From The Darkness E-Book

Lee Cushing

• Herausgeber: M-Y Books
• Kategorie: Abenteuer, Thriller, Horror
• Serie: horror
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Seitenzahl: 191

Beschreibung

INITIATION Adrian Kincaid undergoes a life or death initiation to join an elite group of warriors BLOOD PREY Melissa Greene's initiation into the ranks of the undead. DEATH BY SUNRISE A serial killer preys on Strigoi GUILTY Maxine Clifford gets the ultimate opportunity for revenge after being convicted of a crime that she did not commit THE PENANGGALAN A mysterious creature terrorises a small village RUNAWAY Cynthia Anderson runs away from her mother's abusive boyfriend and enters a world of darkness and nightmares TERROR GIRLS A teenage girl's indoctrination into a violent street gang.

Leseprobe

FROM THE DARKNESS

By

Lee Cushing

Published by M-Y Books at Smashwords

Copyright 2010 Lee Cushing

ISBN 978-190775900-0

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

CONTENTS

INITIATION

BLOOD-PREY

DEATH BY SUNRISE

GUILTY

THE PENANGGALAN

RUNAWAY

TERROR GIRLS

INITIATION

Smashing down onto the hood of the car, Adrian Kincaid rolled down the other side, narrowly managing to avoid the massive claw slashing through the metal.

Raising the Uzi, he fired it point blank at the orange haired creature ripping its claws from the car, watching the Rakshasa convulse and fall. That was five down, only another four to go. Straightening his bright blue jacket, he stared the torn metal in the car. "Ouch."

Checking the Uzi, he realised that the clip was empty. Casually discarding the weapon, he looked round, trying to pinpoint his remaining targets. "Okay, okay. If I was a little man-eating monster, where would I be?"

Kincaid removed the Bren Ten Automatic Pistol from the hidden holster clipped onto the back of his jeans, swiftly checking that he had a full clip. Glancing along the empty street, he could see the river surrounding the empty village. About to continue the hunt, he heard a scream coming from somewhere behind it. That was all he needed, the people living here were supposed to have been evacuated so he could kill these pesky monsters lurking around. But it looked like someone had made a major screw up and people were still here, he was just glad he wasn't him.

Sprinting rapidly, Kincaid scrambled quickly over the fence into the garden of one of the houses, his imitation alligator boots crashing down onto the grass. Continuing running, he smashed his way through the gate and toward the back garden, almost managing to leap over the small fence. Glimpsing the mass of orange-yellow hair ahead, he raised his pistol and began firing, killing one of the demonic creatures instantly.

Seeing the other three hastily disappear down the nearest manhole cover, Kincaid continued running toward the homeless people that had been attacked, realising that a couple of them were still alive. Smiling, he rapidly stepped through the mass of torn bodies, trying to ease their suffering. "How you doing? Care to get out of here?"

Noticing how terrified they were from the attack, Kincaid continued smiling. "How about we get you nice people a little snack, what do you think?"

The homeless man slowly rose to his feet, his eyes staring suspiciously at their saviour. "Leave us alone."

Grinning, Kincaid shook his head. "Sorry, pal, I can't do that. I have to get you and this lovely lady out of danger, okay?" He remembered the briefing before this mission, certain that there was somewhere in this little village mock up where he could find food and fresh ammo. He could swear they said it would be the old chapel near the gate. "Can we go or do you want to serve yourself up as leftovers?"

Watching them hesitantly begin following him, Kincaid had to keep an eye for any sight of the remaining three Rakshasas, guessing that they might prefer to wait for the darkness to roll on in. Reaching the corner, he glanced back at the man and woman, hoping that he could protect them.

Seeing the doors to the chapel, Kincaid glanced at the empty road, realising that the Rakshasas could attack from any number of dark recesses in the street. It was cool, he figured he could do with a good run. Keep himself trim for Susanna, that sort of thing.

Kincaid worked out his plan in three seconds, any longer and he would be risking losing control of the situation, which would not be a good thing. He glanced back at the man and woman, "We go on the count of three, okay?"

Waiting for them to nod, Kincaid grinned, enjoying the thrill of the danger. "One. Two. Three." Watching them run forward, he covered them from behind, carefully aiming his Bren Ten automatic.

