At the Edge of the Forest Page 26

  “Someone's coming,” she whispers.

  “Where?”

  “Outside, but coming fast.” There's an even greater sense of anticipation in her voice now, almost as if she can barely even speak in full sentence. “Go to the registers.”

  “But -”

  “Go to the registers!”

  I glance back at Joe's bloodied corpse for a moment, but all I feel is a kind of blank acceptance that this is what I have to do. Turning, I make my way calmly along the aisle until I reach the area around the registers, but there's no-one to be seen. A moment later, however, I spot the headlights of a car racing across the parking lot, followed by the sound of tires screeching as the car comes to a halt right outside the door, almost crashing straight into the glass.

  “Is it the police?” I stammer, with the rifle still in my hands.

  “Of course not,” Shannon replies. “You don't see flashing lights, do you? It's someone better.”

  “Then who -”

  I watch as two figures hurry out of the car. The store's automatic doors slide open and a man rushes through. I immediately recognize him as the weird guy from the other day, but before I can react I see the woman next to him.

  “Shannon?” I whisper, stunned as I realize that she looks different from how she looked earlier in the forest.

  “Rita!” she shouts, hurrying toward me. “Whatever you do -”

  Before I even know what's happening, I raise the rifle and aim at her. She stops, staring at me with a horrified expression, but then slowly I feel something tugging at either side of my face until I realize that I'm starting to smile. Why am I doing that?

  “Rita,” she says cautiously, “whatever you're hearing in your head, you have to ignore it.”

  “It's you,” I whisper. “It's you I'm hearing.”

  “It's not me,” she says firmly. “You have to realize that!”

  “She has a message for you,” I reply, my voice trembling as the words leave my mouth. It's as if someone else is speaking through me.

  “Rita,” Shannon continues, holding her hands up as she takes a step closer, “you have to listen to me. Whatever it's telling you, whatever it's promising you -”

  “She told you that no-one ever resists her,” I reply, with the gun aimed at my sister's face. “She was right, and now she wants to prove it to you.”

  “Put it down,” she says firmly. “Rita, you're stronger than this.”

  “Why did you send me here?” I ask.

  “Send you here?” She pauses. “Rita, I didn't send you here.”

  “In the forest,” I continue, with my finger still resting on the trigger. I can feel tears in my eyes, but once again something seems to be holding them back. “You told me to come here, you told me to take the gun, you're the one who -”

  “No,” she replies, interrupting me. “Rita, that wasn't me, that was something that tried to trick you. It can take other forms, it can look like other people.”

  “She'll learn,” the voice whispers in my head. “She tried to run from me once, but now she'll learn that I always get what I want, even if I have to be patient.”

  “Rita,” Shannon continues, taking another step closer with her hands still raised, “please -”

  “Stop!” I shout, still aiming at her. “Shannon please, if it's really you, I'm not sure I can control what I'm doing.”

  “You can,” she replies, taking yet another step. “Rita, I promise, I know you, you're stronger than this.”

  “Please run,” I whimper, trying but failing to lower the gun. Tears are welling in my eyes now but, no matter how hard I try, I can't lower the gun. “Shannon, I think it's trying to make me shoot you.”

  “You won't do that,” she says firmly.

  “I can't stop it!” I shout, as I feel the first tear start to trickle down my face.

  “You can! I believe in you!”

  “I can't!” I try to move my finger away from the trigger, but every muscle in my body is tense and I can barely even breathe. “Please don't make me do this,” I whisper, “please, I'll give you anything you want, but don't make me hurt her.”

  Shannon stares at me for a moment, before taking another step closer. She trusts me.

  “Idiot,” the voice whispers in the back of my mind. “It's not her I want you to shoot.”

  I pause. “Then who -”

  Suddenly I turn the gun around, pressing the tip against my chest. Before I can even try to stop myself, I pull the trigger. As Shannon screams, I feel the bullet blasting into my chest and I'm thrown back through the air in a shower of blood.

