, sneer on his face. ‘This isn’t about you. I just thought you might be interested.’

Without another word, he spun back, grabbed Kali by both arms and lifted her, slamming her against the cross. The moment she touched it a hissing sound filled the church and she screamed. Smoke rose from her back and she struggled and kicked. He gagged as a smell like burning hair filled his nostrils.

Luke held her there, every muscle tense. The hissing grew louder and Alex backed away as her face changed. The beauty was gone, just like that, replaced with red scales and a nose almost flat to her face. Her eyes shifted, melting from the front of her face out to the sides and her mouth grew wider and wider.

He put his hand over his mouth, gasping as she changed completely. She looked like a lizard, the colour of blood and five feet tall. Her jaws extended and she snapped at Luke. He wagged his finger in front of her. ‘Uh, uh, none of that. You are here now, corporeal and entirely present and either I get my answers or I break your neck, understood?’

The soft melody of her voice had become a deep croak. ‘Take me off this damned cross.’

‘I think you’re the damned one.’ He pulled her away from the cross and threw her to the floor. She came straight back up, mouth snapping as her nails scratched on the stone floor.

‘Who sent you? Who sent you to watch me and who framed me in the first place?’

‘That’s a lot of questions, which would you like answered first?’

‘It doesn’t matter, you’re going to answer all of them anyway.’

The laugh that emerged was thin and rough and scraped across Alex’s brain. He was already struggling to stay something resembling sane, and the voice didn’t make it any easier.

Kali, assuming she was still called Kali when she was a giant lizard thing, hisses again. ‘The Father sent me.’

Luke grabbed her around the throat and shoved her against the cross. The acrid smoke billowed up and she screamed. The sound faded and rattled in her throat as her struggles weakened. He held her there until her legs hung limp at her sides, then tossed her to the floor.

‘My patience is at an end. You will tell me what I wish to know now.’

She laughed weakly and ran a scaled forearm over her lips. ‘Trust me, Luke, the person who sent me here is far scarier than you.’

‘Do you know who I am?’ As he roared, golden light spat from his eyes and the shadow he cast from the flickering candles moved independently, creeping forward to crouch above her.

‘I know who you were. But that was a long time ago. You’ve been neutered by your time as a Guardian. Everyone knows it except you.’

Luke took a step back, head shaking back and forth. Kali clambered to her feet, mocking smile on her face. ‘I mean, come on, would you have let the Father send you here before he let you back in? You’re a shadow of who you were. Why do you think Sara let you in? She felt sorry for you, Luke, and she knew you were going. It was time for you to go.’

Alex cringed. Luke was going to hit her. He could see the tension in his shoulders as he wound up to it. Then the tension drained and his head dropped onto his chest. His voice was soft, defeated. ‘So you will tell me nothing?’

Kali sighed and rolled her shoulders. ‘I’m sorry, I can’t. Worse will happen to me if I do. Had it not been my master, it would have been someone else. There are a lot of people with a grudge against you.’

Luke nodded and turned to Alex. ‘We better get going. We need that cure.’

Alex let out a long breath and nodded. This was a better ending than he’d expected. Luke met his gaze and he saw another flash of gold and stiffened as Luke turned back to Kali.

‘Oh, something you might want to pass onto your master. I may be weaker than I was, but I’m far from defeated. Tell me, Kali, what are you most afraid of?’

The succubus stared at him in horror for a brief moment, before a figure appeared before her. It was huge, twelve feet tall and covered in thick red hair. It could have been a bear, only it was human shaped, long-legged and narrow-waisted.

Luke said only one word as he watched the thing grab Kali around the throat and lift her off the floor.

‘Az.’

Next installment Thursday 30th October

Part One is here

David – Thursday: Plague Day

Peace and quiet was all he wanted. He could still be in his empty London, lulled to sleep by the lapping of the Thames while reciting the alphabet to ensure he didn’t forget it. Being brought back was bad enough, but being brought back to this was evil, pure and simple. What had he ever done? He’d done nothing. He was innocent.

The two receptionists were closing in, hands stretched out towards him. They would have been pretty not long ago. One had long black hair and her skin was darker than the rest, a sort of coffee colour with too much milk in. He shifted uncomfortably as he imagined them naked and not zombies.