Seeing them reach the doors to the chapel, Kincaid was satisfied as they disappeared inside and hurried forward to join them. Entering behind them, he slammed the door shut and latched it firmly. He knew that it wouldn't keep those monsters outside, but they would make one hell of a racket if they tried getting in.

Walking past the two unfortunate people he had to protect, Kincaid checked his Bren Ten. He only had three rounds left, that wasn't too good. He knew that Rakshasa could move like lightning and with only three shots, he doubted he would manage to kill all three of them. He just hoped that he had remembered the briefing and there were extra weapons here.

Checking the small room leading from the main hall, Kincaid saw the refrigerator and checked it, grinning as he saw the well stocked shelves. Returning to the doorway, he stared at the two people. "Chow time."

Watching them pass him, Kincaid figured they would be safe for the time being, enough time to him to scare up some more guns. "Save me some."

Glancing around the main hall, Kincaid glimpsed another door by the entrance and hurriedly opened it, glimpsing a stone staircase leading upstairs. Rushing up, he emerged into a small hallway with doors on each side. The first room was completely empty, but the other was a gun smuggler's dream.

This was what he expected to find, a multitude of hand held automatic pistols. AK-47 rifles, G3 assault rifles, the works. He figured he could make a blooming fortune with this lot. That was if he wasn't a decent Los Angeles Police Detective. There always had to be a snag, he cursed himself for being such a decent, hardworking guy.

Selecting a Bren Ten automatic pistol, Kincaid felt the weight and really hated it. Ejecting the clip, he replaced it in his own gun. That was a lot better, it felt so natural. Holstering it on the back of his jeans, he grabbed an AK-47, grinning as he figured it would really kick some demon ass. "Cool."

Hurrying back to the small room, Kincaid watched the man and woman hastily tucking into some really good looking nosh. Rushing to the window, he glanced out at the empty street, noticing the sun was slowly disappearing behind the houses. He figured that was it, they would be moving soon.

He glanced at the man and woman, figuring they would really slow him down. He thought about getting them the hell out of here, but that would mean he failed in this test. He knew that if he heads through that exit, he won't get a second chance at hooking up with this Order of Rhesus.

It was a no win situation.

He couldn't come up with a third option. Either he stayed around to knock off those remaining monsters or he gets these people to safety, in which case he fails in the test. He grinned, there was nothing to decide. He had to get them out, it was that simple.

He grinned as he looked at them, "What about we get out of here, okay?"

Hurrying through the door first, Kincaid rapidly approached the exit, carefully reaching for the latch. Almost touching it, he felt the wood shatter and a massive clawed hand smash through the door. Leaping back rapidly, he let loose with the AK-47, watching the wood erupt from the gunfire. Rising to his feet, he glanced back at the man and woman. "Was that cool or what?"

Swiftly pulling open the door, he glanced at the dissolving corpse of the Rakshasa, grinning. "Shall we?"

Running out, Kincaid aimed the AK-47 carefully, watching for any sign of the last two Rakshasas. He really wanted them to make some move, then at least he could kill them before heading for the way out.

Hearing the man and woman emerging behind him, Kincaid caught sight of moving shadows and fired rapidly, hearing the howls of what he thought were the last two. Rushing forward to confirm the kills, he stared at the melting corpses, satisfied that he had passed this test and would be accepted into the Order of Rhesus.

He heard the woman scream, his instincts warning him that it was not that simple. Rushing forward, he glimpsed the man being dragged away by four Rakshasas. He reacted in under three seconds, grabbing the woman's wrist and pulling her back into the chapel. Rapidly slamming the latch into the bolt, he backed away from the door.

He didn't know what was happening, the briefing clearly stated that there would only be nine and that's how many of those things he had killed. He had to admit that they also didn't mention the possibility of innocent bystanders getting caught up in this little test and this was beginning to piss him off.

Glaring at the woman, Kincaid rapidly approached her. "Okay, tell me why you're here?"

Nervously, the woman stared back. "I don't understand."

