A Captain Scarlet story for Halloween
By Marion Woods
Halloween was Captain Scarlet’s least favourite festival and the personnel on
Cloudbase always went that little bit too far – for his liking - in their
whole-hearted celebration of the event.
This year he’d decided to avoid any involvement and, as he sat eating lunch with
Rhapsody and Symphony Angels and his best friend and partner, Captain Blue, he
made it clear he wasn’t going to join in.
His friends argued with him, encouraging him to ‘come and unwind a little’ with
them at the fancy-dress party that was fast becoming a Halloween tradition on
Cloudbase. He had to admit he was tempted;
some of the ideas for costumes that the Angels – in particular – had come up
with sounded… intriguing; but he stood his ground and argued that every time
Halloween came round something weird happened.
“But it’ll happen anyway – whether you’re there or not,” Rhapsody protested.
“You weren’t there when that ‘ouija’ thing happened…”
Captain Blue cleared his throat loudly, and Rhapsody blushed – they had agreed
not to tell Paul about that incident.
“What ‘ouija’ thing?”
“Oh, nothing,” Blue said airily. “Patrick just overdid the special
effects one year…”
“Well, I don’t like it,” Scarlet admitted.
“I always feel like I’m one of the ‘weird creeps’ that are supposed to emerge
from the woodwork on Halloween. I’m
planning a quiet night alone… out of the action, for once.
So just humour me, will you?”
“If you want to be out of the action, you could do Captain Grey’s command duty,
and let Brad come to the party…” Symphony suggested.
“Hey, I may be feeling anti-social, but I’m not completely gaga…” Scarlet
retorted.
Colonel White generally withdrew from public gaze on Halloween too –
fearing perhaps that his presence might put a dampener on the celebrations. This year he was actually off base –
taking a few days’ leave somewhere.
Scarlet wished he’d thought to do the same.
Symphony responded by pulling an exasperated face. “I think you’re just running
away, because the idea of celebrating ‘weirdness’ makes you feel uncomfortable.”
Her hazel-green eyes sparkled and she added with a chuckle, “That, or you can’t
face having to dress up and ending up looking like a complete dork!”
Scarlet grinned. “True, I never have seen the attraction
in making an absolute prat of myself, but if you guys want to – go ahead. You could always drop by before it
starts and give me a private fashion show… I promise not to laugh – much.”
“Paul – you are impossible sometimes!” Rhapsody cried.
“Just because I don’t want to regress to my childhood?” Captain Blue shook his head, more in sorrow than in
anger and Rhapsody sulked, but he stood his ground.
This year he was going to have an uneventful Halloween. Once
his duty was over, Scarlet went straight back to his quarters and shut the door.
He took off his uniform boots and tunic and contemplated an evening of solitude
and calm. Outside he could already hear the
various bangs and squeals that signified the ‘party mood’ was starting to get a
grip on the normally sombre Cloudbase staff.
Forewarned is forearmed, he thought, remembering Captain Ochre’s innocent
expression as he had wished him a pleasant evening.
Warily, he went through his quarters, checking for trip-wires and
‘apple-pie’ beds. Richard Fraser
had a regrettably juvenile streak when it came to ‘practical jokes’. He’d think it hilarious to lay a trap for an unsuspecting
colleague.
The room was clean – and Scarlet began to relax.
He decided to take a nice, warm shower before he did anything else… the prospect
of being completely at a loose end was a pleasing one.
After his relaxing shower, he slipped into his
shorts and lay down on his bed to read through the copies of the history
magazine his mother religiously sent him every month.
He had quite a stack of them that he’d just never got round to reading.
An hour or so later, he started to feel peckish and made himself a supper of
cheese on toast in his little kitchenette, and a nice strong cup of tea.
He decided to watch the movie on TV and then get some sleep. The rest of them could play silly buggers all night, if they
wanted to. He checked that
his door was locked and that the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign was illuminated; then
settled down before his TV screen in anticipation of a pleasant evening’s
viewing.
His attention was caught by the sound of excited party-goers walking past his
door on their way to the gymnasium where the event was to be held.
Momentarily he felt a pang of regret. He knew that Captain Blue was looking forward to
seeing Symphony Angel’s fancy dress costume; she was going as Cleopatra,
apparently, which – according to Rhapsody – involved her wearing ‘some
strategically placed sequins and a net curtain’…
Blue was intending to dress as ‘Marc Antony’, in a toga created from a bed sheet
and lent historical verisimilitude with the addition of a short, but regrettably
plastic, sword.
