The Visitor--Kill or Cure--A Tor.com Original by Mark Lawrence

Author:Mark Lawrence
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

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The door opened unexpectedly, startling Hannah out of her contemplations. A man walked in, the light from the bare bulb gleaming on his bald head. A black T-shirt strained to encompass his chest. His arms were those of a bodybuilder, the muscle heaped up to an unhealthy steroid-driven excess. He had bad skin, deep-set eyes, and a curiously thoughtful expression. In one hand he carried a three-foot cane and in the other a smartphone.

‘I’m Ted.’ His voice was higher pitched than she expected, not the rumble such a chest should issue. ‘You and I are going to make a video. All you have to do is scream and cry and beg for your daddy to save you.’ He tilted his head on a thick neck, as if sizing her up for the part. ‘This’ – he swung the cane, making the air hiss – ‘is to help you be convincing.’

Ted hit her without warning. She didn’t even see the blow coming. A white agony erupted in her arm, filling it from shoulder to fingertips. She fell back with a scream, clutching at her triceps. The cane had left a livid crimson line, maybe six inches long. With her eyes screwed tight the line was still there, burning white across the back of her eyelids. The air had left her lungs but somehow the pain wouldn’t let her draw breath. All she could do was huddle, clenched against the hurt, hissing out whatever dregs remained in her chest. Black dots danced before her vision.

‘That was just to warm you up.’ The man jabbed at his phone with thick fingers. ‘We’ll get the rest on camera.’

You’re awake. A young woman’s voice sounds in Hannah’s head. It has a child-like quality to it. But there’s nobody else in the room. You’re hurting.

Hannah at last sucks in a shuddering breath and looks around in amazement. The man peers at her over his phone and frowns. When he hurts people he is the centre of their world. They look at him or they close their eyes. They don’t take a sudden interest in their surroundings.

‘Where are you?’ Hannah manages to gasp.

I can help you. But you have to invite me.

‘I don’t understand!’ Hannah cries to the room.

Ted’s frown deepens but whatever is wrong with the girl doesn’t matter. All she needs to do is scream. The phone is filming now. He steps in closer, raising the cane. ‘Hannah! Look at me, Hannah.’ He has to start with a good close up. The girl glances at him then looks to her side as if hunting something lost. The fear’s unhinged her. He’s seen it before but never this early on.

Invite me. I can help. The Visitor sees what Hannah sees. We’ve met before. You were kind to me.

‘I invite you! I invite you!’ Hannah curls foetal before the descending blow.

The cane lands squarely across her back. The nightie makes no difference. Ted only uncovers them to show the welts. They could wear a woolly jumper and the cane would still leave them crisscrossed and screaming.

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