After the Cabin Read online

  A moment later I hear footsteps again, just briefly, but I dig deep and force myself to keep facing forward. I quicken my pace a little, though, to the point that I'm a little breathless by the time I get to the next turning and head along dark, desolate Charles Road. This is the quickest way home, even if it means walking through parts of town that have a certain reputation. And there has to be a camera soon, there just has to be. This country is stuffed with CCTV cameras, I can't be in a black-spot for long.

  When I'm halfway along the street, I hear footsteps again, shuffling behind me. I keep walking, but the footsteps continue. I want to turn and look, to prove to myself that there's no-one there, but at the same time I also know I can't afford to stoke my fears. I just have to -

  Suddenly something bumps against my back, nudging my left shoulder.

  I stumble slightly, but I manage to keep going. There's nothing behind me, I know that for a fact, so I force myself to look straight ahead as I get closer to the end of the street. I don't know how I'm going to get all the way home in this state, and there are tears in my eyes as I get to the corner and turn left, heading along Grange Road and quickening my pace further until I'm almost running. Turning to hurry along the entrance to Hayward's Close, I make my way down into the underpass and then finally – almost out of breath – I stop and lean back against the wall. I look back the way I came, and there's no sign of anyone, but I have to wait for a few minutes in the darkness and catch my breath.

  “No-one's following you,” I whisper, although my voice is trembling with fear. “There's no-one, it's all in your head. You can beat this.”

  I look around to see if there's any sign of a CCTV camera down here, but so far I can't see one. I know it shouldn't matter, but somehow I'd feel better if I knew I was being recorded.

  “Grow up,” I tell myself out loud. “You're not going to let this crush you. You are not going to crumple up into a little heap.”

  Turning, I start making my way along the dark underpass. I can already see the steps at the far end, leading up to Claremont Road, and slowly my heart-rate seems to be returning to normal. From Claremont Road it's not far to the roundabout, and there have to be cameras there. I could have completely lost my mind a moment ago, but for the first time I managed to hold myself together and I actually feel a little stronger. Not strong, not by a long shot, but definitely stronger, and still -

  Suddenly I stop as I see someone standing on the steps that lead up from the underpass, about twenty meters ahead. Whoever the person is, he or she is standing so high up near the top of the steps that from here I can only see a pair of feet and lower legs, bathed in moonlight that spills down from the street above. I take a deep breath, telling myself that there's no reason to be scared, but when I take a few more steps forward I realize that the legs are bare. I slow my pace but I manage to keep going for a few more steps. I stop again when the figure's bare waist comes into view. It's a naked woman, standing completely still in the moonlight. The upper half of her body is obscured by the roof of the underpass, so I take a cautious step forward until I'm able to see her chest, with her large, bare breasts almost glowing in the moon's ethereal blue light.

  I should turn around.

  I should find another way home, I should -

  Suddenly she takes a step down toward me, her breasts jiggling slightly as she moves. I try to see her face, but there's no face to see and for a moment I can't work out what's wrong until, finally, I realize that...

  She has no head.

  She has a neck, but there's a ragged line cut across the stump, and nothing where her head should be.

  In the moonlight, I can just about see something glistening at the very top of the stump, with hints of blood trails running down toward her chest.

  This isn't real.

  It can't be.

  Instantly, I know that this is some nightmarish vision thrown up by my subconscious mind, even if -

  Suddenly she takes another step down, coming a little closer. Again her body jiggles slightly, and the moonlight is really catching her bloodied stump now, picking out the chunks of glistening meat and bone that are poking out through the top.

  But it's not real.

  It can't be real.

  She takes another step closer, and this time I can hear the faint slap of her bare feet against the concrete. A moment later she takes yet another step, then another until she's at the bottom.

  Resisting the urge to run, I stare at the naked headless woman and try to make her disappear. If she's just a figment of my imagination, it should still be within my power to force her out of sight, but no matter how hard I concentrate I'm not able to make her go away. There are tears in my eyes as I stare at her, but a moment later she takes another faltering step toward me, then another, and with each I can hear her feet brushing the ground.

  “You're not real,” I whisper, feeling a knot of tension twisting in my chest, tightening every sinew in my body.

  She takes another step closer.

  Closing my eyes, I try to focus on staying strong. I quickly hear another shuffling step coming closer, but I tell myself over and over that there's no way this is happening, that there just can't be some naked, headless woman down here in the underpass with me. It's just part of my paranoia, it's another image cooked up by my fevered imagination, and I squeeze my eyes tighter shut as I hear more of her footsteps coming toward me.

  “You're not real,” I say out loud, trying to keep the fear out of my trembling voice. “You're not real! You are not real, you can't be! You're not!”

  I wait.

  Silence.

  I won't let this madness in. I won't acknowledge it at all.

  Is she gone? Is she right in front of me? I want to open my eyes and look, but I'm too scared. I know she's not real, that she's just something I dredged up from the darkest depths of my thoughts, but I still can't bear the thought of seeing her again. I wait a moment longer, until I realize that I must have had my eyes closed for at least a minute now, maybe even two. I have to be brave, I have to -

  Suddenly I open my eyes.

