Heathen/Nemesis

Thirty-Three

‘Open it,’ Donna said, nodding towards the handle of the bedroom door.

Julie reached for it, hesitated, then closed her shaking hand around the cold brass. The chill seemed to fill her entire body. Goose pimples rose on the flesh of her forearms. She wondered if she would find the strength to force the door open.

What lay beyond in the gloom?

‘Let me out first,’ whispered Donna. ‘When I tell you, put all the lights on.’

Julie nodded, remembering that there was a panel of four switches close to the door which controlled the lights on the landing, the stairway and the hall.

Donna gripped the gun more tightly, her own body quivering slightly in anticipation as much as fear.

What if the intruder was armed?

What if she had to fire?

She remembered the hours she and Chris had spent standing on a firing range, the shooting designed as a hobby to begin with. As they’d attended more regularly they’d become proficient shots, then accomplished marksmen. When firing at a target, anyway, Donna thought.

Targets didn’t shoot back.

Was he still in the hallway?

If so, what would be her best strategy?

Confront him? Hold him in the sights of the .38 until the police arrived? And how were they to arrive when the lines had been cut?

Thoughts tumbled through her mind madly.

What if he was already outside the door, waiting for her to emerge?

She closed her eyes momentarily, trying to push the thoughts aside, trying to clear her mind.

Come on, come on.

She could feel her heart thudding hard against her ribs, the blood rushing in her ears.

You can’t wait all night.

Donna held the gun out in front of her.

Do it.

‘Now,’ she said, and Julie pushed the door open, allowing Donna to slip out onto the landing.

She scrambled across the carpet, the gun held out moving awkwardly as she attempted to keep the .38 raised.

It was pitch black on the landing; the only light came from a small window about half-way up the stairs.

In the light from that window Donna saw a figure.

The figure was moving up the stairs.

‘The lights,’ she shouted frantically and Julie joined her on the landing, slapping at the switches.

The landing, the stairs and the hall were all bathed in light. In the explosion of radiance the intruder could be seen clearly.

Julie screamed.

The sound echoed off the walls and drummed in Donna’s ears as she too recoiled from the figure’s features.

She could scarcely find the strength to stand up as she saw him freeze, startled by the sudden appearance of the two women and, she thought, even more so by the sight of the gun.

Julie put a hand to her mouth to stifle another yell of terror as she looked at the man’s face.

It was pale, almost yellow, the eyes only sunken pits. There didn’t seem to be any whites. The flesh itself was rutted with a dozen or more deep gashes, some of which looked as though they’d partially healed only for the scabs to picked away again, revealing purple welts beneath. On the forehead and cheeks were large protuberances, nubs of flesh that looked like boils on the verge of bursting, brimming with corpulent pus. The man’s head was covered by fine white hair that swirled around his ravaged face as he moved. The mouth was nothing more than a gash between the chin and nose filled with moulding teeth.

Julie took a step back, her eyes riveted to the horrendous sight.

Donna dragged herself upright, the gun still pointing at the hideous intruder.

As he began to move towards her she realized that the repellent features were not those of a man at all.

The intruder was wearing a mask.

The sudden realization fortified her and she took a step towards him.

‘Stand still,’ she shouted.

The venom in her command seemed to take the man by surprise. He looked at her, then down into the hall at something she couldn’t see.

Donna heard the sound of the front door bolts being drawn, the chain being pulled free.

The figure on the stairs turned to run.

‘I’ll shoot,’ Donna bellowed.

As she ran towards him the figure vaulted the bannister.

He either misjudged his jump or failed to calculate the distance from the landing to the hall.

From fifteen feet he crashed to the hard floor, landing with sickening force on his left foot.

The snap of breaking bone was devastatingly loud inside the house.

The man screamed in agony as he felt uncontrollable pain shoot up his left leg.

The cuboid and navicular bones in his foot had simply disintegrated under the impact and, so huge was the force with which he fell, the left fibula had snapped, part of it impacting into the talus at the top of the foot, the other part tearing through both the flesh of his shin and also the material of his trousers. A jagged point of bone projected from the leg like an accusing finger. The man screamed again as he toppled to one side.

And now, from over the banister, Donna saw that there were two intruders, one urging the injured one to follow him out of the front door.

Donna swung the pistol round and drew a bead on the injured man who was being lifted by his companion.

Kill the fucker.

The second man looked up and saw the wild-haired woman with the gun.

He too wore a mask.

Kill them both.

He hooked one arm around the waist of his crippled companion and the two of them hurried through the front door.

Oblivious to any danger she might be in Donna raced down the stairs after them, stumbling at the bottom.

‘Stop,’ she roared, her breath coming in gasps. But she could already hear a powerful motor start up. As she reached the front door she saw a car hurtling away from the house, its tail-lights disappearing into the night.

Donna banged the floor with her free hand and crouched by the door, the cold breeze rushing past her. She sucked in a deep breath and hauled herself upright. As she turned she noticed blood on the hall floor.

Julie descended the stairs slowly, using the banister to support herself.

‘We’d better get the police,’ said Donna. ‘I’ll go over to Jackie’s and call them. One of them was hurt badly.’ She smiled thinly as she said it. She tried to slow her breathing but it was an effort.

The blood on the floor glistened beneath the bright lights.