Swarm: The Dark Legend Dossier, #2

By James Churchill

The edge of destruction: Nations are no more, victims of the mutant menace. The only hope lies in stopping the infestation.

Will knows he is close to an answer, and with one of his friends infected the stakes have never been more personal. But just as he comes in reach of a solution an unsettling revelation and a horrifying event change everything...

• Language: English
• Publisher: James Churchill
• Release date: Mar 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386302254

James Churchill

James Patrick Churchill was born in York, England, but grew up in Greater Manchester. He studied history and archaeology at Bangor University before starting work as a writer and publishing his first book, now called Spawn, in 2012. As well as fiction he writes travel pieces and essays and in his spare time makes videos for the internet.

Book preview

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light...

-Dylan Thomas

THE CHARACTERS

(Or those you need to know about anyway)

THE GRAFFE: Feral abominations created by a gene altering parasite. Once human, now determined to destroy the world. Adults are less mutated than the young but still dangerous.

WILL FLEMING: Dashing hero, media celebrity and devil with the ladies. Has been fighting the graffe since he was twelve years old. Reluctant leader of the gang... Because he’s the smartest and most talented. (Also has a high opinion of himself- Joe)

JOE HAMLET: Will’s best friend and companion. Loyal to the death. (Read: Inbred schoolyard bully with an irritating habit of asking questions- Will)

DOUG JENKINS: Will’s housemate and briefly fuck buddy. Boyfriend of Amanda and voice of reason. Parents abandoned him without warning six months ago. (Yeah... Doesn’t anyone else see that as suspicious?- Will)

DAN LEATHERBORNE: Reformed graffe assisting  the saviour of the human race, though still suffering from problems created by his past life. (In other words he occasionally turns into a scary, red eyed monster- Joe)

RANDY BARNES: Useless, smothered mummy’s boy and coward who can’t take a joke. Now infected.

ELIZA CARRAMIER: Dan’s former girlfriend. Has slept with just about every man in Worton (excluding Randy.) Once forced Will to unwittingly shag her whilst he was in a drug induced coma. (Did we ever work out how she actually managed to do that?- Doug.

Don‘t think so- Will.)

AMANDA DELAMERE: Doug’s girlfriend.(Should also add that she’s damned hot- Doug.

Well... They do say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder- Joe.

What’s that supposed to mean?-Doug.

It means she’s more than a bit fugly- Joe.

Says the inbred- Doug.)

JONATHON HARRIS: Deluded moron who believes he’s in charge of the graffe. Possibly just a nuisance but may still prove to be more of a threat. Last seen falling down a chimney on Christmas Eve.

DI PETER FISHER: Head of the Worton Police force. Moonlighting as Will’s zookeeper.

(Zookeeper?- Will)

KAREN HARPER: Acting Headmistress and Head of Sixth Form at Beiderbecke College.

GERTRUDE BARNES: Randy’s overprotective aunt. (Overprotective may be an understatement- Doug.)

GREG FINCH: Overly handsome rock god and Joe’s former best friend. Deceased.

-BEYOND THE SEA-

From the inbox of DI Peter Fisher.

To: Peter Fisher ([e-mail])

From: Daniel B. Leatherborne ([e-mail])

Subject: Activities Update

Yo! DI Fisher.

Sorry I haven’t been to see you in a while. Things have been a bit quiet since Christmas and there hasn’t been all that much to report. As I’m sure you know, we’ve also had our mid-term exams to deal with so there hasn’t been as much time for the usual stuff. By usual stuff I mean, of course, fighting the good fight against the graffe.

Anyway, I thought I had best keep you abreast of the latest news regarding our dark knight. I can only say that what little we have been doing has mostly been a painfully dull patrolling the streets at night, raiding graffe nests and, finally, attempting to track down Harris. We haven’t had much luck with the latter. Will reckons that he has been sulking ever since he fell down that chimney on Christmas Eve.

Will has been conducting nightly rituals of heavy studying and even heavier drinking. Please don’t condemn him for the drinking though... You have to give him some allowances considering what he does.

You’re aware that we had last week off college so that we might have a ‘rest’ after our exams? Nothing spectacular really happened apart from the fact that Will ended up running naked through the streets of Amsterdam... Judging by the angry stare that you’re giving your computer screen I think it’s best that I explain that one in some detail.

It all started the night the exams finished. Will was knocking back the vodka like it was lemonade. To be fair I wasn’t too sober myself which is why I made the suggestion that we should go somewhere on holiday for a few days. Well, honestly, I first suggested that we should go mental and ‘behave like normal teenagers.’

Will looked at me, the thoughts whizzing around his head. He was reclined on his chair, one leg dangling over the arm and a half empty bottle of vodka in his hand.

By any chance do you mean take drugs, get drunk and get it on with at least one hot guy a night? Or a girl in your case...

That hadn’t been what I meant.

No! I said. I mean that we should do something fun like have a party or go laser questing or go to a nightclub or... GO FOR A WEEKEND AWAY! The idea came into my head suddenly and I said it with a smile.

You and I can both guess what Will’s first problem with this was.

Err... You’re forgetting the graffe, he scolded, taking a swig from the bottle of vodka.

