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    Last Days
    Last Days
    Last Days
    Ebook538 pages10 hours

    Last Days

    By Adam Nevill

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Last Days (winner of the British Fantasy Award for Best Horror Novel of the Year) by Adam Nevill is a Blair Witch style novel in which a documentary film-maker undertakes the investigation of a dangerous cult—with creepy consequences.

    When guerrilla documentary maker, Kyle Freeman, is asked to shoot a film on the notorious cult known as the Temple of the Last Days, it appears his prayers have been answered. The cult became a worldwide phenomenon in 1975 when there was a massacre including the death of its infamous leader, Sister Katherine. Kyle's brief is to explore the paranormal myths surrounding an organization that became a testament to paranoia, murderous rage, and occult rituals. The shoot's locations take him to the cult's first temple in London, an abandoned farm in France, and a derelict copper mine in the Arizonan desert where The Temple of the Last Days met its bloody end. But when he interviews those involved in the case, those who haven't broken silence in decades, a series of uncanny events plague the shoots. Troubling out-of-body experiences, nocturnal visitations, the sudden demise of their interviewees and the discovery of ghastly artifacts in their room make Kyle question what exactly it is the cult managed to awaken – and what is its interest in him?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateFeb 26, 2013
    ISBN9781250018175
    Last Days
    Author

    Adam Nevill

    Adam L.G. Nevill was born in Birmingham, England, in 1969 and grew up in England and New Zealand. He is the author of the horror novels: Banquet for the Damned, Apartment 16, The Ritual, Last Days, House of Small Shadows, No One Gets Out Alive, Lost Girl and Under a Watchful Eye. His first short story collection, Some Will Not Sleep: Selected Horrors, was published on Halloween, 2016. His novels, The Ritual, Last Days and No One Gets Out Alive were the winners of The August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel. The Ritual and Last Days were also awarded Best in Category: Horror, by R.U.S.A. Many of his novels are currently in development for film and television, and in 2016 Imaginarium adapted The Ritual into a feature film. Adam lives in Devon, England.

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    Reviews for Last Days

    4/5

    226 ratings27 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a terrifying and intense read, perfect for fans of ghosts, the occult, witches, and demons. The writing style is great and keeps readers engaged. However, some readers felt that the book was too long and had similarities to the Manson family. Overall, it is recommended for those who enjoy a good scare.

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      An awesome-terrifying-gripping read. His character descriptions are wicked. I enjoyed this novel.
    • 3/5
      Struggling, destitute filmmaker, Kyle, gets the opportunity to make the best documentary he's ever made, the one that will put him on the map and at the same time wipe out his crushing financial debt. The only thing is, he might not survive the shoot.

      Even when things take a turn during filming and start to get weird, and then outright terrifying, I understood why Kyle doesn't call it a wrap. You know those moments in horror movies when the characters do foolish things that are completely unmotivated and cause you to shake your fist and yell at the TV, "What are you doing? Don't go outside! Or into the basement! Or into the woods!" Well, Adam Nevill manages to write horror that scares you without employing those kinds of "foolish decision-making" moments, the kinds mistakes we all believe we would never make if we were put into the same situation.

      The only problem I had with the book that lost it a star was that the explanations were way too long.
    • 5/5
      This was a Great book, I really liked his writing style.
    • 2/5
      While the concept was compelling and most of the novel was fine, it goes completely off the rails in the last third.
    • 3/5
      This is one that I've heard lots of folks say scared them. I did not have the same reaction. The premise is good but the execution left me cold. This book was hard to get through. I kept hoping it would be better than it actually was. 4/10 scare factor.
    • 2/5
      It could have. Been 200 pages less. I couldn't finish it.
    • 4/5
      Asked to film a documentary about a defunct cult is a job Kyle will come to regret. A bold idea exceedingly well-written. My only negative isn’t that it’s a long book but that it also felt a little overlong. Would take an experienced editor to know what to cut, though, as there’s a lot to take in, but I feel the length diminished the deliciously creepy suspense some. Not enough to affect my enjoyment, but for me the book loses a star because of it… which isn’t drastic criticism by any means. Had I not read the book, I would have missed a wild ride and much scary imagery. Extremely imaginative and well worth spending time with.
    • 5/5
      Oml this one scared me!!! Been so long since a book literally had me asking my husband to come with me when I had to go to the bathroom at night!! Recommend!
    • 4/5
      Pretty good read, maintains scary intensity through out. Only thing I didn’t like was rips off a lot from the Manson family in my opinion.
    • 5/5
      Great book! I have a new author to add to my list of favorites.
    • 3/5
      More reviews like this available on my blog.

      My review copy was an eARC provided for free by St Martins Press through NetGalley

      Sorry for the dark horror two in one, readers! I tend to read in phases (even with review copies from publishers) so I review in phases too. But I'll try to make the next review something different.

      Ooof. I'm - I'm not sure. I find Adam Neville's work difficult - I don't like or even really enjoy the books, but I can't put them down. I found this particular book similar to his previous work in that it relied over-much on ultra-grim. So why do I keep reading the things? Because Adam Neville know how to tell a properly horrifying story. He knows how to not just creep me out, but how to disgust me and make me afraid.

      I'm going to take a moment to expound on a theory I have about horror novels. I think they need spots of light amidst the dark. This is for a couple of reasons - first it gives the reader a bit of a break. Secondly, it makes the horror stand out more, makes it more effective.

      Last Days has no bright spots. From the moment they experience the first, horrific thing to the last moment the only thing that could even be called a bright spot is still bloody horrible. The effect of this isn't to drive the horror in more deeply, but to tire the reader out. It is exhausting to read something where it is never-ending awfulness from beginning to end, and it means you become more critical. You spot things - little contextual details - that would be less damning in a work that was less tiring. I would never have noticed, for example, the reference towards 'predatory bisexual' (do you know how annoying it is to have 'bisexual' constantly associated with negative things in fiction? Pretty tiring) and 'effeminate' used as a descriptor of awful unnaturalness (wow, I wasn't aware that being female or looking female is so awful that terrible, unnatural monsters should have it as a descriptor, thanks). These are minor things, petty things! Irritating, but not a big deal (to me, normally). But because the book had exhausted my ability to care, I spotted them, and they bothered me.

      Ooof. That attacking of minor issues done, lets talk about writing!

      Neville knows how to build tension and fear effectively with his writing, and while I normally prefer a slower-burning horror, I appreciate his desire to get right down in the nitty-gritty so early on. One problem I do have is that Neville overwrites, especially at the start of the book. His sentences can be overlong and confusing. I remember reading an early description of Sister Katherine two or three times before I could properly parse what he was saying.

      Still, I stayed up till 1 am to get to only 50 pages to the end, and sat down and finished it over breakfast the morning after, so it does its job. Last Days is an addictive read, difficult to put down. Part of that is the tight plotting, part is the characterisation. Kyle Freeman inhabits the rare company of 'horror protagonists who I can understand not just running away to a cave in Madagascar'. I don't like how he learns everything from several-page-long speeches from other characters though. It works along with the conceit of Kyle being a filmmaker and taping interviews but still. I like my characters to have some mental initiative and not just be stubborn question-askers.