  II

  “Call an ambulance!” Shannon shouts as she drops to her knees next to me. “For God's sake, get help!”

  Staring up at her, I try to speak but my whole body is suddenly trembling with violent force. It's as if, whatever was holding my emotions and reactions down a moment ago, I've now been set free again. Filled with a powerful sense of shock, I turn and look toward the aisles and I'm just about able to make out a patch of blood on the ground.

  Joe.

  I shot Joe.

  I killed him, and that woman too.

  With tears flowing down my cheeks, I try to turn and crawl toward him, but I can barely move at all. Shannon reaches down and puts her arms around me, but when I look up at her again I can see the sense of shock in her tear-filled eyes. Something's wrong, and every time I try to pull closer to her I find that I can only feel a few parts of my body.

  “Call someone!” she shouts, turning to the guy who's standing nearby.

  “But -”

  “Call someone!” she screams.

  I hear his footsteps hurrying away as Shannon looks back down at me.

  “Is...” I try to whisper. “I...”

  “You're going to be fine,” she stammers, but I can tell she's lying. She glances down at my chest, and I swear to God I can actually see more tears flooding into her eyes.

  “It doesn't hurt,” I whisper. “Why doesn't it hurt?”

  “It's okay,” she says firmly, forcing a smile through her tears as she reaches a hand to my face and tucks some loose strands of hair behind my ears. “I swear to you, Rita, on my life, I will make sure you get through this.”

  “It was controlling me,” I stammer, as I realize I can taste blood in the back of my throat. I'm starting to feel really weak too, as if all the strength is draining from my body. “It was telling me to do these awful things. It looked like you, it sounded like you...”

  “I know,” she replies, leaning down and kissing my forehead. “I'm so sorry. I should never have left you alone.”

  “I looked for you,” I whisper. “I thought I found you in the forest.”

  “That wasn't me,” she continues. “That was the thing that lives out there. It pretended to be me, because it knew that was the one thing you wanted more than anything else in the world. It manipulated you, that's what it does, it uses people but... I don't get why it would want to hurt you, not unless...” She pauses for a moment, as a moment of stunned realization crosses her face. “Me,” she adds finally.

  “What about you?” I ask.

  “This was all about me,” she adds, her voice filled with a sense of trembling anger. “It never gave up on getting me to be its servant. Even after I ran two years ago, it couldn't accept the fact that someone resisted.”

  “Tell her,” the voice whispers in my mind. “Tell her to come to me.”

  “It's still in my head,” I sob.

  “Tell it to get out,” she sneers. “Tell it to get the fuck out!”

  “It's waiting for you,” I whisper. “It's out in the forest, waiting for you. It says it'll give you anything you want, but it says you can't deny it. It says this is your fault for trying and it'll only...” I let out a sudden gasp as I feel a breeze blowing through my thoughts. “It's gone,” I gasp, as a sudden twinge of pain flashes through my chest. “I think it's out there waiting. Don't go, Shannon. Don't let it...”

&
nbsp; My voice trails off as I realize that I'm starting to feel cold.

  “We have to get you out of here,” she replies, looking down at my wounds once again. “I just... I don't know whether it's safe to move you.”

  “How bad is it?” I ask.

  “It's...” She pauses, but I can see the answer in her eyes. “It's not so bad,” she continues finally, once again trying to smile. “It's kinda bad, but you'll be okay. I promise, Rita, I won't let anything happen to you. If I...” She pauses again. “I'll take you to the forest! Nothing can die in there, you'll be fine if I just get you into the forest!”

  “No,” I whisper.

  “It's going to be fine, you -”

  “No!” I say again, gasping with pain this time. “Please Shannon, I don't want that.”

  “It'll only be temporary,” she continues, clearly not willing to give up hope. “Once you're there, we can come up with another plan and -”

  “I don't want to be a monster,” I tell her. “Please, you have to understand that, I...” Feeling short of breath, I struggle to continue. “I don't want to become like that thing that lives out there, I'd rather... I'd end up the same way, I'd be just as bad eventually. Shannon, please, you can't do that to me. Don't turn me into something like that.”

