Free The Dark Horde by Brewin Page A

I’m just a normal kid who you’re wasting your time with trying to diagnose.”
    There was something about this kid he didn’t like. Something he didn’t like from the start. That smile of his seemed wicked, he was too perceptive, he knew too much. Every avenue he tried, this kid seemed to know how to outwit him. That’s what he didn’t like – this strange fourteen year-old child was outwitting him. Outwitting him with uncanny foresight. And he was harbouring something. Something evil.
    What was he thinking! He was getting carried away. Here he was trying to diagnose a child who was coherent, articulate, friendly and cooperative. Not only was he assuming that this kid had some sort of mental disorder, but now he was thinking that he was evil as well! He dismissed these thoughts from his mind and returned to the young boyish face, still smiling. Where was he?
    “Um, so you don’t, you’re not–” He stopped, swallowed and began again.
    Psychiatry had never been this hard.
    “What I mean to ask is, have you had any trouble with your thought-processes this morning? Do they seem speeded up or confused?”
    “No. Do I seem confused? I don’t think I’m the one who’s confused.”
    Little bugger. Don’t react and encourage him. Focus.
    “Are you feeling in any way concerned about what happened last night, or any other recent events?”
    “No. You seem to be more concerned about them than anyone else. Nothing bad has happened to me and nor am I in fear of anything bad happening.”
    “You’re not concerned about seeing or hearing demons?”
    Danny laughed. “Should I be concerned about something that I cannot recall and I’m told only occurred for a couple of hours after the incident yesterday? You seem to like these demons, Doctor Russell. Maybe you’re the one who’s seeing them!”
    Bernard rose, fists clenched at his side. “DANNY! I AM TRYING TO HELP YOU!” He pointed a shaking finger at Danny. “And you’re not helping! This is a serious matter that you seem to think is some kind of joke! Do you find this funny?”
    Still grinning, Danny replied. “Okay, okay, maybe I did see these er, demons, but I certainly don’t recall any of it. It’s nothing to blow your stack over, though. You’re supposed to be helping me, remember? Not shouting. It’s not very professional.”
    Bernard sat in his chair again. “Yes, I’m sorry.”
    At that moment, a nurse called from the doorway, “Is everything all right, Doctor Russell?”
    The doctor turned side-on to his patient to answer, “Yes, everything’s fine.” He turned back to his patient to continue, red-faced.
    Danny lay there as placidly as ever, smiling at him.
    The sly little bastard.

 
    MONDAY 11:47 AM
    It hurt.
    Bruce wasn’t sure what it was, but it hurt like fuck.
    Bruce opened his eyes and saw that he was on the couch in the lounge at Aaron’s place. Closed curtains cast shadows across a room strewn with takeaway food packaging, beer bottles and dirty plates.
    His head throbbed and his tongue felt like it was wrapped in plastic. Struggling to swallow and dampen his mouth, he noticed drool over his face and pillow...
    It was a dark colour and sticky.
    He touched the sides of his face and recoiled with pain. Deep gashes from his own fingernails ran from his eye sockets down his jaw line.
    It had been a big night. Bruce, Aaron and Jason were drinking at Aaron’s place until sometime after the sun came up this morning, but he didn’t remember this happening. Yesterday seemed like a dream.
    Oh fuck. Frank and his dad Barney died yesterday. That wasn’t a dream.
    And the idiots they were, they’d decided to go down to the police scene whilst drunk to see what happened. Vincent, the driver, didn’t even have a full licence. Now he’d lost it for six months and had a huge fine to pay as well. They didn’t even find out what happened at the farm. The exact events that occurred were indistinct this side of the drinking binge, but he did