18
Graham huddled in the shadows with his back against the hard, stone wall. He had taken shelter in the old house as soon as the storm had hit its height. It was not much warmer inside but at least it was dry. He shrank back in his corner and listened to the storm and the voices as the girls played their strange game down in the basement. Graham wished that he could play too but he knew that Amanda would never allow it. He was nothing but a big dummy, Amanda had told him so many times and that had not been the worst thing she had called him.
The sounds of the storm died down and then finally fell silent only to be replaced by the banging and rattling somewhere below him. A sly smile shifted across his features as he realised that the girls must have locked themselves in. He had only gone down to that forbidding room once. On that occasion the door had slammed shut on him also and it had felt like forever before he finally managed to force it open again. Something strange had happened to him down in that dark room, something he had never told anyone else about. He could not make sense of it, not even now as he listened to the shouts and screams of the girls. It was so strange, like someone was in there with him but not just in the room, in his head too. For a while it was like he was not totally in control of his own thoughts or actions. Only for a while but it had been so frightening that after he had finally freed himself he had never stepped inside the house again... until now.
Now it was different everything was going to be all right as long as he stayed away from that room.
And that's when the banging stopped. Everything around him was sent into an almost deafening silence. It felt like the whole world had came to a standstill. Moments later, at the other side of the room, a dim light caught his eye. It was not like a torch or the flickering of a candle flame, just a dull, steady glow which became stronger by the second. He watched as the little girl he had seen enter the building earlier slowly emerged from the gap in the floor that lead down to the basement. A shiver passed through him as she walked toward him surrounded by her hazy, yellow glow. He hoped that she wouldn't notice him tucked away in the shadows but he realised that he had been discovered when she turned and looked straight in his direction with a smile so innocent and yet so frightening. He grew colder as she neared him and he could not look away from her strange, black eyes.
If I not see'd her she not see'd me!
Somehow Graham managed to break the strange spell the girl had over him. He closed his eyes tight, hid his head under the rain hood of his coat and waited.
The room still seemed to be getting colder.
Maybe she could still see him...
Maybe as long as he thought about her, pictured her in his mind, she would still be able to find him. He tried to block her image from his memory but those eyes - those cold, black eyes were still there.
The next clap of thunder made Graham jump. It took a few moments for him to realise that there was sound again. The crashing and thrashing of the storm was almost a comfort to him now. Slowly the cold drifted away from him and he dared to look out from his protective hood. The Black eyed girl had vanished.
19
As soon as the door was opened the sounds of the storm filled the room followed by a scream that stopped the girls in their tracks.
"What the fuck was that?" cried Sarah.
"My retard of a brother that's what." shouted Amanda as she sprinted up the steps two at a time. "Graham you little shit, just you wait till I get my hands on you!"
"Hey, save some of that clumsy spaz for me." laughed Sarah as she too took up the chase.
Wendy felt her fear fade with the knowledge that it had been graham playing a prank all along. She had been so frightened that she had not even realised until that moment that she left her shoes in the underground room.
The flickering light from the few candles which had remained alight was enough for her to see by as she walked back into the room and headed for the far corner. She was relieved to find her shoes almost straight away but just as she reached out for them the last of the candles were extinguished sending the room into total darkness.
20
Amanda saw the light in the bushes over by the lake and smiled. Without saying a word she pointed it out to Sarah and they exchanged a knowing look, nodding as though each had read the others mind. With the silent deal made Sarah moved out to the right while Amanda walked straight ahead toward the light.
Amanda heard the rustling sound and smiled as she imagined Graham cowering in the bushes. She had not made up her mind what she would do once she got her hands on him, but the punishment would be very long and extremely painful. Her mind filled with a number of chastisements before she was brought back to the present moment by a crash of thunder which shook the ground beneath her.
Come on girl, focus! She told herself as she clutched the old book tight to her body and tried to dismiss the fear that slowly crept through her.
She had moved twelve steps closer to the glow before she realized she had been counting and another three before she notice that her footfalls made no sound. In fact there was no noise coming from anywhere. The only thing she was aware of was the deafening thud of the pulse in her temples.
Amanda wanted to shout out to Sarah but when she opened her mouth not so much as a rasp escaped. Her throat felt tight, as though fingers were squeezing hard against her windpipe. She tried to swallow but her mouth was far too dry. Within the next couple of strides arms reached around her, forcing her to grip the book tighter. The shock forced a chilling scream to escape from somewhere deep inside her.
"Th... th... thank god I f... found you!"
The sound of Wendy's voice both relieved and angered Amanda. She broke free from the other girl's grasp and turned to face her.
"What the fuck's the matter with you, you silly bitch?"
"I... I... Thought that I'd l... lost you!"
"If you don't shut that cakehole of yours you'll soon wish you had." hissed Amanda. "Now come on stupid, you're going to do something for me and no questions!"