      Ultimately I'd say go for it, but with caveats. If you don't like ultra-grim horror, you simply will not enjoy this at all.
    • 5/5
      This is my second reading of this book. It is terrifying and when you think it can’t get any scarier it does. If you love ghosts, the occult, witches and demons then you can’t pass this book up. It is very well written and will keep you wanting to sleep with your lights on.
    • 4/5
      So, there's this guy named Adam Nevill who is just going about his life, minding his own business, when he becomes fascinated with a water stain on the ceiling. The stain looks like something........it looks like something kinda scary. Nevill isn't sure what sort of scary thing it looks like, and he tries to figure it out, asking himself "What kinda scary thing is that?"

      Results: The Blood Friends. They are not zombies, but they are long-dead. They are not vampires, but they need blood to sustain themselves. They are not ghosts, but at night they can get into your room by coming through the walls or the ceiling. Blood Friends hate the light but, like rats, they can chew through the wiring to make sure your house is totally dark at night.

      Last Days is nominally about a documentary film maker taking on a commission to make a film about a notorious cult called the Temple of the Last Days which self-destructed in a bloody ending back in 1975. Before he even realizes it, he is involved with a vicious supernatural entity. He can't fall asleep because the dreams bring the Blood Friends; he is reduced to taking cat-naps on taxis and benches in public places during the day. He rapidly becomes a human driven to the limits of existance.

      Last Days was a well-paced fright-fest with plenty of action and a lot to figure out. I love Nevill's work and have a great deal of admiration for his original twists and creativity.

      After finishing this, my fourth Nevill book, I will say that he is my favorite current author of horror fiction. Lucky for me, I have just started No One Gets Out Alive and my copy of Banquet of the Damned is sitting on my shelf for whenever I am ready for it. Except for reading two of his books back-to-back I have tried to ration them out.........after that I will be reduced to waiting for the next book.

    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed the story, but it was a very slow read for me for some reason. Maybe because of the way it was written, it did feel more like a movie than a book, which is maybe an odd thing to say, but I think I'd rather have watched it than read it. Was very good material, though.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Adam Nevill's books have a way of growing on you - like wine or perfume maturing over time. They read well, the atmosphere is very much in the spirit of H.P. Lovecraft (the tense atmosphere and grey terror) and detailed storytelling can hold anyone's attention. There seems to be a trend with me - I always tend to feel the book "fizzle out" before the end and almost have to force myself to finish reading it. However, when revisiting the reviews and ratings, I usually have to correct myself and affix a higher rating. Some books linger in memory for longer, some are simply finished and one moves on from them. Neville's books are of the former category.
    • 3/5
      Starts out as an incredibly creepy tale that you can't put down. Unfortunately, the last 1/3 turns into a convoluted mess.
    • 3/5
      I have rather mixed emotions about this book. On the one hand, the story was engaging and very creepy at times. The author does a very good job of creating a creepy atmosphere that is chilling without going overboard on the details. I loved the London and France settings and how they were described with just enough detail that my mind took over and did the rest.

      My complaint about the book has been covered in other reviews. At times the writing is very good, but at other times it can be down right annoying. There are sections where the author is telling the story in an almost staccato mental stutter. While this may be effective for tense scary sections where the character is actually experiencing a difficulty in expression/thinking, it is distracting in normal conversations and descriptions. At times I found that I had difficulty engaging in the story because my mind kept focusing on the language. This was much more frequent at the beginning of the book, which gave me the feeling that the writing skills of the author changed as the book went along, which is unlikely. It feels more like a case of inconsistent editing.

      I would, however, endorse this book as a good horror story with an engaging story
    • 3/5
      This book had a wonderful premise and was very creepy. The storyline follows a documentary filmmaker as he puts together the story from former members of a cult. The premise is solid and the action is solid, but the writing is at best uneven.

      The writing in the book was a bit clunky and at times, even though I was engaged by the premise and the ideas, i felt like I had to trudge through some pretty awful writing to get there. Nothing takes you out of the story more than knowing that you are reading, and sadly this book had the feel of work while reading it.

      That said, there were a lot of moments where the pages flew by and I was entirely engaged with the storyline. This author has great potential and when his writing is solid, it is fantastic. He does not lack for creativity and he created a truly scary, thrilling novel.
    • 3/5
      I recieved this book as part of the LT early reviewer program. At first glance, I was curious about the premise of a film maker researching documentary footage for a cult and the paranormal events left in its wake. I was excited to dive right in, but to be honest, I had to make myself restart the book several times. I am not sure if my lack of motivation was related to some initially confusing sections of narrative or just a lack of formward momentum, but in either case, I found this trend would continue through the length of the book.

      The plot finds a struggling film maker get the assignment of a lifetime. He is to track the decades old story of a cult that met a tragic ending. The few remaining survivors are now willing to tell their story and Kyle is sent to several on location spots to interview them for the documentary. The story and images he captures share some scary moments.

      Despite the periods of really brilliant writing, there were too many chunks of narrative that simply fell flat. At no point did I find myslef glued to the story. In the end, if the pacing had been better, I believe the book as a whole would have been more successful.
    • 4/5
      I have come to really enjoy the newer horror films that are done in the form of 'found video' or 'mockumentary'. I like the added realism, and I think most of these videos, starting with 'Blair Witch' and 'The Last Broadcast', can be truly terrifying. I did, however, have a hard time picturing how this same feel could be put into book form. I love horror novels, but when the subject is supposed to be about the realism of video, I was skeptical that this could be successful. That's why I was so excited when I saw the book 'Last Days' by Adam Nevill. This is the story of Kyle, a very small-time, independent film producer, and his friend Dan who are hired to make a historical documentary about a Charles Manson like cult called, Temple of the Last Days, led by Sister Katherine. The task they are given by their generous but sketchy producer, is to cover the dark history of this cult as it had traveled across the globe during the 1960's and 70's, but instead of focusing on it's criminal activities, they are to cover the supernatural aspects. I won't get into much more of this, because the less you know ahead, the better. Suffice it to say, Nevill does a great job of keeping the action fast paced, and the suspense dark and edgy. The book itself is over 530 pages, but it is such a fast and eerie read, you don't even notice how quickly you get through it. The characters are very believable, and you find yourself caring for most of them regardless of their shortcomings. The events seem to come from reports you might see on TV or in documentaries, yet with the supernatural slant rather than the criminal.
      I have read other reviews that criticized the addition of a character named Jed late in the story. He's a cross between a young mobster, and a member of a backwoods, redneck, militia. I can see why some people feel that bringing him in towards the end, kind of changes the flow of the story. I felt that one of the good things about his arrival, however, was that by the time he is introduced, the other characters have become so exhausted, terrified and weakened, that there's just no way they're going to make it without an infusion of some fresh blood who not only believe their stories, but is willing and able to see things through to the end in spite of what they meet there. I found this book to be a great blend of dark adventure and true horror. In fact, I enjoyed this so much, I'm now in search of 'Banquet of the Damned' and 'The Ritual', also by Adam Nevill.
    • 5/5
      Oh, what a wonderfully creepy book. I finished it over a week ago and it's still with me. I keep thinking of the creatures appearing in their bony half-life, trying to cross into this world. Oddly, while I was reading this, my husband had a dream about me turning into a demon because of a picture painted over our door. I never even told him what the book was about. Care to explain that, Mr. Nevill?

