The Red Slayer

Chapter Eighteen – Thames House

In that moment when I let myself pause, I let the numb shield around me slip. The world around me is chaos. Fire fighters shout over each other to get hoses and ladders ready, police officers and paramedics tend to the trafficked, now-freed, women with tin-foil blankets and bottles of water. All the flashing lights from the vehicles make me turn around and see the cost of my destruction.

Buildings rarely go up in flames so quickly. Smoke rises higher than the Shard. There’s fire in every window. No one’s getting out of there.

Dad stands behind me and puts his hand on my shoulder. Suddenly, I’m four-years-old again. This time, I can find him. I turn around and find safety in his hug.

I’d call it an uplifting moment if we weren’t interrupted by a man in a black suit with wire-rimmed glasses. ‘Doctor Davis, sir, we should be leaving.’

‘A moment,’ Dad asserts.

‘We have to be out of sight before the press come sniffing around,’ the man replies. ‘It wouldn’t look good for your daughter to be seen here.’

Dad sighs and follows after the man, keeping an arm around my shoulders. ‘Let’s go.’

‘What about them?’ asks Olga, pointing to the women climbing into ambulances and police vans.

‘They’ll be taken care of,’ the wire-rimmed man says with no further explanation.

We approach a giant silver car with blacked-out windows. The rear-door is slid open for us to climb in. I look over my shoulder to the women one last time. They notice us leaving and wave. It’s the only thanks they can ever give us.

The packed streets, the slow traffic, even a pair of gorgeous red heels in a shop window are mere background noise. How did the rest of the world just exist while we were in that den? I’ve seen Brazil and the original cut of The Descent. At any moment, I’ll blink and wake up in that dark, cramped cage.

None of us can say anything. Not even as we pass over London Bridge and have the afternoon sun reflects off the river. Not long after reaching the North Bank, we turn into an underground car park. I’m not overeager to go underground again, but at least it’s well-lit and it doesn’t stink of burning human flesh.

It’s not until we’ve taken the elevator up and are standing before the security gates in the lobby that I realise we are in Thames House. Whatever we’re here for, it can’t be good.

We empty our pockets into a tray along with our schoolbags, as one would at the airport. I deliberately don’t look at Dad while I take the guard’s lighter out of my pocket. Afterwards, the four of us are shown to a room with only a table and chairs. I wonder why Dad isn’t joining us while suspicious they closed the door too.

‘What a day,’ says Olga.

‘Next time we decide to skip school,’ says Luke, ‘Let’s just go to the cinema.’

‘How could we have known there was a vampire club?’ says Dante.

Their gaze switches to me. I say nothing.

‘Do you think we’re in much trouble?’ asks Luke.

Olga laughs. ‘If not here, definitely with our parents.’

Dante nods. ‘I’m ready for the whole disappointed speech from my parents.’

They look at me again, but I don’t break my thousand-yard-stare. I can still see the flames in the corner of my eye. I don’t know if they’re from today or long ago.

‘Iorwen?’ Luke waves a hand in front of my face. ‘I think she’s gone catatonic.’

I blink hard and frown at him. ‘No, I’ve just got a lot on my mind.’

‘What happened in there?’ Dante asks. ‘How did the building catch fire?’

I take a deep breath, then another, shallower one. And another and another—I lean forward and bury my head in my hands.

Where’s the off switch? Just let today end!

Luke takes my shoulders, heaving me upright. ‘Breathe, Iorwen. Remember, in through the nose…’ He demonstrates, I follow, ‘And out through the mouth…’

We do this several times over until I can breathe again.

Not a moment later, the door opens and a woman strolls in. She doesn’t let being middle-aged stop her being glamorous; sporting a cream trouser suit, short platinum hair and expertly applied makeup. She should be editing a fashion magazine, not working for MI5.

‘Hello there,’ she says in a raspy voice. Smoker. The four of us get to our feet without thinking. ‘No need to stand on ceremony, I’m not the Queen.’ She pauses. ‘Yet.’ She smiles but we’re too nervous to laugh.

‘Excuse me,’ says Olga, ‘Miss…?’

‘McIntyre. Sophia McIntyre. Director of Supernatural Affairs at MI5.’

‘Director McIntyre. Are we in trouble? Are we being arrested?’

‘Of course not, Miss Hakim. What on earth gave you that impression?’

‘Well, we did skip school…’

'And trespassed on private property…’ says Luke.

'And killed vampires…’ adds Dante.

I raise my hand. ’And I set a building on fire.’