Will... There are graffe everywhere. Not just here. Besides which they aren’t going to suddenly rise up and destroy the world in three days... Will thought about this for a moment.

Ok. Give me a few days to sort something out... Stop shaving too!

Stop shaving? Why?

I’m kind of liking that idea of drugs, drink and red hot nightly action... This didn’t explain why he wanted me to stop shaving.

****

It transpired that the ceasing of the shaving was to make us appear older and easier able to access drugs, booze and sex.

I didn't look older. I looked like a tramp who had been attacked by a drunken Edward Scissorhands.

My fuzz only grew in random patches and it looked awful.

Will, on the other hand, had managed to become more of an inexplicable fanny-magnet than usual. A beard really suited him and, somehow, it made him look trendy and stylish rather than being just some badly dressed emo. He was still a badly dressed emo, but he was a stylish badly dressed emo... Does that makes sense? Complete strangers, women mostly, kept coming up to him in the street, complimenting him on his stylishness and asking to stroke his beard. Many of them also wanted their picture taken with him. That’s how good it made him look... He never let them of course.

I would also like to point out that none of these people gave any indication that they knew who he was or of his near legendary activities. After only a few days his new beard had changed his appearance almost completely, which is amazing when you think about it. He had managed to make himself disappear, or the legendary part of himself anyway.

I think I should backtrack a little.

Sorry about this.

Two days after drunkenly declaring that he wanted to do drugs Will gave me a call to tell me he’d booked flights to Amsterdam. He had invited Joe and Doug to come along as well but we then realized that somebody would have to stay behind to keep an eye on the town. Doug graciously volunteered, possibly so he could have his own kinky weekend with Amanda. They’re still denying being involved with each other but Will has senses like a hawk and he knew quite early on that Doug was sneaking Amanda out of the house at least three times a week. I’m sure you’ll agree that it doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together to make four.

In the end, Joe, myself and Will stopped shaving in order to make ourselves look older and packed for four days of doing what normal teenagers do... Drugs, drink and sex.

Then Joe got food poisoning so we had to leave him behind.

****

Amsterdam was beautiful, everything I thought it would be. I especially liked the airport, Luchthaven Schiphol, which is all one massive terminal. Everything was well organized and we got through customs without much of a hitch. Let me correct that. I got through customs without much of a hitch but Will had to be taken into a room behind the scenes somewhere.

He was only gone a few minutes and he didn’t say much about it apart from one brief comment about how the security staff had phoned someone in England to check if he actually had the right to leave the country. I reckon they searched him as well, thoroughly I must add. He wasn’t pleased about what happened and he only perked up when our bags were first off the carousel and we were able to catch the first taxi that came our way.

I think you will like Amsterdam quite a lot, our taxi driver, who was called Karl, told us as he drove us down a massive four lane duel carriage with high trees and a graffiti covered concrete wall to the right of us, (how anybody can manage to graffiti a fence on a busy duel carriageway is beyond me), and a railway line separating us from the southbound traffic to the left. The far side of the southbound carriageway, which also had four lanes (why am I telling you this?) was guarded by similar trees and a fence.

They call it the Venice of the north you know. It’s true... Only Amsterdam doesn’t smell of... What would you English call it? Err... Shit! Karl expounded. Will was confused.

Venice has canals? he asked, bemused.

Yes. Didn’t you know that?

No... No I didn’t.

Will told me later on that the reason for this was because that he had never learnt about Venice in school. Instead he had been taught that Amsterdam was famous for its canals whilst his teachers had glossed over what other things the place was famous for.

We arrived in the city proper, which it turns out is exactly like the postcards... Well it would be. I hate when people do that, say somewhere is exactly like the postcards. It’s just a cheap ‘get out clause’ for describing a place. But I’m sure you know what Amsterdam looks like. It’s got tree lined streets cut down the middle by straight, green canals. It might surprise you to learn however that whilst a lot of the buildings are built in that renaissance or baroque fashion which I’m sure you are familiar with, there are an awful lot that aren’t. Most of them are modern, at least twentieth century, and kind of boring.

I wouldn’t have noticed the difference if Karl hadn’t pointed it out to us on the way to our hotel.

The hotel, whilst I’m on the subject of buildings, was astonishing. I can only thank God that Will was paying. (I still haven’t figured out where he is getting all this money from). It was a four star affair which, from the outside, appeared like a modest building and even a bit tacky. It was right in the middle of a busy road and opposite a very ugly looking church. Inside it was clean, sparkling and it blew my socks off. It was all done up in a contemporary style with a polished marble floor and a cool, relaxing yellow wall paint. I liked it and whilst Will was checking us into our rooms I decided to check the place out. He had chosen well.

The hotel had two bars and a restaurant and all the services you could wish for; a porter, wake up call, satellite television, breakfast, a cleaner and a hairdryer. I always find a pre-supplied hairdryer is a blessing as my own has a tendency to break every time I go anywhere. The hotel was also close to everything we came to the city for, which I was pleased about, and Will had booked us separate rooms that were right next to each other at the top of the building.

