Come Into Darkness Page 7

  Mario bowed his head. The pond gently lapped against his body. He pushed his legs through the water.

  Splash!

  Laurie’s hand darted out. She grabbed Mario’s arm.

  He screamed.

  8

  The pond, the dunes, the sky and ground washed into each other, like a chalk masterpiece on a rain-slicked pavement. Mario’s insides slithered, and he closed his eyes. The ground trembled, and he had the sensation of standing in a descending lift.

  The hand still clutched his arm.

  Mario gasped and jerked it free.

  “Ow!” said a female voice. “I was only trying to help.”

  He opened his eyes in time to catch a scowl from Kerry, who stood in front of him, rubbing her hand.

  “I’ll let you fall on your arse next time,” she said and hunted in her pockets.

  They stood in the corridor. Chandeliers twinkled, casting a golden glow. All the closed doors stretched away in either direction.

  Mario closed his eyes again. His temples throbbed.

  We can’t be here!

  He slowly raised his eyelids, studying his surroundings, assessing the walls and floor.

  It looks real enough…

  But how?

  Something snapped onto his shoulder, and Mario twisted to find Worth clasping him.

  “Good show, sir. That’s how we do things around here. How do you feel?”

  Mario laughed and staggered back. His shoulders struck the wall, and he leaned back, resting against it.

  “How am I feeling?” He covered his face with his hands. “I’m going insane,” he moaned. “I’m on the floor of a dressing room somewhere with some kind of shit pumping through my veins!” He remembered the blood on his hands and flinched. He whipped them off his face and moaned again.

  “Sir?”

  In the light from the chandelier, Mario turned his hands over and peered at them. No dark red and brown smears marked the skin. His fingernails, even underneath, were immaculate from his latest manicure.

  “I want out,” he said. “Right now.”

  “But you’re doing so well,” said Worth. “Really getting into the spirit of things. I beg you to reconsider.”

  Mario slid down the wall and sat on the floor. He bent his knees and tucked his legs against his chest.

  “I didn’t want any of this,” he cried. Guilt consumed his body like a black flame. His stomach gurgled. He slumped his head. “I…I don’t know what happened! I wasn’t myself. Something made me do that.”

  “Do what, exactly?” asked Worth. He removed a shiny gold pocket watch from the confines of his jacket, checked the time and replaced it. “You think you are a murderer now?” He chuckled.

  Mario stared at his hands, seeing his thumbs punch into Laurie’s eyes. He shook his head.

  “I…I…”

  “…did nothing wrong,” Worth finished. “Things work differently here, sir. No one is killed. I don’t think anyone has even stubbed a toe in the House!”

  Mario pointed, but with no target, waved his finger around. “The pond,” he yelled. “Laurie! And the dog! You saw what happened.” He breathed deep. “What have you done to me?”

  Worth stood watching with quiet patience. He cleared his throat.

  “Sir,” he purred. “I assure you, no one has been killed. How could Miss Foster attack her own mother? Her own dead mother? You think we dug her up and brought her back to life? No, sir. Nor did we travel the country searching for your ex-girlfriend and pet just for your amusement. Think about it.”

  Mario pressed two fingers against his throbbing forehead. “I…can’t…think!”

  Cigarette smouldering between her lips, Kerry walked down to the corridor and sat beside him.

  “No. You’re thinking too much. I’ve been here before. It’s like a theme park. Whatever goes on is all smoke and mirrors, and you should enjoy it. We have to get off the ride soon.”

  Slowly, Mario turned and met her eyes.

  “I didn’t want to do that,” he said. “Something made me do it.” He rubbed his head. “This is so fucked up!” He reached out and plucked the cigarette from Kerry’s mouth.

  “Hey!”

  Ignoring her, Mario sucked a drag and held the sour smoke in for a moment. He exhaled, his head floating from the nicotine.

  “If you’d just have asked,” said Kerry, “I could’ve given you one.” She fished out another and lit it.

  Need to get out.

