Blood Water

CHAPTER 20

The two brothers ducked down to shelter under a tree and phoned their parents. Rather than waste time trying to explain the unexplainable, they just told them they were waiting at the school for the weather to improve with some other pupils and teachers, which was partially true. Mum was livid that Sean still wasn’t home, but nothing could be done about that. When James hung up, they started back up the hill towards the school, wondering what they’d find when they got there. Sean was already imagining horrible scenarios, most of them centred around the creature escaping and disappearing into the night. At the top of the hill they could see water gushing down the road like a river.

Sean shouted at his brother: ‘James! Are you serious about the study centre?’

His brother didn’t reply – he evidently hadn’t heard; instead he just crossed the road and jogged into the school car park.

‘Because we’ll never get there in the car now,’ Sean went on.

‘Come on,’ James said, waiting for him to catch up. ‘Let’s see how Waites is getting on.’

They splashed through the reception area and headed for the main hall. Waites was pacing again now. He looked up and saw them standing in the doorway.

‘Sean, are you OK?’ he asked.

‘Yeah, we’re fine.’ Sean hurried over to the teacher. ‘We couldn’t find Mrs Rees though – she could be anywhere by now.’

‘Then it’s out of our hands. We’ll just have to hope that no one else has found her. Sean, can I have a quick word?’

Both Sean and his brother found the request odd, but neither said anything. Sean walked away with Waites so that they were out of earshot, leaving James by the cupboard.

‘Sean, I know what you’re going to say, but before we decide what to do next, we have to consider the possibility that…’ Waites hesitated while he found the right words.

‘What?’ Sean followed Waites’s gaze as it rested momentarily on James.

‘The possibility that James might have been infected by that thing and not Titus.’

‘What? But he hasn’t been! You know that.’

‘Shh! Keep your voice down. I know that’s how it seems, but we could be wrong. Look, if it is in Titus it could well have been trying to convince me that James is infected so I’ll set it free – I’m aware of that, but still… there is a chance. Emily said it was in "him". She didn’t say which "him".’

Sean looked again at his brother, unwilling to believe that he could be the monster now. That couldn’t be true. The ramifications were too horrible to consider.

‘No,’ he said firmly. ‘If it was in him I’d know by now. It would have done something or said something to give itself away. It would…’ He winced and started rubbing his forehead.

‘Are you OK?’

‘Yeah. I just… It’s from the other day, I think. The run. Still not fully recovered.’

‘Here, sit down on the end of the stage.’

Sean did as instructed, perching on the edge. As he looked around, he realized that the hall itself, and indeed the rest of the school, seemed strange now, tainted by the bizarre, the horrific.

‘Look, I know my own brother,’ Sean said. ‘He can’t be infected, and besides, while we were out he had plenty of opportunities to either attack me or escape. And why would that thing want to come back here?’

‘I don’t know. Did he say anything to you that sounded odd, or out of character?’

‘No, I don’t think so.’

‘OK, well, look, just be careful. We can’t be certain of anything right now, so let’s just be on our guard. You stay here a sec. I’ll go and see how Titus is.’

‘What about Dr Morrow?’ Sean asked, suddenly remembering the dying man.

‘He’s… He didn’t make it, I’m afraid.’

‘Oh.’ Sean looked down at his feet as they swung idly below him. He glanced over at his brother, again praying that the thing hadn’t got to him. To have to watch something so horrible happen to someone he loved was unthinkable.

‘He tried to leave us a message though,’ Waites said. ‘He wrote it on the floor.’

‘What did it say?’

‘Sall.’

‘Sall? As in Sally?’

‘I don’t know. Maybe. Do you know anyone called Sally that might have something to do with this?’

‘No.’

‘What about James?’

‘Well, he worked at the study centre with Dr Morrow – maybe it’s someone they both know.’

‘Let’s ask him.’

Meanwhile James had heard the odd word from Sean and Waites’s conversation, but had been unable to make out the gist of what they were saying. He’d seen them look at him though, and had guessed what they might be discussing. Not good.

He inched towards the cupboard. He thought he could hear breathing inside, but he might have imagined it. And then the man inside spoke.

‘Who’s there? Is that you, Daniel?’

James didn’t reply, but instead turned his back and leaned against the door.

The voice came again. ‘Look, please let me out now. This is ridiculous. I told you – that thing, whatever it is, went inside that boy – Sean’s brother. It’s not in me, for Christ’s sake! Get me out of here.’

James considered this while the voice continued, ‘It’s you, isn’t it, boy?’ it said all of a sudden. ‘I know it’s you. It’s inside you. You do know that, don’t you? You might not remember, but I saw. I saw it! And now it’s me that’s locked up instead of you!’

James peered through the crack in the door, fancying that two eyes were staring out accusingly. ‘Shut up,’ he said coldly. ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘James?’

‘Yeah?’ James turned round, looking startled.

‘Are you OK?’ Sean asked.

‘Don’t listen to him,’ Waites said, meaning the man in the cupboard. ‘He’ll try anything to get out.’

‘Oh yeah, I know. I just—’

‘Dr Morrow’s dead,’ Sean said.

‘Oh God.’

‘Yeah, I know… but he left us a message: "Sall". We think he might have been trying to tell us something.’

‘Sall?’

‘He may not have been able to finish the message,’ Waites said, testing the cupboard door to make sure it was still secure, ‘but we think he may have meant to write "Sally". Do you know of anyone at the study centre called Sally?’

James thought for a second. ‘Yeah, there is! One of the marine specialists, Sally Cooper. She’s only there on Saturdays and Wednesday evenings, but she knows… knew Dr Morrow quite well. She shared an office with one of the other scientists. Maybe there’s something there that can help us. I was thinking we should go there anyway. That’s where the thing came from. If there’s nothing in Sally’s office that can help, then maybe Dr Morrow wrote something in his notes.’

‘Maybe,’ Waites said. ‘But "Sall" could mean anything. I think we should stay here and wait for the rain to stop. In the meantime we can decide what to do with that thing.’

‘But it will probably have killed Titus by then,’ James said. ‘If it leaves him, it can probably get out of the cupboard somehow. I’m sure the answer is at the research centre.’

‘You seem awfully keen to go back there,’ Waites said. Sean could sense his suspicion – a suspicion he now found himself sharing.

‘I just… I just think we should do everything we can to end this. What if it keeps raining until morning? We don’t want to be stuck here all night with that thing.’

They were all silent for a few moments. Waites was clearly thinking things over.

‘All right,’ he said at length. ‘We’ll go, but we can’t leave him here.’ They all eyed the cupboard. ‘We can’t be sure that cupboard will contain him. If it leaves Titus, it could go anywhere. We’ll have to take him with us.’