The Farm Read online

  “For you, maybe. Not for the Olesun girls, or for anyone else who suffered because of mistakes you made at this place.”

  “All of which were properly accounted for. The Olesuns' parents were compensated and relocated, and the farm was left abandoned. We hoped that no-one would ever move in again, but unfortunately the local estate agent had other ideas. Not everyone can be persuaded to toe the line. The plan was to quarantine the place -”

  “Quarantine it?” Paula asked, stepping forward. “Why? Because of a few ghosts?”

  Dybendal stared at her for a moment. “You really have no idea what's on that farm, do you?”

  “So why don't you tell us?” Sebastian asked.

  “Because I don't know,” he replied. “None of us do. We've just learned, over the years, to leave the place alone. It's a shame, Ms. Ridley, that your father couldn't be persuaded to abandon his plans and sell the place on. Still, he might see things differently now, after his unfortunate accident.”

  “Accident?” She stared at him for a moment, before finally realizing what he meant. “It wasn't an accident, was it?” she continued, with mounting horror. “You did that to him on purpose!”

  “Calm down -”

  “You tried to kill him!” she shouted, lunging forward before Sebastian grabbed her arms and pulled her back. “He might still die!” she yelled, struggling to get free.

  “Not now!” Sebastian hissed. “Be smart!”

  “Your father's injuries aren't that severe,” Doctor Bakkerud explained. “We could still pull him round at pretty much any moment, if we decided that was the best course of action.”

  “But we'd need something in return,” Dybendal added. “We'd need to be sure that you and he won't persist with this foolish idea of getting the farm back up and running. That place needs to be left well alone.”

  “Why?” she asked, still brimming with fury as she tried to get free from Sebastian's grip. “What the hell are you so afraid of? What's on the farm?”

  “There's something in the barn,” he replied. “We've considered trying to remove it, or destroy it, but whatever it is, we feel the best strategy is just to leave it there and keep people away from the place.”

  “So that's what you're trying to do?” Sebastian asked. “Keep everyone safe?”

  “That's all we've ever been trying to do. The people of this area need men like us to put things in order. It's a system that has worked perfectly well for many years. There's no need to change it now.”

  “And you'll just let them walk away?” Sebastian continued. “Somehow I don't think that's how you people operate.”

  Dybendal paused for a moment, as a faint smile curled its way onto his lips. “We might be persuaded,” he said finally, “if -”

  Before he could finish, another scream could be heard coming from somewhere else in the building.

  “Who is that?” Sebastian asked, letting go of Paula's arms and stepping forward. “What are you doing here? Are you torturing someone?”

  “We're helping him.”

  “He doesn't sound very comfortable.”

  “He needs a lot of help.” Dybendal paused again. “He's needed help for a long, long time. It was the barn, in fact, that caused all his problems. Poor Mr. Lund was never the same after he went into that place.”

  “Jonah Lund is still alive?” Sebastian replied, clearly shocked.

  “He's an old man now,” said the man at the nearby workbench, turning to them, revealing that he, too, was well advanced in years. “Then again, he's not the only one. Jonah Lund has become my life's work. I have dedicated myself to trying to help him.”

  “Allow me to introduce you to Doctor Henrik Steiner,” Dybendal continued, taking a step back while keeping his gun aimed at Paula and Sebastian. “Over the years, this place has fallen more and more under his -”

  “Enough,” Steiner snapped at him. “Why do you bring these people here to disturb me? I'm on the brink of a breakthrough with Lund, and I can't be interrupted!”

  “Why do I get the feeling,” Sebastian muttered darkly, “that you've been on the brink of a breakthrough for a long time now?”

  “Get them out of here,” Steiner snapped, gesturing for them all to leave as he turned back to the work on his bench. “I don't want visitors!”

  “Fine,” Dybendal replied, “but -”

  “And make sure they don't talk!”

  At this, Dybendal paused for a moment. “Of course.”

  “What does that mean?” Paula asked, trying not to panic.

