Free Sentinel by Joshua Winning Page B

bed, shivering in the cold as he spread the horde out in front of him. The silver raven on the cover of The Sentinel Chronicles shone in the moonlight. Nicholas flipped to the first page of the book.
    To the Sentinel collective, whom we present the most recent journal of events.
    Nicholas wondered what the Sentinel collective was. It sounded like some sort of organisation. This book – a journal of sorts detailing the events of every week in October 1983 – certainly seemed to back up that theory. He remembered that the other Sentinel volumes in the hidden room all had years marked on their spines. He wished he could go back and take a few more books, but he didn’t dare risk waking Tabatha. Those cogs weren’t exactly quiet.
    He turned to the first entry and read by the light of the moon.
    2 J ANUARY, 1983
    Woodpoint Prison is no more. Esus has called an emergency summit. What follows is an account of the events that led to the devastation of the prison and its inhabitants.
    Ten pm Woodpoint Prison, North London. After lights out, prisoner #5532, Arnold Humphreys, reported that his cellmate, Timothy Bull (#6723), was behaving strangely. He was ordered to be quiet by the wardens.
    Humphreys fell silent for a time. At 10:24 there were reports of a scream. Wardens unlocked cell #19 – the cell occupied by Humphreys and Bull – and found Humphreys crumpled in a corner with his throat torn out. After a brief tussle, Bull condemned the wardens to the same fate.
    Using the keys from the dead wardens, Bull unlocked the remainder of the cells and slaughtered the inmates. He then progressed through the prison, killing anybody in his way, and eventually burned the entire complex to the ground. Of the 50 souls interred there, and the 10 guards on duty, only one of them survived – inmate Joseph Turner (#3625).
    11.32am Bull was found by Sentinel Andrew Davis, resident of Croft Heights, a neighbourhood half a mile from the prison. Davis suffered a bite to the neck, but managed to knock Bull unconscious. Later, Bull was restrained, questioned and tested by Davis, who discovered that Bull had mutated. Davis believes the mutation was linked to an insect bite on his forearm. Bull displayed the same symptoms as a rabid dog, and was eventually shot dead after escaping his restraints and attempting to strangle Davis.
    Nicholas stopped reading, shocked by the grisly story. The Chronicles seemed to be some sort of macabre horror anthology. And yet the nameless author’s tone seemed assured enough, as if these were hard facts. Nicholas’s insides leapt when he allowed himself to consider that the story was, in fact, true. If it was true, just what sort of organisation was this? And how were his parents involved?
    Suddenly tired, he closed the book and fell back onto his pillow, pulling the duvet up around him. He pondered the ceiling and his thoughts turned to what would happen tomorrow. He thought about the bus journey, and how a stranger would be accompanying him. Richard somebody. He realised with a jolt that he didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay in the house where the memories of his parents were most vivid.
    He tried to imagine what the next day would hold, but found he couldn’t. What worried him most was his godmother, of whom he knew nothing about. He remembered the strange smile Sam had worn when he had mentioned her in the garden. Sam obviously liked her, and yet had remained tight-lipped, refusing to tell Nicholas anything. Would this woman know anything about his parents? Would she have answers? Nicholas knew that his parents had been going to visit her; that much he had learned from the letter. But why had they never mentioned her to him?
    Nicholas rolled over in bed, throwing his leg outside the covers. He felt hot and anxious. He didn’t think sleep would ever come.
    Something caught the corner of the boy’s eye and Nicholas’s head spun toward the window. He threw himself out of bed and rushed over. A black shape