Any more subtle hints like that and they’ll give the game
away… Scarlet sniggered to himself,
although, the sight of those two dressed like that might be the only thing I’ll
regret not seeing. Rhapsody had finally relented enough to show him the
costume she’d chosen for the party – a very tight, black evening dress, and a
black wig that was supposed to make her look like Morticia Addams. She’d mentioned, almost in passing, that Captain Ochre was
going as Gomez Addams.
Scarlet frowned and chewed his bottom lip.
Rick Fraser was definitely what his mother would have called ‘a lady’s man’, and
all of the Angel pilots responded to his cheerful flirting without taking him
too seriously. Rhapsody, in particular, seemed to enjoy
his company.
Ochre’d better remember that this party is ‘just pretending’… that’s all it is. Any funny business and he’ll find
himself with plenty of explaining to do.
The film started and Scarlet settled back to enjoy it, consigning
his jealousy to the back of his mind.
However old and creaky the film was, you couldn’t beat Boris Karloff as
Frankenstein’s Monster for sheer unadulterated atmosphere and creepiness…
The music was getting very loud and the off-duty
personnel were all having a whale of a time at the party.
‘Gomez’ and ‘Morticia’ were twirling somewhat sedately around the dance
floor, whilst ‘Marc Antony’ was talking to a surprisingly articulate gorilla,
and ‘Cleopatra’ was gyrating happily in the company of a very dashing
highwayman.
Suddenly there was a roll of drums and the lights flickered.
The DJ – a technician from one of the aircraft crews – announced that: “It is nearly midnight, folks, so grab
your partners, because the next two dances will be the last – separated by the
twelve chimes of Big Ben, courtesy of Lieutenant Green – and then the party’s
over for another year!” Everyone
cheered as black balloons were released from the ceiling and ‘scary’ FX were
played over the sound system.
To the accompaniment of bursting balloons, Symphony skipped back to Blue and
bounced a black balloon off his blond head to attract his full attention.
“Come on,” she insisted, “you’ve avoided it all night, but it is almost
midnight – you have to dance the last
dances with me… Edward,” she
appealed to the gorilla, “tell him he has to do it…”
Doctor Fawn nodded his head vigorously.
“Go and dance with the lady; it’ll do you good, Adam.”
“If you don’t,” she threatened as he still hung back, “I will do my version of
the dance of the seven veils right here and now…”
“That was Salome, not Cleopatra,” Blue expostulated.
“Blue, I really think you should stand your ground – you’re quite right, disco
dancing doesn’t suit the persona of a Roman General… and anyway, I’d rather see
Cleo’s protest dance than watch you…” the Highwayman chipped in, with a laugh.
“Patrick, you keep out of this…” Symphony teased.
She grabbed Blue’s hand and tugged him towards the dance floor.
“You dance with me here and now,
Harvard, and I will do the seven veils thing – just for you – later…” she
promised with a wink.
Fawn and Magenta laughed as, sheepishly, Blue allowed himself to
be bullied out onto the dance floor.
Not everyone went straight back to their quarters after the party broke up – in
fact, it was becoming a tradition that a considerable minority of Halloween
party-goers never made it back to their own quarters at all.
Rhapsody announced she was famished and the ever-obliging Captain Ochre offered
to escort her to the canteen. They waved farewell to their friends and
started on their way.
Blue and Symphony – the latter still holding onto her large black balloon -
decided to take a walk on the Promenade Deck before turning in.
Fawn and Magenta watched them go, arm-in-arm, with knowing smiles.
Sometime later, in-between planting kisses on her neck, Blue whispered into
Symphony’s ear, “You won’t forget your promise, will you?”
They were standing, entwined in each other’s arms, amidst the foliage.
“What promise was that?” she asked innocently.
“You were going to perform your dance routine for me…”
She giggled. “Oh come on, I was joking… you know – trick or treat?”
“That’s not how it works…” he protested.
“Yes it is!” She laughed, broke away from him and evaded his grasp to skip
nonchalantly towards the corridor leading back to the officers’ quarters. At the door, and then again at the
corner, she stopped and turned to make sure he was following, giving him an
inviting smile before darting away again as he approached her.
Laughingly shaking his head, he followed her.
