Happy smiled smugly. “My medicine is stronger than your bad medicine.”
Goldsmith and Hamilton moved quickly forward, no longer held by the tentacles. They joined the Ghost Finders and shuddered as the last of Hedley’s body fell apart, leaving just a pool of thick grey goo.
“That was our colleague . . .” said Hamilton.
“How did that thing replace Hedley?” said Goldsmith.
“How can we be sure there ever was a real Hedley?” said Hamilton. “When he arrived, did anyone check his credentials? Or did they just assume he must have the right clearances to have got this far? Maybe it’s been an agent all along.”
“But . . . he did good work!” said Goldsmith. “Useful work!”
“How can we be sure of that, now?” said Hamilton. “Maybe it only gave us small successes, to steer us away from bigger ones, or more useful areas we might have investigated?”
“We’re going to have to go back and recheck all our work,” said Goldsmith.
“Not right now you’re not,” said JC.
“You’ve been close to that man all this time,” said Latimer. “Working side by side, in close proximity. Didn’t either of you notice anything strange about him?”
Goldsmith and Hamilton looked at each other. The question seemed to confuse them. They looked back at Latimer.
“Well, no,” said Goldsmith.
“He did good work,” said Hamilton.
“We have a more important problem, people!” said JC. “The sink-hole!”
“Yes!” said Goldsmith. “The dimensional rupture! We’ve been following its progress on the monitors.”
“Fascinating,” said Hamilton. “Why are you interrupting us? We need to study this . . .”
“What can we do to shut it down?” said Latimer.
Goldsmith and Hamilton looked at each other.
“We have a possible solution,” said Goldsmith.
“Something that might work,” said Hamilton.
“The theory is sound!” said Goldsmith, bristling immediately.
“It’s still just a theory!” said Hamilton.
“What is?” Latimer said loudly, before they could start shouting at each other again.
“An EMP,” said Goldsmith, still glaring at Hamilton. “Electromagnetic pulse. We have the capability to generate a small, localised EMP. Enough to temporarily disrupt the Flesh Undying’s energies. Scramble its thoughts—the way that pill did with Hedley. The ship’s systems won’t be affected. They’re shielded.”
“Hold it,” said Melody, suspiciously. “You can generate a localised EMP? Why would you need to be able to do that?”
Goldsmith shrugged, just a bit guiltily. “Project orders. They supplied the equipment. In case another ship got too close and took too much of an interest in what we were doing. The EMP would wipe their computers, shut down their systems.”
“But that would have left the other ship dead in the water!” said Melody. “Stranded all the way out here, miles from the shipping routes!”
“We had our orders,” said Hamilton.
“Wouldn’t something as powerful as an EMP reveal the ship’s location to the Flesh Undying?” said JC.
“We don’t think so,” said Hamilton.
“It shouldn’t be in any condition to think that clearly,” said Goldsmith.
“Theoretically,” said Hamilton.
“Then do it,” said Latimer.
The two scientists looked at each other again. JC was getting really tired of that. It always meant something bad was coming.
“What?” he said loudly. “What’s the problem now?”
“We need you to do something to distract the Flesh Undying, hold its attention, while we prepare to generate the EMP,” said Goldsmith.
“Otherwise, there’s always the chance it could detect what’s going to happen and shield itself,” said Hamilton. “Our only hope is to catch it by surprise.”
JC, Happy, and Melody looked at each other.
“I suppose,” said JC, “if we were to link up again and focus our thoughts through Happy, like we did with the ghost . . .”
“If we shout loudly enough, that should grab its attention,” said Melody.
“Would that wake it up?” JC asked Happy.
“I keep telling you, it’s not really asleep!” Happy scowled, as he thought about it. “If we do get its attention . . . that will make us a target. It will see us as a danger and strike directly at us.”
“Well yes,” said Hamilton. “Probably.”
“Almost certainly,” said Goldsmith. “But you only have to hold its attention long enough to buy us the time we need.”
“We’re bait,” said Melody.
“Situation entirely bloody normal, where the Ghost Finders are concerned,” said Happy.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
They went back up on deck, so the scientists could get to work. JC, Melody, and Happy stood together at the bow, staring out into the night. Latimer wanted to stay with them, but JC sent her back to join Captain Katt. Because somebody had to survive this.
“So,” said JC. “The last stand of the Three Musketeers.”
“I could do this alone,” said Happy.
“No you couldn’t,” Melody said immediately. “You’d burn out too quickly. You need JC and me to stabilise you.”
“I always did,” said Happy. “Let’s do it.”
“I wish Kim were here,” said JC.
“Who’s to say she isn’t?” said Melody.
They took hold of each other’s hands. No-one mentioned how clammy or unsteady they might be. A cold wind was blowing right into their faces. They linked their minds telepathically and sent their joined thoughts blasting out into the dark. Not as an attack; just a concentrated announcement of their presence. And something heard them. A great tower of light manifested in the dark before them, unbearably brilliant, rising into the heavens. Full of unnatural energies. It advanced slowly on the Moonchilde, churning up the waters as it came.
“I think we should back away now,” said Happy.
