okay, but what about him. I want to kill the barstard.”
“No you don’t. He’s just a pawn. What you gonna do, kill every man that comes along and looks at her sideways? Why kill a hundred when you only have to deal with one? You can do it Pete. You gotta stop it at the source.”
“Yeah, yeah you’re right. Just help me get this barstards hands off her, will ya?”
“Okay, now do exactly what I tell you.”
Peter nodded.
“Raise your arm, hold out your hand to her.”
Peter frowned and looked around at smiley man. The response was another order but his voice was much stronger, booming off the walls.
“DO IT! RAISE YOUR HAND!”
Peter watched as his arm rose almost of its own accord. His hand reached out toward Lynn.
“Move forward, let your hand feel her heart. DO IT!”
Peter watched, transfixed, as his hand passed through the mans arm, then his wife’s dress and her left breast, yet he could still see it clearly.
“NOW, CUP HER HEART. PUT HER HEART IN YOUR HAND.”
Peter’s eyes widened when he saw Lynn’s heart appear in his hand, pumping its rhythm of Life.
“SQUEEZE!”
“What, I, I …”
“SQUEEZE! SQUEEZE IT NOW! FEEL ITS POWER THROUGH YOUR PALM! SQUEEZE!”
Peter squeezed, softly at first, and he saw Lynn give a little start. But then he did feel it, he felt the hearts rhythm transferring through his hand and began to time his squeezes to match. Each time he did so he began to feel the strength, its strength, traveling up his arm and into his body. He began to feel again, the floor under his feet firstly and a tear escaped from the corner of his eye.
“Can I stop, now?”
“NO. SQUEEZE,” the voice so loud it hurt his ears.
He looked at Lynn and almost felt she was looking at him. She was very ashen faced, and the salesman was panicking around her now. Her eyes were still looking at Peter, and he realised suddenly that she was looking at him.
“SQUEEZE!” the voice continued to command.
Peter gritted his teeth, reveling in the feel of his tongue against the roof of his mouth again. He stared into his widows’ eyes, seeing her Life fading.
“Peter!” she gasped.
“Damn you, you cheated on me,” he yelled back at her, and squeezed tighter.
And then her heart stopped still in his hand. Peter squeezed. He squeezed it harder. Her eyes were still looking at him, but they were unseeing eyes.
“Noooo,” he yelled, and he turned to face the smiley man. “What have you made me do?”
Smiley man was no longer there. Instead, the room was shimmering like a heat haze on a hot day, and then it rotated, slowly at first but gathering speed rapidly until Peter felt giddy. He looked down at his feet, and could see nothing under them as everything seemed to get sucked backwards as if in a giant vacuum. Except Peter stood firmly and when everything had disappeared, he was left in absolute darkness. He spun around looking, desperately searching for any sort of comforting light. And saw it! Off, so far in the distance that he had to squint to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, was a small pinprick of light.
“Is that you?” he screamed again.
The light moved toward him at incredible speed, and as it closed Peter prepared to duck. He could see now that it was many light sources, not just one, and as they ascended his eyes widened in fear. They tore into him like sharks, their fang like teeth and serrated claws removing immense chunks of his flesh with each pass. They tore around his body like mosquitoes. When he opened his mouth to scream some of them immediately dove into his mouth, removing his tongue and even consuming his teeth as they worked, eating their way into his body. Peter heard that voice, the smiley mans voice, just one last time.
“My name is Duran. Welcome!”
Chapter Six
“Rock ‘n Roll; and Death In The Family”
There they were, Saturday night, standing out in front of the Top Pub at Byron Bay. The music pounding out was great but it was the voice, that voice, which had had got Billy’s excitement going. He only just heard Tony calling over the noise.
“Billy! Wait!”
“What is it Man?”
“We, we can’t go in the front door.”
Billy shook his head. He couldn’t believe what Tony was saying. He’d dragged him all the way out to Byron to see the man, the one and only, Billy’s absolute favourite singer, and now he was telling him that they couldn’t go in? Billy considered hitting him.
“Do you know, who, that is in there?”
“‘Course I do.”
“Then why the fuck can’t we go in?”
“‘coz we’re fifteen.”
“Hasn’t stopped us before.”
“This is different Billy. He, he’s an international star, and they have security everywhere. Don’t worry, I’ve arranged something.”
“What? He gonna come out to us?” Usually, Tony didn’t take Billy’s sarcasm well, but tonight he was composed and grinning like a Cheshire cat. That was proof positive that he had something under his hat. “Spill the beans Tony? What are you up to?”
“You’ll see,” he kept grinning.
“Why can’t we go in now?”
“No! Just wait Billy, wait just ‘till the first break.”
Whatever it was he’d arranged, he had confidence that it was going to happen. Tony kept his ear to the ground. He was a pretty simple guy in some ways but in others he was unfathomable, and unflappable when everything was running to plan. Ah, the sweet brashness of youth. They sat on the grass and listened to the music and Billy thought of Jen. He almost got up to ring her but knew that would piss Tony off, enough maybe for him to change whatever arrangements he’d made. Billy watched a girl walk past laughing and chatting brightly with her friends, and it made him sad – she would die tonight. The sadness swept away immediately when the music ceased. He looked at Tony who was lying on his back looking up at the stars. That same Cheshire grin greeted Billy when he thumped him on the shoulder.
“Be patient Billy, be patient.”
“You said we had to wait for the break. So? They’re havin’ a break! What are we waiting for now?”
“You’ll see. Have faith my friend,” he kept grinning. Billy was almost at the point where he was going to smack him in the mouth again, but Tony sat up suddenly as the MCs’ voice came across the loudspeakers. Billy wasn’t listening but caught the end of the announcement … “home grown talent Billyyyyy Nelllsonnnnn!” He looked at Tony goggle eyed and slack jawed. “Go on man, that’s you,” Tony said quietly, the look of satisfaction making his face glow in his moment of triumph.
“But, but how?” was all Billy could stammer.
“Sent