Дмитрий Леонтьев – The evil will come for you (страница 6)
“So!” he began, pouring a glass of red wine, “today I spoke with James Brown —”
“James?” Linda interrupted.
“Yeah,” William replied, “James, our Head. I think we’ll be ready to leave the day after tomorrow.”
“We?” Linda interrupted again, taking her full glass of wine. “With whom are you…?”
“Don’t worry, darling!” William interrupted with a smile. “I’m not taking any women along,” he laughed, corked the bottle, and picked up his glass.
“I’m going with Charlie Henderson and Jack Miller,” he declared, looking at his wife.
“Charlie Henderson,” Linda said thoughtfully, “I remember him. Is he the one who was hitting on my friend Jessica at our wedding?”
“Yeah,” William laughed, “that was him.”
“He’s strong, but a bit goofy,” Linda said.
“And that’s exactly what I need,” William replied.
“But who is Jack Miller?” Linda asked, confused.
“He’s a student,” William replied.
“A student?” she asked, her face serious. “William, it’s risky and a big responsibility to take a student with you.”
“Why? He’s gifted and talented, and as his professor, I see his drive to learn more.”
“What if something happens to you? What will his parents say?” Linda pressed.
“Linda,” William said, “what could possibly happen to us out in the field where no one lives? You should watch fewer horror movies,” he teased, glancing at her.
Linda ran her fingers through her hair and said, “You know best.”
“To my success,” he said, raising his glass.
“Be careful,” she replied, and they clinked glasses.
* * *
“That’s right!” William said into his phone. “Tonight I’m going to rest before the trip. I need to rethink everything to avoid mistakes.” He examined his wine glass while lying on the bed. “You shouldn’t come with me. That’s just to calm my wife,” he whispered. Then he glanced at the bedroom door to make sure Linda wasn’t listening in the kitchen.
“Charlie!” he said sharply, “I also don’t want to take the student. I want to be the first and only one there.” He laughed when Charlie answered. “Yeah, I know —” He paused as a loud crash sounded somewhere in the apartment.
“Linda!” he shouted. “Are you okay?”
“So, Charlie,” he continued, “are you sure that – ” but stopped again.
“Linda!” he called, louder. “Are you here?”
Silence. The memory of the recent crash sent a shudder through him.
“Charlie, I’ll call you back!” he said, ending the call and immediately jumping up from the bed. Still holding his wine glass, he hurried out of the bedroom.
“Linda! Where are you?” he called into the silence. “This isn’t funny!”
Hearing no response, William quickly went to the kitchen. The window was open, and the wind was blowing in. William set his glass on the table.
“What the hell?” he muttered, noticing a broken wine bottle.
“Linda! What are you doing?” he called.
He closed the window and moved back – only to step on a shard of glass.
“Sh*t!” he cursed, feeling a sharp pain in his foot. It was quite a deep cut, and blood was already trickling from his heel. William sat down carefully, dread filling him as he examined the wound. A green shard of glass was protruding from his heel. Without thinking, he pulled it out.
“F*ck!” he yelled as blood spurted out. “F*ck it!” he shouted.
He dashed to the bathroom, leaving bloody footprints behind.
William reached the bathroom door and tried to open it, but it was locked.
“Linda! Please, open up!” he begged.
He twisted the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. He shook it harder, desperate.
After several failed attempts, he stepped back, braced himself, and broke the handle with a forceful shove. Steam from hot bathwater quickly fogged the mirror.
“Linda!” he shouted nervously, yanking back the shower curtain.
* * *
“What the hell are you doing?” Linda yelled in fright. “What are you doing?” she repeated, lying in the bathtub with headphones in her ears.
“Oh, you’re alive!” he said with relief.
“Are you an idiot?” she snapped, standing up in the tub.
“I… I just…” he stammered, unable to find the right words.
“What’s wrong with your foot?” she asked, alarmed. “It’s bleeding!”
“I cut it in the kitchen, on the bottle…” he tried to explain, but his tongue was thick from wine.
Without another word, Linda jumped out of the tub, wrapped herself in a towel, and immediately fetched the first aid kit.
“Stay here and don’t move!” she commanded.
She treated the wound with antiseptic, making William yelp in pain.
“So, how are you going to search for oil if you managed to injure yourself in your own apartment?” she scolded, dabbing more antiseptic on his cut. William jerked in pain and yelled again.
“Shut up!” she snapped.
CHAPTER 4
Linda woke to the sound of a man’s moan – a steady, unbroken wail. In the darkness, it took her a moment to realize where she was. She was in the bedroom, but it felt different, almost like a new room. William was lying nearby on his side of the bed, the moonlight shining directly on him. Linda turned her head and saw that William was clutching the edge of the blanket with his teeth, clearly in pain.
“William!” Linda called, her voice echoing strangely in the room.
He didn’t answer, just trembled and moaned like a frightened child.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“U…a…wan…” he tried to say something, but couldn’t, still biting the edge of the blanket. Sweat covered his forehead and face. He seemed feverish, burning up.
“William!” she said anxiously. “What’s wrong?”
With his eyes, William motioned toward his legs.
“The cut?” she asked, and immediately jumped out of bed.
“Oh my God!” she cried as her feet touched cold water on the floor.
“What’s going on?” she shouted. The moonlight illuminated the floor, and she saw black water streaming into the room.
She bent down and touched it. Her palm came away stained black. Linda turned her hand over, staring at it in shock.
“Linda!” William finally managed to say. “Help me!”