This was more for my benefit than his as Will often wakes up screaming in the middle of the night and it can apparently be terrifying, particularly if you aren’t expecting it. If he’d woken me up then I’d have had to kill him so separate rooms were for the best in the end.

They were decorated in blue and each had their own shower and separate sitting room. The room was luxury and the shower felt good too. I immediately hopped into it in order to clean myself up, ready for my liaisons with all the ‘hot babes’ I’d soon be bedding.

****

It didn’t work out the way I expected.

In the first three days I didn’t take a single gram of pot and I didn't visit one prostitute. During the daylight hours myself and Will took in the various cultural delights of Amsterdam. We visited some old church, the Van Gough museum, The Rembrandt museum, some other pointless museum and other boring places like that.

The most interesting, and the closest I got to any action in those three days, was the sex museum. I won’t give you the sordid details but it was very fun! It was much more fun than looking at a bunch of paintings and buildings all day.

At night we would head out into the city and get violently drunk, more drunk than I have ever been in my life but not so drunk that I can’t remember what happened. Stupidly I kept challenging Will to drinking games and losing. I always forget that it takes a lot for him to get even mildly pissed. I really don’t know how he does it. His stomach must be made of solid lead or something. Even so, he was still pretty hammered when he inevitably ended up dragging my sorry arse back to the hotel.

On the third night he had taken me back to my room, put me to bed and then left. I’m not sure how long I slept for but I awoke at some godforsaken hour and for the first time in my life I vomited due to drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. I didn’t feel it coming and it ended up going all over the bed. Still being drunk and not knowing what to do, I wrapped myself in a spare blanket and stumbled out of the room into the corridor.

I knocked on Will’s door as hard as I could.

Will? I croaked. No answer. Will? William... Still no answer. I knocked again. Legend? That usually got his goat up.

No answer.

That’s when I had an idea.

All the rooms had key-cards so I decided to try using my own to open the door. I jammed the thing into the card reader but nothing happened. I tried again. The door still wouldn’t open.

Ben je moeite hebt om in je kamer? I heard from behind me.

I turned around to find an elderly woman standing there. I’m guessing she must have been one of the cleaners or someone from room service as she had a trolley with her.

Wat is er mis mijn kind? I didn’t understand her. I was so over the limit that I couldn’t even grasp the concept that she was speaking Dutch.

Eventually she tried speaking English to me.

Can you not get into your room? she asked in a clear voice. I just nodded at her miserably and she reached over, put a key card of her own into the door and it opened.

Thank you... I slurred, falling into Will’s room.

I switched on the light and found that he wasn’t there. I was drunk and incapacitated and, rather than keep an eye on me, Will had upped and left!

The cheek of it!

I wandered around his room for a while, perhaps just hoping that he might suddenly appear.

The room was spotlessly clean apart from a rucksack lying open on the room’s sofa and a half empty box of condoms and a bottle of lube in the bathroom. I took a condom out of the box in a moment of curious drunkenness and couldn’t work out if it was extra-large or if I was still so drunk that I wasn’t actually seeing its proper size. I put it back and went to lie down on the sofa.

I must have fallen asleep again as the next thing I remember was Will shaking me.

Will? Will? I croaked. I didn’t feel drunk anymore, just a bit sick.

Dan... What are you doing in my room? he asked patiently. He was a little too patient if you ask me.

Been sick on my bed, I mumbled.

Right... Ok... Where’s your key? I fumbled around under the blanket and then realized I was still clutching it in my hand. I gave it to him and he disappeared from the room before returning some time later and escorting me back to bed.

He had been busy in that time as he’d been down to the laundry room, got fresh bedding for me and then put it all together like a dutiful housemaid.

The strange thing was that he seemed eerily relaxed about the whole thing.

****

Will didn’t mention my intrusion into his room the next morning during breakfast. In fact he didn’t mention much at all. He seemed quiet and off colour. I would have said that he was hungover but I felt fine, peculiarly, and Will never gets hangovers. Or he never shows he’s got one.

What’s up with you? I asked him after a while.

Me? Nothing, he snapped grouchily, stabbing his breakfast of pancakes and maple syrup with his fork.

We went back to silence and then I got worried that he was annoyed at me for breaking into his room.

I needn’t have been worried though. as once we left the hotel he became much more like his usual self, like all the cares of the world had dropped from his shoulders. He was especially happy after visiting the vodka museum.

They gave out free samples at the end.

****

How long do you reckon it’d take us to get to The Hague? he asked as we sat in a canal side café, drinking coffee.

Why do you ask?

There’s an Escher museum there...

Oh God! Another bloody museum. I was sick of museums and culture. If I had to stare at one more painting I would scream.

Will... That’s not why you suggested coming here. You suggested coming here for drugs, drink and girls and I haven’t seen any drugs or girls yet, I argued. He blinked at me.

You haven’t seen any girls? What the hell have you been doing? Will seemed surprised.

Getting drunk and visiting museums... I’ve been with you the whole time I’ve been here... The only time I haven’t is after you’ve taken me to bed!

You’ve been going to bed?

Yeah... I’ve been hammered encase you haven’t noticed... A bit like you!

