A full moon shone over a wind-blown Balgay Hill as Dundee absorbed another Halloween.
Children screamed and laughed in the distance as they tricked or treated their way around houses decorated with cardboard ghouls and pumpkin lanterns.
In the graveyard the trees and shrubs waved in the wind which caressed the headstones before heading over the sleeping river Tay. Small animals scurried around the foot paths, separating the lines of graves. A lone dog ran across the iron bridge which connected the cemetery with the hill where the pale-domed Mills Observatory sat.
The moonlight illuminated a large, silver granite monolith with an inscription which read: ‘A time which has ended in this world has just begun in another’. The wind made the rusty chain, which ran around the structure, creek.
Clouds passed over the moon as the graveyard quaked. A rumbling noise filled the air around the monolith as a huge hole formed where turf and soil had sunk out of sight.
A cruel, howling wind erupted as a figure rose from the pit and hovered before descending onto the path beside the stone.
Didier Grondin gazed around the cemetery with crimson eyes as the small animals ran back to the safety of their holes. He laughed! It was good to be back in the physical again, he thought. He didn’t need a fucking key to move between worlds he was way too powerful for that! He had gained power in the Dark Realm by destroying the demon Hel and her father Loki, then absorbing their energy. The extra power was enough to allow him to ’bridge’ the worlds so he could begin his campaign.
Grondin walked across the iron bridge, passed the deserted observatory and descended the slopes of the hill. He strolled through the streets of the city among groups of people in fancy dress.
Eventually he took refuge from the crowds in the Howff Graveyard where he sat on a wooden bench. I need another name, he thought. He gazed up at an old office block where light blazed out of every window before being permeated by the darkness. "That's it!" he said to himself as he stood up, “Derek Colin Thomson.”
Shadows flowed across the path as he walked past the darkened headstones and left the cemetery.
I need money, he thought, walking through the city streets before coming to a halt in front of a blue illuminated sign high on a wall which read: ‘Discovery Casino’. Perfect, he thought with a grin.
Two heavy muscled men in poor fitting black suits stood on either side of the main casino door as well-dressed people entered the building. Thomson ducked in behind a man and woman in their late forties. The woman wore a dark, violet velvet dress under a black suede coat while the man wore a light, grey suit.
“Evening,” said the man as they approached the security men.
“Evening,” replied one man.
Thomson approached the bouncers as the couple disappeared through the open doors.
“Evening,” he announced.
The men looked him up and down before one asked: “Excuse me sir, but are you a member?”
“No.” Thomson replied.
“Well, I'm afraid we can't let you in.”
“Can't I go in for tonight?” Thomson pleaded.
“I'm afraid not. You'll have to fill out a membership form and return it with an ID,” said the doorman as he reached behind one of the open doors and grabbed a form from a shelf.
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Suddenly the other doorman screamed and clapped his hands over his eyes.
“What's wrong Tom?” shouted the other bouncer throwing aside the application form.
Blood oozed between the fingers of the stricken man as people in the line behind Thomson screamed and shouted. In the pandemonium Thomson slipped into the club and walked along a dark hallway which had glitter stars stuck to the ceiling and walls. He pulled back into the shadows as two security men ran past on their way to the front door. His trick had worked well; he thought with a laugh.
The main lounge was a mass of busy roulette and poker tables. Slot machines lined two of the four walls. A bar ran the length of another wall and waitresses flowed between it and the tables.
Thomson walked up to where a young woman sat behind a barred window with a 10 cm horizontal gap at the bottom.
“I would like five thousand pounds worth of chips,” he said with red eyes.
The cashier gasped and absent-mindedly selected various chips and pushed them through the gap taking no money.
Thomson sat at a roulette table with two others: a middle-aged Chinese man and a younger man with cropped red hair. The croupier, a woman in her late twenties, was dressed in a dark, grey skirt with a matching waistcoat over a white blouse.
Thomson placed all his chips on red as the croupier announced: “Place your bets please.”
She spun the wheel after other bets were made and, as it slowed, the ball bounced a few times before landing on 21 red.
“Twenty-one red, “said the woman in a casual tone while pushing chips toward Thomson, who again put them all on red. They spun the wheel, and again the ball landed on red. The Chinese man let out a sigh as they shoved Thomson's winnings toward him.
After moving from table-to-table Thomson decided it was time to leave the casino as his winning was attracting the attention of not only the punters, but the management. He cashed in the chips and strolled along the hallway with the twinkling stars.
Outside, Thomson took a deep breath and patted the pocket where he had placed the cheque for
£220,000; he had asked for the remaining £5000 in cash. He strolled along the street past two drunks who were more interested in fish and chips than him.
Thomson booked into a hotel and lay back on the double bed in his Executive\Club room and switched on the television. The late news filled the screen; another body had been found in a field to the west of the city, announced the newscaster; that made three in the last four weeks all with the same markings. It now looked as if Dundee had a serial killer on the loose, the woman continued.
Thomson raised his head and stared at the images of police in and around a field. “Mm...
interesting” he said to himself.
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