  Mario stared at the closed door on the other side of the corridor. He dragged on the cigarette again. It tasted slightly better.

  “I think we should press on,” said Worth. “Can’t dilly-dally too much. The pair in the next group might catch up. We can’t have people waiting.”

  Glancing up, Mario said “Press on? You’re crazy! You’re both crazy.” He struggled to stand. “Get me out of here right now!”

  Worth sighed. “Very well. Although it is the company’s policy that no refunds be given, and that you maintain our confidentiality agreement…”

  “Just get me out of here. I don’t care about the damn money. I just wanna go.”

  Kerry blew out a smoke ring. “Big mistake. You don’t know what you’ll be missing. It’s my turn again next, too.”

  Worth shook his head.

  “Only if sir wants to leave,” he said. “I was so impressed with his performance that I’m tempted to let him go again straight away.”

  “Hey!” said Kerry.

  “No,” said Mario and lay his head back against the wall. His hands, although clean, seemed to stick with drying blood. He knew it was still there. He felt Laurie’s eyes pop beneath his thumbs. He shivered. “I’m getting out of here.”

  “Tonight was about your past, present and future, sir. Aren’t you even slightly curious?”

  Mario closed his eyes. Laurie, her eyes empty, ravaged sockets, stared back. Blood dripped from each cheek.

  “Very well,” said Worth. “If you feel you’re okay to walk, we can go.”

  Mario nodded and attempted to stand. Worth and Kerry assisted.

  “We get one like this every now and again,” the guide told Kerry. “Their minds aren’t open enough. Can’t handle what they see and do.”

  Kerry agreed. “And I’ll take that as a compliment! Past present and future, huh? That sounds exciting. With my past out the way, I can’t wait to see what’s coming.”

  Mario swayed and placed a hand on the wall for support. Emotionally drained, he wondered if Worth was some kind of vampire, forcing him to dream to feast on his sadness and joy. He smelt earthy and dank, too.

  Probably just an old man that’s pissed himself.

  He laughed, and Worth raised an eyebrow.

  “You seem to be perking up. We’ll get you out of here in no time at all.”

  Mario closed his mouth. The more he talked to Worth, the more chance the old geezer would try and convince him to stay. Mario noticed the guide seemed to be having the most fun. Again, the image of Worth as a creature of the night, with fangs and a flapping cape, sprang to mind. He flicked the cigarette on the floor and ground it beneath his heel.

  Leaving Mario against the wall, Worth wrinkled his nose at the flattened cigarette stub and crossed the corridor. He removed the tiny gold key once more, and unlocked the door.

  “This way, folks.” He grabbed the handle.

  “No way,” said Mario. “No more doors. We go back along the corridor and use the lift.” He glanced at the shiny door handle clutched by Worth. “No more doors.”

  Kerry, standing between the men, looked back and forth between them. “Fuck this,” she said, and headed for the door.

  Worth held up a hand. “Wait.”

  She stopped and pointed at him with her index and forefinger, cigarette poking from between. Her hand looked like a living pistol, smoke drifting from the barrel.

  “Don’t even think you can order me around,” she said. “I’ve paid you, remember? And I didn’t pay t
o lumber some useless sack of shit around, just because he’s not strong enough to handle this place!” She shot a vicious glance at Mario.

  He stared back like a zombie.

  Bitch.

  “I want to see what’s behind that door,” she continued. “If he doesn’t, he can wait out here, feeling sorry for himself.”

  She stepped forwards.

  “Miss Foster,” said Worth, his hand still in the air. “I assure you I’m in agreement.” He turned to Mario. “Sir, as you can see this is causing a problem. May I suggest you trust me and head through this room? It will get you downstairs and outside in half the time.”

  Trust him?

  After what happened?

  Mario glanced left and right along the corridor. The doors seemed to go on for miles each way, the red carpet reaching into forever.

  I don’t even know what floor we’re on…

  “Sir?”

  Mario swallowed. “You promise this room gets me out this ghost house quicker?”

  “Indeed.” Worth raised a cocky eyebrow.

