Untitled (15 page)

       Chappell walked towards the creatures and they moved back, pressing their hulking forms against the wall. They left the stairway, backing away from Chappell and – for the first time – showing fear. Chappell reached the bottom of the staircase and paused.

       "He's yours," he said to the creatures. "Consider him a gift."

       Sean scurried across the floor as the beasts ignored the exiting Chappell and came at him. He buried himself in the shadows, his hand coming to rest on the blood soaked face of Darren.

       Chappell smiled as he made his way to the surface, listening to the sounds of tearing flesh and bone as they fed. He used one hand to follow the wall upwards, the other fingering the moist letters on his chest.

       The helicopter flew above the trees, circling until Kaci was happy she'd found the right place and could land safely. Harrison sat next to her, his knuckles white. He'd never enjoyed flying in any shape or form; a firm believer that man was designed to stay on the ground. He held little to no faith in any machine that weighed so much yet could manoeuvre the heavens.

       
It just isn't natural.

       Megan, on the other hand, was taking in the beautiful English countryside. She loved flying and memories of soaring above the plains in a light aircraft filled her thoughts. She saw the odd field below them filled with livestock, but it could never match the sights she had seen whilst in Africa. Sheep and cows just weren't in the same league as zebra and elephants. Even so Megan took pleasure in the freedom of being high above the land.

       Peter was sat in the middle and had tried to crane his neck to see out as they'd flown over the village of Westow, but the sensation of seeing things whiz passed so fast had made him nauseous. Now he sat playing a game on his phone, content to ignore the sickening scenery.

Green sat indifferently, looking out the window but taking nothing in. His mind was elsewhere as it usually was when he flew. Travel bored him and always had. At the end of the day it was a means of getting from one place to the next. All he could think about was the job at hand. He'd seen the bodies of Harrison's wife and children and he'd known then that no animal had caused the savage wounds covering their torsos. He also knew that the perpetrator hadn't been human.

       Something wasn't right with this case and even though he'd promised Flannigan he'd watch over Harrison he'd come for more than just moral support. He was intrigued and wanted to see for himself what could have caused the horrific injuries he'd logged over the course of eight hours. Something didn't ring true and he wanted to be the one to solve the puzzle.

* * *

       "Are we there yet?" Peter asked, looking up from his game and talking into the microphone attached to the cumbersome earmuffs squeezing at the sides of his head.

       "Two minutes," replied Kaci. "I saw the clearing on the last pass and I'm going for it. We'll be met there by a Park Ranger."

       "Is it far from the crime scene?" Harrison's voice crackled over the cockpit intercom system.

       "Not as close as I'd like." Kaci looked over at him and smiled. "But it's the best I can do."

"Thanks." Harrison surprised himself by returning the smile with genuine affection.

       "I'm starting to wish I'd stayed at home," Peter added.

       Harrison was about to reply, but the helicopter suddenly banked sharply to the left and any thoughts of putting the young man down were forgotten as his stomach lurched in fear. He looked over at Kaci and she was grinning from ear to ear, glancing back at him and winking.

       "You always were the sadistic one," Harrison snapped and then realised that everyone had heard the remark, his pale cheeks blushing red.

       "Just hold on tight," Kaci laughed and pushed forward on the control lever.

       "Shit," Peter cursed as the helicopter dropped towards the ground.

* * *

       The clearing was more like a field, an unused meadow surrounded by trees on all four sides. Kaci brought the helicopter down in the dead centre and Harrison breathed a sigh of relief as they touched solid ground.

       "I might get a taxi home," he stated, half jokingly.

       "I'll go halves on the fair," Peter shouted from the back and Harrison immediately found the idea of flying home not so bad.

       "Sometimes you men are such girls." Kaci flicked at a handful of switches, killing the engine before removing her head set.

       "Where's the nearest pub?" Peter asked.

"About twelve miles that way," Kaci answered, pointing off to her left. "If you start walking now you might make it for last orders."

       "We're not here on a fucking day trip," Harrison snapped, his dislike for Peter impossible to hide. "I want to know what happened to my family." He turned in his seat and faced the young man. "If all you can do is fuck about then please, start walking now."

       Peter held up his hands in surrender, caught off guard by the sudden out burst. He knew the policeman wasn't overly fond of him and the feeling was mutual, but there was no need for such aggression.

       "Jesus, I was only kidding," Peter stammered.

       "If you've got nothing helpful to say then keep your mouth shut," Harrison grumbled.

       Kaci reached over and placed a hand on Harrison's thigh and squeezed. "Let the kid be," she said.

       Harrison felt the affection in Kaci's touch and was reminded of what they'd once had. His anger subsided and he looked over at the woman who, in affect, had been the cause of the split with Maria. Not that he blamed Kaci. How could he? He could have said no to the primal desires she had raised within him, but he'd been just as eager as she at the time.

       The affair hadn't lasted long yet in that time Harrison had learned how hard it was to love two women. The choice to go back to Maria had been harder than anything else he'd ever done. In the end the children had been the deciding factor. Courtney was only a toddler and Ryan had just come into the world. They'd meant everything to him and he couldn't have brought himself to leave them.

       None of that had mattered though.

       Maria had never forgiven Harrison for the affair and had left not long after. There had been many times he'd considered going back to Kaci and asking for another go, but something had always stopped him.

       
Male pride?

       He didn't know, but he did know he was glad she was with him now. Even if it was only as friends he was happy it was Kaci at his side. All of this went through his mind as he looked down at her slender hand on his thigh, but he pushed it all to the back, out of the way to somewhere safe. He had things to do and sentimentality couldn't be a factor.

       
Not now... not yet.

       The armoured people carrier had driven through the night in an attempt to reach its destination. It carried full military markings but it was in no way linked to the country's defence program. It was all part of a disguise, one that allowed them free reign to go where they wanted.

       The military camouflage was limited to only the exterior of the vehicle, those within were as far from soldiers as you could ever find. They sat in hushed silence, all dressed in identical garb. Twelve of them in total, each one hidden within the folds of their dark brown habit, the hoods pulled up to hide their faces.

       The vehicle left the smooth surface of the road behind and the occupants didn't complain as they were buffeted about. They remained, heads bowed, in prayer.

       Up front, in the drivers cabin sat two more. Unlike their fellow travellers they did not wear robes. It was necessary that they looked the part. As such they both wore green.

       The driver gripped the large wheel in both hands, the cross country terrain insisting on his attention. The man in the passenger seat turned to him and broke the silence of almost eight hours.