Kiss at Midnight (The Shades of Northwood 4)

THE SHADES OF NORTHWOOD 4:

KISS AT MIDNIGHT

Wendy Maddocks

©2013 by Wendy Maddocks

Smashwords edition

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Other works by Wendy Maddocks

Stand alone novels

Twisted evil

Into the darkness

Short story collections

The thrill of the Chase

A Shade too young

The Shades of Northwood series

Running shoes

Circle of arms

Unfinished business

Kiss at midnight

Circle of the Fallen series

Angels of America

Poetry collections

When I was young

Before the dawn

Screenplays

RISK

Non-fiction

Student: dazed and confused

Where we left…

Katie followed Jaye through the corridor and towards a side exit in silence. Neither of them knew what to say. She glanced over her shoulder at the shrinking people in the corridor. They needed to know she was okay, she was safe. For one heart breaking instant, re-assuring them was the most important thing in the world. Nobody deserved to feel so empty or so guilty. It’s not your fault. Don’t blame yourselves. But no-one answered. She felt hot tears burning the back of her eyes and her throat begin to close up. Once outside and settled in a corner of the medical centre grounds, Jaye broke the silence. Sort of.

You know what happened to you?

I think so. I died. Didn’t I?

We tried to bring you back but you kept pushing us all away. There were things you needed to do.

There were?

You don’t remember. It’ll come back to you. You’ve only just woken up.

I lost.

Jaye laid her hand over hers. For the first time in… how long… she was touching something real. No, you won Katie. You killed that man and you fought the darkness. I can see it in you now, you’re light again. Absolutely pure and good.

The spell. Katie held her hand out and flexed her fingers around the raw tissue. It burnt the darkness out of me. It was gone by the time I got to the club. I just remembered it well enough to pretend it still owned me.

But that means you killed him in cold blood?

There was a pause as the idea sank in. Somehow, Katie thought it was worth risking her innocence for.

I remember the dreams. The ones where the zombies were trying to get me. And then I let them. And my family were there and I couldn’t save them. Jaye, what were my parents doing in my nightmare?

I don’t know. I don’t know the first thing about dreams. But… maybe it’s ‘cos you’re always thinking of them. You’re always trying to protect them from the monsters.

That’s why I couldn’t touch them. I can’t save them like this.

The telepathic messages between them died out for a few minutes. Katie lifted a hand and looked at it wonderingly. She wasn’t solid like any of the others. She was real enough that she could see her own body, her bloody hospital gown and bare feet. But she was, at the same time, transparent enough that she could see the trees swaying and people walking or cycling past through her own hands. And questions came as she stared and enjoyed this new peace. How was she going to find Jack? Did dying mean she could have this inner quiet forever now? What about school and running? Could she ever see her parents and sister again? But the concerns seemed very distant. Not insignificant or irrelevant. Just… not urgent.

But one question was shouting… demanding to be asked.

Jaye, how do I do this? How do I be dead?

Chapter one

I don’t care that it’s ugly, I’m keeping it, said Jaye after a long silence. She rolled her sleeves up and held her right arm out, nodding slightly. Yeah. I like it. It’s symbolic, don’t you think? It, like, ties us all together – a symbol of what we all did.

A harassed looking woman – Carol, who worked on reception – hurried past and threw a funny look at the girl with the silver scar who appeared to be talking to herself. Jaye glared back and Carol shook her head and moved on.

All I see, began her partner in conversation. All I see is a permanent reminder that you guys risked everything for me and I died anyway. You don’t have to keep it… and you shouldn’t.

Most of the others won’t get the choice, you know, she carried on as though Katie had never even spoken. Which she hadn’t. At least, not in the physical sense. Most of them’ll scar eventually anyway but if they – hey, are you cold?

No, I’m shivering for the fun of it. And then Katie realised that none of the snarky comebacks she wanted to answer stupid questions with were secret any more. She blushed - well, maybe she blushed. Her cheeks certainly warmed up but she wasn’t sure she had any real blood to give them that rosy tint. Yes, I’m freezing.

Might help if you put some clothes on then, babe.

Katie looked down at herself, long brown hair streaked with dried blood falling over her face – a thin hospital gown and a plastic band around her ankle with her name and medical number on it. No wonder she was cold. How?