21
Sarah had almost reached the glow which marked Graham's hiding place. Thrills of electrically charged adrenaline passed through her like a thousand butterflies as she imagined her friend's frightened brother hiding away in the bushes. The feeling of power, knowing that she was helping to make such a big, powerful man so frightened, excited her. She was under no illusions that he was scared of her personally, in fact she knew that if she attacked him alone it would not be long before he realised he was the stronger of the two of them and used that strength against her. His sister, on the other hand, seemed to have him under some kind of spell. He was frightened of Amanda and as long as he was pinned down by that fear Sarah knew that she could use it to her advantage.
The dim light flickered and the bushes rustled. She was almost close enough to reach out and touch them and the temptation to go ahead without Amanda became greater with each passing moment.
Where the hell is she?
22
Graham tried to stay as still and as quiet as he could. He knew that the black-eyed girl was out there somewhere just waiting for him to give her some sort of clue as to his whereabouts. He was frightened of her, more frightened than he had been of anything in his life and at that moment he wished he hadn't ventured out into the darkness after Amanda and the other girls.
He was sure that if he stayed very still and made no noise she would never find him. He was really good at hiding and he knew that he was going to have to be better than that tonight.
The footsteps came closer and he held his breath again, wishing that he could switch off the thumping sound in his head.
Could she hear it?
Would it give him away?
He wanted to release the breath that he had taken in so long ago but he did not dare. He just crouched there in his hiding place and hoped for the nightmare to soon be over.
23
Wendy held the stick tight in her hand and swished it in the air. She hoped the smile she pulled was convincing enough to fool her new friend and judging by Amanda's reaction she had managed to pull it off.
She followed close behind Amanda, still frightened of the night woods and the storm that surrounded her. She tried her hardest to fight back that fear.
"Hey stupid, did you hear what I said?"
"Sorry?" Wendy was not even aware that Amanda had been talking to her.
"I said, make sure that you get my retard of a brother in the face a couple of times, that should teach him to fuck with us."
"In the face? I don't..."
"You don't what?" spat Amanda. She turned quickly on her heals. "You better not spaz out on me bitch! Just do what I told you, whip that piece of shit and make sure that you get him in the face."
"Okay, okay, I'll do it." Wendy Jones swished the stick in the air again as they both made their way towards the light in the bushes.
24
Sarah pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked the time. She had only been waiting for a couple of minutes but it had felt much longer.
Shit... that's it I'm going in alone. She can't be that far away!
All she had to was pull the foliage away to expose Graham's snivelling hulk. She reached out, smiled and as her hand came into contact with the bushes a feeling of ice-cold dread met her fingertips and flowed quickly along her arm. She tried to pull her hand back but she could not, her arm seemed to act with a will of its own. Soon her legs were under the same spell and she found herself moving the bushes aside and walking through the gap she had created.
25
Graham knew that he had been caught. he wanted to switch off his torch and run but his simple mind knew there was little point. He could hear the foot falls getting closer and very soon the black-eyed girl would find him.
The rustling was right outside the bushes now. He curled into a tight ball, closed his eyes and waited for whatever would happen.
"There he is, get the fucker!"
He recognised his sisters voice and, even through the stinging pain of the sticks that thrashed against him in an endless torrent, he felt relieved.
"I told you to make sure you get him in the face!" cried Amanda.
"How can I?" shouted another girl. "He's all curled up like that!"
At that second Graham looked up and offered his face to them gladly, thankful that it was only his sister and her friend and not the black-eyed girl.
Countless hits rained down on him before one finally hit him in the eye and sent violent waves of pain through his head.
"Ha ha ha! Bull's eye!"
Then came an inhuman shriek that stopped the blows in an instant. The scream did not come from him but from somewhere quite close by.
26
Amanda sprinted in the direction of the scream still gripping her weapon tight in her right hand. There were more footfalls behind her racing at the same speed. She guessed that Wendy was following her more for protection then out of concern for Sarah. There was another scream, this time a longer more agonised one. She realised that she had been running in the wrong direction and altered her sights towards the cluster of trees near the lake. She hadn't noticed the second glow coming from just beyond where she had left Graham. It had been masked by the brighter light that had given her brother away. The next scream was cut short and it was only when the strange glow made its way towards the lake that she snapped back into action.
"Sarah! I'm coming!" yelled Amanda.
Sharp prongs on the stick bit into the palm of her hand but the pain had only lasted a second. A huge wave of adrenaline passed through her, powerful enough to make her head swim and her stomach churn. She lost her footing twice before finally landing hard on the ground just before the bushes which acted as a barrier between the woods and the small lakeside clearing.
27
Wendy watched Amanda wobble on her legs before she slammed to the ground. She stopped to help her up but the other girl just ushered her on.
"No let me help you up." said Wendy as she crouched next to her. She had no intention of taking another step forward on her own.
Amanda rubbed her ankle. "I think its twisted, nothing serious. Just get in there and I'll be through in a second."
"But I don't want to leave you here on your own!"
