The Death of Addie Gray Read online

  “It's Murphy's patrol car!” Brabham says suddenly, leaning back in from the rain.

  I turn to him. “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “So where is she?” I ask.

  “I have no idea, but it looks like she just pulled over right here and abandoned ship.” He looks past me, toward the darkness that runs from the side of the road. “She's still not answering her phone, so I think I'm going to have to go take a look, just to make sure she's okay.”

  “I'll come with you,” I tell him, opening the door and climbing out into the pouring ran. “She might be onto something!” I shout, having to raise my voice to be heard over the storm.

  A moment later, I see Brabham hurrying around with a flashlight. He accidentally shines the light straight at me, and I turn away just before I'm blinded by the beam.

  “This is going to get muddy,” he mutters. “You really might be better off staying here.”

  “She wouldn't just dump her car like this, would she?” I ask, turning back to him, still struggling to see properly. “She must be onto something.”

  Looking around, however, I see nothing but darkness.

  “There's a barn,” Brabham says suddenly.

  Turning, I see that he's shining the flashlight over toward the far side of the road, but I don't see anything.

  “It's a couple of miles off,” he continues, “at the edge of the field after that one. It's not on any of the maps, but I'm picking up a very strong image of a barn in the darkness.”

  “An image?”

  “A psychic impression, if you will. I believe there might be -”

  “Don't be ridiculous!” I hiss. “My daughter is missing and you're using it as an excuse to make wild claims!”

  “I must admit,” he replies, “I'm a little psychic.”

  “You're a little a lot of things.”

  “I can assure you,” he continues, “that there is a barn out there, about a mile from the road. If it's not on the maps, it must have been built illegally at some point, and perhaps no-one has thought to check it out.” He shines the flashlight to the field for a moment, before turning to me again. “If you wish, you can go on without me. I'll find the barn, and if there's no sign of Addie, I'll walk back to town.”

  “In this weather?” I ask incredulously.

  “Weather is temporary,” he replies. “Finding your little girl is of far more importance.”

  I watch as he leans down and tucks his pants into his socks. I have no idea if he's insane or just a little crazy, but right now I'm willing to give anything a shot. If I head back to town, I'll just end up at the motel room again, waiting for Murphy or one of the other officers to fill me in.

  “I'm coming with you,” I tell him.

  “I also want to locate Officer Murphy,” he replies. “I'm worried about her, out alone like this.”

  He turns and hurries across the road, and I follow. We quickly hit a patch of boggy mud, and a few meters later we bump against a rickety wooden fence. Climbing over takes a few seconds, and finally we drop down into a rain-soaked field. My feet sink down past the ankles and sinks into my shoes, but I stumble onward, following Brabham as he shines the light ahead. All I can make out is a vast field of mud and grass spreading into the darkness, and I still don't see any hint of the barn he mentioned, but I figure it'll take us a while to wade for a mile through this swamp.

  “Addie!” I call out, just in case there's any chance she might be close. “Addie, it's Mommy! Where are you?”

  I wait, before figuring I might as well try another approach.

  “Serriah! Are you here?”

  Slipping suddenly, I drop to my knees and immediately feel cold mud soaking through my jeans. I haul myself up and run to catch Brabham, whose flashlight is sending a constantly-twitching beam through the darkness, illuminating the sparse, muddy landscape ahead. Puddles glisten under a starless night sky, and thick tracts of plowed mud run against us, making each step even more difficult.

  I'm already out of breath and my knees are aching, but I know I have to keep going if there's even the slightest chance that Addie came this way. At the same time, there's a part of me that worries this is a huge waste of time, that by being out here we're getting further and further away from -

  “Are you sure about this?” I call out.

  I wait for an answer, but Brabham is pulling away from me up ahead.

  “Isn't this just a waste of time?” I ask. “Maybe you were wrong, maybe -”

  “Wait!” Brabham shouts suddenly, stopping up ahead.

  When I reach him, he puts a hand out, as if to keep me back.

  “What is it?” I ask, using a hand to shield my eyes from the wind and rain. “Did you find the barn?”

  He's shining the flashlight ahead, struggling to keep it still. The beam picks out a swampy, muddy field spreading toward the haze of darkness.

  “I saw it,” he says after a moment, his voice barely audible above the rain. “I'm sure I did.”

  “Saw what?” I ask. “Are we at the barn already?”

  “No, but -” He pauses for a moment. “Wait...”

  I watch as the beam flashes this way and that, as if Brabham's searching for something. Rain can be seen pouring down through the light, and glistening mud is constantly shifting under the downpour.

  “There!”

  Suddenly the flashlight picks out a figure about twenty meters up ahead, facing away from us.

  Keeping the flashlight trained on the figure, Brabham waits for a moment, but the figure has shown no reaction to our presence. It's too tall to be Addie, but after a moment I realize I recognize the shape of the shoulders.

  “That's Officer Murphy,” I whisper, watching as the flashlight picks out the back of her head. “What the hell is she doing just standing out here like that?”

  “Officer Murphy?” Brabham calls out. “Are you okay?”