To be honest I don’t remember much of what we’ve been doing at night. I can remember you challenging me to drinking games but after that it all becomes a bit vague. My arse felt a bit battered this morning but... He stopped, clamming up and going a bit red.

You don’t remember finding me asleep on your sofa?

Nope.

Or cleaning up my puke?

Err... No. Are you making this up? I shook my head and leaned over the table to confront him.

Alright Fleming... We came here for three things. I’ve had plenty of the drink so now I want the pot and pussy... Is that a deal? I held out my hand.

Pot and pussy?

Yep... I want pot and pussy!

Will shook my hand and agreed that as soon as it got dark we would go out and find a place where we could get both.

****

Finally! We stopped walking around god forsaken museums.

For most of the afternoon we just wandered around the city, mainly shopping and drinking coffee. The day passed quickly and soon we were watching the sun set over the rooftops of Amsterdam from the balcony of a café overlooking a small square.

I’m going to be honest here.

Really honest.

Whilst I was sat at the café, a refreshing Dutch beer in one hand, my stomach started doing knots at the thought of the evening’s plans. I let it happen for a bit but then I became visibly nervous and irritable.

Ok... Out with it. What’s wrong? Will demanded, noticing I was nervy. There was no getting away from him. You can’t when he latches onto you like that. So I told him.

I’m not sure about this... I mean paying for sex... I’m not sure I want to... It’s...

Human Dan!

Human?

Yes. It’s human to desire sex. It’s human nature to desire someone to... to...

Will was clearly out of his comfort zone and it showed. He hardly ever talks about sex. Whenever anybody brings the subject around he either tries to avoid the matter entirely or gives some half arsed explanation. He doesn’t even mention his love interests very often though you can tell when he’s thinking about them because he gets this dreamy look in his eye and a slightly twinkling smile.

Thus, when he couldn't get out of it, he groaned and slammed the table. I had unintentionally cornered him and he wasn’t pleased.

You went out with Eliza right? he eventually asked. I nodded. Well think about this... What Eliza does is far worse than prostitution. Eliza is a sex maniac. She just takes any man she wants regardless of what the consequences may be. At least with a prostitute you know that an hour later she‘ll be humping someone else, but Eliza tricks you... She makes you think she's all yours and then still goes and humps someone else an hour later.

Thanks... That doesn’t help, I said miserably, thoughts of what she had done turning up in my brain.

You might feel better later on... More relaxed... Once you’re in the place , Will tried to reassure me.

I hoped to God that he was right and, so, I agreed that I would give it a chance.

****

What about that one? Will pointed to the fiftieth window with a scantily clad woman in it. This one wasn’t to my taste so I voiced my concerns.

She looks a bit ugly!

"Dan... She’s a hooker. It doesn’t matter what she looks like."

We had been wandering the red light district for an hour now. The streets were narrow, old fashioned and full of people. Just being there made me feel out of place as everywhere you looked it was sex, sex and more sex. If it wasn’t women in red lit windows it was weird looking sex shops, porn theatres or some other kind of kinky dive.

It was alright to begin with. I’m not averse to sex or nudity and I don’t clam up when it’s mentioned like Will does. It just got a bit overwhelming the more time we spent there.

I had realized early on that I needed some protection and when buying some I was fine. I was ok with it. I think Will was really embarrassed because he stayed outside looking shifty and after buying my ‘protection’ we began our trawl through the streets ‘searching for some action.’

Then I began to get nervous again. I started to fret about the whole thing again, not liking the idea of having sex with a stranger. Will kept suggesting places but they all looked wrong.

Dan... If you don’t make your mind up soon I’m dragging you into the next place I see, Will warned after I claimed I didn’t like the way one of the prostitutes was dressed. I snorted and looked around the street for somewhere that appeared to be reputable.

My eye settled on a thin, unassuming building that was built of both yellow and grey bricks, about four storeys high with narrow windows. It didn’t look much like the other places as it didn’t have any girls standing in the window. In fact, the only sign to indicate that it was even a brothel was a small nameplate beside the door reading ‘Casa Del Tarkis: Bordello.’

I looked at the place for a moment and then nodded towards it.

What about that one? I suggested. Will looked at it with interest, checking the building out.

Are you sure? It looks a bit sleazy!

If anything it looks less sleazy than the other places! Will raised any eyebrow at me.

Ok then... If you insist...

We both stayed rooted, looking at the building. I didn’t want to go first. The situation was embarrassing. Eventually Will got tired and he pushed me towards the door.

You suggested the place, he argued.

But what do I do?

I don’t know... Knock on the door? Break in through a window? He was being sarcastic and it didn’t help.

My heart was pounding in my chest. I felt really uncomfortable and I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Will huffed and moved me out of the way when he realized I wasn’t going to do anything.

He knocked on the door with a heavy fist and he stood by my side whilst we waited to be admitted.

You’re still feeling nervous aren’t you?

Yeah... We’re about to go into a brothel... A BROTHEL...

Keep your voice down Dan, he warned, as though it mattered. We were in Amsterdam’s red light district after all.

The door was opened by a tall woman, about fifty years of age, with big black hair and green eyes. She had many wrinkles and the look of ancient school headmistress, the strict kind.

Her eyes fell on Will and she gave a smile.