He halted. He couldn't question the poor woman, she was obviously in shock and to be honest, he couldn't really blame her. After all, she had just seen that poor guy getting dragged away by something from the deepest of deep nightmares. "Why don't you get some rest?"

Walking back to the door, Kincaid hated himself for what he was going to do. He knew that the guy was dead, but he just had to know. He had to make sure that the guy couldn't be saved and that meant going out there. He glanced down at the AK-47, figuring that it was better to go out fighting than holed up in this dump.

Looking back at the woman, Kincaid approached her again, grinning gently. "Bolt the door behind me, okay?"

Not wanting to hang about just in case she tried to talk him out of this and was particular convincing, he rushed to the door and disappeared outside. Waiting until he heard her latching the door, he hoped it was enough to keep her safe.

Night was rapidly falling. That made him grin again, thinking how his chances of surviving this test were rapidly going down into single digits. Following the path that he saw the man being dragged along, he hurried forward.

He wasn't enjoying this anymore. At least when it was just his neck on the line, he could enjoy the danger. He knew that the other cops back in L.A. thought he was nuts, but it was mostly an act and he could live with that. So he liked the excitement that came with hunting down bad guys. That was what made this job worthwhile. Otherwise, he might as well be a bank clerk.

Noticing a trail of blood on the lawn of one of the houses, Kincaid ran up to the front door. From the trail, he figured this was where they took the guy. Something made him halt dead in his tracks. He thought about what he had seen, taking him nearly four seconds to realise that the man wasn't screaming as the Rakshasa took him. He hadn't really thought about it, but now it seemed a little on the odd side. He looked at the darkened windows. He didn't have a clue how many of those things were in there, he could be walking into an entire nest, thinking that it was probably a trap.

He figured that today was as good a day as any to go out in a blaze of glory and he might as well try saving as many people as possible.

Rapidly stepping inside, Kincaid tried peering through the gloom, barely able to see anything in the darkness. He figured that was just perfect, he wouldn't be able to see any of those things if they were standing on each other's toes. Approaching where he thought a door should be, he reached out with his free hand, trying to find the handle.

There was nothing but the cold wall. He was blind and getting a little peckish, he figured he really should have chowed down when he had the chance. Feeling his way along the wall, he suddenly felt a bulb shaped knob within his fingers and cautiously turned it, hearing the door squeaking open.

Peering through the crack in the door, Kincaid saw a large stairway leading down with light coming from an underground passage. He thought it was nice of the Rakshasa to make sure he didn't slip and break his neck on his way to becoming a snack, very considerate of them.

Approaching the opening, he covered the stairs with the AK-47, noticing the flaming torches lining the walls of the passage. He wondered if these things had heard of a thing called electricity. Descending slowly, he stared ahead, focusing on the long narrow passage.

He thought about his briefing again, remembering that they told him that this Rakshasa nest had only been here for a couple of weeks. It didn't quite fit, all this looked like it had been here for ages. He couldn't help getting the irritating feeling that he had been set up.

Continuing to advance, Kincaid turned the corner in the passage, glimpsing a ladder leading further down. Approaching it rapidly, he continued covering the rest of the passage with the AK-47, before scaling down into a dark room.

Glancing around carefully, he saw a narrow light coming from one of the walls and hurried toward it, peering through the opening into a large chamber. There was some kind of ritual being performed and more Rakshasas than he could count, it looked like they were working themselves into a frenzy of one hell of a bloodbath.

Watching a woman emerge on the other side of a large fence separating her from the Rakshasas, Kincaid couldn't believe it. It was Susanna, she was supposed to be back in L.A. working on her cartoon strip. He had to think quick, figuring she had to be some kind of prisoner, but he didn't remember seeing prisoners act like they were running the entire show.

Retreating back up the stairs, Kincaid continued along the passage, eventually coming to a balcony overlooking the main chamber. He grinned, seeing the narrow walkway leading along the wall, high above the heads of those incredibly hungry looking Rakshasas.

Climbing onto the ledge, Kincaid realised that the Rakshasas had seen him when they started howling. If he didn't know better, he would have thought they were cheering him on. Passing over the fence, he scrambled down a large stone statue of some horrible looking thing and hastily aimed the AK-47, nervously watching Susanna approach.

