“Suggest it! Suggest it to who?”
“It doesn’t matter. Now this is your last warning. Shut up, calm down, and just enjoy the time you have…”
“The time I have what?”
The nurse glared at him and then walked across the room, pushed him onto the bed and held him down with more strength than he would have thought possible from anyone, never mind someone with such a diminutive stature.
Lincoln stared up at her green eyes, and for a brief moment it looked as though blackness oozed within her sockets, the effect extinguished as she blinked.
“I haven’t got time for this. Now just behave like a good little boy and everything will be fine.”
She released her hold, but gripped by an unnatural fear, Lincoln didn’t move until she left the room.
When he did sit up, his hand was shaking, breaths coming in short little bursts.
Something was going on, and whatever it was, he needed to get to the bottom of it, and quickly too if he was to retain any sanity at all.
CHAPTER 17
“So what do we do now?” Stephen asked.
Joanna stared at the statue of Christ, hoping for some inspiration, but none seemed forthcoming.
A cold chill permeated the church, the wooden pews of which felt even colder, but Joanna suspected they were safe within the holy structure, giving them time to work out their next move. But in the space of almost an hour, they had done little but bicker quietly between themselves, too afraid to raise their voices for fear of aggravating the priest any further.
“Well, we can’t sit here all day,” Stephen said. “My arse is going numb.”
“And where can we go? I don’t even know who we can trust.”
“Okay, let’s think about it. Whatever these things are, for some reason, you can see them. The most probable reason is that it’s got something to do with your corneal graft.”
“But how can we prove it? How can I prove what I see?”
Stephen stroked his chin and poked his tongue out. “You only had one of the donor’s corneas, which means there’s someone else out there with the other one. Perhaps they can see what you do and corroborate your story for you.”
“Even if that’s true and we could find them, what good will it do?”
“Well, for one thing, it will prove you’re not crazy.”
“No, it might prove that two of us are nuts instead.”
“I’m only trying to help.”
Joanna grabbed Stephen’s hand and squeezed. “I know. I’m sorry.”
Stephen shrugged. “At least I can’t say dating you is boring. I can find out from the hospital records who received the other cornea.”
“I guess it’s better than nothing.”
“Anything’s better than nothing.”
Joanna kissed him on the cheek. As she pulled away, an idea blossomed. “I’ve just thought of something else. When Lincoln was in the basement, I heard him arrange to meet the others back there at midnight.”
“And?”
“Well what if we hid down there and videoed them. A recording of the conversation, especially if it contains anything that gives them away, might help prove our case. And I might get Nina on it too, to show she’s still alive.”
Stephen frowned. “I dunno. It’s too dangerous. You’ve seen what they can do.”
“Exactly. That’s why we’ve got to stop them – if we can.”
Before Stephen could answer, the church door banged open, the sound echoing around the room.
Joanna turned and stared along the aisle. She let out a sharp gasp.
“What is it?” Stephen whispered, as though too afraid to speak aloud.
“They’ve bloody found us.”
“Who?”
“The demons.” Even the word was enough to strike fear into her heart.
“Shit!” Stephen said.
Joanna thought that about summed it up nicely.
“And isn’t that… My god, it’s Nina!” he said.
Although a little blurred, Joanna recognised her old friend and her heart turned to ice, pumping cold blood through her veins.
She stood, scared that her legs would buckle.
“Can I help you?” the priest asked, his voice echoing through the church as he approached the newcomers.
“Joanna,” Nina said. “Don’t even think of running, because there’s nowhere to go.”
“What do you want?” the priest asked.
“Her.” Nina pointed at Joanna.
The priest blocked the aisle. “I will have to ask you to leave.”
“Leave,” Nina barked. “We’ve kept you in business for all these years, and you ask us to leave. Without us, you wouldn’t have flourished for so long as you wouldn’t have had anything to threaten your followers with.”
“I don’t understand,” the priest said.
“Then let me make it clearer. Without demons and devils to point fingers at, you would have closed shop years ago.”
“I don’t know what you want, but if you don’t leave, I’m going to call the police.”
Before anyone could respond, one of the newcomers bounded down the church like a supersonic spider.
Joanna’s jaw dropped open in amazement.
“Dear God,” the priest said.
Nina laughed. “I’m afraid your God has forsaken you, old man. It’s time for a new beginning. A new world with new Gods to worship. Now come, bow down before me.”
The priest scuttled away, shaking his head.
In a sudden burst of speed, one of the demons ran across the church and grabbed the priest around the throat. The priest screamed, the sound echoing from the rafters. Then with a sickening crack, the demon twisted the priests head, snapping his neck. He released his hold, and the priest fell to the ground. “This is going to be too easy,” he said as he advanced towards Joanna and Stephen.
CHAPTER 18
Despite her vision problems with the Fuchs’ eye, the transplanted cornea seemed to overcompensate, allowing Joanna to clearly see the approaching demon, emphasising that this was something unnatural.
“This way,” she said, pulling Stephen along. She headed down the aisle, looking for an escape route. From the corner of her eye, she saw a figure leap the pews like a gymnast.
“We’re trapped,” Stephen said, his voice relaying the measure of his panic.
Joanna didn’t want to agree. There had to be a way out. There just had to.
To her right, she saw a vestibule at the side of the church, and she pulled Stephen between the rows of pews and into the small room. It seemed designed for silent contemplation, or perhaps small ceremonies, but more importantly, she saw a stairway leading up to the balcony above.
“Up there,” she said.
They fled up the stone steps. At the top, Joanna followed the balcony around.
Movement caught her eye further ahead, and she saw one of the demons jump from the ground floor onto the balcony to bar their way.
“Jesus Christ,” she said.
Stephen groaned. “How can we expect to win against bloody Superman?”
“Even Superman had his weakness. We just need to find theirs. Now come on, run.”
Despite her words, she didn’t fully believe it. Weren’t demons supposed to be unable to enter holy places? Well, obviously that was a pile of horseshit. So how could they fight people blessed with supernatural strength?
Unable to continue forwards, she led the way down another staircase and back onto the ground floor. The demons closed in on all sides. She heard them laughing. The sound made her bones literally shake.
She backed up until she encountered a solid surface. Bringing her hands around, she recoiled slightly when she felt cold liquid. Unable to look away from the demons, she traced her fingers around the object, finally realising it was the font, used for baptisms.