The Lover's Children novel Chapter 109

KLEMPNER

A bare heartbeat to see the vehicle bearing down on me…

… The impact rips the air from my chest, slams the thought from my brain.

And for an unending moment-eternity-split-second…

Pain…

Lifted from my feet, I roll across the hood...

… impact the unforgiving ground…

And as darkness blooms, I see only the triumphant grin of The Surgeon, looking down at me…

*****

The world spins, blurs, and fades out…

…

… And fades back…

… in a sense…

My heart hammers…

Breathing is a riot of pain…

… Shadows dance with my vision…

Above me, it’s blue. But black ghosts skitter and streak across my vision. Inside my skull, blood and demons roar…

The air is thick, gluey, fighting against my lungs and the shriek from my ribs.

The pain disables me… Masking thought… Self… sanity…

Around me: a clamour of screams…

Shrieks and running feet...

From somewhere, car horns blare.

Close by, voices babble… “He just ran out. I couldn’t stop…”

“He was chasing the other guy. I saw him…”

A voice slices through the buzzing in my head. It seems to me I should know the voice...

“He attacked me. He came out of nowhere. I was so scared… Be careful! He’s got a knife. Look what he did to me!”

“Don’t worry, Bud. He’s not gonna do anything to you now…”

“Hey, Ricky, what the hell happened? Was it a mugging?”

“Matt! Um… Not sure… I think he was just after my wallet. But I was so scared, Man. Look at that knife he’s carrying… I…”

“Hey, c’mon, calm down, Ricky-lad. Let me have a look at that… Yeah… Bastard got you a nasty slice. It’s gonna need stitches, but it missed the arteries. You can see that, can’t you?”

“Yeah? Yeah... You’re right… Just panicking a bit, y’know.”

“Course I do. Now, I know it hurts, but you’re not in any danger. Hop inside and I’ll get you fixed up…” The voice turns jokey… “Hey c’mon… S’not often you’re in the back instead of the front, is it? Helluva way to skip off work. Next time, just ring in with a Sickie like the rest of us…”

The demons chitter at the edge of my hearing, rising to a clamour, bringing the darkness on their wings…

*****

There’s a rumble…

… then a wail, a rising and falling scream that rapidly recedes and dies…

*****

“Mr Waterman, can you hear me?” A blur hovers over me, dark against the blue. “Mr Waterman?” The blur grows larger, louder. Something soft and warm wraps around my hand. “Mr Waterman… Larry! Stay with us. Larry... Larry, can you hear me? Talk to me.”

Stanton?

Did I speak the word?

Or was it only inside my head?

I’m not sure.

It’s not important…

A voice yells. “He was going after the other guy. With a knife..”

“Where’s the man he was chasing?”

“The other ambulance took him.”

The dark blur retreats but turns sharp and shrill. “Polinsky, get hold of the Accident and Emergency Department at the hospital. Right now!. Make sure they know the incoming ambulance contains the man we suspect of being the Surgeon.”

*****

The darkness peels away again.

Air, fresh and cool, flows over my face, some object over my mouth and nose. Shapes move above me, indistinct blurs against white…

It was blue before…

Why’s it white now?

The blur grows larger, garbling nonsense

From beneath me… a vibration…

Then a jolt which slices through every part of me…

And a noise… A howl… Rising and falling…

A siren?

But quickly, it fades, consumed by the darkness…

*****

RICHARD

Chewing my frustration, I make coffee, find work for my hands…

Klempner in pursuit of the Surgeon…

City-wide alert from the police…

What the hell’s happening?

Maybe I could call Will?

But plain common sense tells me that the city police commissioner has his hands full. Random calls, even from old friends, would not be welcome.

Exasperating as it is, I’ll just have to wait for news. Doubtless, Klempner will be in touch at some point.

Michael strolls into the kitchen. “That’s Marty settled into a room. I left her making a call to her sister to arrange something more permanent.”

“You’ve not left her alone, surely?”

“Charlotte’s keeping her company for the moment.”