      Briefly, the book is about a filmmaker hired to do a documentary about the history of a cult that ended in murder. We learn about the filmmaker's earlier movies, which this book actually made me want to see. The cult started off with the hippy kind of thing in London but quickly turned darker because of the evil but charismatic leader (as so many cults do). Eventually we learn why. And I have to say the reasons why were so well told, I was checking out history books/websites because I thought the medieval cult was real. Seriously. I studied medieval history in college and there were a LOT of weird cults back then. This one didn't sound any weirder than any of those. Again, kudos, Mr. Nevill. You got me again.

      The descriptions of the creatures, though, while creepy, reminded me of an even darker version of fairies for much of the book. I'm expecting some of you to laugh at this, but those of you who know folklore know that fairies were originally very far from the winged cherubic things we're familiar with today. They were amoral, sometimes even evil creatures who had motives mere humans could never hope to understand. I know that the amount of reading I've done on this topic colored how I viewed the creatures, so I was extremely curious to find out exactly what they were. And I was fascinated by what they indeed were. I was fascinated by the whole book.

      If you like creepy, read it.

      And thank you, Early Reviewers! I now have to go out and get the author's earlier books. You've introduced me to yet another author I will count among favorites.
    • 4/5
      I have to say, not in a very long time have I picked up a book like Last Days and not put it down until I finished it. I think it was very well written, very well researched, and the author did his job. He got my attention in the first chapter and he kept it. I love a good horror story and I got it. Not to mention, I’m fascinated with cults, which is why I think he did a good job with his research. He created one that was believable enough to exist during that time, and have the beliefs that they did. I loved the idea of trying to do a documentary on a former cult, and all of the crazy paranormal obstacles that seemed to get in the director, Kyle’s, way, and I kept wondering, how much of that French History is true? Maybe the book was starting to get into my head too…
    • 1/5
      What a difference the ending of a book can make.

      Going into this book, I was a little worried about how well a Blair Witch/REC/Paranormal Activity type book would work as compared to its film counterparts. From the early chapters of the book, my answer was, not nearly as well as it does on video.

      Some of the problem stemmed for what my original problem with the book, the pacing. The author seemed to be rushing the creepy revelations and giving the reader too much info, too soon. Not an insurmountable problem, but not a great sign.

      However, the cult and the creepy revelations held my interest, and besides the slight hiccups of one truly awful simile* and an attempt to write out a minor character's accent, I was curious about how the author would wrap up the story.

      Then I got to chapter twenty-nine.

      At this point the author suddenly introduces a new character, Jed. Jed is the rootinist, tootinist, action-movie clichéd American you'll probably run into in a book that isn't trying to be a parody. He comes out of nowhere, and he signals a tone shift from Blair Witch to, charitably, a mediocre survival/horror video game. He is accompanied by a couple of last minute revelations about the demonic creatures that have been reeking havoc on the life of the main character. They're vulnerable to bullets, which isn't useful info for characters spending most of their time in London, so I can forgive that one, and salt. Why is this first coming up less than one hundred pages from the end of the book?

      It also seems to be completely forgotten in the last chapter.

      The entirety of the last chapter consists of poorly thought out plan to raid a sealed off house, full of demonic being vulnerable to light, bullets, and salt. Yet despite a claim of several weeks of planning, the characters don't seem to have come up with good ways to use any of the above, even the guns.

      Frankly, the ending is mess and that dropped my rating from a 3.5 or maybe 4 stars, down to one.

      *"In the dim room Martha's face glowed faintly like unsalted butter." I checked, American butter doesn't glow. My mother, currently visiting from London, doesn't believe her's does either, but she admits it never occurred to her to check.
    • 5/5
      Wow! I think this is now the scariest book I've ever read (which is a good thing). I read horror constantly and can't believe I've let Adam Nevill escape me until now. I won this book on the early review program on librarything.com and am so glad I did. Most horror fiction doesn't really scare me anymore. This book, however, gave me chills by pg. 57 and made me a little afraid to read it in bed with my book light. It was too dark for comfort. Adam Nevill is the author I've been searching for, for the past few years. A writer who can REALLY SCARE me! Hooray for Adam Nevill!
      Last Days is well written, with main characters you can relate to and really get to know. I loved it from the first chapter. I am so excited for his other books! And hopefully more authors follow his lead. When a new horror movie comes out every week, with new special effects, I need something even creepier in a horror book. And Nevill delivers. Horror fans must read this book!
    • 4/5
      Combining elements of the supernatural with a story about a strange apocalyptic cult, Last Days is one of those books you want to curl up with at night when everything's quiet.

      Kyle Freeman is hired to make a documentary about the Temple of the Last Days, and the guy who's commissioned him wants something different than what's already been done, something beyond the work of mainstream film-makers. His interests lie in trying to discover whether Last Days' leader, Sister Katherine, was able to "achieve something extraordinary" in the group's "mystical and occult interests," and wants to explore the "paranormal aspects of the organization." Max has already made arrangements for Kyle to speak to a handful of survivors of the cult, everything is paid for, strings have been pulled, and Kyle will receive enough money to keep him afloat. He is also going to have complete creative control, a film-maker's dream. Enlisting the help of his friend Dan, the two start their project in the original cult headquarters in London and soon come to realize that they've taken on much more than they bargained for.

      Nevill is great at creating atmosphere, edge and full-on dread in this story, leaving me with a case of the willies nearly the entire way through. The way he depicts the inner workings of the cult is grim enough to begin with, but he unleashes the terror of it all piece by piece, steadily ratcheting up the shock so that as you're reading, you start to wonder how things could get any worse -- but they do. And all along, he contemplates the question of why people would be compelled to not only join this group, but even more, why they would stay in the face of such unspeakable horrors. It's also obvious that he's put in a lot of time researching his subject -- this is no fly-by-night re-imagining. What I really disliked in this otherwise deliciously-eerie novel is his choice to include a gun-happy character at the end who came across as caricaturish, ruining the spell that held me throughout the novel, but thankfully his appearance is rather brief.

      There's much more I could say but my advice is to go get a copy, curl up under your covers and read it in the dark of night. Super book -- recommended to readers who like their horror on a more cerebral level.
    • 4/5
      Kyle Freeman is a down-on-his-luck freelance documentarian with no prospects or rent payment for the foreseeable future. So when Max Solomon offers him the opportunity to make a documentary about the infamous Temple of the Last Days cult of the 1970s, Kyle jumps at the chance. It's not just the boatload of money that's being offered or the real possibility of actual future respect in his craft although these are certainly a big part of his motivation for taking the job; it is also curiosity about what happened to cause things to go so bad all those years ago. Sometimes, however, as Kyle is about to learn the hard way, it is much, much better and safer to let sleeping dogs lie. Otherwise, they might just rear up to bite you.