“We have to hold its attention,” said JC.
“Trust me!” said Happy. “It knows we’re here!”
“What’s taking Goldsmith and Hamilton so long?” said Melody. “I could have organised an EMP and a tactical nuclear strike by now! Oh shit . . . That thing is getting way too close.”
“What will happen if it reaches us?” said JC.
“What do you think?” said Happy.
“That bad?” said JC.
“Worse,” said Happy.
“I always expected to die on some job, out in the field,” said Melody. “But to die protecting a Crowley Project operation . . . Smell the irony.”
And then Kim appeared out of nowhere, smiled dazzlingly at all of them, and stepped inside JC. Her presence blasted power through all of them, as though she was the missing component in some mighty engine; and all of them glowed a bright golden in the night. The blazing tower stopped its advance. And the whole ship shuddered as the EMP detonated.
The tower of light snapped off, leaving behind just a few after-images in the eyes of the Ghost Finders. There was a huge uproar of water off the ship’s port bow, as the sink-hole started to fill itself in again. And the night . . . felt suddenly empty.
Kim stepped back out of JC. He let go of Happy’s and Melody’s hands, and the glow surrounding them disappeared. As though a spiritual current had been cut off. They all sat down hard on the deck, exhausted. Kim sat cross-legged beside JC, floating just an inch or so above the deck. JC looked at her.
“Where have you been, all this time?”
“Hiding from the Flesh Undying until I was needed,” said Kim. “I was your secret weapon! Your trouble, JC, is you have no sense of drama.”
“What if we had held the Flesh Undying’s attention, and the EMP hadn’t worked?” said Melody.
“Then we would have been screwed,” said Happy. “Aren’t you glad you’ve got me around to explain the technical stuff to you?”
“I have a gun,” said Melody.
“And I think we might need it,” said JC. “Look . . .”
“Oh shit,” said Happy.
They all scrambled back onto their feet. Where the tower of light had been, a shining figure had appeared, apparently standing knee-deep in the dark waters. It rose up before them, looking a lot like the shimmering ghost, but a hundred feet tall or more, towering over the Moonchilde. It advanced slowly towards the ship, ploughing through the dark waters. It looked far more solid, more physical and more real, than it had before.
“Where the hell did that come from?” said JC. “I thought we scrambled the Flesh Undying’s thoughts!”
“Obviously, not completely!” said Melody.
“I don’t think disbelieving in it is going to work this time,” said JC.
“I believe in it,” said Happy. “It looks very real to me.”
The massive shining figure loomed over the Moonchilde. It raised a shimmering fist, big enough to sink the ship.
“What do we do?” said Melody.
“Run,” said Happy.
“We’re on a ship!” said JC. “There’s nowhere to run to!”
“It’s still a plan,” said Happy.
“Try the telepathic link again,” said JC. “Just . . . hit it with everything we’ve got.”
“That could get us all killed,” said Happy. “Direct mental contact with something as big as the Flesh Undying . . .”
“But would it work against that figure?” said Melody.
“I don’t know! Maybe . . .” said Happy.
“Then we have to try,” said JC. “Come on, we’re the Ghost Finders. We don’t take any crap from the Hereafter.”
They clasped hands again. And if any of them felt their hands shaking, none of them said anything.
And that was when Catherine Latimer came forward, and threw her portable Door at the huge shining figure. The black blob turned into a dimensional Door as it shot through the air, growing larger and larger; and then it swallowed up the figure whole. They were both gone in a moment, leaving just a few sparks, dropping harmlessly down the night sky.
“Quite pretty, really,” said Happy.
JC glared at Latimer. “Very good. Now how are we going to get home?”
Latimer showed him her hand, with the black blob nestling in it. “It’s programmed to return to its owner after use. Droods think of everything.”
JC shook his head and looked at Happy. “Are you picking up anything from the Flesh Undying?”
Happy cocked his head on one side. “It’s . . . confused. Its mind has turned to other things. Don’t ask me what. It’s like it’s forgotten it ever noticed us.”
“How long will that last?” said JC.
“Beats me,” said Happy.
“That man is weird,” said Goldsmith.
“Seriously weird,” said Hamilton.
Everyone looked round. The two scientists had left their bunker to come up on deck and were looking around in a surprised sort of way, as though the view was entirely new to them.
“I don’t suppose you’d consider letting us have Mr. Palmer for a while?” said Goldsmith.
“Just to run a few experiments on him,” said Hamilton. “Nothing too invasive.”
“No,” said Melody. “The only one who gets to run scientific experiments on his body is me.”
“Your whole relationship never ceases to creep the hell out of me,” said JC.
“How do you think I feel?” said Happy.
“Heh heh,” said Melody.
“You need to prepare for the bathysphere,” said Latimer.
They all turned to look at her.
“What?” said JC.
“Right now?” said Melody.
“We can’t afford to wait till morning,” Latimer said steadily. “The Flesh Undying could renew its interest in us at any time. We need hard information about its physical form, something we can use as ammunition against it. So you need to go down, right now.”
“But . . . it’s still night,” said JC.