Ahhh. So the demon has returned, she remarked in a cold Italian accent. Come in child. My girls cannot stop talking about you... My boys have not recovered!

I glanced at my friend. He had gone bright red. Evidently he had visited before, even despite claiming that the place was ‘a bit sleazy.’

I followed Will and the Italian lady through the door and into a lounge, covered from floor to ceiling with red velvet. There was a winged staircase at the back of the room and in one corner was a blazing fireplace that was surrounded by many attractive looking girls. These weren’t the same type as the ones in the windows outside. The ones in the windows looked positively revolting compared to those in here. These were very much the type of girls I would happily take home to meet my mum, if I had one.

My eye fell on one girl in particular. She was bronze coloured, about twenty years of age, and with sweet looking curly brown hair. Her lips were painted bright red and she had one of the nicest smiles I have ever seen. She was wearing a particularly alluring low-cut, red dress. Our eyes met for a moment and I knew instantaneously that I had to have her.

It was love at first sight.

My mind was snapped away by the voice of the Italian woman. She was speaking directly to me so I had no choice but to listen.

My name is Madonna Carmella Gelo-Foro and I am the proprietor of the Casa Del Tarkis. We ask only two things from your visit here. Firstly you must behave like gentlemen and treat my girls with dignity, respect and decorum... Treat them the way you would treat a true lover. My girls are not prostitutes and nor are they whores. They are women of style and of substance. They are what we in Italia would call ‘cortigiana...’ I nodded. I didn’t plan on doing anything nasty and in my own mind I always behaved like a gentleman. Madonna continued.

The second thing we ask is that you use protection. I will not have my girls contaminated by disease or pregnancy. I again nodded to show my understanding.

She had stopped talking so I once again took the opportunity to look at the attractive girl with the curly brown hair. Madonna noticed my gaze and she walked over to the girl... I say walked... She floated. She looked between the two of us and then nodded her approval before walking away.

Needless to say I was left confused as to what to do next.

What do we do now? I nudged Will. Will shrugged and looked around.

Pick a girl I guess...

I didn’t need to choose. I already knew which one I wanted; the one with the bronze skin and the red dress. Will had been right after all. I did feel better now that I was inside. All the nerves and the bad feelings had gone away and I was feeling relaxed. My heart jumped as the good looking girl began to stride over. The closer she got the better looking she became and my feelings towards her became more and more intense.

When she was stood next to me she smiled a beautiful smile and she took my hand.

I am Evangeline... Come with me, she said with a wonderful flourish as she took me towards the stairs.

I went willingly, not looking anywhere else but at Evangeline.

I’m Dan... I told her, my throat suddenly going dry. She smiled again.

Dan... I like that... I followed her up the stairs, still holding her hand. Where are you from Dan?

I’m from a place called Worton...

My sister and I went on holiday near there once... Blackpool? The hotel owner told us that Worton was a shite-hole!

Yeah... It is! I laughed. Evangeline laughed back.

God damn she was beautiful! I couldn't help thinking that I wanted her all to myself forever and ever even though I should have known that would never be possible. Evangeline had been with other men before me and she would be with many more after me. Evangeline would soon forget about me. In a way I think I was jealous of that. She was mine God damnit. I didn’t want anyone else to have her. SHE WAS MINE!

Soon all those jealous thoughts and the fact that our encounter was only destined to last less than a few glorious hours dispersed from my mind and I was wrapped completely in Evangeline’s beauty. I was barely even aware of my surroundings as we walked up the stairs and entered another velvet room, this time with a bed as well as the obligatory fireplace and a méridienne in one corner.

Evangeline brought me close so that we were almost touching and I could have reached out with my lips and kissed her.

I was about to do just that when she let go of my hand and pushed me over so that I ended up reclining on the méridienne.

Evangeline took a step backwards so that she was standing in front of the fireplace, giving me one of those lovely smiles at the same time. She reached behind herself with practiced efficiency and then her dress slid gracefully to the floor.

She was wearing nothing underneath and now I could see her bronze body in all its feminine glory.

Evangeline wasn’t skinny, she had a fair bit of flesh on her, but she had a wonderfully curved torso that reminded me of the exotic beauties that you see in old adventure films. Down below she was clean shaven and I could see that she pulsated every time she made the tiniest of movements, inviting me inside her so that she could eat me all up.

I found the most extraordinary part of her body to be her breasts. They were high and wide with a fairly small nipple area... Almost perfect.

Evangeline glided towards me and those breasts remained motionless as though they were fixed to the one spot. The sight of this goddess gave me a wild stirring below. Every instinct in my head was telling me to rip my clothes off and go mad, laying into her with all the passion I could conjure. I restrained myself and I waited for Evangeline to make her move.

She reached the méridienne and then straddled me so that our genitals were barely apart.

Do you want me Dan? she asked seductively. Do you want to make love to me and fill me with your sparkling oils? I nodded, all my thoughts engaged in fantasies about what I was about to do to her.

Evangeline reached down into my pants and gripped me with a set of sensual of fingers. They wrapped tight around and I felt a spasm of ecstasy as they began to caress me. After a minute or so, during which Evangeline toyed with me, I could take no more. I had to have her. Evangeline had to be mine. I sat up and I reached for her mouth.

