‘I know. I’m sorry. Put it down to the stress of tonight. Maybe a wee bit of your witch’s brew as well. To me the whole wide world is a bit wacky and off-kilter.’
It was so dark that when Caitlin closed her eyes she vanished. The next moment, however, he felt her arms around him. In the darkness she found his mouth with her own. That’s when it hit him. A burning desire. His blood seared him like molten metal, igniting nerve endings. Her body felt so delicate as he touched her. In his mind’s eye he saw the fragile skeleton beneath her skin. And this time he didn’t beg himself to stop. He was a monster; he came from a coffin not a womb. She was human; a sap. So what? So bloody what? This time it didn’t feel wrong. In the darkness they ripped away their clothes. She feels so beautiful, Paul told himself. I love the touch of her. His fingers mapped her anatomy, while all the time that heat grew inside of him.
Caitlin whispered, ‘You can have me, you know that, don’t you?’ Her word ‘you’ became a delicious tickle as she exhaled against his chest.
Alongside the wonderful sensation he heard a crash of breaking glass, followed by a shout.
Paul groaned. ‘I should really see what that was.’
‘Let someone else deal with it.’ She kissed his bare chest.
‘Something might have happened.’
‘They’re drinking coffin paint; something will happen. That stuff is a curse.’
‘Then I should check that no one’s hurt.’
‘Believe me. They’ll hurt themselves. And they’ll do things to each other you can’t even begin to imagine.’
‘Then, I have to—’
‘Paul, you can’t save them all single handed.’ Her voice became husky. ‘Take a night off.’
In the dark he could feel her fingers on his bare arms. Then the cool, moist touch of her lips. She kissed his bare chest, then his stomach, as she worked her way downwards to what at that moment burned like it was the centre of the sun. At the first touch of her lips there, he let out a heartfelt sigh of pleasure.
In the storeroom Saiban’s corpse lay stretched on the floor. Nobody had bothered to cover it. Nobody cared for him in life. In death he was reviled. Even though he was dead blood still seeped from the line of puncture wounds. In the darkness a brain-dead Saiban jerked his limbs. His lips smacked together as if he muttered secrets. His eyelids would suddenly draw back to reveal eyes that gleamed as brightly as balls of glass. Nobody was there to see Saiban’s after-death convulsions. In the depths of that congealing brain ghosts of thought still flitted through dying neurons: Dominion is the First Man. All those cadavers of men and women wheeled into the transit station in caskets packed with ice. Then after transition from death back to life they left the transit station. They aren’t people they are a vast river that will irrigate the deserts of the world. Saiban was too far gone to differentiate between fact and fable. All he could do was lie there, twitching on the floor, as his dead brain dreamt its last dreams.
Paul lost himself in a world where only he and Caitlin existed. This time there wasn’t even a table for her to lie on. In the darkness they found a wall. He lifted her naked body until her hips were level with his then he gently sandwiched her between the wall and himself. For how long he pushed himself into Caitlin, her soft moans of pleasure sounding in his hear, he didn’t know. This rhythm was the rhythm of the cosmos. At that moment it seemed as if it would last for ever. The night must have been turning to dawn by the time his pace quickened. He could see Caitlin had scrunched her eyes together to concentrate on the sensations inside herself. Her lips had reddened. The black curls of hair tumbled down over her shoulder onto his arms as he held her with her back to the wall. Her legs were around his waist, the heels of her feet digging into the small of his back as he thrust himself into her. They both panted hard. Small cries began to escape her lips. This was joined with his own grunting; an involuntary primal sound.
That’s when that slow motion explosion started deep inside of himself. A prickling sensation ran over his skin. He quickened the pace; Caitlin’s breath erupted in his ear as she gasped. Then her eyelids snapped back. The way her eyes focused on a single point brought a shiver down his spine. She’s seen something that shouldn’t be there.
Paul turned his head. Even though he saw a figure there in the doorway, there was nothing he could do to stop himself. It was too late. Instinct had taken over. He couldn’t break away if he tried. All he could do was continue to pound his own body against Caitlin’s as Dominion stared in at them. There was no expression on the giant’s face. He remained immobile. His eyes retained that impassive stare at the pair of them as Paul’s orgasm ripped through him to vent itself into Caitlin’s body.