“Where you’re going, that won’t matter,” said Latimer. “It’s always night at the bottom of the ocean.”
ELEVEN
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
LIFE AND DEATH AND EVERYTHING ELSE
All through the darkest part of the night, Captain Katt had his crew rig up new lights, to better illuminate the deck around the bathysphere. The grey steel ball gleamed dully under lights so bright they didn’t leave a shadow anywhere. Crewmen bustled back and forth, bringing armfuls of the very latest technology to be packed into the waiting sphere. Goldsmith and Hamilton drove themselves on at a fierce pace and yelled at anyone who slowed them down by not being where they were needed with what the scientists wanted. Everyone was busy with something, except for JC and Kim, Happy and Melody. They stood together, well to one side, watching what was happening without feeling any need to get involved. They were thinking about what they were going to have to do once the work was finished.
JC looked more like a rock star than ever, in his white suit, long mane of dark hair, and very dark sunglasses. Kim hovered beside him, dressed once more in a white nurse’s outfit to match his suit, glowing faintly. Her feet didn’t quite reach the deck. Crew members hurrying past made a point of not looking in her direction. Happy looked like someone had found him curled up in a Dumpster, after a week-long drunk. Melody just looked tired, worn-out from the weight of her life.
Catherine Latimer came over to join them, looking neat and tidy in her plain grey suit, smoking a black Turkish cigarette in her long ivory holder. She looked like a retired head mistress, off on a cruise and not giving a damn about what was proper any more. She took in all the bustle and excitement on deck and smiled briefly, in a self-satisfied sort of way. As though they were only doing it to keep her happy. She nodded to the Ghost Finders, and they nodded briefly in return.
“I would have given you more time to prepare,” she said. “But we seem to have run out.”
It was as close as she could get to an apology and was accepted as such.
“More time wouldn’t have helped, Boss,” said JC. “Just given us longer to worry and wet ourselves.”
“And the early-morning wake-up call was nothing new,” said Melody. “We’re used to working the graveyard shift.”
“Often in graveyards,” said Happy. “I’ve had more than enough of sitting on a tombstone with a flask of lukewarm coffee, waiting for something dead to get lively. Ooh! Look at the shooting stars! Aren’t they magnificent?”
They all looked up at the night sky. There were no shooting stars. The moon was barely bright enough to make its presence felt, and most of the stars had disappeared behind clouds. A cold wind came blowing in over the side, making them all shiver briefly. Except Kim.
“Excuse me,” said Happy. “I have to go take my aura for a walk.”
He wandered off down the deck, smiling and nodding cheerfully to nobody at all. The others watched him go.
“What is he on?” said Latimer.
“Everything,” said Melody, coldly. “Or at least, everything left that can still affect him. His brain chemistry is so compromised now, it’s a wonder he can still see the real world from where he is. I hope he’s having a good trip; because he won’t be coming back.” She glared at Latimer. “He’s dying; and it’s all your fault!”
“So many things are,” said Latimer.
“There’s something I need to tell you, Boss,” said JC.
The tone in his voice caught her attention, and Latime
r looked steadily at JC as he brought her up to date on his recent conversation with the forces from Outside. Melody listened intently, too, nodding now and again as some particular item confirmed her deepest suspicions. When JC finally finished, Latimer smiled soberly.
“I always wondered why I was chosen. All these years, fighting monsters and demons and dead things, wondering every time Is this it? Is this what I’m here for? And now I find out I was just a holding pattern, someone to fill a gap until the real living weapons arrived.”
“Now you know how it feels to be used,” said JC.
“We all have to serve someone,” said Latimer.
“Can we be sure these Forces are any better than the Flesh Undying?” said Melody. “I mean, we only have their word for it that the Flesh is crazy, and they’re the good guys. What if we’re being played?”
Latimer looked down the deck at Happy, ambling amiably along and stepping carefully around things that weren’t there.
“Crazy is as crazy does. We can only judge the Flesh Undying by its actions. Through the damage its agents have caused, and the damage it intends to do to our world by leaving it. The Flesh’s threat is clear; the Forces’ . . . less so.”
“We have to accept any help that will allow us to stop the Flesh Undying,” said JC. “Afterwards . . .”
“Yes,” said Latimer. “There will be time for many things, afterwards.” She took the holder out of her mouth and pinched off the end of her cigarette with thumb and forefinger. She looked at JC and Melody with serious, considering eyes. “You do understand . . . this descent is just an information run. Get as close to the Flesh Undying as you can, let the scientific instruments do what they’re supposed to, then yell for us to pull you back up. Don’t do anything, don’t get involved, and, above all, don’t try to be heroes.”
“I’m not sure what we could do, locked inside a steel ball,” said JC.
“I wonder what the Flesh Undying will look like . . . up close,” said Melody.
“Happy’s probably the only one who could see it clearly,” said JC.
“Smell the irony,” said Latimer.
They all looked down the deck after the telepath as he talked to people who weren’t there and ignored people who were. He was freaking the hell out of the crew, who went out of their way to give him plenty of room. JC almost envied Happy, in being so far gone he probably didn’t even realise how dangerous things were about to get. JC looked at Melody.