Kissing her felt like heaven. Her lips were strong and powerful and she certainly knew how to kiss well. I became so wrapped in the moment that I forgot about all thoughts and just went with the flow.

Seconds later I literally ripped my t-shirt clean off and continued with the passion. Evangeline took hold of my hands and then moved them so that they were enveloped around each one of her breasts. I felt their hard, wonderful texture beneath my fingers and I closed my eyes...

That’s when a disturbing thought crossed my mind and all erotic feelings vanished.

I couldn’t help thinking about Eliza and the way she had used me like a piece of meat, the way she had used me in order to get close to Will. It made me feel dirty, unclean and disgusting.

As a result, I no longer wanted to hold Evangeline and make love to her. I no longer wanted to make love to anybody... I realised in that moment that I physically couldn't make love to anyone. I wanted to cry...

That is what I did.

My hands dropped from Evangeline’s breasts and I gently pushed her away from me.

Dan? What is it? Evangeline soothed as tears began to flow down my cheeks.

I... I can’t do this... I told her through sobs. I can’t...

You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to Dan. It’s ok... Evangeline put an arm over my shoulder.

You don’t understand, I cried. It’s not that I don’t want to... It’s just that I can’t... I like you Evangeline. I think you’re... I think you’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever met! Evangeline blushed and thanked me for my compliment.

I went silent after that but I still cried quite a lot. Evangeline was also silent but she kept her arm around me. It was tender and warm and I was grateful that it was there. She never asked for an explanation but once I had stopped crying a little I thought it best if I told her why I was upset. She deserved an explanation.

I’m very sorry, I began. But it’s not your fault... It’s too soon. I’m not ready.

Are you a virgin Dan? Is that what all this is about?

I’m not a virgin. It’s just my last girlfriend... Eliza. She was a cow... She was a dirty no good despicable piece of filth who just slept with men and then threw them away like a piece of trash... I said this with more than a hint of bile.

Is that what she did? Threw you away?

It was far worse than that... She hurt a lot more people than just me... My friend, the one I came in with...

The demon? She slept with him? I shook my head at her to indicate that she was partially wrong. The tears had stopped now and I was just angry at the memories of that dreadful night which were echoing round my mind.

She didn’t sleep with him. That cow fucked him against his will without a thought for anyone but herself... She hurt me and she hurt my friend... I’ll never forgive her for that... And I’m sorry Evangeline. I’m sorry that I can’t... sleep with you... but I’m not ready to sleep with anyone just yet. I thought I was but I’m not...

Your friend, the demon, how has he taken it? I wondered why on earth she kept referring to Will as ‘the demon’ and reflected on what it might mean before I answered her question.

In all truth, DI Fisher, I don’t exactly know how Will has taken what happened to him at Eliza’s hands. I know he was seriously upset at loosing Alison to Murdoch as a result of it and he moped around for a few days after she had left. I’m not even sure how Will feels about the incident itself.

I will put this theory forward based on a sudden change to his usual behaviour. Not long after he stopped moping I got a whiff of gossip that there was a girl in the year above us who had been bragging about sleeping with him. At the time I believed it to be rubbish as Will always politely rebuffed any advances with the claim that he was ‘spoken for.’ Then another girl started boasting about it, quickly followed by another and then another. Then a few guys joined in. All of them had similar stories and they all said that Will had given them a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity to sleep with him. 

None of us believed it to be true until Doug and Amanda returned home and found him butt naked against the kitchen table, loudly and coarsely humping a much older woman from UCLAN. Needless to say it was all the proof we needed that the rumours were true. Will was playing around with as many people as he could, sleeping with them all only once, as he promised.

The single exception was a girl called Kate with whom he had been seriously thinking of sticking with before she succumbed to a graffe infection a couple of weeks later. That cut him up for a while and then he went at it much worse than before.

You’ve got to admit therefore, DI Fisher, that his change in behaviour is curious. I believe it is linked to what Eliza did to him, and he’s been subconsciously trying to reclaim what was taken.

It wouldn’t be the first time such a thing has happened.

I explained all this to Evangeline and she listened calmly throughout. Once I had finished she scratched her chin.

Have you spoken to him about it all? Have you asked him how he feels?

No. We never talked about it properly... We just didn’t.

Perhaps you should. It might help both of you to talk it through...

I nodded in agreement.

I had hardly thought about the incident at all actually. I’d bottled everything up and it wasn’t until confronted with the possibility of ‘tripping the light fantastic’ once more that it had come back and hit me. I hadn’t even dared to believe that it would even be a problem, that the very thought of Eliza’s actions would strip all passion from my bones.

The only solution was to talk to Will about what happened. We’d both been coping very differently with the aftermath of the incident and neither method was very healthy. He was leaving a trail of ravished lovers in his wake, whilst I had been suppressing my emotions until I had reached the point where I couldn’t even make love to a whore, albeit an amazingly beautiful whore, without breaking down in tears.

Talking would help both of us deal with our problems.