Symphony kept just far enough ahead of Blue to prevent him catching her, but not
too far ahead that he didn’t bother to follow. She made her way past the
Officers’ quarters, intending to lead him to her quarters.
Still laughing with excitement, she turned the corner towards the main stanchion
escalators, giving him a cheeky wave as she did so.
Blue was about half-way along the corridor, and debating if it was worth risking
her wrath by just going into his own quarters and seeing if she came back, when
he heard her scream simultaneously with the bang of a bursting balloon. He broke into a run and skidded round the corner. What he saw brought him up short,
forcing a gasp of alarm. Symphony was cowering against the wall opposite the
escalators as the bulky figure of a man loomed over her.
Blue gave an outraged shout and rushed towards them, but his advance faltered as
he met the louring gaze of the man threatening his girlfriend. The figure had
turned to stare at the unexpected rescuer and Blue saw guilt, and what almost
looked like apology, on the hideous face.
Shaking off his astonishment, Blue shouted again and began to advance once more
until, with a menacing growl, the miscreant lurched away from Symphony and
shambled with surprising speed through the door that led to the service
corridors.
Blue abandoned giving chase in favour of comforting the frightened Symphony, who
threw herself tearfully into his arms as he drew close to her. He held her
trembling body until she felt able to speak to him.
“It was horrible,” she sobbed. “I don’t know where he came from; he just
appeared and pushed me back against the wall. He was trying to grab me and drag
me away… Adam, he was terribly disfigured - lopsided and covered in scars…”
“It’s okay, älskling.
I guess it’s just someone getting too carried
away after the party,” Blue soothed, trying to play down the horror of what she
had just experienced.
She glared up at him, annoyed at his mundane explanation of what for her had
been a terrifying incident. “That wasn’t someone in a costume, Adam, that …
Creature
was for real!” She pushed herself from his embrace and Blue saw that her flimsy
costume had been torn in the struggle, leaving a trio of long red scratches
across her shoulder. “I don’t know what he wanted from me,” she said in
agitation.
“Oh, I can guess,” Blue said grimly.
She shook her head. “It wasn’t like that – I mean - I don’t
think it was… you know… sexual. I
mean, he could’ve really hurt me.”
“He didn’t have time to start,” Blue said crisply.
“Thank God I was here…” He shuddered to imagine what might’ve occurred if he had
gone to his own room instead of following her.
“There had better be no more such revealing costumes, Karen. Let’s not put
temptation in the way of these perverts.”
“Oh, so suddenly it’s my fault?” Her eyes blazed with an anger
intensified by her recent shock. “I
didn’t see you complaining about my costume earlier – or Pat, either, if it
comes to that - and you can’t deny you had the same ideas you accuse that guy
of!
Men! You’re all the same…”
“Karen…” Blue’s voice remained calm and dispassionate in the face of her
mounting hysteria; but it was the wrong approach – Symphony was frightened and
needed to vent her fears on someone.
“I want to go back to my quarters. I want to get out of this thing.” She
demanded, frowning as she yanked the ripped fabric back up to her shoulder.
“Stop goggling at me and give me one of the safety pins holding up that
ridiculous toga… then you can walk me back to my place… and I’m locking the door
– with you on the outside of it.”
“All right, Karen; if that’s what you want.”
“It is,” she snapped, snatching the safety pin from his fingers. “Oh, and Adam,
you had better find that guy pretty soon – because I don’t think he’s going to
give up trying…”
Ochre watched as Rhapsody finished her ice cream sundae.
“How can you eat that at this hour of the night…?” he smiled in bewilderment.
“Hey, I’ve been dancing all night – that’s given me an appetite -and I have to
go on duty in the morning. Destiny’s there now and Melody and
Harmony are on stand-by. You know,
I think I’ll have to use the Room of Sleep, if I want to keep awake in Angel
One.”
“Despite all that, did you have fun, Cara Mia?” he grinned.
“Oh Gomez, it was wonderful,” she
gushed and laughed.
“Paul’s an idiot to hide himself away… we get little enough chance to let
off steam.”
Ochre nodded thoughtfully. “True enough, but you have to admit, Dianne, he’s
never been very comfortable with Halloween – even before he was Mysteronised.
I think it’s a British-thing… must be hard to bend those stiff-upper-lips
sometimes.”
