Dean Carter - Blood Water

Suddenly Sean heard the yapping of a dog. He turned back towards the study centre, but could see nothing in the dark. If the dog had survived its ordeal, there seemed no rational reason why it would want to follow them – they hadn’t exactly been nice to it. He listened carefully, but could hear nothing more, so he turned and concentrated on following Waites.

It was a hunger now, an insatiable yearning that drove the creature on, pushing its host body ever forward, tripping and sliding in the thick mud several times, but always getting back on its feet, never allowing its thoughts to deviate from its objective. The young man’s body moved awkwardly, as if it was drunk, exhausted or on the verge of collapse. When it reached the cave mouth, it didn’t even stop to read the warning sign: it just climbed over the thin chain that had been strung across the entrance and stumbled ahead into the darkness, the torch seeking out each nook and crevice. They were here somewhere – but where?

Waites had to stop for a moment to get his breath back. He turned to look at Sean and was about to say something, but changed his mind and started limping off again. Sean could imagine a number of things that Waites might have said, but none would have really helped them at this point. He retrieved the tape recorder and played the last of the message, holding it up now so that they could both hear.

‘ … but one thing is for certain. This creature, whatever it is, cannot co-exist with other animals. Whatever capacity it has for actual thinking, it does not take even a second to consider the consequences of possessing another creature: it just does it, as if it’s natural. With both the fish and Sally’s python, it used their bodies to try and escape, assimilated all the information it could, then departed, leaving behind a corpse. Either it is incapable of understanding morality, or sympathy, or it just doesn’t care… ’

If Waites had heard it all, he didn’t give any indication. Sean put the Dictaphone back in his pocket and waded on through the mire. Once over the rise, they stopped briefly to look for signs of the creature’s progress. At first they saw nothing: the countryside around them was pitch black… then there was a flicker ahead of them. Waites shone the torch towards it and they saw a dark opening in the rock face.

‘Must have gone that way,’ Waites said.

‘Do you think they’re in there?’ asked Sean.

‘Must be… At least, it believes they are. But what if this Holland guy was wrong?’

‘Doesn’t matter. We have to catch it either way. And I’ve got to save James,’ Sean replied as he turned to walk on.

Waites caught up and took his arm gently. ‘Sean… you know…’

‘I know. But we have to try.’

They shared an agonized look, then went on towards the cave. Sean’s boots were really heavy now, and each step was sapping his strength. He was beginning to wonder if he was actually up to fighting the monster, fighting for his brother’s life.

The creature had no concept of fear. Its natural sense of self-preservation made it cautious, but it didn’t feel the apprehension that a human might: it didn’t have the imagination to foresee hidden dangers. So as it made its way through the dank cave, it didn’t wonder what might be lurking in the shadows, didn’t question the source of the strange sounds; it just went on searching for its goal. It stopped and swept the torch beam around the cavern walls. There didn’t seem to be an exit. It must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. It backtracked to a fork, this time taking the other path. Somewhere around here, somewhere close perhaps, were its kin, others that would help it spread through the human race and then the rest of the animal kingdom like wildfire, until there was nothing left.

Not too far away, the creature’s pursuers stepped cautiously into the mouth of the cave, listening carefully.

‘Have you been here before?’ Waites asked Sean.

‘No – but James might have.’

‘Well, it could be dangerous, so watch your step.’

‘How will it know where to go? This cave system could be vast.’

‘Maybe it found a map… Or maybe it’s a small cave. Either way we’d better catch up before we get lost. Come on.’

Waites moved the torch beam around the cavern until he was sure of the way. There were a number of small openings set into the wall, but luckily only one proper passage. They advanced, and as they did so, Sean reached into his pocket and made sure the solution was still secure. It was the only chance they had of getting that creature to leave James’s body. If he lost it, that was it. Waites stopped up ahead and shone the torch around again.

‘What is it?’ Sean asked.

‘I think there are two passageways here. It’s hard to tell… We’ll just have to eliminate them one by one.’ Waites led the way into the left opening. They were only a few paces in when he cried out and suddenly the rocks dropped away beneath them. Sean scrabbled frantically for something to hold onto, but it was too late – he was falling through thin air.

The creature had entered a large round chamber. When it shone the torch ahead, strange patterns danced across the wall as the light reflected off a pool of water. It stood by the edge, looking down into the dark water through the young man’s eyes. Was it a trick of the light, or was there something moving down there?

Suddenly there was a crash from above, and it seemed as if the whole ceiling was falling in. The creature turned and looked up to see rocks and a body tumbling down towards it. The figure landed with a thud, winced, then looked around, startled. The creature watched as the cloud of dust settled, then turned back to the pool. There really was something moving in the water. In fact, there were a lot of things moving…

Waites had managed to get hold of a ledge of rock and avoid slipping down the treacherous, rocky slope towards the cave at the bottom. He hadn’t been able to grab Sean though; he swung the torch beam frantically around the sloping tunnel, but there was no sign of the boy. He couldn’t tell where the slope led to, or how long it was, but Sean might still be alive: he had to reach him fast.

He retraced his steps, hobbling painfully over the loose rocks and was soon back at the fork. The other passage was narrow at first, but it soon widened out. He hobbled along as fast as he dared, aware that there could be another collapse, shutting his mind to the pain in his foot. If Sean was injured or worse, it might take a very long time for rescue to come – and he had other more pressing problems…

The creature was aware of the boy scrabbling about in the rubble, panting, cursing and trying to get back on his feet, but all this was only on the periphery of its consciousness. It couldn’t tear its gaze away from the black shapes swirling beneath it. There were so many of them, swimming under and over each other. Tens of thousands perhaps. It knelt down and reached out to touch the surface of the water. Gradually it became aware of sounds, voices even, all talking at once, saying the same thing… although the meaning was unclear. Perhaps the language was unfamiliar because of the time the creature had spent in human minds. And perhaps this odd language had been forgotten over the millennia of separation. How joyous though, how wonderful to finally be here, with so many of its kindred, after so long. The loneliness, the isolation had been appalling. But now all that was at an end. The creature felt like crying with relief.

Sean was in pain – lots of pain. He didn’t try to get to his feet straight away; instead he moved each arm, then each leg and foot, just in case something was broken. Despite being banged about and bruised he didn’t think he’d suffered any serious damage, so he carefully stood in the darkness. He was shaken, and for a moment had no idea where he had landed, but it was clear it must be some large subterranean cavern. He saw a figure in the distance – could it be Waites looking for him? – and was about to call out when he heard it laugh out loud and realized who it was.