  I wait for a reply, but after a moment I realize she's sobbing.

  “Do you promise?” I whisper.

  “I called them!” the guy shouts, hurrying back over to us. Stopping and staring down at me, I can see the horror in his eyes. “An ambulance is on the way, but...”

  It takes every ounce of strength left in my body, but I finally manage to look down at my chest. For a moment I can't work out what I'm seeing, but suddenly I realize that an entire chunk of my ribs has been blown away, leaving a thick bloody mess with what I think might be a lung hanging out to one side, just next to the spot where my left arm has been blown clear off my shoulder. Something's moving in my chest, and with a slow sense of shock I see that my heart is visible, beating furiously behind my damaged ribs.

  “What...” I stammer, as I feel more tears in my eyes. “I can't survive this...”

  “Yes you can!” Shannon says firmly, kissing the top of my head. “You can, I swear to God, you'll be fine. I'm your sister and I love you, and I won't ever let anything happen to you!”

  “I -”

  “Do you understand?”

  “Shannon...”

  “Do you understand?” she shouts, holding me tighter. “Just tell me you understand!”

  “You have to promise not to take me into the forest,” I reply. “Don't do that to me.”

  “I won't, but...” Her voice trails off for a moment. “There has to be some other way.”

  I open my mouth to reply, but I can barely get any words out. Instead, using what little strength I have left, I reach out and put my bloodied, trembling right hand on the side of her face. It feels so good to feel her skin again, to know that she's near. Deep down, I think I knew back in the forest that something was wrong, that the real Shannon would never act so strangely. Now I really do have my sister back, though, even if it's only for a little while.

  “I love you,” I whisper.

  “You'll be okay,” she sobs. “You have to be. I came back for you, Rita. I couldn't come before, but I'm here now. You have to be okay.”

  “Maybe we should take her out to the parking lot,” the guy suggests.

  “Leave us alone,” Shannon tells him.

  “But -”

  “Just go.”

  Still being hugged tight tight, I hear the guy's footsteps heading away. There was a sudden lack of urgency in Shannon's voice just now, and I'm scared. It was almost as if, in the blink of an eye, she stopped believing that I'll survive.

  “You have to know that this wasn't your fault,” she whispers. “Please, Rita, you have to understand that it was that thing in the forest. And maybe me, too. I should have found a way to take you somewhere else, I shouldn't have fucked everything up.”

  “Not your fault,” I whisper, barely able to get any words out. “Dad...”

  My voice trails off, and I turn my head slightly until I'm looking up at the bright lights above us.

  “Don't worry about Dad right now,” Shannon says, pulling me closer until she's cradling me in her arms.

  “I always wondered what Dad saw as he died,” I continue, watching the lights as they start to shift and bleed into one another, almost as if they're trying form some kind of image. “Like, obsessively, I always tried to work out what gave him that looks in his eyes when... What he was looking at. He could see something right at the end, and he said...”

  Above me, the lights are starting to coalesce now, taking shape and bringing color from the dazzling whiteness.

  “You have to be okay,” Shannon whimpers, holding me tighter than ever. “You can't go just as I come back.”

  “It doesn't hurt,” I gasp, although my voice is so low, I'm not even sure she can hear me. “I can see...”

  I stare for a moment as something green appears above us, like a green person or...

  No, it's a dress.

  It's someone wearing a green dress. Lights are dancing on the surface of water behind her, and after a few seconds I realize that it's a woman standing next to a lake on a sunny day. There are voices nearby, children laughing, and I feel like I know them but...

  At the same time, I know the woman too.

  She's so beautiful, but there's a sense of real sadness in her eyes.

  And then I realize who she is.

  “Shannon,” I whisper.

  “I'm here,” she says, still cradling me.