“I’m British – I bend,” she retorted, adding with a laugh, “well, normally I do.
Between you and me, I think Paul’s using his Mysteronisation as an excuse
– he just doesn’t like to play the fool at the best of times. But then, it always surprises me that
Adam enters into the spirit of Halloween quite as much as he does… he can be
stuffier than Paul on occasion.”
“Ah, but Halloween’s hallowed by ‘Tradition’,” Rick explained with
a teasing wag of his finger towards her.
“And Bostonians consider themselves as ‘The Guardians of American
Tradition’!”
Rhapsody laughed. “That must be it then…” She sighed and gave a wry grimace. “I guess I ought to make a move – I will
need to get some sleep tonight.” “You can’t go to the Room of Sleep in that outfit,
let me walk you back to your quarters…” Smiling, she accepted his hand to help her rise from
her seat and, slipping her arm through his, she minced along at his side – the
dress was very tight.
The couple walked through the corridors towards the Angels’ private rooms deep
in conversation. Ochre was off duty and not really
feeling in the mood to go to sleep.
Rhapsody – having decided to use the Room of Sleep anyway – now had time to
spend and she enjoyed the American’s company, so neither was in a hurry – which
was a good thing, as her costume prevented her walking very quickly.
They were enjoying discussing the party and commenting on the standard of their
colleagues’ costumes when they turned into the corridor that housed Rhapsody’s
apartment.
As they approached her door, the light in the corridor suddenly flickered and
they were confronted by a looming human figure.
The silhouette was dark, so irregular that it was obviously deformed, and its
attitude was clearly hostile.
“Who the hell are you?” Ochre challenged. “What are you doing here?
Don’t you know this is a restricted area?” In response, the creature gave a deep growl and
advanced in their direction. Ochre
stood with Rhapsody slightly behind him.
It was obvious from the way the creature tried to sidestep him that his
objective was to reach the young woman.
Ochre was relieved that Rhapsody realised this too – she moved to keep her
companion between her and their assailant.
Ochre fended off one lunge and, thinking he had the advantage, moved slightly
closer, intending to attack.
Annoyed, the creature swiped a powerful arm towards him; Ochre feinted and the
blow went wide, but his manoeuvre had left Rhapsody unprotected.
As the creature lunged towards her again, Ochre leaped in front of the
startled Angel and another powerful blow caught the side of his head, sending
him staggering to one side. He slipped to the floor, stunned.
Rhapsody lashed out, but her mobility was hampered by her costume and the
creature had no difficulty in catching her around her waist and hoisting her,
struggling and screaming, over his shoulder.
With a surprising turn of speed and agility, he loped down the corridor, away
from Ochre, who was finding it hard to get back to his feet.
Cursing and calling for help, Ochre staggered to the
turn in the corridor, but by then the couple had vanished.
With all the speed he could muster, he raced to the next corner and
careered straight into Captain Blue, who, alerted by the noise, was running to
see if he could help.
The two captains collided with some force and both slithered to the floor in a
tangle of limbs.
“Rick, what’s wrong?” Symphony said, hastening to help Blue get to his feet.
It was obvious that Ochre was badly shaken. She knelt before him, laying
a hand on his arm.
“Didn’t you see them?” he gasped. “Some jerk has grabbed Dianne and
carried her off…we gotta catch him…”
Blue and Symphony shared horrified glances.
“What kind of ‘jerk’ was it, Rick?” Blue asked.
“A big guy, dressed in some fancy dress costume as …
Frankenstein’s monster
or suchlike.
He pushed me aside
and grabbed Dianne. I came after
them as soon as I could – but they’d vanished…” He shook his dark head and
rubbed his eyes. “How could anyone
vanish on Cloudbase?”
Symphony held up three fingers. “How many fingers?” she asked.
Ochre squinted. “Four?” he guessed wildly.
“We need to get you to sickbay,” she replied in a voice that brooked no
argument.
“What about Rhapsody?” he protested. “That jerk’s dragged her away somewhere…
where could they have gone?”
“The service corridors, at a guess – that’s where he made for when he attacked
you, Karen.” Blue swivelled round to look for the unobtrusive doors that led to
the corridors used by the service personnel to transport items around the base,
leaving the main corridors free from obstacles, in case of emergency.
These corridors honeycombed certain areas of the base – and were rarely
used by the field officers.
