Glenda

Chapter 7

Double sensations now tormented Glenda. Either she should finish off Katerina herself, and then calmly plead insanity and go to a mental hospital instead of prison. Or let justice do it.

“It’s a pity that the death penalty has been abolished in Denmark,” the girl complained.

– Nothing, now we will approve the permission to detain Miss Andersson and go to her. Prison will be worse than sweet death.

– Iver, do you think it will all end today?

– You'll see, baby. Tomorrow I’ll take a day off, and you and I will go for a walk through all the museums in Copenhagen. We'll drink beer and dance in the rain.

– Fine. It also seems to me that today we will save your city from this dangerous villain. Jack, what do you think?

– I think you guys have done a good job, and everything should end today. A criminal in the government is a disaster for the state.

– We don’t yet know whether her father is aware of his daughter’s perversions. This will be difficult to prove if they hire a good lawyer.

– Then I’ll just write in the Politiken newspaper and definitely ruin his reputation. Doesn't raising a criminal daughter mean he's a bad father? But aren’t father and ruler synonymous concepts when viewed on a large scale?

– You're right! – concluded both cops.

Then all three drove in silence to the sounds of the car and the city. The radio was silent. The dispatcher reported that there was noise on all waves, apparently a technical problem.

The engine roared at intersections, so that the tires squealed throughout the street. One hundred and twenty with a siren, and now they are already in their station.

The queen of the police hive did not immediately give permission. Behind the glass wall, Glenda did not hear their conversations, but clearly observed the actively gesticulating Iver, Jack, who non-stop wandered around the office like a lion in a cage, periodically interjecting his word to the boss, and the site manager just shook her head. Unshakable, but with kind eyes, she rather irritated those who spoke with her appearance.

And so, when they both gave up, they ran out of arguments and gave up, the phone rang, Mrs. Matka picked up the phone.

Her face contorted with unpleasant surprise, after which she finally spoke.

The strange expression on his face spread like an epidemic to others present in the office.

All three left.

– Glenda… – Iver came closer and put both hands on her shoulders. This happens before someone tries to deliver bad news. And also this guilty look, as if something terrible had happened – the Deacon from the Church of Grundtvig called. – the girl tensed, Iver waited a second and continued, taking her shoulders even tighter. – Graham died.

– How did you die? Did Katherine do this?

– The deacon said that she came into his room, then Graham suddenly started banging his head against the wall, and…

– What and…?

– And in the end he broke his skull.

– God! – Glenda, sitting in a chair, leaned between her knees as if she was about to throw up. Not from what Jornas’s brother did to himself, but from his own helplessness. She couldn't save the second of the Kronwood family, but she could have. I could have done this just an hour ago if I had taken the boy with me under the supervision of the police until the killer was imprisoned. I could have forbidden the deacon to let this woman in to see him today. By any means, but I didn’t. And this is her sin, which no communion will wash away.

– Sorry.

– For what? We were all there… – cried a tearful Glenda.

– Yes…And now I asked the deacon not to let Miss Andersson leave the church, to hold her, without showing it, until we arrive.

– Do you already have permission to detain?

– Yes. Go.

Glenda tried to get up, but her legs felt like cotton wool.

She looked at them and saw first the torn jeans, and then the charred limbs underneath them. The smell of burning human flesh stuck in my throat, sweet and bitter at the same time, penetrated my nostrils in a matter of seconds. There were people with decaying bodies standing around, they were all busy working. And opposite her, two male corpses were saying something. Glenda fell into unconsciousness.

Chapter 8

– At little Mary's

A great mishap did unfold,

Her right shoe gone, we're told.

In one she leaps and wails,

Impossible without its pair, it pales!

Yet, dear Mary, don't you weep,

For the lost shoe, a secret to keep.

A new one we'll craft, without dismay,

Or purchase a match, without delay.

Just take heed, be watchful, take care,

No more losses, a tale rare!

How nice it is to hear again the kind English song that her mother sang to her before bed as a child.

Glenda lay with her eyes closed on something hard, her body did not obey. But she would have lain like that for a long time, if only the song would not stop.

The gentle female voice suddenly cleared her throat loudly and ceased to be pleasant.

– Get up, slut!

Glenda's eyes widened.

