Jackie nodded, disgruntled but still obliging. “I’ll be right back. We need to have a chat later, doctor. Philip has told me some rather upsetting things.”
Kamiyo waved her off, unwilling to discuss her concerns right now. He got Vamps settled on his back and checked the young man’s pulse, then his temperature. His forehead was hot. Much hotter than a drowning victim’s should be. He hoped it wasn’t another fever. “Close your eyes and try to relax, Vamps. Your body has… been through Hell, apparently.”
Vamps deflated onto the sofa, tiredness coming off him in waves. “Thanks, Doc.”
Kamiyo needed to let the young man rest, but he couldn’t help himself from asking another question. Somehow, he believed that Vamps possessed answers to some very big questions. “I’m so sorry,” he said, “but before I leave you in peace, can I just ask you… What is Hell like?”
Vamps gave no answer. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing rhythmically. Kamiyo sighed and crept over to the doorway to await Jackie’s return. Tomorrow would provide time for more questions. He just hoped the answers were comforting.
“Glorious.”
Kamiyo turned to face the room. Vamps once again perched on the edge of the couch. As tired and weary as the young man had looked only moments ago, he’d now degenerated further. His face was decayed, eyelids dark and baggy, cheeks sagging. His gold fangs twisted forwards out of his mouth. The room turned cloying, heat from the candles seeming to increase.
“I-I’m sorry? What did you say?”
Vamps stood up, jerking into position like a puppet on strings. “Hell. Is. Glorious.”
Inhuman eyes glared at Kamiyo. A change had come over Vamps, one that made the flames on the candles retreat.
Kaiyo tried to swallow, but his throat was sandpaper dry. “Vamps? Y-You really should rest.”
“The worm is gone. Its soul screams in agony. I hear it singing.”
Kamiyo backed up against the wall. “W-Who are you?”
“I am God. Bow, and your death shall be quick and brutal.”
The candles snuffed out, and the room went pitch-black. Kamiyo howled in terror without realising it, his fear acting quicker than his mind. Something primal—something ancient—stalked him in the dark. He fumbled in the dark for the door handle, but a blow struck his kidney and dropped him to the ground in agony. A reptilian laugh shook the room.
Kamiyo tried to climb, but a second blow struck his ribs and sent him rolling across the ground. He tried to cry out again, but his lungs had twisted in his chest. The darkness closed around him. This was how he died. Alone in the dark. Hell had taken over the earth and only oblivion waited.
But a slice of Heaven entered the room suddenly, a radiant knife cutting through the shadows. The darkness retreated. Kamiyo instinctively reached towards the light and saw the door was open. Jackie stood in the rectangle of light. “Dr Kamiyo?”
“Jackie! Jackie, please, you have to—”
Something surged out of the darkness and seized Jackie, dragging her by her hair into the dark corner of the room. Her screams felt far away, but perhaps they were smothered by Kamiyo’s own wails of terror.
The door slammed shut, and the light withdrew. Once again, darkness was all that remained. That, and the reptilian laughter of a beast.
18
HANNAH
Hannah was still sitting with Ted when she heard the scream inside the cabin—the soft din of someone calling out for help. Ted heard it too, and he glanced at her with something between indifference and mild interest.
Hannah grabbed her rifle. “The hell is that?”
“I dunno. Leave ‘em to it.”
“What? No, we should go check it out. Someone might need help.”
She got up, expecting him to go with her, but he didn’t. In fact, he seemed irritated by her insistence. “At what point did you decide we were an apocalyptic duo? You’re the soldier. Go save the day.”
“You’re a real arsehole, you know that, Ted?” She didn’t wait for a rebuttal. It was possible she was done with Ted and his abrasive attitude.
She raced up the wooden steps into the cabin alone. People were huddled inside, staring towards a door behind a reception desk. The woman who’d summoned Dr Kamiyo was rushing towards it with a blanket and a glass of water, and when she saw Hannah approaching with her rifle, she gave a strained smile. “Everything is under control. Dr Kamiyo is struggling with a patient. I’ll help him handle it.”
Hannah’s jog faltered, and she stood still, awkward now like running for a bus she’d missed. The woman dismissed her so snippily that Hannah’s ingrained obedience to authority kicked in and made her stand to attention. Another adult stood in the room, watching over a group of teenagers, and he glared at Hannah like she was a stinking rodent.
She waved a hand. “Hi!”
The man gave a mistrustful nod, but no reply.
“I’m Hannah.”
“Steven.”
“Great place you have here, Steven. Did you pick the decor yourself?”
The man turned his back on her and resumed tending to the teenagers.
Jackie opened the door behind the reception desk. The room inside was pitch-dark, so she stood there looking confused for a moment, peering inside. “Dr Kamiyo?” she enquired.
Then, in a flash, her body lurched forwards, an invisible rope yanking her by the neck into the darkness of the room. The door slammed shut behind her. From inside, she screamed.
The teenagers screamed too.
Hannah stood frozen. What the hell just happened? What was going on in that room? A dark room full of screams.
After a couple of seconds, it became clear that nobody was going to act. The teenagers pressed up against the walls in fear. The man watching over them did the same. Hannah decided she would have to be the one to do something, so she sprinted behind the reception desk and kicked open the door. Enough candlelight flickered on the reception desk that she could make out grey shapes and flickering shadows inside the room. People crawled along the