“He attacked you, as well?” Ochre asked, looking at Symphony with concern, as he
allowed Blue to haul him to his feet.
He kept a firm grip on his colleague’s arm to keep his balance.
She nodded. “Back at the top of the escalators… he grabbed at me, but Adam came
to my rescue and he ran away.”
“We’ve got to find him…” Ochre babbled, struggling to leave Blue’s side, “before
he hurts her…”
“I’ll find him,” Blue said reassuringly, as Ochre’s knees buckled underneath
him. “Trust me. The best thing you can do is go with Symphony to sickbay.”
He handed the protesting Ochre firmly over to Symphony and once he was in her
charge, Ochre’s intransigence evaporated.
With a vague, benign smile, he allowed her to lead him away.
As they started their slow walk towards sickbay, Blue heard him say
conversationally: “That is a truly wonderful costume, Karen. I like it a lot; it suits you – it
really does. Tell me, how did you
manage to get all those little sequins to stay in place?” Blue gave a silent snort of laughter as he saw his
friend’s finger point unsteadily to one ‘strategically placed’ cluster.
Trust Rick to focus on the important things in life… he mused, and then he
sobered up and immediately reported both incidents over the base intercom to
Captain Grey – currently in command of Cloudbase.
Grey acted with decision and alerted security teams to search for an intruder,
he warned the Angels in the Amber Room to be on the alert, and finally gave Blue
instructions to liaise with Captain Magenta at the junction of the service
corridors and the escalators. Blue
acknowledged the orders and made his way quickly to the rendezvous. Magenta had already found time to change back into
uniform and he was armed. He handed
Blue a spare pistol. “If he’s harmed one hair of her head…” he said menacingly.
Blue nodded. “I know, but if we can find him quickly, she should be okay.”
“Grey’s got security teams sweeping the lower decks and they’ll turf everyone
out of their quarters if they have to.”
Magenta gave a wry smile. “That should cause a few red faces…”
Blue’s smile in response was half-hearted.
“Better a little temporary embarrassment than someone gets hurt…” He was
obviously preoccupied and Magenta gave him a concerned sideways glance. Blue snapped back to alertness as his companion’s
radio cap mic descended and he faintly heard Symphony’s familiar voice
reporting.
“Captain Magenta? Are you with Captain Blue?
Good, then tell him that I’ve got Ochre to sickbay.
There’s a bit of a fracas on here; apparently two more women were attacked
before Rhapsody – one dressed as a vampire and one as a belly-dancer. The belly-dancer is a blonde and the vampire’s wearing a long
black wig…”
“Are you saying they were attacked in mistake for you and Rhapsody?” he asked.
“It’s possible,” she agreed. “It seems that their attacker didn’t harm them – he
grabbed from behind, but when he saw their faces he pushed them down and ran
away from them. Doctor Fawn says they are just shaken
and a little bruised; but they did both saw their assailant quite clearly – and
it sounds like the same creature that attacked me.” Her voice was shaky as she added, “I don’t mind admitting,
Patrick, I’m scared. That thing was
horrible! How can it be on Cloudbase, and what is
it?”
“I don’t know, honey, but whatever it is, we’ll get it before it harms Rhapsody.
Grey has teams out all over the place.
Stay in sickbay – promise me, Karen – don’t go wandering about alone.”
“I promise. I’ve no desire to go anywhere…”
As the connection was broken, Magenta passed on the information and reassured
Blue that Symphony was safe and would stay in sickbay until the all-clear was
given. “Could this be a Mysteron attack?” he asked, but Blue shook his head with
some confidence.
“I didn’t hear a threat, did you? I don’t know what this is – yet.
Let’s get back upstairs. He must’ve
been hiding somewhere, waiting for Karen to turn the corner ahead of me. Maybe we can spot some clues.”
“Well, when I catch the man responsible, I’ll make him wish he’d never been
born,” Magenta responded with vehemence.
Blue gave a distracted nod.
They hurried back to the escalators and ran up them to the command centre.
As they sprang from the moving steps Magenta suddenly cried, “Blue, look!”
Blue followed the pointing hand and saw the dark bulk of the creature turning
back towards the officers’ quarters. Rhapsody was still slung over his shoulder,
although she was no longer screaming, and somewhere along the way she had lost
her black wig. Her red hair hung down over her
assailant’s back, and one arm hung limply.