In front of her face was the ceiling of her house with a pattern from the dim light of a floor lamp, a new house in Copenhagen. Looking around, she didn’t see anyone, but she clearly realized that she was lying on the floor in the living room. It was night outside, the lights weren’t on, you couldn’t even see the sky, it was a dull, impenetrable darkness.

“Get up, I said!” the nasty voice commanded again.

Catherine appeared in the doorway.

Tall with long white hair and plump pink lips, the girl could have looked like an ordinary blonde from a teen comedy, if not for the bloody ax in her hand.

On a white silk dress, small red splashes outlined a cross pattern.

– Did you kill the deacon?

– Yeah. The old scoundrel decided to reproach me. – the girl answered coolly in the doorway and approached Glenda, who was lying motionless. A sharp heel pressed against his bare hand. – Get up, whore. You stole my boyfriend and then started stalking me, and you expect me to leave everything as it is?

– Why did you kill Graham, he’s still just a child?

– He killed himself, I only told about the death of his brother!

– You are sick, you need a specialist. Let me help you deal with this. – Glenda made an attempt to appease her executioner.

– Shut up, lousy British! Do you think you can pretend to be a psychologist? You won't live anymore. After all, you see, we are alone, and I have obvious advantages. – the blonde turned the ax near the victim’s face, a dried drop of blood fell right into her eye.

Glenda tried to get up to clear herself and gradually succeeded.

Barely standing on her feet, resting her hands on her knees, Glenda looked from under her brows at her tormentor.

– What do you want? Why haven't you killed me yet?

– Sit down! – shouted a slightly excited Catherine, to again show her superiority. The brunette carefully sat down on the sofa. – Look out the window. Do you see anything there?

Glenda turned behind her, pulled the curtains, but couldn't see anything. This happens if the window is sealed with opaque fabric. Then she looked ahead, trying to see what was visible in the windows of the hall. But there was nothing there either, thick blackness and that’s it.

– What does it mean?

– I don’t know, tell me. – the blonde with the ax answered sarcastically. “Some kind of devilry is happening in the city.” The radio and television don't work, the telephone connection has disappeared, and the electricity…

– What?

– There is light only in your house.

– You are lying? – Glenda involuntarily chuckled. – If you want to keep me locked up, keep me locked up. It's enough for me that you have a weapon. To do this, you don’t need to invent that the outside world is dangerous. I won't run away anywhere.

– Stupid! – Katherine grabbed Glenda by her long black hair, which had become quite tangled today, and dragged her towards the exit. – Look! – she threw her out onto the porch. – Walk around, do you see anything?

– Fine. But turn off the light, it's distracting.

In response, there was a dull laugh. Glenda repeated.

– Turn off the light, please, I won’t run away.

– It won't turn off, stupid. The lights don't turn off in your damn house, okay?

Glenda ran inside and tried to flick the switches. Katerina is right, no reaction. Now more alarmed, but also agile, she rushed to the electrical panel. The door was open.

– Are you taking me for a complete fool? – the uninvited guest said sarcastically – I’ve already tried everything here.

– So what should we do? – Glenda asked, as if asking a friend, more concerned about what was outside.

– I don’t know, but I can’t kill you.

– Why?

– Somehow everything is tied to you?

– I don't understand.

– While I was driving here, the lights behind me went out one after another. You're some kind of witch.

– Nonsense, the same thing happened to me when I… That night when you…

– Killed Jornas? – the blonde with the ax grinned.

– Yes. – Glenda said quietly.

– And just so you know, my father killed Wild Penny when he found out that this prostitute was blackmailing him. That evening he called dad to say that he was refusing to protect his daughter or he would tell everything to the press.

The mistress of the house swallowed, but a lump stuck in her dry throat and she coughed.

A blonde in a bloody dress went to the kitchen to get water. With a glass in one hand and a swinging ax in the other, it was hard to believe her thoughtfulness; anyone who saw this would rather not be there.

– Drink, you’ll still need a voice to tell me how to get out of here.

Glenda took a long sip, like she did at the police station when she was coming up with an answer.

“I don't really know what's going on. I do not know what to do. It's like a quest where there are two people in a locked room, me and a maniac. You seem to know that there are answers, but you just can’t guess. You are asked leading questions and you search around the entire perimeter of the room until you find the treasured key. But that's not the case here. There are no questions from outside voices, no answers or keys. Hopelessness in its most terrible form. Or maybe there is?”