  Mario’s heart lurched and seemed to bounce off his ribcage. The door appeared identical to its counterparts, just another room, one among hundreds. He noticed Worth’s eagerness to get him inside, and he glared at the guide.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Oh, come on!” said Kerry. “You’re going to be wandering around this floor for hours on your own. This place can’t hurt you and can’t force you to do anything. I’ve been through it.”

  “Yeah, but-“

  “What you did,” she continued, speaking over him, “was your own choice. Your actions may be buried deep in your subconscious somewhere, and this place brought them out, but they were your desires. That girl must have really fucked you over for you to do that…”

  Mario clenched his fists. “I didn’t do anything! I just…” He glanced down the corridor again, hope evaporating. “I just need to get out.”

  “Then go through the door,” Kerry snapped. “Don’t be such a fucking baby.”

  Fine.

  He strode past Worth and grasped the handle.

  I go in and straight through. I’m not even going to look what’s in there. Head down all the way.

  Any weirdness, and it’s all in my head.

  “Just to warn you,” said Worth, his mouth close to Mario’s ear, “this room may be a little…dark. Just follow the lights on the floor and they’ll lead you where you need to go.”

  Mario shivered from the last few words, like the finger of a dead man had slid down his back.

  “Can’t you just turn on the main lights?”

  Worth smiled.

  “I think it’s best we leave them off. You want to get out of here quickly after all. You might get…distracted otherwise.”

  “Whatever,” said Mario and huffed. His adrenaline failed to rise, his body washed out.

  Come on. Let’s get through this.

  Worth twisted the handle and opened the door.

  9

  True to Worth’s instructions, the room stood in total darkness, except for a dim glow on the floor. Weak, green lights, arranged in two long strips, reached away from the door and across the room. They reminded Mario of the emergency lights down the aisle of a plane. From their length, he guessed the room ran for about fifty feet. They disappeared into the void.

  Hope there’s a door where the lights stop.

  Hell, that could be a walkway over the chasm or something. I can’t see a damn thing.

  “Onwards, sir?”

  Mario automatically stepped forwards, but stopped.

  “You go first,” he said. “Then I’ll follow. Kerry can go behind.”

  “Very well, Mr. Fulcinni.”

  “I told you! Never call me that.”

  Kerry huffed. “Can we just get a move on?”

  Worth stepped in front and vanished within the shadows.

  Shit.

  Mario entered the room, slipping out of the light. He moved slowly, kept within the two glowing strips, held out his hands and focussed on the lights by his feet. The darkness disorientated, and the strips acted as an anchor for his bearings. Behind, Kerry’s heels struck the ground with sharp, clear sounds that echoed in the room. Mario guessed they walked on something hard, like tiles.

  He brushed something in front. Mario snatched his hand back.

  “Was that you, sir?” said Worth.

  “I…I think so.”

  The guide laughed and sighed. “You gave me quite a start. The old ticker got a jolt!”

  Mario breathed deep, his own heart racing. “You okay though?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Shame.

  “How much farther?”

  “Not far. Almost there. Just watch your step in this dark.”

  Mario rolled his eyes.

  No shit.

  Behind them, the door slammed shut.

  Mario jumped.

  Just hold it together for a few more minutes. Get through this nightmare and then you can freak out. Just hold it together.

  “…mmmmm….”

  Mario stopped and listened.

  Silence.

  “Kerry?”

  Mario waited for an answer. He squinted, trying to penetrate the blackness.

  “Kerry!”

  “What?”

  “Was that you?”

  “Was what me?” she hissed.

  “That noise.”

  She shoved him. “Stop being a jerk and keep walking,” she said. “The sooner we get rid of you the better.”

  Mario frowned and walked on.

  “Mmmmm!”

  Mario’s body froze from the muffled sound.

  “You must have heard it then,” he whispered.

  A pause.

  “Yeah,” she said quietly. “I did.”

  Mario swept a hand through the darkness, but only met air. “Kerry? Where are you?”

  “Here.” She grabbed his hand.