He giggled and slapped himself around the face. That was going too far. They were dead and rotting and would never be pretty again. He could imagine all he wanted, but they were about to eat him. For some reason though, the fear that had driven him here from Regent’s Park had evaporated. It was all a bit funny now.

Their uniforms were funny, still so neat and prim, but collecting a dusting of dead and flaking skin on the upper half. They looked like they’d just walked through an ash cloud. He could have had both at the same time. He’d never had two women at the same time. He never would now, he reflected morosely, not now he was barmy. He giggled again.

One of the receptionist’s clawed hands closed around his wrist and the paralysis broke. He roared and yanked his hand free, then drove his fist straight into her face. The nose broke and warm, watery blood gushed over his fingers. He vomited into his mouth and swallowed it down, the bile burning as it returned to his stomach.

The zombie staggered away and he turned to the other, lashing out and catching her on the side of the head. She too took a few steps back, but came straight forward again. He raced off down the corridor and found the fire extinguisher. David hefted it in one hand, the grin back again.

He drew a mental picture of himself, half-Joker, half-Superman and turned to the zombies. In the seconds it took them to reach him, he realised how easy life was without fear. Then he caught a whiff of their stench and the fear crept up his spine like a midnight spider. The one with the broken nose came first and he almost ran.

The blood ran down her face and her yellow teeth showed through a dull pink. The blood soaked the front of her uniform and as she growled at him, it sprayed from her mouth. He jumped to one side and swung the extinguisher as hard as he could. The zombie hadn’t moved and it struck her head bang-on.

Her skull exploded. All he saw of it was her face, squashed together for a moment, then flying outward, one eye coming straight at him. It hit him on the chin and bounced to the floor and he followed it with sick. Her teeth were scattered among the blood and fragments of skull. Bits of brain matter dripped into it from the remains of her skull. Her body tottered and dropped.

He backed away, frantically scrubbing his chin with his sleeve. The smell was a hundred times worse, like standing directly above a blocked drain and he gagged. The other zombie was entirely unbothered and bent down beside the corpse. He’d been able to handle everything else, but when her long black hair dragged in the blood and she used one clawed hand to scoop what was left in the skull and cram it into her mouth, he whimpered and ran.

He raced down the corridor to a glass fire door. Through that and down the stairs inside, he arrived in the basement, which was either a great idea or the worst he’d ever had. Actually, coming to the hotel was probably the worst, but this might follow a close second.

It was dimly lit and quiet and he rested against the wall. He couldn’t get the image out of his head, of her pale tongue licking the soft grey matter. He slid down and covered his head with his hands. Did he really deserve this? All he’d done was cheat on his wife and lie to the person he was cheating with. Millions of people did it every day. So where were they? Why was he the only one stuck in London surrounded by the grossest zombies known to man?

Perhaps there were others. He didn’t know for sure he was the only one still alive. If there were others, they’d be hiding the same as him, so of course they’d be difficult to find. Maybe some of them would be women. He thought about Steph. Maybe she was still alive.

His heart leapt. How hadn’t he thought of this before? Maybe there were lots of people still alive, all hiding in their basements and ducked down below their windows. He could bang on doors until someone opened one. There was no way he was the only one deserving of this, no way at all.

He had to get out of the hotel. He had to find Steph. She was still alive, she had to be and she’d sort everything. And a blow job would put so much right.

He returned to the stairs and crept up them and out the fire door. He was walking with purpose now and had his breath back. His head thumped and his stomach rumbled but he could do this.

He entered the corridor in which he’d left the zombies and paused. The sound of eating, wet and crunchy reached him and his hunger fled. He tiptoed until he saw her, bent low over the body of her companion. He crept closer still and she sat up sharply. He gasped and almost dropped the fire extinguisher. She looked at him with dark, sunken eyes and he braced his feet. Then she bent and put her face back in the guts of the other receptionist.

He stared for a moment, waiting for his brain to catch up or do something other than scream. When he decided it was pretty much stuck on a loop, he set his feet apart, raised the extinguisher and brought it down as hard as he could on the back of her head.

Most of her skull mixed and mingled with the guts just beneath it and he ran before he could see any more. He kept running all the way to the exit before he stopped and looked at the extinguisher. It wasn’t a bad weapon, but it was pretty heavy and he didn’t like the idea of lugging it all the way down Regent’s Street.