– There are ghosts in this house. – Glenda tried to start.

– Yeah. And also aliens and God himself.

– It’s true, I heard them right before Jornas’ death.

– You, I’m looking completely cuckoo. Even stronger than me.

– Yes, listen. If we call this ghost, then maybe it will tell us what is happening.

– Well, call me. “Katherine seemed to believe Glenda’s words for a moment, her face was smooth, until suddenly her cheek twitched nervously, then the other, and no longer having the strength to hold on, she laughed with all her snow-white teeth. “I think it’s time to stop this circus.”

– No, I'm right. Ghost, appear! – screamed the desperate victim. But nothing happened, only even louder laughter echoed throughout the house.

– I think you did everything you could. I believe you. Then I will offer my outcome of events. Someday the sun will appear, and I will leave this damned house and city, perhaps even the country. In the meantime, you and I will have a lot of fun.

Glenda peered at her executioner and saw a languid veil over her eyes. The more or less adequate, but evil Katherine began to disappear, gradually the one who was engaged in perversions with the Kronwood brothers appeared and killed three, and maybe more people.

– Iver, Jack, what’s wrong with them?

– I don’t know, I haven’t met them. – the blonde answered in a quiet, hoarse voice from excitement, undressing Glenda with her eyes. The ax was already firmly in her hand and she raised the weapon upward. – undress.

– What?

– You hear everything perfectly, rubbish. Take off your T-shirt, jeans, underwear, I don’t like unnecessary items on my victim’s body.

– You can't do this!

– I really can. “The blonde, breathing heavily, grabbed Glenda by the hair again and dragged her now into the kitchen. – Where do you have sharp objects here?

The mistress of the house just screamed in pain, bony fingers squeezing her hair at the roots pressed on her head, and her skin ached from tightness. Fear paralyzed the tongue. – Okay, don’t tell me, I’ll find it myself. “Katherine began to open the drawers of the table one by one and take out one or two things at a time. – Fork, butter knife, spoon, rolling pin. Hmm, not bad. True, I haven’t figured out why the egg cutter yet, but it won’t be superfluous. Napkins, rag, meat mallet, mixer. Mm, the mixer is just right.

Goosebumps ran all over Glenda's body. She will not survive such atrocity against herself. It's better to die right away.

– Fine! – Glenda screamed in panic. – I'll help you get out. I just need time to figure out where to start, how to find the answer to all these riddles.

– That's fine. In the meantime, I will stimulate your little brain to think faster. – Catherine plugged in the mixer, and with a nasty click of the button, the metal whisks began to buzz through the empty air. – Take off your clothes.

Slowly unbuttoning her jeans, the hostess of the house feverishly tried to remember at least some clue that could point her to the answer.

“Mr. Holstein got rid of the house because of ghosts, Graham also saw ghosts, I constantly suffer from hallucinations… Maybe these are ghosts too? What about me then? I’m a ghost too!” Glenda looked up in horror at her executioner and saw in front of her a charred body with white maggots crawling in the decomposing tissues. The monster stood with the mixer running and slowly approached her.

The girl backed away, but tripped over something and fell. It turned out to be her laptop bag. Lying on the floor, she tried to get up, but the monster pressed its wet foot into her chest. Some of the fallen flesh fell on her neck, the foul smell provoked the urge to vomit.

– What's wrong with you, stupid? – Katerina’s voice was heard from the semblance of the monster’s mouth.

– Dont touch me.

– I would love to, but you’re not helping me get out. – the voice whispered angrily.

Glenda turned her head away from the disgusting foot and saw a pen sticking out of her bag, the same Christian Lacroix pen she used to write on the plane. Here it is, the weapon. If you stick it in the eye or ear, you can briefly seize control, take the ax, and come what may, they will fight in equal combat. Hope appeared on her face, which unfortunately was also noticed by her executioner.

Katerina pushed the bag to the side about two meters with an ax.

– I know your thoughts, baby, but nothing will save you. Take off panties.

The disgusting creature knelt in front of Glenda, pointing the mixer directly between her legs. The monster’s evil grin through his torn, almost faded lips made her shudder.

Everything went dar