As the Light Dies (33 page)

Looking around Keith noticed the ashy snow reflecting across the surface of the glass table tops.

“
Stuff really does get everywhere eh
,”
said Keith nodding towards the tables
.“
I
t’
s like i
t’
s trying to come in after us
.
”

“Stop it Keith
.
Tha
t’
s not funny
,”
said Ann giving him a friendly nudge with her elbow.

Dean walked around the back of the Relaxation Suite where the level opened out along the top of the spectator seating that looked down on to the main pool. He looked down and was taken aback by the reflection covering the surface of the Olympic sized pool. It looked like an enormous swirling black pit. It looked alive!

“Wow!”
said Ann coming up beside him
,“
It looks so strange does
n’
t it
.
”

“
I told you, i
t’
s coming in after us
,”
chided Keith joining them only to get another elbow in the ribs, this time a little harder. Sam wandered over to the top of the steps that lead down through the middle of the spectator seats to the edge of the pool, he stopped with a jolt and crouched down, ears flat against the side of his head and whined.

“C’
mon boy
,”
said Dean
.“
I
t’
s ok. I
t’
s just a reflection, it ca
n’
t hurt anyone
,”
he said ushering Sam away from the edge.

“
Poor thing
,”
said Ann
,“
he does
n’
t know wha
t’
s going on. It must be scary for him
.
”

Dean nodded and said
,“
Neither do I, and I do
n’
t like it either
.
”

Seeing the place empty Dean turned and headed for the offices with Sam close by his side.

Dean pushed the door open marke
d‘
staff onl
y’
, the corridor beyond was pitch black. With the door from the Relaxation Suite open some ambient light poured in managing to improve visibility a few feet or so, but that was all. Keith wedged the door open with a waste paper bin and they ventured in. Dean opened the first office door and called in
.
“HELLO IS THERE ANYONE THERE?”

There was no answer. Sam wandered in to the middle of the long narrow office and sniffed at the air
.“
No one here boy
,”
said Dean looking at the deserted office, there was a long picture window along one wall that looked out above the aces ramp from reception and faced the big wall of windows opposite. The tiny amount of light that it shed on the room made it clear that no-one had been in here. The room was neat and tidy just how the
y’
d left it the previous night.

“C’
mon boy lets go
,”
said Dean, calling Sam back and they moved on to the next office, the manage
r’
s office. Dean knocked on this door.

“
Oh! Knocking at this one are we
?”
said Keith.

“
Old habits
,”
said Dean and pushed the door open. The modest sized square room was clearly empty, one desk, two chairs and a filing cabinet, nothing or no-one else. Sam only stuck his head in this time, and he sniffed at the air again.

“
Nah,
c’
mon boy i
t’
s empty
,”
said Dean and let the door close.

“
Who the hel
l’
s running this place
?”
said Ann.

“
God knows
,”
said Keith
,“
but going by first impressions,
I’
d say there gonna make a go of the place
.
”

He felt another elbow in his side. They moved along the corridor towards the clocking station. They worked their way along the familiar corridor in absolute darkness until they found the clocking-in station. Dean ran his hands slowly over the IN section feeling for clocking cards. He found three and handed them to Keith who went back out in to the Relaxation Suite where the light was just enough for him to make out the names. He called back the names as he read them.

“
W
e’
ve got Bria
n’
s...
.
”

“
What the hel
l’
s he still clocked in for
?”
said Dean.

Keith continued
,“
And w
e’
ve got Jonathan Edwards and Gary Mackintosh
.
”

“
Well where the hell are they
?”
said Dean while he waited for Keith to come back. Ann shrugged, then realising Dean could
n’
t see her said
,“
They must be here somewhere. Probably just could
n’
t hear you calling earlier. W
e’
ll find them
.
”

“
Maybe he just forgot to clock out
,”
added Keith coming back.

“
No
,”
said Dean
,“
Brian would
n’
t forget, and he would
n’
t leave it for someone else to do either. H
e’
d do it himself
.
”

Dean thought for a moment then said
,“
Ok le
t’
s check the staffroom, then w
e’
ll head downstairs and check poolside, then work our way over to dry side ok
.
”

They moved on down the dark corridor passing the fire escape that doubled as the staff stairwell from the poolside to the staff room and offices. Dean told the others the
y’
d check the stairs in a minute by using them to get down to pool side after checking the staffroom. They passed and checked the toilets which were both empty and then they reached the staffroom.

Dean pushed open the door and walked in, the staffroom was empty.

