***

Ben Askew opened up the front door of the farmhouse, and stared at Shark Mako, his blue eyes wide with anger. He raised the shotgun towards her face.

“You shouldn’t have come back here.” He said. Ben took a few steps backwards. “Get in here. Now.” He ordered. Shark raised her hands in the air in a gesture of surrender and nodded. She walked through the doorway, entering the hall. Suddenly, Ben Askew grabbed her roughly by the arm, pulling her further into the building. He pushed past her, moving towards the front door, in order to shut it. Ben was just about to close the door, when a force from the other side powered into it, knocking the old man backwards. Howard Trenton barged into the hallway, and ploughed towards Ben Askew. The old man accidentally squeezed the trigger of the shotgun, and it discharged, letting out a deafening bang. With lightning speed, Howard snatched the weapon from Ben’s hands, and then whipped it around in a circle, smashing the barrel into the triple killer’s head.

Ben Askew slumped to the floor, a large gash on the side of his head beginning to bleed. Howard threw the shotgun to the floor, and then knelt down next to the injured man. He looked up at Shark.

“Pass me the knife, Shark.” Howard requested. Shark shook her head.

“Uh uh, no way.” She said. Howard stared at her with disbelief.

“For fuck’s sake, just give me the knife. I need to finish this cunt off.” Howard advised her.

“No. I’m not giving you the knife, Howard.” Shark responded.

“Look! I’m keeping my side of the deal, aren’t I? Now just pass me the…” suddenly, Ben Askew lashed out with his fist, slamming it into the side of Howard’s head. The younger man went rolling sideways, his one good hand clutching at his skull. Ben reached for the shotgun. He picked it up, and then slowly got to his feet. The old man raised the weapon above his head, preparing to bring the buttstock down onto Howard’s cranium. At that point, Shark lunged the knife forwards, ramming it into Ben’s lower back, just as Alex Crennell had stabbed Howard, the day before. Shark pulled the blade from out of Ben Askew’s body, and as she did so, thick, bright red blood began to spurt from the wound that she had inflicted on him. Ben dropped the shotgun, and then fell down on all fours.

“He’s all yours.” Said Shark to Howard, before leaving the hallway and racing up the stairs, in order to find her friend.

Shark reached the top of the farmhouse stairs.

“Mary!” She cried out. “Mary, where are you?” Shark asked.

“Shark!” Screamed Mary from behind an old wooden door. “I’m in here!” Shark walked over to the bedroom door and tried the handle. It was locked.

Fuck it! Thought Shark.

“Mary, are you okay? Did that bastard touch you at all?” Shark wanted to know.

“No. No, he didn’t.” Mary responded. “He would have done though.”

“Yeah, I know. Okay… he’s locked the fucking door. I can’t get in.” Said Shark.

“Where is he? Where’s the old guy?” Shouted Mary.

“He’s downstairs, with… he’s downstairs. Don’t worry, he’s not going to be bothering you again.” Advised Shark. “He must still have the bedroom key on him. I’ll go down and…”

“There’s no need to do that.” Said Howard Trenton, who was standing at the top of the stairs, holding a key in his hand. “Here, take it.” Shark went to grab the bedroom key from Howard, and that’s when he made his move. Howard’s bony, but incredibly powerful fingers clasped Shark’s wrist. He yanked the woman forward, whilst at the same time lolling his head backwards, then Howard slammed his forehead at Shark, butting her with maximum force, in the face, felling her instantly.

At the sound of Howard’s voice, Mary had begun to scream.

“You’re wasting your breath, Mary.” Said Howard, calmly, as he unlocked the bedroom door. He pushed it open, grinning at the terrified young woman.

“Howard… please… don’t do this.” Begged Mary. Howard ignored her. He briefly disappeared out of the doorway, then came back, dragging Shark along the floor by her blonde hair. Howard smiled at Mary.