He looked around the lobby and spotted the umbrella pot. The umbrellas looked too flimsy, but there were two walking sticks in there. One had the thick rubber end and was next to useless, but the other was more of a tapered stick, with a sharpish end and a comfortable handle. He could stab with that, through eyes and mouths and his mind just kept on screaming.

He grabbed it and set off, through the exit and down onto the street. Nothing had changed. The sun was dipping and he’d half expected the zombies to head home once work was over, but still they meandered this way and that.

Within moments of his arrival on the street, those closest to him turned and their growling rose in volume. He set off, running at a pace he thought he could maintain. He put one hand to his chest, reliving for a second the horrible feeling of being stuck in London with pneumonia, barely able to breath and having to rest every five seconds.

Now though, he had energy and he had a reason and it carried him rapidly down Regent’s Street. Oxford Circus was predictably busy and he slowed as he reached it. There had been arguments here and there were gatherings of feasting zombies, pulling apart their comrades. As far as continuation of the species went, these guys weren’t the smartest. Not that they needed to worry, there were hundreds just in this small space. And he had to get through them.

He banged his hand against his forehead as he finally looked at the cars and buses in various states of repair littering the street. Some were ploughed into shop fronts, others against lamp posts. A few were stopped in the street, with no visible signs of damage. With a silent shout of joy, he rushed across to a BMW slewed sideways across the road. The door was open and the keys hung in the ignition.

He jumped in and noted with relief that the engine was switched off. The driver had gotten long enough to get out and run before he or she was zombiefied. Unless they were still alive. Unless they were one of the lucky ones like him.

He turned the key and giggled as the engine roared to life. Every zombie in a twenty feet radius turned to stare at him and he hastily yanked the door shut and checked the windows. He slipped it into first and pulled away. And stalled. He cursed, thumped the wheel and turned the key. The car grumbled and he went cold, then it sparked up again.

He was more careful this time, pulling around the car in front and weaving slowly between the others. He’d gone maybe fifty feet when the first zombie threw itself on the bonnet. He stamped on the brakes and it slid off and landed on the floor in front of the car. With his lips pulled back from his teeth, he put his foot down. It sounded like driving over dead branches, only with damp ground beneath. His stomach turned over.

He accelerated, weaving as carefully as he could without going too slowly. Within a couple of minutes, Piccadilly Circus came into view and he allowed himself a moment of triumph. He was going to make it. The junction was rammed and he took to the pavement, scattering zombies this way and that. It was like being in a Bourne movie. He giggled and put his foot down, screeching back onto the road and stamping on the accelerator before hauling it round a bus.

A woman stood in the middle of the road. Blood streamed from her face and shoulders and without thinking he hauled on the wheel. The car shot sideways, mounted the curb and slammed straight into the base of the Statue of Eros. His head hit the wheel and the world span and began to go black.

He glanced over his shoulder at the woman and saw the tell-tale skin and eyes. She was a zombie. It was just a zombie. The next moment she was swamped by her greedy compatriots.

Davis tried to get his seatbelt off, but his hands were thick and clumsy and the world was still spinning. His arms refused to do what he told them. He stared at the door for what felt like hours until he finally found the locking mechanism. He pushed it and heard the satisfying thunk of the car locking. Then the world went black.

Next Installment Monday 27th October

Part One is here

Krystal – Thursday: Plague Day

She hammered the button. The doors began to slide closed again. Then the arm came through and with it, the rest of his body. She couldn’t help calling it a he. Behind her, Ed’s voice was soft as he breathed a name.

‘Rob.’

‘What?’

‘He’s Rob. He’s having troubles with his wife.’

‘Yeah, not any more.’

She lashed out, her heavy boot catching ‘Rob’ in the kneecap. It shattered and he dropped onto one knee. From the broken one came the smell of rotting meat and she covered her mouth and took a step backwards. He tried to rise but managed only a sort of stumbling fall further into the lift. She sidestepped and he tumbled past her. She heard Ed shout but was far too busy slamming her finger into the button.

The doors began to slide closed and she span around, hand going for her back pocket. The zombie called Rob lay atop Ed and was wriggling like it meant to do something disgusting to him. But the growl was in no way flirtatious and in every way terrifying and Ed screamed. He had one hand beneath Rob’s chin and pushed the zombie’s head up so its teeth clicked shut on air again and again.