  We both wait, but Murphy seems to be staring transfixed at something straight ahead.

  “What's wrong?” I shout, starting to wade toward her through the mud. “Did you find something?”

  I look at the field ahead of her, terrified in case I spot a body, but as I get closer I realize that she seems to be just standing and staring into the darkness. She doesn't even have a flashlight, so she must have been unable to see a thing until we arrived.

  “Careful!” Brabham shouts from behind me. “Don't get too close, Mrs. Gray! Just in case...”

  “Just in case what?” I mutter, approaching Murphy from behind. “Officer Murphy?” I shout, making sure that she'll definitely be able to hear me above the sound of rain. “What are you doing out here? We found your car!”

  Her head twitches slightly and then turns just a little, until I can see the side of her face. Rain is pouring down her cheeks and her eyes are wide open.

  “We tried calling you,” I continue. “Your phone rang, but you didn't pick up. It's sheer chance that we drove past just now and saw your patrol car.”

  I wait, but she still isn't looking directly at me. Instead, she seems to have simply turned so she can hear me better.

  “I'm not sure that you should get too close!” Brabham calls out. “Mrs. Gray, would you mind stepping back a little?”

  I open my mouth to reply, but suddenly Officer Murphy turns her head even further, until it's almost impossible to believe that she hasn't snapped her neck.

  “Have you found Addie?” I ask, cautiously making my way toward her. “What are you doing out in this -”

  Before I can finish, she turns his head a little further, and this time I hear a faint crunching, snapping sound as she finally looks straight at me. The rest of her body is facing forward, but she's watching me with wide, shocked eyes. After a moment, she blinks, but she still hasn't said a word since I got here.

  “Are you okay?” I ask, edging a little further around her.

  As Brabham approaches from the other side, Murphy turns even further and I hear more
crunching sounds from her head. The flesh of her neck is tight and twisted, and after a moment I realize that there are several splits that have let blood start dribbling down to her collar. It's almost as if, as she continues to turn, her head is getting twisted all the way around.

  I continue to step past her, and she turns her head further so as to keep her gaze fixed on me. At the same time, more flesh starts ripping on her neck and I hear a sound like torn fabric. She's turned her head almost a full three-hundred-and-sixty degrees now, and I hear more crunching sounds as she continues to keep her eyes fixed on me.

  “Officer Murphy?” Brabham calls out.

  Immediately, her head twists around again, as if some unseen force is in control. There's another crunch from her neck, and I see that the flesh around her jaw seems to have been torn away from everything below.

  “What the hell?” I stammer, taking a step back.

  Suddenly her head twists again, and this time the crunching sound is louder than ever. I can't help noticing that her head wobbled a little, too, as if it's no longer so securely attached to the top of her neck.

  “What do you want?” she gurgles, spitting up blood as she speaks. “Leave the girl alone. There's nothing you can do now.”

  Behind her, the light from Brabham's flashlight is framing her head.

  “What happened to you?” I ask, taking another step back.

  She turns again, toward Brabham, and this time her head wobbles so much that it looks as if it might fall off.

  “What do you want?” she asks, her voice sounding even more pained and tight than before. “I'm warning you. Keep away!”

  Brabham stares at her, his eyes filled with shock.

  “What are you waiting for?” she gasps. “This is nothing to do with you! Get out of here!”

  She turns again, to look at me, but this time there's another loud crunch and her head tilts to one side before rolling onto her shoulder and dropping to the ground, as if it was twisted clean away.

  I stare for a moment at the stump of her neck, and then I realize I can see Brabham's horrified face on the other side.

  A few seconds later, Murphy's body suddenly slumps down, as if it was being held up by a force that suddenly vanished.

  “What was that?” I stammer, trying not to panic. “What just -”

  Before I can say another word, something thuds into me and sends me sprawling back down against the mud. I land hard and immediately try to get up, and a moment later Brabham splashes over to me and grabs my arm.

  “Something rushed at you,” he says, his voice tense with a cross between fear and fascination. “I didn't see what it was, but it came out of the darkness and then it kind of whooshed off in that direction.”

  Looking over my shoulder, I see Murphy's body on the ground, with her head having been discarded a few meters further away. I stare in stunned silence for a moment, before realizing that I can't stand to see any more. Turning away, I watch as Brabham's flashlight picks out the bare muddy landscape ahead.

  “What happened to her?” I ask, feeling my heart pounding in my chest. “It's like she was being held up, like she was being... It was like she was being used to warn us.”

  I pause, almost throwing up, before managing to steady myself.

  “I think we're on the verge of encountering something remarkable,” he says. “Mrs. Gray, I'm more convinced than ever that there is indeed a barn up ahead, but I want you to wait here. I've studied this kind of thing, whereas you -”

  “Like hell I'm waiting here,” I mutter, pushing past him. “How far is this barn, anyway?”

  “Mrs. Gray -”

  “I have to find Addie!” I shout, struggling through the mud. I know that if I actually stop and think about what happened to Officer Murphy, I'll lose my mind, so I just have to keep pushing ahead. “Everything else can wait, but if Addie's out here, I need to get to her!”