      Last Days is more atmosphere than gore, more itchy chills down the spine than jump out of your seat frights. The story starts slowly, drawing the audience in, building tension and anticipation. And author Adam Nevill really knows how to ramp up the creep factor when it finally arrives.

      it would be almost impossible to review this book without mentioning the ending. My first response was an annoyed 'wha...'. But, after a bit of thought, and this ending will definitely make you think, I realized that Last Days ends exactly where it should. Sometimes, like Kyle, the reader has to know when to respect those sleeping dogs.
    • 4/5
      If you enjoy a good old fashioned horror story where the thrills are straightforward, a plot-driven page turner where occult creeps chill your spine and keep you looking over your shoulder, Last Days is a must read.

      In a Blair Witch manner, the book deals with found footage by a docu-horror independent film-maker Kyle, hired to make a documentary about a notorious end-of-days cult, The Temple of the Last Days, and its infamous founder Sister Katherine.

      As Kyle interviews the few to survive the bloody 1975 mass suicides marking the end of the Temple, the tension and the shudders escalate and he realizes the paranormal evil which drove the death cult is still alive, and has targeted him…

    Book preview

    Last Days - Adam Nevill

    PROLOGUE

    DENVER. 3 MARCH 2011

    And the woman could hear those old friends moving in the distant, and not so distant rooms of her home. Old friends she tried to forget for longer than she had the strength to remember. Until she understood her life had been one long wait for them to show up and commence with whatever business they were so eager to finish. Because the old friends never forgot. They arrived without invitation and appeared with little warning. They visited after dark and they never let go.

    Of late, the old friends were bolder and stronger. More skilled at getting inside. At passing over. Tonight, their movements suggested the visit was conclusive; the endgame to an incremental reunion.

    Closing her eyes, the woman sighed and supported her weight with one hand against the door frame. Then looked up, her body rigid with enough determination to take one step inside the house. Then another. And another after that.

    Stood at the foot of the stairs in her unlit house, still wearing her coat and shoes, she looked up and into the darkness concealing the top of the stairs. And listened with all the straining concentration the ears of the frightened can command. But she also listened with the resignation of the weary.

    Only the thinnest peripheral glow from the closest street lamp provided any light, and that never penetrated far inside the hallway before the open front door. In the distance a car accelerated and she wished she were inside it. She turned her head and looked at the deserted street. And was gripped with a powerful urge to run for somewhere where the lights would still be on and where the faces of people would be engaged in their smiles or their talk, or just their silence. She wanted to be with them, and part of their unexceptional lives so much it hurt. She tensed in anticipation of her usual flight taking hold. Moved one foot towards the open door. But not the other. She stood still. Stood her ground.

    Because she was as damned as a ghost on the last day of its occupation. A wraith with little to haunt besides the empty rooms of an unpeopled existence. A shade watching the world from another place, half in this world and half in another, listening to the sound of all the bright, clear voices, but never offering up her own. She’d fought harder than the rest. She had endured when others had gone under.

    Into her came a sudden invasion of regret, and its attendant hopelessness. Living with the consequences of actions committed before reason and experience had much say in anything felt familiar enough to be tedious. No matter how many times she revisited the past and added presumptions, or extracted details, it remained unmovable and always promised to deliver her right to where she currently stood, alone. She reckoned she was about ready for that time. She swallowed and removed the cold weight of the .38 from her handbag. And to think she was one of the lucky ones.

    This was the third house the woman had rented in the past five months under a false name, and she had lost her deposit on each property because of the walls and the signs the old friends had put upon them. Three days back, she came downstairs from her bedroom to a cold house without power. Scents of bad water and the ashes of a fire soaked by overnight rain had seeped up the basement stairs into the hallway. She’d found wires chewed through under the fuse box in the basement. And the wall behind the damaged cables was stained by unidentifiable matter, mostly dry, which she covered with black paint. Kept her eyes closed and cried at the same time as she lashed the wall with the brush.

    With an unwelcome frequency they had also begun to leave things behind. To introduce inevitability to a daunting reacquaintance. Yesterday, before she wrote a long email to her son in Toronto, writing as if it were the last communication she would ever make, she found a little blackened shoe on the kitchen floor. Small enough for a child. Hard as wood, stitched like a buckskin moccasin, and old. So very old. Dropped from a foot she dare not even consider. A puff of soot had fallen from it when she scooped it up with a pizza menu to drop in the trash.

    And here we are, girl.

    Bump bump bump bump. Frantic now in at least one room upstairs. Probably her bedroom. The woman recalled a party above the thin ceiling of a motel room she’d once rented in LA, a long time ago, on the run even then. Those muffled thumps of feet and sudden shrieks and bursts of laughter from strangers that served no greater purpose than a reminder of her disengagement from life, while keeping her awake. But up there, in this house, her final refuge, wasn’t any kind of party she wanted to attend.

    They were in her room for sure. Because the determined bumps, swaddled by bedclothes, had become crashes as something on her bed started to cast about. A bedside table was swept of its contents.

    The woman pulled her dry tongue from the roof of her mouth to swallow the lump in her throat. She knuckled a fist against the wall until the dizziness passed. Then turned around and closed the front door. Shut herself inside. With them.

    Another of her uninvited visitors attempted to raise itself from the floor of the kitchen. She could hear it behind the closed door at the end of the hall. A disturbance she’d heard in the last two apartments she’d rented right before she fled them in the middle of the night. Sounds that brought to her mind the image of a wildebeest calf she had once seen on television, with a leg broken by the jaws of a crocodile, jerky in its attempt to pull itself away from the water.

    When she wondered if they would come for her on all fours or upright, she raised the pistol and went and stood at the foot of the stairs. Supported her lead hand with the other like she’d learned on the gun range, but with the barrel pointed up. Ready.

    The woman stilled her mind and let her final thoughts find a memory of her boy, on the night she carried him through the cold desert, pressed into her chest. So long ago, but she remembered his snuffles, his warmth, a little hand clasped in her raven hair like it was yesterday. Went all the way down to her waist in those days and covered her baby like a waterfall. That boy always knew who his mama was too. Didn’t matter what they did to make it not so, make no mistake, he always knew. And she got her boy out.

    She smiled through her tears. Sucked her breath inside. ‘Come on you bitch!’ she screamed at the thing that moved into partial visibility, in a murky articulation of painful movements, onto the top step.

    Darkness folded about the stairs; they brought it with them from the lightless place between here and somewhere else. And within its protective veil, the intruder obeyed her request and came down to her, on all fours, the face upturned.

    Before it covered the short distance between them, the woman shoved the cold barrel of the handgun inside her own mouth. When it felt like it was somewhere behind her eyes, she squeezed the trigger.

    THE PROCESS

    ‘An epic story of inhuman savagery’

    Irvine Levine, Last Days

    ONE

    BLOOMSBURY, LONDON. 30 MAY 2011

    ‘Have you ever heard of Sister Katherine and The Temple of the Last Days?’

    The smile vanished from Maximillian Solomon’s eyes when he asked the question; a sign of self-seriousness, or a sudden scrutiny of Kyle’s fitness for disclosure; something Kyle noticed about mind, body and spirit types who spoke about their interests with strangers. Ufologists and mediums were the same.

