Free The Grieving Stones by Gary McMahon

things went wrong. He went around the room putting on all the lights.
    “I… I think she was sleep-walking,” said Alice. “When I woke up she was standing at the top of the stairs. She fell… she just… fell.” She turned her attention back to Moira, who was covering her face with her arms, resembling a child who had fallen and injured herself on the school sports pitch.
    “It hurts,” she said, between sobs. “My leg hurts.”
    The limb was starting to swell. Her shin had doubled in size and her foot was twisted too far to one side. It was clear that a bone was broken.
    “Shall we call an ambulance?” Jake was standing at the bottom of the sofa, his face pale and his eyes darting from one face to another.
    “By the time one comes from the nearest town, she’ll be in even more pain.” Clive took out his phone, looked at it, and then looked at Jake. “It would be quicker to take her to hospital in the van and drop her off at A&E.” He took out the van keys and started to turn towards the door.
    “I’ll do it,” said Steve, taking a few steps forward and reaching out a hand to take the keys. “You’ve all drunk a lot more than me tonight. I’m the only one sober. Besides, I’m not really enjoying being here. I can’t get on the Internet and this place is filthy. I probably shouldn’t have come at all, and now I’m here I just want to be out of the house. It’s… stifling. Can’t you feel it?” He looked right at Alice as he said this, as if she were the focus of his discomfort.
    Clive shook his head. He handed Steve the keys. “If you’re sure… I do still feel a bit pissed.”
    “Yeah. Yeah, I’m sure. I’ll drive her to the hospital and wait there with her. Will you three be okay without the van?”
    “Of course. We won’t need it until we go home. There’s plenty of food and drink, and we’ll be busy all day.” Clive clasped Steve’s hand and then let it go. “Thank you. I appreciate this.”
    Steve nodded. “Don’t be daft. Like I said, I’m glad to be getting out here. Do you really not feel it? The cold cloying atmosphere… I think it’s vile, this place.”
    Alice shook her head. “I like it here,” she said, and then wished she hadn’t. The look Steve gave her made it look as if he was repelled by her words.
    Clive spoke again: “Is that okay, Moira? Do you understand what’s happening?”
    “Of course I fucking understand!” Her voice was too loud in the small room. Her eyes were wet and rimmed with red. She bared her teeth as she spoke, her face twisting into a snarl.
    Steve went into action. “Okay… let’s get her into the van. We’ll try to be as careful as possible, Moira… but it’s going to hurt a bit.”
    “Just get me the fuck out of here.” It was as if her suburban veneer had been stripped away and all that remained beneath was a loathsome fury, a red-hot rage. “I hate it here.”
    Alice stepped close, bent over, and brushed the sweaty hair out of Moira’s face with her hand. “I’m sorry,” she said.
    Moira blinked at her. “No… it wasn’t your fault. I… did you see anyone else in the room?”
    Alice thought about the punch dummy, and then she tried not to think about the figure she thought she’d seen in the kitchen earlier that evening. “No… there was no one. Just us.” She ran her fingers across Moira’s brow. “You have a high temperature,” she said.
    Moira reached up and grabbed her hand, hard, as if she might not let go. “Be careful,” she said, shaking. “Just… be… careful…” Then she closed her eyes and let go of Alice’s hand.
    Although she must have been in great pain, Moira didn’t cry out even once when the men carried her outside and to the vehicle. They carefully laid her down on the rear seats, making her as comfortable as they could. When it was done, she seemed to relax and let herself drift into an uneasy kind of half-sleep.
    Alice climbed into the van with a blanket and laid it across