  “Let's go,” Dybendal added, turning to Bakkerud with a dark, worried look in his eyes. “Out back. We -”

  “Run!” Sebastian shouted, lunging at Dybendal and knocking him off his feet. “Paula, get -”

  Before he could finish, a gunshot rang out, causing his whole body to shudder violently.

  “No!” Paula shouted, rushing toward him before stopping as Dybendal pushed Sebastian's slumped, bloodied body out of the way and aimed at her. He fired, but she ducked out of the way and hurried past the nearest workbench, before spotting Bakkerud blocking her way. With no other option, she turned and ran to an open door and then down a long, dimly-lit corridor.

  “You won't get out!” Dybendal shouted after her. “There's no point running!”

  Racing through another door, Paula turned and pushed it shut. With tears in her eyes, she fumbled for a lock, finally finding a bolt and sliding it across before spotting a nearby table and hauling it over until it was blocking the door. She knew it wouldn't last for long, but she was trying not to panic and she figured she needed to find another way out. Turning, she looked around the dark, small room.

  “Sebastian!” she shouted, taking a step back as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Are you out there?”

  She waited, but all she heard was voices in the corridor outside.

  “Oh God,” she whispered, taking another step back, “please -”

  Suddenly, hearing a heavy thud behind her, she turned and saw that there was a long glass window on the far side of the room, looking into an adjoining room lit by a single light on one of its walls. Something was moving in there, though; something was lumbering through the darkness and, after a moment, the figure bumped against the window again, placing a dirty, swollen hand on the glass.

  “Who are you?” Paula whispered, taking a step forward.

  From the other side of the glass, there was a faint groan.

  “Don't make us force our way in there,” Dybendal called out from the other side of the door. “Let's just make this as easy as possible.”

  Taking another step forward, Paula reached the glass and stared at the naked figure on the other side. She could tell it was a person, but the shape seemed wrong somehow, especially at the top, where half its head seemed to have been sliced away. As the figure turned slightly, a patch of light caught the thick stitches that ran across its flat scalp, as well as the thick wrinkles on its aged face.

  “You're Jonah Lund,” Paula whispered, as a shiver passed through her body. “You're -”

  She watched as the figure placed a hand on the glass again, and this time she saw the number 17019 still tattooed on his pale, leathery skin.

  “How long have they been doing this to you?” she asked, reaching out and placing a hand on the glass, as she heard another low, rumbling groan from the other side. “Jonah -”

  Before she could finish, the figure turned to face her, and she saw its dark, bloodied eyes as he snarled. Instinctively, she took a step back. The man on the other side was clearly in his seventies, maybe even his eighties, but he had a lean, wiry body covered in knotted scars.

  “What do you think you can do from in there?” Dybendal called from the other side the door, as he tried to smash it open. “There's no way out, so you might as well do the smart thing and open up. We can still talk. Your boyfriend's alive, but he's bleeding and if you want us to get him some medical attention, you need to start cooperating.”

 
; Feeling as if she was frozen in place, Paula watched in horror as the figure on the other side of the window took a step back, taking its hand away from the glass and receding once again into the shadows.

  “Don't look at him,” Dybendal continued. “It's a mistake, don't look, you'll only end up feeling pity for him, and that's the last thing he needs. He's a monster and he always has been. He's killed people, good people, people who were only trying to help him. Sometimes I think he should have been allowed to die when those little girls shot him, but Steiner insisted on saving him. One thing about Lund, he's resilient.”

  “The little girls shot him?” Paula whispered, before turning to look back over at the door. “The Olesun girls?”

  “The oldest girl shot him right in the chest.”

  “But...” She paused. “I thought he killed them?”

  “He might as well have done,” Dybendal replied. “I don't know who killed those girls, some bastard with an ax. By that point, it was easier to just blame Lund. The real killer was obviously long gone.”

