Contagion - Plans of Deception - Book One.

For Adam, the headaches were happening with more frequency, and with each new day they appeared to increase with its intensity, also any direct light into his eyes made him shear away in pain, it was as if red-hot pokers where been driven into his eyes with a slow and deliberate action, from some invisible tormentor. Adam grinned, as he realised this is how his doctor friend must have felt before he had killed him, “that’s a point, I never did ask him his name.” he thought to himself with a wry grin on his face, his sanity had basically left him, and at times he was emotively very unstable.

The pain had forced him to travel at night, as even daylight was now beyond his tolerance. He had managed to travel as far as India, mostly through living off the land and stealing, whenever the opportunity had arisen. Although it had slightly angered him, that even after dispatching the two travellers, and assuming their identity, he had not managed to acquire any additional money.

To his annoyance they were themselves broke, and had been living from a day to day existence, none the less he did have their passports, and he knew, that once he was back in England, it was simply a matter of getting himself to Windsor or Bray. From there he had access to considerable funds, it had disturbed him that Jacquie had not written, but then in truth, he was unsure if his letters had ever reached their intended destination. For now, all he wanted was to get himself home and out of this God forsaken country.

It had been difficult enough, and while he had been in Thailand, he had faced unimaginable demons, but here in India, he felt that it was worst, he had already been forced to defend himself against been robbed, even of what little he had. The cut on his shoulder that he had sustained, was from a machete, and the injury was showing no sign of healing; however, he was comforted by the thought, as he smiled to himself, and at the thought of the machete’s last owner, and of how his head now decorated a fence post. The other person who had tried to rob him, had abandoned his decapitated friend, and had left the scene like some frightened rat scurrying from a sinking ship.

He had done his best to keep the wound clean and the flies away, but he already knew in the back of his mind, that there were now grubs growing deep inside the wound, and he could feel them as they tried to eat their way out from their living host.

Each morning he was forced to find himself a secure and safe resting place, one, which would not attract attention, and to allow him to get by unmolested. The frequency of nightmares had also increased, continually day and night, he could even hear the squeals of those wild pigs, as they had torn away at the coffin lid, until there before them was human flesh. As their teeth had sunk into his leg, he could remember the feeling of pain, of how in his mind he was screaming and desperately wanting to move away. Yet his body failed to respond, it just lay there quiet and still.

Then there were the bloody flies, every dam place he ever looked or went he would see flies, thousands or millions of them. As he slept he could smell and even taste maggots about him, whenever he closed his eyes he could see that fly as it had landed on his face. Then proceeded to lay its eggs directly onto one of his eyes, he would wake up screaming, only to realise, it was yet another dream. But on each and every occasion, it took that much more of his humanity from him; as if some invisible force was slowly draining the very life force from within him, until all that was left was an empty vessel.

From within a gully, Adam had found himself an area that sat beneath a cliff over hang, it was shaded and offered a good degree of protection from fellow travellers and animals. It had taken him some minutes to make the climb to his new resting-place; there were no immediate signs of animal tracks anywhere to be seen. He also knew this area was frequented by Black Bears, so it was imperative to check one’s surroundings with great care, as he had no desire to become an easy and free meal.

It was a hot day with little to no breeze, the Monsoon was long over due, and even the local villagers were finding it difficult to cope with such extremes in the weather. As Adam slept, unknown to him a king cobra had sought relief from the heat of the mid-day sun; it was Adam who was trespassing on its area.

This over-hang had long offered such creatures a refuge, as they went about their daily quest, in looking for food. It was not until late evening that Adam awoke; he was tired, not just from the physical strain, but also from mental and emotional exhaustion. As he stood up he could here a noise from behind him, it was not like, anything that he had heard before. Turning slowly, he could just make out the outline of a snake as it rose to some nine feet, with about to thirds of its body standing erect, its skin from around the neck had opened as the head swayed in a sideways motion.

In all his life Adam had never felt as scared as now, not even the past events that he had been forced to endure came anywhere near or as close to this. The beast that was now before him was towering over him by some three feet, with its glazed eyes almost mesmerising him, making it difficult for him to know what to do next.

