Chapter Thirty-Three
1
Cass pulled the soaked, lab coat tight around her even though it no longer offered the slightest protection against the cold or the rain. Her bare feet slapped along the icy, wet tarmac of the road as she neared the old road sign with the arrow which pointed in the direction of Munford House. That was where the girl's father was, she could feel him. And the others, they were there too. She needed their help; it would be difficult to find the girl without them.
Following the arrow she turned off of the main road and followed the narrower one through the dense trees, the branches of which formed a natural arch high above her head. Loose road chippings and twigs buried themselves into the soles of her feet but Cass' determination forced back the pain. The doctor at the hospital had not believed her, neither had the policeman. To them she was just a mad woman who had suffered a bad knock to the head.
But these people were different because they had a personal interest in the child's wellbeing. This time she knew that she would be believed.
2
The search for Tamicka went on through the entire house. While Penny looked through the downstairs rooms her mother and Mrs. Hughes checked upstairs. Meanwhile Tamicka's father combed the grounds immediately around the house.
When Penny entered the art studio her gaze fell instantly on the portrait of Mrs. Hughes' granddaughter, Jane. It looked strange; somewhat menacing in the grim light of the storm. Without moving her eyes away from the painting Penny's hand fumbled along the wall behind her for the light switch and she flipped it on as soon as her fingers made contact.
A shiver passed through her as she walked closer to the picture even though the room was far from cold. The Painting seemed somehow different from when she had seen it earlier on in the day, yet it looked exactly the same. She blinked, refocused. Had the girl in the painting moved? Had her features taken on a slightly more serious quality? Just looking at it made Penny's head spin but she could not tear her eyes away. There was something very frightening about the painting now. Suddenly the sweet little girl didn't look quite so sweet. And that blur at the doorway in the background, had that really been there before?
There was a noise somewhere in the house which seemed so distant that Penny almost missed it. From somewhere above her she heard a door slam shut, and then footfalls against carpet as somebody started their decent of the stairs. It was only when the high pitched sound came again that Penny realized it had been the doorbell. Some one was at the front door.
3
Amanda waited at the far end of the common by the hole in the fence that separated it from Eastlake Woods. Graham's outsized Parker was the only thing between herself and the storm. She saw the distant light of the torch coming closer its carrier approached. Amanda took her phone from one of the pockets, pressed a button and looked down at the blue display.
8:40 pm.
Dumb bitch, late as usual, she thought as she slipped the phone away again. She fished out a packet of cigarettes before realizing that she had left her lighter back home in her bedroom. Just as well, didn't really feel like one anyway.
"Mand, is that you?" came the voice that could only just be heard above the rain.
"No, it's the bloody coppers," Amanda shouted back.
"Huh..." Wendy raised the torch and shined its beam directly into Amanda's face.
"Of course it's me you silly cow, now get that light out of my eyes before I shove it down your bloody throat."
"Oh yeah... sorry." Wendy pressed the button and the torchlight went out.
It took a little while for Amanda's eyes to adjust to the total darkness that surrounded them.
"Turn that fucking torch back on!" she shouted. In a split second the torchlight was shining directly in her eyes again. "Give it here!" She grabbed the light and pointed its beam towards Wendy's face. "How do you like it you stupid bitch?"
"Okay I said I'm sorry." Wendy's voice was still nothing more than a whisper.
"And stop whispering for Christ's sake; who the hell's going to be out here on a night like this?" Amanda pointed the light at the base of the fence and moved it along until it fell on the small gap which they had used many times to gain access to the woods.
"Mand, you know something don't you?"
Amanda turned the torch back towards Wendy. There was fear in the other girl's eyes, the same fear that Amanda was trying hard to keep concealed from her. "What the fuck are you talking about now?"
"This has something to do with the police, doesn't it?"
"What do you know about it?" Amanda couldn't keep the shock out of her voice.
"Some woman daddy had treated at the hospital today told him that she had seen a girl attacked in the woods not far from the lake. Don't you see what this means?"
"Of course I do you silly cow, she must have seen us." Amanda moved the torch's beam back down to hole in the fence and moved towards it. "The problem is she wasn't the only one."