I climbed off the méridienne and picked up my torn t-shirt from off the floor. It could hardly be called a t-shirt anymore. It was a strip of cloth with a single sleeve. I sighed and tossed it about before looking at Evangeline.

Do you have any safety pins? I asked weakly. Evangeline nodded.

She dressed quickly and slipped out of the room. I was going to wait for her there but I felt so uncomfortable and alone after what had just happened that I couldn’t stand being in that room a moment longer.

And so, with my torn t-shirt over one shoulder, I opened the door and peered out onto the landing. I found that I was about two floors up and there was yet another floor above me.

Unsurprisingly I had taken no notice of my surroundings earlier as I had been bewitched by Evangeline, not that that is a bad thing you understand. Like any normal person would do I climbed those stairs which I had missed earlier in search of an office. An office, even in a brothel, was bound to have useful items such as safety pins.

My plan afterwards was to wait for Will downstairs and hope to god he wasn’t long about it. I urgently wanted to speak to him about what had just happened and I felt that the longer we went without having our important conversation the more precarious our situation would become. 

I reached the top of the stairs and found myself on a narrow landing with a door at either end. One door was locked up tight and the other was open ever so slightly. I assumed that this was the office I was looking for.

I heard no noise coming from inside so I assumed that someone, if anyone was in there, was perhaps filling out forms or administering to accounts or ordering new stock. I gave a little knock and to my horror the door was opened by a completely naked prostitute who saw me with my top off and pulled me into the room.

It was, quite literally, a harem. The room was full of naked and scantily clad prostitutes and reclining in the centre of them all, also naked apart from a pair of shades, was Will. In one hand he was holding a half full goblet of brandy and in the other a smouldering pot joint.

Some of the girls were massaging or nustling him whilst the other prostitutes were draped over him, playing with his hair, their own hair, or each other's hair. The smile Will gave when I entered was utterly disturbing. I tried to focus entirely on his face but my eyes couldn’t help but stray downwards towards his disgustingly oversized junk. It looked like an enormous parsnip and how he actually keeps it inside his pants is a complete mystery.

I don't want to know actually. It was horrible.

Yo... Dan! My main man... Will called out in an unusually happy way. How’s it hangin’? I take it you came to join the bangin’? I raised an eyebrow at him, trying to look through the shades into his eyes.

Will... We need to talk! I said flatly, folding my arms.

Talk away my friend... I’ll comprehend. He leant over and kissed one of the prostitutes in a way that was most unlike him.

Why are you speaking in rhyming couplets?

For the hell of it? I dunno... Spices up life a bit! I watched as he took a huge drag on the joint and then lay back laughing.

You should try this stuff Dan... I haven’t felt this alive in years man... I glanced nervously at the joint between his fingers and shuddered. Seeing the thing up close disgusted me so I outright refused.

No. Will... We really need to talk...

I’m remembering stuff Dan... Good stuff and bad, he announced, leaving me to wonder what on earth he was talking about. "Mon... Ynys Mon! Ynys Mon was the last place in the world to fall... More importantly, I know who I am..."

Who are you? I asked bluntly. Will laughed again and gave a broad grin.

"I’m one of them... THEM Dan... THEM!"

You mean you’re a graffe?

NO! Will snapped back in an eerily relaxed way. "Did you never get the stories as a kid? Tales of heroes and villains and monsters... The gangster spies! The ones about them."

It sounded like he had gone mad. He was making no sense whatsoever. I assume it was just the pot sidea who ‘them’ were and I didn’t find out owing to what happened next...

I was standing and looking unimpressed at Will when the door behind me opened and Madonna glided into the room with a defiant purpose. She clapped her hands together and all the prostitutes left Will alone and stood to attention, staring intently at the Madonna.

Kinderen, she began. Bereid je voor op de strijd ... Amsterdam ligt onder vuur... The prostitutes all looked afraid and began to talk frantically amongst themselves, in various languages, until Madonna clapped her hands once again.

Kinderen, she barked. The prostitutes all stood to attention and then marched from the room like a military squadron.

What’s going on? I asked Madonna patiently.

Yourself and the demon must leave... You must flee the city...

Why? What’s going on? I demanded.

I do not have time to explain. Leave whilst you can... But please, remember us!

She finished speaking and then bowed before floating from the room. I followed her quickly down the stairs, demanding answers.

She gave me none.

When we reached the ground floor I found that Evangeline hadn’t gone for safety pins. She had gone and collected a lot of short wooden poles. I’m guessing that she had been apprehended by Madonna after she had left me a few moments earlier. She seemed to know what was going on and was already busily stoking the fire.

After another minute the prostitutes from Will’s room reappeared, now fully dressed. They approached the fireplace one by one and, as they did so, Evangeline wrapped the end of each stick in a gauze before placing it in the fire to create a flambard. She then handed the flambard to the approaching prostitute.

All this time I stood at the bottom of the stairs looking obviously awkward. I heard Will approaching very calmly behind me. I assumed for a second that he had been putting his clothes back on but he had in fact done no such thing. He was still very naked and still smoking his joint.

I shielded my eyes and turned away in disgust.

Why haven’t you dressed? I hissed at him. He put his free hand on my shoulder which made me feel really uncomfortable.