He grinned, trying to stay in control of the situation. "Hi, angel. What's going on?"

She remained silent.

Now that he was closer, he could see the cage half hidden behind a wall, seeing all the prisoners. He figured there were about a dozen of them, probably being kept for lunch time. He hesitated, glimpsing Susanna standing among the captives. He kept exchanging glances between the woman in charge and Susanna, figuring one of them couldn't be his real angel.

Rushing to the door of the cage, Kincaid aimed the AK-47 at the lock. "Get back." Watching the captives hurry to the far side, he fired, blasting the lock apart. Rapidly returning the AK-47 to cover the double of Susanna, he glimpsed the captives emerging, grinning as they walked past him. "How you doing?"

Stepping into the middle of the floor so he had a view of both versions of Susanna, Kincaid heard the Rakshasas continuing to howl, figuring they must have a hard time getting dates. He glanced back at Susanna and Susanna, "Okay, angels. Mind telling me which of you is throwing this party?"

The Susanna which had been in the cage rushed forward, encircling her arm under his. "It's her. She's some kind of demon, it's using me to form a body."

Raising the AK-47 at the other Susanna, Kincaid stared at her. "Care to say something for your defence?"

She walked forward, "What would I say? I love you, honey."

That was what Kincaid needed. He opened fire with the AK-47, watching the fake Susanna jerk as the rounds slammed against her body. Emptying the weapon, he saw that she was still standing. "Oops."

Grasping his arm tighter, Susanna shouted in his ear. "Kill me." There was desperation in her voice that he really didn't like, it made him turn rapidly.

"What?"

Susanna watched the demon advancing toward them, "It's using me to get a body. It's stealing my life. It won't be long until it takes everything and then I die. Killing me will stop it."

Pulling himself free, Kincaid lashed out with his foot, smashing his heel into the demon's face. He realised she hadn't even flinched, figuring that it had been a bad idea when she grabbed him by the throat. He was flung rapidly against the wall, crashing down onto the marble floor. Rising clumsily to his feet, he felt like he had just gone through ten rounds with the Undertaker.

Susanna rushed forward, forcing the barrel of the AK-47 against her chest. "Please do it, I'm going to die. That thing will kill hundreds of innocent people."

Bloody hell, he knew she was right. He didn't have a bloody choice. He smiled gently, "Close your eyes, angel." He felt her body shake as he fired directly into her heart, the blood slowly seeping over his hand.

Hearing the thing screeching, Kincaid looked up, finding it hard to focus with all these tears in his eyes.

It was melting, the flesh turning to liquid and running down its torso until it was gone.

Kincaid stepped forward, hearing the howling of the Rakshasas suddenly fade. Turning, he stared at the empty chamber. He was all alone, even Susanna was gone.

The homeless man stepped from an adjacent passage, "You're in."

Turning rapidly, Kincaid stared at him. "Come again?"

Dalton McCall rapidly discarded the rags he was wearing, "I don't like repeating myself."

The truth beginning to dawn on him, Kincaid glanced around, unable to believe all this was part of his test. "Let me get this straight, partner. None of that was real?"

Walking past him, McCall nodded rapidly. "Yeah."

Grasping his shoulder, Kincaid stopped him from walking away. "That's not cool."

Smashing his foot rapidly into Kincaid's exposed chest, McCall kicked him back. "Don't touch me again." He turned, walking toward Kincaid. "The test was to see if you could overcome your greatest fear, you passed. You sacrificed someone you loved to save lives."

He still wasn't about to trust McCall, not after this stunt. But he decided to revert to his usual jolly nature. "Don't tell my angel about this, I won't hear the end of it." He approached McCall, "That's it, right. I'm one of you guys."

Reaching the passage he used to enter, McCall stopped and glanced back. "You're on probation."

BLOOD-PREY

The hot sun hitting her cheeks, Melissa Greene's horse tore through the recently ploughed field after the hounds. Her horse leaping over a broken fence, she heard the hounds catch their prey and urged her horse forward to see the slaughter.

The swiftness of the kill left her dissatisfied. The fox was ripped apart in seconds, blood and torn flesh discarded over the small stream. Her blue eyes focusing on the slaughter, she watched the hounds being recalled, leaving the mangled pieces of flesh.