"What? Do you mean someone else knows?"
Amanda quickly turned her attention back to Wendy. "Wow, give the girl a prize."
"But who?"
"My stupid lump of a brother, that's who!"
"Graham?"
"How many other fucking brothers do I have? Of course Graham, now let's get that brat out of the hole and make sure that she doesn't tell."
"But how are we going to do that?"
"Stop asking stupid questions, we've got work to do."
4
Penny watched from the art studio door as her mother and Mrs. Hughes helped the woman dressed in the white lab coat into the main hall. Her bare and cut feet made a bloody trail along the cracked black and white tiles as the other two women half carried – half dragged her across the main hall towards the reception room door. It was when the woman's head lulled over in her direction that Penny realized who she was.
What's Mad Cass doing here and why is she dressed like that?
"Penny dear, quickly go and get Mr. Moon, there's a good girl," shouted Mrs. Hughes.
Penny didn't stop to ask questions. She ran as fast as she could across the dining room, through the kitchen and out into the garden.
5
"It's time to wake up Tamicka!"
Tamicka opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. Moments ago she was back in Nova Scotia with her parents and all of the bad things that had happened over the past eight months had been nothing more than a bad dream.
But she was there again now, trapped in the dark place with the dull, distant sounds of the storm, the rats and the disembodied voice for company.
"Do you want to know what I think?" asked the sickly sweet, childish voice. "I think that you like it down here. I think that you would like this to be your new home."
Tamicka sat up, put her hand down on something warm and fury and quickly withdrew it as if she had touched something white hot. The rats were all around her. She could not see them but she could feel them.
"Well? Am I right or not?" This time the voice was more menacing. "Do you love it down here? Would you like to stay down here forever?"
No! Tamicka wanted to shout the word at the top of her voice but she couldn't.
"If I were to leave you here right now it could be a very long time before anyone finds you. Nobody cares about you. I bet they don't even realize that you're gone."
Daddy will be worried, and Mrs. Hughes.
"Your daddy is probably glad to see the back of you and as for Mrs. Hughes..." The girl's voice trailed off. "Well I'm the only one who really cares about what happens to you."
I don't want to be down here anymore, I just want to go home.
"And I can help you but in return you will have to help me."
The craggy plaster of the wall dug into Tamicka's back but she didn't care anymore. She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her head against them as her sobs shook her small body.
"What..." the word felt like white hot needles piercing her windpipe. She coughed at the sensation making it even worse. What do you want me to do?
The other girl's voice took on a much softer tone. "I only want you to keep your promise. I can make everything all right again."
Tamicka raised her head and strained her eyes against the darkness. There was a dim glow in the far corner about ten feet from where she sat; not a clear form but a sort of shimmering mist floating just above the ground.
Everything? How? Mummy is dead and daddy hates me because of it. How can it ever be all right again?
"He didn't hate you yesterday did he?" The girl's voice was still soft. "Yesterday he loved you more than anything in the world and do you know why?"
Tamicka let her mind drift back to the previous day. The voice was right. Tamicka had always hoped that her father would love her like that again but she had never expected it to ever happen.
"I did it," said the voice. This time it was a little closer even though the glow remained in the same place. "I did that for you and I can do it again but you have to keep your end of the bargain. You get your father back and I get to feel what it's like to be alive one last time. We both win."
I'm still frightened please don't make me do it.
"You make it sound like I'm forcing you."
Well aren't you?
The voice was angry again. "You can just stay down here and rot then, I'm sure the rats will be glad for their meal. By the time anyone finds you you'll be nothing but a pile of bones. And don't think that anyone will miss you because they won't."
When the dim glow faded away Tamicka was no longer sure whether her eyes were open or shut. Bristly fur stroked against the side of her leg as another rat zeroed in to investigate her. "Please..." shouted Tamicka as she brushed it away. The burning sensation stemmed the word. She tried to take a deep breath but her panicked sobs put a stop to it. Please don't leave me here. I'll do anything you want. Anything!
"Open your eyes Tamicka." The voice was soft again; friendly, a little sad even.