‘Rest assured,’ Sophia interjects, ‘You’ll be escorted home once you have all cooperated. I won’t ask what happened yet. My assistants will show you to the showers and I’ll speak with you later in the safe space.’

Sounds good to me. I follow her out the door, quick to ask, ‘Where did my father go?’

‘He has gone to make a phone call,’ Sophia replies. ‘I’ll bring him to the safe space later if you like.’

I nod. Olga and I follow one assistant while the boys follow the other. We find ourselves in a deserted women’s locker room.

‘Will we have to put our uniforms back on afterwards?’ says Olga as she pins up her braid.

‘I hope not,’ I say, removing my grimy, sooty ass blazer.

Thankfully, once we’ve showered, we find fresh clothes waiting for us, along with slippers, moisturiser and deodorant. Olga gets a pair of blue jeans and a white blouse that fit perfectly. Unfortunately, my trousers are too big so I have to use my school tie as a belt; and the long-sleeves red top is too small, riding halfway up my midriff. I wouldn’t mind if it didn’t make my scars obvious to the world.

We put our uniforms in provided bags and follow the assistant yet again to this ‘safe space’ Sophia told us about. It slipped my mind that it would be an actual safe space where someone can unwind and relax. I predicted the cold, foreboding, yet secure kind they use for interrogation.

Luke and Dante are already there; the former wearing corduroy trousers and a Wolverhampton t-shirt, and the latter in a black tracksuit.

They beckon us over to the corner sofa they’re sat on, facing a massive TV. Before us is a spread of food. Sandwiches, crisps, fruit and doughnuts. I used up the calories in those burgers on my homicidal rampage. I grab the first doughnuts I can reach, pleasantly surprised to see it has a salted-caramel glaze. The beauty of the world. The strong sweetness stings my teeth, but I feel human again. I grab a coffee from the machine nearby which pulls me out of the dark haze trying to overwhelm my mind.

‘What should we tell our parents when they ask where we’ve been?’ asks Dante. ‘I mean, your dad already knows, Iorwen, so you’re off the hook.’

‘Just tell them we went back to my house because we’d have the place to ourselves,’ I say.

Olga looks to the door where Sophia’s assistants are guarding on the other side. ‘They’ll come and question us soon.’

I try not to think about it and dig my phone out of my schoolbag. It’s crammed with texts from Dad, texts from Tara and missed calls from both. The last thing I’m expecting is for it to start ringing.

Tara’s photo appears on the screen. I took it during our Hamlet dress rehearsals when she was in her Ophelia costume for the first time. I answer it, though my hand trembles as I hold it to my ear.

‘Hello?’

‘Iorwen! Finally. I thought you were ghosting me. What’s up? Where’ve you been?’

‘Hang on,’ I say. I get up from the sofa and move to a far corner of the room. My friends switch the TV on to avoid listening in.

‘Are you all right, Iorwen?’

‘I’m fine. Though I may be in trouble for bunking off. Dad’s not happy.’

‘Oh no,’ she says. ‘Tell him it’s my fault.’

‘What?’

‘I made you skip school because of our row. You shouldn’t be getting punished for it.’

My head starts spinning. How can that have been on the same day? I could swear it’s been a week since then.

‘Are you still angry about us being outed?’ I ask nervously.

‘Oh, don’t worry. The school only called my dad and he promised not to tell mum.’

‘Was—was anyone talking about us at school?’

‘I’m not sure. We’ll have to see what happens on Monday. Can I come over tomorrow and talk to you about it?’

I look back to the TV at the wrong time. It’s six o’clock news time and they’re talking about a sudden fire in the middle of London.

With the news now in full view, the screen fades from the presenter at her desk to a building up in flames. The same building my friends and I escaped from. I have just enough strength to hold the phone to my ear and say, ‘I’ll get back to you on that. Got to go.’

The phone slips out of my hand once the call disconnects. I rush to the back of the sofa. Luke, Olga and Dante are similarly sat on the edge of their seats with their mouths gaping. Firefighters are still trying to put the flames out; police have formed a protective ring around the scene to stop spectators approaching.

A journalist takes up the bulk of the frame with the orange inferno in the background. ‘…The fire started around four o’clock this afternoon, causing immense traffic disruption. Those looking for a peaceful start to this weekend have been sadly disappointed. The building was considered uninhabitable for years. It is uncertain if this was an arson attack or an accident…’

Olga switches to the next channel where a simple gameshow is playing. ‘Sorry,’ she says. ‘It was getting surreal.’