Brien had received news from his wife, she had apologised for her re-actions, explaining it was due to been scared for herself and the children, and that would he allow her to withdraw the application for a divorce, and that she would stand by him regardless of the cost. Brien made an entry into his diary, explaining that he was so pleased, yet in another, and that for the safety of his family. He felt it better they never saw each other again, or wrote to each other, as it was just possible hostile inmates, or even some of the wardens would pass her address back to the media.

The next day he heard that his solicitor was presenting an appeal, on the new evidence that he had obtained from the taped sessions with Elaine. When he heard that the child’s father had given his approval, and had even offered whatever assistance needed from his own solicitor, he felt at long last that his prayers where been answered. Word had gone around the prison quickly, and to his surprise there had been a mixed reaction, with most of the prison wardens been pleased for him. While there were a few who had the opposite reaction, making statements that he had used his influence from within the Social Services to try and obtain his freedom.

It took a further two days before he was informed that he was to be transferred to an open prison named Guy’s-Marsh, his solicitor had warned him, to not get his hopes up, as it could be some months yet before he could get an appeal hearing. The Home secretary had ordered his immediate transfer, at least here he would be treated with more dignity and have access to facilities that would in time help to place him back into society.

Peter had put a temporary stop to Elaine’s treatment; the last session had taken its toll on the child, as for some days she had retreated back into herself. He had been warned that there was this possibility, yet he felt that if it had put a stop to the nightmares then it was worth a try. Some good had come from the sessions, as Brien now had some hope of an appeal hearing, if he was innocent, then Peter wanted the man freed. As it was, the evidence to date had indicated his guilt, which was until Elaine had revealed those two small facts. Peter knew without doubt and because of the time frame, that there would have been at the very least a scar if he had been bitten enough to draw blood.

The fossil business had turned out to be an outstanding success; Peter had secured various contacts from the many fairs with people from as far as France calling into his little coastal shop. To date Peter had managed to keep his main supply secret, he had acquired himself a good and substantial motor boat, which had given him freedom of access to the coast line without fear from ever becoming cut off from an incoming tide. Elaine had not seen Amander for some days, for whatever reason she had just not turned up, as such she was missing her friendship, and the previous sessions with Elizabeth had really taken the strength from within her.

The private schooling had given Elaine a good standard of education, but had meant that her contact with the children from within the local community was at a minimum. Word had got around that she was different, almost as if she had two heads and vampire teeth.

It was Amander that had really caused some of the problems that she was experiencing, as some of the local children had seen objects mysteriously moving by themselves, even at one time a bicycle that appeared to be moving without a rider. That combined with the mystery that surrounded the family was enough, as it happened the nearest neighbours to the lighthouse lived some two miles away. The family none the less enjoyed the reclusive life style and preferred to be away from media attention.

It was another eight days before Amander had re-appeared; Elaine had been walking into her bedroom, when there she saw Amander sitting on her bed. “Where have you been?” ask Elaine as her face lit up into a bright smile. “I’ve missed you ever so much.” Amander was pleased to see Elaine’s response to having seen her, “I don’t know, it’s just always at this time of year I get kind of upset and need to be away from people.”

Elaine was so pleased of her company, that she had forgotten about her own troubles, “Why what is it that is troubling you.” she asked. Amander lowered her head, Elaine had become the one and only person who she had spoken to in years, and there was a strong bond of friendship that had developed; even before her death Amander had never really made what she could call a true friend.

Elaine could see that she was crying, so she went over and sat next to her, she put an arm around her shoulder, “What is it, I don’t like to see you like this”. Amander drew in a deep breath, and then paused before she spoke, “It was my birthday on Monday, that was the day that,” she stopped talking, finding it difficult to put the words together, almost as if they actually scared her. “That was the day that I ran away,”

Elaine looked at her; she had only once before brought this subject up, but like the time before she had got so far, and then for whatever reason had not been able to continue. This time Elaine had given her almost magically the strength, which she had needed to continue, “I had…had an argument with my dad, and he had not wanted to let me go out with Stephen my boy friend. He had not liked him… and when I told him I wanted to go to a concert with him, he had refused to let me go.”