Just close your eyes and imagine them on you. One condition though… you have to physically own them. And if nothing you own fits, then somebody can buy you stuff and give it to you. Then it’s truly yours and you can wear it. Get it?

Katie nodded even though she wasn’t sure at all.

So, go on. Try it.

She hesitated. All kinds of things could go wrong. What if she imagined her hospital gown off but couldn’t make anything replace it? What if she imagined herself into an outfit and couldn’t get rid of it? What if her focus took a holiday and she imagined the whole town into Disney OTT-ness? What if she just thought about clothes and ended up wearing everything she owned? Oh God, this could go wrong in so many ways. The only consolation was that if she did mess up then Jaye was the only one around to see. With a final look at Jaye for encouragement, Katie screwed her eyes shut and tried to think herself into some proper clothes.

All the clothes she had at home, all the new things Marcie had made her buy just a couple of weeks ago, and the only one that stayed in the front of her mind was a white and pale blue outfit she didn’t even own any longer. The pale blue sweats had been what she was wearing when the world first got ripped from underneath her. The tracksuit that had been torn to shreds and stained with blood and guilt and shame was the last thing she wanted to be wearing. Think of something else, anything else. Something was happening.

I guess it’s a start.

What? What have I done?

Katie followed a pointing finger down to her feet, now clad in thick soled but air light work boots. Laces snaked over the floor at the sides and Katie bent down to tie them up, feeling a restraining hand on her arm.

Imagine them tied.

It took a few minutes and a few accidents but finally the boots were tied with the power of her mind. And she was exhausted.

Do you remember what you had to do? Katie frowned at her friend. We tried to save you, keep you alive, but you said you had things to do. What things?

Had she? Why would she say that? Why would she prevent the big-hearted girl saving her life and willingly dive into death? Maybe something had happened. I don’t know. I can’t remember much. Jaye, why can’t I remember? Suddenly she was frightened. Behind Katie was a chaos of colour and sound, flashes and lightning strikes, whilst before her… she just didn’t know. Couldn’t even picture anything beyond this very moment.

It’ll come, Jaye assured her. Dying’s a very traumatic experience, you know.

But you knew right away. That you were dead, I mean. You knew that. Did you know how it happened?

No. And I still don’t. But I can take a pretty good guess. She stopped talking for a minute and rubbed her hands over face. My ex boyfriend was lovely. Always looked out for me, always stood up for me. Until that night. We went to bed and then something happened. I think they said it was some undiagnosed heart problem or something, but I opened my eyes and I was… And he wasn’t there either. He assumed he’d done something and then he took off before I knew how to tell him it wasn’t his fault. He went off the rails after that. Mickey, his name was.

That’s harsh.

Yeah, but I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

She remembered something Jaye had said not long after they had first met. You said he was in prison now. He didn’t hurt you, did he?

That’s the story I heard. Millford. We lived there. I died there. And, no – to the other bit. Jaye smiled and sat back, her baby blues in a far away and happy place. He never touched me in anger. A shadow clouded her gaze and was gone so fast Katie wondered if she had imagined it. He was so sweet. So laidback. There were stories that he just snapped and… but he didn’t. I’d know.

Really?

Maybe, she shrugged. I never visited him to find out.

Do you ever think you should? Just to let him know it wasn’t his fault?

She shrugged. Jaye was still a kid – older than Katie, sure, but under that smiley veneer, she was still young and confused and… vulnerable. They had that in common. The dead have issues with the living. Outside Northwood they do, anyway. There are rules. And how was Jaye meant to explain them to this girl when no-one had done the same for her?

I thought you said you died in Millford. So... how did you get to come back? It was my understanding that Northwood was the only place with that power.

Remember when I said weird crap goes on in that town? Jaye stood up and gestured to herself. Say hello to the weird.

A hush fell over the pair as late afternoon faded into evening. Katie was trying to remember anything about the earlier part of the day. It didn’t seem right that she was sitting her in a blood-spotted hospital gown and work boots when she had died just a handful of hours ago. The only thing she really clung to was that her friends had been there with her – where-ever there had been – had all willingly stepped into a circle and shared her pain. It had been dangerous and stupid. They had known what they were risking but they had believed in Katie – had faith that she was strong enough to survive anything. And how had she proved that faith? Katie stood up and held her hand out to Jaye who just stared at it with far away eyes. Sitting here moping was depressing. Katie felt Jaye put her hand in hers even if she couldn’t feel it, and jerked her head back towards the hospital. There were people in there who needed a hug more than she did.