She appeared to be senseless. “Rhapsody!” Blue called, and the creature turned on
hearing his voice, glaring balefully at its pursuers and moving with ungainly
speed into the corridor.
They raced after it, but when they reached the corridor, it was empty.
“What the hell’s going on?” Magenta said, pushing his cap back from
his forehead in bewilderment. “Where can they have gone too? There are no turnings off this
corridor.”
“No, but there are plenty of doors; I’m guessing he’s got her in one of the
apartments…”
“Well, let’s get in there then!”
“Wait!” Blue said with authority. “If we just rush in to every room, he’ll
hear us and if he feels threatened, he might harm her… Let’s see if we can work
out which one he’s in – then our entrance will be unexpected…”
They advanced cautiously along, their eyes darting from side to side for signs
of their quarry’s progress.
Half-way down the corridor, Blue stepped forward and with a triumphant cry
picked up a false eyelash from the floor close to Captain Scarlet’s quarters.
“Either Paul’s taken up cross-dressing, or they went in there,” he said firmly.
Magenta was surprised at the certainty he heard in
his companion’s voice and he ventured to disagree.
“But, Blue, Scarlet was spending the night in his quarters - Karen told
me – why would the maniac choose to go into the one room that was definitely
going to be occupied?” Magenta’s
dark eyes locked Blue’s pale-blue ones in a questioning gaze and a frown
appeared between them. “You suspect
something, don’t you, Adam?”
Blue gave a quick shake of his head. “No, not really…” he began.
“That’s why you suggested we come back here – you
knew the guy would come here…”
“I didn’t know anything,” Blue protested. Magenta raised an eyebrow and waited
for an explanation. Reluctantly,
Blue continued, “I saw the guy when he attacked Karen – there was something
about him…” His eyes met Magenta’s
again and there was a dull fear in them.
“Pat, I think the creature is
Paul.”
“What?
You’re crazy…”
“Well, not Paul, exactly. Remember what happened with the ouija
board? Remember how there seemed to
be another consciousness…A Captain Scarlet that didn’t know what had happened
after he fell from the Car-Vu?” Blue faltered.
Magenta drew a sharp breath as the horror of the implication dawned on him. “So,
you think this might be Paul’s ‘alter-ego’?
But he’s twisted and …”
“Wouldn’t your body be twisted and broken if you had suffered all the injuries
Captain Scarlet’s sustained over the years?” Blue asked sadly.
Magenta’s expressive face paled and he looked away.
“Okay, Adam, we’ll do this your way…” Blue keyed the password into the keypad and pressed
his palm onto the digilock. As the door slid open, the two men stepped in.
Standing in the centre of the room was a well-built man.
His tall frame was bent and twisted, as if many of his bones had been badly
broken and never properly reset. The fingers of his large, gnarled hands were
unnaturally thick and the yellow fingernails were overlong, like talons. His face was a lattice of scar
tissue, some deep and still suppurating; one livid gash ran from his cheek to
his upper lip, pulling it back from his chipped and broken teeth in the mockery
of a smile as he gently laid Rhapsody Angel in the one armchair and awkwardly
brushed a strand of her long hair away from her face, before turning to face his
pursuers. Only one thing about him looked remotely human – his
clear, blue eyes, which stared, with anger and disappointment, at the intruders.
“Holy Mary, Mother of God,” Patrick muttered.
“Hold it!” Blue ordered as the man stepped threateningly towards them, a snarl
on his face and a deep, intimidating growl in his throat. Magenta
pressed the light switch and the creature howled, turning his face from the
light and retreating across the room to where Captain Scarlet lay on his bed,
amidst a tangle of sheets.
As the light flickered on, Scarlet stirred in his sleep, muttering some
indistinct words. The creature cowered close to the bed,
hiding his face from the bright overhead light. Waking with a start, Scarlet sat up in his bed and
opened his sapphire-blue eyes in surprised annoyance at this unwarranted
intrusion. As soon as his eyes opened and conscious
thought flooded into his sleep-drugged mind, the creature vanished.
“What the hell’s going on?” Scarlet asked coldly, under the impression that he
was being made the butt of another Halloween joke. He stared at the two
captains. Magenta, a stern expression on his normally genial
face, was in uniform, with his gun drawn; and Blue, looking dishevelled and
distraught in his Halloween costume, was also armed.