“
Ok, back up guys
,”
said Dean
,“
i
t’
s empty
.
”

They backed up to the fire escape and used the stairs to descend down to poolside checking them in the process, there was nothing to find. At the bottom Dean shoved open the fire exit door that lead out on to the small staff car park. The door took some force to open against the drifting snow outside and the icy catch but when open he peered out and between the whirlwinds and gusts he saw that Bria
n’
s car was still  there being buried by the dirty snow, there was no mistaking that old square Volvo Estate anywhere. There were no more cars and no footprints or tracks of any kind in the settling black snow. Dean watched for a moment as the strange almost enchanting mixture of discoloured snow danced in front of him. It weaved and twirled around on itself demanding his attention. Ann crept around him to see what he saw.

“
What is it Dean
?”
she asked.

At first he did
n’
t answer, he just seemed to stare out in to nothingness. Ann nudged him. He blinked and said
,“
I do
n’
t know. It does
n’
t feel right! I mean, I know none of this is right, but something just feels wrong. A bad kinda wrong you know!
C’
mon
,”
he said letting the door close and they crossed by the foot of the stairs and pushed through another heavy fire door and came out beside the pool. The reflection across the surface of the main pool was right there in their faces, staring at them in all its glory. Ann did
n’
t want to get too close. To her it looked like it had a depth to it, a depth reaching down further than the depth of the pool and it looked alive, like something reaching up from within the bowls of the earth, it looked like it might reach out for them!

Stupid thought
s
, she told herself trying to shake the thoughts from her head.

Dean looked around at the vast empty space, no-one to be seen and nothing out of place. He looked down at the flat calm water, but it was
n’
t calm, that was the problem. It grabbed his attention as it danced around on the wate
r’
s surface. It felt like he was looking in to something far deeper than the pool. It was like a big window in the floor looking in to the ground. Sam growled at the wate
r’
s edge disapprovingly and snapped his jaw twice before backing up to be beside Dean again.

“
Easy boy
,”
said Dean and even though he was
n’
t looking at the reflection directly anymore he could feel the movement out of the corner of his eye calling for his attention, shouting for him to look! He almost felt unsteady on his feet, like he had when he was walking in, when he stared at the strange black snow for too long and became disorientated. Then he almost flinched as a feeling like he was falling seeped in to him and he imagined for a split second someone falling in. Someone being pulled in by the reflection, looking at it for a moment, amazed by it, marvelling at it like they all were right now and then becoming dizzy with the motion of its constant movement and losing their balance and falling in and banging their head on the side.

“HELLO!”
he yelled making Ann and Keith jump.

His echo bounced around a few times, and before it died out he yelled out again but it was no good, there was no answer. Dean stepped forwards to the edge of the pool and looked down and through the reflection at the bottom. It was hard to see without the pool lights on and the reflection fighting for his attention. He started walking along the poolside, peering down through the visual quicksand. Without looking back he called over his shoulder to the others to start searching the pool.

Keith immediately started along the opposite side understanding what Dean meant.

”Oh No
!
You do
n’
t think...
.”
started Ann when Dean said
,“
No, I do
n’
t but i
t’
s best to check. You just stay there for a sec Ann ok
.
”

She did. She hugged herself and prayed that neither man found anything as she watched them work their way around the edge of the pool that from where she stood looked just like an oil slick in a storm or like some weird man-eating thing from one of the horror movies that Tim liked to watch late on Friday nights. A shiver ran down her spine as the men rounded the last two corners and started moving towards each other.

If there gonna find anything or anyone, they’re about to do it any second
,
she thought.

The closer they got the more nervous, the more anxious she became, picking at her nails until both men came within ten feet of each other and she had to turn around and face the wall.

Dean and Keith rejoined at the far side and spoke for a moment. Ann could
n’
t bear the wait. She thought that they must have met up already.

Why haven’t they said anything
,
she wondered fearing what the answer might be and she turned back around desperate to know if the
y’
d found anything while desperately hoping they had
n’
t at the same time. She went to call across and realised sh
e’
d been holding her breath without knowing it, she suddenly felt like her lips must be turning blue and she took a deep breath, almost a gasp and blurted
,“
What is it? What have you found
?
”

Dean looked up and raised a hand
.“
Nothing Ann it looks clear, w
e’
re just gonna work our way back round. Hang on
.
”

Ann sighed with relief and breathed easily as both men traced the othe
r’
s steps back around the pool back towards her.