Jerry supported her as her voice began to weaken.  She appreciated it and had already started to consider him a friend.  Relationships forged easily at times like this, she realised.  “Yeah, I remember,” Jerry said.  “Its face was much flatter and rounded – more like an ape than a dog, except its mouth took up half its face.  It was full of teeth; rows and rows of them like those chomp-monsters in The Langoliers.  You ever see that flick?”

Damien scoffed.  “How could you make out all that detail in a blizzard?”

Jerry shook his head.  “I don’t know.  It was as though there was a glow around it.  A sphere of light.”

Damien shook his head, obviously not buying any of it, but said nothing.  Jess saw a similarly incredulous expression on Kath’s face as well.  Screw you both, she thought.

The others stayed quiet too, until Jerry finally said, in a croaky voice, “We haven’t even told you about the sick bastard that murdered my best friend – turned him right to dust.”

Everyone looked at Jerry.

###

When the teenagers, Jess and Jerry, had finished telling their wild story about a hooded figure turning their friend to dust, Harry was speechless.  Of course, he didn’t believe such a ridiculous tale – such a thing was impossible – but the story still managed to unsettle him.  Whether or not it was true, something had obviously sent the kids running inside the pub.

Harry swigged his beer as he stared into the fire, listening to the conversations of the group rather than participating in them.  He tuned in to the sound of Kath who was busy berating Jess about what the girl had just told them.

“You silly, attention-seeking, twit,” the woman told the girl.  “You’re just trying to frighten everybody.  I’ve never heard such codswallop in all my life.”

Jess slapped her palms against her forehead in dismay.  “I watched Jerry’s best friend die.  If you hadn’t been too busy abandoning me then you may have been there to see it too.”

“How dare you!  I did nothing of the sort.  I shouted and looked everywhere for you, but you’d wandered off carelessly.”

Jess sneered.  “Bollocks!”

“That is it, young lady!” Kath’s voice quivered with rage.  “Don’t you bother coming in to work tomorrow because you are fired, young lady!”

Jess laughed.  “We’re in a pub, Kathleen, not at work.  I can say what the hell I like to you.  Don’t worry though because I quit anyway.”

“Music to my ears.  Now I can employ someone with half a brain.”

“Actually, you need to hire someone without a brain, then they won’t mind working for a pathetic bully like you.  I understand though, Kathleen, it must be difficult being a spinster.”

“You spiteful little bitch!  You know nothing about me.”

Harry watched as Kath threw off her duvet and leapt to her feet.  For a second, it seemed as though the older woman was going to go for Jess, but instead she turned away from the group and departed towards the toilet.

“You two don’t get on then?” Lucas quipped from the edge of the group.

“Can you tell?” Jess replied.  “Got to tell you though, it felt really good saying that to her.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” said Harry.  “Maybe you should just let things lie for now though.  Who knows how long we’ll be stuck in this situation together.”

“I know.  I’ll leave her alone, so long as she doesn’t get in my face.  I need to ask her where the warehouse guy went first though.  She treats Peter like dirt and I need to make sure he’s alright.”

Jess shoved herself up onto her feet and headed after Kath.  Once she’d taken half-a-dozen steps, a body crashed through the window.

Chapter Sixteen

“Peter!” Jess screamed.

Harry watched the girl drop to her knees, scrambling over to the body now splayed across the pub’s wooden floor.  The boy was barely conscious, covered in blood, and murmuring deliriously in a foreign language.  Cold air flew in through the broken window and extinguished any minor warmth that had managed to remain inside the pub.

Harry clambered across the room, skidded to his knees, and came to a stop beside Jess and the injured boy.  Did she say his name was Peter? 

Jess looked at Harry; a hollow stare consumed her delicate features, while tears dripped from her grief-stricken blue eyes and stained her cheeks.  “Help him, please.”

Harry choked on his words.  “I…I…What’s…What’s happened to him?”

“I don’t know,” cried Jess.  “Just please make him alright.”

“I’ll tell you what happened,” said Jerry, rushing over to join them.  The others in the pub – minus Kath who was still in the toilet – stood on the periphery, watching.  “It’s those monsters outside,” Jerry continued.  ”The evil monk and his pet dog.”

Harry blinked.  “You’re speaking gibberish!”

“You reckon?”  Jerry contested.  “Then why don’t you tell me what can chuck a guy through a pub window like a ragdoll, huh?”

Harry had no answer and that worried him, but before he could send himself deeper into anxious musings, Jess shoved him hard on the arm.  “You’re not helping.”  She beat her fists against his arm again.  “You need to help him.”

“Okay,” said Harry, shaking himself into action and raising his voice.  “Let’s get him someplace comfortable.  I need someone to bring me blankets, bandages, anything like that.  Is there a first aid kit here?”

Steph stepped forward and nodded.  “There’s one in the back. I’ll go get it.”

Harry smiled, glad to have her help.  When Steph rushed off, he turned to address the others.  “Jess and I are going to carry Jerry over to the couch by the fire.  While I’m doing that I need the rest of you to get that window covered up before we all freeze to death.”

There was a mumbling of agreement and everyone got to work.  Harry slid his right arm underneath Peter’s shoulders and instructed Jess to get his legs.  She did so without argument.  “We need to move slowly,” he told her.  “We don’t know what kind of damage has been done, so easy does it.”

Jess nodded agreement and the two of them shuffled their way across the bar, being careful to avoid twisting or jerking the patient in their care.  In the corner of his eye Harry was aware that the others in the pub were upending a table and pushing it up against the broken glass. He was surprised to see that Damien was also amongst the group; in fact he seemed to be the one taking charge.

Maybe he’s not as selfish as he tries to show people he is.

“Okay, Jess,” said Harry, coming to a stop gradually besides the sofa, “you lower Peter’s legs and I’ll lower his body.  Carefully does it.”

The two of them lowered Peter down, an inch at a time, until finally, he was resting securely on the sofa.  Amidst the glow of the fireplace, the severity of the boy’s wounds became evident.  Shards of glass protruded from deep gashes all over his body, poking through his torn clothing like alligator teeth.  Harry also noticed that one of the boy’s eyes had been mangled beyond repair.  It looked like a squished cherry tomato and dripped blackish-red gunge down his cheek.  Harry felt his stomach tighten.

Who the hell did this?  Who could make such a mess of another human being?

“Peter, everything is going to be fine now.”  Jess spoke soothingly, stroking a hand across the boy’s forehead.  “You’re safe and I’m going to look after you.”

Peter muttered something in reply but it made no sense, more of a gurgle than discernible speech.  Harry continued to examine his body and was shocked to discover yet more wounds, more cuts, and more blood.  Not to mention a broken ankle that seemed like it had been attached to the boy’s shinbone back to front, sticking out at a gruesome angle.

Harry placed a hand against Peter’s clammy cheek and shook his head.  “Who did this to you?”