Krystal stared, frozen for a second. She didn’t think she could bear to touch it. But in the end, she did. She wrapped her arms around its throat and hauled it up and off Ed. The moment it was clear she let go. For a brief time it stood, wobbling back and forth, its lazy eyes tracking between the two of them. They stared back, panting and sweating. The doors pinged behind them and began to reopen and Krystal reached for the button.

At the same moment, Rob made his decision and dived at Ed. Krystal threw herself at it and crashed into its waist. Its knee collapsed and she drove it to the floor. Now she found herself astride the zombie, one of its arms trapped between her legs. Caught between freaking out and feeling somewhat in control, she yanked the knife from her pocket.

She glanced at Ed as she fiddled with the blade and saw his eyes widen as he looked past her. She resisted the urge to turn and put all her attention on getting the blade free of the knife. The zombie struggled but its knee hampered it and it kicked feebly. How strong was it? She couldn’t weigh more than eight stone.

The blade popped out and she drove it straight down into Rob’s ear. It caught against something and half closed, cutting into her finger. ‘Shit, dammit.’ The zombie’s struggles grew suddenly more intense and she grabbed hold, barely keeping the knife. She rode it, hands dug into its shoulders to stay on as it wriggled like a fish on a ship’s deck.

It slowed a little and she reopened the knife. She lined up this time, which was a little like she imagined catching fish with a spear would be. She slammed the knife down again. It went in cleanly this time, straight through his ear and into his brain. Rob who was having troubles with his wife stiffened and froze and she let out a long breath. And noticed the silence.

Ed was still staring, wide-eyed and shaking. This time she turned and looked the other way. The lift doors were open and there they were, staring in. She scrambled off Rob and fetched up beside Ed against the back of the lift. Then she remembered her knife. Not that it mattered now, they were dead.

She grabbed Ed’s hand and squeezed it. ‘It’s been nice, you know, just for a little while.’

He opened his mouth to reply then the first zombie moved. It lurched into the lift, bent down and sunk its teeth into Rob’s dead face. Krystal shrieked. She couldn’t help it. Steaming blood gushed out onto the lift floor and the tiny space filled with the smell of a dog carcass left out in the sun. She’d seen a few in her time, hidden away in one of the alleyways of Soho.

She clapped her hand over her mouth and watched in horror as the zombie lifted its head, a flap of Rob’s skin hanging from its mouth. The other zombies were pushing to get to the body and one grabbed its foot and began to pull. Zombie number one, the face eater, turned and snarled at the puller and they glared at one another, teeth bared.

‘Ed, we need to get the body out of the lift.’

‘How the hell do we do that?’

They were speaking through gritted teeth as though to open their mouths fully would somehow expose them to the zombies. Krystal slipped further down the wall, put her boot against Rob’s shoulder and pushed. The body slid the tiniest distance, but it encouraged the puller to try again and this time he succeeded in getting the lower leg out of the lift.

‘Yes, that’s it.’

She pushed herself away from the wall until her foot touched it again. Another nudge and the puller got the legs completely out. Zombie number one, who up to this point had been happy to be dragged along with it, face buried up to its nose in face flesh, rose up and growled at her, then took a swipe.

She moved, but not fast enough and the claws caught her across the leg. She howled as her trousers were ripped open and curled nails opened three long tears in her leg. She yanked it back and wrapped her jeans around the wounds, staring at the zombie. It hesitated, as though deciding what the best smelling meal was. Then the puller yanked again and zombie number one turned away, growling at the body thief.

It turned serious this time, her attacked lunging over the body to clout his comrade in the face. His claws opened up more wounds and some of the others fell on puller, dragging him away from the lift. He was still living and she saw teeth dig into his shoulder and more into his neck and the sound he made reminded her of the baby pigeons she watched, high-pitched squawking that went on and on before abruptly cutting off.

Someone else had taken the place of the puller and Rob was almost out of the lift. She watched and shook her head as Ed scrambled up and shoved the body the rest of the way. Zombie number one was engrossed in opening Rob’s stomach with its teeth and barely reacted.

