The Retreat by J.A. Baker

Author:J.A. Baker [Baker, J. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloodhound Books

26

Alec

It’s rare for anything to wake him but the almighty racket going on outside Chamber Cottage has dragged him from the deepest of slumbers and he is absolutely fucking furious. What the hell is going on out there? It sounds like a pair of caterwauling feral creatures right outside his bedroom window, a series of howls and squawks that has filtered through his brain, into his dreams and ripped him from the comforting arms of sleep.

Alec throws back the quilt, suddenly aware that Peggy isn’t there. He reaches over and touches her side of the bed. It’s cold. His brain freezes, caught between the dark realms of sleep induced thoughts and stark reality. He sits for a few seconds trying to make sense of it. Is it morning and she’s already up? He swivels his head round, stares at the clock and waits while the numbers come into focus. It’s almost four thirty in the morning. Four thirty? Where the hell is she and what in God’s name is going on outside his house? The somnolent fog inside Alec’s head begins to clear as he stands up, pulls the blinds to one side and peers out of the window. Nothing out the front but an impenetrable blanket of blackness and the usual rush of the sea. He pulls on a pair of joggers and a t-shirt and stalks out onto the landing to peer out of the window that overlooks the side garden and rear of the cottage. The noise is amplified there. Voices. Shouting. Then screaming. Shit! Alec stumbles downstairs, feet twisting and turning under him, his chest pounding. What the fuck is going on? Images of a gang of intruders, high on drink and drugs, bursts into his brain as he prepares himself for whatever is going on out there. And what about Peggy? What have they done to her? Fire rages as thinks of her tiny frame, how inept she would be at fighting anybody off.

Alec looks around as he races into the living room, his head spinning. Everything is normal. Nothing out of place. Eyes wide, he heads into the kitchen, steeling himself for a blow. That’s where they’ll be - whoever they are. Peggy’s laptop is in the centre of the table, its usual place. Another tidy room. The hairs on the back of his neck stand to attention as voices sift through from what he can now see is an open door. How did he not notice that before? An open door … He listens, a creeping sensation working its way up his spine as he hears Peggy’s voice, pleading, cajoling, and then another screeching voice. Something registers in his brain, a familiarity about that sound that he can’t quite place. Alec pauses, his temples pounding, then hurtles outside, ashamed of his reticence and fear. The cold air bites at his bare arms. He lets out a low grunt as he trips and falls over the pile of bodies on the concrete step to the side of the door.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.