Ten minutes later Paul confronted Dominion in the courtyard. He still dragged on the surgical scrubs as the giant gazed out of the latticework of the portcullis. A smudge of light appeared in the eastern sky.
‘You shit!’
Dominion didn’t even register that he heard Paul’s voice. Paul glared at the wide back. Above it the shaved head gleamed as the dawn light caught the blond stubble.
‘Dominion, what made you watch? Don’t you know what privacy is?’
‘We’ve got work to do. But I let you finish what you were doing.’
‘Oh, I suppose you think that’s funny?’ When Dominion didn’t answer Paul surged on in fury. ‘Or did it turn you on? We all know you’re not like us. Your brain doesn’t work the same. Your entire body is a patchwork quilt. You really are a Frankenstein, aren’t you? A big ugly bastard stitched together from leftovers at the morgue.’
‘You might want to eat before we leave.’
‘Leave? I’m not going anywhere with you!’ No response. ‘Did you hear me … charnel house boy?’ This time when Dominion ignored him Paul shoved him in the back. The figure barely moved. ‘Come on, let’s see if I can take your bloody head off It’s probably glued on none-too tightly anyway.’
The shame of being watched as he had sex with Caitlin made him do it. He threw a punch at Dominion’s head. This time the giant moved. As he turned round he grabbed Paul by the throat. Caitlin ran forward.
‘Dominion, please don’t hurt him. He’s angry. You shouldn’t have watched.’
By now God Scarers spilled out into the courtyard to witness the commotion.
Paul managed to throw another punch into Dominion’s mouth. The teeth were as hard as flint. A grunt escaped Paul’s lips as the pain snapped up his arm.
Dominion’s voice boomed out across the yard. ‘I must find out what’s happening to us.’
‘We all want to know,’ West called out. ‘So leave Paul alone. For God’s sake, he saved your hide.’
Dominion shook Paul by the collar as if he were a doll. ‘You might be curious. For me it’s imperative. Look at me! My skin is parting. It’s breaking open. Literally I will fall apart. But learning what happened is more important than my survival. And it’s more important than yours. In the last few weeks something huge has happened to this world. It’s vital we find out what Saiban knows. He’s the only person who could tell us the truth. Saiban has information I have to act upon. He is the key to all this. I feel as if I should know … and I should be doing something.’
West stepped forward. ‘What do you know?’
‘That’s the problem, I can’t recall it.’ Dominion released Paul. ‘And that’s why we’ve got find out the truth from Saiban.’
Paul rubbed the sore flesh where the collar had dug into him. ‘Dominion, Saiban’s dead.’
‘I know.’ Dominion met his gaze. ‘But we can still make Saiban talk.’
28
Regenerator
Dominion’s speech silenced everyone in the courtyard. The dawn breeze sighed around the towers. Elsa shivered as she stood amongst the group. At times the night seemed to have passed as if it had been a dream. The trauma of Saiban’s attack on her, that potent liquor. Now this. Dominion’s speech about the need to discover the truth; that and the need to make Saiba
n – DEAD Saiban – speak.
Everyone there knew what Dominion was suggesting. Beech, who tottered down the steps from the castle wall with a beast of a hangover, voiced what they were thinking. ‘Are you insane?’
‘We must do it as quickly as we can,’ Dominion answered.
Paul flung out his arms. ‘But how can we? The transit station was destroyed. Even if the equipment still works there’ll be no power.’
Dominion wasn’t in the mood to be contradicted. ‘There will be portable regenerators in the stores. They’re self-contained.’
‘How do you know they haven’t been smashed by the soldiers?’
‘We’ll take that chance.’
Xaiyad stepped forward to join the debate. ‘Let me get this straight, Dominion. You’re telling us to submit Saiban to the regenerator?’
‘Yes.’
‘That can’t be done. We’ve all had two chances at life. No one has ever gone through the regeneration process a second time.’
‘Nevertheless.’