Although the medical building was only small, the corridors seemed longer this time around… silent and stretching. There was the steady thud and squeak of Jaye’s platform shoes on over-polished tiles. That was the only sound echoing – the place felt abandoned even though there was always somebody here. Jaye stopped at the door with a discreet MORTUARY sign above it. Nobody wanted the place shoved in their faces. Through the frosted glass, a few bobbing heads were silhouetted against the fluorescent lights. Adam, Dina, Marcie… the only three who had been able to come to the hospital. It seemed pitiful that there should only be a handful of people mourning a girl who had touched all their hearts. The door opened and Adam stood there with one hand on the handle and one pressing the little white pad that controlled the lock. He just stood there, staring at Katie. The only sign that anything was wrong was shaggy blond hair that was messed up from having hands constantly dragged through it. He pulled his gaze away from Katie and came to rest on Jaye, holding the door open so that she could duck under his arm. Not that much ducking was needed with over a foot in height between them.

Nobody looked at Katie when she stood in the middle of the seats her friends occupied. They can’t see me, she realised. Even Adam couldn’t see me. He was just trying not to look at her.

They need to know.

But not just yet. They’ll have questions and we need to figure out some answers they’ll believe.

It wasn’t hard to guess that the small gang were discussing Katie’s parents. Of course they had to know. Their eldest daughter had gone off to college and she was dead before the first half a term was out. It happened all over the country but not to the Cartwright family who had surely been through more than enough. Katie chewed on her bottom lip as she listened to the conversation flow around her. It was halting and forced. Talking about anything seemed to be the last thing any of them wanted to do. She wanted to scream at them to just SHUT UP THEN! but they wouldn’t have heard her.

I can’t believe it, muttered Dina, rubbing sleep out of her eyes but not looking as though the doze had been very restful. She saved my life not too long ago and I couldn’t save hers. What kind of friend does that make me? What does that make any of us?

Katie moved over to her and sank down in front of Dina, willing those sharp eyes to notice her. D, you guys are the best friends I could have wanted. I know we didn’t know each other very long and you tried to drug me when we met but… Jesus, this is hard. I want to be remembered, not mourned. Not grieved over. Because, for whatever reason, I’m still here. She turned her attention to Marcie. Perhaps the young woman had felt the hurt most of all. She had to explain the death of Aunt Katie to her young son - a job Katie didn’t envy her. Over the last couple of months Marcie had become a sort of cool aunt of her own, spending Saturday nights with her watching films and drinking wine.

She was a really sweet girl, Marcie sobbed. No tears but her breath shuddered her every word. Freddie thought the world of her.

We all did.

And now I need to go tell him. It’s his birthday on Saturday. We were going to take him to the Plush Play in the shopping centre. It won’t be the same…

I could come, Jaye offered and glanced over at Katie for her approval. It was given. I’m not Katie but hell, at least I’m small enough to race him to the ball pit. She’d want that.

Katie felt tears beginning to warm the backs of her eyes. She blinked them away, not sure she could have cried them anyway. This moment wasn’t hers. This was about her, about the lives she’d left behind, and her heart was breaking. She had no right to feel this way. According to Jaye, dying had been a choice. A chink of light drifted through the far window as a shadow passed through and left the building. Daylight. Even though she had just come back inside, the sunshine felt very far away.

Marcie nodded but the accompanying smile was strained. A figure in a white coat blew through the corridor and paused at the open door to the cold room further in. He was reading something off a clipboard and trying not to meet anybody’s gaze, clearly uncomfortable at having living people and vital emotions in his chamber of corpses. Powerless to resist, Katie followed some twisted desire to see her body – see what had been done to it. Every logical thought she had shrieked at her to turn around and walk away without looking back… and she believed it implicitly – looking down on her own ravaged shell could only lead to emotional meltdown. But there was something stronger than cold logic at work here. Something primal. Something possessive. It was her body and, dammit, Katie didn’t want it bisected and dissected.