I’ve paid for an orgy Daniel... I’ll get one even if it kills me... His words made me even more uncomfortable so I pulled away from him. Madonna noticed my movements and turned to us. Her face showed extreme anger but her voice was calm.

What are you two children still doing here? You must go now...

I’ve paid quite a bit of money for tonight... For both myself and for Daniel here... Will took a drag on his joint and looked at the Madonna with displeasure. That pot he was smoking was really affecting him.

He never complains to people about issues of poor service or lost money. He put up and shut up. I recall that he bought a CD, just before Christmas, that failed to play. Instead of returning it he just bought another one and utilized the first disc as shrapnel for his rapidly growing collection of explosive materials. It really wasn’t like him to outright tell Madonna that he had already paid for both of us to get a taste of minge, and then actually demand it from her.

She was ready for Will’s comeback and she shook her head indignantly.

No money shall be taken from you tonight... You will be repaid in full. Now please. Do as I ask, demon, and flee this city...

Will looked solemn for a moment and then nodded, walking slowly to the door.

I followed at a short distance, not wanting to be associated with a person who was butt naked and smoking a joint of pot. It was purely for the fact that it reflected badly on me. I was concerned with what people would think of me for hanging around with such a weirdo.

Goodbye demon... May the lord bless you and keep you from harm, the Madonna said as we exited into the street.

Once again I wondered what on earth she was talking about when she called him demon. I was going to ask but Will had already gone out of the door and I became concerned that he was about to do something insanely stupid.

I took the last look I would ever have of Evangeline, my one true love, and I departed the brothel forever.

And then I discovered that the whole world had gone to shit whilst we had been inside.

****

The only way I can describe it is as hell.

Looking one way down the street things could almost have been normal were it not for all the people running around in panic, attempting to flee the city or gather together as many possessions as they could carry before making their exit. Some of those people were behaving like animals, shoving others out of their way and trampling them under foot as they made their escape.

I could only watch in horror as I caught a brief glimpse of a young woman carrying a crying child being carelessly knocked to the ground. Nobody bothered to help her up. I don’t know what happened to them but I hope to God that they weren’t crushed to death and I hope they got out safely.

There was no order, nobody trying to stem the tide of fear or stop the flood of chaos. Only when I looked in the other direction could I see why everybody was in such a state.

Amsterdam was burning.

Each and every building had become a red hot furnace of rage and destruction, melting under an intense heat that was running towards us at speed. The sky was pure black with smoke and glowing red in the places where flames had already consumed entire streets. The sight of the inferno was terrifying, like a giant beast come to purge Amsterdam of its sins and wipe it from the face of the earth in just the same way as Sodom and Gomorrah before it.

Running amok amongst the burning buildings, howling, jeering and worshipping the gods of destruction were the very cause of all this: The graffe!

They were riding amongst the flames and the debris of the city and crowing at this destruction of their own making. They were more hideous than I had ever seen them. They were in their element, dancing and making merry amongst the fires. They had finally lost the last vestiges of whatever humanity they ever had, and the end of the world had begun.

In the centre of the road, staring at the whole horror show, was Will. He never moved a muscle and he just stood watching everything as the flames and the graffe moved closer and closer.

Will... Come on... We can’t fight them we’ve got to go... I grabbed his arm and pulled him away down the street.

To avoid being caught in the midst of the panicking crowd I turned into an empty side street where I let go of Will’s arm. He kept running but he was slower than normal. Normally he would have been half a length ahead of me if not more but for once we were evenly matched.

We ran down street after street with no sense of direction or idea of where we were headed. Will didn’t have a clue either, as five minutes later he slid to a halt and looked about at our surroundings.

We were somewhere deep within the burning city and it was frightening and cold and terrifying.

Where are we? I asked, half expecting Will to know the answer. It transpired that he didn’t know either and we were actually lost.

I was following you, he politely admitted, strolling around in a circle to get his bearings. He still had the joint of pot between his fingers although all of the running meant that it now only smouldered and was of no use to anyone. Will gave it a quick blow to test it and threw it to the ground when he found it was spent.

We need to make our way out of the city. We’ll be safer in the countryside for now...

Do you think it’s everywhere? The whole world?

No way of knowing until we get out there and see... But I think that if that had happened I’d have seen it coming weeks ago. All of the graffe wouldn’t just rise up at once... It would happen like dominoes... The world slowly collapsing under their claws...

For a brief moment he made sense again, as though the effects of the drugs had worn off. I should have been so lucky. If they had worn off he might have actually covered himself up out of shame.

Instead he walked one way up the street, then the other and then back the other way again. He eventually made up his mind and started casually walking in one direction.

I started to follow but then paused.

From the nearest building came a creaking sound that grew louder before becoming a rumbling. I called out and dashed forwards, pulling him away and pressing him flat against the wall just as the next building along exploded, showering us both with bits of glass and rubble.

When I opened my eyes again Will was staring at me, panting for breath.

And then he kissed me.

HE KISSED ME!

He kissed me on the lips...

It was not something I was expecting and it took me completely by surprise. I don’t know why he did it, after a second I decided to just let him get on with it, and I’m not sure how to describe it to you