"I think what you really mean is that you're chicken shit and you don't want to go in there on your own!"
Wendy had no retort. It was true what Amanda had said, she was frightened and at that moment she would have given anything to just have everything back to the way it had been before she had ventured out. Why had she not just listened to her little sister. Why had she exposed herself to a danger and dread which by far outweighed that of a couple of school bullies.
There was another scream, different from the others this time. It was higher, more shrill.
"No!" cried the familiar voice from the other side of the bushes. "Please don't make me do it! I don't want to!"
It was a little while before Wendy fully realised whose voice it actually was. "Oh my god, that's Jane!"
In that moment all fear drained from her, replaced by an overpowering protective instinct to help her sister. She jumped to her feet and ducked through the bushes, her stick still held tight in her hand. Her vision was obscured by the leaves and branches that scratched against her face.
"Hey, wait for me you silly bitch!"
Amanda's voice sounded as if she was way back in the distance even though Wendy knew she was only a few metres away. She ignored the voice and carried on through the under growth until it thinned out into the clearing.
"Oh my god!"exclaimed Wendy as she stopped in her tracks at the vision before her.
"Wendy, I don't want to do it! Please make it stop!" cried Jane as she sat on Sarah's back and held her head under the lake water. Sarah was struggling to get up from under her attacker but her efforts were useless.
"Jane, what are you doing?" The little girl was most definitely her sister but a strange glow emanated from her that frightened Wendy. "Jane, look at me!" she called out, her approach never faltering.
Jane kept her back to her sister all the while. Strange growling sounds came from her like some sort of wild animal. Wendy was almost close enough to reach out and touch her.
"Jane?" Wendy's voice was nothing more than a whisper and not another word left her lips as her little sister slowly turned her head to face her... to look at her with those horrible, large, black eyes.
"What the hell are you doing just standing there?"
The black eyes broke their link with Wendy's and looked over her left shoulder. In that split second Wendy turned in time to see Amanda running as fast as her limp would allow toward her. Like a blur the thing she had thought was her sister jumped from Sarah's back and leaped in Amanda's direction.
28
Sarah raised her head from the icy water and heaved in a few deep breaths interrupted by coughs and splutters as the water she had taken down found its way back up. In a light headed haze, she took in the scene around her. Wendy was standing over her looking back to where Amanda stood with a large stick in her hand. Between them, moving at speed toward Amanda, was the creature, the thing that had attacked and almost killed her. Fear and anger melded into one as Sarah's hand came into contact with the rock beside her.
Amanda swung the stick but the creature sidestepped the attack and sprung one of its own. With one super-human leap it was on her, dragging her down to the ground with its hands around her throat.
"Get off of her you fucking bitch!" Sarah screamed. She launched the rock at Amanda's attacker and it crashed into the back of her head with a sickening crack. The child creature's face snapped around to face Sarah, the fierce black eyes clearly visible against the pale skin even in the clearing's poor light. Frozen to the spot, she could do nothing as the thing bounded back towards her on all fours like some kind of demented animal.
29
There was no time to think. Wendy scooped her stick up from the ground and swung hard against the girl-thing's head, then a second time and a third putting more force into each blow. Her stomach turned as she saw the light blond hair turn dark with blood. All the time the animal in human form tried to reach out for the stick but it was getting weaker, she could sense it. Soon Wendy had lost count of the blows she had struck against that little head, she had not even realised that she was no longer alone in her efforts. The other two girls had started their own, frenzied attack with sticks of their own. Even though her arms were getting weaker she kept on with her onslaught until something finally stopped her.
"Please stop please..." the high pitched, child's voice cried out.
"Stop!" Wendy shouted to the others who seemed oblivious to the young girl's pleas.
"Please don't kill..." the voice was cut off mid flow.
"I SAID STOP!" Wendy yelled.
In a blur of movement, Sarah turned to Wendy and pushed her backwards. She felt something hard and jagged come into contact with head and her vision blurred the instant before everything turned black.
30
Graham had dug the hole with his bare hands and then watched in amazement as his sister and Sarah stripped the clothing from the lifeless body of the little girl and arranged her like a star with her head, hands and feet acting as the points. As soon as they had finished the two girls picked up their new friend and carried her away from the small clearing.
It had not seemed right to just leave her there like a piece of rubbish. she had to be put in the ground just like daddy had done with Peter the budgie and Flossy the Cat when they had died.
He darted over to the pathway which lead back to the other end of the lake and safety of the common, just in case the girls had decided to double back and deal with the body themselves. The storm had long since cleared and the only sounds around him were those of the leaves blowing in the wind high above his head. The girls would not be back tonight, he was sure of that now.
A strange feeling came over him as he walked back over to girl. It was as if he was being watched. He looked around. There was nothing but the girl and the dark woods.
Stupid, stupid Graham! he thought before he bent down and took the girls ankles in his gloved hands and slowly dragged her over to where her grave awaited.
Author's Note
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