Tamicka slowly opened them. Until that moment she had not realized that they were closed. The strange glow was back but this time it was directly in front of her. It was nothing more than a shapeless mist, but as her eyes focused on it the form of the little girl became clearer.
"There, that's better now, isn't it?" the girl smiled prettily as she stood before Tamicka.
All around them was lost in blackness yet the girl was lit as if the summer sun was shining directly down on her. She had the palest complexion Tamicka had ever seen and her copper coloured hair seemed to glide behind her in long, weightless ringlets. Her clothes were nothing but wisps of white vapour through which Tamicka could clearly make out the delicate contours of her body.
"You really shouldn't be afraid of me. I think that in time we will become very good friends," said the girl, her eyes widening with excitement. "I've been waiting so long for you to come."
Tamicka was still frightened but not as much as she had been. Actually being able to see her visitor had taken a great deal of fear away. She's so pretty, she thought, totally forgetting how well the girl could read her.
"I think that you're prettier than I am." The girl reached out a fragile looking hand and gently stroked Tamicka's cheek. "Much prettier."
Tamicka could not feel the fingers on her face, only an icy cold breeze. In the background she heard a rumble of thunder that sounded like it could have been a world away. She couldn't help herself. All she could do was look into the other girl's large green eyes while her whole body relaxed. She liked the sensation that flowed through her. Inside there were a million warm butterflies fluttering about, as if trying to find their way to her mouth or some other point of escape. Tamicka knew that the girl needed her and that she had to do whatever she could to help her new friend find peace.
I think I'm ready for you now, she thought nervously, knowing that the message had reached the girl long before it had formed in her own mind.
"Are you sure?" The girl was beaming with excitement.
Yes. Tamicka hoped that in all the girl's elation wouldn't read that she was not quite sure of anything at that moment. What do I have to do?
"Just sit there and relax, I'll do all the rest," the girl smiled before touching her icy lips to Tamicka's forehead. "And please don't worry, I'll take good care of you, I promise."
Tamicka felt the strange, cold sensation enter her. At first it felt like ice water being poured into her ears. It became worse when the same feeling entered her nose and mouth and she could no longer breathe. I'm dying. You're killing me, aren't you? Tamicka was surprised at how calm her thoughts sounded in her head.
"No Tamicka, I'm not killing you," smiled the girl as she began to fade again, "I'm becoming you."
The cold moved down through Tamicka's body. All she could do was sit there like a limp rag doll as the cold filled her. Tamicka tried to find the girl's eyes for reassurance but all she could see was the thin mist which was pumping into her.
"Don't worry, it will all be over soon, I promise," said the voice which was lighter than air. "And then we can have some fun."
Soon even the dim light that surrounded Tamicka faded until there was nothing but darkness.
6
The tree cover acted as a huge umbrella over the heads of the two girls as they moved purposefully through the undergrowth, allowing only the odd shower to dampen their route.
Wendy had never liked the walk through the woods at the best of times; the others had always made fun of her because of it. It was that same ingrained fear that kept her close behind Amanda as they neared the gap in the trees which marked the opening to the clearing at the lake.
"Hold this a minute, and no shining it in my face okay?" Amanda shouted handing Wendy the torch.
"What are we going to do?" asked Wendy, fear telling in her voice.
Amanda looked back at her. "What?"
"When we get there, what are we going to do with that girl?"
"We're going to let her go of course."
"But we can't, not just like that. She'll tell, we'll get in trouble."
"So what do have in mind? Murder?"
"I don't know... well... of course not." Wendy's head was a mess of confusion. "Look I'm just frightened all right. I think you went too far."
"Just a minute bitch, I didn't see you holding back when we ditched her in the hole."
"I didn't mean..." Wendy's words were cut off when Amanda snatched the torch out of her hand.
"Now shut your fucking mouth and follow me. I don't want to hear another word, understand?"
Wendy just nodded before following Amanda's lead into the clearing.
7
Penny was soaked through when she re-entered the kitchen to find Mrs. Hughes by the sink dutifully filling the kettle with water.
"Oh my, look at the state of you," said the old woman as she put the kettle on the gas hob and then walked over to where Penny stood shivering.
"I checked all over the place but I couldn't find Mr. Moon anywhere."
Author's Note
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