    But even though Solomon’s eyes hardened, the small tanned face of the CEO of Revelation Productions retained its default setting of being vaguely amused. With Kyle. Or maybe with everyone in the world except himself. The permanent half-smile was either convivial or mocking. It was hard to tell which with these people: the successful, the owners of things, the commissioners and controllers he’d dealt with as a film-maker.

    ‘Yes,’ Kyle said, and then his mind snatched at what he did know about Sister Katherine and The Temple of the Last Days. Fragments resembling instamatic polaroid photos: sun-bleached flashes of a scruffy, bearded man in handcuffs, walking from a police car and into a municipal building; aerial footage of what might have been a ranch or a farm in … California? Snippets of imagery from something about the cult he’d seen on telly a long time ago. A documentary, or was it news footage?

    He wasn’t sure of the source of the impressions, but they were glimpses of things that suggested a notoriety that had evolved into the noir and the cultish. He knew that much; the group was perceived these days as dangerous and cool. A US Indie band called itself Sister Katherine in the eighties; some industrial band called itself The Temple of the Last Days in the next decade. And of course, he’d recognize the iconic portrait of Sister Katherine anywhere without knowing much about her life; it had been Andy Warholed on to T-shirts in Camden Market, alongside images of Jim Jones and Charles Manson, Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees. A plump, heavily made-up face, its expression beatific, haloed by a purple nun’s habit as her eyes searched the heavens. Mother Mary meets Revlon. An evil female cult leader reduced to sick joke gimmickry, lurid nostalgia, and bespoke infamy for disaffected youth. A woman who was killed by … or did she commit suicide with her followers in America? He couldn’t remember, but he knew the Temple had murdered people. Or was it each other? A film star? No, that was Manson’s family. Same era because the Temple was a hippy death cult in the sixties. Or was it the seventies? ‘The cult,’ he said and tried not to look clueless. Too late, his eyes had gone vague and he’d frowned with confusion throughout his hazy recall.

    Max seemed pleased with his ignorance. It would enable him to expound. ‘An organization that began right here in London, in 1967.’

    ‘London?’

    ‘Yes. In this city. Few are aware of that. But Sister Katherine was British. Her real name was Hermione Tirrill. She was born in Kent. Came from the remnants of a wealthy family. Her mother even had a title. She was a Baroness, and made sure little Katherine knew she was better than everyone. As did the boarding schools where she was educated until she was fourteen, when her father left his bankrupt family. And little Kathy and her mother were forced into the ignominy of poverty. She came down hard from a pile in the country to a council flat in Margate. Had to slum it in a second-hand school uniform. Down there with the rest of them. Must have been devastating for her, this plump little overachiever with funny teeth, while she watched her former peers become debutantes.’

    Kyle shrugged. ‘I don’t know much—’

    ‘She was a runaway at fifteen and never spoke to her mother again. There was some time in borstal for theft and assault, then prison in her twenties. She was arrested for solicitation, and then again for running a brothel. Embezzlement, forgery too. A petty criminal. We can read what we choose into this. But what we do know from the few that have ever gone on record about her formative years, is that Katherine never liked a level playing field. That’s for sure. But she liked power. And status. Wanted back what had been taken from her.’

    Kyle intuited a taint of bitterness in Max, but something else too: a grudging respect.

    ‘But the Temple’s origins are fascinating. It grew out of a cocktail of Scientology and apocalyptic millennial ideas, a mimicry of Christian sainthood, occult magic, Buddhism, a belief in reincarnation … and various other things.’ Max seemed to detach himself from Kyle then, and from the conversation and even the room, like an old man reminiscing fondly. ‘It could have been so beautiful. Simple psych-therapy techniques, blended with medieval ideas of asceticism and piety. A life free of ego. These were the original values. All cloaked in mysticism for an aesthetic appeal.’

    Breaking his reverie and now self-conscious about his digression, Max killed the half-smile. ‘A well-intentioned concept quickly usurped by a female sociopath and criminal elements. In London it was known as The Last Gathering. It became The Temple of the Last Days in France, during a schism in 1969. At a farm in Normandy where they nearly starved to death. The remnants migrated to America, under the same management. Where they self-destructed in Arizona. 1975. That you will surely be familiar with?’

    Kyle swallowed. ‘I’m not that familiar with it.’ He cleared his throat too aggressively. ‘With them.’

    ‘So I see.’ Max said with a condescending inflection on the last two words.

    Momentarily, Kyle felt dizzy with embarrassment, as if he were being asked a question at school that he had no answer for. An illogical reaction, because why would he know anything about them? Had he pretended to? They were hardly important. And Max Solomon had invited him by email to the production offices in Bloomsbury, for a meeting about a ‘prospective collaboration’ without stating anything specific about the proposal. He felt his face go hot. ‘No disrespect intended, but why would I be?’

    ‘From what I have enjoyed about your work, Kyle, I’d say you might want to be.’ Max smiled. And commenced issuing the impression that he would ever be the unruffled and idly comfortable man, his success innate, entitled to prosperity and that all should know it. Signs recognizable to Kyle. And he instinctively disliked those who exhibited them. A class unto themselves; the money man, the film executive from the upper corporate tier, the self-important producer. Loved being close to the creative flame, stressed their own ‘creativity’ at every opportunity, and by doing so devalued the very word to house dust. But their aspiration to take ownership of another’s work, he’d learned the hard way, was always reinforced by an underhand cleverness that you underestimated at your peril in this racket. They were the reason he had reduced himself to self-financed film-making, and a personal debt so colossal just thinking about it made it hard to breathe.

    Earlier, he’d been collected from an impressive reception so brightly lit he’d spent the entire wait squinting. When shown into the CEO’s office and Max had risen to greet him, his movements so light and graceful, the tiny man had reminded Kyle, uncomfortably and unkindly, of a small clever monkey with quick glittering eyes. A primate rising to its hind legs, dressed in Paul Smith.

    The man was also tanned the colour of a sweet potato and his entire scalp was covered in a semi-transparent pelt of hair implants. He never understood why balding men paid so dearly for a procedure that only gave them thinning hair. The one time he’d been to Cannes, and the two visits he’d made to LA to talk to film agents, he’d found alien worlds full of men just like Max Solomon.

    When the email arrived the night before to request the meeting, Kyle had broken an anxious evening of reading job ads online and immediately checked out the Revelation Productions website. Instantly, his heart and its vain hope that the meeting might lead to an opportunity to work again, and that he would earn enough money to stave off his impending insolvency, cooled with dismay. His disappointment grew incrementally the more he saw of the website, until it was total.

    Revelation had published a book called The Message, which had sold ‘Fifty Million Copies!’ A strapline that filled most of the company’s homepage. He’d seen the book around. It had changed the life of many female celebrities as well as being one of those books that every other woman had been reading on the London Underground for one summer. How long ago that summer was escaped him, but he’d never seen the book being read in public since.

    As well as The Message, the company produced a massive backlist of books, DVDs, CDs and merchandise that had a contemporary, life-affirming, self-help USP attached. The company claimed their products were ‘groundbreaking’ and ‘definitive’ and ‘revelatory’. But the brand struck Kyle as being very Californian, a bit vulgar, and dated lo-tech, magic-bullet-chicanery, while also fortifying his aversion to bad science blended with spiritual horseshit. But it had come to this; with the exception of porn, he’d dropped to the bottom of the film industry.

