Fortnight of Fear by Graham Masterton Read Free Book Online

“Anna?” he asked, hoarsely.
    Gil took another step forward, into the flat orange illumination of the streetlight. “Yes, David, it’s Anna.”
    David Chilton took his hands out of his pockets. “I guess you had to come and take a look, didn’t you? Well, I was the same.”
    Gil glanced toward the house. “Is he happy? Alan, I mean.”
    â€œAlan’s fine. He’s a fine boy. He looks just like you. I mean me.”
    â€œAnd Margaret?”
    â€œOh, Margaret’s fine too. Just fine.”
    â€œShe doesn’t notice any difference?” said Gil, bitterly. “In bed, perhaps? I know I wasn’t the world’s greatest lover.”
    â€œMargaret’s fine, really.”
    Gil was silent for a while. Then he said, “The job? How do you like the job?”
    â€œWell, not too bad,” grinned David Chilton. “But I have to admit that I’m looking around for something a little more demanding.”
    â€œBut, apart from that, you’ve settled in well?”
    â€œYou could say that, yes. It’s not Darien, but it’s not Zandvoort, either.”
    Bondy had already disappeared into the darkness. David Chilton whistled a couple of times, and called, “Bondy! Bondy!” He turned to Gil and said, “Look – you know, I understand why you came. I really do. I sympathize. But I have to get after Bondy or Moo’s going to give me hell.”
    For the very first time, Gil felt a sharp pang of genuine jealousy for Margaret. “You call her Moo?”
    â€œDidn’t you?” David Chilton asked him.
    Gil remained where he was while David Chilton went jogging off after his dog. His eyes were wide with indecision. But David had only managed to run twenty or thirty yards before Gil suddenly drew out the butcher knife and went after him.
    â€œDavid!” he called out, in his high, feminine voice. “David! Wait!”
    David Chilton stopped and turned. Gil had been walking quickly so that he had almost reached him. Gil’s arm went up. David Chilton obviously didn’t understand what was happening at first, not until Gil stabbed him a second time, close to his neck.
    David Chilton dropped, rolled away, then bobbed up on to his feet again. He looked as if he had been trained to fight. Gil came after him, his knife upraised, silent and angry beyond belief.
If I can’t have my body, then nobody’s going to. And perhaps if the man who took my body – if his spirit dies – perhaps I’ll get my body back. There’s no other hope, no other way. Not unless Anna goes on for generation after generation, taking one man after another
.
    Gil screamed at David and stabbed at his face. But David seized Gil’s wrist and twisted it around, skin tearing, so that Gil dropped the knife on to the pavement. Gil’s high heel snapped. He lost his balance and they both fell. Their hands scrabbled for the knife. David touched it, missed it, then managed to take hold of it.
    The long triangular blade rose and fell five times. There was a sound of muscle chopping. The two rolled away from each other, and lay side by side, flat on their backs, panting.
    Gil could feel the blood soaking his cotton blouse. The inside of his stomach felt cold and very liquid, as if his stomach had poured its contents into his whole abdominal cavity. He knew that he couldn’t move. He had felt the knife slice sharply against his spine.
    David knelt up on one elbow. His hands and his facewere smeared in blood. “
Anna
…” he said, unsteadily. “
Anna
…”
    Gil looked up at him. Already, he was finding it difficult to focus. “You’ve killed me,” he said. “You’ve killed me. Don’t you understand what you’ve done?”
    David looked desperate. “You
know
, don’t you? You
know
.”
    Gil attempted to smile. “I don’t know, not for sure. But I can feel it. I