  They waited in the pressing dark.

  “I don’t like this,” Kerry murmured. “Let’s find Worth.”

  “Sssh!” Mario squeezed her hand. “There’s someone else in here…”

  The sound of his heart thumped in his ears in a rapid, deep rhythm. Pinpricks danced across his skin.

  Silence.

  Where have you gone, Worth? If this is a trick-

  “Mmmm? Mmmm…mmmmmm!”

  “Oh fuck,” said Kerry, her voice high. She pulled on his hand.

  “What are you doing?”

  She gasped. “Getting out. Come back, the way we came in!”

  Mario glanced back. The lights had gone out. The two strips started from their position and forwards across the room.

  “Bastards,” he said. “They’re rounding us up! Making us go where they want us to go. We can’t walk back in this dark. We have to go forwards. The walkway’s been fine so far.”

  She pulled again with less conviction.

  “Stop it,” he said. “We have to go this way. You were the one that wanted to come in here.”

  “Mmmmm!” the voice moaned with new vigour.

  Kerry’s hand jerked.

  “Stop it!” Mario ordered. He lowered his voice. “It sounds like it’s coming from the side. If we stay on this walkway, we should walk right past it and find Worth.”

  “Shouldn’t we call out for him?” said Kerry.

  “And let whoever’s in here know where we are? I think we’re risking it enough whispering like this. We have to be silent. If we can’t see him, he can’t see us. Got it?”

  “Yeah,” she hissed.

  “Good. Come on.”

  Mario led her further along the walkway. He wished his words were true. He imagined a man crouched in the dark, inches from their outstretched arms. Their probing fingers might come close to touching the night-vision goggles on his face. In his hand, he holds a vicious, curved knife, which he raises in the shadows. In silence, the blade arches down and punches through-M
ario swallowed.

  Don’t scare yourself. There’s enough in here to do that. You don’t need to add to it.

  “Mmm!”

  What is that?

  A loud clunk sounded from the ceiling. Mario stared upwards.

  “What was that noise?” squealed Kerry.

  “I don’t know,” said Mario. “The lights coming on, hopefully.”

  Almost on demand, a large, round spotlight flashed on at the centre of the ceiling. It illuminated the rocky ceiling and bare floor. Moss ran rampant across the stone, and the rocks glistened with slime.

  “My God,” said Kerry. “Look!”

  In the wide circle of light cast upon the ground, stood a wooden desk and chair. A figure strapped within struggled. His wide eyes, set deep in a fat, ruddy face, found them. His moaning and thrashing intensified.

  “What have they done to him?” asked Kerry.

  “I don’t know,” said Mario. He stepped off the walkway and onto the slippery ground. “But he looks in a bad way.” He pulled out his phone and studied the screen. “Fuck! Still nothing.”

  He led Kerry towards the bound man. The captive’s face was partially hidden by a metal mask that covered his nose and mouth. The elaborate system of spikes appeared as a portcullis hanging from his cheeks. A padlock on the side glinted in the light.

  “They’ve really done a number on him,” said Mario. “We gotta get him out of that thing.”

  “Mmmmm!”

  The man’s sweat-soaked face gleamed under the intense light, which highlighted the swells, bruises and cuts that marred his features. His head had been recently shaved and burned a deep pink.

  Mario turned to Kerry, who held her hand over her mouth.

  “You have any idea what this thing is?” he asked. She shook her head.

  Underneath the chair, the man’s bare ankles were locked in cuffs, attached to the floor via a short, thick chain. Leather straps held the man in place around his legs, chest and neck.

  The man moaned again, his eyes pleading. He tried to lift his hands and released a muffled cry.

  “His hands,” said Kerry. “Oh shit-” She retched and clamped her hand across her mouth.

  Careful on the slick stone, Mario pulled her forwards another step to keep her from running. He examined the surface of the desk.

  Two loops of metal held the man’s forearms flat against the wood. His hands lay palms down, like some kind of tarot reader or medium. Clusters of wire protruded from each digit.