  The headless woman is right in front of me, just inches away, and now I can see the top of her spine poking out through the meaty heart of her stump. A single bead of blood is starting to dribble over the stump's side, running down the flesh of her neck toward her breastbone and -

  She steps closer.

  Filled with panic, I turn and run. Almost tripping over my own feet, I manage to get to the steps and scramble up, stumbling slightly and taking the last few on all fours before slamming into the railing at the top and then turning to look back down.

  The headless woman is running up the steps after me.

  “Help!” I scream, turning and racing past the parked cars nearby and then hurrying along Fitzroy Road. Again I trip, and this time I slam down onto my knees, feeling a flash of pain as the rough ground scrapes into my flesh. Struggling to get up, I look down and see ragged red patches on both knees, but a moment later I hear frantic footsteps over my shoulder and I turn just in time to see the headless woman still racing toward me, reaching out and lunging to grab my arm.

  I twist away before she can get me, and I quickly start running along West Street. I want to cry out for help again, but I'm already desperately short of breath so instead I focus on just running as fast as I can, quickly reaching the end of the street and then turning along the next road before stumbling and dropping down behind one of the parked cars. As I try to get some more air into my lungs, I peer around the side of the car and look back the way I came, but there's no sign of the headless woman now.

  “Not real,” I stammer, trying to force that knowledge into my head. “She's not real. None of this is real.”

  I look around at the dark houses all around me, but there's still no sign of a camera. Reaching into my pocket, I try to pull out my phone, only to freeze as soon as I hear footsteps nearby. I drop down and look under the car, and sure enough I see a pair of bare feet stum
bling along the moonlit street.

  “She's not here,” I tell myself, keeping my voice low so that I can't possibly be overheard. “She doesn't exist.”

  Realizing that I'm in danger of being seen, I crawl around the other side of the car and drop down again. The bare feet are still shuffling past, but after a moment they stop, almost as if the woman has sensed that I'm nearby.

  “You're not real,” I whisper. “You're not here, you -”

  Suddenly she steps between this car and the next, as if she's about to come around and look for me. Without giving her any more time, I stumble to my feet and race back along the street, ignoring the pain in my knees as I run around the next corner and then the next. Finally I spot a lit building up ahead and I realize that I've found my way back to the train station, so I run straight out into the empty street and hurry across the car park. There are cameras here, there have to be. When I get to the waiting room door, I try to pull it open, only to find that it's locked, and then I turn to see the headless woman running toward me.

  I slip around the side of the building and onto the platform, and then I race along to the far end and through the open gate. Feeling something brushing against my shoulder, I look back and see that the headless woman has almost caught me again, so I run back out across the parking lot, just in time to see a police car turning onto the roundabout.

  “Help!” I scream, racing toward them. “Help me!”

  The car stops and I slam into the side before dropping down. I turn and see the headless woman standing just a few meters away, but a moment later a police officer climbs out of the car and kneels next to me.

  “Are you okay?” he asks, clearly shocked. “Tell me what's wrong!”

  “It's her!” I shout, with tears running down my face as I break into a series of sobs. “Get her away from me! Make her leave me alone!”

  Turning, I see that the headless woman is standing on the other side of the roundabout.

  Eleven

  “No!” I scream, turning and elbowing the nurse in his face as I try to get free. I twist around, but the other two nurses are holding me too firmly as they lead me along the bare, over-lit hospital ward. “Let go of me! I'm not supposed to be here!”

  “It's okay, Anna,” a voice says as the nurses stop me next to a door. “Everything's going to be fine.”

  “No!” I shout. “You're all -”

  Suddenly I let out a gasp as I feel a thick needle sliding into my neck, and then some kind of burning liquid starts filling my body. I try to cry out again, but already I'm starting to feel numb, and I slump down as the nurses try to hold me up.

  And then everything goes black.

  ***

  “You're here under a twenty-four-hour hold, Anna,” Doctor Lewis explains as he sits on a chair next to my bed. “Do you understand what that means?”

  “It means I can get out of here when twenty-four hours are up,” I reply.

  “It means that after the first twenty-four hours are over, we have to make a decision about what to do next.” He stares at me for a moment. “What I would very much like to happen, Anna, is for you to agree to stay here voluntarily once the initial hold ends. That way, we can run some more tests and decide what's best for you.”

  “And if I refuse to stay voluntarily?”

  “We can certainly try to extend the hold on you.”

  “But you might not succeed.”

  “Given the circumstances in which you were picked up by the police last night,” he continues, “I would really like you to consider a short stay. You were clearly a danger to yourself -”

  “No,” I say firmly, “I wasn't.”

  “You were barefoot.”

  “My shoes fell off.”

  “Your knees were torn to shreds.”

  “I tripped.”

  “You ran into the side of a police patrol vehicle before it had stopped properly, and when the officers attempted to assist you, you tried to punch one of them and then you ran away. They had to chase after you and forcibly restrain you.”