  “Green dress,” I continue, watching the image as it flickers above us. “I can see you, in a green dress with the lake... I can really...”

  And then suddenly it hits me. I know why Dad told me to run with his final words all those years ago. Somehow he was seeing me in the store, with that woman hurrying toward me. It was his voice on the radio.

  Shannon pulls me tighter and tighter, and I can feel her tears falling against my neck. I try to speak to her, to tell her that everything's okay, but I have no energy left and I don't even know if I'm still breathing. With the very last effort I can muster, I turn my head slightly, burying my face against her shoulder, and then I wait. I have no idea if time still exists, but I feel certain that the end is coming at any moment, and Shannon's sobs seem to be getting further and further away. There's a faint bumping sensation nearby, which I think might be Shannon pulling me even closer, but finally even that fades away and I lose all sense of my body even existing. Instead a vast, bright light fills my mind.

  I thought death would be a dark void, but I was wrong. Turns out it's bright white.

  Part Fourteen

  SHANNON

  I

  I don't know how long I spend just holding her on the floor, but time seems suspended all around us until, finally, I realize I can hear the sound of sirens in the distance. I don't want this moment to end, I just want to hold her forever, but she already feels colder, and the sirens are getting closer, and eventually I open my eyes.

  She's still in my arms, but she feels so completely still.

  She's gone.

  “There's an ambulance coming,” Brian says suddenly, “I... I think cops too.”

  I know I should let go of her body, but I can't bring myself to do that, not yet. I'm staring down at the floor, where patches of blood are still glistening under the store's bright lights, but finally I turn my head just a little and I stare down at Rita's pale, lifeless face. Her eyes are closed, and it looks almost as if she's sleeping, but I can't fool myself. I reach down and take hold of a loose strand of hair, tucking it carefully behind her ear.

  Those sirens are getting closer. Why can't they just stay away and let me sit with her forever?

  “Is she...” Brian's voice trails off before he can finish the sentence. I guess he already knows the answer.

  “My sister,” I
whisper, feeling a shudder running up my spine, like little ghost fingers tapping on the flesh. “She killed my sister.”

  The sirens are still coming. They'll be here soon.

  “Fuck off!” I shout, turning toward the door. “Leave her alone! Stop -” Letting out an exasperated sob, I lean down and kiss the top of Rita's head again just as Scottie makes his way through the store's doors. Damn it, those sirens are even closer now.

  I wait, hoping against hope that somehow there might be a chance...

  “I'm sorry,” I whisper. “I'm so sorry...”

  I pause for a moment, holding her lifeless body in my arms, before finally turning to Scottie. “Can you sit with her?” I ask.

  He frowns. “I... What?”

  “I don't want her to be alone when they arrive,” I continue. “I need you to sit with her. Don't ask questions, just do it!”

  “But...” He pauses. “Okay, but... Where will you be?”

  I take a deep breath, not wanting to let go of Rita, before realizing that I don't have time to stay here. Slowly, with fresh tears rolling down my cheeks, I lower her body to the ground as gently as I can manage and then I slip my arms from under her. I run the back of my hand against her face for a moment, but her cheek is already cold. Even though I know this is my last chance to be with her her, I get to my feet and step back, staring at her ravaged form.

  “Sit with her,” I say finally, turning to Scottie again. “Promise me you'll sit with her. It's not right for her to be alone.”

  “Where are you going?” he asks cautiously.

  I stare at him for a moment, before stepping past Rita and reaching down to pick up the gun. After checking that it's loaded, I turn and make my way toward the door.

  “Where are you going?” Brian asks, hurrying after me. The automatic doors slide open and we head out into the parking lot, and flashing sirens can be seen racing this way. “Hey,” Brian continues, grabbing my arm, “what the hell do you think you're going to do with that thing?”

  “She killed my sister,” I reply, pulling free from his grip as I continue to march toward the far end of the lot, where the forest is waiting. “What do you think I'm going to do?”