  “What are you doing in there?” Doctor Steiner called out, banging on the door. He muttered something in Norwegian, before banging again. “Open this door immediately. I will not -”

  Suddenly Lund slammed into the glass window again with pure fury, as if the doctor's voice had drawn his rage. Paula instinctively stepped back, but the window held firm despite a second attack, as Lund's tattooed fist slammed into its surface and he let out a growl of pain.

  “Open the door!” Steiner shouted. “I'm so close to a breakthrough! I won't have you interrupting my work!”

  Hearing more arguments in Norwegian, Paula stepped closer to the glass and saw Lund's ravaged body approaching from the other side. He was naked, which made it easier to see the scars all over his torso, including what appeared to be an old gunshot wound that had healed. As she made eye-contact with him, Paula held her breath, but Lund seemed to have calmed a little, and finally he placed both his hands against the glass. Figuring that he was in pain, she did the same, and for a moment she felt as if there was still intelligence in his mind, staring back at her.

  “I -” she began, before falling silent as she felt overwhelmed by the agony in the man's eyes. “What the hell have these people done to you?”

  On the other side of the glass, Lund let out a faint whimper.

  Suddenly there was a gunshot from behind. Turning, Paula saw that part of the door had been blasted, and a second later another shot blew the bolt away. As the door opened and pushed the table aside, Dybendal stepped into the room with his gun raised, and with Doctor Steiner leaning on his cane as he followed.

  The old man shouted something in Norwegian, clearly furious, but his voice seemed to draw more anger from Lund, who began once again to slam his fists against the window, while crying out.

  “Come on,” Dybendal muttered, as he and Bakkerud grabbed Paula's arms and began to pull her out of the room.

  “Where's Sebastian?” she shouted.

  “The time for making deals is over,” Dybendal told her as they dragged her along the corridor, adding something in Norwegian.

  “Don't touch me!” Paula shouted, trying to get free.

  “Fine,” Dybendal replied, pushing her down to the floor and taking a step back, with the gun aimed at her head. “We'll do it here. I'm sorry, I never like this part of things, but you can't be allowed to cause all this disruption.”

  Staring at the gun, she saw his finger move toward the trigger.

  “Please,” she began to whisper, “don't -”

  Suddenly there was a crashing sound from one of the other rooms, causing Dybendal to look back over his shoulder. He shouted something in Norwegian, and Steiner could be heard shouting back, just as there was another loud crunch.

  “What's happening?” Paula asked.

  Dybendal turned to Bakkerud and said something in Norwegian, but the only word Paula could make out was 'Lund'. A moment later, there was a loud cracking sound further along the corridor, and one of the doors shattered as a figure burst through.

  Shouting something, Dybendal turned and fired at Jonah Lund, but most of the shots missed, with only one hitting him, in the shoulder. Lund fell back for a moment, but after steadying himself he began to step toward them, as Dybendal tried desperately to reload.

  “Wait!” Paula shouted, but it was too late.

  Grabbing Dybendal by the throat, Lund pulled him forward and then slammed him face-first into wall, with enough force to crush the man's nose and knock him out cold. Dropping him to the floor, Lund put a foot on his face and then pushed down, breaking his skull and sending blood spraying across the wall.

  “Please,” Paula whispered, staring up at Lund as the naked figure towered over her, “you have to stop.”

  Letting out a faint moan, Lund kicked what remained of Dybendal's head before reaching down and grabbing Paula by the collar, hauling her up. A moment later, however, he turned as Steiner limped out of one of the other rooms and began to hurry toward the door at the far end of the corridor. Dropping Paula instantly, Lund turned and hurried after the old man, catching him quickly and pulling him back.

  “Don't hurt him!” Paula shouted, getting to her feet and rushing after them both. “You -”

  As soon as she got closer, Lund turned and pushed her back, knocking her back down before pulling Steiner through the doorway. Feeling a sharp pain in her arm as she landed awkwardly, Paula struggled up and followed them through, only to stop as she saw that they were back in the main laboratory, with Lund holding the doctor's throat.

  “Stop!” she called out to him. “You're going to kill him!”

  Reaching up and trying to get free of Lund's grip, Steiner let out a faint gasp.