  After a moment, I hear him squelching along after me. When I glance back at him, I see that he's already drawn his gun.

  “What we just saw,” he says as he reaches me, “I'm not entirely sure, but I think it might have been -”

  “I don't need to know.”

  “I think Officer Murphy was somehow possessed, briefly, by a -”

  “I don't need to know!” I shout, turning to him. “I just need to find my daughter, that's all!” Looking at the muddy field all around us, I suddenly feel as if we're on a hiding to nothing. “Why the hell are we out here in the middle of nowhere?” I ask. “There's nothing else here, we're just -”

  “Do you see the trees?” he shouts suddenly.

  Looking to the left, I realize I can just about make out a dark, scratchy lines of trees in the distance.

  “The barn isn't far now,” he continues breathlessly, striking out in that direction. “The trees were part of the psychic impression I experienced. I'm more certain than ever.”

  We push on, making slow progress, until eventually I spot a smudge of darkness ahead, next to the tree-line. Somehow I manage to quicken my pace as we get closer, and finally I see the shape of a large, unlit barn looming in the distance. I'm still not quite sure that I buy the idea of Brabham's so-called psychic impression, but at least we've found something out here.

  “That's it!” Brabham tells me. “I was right!”

  Spotting movement, I realize I just saw a hint of a shadow flitting along one side of the barn and around the corner.

  “There's someone else out here!” I shout, managing to move even faster. “Addie!” I scream. “Addie, wait!”

  Serriah

  Crawling across the concrete floor, with rain crashing against the barn's roof high above, I feel a flash of pain in my chest. I don't even know where I'm going, but I know I have to hide before Jesophat gets back. For some reason he's mad at me and -

  Suddenly I feel him grabbing the back of my neck, crunching through the spot at the base of my skull. He's still trying to get into my head, but he hasn't managed so far.

  “Please,” I stammer, “not this body... I need this body...”

  “They're coming!” a voice hisses, slipping through the knot of thoughts at the back of my mind and flooding my senses. “I warned them to keep away, but they didn't listen!”

  “Who?” I gasp, struggling to pull myself a little further forward.

  “Then again,” he continues, “maybe I can use them. Maybe I want them to reach you. Maybe they'll be weaker that way.”

  “Jesophat, please,” I whisper, with tears streaming down my face as he starts lifting me up from the ground. “Jesophat, listen to me! I know you're angry, but -”

  “Don't say that name!” he screams, and suddenly he sends me hurtling through the darkness until I slam against the far wall.

  Before I can catch my breath, he slams me down against the floor and then against the wall again, and he repeats this three or four times before finally tossing me aside until I slump against an old piece of machinery.

  “You led me this far, Serriah,” he says firmly, his voice sounding twisted and hushed. “I won't be denied now.”

  Erica

  “Addie!”

  Sliding the plank of wood away, I pull the barn's large double-doors open and step forward into the cool, dry interior. I can't see a thing, of course, but a moment later Brabham catches up and shines his flashlight straight ahead. Still, all I see is a dirty, cracked concrete floor spread far into the gloom.

  “If I'm remembering the map correctly,” Brabham says, “this must be the old O'Reilly land that was once owned by Jesophat's family.”

  Hearing a bump ahead, I freeze for a moment.

  “Did you hear that?” Brabham and I both say at the same time.

  “Did it come from inside or outside?” I ask.

  “I'll go and check around the perimeter,” he replies breathlessly, handing the flashlight to me. “I think you might need this more than me. I'll be back in a moment, but just remember... If you see anything, be careful. Addie might n
ot be alone out here, and she might not be herself.”

  “You don't need to warn me about my own child,” I say, bristling at the suggestion.

  “Be careful, Mrs. Gray,” he continues. “If it's Serriah Sansome in Addie's body, she might be getting desperate.”

  With that, he turns and heads back out into the rain, leaving me staring at the dark, cold space ahead. I aim the flashlight up and see the high roof with old wooden beams crossing several meters above my head. Turning to look at the nearest wall, I see that there's very little left in here, just a few old crates and what appear to be rotten bales of hay. I take a step forward, shining the flashlight over toward the other side, where some rusty old machinery has been left abandoned, and after a moment I spot a dribble of rainwater leaking down from the roof.

  “Addie?” I call out, my voice sounding much thinner and smaller in such a large space. “Addie, are you here? No-one's mad at you, but I need to know if you're in here! Or Serriah, if that's what you want me to call you, I can do that, but you have to let me know if you're here.”

  I step forward, still shining the flashlight's beam around. The remaining machinery and hay bales cast long shadows as the light hits them, and there are plenty of places for a little girl to hide. There's a hole in the wall, too, so I figure she has multiple ways in and out. If she really, truly wants to get away from me, she'll have a good chance.

  “Addie, please,” I continue, feeling a strong ache in my legs from trudging through so much mud, “just come out and we can talk. Maybe I didn't handle things so well at the start, but now I'll listen to you. I'm not mad for what you did back at the house, I want to understand why you did it and what you're trying to achieve. We can go and see someone, a professional who can really listen to you. Maybe I couldn't open my mind to...”