Linda froze. There, clearly visible in the beam of the torch, was Alex.
He flung off the blanket and sat up. Parts of Rochelle’s clothing were still attached to him but even as Linda watched they melted into his skin and disappeared, like drops of water evaporating on a hot pavement.
By the time he swung his legs round off the bunk he was completely naked and she could see an erection of gigantic proportions extending out from his crotch. It resembled a child’s arm.
‘Hi, Linda. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,’ he said, in a voice that sounded as if it was coming from a blocked drain.
With a tremendous effort of will she forced herself to stay calm. She knew if she panicked she was finished. ‘Hello Alex,’ she said. ‘I can’t say I’m pleased to see you. Where did you spring from?’ But she already knew the answer to that. He’d been here all the time. As Rochelle. She wondered when the thing had got to her. And what about Chris?
He stood up, an ugly sneer on his face. She saw he was taller than before. Bigger. She couldn’t help glancing at his penis, fascinated and repelled at the same time. ‘Pretty impressive, huh?’ he asked, gloating.
‘You always were a big prick, Alex. Now you’re an even bigger one.’
He began to advance on her. ‘You can’t fool me,’ he said. ‘Under that tough talk you’re scared shitless.’ She backed away. ‘Don’t come any closer, Alex. I’m warning you.’
He grinned. ‘Yeah. Warning me of what, bitch? You’re helpless and you know it.’
She edged to one side, trying to keep as much space between them as possible. What could she do? Her mind raced. She weighed up her chances of making a rush for the door. Would she have time to unlock it and open it before he got to her? No. No way.
She kept talking, stalling for time. ‘When did you — it — take Ro, Alex? When Mark and Chris left her alone awhile ago?’
He grimaced. ‘Other way round. She got taken first. Then she took me.'' A look of sick fear passed across his face, as if he was remembering something almost too horrible to contemplate, then the sneer reappeared. ‘You want to talk to her? She’s around here someplace. Having fucking hysterics… She hasn’t adapted like I have…’ He sniggered.
‘Sure. I’d like to talk to her,’ said Linda, still continuing to edge sideways away from him. Anything to delay the inevitable.
Suddenly Rochelle’s voice filled the room. ‘Linda, Linda? Is that you? Help me, Linda! HELP ME!’ The voice became a scream then turned into a scared whimpering that sounded so heart-rending that Linda wanted to cry too.
‘Help me, Linda… I want to go home… help me…’ the voice sobbed.
Her scalp tingling with the horror of it all Linda said hoarsely, ‘I’ll help you, Ro. We’ll get you to a hospital. You’ll be alright. But Ro, you’ve got to keep Alex away. Can you do that? Just for a little while at least? Can you?’
‘No she can’t, bitch,' said Alex. He was back.
Linda’s bowels turned to water. She couldn’t take much more of this. She had to do something. They were still circling each other but Alex was getting closer all the time. It wouldn’t be long before…
She remembered the flame-thrower. But that was useless. She’d have to light the burner first. There was no chance of having enough time. Perhaps she could grab one of the guns? But where were they? It was so dark…
Stall. Stall. ‘What about Chris?’ she asked, with difficulty. Her throat was so dry she could hardly speak.
‘She’s in here too. Or rather bits of her are. Some memories. Odd thoughts. She’d been dead awhile before it took her. It meant her personality didn’t come through intact. But yours will baby. I’m gonna keep you alive to the very end.. ’ She forced herself to smile. ‘Going to have your cake and eat it too? That’s just like you, Alex.’ Inside her head it was just one big scream.
‘Oh, you’re a cool one, Linda. I got to hand you that,’ he said with grudging admiration. ‘But then you always were. A cool bitch. Superior. Always looking at me as if I was some sort of low-life scum…’
He suddenly darted forward, catching her off-guard. He grabbed her by the throat with one of his large hands and shoved her backwards into a comer. ‘But you’re not superior any more. Are you?’ he hissed.
Gasping for breath, she said, ‘No, no, Alex — ’ Then she tried to hit him with the flashlight. But he caught her wrist with casual ease, blocking the blow before it could land.
‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Expected you to try that.’ He leaned closer to her. His fetid smell washed over her, making her feel even more nauseous. ‘I still haven’t forgotten how you tried to brain me with that gun yesterday.’ He loosened his grip on her throat and began to drag her towards one of the bunks. ‘Now it’s my turn.’
‘What are you going to do?’ she asked, unable to keep the fear out of her voice.
He shoved her against the bunk. ‘It’s what you’re going to do, baby. Put the flashlight on the bunk so that it’s pointing at me. I don’t want you to miss anything. Then get on your knees.’
She knew then what he had in mind. And she remembered Ro telling her once that the thing that most annoyed her about Alex was his frequent demands for blow jobs. It was practically all he ever wanted.
As she knelt before him she said, ‘Alex, I don’t think I can do this. You’re too big. I won’t be able to open my mouth wide enough.’
‘You’d better. Otherwise I’ll just dislocate your jaw to make it easier for you.’
He wasn’t joking, she knew. Shakily, she said, ‘Okay, I’ll try.. I’ll try…’
She took hold of him with her left hand. The skin felt rough, dry and very cold. Inhuman. With her right hand she was reaching for something else…
‘Hurry up,’ he commanded.
She opened her mouth as wide as she could, stretching her jaws until they hurt. While with her right hand she carefully removed the glass stopper.
As her lips touched the end of his member she suddenly recoiled and leapt to her feet. At the same time she flung the sulphuric acid at him. It sprayed over his upper body, most of it catching him in the face. A small amount of it splashed onto the back of her hand, burning it instantly.
Alex tottered backwards, clawing at his face. He let loose a high-pitched scream of agony and Linda knew she’d aimed right. She’d got his eyes..
Now to reach the door, But as she tried to duck past him he flailed out with one of his arms and she screamed as his razor-sharp nails raked down one side of her back. Then he had a handful of her shirt and was jerking her backwards off her feet.
The fabric gave way but too late to prevent her from being slammed into the wall with an impact that winded her. Alex was continuing to lash out wildly, trying to find her again. She managed to avoid a blow that would have probably broken her neck and attempted to duck by him for the second time.
She succeeded. Then she ran for the door. She got there and began feeling for the doorknob and key. It seemed to take a hundred years before she found them. She turned the key…
And screamed again as claws dug deep into her right shoulder. The next thing she knew she was being picked up and hurled like a sack of potatoes down the length of the cabin. She hit the far wall hard and felt something snap in her left forearm. She knew immediately it was broken.