Black Cathedral

‘Of course I am. A seance raises challenges that only another photographer would fully appreciate.’ He started to scribble notes down on a pad beside him.

Kirby felt as if she’d suddenly become invisible. She sighed. ‘I see. You’re entering geek mode. I’ll leave you to it.’ She caught something out of the corner of her eye and looked back at the screen. Something was moving in the library; a small ball of light was bouncing off the walls.

She opened her mouth to speak, to tell Raj about it, when the light-ball hurtled towards the lens of the camera. It happened so fast and so suddenly that she flinched, but she kept her eyes on the screen. In the split second before the light vanished, it changed into a face; white, eyes wide open in terror, mouth stretching into a silent scream.

She must have cried out because Raj grabbed her arm and brought his face to within inches of hers. ‘Kirby? What is it?’

She could hear his words, but they seemed to be coming from a very long way away, his mouth working in slow motion to form them.

‘Kirby?’ Someone was calling her name; she could hear it as if it was behind several sheets of linen.

Gradually everything slipped back to normal. She shook herself. ‘It’s okay. I’m all right.’

‘What happened?’ Raj said. ‘Why did you cry out?’

‘Did I? I wasn’t aware…’ She looked from him to the computer screen. The library was still displayed, but no lights, no face. ‘I thought I saw something.’

‘Saw what?’ He glanced back at the screen.

‘Don’t know.’ She pulled away from him and ran a hand across her face. ‘Are you recording this?’ she said, pointing to the image of the library.

‘I’m recording everything.’ Professional pride tinged his voice.

‘Can you play back the last couple of minutes?’

He reached out for the mouse and brought up a series of sub-menus. ‘Just the last few minutes?’

She nodded. She wasn’t sure she wanted to go through with this but in truth she had no choice. Like everyone she had effectively chosen to be here. It was her job to investigate what they found, what they saw, what they heard.

Raj scrolled and clicked a few times. ‘Okay. It’s rolling.’

She leaned forward, a frown of concentration creasing her forehead. The minutes ticked by.

Nothing.

‘Do you want me to repeat it?’ It was clear from his tone that he considered that suggestion to be a waste of time.

‘Yes.’ She must have missed it the first time. The ball of light, the face. It had all been so clear when she saw it.

She watched it through again, willing the light to appear. Even wishing that dreadful face would appear.

‘What did you see?’ Raj said, studying her closely. She was seriously affected by something she thought she had seen in the computer scrutiny of the library. Trouble was the computer, the cameras and the microphones, had picked up absolutely nothing.

‘I thought…I saw…light. A ball of light.’

‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘Nothing’s been recorded.’ He kept his voice level, an even tone, so that she couldn’t detect any judgment from him. She had made a mistake, and at this level, on an investigation such as this, that was serious.

‘Not much point having all this state-of-the-art equipment if it doesn’t work,’ she said. The attempt at humor died at birth.

‘Hey, that’s not fair. I didn’t see anything. Perhaps you imagined it?’

She looked at him steadily for a moment, a riposte twitching on her lips. Then something went out of her. She maneuvered herself out of the chair. ‘You’re probably right,’ she said. ‘This place has got me a little jittery.’

‘Yeah, me too,’ he said.

‘Catch you later,’ she said and walked from the room.

He watched her go, then shrugged and went back to his notes.

Back in her room Kirby threw herself down on her bed. Her face felt hot, flushed. She’d just made a complete fool of herself, crying out like that. And in front of Raj, of all people! It would give him the ammunition to ride her about it for weeks. But she was certain she’d seen something in the library. That face! That screaming face! She lay back on the pillow and closed her eyes, trying to recapture the image in her mind’s eye. Seconds later, she sat up and reached for the file on the bedside table. She opened it, turned to the dossiers on the Waincraft team, and flicked through the pages. When she reached Jo Madley’s page she stopped. She took the page over to the window where the light was better.

It was her. It was definitely Jo Madley’s face she’d seen. She took a few deep breaths, trying to steady her nerves, then went back to the bed and lay down again. Okay. Let’s think this through. She closed her eyes and concentrated, bringing the face back into her thoughts and focusing on it. So where are you? She thought.

‘ Trapped.’

The answer came immediately. She flicked open her eyes and looked about the room. She was alone.

She closed her eyes again and tried to focus, channeling her mind. I’m here, she thought. I’m open, I’m receptive. Show yourself to me.

‘Help me!’

The voice was all about her; everywhere and nowhere.

‘Where are you?’ She said it aloud this time.

‘Here. Look.’

She snapped open her eyes. The wall ahead of her was rippling, moving. She blinked, rubbing at her eyes. The floral wallpaper was starting to balloon outwards, as if air was being pumped in behind it. It was starting to take form; a human form. She could make out a head, shoulders, legs; small breasts pushing out from the chest. She could even see the small buds of nipples crowning them.

She got up from the bed and took a few tentative steps towards the wall.

‘Are you Jo? Joanne Madley?’

‘Yes.’ The word swirled around her head as if caught by a strong wind.

‘How can I help you?’

The figure was perfectly defined by the wallpaper now. She could make out the features of the face; could see the line of the mouth.

Kirby moved closer, until she was within a yard of the wall.

‘Come with me,’ the voice said.

The sound of ripping wallpaper was as loud as a thunder crash. Two wallpaper-clad arms burst from the wall and reached out for her; rose petal fingers fluttering, scrabbling at her clothes, trying to get a grip.

Kirby threw herself backwards, lost her balance and fell, her head crashing against the leg of the bed. For a second she blacked out, concussed by the impact of bone against wood. Then her eyes were open and she was drawing quick shallow breaths into her lungs as the spindly fingers closed around her ankles, and she was dragged across the floor to the wall.

She twisted from side to side, fingernails clawing at the carpet, digging in, trying to arrest her terrifying progress. She glanced up at the figure dragging her, but saw nothing but wallpaper, tiny red roses on a cream background, stretched bizarrely across the features of a grinning face. It was Jo Madley’s face and she was sheathed entirely in the wall covering; the paper moving as she was moving; rippling, tearing slightly at the joints, making a soft rustling sound. Behind her the wall had opened up into a black cavern, glowing amber in the distance.

Inch by inch Kirby was pulled towards it. She flung out her hand behind her and her fingers closed around the leg of the bed. Using all her strength she hung on grimly; sweating palms slipping; the muscles in her arms screaming with the effort. And then the bed began to slide across the floor as well, and the journey towards the cavern resumed.