Then Ed stepped back and hit the down button and finally the doors closed all the way. He dropped onto his butt and let out a long breath. He raised his hand. ‘What just happened?’

She patted him on the shoulder. ‘They’ve all become zombies.’

‘Zombies?’

‘Yeah. Weird huh?’

‘Why us? Why are we still alive?’

‘I have no idea. Not sure I will be much longer though, not with this.’

She edged her torn jeans away from the cuts and inspected them. They were shallower than she’d thought and the bleeding was minimal. Ed knelt over them and prodded with one outstretched finger. Then he shook his head. ‘Nah, you’ll be alright with them. It’s only bites that infect.’

‘How the hell d’you know?’

‘I’ve read everything there is to know about zombies. Vampires too, but they don’t exist.’

‘Not unless you’re some hot, skinny American school girl.’

Ed grinned. ‘Nah, they’re the most non-existent ones there are. You have to get bitten by a zombie if you wanna be infected.’

‘So just like vampires then?’

‘Sort of. Only vampires drink blood and zombies either want to eat brains or all of you.’

‘Don’t think those ones were all that bothered.’

He shook his head, frowning.

‘What?’

‘Why us? Why aren’t we zombies?’

‘Why’s it so important?’

He shook his head again, blinking as he looked at her. ‘It might not be, but normally if you’re left alive, there’s a reason. I suppose we might have a natural immunity to whatever was in the fog, but what’s the chances of you and I having it and none of the others?’

The doors pinged and slid open and they both froze, staring at the widening gap. The lobby looked like it was night time. She realised it was the fog surrounding the building and keeping most of the sunlight out. There were no zombies in sight and she let out the breath she’d been holding.

‘Look, any chance we could solve the mystery of our survival after we find somewhere safe?’

‘That’s fine by me, but where’s going to be safe?’

Krystal shrugged and got to her feet. ‘Somewhere they can’t get in I guess. A house or a flat or something?’

They made it across the lobby and to the door. The fog was thick outside, so they couldn’t see further than ten feet in any direction. It was high as well, going far above their heads. When they stepped out into it, their world would shrink. And the zombies could come from anywhere.

Ed grabbed her arm. ‘I don’t want to go out there.’

‘You think? What else are we gonna do?’

He stared at her, those dark eyes mirroring what she felt but was determined not to show.

‘C’mon, it’ll be fine. We move fast as we can and head back toward the city.’

‘Why the city?’

‘We know places there. There’ll be places we can get in and be safe. I don’t know what’s around here. And hey, who’s to say the zombies can see any better in the fog than we can? Maybe it’ll help us.’

Ed looked about as convinced as she felt when a politician appeared on a newspaper saying he was going to stamp out homelessness. It didn’t happen very often and when it did she couldn’t help hearing ‘stamp out homeless people,’ which seemed a bit pointless, because she couldn’t have been more stamped out of the world already.

She gripped Ed’s hand, took a deep breath and pulled the door open. The fog billowed around them, carrying with it the scent of mould, like a building left too long with damp and she coughed. Taking a far shallower breath this time, she dragged him with her into the fog.

Part One is Here

Luke – Friday: 6 Days to Plague Day

‘Who is she?’

Alex’s voice, even in that stupid hissing whisper, was still too loud and Luke wondered again at decision to bring him along. What had made him think he could be useful? Any moment now God’s soldiers would look up and spot them and the entire thing would be a bust. He turned back to his companion, finger on his lips and glared long enough for Alex to look sheepish and nod.

He paused on the top step. There was so much power in here. Last time he’d been here, he’d been in no position to enjoy it. Now though, it was entirely different. His fingers tingled and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He knew he was grinning but couldn’t stop himself and didn’t want to.

The sacrifice was perfectly timed. It would distract everyone. But would it be long enough for them to get down and across to the trucks? And was the formula still in there? One thing at a time.

He scrambled down the stairs a short way before he had to turn around and face the wall, climbing down using hands and feet. His worries over his impending and potential mortality came back hard as he wobbled and grabbed at the steps. One slip and he had a hundred feet or so straight down to hard, unforgiving stone. Alex was taking his time but was at least moving and not talking.

The chanting grew louder and he had to look down. They were walking slow circles around a large post. Good. It was a burning. That would take longer and the smoke would be more cover. He pushed on, his mind locked on taking each step carefully and slowly.