Xaiyad continued, ‘You’ve seen the damage to Saiban. The spikes passed through the centre of his body. Most of the internal organs were punctured.’
‘We’ll fix him.’
‘How?’
Dominion’s eyes swept round the group. ‘Paul will do it. He’s a doctor.’
‘A doctor, yes.’ Paul’s eyes widened. ‘Not a miracle worker.’
‘You can do it,’ Dominion insisted. ‘But the body will deteriorate, making your job more difficult.’
‘More difficult? It’s impossible even now.’
‘No, it isn’t.’ Dominion’s voice became dark thunder. ‘Listen to me. It is vital that we learn what Saiban knew. That is my quest now. Nothing else matters. If any of you have to die in order for me to fulfill that quest then so be it.’
Elsa heard Paul murmur in his Scottish tones, ‘Well, that’s reassuring. We’re expendable.’ He cleared his throat. ‘But, Dominion, I take it you aren’t. You’re a major component in this mysterious strategy that Saiban knew all about.’
‘Once I’ve served my purpose, then I will be expendable, too,’ Dominion told him. ‘Until then I won’t let anything get in my way.’
‘Dominion,’ Paul said, still clearly skeptical of Dominion’s mission, ‘how do you propose we get Saiban to the transit station?’
‘We’re not. We’ll bring the portable regenerator here. That’s why I need your help. I won’t be able to move it myself …’
‘Come, come, a big strong boy like you?’
‘I will need experts to check the unit as well as collecting whatever else we need to resuscitate Saiban.’
‘Dominion, we won’t be resuscitating him. If this works we’ll be aping God.’
‘Don’t stand there talking, Paul. We’re in a hurry.’
‘Another thing: those so-called portable regenerators are heavy … too heavy to pop onto your shoulder and stroll back through the countryside whistling a merry tune.’
‘While you had your fun I went out to find a truck.’
‘Did you kill anyone for it?’
‘That’s not important.’
‘And just one more thing,’ Paul called out as Dominion headed for the gate. The big man was in a hurry now; his patience had evaporated. ‘All the years I spent at the transit station we never ever used one of the portable units. Even if they’re intact they won’t work anyway.’
Dominion called back, ‘Elsa, West, Paul. You can help me.’
Dominion had parked a refrigeration truck near where they’d found Saiban’s body. His blood still smeared the walls of the building. Printed on the vehicle’s flanks were the words: CATCH OF THE DAY. OCEAN FRESH.
All three of you get in the back,’ Dominion ordered. ‘None of you have slept, so get some rest before we get there.’
‘You’ll find nothing but ruins, my friend,’ Paul called out.
Dominion climbed into the cab without answering. He’d already started the motor by the time they hauled themselves into the back.
‘Hell. It still stinks of fish.’ West pinched his nostrils. ‘Keep the back doors open or I’ll choke.’
‘If the worst that happens to us is you choking on the smell of cod then I’ll be happy.’
As the truck rumbled away from the Pharos Elsa told herself: We’ve been sucked into Dominion’s universe now. Saiban lost his mind before he died. Maybe Dominion’s gone the same way.
The truck followed a road out of town. Through the open rear doors of the truck they watched houses passing. People had started to appear on the streets. These must be the few who had jobs to go to. Sitting with her back to the steel container that once transported the town’s catch of fish to the outside world, she felt the vibration of the motor through the floor. The speed of the truck added to the sense of the inevitable. That they were rushing toward a revelation. What that was she couldn’t begin to guess. Then neither could Dominion. But, yes, he was different from the rest. He was the first transient to wake in the regenerator. He’d committed the unthinkable by killing human beings. At that moment she began to realize that there was something locked in the giant’s head. Maybe what Saiban knew would unlock that secret truth. Of course whether it led to their salvation, or their death was another matter entirely.
29
Tastes Like Violence
What remained of the transit station had been garrisoned by troops. These weren’t the commando elite that stormed the building just a few nights ago. The soldiers had stubbled faces. They wore hand-me-down uniforms. Their caps were frayed. Only one wore army issue boots. The others opted for sneakers. They didn’t know what hit them.