    His documentary about the American Metal Core scene, Shredding, had been shown dozens of times on cable television, been a hit at festivals in 2006, and was still referred to as a cult classic in the music press; his film about witchcraft at a Scottish University, Coven, had got him into trouble for defamation, but it was also a film once shown on BBC2 to considerable acclaim; thirty thousand people had bought the DVD of his film about the European Black Metal scene, Reigning in Hell; and two hundred thousand people had downloaded his documentary, Blood Frenzy, about three missing British hikers who vanished in the Arctic Circle: all of this success was real. Not bullshit. He’d walked the walk. He had a real and enviable filmography. But the distributors for the first three films claimed he owed them money: fifteen grand. And he still carried another ten grand’s worth of production debt from Coven like an anvil upon his increasingly rounded shoulders. In total, his last self-financed film and unpaid rent had left him thirty thousand pounds in debt on a variety of credit cards and loans. A day of fiscal reckoning was nigh. Its anticipation made him incapable of a single undisturbed moment of happiness. It had also stolen his ability to relax, which seemed more hideous than losing the ephemera of joy. Something, he noted, guaranteed by the likes of Revelation Productions. Happiness: they promised that in spades. So maybe he should hold out for a DVD on tantric sex.

    ‘What makes you think I’d be interested in a cult?’

    ‘I’ve seen your work. It has a refreshing openness. When dealing with the niche, the derided, the forgotten. And the unexplained. You’re not an exploiter, Kyle. I like that. Or a sensationalist. You have an open mind, my friend. So I began to wonder if we could work together. I have become very curious about your approach. Your vision.’

    Kyle resisted any show of being flattered, though he was. ‘I make films with one agenda. To capture a subculture and to understand it. Or to tell a story honestly. As those who speak to me perceived the experience. I’ve only made films about things that interest me. Stories that fascinate me, that either no one has told or told well enough. Stuff the mainstream media avoids or just misunderstands. And I won’t compromise what I think is the right approach to achieving this. If I can bypass the current Hollywood and film industry business model in the process, it’s a massive bonus. Artistic compromise, idea theft, getting turned over by suits. Enough already. I’m done with all that.’ He said this as a veiled warning. He’d been told it was unwise to show his bitterness in meetings with producers, that it was unprofessional. These days, he chose to ignore advice like that.

    Max raised his trimmed eyebrows as high as he could, but the lower half of his face didn’t budge. He’d had a facelift as well. The half-smile was starting to convince him it was, in fact, mocking.

    Kyle tried to smother his rising irritation. But it was like trying to get the wrong size lid on a tin of red paint. His voice came out all tight. ‘And my time is coming. For film-makers like me.’ He felt silly for saying it, but was also revelling in how the film industry quaked at what digital technology was doing to their age-old monopoly. The least he could do was remind its representatives of this fact. ‘Eventually I intend to be the media provider of my own work. For a specific audience. And it will never be any dumbed-down, censored crap put out by executive know-nothings, with their profit and loss sheets, their bottom lines, and their careers. I already finance, shoot and edit the films myself. Owning distribution is the next battle. That’s where I stand.’

    ‘I see.’ Max looked at his tiny feminine fingers, spread them on his desk, studied his nails for a few seconds, while either frowning or fighting the half-smile; it was hard to tell with someone whose chin was probably once part of their forehead. ‘Your film Blood Frenzy struck me as unequivocal in its acceptance of, shall we say, a paranormal aspect to that tragic story. What I took from the film was a strong suggestion that something very old, something that defied natural law, had been responsible for the disappearance of a significant number of people … in a distant part of the world. Did you come to believe that?’

    Here we go. ‘We all want the truth, Max. I just tried to understand what happened. There’s no way I will ever know what really happened up there. I don’t think anyone ever will. But I got an authentic sense of the place the story came out of. People suggested things, without much prompting. I never tried to steer the interviews, or to emboss a theory on anything. My mind and my lens were wide open. The viewer is the interpreter. These days everyone wants a say. The world is a hanging jury. I give the audience the known facts and the fallible testimony of the interviewees. And to be honest, I had no idea what that film was going to suggest to me as I made it.’

    ‘I see. Interesting.’

    But did he see? While Kyle spoke, Max had been frowning as if he was not listening, but thinking instead of what he was going to say next. It annoyed him even more, if that were possible.

    ‘I don’t like polemic, Mr Solomon. Most audiences don’t either. My trick is to choose a story that is so interesting, the audience has to get involved on some level. It’s the most I can do as a director. I don’t use stars or shoot well-known events, which is why I’ve given up on the system.’ That word almost came out of his mouth on fire. He took a deep breath. ‘So I find stories for the neglected mass of non-mainstream viewers. And there’s an awful lot of us. I’m totally pull-based from word of mouth online. That’s my constituency.’

    ‘You make a living from this couture approach?’

    Kyle paused for longer than he wished. ‘Not yet. I was ripped off on the music films and Coven. So I made Blood Frenzy a non-product. I gave it away free from my website. Some indie record labels embedded ads on the page which covered some of my costs. I’m in arrears on the rest. But it’s never been about money.’

    He wondered whether he should just get up and leave. He couldn’t even pretend he liked the man. And he’d be one of a dozen directors Max was currently feeling out for something tabloid. At least it wasn’t over a lunch he was paying for; this was an actual production office. But he could already intuit he and Max were terminally different; if he couldn’t trust his instincts after all he’d been through, then what else did he have to go on? Time to split.

    But then Max had to go and say, ‘I believe I have such a story. An extraordinary story. So cards on the table, Kyle. I want you to make a film for me.’

    He fought hard to contain an eruption of excitement. A silence thickened about them. ‘About the …’

    The half-smile withdrew entirely from Max’s smooth face. ‘Let me bring you up to speed, and then you can tell me if this is to your taste.’ Max leaned back in the leather chair that dwarfed him. ‘On 10 July 1975, the Phoenix Police Department removed fifteen people from an abandoned mine in the Sonora desert of Arizona. A few hours after Sister Katherine’s Night of Ascent had taken place. The mine had been occupied by The Temple of the Last Days since 1972.

    ‘Nine of these people were dead, including Sister Katherine. Six were found alive. Of the living, five were children. The infamous Manuel Gomez, aka Brother Belial, was the sixth. Katherine’s favourite and her executioner. And Brother Belial was the only adult survivor of that night. I’m sure you’ve heard of him? He was killed in the recreation room of the Florence penitentiary before he could stand trial. By inmates unknown.

    ‘Another five members of the cult, all present at the mine during the weeks preceding the Night of Ascent, were never traced. It is believed they were also murdered, but buried in the desert.

    ‘It is this aspect of the cult that has fascinated its biographers, its fans, its exploiters. The criminal case. The police believe the murders occurred as a result of infighting, and drug psychosis, or some manner of suicide pact. The newspapers at the time called it a satanic ritual involving human sacrifice, including the sacrifice of its leader. Who, by the way, was actually beheaded. And that version of events is the one that has endured, as you might say, in the mainstream public imagination. So what else does one need to explore as a film-maker or biographer? It’s a perfectly lurid story that has enough of everything.

