Patrick met her in the short tunnel approaching their chamber. He was on guard, as quiet and unseen as ever, though she could see that his healing would take a lot longer than hers. He could walk, but his head still turned to the side, and his left eye was almost closed. The left corner of his mouth hung down, permanently exposing the teeth in his bottom jaw. He nodded at her, she smiled, and they entered the chamber together.
“Rose,” Francesco said, and he did not even glance down at her hands. He was old and wise, and he had not become their leader for nothing.
“Where’s Marty?” she asked. Francesco nodded into the far corner, and she saw the shape hidden under a pile of blankets and old coats. All she could see of him was his hair, long and greasy, untended. Marty had always washed his hair every day.
She knelt by him and pulled a coat aside, and he was looking directly up at her.
“Hi,” she said. He did not reply. “You knew it had to be hidden away, didn’t you? All the time we were looking for it?” Still no reply. “I’m sorry this happened to you.”
Marty blinked slowly.
“We got them back for Mum and Dad,” she said. “There’s that too.”
Marty’s lips parted. It was not a smile, nor an attempt to speak. If anything, he was just showing her his teeth.
“He hasn’t spoken at all,” Francesco said. “Caught a rat on the way down and fed from it. He’s been over there ever since.”
“Did he help you?”
“Yes. Patrick couldn’t really, so… Yes, he did. I didn’t even need to ask.”
“What did you do with the bodies?”
“Buried them deep. What did you do with the Bane?”
She glanced back at Francesco and smiled.
“Did you feel anything from it?” he asked, and he was trying not to show how keenly he needed to know. “Anything at all?”
“No.”
“Everything’s changed,” he said. “With Lee gone, we’re blind. We won’t know if others are coming for it. I doubt Duval worked alone. And we might not even know if it’s found, not unless… not until…”
“Francesco, it’s just a lump of metal,” Rose said. That closed the conversation, and she sat by her brother’s side. He was staring up at her still.
After a long time, Marty asked, “Where is it?”
“Somewhere no one will ever find it. Somewhere safe.”
“I’m so hungry, it hurts.”
“I’ll help you through,” she whispered. “The first weeks and months are… strange. Sometimes a trial. The hunger is strong, and it gets stronger from time to time.” She thought of the suit, and his terrified eyes. “But I’ll help you, little brother. Help you be strong. I’m your guardian angel, after all.”
That morning, there was no blood to wipe from her hand. Ashleigh Richards woke as ever, with her left hand hidden away beneath the covers, waiting to be exposed. She hated this moment every day, but she was used to going through with it. The smear of blood, the washing, the cloth to wipe it off should the stain appear again during the day. But today there was none, and she sat up in her bed for a very long time staring down at her unblemished skin.
She went about her business, but there was something lighter in her step. A weight had lifted. The memory was always there, and it always would be. In her more detached moments, she knew that she had gone mad, though she also knew that the madness had been brought on by something removed from her, not some malformation inside. But today, she felt better than she had in…
In a long time.
It was midday before she stepped to the front door and opened it, gun in her right hand and hidden behind the door. In the street, there were no faces. She dropped the gun and stepped outside.
The sunlight felt very good on her skin. The idea of walking struck her, and it was no longer terrifying. Yes, something had definitely changed.
Given time, and if the blood stayed away, she thought perhaps she might even welcome the night.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tim Lebbon is the winner of four British Fantasy Awards, a Bram Stoker Award, and a Scribe Award, and was a finalist for the International Horror Guild and World Fantasy Awards. His books include the official 30 Days of Night movie novelization (a New York Times bestseller), Hellboy: Unnatural Selection, Dusk, The Island, The Map of Moments (with Christopher Golden), Changing of Faces, Exorcising Angels (with Simon Clark), Dead Man’s Hand, Pieces of Hate, Fears Unnamed, White (optioned for film), Desolation, and Berserk. He lives in South Wales with his family. Find out more about the author at www.timlebbon.net.
Enter the terrifying world of
30 DAYS OF NIGHT
30 Days of Night: Rumors of the Undead
30 Days of Night: Immortal Remains
30 Days of Night: Eternal Damnation
30 Days of Night: Light of Day
30 Days of Night: Fear of the Dark
30 Days of Night
30 Days of Night: Dark Days
30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow
30 Days of Night: Bloodsucker Tales
30 Days of Night: Dead Space
30 Days of Night: Spreading the Disease
30 Days of Night: Eben and Stella
30 Days of Night: Beyond Barrow
30 Days of Night: 30 Days ’Til Death
30 Days of Night Annual 2004 (featuring “The Book Club,” “The Hand That Feeds,” “Agent Norris: MIA,” “The Trapper”)
30 Days of Night Annual 2005
30 Days of Night: “Picking Up the Pieces” (featured in IDW’s Tales of Terror)
Copyright
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