Dominion drove through the gate that had been left flapping in the wind. A couple of soldiers eventually sauntered out of the residential block to challenge him. They weren’t expecting God Scarers, probably thinking the refrigerated truck was delivering supplies. By the time they realized that the truck’s driver was one of the beings they’d been destroying it was too late. Dominion stepped down out of the cab in a way that was almost leisurely. Paul had already scrambled out of the back so he saw the tragedy unfurl before his eyes.
The two soldiers were hung over; it took a while for them to understand that they were in danger. Naturally, they assumed if a God Scarer turned up at the door it wouldn’t be to attack them. At last, one of the soldiers woke up to the fact that Dominion wasn’t one of the submissive kind.
‘Nik, I haven’t brought my gun! You’ll have to do it.’
The second soldier managed to fumble a revolver from its holster just as Dominion reached out and snapped his neck. The other sap turned back to shout toward the residential block. Dominion wasn’t going to allow the man to warn his comrades. The giant caught hold of the guy by the back of the jacket. As the soldier opened his mouth to scream in terror Dominion simply pushed one of those weirdly pale hands into the man’s wide-open mouth. Elsa and West turned away but Paul saw what Dominion did next.
The grounds of the transit station were as Paul remembered from just a few days ago. There were tall trees, a rose garden full of red and gold blooms. The morning sun shone on a pond where rushes waved in the breeze. Birds sang as if happy to report to the world it’s going to be a beautiful day. And here’s Dominion. A hand in some guy’s mouth. The guy’s trying to scream but he can’t. He can’t make a noise. The poor bastard can’t even breathe. That’s Dominion’s intention. Just when Paul told himself this as bad as it gets; it got worse. Dominion placed the flat of his hand behind the soldier’s head. Then Dominion really turned up the pressure. He forced his hand down the man’s throat. His victim’s eyes were open wide; his terror blazed there like he’d got a thousand-watt bulb illuminating his skull. Paul saw Dominion’s hand form what appeared to be a hugely bloated Adam’s apple in the dying man’s throat.
Dominion looked back over his shoulder. ‘Paul, hide the other man. Someone might look out of the window.’
Dear God, what if they did
? What would they make of this pretty little scene? Their buddy with a monster’s giant fist shoved halfway down his gullet.
‘Paul.’ The warning note was clear enough. Paul loped across to the corpse with the broken neck. Quickly, he dragged it beneath a bush alongside the driveway. By the time he’d emerged, Dominion walked casually toward him with the soldier’s body. The giant gripped the man by the back of the belt to carry him like a sports bag. Instead of hiding the corpse beneath a bush as Paul had done, Dominion simply flung him out of sight into the branches of a tree. Three days ago Paul would have howled in protest at Dominion’s murderous actions, now he was numbed to it. Dominion killed. That’s the way it was. Deal with it.
‘There’s more inside,’ Dominion said, ‘They’re cooking food. Which way to the kitchen?’
So Paul showed him. Elsa and West followed at a distance. On an upper floor Paul nodded at a door that led to one of the communal kitchens the residents of the transit station used. A strong smell of frying bacon filled the corridor. From the kitchen came the sound of male voices. A radio played upbeat music. This time Paul hung back as Dominion pushed open the door. Before the door closed again after Dominion passed through it Paul saw the soldiers in their shabby uniforms. He counted four of them. Three sitting to a table, drinking coffee, killing time; the third forked strips of bacon from a pan.
The soldiers’ expression of surprise as that giant entered their cosy room should have been comical: all wide-eyed with jaws dropping. Then Dominion was the kind of beast they’d never seen before. A giant with hands that were white, his arms black. A blond stubble bristled across his formidable skull. From his coffee-coloured face two enormous almond-shaped eyes that were as black as onyx fixed on them. Add to that the scars covering his body … Mice see cat. Paul felt immensely grateful that the door closed on whatever happened inside the kitchen; this time he wouldn’t have to watch. When the sounds came they were so violent that he flinched. First were indignant shouts, even a ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing here?’ By the time they realized that Dominion wasn’t one of the quiet, understated, submissive, oh-so politely deferential God Scarers it was far too late.