Free Dead Five's Pass by Colin F. Barnes Page B

dying fungus.
    Frank and Marcel placed Michael’s body in the second examination room. Marge fetched a cup of coffee. Still the same rank stuff as before, but Carise was is no mood to turn it away. Despite the heat of the ankle wound, everything inside her felt cold.
    “Smith called in and said you and Marc were attacked on the mountain,” Marge said as she sat next to her on those uncomfortable reception chairs.
    “Something like that,” Carise said. She could tell Smith hadn’t told her the full story. She didn’t blame him. No one would believe it and it’d only lead to all-out panic.
    “Did you find that girl’s missing boyfriend?”
    “No, not really, it’s… I can’t explain it, Marge. This situation is messed up. But we’re going back up there shortly. We found the cave at least…but unfortunately Michael was already dead when we got there.”
    “Looks like someone cracked a rock on his head,” Marge said. She looked at Carise with her eyes slightly squinted as if she were observing her. Could she tell she was lying? Or was it something else? Could Marge tell she was different somehow…like the girl…
    “Have you or Frank done anything to the observation room yet?” Carise asked.
    “No, we haven’t—”
    “I need to take another look.”
    Marge placed her hand on Carise’s shoulder. “Are you sure you want to—” but Carise stood up with such force she knocked the old woman off the chair and onto her knees.
    “Shit, I’m sorry, Marge. I didn’t mean to—”
    “That’s okay, darlin’, you just let me be, I’ll be okay,” Marge said, backing away from Carise, all the time wearing a frightened and bemused expression on her face.
    Carise wanted to do something or say something to ease Marge’s…what, fear? They’d known each other for over a decade. Why would she be so scared of her? “Marge, I didn’t mean anything by it, I’m just a little stressed with this situation—”
    “It’s fine, darlin’, really.”
    Shaking her head, Carise turned and walked across the station to observation room one. Marcel and Frank exited the second room, looking serious. Marcel caught Carise’s eye and gave her a stern “don’t say anything” kind of look as he approached her.
    “Everything okay with Frank?” she almost whispered.
    “We need to talk.”
    “Follow me,” Carise said, opening the door and entering the hellish room. Only this time it didn’t seem so hellish, which in itself was cause for alarm. She remembered the sheer awe and terror of the last time she looked upon this scene—and on the girl as she cut herself to ribbons.
    They both stood in the spot the girl had previously sat. It was barely the only place not covered in blood or shit. The room stunk and made her stomach roll in on itself. Marcel was holding his jacket over his mouth. Despite that, she closed the door and ignored the looks Frank and Marge were giving her.
    “Do you see it?” she said, pointing to the symbols and tracing a route through the various star shapes. “The constellation…and the message. It’s a story. The girl was giving us a warning. Like some kind of sick prophet.”
    Marcel took the camera from his pocket and looked at the photos from the lake’s chamber on the small LCD screen. He held it up and scanned the room. “She must have been there. Look, the symbols match. But no one could have that good a memory, those markings and angles are just so unnatural. It’s like they—”
    “Draw you in,” Carise finished. “To another world, or dimension or something…into the mind of that…thing.”
    “We have to destroy it,” Marcel said. “Derry has a small mining outfit just a few kilometers from here. I have a key to his yard… I did some consultancy for them early this year. We could get some of their blasting equipment and finish this for good.”
    “But what about Frank and Marge, and what of Smith? They know all about this, we have to get rid of all the evidence so no