    ‘But …’ Max pushed a pile of DVD cases across the desk to Kyle, an envelope file, and an old paperback book so used the writing on the spine was invisible. ‘The four documentaries about the cult, and the three feature films, are terrible. What you’d expect. Appalling. Truly awful. Of the many books, only one is worth reading. Last Days by Irvine Levine. Dismissed as fictitious, and now long out of print. But the police officers from the Yuma and Phoenix police departments suggested that, at the very least, Levine’s reportage was fastidious with the details concerning the Night of Ascent when the murders took place.’

    Kyle cleared his throat. ‘It all happened a long time ago. Unless any new evidence has come to light, why make another film? Are you saying it just needs to be done right? Is there some anniversary, or a nostalgia thing—’

    Max held a small hand up and cut him off. ‘No. There is a story here that has never been told. Forget the murders. Forget the police investigation. The media exploitation. It is an oft-trampled path. But something else about The Temple of the Last Days has also endured, in folklore and in alternative histories of a Fortean nature. Which is where we come in. You see, there is a very real belief that the group’s mystical and occult interests bore dividends. A belief that Sister Katherine achieved something extraordinary. And that her willing death – because, make no mistake, she was slaughtered on her own orders as were her most loyal followers that night – is part of this mystery, the unexplained phenomenon that haunts their story from its very origins in London. Keeps it alive, you could say, for those of us with more open minds. A story no mainstream film-maker would do anything but attempt to disprove. That is, if they gave it any credence at all.

    ‘You see, there are other survivors, Kyle. Not of that night, but of the organization. People who fled many years before its end. And others who escaped mere months before its dissolution. People who, one could say, have never, not ever, been able to escape what they experienced in the service of Sister Katherine. And what is unique now, is that a handful of these survivors are breaking silence for the first time since the police investigation in 1975. And when that happens, as you probably know, it’s because they have something to say. Something they need to say. But have been afraid to say. And so they have provided us with an exceptional opportunity for a groundbreaking work.

    ‘The effect Sister Katherine had on her followers was nothing short of monumental. Life-changing. And terrible. Her cruelty was exceptional. But then, so was her leap of imagination into the inexplicable. She did something to spellbind them.’

    Max sipped at his glass of Evian. ‘It’s taken a great deal of persuasion even to assemble what is now a dwindling group of survivors.’ He smiled and raised his hands. ‘You could say, there is no one else available. I even tracked down the notorious Martha Lake and Bridgette Clover.’ He watched Kyle’s face for recognition; when he received none, he seemed disappointed. ‘The two chief witnesses for the prosecution had it ever gone to trial. They became celebrities once the story broke in seventy-five. Two young women who fled the mine in Arizona with their infants, three months before the Night of Ascent. Alas, poor Bridgette passed over earlier this year. But Martha, dear, dear Martha, is waiting to tell us her part of an incredible story.’

    Kyle looked about the walls of the room, lit like a clinician’s laboratory or photographer’s studio. He saw framed book covers about glycaemic index diets and old posters advertising bestselling spiritual awakenings available on VHS. ‘Bit off the beaten track for you, isn’t it? Not very wholesome.’

    Max beamed. ‘Now this is where I do believe this project will really appeal to you. Revelation Productions have developed a side project. Mysteris. A new imprint for the online delivery of content from a pay wall, twinned with DVD releases. We’re embracing the revolution here, Kyle. We want an avant garde element in our portfolio. The new brand will be a base for cutting-edge counterculture film-making, about alternative history and unsolved mysteries. And the Temple story will be the flagship film. You see, the Temple has a very large online following. And one hardly catered for in the manner I propose.

    ‘Using digital technology our costs are hardly prohibitive, as you have already alluded to. And once the production cost has been recouped, the profits will be shared on a cooperative basis with the artists.’

    Max sat back in his chair and smiled, raised his hands. ‘Kyle. I can’t tell you how good it feels to roll one’s sleeves up again, and to get back into the mix, as they say.’ He smiled at his walls. ‘Do you think I started this company to rest on my laurels? Tesco sells vegan meals and Boots sells aromatic oils.’ He shook his head in despair. ‘But I was part of alternative approaches to health and spiritual wellbeing when it was original. A lifestyle revolution, Kyle. I was there. Back then. The sixties. And I want to get back in touch with my creative side.’

    Kyle bit down on what wanted to come out screaming. ‘And you want me to make the first film?’

    ‘Precisely.’ Max tapped a manicured finger on the file between them on the desktop; he now seemed unable to disguise an urgency in his offer. ‘And I want you to start right away. There’s no time to lose. The trail I have followed so fastidiously could go cold. All you need to know about the people you will be interviewing is in here. Their names, biographies, their connection to the Temple are enclosed. As are photographs and details of the locations that must be visited. ’

    Kyle sat mute, stunned into disbelief, his head a chaos of excitement, fear, and caution. What had just happened never happened. What had just been offered, was never offered. Ever.

    Max’s stiff face managed to loosen with excitement. ‘My role will be executive producer. All creative decisions are yours. I will not be on set, ever. You must be self-sufficient. Though I suspect you prefer such an approach. If there is anything you need in the course of the production, you merely call me and I will do my best to execute your requests. Distribution and licensing are already taken care of. My own company is the investor. We take it directly to market. The production money is in place and waiting. For you.’

    Kyle picked up the folder. ‘I need to take this away. Look at it.’

    ‘The first day of principal photography is this Saturday.’

    Kyle laughed, and failed to cull the derisory edge to his voice. ‘Come again?’ Did Max know anything about film-making? ‘Did you say Saturday?’

    ‘The schedule is done. Permission to film at each location has been arranged. Accommodation and flights can be booked today. As your employer, my liability insurance will cover you and your equipment.’

    ‘Script? I don’t know anything, or much about this, Mr Solomon. I need a script. I need to work out how to tell the story. It’s all about the storytelling, Mr Solomon—’

    ‘You have five days to familiarize yourself with the story.’ Max prodded the Levine book for emphasis. ‘The shooting schedule I have taken the liberty of producing in the chronology of the cult’s movements: London, France, Arizona. That will have to be your logline. In essence, it follows their founding to their self-destruction. Six locations in three countries in eleven days. Not one more. No reshoots, no pickups. I want the footage shot within that time frame. Screen lifts for the B-roll and stock footage have been sourced and copies are in that file.’ Max beamed. ‘What do you say?’

    Disorientation came down fast. Either his seat, or the actual room, moved. Too many questions, instincts, and suspicions would not settle inside him or evolve into coherence, into language. ‘The locations. I need to at least see them first. I need to think about sound, lighting—’

    ‘There won’t be any crowds at any of the locations. They’re remote. Derelict properties. One of your specialities. Besides that, there are some home visits. There may be the odd flight path I don’t know about, but nothing too challenging for a man of your experience and adaptability. This is extreme guerrilla film-making. Your raison d’être, my dear boy.’