  “That's because she was chasing me,” I reply.

  “The...” He glances at his notes again. “The headless, naked woman who had been chasing you through town?”

  “I saw her,” I stammer, even though I know there's no way he's going to believe me. “She was there. At first I thought she was another hallucination, but she was really there. I felt her trying to grab me. Someone needs to check the cameras!”

  “And did you recognize her?”

  “She didn't have a head!” I hiss. “How was I supposed to recognize her? From her breasts? Check the cameras!”

  “Was she young? Old? Middle-aged?”

  “I don't know.”

  “So you didn't see her in detail?”

  “She was...” I try to think back. “About my age,” I say finally. “I think so, anyway.”

  “And did she say anything to you?”

  At this, I can't help sighing again. “She didn't have a head!” I remind him. “Are you paying attention to anything I've been telling you?”

  “You have my absolute and undivided attention, Anna,” he replies. “Let me get one thing clear, however. Now that you've calmed down a little, are you honestly saying that a naked woman, a naked headless woman in fact, chased you through the town center last night?”

  I want to say no, but I can't. “I saw her,” I tell him. “What time is it? I'm supposed to be at work by half seven.”

  “You shouldn't have taken a job so soon.”

  “I can't let them down!” Getting to my feet, I head to the door and try to pull it open, but of course it's locked.

  “Where do you work?” he asks calmly, as if there's no urgency at all. “I'll get a message to them.”

  “No,” I reply, still trying to get the door open. “I don't want them to know.”

  “Anna, you're not going to be going to work any time soon.”

  “Of course I am,” I mutter, “I have to, I promised. They're already having to deal with Karen not being there and...” I pause for a moment, before turning to him. “Have they found Karen yet?”

  He shakes his head.

  “Have they found her boyfriend?”

  “Not that I'm aware of.”

  “They have to find him,” I stammer, making my way back over to Doctor Lewis. “If they can get hold of him and show that he's not the same Daniel from the cabin, I'll know that all these worries were over nothing. I was just...” I take a deep breath, trying to quell the sense of panic in my chest. “I was doing okay,” I continue, “until Karen disappeared. It wasn't easy, but I was getting on with my life, and then she vanished and there was this talk of some guy named Daniel, and it just got to be too much again.”

  “Anna...”

  “I started thinking about it all,” I continue, sitting on the edge of the bed, “and that's when I lost it. I mean, I really, really lost it. I hallucinated a few times before, but -” I turn to Doctor Lewis, but to my shock I see Jennifer standing right behind him.

  “Anna?” Doctor Lewis says after a moment. “You look troubled.”

  “I can see her right now,” I whimper, with tears in my eyes.

  “Who can you see, Anna?”

  “Jennifer,” I whisper, but the name sticks in my throat and I have to say it again so he can hear. “Jennifer.”

  “You can see Jennifer? One of the girls from the cabin?”

  I nod, while keeping my eyes fixed firmly on Jennifer's face.

  “In this room right now?”

  I open my mouth to reply, but a smile is slowly spreading across Jennifer's lips.

  “Anna -”

  “Yes!” I shout, gripping the metal railing on the side of the bed. “She's right behind you! I know she's not there, but I can see her!”

  “Okay.” Doctor Lewis makes some more notes. “Anna, I'm going to speak to one of my colleagues about introducing some new medication.”

  “I don't want medication!” I hiss.r />
  “What if it makes the hallucinations go away?”

  “Fine,” I stammer, as I feel my body starting to shake with fear, “just make them stop!”

  “Hold tight,” he replies, getting to his feet and heading over to the door. He flashes a key-card at the scanner, and the door unlocks. “Just wait here,” he adds as he steps outside. “You're going to be okay, Anna. Everything is under control.”

  With that, he slams the door shut, leaving me alone in here with Jennifer.

  “Hey there,” she says after a moment. “How are you doing, Anna? Are you finally ready to admit what you did after the cabin burned down?”

  ***

  “Anna, your mother's here. Do you want to see your mother?”

  The voice is vague, shapeless, as if it's drifting past rather than being directed straight at me. I try to turn and look at whoever's speaking to me, but ever since they gave me these new drugs I've been barely able to stay awake, and my head feels so heavy.

  “It's okay if you don't want to,” the voice continues. “It's totally up to you.”

  I try to say that it's okay, but I can't manage to make my mouth move.

  “Maybe another day, yeah?” the voice says, and I feel someone patting my shoulder. “You go back to sleep. And don't worry, you're bound to feel very drowsy after the medication you were given earlier. It'll start wearing off after a few hours, and then we'll see how you're doing. Okay?”

  “Okay,” I try to reply, but I'm not sure if the word ever really leaves my mind. Letting my head droop down, I feel myself slipping away into sleep.

  ***

  “The police aren't really saying much about Karen,” Matt explains as we sit in my mother's kitchen the following day. “They came back to the hotel and talked to a few of us again, but their questions were pretty vague, so I don't think they've really got much to go on.”