“It’s your lucky day. I struck a deal with Shark here. I thought about reneging on it, at one point… but nah. I’ll keep my side of the bargain… you can go. Leave. Get out of here… and when you reach home, tell Lucas and Kay that the only reason I’ve spared you is because of them.” Said Howard. Mary looked at him in shock and disbelief.

“What are you going to do to Shark?” Mary asked.

“You’ll be able to ask her that for yourself, in a few days… but don’t worry, I’m not going to kill her, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Replied Howard.

“Oh no… you’re going to…”

“Just get out of here. Now. Before I change my fucking mind.” Snapped Howard.

“I’m not leaving here without her.” Said Mary.

“Then let me put it another way, you silly fucking bitch… get out of here now, and you and Shark will live to see another day. Insist on staying, and you’ll both die a really nasty, agonising death, right here in this bedroom. Now, I’m going to count to five, and if you’re not gone by the time that I reach it, then…”

“I’m not leaving.” Argued Mary.

“One.” Smiled Howard. “Two.” He continued. Mary looked at her friend, then back towards Howard. “Three.” He said. “Four.” The young woman began backing out of the bedroom.

“That’s it. That’s a good girl.” Mocked Howard Trenton. “Go on, fuck off, get yourself back home.” He watched as Mary disappeared from the bedroom. Howard listened to Mary’s footsteps as she ran down the stairs. He turned to Shark. “Finally. Party-time.” Said Howard, before walking over to the bedroom door and locking it from the inside…

***

Mary got to the bottom of the stairs. In the hallway, lay Ben Askew, face down, in a growing pool of blood. He was still breathing, but only just. Gingerly, the young woman edged past him, before leaving the farmhouse through the open front door. I’ve got to do something. I can’t just leave Shark upstairs with that murdering bastard, thought Mary. She pulled out her mobile phone, hoping against hope that there would be a signal. There is! There’s a signal! I’ve got reception! With shaking hands, Mary dialled the emergency services. A voice came on the other end of the line.

“Help! I need help, now!” Said Mary, with urgency in her voice. “My name’s Mary Broderick. I’m outside Ben Askew’s farmhouse, near to Oakden. Howard Trenton is inside. He’s killed two of my friends, and now he’s got another one held captive. You’ve got to hurry!” She continued. The operator told her to try and calm down, then got Mary to repeat exactly what she’d just said. A few minutes later, a message went out to the three separate search teams out on, or near to, the Black Pathway. WE’VE LOCATED HOWARD TRENTON. In the sky above, the pilot of a police helicopter was told to divert from Coldsleet Moor, and to head south-east, towards the village of Oakden. The pilot duly changed course, the helicopter doing a sudden one hundred and eighty degree turn, before lurching forwards, away from the moor, then skimming over the thousands of tree-tops that formed Skerrington Forest. The net was quickly closing in on Howard Trenton.

***

Howard Trenton lay naked on the dirty mattress, his body pulled up behind Shark Mako. His one arm was wrapped tightly around Shark’s belly, whilst his other, broken arm hung limply at his side. Howard’s head rested against the back of Shark’s frozen neck. Howard smiled as he listened to Shark’s slow, deep breathing.

“There. That wasn’t so bad at all now, was it Shark? You’ll wake up, in a few hours, and never know what we did together. You’ve been oblivious to it all… but we’ve procreated. I felt that electic bolt pass from my stomach, and into your body. There’s new life inside you now… I can sense it, and I can smell it. You’re going to carry on my legacy, Shark. You’ve become a mom… and you’ve become my mother… and I’ve become my father.” Howard kissed Shark gently on the back of her head, before pulling himself away from her. The bedroom filled with the sound of cracking ice and frost. “I lied to you when I said that I wasn’t a rapist. You were right about that. I am a rapist… just not in the sense that you meant. Yeah… I’m a rapist alright… just not some dirty, filthy human type, doing it for fun. So, Shark, in a way, you were wrong as well.”