    ‘A shot list for each location.’ He was thinking out loud. ‘Vital. You can’t plan enough, Mr Solomon, or you’re racing against the clock to correct mistakes you never envisaged. My films are pretty simple. One, two cameras. But still, I have to think every scene through.’ As he was talking he thought about his debts. He should ask about the fee. Was there one? Had Max mentioned money?

    ‘The photographs will have to suffice. There cannot be any more delays. It’s why I’m offering you the work. We’re too far along now. It can only be done on this schedule by someone … a director of your capability in such a situation. That going to be a deal-breaker?’

    ‘But … the people I’m interviewing. I have no sense of them. I need to talk to them first—’

    ‘No time! The first day of principal photography is this Saturday. I’m afraid I have been let down at the last minute by my team. For personal reasons they were unable to begin.’

    ‘Team? Who—’

    ‘And anyway, I’m familiar with each of the individuals who have agreed to be filmed. So you’ll have to trust my selections. I don’t think any of them will disappoint. We wouldn’t even be talking now if I wasn’t confident in your improvisation skills. Your ability to deliver on time and on budget. I know you’ve made films out of fresh air, through a network of favours, and deferred payments. The heavy lifting has been done here. And I have included questions I would like asked.’

    ‘Now this is where I might have a big problem with an agenda.’

    Max stood up to close the meeting. He was impatient, fidgety. ‘It’s hardly prescriptive. More of a guide. And you will see my only agenda is a desire to explore the paranormal aspects of the organization. The very purpose of the film. So I’d guess if I have an agenda, then it should be yours too. How you shoot the scenes is up to you. Frame and compose them any way you like. I want your signature style. And I’ll need the dailies delivered promptly. How would that occur?’

    ‘Er, I used a parallel editing strategy on the last two films. Worked just fine. I rough cut the best footage on Final Cut Pro. Prior to a final edit with my editor, Finger Mouse—’

    ‘Good. Good.’

    ‘All the master files go to hard-disc space I rent from him. Compression means it’ll take longer than real time to put across at the end of each day, but I can get rushes in a day or two.’

    ‘Let’s try for a day. And your production crew?’

    ‘My partner, Dan. Can’t work without him. And he does the cameras.’

    ‘So there will be three of you in total. Dan and this Mouse?’

    ‘That’s how I did the last two films.’

    As Max came around the desk, hand outstretched, Kyle couldn’t tell if the executive producer was impressed by their minimalism or pleased at the low cost implications. ‘And they will agree to a confidentiality clause. I’m afraid this project must remain undercover until completion. The story remains contentious.’

    ‘Can’t see why not. Festivals? Theatrical release? It would be nice to at least try.’

    ‘Of course, of course. DVD, internet and TV is our target though. But we shall leave no opportunity unexplored.’

    Kyle stood up, but wobbled. He was light in the head, had helium in his feet. ‘You’re ceding creative control to me?’

    ‘Absolutely.’

    ‘I’d need to see a contract.’

    ‘I have it here. You look unconvinced.’

    ‘I have been ill-used, Mr Solomon. Ill-used. Investors have one thing on their minds: profit at any cost.’

    ‘Indeed, I hope our collaboration will be profitable. The advance, I think, is generous.’

    ‘Advance?’ The shadow of his debt seemed to waver, even retract. Debt changed gravity and had made the world around him heavier for so long, he felt like he was on another planet in the solar system. Just being within reach of a solution to his burden gave him a moment of unbearable bliss.

    ‘Yes. One third now, one on the shoot’s completion, one on final delivery of your masterpiece. How you split it with your comrades is entirely up to you. I believe it commensurate with your reputation. I am thinking one hundred thousand pounds, not including expenses, deductible from net receipts.’

    One hundred grand. Kyle swallowed, felt faint.

    ‘Take this away and look at it. Show it to your agent, if you have one. And as you have your own equipment and people, Revelation will merely be the publisher – contractor for the finished article.’

    ‘I want to see your cash-flow projection.’

    ‘Of course. Anything else?’

    Kyle paused for one beat more than he wished to. He couldn’t decide whether Solomon was the devil or his saviour.

    Max beamed; his teeth were perfect. ‘Excellent! Then we have an agreement?’

    Kyle cleared his throat of its constriction, its aridity. He picked up the contract. ‘I’ll read this first.’

    ‘I need to know today.’ Max looked at his Patek Philippe watch. ‘Let’s say by five p.m.’

    TWO

    WEST HAMPSTEAD, LONDON. 30 MAY 2011

    ‘Dan, do you believe in miracles?’ Phone clamped to his ear, Kyle quick-marched from the Tube station on the Finchley Road to his studio flat. He was breathless, dizzy with excitement, and slightly drunk.

    ‘No.’

    ‘Didn’t think so. But let me convince you they do exist. I’ve just been to a meeting with Revelation Productions.’

    ‘Who?’

    ‘Mind, body and spirit types who did The Message.’ Silence. ‘That book.’

    ‘Right.’ Dan hadn’t a clue.

    ‘They also make videos and stuff. But are starting a new series. Called Mysteris. They’ve asked me to make the first film.’

    ‘Cool. I think.’

    ‘Which means that we are back in business.’

    ‘What film?’

    ‘Get over here. I’ll explain it all.’

    ‘Kinda busy right now.’

    ‘Unless you’re getting a blow job, shift it. You’ll want to hear this.’

    ‘Mind, body and spirit. That tofu and crystals shit. This sounds kind of desperate, Kyle. I know things are getting tight, but—’

    ‘One hundred grand advance.’

    Total silence, then, ‘No way.’

    ‘Mate, get over here. You have to see the budget. All Talent Release Forms are signed. Liability insurance is done. He’s even forking out for Errors and Omissions cover. Broadcast compatible, mate. He’s giving net points too. This is un-fucking-believable. You in?’

    ‘Whoa. Slow down—’

    ‘Mate, we don’t have to tout round distributors, send it to festivals. Acquisition is taken care of. We are already acquired! He’s going for pay wall, embedded content, the whole shmoo. Everything we wanted for the next film and more. For once we don’t have to do the legwork!’

    ‘So this guy just calls you and offers the gig. Is this a setup? Where’s the catch, mate?’

    ‘Doesn’t seem to be one. I’ve been looking at the contract in the pub. From all angles. I’ll get a second pair of eyes for sure, but someone pulled out. Last minute. Not sure why. But I get the feeling this Max is in a real bind here. That shit happens all the time. But he needs an answer today if we’re in. I can’t do it without you, mate. Nor would I want to.’

    At the other end of the line, he heard the sound of Dan getting to his feet. A toilet flushed.

    ‘Now wipe your ass and wash your hands.’

    ‘Tell me more.’

    ‘I’ve gone through the schedule quickly. There’s an old mine. In Arizona, mate. Arizona! You believe this shit? Another couple of houses in the US. One in Seattle. Always wanted to go there. A farm in France. None of them are going to present ball ache. All daylight shoots. Stationary interviews or long shots, medium shots of remote, disused places. No streets, no crowds. Undisturbed by the infernal rubbernecker! USB lead to a laptop as a monitor. Two cameras. All pretty straightforward. Only downside is the schedule is so tight there’s no pickups or reshoots at all. We cannot fuck it

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