She went quiet for some seconds, as if reliving the events from within her mind. Elaine quietly sat next to her; she had taken hold of one of her hands. “When he went to work, I ran away with Stephen, he brought me here to Weymouth on the back of his motorbike. At first it was fun and we spent the night on Portland not far from here, the next day we went to Preston Cliffs to watch them Wind Surfing. It had got dark so we decided to sleep on the beach, Stephen had got himself a little drunk and had tried to…to.”

Again, she had to stop for a moment, before she could continue. “He tried to get me to have sex; I had never done it before and was kind of scared. Anyway, we had an argument and he went storming off on his motorbike, it was cold and I was scared. I found a telephone box and made a ’phone call to home, I was so broke that I had to reverse the charge.” Elaine smiled, “Anyway, it was my mum who answered, I tried to explain why, and say sorry, but all I could do was cry.”

She paused for a second, and then continued talking. “Then I saw Stephan driving his bike straight towards me. I think he had guessed that I was talking to my parents; and he hated my dad, as he was a policeman. I ran from the phone and across the grass, and then along the cliff face, but he just kept following me.” Elaine could see she was living the ordeal in her mind, as she was talking.

Amander had regained her posture, and then continued talking. “Sometimes he would drive right passed me, and then turn and chase me in another direction, then he.” The look on her face was full of fear, “he… he just disappeared, it was as if the ground had swallowed him up. When I came to where he had been, I could see his bike with its lights on, he had fallen down that big hole where we hid some of your fossils, and I could hear him calling me as if he was in some pain.”

Tears were freely flowing from her eyes as she told Elaine her story. “I ran to the beach and made my way around to the cove to try and find him, when I got to where he was, he held my leg and wouldn’t let me go; I think he was scared of been alone, he died later that night. I tried to call out for help, but I found my path had been cut off by the incoming tide, I was trapped here and unable to get away.” Elaine interrupted her, “Could you not have climbed up the gully?” “No, I tried but it was to steep and the water at times comes high up.”

The two girls sat quietly for some seconds, before Elaine once again spoke. “What did you do?” Amander breathed in trying to find the strength to continue, “I ran as fast as I could along the beach, but the water kept coming in, then I found the cave that I showed you that splits in two. In there I found some temporary refuge, but in time the water just wouldn’t stop coming. It was cold and wet, and I could no longer see anything, as I kept going further into the cave I suddenly fell into what I think was a pool of water, and after that I don’t remember what happened.”

Elaine could sense the fear within the child; her face had changed and no longer had its usual bright smile. “Don’t you know what happened after that.”? Asked Elaine, Amander turned her head still holding her friend’s hand. “I really don’t, I think I woke up the next morning and found myself in a very big type of cave, and there was not much light there, not until the sun rose and shone its light through a hole in the roof of the cave. It was really so beautiful, there are all sorts of coloured crystals there, and you know those fossils your dad collects, well there are hundreds and hundreds of them almost everywhere. There’s a big long monster of a skeleton their, its so big that if it were alive it would really frighten me. I’ve seen similar pictures in your father’s books.”

Elaine listened with keen interest, “Can you show me where it is?” At this question Amander lowered her head and went quiet. It was some seconds before she spoke, “If I could, I really would, but in truth I don’t think you could go there, unless you were lowered from the hole in the roof.” Elaine laughed, “don’t be silly, you were there and found a way out,” in her innocence she had momentarily forgotten her friend was a ghost. “I know but I can’t put it into words, and I can’t explain why, but all I need to do is just think of a place, and I find myself there.”

Unknown to the girls Peter had been listening outside the bedroom door, from the conversation, he realised that Amander had not herself realised that she was dead, slowly and quietly he walked in, “Hi Amander I’m Elaine’s father.” He did this in such a gentle and casual manner that both of the girls looked at him, then at each other, as if they had been caught doing something secretive. “Please don’t go Amander; I really do want to be your friend. You saved my daughters life and I would like to thank you and to let you know that I want you to feel free to come here whenever you want. I will never turn you away, and if you find yourself in any sort of trouble I promise you, that I will do whatever I can to help you.”

