Doctor Who_ Psi-Ence Fiction - Chris Boucher [2]
Once the chant had been established the other three joined in. 'Come to us, come to us, come to us, come to us, come to us, come to us now: Repetition, Chloe thought, as she too began muttering the pointless words, that's all it takes. The steady rhythm to make the trance, to make the magic, to make the music. The rhythmic beat is like steady running. 'Come to us, come to us, come to us.' Running keeps us from the slavering teeth and the scrabbling claws. 'Come to us come to us come to us come to us.'
It amplifies the tune of the blood so you can feel its power. It keeps beating back the darkness and the sounds of the darkness. It was working. She could feel it working. The rhythm reaches into us and we have the power to see, we have the power to know, we have the power to control. Come to us come to us come to us come to us: She felt stronger. She felt the summons tugging at the dead girl, pulling her to them, pulling her back across the void. It was working. She was coming.
It was then Chloe heard the howl of pain and anger, and she opened her eyes. The wind had whipped up suddenly, lashing the trees and swirling dead leaves and bracken fronds around them. The thick, blind gloom of the wood had lightened and in the unearthly glimmer she saw the killer crashing through the undergrowth towards them. He looked monstrous, tall and wild, and he ran in huge strides, lifting his legs high like a triple jumper.
His face was twisted with hate. His fury was insane. He was coming straight at her. He was coming straight for her.
Frozen with fear, Chloe closed her eyes again tightly and tried not to scream. He was a ghost. He was a demon. He was a figment of her imagination. He wasn't real. He couldn't be real. 'Come to us come to us come to us come to us.' She raised her voice in the chant, doing her best to block out the sound of him. 'Come to us come to us come to us come to us!
But above her own voice and the chanting of the others she could hear now words in the howling.
'listen to me! Listen to me you little bitch!' the killer was raging. 'You will listen to me and do as I tell you! You will do as I tell you, you little bitch!'
Something struck her on the shoulder and thumped against her back and she lurched forward stumbling into the others, struggling to keep her balance and stay on her feet. The chant became ragged and then stopped abruptly.
'Oh for God's sake Chloe,' Tommy said, 'what is the matter with you!'
Chloe what's wrong? Are you in pain?'Joan said.
'Are you all right?' Ralph said.
What happened, Chloe?' Meg asked.
And then close to Chloe something unseen grunted and roared. A whisper in her ear echoed in the bones of her head. 'Die,' it said. 'Die for ever in my darkness, bitch.'
Chloe lost all chance of control. She broke the circle, pushed the others aside and ran. Raw panic drove her on and gave her unexpected strength and speed. She plunged through patches of scrub, cannoned into small trees and blundered into low branches, but she kept going. The glimmer of light had vanished completely and the darkness was impenetrable again, but it made no difference to her. She ran flat out with no sense of direction and no thought of obstacles or barriers. Only the demon striding and leaping behind her was real.
Then abruptly she weakened, and as she weakened she began to trip over roots and stumble as her feet caught in the tangles of ground creepers.
She fell. Suddenly her legs were aching
unbearably and she was very tired, but she scrambled up and shambled on. She fell again, harder this time, collapsing and sprawling headlong into the undergrowth. This time she just wanted to lie there where she had fallen but she heard the demon coming for her. She heard him crashing and roaring, closer and closer, louder and louder. She heard him shouting her name and she dragged herself upright and ran on. She ran desperately until her breath was rasping in her throat