He stared interrogatively at his partner, but Blue wouldn’t meet his
gaze. It was only then that he saw
Rhapsody. “Dianne, are you okay?”
he asked in concern. She was coming
to, rubbing her head and looking around with astonished fear. Blue stepped towards her, crouching
beside her as she sought for reassurance.
“What’s going on?” Scarlet asked again, a trace of anger in his voice.
He looked at Rhapsody’s pale, confused face, expression and her unhappy
expression and began to lose his temper.
Whatever dumb trick is being played stops being funny when it
frightens someone this badly…
Magenta
responded to his imperious question with, “That’s what we are trying to
discover. Did you see anyone come
into your room, Scarlet?”
“No, just you three. Well, that is to say, I never actually
saw you three come in – you were just here when I woke up,” he explained. “Is this some kind of joke?”
“No, it is not – at least, we don’t think so,” Magenta replied.
Blue had been whispering to Rhapsody, soothing her anxiety and trying to
discover what she remembered of her abductor.
As he finished, she gave a sharp intake of breath and covered her mouth with a
hand to smother her distressed gasp.
Then she turned her compassionate eyes on Scarlet and bit her lip, before
burying her face against Blue’s strong shoulder.
Solicitously, he put an arm around her.
Scarlet’s patience was exhausted. “Tell me what’s going on,” he demanded
again.
“Someone…” Blue began.
“Or something,” Magenta interjected.
“… has been attacking women on Cloudbase.
Specifically, Rhapsody and Symphony Angels – and two young women in similar
costumes…” Blue continued. He saw
alarm on Scarlet’s face as he concluded, “We tracked him in here.”
Scarlet sprang from his bed.
“There’s no one here but me! And
I’ve been in this room since my shift ended.
Are you accusing me, Adam?”
Blue shook his head and patted Rhapsody’s shoulder, ducking his head towards her
and avoiding his partner’s accusing stare.
Somewhat relieved, Scarlet sank back onto his bed, but he continued to watch his
friends with wariness. Rhapsody had recovered her composure enough to sit
up and say, “We know it wasn’t really you, Paul.”
“I think you had better explain yourselves,” Scarlet said firmly. “What do you
mean, ‘you know it wasn’t really
me’?” Blue
helped Rhapsody to get to her feet, and she continued to stare in sympathetic
confusion from him to the man on the bed.
“You say you’ve been here, all the time?” Magenta was the first to find his
voice again. “Yes, of course I have,” Scarlet said categorically. “I fell asleep after I watched the movie on TV. Actually, I was having this weird dream – must’ve been that cheese on toast I had for supper. It was all about Frankenstein’s monster roaming about Cloudbase…”
He looked from one startled face to another.
“Now what are you all looking at me like that for?” he demanded.
Blue saw the others glance expectantly at him.
Once more I’m expected to be the bearer of bad news… He drew a deep breath
and reluctantly began to explain his theory, knowing full well, even as he
spoke, that it sounded fantastical and that if Scarlet refused to believe it he
had no proof to back up his theory – just his gut feeling and the harrowing
certainty that he was right….
Scarlet heard him out in silence. He said nothing for some time, until
Rhapsody went and laid a hand on his shoulder.
He glanced up at her sad face and tried to shrug off his depression.
“You know, daft as it might seem, what you’ve just said would explain a lot,
Adam.”
He met the concerned smiles of his friends and tried to lighten the mood.
“It’s almost like the picture of Dorian Grey, isn’t it…? A whipping boy to bear
the scars…” He glanced at his friends, but they all looked away.
Even Adam wasn’t able to meet his eye. Here we go again, Paul thought
with a vicious anger, Metcalfe the weirdo – the man
with a monster in his soul….
He looked away. “Would you go now, please? I have some
thinking to do and I’d like some privacy.”
“Paul,” Dianne said. “Just go!”
Silently, they left him alone. He stared at the closed door for some
time and buried his head in his hands.
It was going to be a long night and he dare not risk
falling asleep again…
Author’s notes:
This story came from an idea sparked by a conversation
between Chris Bishop and myself. My
thanks are due to her for letting me use it; as well as for her usual
encouragement for my writing and her boundless enthusiasm for all things ‘CS’.
Once
more, I owe my thanks to Hazel Köhler for her services as a beta-reader – and my
apologies for my usual mistakes.
Will I never learn?
And my
thanks to you for reading it,
Happy
Halloween,
Marion
Woods
September 2005
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