He had made that statement without thinking through the implications, Amander just sat there momentarily stunned, no one had spoken to her other than Elaine for years, she had tried at first to talk with people but they just looked through her as if she was not there. She had seen her father one day walking the beach and showing people a picture of her, in her excitement she had gone running over to him but he just ignored her as if he could not see her, or as if she was not even there.

At first this had caused her enormous stress, but then in time she had come to accept it. There were times that she had great fun as she had discovered that animals for some reason could see her, she had told Elaine once of a woman who was always hitting this child. Then one day Amander had suddenly appeared in front of her dog, it was so startled that it ran in the opposite direction, and pulling her owner over. Amander had learnt how to touch and move objects by then and had lifted a waist bin into the air and put it over the woman’s head. Apparently, the next time that Amander had caught her hitting the boy, that she had picked up a waist bin and chased her, for whatever reason she has not seen the woman in that area ever since.

Jacquie had purchased herself a new home in Burnham on Sea in Somerset; it was a modest two-bedroom apartment that over looked the Sea front. It had cost her less than One Hundred and Sixty Thousand Pounds; this ensured she had ample funds left for investment. Burnham was a pleasant but small town, and it offered her little in the way of real entertainment, other than what you would find in most seaside towns, and it was culture that she missed. However, that was one of the reasons she had chosen the small town, as it was not her style but it did offer her motorway access; she was in truth praying that Adam would not find her.

By changing her name and living in what she described as such a dull area; unless that was, if you were an OAP, and she had hoped that this would be enough to keep him clear, and off her track. Also, an expensive array of wigs along with makeup, had altered her appearance, as she had to ensure there were no uncovered clues, which would give Adam any reason to point him in her direction.

Having called into a local travel agency, now that the acquisition of her new apartment had been finalised, Jacqui felt a desire to get away, and if possible spending a few months out of the country. The thought of Adam finding her almost haunted her to the point of becoming an obsession; Jacquie had needed some time away, as in truth, in the back of her mind she knew now that Adam was a ruthless monster, and that it would be wise to keep as far away from him as possible. The marriage had purely been a door that had opened a way for her to acquire his empire. It had always been her intention of quietly killing him through a slow ingestion of a Brazilian herb.

Her brother worked for a multi-national pharmaceutical company, and on one of his many trips abroad he had acquired some samples of a plant used by natives from the rain forest. It was discovered that in very small doses, that this plant had the ability to slow the heart down, if care was not taken the effect on the heart would cause it to enlarge and in time fail. He had paid her an unscheduled visit one day, when he had returned from the Brazilian trip, at that time she had lived only a few miles from Heathrow in a small village called Iver.

Over many bottles of wine, they had shared memories of their childhood, it had not been long before he brought out the sample stating that he had smuggled the plant into the country, and that this plant was going to revolutionise medical care for heart sufferers. That night Jacquie used the opportunity of taking for herself some cuttings; and from one of the cuttings, she replanted it in some hormone gel, the other was allowed to dry. The herb transpired to be very hardy and had taken to its new environment, there were now three flowerpots of the plant, and were mixed within her indoor herb garden.

Jacquie had settled on visiting Canada, it had been a secret dream of hers, to one day see in person the Calgary Stampede, it was difficult to explain, but ever since she was a little girl, this yearly festival had fascinated her, and her parents had taken the family there, now all these years later there was still that driving force pulling her back. This time she could afford to take her time and stay for the duration of the festival. Four days later Jacquie was driving a rented motor home that offered her the luxury of a fully fitted home on wheels. Calgary was well use to dealing with the many thousands of additional visitors at this time of year; each road was well marked, as were the vast temporary car and motor home parks. As she pulled into parking bay 2,714 that had been pre-booked for her, Jacquie gave a gentle smile to herself; she was really here and was about to live a lifetime dream.