She glanced at the other people on horseback and shook her head with disappointment, ignoring the boys hurrying into the gulley with plastic bags to remove the evidence. "It's over."

Riding to the edge, Gail Shaver focused on the boys removing the torn carcass. "Can we go?"

Depressed that the hunt was too quick, Melissa looked across the field at the protesters. Watching them shove the mutilated fox parts into the bags for a couple of seconds, Melissa directed the horse back through the field, churning up the loose soil again. Eventually reaching the muddy yard outside the stables, Melissa climbed down from the horse and walked through a narrow path between the trees onto a concrete car park. She watched the girl leading the horse into the stables until she reached her gold Capri. Opening the trunk, she exchanged her mud covered riding boots for some clean running shoes. Slipping out of her black riding jacket, she locked the trunk and entered the pub. Reaching the polished counter, she heard glanced at the rest of the group, busily complaining about the less than satisfying afternoon.

Gail handed her a glass of bitter and she had a small sip. "It could have lasted longer." Gulping down her lager, Gail managed to hide her boredom of the hunt. This was the only part that she really liked, the booze up afterwards. "Live your life, Mel." She paused, playing with the prospect of just having a day of wicked fun. "I've got an idea. Let's blow off college tomorrow, head up to Leeds tonight and find a couple of studs."

Melissa knew she had to concentrate on her college homework, "I wish, but I've got too much work to get through. It's for Mrs Blaylock; it'll be a hanging offence if it's late."

Contemplating changing her plans, Gail took another gulp of her lager. She figured there was plenty they could do just by staying in together, "A girl's night in, cool."

Emptying her glass, Melissa slid her hand to the back of her neck. "You don't need me to hold your hand, do you? I thought you were a big girl."

Gail finished her lager and placed the glass on the counter, "Great, you stick to your books. I'll stick to having fun."

Melissa said her goodbyes and left the glass as she walked out to the car park. She noticed the dark clouds overhead as she unlocked the door to her Capri and settled behind the wheel.

Having spent an hour trying to come up with something to follow her name written on the top of the writing pad, Melissa yawned and leaned back on her chair, a plate of half eaten Yorkshire pudding next to her papers on the small desk. She stared at the rack of compact discs on the table near her bed, trying to figure out what the hell she was forgetting.

The constant barrage of rain making the windows rattle, she approached a bookcase near the daisy patterned curtains. Searching the rows of books, she remembered returning the book she was looking for to the college library the other day.

When she glanced at her watch, she realised the evening classes would have started by now and hastily grabbed a disc from the rack. Hurrying through her bedroom door, she hoped no one else had checked out the book. Rushing down into the lounge, she grabbed a thick rain coat draped over the back of a chair and wrapped it across her floral patterned sweater.

Checking she had her keys, she opened the door and saw the downpour. She fastened the coat tighter and pulled the fur lined hood over her head, the rain soaking her tight jeans as soon as she stepped out.

Slamming the car door shut, she tried to make out the digital figures of her watch amidst the heavy rain to make sure she still had time. She unlocked the door and slipped inside, her waterlogged jeans drenching her skin as she sat down. Removing her hood, she looked at the rain covered windscreen as she turned on the bright headlights. Taking the compact disc from the thin box, she placed it in the player and turned on the deafening music. Starting the engine, she backed out onto the country lane and began easily breaking the speed limit in her rush to retrieve the much needed book.

Her car raced past the old cemetery. The windscreen obscured by the downpour, she caught a flash of a man appearing from behind a large hedge. She slammed on the brakes.

The car skidding across the wet road, she screamed as she saw his body smash into the windscreen and roll limply off the hood as the car crashed into a tall oak. She sat behind the wheel for a moment, trying to decide whether to just drive away and leave him behind. She looked back, able to see that he was not moving.

The rain drenched her crimson hair as she climbed out of the car, focusing on the body lying in the mud soaked ditch. Her hand covering her mouth with the horror that she had killed him, the thoughts of leaving returned to her mind. She knew that she would not be able to live with herself if she did that and began to approach him.