Once she was in the frigid air of the room with the world looking as still as her own body on the metal slab before her, the urge to run away battered at her once more. The door had swung shut behind the man in the white coat, leaving her trapped like a small animal in this place.

There was no escape.

The instant turning around to leave was cut off as an option, even that dark desire to peek under that lumpy sheet quieted. Something horrible was trapped in here with her and the man in the lab coat. Katie reached a hand out towards the white sheet, a good few feet from touching it. And she stayed like that, frozen. Unable to move forward, unable to go back. There was no way she could touch the sheet o draw it back, her hands would sink right through the cotton. Why was she on a slab in the mortuary anyway, and not tagged and slid into a chill locker? There was nothing mysterious about the way she died. No need for her to be out here to be stared at by curious medical students. Then the man in the lab coat strode over to the counter and took out a package of sterile instruments and left them on the counter as he went over to flick the blinds closed and the spotlights over the body on. He put a few things on the wheeled trolley and pushed it over to the body, ripping open a pack with a scalpel in.

What? What are you doing?

This doctor of death was going to stick that sharp knife into Katie and slice her open. What he was hoping to find inside her could be anything – maybe this was routine, maybe he had suspicions. Whatever. This was insanity. She reached out and tried to put a hand out to stop his arm moving towards her body. It fell straight through him. How could she stop him hurting her if she couldn’t even touch him? He folded a sheet over her and slightly shifted his grip on the scalpel. It arced down, surgical steel glinting in harsh light. So clinical, so cold, so perfectly unemotional.

Stop it! Don’t hurt me!

Her protests were doing no good. So far, only Jaye had been able to see and hear her, and she couldn’t expect this man to be able to hear her thoughts at all. No matter how loud she thought.

He looked down at the pale body laid out before him and swore quietly. So much fucking worse when it’s a kid.

Fighting it all the way, Katie followed his eyes and found herself staring into her own face. She was pale – paler than she had ever seen herself but nowhere near the greyish pallor she had expected. Her eyes were closed and looked bruised and sunken. An open but bloodless cut marred one cheek. She looked… perfect. Dead people in books or on TV always came across as exhausted, ruined, broken. But not this girl. This girl would be young and pretty forever. She couldn’t bring herself to take a look further down her body; her slashed legs and shoulder. The fact that they would be bloodless too was somehow worse than pools of ruby life. It meant that her flesh was truly dead.

Her body empty of blood and breath.

She was pretty much hypnotised by the cruel glint of razor sharp steel getting closer and closer to her skin.

Stop it! You can’t hurt me. I’m not dead, not really. Can’t you see me? I’m standing right here. Get that thing away from me!

But it kept coming. Closer and closer until it was a millimetre away from cold flesh and time seemed to freeze. Katie screwed her eyes shut and opened her mouth to scream, imagining the scalpel parting her flesh like soft fruit. I’m not a fruit, she thought. Would she feel the knife cutting through her mortal body via some psychic link? Maybe she’d be sucked right back into that physical agony. Maybe her body had to be intact to maintain this ghostly version of herself. Then those musings were lost as Katie opened her eyes into utter blackness. Such a complete darkness that Katie had to raise her hands to checks she had not left her eyes closed by mistakes. No, they were most definitely open. There was just nothing to see.

She did not know how long this complete void would swallow but rather than be panicked by it, Katie stilled her bouncing feet and twitching fingers, took a deep breath (which she wasn’t sure she actually needed) and tried to calmly piece together what had happened earlier today, why she was suddenly dead, whether she should be worried and what these things were Jaye had claimed she had wanted to die to do. Simple. Yeah, even I don’t believe that. Katie bit down on her tongue, hoping the jolt would make that annoying voice shut the hell up. She didn’t hold out much hope – until her mind was as surprised as her mouth at tasting very real blood there. Bits and pieces started trickling into her mind like the blood sliding down her throat. Silver bridges… eyes aflame with hate and fury… something slicing through darkness to flay skin away… and blood. White roses speckled with blood. There were always white roses, filling the air around and about with their just-too-sweet perfume. They were important though. And then a sick feeling twisted in Katie’s stomach. It was a little like… she didn’t know quite what but the feeling was strangely familiar, familiar like she had felt this