  “We'll go to the police,” Paula continued, stepping closer. “We'll tell them everything!” She waited for Lund to reply, but after a moment she realized he might not even understand a word she was saying.

  “Let him,” Steiner gasped suddenly.

  “Let him what?” Paula asked, as her heart pounded in her chest.

  “He's a murderer,” Steiner continued. “He's a monster. This is what he -”

  Before he could finish, Lund began to squeeze the old man's neck even tighter, before turning and slamming Steiner's head against the edge of a bench, crushing the side of his skull and leaving a patch of blood on the bench as he dropped the lifeless body to the floor.

  Staring in shock, Paula watched from behind as Lund took a staggered step forward. Slowly, he turned back to face her, and for a moment the fury seemed to be filling his eyes, as if he was preparing to attack her.

  “Don't hurt me,” she whispered, before turning to look across the laboratory. “Sebastian!” she shouted, pushing past Lund and desperately trying to find where the others had put her friend. “Sebastian, where are you?” Finding nothing but a patch of blood where Sebastian had fallen, she looked back over at Lund.

  “Please -” she began.

  Interrupting her, he said something in Norwegian. When she didn't reply, he said it again, sounding angrier this time.

  “I don't know what you're saying,” she told him. “I'm sorry, I don't understand.”

  “I don't remember...” Lund whispered in English, before letting out a faint gasp. He took a step toward her but stopped again. “It always comes back.”

  “What does?” she asked, terrified to say anything that might provoke him.

  “They cut it out,” he continued, speaking with a slurred voice that made even his English difficult for her to understand. “Always, it comes back. It grows again.”

  “I don't know what you mean.”

  “There's something... Something I meant to do, the first time I got out of here, and then the second time too...” He took another step forward, but he seemed lost in thought. After muttering something in Norwegian, he frowned. “They cut out so much,” he added, reaching up and touching his ravaged head. “It was important, but now I don't... I can't r
emember. It was the most important thing in the world, it was the only thing that mattered to me, but...”

  She waited for him to continue.

  “Trine,” he said finally.

  “Trine?” She waited again. “What does that mean? Is it a name?”

  “The barn,” he added, his voice reduced to little more than a whisper. “That's what I was supposed to do. I have to kill it.”

  “Kill what?”

  “The thing in the barn.” Turning, he limped across the laboratory, as if he was searching for something. He pushed one of the other doors open and headed into the other room, before emerging with several large metal cans. “This will do the job,” he added, placing one of the cans on a workbench and opening the lid before tipping it over, sending a pale liquid flooding across the bench and down onto the floor. Lifting the can up, he examined its label for a moment. “Warning,” he said after a moment, with a faint smile. “Flammable.”

  “Wait,” Paula replied, stepping toward him, “you need to keep this place standing, as evidence.”

  Ignoring her, Lund made his way to one of the desks and began pulling open the drawers, before finally finding a lighter.

  “We'll go to the police,” Paula continued, stepping toward him. “We'll tell them everything!”

  Lund opened the lighter and let a flame start to burn, before leaning down. “I have to do this while I still remember,” he added, before setting light to the pool of liquid, which immediately burst into flames, sending Paula staggering back as she felt a blast of heat on her face.

  Turning, she looked around for any sign of a figure on the floor. “Sebastian!” she shouted, hurrying around the nearest workbench. “Where the hell are you?”

  Looking back, she saw that the flames were spreading, but there was already no sign of Jonah Lund. Racing around to the other side of the room, she began to search frantically for Sebastian, but as the flames grew she found that more and more of her routes were being cut off.

  “Sebastian!” she shouted at the top of her voice. “Say something!”

  As the heat from the fire began to build, she made her way to the other side of the laboratory and checked in all the rooms, but there was no sign of him anywhere. Heading over to look along the corridor, she pulled up short as soon as she saw Lund's victims, their bodies crumpled and smashed nearby, with a large pool of blood having collected beneath Doctor Steiner's head.