‘I’ll say,’ says Luke. ‘I’m kind of glad it’s burned to the ground and those vampires can’t hurt anyone else.’

Olga asks him what it was like. He begins to explain the full ordeal to her, Dante joining in. I don’t claim any praise for getting us out and killing those vampires. She draws her knees up to her chest in awe, looking to me every time the boys give me credit. I swallow an ever-growing lump in my throat until I can’t hold it any longer.

'I did that!’

My friends turn around and look up at me.

‘I—I’m the reason that building’s on fire. I left every one of them to burn.’

Olga gets up and guides me to sit on the sofa next to her. ‘How could you have done that. It’s nearly ten storeys high.’

I slouch back into the cushions. ‘I used Molotov cocktails on them. I guess, as the true nature of the building is meant to be secret, there wouldn’t be many inspectors around to keep the building up to code.’

‘Molotov cocktails?’ says Dante.

I nod and grimace. ‘I’m a quarter Irish and I proved it in the worst way possible.’

‘Is that why you had me block the entrance?’ asks Luke.

‘It was a failsafe at first,’ I explain, ‘Set a fire to cover my escape. But after what I saw…after what they told me…I couldn’t let them live—’

I catch my head in my hands. The panic attack is coming in full force. I’m as ready for it as the vampires were for my cocktails. My eyes run with tears and I lose myself in the sobbing. I burrow into the corner and turn my back to them, curling up into the tiniest ball possible. Knowing they can see my scars doesn’t help.

‘Iorwen,’ says Dante, but Luke clears his throat.

‘Don’t do or say anything that’ll make her feel worse,’ he says.

‘We are here for you, you know?’ Olga whispers softly to me. ‘We care about you.’

I sigh, curling up tighter. ‘How can you care when I’m a murderer?’

‘They’d have done worse to us,’ says Dante. ‘They were monsters.’

‘It’s not like they were human,’ adds Luke. 'They didn’t have to drink human blood; they didn’t have to give their money to traffickers.’

‘You’re morally in the right,’ Olga assures me. ‘It was self-defence.’

‘No,’ I mumble. ‘It wasn’t. Not when I went back in.’ I sit up and brace my elbows on my knees, hanging my head. ‘I killed them because I wanted them dead. I hated them so much. They told me…vampires…they murdered my mother.’

The three of them gasp as I recollect what I was told.

‘Oh god, Iorwen, I’m sorry,’ says Dante.

We sit in silence for half a minute. None of them are sure what to say and I’m tired of talking. We’re almost thankful when Sophia McIntyre walks in as if it’s another day in the office. My heart sinks now that I have to recall everything again, and she doesn’t seem the sympathetic type.

Behind her are two people Dad and—

‘Mum!’ Luke gasps at Elisa. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘I was told you would be here,’ she says. That explains Dad’s phone call. ‘We’ll discuss your skipping school when we get home.’

He goes red and averts his gaze.

‘I have come to release you,’ says Sophia, drawing the attention back to her. ‘You will each be escorted home now.’

‘What?’ says Dante. ‘I thought you were going to question us.’

‘I was advised against it. I have what I need by leaving you to your own devices.’ She points to the corners of the room where tiny red lights betray cameras. I stare up, incredulous. I turn to glare at Sophia but her gaze makes me shudder instead. I’d be knocked off my feet if I wasn’t already sitting down.

‘I’m to believe,’ she says, more to me than anyone else, ‘That those in your friend group don’t easily talk about their experiences when pressured. This was the best method of getting your testimony and getting you home by midnight.’

I notice Dad in my peripheral vision. The hint of guilt in his face stings me. I turn away from him and cross my arms.

‘Is that it?’ asks Olga. ‘You trust us not to tell anyone?’

‘Who would believe you if you did?’ Sophia replies. ‘People would sooner that the world is flat and vaccines cause autism than the idea of parasites draining the human race for their own means.’

She clears her throat and I hear the rustle of papers. 'I will give you each one of these to fill out in your own time. ‘You don’t have to complete it, but we have a free post address on an envelope for you to send it back.’

‘What is it?’ asks Dante.

‘Open it at home when you’re alone,’ she replies. ‘Now, let’s get you home.’

Luke has to tug on my arm to make me stand up. I slope to the door, taking my phone and schoolbag with me. Dad carries the envelope and the bag with my uniform. Neither of us say a thing all the way back down to the car park. Even when we are split into different cars and I’m sat next to him. But at least it’s finally over and we’re going home.