The next time he looked down, the angle was considerably less steep and the girl was strapped to the post. They’d ripped the rest of her clothes away and he felt something stir. There was something utterly dismissive and damning about being naked in front of strangers. He remembered it happening to him and it still sent shivers down his spine. Her skin was dusky, Indian or Pakistani, so probably a Hindu or Islamist. Which would suit the soldiers of God down to the ground.

He growled and shook his head. The sacrifice meant nothing, not if he was going to save the world. He sniggered. That sentence still sounded like a joke. Why had the Father chosen him? If this was all someone’s plan to get him killed permanently, why was the Father involved? Maybe the right question was, how was the Father involved? What had they done or said to convince him?

A number of the soldiers were walking back and forth from a huge metal cabinet set against the rough stone. Each journey brought more wood which they flung on the pile surrounding the wooden post.

Luke’s foot touched the floor and he sank gratefully down, shaking hands cradled in his lap. His breaths came in shorts bursts and he stared up to watch Alex descend. He was taking it slower and easier and had only just reached the halfway point. Maybe Alex was supposed to be the diversion. He could shout a warning to the soldiers and disappear and they’d run up and sort him out while Luke sneaked around the outside.

He shook his head. It wouldn’t last long enough. Something else stopped him as well, the same something that made him wince every time he looked at the naked woman strapped to the pole. Whatever it was made him want to puke, but it was insistent and enough to stay his hand.

He waited until his useless companion joined him on the cavern floor, gave him about five seconds to catch his breath, then hauled him off in a wide circle around the outskirts. They’d gone two steps when Alex stopped short and yanked his arm free.

‘What are you doing, she’s that way?’

‘And that’s where she’ll stay. She’s the perfect diversion.’

‘She’s going to die.’

‘Everyone’s going to die. Thanks to you everyone’s going to die. Saving her will only ensure that happens.’

Alex snarled and set off towards the sacrifice. Luke grabbed at him and succeeded in catching his shirt. He jerked him back and put one, very powerful hand around his throat.

‘Listen to me. Save her and we condemn every human being to death. Do you want that?’

‘I want to save her.’

‘Well isn’t that lovely. Your girlfriend and your unborn child will die. Your parents will die, though a heartless bastard like you probably doesn’t care too much about t—’

‘Heartless bastard? You’re the one leaving an innocent woman to die.’

‘I never claimed to be anything else. But I see the bigger picture. She’s one person and we don’t even know if she’s innocent.’

‘Can’t you tell? Don’t angels have some way of checking?’

Luke grunted and his eyes flicked to the sacrifice. Then he shook his head and tightened his grip. ‘We’re going to the trucks. You come with me or lose your hands again, your choice.’

Alex stared, his upper lip curling. Luke thought he was actually going to argue before his shoulders went limp and he looked at the floor. He muttered something too low for Luke to catch but he was already turning away from the stake and the sacrifice.

There were plenty of rough islands of rock to hide behind and they made good progress. They were within a stone’s throw of the trucks when the sacrifice started screaming again. Alex grabbed his arm and hauled him round, getting up close.

‘You can take my damned hands.’ He set off, racing straight across the floor of the cavern. A plume of smoke rose up to the ceiling and Luke had to question the wisdom of starting a second fire in a closed cave. He froze, eyes flicking from the trucks back to where Alex drew rapidly closer to the circle.

She screamed again and it carried real pain. That quiet voice inside him grew louder and he drove his clenched fist into the rock. Shaking his head and biting down the urge to curse himself in every language he knew, Luke charged after Alex. As he ran, he sent his mind out, finding as many of the minds before him as he could.

He didn’t have to do all of them, just enough to cause chaos. He waited another second, until Alex reached them then he unleashed. The power in the cave surged through him and he gasped. The man nearest him was terrified of spiders and Luke stared in amazement as a creature the size of a dog appeared and dropped onto the man’s shoulders.

It was physical! He could always see them, but no one else could. The power in the cave had multiplied his powers an extraordinary amount.

The soldier to his left lived in fear of being shot and the next moment his body sprung holes and blood sprayed across the cave floor. He had little sympathy for anyone who chose to follow the pathetic men on Earth who claimed they did God’s work. No one did God’s work, least of all people who spent their days telling others how to run their lives.

