Free Voices (Whisper Trilogy Book 3) by Michael Bray

don’t know,” he said, forcing a grin. “I know how much figuring this out means to you. I thought you’d be disappointed.”
    “Not at all. I respect your decision. How about we talk about this later and focus on getting these samples, then we can get out of this rain?”
    “That’s one thing I can agree with you on. It’s cold here.”
    “Tell me about it.”
    They went about their tasks, Emma taking photographs, Alex collecting soil samples.
    “Hey, Emma?” he said, looking at her from where he crouched.
    “Yeah?”
    “Why are you so determined to do this? To go back there after everything that happened?”
    “I’ve asked myself that same question. I think it’s something I feel obliged to do. I don’t know if it’ll prove to be a good or a bad thing, but I feel like I don’t have a choice. If I don’t at least try, I’ll regret it.”
    “Maybe,” he said, staring off into the distance.
    “Anyway, let’s get on with this. I don’t want to be here after dark.”
    “I don’t know why we’re even here at all if I’m honest. This link you keep talking about with Oakwell. It’s… flimsy.”
    “Look, I just find it interesting. This place is said to be the way it is after fifty local peasants were killed in the forest and their enraged spirits trapped there. I think it’s well worth looking into.”
    “But for what?” Alex said. “What can we do?”
    “I don’t know,” Emma replied, wishing she had a better answer. “Maybe I can find some common link – something that ties them together.”
    “The problem is, we’re not looking for something physical. Shit, Emma, I don’t have to tell you. After all, you were there too. What do you expect to find?”
    “Who knows? Either way, it’s getting late. We can talk it over later when we’re back at base camp.”
    “What I wouldn’t give for a hot bath and a soft bed,” Alex said with a sigh, casting a frown to the grey, rain-filled skies.
    “Quicker we get on, quicker we can get back.”
    “Yeah, I suppose so.”
    “Besides,” Emma said, trying to lighten the mood. “Next time, you can pick where we go.”
    Alex didn’t answer, a frown crossing his face, and he wondered if he should tell her that this would be his last trip with her. He decided against it, only because it didn’t seem right. He set about collecting his soil samples as the rain continued to fall.
     
    II
     
    Just a few days after returning home from Romania, Alex Brett waited for his stepmother to pass out. It usually happened a little after ten pm, however tonight, she had won at bingo and had started drinking early. As always, he had stayed in his room, waiting for her to fall silent and stop shouting at whatever she happened to be watching on the television. Just after nine, he went downstairs, moving quietly, heart beating fast.
    It was like Groundhog Day, every single day that passed a repeat of the day before. She lay on the sofa, snoring lightly, greasy hair fanned over the pillow, filthy dressing gown pulled up to reveal her ugly, scabby legs. He stared at the television, which was showing a gameshow to the empty room. Quietly, he grabbed the remote and switched it off, bringing silence to the house.
    The first moment of doubt entered his mind, and in immediate response, he heard them, those creeping whispering things which had never left his head. He had, of course, tried to deny them, to ignore them in the hope that distance would free him from their grasp. He knew, however, from the things they said and the images they showed him, that not only were they still there, but they were growing stronger. He wasn’t sure if it was him or them that had planted the idea in his head for what he was about to do, and he supposed it didn’t matter now. All that mattered was the decision had been taken. He moved past his snoring stepmother, giving her a disgusted sneer as he went into the kitchen, then through the side door leading into the garage. This was his