He switched on a few more and the cave filled with the howling of monkeys as they tore and pulled at one of his hapless subjects. One of the soldiers was driven to the floor by water streaming from above him. It appeared and ran into his face and down his body then vanished. His hands flailed ineffectually around as though he could deflect it from running down his throat and into his lungs.

Luke broke through the circle and heading for the pile of wood that burned fiercely. The flames were catching bursts of gold and blue and reflecting the power that hummed around the cave. They would be difficult to put out. Alex stood before them, hand over his eyes as he tried to get closer. Luke sneered and shoved him to one side.

The woman was shiny with sweat and her legs were an unhealthy pink colour. The post was tall, possibly tall enough and Luke took a deep breath. Before being made mortal he wouldn’t have thought twice about this. Now though, it was a different story. But the fires were getting hotter.

The soldiers of God were in disarray, the gown-wearing priests running from their fears or staring, stunned at the strange and miraculous additions to the cave. The soldiers themselves were in much the same state, though a few had turned and run the moment the first trouble started. Luke had an inkling of where they were headed, but he couldn’t stop now.

He backed up, put his head down and ran. The flames were horribly hot and seared him long before he leaped. He sailed over the wood, his enhanced strength carrying him all the way to the pole. He struck it feet first and as he hoped, the flames had already burned though the base. It snapped and carried him and woman over the wood on the other side.

He landed first and grabbed the pole, taking the weight before the sacrifice struck the stone. He hauled it away from the flames. Alex appeared, mouth open and nodding.

‘That was amazing, that was just, amazing.’

Luke grabbed the woman’s bonds and ripped them off, wincing as his skin was abraded by the rough rope. He bundled her into Alex’s arms and searched for the nearest priest. He was writhing on the ground, patting frantically at his body. Smoke rose from within his robes and Luke smiled grimly.

He tore his robes off him, leaving him rolling on the ground as his skin went first pink and then blackened. He flung the robe over the sacrifice and the three of them set off across the cavern floor. The moment they got free of the circle and the chaos within, Luke stopped.

The trucks were gone. He caught sight of the back of the last heading into the tunnel, way over the other side past the church. He focused, trying to find the minds of the men on board but they were too far.

He swore, turning back to the maelstrom. He switched off the fears and the surviving soldiers and priests collapsed to the ground. He yanked the nearest up by his collar. ‘Where are they going?’

The man pulled a smile from somewhere, showing teeth black with mould. Luke flicked one with his finger and it broke and fell into the man’s mouth. He choked and Luke tossed him onto the floor. He reached for the next and the priest struggled, throwing him off and racing across the cavern floor.

Luke watched him go, grinding his teeth together before moved onto the next. He pulled one of the soldiers up and slapped him round the face. The unseeing eyes snapped into focus and the soldier cringed.

‘Where are they going?’

‘What?’

‘The trucks. Where are they going?’

‘Dunno. They didn’t tell us. Not for the emergency. Only the trained ones.’

‘Are any of the trained ones here?’

He bustled the man around so he could see his companions in their various states of damage and madness. He shook his head slowly.

‘Don’t think so.’

‘Don’t think so? Are you sure?’

‘Yeah, I’m sure. That was the training, always protect the package.’

With a wordless shout Luke threw him onto the floor. He turned on Alex, teeth bared. ‘See what you’ve done? This is your fault. We’ve lost them and it’s your fault.’

He shoved the sacrifice out the way as his hands settled around Alex’s neck.

‘Wait, please. Hold on.’

Luke was beyond waiting, but Alex’s next words gave him pause. ‘I can still manufacture the antidote. I can’t guarantee how long it’ll take, but it’s better to have it at some point, isn’t it?’

Luke loosened his hands just enough for Alex to breathe. ‘Are you sure you can do it?’

‘I just need my white board. It’s got the stuff I didn’t know on it. If we can get back to the lab, I can get started.’

Luke let go completely. He wasn’t convinced, not in the least. But it was the only thing they had going right now. Alex was already ignoring him, turning to help the sacrifice back to her feet. As she stood, Luke saw her face and gasped.

‘Sara?’

She shook her head, a smile spreading over full, pale lips. ‘Kali, at your service. The Father will be most pleased to see you haven’t given up your humanity all together.’